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

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