The Pilot Covers
Brunswick County!
THE STATE PORT PILOT
A Good Newspaper In A Good Community
j Most of the Ne\ ^
I XA
I All The Time \ ; 4
VOLUME 41
No. 25
10-Pages Today
SOUTHPORT, N. C. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1969
5< A COPY
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY
. . ‘Ui'• - W-ai.M-ai&littlMlillSI
. ll l| HI i I" I I .I I ■ —..- —!
Ribbon Cutting At Blakes
This was the scene at Blake Builders Supplies Thursday at noon when Mayor E.
B. Tomlinson, Jr., assisted Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Blake in cutting the big, red ribbon
across the entrance of their new building on Highway 211 near Southport. On the left
is Charles Blake, who served as master of ceremonies for the brief ceremony.
(Photo by Spencer)
Sendand Group
Selects Lewis
As Its President
“I don’t know if we’ll sink or
not, but we’ll make a big
splash,” promised Marvin Lewis
of Rt. 3 Tabor City, who was
named president of the
SENCIand Development
Association at the group’s 13th
annual meeting Friday night at
Calabash.
He succeeded B.L. Nesmith,
Jr., also of Tabor City. —u.
Approximately 150 members
of the six-county association
heard L.C. Bruce, State Port
public relations director,
proclaim that the areas’
economic growth depends on
the counties banding together
and working as a single
community.
The six counties in the
association are New Hanover,
Pender, Duplin, Bladen,
Brunswick and Columbus.
Lewis, an Area Development
Specialist for the Brunswick
Electric Membership
Corporation, commended the
Union Valley Club, which won a
first place award in the farm
category sponsored by the
association. He said the main
reason the club swept the award
was because it was building a
clubhouse. Clubhouses, Lewis
said, are the “show-part” of a
development club.
(Continued On Page Two)
% Brief Bits Of
I NEWS
YARD OF MONTH
Mr. and Mrs. J.M. Grotheer of
819 E. Moore St. have won Yard
of the Month honors for
December from the Southport
Garden Club.
REVIVAL SERVICES
Revival services will be held at
First Apostolic Holiness Church
in Southport Friday, Saturday
and Sunday nights of this week.
Services will begin at 7:30
o’clock.
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
The Christmas Lighting
Contest, sponsored by the
Southport Garden Club, will be
held again this year. First and
second place prizes will be
awarded for the prettiest door
the most beautiful living tree
and the best overall. Details ol
the judging will be announced
next week.
CALIFORNIA TRIP
Mr. and Mrs. A.P. Henry, Jr.
of Winnabow flew to San Diegc
California, Thursday to atten
the graduation ceremonies o
their son, John Henry, who ha
completed his Navy boo
training. The three of ther
returned Tuesday, with the so
to remain home on leave unt
time to report to Submarin
School at New London, Conr
Educator At Naval Academy
Midshipman Ronald E. Hewett of Shallotte discusses
the Naval Academy’s sailing program with Mrs. Clara G.
Wilkins, counselor at Wallace-Rose Hill Senior High
School. Mrs. Wilkins was among a group of state educ
ators recently completing a three-day orientation pro
gram at Annapolis, covering such areas as entrance re
quirements and academic majors. A second classman
(junior), Midshipman Hewett is majoring in foreign af
fairs. Mrs. Wilkins, the former Miss Clara Evelyn Gill,
formerly taught at Southport High School.
State's Ahead Now
Bald Head Island
Battle Lingers On
Now it is the State’s turn to
make a move concerning the
purchase of Bald Head Island
near Southport.
Charles Fraser, considered the
person most interested in private
development of the 12,000 acre,
sub-tropical island, disclosed
Saturday that he no longer holds
an option to buy the property
from Frank Sherrill. Fraser has
said that if the state does not
buy the island, then he is still
interested.
Governor Bob Scott said
Tuesday that it remains the task
Put The Trash
In Proper Place
Mayor E.B. Tomlinson, Jr.,
requests all property owners to
give particular attention to the
appearance of their property. In
many instances, trash can areas
are becoming littered badly.
“During the Christmas season
there will be many visitors to
Southport,” the Mayor said,
. “and after the first of the year,
. when construction starts on
1 Carolina Power and Light
f Company’s nuclear power plant,
5 we can expect Southport to
t become one of the major visitor
1 attraction centers of the state.
