Newspapers / The State’s Voice (Dunn, … / Aug. 15, 1935, edition 1 / Page 2
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By GHAS. H. UT.LEY Soon after getting acquainted with the people in the Canetuck section and around Currie, I was invited to Point Caswell ; this is a village \ located on the east side of Black River, and in the olden days when the people used the river as a principal thoroughfare Point Caswell was an important center of trade as well as a depot for * transportation. However, before I knew the, community its glory had departed. It had beep named many years before in honor of Governor Richard Caswell, who had won distinction at the Rattle of Mpors’s Creek bridge less than three miles, away. When I knew the village, I think, ’ there were no less than four steamboat captains living there. Perhaps the best known) of whom was Gagk IV,P. Capt. PaddEon was a very, bright naan,, int®P leetuajly superior, read much and thought even more; he had;a good home and took great ppde in it. In conversation Capt. Paddfson was a sti mulating talker, always posted on current, topics, fond of; the best magazines,, and several of. the best were always.. found on his tables- was • perhaps the only man I have known who really delighted in:milking a family cow and then caring for the milk ; he insisted, he liked only the rp.ilk he cared for, knowing it to be dean. Hie had - only'one daughter, an accomplished lady, who married a PretJow.; a son was in the South- Capt. Paddison was a son-in-law of Dr. Simpson and therefore brother-in-law to Dr. Lucas. Capt. Pad dison was a friend of education. At the time there was, such opposition to every proposition to im prove the. schools of the county that, naturally, those favorable to educational development im pressed me most fayorably. Mr. George Moo*"®* Custodian of Battle Ground Here too, was a progressive citizen, and per haps all the time I worked in the county, he was one of the county commissioners. And be it said to his credit, he took great pride in performing his official duties. He was popular with all the people; never so hurried he could not stop and —.talk-with^-any-pefson,desiring to be heard or ,to . - hear, and the friends of this comfmssibner face tiously accused him of taking especial pride in talking. But he was a very interesting talker, knew what he talked about, and was also ready to listen to one with something to say. He was certainly one of the most loyal men to his county I knew. He rightly believed in the future of the county, in the agricultural possibilities latent in its soil, and its favorable climate for fruit and for crops not then in cultivation. When the .National uovernmem iook tne Moore’s Creek Battle Ground under its auspices Mr. Moore was appointed its custodian and since then has taken great delight in helping preserve for posterity the memories of those who on an early winter morning, by a simple but effective strategy, outscotted the Scotch, won a victory, and undying fame in the land of their devotion. For they saved North Carolina from an early invas . . ion by British soldiers. Tradition says my ances tors fought there under Col. Hinton of Wake county. Tragic indeed, the fact, there is no known roster of the soldiers who took part in the fam .otis engagement! And it is nothing less than' a tragedy that practically all the patriots who fought in the Revolution, as well as those who, not only fought, bufj died fighting or froze or starved to death, fill not only unmarked, but un known graves. It is a reasonable guess that all over this great state whose freedom their valor and sacrifice helped to win their graves are now plowed over, unknown and unknowable. A Veteran Virginia Lady Teacher Near Point Caswell, in the home of her sister, Mrs. Simpson, lived Miss Lou Frasier, Virginia horn and Virginia trained, a typical Southern lady of the olden days. For more than a half century this, splendid lady taught the younger generations, how many hundreds perhaps she her self never knew. The last time I saw her, in the spring of 1923, she was well passed 80. She had passed her prime before I knew her. She had lived a long and useful life and radiated an in fluence from a cultivated and refined character. Few such have given finer lives in any county .to the cause of purjty, righteousness and educa-. tion. She had never married, but is immortal / through the influence she exerted over hosts of pupils, many of whom are no longer living. Such gentle, unassuming, sacrificing, altruistic, opti