North Carolina Newspapers

MOORE COUNTY’S leading news weekly THE A Paper Devoted to the Upbuilding VOL. 10, NO. 38. LAKEVIEW mamlev PILOT FIRST IN NEWS AND ADVERTISING of the Sandhill Territory of North Carolina Aberdeen, North Carolina B'riday, August 22, 1930. FIVE CENTS NEW VARIETY OF COTTON TESTED OUT IN COUNTY Duncan McCrimmon Has Sixty Acres Growings with Boll a}no Blossom a Vivid Red OF EGYPTIAN ORIGIN By Bion H. Butler Persons traveling the road from Vass to Lobelia are asking themselves if Duncan McCrimmon has introduced into Moore county a valuable new va riety of cotton, and so far it looks as if he has. There on the old McNeill farm, about five miles below Vass he has a field of cotton that is striking if nothing else. About sixty acres of a vivid red foliage strikes the eye as the traveler approaches, and extfttes v;oTider as to what is planted in the hroad area. Closer approach deter mines the cotton leaf, the blossom and the boll, all deep red in color, ■wholly unlike any cotton field ever seen in this section, and an examina tion shows a crop of good stand, thrifty growth, fruited to the top of ^he plant, cluster type of bearing, and a curiosity in every way. Cypress Tree on Mossgiel Farm Tells Sandhills Weather For Past 590 Years Rings on Stump Reveal Age and Rainfall Front' lime Long Before Columbus Discovered America.—To Be Used as Table in Dupont Cabin One of the most interesting things three blocks an inch or so in thick- m this neighborhood is a record at Mossgiel farm that tells the weather there for the last 590 years. It is pos sibly the oldest thing of life that is known to be'in this section, for while others may he older it is doubtful if any other is identified, and possessing proofs of its age, or the ability to present in plain form the definite rec ord year by year of what the weather has been. The thing is the butt of a big cypress tree cut on Drowning creek not far above Blue’s bridge, and which is now at the Mossgiel farm, where it is to be used as a table top for the Dupont log cabin now under construction by Mr. Weaver. The block is about six feet long, and four or five feet in diameter. But its extreme interest lies in the fact that the rings of growth are plainly visible at each end, and a count of the rings at the butt end disclosed 595 rings, showing a life time of that many years. When Co lumbus discovered America that cy- Dunc had been telling me about his i press tree was a fair sized habitant new cotton, and Monday I went down to see it. What it is to develop into is vet in the lap of the gods, but cer tainly he has started something there that is worth watching. The flat lands down the Little River valley are fertile. The old McNeill farm has been one of the prominent features in that section for generations. It lies flat and easily tillable, and it has been kept in good condition. So it is right suitable for the test Mr. McCrimmon is mak ing. Some months ago he went down into Texas on a brief journey and on his way through Mississippi he saw a field of cotton that from its unusual color and healthy appearance caught his attention. He stopped to investigate and found what was rec ommended to him as a new cotton of Eqyptian origin, of dense red color, of vigorous growth and liberal yield. He was so much impressed that he brought home enough seed to plant the sixty-acre field down the river, and the result is the spectacle that now presented itself. May Prove a Find It is pretty hard to predict what the field will do. I tramped up and down the rows pretty freely, for if Mr. Mc Crimmon has what seems likely he has brought to Moore county a valuable new cotton. He has one of the best stands in the community, vigorous in growth, although the fertilizer ap plication was small. Good cultivation has kept it in*good shape, and it is soon ready to lap in the rows. It rftands possibly two feet in its average height, the bolls setting well on the lower branches, which start out a lit- of Drowning creek forest and aged 157 years. When that tree was a seed ling in 1335 Robert Bruce had but re cently defeated the Brifish in the me morable battle of Bannockburn. The pope was at the head of the religious world as far as modern Christianity was concerned, and the reformation of Luther and Knox had not begun, and were a century and a half in the future. The Mohammedans were just beginning their invasion of Eastern Europe through