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VOLUME Xll, NVMBB Si
"Tmbr City — The Τ mum With A City Future"
TABOm CTTT. NOKIH ΓΛΑ«»»4
MA*CH 5, 1958
ONE HELPS THE OTHER — Horace Shaw, center, head of the
Columbus Bureau of Identification, discusses a case with Sheriff's deputies
Charles Legrande, left, and Wilson Griffin. The Bureau of Identification chief
^vorks closely with other law enforcement agencies in the county and state,
w (Photo by Al Harrison)
Horace Shaw Is Unsung Hero
Of County Law Enforcement
Horace Shaw is tne man most
people refer to as the unsungj
hero of law enforcement in Co-1
lumbus County.
The mild, soft sooken head ofj
the· Columbus County Bureau of|
Idnetification has the kind ol
determination that automatically ι
gives law violator·; thu short endi
of the odds.
^c never g*.'ts excised and nev
er gives up on a case. His pati
ence has been one of the main;
factors in chalking up one of the
most impressive records to b·
found any place in the country.
For the records, i'-.crc lias been
only one unsloved murder in
Co'.umbus County in the past
lrt years.
Λ three-year survey, from 1954;
th:ough 1957, is indicative of his
2.O>'cai' record as ι law enforce
ment officer. Of th.i 362 cases he
prepared for Superior Court dur
ing this three yea.· period, there
wrrc guilty pleas entered in 35«
ot them. Seven cases found
themselves presented to a jury
but not a ;in3le defendant was
acquitted.
Shaw is a modest man. He pre
fers that publicity be given to
oUurs. He makes little fanfarr
iBRut the fact th*\t he has lost
only a few eases since entering
law enforcement work as a
Whitevllle police officer in 1935
There is a reason for such an1
outstanding rccor.l of convictions, j
This veteran off'cer, who can·,
detect a lying witness at a glance,^
never loses sight of the fact that j
each case deals with human per- (
sonalities. It is this human ele- j
nf^t that causes him to work |
long hours investigating crimes ,
before he seeks indictments. His
theory seems to be that innocent
persons can be greatly damaged
bv haphazard invest· gat ions that
le«d to quick indictments. Thus,
he takes things »n his stride,
misses few details and is usually
justified by the court decisions
in the cases he presents for pros
ct^oin.
*e Columaus Dureau of Iden
tification is a one-man depart
ment. Shaw has been the only
officer since «he department was
established by the County in
1940. He works very closely with
the Sheriff's Oept and local Po
lice Department in the county.
While detectivc work captures
the fancy of those engaged in,
other professions, it isn't a fea-l.
bed. Shaw ,*m orages work-h
ng 75 hours each week and is
ubject to call at >«11 hours ol
he night and day. It takes this
;ind of devotion to get the job
lone the way the people of Co
umbus County want it done. He
ias not had a vacation since
aking the job in 1940.
An average of 300 complaints
oil into the t3urcnu of Identifi
ation each year. These consti
ute missing persons, homicides,
land larceny and other felon
:s.
Law enforcement work has
ittle to offer in the way of mon
tary compensation. Although
fficers are dedicated there are
ot many who wonld recorftmend
uch a life's work for today's
oungsters. Shaw's feeling is that
he pay scale for law enforce
lent .work is not h«j[h enough to
rovide much inducement for
oung men looking for a career.
When asked if he could rccall
ny humorous incidents during
is career, his ansver expressed
is feeling for his fellow man—
"There isn't anything humorous
jabout law enforcement. It's just
the opposite of humorous"
Dedication to duty paid off in
'monetary terms for Shaw about
! a year age when his intensive
investigation and aoility to piece
I together bits of information and
make them pay off le^ to the ar
rest of a bank robber. The arrest
of Roy Russ of Bladenboro for
the bank robbery in Jacksonville
resulted in bank officials paying
$?.067.60 reward money to Shaw.
Officials cited Shaw for his out
standing work in breaking the
case.
Shaw keeps his finger on the
crime pulse of the county. He
noted that the number of viola
tions had been about the same
for the past three years. The
economic trend In this section of
the Carolinas plays an importan*
role in crime activities. Those
crimes that fall within the realm
of the Bureau of Indentifieatior
seem to be more plentiful wher
(Continued On Page 10)
Martha Goldfinch
Drowns Near Home
actio last Friday shortly after
noon .when Martha Grace Gold
finch', young daughter of Mr.
snd Mrs. A. E. Goldfinch
drowned in a drainage ditch
near her home. The Goldfinch*
live on highway 111 between
Lorls and Tabor City.
