REMINISCENCES OF PENDER COUNTY, NO, 4
Telling not only of the live* of More Elderly Pender
But Giving- Glimpse* of Youth* Since Become^^rommen^^y ^^
See J>. M. Stringfield Expecting to Go To C g , Ac
John Larkin* Aping the Superb Orator Dr. Ha
tion Against a Crew of Hazers Led By Robt. C. Lawrence.
By CHAS. H.UTLEY
On becoming superintendent of the schools of
Pender county, for perhaps a year I had served
the Baptist church at Atkinson as pastor. Hence
the center, of the memories that inspire this ar
ticle cluster around that church and village. And
I well remember that before getting acquainted
with the people as a whole those I met told me
that the open-heartedness and hospitality of the
community we "e known and noted and that it
would be a pleasure to me to know, associate
with, and work with the folks of that community;
and I can truthfully testify that every promise
was amply jusnfied by eperience.x No incident of
an unpleasant nature, either in the local school
there, or the church, ever occurred while I knew
and mingled with the Atkinson people.
Witt. H. Lewis
In every community some person stands out,
.because of character and usefulness, more prom
inently than th^ general run of people. This is
abundantly true of the community under con
sideration in the person of Mr. W. H. Lewis. I
!am sure his neighbors, then and now, would bear
me out in this statement. For he has stood out as
a leading citizen for many years. He is a Chris
tian gentleman of the finest character, ever on
the alert for the betterment, uplift and welfare
of his neighbors and the people of his county. He
is, and has always been trustworthy, and trusted,
never abusing any confidence reposed irtf him as
a Christian, a neighbor, and a citizen. He has
served his community in perhaps every local of
fice assigned the. locality; and come years ago
served his district in the State senate, in which
he is said to have honorably redeemed every pledge
made his constituents. For many years Mr. Lewis
has been a leading farmer, illustrating to his
Mss progressive neighbors the advantages! of
scientific agriculture. In the days when I saw
him frequently he had a fine farm, used the most
modern methods; and produced abundant crops.
In his home Mr. Lewis, together with his splen
did wife, formerly a Miss Peterson from Samp
son county, lived up to the finest traditions of
the Old South, in generous and freehearted hos
pitality. He had a good home whose doors have,
through the years, opened to unnumbered guests, >
'always welcome, royally entertained, and always
cordially invited to come again. An ardent friend
of education, Mr. Lewis was one of the prime
movers for the establishment of a local high
school, one among the first established in the
State when provision wras made for them by the
legislature. He educated his own children, not
only in the local school, but in the colleges, his
son becoming a prominent dentist, a specialist
- and expert in a certain line of dentistry, the oldest
daughter, May, a superior young lady, dying in
the very prime of young womanhood, soon after
completing her education. A second daughter be
\came the wife of a Presbyterian minister. For
thirty-five years Pender county has had few citi
zens the equals of Mr. Will Lewis, and one su
perior. (Make it 45 years—Editor.) A man of
more than average commonsense, cool in tem
perament, not easily provoked/possessing a mind
clear and eager for the true and the best in life’s
relationships, unselfish and altruistic, the friend
of the poor, and the generous helper of i.the
needy, the name of Will Lewis is the synonymn
of good citizenship in Pender county and hon
ored by his neighbors, friends from childhood.
Hast Bachelor-Brother Joe
Yes Joe was, and I am told, still is. And here may,
be the reason for it. When I knew him for many
years he had courted a certain lady whose name
I refrain from calling; however, one mid-summer,
she visited in the home of relatives, in the home
of Mr. Wash Henry, and the time having come
to return home, several miles away, one evening
she meekly informed her long admirer that the
time had come for her return home; and it was
not only plowing time but in the middle of the
week, the grass growing and! the ground moist
and mellow, so, to her great surprise, Joe said,
“I can’tt stop my plow now to take you home.”
