SOUTHERN PINES
GOLF CAROUSEL
NOVEMBER 4 - 7
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SOUTHERN PINES
GOLF CAROUSEL
NOVEMBER 4 - 7
VOL. 35—NO. 50
EIGHTEEN PAGES
SOUTHERN PINES. NORTH CAROLINA, FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 5. 1954
EIGHTEEN PAGES
Youn^Man
Killed By
Explosion
Alec Cameron
Succumbs As
Result Burns
Alexander (Alec) Cameron, 32,
well-known young Southern
Pines man and lifelong resident
of this community, died about 10
a. m. Thursday in Mocre County
Hospital as a result of burns suf
fered in a gasoline explosion and
fire at the Cameron Oil Co. and
eSouthem Pines Motcr Co. build
ing on Connecticut Ave., shortly
after 4 p. m. Wednesday.
Funeral plans were incomplete
as The Pilot went to press at 4
p. m. Thursday.
Shocked by the accident, in
which the young man’s cousin
Raymond Cameron, 28, was bad
ly, but not critically burned, res
idents of this area were deeply
saddened when the news of his
death carne Thursday morning
Officials cf the Chamber of
Commerce are asking all busines.
establishments to close during the
time of the funeral service.
Widely known and highly re
garded in this area, Alec Cameron
was the son of Herbert N. and
Grace Walker Cameron, who sur
vive. Also surviving is his wife,
the former Jackie Yow of Carth
age and their little son, Herbie
Lee. His wife, who is expecting a
child within a few weeks, was
under a physician’s care at Moore
County Hospital after her hus
band’s death Thursday.
The young man also is survived
by two sisters and a brother, all
of Southern Pines: Mrs. E. W
Smail, Mrs. James 1. Lawgpn and
Robert F. Cameron.
Robert Cameron suffered burns
about his arms while attempting
to extinguish the burning cloth
ing of his brother immediately
after the explosion.
A graduate of Southern Pines
High School, Alec Cameron was
associated with his father in oper
ation of the Cameron Oil Co., dis
tributors of Sinclair petroleum
products. He was a member of the
Church of Wide Fellowship, the
John Boyd Post, Veterans of For
eign Wars and the Southern Pines
Elks lodge.
A veteran of World War II, he
had a notable record, having gone
into France with invading forces
He was wounded and spent many
months in military hospitals for
treatment of his left arm and
shoulder and never fully regain
ed their use.
PRICE—TEN CENTS
4,600 Vote In Moore;
Democrats All Elected
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HEADS CLUB
Jack M. Taylor of Aberdeen
was elected president of the
Sandhills Kiwanis Club for
1955, during the regular meet
ing of the club at the Com
munity Church in Pinehurst
Wednesday.
Other officers chosen were:
R. F .Hoke Pollock, vice-pres
ident, and John L. Ponzer,
treasurer. Both are from
Southern Pines. New direc
tors elected were: I. C. Sledge
and J. D. Hobbs, of Pine
hurst; Thomas R. Howerton,
W. Lamont Brown and W. T.
Huntley, Jr., of Southern
Pines; and Dr. E. M. Medlin
and Lawrence McN. Johnson,
of Aberdeen.
The new officers and direc
tors will be installed at the
club's first meeting in Janu
ary.
A story on the program at
Wednesday's meeting appears
elsewhere in today's Pilot.
Dance Satirist
To Open Concert
Season Nov. 12
CLOUDS OF SMOKE and flame boil up from a raging
fire within the Southern Pines Motor Co. and Cameron
Oil Co. building on Connecticut Ave., in the Southern
Pines business section late Wednesday afternoon, draw
ing hundreds of persons to the scene, following an explo-
Fire Damage Estimated
In Excess Of $75,000
Chief Fowler Sees
Gasoline Fumes As
Cause of Explosion
An explosion and fire that took
sion that took the life of Alec Cameron, 32, and seriously
burned his cousin, Raymond Cameron. Firemen were
busy at the site until late Wednesday night.
(Pilot Staff Photo)
owner.
Cause Explained
Cause of the fire was unknown
for some time but an investigation
which was not completed by Fire
Chief H. B. Fowler until about 10
one life, severely burned another ^m Thnr«H; a " a
person, caused estimated total ?•""•- Thursday produced the fol-
damages of between $75,000 and
Iva Kitchell, Dance satirist, will
dance at Weaver Auditorium Fri
day, November 12, at 8:30 p. m.,
in the first concert Of a series to
be presented by the Sandhill
Music Associatioin.