The mother and the child had
just returned from grocery
shopping and Martha was play
ing a few minutes in the yard
prior to the noon day meal.
Mrs. Goldfinch heard the fam
ily dog barking a moment late*
along the canal in the back
yard that was btim full after
the heavy rains.
She rushed out and called
Martha but there was no answ
er and suspecting that she
might have fallen into the wat
1 er, Mrs. Goldfinrn jumped into
ι the waist deep ditch searching
1 for the child. Unable to locate
ί her, the father and neighbors
were called. A few minutes lat
ei the body was recovered sev
eral hundred feet from where
she had apparently fallen in
the water.
The hotly was lushed to the
I .oris Community Hospital but
• to no avail. All efforts to re
vive her were in vain.
Martha was boin in the Con·.
way Hospital May 26. 1954. Shr
attended the St. Pul Methodist
Church Ln Tabo.· City where
she waa a member of the jun
ior choir.
Funeral services were held
Sunday afternoon at 3:00 at th* i
St. Paul Methodist Church with ]
Rev. Martin Chambers, pastor: i
Dr. J. E. Carlington, district
superintendent; and Rev. Pauli
Carruth. of the K. C. Methodist
Conference and former pastor '
officiating.
Burial was originally sched
uled for the Hillnest Cemetery'1
in Conway Immediately follow
Ing the funeral service. How- ,
ever. Mrs. Grace Langstoj
Goldfinch, mother of Mr. Gold- I
finch, died suddenly on Sun
day morning of a heart attack
Burial of the child was post-!
ponrd until Tuesday afternoor '
at 3:00 at which time both bSd-'(
ies were buried in a double 1
service. 1
Pallbearers it the child'»
funeral were Han Sanders >
Lewis Edward Gore. Roeer ΕΙ-Λ
liott and Charles Sasser. >
Surviving, in addition to hei :■
parents, are iwo brothers, Gene '
and John, and α sister Melba <
all of the home and maternal s
grandmother, Mrs. John Stev- 1
ens. of Great Fails, S. C.
Willard C Wright
Seeks House Seat ;
Wiil.ird C. Wright, local furni
ti:re and .»as merchant ant
Mit-.inent member rf the Tabot
City town board for the pas'
seven years, has announced hi<
andidacy for the North Caro
lina House of Representative
subject to t!ie Coiumbus Countj
Democratic Primarv.
Wright, a native of Columbus
County, comes from a tradition
ally Democratic family and while
he has held no county or State
public offices, he has been activt
with the Young Democratic Clufc
and the party organization ir
this area. He was a· tive in rais
ing funds for the national Dem
ocratic ticket in ID36 and helped
solicit memberships in the YDC
the same year. He has also serv
ed on the Younj; Democrat's
executive committee in the co
unty.
During the four terms thai
Wright has served on the Taboi
City Town Board he has h«ld
the street and light commissionei
post and during this period tin
municipal improvements in his
[department have been except
ionally outstanding. Paving,
drainage and the addition o|
streets to the citν system ha<
shown great progress
He is a member of the Tabor
City Baptist Church and is cur
rently serving on .he Board of
Deacons. He also teaches a Sun
day School class, is Training
Union director an.l is chairman
of the Worship Committee in the
Baptist Brotherhood.
Wright is a past president «»I
the Tabor City Civitan Club and
is presently serving as a direct
or. He was institutional repre
sentative of the Civitans in tlie
county for two years. And dur
ing the two year·« period that
the Boy Scout troop was spon
sored by the Civitan. he was ac
tive in their behalf, twice serv
ing as funds chairman.
He was vo-chuirman of the
Red Cross Drive in Tabor City
one year and for two years was ]
overall chairman of the Caro- ,
linas Yam festival. He has sorv- ,
ed two years as α Hirector of t he ι«
Tabor City Merchants Associa-j;
tion, and one year a« a member j
of the volunteer fire department.!
In 1955 he was Tabor Cityj;
Man of The Year. |i
In announcing has candidacy.'1
Wright said. 'I heartily solicit
the support and vote of all Dem-jj
ocrats in the county. My only!J
desire is to be a servant of the!
people of Columbus County inj;
an upright jnd honorable man-'f
ner. I believe in representative a
government as srt up by ou: |
founding fathers i>nd will en j
deavor to uphold those princi- y
pais to the best of my ability.
"I realize the needs of the (
farmer, the business man. and c
the need for moro industry, and t
(Continued On Page 10) r
Sommersell
Announces For
County Sheriff
Penn Summerset', of White
ille. has announced his candi
lacy for sheriff of Columbus
'ounty subje.t to the Democrat·
c Primary in May.