the Constantinople gateway, and western European civ ilization was stin a crude condition of serfdom and slavery of the people un der the domination of kings and no bility. It is intended* to saw off two or ness to preserve as a record of this ancient history that the tree tells. For some time scientific men have been studying growth, and of late it has been found that the thickness of the rings on trees is governed by the amount of rainfall during the year of growth. This study was pursued in the West by the government scien tists, and recently local observers have been checking up on stumps and old logs found in this section. Rings from the old Buchan house show tree growth that tells the story back for more than two centuries, and other cld logs and beams in the neighbor hood check up with the Buchan house' beams. A tree not far from the Buchan house tells the story of the years since that old log a hundred and fifty years cld, taken out of the house a few weeks ago, and takes up the weather report where the old one left off. Other stumps of trees recently cut check in, so that the record here in the neighborhood can be carried back positively for three or four hundred years. But the tree at the Mossgiel farm goes back of all of them and brings the record in one perfect scroll down to the year in which it was cut. It is also one of the best preserved of these old tree records, and its rings are clear enough that they are perfect ly distinct. The table will be one of the most unusual bits of furniture in the United States, and as its variation in ring sizes tells the state of the rain fall over a period of more than 500 years it is valuable as a definite au thority on weather conditions from a, time long before mankind had advanc ed far enough in weather lore to keep any records for himself. HOKE CO. SCHOOLS COMBINE WITH VASS-LAKEVIEW Mt. Pleasant, Bunker Hill and Lobelia to Send 100 Pupils Here MEANS LARGER FACULTY With three schools from Hoke county. Mount Pleasant, Bunker Hill and Lobelia, joining the ranks, the Vass-Lakeview coJisolidated /Kchcols Vv’ill open on Tuesday, Sept, 2. for the fall term with a greatly increased enrollment which will necessitate the hixing of two or three additional teach ers, bringing the faculty list to fif teen or sixteen members. Supt. John McCrummen of West End, who has so successfully guided the school for the past three years, will again be in charge. The arrangement made for bringing ir* the Hoke county boys and girls will be of mutual benefit. Hoke county will provide transportation for its pu pils and take care of the salaries of a certain number of the teachers, and the children will have the advantage of the modern, well-equipped building and a full corps of teachers to take the place of the one-and-two teacher schools in their own communities, while the Vass-Lakeview schools, with the increased enrollment, will be ben- efitted by the increased teaching force. Mr. McCrummen expects from sev enty-five to a hundred pupils from Hoke county, and with the number of high school pupils added, it is hoped tc provide another teacher in the high school department. Hoke will use three school buses in transporting its pupils, and Vass- Lakeview has three, each of which will make two trips daily. This will be the equivalent of nine buses bring- Our Pumpk; Ar J. McN. Johnson Reaps S' Pounds of Pumpkins from Five Small Seeds There was a man in our town And he was wondrous wise, He planted five small pumpkin seeds And grew a hundred pies. Pumpkins do not make poet laur eates, but that’s not saying that poet laureates cannot make pump kins. J. McN. Johnson, poet laureate of Moore county, planted five pumpkin seeds in his back yard last spring. Result—500 pounds of pumpkins. CAMERON MAN BATTLES BANDITS IN RAID ON STORE Ernest Pierce Opens Fire When Trio Attempts Robbery at Charlotte Pharmacy ONE WOUNDED, CAUGHT COUNTYWIDE FREE LIBRARY fe PLAN OF CLUB WOMEN Carthage Organization Launches Splendid Program at “Open House” Saturday TREAT FOR CHILDREN Preparatory to its program of serv ing the residents of Moore county with free books, the Carthage Woman’s Club Free Public Library will open its doors for a “Gret Together” meeting tomorrow, Saturday afternoon, August 23d, in the Court House. This splendid civic enterprise had its inception in the Carthage Woman’s Club, which for many years has been functioning as the sole literary book