VOL. 30—NO. 35
14 PAGES THIS WEEK
Southern Pines, N. Cf. Friday. July 22, 1949
14 ?AGES THIS WEEK
TEN QENTS
Postal Inspector
Making Survey For
City Delivery Here
All Houses Musi Be
Numbered Before
Approval Is Given
%
Rotarians Present Cheek. To Help Pay For Band Unifornis
Routes Being Outlined
Postal Inspector J. M. Risley
arrived here Tuesday to spend
several days in making an official
survey Of Southern Pines for the
possible installment of city mail
delivery service.
The survey is being made in re
sponse to a request by Postmaster
A. Garland Pierce, follov/ing a
ballot taken at the post office Sat
urday, April 16, under sponsor
ship of the Southern Pines Cham
ber of Commerce.
The ballot, in which all post of
fice patrons were asked to indi
cate their approval or disapprov
al of the inauguration of city de
livery, showed an overwhelming
public sentiment in its favor. Of
some 900 ballots signed, only 26
were against the delivery service.
Inspector Risley, starting his
survey with the aid of a map of
all city blocks of Southern Pines
and West Southern Pines, said he
knows of no other town in the
state—or anywhere, for that mat
ter—the size of this one which
does not have such service.
Many towns much smaller, such
as Louisburg, Clayton and Frank-
linton, have mail delivery.
Must Number Houses
However^ he said, the postal de
partment does not go by size, but
by the wish of the people, as in
dicated by their willingness to go
to some trouble to get the service.
The town government has to help,
by seeing that all streets are
plainly marked; and householders
must see that their homes are cor
rectly numbered. He suggested
that citizens who do not have
numbers on their houses put them
on at once, as this is necessary
before approval can be given.
The service, once installed, ap
pears to be extremely flexible, ip,
many ways yet to be learned here.
For instance, Mr. Risley said pa
trons wishing to have home de
livery may have it, and also re
tain their boxes for Sunday use
if they please.
However, one object of install
ing the service would be to re
lease boxes of those the delivery
routes would serve, for the use
of those they would not. Many
here have been on the waiting list
for a box for two or three years,
with small prospect of getting one
under present circumstances.
Mail Routes
Inspector Risley will check' all
well-populated streets to lay out
tentative mail routes. These will
go in areas 50 per cent or more
built up, where streets are paved
and marked, and houses num
bered.
Patrons living off the mail
routes will have the choice of (1)
a box at the post office;'(2) gen
eral delivery; (3) putting up a
mailbox along the route, with
permission of the property owner.
Inauguration of mail delivery
service will also bring parcel post
delivery by truck to the home.
The inspector could give no es
timate as to the time it would
take to get the service going, once
his survey is completed and postal
department approval secured.
Aberdeen Dam Saved from Flood
By All-Night Labors of Citizens
Janet Menzel Is Peach Queen
Here J. G. Womble (in white suit), director of the Southern Pines school band, receives from Russell
Lorenson a check for $229.68 to help pay off the balance of the cost of the band uniforms. This was the
profit of a successful June event held by the Southern Pines Rotary club—a chicken fry at Mile-Away
Farm, of which Mr. Lorenson was chairman.
The presentation was made at last Friday’s Rotary luncheon meeting, held at the Village Inn. Guests
were Director Womble, P. J. Weaver (extreme right), school superintendent, and band members Gar
land Frank Pierce and Jane Lorenson, children of Rotarians.
Among Rotary members in the background may be seen, between IVomble and Lorenson, Morris
Johnson, who supervised the cooking at the chicken fry, and President Harry Lee Brown; and, glimpsed
just behind Jane Lorenson, Garland Pierce, program chairmem for the presentation meeting.
Director Womble spoke of the educational value of the band and its contribution to the community.
Superintendent Weaver expressed appreciation to the Rotarians, and said it was a pleasure for a school
man to work in a community which gave the school such interest and support. (Photo by Humphrey)
Janet Menzel,
old daughter of Mr. and Mrs
Harry Menzel of Southern Pines,
upheld the glory of her home
community at the Rockingham
Peach Festival Wednesday by be
ing crowned its queen.