1 “The cooperation of everyone
1 is necessary if we are to present
8 a pleasing appearance to those
• who come to visit the area.”
of the 1971 General Assembly
to shape the destiny of
subtropical Bald Head Island
near Southport.
Scott said, “I think the state
ought to make a determination
of what it wants to do with Bald
Head and what best use could be
made of the island and then
decide whether or not it’s going
to acquire it.
“But obviously this has got to
be an action of the General
Assembly. We just don’t have
$5.5 million lying around that
we can go out and plunk down
on the table and I’m not so sure
that it’s worth $5.5 million ...
“The state’s position as of
now, of course, is what I stated
it to be at the State Board of
Conservation and Development
meeting in Kinston some months
ago.” Scott said then that he
would like the state to acquire
the 12,000-acre island, but that
it could not afford to pay the
price Sherrill is asking for the
property.
Meanwhile, Sherrill said in a
telephone interview at his office
that three additional developers
“of means” are “waiting in the
wings” to purchase Bald Head.
Conservationists claim the island
ought to be preserved in its
natural, undeveloped state.
Sherrill said, “Ail I want to do
is get the island out of my
estate—period. I’m getting to be
a pretty old man. I’m nearly 76.
The government already owns
Continued On Page Four
Allotment For
Tobacco Faces
Another Cut
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture earlier this week
reduced both the tobacco
poundage quota and acreage
quota by five per cent for the
entire flue-cured area Virginia to
Florida.
The five per cent cut reduced
the national marketing quota
from 1,127 million pounds in
1969 to 1,071 pounds for 1970.
The national planting quota
was set at 577,670 acres. The
yield expectation for 1970 will
be 1,854 pounds an acre.
The reduction was ordered
under direction of Secretary of
Agriculture Clifford M. Hardin.
There was no state-by-state
breakdown but it is to be noted
that North Carolina produces
about two thirds of all tobacco
harvested in the flue-cured area.
Total income in the state from
the crop runs about $5 million
and it is the main money crop in
the state.
The reduction will not be too
severe on some farmers while to
many more it could be overly
severe. The grower who
undersold his quota in 1969 will
be privileged to increase his sale
next year by that much. But for
the farmer who oversold his
1969 quota, he must reduce his
sale next year by that much in
addition to the five per cent
reduction. The variance runs 10
per cent year to year.
The notice for pounds and
acreage reduction is scheduled to
be mailed out to growers by the
ASCS as soon as calculations
have been made for respective
growers.
A small acreage of the
allotment will be held back in
favor of farmers who had no
acreage allotment for the past
five years. This will include a
small reserve caoectiug
errors and adjusting inequities.
The practice is customary.
Shallotte Man
Dies In Wreck
SHALLOTTE-Bobby Allen
White, 29, died Saturday from
injuries in an auto accident on
NC 211. He was a Riegel Paper
Company employee.
White formerly was tax
collector for Brunswick county,
a position he assumed after
serving as assistant under D.H.
Hawes. He resigned his position
to go to work for a farm supply
house in Shallotte, where he
worked prior to going to Riegel.
He was a graduate of Shallotte
High School, where he won a
reputation for being one of the
outstanding basketball players
ever produced at that
institution.
Final rites were held Sunday at
3 p.m. at Powell Funeral Chapel
by the Revs. A.C. Wheeler,
Leland Etheridge and Garland
Long, with burial in Mintz
Cemetery.
Survivors include his widow,
Mrs. Sandra Hudson White; two
sons, Gregory Allen and Robert
Dixon White, all of the home;
his mother, Mrs. Mae Bremman
of Florida; a brother, Joe W.
White of Shallotte; a sister, Mrs.
Willie June Grainger of
Wilmington; his paternal
grandmother, Mrs. Pearl White
of Shallotte; and his maternal
grandmother, Mrs. Tommie
McCumbee of Shallotte.
Where Auio Hit A House
An automobile which left the highway while traveling at a high speed Friday
night threaded its way between the two trees in the foreground before it smashed
into the side of the dwelling, leaving the hole beneath the window. A child asleep on
a couch just inside the building escaped with minor injuries. For additional wreck
pictures, see page two. (Photo by Spencer)
Auditor Has
Good Word To
Say To Board
E.M. Underwood, representing
the auditing firm of John C.
