VOL. 33—NO. 33
TWELVE PAGES
SOUTHERN PINES, NORTH CAROLINA. FRIDAY. JULY 4. 1952
TWELVE PAGES
PRICE—TEN CENTS
Town Will Buy
Old Elks Home For
Community Center
More- Land May
Be Added For
Large Wooded Park
The town board, meeting Wed
nesday night, voted unanimously
to buy the grounds and building
of the former Elks Home on South
May street as a park and commun
ity center, also, if possible, addi
tional adjoining land considerably
extending the park area.
This will give the Town the
largest wooded area new remain
ing within a few blocks of the
downtown section, with outdoor
cooking and eating facilities al
ready set up, and a large building
which can go into almost immedi
ate use for meetings and other
activities.
The action was taken on unani
mous recommendation of the ap
propriations committee, headed
by L. T. Clark as chairman. Mr.
Clark reported that an offer to
sell their former clubhouse for
$13,750 had been made by the
Elks Home, of Southern Pines,
Inc. This price was accepted. He
said the committee had acted on
recommendation of the “Finer
Carolina” committee composed of
numerous civic leaders and local
organizational representatives, as
reported to them by John S. Rug-
gles and E. A. Tucker, “Finer
Carolina” co-chairmen.
With the opening of the new
town lake today (Friday), this
week thus marks two great strides
forward in achievement of the
“Finer Carolina” objectives as de
termined in a survey of the town.
Recreation projects and facilities
headed the list of town needs as
listed on a widely distributed
questionnaire.
The grounds of the former Elks
Heme have a 265-foot frontage on
May street, extending back for
400 fet all the way to Ashe street,
with entrances on both sides.
The additional property being
considered for purchase, now
owned by Robert F. Henderson,
would add 100 feet more to the
frontage on May street and also
extends all the way back. The
whole will make a forested park
of considerable size.
Hoke Pollock, town attorney,
said he had already secured a 30-
day option from Mr. Henderson on
his lots, though no further nego
tiation has been gone into as yet.
The board did not go into any
immediate plans for the new ac
quisition, other than to clean up
the building and grounds and get
it shipshape. It will then be turn
ed over to the Municipal Recrea
tion Commission, which will make
the plans from that point, and
supervise its use and activities.
A MOTORIST’S PRAYER
JU1,Y 4. 1952
Our Heavenly Father, we ask this
day a particular blessing as we take
the wheel of our car. Grant us safe
passage through the perils of travel;
shelter those who accompany us and
protect us from harm by Thy mercy;
steady our hands and quicken our eye
that we may never take another's life;
guide us to our destination safely, con
fident in the knowledge that Thy bless
ings go with us throuah darkness and
light ... sunshine and shower ... for
ever and ever. Amen
N. G. Department of Motor Vehfletes
Seaboard Follows Through On Pledge-
Signal Towers Erected, Trees Spared
Coleman To Cover
Both Conventions
Arch Coleman—“The Editor”
on Station WEEB—will cover
both the Republican and ’Demo
cratic conventions for Sandhills
radio listeners over the local sta
tion, also for WEWO at Laurin-
burg and several others.
He will leave today (Friday)
for Chicago. He will tape-record
the news and his impressions,
with especial reference to the
North Carolina delegation. The
tapes will be flown here and will
go on the air daily as soon as
they arrive, starting Monday.
No scheduled time has been as
signed to the broadcasts, said Jack
S. Younts, general manager of
the station, as they will be put on
at the first available time after
arrival.
Mr. Coleman, a former writer
for national magazines, world
traveler and employee of the OSS
during World War 2, is well
known throughout the state as a
speaker. His Sunday programs of
local comment, “The Editor,”
have won him a wide following
in Moore and adjoining counties.
Special interest attaches to his
coverage of the GOP convention,
as he comes of a family which has
long held a top position in the
Republican party in his native
state of Minnesota. His father.
Arch M. Coleman, was a leading
figure in politics there and served
as First Assistant Postmaster
General under President Hoover.
The family moved south some
years ago for the senior Coleman’s
health, and they now live at Sky
line, near Southern Pines.
Plans Are Changed
As Citizens Protest
Denuding Of Parkway
Finishing touches were being
put this week on two large gal
lows-shaped towers beside, and
reaching over, the Seaboard main
line on Broad street.