On my next visit to the community the head of
the host family, Mr. Henry, told me about it and
the lagk of chivalry on the part of an, unmarried
irfan toward a fine young lady, and added Such
a man doesn’t deserve a wife.” Mr, Dave Lewis
had a son who became a Pullman conductor on
the Southern railroad, whom I met several years
later several times.
Mr. Jeff Lewis*
Jeff Lewis, in early manhood, married a
Miss Stringfield, sister to Attorney D. M. String*
field of Fayetteville. After her untimely death
he was more than fortunate in marrying the sis*
ter of his former wife, Mis9 Gallic Stringfield.
This second Mrs. Lewis was a woman of super
ior ability, and a superb character. She was known
and admired by her many friends for her sterling
qualities and uniform usefulness in more than one
relationship of life. She, too, has passed to hef
reward and she certainly deserved a rich one for
the service she had rendered and her fine exam
ple to her neighbors and Christian associates.
Edwin A. Hawes
Here was a typical representative of the Old
South, in some, if not in other ways. Mr. Hawes
had much of the world’s goods, especially in
lands. Later he sold his timber for almost a half
million dollars. He believed in education for his
own children, sent two of his sons through, the
University,one of whom became a physician,
but died early. The other, Edwin, more than once
represented his county in the legislature, built a
fine home in Atkinson, married, served the com
munity efficiently on’ the local school board, fot
years, was a progressive citizen and, when I knew
him, a successful business man, very courteous
and accommodating. But the father seemed to
lack vision in the potentialities and possibilities
of education for the masses. He never really
seemed to see the public as did the founder of
the great party to which he gave unstinted alle
giance, Thomas Jefferson, who said “The common,
schools are the colleges of the common people.”
The Colvin Family
Of the Colvins there were two Jims, both gone,
years ago; both splendid citizens. Youftg Jim
Colvin was a member of the Board of Education
that elected me county superintendent of schools.
I knew him best in that relationship. He was the
friend of education, a surveyor by profession,
and a genial gentleman.
D. M. Stringfield
Meeks Stringfield’s two sisters hecame the
wives of Mr. Jeff Lewis, as related above. Dur
ing my last year at Wake Forest college Meeks
Stringfield roomed. with he. He had a rather
brilliant mind, had an unusual memory, and is
one of the very few men I have known who can
or could write a speech, lay the manuscript away,
and get up and repeat the speech verbatim, and do
it so eloquently. I well remember the last night
of commencement when 1 was tired out and had
crawled into bed, Meeks came in, apparently. a
flame with the ambition of a typical college boy
and kept me awake telling me just how many
years before he would be in Congress. Later he
changed his mind as many of his fellow students
did. Yet the boy of that day has landed the
important position of assistant U. S. district at
torney. Von Bullard is his partner in the legal
firm of Stringfield and Bullard. Not a few1
Fayetteville people have told me that Stringfield
and Bullard are the leading lawyers of Fayette
ville. I may be permitted to add a story of Von
/Bullard in the days at the old college when not
only mild hazing but blacking was the order, not
of the day but of the night. I had spent the sum
mer! there in the law classes of Dr. Gulley, a
great man and a great teacher. In this summer
class Von Bullard had been a student. He was a
fine specimen of young manhood, weighing, per
haps, more than two hundred pounds. As the
blacking nights drew near with the opening of
the fall term Bullard said to me: “Utley; I aiii
uneasy; I don’t want to be blacked.”—Parenthe
tically, he roomed in one of Dr. Poteat’s houses,'
near the railroad, famous; rooming places in the
history of Wake Forest.—In reply to him I ask
ed, "Who pays your room rent?” "I do,” he re
plied. “Then,” said 1, "that room is your home.
