ANNUAL EDITION
ARMY NUMBER
SECOND SECTION
VOLUME 28. NO. 51
Southern Pines and
Southern Pines... Its Evolution From
a Sand Barren to a World Famed Resort
Surviving Pioneers Proud
of Their Beautiful Town;
Its History Briefly Told
By CHARLES MACAULEY
For the information of the many
new residents of Southern Pines we
herewith present in concise form the
salient facts of its history—the
story of a town built upon sand
from practically nothing into a
world-famed winter resort.
As a town. Southern Pines can
celebrate its 60th anniversary though
its most material progress was made
in the last 20 years. The preceding 40
years were the days of the pioneers
carrying out the plans of its founder,
the late John T. Patrick. Started in
1883, in a desolate.-sandy barren that
was the despair of the State, i f is
now a thriving municipality of up
wards of 3,500 inhabitants, occupy
ing modern homes, located in well
kept grounds on tree and shrubbery
lined avenues, of which the major
part are surfaced. They have ade
quate police and fire protection, am
ple supply of pure water from the
municipal plant. Enjoy the advan
tages of excellent public and private
schools, a fine library, churches of
five denominations, a splendid coun
try club, good postal, telephone and
telegraph service, numerous stores,
and services of an exceptionally able
body of physicians, dentists, pharma
cists and lawyers-
Indian Trails
The first Europeans, hunters from
Virginia and the North Carolina
coast settlements, undoubtedly came
in contact with the Indians, but as
they left no records what little we
know is almost all traditionary. For
the most part they were roving
bands of Siouan stock who used two
well defined trails within our limits.
The "Peedee trail" passed through
West Southern Pines; the "Yadkin
trail" passed through Manly and is
now a part of the Midland Road.
Both trails were used by the first
settlers of Moore County and soon
became travelled roads. While num
erous camp sites and some few vil
lage sites are quite near, the only
actual site within our corporate lim
its was at the spring head near the
Peedee trail, now Bennett street and
Illinois avenue.
Beginning about 1745, and contin
uing at intervals for the next 80
years, settlers almost entirely from
Scotland and the Western Isles lo
cated at many points contiguous to
our present limits, but in common
with all Seaboard states, the west
ward trek of the third and fourth
decades of the 19th century caused a
severe loss in population to the Sand
hills- Here, this may have an even
earlier impetus, owning to the des
perate and bitter struggle between
the Whigs and Tories in the latter
years of the Revolution. Outside of
their raids and forays there were no
battles or passage of regular troops
of either armies.
These first settlers found a coun
try of rolling ridges with deep cleft
valleys interspersed with easily ford
able clear streams; land topped with
awe-inspiring stands of magnificent
timber of which the stately long
leafed pines predominated; ground
carpeted with a lavish growth of par
tridge peas so luxuriant as to grow
almost knee high a food eagerly
sought by the profusion of wild life
ranging the forests. White tailed
deer, bears, wolves, turkeys and
doves were so numerous as to be
a menace to fields and to the cattle
turned into the woods to forage,
though the once numerous buffalo
had gone-
First Town Site Settlers
The first actual known settlers
within the present town limits were
McNeills, whose grants for the most
part were southeast and southwest
of the present Morganton Road- A
family graveyard is now part of Mt.
Hope Cemetery. The first sale known
was that of (John) McNeill to Char
les C. Shaw in 1820, who for a num
bers of years lived with his family la
the McNeill cabin on the site of the
(Continued on Page 2)
T H
AS WE SEE IT
In sections two and three of
this Annual Issue oi THE PILOT
its staff has labored to present
a word picture of the war as it
affects Southern Pines, its citi
zens. its men in the service, the
men and women in uniform who
make their home here, or are
temporary visitors from Fort
Bragg or Camp Mackall, and the
efforts of our people either in
dividually or as members of civ
ic bodies and churches for the
comfort, welfare and entertain
ment of all in uniform-
Legion Hut Proves
Boon to Weekenders
Soldiers and Families
Appreciate "Train Meeting"
Service of Legionnaires
By L. D. WILLIAMS
Shortly after Camp Mackall was
opened last Spring, Sandhills Post of
American Legion decided that some
j thing must be done to'assist the sol
diers on pass here over the week
, end, as hotel accommodations were
! entirely inadequate. As funds were
| low, it was decided that whatever
I was done must be of a*temporary na
i ture.
I A committee was appointed by
! Commander Currie and in a few days
| a truck load of mattresses donated
by Pinehurst. Inc.. was unloaded at
the Legion Hut- A call was made to
I the Auxiliary who provided light
! bedding, coffee and doughnuts-
Plans were made to build platforms
H. J. BETTERLEY
The present board of Southern Pines commissioners is headed by Mayor W. Duncan Matthews, with Commissioner L. V.