center of Carthage, and it is to be highly com mended that this group of women has had the community spirit and fore- Mrs. E. C. Ashe t)ies After Long Illness Had Endeared Herself to Host of Friends During Four-Year Residence Here Hearing- to Discuss sight to enlarge the scope of their li- ing in the youngster^ , to the local brary to embrace all residents of the school. As the vehicles are all prac- county. tically new, the transportation is not , The libiary, which is at present expected to present a very great prob- housed in the basement of the Court lem. Supt. McCrummen was in Vass this Police Fee System week making arrangements for install- ' ing additional desks in the school | the public is invited to visit and ob- building. One or two more rooms will serve the work being carried on in No trace has been found of the two gunmen who raided the drug store of M. Ernest Pierce, former Cameron man, on the outskirts of Charlotte nearly two weeks ago, while the third bandit, shot down by Mr. Pierce (Turing the affray, rests in a Charlotte jail aw^aiting disposition of the charges against him. Pierce, born and raised on the farm of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. D. J. Pierce two miles from Cameron, was about to close up his store at midnight on Saturday, August 9th, when three men entered and ordered those in the store to throw up their hands. With $500 in cash on hand. Pierce put up a fight, emptying his revolver at the trio and wounding one of them, Ru- doph Heimel. He then escaped down the alleyway beside the store while the bandits dragged their wounded companion some distance from the store before abandoning him. He was arrested upon arrival of the police. One of Mr. Pierce’s customers, in the store at the time, Blake Stike- leather, was struck down and stamp ed on by one of the trio during the scuffle. Mr. Pierce’s 12-year-old son was also in the store. All escaped in jury except Stikeleather, and as Mr. Pierce made away with the $500 the midnight raid was far from fruitful. Abandon Their Car The gunman left their car, which bore a North Carolina license and a for hire tag on it, in a field near the road. In their flight they could not get to it and made their way on foot through part of the mill village and into the open country. I The wounded bandit, who said he I was 20 years old but appeared to be i older,- gave his address as New Or- House, will be open for a house-warm ing from four until six o’clock Sat-,, , . ^ -r , J . I.- 1 X' .leans and told Deputy Sheriff M. L. urday afternoon, durmg which timet , , , ^ ^ , Mayor Stutz, Police and Cham ber of Commerce to Have Session Sept 3d. Mayor D. G. Stutz of Southern Pines lias called a hearing for Wednesday afternoon, September 3d on the ques tion raised at a recent meeting of the Southern Pines Chamber of Com merce as to the possible abuse of the (Please ^urn to Page 8) Women Derby Fliers Pass Here Saturday Five women pilots, participants in the Dixie Women’s Air Derby, will pass over Aberdeen and the Sandhills tomorrow, Saturday morning en route from Raleigh to Columbia, S. C. The quintet leaves Washington, the start of the race, this Friday, morning, with Ptaleigh as the destination. They will spend the night in Raleigh, where they are to be entertained at a banquet and other festivities arranged by the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. They leave early Saturday morning for Co lumbia, thence on to Florida. No stop is scheduled for the Knoll- wood field, and only motor troubles or mishaps will cause any landings here. Local aviation authorities ha^e been asked to keep an eye out for thp fliers as they pass over this sectio and report any signs of distress t the air port at Raleigh. The event had one casualty before i started. Mrs. May Haizlip of St. Louis was injured in the crack-up of hei plane near Greenwood, S. C., while ^he was en route to Washington foi the start of the derby. Her plane was Wrecked Wednesday when she made a forced landing in a rough field, and she is in the Greenwood hospital with the extent of her injuries undeterminJ ed. No X-ray photographs can be tak-j until she regains consciousness- | Mrs. Bessie Ashe, wife of E. C. Ashe of Southern Pines, passed to her last rest in the Moore County Hos pital ^n Thursday afternoon, August 14, following a long continued illness I sustained with hopeful fortitude. Com- fee system as it affects