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1946 FUND CAMPAUN
1946 FUND I
VOL. 26. NO. 14
Duncan Matthews
Dies In Moore Co.
Hospital Tuesday
Death Comes To Late
Southern Pines Mayor
After Long Illness
Southern Pines. North Carolina. Friday. March 1. 1946.
TEN CENTS
NEVER!
Know Your Red Cross Drive, Chairmen in Southern Pines
Following a long illness, and
confinement in the Moore Coun
ty Hospital during the'past seven
weeks, W. Duncan Matthews
died unexpectedly, shortly before
two o’clock Tuesday morning.
With his passing Southern
Pines loses another of its civic
leaders as Mr. Matthews, aside
from his former official capacity
as Mayor of the city, was ever
active in forwarding measures
for the public good and with ad
vice freely given in private af
fairs, which coupled with a
happy smile, gained him. a host
of friends.
Born May 26, 1890, at East
Bend, Yadkin County, N. C., the
son of the late Rev. J. M. Mat
thews, he was a graduate of the
Mount Pleasant Collegiate Insti
tute, and Trinity College. Follow
ing a year spent as a teacher in
the Sampson County schools, he
moved in 1911 to Vass where he
married Rachael Cameron, dau
ghter of the late Mr. and Mrs. A.
Cameron, on F' ’oruary 27, 1913.
He became a member of the
faculty of vhe Vass-Lakeview
School, later becoming principal,
which office he held until 1927.
Becoming much interested in civ
ic affairs, he was elected mayor
of Vass. During this time he was
intent on becoming a lawyer
and studied law at home, going to
Wake Forest for a final summer
course. He took and passed, the
State Bar examinations in 1926.-
First establishing an office' in
Vass, he moved to Southern
Pines making his home here in
1935. In May, 1941, he was elect
ed mayor of Southern Pines and
reelected at the close of the two
year term. He was a member of
the Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs.
Mr. Matthews is survived by
his widow, three sons, Joseph A.,
of Orangeburg, S. C., Preston and
Warren of Southern Pines, two
grandchildren Lana and Kay
Matthews of Southern Pines, a
daughter, Mrs. Harry Fullenwil-
der of Southern Pines, a sister,^
• (Continued on Page 5)
From Berlin. Captain Ben
Bradin writes of the "amaz
ing and lendlessly frustrating
channels of this APO."
and of the papers
which he has not received—
the Pilots wandering over
Europe like "the thousands
of ragged bits of humanity
of eastern Europe, floating
hither and thither . . . The
shocking picture." he contin
ues* "of these bits from the
flaming torch of mental in
tegrity, these brave banners
of Truth (the Pilots) wander
ing helplessly and hopeless
ly over the face of Europe
for years, ever in alien
hands, until they become so
dog-eared and illegible that
the 'Sand Box' could scarcely
be deciphered. . .
And so. to daughter Jane, "I
picture you now, after read
ing this, rushing in girlish
enthusiasm to the Pilot of
fice, crying, "No, never shall
the Pilot join the ranks of
the D. P.'s!"
Former Mayor Dies
» /X
Forest Fires Fanned By High Wind
Do Widespread Property Damage
Five Separate Blazes
PLEASE RETURN
Following a jump by units
of the 82nd Airborne Divi
sion on last Thursday, Feb
ruary 21st, northeast from
Southern Pines along the
Manchester Road, officers of
the airborne have asked citi
zens to return parachutes
and equipment found to the
Police Department in South
ern Pines. Hopefully sub
mitting their request, the
military states that upwards
of a $1,000 worth of the red,
blue, and green silk has gone
unrecovered following jumps
in the past.
zens
Your Red Cross must carry on!” is the slogan advan,ped by these four energetic-appearing citi-
pictured supporting the Red Cross emblem above. Left to right, they are: John S. Ruggles, drive
chairman for the town of Southern Pines; Hermann Qrover, chairman for hotels and rooming houses;
Mrs James S Milliken, chairman for the residential districts; and Sam B. Richardson, chairman for
the business district. (Photo by Humphrey)
Launched Today, With Local Quota Set At $6,500,
Red Cross Fund Campaign In Moore Gets Underway
Plans for the 1946 Red Cross jportance of post-war service. Men
now in the hospitals at home and
(overseas, members of the armed
forces awaiting return to the
States, and those continuing in
their service abroad—^these men
and their families must not be
forgotten by those whom they
Miss Bruton Addresses
Auxiliary Wednesday
Miss Ellen Bruton, who is re
turning to the Moore County
Hospital as superintendent of
Nurses will speak to the Hos
pital Auxiliary on Wednesday,
March 6. The meeting is sche
duled for 10:30 A. M., in the
living room of the Nurses’
Home, and all women, whether
members or not, are cordially
invited to come.