Instead of being gallows, they
Vass Youth Killed ‘
By Flying Bullet;
Local Man Jailed
A Negro youth, 1951 graduate of
Pinckney High school at Carthage,
who had just completed his fresh
man year at Livingstone college,
Salisbury, was killed by a flying
bullet at Oakland Park, near
Lakeview, last Saturday night.
James Charles, 18, son of Mrs.
Corinna Elliott of Vass, died en
route to Moore County hospital
after he was shot while standing
on the front porch of the main
building at the Negro recreation
center.
Sheriff C. J. McDonald said
that Robert Alston, 41, of the
Youngs road section of Southern
Pines, was arrested Sunday after
noon on a murder charge and kept
in jail until Tuesday, when he was
released under $2,500 bond for his
appearance at a coroner’s inquest
Wednesday, July 23.
The inquest, originally set for
Tuesday of this week, was post
poned on agreement of the sher
iff and Coroner Ralph G. Steed so
the evidence may include results
of a ballistics test to be made by
the SBI. The test is expected to
determine whether the fatal bul
let came from the German Luger
automatic Alston was carrying,
and which went off in a scuffle in
which he was engaged with an
other man.
Alston is said to have expressed
some doubt as to whether the bul
let which killed Charles came
from his pistol, as “there was an
other pistol in the crowd.” Mem
bers of the sheriff’s department,
! however, have been unable to
verify this.
Alston, who was at Oakland Park
with his wife, told readily of the
fight in which he engaged with a
soldier, M. B. McAllister, after re
proving McAllister for the use of
bad language before the women.
When McAllister continued in his
use of offensive language, Alston
said, he went to his car and got
his gun, and soon the two were in
a tangle near the porch. As they
scuffled around the comer of the
building the gun went off, by ac
cident, according to Alston.
Sheriff McDonald was called to
the scene, but by the time he
reached there most of the crowd
had disappeared and it took con
siderable questioning and work to
round up the participants and
witnesses.
are symbols of life for Southern
Pines’ beautiful and beloved park
way planting along Broad—the
magnolias, evergreens- and other
trees and flowering shrubs which
took so many years to grow.
The tall steel towers, their main
framework reaching some ^Sr feet
into the air, sre also symbols of
the community’s love for its
trees and shrubs, and also of the
human consideration and soft
heart it turned out a railroad
really can h. ^e, though seldom
given credit for it.
One orange-painted tower has
been erected on the west side of
the track at New York, and the
other on the east side at Massa
chusetts. Their cantilevered cross-
arms (which are also crosswalks)
are surmounted by steel poles car
rying the entire structure up to
35 or more feet in height. These
hold the signal lights the Sea
board found to be necessary at
this point.
In the course of their big main
line improvement program the
Seaboard announced last October
that all trees and planting more
than four feet high would have
to be cut back from the railroad
for two blocks on the west side
of the track and one on the east
side, baring the tracks in the
heart of the downtown district so
that wires could be strung beside
them-for automatic signals.
No sconcr did this become
known following a meeting of the
town board than there was prac
tically a mass uprising among the
people of Southern Pines.
The Rotary club and Lions club
bpth of which met the next day,
fired off protest telegrams. John
Hewarth and John Ponzer tele
phoned Seaboard officials they
knew. Francis Stubbs got up a
petition with 140 names and wired
it to Legh R. Powell, Seaboard
president. Jim Boyd started a col
lection to finance possible under
ground laying of the signal wires.
Mrs. E. C. Stevens headed a wom
an’s movement, for the Southern
Pines Gardeti club. Everything
happened fast—and the Seaboard
reacted fast. Within 24 hours came
word from Supt. C. I. Morton at
Norfolk—“Hold everything, I’m
on the way.”
Even before the letters, wires
and phone calls began piling in,
said Mr. Morton when he arrived
shortly, a revision of plans had
begun, because “We know South
ern Pines is different, though
some of our engineers may not.
And if anybody ever thought
Southern Pines didn’t love its
trees, they know different now.”
