The Pilot Covers
Brunswick County |
THE STATE PORT PILOT
A Good Newspaper In A Good Community
Most of the News
All The Time
VOLUME 41
No. 14
12-Pagos Today
SOUTHPORT, N. C. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1969
5< A COPY
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY
Farmer In His Vineyard
Harry Sell is shown here inspecting the crop of
grapes produced this season in a field of three-year
old vines in his vineyard near Southport. He and his
Picking Operation
Harvesting operations were in progress at the Sell
Grape Farm near Southport this week and the above
photo shows a mechanical grape-picker designed and
built by Harry Sell operating in the field. (Photo by
Spencer)
Brief Bits Of .
NEWS I
JURY COMMISSION
R.E. Bellamy of Shallotte,
Thomas S. Bowmer of
Southport and P.R. Hankins, Jr.,
of Supply have been named to
the Brunswick County Jury
Commission which will meet
Monday at Southport.
NAACP SPEAKER
Dr. William A. McMillan,
president of Rust College at
Holly Springs, Miss., will speak
at the Brunswick County High
School gymtorium Sunday,
October 12, at 3:30 p.m. The'
public is invited to come hear
this speaker. Dr. McMillan is a
native of Southport.
BAZAAR CHANGE PILOT
The annual Trinity United
Methodist Church Bazaar will be
held November 14 in the
fellowship hall of the church’s
new education building instead
of the Daughters of America
building. Luncheon will be
served.
POWER INTERRUPTION
Electric service will be off in
Southport, Sunny Point, and
Boiling Spring Lakes, Sunday
from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. This
interruption in service is due to
necessary changes to be made in
the sub-station of Sunny Point
by Carolina Power and Light
Company.
Nuclear Plant
Draws Ire Of
Junior Women
A controversial program was
presented by Mrs. Donnie Dodge
concerning the construction of
the proposed Carolina Power
and Light plant to be located in
the area at a recent meeting of
the Southport Junior Women’s
Club.
There was a lively discussion
on the potential advantages and
disadvantages of the plant
locating here, and resolution was
unanimously adopted protesting
the location of the plant in this
area.
During the business session the
decision was made to take part
in the Dobbs Children’s Home
open house to be held October 5
in Kinston.
There was discussion of the
proposed beautification project
to be done in the Franklin
Square Park. Also, there was
much discussion of the possible
preservation of the Cranmer
House as part of Southport’s
heritage.
Contributions to Women’s
Prison in Raleigh were
announced and members were
told of a letter of thanks from
the prison official.
A project was adopted by the
club to make and fill Christmas
stockings for the children’s
home. These will be hand-made
and will be filled according to
age groups.
son, Harry D. Sell, Jr., have 40 acres planted in scup
pernong grapes and other members of the muscadine
grape family. (Photo by Spencer)
Grape Production
Is Big Business |
A Brunswick county n.an may
have an answer to the question :
What can eastern North Carolina
farmers do to replace tobacco
the major cash crop? He is Harry
Sell, who took up farming late in
life, and who now has 40 acres
of grapes and 13.3 percent of
the state’s acreage in this crop,
Seven years ago, after reading
all the information he could find
on the grape growing industry,
Sell planted his first 1.25-acreas
of scuppernongs. This week he
harvested more than 6 tons per
acre from these vines.
His early planting convinced
him that the soil and climate
were suitable, so two years later
he planted another 5 acres. The
next year he added 10 acres and
has followed that expansion
schedule for each of the last
three years. Now he has over 40
acres in production, some of
them very profitably.
“It takes five years to reach
the point where production is
profitable,” Sell said this week
during a pause in his biggest
harvest. “We are getting about a
ton per acre from our
three-year-old vines, while our
one and two year old fields are
hardly worth picking-labor costs
this year.”
Scuppemong grapes are a
member of the muscadine
family, whose distinguishing
Farmers Vote
In Referendum
On November 25 all users of
feed and fertilizer will be asked
to vote on whether or not to
continue the “Nickels for
Know-How” program.
This program has been in
effect for 18 years and has
provided funds for research and
education in various fields that
are not provided for through tax
funds. Under the program an
assessment of 5 cents per ton is
collected from the
manufacturers of all feed and
fertilizer.