O'Callaghan as mayor pro-tem. Mr. O'Callaghan has served on the Board since 1927; E. C. Stevens in 1929, and again from 1935;
H. J. Betterley from 1937 and M. F. Grantham from 1941. A. B. Patterson is the new member having been elected to office in 1943.
Mayor Matthews has served since 1941. Howard Burns, City Clerk and Treasurer, has served since 1925.
for the mattresses and secure more
blankets later. Several public spir
ited people donated money for blan
kets, but it wasn't until Charlie Pic
quet generously offered a "cut" of
the sale of tickets to "This Is the
Army" that enough money was in
sight to buy bedding for thirty sol
diers. The Post also offers reading
and writing material to the men-
Many service men and women and
their dependents arrive in Southern
Pines daily and through no fault of
their own do not have hotel reserva
tions, and do not know how to con
tact the soldier. Sometimes the sol
dier will meet one train but does not
have time to meet the next one and
reluctantly goes back to camp won
dering what his wife or sweetheart
will do if he is not there to meet the
train- The Post has appointed Leo
nard Van Fossen, better known as
"Van," to render this service and
from reports this service is much ap
preciated- This Legionnaire meets
the late trains and assists all who
are in trouble- He has the full co
operation of the railroad officials and
the Police Department. "Van" also
takes care of the boys at the Hut on
Saturday night-
The present officers of the Post
are: Commander, John H- Stephen
son; Vice Commanders; John G. Har-
Southern Pines. North Carolina Friday, November 19, 1943.
The Present Town Fathers
W. DUNCAN MATTHEWS, Mayor
L. V- O'CALLAGHAN
M. F. GRANTHAM
Presbyterians Began!
Soldier Work in '4O
Now Have Bathing, Shaving
and Sleeping Facilities
in Church Basement
BY L. VAN FOSSEN
The Brownson Memorial Presby
terian Church first started taking
care of our soldiers' comfort during
the maneuvers which were being
held in this area in the fall of 1940
by installing an electric water heater
and showers in the basement of the
church so that the tired and dusty
; men could have the comforts of a
. good hot bath when they came to
. town.
i After war was declared, the large
I number of soldiers that were sta
tioned near Southern Pines taxed
i the local hotels to capacity with the
> result that soldiers were sleeping on
- benches in the park, the railroad
1 station and any other place that
i (Continued on Page 8) ,
rington, Chester L Williams, J- F.
t Smith; Adjutant, L. D- Williams;
■ Finance Officer. L. V. O'Callaghan;
• Publicity, D. A. Currie.
*' fii
E. C. STEVENS
r
"li
.■  f j
A. B. PATERSON
Red Cross Canteen
Forerunner of USO
j Carried On Splendidly at
Civic Club for Four Months
Prior to Coming of U.S.O.
When the need first arose in
Southern Pines a year ago for a
place the soldiers could use during
their time off. the Red Cross Canteen
Corps was called into service- The
Corps consisted of 21 women, who
had taken the prescribed Red Cross
course of 40 hours, and 14 Canteen
Aides who assisted them- The Can
teen chairman was Mrs- Eugene C-
Stevens, vice-chairman, Mrs H- Hol
abird Towne, and Mrs- Guy Whittall
was treasurer.
The Corps was fortunate in secur
ing the use of the Civic Club, which
they turned into a hospitable place
for recreation, providing the soldiers
with books, magazines, games, writ
ing material, radio and victrola, and
servng sandwiches, homemade cakes,
coffee and cigarettes to all who
came. It proved a most popular
place and men were entertained from
; every state in the union.
The funds for this enterprise were
(Continued on Page 8)
the Army
U.S.O. Is Mecca of
Army Men, Women
Many Forms of Amusement
and Personal Services
Are Provided by Club
By GEORGE B. FERRY
The U- S- O- Club in Southern
Pines is housed in an attractive, well
kept building, complete with ter
race, stone walks and gardens- The
interior is spacious, ideal for the
well attended weekly dances held
each Saturday night- Music for the
dances is furnished by the generous
services of the bands of various
units from Camp Mackall.
Each Wednesday evening is devot
ed to dancing classes conducted as
an aid to those who desire to learn
to dance- These classes are helpful
and still lots of fun.
The reading and writing room is
comfortable and offers many current
publications, a variety of books and
generous supplies of stationery.
A grand assortment of games vary
ing from two to many more partici
pants' amusement are within reach.
There is also tennis equipment on
hand which is available for use on
the courts opposite the Club.
The new shower facilities are a
great boon to the men. Included
therein are shaving and shoe shin
ing aids-
Refreshments are served on Wed
nesday afternoon and evening, also
Saturday and Sunday afternoons and
evenings and breakfast on Sunday
morning.
