Roanoke Islanders Prepare
To Celebrate Anniversary
Of Noted 'Lost Colony' Play
MANTEO. ? The people of
Roanoke Island are getting
ready to celebrate the tenth
anniversary of "The Lost Col
ony," the piay which has be
come America s patriotic Ober
ammergau.
it was on July 4, 1937, that
this raul Ureen symphonic
utuma opened in the Waterside
iueatre at *ort Kaieigh, Koa
i.jiie island, tnree nines north
ui nere. ims is the scene of the
e.ciiis dramatized by the play ?
itie tsiaunsnment oi air Walter
naieigu s iii-iated "Lost Colony"
in lt>o7, and the birth of Vir
ginia Dare, the first English
cnnd born in the New World.
ihat first year It was in
tenuea as only a local, one-sea
son ceieoralion of the 350th an
niversary of Virginia's birth and
uie earnest English attempts to
colonize America. But so great
wus the response that the drama
was repeated each July and
August through 1941, when It
was suspended because of the
war. Revived last season, it was
witnessed by more than 52,000
persons.
New crews are at work at the
theatre in' preparation for the
49-perIormance season, which
will be held in July and Aug
ust, and Samuel Selden, who
has directed the production
from the beginning, is already
busy with plans for a cast and
staff which will again number
more than 250 persons.
Among the improvements in
the theatre this year will be
rain shelters within the theatre
stockade capable of giving bad
weather protection to over 2,000
persons. Though the amphithe
atre is in the open air, the play
has had remarkable luck with
the weather ? throughout its six
previous seasons, only seven
performances have been cancel
led because of rain.
i (inn
The amphitheatre seats more
than 3,000 persons. Across Roa
noke Sound, whose waters wash
the backstage area, the spec
tators can see the illuminated
pylon of marble which marks
Kill Devil Hill, the scene of
the first flights of the Wright
Brothers. The 125-foot stage is
multi-level and so large that,
by the manipulation of ligths
and almost Instantaneous scen
ery-shifting, Director Selden
keeps the action moving with
out interruption from Queen
Elizabeth's court, to the streets
of Plymouth, to the American
wilderness, to the Queen's court, I
i and back again.
Celebrations had been held at
Fort Raleigh as far back as
i 1880 to memorialize the Lost
j Colonists. But with the erection
j of bridges to Roanoke Island
in 1930, the people of Dare
county decided that the time
had come for a large-scale cel
ebration. They decided upon
1934 as the time for it, this be
ing the 350th anniversary of the
discovery of Roanoke Island by
the explorers whom Sir Walter
Raleigh sent from England to
(ind a place for his colony
Determined
A congressional delegation
.espsnding to an appeal for fed
jral aid, inspected the site, be
ame enthusiastic in behalf of
?he observance, but recommend-.
?d that because of the depres
sion it be postponed until 1937
But the people of Dare were'
determined that a celebration
should be held in 1934. So they
wrote and staged a pageant
which was performed on July
17 and 18 before 2,000 persons.
In the audience was Paul Green, 1
the North Carolina playwright
who won the Pulitzer prize in
| 1927 for his play, "In Abraham's
I Rrvsrvm " 1
i So impressed was he by the
! story of the colonists and by
I the enthusiasm of the Roanoke
i Islanders that he consented to
I write "The Lost Colony." He
I went to work on it immediate
I ly? and so did the people of
Dare. They became costumers,
stage technicians, actors ?
though many had never seen
a professional play? and Fort
Raleigh was restored and the
theatre built. President Roose
velt himself saw the play in its
first season ? on August 18, Vir
ginia Dare's birthday ? a night
when two performances were
necessary in order that all
might see the drama.
Green calls his work a "sym
phonic drama" because music,
the dance and pantcmvne play
as im|x>rtant a part in telling
the story and establishing mood
as does the spoken word. To
sing the powerful music which
he wove into the script, the
Westminster Choir college, of
Princeton, N. J., has each sea
son sent the Westminster choir,
and this group will be back this
year.
Many Islanders In Cast
Well over half the members
of the cast and staff are Roa- j
noke Islanders, and most ma
jor roles are played by a group
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L. O. HOGSED
STAR BOU1E ? HAYSVILLE, N. C.
a nickel a week . . .
That certainly isn't a lot of money.
And The Press is well worth a nickel
a copy. About 100 persons say so every
week by buying the paper across the
counter at The Press office.
But you can get it for even less!
For a nickel a week for 52 weeks is
$2.60
t S
And The Press is only $2 a year, when
you are a regular subscriber.
So it's economy to subscribe.
THE FRANKLIN PRESS
P. S. There's another advantage? by
subscribing, you make sure of always
getting it.
