55 years ago
°f 'ue front Pa8e of Pilot for October 20, 1943, reported the
S StnrM ° t lC year 'n Brunswick County. Landscape consultant Robert
j_ -. LVant rePorted that Orton Gardens were in good condition, this
"■ ac^Plte a severe labor shortage.
livpc»t^-LV^'te'^Cet* ^ere^orc* cows had been purchased as a base for a
■ ot; operation at Oaks Plantation; post office patrons were reporting
• ,T ,n the rnail between Shallotte and Charlotte, due no doubt to the
, 1 fty ln spelling; and there was a lot of news in the paper that week
about ration books.
45 years ago
It was October 21, 1953, and Miss Marie Rourk had reigned as the
nomecomtng queen at Shallotte on the preceding Friday. To make her
evening a happy one, the Shallotte gridders had swamped the visiting
beaulort team, 39-0. Elsewhere on the grid scene, Southport had been
owned by Elizabethtown, 20-13, and the newly formed Bolivia team had
an open date.
Sgt. A. T. McKeithan, U. S. Army, stationed in Hanover, Germany, had
’ wrl^en °f a v's't to Southport’s England counterpart; charter boats were
reporting catches in excess of 700 bluefish; and a headline read, “Lions to
Meet."
35 years ago
Bob Scott spoke to the annual meeting of the Brunswick Electric
Membership Corporation in Whiteville 35 years ago this fall and told his
listeners, “I haven’t decided yet (about running for governor).” He was
referring to the race 34 years ago. Miss Priscilla Hewett had been crowned
homecoming queen at Shallotte High School. Her picture was on the front
page of the Pilot.
Halloween carnivals were being advertised for all the schools; Siamese
twins that had been born to a Shallotte couple had died in Winston-Salem;
and “Waterfront” was about Hurricane Ginny, a tropical storm that could
n't make up her mind which way to blow.
25 years ago
On the front page of the Pilot for October 17, 1973, there was a beauti
ful picture of the old lighthouse on Bald Head Island. A series of pictures
at the bottom of the same page showed a pretty young girl opening and
eating her first oyster of the season.
A seven-year highway plan for Brunswick County included completing
work on Highway 211 between Midway and Supply (done), and improve
ments to Highway 17 (also done). Capt. Billy Potter was shown with a
fisherman who had caught a 721/2-pound wahoo while fishing with him
aboard the Idle On II. (The fish was also in the picture, front and center).
We had just returned from a visit to the Grand 01’ Opry and we had a fea
ture about it.
20 years ago
Severe beach erosion at Long Beach had created an emergency which
led to moving the waterfront home of Dr. and Mrs. Sam Sue to higher
ground on the third row. We had a picture of that situation on the front
! page of the Pilot for October 18, 1978. Marty Folding had been sworn in
j as chief of police for Southport.
| . Dedication ceremonies for the new Leland Middle School had been held
J on the previous Sunday; funds continued to pour in on the “Jaws of Life”
| project; and the advertising section was filled with political ads pointing
j voters to the general election in November.
y!5 years ago
A “Red Tide” scare had turned out to be a false alarm, much to the relief
of fishermen and beach residents of Brunswick County. That had been a
front-page story in the Pilot for October 19, 1983. In “Waterfront” we had
Speculated on what a catastrophe it would have been had this occurred one
i week earlier, during the U. S. Open King Mackerel Tournament.
; Brunswick County commissioners had approved the levy of an additional
?half-cent sales tax, proceeds from which would be used by Brunswick
. County and municipal governments.
Jo Jo White, former South Brunswick football star, had been named
player of the week in NAII District 26 for his performance at Livingstone
College during the previous Saturday’s game; CP&L had earned high
praise from a NRC official who previously had severely criticized the
) Brunswick plant; and the Southport Board of Aldermen had rejected a pro
posal to name a Historic Properties Commission.