Muse and Company, singled out
the office of Tax Collector
Homer McKeithan for special
praise in his comments to
members of the Board of
County Commissioners when he
made his report of the 1968-69
audit.
It was noted that the tax
collection situation has
improved considerably. The
ratio of .collections of the
current year’s levy increased
from 90.5%, an increase of 2%.
Collections of land sale
\ certificates and insolvent taxes
also increased. “We commend
\ the efforts apparent in this area
and recommend continued
aggressiveness to decrease a still
abnormal amount of delinquent
taxes,” Underwood said.
Underwood also praised the
financial condition of Brunswick
county, pointing out that the
$895,400 bonded indebtedness
(exclusing of school bond
indebtedness) is only 1.59
percent of the total property
valuation. The funded debt was
reduced in the amount of
$63,400 during the fiscal year
ending June 30.
The report indicates that all of
the county funds show an
unappropriated surplus at June
30. “We are of the opinion that
it is good business to maintain a
reasonable working fund surplus
in each fund if possible, and any
excess thereof can and should be
used in lieu of revenue in the
ensuing year’s budget. We note
that this procedure, which is
advantageous to the taxpayers of
Brunswick County, is being
followed,” the report continued.
In accordance with past
recommendations there has now
been set up a permanent
inventory of furniture, fixtures
and equipment belonging to the
county. It will be perpetrated by
recording additions as they
are acquired. It will provide
information as to whether or not
sufficient insurance is in force
and could be of valuable aid in
preparing a claim in case of fire.
Time And Tide
It was December 6, 1939, and one of the few new mothers ever to
be pictured in The Pilot made the front page that week. The 17-year
old cow was a great-grandmother, too. A bit of front page nature
love that week mentioned that the water turkey could probably
swim for at least a mile submerged. A headline announced that
“Mintz” had been chosen to head the county Jackson Day
preparation, then failed to mention him again in the story.
The Sports Sherlock (by Watson) made its initial appearance that
week, and had listed the All-American choices of that writer-all
from the Big Four. The top hunting tale of the season appeared that
week: Capt. H.T. Bowmer had downed four black ducks with two
shots; Tom Gilbert had spent the holidays in Washington; and not
only were the potatoes doing well on Bald Head, but Charley
Mathewes was planning to plant some lettuce seed later in the week.
It was December 6, 1944, and Clyde Newton had topped Capt.
Bowmer^Seven black ducks with only two shots. We hesitate to
proceed with this writing. But Ellen Hinnant had become Mrs. Basil
Watts; Orton had been featured on a recent calendar publication;
and someone wanted a doll carriage for “a little girl whose
grandmother can’t find a new one.”
Other duck hunters were also trying their luck, and our editorial
writer noted that, while fair weather used to be the excuse for poor
bags, these nimrods were blaming scarcity of shells. Saturday night
(Continued On Page Pour)
Retires From Air Force
Thoralph J. Tobiassen, a native of Southport, has
retired from the U. S. Air Force after 36 years of service,
both in a military and civilian capacity. He plans to live
in Florida.
Matching Funds To
Help With New Pier
The City of Southport
received notice from the
Department of Interior, Bureau
of Outdoor Recreation, of the
approval of matching funds for
the construction of a municipal
pier in the amount of $36,350,
according to Mayor Eugene
Tomlinson.
This grant will match the
municipal funds on deposit, and
which were approved by a city
bond election held February 11,
1969. With the help from this
federal grant, the city
immediately executed a contract
for the construction of an
all-concrete municipal pier.
Many persons and agencies
have assisted the City of
Southport in this first phase of
the municipal pier and park
development program
Tomlinson said. “Congressman
Alton Lennon and his staff have
been most-helpful and interested
with the project since the filing
of the initial application. All the
people in Raleigh, in the
Department of Recreation,
Ralph J. Andrews, Director, and
his staff have given freely of
their time.”
Mayor Tomlinson stated that
he considered the project to one
of the most important and
far-reaching items to be
undertaken by the citizens of
the area. “Recreation is big
business and the construction of
this pier will be one of the
recreation attractions on the
coast of North Carolina,” the
Mayor said.