mistic people as Miss hau Master world a better and brghter place to live and work A German Takes A Collection. There is a small Baptist church located at Point Caswell and I had an afternoon service there much of. the time while, serving the churches in Canetuck. Among the membership. W3S. U. MJ Voders,. a. native of Germa.ny, but for many years a ctizep at the Point. He was a reSm^r church attendant at all the services and a teacher in the Sunday school. One afternoon his class was duly, seated by the pulpit as usual. At. the proper time Mr. Vallers said, “We wilinow l^ye the collectionand very deliberately walked along the front While his quarterly passed from hand to hand until; it wa,s returned to him JPst as he had,sept it on. its; mercenary rntfSiQU. Un taking it back, ho said in his characteristic man ner, .with,his distinct German.accent; I am glad 1 did not take, my hat for I might not have got* it hack,” At another was an appointment across the river at.Beguehem to pray, for. rain during an unusually dry time, jn; due time Mr; Valters* haying arrived* white wag ing around shaking, hands observed'very casually: - “Vel, l,see you,did nqt bring your umbrellas'; you must not look for rain-” r -* This is a Point Caswell story.: Once upon, a time, as I recall it, Sampson’s noted evangelist, Mr. A. B. Cdumpler, now a lawyer m well as a preacher, in the heyday of his sanctifying all types of folks who would give' lip theit" pleasures, held a meeting at the Point. Tobacco was an ene my to sanctification to be forever cast out: The women were throwing away their tooth brushes; and twists and plugs'were left at home by the half-persuaded. In: the congregation was a Black, many years an artist at the end of a pi^6 stem, a veteran, with no competition for. frequ ency, perseverance, and endurance, Really, his neighbors said he smoked, only, three times daily —after breakfast, after dinner and after supper.. However, the three were long-meter, the last af ter-supper smoke lastmg well into the night. Any-, how the morning service was aimed/ at ridding all candidates for region^ where f -never-en-t ters, of all pipes, old-held, Bull Durham, Duke 8 _ Mixture and all other clogs to perfection. So on walking frp.m the door the artist: referred to walk ed to the edge of the woods apd gave his old pipe a fling, apd into the thicket it went, with a long ing, wistful look, following it and a care marking of the exact spot where it fell. There was dinner on the ground, eating a light meal, frequently looking toward .that forsaken pipe, the veteran artist turned to an old friend and ob served: “I jpst throwed my pipe awsiy- iii that thicket; but I be dagged if I hadn’t better go get it while I know where it is; I will have to. havc it again.” And off he went immediately to retrieve his constant comforter. Thus his sancti fication ended. Ejnetrgipg From Isolation When I first went into the section the bridge at Colly was new, and the ones at Point Caswell and Sessoms’ over the Black so recently con structed that a frequent topic of conversation was the former isolation when only ferried pro vided public crossing, and canoes private. The coming of the bridges also brought better roads. Now not only the Black is bridged, but a long up-to-date bridge spans the two Cape Fears, at Wilmington. In the language of Luther Beasley, long a prominent attorney at KenaMville, when a student at Wake Forest, “Change, mystic change.” This reference to the marvelous changes that have taken place in the lifetime of people yet in the prime of life, recalls the fact that when I went to Wilmington in the spring of 1904 the passenger train was steamed by pine wood and the train frequently stopped to load up for power. On that train the conductor was about the most profane man I ever heard talk,; he was Captain Branch. The Captain not only cursed by note, he cursed in soprano, tenor, bass and alto. Later missing him, I asked why, and was told the rail road had placed him on freights where he would have all the time he needed for cursing, bqt that the demotion was due to his profanity. Ip those days the passenger trains never ran more than, four or five hours late between Sanford and Wilmington, while the freights tried to get ip the next day after scheduled time; Those things too,, have changed. Why, we ask. Well, we just live in an entirely different world. Several years later I met Capt. Branch again on a passenger train and he seemed to have learned his lesson* for