A native of Mo' re County,
Miss Bruton has seen the Hos
pital grow from 35 beds to the
present crowded capacity of 85,
and her familiarity with hospi
talization problems in this area
should make her talk especially
interesting.
Local Five Downs
Jonesboro To Cop
District 4 Title
School Basketeers
Take Double Bill
29-19 And 32-12
Fund Campaign in Moore County
were definitely reviewed at a
joint -meeting of county Red
Cross officials and the Sandhills
Kiwanis Club, held at the South
ern Pines Country Club on Wed
nesday. A^ Red Cross field and
executive officials, ccamty'-'and
community chairmen and work
ers joined with the Kiwanians in
a last minute “council of War,”
the fund campaign was outlined
as an accelerated drive getting
underway today, March 1st, to
extend through March 9th.
A. L. Burney of Soxithern, there is urgent need
Pines drive chairman for Moore „
County, has announced the coun-i
ty quota as $20,400, while the The Red Cross workers pre
quota for Southern Pines has ^ sented were Mrs^. Joi^ad,
been set at $6,500. Last year’s ” " ’ "
county quota was $39,200, which
was principal speaker. Having
accompanied the distinguished
17th Airborne Division through
out its activation, training, and
service in various theatres of ac
tion, Straub presented a compre
hensive report of Red Cross work
under combat conditions. Stress-
defended, ;*|rs.''^pn;Tl«dy 'topha- 'ing the present heed pf providing
for those still in service, he point
ed out that the armed forces
sized.
Overworked staffs of govern-
ment hospitals everywhere are made a request to Red Cross
by Jack Bilyeu
A strong and well-coordinated
Southern Pines aggregation put
themselves a step nearer state
laurels on Wednesday night by
defeating a game crew of Jones
boro contenders to the tune of
32 to 12 in a clash for the 4th
District title within the Class C
Eastern Conference. In a spirited
preliminary to the championship
fray, played on neutral ground
at Aberdeen, the girl basketeers
of Southern Pines dov/ned Jones
boro girls 29-19.
Playing nip and tuck ball
through two quarters, the con
tenders, tense and aggressive, ap
peared evenly matched until,
with a flurry of baskets in the
(Continueq on Page 5)
desperately in need of Red Cross
assistance in caring for these
men through their illness and
lonesomeness, she stated. Now
more than ever before, it was
On Tuesday Keep Fire
Fighters On The Run
The facts that there had been
a hard rain the previous night
and that the strong wind which
blew all day did not shift, prob
ably saved the towns of
Southern Pines and Aberdeen
from serious devastation by fire,
Tuseday.
In the case of Southern Pines
and Manley, another thing that
helped was the self-sacrificing
spirit of those land-owners and
(neighbors who, starting, soon;
after twelve noon when the fire
was first discovered, remained
on the job, fighting fire till four
o’clock the .following morning.
Starting from a spark blown
into the surrounding woods from
the fire under the washpot of
Sally Gibson, on Young’g Road,
J. Talbot Johnson
To Run For Slate
Senate from Moore
generous response of the various
communities upped to a peak of
$50,000.
Presenting to the assembled
businessmen local workers repre
senting the eight volunteer ser
vices organized within the Red
Cross, Mrs. William J. Kennedy,
executive secretary of the Moore
County Chapter, stressed the im-
Hospital Recreation; Miss Har
riet Barnum, Home Service; Mrs.
A. L. Burney, Production Corps.;
Mrs. J. T. Overton, Surgical
Dressings; Miss Denciq Trousdell,
Motor Corps; and Suzanne Hum
phries, aged seven, representing
the Junior Red Cross.
officials that the organization
service be continued in the vet
erans’ hospitals.
Also present at the meeting
were Miss Mary Phillips, Red
Cross general field representa
tive, and Miss Laura Kelsey, co-
chairman of volunteer special
services.
For conducting of the 1946
fund campaign in Southern
Pines, John S. Ruggles, local
chairman, stated in an interview
this week that a system has been
cSevised for personally contact
ing each and ■’every citizen. Chair
man for the business districts is
A strong and eloquent appeal Richardson, who has ap-
for the current drive was made | pointed a sub-chairman for
by Harrison Straub, assistant i each commercial building in
field director at Fort Bragg, who | (Continued on Page 8)
Johnston Joins
Staff of Pilot
TRA. LA!
Letter To Editor Stressing Forest Fire
Control Comes At Opportune Moment
^Dear Editor;
I have read with interest your
editorial in THE PILOT of the
15th instant, (“The Loan to
Britain”).