After two or three visits, on
which he brought officials in
.charge of communications, sig
nals, buidling, etc., and conferred
with town fathers and other civic
leaders, Mr. Morton announced
the Seaboard would spend ?d-
prcximately $10,000 more than
was originally planned, to install
signals which would necessitate no
cutting of growing things beside
the tracks.
W. Lamont Brown
Wins Runoff For
County Solicitor
Nine-Vole Margin
Marks 2nd Victory
For Local Attorney
W. Lamont Brown, Southern
Pines attorney, won the second
Democratic primary race for the
county solicitorship by pne of the
narrowest margins ever recorded
in Moore county—nine votes.
Robert N. Page III of Aberdeen,
who was second man by 23 votes
in the first primary of May 31,
received 1,383 votes, while Brown
had 1,392.
The total of 2,775 compared well
with the May 31 total of 4,547
votes (for three candidates) in
view of the usual history of poor
voting in second primaries, and
the scorching heat. Every one of
the 17 precincts was well repre
sented, comparatively speaking.
Brown picked up three new
precincts in last Saturday’s votq,
winning 11 instead of eight as be
fore. One of these was Southern
Pines, which had formerly gone
for the third candidate, W. Harry
Fullenwider.
While both Brown and Page
won in their home communities,
each also had considerable
strength in his opponent’s terri
tory, Aberdeen giving Brown 182
to Page’s 336, and Southern Pines
giving Page 234 to Brown’s 343.
The new solicitor, who will be
sworn in next December succeed
ing W. A. Leland McKeithen, has
been a resident of Southern Pines
since 1949. His ancestry goes
back far into the history of both
Moore and Hoke counties.
He.graduated from Davidson
college in 1936 at the age of 21. At
college he was a member of Omi-
cron Delta Kappa, national lead
ership fraternity, also of Sigma
Upsilon social fraternity. He was
also editor of the college paper.
The Davidsonian, and in his junior
and senior years headed the N. C.
Intercollegiate Press association.
While employed by the govern
ment at Washington, D. C., during
the ensuing decade, he put him
self through law school in night
classes at Georgetown university,
receiving his LL.B. degree there
in 1945.
In the only other race to reach a
second primary for Moore voters
last Saturday, Judge W. H. Bob
bitt of Charlotte was winner by
decisive majorities over Judge R.
(Continued on page 8)
Junior Tennis
Players Enter
State Tournament
Betty Jane Worsham, 18, Moore
County girls’ champion, is seeded
No. 4 in the girls’ singles matches
of the N. C. Junior Tennis tour
nament which got under way at
Greensboro Thursday. Finals will
be held Sunday.
Betty Jane, who has twice won
the Moore County junior singles
and once (1951) the women’s sin
gles, is one of four local young
people entered in the annual
event at the Greensboro Country
club. Others are Steve Choate,
Moore County boys’ champion;
Patty Woodell and Kenneth Tew.
Betty Jane and Steve are enter
ing the junior events (15-18
years) and Patty and Kenneth the
boys’ and girls’ events (under 15).
Betty Jane^ paired with Dotty
Crews of Greensboro, was given a
first-round bye. Steve was paired
with Phil Winchester of Morgan-
ton, and Kenneth with Jack Sal
vage of Goldsboro. No pairing was
listed for Patty but there was one
for Lillian Bullock, also of the
local young players. Since Lillian
found she could not go, and Patty
could, Lillian’s pairing with Mar
garet Hammond of Greensboro
probably held good for Patty.
The tournament includes entries
from all over the state, mostly
from Greensboro and Piedmont
North Carolina. Ed Hudgins, Jr.,
is seedeqi first for the boys and
Ann Carlson for the girls. Both
are from Greensboro.
The Southern Pines group is ex
pected to promote at Greensboro
the news of their own Junior
Sandhills Invitational (formerly
Open) which will take place here
Julv 30-August 3 under sponsor
ship of the Junior Sandhills Ten
nis association.
Knollwood Lake Ceremony Today
Marks Opening Oi New Play Spot
HOUDAY, FES'nVAL MARK JULY 4
Today, July Fourth, is a general holiday in Southern Pines,
Moore county and the nation.
Stores, businesses, city and county offices, post offices will
be closed. Here, outgoing mail will be dispatched and incoming
mail placed in boxes, but that’s all. The Citizens Bank and Trust
company is making a long weekend of it, with holiday both Fri
day and Saturday.
