?arret! iRecorb
Published Every Wednesday By
Record Printing Company
P O Bo* '0 Warrenton N C 2TS89
HOWARD F JONES GRACE W JONES KAY HORNER
Editor President Feature Editor
ENTERED AS SECOND CLASS MATTER AT THE POST OFFICE
IN WARRENTON NORTH CAROLINA UNDER THE LAWS OF CONGRESS
Second Class Postage Paid At Warrenton. N C
in Warren ana
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Losing A Coach
Many of those who have
been following the continuing
saga of whether the Universi
ty of North Carolina should let
its football coach go because
of his win-loss record in re
cent years must be wondering
just what the university-or
its most vocal sports enthu
siasts?really want in the way
of an athletic program.
When the question of Coach
Dick Crum's future as the
UNC football coach was being
considered most vocally was
on the weekend of the Duke
Carolina football game, a
match that Duke won, 25-10.
That UNC loss, particular
ly hard for dyed-in-the-wool
far Heel fans to stomach,
came after a miraculous
Virginia comeback victory
the week before, and two
weeks after Carolina, playing
before a full house and no na
tional television, came within
a dropped pass of beating a
Clemson football team then
ranked in the Top Ten in the
nation. This was the same
UNC football team which was
forced to convert a linebacker
to tailback midway the season
because of the ill fortunes of
Carolina's running backs.
The same weekend that
UNC football fortunes sank so
against Duke, the women's
field hockey team played in
the NCAA championship
game. That weekend, the
women's soccer team cap
tured its sixth national title in
seven years. For the first time
in its history, UNC had a
men's soccer team in the
NCAA playoffs that weekend.
The same day that Duke
managed a win in Kenan
Stadium, Carolina's basket
ball team was defeating
Syracuse, the top-ranked
basketball team in the
country.
Carolina, to be sure, has not
had a banner season in foot
ball. But, no one, no alumni,
no friend, has been ashamed
of its program or embarassed
by its coach, who has handled
his ordeal with conduct be
coming a Carolina gentle
man.
Carolina's football program
still has the respect of most of
its opponents and many of its
fans. Try to get a seat in
Kenan Stadium for the 1988
football season and judge for
yourself whether the fans
have forsaken the program.
What do some Carolina
super fans want? Perhaps a
Raleigh sports columnist put
it best: "Carolina wants to be
a Harvard during the week
and an Oklahoma on Satur
days."
We hope that UNC fans'
passion for victory never
rivals that of Oklahoma, or
Ohio State or Clemson. The
University of North Carolina
has a football coach and a
football program which
reflects credit on the
institution.
When earlier this week, in
the name of winning more
football games, the Universi
ty forced the resignation of
Dick Crum, it lost consider
ably more than a coach.
Letter To The Editor
Fire Victims Need Assistance
To The Editor:
I realize the "hustle and
bustle" season is here?that
wonderful time of the year when
we can remember our loved ones
with new shoes, coats, toys, etc.
We really forget what Christ
mas is all about -the joy of giv
ing and our praise to God.
I am writing on behalf of the
family of Carrie Solomon who
lost everything in the fire that
took her home last week. Nothing
was saved, except their lives.
This family is in need of
everything, even a home.
If you have a house that has at
least four bedrooms that she
could rent for a reasonable
monthly rent, please call 257-1611
(Willoughby's).
In addition, clothing (ladies'
size 14-16 and mens' size 32-34
pants and size 15M> shirts), old
beds and mattresses, pots and
pans, food, blankets, sheets and
towels would be most appre
ciated.
If you find that you have
anything you would like to
donate?including money, please
deliver it to Willoughby's Con
^American viewpoints
I know of no method to secure
the repeal of bad or obnoxious
laws so effective as their stringent
execution.
Ulvsses S. Gram
venience Store at 301 E. Macon
St. in Warrenton. Checks should
be made payable to Carrie
Solomon, and either delivered or
mailed to her, in care of
Willoughby's.
Thank you in advance for all of
vour help, and may ChxI bless you
all
JANET HARRIS
Warrenton
Looking Back Into The Record
November 28, 1947
North Carolina farmers, in
cluding those in Warren County,
are being asked by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service and the
county extension service to go all
out in a fight to kill rats on the
farms and to control further
infestation.
Warrenton merchants are now
being asked, in a mailing from
the local chamber of commerce,
how many days they wish to close
for Christmas, and whether they
prefer to begin the Wednesday
afternoon closing on Jan. 1, or to
wait until April 1.
