c
VOL. 33—NO. 36
Southern Pines
Schools’ Opening
Set September 3
County Schools
September 2;
Calendar Given
Southern Pines schools will
open Wednesday, September 3,
it was learned this week from
the office of Supt. Amos C. Daw
son.
This will be one day later than
those of the Moore County system,
for which Supt. H. Lee Thomas of,
Carthage has announced Septem
ber 2 as opening date.
The openings will follow on the
heels of the Labor Day holiday,
grand finale of the summer sea
son, which will come this year on
its earliest possible date—the first
time in 23 years it has fallen on
September 1.
The school year will begin
aboout two weeks earlier for prin
cipals, many of whom will com
plete summer school work just in
time to pitch Into their labors for
the fall. Superintendents will
have been at work most of the
suummer, except for a brief vaca
tion or time off for summer school
attendance. Supt. Dawson is one
of those at present taking a
schoolman’s holiday of this sort.
He is attending the second sum
mer term at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Teachers will also arrive for
work ahead of time,, as teachers’
meetings precede the schools’
openings by a day or two.
Calendar for the county schools’
full year has been released by
Supt. Thomas. Highlights are:
Thanksgiving holiday, November
27-28; Christmas holiday, Decem
ber 19-29; spring holiday, April
2-6; end of ninth month, May 22;
final reports due,-June- 5.
FOURTEEN PAGES
SOUTHERN PINES, NORTH CAROLINA. FRIDAY. JULY 25. 1952
In National Limelight This Week
FOURTEEN PAGES
John Lang, Jr.
Is Promoted For
State School Job
Moore Man Seen
As Possible
Erwin Successor
Suupport for John A. Lang, Jr.,
for the office of state superinten
dent of Public instruction, suc
ceeding Dr. Clyde A. Erwin, who
died of a heart attack Saturday,
was reported to be gathering mo-^
mentum this week in counties of
the- Eighth district and in other
areas of influence in the state.
Friends in Carthage and other
communities are writing letters
and otherwise endorsing Mr. Lang,
following proposal of his name by
Former State Senator Oscar U.
Richardson of Union county. Sen
ator Richardson telephoned Ra
leigh from Chicago, where he is injured in Moore
attending the Democratic National ^ hospital, as result of the
convention, to enter Mr. Lang’s
name in the -list which already in
cludes a half-dozen„ prominent
educators of the state.
Several members of the State
Democratic Executive committee
were authoritatively reported to
favor Mr. Lang. Contacted at
Washington, where he is serving
ss administrative assistant to
Congressman C. B. Deane, Mr.
Lang proved to be receptive to
the idea.
The 41-year-old Carthage na
tive has long been regarded as one
of Moore’s brightest sons, and the
prospect of bringing him back to
North Carolina in a position to
which they believe his talents and
(Continued on Page 8)
-TEN CENTS
Junior Sandhills Tournament Will
Start Wednesday On Local Conrts
~ “ " — ^
State Finalists
Local Youth Is Wreck Fatality,
Brother-In-Law Critically Hurt
Howard Lee Bobbitt, 29-year-, bitt’s life, was Johnny B. McNeill
old veteran of ’World ’War 2, of 130, of Vass, and less seriously hurt’
Southern Pines, died early Thurs- I Charles Lucas, 23, of Southern
day morning at Moore County Pines.
Will Be Seen In
Five-Day Event
hospital as the result of injuries
sustained in an automobile acci
dent on U.S. Highway 1 Sunday
afternoon.
Mr. Bobbitt was the third ypung
man to become a Moore county
highway fatality within an eight-
day period. A Virginia youth was
instantly killed near Pinehurst
Wednesday, July 16, and a saw
mill employee near Robbins last
Friday. (See story below in this
column.) The total for 1952
mounted to nine.
Critically injured in Moore
IS.
Mrs. Comer Is
Named Assistant
Clerk of Court
Mrs. Rachel Comer, deputy
clerk of Moore County superior
court since January 14, was sworn
in Saturday as assistant clerk of
court, on appointment of Resident
Judge F. Don Phillips of Rocking
ham.
The appointment followed Mrs.
Comer’s 23rd birthday by two
days, making her probably the
youngest assistant xlerk of court
in the State as well as one of the
few women anywhere holding this
responsible position.
The appointment empowers
Mrs. Comer to sign all types of
instruments and handle all mat
ters coming under the clerks jur
isdiction, enabling her to take the
place of Clerk Carlton C. Ken-
' nedy fully when he is away, hand
ling court or for other reason
must be out of the office.
“The change will be a great
'help in expediting the affairs of
the clerk’s office,” said Mr. Ken
nedy this week. “Despite her
youth, Mrs. Comer is fully cap
able of handling the job, as has
been shown during the half year
she has served as deputy.”