10 years ago
Immediate past national president of AARP John T. Denning had pre
> sented the charter tjpr the Southport chapter to Gail Halley, president of the
local organization;at a banquet meeting in Southport. We had photo cov
. erage of this prestigious event. We also had a photograph of groundbreak
ing ceremonies at the North Carolina Baptist Assembly where work was
to begin on a $ 1.6-million conference center. Distinguished Baptist State
Convention officials were present and participated in the event.
Saltwater fishermen from Gov. Jim Martin down to the most humble
surfcasters were up in arms against the federal fisheries action to close the
king mackerel season within ten days; a moratorium had been declared on
future burials in the Old Smithville Burying Ground and Smith Cemetery
in Southport pending a survey to determine available spaces; and water
front watchers had been thrilled to see twice-daily trips through the
Southport harbor by the cruise ship Galileo (later the Meridian) as she
; completed a week of one-day trips out of Wilmington.
5 years ago
i it was October 20, 1993, and Bald Head Island fire chief Greg Turner
! was calling for sprinklers in all new construction, in the wake of the
| Swansquarter condominium fire which had destroyed ten buildings on
September 30. At Long Beach, consideration was being given to con
struction of a new fire station, for which $225,000 had been budgeted.
And county commissioners were asking for a public forum to learn more
of Martin-Marietta plans for limestone mining.
The county zoning ordinance which had taken a year for preparation was
to become effective November 1; Long Beach Road was getting a center
turn lane; and Caswell Beach officials were trying to determine how best
to protect the public from surfside stumps.

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A prince of a pauper
Lately I’ve become sort of a Tom Sawyer, playing
on the beach, checking out what the fishermen catch
I remember the night I got myself adopted.
It was just after Thanksgiving two years ago.
I was sitting behind the newspaper office when
the editor came out the door headed for supper.
I reached out my paw — yeah I did — and he
reached out and touched it, and then went on
his way. It wasn’t two minutes before the lady
of the house — my “new mom” — came and
grabbed me up and took me home and fed me,
and said this is where I was going to live.
Dad said mom should slow down a bit, that
this may already be somebody’s kitten.
“I’ll call Dr. Rabon and make an appointment
to get his shots and have him neutered, mom
insisted.
Uh ... whoa, mom. Maybe in a few weeks?
“What are we going to name him?” she want
ed to know.
Hel-lo, mama. Black and white cat who needs
a collar ... maybe a colored one.
“Newsprint!” mom exclaimed. “Black and
white and ‘read’ all over.” (I think it was at that
moment dad thought this could be a really cool
thing.)
So let me tell you something about myself.
I was a stray. I was bom in downtown
Southport, over behind the old Amuzu Theater.
My real dad’s name is Dan; maybe you’ve seen
him because he looks just like me. That was an
okay neighborhood, but I wanted to see the
world — or at least the other side of Moore
Street. The Pharmacy and Thai Pepper’s out
back, riverview out front. It seemed like a pret
ty good move
It was not without its surprises though.
Seems mom already had a cat, a sissy cat.
I’m a boy cat, and here I was expected to share
space with a sissy cat. But, you know, it hasn’t
been that bad. I chase Chelsea — I always catch
her -- and we tumble and tussle. Mom yells; I
stop. But I know Chelsea enjoys it too. She’s a
good girl deep down.
I’m a house cat a couple hours a day, but
frankly, I’m an outside cat. I was bom that way,
and I don’t think I’ll ever change.
When I do stay indoors, usually I get restless
about 4 a.m. - if you know what I mean — and
want to eat and go outside. Usually I wake
mom up by rattling the blinds, but if that does
n’t work I scrape my claws across the carpet. If
you know my mom, you know that works
every time.
Newsprint
One night, though, we almost had a problem.
Mom was out of town and dad, well, he
sleeps through a lot. I'went to the kitchen and
brought a loaf of bread and sat it on the bed.
Hummph. Nothing.
So I go to the back door and drag the mat up
a flight of stairs and lay it on the floor next to
the bed. Eat, go outside, I thought. How hard
can this be?
Scrape the carpet.