he Milton A. Rarfeer, Senior and ; ■ The Dunn friends of Mr. Milton A. Barb Jr<, as well as the thousands of friends r’ father, Rev. Milton A. Barber D. D., for 28 ye'S .rector of Christ church, Baleigh, regret the n? sity of the father’s resigning his long-time mt. torate because of ill health. Dr. Barh^r’c 1 ^ torate has been a most successful one, and as evi dence of the continued esteem in which he is h Id by the church it is noted that he has been named pastor emeritus with an honorarium accompany ing the title. Mr. Barber, Jr., has been a resident Oi Putin Tor several months, being employed by the Carolina Bower and Light company. He is a most delightful young gentleman, and only a few moons ago brought a charming bride to our little city. Accordingly. Dunn people are not unconcern ed in the news that comes out of Raleigh with respect to Dr. Barber’s health and retirement from his pastorate; 4 %i)$ Native ^ A Major Capt. Wm. Lee, of the U. S. army, and Mrs.r Leg ar§ visitinjLGamt^.Lg^s brptber, Mr. Henry C: peg, of Duuti. fhfi £apt$b k soon to be ele vated to the ranlc oi tnajoi, Capt?un Lee entered % a,rnjy in the spying 1917 a§ second-lieuten aap lje has eeryedPn niaijy; areas since. The gal f l^nt soldier is-a native pf, Dvuui, W educated at phnn hig^ school, Wakg EgjTPSt <Meg<? and State c£<yllegg, enterting tp? army frpna th?. latter instiju .^..puitn is proud o£t»e.£$fO§d Q,f her soldier SQU. . D. Hi Hood Celebrates 66th Birthday Mr. D, H. flood i$ qne of the tie^r pioneers of PpiJft. He came here frorp Soaitj^field where he vy^s reared and where his ^6%^ a druggist as is. the Dp.nn njan, was long president of the First Citjzen.s. Bank, which has recently risen to a high rank ajnong the bjii$:jtj£ institutions, of the state. D, H. Hqod celebrated his, 65th birthday a few.# days ago, or rather his Sunday; school class, of which he has been a. tetter at the Methodist church for realty ye&rs, celebrated1; it for and With him. Mr, Hpqd i$,. % pottle Bible student, apd his class, has. rea§op to appreciate his servi ces, •But there is. thpt o„ther fipe and, lopg-ame citi zen of. pboyt the ?arae yjnl^Mr. J, W. Jordan, who i? stricken apd his life almost despaired of. then used the. most choice and chaste language. A man’s vocabulary must be very limited to have' to , resort to “cuss words” to express his thoughts. Black River. Swamp Commended to Snakeojogy Preachers l still lived ip Pender in 1907 when the great freshets came and overflowed almost the entire Canetuck section, making it necessary for me to crossi iBlack riyer for weeks in a canoe, and the local map paddling, for some reason, never fol lowed the road but meandered around through the swamp. The crossing carried us perhaps half a mile, and I do not believe that I exaggerate when I say I have seen a thousand water snakes ip crossing that river one time. They literally lined the bushes, dropping from their sunning positions as the boat approached. Along this narrow passageway there were so many .even an expert mathematician could not have gotten an accurate count. The swamps of Black River are certainly a paradise for preachers who have aban doned theology for snakeology. None for me, thank you, for I have a strong instinctive aver sion for snakes and.spake-handlers. This may be, as held by scientists, that my prehistoric ancestors lived in caves and were constantly exposed to dangerous and deadly reptiles. If so, they mjnt have kept faithful dogs: for their protection, for from childhood I have been a dog fancier. A Fo*'* Canning One Saturday night I was spending with a friend, Dick Groom, when all of a sudden t o most awful noises I ever heard, frightful an hideous, literal screaming, shrieked through nightls. stillness. Mr. Croom grabbed his lalltern/ saying, “There is a fox in my trap, come me.” Rapidly as. we could walk we hurried som three hundred yards into the field; but be or we reached 'the spot the screaming ceased, reaching the spot and viewing the trap, u'e sf. op!y hair and: bipod, where a fox had puked j* foot out at considerable loss. 'i then innoceu asked, “Will he go near. that trap again r Croom gave m° a strong, ^prprise(i f. t said, “Never, a fox has too much sense ^ \ d ^ he is wiser than m?my people, once caught m trap a fox never goea near it again.” And Per " he was correct ip his conclusion. _
The State’s Voice (Dunn, N.C.)
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Aug. 15, 1935, edition 1
2
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