You have a perfect right to bar anyone you
choose from entering that door, and if he enters
over your protest he does it at his, own risk.” He
and
Self-Opinionated But
Gk yes; if the people of North Carolina
particularly the press, like a self-opu,ionat ’
and consider that quality a mark of superi
ness for a public trust, they have him in Fr h t \
Seely. But hard-headedness may be mer .N
headediiess. It happens that f. once wi —
good sense of Mr. Seely and found it wanf'^
But he was hard-headed enough. I tried to t
him from inciting to a massacre, but rJuT
Many hundreds of innocent negroes died to
deg's because of his failure to heed my warni'6
He declined to publish in his paper the pr0r
against his apparently deliberate attempt t0 J
furiate the whites of Georgia, and particularl
Atlanta,- and I received his signed refusal
reh 1
publish it because my view was contrary to hi
A week or ten days, as I recall, brought‘the god
less massacre. s
No; Mr. Seely’s opinion is not infallible and
there is little reason for North Carolina to fear
that his place could not have been as well filled
if his resignation5 had! been allowed to stand
Let’s have no “slobbering” over Mr. Seely.
Carl Goerch got out very neatly by tendering
us a fine compliment for scholarship. p)llt /
fun of the thing was that I beat Carl on his own
ground. Candidly, Friend Carl, I do not feel
it much to brag about to beat you in the matter
of scholarship, but to beat you at your own »anie
is another matter. h
b - _
seemed to get an idea. The blacking season arriv
ed and was on in full Vigor. Unwisely a bunch
of fellows who did not know the prospective vic
tim as some of us did, came to his room late at
night bent on fun. They were led by Bob Law
rence, later sa prominent lawyer in Bumberton.
Qh entering the door Bullard told them to “turn
back,” when they seemed to hesitate Bullard
grabbed something like a Smith and Wesson and
bored a hole through the ceiling as a starter, and
added to his admonition, “ be quick about it.’’ The
rumor was that there had seldom been such a
foot race as followed. From that night Von Bul
lard was not eWn threatened with a shining up.
As Mr. Alf PaddisOn of Burgaw once casually
remarked, ‘They woke up the wrong pr. senger.
John Larkins
John Larkins from Atkinson entered Wake
Forest when this writer did. I knew him intimate
,Ly. during his stay of four years at the college
John was a good student, punctual, studied hare
made the grade always, delighted in debate, coulc
make a good speech, was always heard witth in
terest by the fellows. However, about John’s sec
ond year in college the institution was visited by
Dr. Hall, one of the finest speakers that ever
graced the platform, a fine, strong personality,
commanding in appearance, scholarly and eloqu
ent. He was to lecture in the evening and to ad
vertise ihvited the boys in the afternoon chapel
to hear a free lecture. He had a full house; his
theme was “God, yesterday, today and forever.
It was certainly a masterly address; choice lan
guage, such phraseology and descriptive adject
ives as one hears only a few times in a lifetime,
came, eloquently delivered. His gestures were
nearly perfect as possible. His audience listene
with rapt attention. With his prepared lectur^5
Dr. Haircould have graced a platform
Daniel Webster* He captured all of us, but hyp
notized John Larkins, and the hypnotic sPe
was never broken. Unconsciously John assurne
the posture of Dr. Hall, and something of
pathos and eloquence of the lecturer. Natura,
the boys afterwards called John “Dm a ^
However, be it said, in compliment, no f>ner
ample could have been found to exemplify.
'At Atkinson I found the father of Join>,
Eli Larkins, postmaster. But mv _ article lS^
ready too long. However, the family 0 ^
George Smith certainly deserves mention. *
Smith was the sister of Franklin and.
Keith. Mr. Smith was-a quiet, unassuming a
a typical gentleman, loyal to family and frtf ^
merchant, fair and square in his dealings, ^
stood high with his customers and *ue” A
wife and mother, a fine home maker an ^
reared her children in the nurture and a
tion of the Lord. The oldest daughter, ^
^married Ramond Corbett, lives at Atkin < ^
is a teacher under the ERA set up for a u^ose
cation. There were others at the vi age ^id;
memories are richly* cherished but sPace poClis
all the reminiscences that crowd into ^ ^aVe
of memory. It has been my good fortune ^
known many, very! many, most exce on r ^
been many times entertained'ts "their 0 <
to have enjoyed their royal hospital y> ^
have claimed them then, and to t inr
now, as my friends* -■ n