VOL. 34—NO. 41
EIGHTEEN PAGES
SOUTHERN PINES, NORTH CAROLINA, FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 1953
EIGHTEEN PAGES
PRICE—TEN CENTS
, •r-.y. ' ^ ^ -.f
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iv;
A PHONE CALL at 6 o’clock Sunday morning
brought happy news to the Bradford family of
Southern Pines. Left to right, Mrs. Cleecy Ren-
egar Bradford; Tinkie, four years old; and Gail,
14. The photo was made soon after a friend
called to tell the family that a news bulletin re
ported release of Sgt. Henry Bradford by the
Communists in Korea. (Photo by V. Nicholson.)
Sgt. Bradford, Communist Prisoner
For 37 Months, Cains His Freedom
Wife Gets Cable
From Tokyo; Says
He's Feeling Fine
Sgt. Henry R. Bradford of |
Southern Pines has been freed
by the communists in Korea, after
37 months of captivity. He is safe
and well and is on his way home.
The joyful news came to Mrs.
Bradford four ways, Sunday and
Monday. It arrived first in a
phone call at 6 a. m. Sunday from
a friend who saw her husband’s
name in the newspaper list of
Korean exchangees. It came next
in a call from the radio station,
where it had popped up on the
teletype during the night.
Monday, official confirmation
followed in the form of a telegram
from the Adjutant General, sta
ting that Sergeant ' Bradford
would come home by surface
transportation. Only the ill men
are being flown home.
Then last, and best, was a
cablegram from Bradford him
self, from Tokyo. It said, “Dearest
wife—Alive and wel^. Am feeling
fine. Honey, I’ll be seeing you all
soon. Love to aU, Henry.”
“I’m so happy I don’t know
what I’m doing,” said the slim,
dark wife of the returning soldier,
the former Cleecy Renegar of
Southern Pines. “And to know
that he’s safe and well—that’s
the best part!”
Now Sergeant
The newspaper notice and the
Adjutant General’s wire were also
her first intimation that her hus
band is now a sergeant. His pro
motion from corporal occurred
somewhere along the line, prob
ably in absentia, as he apparently
did not know it himself. The
penciled messages which have
come, three and four months de
layed, from the POW camp in
Korea have borne his name, with
the old grade, along with the re
turn address, “Camp 1 and 3,
Changsong, Korea.”
At the Bradford home on South
Bennett street happy prepara
tions are under way. For Gail, 14,
a father she lovingly remembers
is on his way home. But having
a daddy around will be a new ex
perience for Idalou—“Tinkie”—
aged four. A blonde, mischievous
butter ball, she was only 15
months old when he left home in
(Continued on page 8)
TO OPEN TUESDAY
Moore county's two tobacco
markets, Aberdeen and Car
thage, as well as the otlier
three markets in the Sand
hills Tobacco Warehouse As
sociation, have delayed their
openings from Thursday of
this week to Tuesday of next
week, September 1.
The EUerbe. Fuquay-
Varina and Sanford markets
iure also affected by the delay.
The decision was' made by di
rectors of the warehouse as
sociation during a meeting at
Fuquay Springs Monday be
cause buyers and graders had
reported they could not be
present in sufficient numbers
for the August 27 opening
date.
sill®
SERGEANT BRADFORD
Vass Methodist
Church Votes To
Join West End
New Charge To Be
Formed; Pastor To
Be Shared 50-50
At a congregational meeting
last Sunday morning, members of
the "Vass Methodist church voted
by an overwhelming majority to
join with the West End church to
form a new charge, effective with
the church year which begins fol
lowing the annual conference in
late October. The merger is to be
On a 50-50 basis, with the
two churches assuming equal re
sponsibility for the pastor’s sal
ary and sharing equally in his
services. West End had previously
voted in favor of the merger.
The congregation elected Har
old Williams, chairman of the
board of stewards, Mrs. H. A.
Bopst, church treasurer and
steward, and J. M. Davis, Sunday
School superintendent, steward,
and former board chairman, as a
committee to work with a co^m-
mittee from' West End in arrang
ing a schedule of services.
The Rev. Walter Smith, student
pastor of the "Vass church, who is
serving with marked success, e?;-
plained that his studies would
make it impractical for him to
continue as minister in "Vass, and
spoke in behalf of the merger, as
he presided over the meeting.
(Continued on page 8)
Miss Soderston
Named Librarian
Miss Hope Soderston, whose
home is on East Delaware Ave
nue, will begin her duties as li
brarian at the Southern Pines
Library September 1 replacing
Mrs. R. L. Sugg who resigned
August 1 to go with her family
WELCOME PLANNED
John Boyd Post No. 7318,
Veterans of Foreign Wars, is
making plans for a welcome-
home celebration in honor of
Sgt. Henry Bradford, ex
changed Communist war pris
oner, Louis Scheipers, post
commander, has announced.