Some others of the local businesses will also take a long week
end, including The Pilot.
Crowds are expected to flock to the 14th Annual July 4 Fes
tival at Carthage, a countywide all-day event which will start at
9 a. m. with a welcome by Mayor Barnes; proceed through a pro
gram with Agriculture Commissioner L. Y. Ballentine as chief
speaker, and continue with a band concert, a parade, street con
tests and races, a beauty contest, a baseball game, and at night,
a Grand Ball at which the beauty winner will be crowned.
At Southern Pines, the official opening and dedication of the
new town lake will take place beside the lake at 2 p. m., with
swimming and picnicking the order pf the day* thereafter.
Local Schools Get Two New Teachers;
Additional Acreage Bought For Campus
Southern Pines school is grow-'*'
ing—in teaching staff and also
physically, in an expansion of the
grounds.
The action of the State Board
of Education in reducing the
teacher load will add two' elemen
tary teachers, one at the white
school and one at the Negro, said
Supt. A. C. Dawson this week.
The new teacher at the white
school was due to have been add.-
ed, anyway, out of local funds, to
care fer an expected increase in
the fall, so the effect will be a
lightening of the load on the local
budget.
The state recently cut the aver
age number of pupils per teacher
from 32 to 30. The probem now,
said Mr. Dawson, is finding the
new teachers, as those for ele
mentary grades are scarce objects
these days.
He also announced the pur
chase by the school board of
about two acres of level wooded
land from ^iiss Alic& Southworth,
adjoining the present elementary
school grounds to the east. This
gives the school plant a campus
of 12 to 15 acres at present.
The purchase is part of a five-
year plan projected by local
school officials, providing for fu
ture needs in playground space
and plant expansion.
FIRST FIRE TRUCK
The Town of 'Vass now owns
a fire truck—its first, which
has just been purchased from
the City of Durham. The
truck, said to be in good con
dition, is a three-quarter ton
1942 Ford, painted a bright
red and equipped with a si
ren, blinker light, booster
pump, a water tank of 135-
gallon capacity, and two suc
tion hose pipes that can be
put into use wherever water
is available.
Mayor D. F. Cameron, ac
companied by George Laub-
Scher, motored to Durham
and Mayor Cameron drove
the fire truck back.
Possibility Seen
Of Setting Up
Traffic Court Here
Town Gets Own
“Swimmin ’Hole”
At Long Last
Knollwood lake. Southern
Pines’ new swimming and recre-
stion spot off the Midland road,
will be officially opened and ded
icated to the public use in an in-
fcrmal ceremony to be held be
side the lake at 2 p. m. today
(Friday).
Everyone is invited to attend,
said Mayor C. N. Page, who will
make a brief address at the open
ing of the program.
Jerry V. Healy, chairman of the
lake project of the Southern Pines
“Finer Carolina” committee (in
the CP&L contest for community
improvement) will at this time
turn over the lake and grounds to
Amos C. Dawsoii, chairman of the
Municipal Recreation Commis
sion which have charge of them.
Members of the town board
and other civic leaders are ex
pected to be present, also E. H.
Mills cf Pinebluff, donor of the
tract of about eight acres, of
which approximately half consists
of the lake, the rest natural
woods.
A general clean-up of the
grounds has been under way this
week by a town crew, and boys
•taking part in the summer recre
ation program have helped with
the clean-up under supervision
of Irie Leonard, director. One of
their chores was the Cleaning out
of lily pads growing in the swim
ming area.
Stakes and a rope have been
placed off the shore marking the
safety area for children and in
experienced swimmers. Fresh
sand has been placed on the
beach.
Members of the John Boyd pest,
VFW, are building a swimming
raft, and the BPO Does will pro
vide a picnic table. Some picnic
(Continued on page 5)
Major Porter
Of 1st Marines
Wins Bronze Star
Maj. 'William T. Porter, U. S.
Marine Corps liaison officer at the
US Air Force Air-Ground Opera
tions school, was decorated with
the Bronze Star Wednesday in a
formal ceremony at Highland
Gen. W. M.