Mr. Summerset*, former own
r of the Penn's Grills in Whitc
ille and Chadboum, has been
rt the restaurant business for 18
ears and this marks his first
η try into polities. He is 55 years
Id. a native of Columbus, and
crved in the U. S. Navy in
920.
He is married and has two
tarried daughters, Mrs. Eugene
ngram and Mrs. C L. Duncan,
ι Η hiteville. He is a member
f the Meth-idist Church and is
ι vtng as clukirm in of the fin
i;ce committee.
"I desire the vo· > ,,( the peo
■o in the primär;· and promise
.;■( with God's ι eip and man's
elp. I will run . ι loan sheriff's
ffice it the pe ople will elect
u· m the May iiinary." Sum
uisett said.
Robinson
Seeks Seai
In Senale
Sankey U\ Robin;,on. present
udge of Columbus County R«·
order's Court, has announced
lis candidacy for State Senator
iubject to (he Democratic prim
rv.
HobiiiM.il is a native of Co
Limbus county. having been born
η a farm in ;ho Oak Dale sec
ion of Tatum township. He is
he son of ihe late Jimsey L.
tobinson and Mary Dritt Robin
on. He is a lawyer anil has been
iracticing since 1051.
He graduated from Evergreen
iigh school and .eceived his B.
I and L. I.. Β degrees fron
Vake Forest College.
An active Young Democrat
lobinson has served as presc
ient of the Columbus Countv
init. as district chairman of the
Seventh Congressional District
nd is a past vice-president of
he State organization.
He is a Baptist, past deacon
nc' Sunday school teacher, a
'-.ember of the Lions Club in
Vliiteville and a Mason.
Finishes School
Grady Patterson, Route 1, Box
57, Tabor City. North Carolina
i»s completed a course in Radio
nd Television Servring and has
ccn awarded a Diploma by the
lational Radio Institute ot
l'ashintgon, D. C.
He finished th ■ prescribed
•ourse of technical -Indies with
reditable grades and is to b.·
ongratulated upon his achieve
lent.
Λ CENTS ΓΒΚ COPY—<a.— » mi
Athletic Program
At School Needs
$985 Next Year
Williamson Is
In House Race
ED WILLIAM SOX
A young A'iiite.dic attorney
has announced tli;.t he will file
the Democ
as represent at i\
Assembly for CoKir.ibus County.
Edward L. Williamson, a resi
dent of Evergreen, ι id he would
seek the nomination in the up
corr.ink May !J< ni .· ..tie primary
A native of (Yin· Gordo, tie
is the son of Mr. a.» i Mrs. C. E.
Williamson. Sr
Hi· has been netive in the ^
Young Dem'Cι at «roup in the yj
county and ite. Ih is a past ^
President of t'· · county YD club, tl
a pnst district «-hat man and is'
>· surviving on two slate
YDC committees. _
A veteran of the U. S. Navy, l·
he saw act i>n in 'Λ orlil War J;
and tin Korean War. He served S
in the Pacifi·.·. Ch n<se and Km- Jt
e;u: theaters. He i: nov. a !iei:- _
tenant nimm inde·* it. the Naval ■]
Keserve. "
In addition to nis military ser
vice, he spent two yars in Kor- fa
οί as a civilian wo· king out food n<
distribution problems. He was C<
cited with a certificate ol merit m
for his work.
Active in civic .itfairs. he is.as
president of the Chsdbourn Rot- b<
aiv Club, vice-president of the tl
Columbus Tuberculosis Associa- a
tinr. and a state director in the ol
State TB Association. ar
W
Williamson
Annonnces
For Senate
Arthur W. Williamson prom
Unint Cerro Gordo farmer, has
announced his intention to run
'for the North Carolina Senate in
tl·.· May Democratic Primary.
The 46-year-old businessman
farmer served as t'ie Columbus
County Senator du.ing the 1955
session after havirp defeated
Paul Williamson o. Whiteville in
jthe primary election. He served
tor nine years prior to that on
the Columbus Cr.untv Board of
Commissioners and for four
year:· on the covnty Welfare
Board.
Williamson is a Baptist. H«
attended Cerro Gordo high
school and Waif» Pnrest ΓηΙΙ«»» 1
Βι
Η
al
h;
tv
•Through the efforts of th«
»osters Club ant! with receipts
<m the football and basketball
mes wc have been able to op
ate this year's athletic program
the Tabor City school without
y deficit," RaiMall Burleson,
incipal, said today.