Born in Junction City, Kansas,
Miss Kitchell has been a member
of the Chicago Opera Ballet and
has toured with the Russian Bal
let Company. She has appeared in
Carnegie Hall successfully and is
known for her genius in imper
sonations. Each concert contains
as many as a dozen changes of
costume in which she prides her
self in taking not over 90 sec
onds. Her accompanist, Harvey
Brown creates much of the music
and the pair have been acclaimed'
by New York critics as superb
technicians.
Lawrence Johnson, who heads
the Association this year, asks
that all members pick up their
season tickets at Barnum Realty
Company in Southern Pines, this
week, thus easing the confusion
of assignment of seats the last
week of the SMA campaign.
Committee members who are
behind a campaign of subscrip
tion letters and phone calls to re
mind late subscribers are Tom
Howerton, drive chairman; Dr.
Bruce Warlick, treasurer; Mrs
William Hollister, secretary; Mrs
Jack Younts, publicity chairman;
and an advertising committee
comprised of Mrs. Harold Collins
and Mrs. Ruth Wright, Pinehurst.
i tjehnots
$100,000, gutted and wrecked the
building of the Southern Pines
Motor Co., and the Cameron Oil
Co., Wednesday afternoon.
It was the worst fire and most
destructive disaster, in terms of
life and property, to hit the town
for many years. Starting with an
explosion of gasoline fumes short
ly after 4 p.m., the conflagration
was not fully controlled for sev
eral hours and firemen were on
the site until 10:30 p. m., checking
the wreckage later in the night to
make sure there was no further
outbreak of fire.
Dead as a result of the explo
sion was Alec Cameron, 32, son
of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert N. Cam
eron, and associate of his father
in operation of the oil company.
Seriously burned, but expected
to recover was Raymond Cam
eron, son of Mrs. Estelle Cameron
of Southern Pines and a cousin cf
Alec. After receiving treatment at
Moore County Hospital Wednes
day, he was transferred to Memo
rial Hospital at Chapel Hill
Thursday.
Robert Cameron, a brother of
Alec, was burned on the hands
and arms as he attempted to ex
tinguish the flaming clothing of
his brother.
Estimate of damage was given
by A. A. Hewlett who is a partner
with H. N. Cameron in operation
of the Southern Pines Motor Co.,
Pontiac and GMC truck dealers.
The Motor Co. and Oil Co. occu
py adjoining quarters in the
building which is owned by Mrs.
A. M. Swinnerton. The east por
tion of the structure in which the
explosion occurred was formerly
stables and was built over 30
years ago.
The damage estimate, Mr. Hew
lett said, figured losses to the two
lowing explanation:
Alec Cameron and Raymond
were working on a truck which
was loaded with gasoline, just in
side the door at the north en
trance to the building, installing
a new pump on the truck which
had been acquired recently by the
oil company.
Gasoline evidently was leaking
from the truck, creating fumes
within the building. This leakage
also apparently played an mpor-
tant part in the fatal burns of
Alec Cameron, Chief Fowler said,
as the young man had gone under
the truck to get a fitting that had
rolled there, shortly before the
explosion, and his clothing had
become saturated with gasoline. '
Apparently, said Chief Fowler
(Continued on page 8)
CROP Campaign
To Be Planned
Leaders in the Moore County
campaign of the Christian Rural
Overseas Program (CROP) will
meet at the Presbyterian Church
in Carthage Monday at 7:30 p. m'
to plan the 1954 drive.
Prominently associated with
the CROP campaign in former
years have been Clyde Auman of
West End, T. Roy Phillips of Car
thage and A. L. Burney of South
ern Pines. Collections are made
through churches of the county,
of cash, clothing or food products
for distribution overseas under
church supervision.
All interested persons are in
vited to the Monday meeting.
See page two today for item
about CROP’S new program for
purchase of surplus commodities.
Golf Carousel
Starts With Big
List Of Entries
The public is invited to attend
a golf clinic to be held this after
noon (Friday) from 4 to 5 o’clock
at the Mid Pines Club as a feature
of the Southern Pines Golf Carou
sel, which opened Thursday with
qualifying rounds on three local
courses.