(Continued On Page Two)
Tobias sen To
Leave Service
Thoralph J. Tobiassen has
retired from the Air Force with
36 years service.
Technical Director of the
Directorate of Crew and AGE
Subsystems Engineering for
Aeronautical Systems Division’s
Deputy for Engineering at
W right-Patterson AFB, Ohio,
Tobiassen has spent the last five
years providing technical
management and direction for
the development of crew station
and aerospace ground
equipment.
The innovations he worked on
during this time include: flight
simulator conversions from
analog to digital; spatial
disorientation trainer for the
School of Aerospace Medicine; a
mobile electronic weighing
system; the C-5A towing tractor,
world’s largest to tow an
airplane; the BAK-13
operational arrestment system;
low altitude parachute
extraction system; a personnel
lowering device for downed
aircrewmen, and a crew station
simulation facility.
A native of Southport, and son
of the late Mr. and Mrs. K.
Tobiassen, he holds a bachelor
of science degree in mechanical
engineering from North Carolina
State College. His specialized
training includes the D.S-Army
(Continued on Two)
Owners Must |
Register To
Protect Land V £
Brunswick county property
owners who think they have tit*
to marshlands must register ;
these claims with the State on
North Carolina before January!
1, or they may find themselves!,
dispossessed. This is the\
situation following a conference •
in Raleigh Tuesday for a
discussion of a 1969 statute
governing ownership of estuarine
lands passed by the General
Assembly. *
During a special topic news
conference, Attorney Genera}
Robert Morgan said, “We ar£
concerned that many people
who claim estuarine land ip;
navigable waters may not know
that unless they register by
January 1 they may forfeit all
rights to these submerged
lands.” f
Morgan was joined air
Tuesday’s conference by his;
staffs ocean law specialist, Toni;
Kane, and state fisheries
commissioner Dr. Tom Linton ill
explaining the 1965 law which
requires registration of private
ownership in lands underlying
navigable waters. ?
Linton noted, “I would be less
than candid if I did not say that
I believe the 1965 General
Assembly enacted this statute
for the purpose of determining
land ownership in estuarine:
areas, that is, areas where coastal
(Continued On Page Two) i;
No Deaths As f
Car Hits House;
An automobile crashed into
the side of the Lee Joneis
residence on the Long Beach
road shortly after midnight
Friday with the front end ^
coming to rest in the living room
where two persons had been.
The car was demolished and the
house was ripped open, but
neither the occupants of the
house nor the car were killed. «
James R. Smith and seaman
Bill Bennett were returning from
Long Beach when the Chevrolet
Camera left the highway, barely
missed a big pine, then slipped
between two closely-space trees'
and plowed into the side of the
Jones home. Bennett is reported
to have been the driver.
Asleep on a couch in the living
room was Jerry Jones, Jr., and
the car hit the side of the house
opposite where he was sleeping.
The empact hurled him and his
bed across the room and on top
of his grandfather, who was
seated on another couch
watching television. Mrs. Jones
and her daughter were awakened
by sounds of the crash, and
when they came into the front
room they couldn’t see either
the boy or his grandfather. They
called the Southport Fire
Department.
The elder Jones was uninjured
and the boy sustained only a
minor injury to his feet. The
men in the car didn’t fare so
well. They were taken to n
Wilmington hospital where
Bennett was announced to be in
(Continued On Pago Two)
Tide Table
Following h the tide table
for Southport during die
week. These hours are ap
proximately correct and
were furnished Hie State
Port Pilot through the
courtesy of the Gape Fear
Pilot's Association.
Thursday, December 4
3:09 AM 9:40 AM
3:15 PM 9: 52 PM
Friday, December 5
4:03 AM 10:40 AM
4:09 PM 10:46 PM
Saturday, December 6
5:57 PM
Monday, December 8
Tuesday, December 9
7:33 AIM 1:16 AM
[ 7:45 PM 2:10 PM
Wednesday, December 10
4:57 \M 11:34 AM
5:03 PM 11:34 PM
Sunday, December 7
5:45 AM 12:22 AM
5:45 AM
6:39 AM
6:51 PM
0:28 AM
1:16 PM
8:27 AM
2:03 AM
2:58 PM