All persons in Brunswick who
use feed and fertilizer are urged
to vote on November 25 to
decide whether to continue the
program for the next 6 years.
Polling places will be at County
Extension Office, ASCS Office,
Washam, Warlick and Harrelson
Farm Supply, Brunswick
Livestock Auction, Bennett
Trading Company, Lonnie Evans
Store, Delmas Farm Supply,
Jenrette Grocery, Parkers Store,
Forest Williams Store, A.P.
Henry Store, D.H. Hawes Store
and Blakes Builders Supply.
characteristic is that they grow
singly or in clusters, not in
bunches. Some of the vines on
the Sell Crape Farm appear to
be rounded off with ripe fruit.
One good thing about the
grapes Sell in producing is the
price, which is $275 per ton.
Another is the fact that there
appears to be no immediate
threat of flooding the market.
“One buyer told me we can
grow 5,000 acres here in North
Carolina without running the
price down,” he reported. When
it is considered that there are
only about 300 acres in North
Carolina now devoted to
cultivation of this type of grape,
the importance of the 40-acre
local operation gains stature.
But if grape growing is big
news at the Sell Farm, a new
grape picking machine, designed
and built by Sell himself, is even
bigger news: for without it there
was danger of creating a
bottleneck of picking-labor. No
entirely successful grape picking
machine has been place on the
market, so the Brunswick
county man, a licensed
(Continued On Page Eight)
Thieves Hit Post
Office At Leland
Thieves stole $211.45 in cash
and stamps from the safe in the
Leland Post Office last Tuesday
night, according to Brunswick
Sheriff Harold Willetts.
One State Bureau of
Investigation agent said the
mode of operation used by the
thieves to enter the Leland Post
Office was the same used by
thieves to loot the Calypso Post
Office in Duplin County last
Sunday night.
Sheriff Willetts said the thieves
pried the metal frame of a glass
door that separated the lobby
and the offices to get to the safe.
Willetts stated the
metal-framed door was pried
enough to allow the lock bolt to
slip and the door to be opened.
The $200 safe also was
destroyed by the thieves who
pried it open.
The sheriff said SB1 agent Billy
Greene—the investigating officer
of the Calypso break-in—said the
pattern followed in the Leland
break-in was the same use in the
Calypso post office break-in and
larceny.
Postal Inspectors D.T. Hunter,
C.D. Garland and SBI Agents
J.E. Richardson, Whiteville; and
Bill Hunt, Wilmington; assisted
Sheriff Willetts in the
preliminary investigation.
Board Holds
Meetings To
Hear Problems
The Brunswick County Board
of Education met last Tuesday
night and heard Mrs. Frances
Stone, ESEA Director, review
the ESEA Title I program for
the 1969-70 school year. A
question and answer session
followed the presentation.
Thomas Home, attorney, gave
a report on the Ripley property
survey and reported on
communciations between him
and the Ripleys concerning this
property.
The board met jointly with the
local school committeemen from
Southport Elementary School
and Brunswick County High
School concerning students
previously assigned to their
respective schools and now
attending Bolivia School. Those
present from Southport School
were T.M. Lee, principal,
Johnny Vereen, Hubert Brittain
and Leon McKeithan. Those
present from Brunswick County
High School were A.C. Caviness,
principal, Eugene Gore, Arthur
Gore and Alvah Cox. The board
agreed to abide by plans
submitted to the U.S.
Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare stating
that all students previously
assigned and attending
Brunswick County High School
will attend the two Southport
Schools.
The board approved the
following teachers contracts for
the 1969-70 school year:
Lincoln—Carolyn Deese and
Gloria M. Gore; Union—Jewell
White; and Waccamaw—Diana
Hughes.
The board approved the list of
substitute teachers submitted as
follows: Mrs. John Kopp, Mrs.
Joe Best, Mrs. Janie C.
McCracken, Mrs. Eva May
Willetts, Mrs. Ila Mae Murrell,
Mrs. Lenora Thomas, Mrs.
Louise Willetts, Mrs. Elizabeth
Williams and Mrs. Gail Kopp.
Brunswick County High
School—Mrs. Jessie Monroe, Mrs.
Vivian F. Crawley, William L.
Fish, Mrs. Alberta McLeod and
Mrs. Jessie Monroe.