Taking part in the golf clinic
will be: Julius Boros, former U.S.
Open and. World champion, pro at
the Mid Pines Club and part own
er of the Pine Needles Country
Club; Pat O’Sullivan, twice hold
er of the North and South Wom
en’s championship and former
Connecticut state champion, who
recently turned pro, and Richard
Chapman of Pinehurst, one of the
nation’s leading amateurs.
Chapman and his wife, Eloise,
a golfer of distinction, are playing
as a team in the tournament,
which is being sponsored by the
Southern Pines Chamber of Com
merce.
(Continued on Page 8)
Thomas A. Kelley
Succumbs At 80;
Rites Wednesday
Funeral services were held in
Emmanuel Episcopal Church
Wednesday morning for Thomas
I Armsby Kelley, 80, a resident of
Southern Pines for over 45 years
who died Monday at Moore Coun
ty Hospital after a long illness.
The Rev. C. V. Covell, rector of
the church, and Dr. T. A. Cheath
am, rector emeritus of the Vil-i
lage Chapel, Pinehurst, officiated.
Burial followed in the family plot
at Mount Hope Cemetery. Active
pallbearers were Sherwood
Brockwell, Jr., Shields Cameron,
L. T. Hall and Garland Pierce, of
Southern Pines, Hugh Carter of
Pinehurst and Cad Benedict of
Pinebluff. Honorary pallbearers
were C. W. Picquet and S. B.
Richardson, of Southern Pines
and Paul Dana of Pinehurst.
Known affectionately to sever
al generations cf Sandhills resi
dents as "Tom” or “Uncle Tom,”
(Continued on Page 8)
Blue Knights To
Face Ellerbe In
Playoffs Today
The Blue Knights of Southern
Pines High School will launch
their drive fcr the State Class A
six-man football championship
this (Friday) afternoon when they
play Ellerbe High School’s team,
the Montgomery County cham-
piO'US.
The game is set at the neutral
Piehurst field for 3:30 p. ni.
Winner of this contest will
have the group championship and
will advance to the district play
off Friday of next week. District
winners will play for the Eastern
title ad the Eastern winner will
play a Western N. C. winner for
the state championship.
Winner of the game at Pine
hurst will face the winner of
Rcwland-Clarkton contest in the
district playoff.
County Champion
The Blue Knights became
Moore County champions last
Friday night when they defeated
Pinehurst 46-28, to complete their
season record without a loss and
with one tie.
Marley, Humphrey and Wat
kins each made two touchdowns
last Friday and Cox scored one.
Humphrey kicked two extra
points.
Garry Wathen accounted for
three of Pinehurst’s scores and
C. Garrison, one. Wathen kicked
the two extra points.
Humphrey, Cox, Watkins and
Cline were rated outstanding of
fensively for Southern Pines, with
Marley and Pierce outstanding on
defense.
Wathen was the outstanding of
fensive player for Pinehurst.
Emma Deane Thomas, 14, Accidentally
Shot And Killed By Boy Cousin, 15
t _
. — which will multiply the value of
businesses and to the building’s cash gifts this year 20 times.
Emma Deane Thomas, 14-year-
old Vass-Lakeview High School
freshman and daughter of Mrs.
Purvis Thomas, was killed around
5 p.m. last Friday by a blast from
ija 12 gauge auto
matic shotgun
which her first
cousin, Billy
Ray Thomas, 15
is said to have
been unloading
in the yard, 12
feet from where
the girl was
standing on a
screened porch
of her farm
home near Vass
The discharge
EMMA DEANE tore through the
THOMAS screen, entered
the left side of her face, and. is
believed to have brought instant
death. She was rushed by ambu
lance to St. Joseph’s hospital,
where she was pronounced dead.
The victim’s cousin and a com
panion, Billy Belton, had been
squirrel hunting and the Thomas
youth is reported to have been
unloading his gun preparatory to
riding a motor scooter to his home
a mile away when the accident
occurred.
Coroner Ralph Steed, who in
vestigated, termed the tragedy an
accident, with no inquest requir
ed.