justices of the ing from Fayetteville with her bus- peace and the police of the village, band some four years ago Mrs. Ashe The matter will be gone into thorough- with her happy disposition and beau- ly by the Mayor, members of the tiful character soon endeared herself town’s Board of Commissioners, the tc a large circle of friends in the new , local policemen, justices of the peace, home, all of whom will long mourn the committee appointed by the Cham ber loss. her of Commerce and the town’s at- Funeral services were held in Em- torney, U. L. Spence of- Carthage, manuel Episcopal Church, of which she ! Much discussion around town fol- was a member, at 4:00 o’clock Friday i lowed the meeting of the Chamber of afternoon, the Rev. Dr. S. Hartsell | Commerce at which the subject was of the Episcopal Church of Rocking- i broached, and although there is consid- ham using the impressive ritual of erable opposition to the fee system his church. A quartet comprising of remuneration for police officers Shields Cameron, Frank Buchan, S. | and justices, the feeling seems to be B. Richardson and Willard Dunlop general that if the system is abolish- bc equipped and extra desks placed in some of the rooms already in use. St. Anthony’s Lawn Fete Brilliant Success Miss Julia McDermott Fortunate Winner of Radio at Pop ular Gathering sang “Lift Thine Eyes to the Hills” and “Beautiful Land.” The casket covered with masses of beautiful flowers, with Paul Barnum, R. L. Hart, Frank Shamburger, Elmer Davis, Frank Goodwill and Dr. Milliken act ing as pall bearers, was followed to Mount Hope Cemetery by a large concourse of friends and neighbors. Mrs. Ashe was born in Wilmington thirty-seven years ago, her father, W. H. Mills, now an invalid, being of a family long settled and socially prom inent in that city. Surviving Mrs. Ashe are her husband, E. C. Ashe, who has represented the Standard Oil Company in this district for some time; a young daughter, Margaret; two sisters, Mrs. J. Mercer Taylor of Wilmington, and Mrs. H. W. Koelling of Fayetteville, and a brother, Her man Mills of Greenville, S. C. Attend ing the last rites for Mrs. Ashe were Mrs. S. A. Ashe, Mr. Ashe’s mother; his sister, Mrs. Albert Stockard; Mr. and Mrs. J .Mercer Taylor, Laurens Wright of Wilmington, the R*ev. and Mrs. H. W. Koelling of Fayetteville, the Rev. and Mrs. S. Hartsell and Mr. and Mrs. William French of Rock ingham, Mr. and Mrs. Herman Mills of Greenville, S. C. ed, provided it can legally be abolish ed under the present State laws, po lice officers should be granted in creased salaries in lieu of fees. Many feel that their present salaries are out of line with their duties and responsi bilities, especially when it is taken into consideration that they are re quired to provide their own automo biles and the upkeep thereof. The meeting is called for 2:00 o’clock on September 3d, at the office of the Town Clerk, Howard Burns. FARM LIFE SCHOOL TO OPEN SEPTEMBER FIRST The Sandhill Farm Life School will open September 1st. This is a State accredited high school in Moore county. A small boarding department is still maintained at the school, and pupils desiring board should send in their requests at once, addressed to Sandhill Farm Life School, Route 1, Vass. Dr. James W. Dickie of Southern Pines talked to the Kiwanis Club Wednesday on the psychology of tu berculosis prevention. The meeting was held at the schoolhouse at West End. Miss Julia McDermott of Southern Pines was the fortunate winner of the Victor radio at the highly successful lawn fete of St. Anthony’s Church in Southern Pines Wednesday night. Miss McDermott is in Boston and has not yet learned of her good fortune. The lawn fete was an even greater success than was anticipated by the Rev. Howard V. Lane of St. Anthony’s and others in charge of the program. Crowds visited the scene of the gath ering on Vermont avenue during the course of the evening, and if there is a youngster in the vicinity who didn’t get a ride on one of the ponies or en joy the other attractions, we do not know who he or she is. There were booths of all kinds where one could procure ice cream, hot dogs, candy and soft drinks; there was a shooting gallery, a cane pitching game, a candy game, dart boards and a for tune teller. And then there w^as the pony, the popular attraction for the kidlets. Miss Emilie May Wilson directed the play, “My Basket of Flowers,” which the following