Will Allen Connell was the win
ner in a drawing contest at
Raleigh last Saturday and will be
given a free trip by the State
Farm Bureau to the American
Farm Bureau Federation Na
tional Convention to be held in
Chicago later this month.
November 30, 1902
Warrenton stores will remain
open each Friday night from Dec.
7-21 until 9 p.m. for the conve
nience of the shopping public.
The Littleton Medical Clinic,
Inc. has been formed in Littleton
with 20 persons of Halifax and
Warren counties to form the
nucleus of the corporation.
Mr. and Mrs. James Polk were
among the thousands of persons
visiting New York on Thanksgiv
ing Day to attend the Macy's
Christmas parade.
December 1, 1977
Bids for site development work
at the proposed consolidated high
school site were opened Wednes
day during informal ceremonies
at the Warren County school ad
ministration office.
Hardees, a well-known fast
food restaurant eyeing a Warren
ton site, has announced plans to
purchase property and begin
construction.
The Warrenton Woman's Club
will be one of 12 organizations to
receive an Award of Merit from
the Historic Preservation Socie
ty of North Carolina for its re
furbishment of the old Warrenton
depot, a structure built in 1907.
The Warren County Scene
The bent branches of this tree, seen recently on the Warren
Plains Road, seem to portray the gripping claws of winter, and
serve as a reminder that temperatures will soon plummet.
(Staff Photo by Dianne T. Hod well)
Carolina Commentary J?v
Jenkins
'Oldest Rat' Stepping Down
Once four constitutional of
ficers occupied the State Capitol
building in downtown Raleigh:
the Governor, the state treasurer,
the state auditor and the
secretary of state.
An expanding gubernatorial
staff and the lure of new quarters
a number of years ago led to the
departure of the auditor and
treasurer, but Secretary of State
Thad Eure resisted gentle hints
and stronger suggestions that he
join the bulk of his staff in a
newer building.
Now old age and an ailing wife
will lead him to vacate the
premises at the end of Dec. 1988.
After holding the office since Dec.
1936, by far the longest tenure in
the country, Eure, 88, won't offer
for reelection.
The self-styled "Oldest rat in
the Democratic barn" is the last
link with the era when N. C. was
a one-party state, and he has
always been a straight-ticket par
ty stalwart.
For years, he insisted on hiring
only single (and pretty) secretar
ies for his outer office. And before
he hired one, he'd get on the
phone and call the chairman of
the Democratic party in the ap
plicant's home county to be sure
she passed muster from the local
party's standpoint.
Women's lib and sex discrimi
nation laws have ended those
practices, of course, but tiine and
the tides haven't softened Eure's
fidelity to what he used to call in
stentorian tones "the gr-r-e-a-a-t
Democratic party of the people"
at rallies across the state.
With his big voice and trade
mark red bowtie, Eure was for
years a popular master of
ceremonies at many functions.
He did the honors at the annual
ramp festival in Haywood Coun
ty, manfully chewing on a raw
ramp reputed to make germs
hold their noses and skedaddle.
By resolution of the 1939
(ieneral Assembly, the Secretary
of State assigns seats to members
of both houses of the legislature.
You'll find Republicans on the
back rows.
Without the aid of a micro
phone and with appropriate
flourishes of his arms, Eure also
convenes the House of Represen
tatives at every odd-year
meeting and presides until the
Speaker has been elected. And at
the start of these same sessions,
he conducts a school for fresh
men members, teaching them
the rules and finer points of
parliamentary procedure.
Eure's department is the
state's record-keeper and also
tracks commercial activity of
private businesses. He personal
ly must sign many documents, in
cluding official job commissions;
he does it in green ink, with a
signature that resembles an
unraveling piece of string.
Over the years, unlike a
number of his colleagues on the
Council of State, Eure has never
found it necessary to scratch an
itch to run for governor. He
prefers his own niche, clearly
relishing the ceremonial func
tions of office.
Eure made one uncharacteris
tic foray into controversy in 1961.
Rep. Phil Godwin, from Eure's
home county of Gates, intro
duced the Speaker Ban bill. In a
speech to a Raleigh civic club,
Eure referred to the measure,
and with his right hand held aloft
declared, "This hand wrote it
all."
Eure has another distinction:
in 1956, a dead Republican can
didate for Secretary of State
polled 366,752 votes to Eure's
737,266. Grover C. Robbins died
after winning the GOP nomina
tion and too late for a replace
ment .to be put on the ballot.
Kay
Horner
A Fine Legacy
Almost two years have passed since the Jeath of Bignall Jones, who
spent the better part of his life as editor of The Warren Record.
Mr. Bignall, as his staff knew him, left this paper a legacy that
many small, hometown weeklies do not have?a moral and social
consciousness.