Dad doesn’t move.
Hummph.
“’Boing, boing,’ that’s the first thing I
heard,” dad told moth when she got home.
“Newsprint was behind the bedroom door,
pawing the door-stop. ‘Boing, boing.”’
Let me tell you, the man’s lucky I already
knew how to use a litter box.
My best friend, though, is “Yellow Kitty.”
That’s what everybody calls her -- yes, she’s a
her too — and she’s lived in the alley between
Moore and Bay streets a long, long time. Mom
and dad say I’ve been good for her, that she
acts like a young cat again. She’s still shy
around adults, but she’s not sissy at all.
Yellow Kitty is a backyard cat, though. Me,
I’m a front door cat.
I visit Waterfront Gifts sometimes and the
owner lets me “sleep with the animals.”
Tourists think it’s cute, me lying there with a
pile of stuffed creatures. Mom thinks it’s cute
that I go to the Dosher “flea market.” Get it?
And maybe you saw that picture of me in the
Pilot trying to help free that little squirrel
locked inside a building downtown.
Hey, I’m a boy cat. Remember that.
I remember my first bird.
I can still hear mom and dad laughing at me
as I climbed the back fence and marched
proudly across the yard to show off my catch.
Okay, so I found the bird. No matter that it was
so stiff I almost tripped over it, because this is
what boy cats are supposed to do. Mom says
lately I’ve become sort of a Tom Sawyer, play
ing on the beach in front of the house, checking
out what fishermen catch from the city pier.
I’ve had a good time these two years — out
doors and indoors. I like marshmallows and
popcorn, and peanut butter, though it sticks to
the woof of my mouf; but I guess I owe Ms.
Verilyn an apology for slipping into her kitchen
and eating her hot dog. I>e found a good
friend in my “grandma” next door who — she’ll
get mad if I tell you this — loves me pretty
much I think. I let her feed me, but I should tell
you, this is the same lady who saw me in front
of BB&T one day and carried me back across
Howe Street in her arms for all the world to
see. That, my friends, was embarrassing — and
not just for her!
But that’s a boy thing, and you’ll have to for
give me.
I guess if I had to tell you about my last two
years I’d say I’ve enjoyed visiting with people
downtown, that I’ve enjoyed the tourjsts at
Waterfront Park - and the seagulls and ice
cream - and that I’ve enjoyed sleeping on the
couch at the office. Chelsea and Yellow Kitty,
who hardly know each other, are my two best
friends. I hate being kissed, but I love having
my brow rubbed. I love my mom and dad.
But if I had a wish, and I do, it would be that
people think of me as just a boy.
A good little paper boy.
Newsprint was accidentally killed last
Wednesday and is buried behind The State
Port Pilot office.
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457-5105
I
4874* Long Beach Road,SE,457-5105
Center for Lamps, Shades and
Lamp Restoration
SPIN SHADES:(New Shipment) Shades rotate when lit. Various motifs,
“By the Sea”, “UNC Tarheels”, “Duke Bluedevils”, “NC Wolfpack”
UNIQUE LIGHT & SIGHT LAMPS:”Doctor’s Choice” for reading;
swing floor lamps, $110, $100; swing desk lamps, $65, desk lamp, $52.
CLOCKS: Famous Weems and Plath Brass Ship’s Bell Clock, $188.
Matching Barometer, $135.
LAMPS:Beautiful Brass Den Haan Table Lamps: Anchor lights, $190,
$160, $130 each; Cargo Lamps, $140, $120; Running Lights, Port or
Starboard, $150 each. Other lamps, $10-$90.
LAMP RESTORATION: We can totally restore old lamps; our
specialty is brass restoration. __
MYRVIK ENTERPRISES
4583 Long Beach Rd.» Southport*457-0065
5Friday it <=Yflarke.t CzDay
We’ll have great
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Brownies, Muffins, Danish, etc.
please place special orders by Wednesday afternoon
We Now Have Imported Cheese and Pate.
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104 E. Moore Street • 457-5501
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