She was awarded a silver
trophy and will be given an all
expense-paid trip to Florida, vrith
chaperone to attend the Orange
Festival at Fort Lauderdale next
month.
The contest^of 19 young ladies
was held in the Rockngham ath-
jletic park, overflowing with a
crowd estimated at 16,000, as cli
max to a day filled with exciting
events.
A large delegation went from
Southern Pines, and came home
hoarse from cheering on their fav
orite. The contest was conducted
by the elimination method, secur
ing utmost suspense. “Janet was
a natural from the beginning,”
several of them reported later.
“Her poise, her queenly bearing
and radiant smile set her off from
lovely 17-year- the start—she won hands down!”
Governor Is I^resent
The open arena was arranged
with shrubbery and garden furni
ture like the garden of a hand
some home. A vine-entwined
staircase served as a backdrop for
the limelighted events—a fashion
show, a real wedding and the
beauty contest. Even Governor
Scott, who was present as a guest
and spoke during the afternoon,
played second fiddle at night to
the Sandhills beauties.
For the night events,' in which
she was chosen Peach Queen and
crowned by Miss Ann Steadman,
of Rockingham, 1947 queen, Janet
wore an orchid taffeta dress with
sparkling rhinestone choker. Her
dress for the afternoon parade, in
which the beauty contestants rode
on open floats, was yellow organ
dy.
Janet, a June graduate of the
Southern iPnes High school, was
Pinebluff Dam
Washed Out By
Torrential Rains
Wafers Erode City Streets
Torrential rains of late Friday
afternoon, climaxing a week of
frequent showers, cost the county
one beautiful recreation spot
when the dam of Pinebluff lake
washed out, while the cofferdam
impounding the waters of Aber
deen lake while the permanent
dam is being built was saved only
by the heroic action of Aberdeen
citizens.
Showers falling off and on aU
day Friday turned into a blinding
downpour about 6 p. m., continu
ing for an hour and a half, accord
ing to old timers, “as hard as we
have ever seen it.”
Eating away at the board-rein
forced dirt dam at the concrete
gate, the waters of Pinebluff lake
gushed through despite the efforts
sponsored in the contest by the of Boy Scouts, who cut a spillway
local Chamber of Commerce. Her at the side. It was not large
September 7 Set
For Opening Of
County Sehools
NOMINATION
Who in Southern Pines
thinks John L. Lewis would
m-'^e the best of presidents?
On "Gabriel Heatteir's
Mailbag/' MBS network pro
gram heard over WEEB here
at 12:45 p. m,, daily, the com
mentator last Friday remark
ed, "Mlany of the letters I re
ceive have presidents as their
targets. For instance—here's
one from Southern Pines, N.
C., which says, 'Hooray for
John L.! He'd make the best
president we ever had!"
The letter writer's name
was not given, and the "quote"
was not elaborated further.
So, to paraphrase HeattCr
himself—"your guess is as
good as ours."
Moore County schools will open
Wednesday, September 7, accord
ing to announcement made this
week by H. Lee Thomas, county
superintendent of schools. The
opening will follow closely on the
Labor Day week end.
A total of 191 teachers—^the
same as last year—has been al
lotted to Moore schools by the
state. However, this represents a
gain of two for the white teach
ers, to 141, and a loss of two for
the Negro teachers, now number
ing 50.
The teacher situation, which
has been extremely tight during
the war and postwar years, is con
siderably improved, he said.
There are fewer vacancies than
midsummer has seen in any year
for some past, and a large num
ber of applications have been re
ceived. No difficulty is antici
pated in filling the vacancies.
No changes of principals have
been made so f£tr except at Vass-
Lakeview, where John McCrum-
men is succeeding W. H. West, re
signed. No othe rresignations of
principals have been received',
Mr. Thomas said, and none is an
ticipated.
Staffs of the Negro schools,
which have never had the severe
teacher shortage the white schools
have experienced, wiU see few
changes. Among these- teachers,
applications outnumber available
jobs.