Funeral rites at the Vass Meth
odist Church at 2 p.m., Sunday,'
drew a crowd which filled the
sanctuary and vestibule, with
many others, unable to get in,
standing outside through the ser
vice. The pastor, the Rev. Walter
C. Stnith, read Scripture passages,
offered prayers and paid tribute
to the beauty of the girl’s life.
(Continued on Page 8)
MISSING GIRL
RETURNS HOME
Mrs. Lou Dorothy McCrim-
mon Fox, 18-year-old Negro
girl who disappeared two
months ago, and who has
been the object of an inten
sive search by the sheriff’s
department and the SBI, re
turned Saturday afternoon to
her home near Vass.
Sheriff C. J. McDonald said
that, after learning from the
girl’s family that she had re
turned home, he went there
to talk with her but found
her “too upset” to be immedi
ately interviewed.
He said he talked with her
a short while but she was un
able to give a connected story
at that time, and until he had
the full story he would rath
er not give details of what lit
tle she had said.
The girl was last seen Sat-
urlay night, September 11,
talking with some soldiers at
a Negro amusement park
near Lakeview, to which she
had gone accompanied by her
sister.
There were several mys
terious angles to her disap
pearance and there was some
suspicion of foul play.
Majorities
Exceed Those
Usually Won
Approximately 4,600 Moore
County citizens voted in the gen
eral election Tuesday and gave
larger than usual majorities to the
complete Democratic ticket.
In Southern Pines 651 persons
voted; in Aberdeen, 546, and 109
in Pinebluff.
The complete unofficial vote in
Moore County for the contested
county offices was:
State Senate (elect two)
12th District
J. Hawley Poole 3095
Robert Morgan 2922
Lacy S. Lewis, Jr. (R) 1364
House
H. Clifton Blue 3132
J. W. Rogers (R) 1393
Sheriff
C. J. McDonald 3117
Floyd T. Cole 1445
County Commissioners
District 1
John M. Currie 3056
C. A. Kennedy (R) 1420
District 2
T. R. Monroe 30I6
C. H. Garner (R) 1410
District 3
L. R. Reynolds 302I
J. W. Childress (R) 1399
District 4
J. M. Pleasants 3072
A. Raymond Thomas (R) 1376
District 5
G. M. Cameron 3024
M. Hobson Tucker 1432
Unopposed Candidates
Judge J. Vance Rowe, candidate
for reelection as judge of record
ers court; W. Lamont Brown, can
didate for a second term as solici
tor of recorders court; Carlton
Kennedy, candidate for a second
term as clerk of the court; Mrs.
Bessie J. Griffin, candidate for a
second term as register of deeds;
and Ralph G. Steed, candidate for
reelection as coroner, had no Re
publican opposition, and were all
re-elected.
M. G. Boyette, candidate for re-
election as solicitor of the 13th
Judicial District, was re-elected
without opposition.
Slate Offices
In the State and district con
tests with all Moore County pre
cincts reporting except Spencer-
ville, where approximately 330
votes were cast with the vote run
ning about 3% to 1 in favor of the
Republicans, the vote stood:
For U. S. Senate
W. Kerr Scott 2977
Paul C. West (R) 1256
Congress
C. B. Deane 2988
Harold W. Gavin (R) :1244
Amendments
No. 1
No. 2
No. 3
No. 4
1858
1179
2020
1043
1414
-1634
.1840
For
Against .
For
Against .
For
Against .
For
Against 126I
No. 5
Eor 1837
Against 1219
In the county, as in the State,
all the amendments were carried
with the exception of Amendment
No. 3 which would have limited
any county to one State Senator.
Sam J. Ervin, Jr., was-elected to
the U. S. Senate to fill the unex
pired term of the late Senator
Clyde R. Hoey without opposition.
Edwin Gill was elected State
Treasurer over Rex Morton;
Charles Gold was elected Insur
ance Commissioner over Fred G.
Frick. Frank Crane was elected
Commissioner of Labor without*
opposition. There was no Repub
lican opposition for any of the
superior court judges or supreme
court judges.
In Nation
In the nation the Democrats
won control of the House and Sen
ate as well as the governorships
in New York, Pennsylvania, Ari
zona, Colorado, Connecticut, New
Mexico, and Maine, where the
election was held in September.
COUNCIL TO MEET (
Regular meeting of the South
ern Pines Town Council will be
held at the town hall Tuesday of
next week at 8 p. m.