cast put on like professionals of years standing: Mar garet Roth, Patricia Wood, Jacque line Boggs, Mary Ellen Wood, Helen Wood, Helen Mafoney, Jeannette Na- tarfiamo, Mary O’Callaghan, Mary McCarr, Margaret Montesanti, Ruth Atkins and Joan Kelly. ' Mrs. N. F. Wilson and Mrs. H. L. Boggs were the hostesses of the lawn fete. Dante Montesanti was general chairman, Miss Millie Montesanti treasurer and Richard Wilson public ity chairman. A goodly sum of money was realized for the church and par ish work, and Father Lane wishes to thank all those who by donation, ad vice and encouragement assisted in the success of the party. their midst. A special feature of the day will be a children’s story hour be- ^ ginning at four-thirty o’clock. Parents are especially urged to bring their children to the story hour group, and give them this initial Introduction to the world of books and good reading. A surprise in the form of lemonade will be served following the story hour. The library is making a special appeal to both adults and children, through the medium of new books. Through the kindness of the county board of education a gift of $100.00 was made available for new books, and this entire amount has gone into the purchase of worthwhile volumes for the children’s department. All Baker, who guarded him at the hos pital, that he and the two others were waiting on a load of liquor at the time and had not tried to hold up the drug store owner. He would not give any information about the other two. The three had 'been loitering about the neighborhood of the drug store practically all of Saturday, said Mr. Pierce. The two who got away were said to have been older in apf>earance than Heimel, one of them wearing a felt hat and the other a straw hat. The latter was said to be about 35 or 40 years old. Not Seriously Hurt The scene of the shooting was just to the east of the drug store and next (Please turn to page 4) books ‘ordered were carefully chosen j by a joint book committee, and sup- j McPh6rS0n tO Build plement books on the standard graded and high school reading lists that are- not in the county school libraries. By j this means, the library hopes to be Begun on Fine English On Country Club Site Me to work in direct connection with the county schools in the matter of required supplementary school read ing. The list embraces the better known childrenfs diassicB, together with standard works in the non-fiction list required for school readnig. Many New Books New books for the adult depart ment have been added by funds rais ed through the Woman’s Club mem bership fee, and with this amount about twenty books of new current fiction have been purchased. The li brary plans to rent out these newer books of fiction at the rate of ten cents a week until they pay for their initial cost. Following that, they will be transferred to the regular free collection. The Carthage Woman’s Club is anx ious that it be clearly understood that the library is open to all people liv ing in the county, as well as to Car thage residents. They are starting what is the nucleus of a unified county library system, though they are sadly hampered by lack of funds. They are pledged to raise the reading stand ards of Moore county, which are among the lowest in a state whose li brary facilities are at the bottom com- Colonial House Near Travis and French Homes (Please turn to paj:e 4) Adding to the many fine homes now under construction in the immediate vicinity of Southern Pines, George Mc Pherson has started work on an Eng*- lish Colonial type dwelling to be lo cated on lot number 305 on Hill Drive not far from the fine residences of J’. F. Travis and Emmett French in the Southern Pines Country Club de velopment. The house, rising from a gentle slope amid the pines will be placed well back from the road and will face due westward, overlooking the 5th fairway of the recently completed sec ond eighteen; from the second floor the valley towards Aberdeen and the slopes of Paint Hill will he in full view. To be completed by December 1st, this handsome addition to the new homes in this fine location will be of brick and stucco construction, thirty- two by fifty feet, with slate roof; the lower floor to contain living room with large fire place, dining room, kitchen, bed room and sun room; the second floor to have three bed rooms and two baths, the garage with ser vants’ quarters to be separate from the house.