•‘Boros Day” Here
May Weleome New
N ationalChampion
The Carolinas section of the
PGA is planning to “do something
big” for National Open Cham
pion ’Julius Bores when the sum
mer golfing tour winds up.
Dugan Aycock of Lexington,
Carolinas section president, in a
press dispatch this week said the
scene of the festivities will most
likely be the Mid Pines club here,
where Boros has been serving as
pro for the past three seasons.
Time will probably be in October,
scon after the opening of the Mid
Pines for the 1952-53 season.
Aycock took a look at what Tar-
boro did for its native son, Brit
ish Champion Harvie Ward, at its
big “Harvie Ward Day” last week,
and said he picked up a few
pointers in how to honor a champ.
“Julius Boros Day” is still in
the early planning stage. Aycock
said he plans to discuss the pro
gram with other members of the
Carolinas section, and perhaps
arrange a two-day tournament
and a banquet as a proper wel
come to the Connecticut-born
adopted Tar Heel who won the
big one at Dallas last month.
The possibility of Southern
Pines’ having its own recorders
court, to operate within a stated
area as provided by North Caro
lina statute, was considered by
the town board in regular session
at the city hall Wednesday night.
The commissioners looked with
favor on the project if it should
prove feasible, as providing a;
means of easing the load on the j Pines Inn by Brig,
county court and getting cases Gross, commandant,
tried quickly, on days other than Major Porter has been on duty
those on which the county record- at USAFAGOS as chief of the
ers court is held. programming section since his re-
Town Attorneys Hoke Pollock j turn several months ago from Ko-
and Harry Fullenwider, both of j rea, where he served" with the
whom were present, said they ; First Marine division in tactical
would have to look into the law to ' air control operations,
determine whether, and how, such | Major Porter, a veteran of
a court could be set up, but gav^ World War 2 as well as Korea, is
their opinion that it could be ! the ' holder of numerous awards
done, its jurisdiction covering per-I for personal heroism. His latest
haps a five-mile radius. | decoration is for “controlling and
■rhey said three officials would ' directing all air support missions
have to be elected—a recorder, for a ]V(arine division.”
Grass Fire
Southern Pines volunteer fire
men answered an alarm lAfednes-
day at 12:40 p. m. and put out a
grass fire on the W. D. Campbell
property, near the intersection of
Connecticut Avenue extension and
Weymouth road.
who need not be a lawyer; a pros
ecutor, who must be; and a clerk.
They added that a well-run court
should pay for itself.
It is anticipated such a court
would be occupied mostly with
traffic cases, though it would have
jurisdiction over misdemeanors
similar tp that of the present re
corders court at Carthage. Traf
fic law violations from this part
of the county provide a big part
of the current court load, which,
with a one-day term, seldom gets
caught up. As a result, defend
ants have to return to court again
and again awaiting trial, and
many forfeit their bonds rather
than do so.
Also, it was pointed out, the
fact that court is held at Carthage
only one day a week ties up most
of the patrolmen and other law
enforcement officers, ' sometimes
all of them, for hours- or a whole
day at a time—and then frequent
ly their cases cannot be reached,
and they must go back the next
week.
No new act would be needed to
set up the court, the attorneys
gave as their opinion, as there is a
pertinent law already on the state
books.
They were instructed to look up
the law for a later report to the
Mayor and board.
The full citation, signed by Maj.
Gen. J. T. Selden, commanding
general of the First Marine divi
sion, follows;
“For meritorious achievement
in connection with operations
against the enemy while serving
with a Marine tactical air control
squadron in Korea from 25 April
to 9 July 1951.
“Acting as officer in charge.
Major Porter displayed outstand
ing skill, initiative and leadership
in the performance of his duties.
He controlled and directed all air
support missions for a Marine di
vision with a high degree of effi
ciency, working tirelessly, under
adverse conditions, to lend highly
effective close air support to front
line units. Disregarding complete
ly his own personal fatigue, he la
bored unceasingly to provide vital
air support wherever and when
ever it was needed. His meticu
lous attention to detail and per
severance contributed materially
to the successful dislodgement of
enemy forces from strategic ter
rain, and were a constant source
of inspiration to all who served
with him.
“Major Porter’s outstanding de
votion to duty was in keeping
with the highest traditions of the
United States Naval Service.”