Leland School—Mrs. Cathy
(Continued On Page Five)
Murder Charge
Faces Youth, 19
Ronnie Hutchinson, 19,
Leiand was charged with murder
Monday after his alleged victim,
Thomas Wayne Skipper, Jr., died
in New Hanover Memorial
Hospital.
Hutchinson had been charged
with assault with a deadly
weapon with intent to kill in
connection with an August 3
incident in which Skipper was
wounded by a .22 caliber pistol.
Skipper died Monday morning
as a result of the wound. The
warrant charging Hutchinson
was immediately changed from
the assault charge to murder.
Brunswick County Coronor
Lowell Bennett stated that no
inquest would be held in the
death. He said he had turned the
matter over to the court.
Hutchinson is being held in the
county jail without bond until
his district court hearing Oct. 6.
Millionth Ton At Sunny Point
Colonel Robert D. Reid, Commanding Officer, Military Ocean Terminal, Sunny
Point is shown addressing a group of visiting dignitaries as the millionth ton of car
go is loaded aboard vessel Thursday morning. There was a brief ceremony marking
this significant milestone in the operations of this important military installation.
Million Ton Mark
At Sunny Point
Military Ocean Terminal,
Sunny Point, celebrated the
shipment of its millionth ton of
cargo in 1969. The Terminal is
forging ahead in an effort to
beat the 1968 record of
1,335,196 measurement tons
by December 31.
The military men, government
employees, and the contractor
personnel who joined Thursday
in observing the pallet of
artillery projectiles being loaded
aboard the SS Baylor Victory
were well aware of the resources
required to move one million
tons. The manpower, money,
and material expended by the
Terminal from 1 January to date
play a significant part in the
economy of the Southport area.
What does the handling of a
million tons mean? Specifically:
Ten million dollars in
contractual services including
the payrolls for longshoremen,
railroad personnel, and other
contract labor; 1.7 million
dollars for civil service
personnel; 3 million dollars for
materials, and 180 thousand
dollars in tug and pilot services
Physically, the million tons of
cargo movement required:
21,200 railcars, 6,000 truck
trailers, 161 ships, 35 million
gallons of fresh water, 1.7
million kilowatt hours of
electricity, and 23.5 million
board feet of lumber.
Present at the ceremony were:
Colonel Robert D. Reid,
Terminal Commander; John L.
McCarron, Vice President of
Ryan Stevedoring Company;
James U. Rooker, Assistant
Superintendent, Rocky Mount
Division Railroad; Commander
Henry N. Heigesen, U.S. Coast
Guard, Captain of the Port;
Lieutenant Edward McIntosh,
U.S. Navy, Military Sea
Transportation Service; Arthur
C. James, U.S. Air Force Water
Time And Tide
It was September 20, 1939, and there was news that week of
upcoming attempts at growing citrus fruit at Orton and on Bald
Head Island. A veteran big-game fishing skipper had stopped here on
his way south for the winter season and had added weight to the local
contention that Southport was probably the best fishing spot north
of Florida. Recent marriage events had made Inez Harrelson the wife
of Don Shannon; Murley Hood had been transferred from the Bogue
Inlet Coast Guard facility to Oak Island; and the Southport School
News told that Lula Marie Swan had been elected secretary of the
freshman class.
News of the proceeding week had it that the Long Beach Pavilion
would be open for the entire winter. That week’s Pilot announced
that the building would be operated as an oyster roast. Lewis
Hardee’s Sea Queen had topped all other boats in daily catches on
Monday when she had brought in 50 bushels of shrimp. All boats
were doing well, but prices were down. Evangelist H.A. Foster was
holding forth at the Shallotte Methodist Church; a premature war
scare was being dispelled in a page one story; and we don’t know
why, but food prices had been soaring in Mongolia.
It was September 20, 1944, and never before had more square
inches of bare, female flesh been spread over the front page of The
Pilot. The picture, a good 3 col X 12 in. shot, showed a local lady
holding two baby foxes, which animals were noticed only on second
glance. Southport had once again been through a hurricane scare,
and once again had been spared; the San Jose, a trawler of the W.S.
