55 years ago
Fifty-five years ago this week the Intracoastal Waterway was un
usually crowded. During the preceding week a total of 37 boats and
yachts stopped in Southport. The reason for the large number of these
pleasure craft was that it was time to begin the migration to the warmer
Florida waters during the cold weather up north. Also, Southport is al
most precisely the halfway point between New Yoik and Miami.
Local citizens were looking forward to the Thanksgiving feast to be
held in every home the following Thursday; efforts were being made to
collect delinquent taxes that were due the county; and a Japanese
bishop was to speak at a Thanksgiving Day service.
40 years ago
Forty years ago this week the citizens of Southport, especially those
on the waterfront, were disturbed over the decision to move the Coast
Guard patrol boat from the Cape Fear area. The boat had been ordered
to Norfolk 43 days before and had not returned. However, the Air
Force did have boats almost identical to the 83-footers, but to residents
who had become used to the Coast Guard craft it was not the same.
The docks in Southport were becoming crowded with the increased
waterway traffic, and plans were being made to enlarge the facilities.
The waterway business was considered to be too important for the
passing boats to continue on their way because of the lack of docking
space.
30 years ago
In our issue for November 21, 1962, there was a front-page photo of
the president and other state officers of N. C. Garden Clubs, Inc. They
were in Brunswick County to discuss the establishment of a nature trail
at Brunswick Town. Consecration services were to be held the follow
ing Friday evening for St. James Episcopal Church at Shallotte with
bishop Thomas H. Wright in charge.
Southport was to meet Belhaven on Saturday night for the state
.championship in eight-man football; Brunswick County 4-H members
had compiled good records in the Star-News honors program; and Ryan
Stevedoring Co., Inc., had won the stevedoring contract at Sunny Point.
20 years ago
A front-page headline in the Pilot for November 22, 1972, declared
that the Secretary of the Army had ruled against construction of a dock
on the creek at Bald Head Island, even though it had replaced a struc
ture which had been in use for 50 years. The editor complained against
the continuing harassment of the developers.
Lou Holtz, coach of the Peach Bowl-bound N.C. State University
Wolfpack, had accepted an invitation to speak at the South Brunswick
High School football banquet; a low bid of $3,390,846 had been
received for construction of the high-level bridge to Oak Island; and the
columnist had reported on a trip to Florida, including a visit to Key
West.
15 years ago
The annual meeting of the N. C. Association of Soil and Water Con
servation Districts had been held at Calabash the week before our pub
lication of November 23, 1977, and Sen. Jesse Helms had been the
speaker. Preparation was being made for two upcoming events - a
"Shop-at-Home" campaign sponsored by the Southport-Oak Island
Chamber of Commerce, and Holiday House sponsored by clubwomen
groups here in Southport
Announcements appeared in the paper that week concerning special
Thanksgiving programs and a schedule of holiday closings; we had a
complete list of nominees for ASC community committees; and the
editor had mourned the death of Guy Lombardo, famed dance orchestra
leader.
10 years ago
Our publication for November 24, 1982, came out the day before
Thanksgiving so that holiday theme was highlighted in the Pilot that
week, both in features and in advertising. A close-up of a cornucopia
decoration at Trinity United Methodist Church was our front-page
photo.
A Shallotte savings institution was offering 16-percent interest on
short-term CDs; a drive was on to raise funds to pay for a new book
mobile for the Southport-Brunswick County Library; and mullet and
spot fishermen agreed it had been a bad fall for fishing with one
veteran offering the suggestion, "Maybe they went out around the
shoals when they moved south this year."
5 years ago
Denny Breese of Southport was leading an underwater salvage opera
tion of the wreck of the Spanish galleon off Bald Head Island and we
had a front-page story and photo of that attempt in the Pilot for Novem
ber 18, 1987. A Brunswick County couple, Earl and Mary Earp, had
been honored as one of 16 outstanding couples at the Farm-City ban
quet in Raleigh, opening the week-long observance.
The CP&L plant at Southport had broken the existing record for con
tinuous operation of boiling water reactors with 133 days of continuous
service without interruption; Quinten McCracken of South Brunswick
had been named to both the offensive and defensive Brunswick County
all-star football teams; and Chris Davis of South Brunswick had been
invited to play oboe with the Wilmington Symphony in a concert on
Saturday of that week.
CARPET
CLEANED
Any Size Living Room and Hall
\ANY ADDITIONAL ROOM $17.95
call now 278-9599
JS2S2E&. 1-800-649-3013
LIVING ROOM
» hall$3995
Deep Soil Ertradion
THIS METHOD INCLUDES
BOTH CHEMICAL AND
STEAM CLEANING
LIVING ROOM,
HALL A
DINING
ROOM
$4995
EXPERT UPHOLSTERY CLEANING
Warranty...We guaranteo superior workmanship and complete
customer satisfaction...If you are not deligl.^d you DO NOT pay!
• a ;
amniff
GUARANTEE CARPET CLEANING & DYE CO.
Proudly Serving Brunswick County Since 1975
Jury awards water contractor $50,000
A jury this week ordered Brunswick County to pay Houston and As
sociates engineering firm $50,000 to compensate the company for the
work it performed on county water line projects.
The board of commissioners voted to fire the company in August, al
leging it was negligent and failed to perform work on time.
In a suit against the county, the firm claimed it had not been informed
of a deadline, the county caused some of the delays by failing to secure
easements for water lines, and that it had therefore been wrongly
terminated. The company asked for $396,202, the balance of the
$531,129 the county had contracted to pay for the water projects, in ad
dition to any punitive damages determined by a jury.
