Resident Of Warrenton Records
100th Birthday At Warren Hills
By DIANE DAVIS
Staff Writer
Mrs. Elizabeth Buchanan Mor
ris, a resident of the Warren Hills
Nursing Center, celebrated her
100th birthday Monday with fami
ly and friends and received a let
ter from Senator Jesse Helms
and a birthday card from Presi
dent and Mrs. Reagan to com
memorate the special occasion.
Mrs. Morris was born on
September 26, 1888 to Richard
and Mary Buchanan. She was the
second oldest of nine children,
and is the oldest surviving child
in her family.
She says that she doesn't know
what changes in the past 100
years have affected her the most.
"Hiere are just too many to even
think about," she said. But she
did say that she Has always en
Joyed Warren ton because it is her
hometown, and that will never
change.
She couldn't remember the
name of the one-room
schoolhouse she attended, but
said that she can remember her
parent's telling her, "Your
lessons come first."
Mrs. Morris received a sur
prise last weekend when her
granddaughter, Ms. Janice Mer
ritt, flew in from Tampa, Fla. to
wish her a happy birthday.
Janice was raised by Mrs. Mor
ris until the age of 14.
On Sunday, Janice and a host
of relatives carried Mrs. Morris
to her home on Battle Avenue,
her first visit there since she
became a resident of the
Mowing Vs. Growing:
Lawns On Defensive
POTOMAC, Md.-One per
son's natural garden is another's
weed patch.
When Walter and Nancy
Stewart's tractor broke down a
few years ago, they decided to
turn about six of their seven
acres of lawn in this affluent
Washington suburb into a
natural meadow.
The shaggy grasses and plants
prompted an unsigned hostile
note in their mailbox. Some
people shout catcalls at the
Stewarts as they drive past.
Someone tossed a flare into the
meadow.
Faced with a county order to
trim their lawn, the Stewarts are
standing firm in what has
become a fight for a principle.
They are challenging the or
dinance that limits the height of
lawns to 12 inches. A public
hearing was held on the issue in
June.
The Stewarts, he's a research
chemist, she's a lawyer, are the
latest in a succession of U.S.
homeowners and renters who
have attracted national atten
tion by opting, not out of sloth
but out of concern for the en
vironment, to let their yards go
natural.
Things got even rougher for
Stephen Kenney and his wife af
ter they planted wildflower
seeds in the small front yard of
their rented house in Kenmore,
N.Y. As flowers blossomed amid
uncut grass, neighbors' choler
rose proportionately.
In the summer of 1985, the
Kenneys received threats to
bum down their house. Her
bicides were sprinkled in their
yard. Their cat was stoned.
Birds were shot on their proper
ty. Snakes were placed in their
nascent meadow-only to slither
away into better-tended yards.
A local court convicted the
Kenneys of "creating conditions
hazardous to health" and fined
them $50 a day, which they
refused to pay. When neighbors
cut down the growth, the Ken
neys filed a complaint of their
own. They ended up paying a
$100 fine.
Today they live in rural Bear
Creek, Pa., surrounded by
patches of wildflowers. Kenney
continues work on his doctorate
in English, and Mrs. Kenney
teaches mathematics. Their
departure was hastened by the
"pressure cooker" atmosphere
in Kenmore, Kenney tells
Barry Shield*, III
Cotabratad hi* savanth birthday
Sunday, Sapt. 2S, IMS at hi*
homo, Buffalo Branch Farm*,
with hi* family.
Calabratlng with him wara
hla parent*, Mr. k Mr*. W. B.
Shlald*. Jr.; grandparanta, Mr. A
Mr*. Earl Lana; grandmothar,
Mr*. Sallla Short; Mr. Qaorga
Lana, Ml*a Chartana Smith A
Mia* Batty Jo Lana.
National Geographic News Ser
vice. "It was all getting pretty
tense and scary."
But deeply instilled habits are
hard to break. One authority on
lawns, biologist John H. Falk of
Annapolis, Md., traces Ameri
cans' fixation on close-cropped
grass from the longtime English
obsession with tidy grounds
keeping to the explosive growth
of look-alike suburban yards af
ter World War II.
"What sort of got lost in the
process were the aesthetics,' he
says. "I think our tastes will
change. Gradually, this love af
fair with grass monoculture will
disappear."