The U. S- O- Club under the aus
pices of the National Catholic Ser
vice began operations under the date
of June 18. 1943- The total attend
ance of the guests at the Club is 25,-
338 to date. Throughout Southern
Pines in various advantageous loca
tions may be seen the Red, White
H. F. BURNS
and Blue signs of the USO. To some,'
these signs mean long hours devoted j
to the carrying out of a great moral
responsibility belonging to all, that j
of serving and aiding in every way
possible the men and women of the
Armed Forces and their families. To
others, these signs convey a message
of welcome and an invitation to ex- j
plore the facilities for comfort and
pleasure offered by the organization.
It is the duty of every U. S. O.
Club to afford the opportunities for
meeting and solving many problems
which confront the vast numbers of
our national population forced to
move constantly from one location
to another. It is the hope of every
U- S. O- Club to be able to offer a
place of warmth and friendliness, to
read, rest, dance and sing- A haven
for companionship and hospitality.
U- S- O- services are available to
five feminine groups- These groups
include wives, mothers and children
of men in uniform; women in the
Armed Forces, WACS, WAVES and
SPARS; U. S- O. Senior and Junior
Hostesses.
Today women are filling up the
ranks left by men in the Service.
Women are in the Armed Forces;
they are taking civilian jobs on the
assembly line; they ere fitting into
(Continued on Page 5)
SOUTHERN PINES
WELCOMES SOLDIERS
SECOND SECTION
TEN CENTS
Red Cross Reports
Ail-Out Service
Ministrations of This Hu
manitarian Organization
Reach Around the World
By MRS. E. V. HUGHES
Every type of trouble known to
man walks in the office door of
Moore County Chapter, American
Red Cross, in a week. The Executive
Secretary studies the nature of the
difficulty and dispatches it to the
department or departments best
equipped to work out an adequate
solution, as the problem may require
the services of the County Chairman
and the Executive Board, the Home
Service Bureau, and all the Special
Volunteer Services. But have no
fear! If it requires the attention of
every volunteer, it will get it. Red
Cross does not shirk responsibilities.
If the problem is of distressing
proportions it is safe to presume that
it will become a first consideration
of the Home Service Bureau, with
one or more of the service corps as
sisting. The usefulness of this de
partment has expanded beyond the
most daring anticipation since No
vember, 1942, as a result of the sud
den intake of population following
the establishment of the Airborne
Command at Camp Mackall- Accord
ing to the November, 1943, report.
Home Service was this year's out
standing achievement.
Three Home Service case workers
carry on this tremendous program.
They give counsel on and obtain ma
ternity care for wives and medical
and nursing care for infants of en
listed men in military service; allot
ments and allowances for depend
ents; make claims for compensations
and government benefits to ex-ser
vice men, help secure vocational re
habilitation for them and arrange for
their hospital and medical care; as
sist in communication between ser
vice men and women and their fam
ilies; complete data on social histor
ies for medical departments; make
reports on home conditions needed
by commanding officers in deciding
on discharges, furloughs, and clem
ency; give financial help in special
family needs; help to meet other
family difficulties as well as solic
iting the aid of other agencies; make
temporary emergency loans; verify
the necessity for emergency fur
loughs; secure information neces
sary to the release of men because of
"dependency"; investigate and give
counsel in A.W.O.L. and desertion
cases; get letters, cables and radio
grams to American prisoners of the
enemy. If a form is to be filled out,
the Home Service Department fills
it- The War and Navy departments
look to Red Cross for all of the
above services.
In the last year between 2,500 and
3,000 Home Service Cases were
handled by Moore County Chapter.
Many allotment and allowance forms
were filled out. Allotment is that
part of his pay a soldier signs over
to his dependents, in which they
benefit according to their kinshrip.
An allowance is what the govern
ment allows a family in need in ad
dition to the allotment. Patient edu
cation on how to obtain these bene
fits is necessary for many. The forms
are complicated and, while the gov
ernment is exceedingly efficient at
answering appeals, errors in applica
tion, frequent change of address and
other confusing situations arise to
interfere with results. Allotment
checks get lost or are delivered to
the wrong parties. Two women with
the same name complicated an al
lotment check here several weeks
ago- The two women had the same
name and lived on the same street
in the same town, but were unac
quainted. The check went to the
wrong woman, who was told, when
she asked for an explanation, that
her husband was a prisoner of the
Germans. She appealed to the Red
Cross, who investigated. Many hours
of work were required to clear this
case, get the allotment check to the
right party and information correct
ly classified, but Red Cross did it.
A type of case requiring consider
able investigation is the verification
of illness and death in families ot
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