"The chicken m.odle supper
nfits enabled us to buy enough
> pads and shoulder pads for
xt year's football team but we
not have available funds for
ying pants, jeticys, a few
eded helm-'ts a;id for recon
ioning the old uniforms for
ictice equipment. We have
ten in about all the money
it is coming dünn» this school
ar," Burleson said.
"We have carcfully checked
» costs of the otne: equipment
it we need for iootball next
ar along with tht need for
tie baseball materials for this
ring. We can b·.· fully equipped
■ next year if we ran raise
ift. In that we nave no other
•an:-· of raising r.n> funds, ex
it perhaps a few dollars thro
ti baseball receipts, we are
Hing on the public spirited
izens of ihe < «immunity to
Ip us in this financial matter,"
* principal said.
•We would like to enter next
ar's school tcrir without any
ficit from this year and with
major equipment expenses al
idy taken care ·>ί. We know
ϊ will not have a deficit from
s school ...Mr bi.t funds will
ve to come from somewhere
provide dflisii.aK· athletic
uipment 'm the 1958 teams,
lis equipment must be ordered
the near futur·» if we are to
ve it 'vailable fci the fall
(C< ntinu-'d ϋ:ι Page 10)
turns Announces
or County
ommksioner
Λ Ο. Burns. 40 vom· old Acme
rmer and merchant, has an·
unccd Iiis canii' {tcv (or the
ilumbus County Board of Com
issioncrs.
Burns has .-erved for six years
it member of the county draft
ar<l, is a member and elder in
ι» Acme Presbyter'an Church,
charter member and director
the Acme-Delco Lions Club
d a Navy veteran of World
ar II.
Burns is the sen of Nora B.
jrns and the late R. G. Bums.
: is married to the former Eliz
eth Williams, of Acme They
ive three children, one girl and
ο boys.
PRE-SCHOOL CLINIC
If there arc any parent*
vho have not reported their
-hildren for the prc-school
•linir to be held in March 17,
he> are requested to do ho
is soon as possible." Principal
tandall Burleson said today.
•We want the parents of chil
Iren expected to enter school
his fall to give us a call or
Irop by the office so that we
•an have data on the child be·
'ore the clinic is held. Then
he child with its parents is
■xpected to attend the .March
17 clinic."
"If a child Is six years old
in or before October 16. it is
■ligihlc to enter school this
Plenty Has Happened During First Year Of Federal Investigation In Horry
Editor'· Note: Tbl« Is Um |iorce had been transferred fromiurithm·« w. · -
designed to acquaint the peo
ple of Just what has cone on
durlag the first year of the la·
9>ttratlon Into alleged ah
condact and Irregularities on
the part of "some members of
the Horry County Sheriffs
Department snd others." The
first year of the rrusade ended
on February 2·. The first of
the series appeared laat year.
The final Installment of the
series will appear next week
while eight deputies and the
sheriff are being tried In Fed·
9)1 Court In Florence on four
rases of alleged violations of
rlvll rights of prisoners.
By—W. liorare Carter
On March 20. last year {hi
newspaper made th<? announce
ment that the Federal Oram
Jury hearing on alleged whinke;
conspiracy charges against somi
members of the Horry Sheriff'i
•
Aiken, S. C., to Florence and set
for April.
That article sain this, "Prim
arily interested in the white
whiskey traffic from the manu
facturer to the retail outlet, the
federal agents will »oek indict
ments charging various members
of the sheriff's department and
others with conspiracy to violate
the alcoholic tax laws. Subsequ
ent eases may aljo seek indict
ments against one or more de
puties for alleged violations of
civil rights."
That was the .«ecnnd inst
ance in which the newspaper
had indicated that civil rights
of prisoners waa being Investi
gated and that cum might re
salt. The newspaper had pre·
ι viously charged that there
were alleffed eases of brutality
I and crueltjr In prisoners.
' An editorial in «hat March 20,
fjissue had this to say, *,We want
ι,to see public officials honest
sw the courts interested in truth
ard justice, no shuin and shame.
We want a line of nemarkation
between right and wrong, legal
and illegal. We want to see law
enforcement on a Ivgh plane for
all the people, not protection
for some, persecution for others."
I But even though the an
nouncement had been made of
the transfer of the Grand Jury
Hearing from Aiken to Florence!ι
on March 20, a l ist minute deci- <
sion of the District Attorney still
rtsulted in 23 wi'.;iesses pppear
ing at Aiken, S. C., on March ι
25. The witnesses were not heard
but were subpooan ·<! to Aiken
anil there given n*w subpoeans
to appear before the Grand Jury
in Florence on April 22.