Pushed by organizations such
as the National Wildlife
Federation and the National
Audubon Society, it may already
be disappearing. They argue for
natural ecosystems for animals,
birds, and insects, against en
vironment-polluting chemicals.
The Wildlife Federation has
been promoting its backyard
habitat program since 1973. Torn
Pepin, coordinator of the
program, says more than 6,300
yards have been certified
nationwide. To be certified, a
yard must offer sources of food,
water, cover and places for birds
and animals to raise their young.
"This is landscaping for wildlife,
not abandonment of wildlife,"
ShLonrie Otto of Bayside, Wis., a
well-known lecturer and natu
ralist, advocates wildflower
filled meadows in front yards as
well as back. "It's the foun
dation of motherhood to try and
take care of the Earth," she
says. "The only way you can
keep your sanity is to make a
landscape as diverse as possible
for the insects and the birds.
You're Just a guest."
Many local governments don t
see it that way. But Stewart
McKenzie, environmental ad
visor to the Montgomery County
Council, says, "They're uncon
stitutional, these ordinances.
Among common arguments of
the monoculturists: Unmowed
lawns attract rats and snakes
and pose a fire hazard. "The fact
is that none of the healOi hazards
have fared very well in the
courts," says McKenzie. As a
result, some "weed laws have
been removed from the books.
McKenzie foresees an even
tual liberalization of the Mont
gomery County ordinance. One
possible compromise would
allow lawn meadows but would
require both a mowed strip next
to adjoining property and
eradication of designated
noxious plants.
"This kind of mindless
reaching for the chemical gun at
the hip is something I think
you're going to see the end of in
10 years," McKenzie predicts.
Pointed En
The egg of the thick-billed murre,
an arctic seabird, is pointed at one
end to that, if accidentally nudged,
it will roll in a tight circle and not fall
off the narrow cliff ledge on which it
was laid, says National Geographic
World.
nursing center in May of 1985.
They all enjoyed making the
occasion special for Mrs. Morris
and presented her with several
gifts.
Mrs. Morris was married at 16
to Walter William Morris. They
had three children, a daughter,
the late Gwendolyn Morris
Zabloski, and two sons, Randolph
Morris of South Boston, Va. and
William Walter Morris, Jr. of
Warrenton. Her husband died in
1968 at the age of 84.
Mrs. Morris was a homemaker
and attended Wesley Memorial
United Methodist Church with
her family.
Mrs. Morris made her opinion
known when she asked what she
thought of all the changes that
have come about over the past
100 years. She said that the world
"has not gotten better."
A century of knowledge and
understanding easily stated.
MRS. MORRIS
Lake Gaston Taxpayers Group
Holds First General Meeting
The newly-formed Lake Gaston
Taxpayers Association held their
first general meeting at Camp
Willow Run on Sunday, Sept. 18 to
discuss the formation of the
association and its goal.
Joe O'Brien chaired the
meeting which was attended by
over 300 residents of the lake and
the surrounding area. He re
viewed with those present the
goal of the association, "To
preserve the natural beauty and
the wholesome quality of life on
Lake Gaston and to insure that
the rights and concerns of proper
ty owners are heard and given
full consideration by government
councils."
Jan Tomlinson spoke on the the
organization of the association
and explained the functions of the
twelve committees in carrying
out the association's goals. She
stressed the need for active par
ticipation of the members in serv
ing on the committees and in at
Warrenton Girl
Serves As Page
RALEIGH? Paula Manning
of Warrenton, served as a page
last week In Raleigh with the
Department of Correction as a
part of Governor Jim Martin's
page program for high school
students.
The daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
John Manning, Paula is a junior
at Warren County High School.
Governor's pages are chosen
on merit, having been recom
mended by teachers, principals,
or other leading members of the
community. Governor's pages
assist the various departments
in their communications with
other state government offices.
They are also given the oppor
tunity to tour state museums,
the governor's mansion,
Legislative Building, and State
Capitol.
"This is an excellent oppor
tunity for outstanding young
people like Paula to learn about
state government," Governor
Martin said. "In addition,
Governor's pages provide in
valuable assistance in helping to
maintain the smooth and ef
ficient operation of state govern
ment."
Course Is Slated
Persons interested in obtaining
their automobile inspectors
license are encouraged to enroll
in the auto inspection course
planned for Thursday, Oct. 6 at
Vance-Granville Community
College.