For more than 50 years, he published this paper without fear or
favor, graciously enduring the heat when his editorials stirred op
position and quick to acknowledge a change of opinion when' so
persuaded.
It is appropriate that a photograph of Mr. Bignall now hangs in the
offices of the paper that was his life's work. It was hung recently
without ceremony or fanfare.
1 thought of Mr. Bignall this week as I talked with Linda Moseley
about the photograph.
Linda is a veteran Warren Record staffer. She now manages The
Record's stationery supply store and Circulation Department, but
there once was a time when Linda single-handedly typed every line
that appeared in The Record. That was before typesetting was made
so simple that even reporters could master it.
In those days, Mr. Bignall churned out copy on his manual
typewriter and Linda set it. Ever the vigilant editor, he kept his eye
on the whole operation, from writing to typesetting to layout. Linda
became accustomed in those years to the presence of Mr. Bignall at
her back. Early on, she may have thought that he had personally
singled her out for added supervision. But such fear soon gave way
to the realization that Mr. Bignall's only concern was meeting the
deadline. His customary phrase as the time neared was "How are
we coming along?"
Mr. Bignall's photograph now hangs over Linda's desk, at her left
shoulder. The significance of its placement was not lost on her. With
a smile that evidenced her deep affection for her longtime boss, she
said, "He's still looking over my shoulder!"
Indeed, as we approach the second anniversary of his death, all
of us at The Record are mindful that Mr. Bignall is still looking over
our shoulders, prodding us along when we get lax, strengthening us
when our convictions waver and reminding us of the worth of our task.
Reading a selection of his columns yesterday, I came upon one writ
ten more than 20 years ago.
The last paragraph read, "I am convinced that many of our prob
lems could be solved by good manners and soft answers and by pay
ing a little more attention to our blessings and less to our lack, real
or imaginary."
We still benefit from his wisdom, and it is our joy to remember him.
Thurletta
Brown
No Small Feat
"In the fiery heart of the sun lurk powerful energies?and
unimaginable secrets."
Those words appear on the cover of "Sundipper," a new novel writ
ten by Paul B. Thompson, a former resident of Warrenton. The book
has been published by St. Martin's Press, a well-known company in
New York, N.Y.
The author is the son of Lt. Col. (Ret.) Walter B. (Bernard) Thomp
son of Ridgecrest Drive in Warrenton.
Although the novelist was born in Lawton, Okla., while Thompson
and his wife, Anita, were stationed there in 1958, the junior Thomp
son graduated from John Graham High School here before enrolling
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. By the end of seven
years of study there, he had earned both undergraduate and graduate
degrees.
Thompson is employed now by UNC as assistant librarian at the
research library.
According to his parents, Thompson, as a child, was always in
terested in science fiction. He built working models of rockets in his
teen years, which he took to the airstrip here on Airport Road. There
they were launched?complete with parachutes.
TTiat interest in science fiction has no doubt led to the creation of
"Sundipper," an intriguing, futuristic novel about men and women,
who "harvest" from the sun energy to be used by space colonies be
tween Earth and Mars. It is also a story of relationships
relationships involving parents, siblings and "significant others."
Although "Sundipper" is Thompson's first novel, he is no stranger
to offers of publication. "The Exiles," a short story he has co-authored
with Tonya R. Carter, was also published this year in the
DragonLance iR) Tales anthology, "Love and War." According to
the notes that appear in the back of the collection, the "Iliad" and
"The Arabian Nights' Entertainment" were the first books ever
read by Thompson. "He never recovered," the editor states.
Not one-dimensional in interests, however, Thompson has also been
described as a history buff. That interest in history was no doubt the
source of another article, "The High and Dry Wateree," which ap
peared in the August, '83 edition of the U.S. Naval Institute Pro
ceedings. It is a story of a ship that disappeared off the coast of Peru
in 1866.
Thompson has two more novels in the works, I am told. If this first
attempt is any indication, we are all in for a rare treat when they,
too, hit the newstands. Perhaps these words from-"Sundipper" say
it best:
"...Do you feel it? The Gift?"
"Yes, Matthew. It is good."
The gift of expression has certainly been bestowed on young Paul
B. Thompson. We in Warrenton, as do hjs parents, have a real reason
to be proud.
TRAUB'S INN
Bed & Breakfast - Including An Elegant European Deli
116 W. Macon St. Warrenton
Deli Open For Lunch Only
11:30 A.M. To 2:30 P.M.
12 ? 6 On Saturday
We will cater To Special Occasions Upon Request
For Reservations Call (919) 257-2727