Wells fleet, had brought in a well-holed aircraft gunnery target; and
Miss Margaret Bartels had become the bride of Jack Hickman in New
(Continued On Page Four)
Port Liaison Office; Paul
Hufham, American Federation
of Government Employees;
Rutherford B. Leonard,
President of the Wilmington
local of the International
Longshoremen’s Association;
Charles Rogers, President of the
Southport Local of the
International Longshoremen’s
Association; Emerson B. Tyler,
Cafeteria Contractor; and Mike
Sellers, Williams Lumber
Company.
In his remarks before the small
but proud group of observers
Colonel Reid said, “Our fighting
men of all the services in Vietnam
and other parts of the world owe
much to the patriotism and
industry of the one thousand
North Carolinas who operate
this unique terminal.”
Lennon Pushes
New Agency
Congressman Alton Lennon
revealed this week that he has
drafted amendments to a bill
which proposes to establish a
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Agency (NOAA).
That bill, which was introduced
July 31, 1969, was co-sponsored
by Lennon and all 21 members
of his Subcommittee on
Oceanography- as well as
Chairman Garmatz. The
amendments made by Lennon to
the bill are intended to serve as
vehicles for a thorough study of
coastal zone problems. The
North Carolina Democrat said
authority for management of
these zones should rest with the
States with appropriate
assistance from and cooperation
with the Federal Government.
•The Washington conference
called by Lennon will be
attended by representatives of
all coastal and Great Lakes
States, including the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
The representatives have been
invited to meet with experts in
the various aspects of coastal
zone management for the
purpose of discussing mutual
problems. These experts include
Dr. Julius A. Stratton, former
Chairman of the Commission on
Marine Science, Engineering anu
Resources; Dr. Samuel A.
Lawrence, former Executive
Director of the Commission; Dr.
Edward Wenk, Executive
Secretary of the National
Council on Marine Resources
and Engineering Development,
and leading representatives of
state and regional groups
concerned with problems of
coastal zone management. The
conference will be held under
the auspices of Lennon’s
Subcommittee on
Oceanography.
Congressman Garmatz
w holeheartedly endorsed the
plan to cope with the problems
Lennon listed.
“I want to strongly emphasize
(Continued On Page Five)
Developnent Is
Advocated By
Former Owner
A letter this week from Mrs.
E.C. Napier, the former Celeste
Boyd, of Charlotte tells of some
of the struggles of her late father
in his efforts to save Bald Head
Island. She adds that she favors
development because “I would
like to see my father’s dream
come true.”
Following is the text of her
letter:
“I read a clipping from your
newspaper with more
information about Bald Head
than any article I read. I am very
interested in getting a couple of
clipping and any other articles
that might have been written.
The article I mentioned, I think,
came out in August. I did not
get the date as it was a clipping.
“I read an article written by
someone here in Charlotte. He
said, ‘Admittedly, some one
made a small attempt in
developing the island.’ I resent
those words, or my father spent
over a million dollars trying to
develop it.
“T.F. Boyd, my father, bought
the Island from the Smith family
in 1914. It had been in trust one
hundred years. He lost all his
money, and in a vain effort to
save the “Big Island”, Bald
Head, he offered it to the State
for taxes due, (around seven
thousand, for a State park).
They refused.
“I could write a book about „
Bald Head, the joy and the '
heartaches it brought to us. My >:
father died a few years later. We
were land poor and the
depression had come.
“A.M. Marshall of Charlotte
got my mother, who was eighty
years old, to give him an option.
He sold the other island to Mr.
(Continued On Page Four)
Tide Table
Following is the tide table
for Southport during' the
week. These hours are ap
proximately correct and
were furnished The State
Port Pilot through the
courtesy of the Gape Fear
Pilot's Association.
Thursday, September 25
8:15 AM 2:10 AM
8:39 PM 2:34 PM
Friday, September 26
8:57 AM 2:52 AM
9:21 PM 3 :22 PM
Saturday, September 27
9:45 AM 3:34 AM
10:03 PM 4:04 PM
Sunday, September 28
10:27 AM 4:16 AM
10:45 PM 4:52 PM
Monday, September 29
11:09 AM 4:58 AM
11:27 PM 5:34 PM
Tuesday, September 30
11:51 AM 5:40 AM
12:09 PM 6:16 PM
Wednesday, October 1
12:39 AM 6:22 AM
7:10 PM