Scheipers said the post will
welcome cooperation from
other organizations and town
officials. 'While members of
the post have suggested a
number of features for the
celebration, definite plans
have not been worked out.
The post is open to sugges
tions and cooperation from
all sources, Scheipers said.
“We want to make this a real
welcome for a man who has
spent 37 months as a prisoner
in Korea,” he added.
Moore YDC Will
Meet Same Night
4s District Rally
Moore County Young Democrats
will hold their business meeting
and election of officers, Saturday
evening, September 5, before the
Eighth District YDC rally at the
Southern Pines Country club, it
was announced this week by J.
Douglas David of Pinebluff, Moore
YDC president.
The district rally dinner is set
for 7 p. m., preceded by a social
hour from 5:30 to 6:30. Mr. David
has called the county meeting for
6 o’clock at the Country club, as
it is thought a large number of
county YDC members will be
present.
U. S. Senator Alton A. Lennon
will be guest speaker at the dis
trict rally.
Tickets on Sale
Tickets for the district rally din
ner can be obtained from the fol
lowing persons in these communi
ties throughout the county: South
ern Pines, W. Lament Brown and
Travis Wicker; Aberdeen, W. H.
McNeill, Jr., and A1 Cruce; Pine-
bluff, J. D. David and W. K. Car
penter, Jr.; Pinehurst, J. Hubert
McCaskill; Vass, Monroe Chap
pell; Cameron, Luther McPher
son; Carthage, T. Roy Phillips;
West End, E. P. Hinson; and Rob
bins, Ralph Steed and Roy Mc-
Swain.
Baptist Pastor To
Arrive Next Week
The Rev. D. Hoke Coon, recent
ly called pastor of the First Bap
tist church, is expected to arrive
in Southern Pines next week and
preach his first sermon as new
pastor here on Sunday, Septem
ber 6.
Next Sunday, August 30, James
Oppert, ministerial student who
has served here as supply pastor
this summer, will preach his last
sermon at the church. Mr. and
Mrs. Oppert have already left
Southern Pines, prior to his con
tinuing ministerial studies at
Gill Opens
Drive For
IN. C. Bonds
State Treasurer/
Talking To Kiwanis,
Asks For Approval
North Carolina has “a date with
destiny” on October 3 when the
state’s citizens will vote on big
bond issues for schools and men
tal institutions, said Edwin Gill,
state treatsurer, in opening the
state-wide educational campaign
for the bond issues, before the
Sandhills Kiwanis club at the
Country club Wednesday.
Introduced by W. A. Leland
McKeithen of Pinehurst, the for
mer private secretary to Gov. O.
Max Gardner and N. C. collector
of internal revenue delivered a
factual and moving appeal for ap
proval of the $50 million bond
issue for school construction and
the $22 million bend issue for ex
panding and improving mental in
stitutions.
“Every North Carolinian is
proud of his state,” said Mr.
Gill. “We must lay these bond is
sues on our hearts and conscience
as they rest on the heart and
conscience of Governor Umstead
whO' proposed them.”
Failure to approve the bond is
sues, said the speaker, “will halt
the long march of progress that
began with Aycock in 1900.”
The bond issues, he said, “are
needed, the cause is worthy and
the financial condition of North
Carolina to handle them is
sound.”
There is no question about the
need for the bond issues, Mr. Gill
said. They are an absolute neces
sity if the state is to meet mini
mum standards in the two fields
they will benefit. The state needs
3,000 additional beds in mental in
stitutions and 6,000 miOre school
rooms, accomodating 150,000 chil
dren, he pointed out. He predict
ed that it will not be long before
schools will be forced to run on
two shifts, if the bond issue for
schools is not approved.
Mr. Gill went into detail to
show how North Carolina put its
financial house in order, coming
through the depression “with its
(Continued on Page 8)
Lions Club Will
Entertain Little
Leaguers Tonight
The Southern Pines Lions club,
which sponsors the local Little
League baseball team, will enter
tain all Little League players this
(Friday) evening at the Country
club.
The event will include a dinner
end showing of a film about Little
League baseball, including the
“Little World Series” played an
nually at Williamsport, Pa.
The dinner and program, a reg
ular meeting of the club, will be
gin at 7 p. m.
FEMININE STARS in Sandhill tournament. From left, Mrs.
Sarah Rushton Walters, Audrey West Brown, Mary LoU Jones.
Miss Brown was singles winner over Mrs. Walters, while Mrs.
Walters and Miss Jones were the winning doubles team.
