I ^
))
*
SLOW DOWN AND
LIVE! HELP STOP
HIGHWAY DEATHS
SLOW DOWN AND
LIVE! HELP STOP
mGHWAY DEATHS
Shoplifter Ring
Believed Smashed
By Moore Arrests
Group Filches Goods
Worlh $170 At Vass
Store; All In Jail
A bold and clever ring of shop
lifters—replete with aliases, slick
methods and a leader boasting
the colorful nickname “Black
Diamond”—has been broken up
with the arrest in Mocre County
of three Negro , men and three
Negro Svamen. All are held under
heavy bonds in the jail at Car
thage.
Extensive and wide-ranging in
its operations, the ring had been
disposing of stolen property in
Durham “for months,” according
to Detective Captain W. E. Gates
of that city’s police department
who came to Carthage after ap
prehension of the gang Saturday.
Clothing believed to have been
stolen by the grohp had been dis
posed of in Durham pawn shops,
stripped of all identifying marks,
but police there who had the gang
under surveillance had before
been unable to' obtain proof of
their illegal activities.
So familiar were Durham offi
cers with the men and women ar
rested in Moore County that, from
false names given here by those
arrested, their true identity was
established a few minutes after a
call to Durham by the sheriffs
department.
Five of the six were arrested
Saturday by Highway Patrolman
E. A. Hight when caught red
handed with $170 worth of cloth
ing lifted less than an hour pre
viously from' the ladies’ dress
shop of Mrs. Bertie Stewart at
Vass. In their car also were found
17 men’s suits later identified as
taken from Belk’s and possibly
other Sanford stores, adding a
fieW sht of charges thte-gang has
to face in Lee County, as well as
those for which they were arrest
(Continued on page 12)
Council Appoints 7-Member Group
To Launch Promotion For College
M.C. McDonald, 43,1 ' Tentative
Tennis Tourney
Finals May Be
Delayed By Rain
Thursday will be a big night—
weather permitting—in the
Moore County Closed Tennis
Championships, which have been
proceeding slowly on account of
rain.
Showers Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday night have delayed
the schedule but there are still
hopes that the finals can be held
Friday night. Some of them may
have t6 go over until Saturday,
said Harry Lee Brown, Jr., tour
nament chairman.
Entries included 16 for men’s
singles (including two girls), 16
fc-r women’s singles, eight men’s
doubles teams and eight mixed
doubles teams. There were no en
tries in women’s doubles.
This is the seventh annual
Moore County Closed tourna
ment, sponsored each June since
1949 by the Sandhill Tennis as
sociation.
As of this morning, only one
finalist had emerged—^Kenneth
Tew, who defeated Harry Lee
Brown, Jr., 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, and will
meet the winner of a match be-
(Continued on page 8)
AT ARMORY SITE—Major Gen. Claude Bow
ers, commanding general of North Carolina’s
30th Infantry Division, is shown (center, with
glasses) conferring with National Guard officers
and local officials at the proposed site for the
Southern Pines armory. With General Bowers,
from left to right, are Major Paul Dickson, tank
battalion S-3; Captain William Staton and Cap
tain Roger Hall, of the division staff; Lt. Col.
Clarence Shimer, division administrative officer,
Lt. Col. William Lament, battalion commander,’
General Bowers, Mayor Voit Gilmore of South-^
ern Pines, Captain William J. Wilson, local com
pany commander, H. Clifton Blue, Moore Coun
ty’s state representative, Lt. Col. William J. Lo
gan, Regular Army advisor, Harry H. Pethick,
Southern Pines town councilman, and Major
Thomas B. Lester, battalion executive officer.
The occasion was a recent command inspection
of the local tank company by the Division Com-
rnander. While the official report of the inspec
tion has not yet been received. General Bowers
was generous in his praise for the local com-
(Photo by Hemmer)
Armory Fund Request Rejected
i
ADULT SOFTBALL
LEAGUE RESULTS
June 16 Games
USAFAGOS 15, Col. Fum. 3
Holliday’s 22, Jokers 11
June 21 Games
Jokers 17, CP&L 5
Laymen 21, Lions 9
STANDINGS
Team W. L.
USAF Air-Ground School 2 0
N.C. Catholic Laymen 2 0
Holliday’s Chicks 1 0
HiU Top Jokers 1 i
Colonial Furniture 0 1
Carolina Power & Light 0 2
So. Pines Lions Club 0 2
COMING GAMES
Tonight, June 23
7:30—HoHiday’s vs USAFAGOS
9:30—Col. Fum. vs. Lions
Tuesday. Jime 28
7:38—USAFAGOS vs Jokers
9:30—Holliday’s vs CP&L
Hopes for a new armory for
the local National Guard tank
company were upset by the an-
announcement today the Moore
:Gcunty Board of Commissioners
is unable to grant the request for
local matching funds. Capt. W. J.