School buildings of the county
are undergoing their usual sum
mer repair program. Sonie major
repairs have been the re-roofing
of the Westmoore and Robbins
schools, and the Carthage elemen
tary school will also get a new
roof. At the West End school, the
old plaster ceilings have been re
placed by ceiling tiles through
out. Some major repairs are also
to be made to the Aberdeen High
School building.
All school buses are being over
hauled preparatory to being re
turned to their routes. A driver
training school is scheduled to be
held toward the end of the sum
mer.
Application has been made for
eight new school buses for the
county fleet, but it is not definite
yet if all of these, or how many,
will be granted by the state.
N > "Ians have been made as yet
f r of the state funds prom
ised for school buildings and
building additions. This will be
employed according to state di
rectives, said Mr. Thomas, follow
ing a survey to be made in each
county under state auspices.
Enlistments Made In Local Battery of
National Guard Now Being Organized
(Continued on Page 5)
W. Va. Forestry
Students To Visit
Here Wednesday
DEWBERRY MARKET
Much Interest Shown;
Many Jobs Are Open
Recruiting for a Moore County
unit of the N. C. National Guard,
to be headquartered at Southern
Pines, started last Saturday as
soon as announcement was made
that the lists were open. Within
a short time seven men were
sworn in as the battery’s first
members, and about 10 applica
tions are pending, said Capt. Clif
ford Carpenter, commanding offi
cer, this week.
Both Captain Carpenter and
Lieut. C. S. Patch, Jr., who have
been appointed as the battery’s
first officers, expressed them-
A group of 40 forestry students,
accompanied by two professors,
will pay a visit here next Wednes
day as part of a forestry inspec
tion tour, according to announce
ment by J. A. Pippin, of Rocking
ham, district forester with the N.
C. Forest Service.
Mr. Pippin has arranged for the
selves as greatly pleased over the-®’'°''P Weymouth
immediately
Moore Soars Past
98,000 Quota In
Opportunity Drive
Moore county has done it again
—passed its quota in a U. S. sav
ings bond campaign, this time the
biggest peacetime one of history.
With a quota of $98,000 in the
Opportunity Bond drive which
ended its eight-week campaign
last Saturday, Moore citizens had
by July 9 bought $110,887.50
worth of Series E government
bonds.
This figure represents 113 per
cent of the quota achieved in 93
per cent of the allotted time, ac
cording to- a U. S. Treasury re
port received by E. C. Stevens,
of Southern Pines, county chair
man of bond sales. The final re
port, made following conclusion
of the drive, is expected to show
a considerably higher figure.
Region 7, consisting of Moore
and six other counties, scoring
109.2 per cent, had the highest
percentage of quota achievement
of all the North Carolina districts,
it was reported. With a goal of
$475,000, bonds sold by July 9
totaled $518,812.50. Hoke coimty
was the first to make its quota.
Moore, Lee, Montgomery and
Scotland are now well over the
top. Only Anson and Richmond
are stUl trailing.
Moore and the region were both
well ahead of the state percent
age, it was revealed. With a quota
of $12,000,000, the report showed
North Carolina to have achieved
95 per cent, with total sales of
$(1,401,946.25.
Forty-nine counties and the
mqnicipality of Rocky Mount
were shown to have passed their
quotas, four were between 93 and,
99 per cent in achievement and
the rest were below 93 per cent.
interest which was
shown.
Sworn in as recruits during the.
first week were Richard Patch,
John O’Callaghan, Jack Ruggles,
Proctor Goldsmith and Dalton
McNeill; and, as private first class
(the rank of their military service
discharge) two young veterans
Royal A. Stutts, Jr., and Jack
Bogle. All are from Southern
Pines.
Bogle is a former marine. Pres
ent indications are that army,
navy and marines will all be rep
resented in the battery, said Cap
tain Carpenter.
30 Men Needed
By next week half the mini
mum of 30 men required for a
start will probably be sworn in.