(Photo by V. Nicholson)
Audrey West Brown Wins Singles As
Hundreds See Sandhill Tennis Event
Other Local Players
Lose; Umstaedter Tops
Sylvia In Five Sets
The Fifth Annual Sandhill Ten
nis tournament, held last Wednes
day through Sunday cfti the South
ern Pines courts, attracted top tal
ent of both Carolinas and fully
justified the effort expended dur
ing the past five years by a small
group of local tennis lovers.
The Sunday finals drew a gal
lery which at one point in the af
ternoon numbered weU over 700.
All County Schools
But Vass-Lakeview
To Open Sept. 1
Schools of the Moore County
system will open Tuesday morn
ing, September 1, with the ex
ception of Vass-Lakeview school
at Vass, points out Supt. H. Lee
Thomas.
Because of tobacco harvesting
requiring the services of many pu
pils in the school, Vass-Lakeview
school has postponed its opening
to Thursday, September 10, said
principal John McCrummen.
Days lost at opening of school
will be made up from holiday
periods, according to present
plans.
National Guard Praised For Record
In Training; Returning Home Sunday
to Florida. Miss Soderston gradu-.Wake Forest college, but the
ated in 1948 from the University
of New Hampshire and has work
ed in the San Antonio (Texas)
Public Library. She recently came
to Southern Pines to join her pa
rents.
young man will return to preach
here Sunday.
Rev. Mr. Coon has been serving
as assistant pastor of the First
Baptist church, Salisbury. He is
26 years old and married.
CAMP STEWART, GA.—-The
1953 summer encampment of
Southern Pines Guardsmen is
nearly over at fnis huge Georgia
antiaircraft training center, and
according to Capt. William J.
Wilson, battery commander, the
encampment has been a good one.
Capt. Wilson, an insurance
salesman in civil life, declared
that all members of Battery D
had done themselves proud in
winning acclaim as one of the
best AAA units to train at Camp
Stewart this year.
Lt. Col. William Lament, Jr.,
Raeford Guardsman who com
mands the 130th AAA Automatic
Weapons Battalion, to which Bat
tery D belongs, shares Capt. Wil
son’s approval of the Southern
Pines citizen-soldiers.
Praise from Commander
“All our men have done well
this year,” Col. Lamont declared,
following the 252nd Group parade
last Saturday morning, “and Bat
tery D is one of the best. Officers
have provided competent leader
ship, and the enlisted personnel
has performed admirably.”
The two-weeks training began
for Battery D on Sunday, August
16, when the AAA firing battery
nioved its two jeeps, six trucks,
weapons carrier and three trailers
from Southern Pines to Ridge-
land, S. C., where the Moore
County troopers went into over
night bivouac. On the following
day, they moved through Savan
nah and some 40 miles beyond
to Camp Stewart, which contains
thousands of acres of Georgia
swamp and timber land.
The battery was praised by Col.
Kenneth Corbett of Wilmington,
252nd Group commander, for the
facility with which they comple
ted the long motor march.
Stutts Commended
Another special commendation
pertaining to use and maintenance
of motor vehicles was given Mas
ter Sgt. Elbert H. Stutts, who has
set up and operated the 130th
Battalion motor pool, by Third
(Continued on Page 8)
With the coming and going during
some seven hours of play, it is
estimated that twice that number
attended.
Major events of Sunday after
noon were the women’s singles
finals, in which Audrey West
Brown of Southern Pines'defend
ed her title well by defeating
Charlotte’s Sarah Rushton Wal
ters 5-7, 6-1, 6-3; and the men’s
singles finals, a four-hour five-set
marathon. In the men’s event.
Bill Umstaedter of Abbeville, S.
C., defeated Delmar Sylvia of
Raleigh 8-6, 3-6, 9-11, 6-3, 6-0.
Mixed doubles finals pitted
Frank Spears, Greenville, S. C.,
defending champion in singles
and doubles, with Sarah Haynie of
Belton, S. C., against Harry Lee
Brown, Jr., and 'Audrey West
Brown, the former team winning
by 5-7, 6-2, 8-6. In the conclud
ing event, men’s doubles, “Bo”
Roddy of Charlotte and Whit Cobb
of Durham mowed down the pow
(Continued on Page 8)
Garvin Family
Rescues Couple
From Drowning
Mr. and Mrs. L. F. Garvin and
their 11-year-old son, Lee, of
Manly, saved the lives of a Rock
ingham couple Sunday and found
the body of another man who
drowned when the trio’s boat cap
sized on Bluett’s Falls lake.
Boating on the lake, which is
some eight miles from Rocking
ham and formed by a dam in the
Pee Dee river, the Garvins saw a
man waving in distress about
half mile from them across the
water.
