THE ZEBULON RECORD
Volume XXX, Number 91. Zebulon, N. C., Tuesday, August 14, 1956 Theo. Davis Sons, Publishers
Second Mass Polio Clinic
Shots to Be Given Friday
Poliomyelitis vaccinations will
be given free for the second time
at both Wakelon School gymna
sium and Shepard School gymna
sium on Friday, August 17, by the
Wake County Health Department.
First, second, and third doses are
available.
This is • the second visit by the
Health Department to these
schools. The vaccinations are giv
en without charge to everyone de
siring them 19 years of age and
under.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, the
Health Department team will be at
Millbrook gymnasium from 9:30
to 11:00 a.m., and at Rolesville
gymnasium from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.
On Thursday, vaccinations will
be given at Knightdale gymnasium
from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m., and at
Lockhart gymnasium from 2:00 to
3:00 pjn.
Vaccinations will be given at
Wakelon Friday from 9:30 to 11: >
00 a.m., and at Shepard from 2:00
to 3:00 Friday afternoon.
The Health Department repre
sentatives will be at Wendell gym
nasium on Thursday, August 23,
from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m., and at
Carver gymnasium August 23 from
2:00 to 3:00 in the afternoon.
Monday through Friday of each
week polio vaccinations are given
at the Wake County Health De
partment at 201 West Davie Street
in Raleigh from 10:00 to 12:00 and
2:30 to 4:00 p.m.
Although response has been en
couraging, many children have not
received the poliomyelitis vaccina
tions. To guard against outbreak
of the disease and possible epi
demic, parents are urged to pre
sent their children for vaccination
Fire Department
Subdues Barn Fire
The Rural Fire Department was
called to the W. R. Bobbitt farm
in Wakefield Sunday at 5 o’clock
to extinguish a smoking tobacco
oil burner. The farm is tenanted
by Wayne Parrish .
Department officials reported
that an oil burner had overflowed
and was smoking profusely. No
damage was done except from
smoke.
No Clues Yet
In Weekend
Brutal Murder
Local officers reported Monday
that no clues have been discovered
in the murder of Worth Durwood
(Bud) Beddingfield of Route 2,
Wake Forest.
Beddingfield was found by a
passing motorist five miles north
of Zebulon. He had been shot in
the right arm and run down by an
automobile, authorities surmised,
about 9 p.m. Saturday.
Highway Patrolman R. L. Ray
of Louisburg said that it appeared
that someone killed Beddingfield
and then tossed his body out of an
automobile in Franklin County. He
was unable to say whether the
actual murder occurred in Wake
or Franklin County.
The body was discovered on
Highway 96 about two miles in
Franklin County by Wes Johnston
of Route 4, Zebulon. Johnson re
ported it at a nearby store. The
proprietor of the store then noti
fied Zebulon officers who in turn
called the patrolman.
Wake County Deputy Sheriff
Earl Duke, along with Franklin
Deputy Sheriff W. A. Horton, in
vestigated the incident.
Melvin Lanier Passes
Funeral Directors' Exam
Melvin Lanier was notified
August 8 of his passing the North
Carolina funeral directors’ exam
ination held July 10 in Raleigh.
Lanier is a native of Beulah
ville, the son of the late Mr. and
Mrs. Alfred Lanier. He is married
to the former Wilma Nowell of
Wendell. They have two sons,
Robert, 9, and Tim, 5.
Before becoming associated with
Whitley Furniture Company, Inc.,
Lanier worked for the Wendell
Drug Company and Wenco Furni
ture Factory. He has been em
ployed with the Whitley Furniture
Co., Inc., for the past eight years.
SISTERS MEET IN GERMANY
Reunion in Germany. Wayne Duke, who is stationed with the
U. S. Army in Verdun, France, recently had a two weeks leave and
he and his wife, Jeanette, visited Gay and Inez Perry. Gay is i»i««
with the U. S. Army and is stationed in Germany.
The four toured many interesting sections of Germany, including
Garmisch which they thought the prettiest section. They also saw
and entered the tallest church in the world, and visited many famous
old castles.
Wayne and Gay were close friends before entering service and
Jeanette and Inez are sisters.
Left to right are Wayne, Jeanette, Inez and Gay.
I
The above picture was made in'1911 and shows the Wakefield post office and delivery force. Pic
tured from left to right are Charlie Tippett, Levin Baker, Starkey Hoyle and Henry R. Hoyle. Stand
ing on the porch are Mary Tippett, daughter of Mr. Tippett, and his substitute: Mrs. Mary Whitley,
postmistress, and the son of Mr. Tippett.