Wilson, local unit commander,
said he had received word from
the county commissioners that
while they were all very much
interested in the proposed arm
ory, they had been unable to find
the money to insure the construc
tion of the new building. The
oc-mmissioners met at Carthage
Wednesday in a special budget
session.
Local National Guard officers
had asked for $7,500, in accord
ance with the armory appropri
ation bill enacted by the General
Assembly. After the original re
quest was submitted, it was found
that the State Armory Commis
sion would require a total of $10,-
000 as the local contribution to
the $100,000 project.
\Gordon Cameron, chairman of
the county commissk-ners, ex
plained that the lateness of the
request, coupled with an unusual
ly large school construction bud
get already tentatively approved,
had made it necessary to turn
down the armory project. Mr.
Cameron told the local Guard of
ficer's that although it was not
possible to appropriate any funds
for armory construction this year,
each of the commissioners had
expressed his enthusiasm for the
project, and felt that a request for
funds would certainly be consid
ered favorably next year.
“We appreciate the position of
the County Commissioners,” Cap
tain Wilson said, “but we are
naturally disappointed in their
decision. Unfortunately, -we may
not be in a position to get an
armory next year. These armories
are constructed according to a set
scjiedule throughout the state. At
present, we are number two on
the list, but if we fail to obtain
the necessary local funds, I just
don’t know where we will end
up.”
Wilson went on to say that he
had no definite plan for future
action on the project, other than
to seek advice and suggestions
from interested state and local
officials.
‘Operation Impact’ Program Starts;
‘Slow Down And Live’ Funds Sought
“Operation Impact,” the traffic
safety campaign that was con
ducted successfully by the Air
Ground Operations School in
Southern Pines the past two sum
mers, gets off to a new start to
day, it is announced by the
school commandant. Brigadier
General Daniel W. Jenkins. This
year’s safety campaign is being
conducted along with the Moore
County “Slow Down and Live”
safety campaign.
The “Operation Impact” cam
paign originates with the Tacti
cal Air Command, of which the
Air Ground School is a unit, and
traffic accidents in the Air Force.
During the periods of “Operation
Impact” in past years the AGOS
has not had a single automotive
accident.
Won 1954 Award
In outlining the plan today
(Continued on Page 8)
The Southern Pines community
has been asked to contribute $300
of the $2,000 voluntary fund that
is .being collected in Moore Coun
ty to finance the Slow Down And
Live traffic safety campaign.
Brig. Gen. Robert B. HiU, re
tired Army officer who is the
Southern Pines representative on
the county advisory committee,
said that contributions to the fund
may be sent to him or to Police
Chief C. E. Newton. AU money
goes for posters, car stickers and
other publicity material to push
the campaign. General HiU said.
As all 48 states are in the Slow
xo a uxiiL, ailUl <axc m uie olOW
has been used effectively to cutl^°''^*' And Live effort this year
PILOT EDITOR OVERSEAS
I/Ctter From The Netherlands
(Mrs. James Boyd, editor of
The Pilot, recently flew to
the Netherlands. Her impres
sions of the nation and some
interesting experiences there
are related in the following
letter.)
HoUand looks just like Holland.
That’s the first thing you think.
As you fly in over the flat fields,
there are the straight canals
crossing the land in every direc
tion, cutting it into squares and
oblohgs, as the hedgerows do the
gentle English dountryside and
the highways do our own wide
spaces.
And, when, later, you drive
down the straight roads, there are
the dark red-brown viUages, their
gabled houses clustered on the
skyline, with, here and there* the
windmiUs lazily turning.
HoUand seems at least half
water when you fly over it. Our
Convair made the crossing from
England in an hour and twenty
minutes. Most of it above a heavy
layer of clouds so that we didn’t
even know when we were over 1 —unc
over life or prevents one .crippUngacci-
the Channel. I had hoped to get
a glimpse of the Norfolk country
side that Tom Howerton and I
have often talked about. He was
there during the war and that’s
where I went three years ago.
And I’d hoped perhaps to see
Dunkirk and the tragic beaches
of that coast; though, actually I
think our flight was too far
North for that. But we saw noth
ing at all until we started down
through the clouds. "When we
came out, there was that flat
green land, all crisscrossed and
dotted with water, with the sea
[running in, in long estuaries and
bays, the whole thing seeming al
most under water already. And
so dangerously vulnerable.'
We came in over Amsterdam.
The town looked like one of those
paper cut-out toy towns, all so
neat and trim and everything
(Continued on page 7)
there has been some delay in get
fmg this material, the general
said, but it is expected here soon
and the Moore County advisory
committee plans to have the drive
wen under way before the July 4
.holiday.
Recalling that he had served on
safety committees and boards dur-
the last four and a half years
of his active service in the armed
forces, General Hill said he is
“completely sold on the Slow
Down And Live campaign as
means of approach to the terrific
traffic accident problem.”