Brunswick County in turn filed a countersuit to recover about
$175,000 it had to spend to correct alleged design flaws caused by the
company, and to cover the additional expenses of hiring a new firm to
complete the projects.
The county claimed Houston and Associates failed to deal with the
presence of contaminated soil from leaking underground storage tanks
when designing the water distribution system, and negligently recom
mended constructing a booster water-pump station in a federally desig
nated flood plain.
Despite the award, county attomey/manager David Clegg called the
jury’s decision a "victory" for Brunswick County.
”We came out with a verdict that was less than one-sixth of what was
asked for," Clegg said. "And the board of commissioners did what it
wanted to do — it put in a water system."
The company’s attorney, Richard W. Evans, said Houston and Asso
ciates will appeal the jury’s decision and seek the full amount.
The county has contracted with the engineering firm Camp, Dresser
and McKee of Raleigh for $716,500 to complete the water system im
provement projects begun by Houston and Associates. These projects
include improvements to the U. S. 17/Brunswick Electric Membership
Corporation water line, the Thomasboro Road water line, the Shallotte
Point water lines, the N.C. 904 water line, the U. S. 17 South pump sta
tion and the Shallotte Point water tank.
All of these projects arc nearing completion, Clegg said.
Planning meeting is tonight
The Brunswick County Planning Board will meet tonight (Wednesday) at
7 p.m. in the planning and development building at the county government
center near Bolivia.
Items on the agenda include discussions of the status of the proposed
zoning ordinance and of the Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) land
use plan update.
Library meeting on Monday
The Brunswick County Library Board will meet Monday, November 23,
at 7 p.m. in the emergency medical services building next to the county
government center near Bolivia.
The building committee is expected to give its report on the progress of
library projects and on the highlights of its meetings with architect John
Sawyer.
r- Our dazzling selection ^
of new jewelry has
just arrived!
Come and see for yourself.
Driftwood Shell Shop
'We re not just another pretty shell shop."
^•.Waterfront Historic Southport, 457-5466 ,;:3
Opinion
Continued from page 4
pooling our energies towards what
should be a common goal for
everyone - a solid educational
foundation.
Thurman Gause
Shallotte
Cougar band
To the Editor:
We were very proud of our South
Brunswick High School Marching
Cougar Band and Flag Corps on
Saturday, November 7, at the Loris
Band Day. Their hard work and
effort certainly paid off. They were
one point shy of an overall superior
rating.
There were 20 bands from all
over North Carolina and South
Carolina, which made for a variety
of entertaining marching perfor
mances. The enthusiasm of the
crowd and band members and flag
corps was certainly in evidence.
We would like to thank Mr.
Buddy Gudger. the band director,
for all the hard work and many
overtime hours he has put into this
marching season. Our kids have
benefited, as has SBHS.
Sincerely.
Janet Porterfield
President. Band Boosters
9-1-1 calling
To the Editor:
I enjoy reading your paper, but I
would like to point out the follow
ing.
On page 5 of the November 11,
1992, edition you have a section at
the bottom of the page "How can
we help you?”. My concern is the
emergency numbers. You take up
space in listing all of the telephone
numbers.
It is my feeling that this is a waste
of time in that your paper should be
stressing 9-1 -1, which is now in
service in all of Brunswick County.
From seven to three makes it easy.
Seven comes from the seven-digit
number and three is for the 9-1-1.
Sincerely,
Lee Hitchcock
Bolivia
BUSINESS LOANS
Existing or new businesses. Commercial,
industrial and farming. Minimum $25,000.
Maximum over $1,000,000.
William E. Davis, Loan Broker
(919) 392-8008, Wilmington, N.C.
Hyer
Backhoe
Service
rrew c&umaies. no joo 100 small.
Lawn Care • Bushogging ,
253-7398
Veterans
Continued from page 2
continue to be supported.
"If we function as a cohesive unit,
we can present a united front to reach
a common goal,” Hancock stressed.
"Disabled veterans especially need
the programs and services provided
by our government."
"We'll soon have a new secretary of
veterans' affairs. We need to let the
secretary know what we expect of
government in meeting the needs of
America's veterans," he said. "And
we've got new congressional leaders
to get acquainted with. Some of the
new members may not be aware of the
needs of veterans. Some others may
have forgotten."
Oak Island Senior Citizens
£ Craft Shop
: Come in and browse. “ i %
Handmade Gifts for Christmas Giving
Paintings by Local Artists
Complete lines of tole supplies, fine art materials, books,
basketry supplies, DMC thread, counted cross stitch fabrics,
general craft supplies.
5610 Oak Island Drive, Long Beach, 278-5224
New Hours Monday-Saturday 10:00-4:00 ''t*:-*
,, ' O'
Season's
Readings
What gift is both informative and entertaining, spans every field of
interest and fits any price category?
The gift of reading from Little Professor.
You’ll find these fine titles from Penguin U.S.A. available at
Little Professor:
^TheCat*!
Who Came 9
for Christinas
k
#
Cleveland Amorv S
MICHAEL LEWIS
CULTURE
The Cat Who Came for Christmas The Money Culture The Christmas Witch
by Cleveland Amory by Michael Lewis by Steven Kellogg
Penguin U.S.A. Penguin U.S.A. Penguin U.S.A.
Free gift wrapping • Convenient gift certificates • Mailing services
River Run Shopping Center, Southport, (919) 457-9653
Open: Monday-Saturday 10:00-7:00, Sunday 1:00-5:00