History of Local Post Offices
Done by Interested Women
By Mrs. L. R. Temple
And Mrs. Starkey Hoyle
The first post office we have any
knowledge of dates back to the
time after the end of the Civil War.
This post office occupied a crowd
ed corner of Moore’s Miil house
located on Little River.
' The first postmaster was James
William Liles, grandfather of the
late Lorenzo Temple on his pater
nal grandmother’s side. He was a
Civil War veteran, enlisting in the
service of the Confederacy Sept.
25, 1862, with Company H, 31st
Regiment. He was discharged at
the end of the war.
The exast date of Liles’ post
mastership is not known, but it was
between the end of the War and
1880, the year of his death.
The occupation of postmaster
had to be combined with some oth
er duties, for a postmaster’s salary
at that time was not enough to
make a livelihood for the one em
ployed. So Liles ran the mill, grind
ing wheat and corn for the farmers
round about.
Because he had above average
schooling for that time, Liles also
acted as secretary for the late Ivan
Proctor, extensive landowner and
businessman of Wakefield.
Once or twice a week—only one
time in the beginning, later twice
—the mail was brought from Ra
leigh on horse back. One mail
pouch was sufficient to hold all
letters and papers. This was known
as the Star Route,” and the car
rier was known as the “Star Car
rier,” or. mail man.
Liles deposited the mail at Eagle
Rock on his return from Raleigh,
and made a change of horses at
this little hamlet.
Sometime after 1880, the post
office was moved from Moore’s
Mill into a store owned by Proctor
in a sparsely settled community
which later became Wakefield.
John A. Kemp, father of the late
John G. Kemp of Zebulon, was a
clerk in Proctor’s firm, and later
assumed the position of postmaster.
He did not keep this job long, for
he went to Raleigh to work.
At or about this time another
community had United States mail
service. A place in the home of
Bertie Strickland (great grand fa
ther of Judge I. D. Gill) was set up
to hand the mail, with Strickland
as postmaster.
Strickland was one of the most
learned persons in his community.
He set up a private school and
taught. His home was the most
elaborate in that day. It was a
large four story building, built
of hand-hewn lumber and put to
gether with wooden pegs.
Part of this home was used as a
stage coach station. The stalls for
the horses were under the house,
and a room in thfe building was re
served as a bar room.
It was about 1881 that Wake
field came into existence. A piece
of land was being cleared by a
carpenter for a Mr. Foster who
was to build the first house. Foster
said: “This place must have a
name. This is Wake County and
this place is in a field, *so we will
call it Wakefield.”
In 1882 a school was founded in
Wakefield by the Rev. C. L. String
field and was called Stringfield
Academy. This academy thrived
from the beginning and many of
the prominent persons of this com
munity were educated at that in
stitution.
Wakefield began to grow in
population at so fast a rate until a
larger post office was needed. John
G. Kemp (father of the late John
A. Kemp) returned' from Raleigh
and built a store, stocking it with
a big line of merchandise. This
(Continued on Page 4)
Zebulon Woman Ordered
To Pay Wreck Damages
A Lee Superior Court jury a
warded $61,000 in damages to Mrs.
Barbara C. Burns, administratrix
for the estate of Clyde Lee Burns
August 8. The case went uncon
tested by the defendant, Mrs. Otis
Hicks of Zebulon.
Clerk of Superior Court E. M.
Underwood signed a judgment
awarding Mrs. Burns such amount
as the jury would decide, in view
of Mrs. Hicks’ failure to answer
the complaint.
The case grew out of a collision
near Zebulon last Oct. 6 in which
five persons lost their lives. The
two drivers, Clyde Lee Burns, 29,
of Sanford, and Douglas Preston
Hicks; 24, a Navy man, were in
stantly killed in the flaming mid
night crash.
Mrs. Hicks was named de
fendant in the suit bacause of her
ownership of the car being driven
by her son.
The State Highway Patrol re
ported that the crash occurred on
a straight stretch of US 64. A
slight rise in the ground at the
point of impact was not considered
sufficient to impair visibility. The
patrol said one of the vehicles
apparently was on the wrong side
of the road. Mrs. Bums' com
plaint charged Hicks with that
violation.
After the head-on crash, the two
vehicles caught fire and landed
about 60 feet apart on opposite
sides of the highway.
The Judgment included $60,000
in personal damages and $1,000
in property damage for loss of the
automobile.