The campaign will be worth
■while, he said, if it saves only one
Collins Takes First
Round Tourney Match
Playing in the championship
flight of the Carolines Amateur
golf tournament at Charlotte
■Wednesday, James Collins of
Southern Pines defeated BiUy
■Womack of Charlotte 7 and 5, in
his first round match» The win
was the second most decisive re
corded in the flight 'Wednesday.
The 17-year-old local golfer is the
son of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Col
lins.
^ — .w*
dent in Moore County.
Jack Carter Wins
Club Championship
Two Carters fcught it out for
the Southern Pines Country Club
golf championship, recently com
pleted. Jack Carter beat Joe Car
ter, 1-up, in an 18-hole match.
Flight winners were announced
this week as follows by Roy Grin-
nell, pro at the club;
First flight — Chick Holliday
defeated R. N. Page, 4 and 3.
Second—H. G. Crissman de
feated Tom Grant, 4 and 2.
Third—C. N. Page defeated
Harry Pethick, 2-up.
Fourth—Dave Ginsburg defeat
ed C. Townshend, 2 and 1.
Fifth—W. P. Saunders defeat
ed M. Johnson, 2-up.
Instantly Killed
In Truck Accident
Moses Currie McDonald, Jr., 43,
of West End, a leading landowner,
merchant and industrialist of the
Sandhills, was killed Monday
morning when his truck, driven
by a Negro employe, left; the road
and overturned about two miles
from West End on the new Car
thage Road.
McDonald was going to the
county seat to his business, the
McDonald Brothers Supply Co.,
with his employe, Malcolm Lewis,
31, at the wheel., Lewis told offi
cers that an approaching car forc
ed him from the road on the right.
He swerved then to the left, and
lost control of the vehicle which
overturned on the left side of the
road. The driver was thrown
clear of the truck as it overturned
and it fell on McDonald, who was
believed instantly killed.
Constable Oscar Bailey of West
End, one of the first persons to
reach the scene of the wreck, said
that he felt for McDonald’s pulse
and found none, when he arrived
at the scene.
Bystanders lifted the truck to
allow the" body to - be removed
from beneath the vehicle. Ac
cording to a widely circulated ac
count of the wreck, the body was
removed only after parts of the
truck had been cut with a torch,
but this was not true.
Lewis, examined at Moore
County Hospital, was found to
have suffered only bruises.
Charged with careless and reck
less driving causing an accident
resulting in death, he was placed
in Moore Coimty jail Monday in
default of $500 bond.
In a hearing before Judge J.
■Vance Rowe in Moore County Re
corders Court Tuesday, no prob
able cause was found on the
charges and Lewis was freed.
Official investigation for the ac
cident report was made by High
way Patrolman C. G. Wimberly of
Aberdeen and Coroner Ralph G.
Steed of Robbins.
Funeral services for McDonald
were held Tuesday at West End
Presbyterian Church, conducted
by the pastor, the Rev. H. L. Yan
cey, Jr., with burial following in
the family plot in West End cem
etery.
He was born on the McDonald
homeplace near West End Janu
ary 20, 1912 ,the son of M. C. Mc
Donald and Lillie Currie McDon
ald, descendants of Scottish pio
neer families. He was graduated
from Jackson Springs High
School and, in 1931, from David
son College. ■*
He and his brother, Allen, car
ried on the mercantile business
founded at West End by their
(Continued on Page 8)
MR. GIBBS
Allen R. Gibbs
Associated With
S. Pines Church
Allen Roger Gibbs, formerly
field secretary and assistant direc
tor of admissions of Elon College,
will be in charge of the choirs and
Church School of the Church of
Wide Fellowship, beginning July
1, it was announced this week by
Dr. W. C. Timmons, pastor.
Mr. Gibbs will also be in active
charge of the church during the
absence of the minister, who will
be away during the months of
July and August.
Mr. Gibbs graduated from Elon
College in 1952, receiving an A.B.
degree and a first-class High
School certificate as teacher in
the public schools. Beginning in
the FaU, Mr. Gibbs will be a
member of the faculty of the
Southern Pines Schools. 'Through
out. his college career, and since
his graduation, Mr. Gibbs has
been the popular baritone soloist
of the Elon College choir, appear
ing throughout the Southern Con
vention in many church and col
lege programs.
Mrs. Gibbs was formerly Miss
Betty Grafton, of DanviUe, Va.,
and is a graduate of Averett Col
lege of that city. Mr. and Mrs.
Gibbs have two children, Hugh
Allen, five, and Margie Bess, two.
They will reside at 155 East Mas
sachusetts Avenue.