On reaching 30 the battery will
receive federal inspection and
start immediately on its training
and other duties. Drill sessions,
for which each man receives pay
(from $2.50 up, by rank) will be
held once a week.
A recruiting table, to give in
formation and receive applica
tions, will be set up at the post
office each Saturday from 9 a.m.
to 12 noon until the required
number is reached.
The officers pointed out this
week that those who enlist now,
and are battery members at the
time of federal inspection, will
date their seniority from that
time. This has cm effect on pro
motions, assignment of jobs, etc.
It was emphasized also that
men from the entire Moore area
are eligible to join ^he battery.
Inquiries have been received from
Pinehurst, West End, Carthage,
(Continued on page 8)
Estate forestry operations here,
the Colin G. Spencer forestry op
erations at Carthage, the Rice
Estate timber operations at Pine
bluff, the General Creosoting
company at Gulf, in Chatham
county, and miscellaneous fores
try operations in Lee county.
They will reach Southern Pines
at 10 a. m. Wednesday, meeting
at the post office to start their
tour of the Boyd estate with Don
Traylor, Weymouth forester, as
guide.
An outdoor lunch is being plan
ned for them, probably at the fire
tower, after which they will visit
the Rice estate at Pinebluff.
Before leaving about 4 p. m.
they will be given a demonstra
tion of forest fire suppression and
equipment at the local tower of
the N- C. Forest Service by the
county crew.
They will come here after visit
ing Chatham and Lee counties
on Tuesday.
Assisting with the inspection
tour will be Moore County Forest
Warden Woodrow Davis, Lee
County Forest Warden A. C. Far
rell and Chatham County Forest
Warden A. B; Clark, also Mr. Pip
pin and others of the district of
fice at Rockingham.
The student group is traveling
by special bus. The field trip on
which they are in charge of
George C. Marra, associate pro
fessor of forest utilization at the
University of West Virginia, is
part of their general forestry
training course.
While in North Carolina, the
students are making their head
quarters at Duke university, trav
eling out each day in their bus on
a different inspection.
The Camieron dewberry
market wiU operate for at
least one more year, accord
ing to an announcement made
by L. B. McKeithem mana
ger of the market which for
many years was the world's
leader in its field.
Sharply diminishing prod-
' uct and sales during the past
few years had brought ideas
of abandonment. However,
said Mr. McKeithen, through
the expressed wish of the
present growers and agree
ment of the buyers, plans
are now being made for a
1950 sale, barring some un
foreseen occurrence.
M4.McKeithen reported that
6,960 crates of berries were
sold on the market in May.
Buyers had anticipated T,-:
000—an estimate not far off.
Average price* was $4.50,
which was considered good
in view of the poor quality of
the yield this year. Growers i
expressed themselves as I
pleased with the sales and
felt their efforts had been
worth while.
MooreTournament
Set For August On
Pinehurst Course
Ruggl es Heads State Committee To
Set Up Alcoholies Hospital At Butner
Sworn in Tuesday as a member
of the State Hospitals Board of
Controls, John S. Ruggles, of
Southern Pines, said later it be
came immediately apparent that
the job is not to be one “in name
only” but will involve a great
deal of real work,
A job handed him almost at
once was that of chairman of the
committee for setting up and ad-
mistering the new state hospital
for alcoholics at Camp Butner.
Governor W. Kerr Scott, speak
ing to the group following the
swearing-in ceremony at his of
fice in Raleigh, complimented (he
board on its past labors and em
phasized the greater ones which
lie ahead, as the state hospitals
vast expansion pro-
undergo ^a
gram.
The oath of office was adminis
tered by Chief Justice Walter P.
Stacey. The local man was sworn
in as representative fromi the
Eighth district, instead of mem
ber-at-large according to his ori
ginal appointment. Since the ap
pointment was made the Eighth
District representative. Senator
Ryan McBryde of Raeford, has
died. Mr. Ruggles wjjl fill out the
unexpired term.
H. W. Kendall, of Greensboro,
was then given the appointment
of membar-at-large.