TTie appointmerit by Judge
Phillips was made on Mir. Ken
nedy’s recommendation and re
quest. The elevation is only in
responsibility. There is no change
in Mrs. Comer’s pay.
She is , the second assistant clerk
of court Moore county has had.
The first was Miss Ethel Davis,
appointed in July ’51, also on Mr.
Kennedy’s recommendation. Miss
Davis served as deputy from 1942
during the tenure of office of the
late John Willcox. Following Mr.
Willcox’ death in March 1950, she
succeeded him as clerk, by ap
pointment, filling the office as
Moore’s first and only worrian
clerk of court until Mr. Kennedy
acceded to the office In Decem-
(Continued on page 5)
KILLED IN ACTION
Pfc. Lee R. StanciL of
Pinehurst RFD, previously
reported missing in action in
Korea, has now been report
ed killed in action.
Private Stancil was the
•son of Mr. dnd Mrs. Walter
Stancil, a colored couple, who
kept a little store in the com
munity of Jackson Hamlet.
No details of his loss were
given by the Department of
Defensew . %
\
From left—MRS. ERNEST L. IVES,, of Paint Hill Farm, South
ern Pines; her brother, GOV. ADLAI E. STEVENSON of Illinois,
white hope of the. Democratic party; and VICE-PRESIDENT AL-
BEN W. BARKLEY, their cousin, who received the greatest ova
tion of any convention speaker at Chicago Wednesday night. The
picture was made recently when Mrs. Ives was with her brother
at the Governor’s Mansion at Springfield, and “The Veep” came
by to call.
Barkley was a candidate for the Democratic nomination until
he withdrew Monday night, following objections raised that at
74 he was too old. By strange coincidence, a leading candidate
left in the field. Senator Richard B. Russell of Georgia, is also a
cousin of Stevenson and Barkley.
‘Buffie” Ives Shares Limelight Beating
On Stevenson As Democrats Nominate
Tension of Drama
At Chicago Felt
Keenly In Sandhills
A nation hung tensely over its
television and radio sets this
week, more than ever convinced
that a draft for Governor Adlai
Stevenson of Illinois was in the
making, and that he would be
nominated no later than Fridav—
possibly Thursday night— as his
party’s standard bearer for Presi
dent of the United States.
No matter how frequently and,
few doubted, sincerely,, Adlai Ste
venson said ‘No” the pressure was
building up to overwhelming pro
portions as it appeared that he,
and only he, had the approval of
practically all factions and could
unite the Democratic ranks for
victory.
Making it plain he was more
than ever disinclined to run after
Eisenhower’s nomination by the
Republicans, and wished only to
serve again in his present job, the
l)2-year-old Governor could not
liuell the forces which surged
higher and higher about him, pull
ing him like a rip tide toward the
nomination.
When it came out through his
friend Governor Schricker of In
diana that Stevenson would ac
cept a draft if party leaders
“thought it necessary,” Schricker
made it plain that they did and
that he himself would place the
Governor’s name in nomination.
All of this has made tense read
ing, looking and listening for
Sandhills friends of the Gover
nor’s and of his sister, Mrs. Ernest
L. Ives, who with her husband has
lived in or near Southern Pines
during most of the year for the
past 20 years. |
Life this week presented a pic
ture story on Governor Stevenson
and his family, the second Steven
son article in this magazine of
6,000,000 circulation, and one of a
series in recent months in every
leading periodical of the nation.
(Continued on Page 8)
Sheriff Attaches
Banigan Property
Personal belongings of Mr. and
Mrs. J. J. Banigan in the home
they rented at 335 South May
street before their departure from ... xiuci^ oeiong-
Southern Pines May 8 were at- ing to their employer, J. W. H.
Kir CK T H/r_T-\ .1 1 /T?_. \ -B «• .. ^ .
same accident which cost Bob
Edward Rowe Is
Victim In Double
Highway Accident
Edward Allen Rowe, 33, Rob
bins sawmill worker, was killed
Friday morning in a freaky acci
dent near Robbins when he was
first thrown from a truck, then
run over by a car. He was Moore
county’s second highway fatality
within four days, the eighth in
1952.
Rowe’s address was given as
Bear Creek Rt. 1, his native com
munity in Chatham county,
though he had lived at Robbins
for the past 15 years.
Patrolman R. L. Apple, inves
tigating, gave this report on the
strange and tragic happening:
Rowe and a fellow worker,
Charles Junior Moore, 21, of Rob
bins, were standing in the back
of the open two-ton truck belong
;ached by Sheriff C. J. McDonald
this week on a creditor’s proceed
ing. House and contents were
ealed pending a court order.