I believe your version is right,
and I wish to compliment you on
your knowledge of this import
ant subject.
I notice also the following edi
torial in the same issue in regard
to Wind, Fire and Woods. The
State of Massachusetts has a well
backed law whereby all citizens
are obliged to have proper au
thority for burning any rubbish
or brush. This order is carefully
followed by the proper officials.
If ’such were possible in North
Carolina, I believe fewer forest
fires would take place. For some
reason. North Carolina is, or at
least the various counties in the
State are, very lax in following
up the present menace due to
no control of these brush fires.
Sincerely yours,
C. T. Crocker
(The Pilot is extremely compli
mented to receive such a letter,
from such a man. Compliments
are always gratifying but when
they come from one who speaks
with the authority of experience
and knowledge, they are doubly
so. These are parlous times; it
is good to know for sure that
we are on the right side. And
when such a man as C. T.
Crocker agrees with The Pilot
then we know we are on the
right side. The wtiter’s comment
anent forest fires is particularly
pertinent, coming the day after
one of the worst series of such
fires this community has seen in
a long time. Ed.)
The Pilot takes pleasure in an
nouncing the addition to its staff
of Thomas G. Johnston, formerly
of Aberdeen.
Appropriately enough, the new
est member to take service under
The Pilot, comes to the Sand
hills straight from the sea. Enter
ing the Navy in 1942, Tom John
ston saw service first as a lieu
tenant in charge of Navy gun
crews in the Pacific and Atlan
tic, and for the last year and
seven months, as skipper of an
LSM with the Amphibious forces
in the Pacific.
Previous to his war experience,
Johnston spent the years after
he left Princeton, acting as copy
writer and photographer with the
New York advertising firms of
J. Stirling Getchell, Inc., Batten,
Barton, Durstine, and Osborne,
and 'McCann-Erickson, and one
year as “Senior Promotion Spec-
alist” with WPB in Washington,
D. C.
He brings to The Pilot the ben
efit of his experience in the ad
vertising field and his skill as a
photographer, coupled with his
native love of the Sandhills and
interest in everything to do with
Moore County. He is the brother
of Mrs. Lee Page and is married
to the former Isabel McMullen.
They have two little boys.
The flowers that grow in
the spring are starting early
to show that they have a
great deal to do with the
case of beauty in these here
parts. With the accent on
camellias, the Fayetteville
Garden Club is staging a
camellia show on March 7th
and 8th, at the USO on An
derson St.; entries to be
March 7th between 10:30 and
12:30.
Get busy, gardeners!
March of Dimes Is
March of Dollars
Leading again this year in
gross contributions to the county
wide drive in the national fight
against infantile paralysis, cit
izens of Southern Pines gave
$1,550.59 as a grand total for the
local campaign, community chair
man Paul C. Butler announced
early this week.
This year’s contributions frorr
Southern Pines represept an in
crease of $22.05 over the amount
collected in 1945, and a total of
$700.59 above the quota for this
year, which had been set at
$850.00. Clifton H. Blue, county
March of Dimes chairman, has
expressed his appreciation to
Chairman Butler for his most
(Continued on Page 5)
26th Annual Golf
Play For Seniors
Coming in with 79’s over the
No. 1 course of the Pinehurst
Club, two players from northern
clubs, Francis R. Ryan of Wheat-
ley Hills, Long Island, and Rob
inson Cook of the Hartford,
Conn., club, were best in the
qualifying round of the 26th an
nual Senior’s championship
which got underway at Pinehurst
on Monday.
Limited to players 55 years of
age and over, the Senior’s tour
nament was divided into four
age classes. Ryan and Cook took
the honors in class D as well as
the low qualifying prize.
Winners in Class A were Hugh
R. Hatfield, Hanover, Mass.; H-
Frederick Leash, Brookline Club,
Boston, Mass.; and F. T. Wheeler,
Shuttle Meadow club. New Brit
ain, Conn., who tied with 91’s.
Leading the Class B field were
Robert W. Smith, Greensburg
club, Greensburg, Pa., with 85,
while Class C honors went to
M. S. Little of the Darien, Conn.,
club, with 83.
Advancing to the semi-fmals
in the Senior’s tournament on
Tuesday, both Cook and Robin
son took their matches in the
top-flight division of play. Ryan
defeated E. G. Riley, of the Pine
hurst club, 5-4, while Cook best
ed Howard G. Phillips of Pine
hurst 1 up.
Aberdeen Lawyer
Known for Interest
In All County Affairs
J. Talbot Johnson, of Aber
deen, has announced that he will
be a candidate for the State Sen
ate from Moore County.