Pastor Plans Vacation
On July 2, Dr. and Mrs. Tim-
(Continued on page 8)
Offer Boyd
Land Told
The town council concluded an
informal conference on town
planning Wednesday afternoon,
held in connection with a propos
ed public works program, with
the appointment ,of a “nucleus”
committee to initiate the com
munity effort in the Presbyterian
College merger.
Information that the Synod
will in July receive a recommen
dation to consolidate three
educational institutions, and
seek a new site for the four-year
co-educaticnal college 'which
would result, has stirred much in
terest and a desire for action to
induce the college to locate here.
Nominations for the committee
wefe made from lists prepared by
Voit Gilmore and other council-
men, also fromi the floor. The list
grew rather large until a sugges
tion of Councilman Walter E.
Blue was unanimously approved
that only seven persons be named
at first, to form a small working
group which can be expanded
later as the need is seen.
Burney Chairman
A. L. Burney was appointed
chairman, with Voit Gilmore, W.
E. Blue, Harry K. Smyth, W.’ La-
MAYOR TO SPEAK
Mayor Voit Gilmore will
discuss "all that is known up
to date" on the Presbyterian
College merger proposal in a
broadcast from Radio Station
WEEB, at 6 p. m. tomorrow
i^^iday). The mayor said to
day that he had been receiv
ing so many requests tfor in
formation and that there is
apparently so much confusion
about the proposal that he
would go on the air to discuss
all the facts of the situation
as now known.
Women's Softball
Teams Organizing
Practice sessions for women
softball players began this week,
with the ladies scheduled to work
out on the elementary school play
ground daily, except Saturday
and Sunday, at 5:30 p.m.
Launched as another activity in
the municipal summer recreation
program, the ladies’ softball pro
ject looks toward setting up two
or more local teams.
Teams may be sponsored by
several women’s civic or club or
ganizations. What the teams will
be called, when the first game
will be played and other details
were undecided as practice began
this week.
Interested girls and women are
asked to call Mrs. Ike Woodell,
2-4623, who is organizing the new
activity.
No Meeting Yet Called For 15-Man
Moore Schools Study Conunission
W. D. Sabiston,
chairman of a Public School
Study Commission named last
week by the Moore County board
of education to investigate the
problem of integration of white
and Negro pupils in schools of the
Moore County system, said today
that he had not yet called a meet
ing of the commission.
The 15-man group, which in
cludes four Negroes, will make
recommendations as to how the
problem should be approached in
Moore County. It will study only
schools of thev county system. 'The
white and Negro schools of the
Southern Pines and Pinehurst
districts are not included in the
temporary Moore County Administrative
Unit as they are established as
separate city school units.
Members of the commission
are, in addition to Mr. Sabiston:
R. O. Taylor, and C. C. McCaskill,
Carthage; W. E. Alexander, C. J.
Andrews, and Huey Davis of Rob
bins; L. B. McKeithen, Cameron;
John McCrummen, 'Vass; W. E.
Horne and Charles Brown, Car
thage, Route 3; W. S. Taylor and
H. L. Bryant, Aberdeen; T. Clyde
Auman, West End; Herbert Bost,
Eagle Springs; Gurney Wilson,
Highfalls; and L. O. Green,
Steeds.
R. O. Taylor, Huey Davis,
Chari-’s Brown and H. L. Bryant
are the Negro members.
mont Brown, A. C. Dawson and
Mrs. Valerie Nicholson comple
ting the group.
It was emphasized that the
work of the committee would be
only tentative at first, pending ac
ceptance or rejection by the
Synod of the consolidation pro
posal. However, the seven will
serve as key persons to receive
suggestions from the interested
public and do preliminary work
toward a presentation of the com
munity advantages.
Boyd Offer Noted
James Boyd, Jr., who was pres
ent at the meeting, oc'nfirmed
that Mrs. James Boyd, his mother,
had made a tentative offer of a
considerable tract of land, subject
to certain conditions, to be used
as the site of the proposed col
lege. The offer has been made to
Dr. Marshall Woodson, president
of Flora Macdonald college, to be
passed on to the Synod. He said
he was not at liberty to be more
specific about the offer, and
stressed that it was only tenta
tive, as no discussions have been
held with any of the’college au
thorities or Synod representatives
(Continued oh Page 8)
LIGHTNING
Two sharp cracks of light
ning scared Southern Pines
citizens out of their wits and
set fire to a television set in
the Belvedere hotel, climax
ing a brief electrical storm
about 1:30 p.m. today.
The console television was
in the first-floor apartment of
Arthur C. Reed, hotel propri
etor. It was plugged in but
not turned on. After the
lightning flash it spurted
smoke, and the interior of the
console was found to be on
fire. Reed dragged it to the
terrace where, when the fire
truck arrived, the flames
were quickly smothered in
foam.
The lightning knocked Ra
dio Station WEEB off the air
for ediout 15 minutes.
_ Other damage, if any, occa
sioned by the bolts was not
immediately known to The
PUot.