Cutting across the lake in their
outboard motor boat, the Manly
family found a capsized boat with
two exhausted persons, Mr. and
Mrs. Cliff Quick of Rockingham,
clinging to it. The man who had
attracted their attention by climb
ing on the boat and waving was
O. D. Pratt of Rockingham. Mr.
(Continued on Page 8)
PINEHURST SEPT. 2
The Pinehurst city school sys
tem, with units at Pinehurst and
Negro schools at Taylortown, will
open Wednesday, September 2,
announces Supt. Lewis L. Can
non.
Marine Tells How
He Was Wounded
Mr. and Mrs. A. M. Kennedy of
Aberdeen, Route 1, have received
a letter from their son, Pfc. Mack
Kennedy, Jr., teUing how he was
wounded in the final hours of hos
tilities in Korea. The letter re
vealed that he was hit in the left
arm, but has now recovered. Five
rounds of mortar shells were
fired, the young Marine Corps
member wrote, just as they
thought the shooting was about
over.
Schools To
Start Term
Wednesday
Largest Enrollment
Ever Seen; Meetings
Slated For Teachers
■White and Negro schools of
Southern Pines will open Wdnes-
day, September2, at 9 a.m., with
an expected record-breaking en
rollment topping last year’s regis
tration of some 1,100 pupils in all
the town’s schools.
Supt. A. C. Dawson said that
classes at the white schools will
begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday and
Thursday, ending at noon. Regu
lar schedule, starting at 8:25, goes
into effect Friday. The cafeteria,
again under supervision of Mrs.
T. Hall, will be open only on
Friday.
School busses will begin their
regular schedules on Friday, run
ning about 30 minutes later on
Wednesday and Thursday.
Parents of children who have
not yet been registered need not
have them registered before open
ing day, Supt. Dawson said. It
will be sufficient if the children
are there on Wednesday.
Meetings for teachers will be
held as follows on 'Tuesday: ele
mentary teachers, 2 p.m.; general
meeting of all teachers, 3 p.m.;
and high school teachers, 3:30 p.m.
Fa9ulty members at the white
schools are:
High school — Irie Leonard,
principal and history; W. A.
Leonard, math; L. H. Ledden,
science and band; Miss Pauline
Miller, English and Latin; Miss
Bessie Williams, science; Mrs.
Ruth Swisher, commercial; Mrs.
James Larkin, English and Span
ish; Mrs. Doris Warner, home ec
onomics; Miss Nancy Mackie,
music; and Miss Aline Todd, li
brarian.
Elementary — First grade. Miss
Florence Dawson and Miss Kath
erine Boyette; second grade. Miss
Mae Delle Kennedy and Mrs. A.
C. Dawson, Jr.; third grade, Mrs.
Edla B. Wicker and Mrs. Joseph
Bennett; fourth grade. Miss Bess
McIntyre and Mrs. Norman Cau
dle; fifth grade, Mrs.' Mary O. Mc
Donald and Mrs. M. L. Farrior;
sixth grade. Miss Cary Buice and
Mrs. Ted Barrow; seventh grade.
Miss Margaret Brewer; seventh
and eighth grades, J. W. Moore;
eighth grade, H. D. Hall.
All but four of the teachers
have taught here previously. The
four new teachers are, in the high
school, Mrs. Larkin, Mrs. Warner
and Miss Mackie; and in the ele
mentary school, H. D. Hall.
West Southern Pines
The Negro unit of the Southern
Pines city school system in West
Southern Pines also will open
Wednesday morning, September
2, at 9 a. m., announces Principal
J. W. Moore.
Faculty members of the West
Southern Pines school are:
High school—J. C. Hasty,
science and band;* R. T. Simmons,
English and music; Mrs. R. P.
Watkins, French, history and
guidance; Mrs. O. C. Peerman,
home economics; E. T. Clark, shop
(Southern Pines-Pinehurst); and
J. W. Moore, principal and math
ematics.
Elementary school—Mrs. E. W.
Morse, first grade; Miss W. G.
Hasty, second grade; Mrs. L. M.
Barksdale, second and third
grades; Mrs. O. J. Saun
ders, third grade; Miss C. E.
Steele, fourth grade; Mrs. I. H.
Moore, fourth and fifth grades;
Miss B. M. Pitts, fifth grade; Mrs.
N. P. Wilson, sixth grade; Mrs. D.
S. Miller, seventh grade; H. 'A.
Wilson, eighth grade; Mrs. M. E.
York, eighth grade and library;
and McKinley Armstrong, art and
physical education.
OFFICERS RESIGN
Two Southern Pines police
officers, Kieth Marks and Ray
Backlund, submitted their
resignations Wednesday, with
request that they become
effective September 15, ac
cording to City Manager Tom
E. Cunningham.
At noon Thursday, the res
ignations had not been for
mally accepted by the city
manager.
Cunningham said Police
Chief C. E. Newton told him
that the officers gave as rea
son for their resignation the
opportunity for better jobs
elsewhere.