The three-hour class, lasting
from 14 p.m. in Roan 4110, will
cover types of inspection stations,
vehicles requiring Inspection and
complete inspection procedures,
including exhaust emission con
trols. Julius Frailer, auto
mechanics instructor, will teach
the class.
A fee of $15, payable the day of
the class, will be required.
For additional information or
to pre-reglster, interested per
sons should contact Kim Jackson,
Office of Industry and Communi
ty Services at VQCC, 492-J061 or
683-6675.
tending local government hear
ings on matters affecting the
lake.
Bruce Songdahl spoke on the
immediate problems facing the
lake? primarily the proposed
Bright Horizons development
that is seeking zoning changes
from residential to multi-use for
the placement of a city-like struc
ture on the 145-acre tract of land.
Other matters that Songdahl
reported needed to be studied by
the association were the pro
posed Woods Landing develop
ment, which involves the building
of 144 unit townhouses on 46 acres
of land, and the extreme noise
that is generated by "dry ex
haust" power boats.
Tom Skinner, a local attorney,
spoke on the need for the associa
tion to forcefully speak out on the
future development of the lake
with a unified message to the five
counties and two states bordering
the lake. He also reviewed the ap
peal procedure to be followed
should the association not agree
with the decision of the Warren
County Board of Adjustment in
respect to the Bright Horizons
proposal.
Each member of the associa
tion was reminded to keep in
mind that it is the organization's
job to insure that in 20 years the
lake will still be a place for
children and grandchildren of
lake residents to swim, ski and
fish.
The Lake Gaston Taxpayers
Association requests the support
of ALL those who care about
Lake Gaston. Annual dues are $5
(more is welcome) and can be
mailed along with name, address
and phone number to the Lake
Gaston Taxpayers Association,
Box 1010, Littleton, N.C., 27850.
Local Students
On Dean's List
Twelve Warren County
students who attended the sum
mer quarter at Vance-Granville
Community College earned
Dean's List status, according to
VGCC Dean of Instruction Fred
H. Wilson, Jr.
To attain the honor, students
must maintain a grade point
average of 3.2S (B) or better
while taking at least 12 credit
hours during the quarter.
The Warren County students
achieving the honor and their in
dividual area of study are Trade
Lynn Bennett, special education;
Nick B. Patel, air conditioning,
heating and refrigeration;
Richard M. Dames, carpentry;
Shirley A. Boswell, Tomeka D.
Carter, Sabrina U. Coleman,
Calandra M. Jones, Roberta
Allgood and Charlene Y. Bur
chette, cosmetology; Robert
Henry Shearin, electrical in
stallation; Charles Elton Hayes,
welding ; and Sara Solorz, college
transfer.
Mollie Paschall
Named President
The United Methodist Women
of Drewry Church met in the
home of Sallie Mitchell Thursday
night and elected their officers
for the 1988-89 year.
Mollie Paschall was elected to
serve as president of the group.
Others elected were Louise
Ranes as vice president, Becky
Paschall as secretary and Jean
Weston as treasurer.
The meeting was called to
order by the president, Mollie
Paschall. Nancy Finch led the
group in the devotion and also
gave a program on her trip to
Mexico.
Each member brought a gift
for the baby of Mr. and Mrs.
Robert Mitchell, Jr., who entered
Durham General Hospital for
surgery.
The hostess served the group
refreshments after the regular
business session and the group
sang "Happy Birthday" to Becky
Paschall.
fill steamed up?
Troubles got you down?
Time always running out?
IF YOU ANSWERED 'YES' TO ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS THEN MAYBE WE CAN HELP.
HOW: STRESS MANAGEMENT
WHEN: WEDNESDAY NIGHTS OCT. 5-NOV. 9, 7:30 9:15 p.m.
WHERE: JOHN GRAHAM SCHOOL LIBRARY, NORTH MAIN STREET, WARRENTON
COST: ONLY $5.00 PER PERSON (Scholarships availabta)
PASTOR DOUG RATHJEN, INSTRUCTOR, OFFERS APPROXIMATELY (60) STRESS
MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES, ONE TO FIT YOUR EVERY NEED.
DON'T DELAY-CALL BETH AT 257-1185 TO REGISTER.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE SEPTEMBER 30, 1988
WARREN COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
540 WEST RIDGEWAY STREET
WARRENTON, NORTH CAROLINA 27669
TELEPHONE 257-1185