This year it becomes Moore
County’s turn to nominate a can
didate for our district, which
comprises the three counties of^
Moore, Hoke, and Randolph. The
present incumbent, Ryan Mac-
Bride, nominated from Raeford,
retiring automatically at the end
of the two year term, leaves the
way open for the announcement
of Johnson’s candidacy.
In making his decision known,
the Aberdeen attorney said: “I
have long coveted the honor of
representing Moore County—^my
native heath—as State Senator.
Actuated by this ambition, and
encouraged by endorsements
from friends throughout the
county, I shall be a candidate for
this office in the forthcoming
Democratic Primary.
“If I am honored with the nom
ination and election, it will be
my avowed • purpose and pleas
ure to represent the citizens of
this County, District, and State
to the best of my ability, in all
matters relating to the general
welfare of the public.”
Well-known in Moore County
affairs for many years, this is
the first time the candidate has
turned towards the state political
(Continued on Page 5)
JEWEL SUSPECT!
Pinehurst's $12,000 jewel
robbery is still unsolved, but
the Pinehurst Police, along
with Biddle 8c Co., insurance
agents, are hot on the trail
of a likely suspect.
Except for this present
man of mystery the trail is
admittedly inldiistinct and I
covers practically every
shady character known to be
in Pinehurst the night of the
robbery. None of the finger
prints tested have matched
those of Pinehurst's leading
bad men.
Recent light, however, has
been thrown on Bds man,
a Negro seen in the vicinity
and known to be "tilting the
bottle" during the afternoon.
Mrs. Frances C. Henderson
states that while the largest
pieces were insured, there
were others of greater senti
mental valute uninsured.
Among these were old fash
ioned Danish pins and brace
lets worth about $3,000.
She saw the thief silhou
etted in the. windgw about to
make a 16 foot leap to brick
steps below and remembers
calling out; "Don't jump,
you'll kill yourself." She did
not then know her jewel case
was miissing. Now, Mirs. Hen
derson says she wuhes the
robber had broken a leg, or
at least something to slow
his progress.
Younkers farm. It crossed the
Yadkin Road,despite efforts at
backfire, and burnt the woods
and one of the pastures and a
barn on the Moss’ Mileaway
Farm. Hard work on the part of
Ozelle and Mrs. Moss and their
men saved the main pasture and
stables and confined the fire'
to the wooded area. Here it rag
ed unchecked, though two part
ies of fire fighters, one led by
Ozelle, Moss and one by Harry
Goldsmith and Babe McCrimmon,
were working on opposite sides
to gain control. The small light
truck of the Southern Pines fire
department. Assistant Chief L.
S. Rowell in charge, attempted
some help, but did not remain on
the scene very long.
Meanwhile from Aberdeen,
simultaneously with discoviery
of the Young’s Road fire, came
news of a brush fire on Page Hill
spreading to the rear of the
houses and the Chemical Plant
on the Aberdeen Road. Answer
ing that call, the Southern i^ines
pumper truck with Chief
O’Callahan went to the scene,
but finding their services super
fluous, returned to their quarters.
Their return was followed by a
call from the Younkers farm
where the fire fighters were des
perately trying to save the barn.
The truck answered the call but
too late to be of any avail. Again,
at 5:45, they answered a call to
the old Southern Pines-Pinehurst
road where a blaze was sweep
ing towards Mt. Hope Cemetery.
At a late hour Tuesday night
Aberdeen farmers were fighting
fire around Dr. Chester’s house
in the old Marlboro farms prop
erty. The Pinehurst firemen were
battling fires coming up through
the Chapin Orchard from the
south, while all night the band of
local fire-fighters back of the
Moss farm, reinforced now by
ithe Boyd brothers anid others
from neighboring farms, tried
hard to save the fine woodland,
much of it the best of the fox
hunting coujntry.
The high strong wind . blew
steadily on into the night and
everywhere forest wardens and
soot-faced crews of tired men
battled amid the dense smoke
and crackling brush.
As to the Southern Pines fire,
the verdict wap: carelessness
started it; more men and more
equipment might have stopped
it.
Keep Ration Book 4!
Housewives were advised to
day by the Office of Price Ad
ministration to retain in their
possession War Ration Book 4,
now used to obtain sugar.
Although the currently valid
sugar stamp 39 is the last stamp
in War Ration Book 4, that is
speciafically labeled for purchas
es of sugar, spare stamps in that
book will be designated as sugar
stamps from time to time.
Sugar Stamp 40 was used for
the 1944 home canning program
. . . OP A, you’re telling us!