First Meeting
, Two new members and three
reappointces were sworn in on
the 15-nian board Tuesday, and
(Continued on Page 8)
The annual Moore County Golf
championship wiU be contested at
Pinehurst Country club during
August, with True Cheney in
charge.
An 18-hole qualifying round
will be played, starting Sunday,
July 30, and to continue through
Saturday, August 6. Lowest six
teen will qualify for the cham
pionship. There will be at least
second sixteen.
Match play rounds will start
Sunday, August 7, and the first
round must be completed by Sat
urday, August 13. The usual
schedule of one round per week
will be in order. This should pro
vide all players with an opportun
ity to support the county cham
pionship.
Perhaps the favorite this year
will be George Pottle of South
ern Pines, because of his excel
lent showing in the state cham
pionship at Fayetteville last
week.
Bill Woodward of Robbins vvUl
defend his title. Bill has won the
county a number of times. This
year he will have plenty of com
petition. Among the county’s top
golfers expected to play in the
tournament are C- Brook Wallace,
Jack Carter, Louis DeLone, Ken
neth Kennedy, Carlos Fry, Harry
Davis, Ray McMullen, Watt
Smith, Carl Kivett, H. Gr. Phil
lips, Clarence Edson, Floyd Phil
lips, Frank McCaskill and others.
There will be an entry fee of
$3 and no green fees while play
ing in the qualifying round, or
match play rounds of the cham
pionship.
The county championship is the
foremost event of these golfing
communities during the summer.
All Moore players are eligible to
enter.
enough to carry off the flood.
Aberdeen citizens, who had
been keeping an anxious eye all
day on their huge dirt cofferdam,
soon after the storm eased up saw
the swollen waters washing up
and over its top. An SOS to all cit
izens went out and soon about 50
of them were there, to work all
night at the monumental task of
saving their lake.
Sand Hauled
The pile-flriver, which was on
the dam at just about the place
the waters began to wash over,
was moved to the bank. Town
trucks and others were comman
deered and dozens of truckloads
of sand were hauled, to build up
the top of the dam some'three or
four feet. A little way up from
the dam on the highway side the
waters cut a natural spillway, re
lieving the pressure somewhat.
This spillway and the top of the
dam were shored with sandbags,
filled by the citizens as employees
of the Aberdeen Sand company
worked in cooperation with them
all night at the sand pit.
Mayor Forrest Lockey headed
the action, and just about every
I able-bodied citizen in town was
on hand at one time or another
during the night.
I When day came they knew
their success was only temporary
if the cloudy skies continued to
pour forth rain. However, only a
few more drops sprinkled down
during the day and by afternoon
the sun was shining.
It shone on a sad sight at Pine
bluff, where a narrow stream
trickled across the mudflat where
for 30 years or more a lovely lake
had lain, built long ago through
the cooperative endeavor and fin- '
ancial contributions of village
residents. The lake area belongs
to Theo Berg, who is quoted as
saying he sees no prospects at
present of replacing the dam.
Many Fish 'Trapped
Hundreds of fish, caught in the
muddy shallows, were retrieved
(Continued on Page 8)
Lustron Homes
Will Be Built At
N. C. Sanatorium
Eight Lustron homes will be
built at McCain on state contract,
as homes for members of the N.C.
Sanatorium staff, according to in
formation received from M. A.
Lyons, of the Carolina Engineer
ing company at Pinehurst.
The Lustrons for the Sanatori
um are part of a group of 34 or
dered by the state, for use in va
rious sections.
Mr. Lyons, whose company is in
charge of sales and erection of
I.ustron homes in this area, said
large crowds have continued to
visit the model recently opened
for display near the Moore Coun
ty Hospital Nurses home. It is
open from 3 to'5 and from 7 to 9
p. m. daily, under sponsorship of
the Pinehurst Chamber gf Com
merce for the benefit of the Pine
hurst recreation progr^lm.
Many have visited the “modern
miracle” bungalow four and five
times, and sales of several are
pending to be erected in this lo
cality. The one on display was
sold as a winter home before it
was built, Mr. Lyons said.