Thai Marrh 27. iftsae had
this to aay, "The fact that a
hont of witnesses were avail·
abl« by federal subpoena at ι
Aiken a ho mahn »hose donbt- ι
Ing Thomases «Im have η· ]
κ· > uiswnri iiai any guv- ^
rrnmrnUI investigation was in
procen sit up and take notice <
Generally it hia rradlratrri t
any donbt that federal agent* s
have been thoroughly combing j
the county for several weeks." c
The articic also pointed ouljv
hat the witnesses appearance in ι
\ikcn was the fiist legal step;ι
owand the oventual answer to j
Sheriff Henry's published de- \
r.and for the editor to "put up t
>r shut up." It was ;.lso the first ι
egal step toward answering So- ,
icifor Reuben Long'« only state- I
nent to the press in 18 years in ι
vhich he expressed explicit 1
'nith in all law enforcement of-)
icers in the county.
It was the following week
vhen Loris Mayof Henry Nel-]
ion announced the resignation of
'ol icemen Bob Crawford and
lohnny Mew. He denied at the,
ime that th<Te wa<: any rela
ionship between tl.o policemen ι
oping their Job« and the investi-|
at ion.
An editorial on April 10. ask
d the Horry County Legisla·
ive Delegation to disband the
heriff's department i.nd author
'.·> a rural police force. The arti
le pointed out that such a move
tould save the taxpayers of the
ounty $30,000 a year and point
d out, "A rural police force,
ilanned along practical lines,
fould bring greatc harmony to
ho cosmopolitan count> than
vor before and perhaps bring
ibout the srentosi honesty in
aw enforcement and the least
mlitics in officers in Horry'f
ι.story."
That editorial ended up b>
sarin*. "From every angle,
thin system of law enforce
ment In Horry is desirable. It
would be better for the town*
better for the country. And
whether any investigation had
ever been made or not, we be.
Ileve the Horry delegation can
serve the people well by con
I MidrrinR such artion at this ρ
MMlnn'of Ihr General Anwm- si
bly." ci
I The· delegation tltd consider si
such a bill and h id one ready to'
drop in the hopper but the tack ill
of unanimous approval by thelfl
delegation kept tin? bill from be-! Ε
ing a reality. a
On April 17. tl.c newspaper i
pointed out 'hat there w"re some a
indications that the scheduled h
Grand Jury hearing in Florence η
might be further postponed. The ii
hearing was then scheduled for t
April 22. And before the end of s'
th;.t week, new umwoenas were1?»
served 011 imny witnesses can- d
crlling the Floren« · heat ing and ii
setting the date for^Jctobci 14. b
in Charleston, S. C. ο
Another editorial on May l,ik
regarding the pu^ibllity of i> c
rural police force «aid, "A rural
police force «vould c'ip the wings
of the sheriff's department, leav
ing persaps only th* sheriff and
oiii deputy as compared vi h the
-escnt 13 deputies. The Horry
leriffs department now ex
•eds in number a!l others in the
■rrounding area." r
With the investigation quiet, g
le May 8, issue said, "Evc> \
orry's White Whiskey Can't c
oual N. C. Leadership." The! ι
rticle pointed out. "Investiga- (
on nf the while whiskey traffic t
nd conspiracy in 'Jerry county1
us focused attention on the \
lanufacturc of this booze and »
s big business angle but South \
arolina in not th·· '.»nter of the t
limp hole trade. Actually,!
orth Carolina has the shameful1
istinction of leading the nation |
ι this multimillion dollar illegal
ooze business. About one-fourth'ι
[ all property and illegal whis- I
ry seized in th.· I'm ted States 1
mies from the Tar Heel State."
Only May 16. In onr weekly I
column wax thin statement."
don't be too creatly surprised <
If before this Investigation Η ι
over a magistrate or two finds t
himself in a rather embarrass·
In* position.'*
An editorial in tlie same issue
L-ad, "The «»tiiItv '.r.ow they are
uilty and the delay is as nerve
/tacking on them as on anyone
Ifc. And the public, although
v.paticnt, is mure aware then
\ er before that irregularities
xist in a variety ol high places,
'mi have our assurance, for
.hntever it's worth, that in the
nd. right will win. And what
ft' have said is light, plus a lot
hat wc haven't said."
/Continued Next Week)
»01 CAFE ni RNS
Fire of an undetermined orlgio
utted the »01 Drive-In Cmte
ere during the early hoar«
'hursday.
A court order padlocked the
>rlve-ln about a month Me.
f/ocal firemen answered the
all about 3 a. m. Thursday
nora In it bat were anable te wn
lie building.