The move followed action taken
by attorneys for Katharine T. Mc
Donald, trading as Theodota,
seeking judgment and recovery of
$351.22 for rperchandise allegedly
HOTTEST DAYS
■Wednesday was the sum
mer's hottest day so far, with
an official maximum tempera
ture Of 103 degrees recorded
by Mrs. Tom Kelley, South
ern Pines weather observer.
This was just one degree
hotter than Tuesday, previous
high for the summer. Both
were unequaled over the past
several years, topping the
record for the blistering final
week in June when a high of
100 was recorded four days in
a row.
Thermometers in sunny
spots about town, or located
where they received sidewalk
reflection, soared considerably
higher and one touched 110
degrees just before the thun
derstorm Wednesday after
noon which brought the mer
cury tumbling down—but not
to sthy. Thursday started off
hot and also steamy.
purchased at the local gift shop.
Mrs. Banigan was named as de
fendant.
The amount represents unpaid
balance on a bill of $851.22, it
was stated in the civil papers,
filed July 15.
The Banigans left for what they
said was a week’s trip to New
York City, and have not returned
nor advised local creditors of
their whereabouts. They were in-
(Jim) Moore, of Robbins, as it
headed toward Bobbins along the
talc mine road. Rounding a slight
curve about a mile and a half
from Robbins on the paved rural
road, the truck was sideswiped
by a car headed the other way.
The truck somersaulted com
pletely once, then turned •on its
side crosswise of the highway 128
feet from the point of impact.
Rowe and Moore were catapulted,
violently to the highway and la.y
unconscious. The car, driven by
Henry Jason Moore of Robbins
Rt. 2, with his wife and young
son Paul as passengers, came to
a stop about six feet from the col
lision point.
Augustus McCaskill, of Robbins,
driver of the truck, first ascer-
volved m various civil actions at tained that both Rowe and Moore
the time. An order for their jail-'were living, though unconscious,
mg on contempt of court, follow-' before running to find a phone to
ing repeated failure to appear at summon an ambulance,
a superior court hearing, is on' Rowe and Charles Junior Moore
file in the sheriff’s office. ! (Continued on Page 8)
Another Leading Candidate
Bobbitt and McNeill were
brothers-in-law, the former hav
ing married Miss Ruby McNeill,
then of ’Vass, in 1946.
Few details of the accident were
available, other than that the old
model Chevrolet coupe in which
the three young men were riding
left the highway and overturned
at Skyline, four miles north of
here on US Highway 1. Patrol
man R. N. Harris investigated.
Blame for the accident could not
immediately be fixed in view of
the condition of the injured men.
Mrs. Bobbitt and her four-year-
old daughter Linda were said to
have been eye-witnesses of the ac
cident as they were riding in a car
directly behind the coupe.
Funeral services for ^Howard
Lee Bobbitt will be held at 3 p.m.
Sunday at Niagara Congregational
Christian church, conducted by
the Rev. Benny Maness of Rob
bins, assisted by the Rev. Zeb V.
Caudle of Aberdeen.
Burial will follow in Old Be-
thesda cemetery. Full military
honors will be accorded.
He was born November 1, 1922,
at Chase City, Va., son of Robert
O. and Emma Roberts Bobbitt.
The family moved to the Sand
hills when he was a child and he
attendee! school at Ashley Heights
in Hoke county. He moved from
Niagara to Southern Pines just a
few weeks ago, and was employed
as a carpenter.
He entered military service
February 8, 1943, and served with
the 161st Infantry on Luzon, in
the Philippines. He was wounded
in action and was awarded the
Purple Heart. He was discharged
October 18, 1945.
He was a member of the John
Boyd post, VFW, of Southern
Pines.
Surviving are his wife and little
daughter, also his mother, Mrs. R.
O. Bobbitt, all of Southern Pines;
two brothers, William Haywood
Bobbitt of Niagara and Ray Bob
bitt, of Southern Pines; and two
sisters. Miss Mildred Bobbitt of
Southern Pines and Mrs. D. F.
Cavanaugh of San Diego, Cal.
Student Foresters
Will Visit Moore,
Weymouth Estate
>
Mother, Children
Hurt In Wreck
Another in a series of grim ac
cidents which have beset Moore
in the past week occurred Monday
afternoon at Highfalls, seriously
injuring a young mother and
daughter of Staley?' in Randolph
county.
Few details of the accident were
available other than that the car,
said to have contained tlhree
adults and six children, overturn
ed.
Patients in Moore County hos
pital this week were Mr§. Richard
Cashwell, 30, and her children,
Mary Frances, four, and Dickie,
10. Dickie was said not to be so
badly hurt as his mother and sis
ter, and was to have been dis
charged in a day or two.