I
o I New York and Carolina
Playmaker actor* from the Uni
versity of North Carolina, where
Selden Is head of the dramatic
art department.
The play itself tells the story
of a people almost overwhelm -
ed by the savage .forces of a
new-;ound land Oo.emor Joun
White, the artist and cartog
rapher who gave the Old Worm
its first graphic concep- ..]
tlon of the New World, left uu
colony late In August, 1587, to
return to England for supplies.
Because of the war with Spain,
however, he was not permitted
to leave England, and when
finally he did return in 1590,
he found no trace of the ljIo
nists. Nor. has a satisfactory ex
planation of their history ever
been found. Green's drama con
tinues the story of the coionisus
after White's departure ? he pic
tures them as suffering nom
hunger, despair, and Indian at
tacks, but finally rejecting
Spanish enslavement and mar
ching into the wilderness and
to an unknown fate.
The season this year begins
an July 1 and ends, as usual, on
>abor day
1 Say: "I saw it advertised In The Press".
? HBr ? >
V j
Jefferson Standard's 40 UCQ/IS SC/IVICC
to Policyholders and Beneficiaries "'"''oo
L.-lMOjfSSi
has provided
//!\
HAPPINESS
RETIREMENT
/ EDUCATION
/ COMFORT
SECURITY
THOUSANDS OF POLICYHOLDERS, representing a cross-section of (oresighted men and women in 28
states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, are now sheltered by the protective cover of Jefferson Standard
life insurance. During the year 1946 more new life insurance was purchased, both by old and new policyholders, than
in any other year in the company's history. Such rapid growth is striking testimonial to the helpful service rendered
policyholders and to the integrity and qualifications of the men and women who comprise the company's field pr
ganization. Entering its 40th Anniversary Year, Jefferson Standard is on the threshold of $700,000,000 life in
surance in force, with intensified plans for expanding the company's service to many new communities.
EXCELLENT EARNINGS ON INVESTMENTS
iS Jefferson Standard again led all major life insur
ance companies in rate of interest earned on
invested assets ? the result of an alert and sound
investment policy.
5% INTEREST PAYMENT CONTINUED
iS Again in 1946 5% interest was paid on funds
^ held in trust for policyholders and beneficiaries,
thus continuing a rate that has been maintained for
40 years ? since the company was organized in 1907.
STRONG FINANCIAL POSITION
iS (a) Contingency Reserve, Surplus, and Capital
^ total $20,800,000, an unusually high ratio of
additional funds for policyholders' protection.
(b) Total assets $179,000,000, an increase of $18,
000,000 for 1946. For every $100 of liabilities there
ore $113.12 of assets.
NEW RECORD GAIN IN INSURANCE
IN FORCE
iS Insurance in force increased $83,000,000 in 1946.
^ Total is now $672,000,000 on thousands of
policyholders from coast to coast.
BENEFITS PAID
kS $7,400,000 paid to policyholders and beneficiaries
^ in 1946, bringing the total since organization in
1907 to $159,000,000.
LARGEST INCREASE IN NEW BUSINESS
$114,000,000 life insurance was purchased by new
r md old poficyfcoUers km 1946? an average of
fyif* 9" ? $4% boNN ovw I949L
40th $4nnua/ Statement
DECEMBER 31, 1946
ASSETS
Cash $ 5,383,900
United States Government
Bonds 33,440,997
All other Bonds 21,472,579
Stocks 16,035,568
Listed securities are carried
at market, cost, or call
price, whichever is lowest.
First Mortgage Loans. . . 78,061,244
Real Estate . 7,319,067
Loans to Our
Policyholders 12,252,226
Secured by the cash values
of policies.
Investment Income in
Course of Collection . 1,302,075
Premiums in Course of
Collection . 3,437,016
All other Assets 586,265
Total Assets $179,290,937
LIABILITIES
Policy Reserves $135,532,763
A fund which with future
premiums and in^eredt
earnings provides for the
payment of policy obliga
tions as they fall due.
Reserve for Policy
Claims 1,035,734
Claims on which completed
proofs have not been re
ceived.
Reserve for Taxes 689,228
Premiums and Interest
Paid in Advance 3,920,296
Policy Proceeds Left
with Company 14,250,570
Dividends for
Policyholders 1,795,787
Reserve for All Other
Liabilities 1,266,559
Liabilities . $158,490,937
Contingency
Reserve $ 800,000
Capital 10,000,000
Sutplus Un
assigned 10,000,000
Total Surplus Funds for
Additional Protection
of Policyholders 20,80(1,000
Total $179,290,937
E. J. CARPENTER
DEAN CARPENTER
Agents
JEFFERSON STANDARD
LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
/?,<. C/'A f 7^. GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA
? ? f s l I' i nT