Given emergency treatment at
Moore County hospital for minor
injuries were Mr. and Mrs. Ernest
Holt of Carthage. Several of their
children were in the car but were
not injured. I
DOROTHY SWISHER of Southern Pines—“Miss Aberdeen of
1952”—left early Thursday for Winston-Salem and the statewide
Jaycee beauty contest, where she will compete this weekend for
the tine of “Miss North Ca rolina.” Finals will be held Saturday
night. See story on Page 8. (Photo by H. H. Turner)
Sorre 15 students from the Uni
versity of West Virginia’s Divi
sion of Forestry will visit South
ern Pines Wednesday to inspect
the naval stores operation on
Weymouth Estate, and to study
forest fire control demonstration
'vork as carried on by the N. C.
Division of Forestry in Moore
county.
They will be accompanied by
Professors E. H. Tryon and Wil
liam Reid of their home univer
sity.
I The day will be one of several
jthey are spending in the state ob-
j serving forest conditions and
'practices and the results of ex
perimental work, during a week
1 spent with the Duke University
I Division of Forestry. The first two
;days of the tour were spent at
.'Duke, and they are being housed
Ion the Duke campus, returning
there each night.
Dean Clarence F. Korstian of
the Duke Division of Forestry is
in charge of the tour] which has
been an annual event of the ppst
several years. This is the first
year they will see the naval
stores industry in operation, since
it was started there fairly recent
ly. However, it will be the third
or fourth visit by a West Virginia
student group to Weymouth, a
State Forest Farm and site of
what is rated as one of North Car
olina’s finest stands of virgin tim
ber.
A return match with personnel
identical with that of the boys’
finals at the recent State Junior
tournament at Greensboro will
likely be presented to local spec
tators at the Junior Sandhills In
vitational tennis tournament next
week.
Heading the list of local entries,
doubtless to be seeded No. 1 in
boys’ events is Kenneth Tew, 14,
winner of the boys’ singles in the
state event.
Also entered is Findley Lee, 12,
of Charlotte, whom Kenneth de
feated for the trophy in a gruel
ing three-set match at Greens
boro.
Another foreign entry is Char
lotte’s Jack Lowe, winner with
Lee of the boys’ doubles in the
state event.
All three boys are expected to
enter both doubles and singles
matches in their category.
The tournament starts Wednes
day and will continue through
Sunday, August 3, on the munici
pal courts.
Entry blanks must be secured
from Patty Woodell,^ JSTA secre
tary, and returned to her with
postrnark no later than Saturday.
Seedings and pairings will be
made early next week.
Eight events are scheduled—
singles and doubles in junior
boys’, junior girls,’ and boys’ and
girls’ age groups.
To be eligible for junior entry,
a boy or girl must not have reach
ed their J8th birthday by January
1, 1952.
Boys’ and girls’ age limit is un
der 15 by January 1, 1952.
Trophies will be awarded win
ners and runners-up ip. all events,
donated by the Sandhills Tennis
association. Accommodations for
visiting players will be furnished
at Southern Pines Cottages and
in the homes of JSTA members.
A party and other recreation for
the players is being planned.
Angelo Montesanti, Jr., presi
dent of the senior association, and
Malcolm Clark are STA advisers
to the JSTA tournament commit
tee, which includes Patty Woodell
9S secretary; Steve Choate,
courts; Ginger Woodell, publicity;
Dick Leyshon, soft drink stand;
Gail Hobson, housing, and Linda
(Continued on page 5)
TO VADE MECUM
Three Southern Pines high
school boys, Jimmy Hatch, Charles
Covell and Jimmy Menzel, will
go tomorrow 'to Vade Mecum, the
Episcopal diocesan camp near
Winston-Salem, to serve as coun
selors during the ensuing two-
week period.
Equipment Arri’i^es
For Fluoridation
Of City Water
Fluoridation equipment, pur
chase of which was approved by
the town board last fall, arrived
this week and will be installed at
the city water plant by employees
of the manufacturers within a
short time.
L. E. Wooten, Raleigh water en
gineer, who served as consultant
to the town board in the purchase
of equipment, will supervise the
installation.
Through the fluoridation pro- ,
cess tooth decay among children
is reduced by 30 to 40 per cent,
with some benefit also to adults’
dental health, it has been ascer
tained by health authorities fol
lowing more than 15 years of tests
and observation.
Before it is begun here Salph
Mills, water plant superintendent
pd chemist, will gain experience
in its practical application in a
week’s stay at some North Caro
lina city now using the process,
probably Charlotte.
The purchase and installation
wpe auttiorized for Southern
Pines by the State Department of
Health, which will maintain con
tinuous supervision through
checking of water samples, etc.
The process consists of the reg
ular application of minute
amounts of fluoride to the filtered
water, in somewhat the same
manner as chlorine, alum and oth
er purifying chemicals are now
applied. Fluoride is found natur
ally in the water in some parts of
the United States and it was
through the discovery that people
living in those areas had little or
no tooth decay that its benefits
were first revealed.