Q
VOL. 39—NO. 20
TWENTY PAGES
SOUTHERN PINES, NORTH CAROLINA', THURSDAY, APRUL, 4, 1957
TWENTY PAGES
PRICE TEN CENTS
Restored House To Be Dedicated Saturday
Restored to what experts think
is a remarkable resemblance to
its original appearance, the
House in the Horseshoe, also
known as the Alston House, will
be formally dedicated as a State
Historical Site Saturday after
noon.
The dedication ceremonies wiU
end long months of work on the
part of many people. For the
Moore County Historic^ Associa
tion, the ceremonies ' will be
pleasant indeed: it marks the sec
ond building the association has
successfully restored. The other
was the Shaw House in Southern
Pinfes.
The house and four and one
half acres of surrounding proper
ty are now owned by the State as
one of the Historic Sites under
supervision of the State Depart
ment of Archives and History.
At the ceremonies Saturday a
number of events are on the pro
gram, including the presentation
of a portrait of Benjamin Wil
liams, two-time governor of the
state, yho lived there from 1799
until ms death.
A playlet, which will be pre
sented by the Deep River Home
Demonstration Club, im a main
featme of the program. Written
by Mrs. J. J. Hume of Carthage,
the play depicts a typical scene
that occurred at the house on
many occasions, Mrs. Philip Als
ton, wife of the house’s most fa
mous owner and its builder, serv
ing tea to a group of visiting
ladies from the countryside.
Period costumes will be worn.
Sheriff Charles McDonald,
president of the historical associ
ation will preside.
The restoration project has
been accomplished with the help
of many people. In addition to
the Moore County Historical As
sociation, other organized groups
who have shown an interest and
■contributed help and funds are
the North Carolina Society for
the Preservation of Antiquities,
the Private John Grady Chapter
of the DAR, Sanford, and the Al
fred Moore DAR Chapter and
numerous individuals.
The dedication will recall the
early history of the house and
the day in 1781 when Colonel
Philip Alston, his family and a
small group of Whigs were trap
ped in a surprise attack by the
Tory leader, David Fanning.
The house is accessible by good
roads connecting with Highway
27 in Carthage where an official
state marker commemorates its
part in the Revolutionary War
period.
Visitors will find roadway
signs leading them to the dedica
tion ceremonies.
A PORTRAIT of Governor Benjamin Williams, a resident of
the restored House in the Horseshoe, will be officially presented
when the house is dedicated as a state historic site Satiurday
afternoon. Here, the artist, William Fields of Fayetteville and
New York, looks over the portrait with Mrs. Ernest Ives of
Southern Pines, a prime mover in the restoration project.
(Pilot photoj
Portrait of Gov. Benjamin Williams
To Be Hung At Dedication Ceremony
A portrait of Benjamin Wil
liams, two-time governor of North
Carohna, will be hung in the
House in the Horseshoe at formal
dedication ceremonies Saturday
afternoon at 3 p.m.
Governor Williams, who was
governor from 1799 to 1802, and
again for a term in 1808, lived in
the famed house from 1799 until
his death. He had acquired it
from the Alston fsimily, original
owners.
The portrait was painted by
William C. Fields, Cumberland
County native and one of the out
standing portrait painters of the
nation.
The portrait, commissioned by
Mrs. Ernest Ives when she was
president of the Moore County
Historical Association, will be a
prized possession in the house
which has been restored to its
Colonial dignity. When Fields be
gan work on the portrait he dis
covered that the original, now
hanging in the HaU of History in
Raleigh, had been painted over
twice in efforts to restore it.
He discovered, however, that
the Hall of History had in its files
negatives of photographs of the
portrait taken before the last res
toration, and also negatives taken
before the first restoration.
He took the negatives, had pho
tographs made, and made a com
plete study of the painting as it
was before the restoration had
been accomplished. He was not
surprised to learn that the job had
been a bad one and that the por
trait in the Hall of History bore
little resemblance to Governor
Williams.
Much of the character of the
Governor and almost all of the
physical resemblance had been
lost, he said. “I guess artists in
those days just painted people the
way they thought they would
look in the period the painting
was done.”
He added: “I felt, however, that
since the portrait would hang in
his home and for purely historical
reasons, it should be as near hke
the original as possible.”
The portrait, incidentally, will
hang over the mantel in the pan
elled drawing room of the restor
ed home.
Fields spent several weeks do
ing “detective” work on the por
trait. Even the costumes had been
altered in the restorations and it
was necessary for him to do a
great deal of research concerning
the costumes of that period in or
der to make it authentic.
The original painter is un
known. However, the staff of the
North Carolina Museum of Art
believes that several other por
traits by the same painter are in
existence. This may lead. Fields
thinks, to clues as to the author
ship of the original.
It is possible, he believes, that
the portrait was painted in Phila
delphia while Williams was a
(Continued on Page 8)
/'-V ■ \-v
Post Office May
Be Forced To Cut
Service Saturday
Would Curlail
Some Delivery,
Pierce Says
Unless more money is appro
priated by Congress the Southern
Pines post office, like thousands
of others across the country, will
close Saturday and future mail
service will be curtailed to a great
degree.
Postmaster Summerfield has re
quested the Congress to appropri
ate the additional funds before
Saturday so that service will not
be affected. Saturday begins a
new quarter and Summerfield
said that deliveries to homes and
businesses would be cut off.
Local postmaster Garland Pierce
said today that, should the funds
not be allocated, it would mean
this here:
All home and business mail de
livery would be cut off on Satur-
<^ay, causing a tremendous load on
Monday and subsequent delays
and late deliveries.
The post office would be forced
to close at 1:30 p.m. each Satur
day, the busiest day of the week
and, again, would cause a tremen
dous burden on Monday.
Money orders, which Summer-
field said would have to be stop
ped, amounted to $365,918 here
last, year, from 20,000 individuals
and companies. Banks and the
Railway Express Agency would
be faced with the task of trans
mitting funds for citizens. Pierce
said, thus working a hardship on
them.
So far as third class mail is con
cerned; there would be no effect
locally on dispatching it, but a
tremendous volume is delivered
here, Summerfield said such ser
vice would go out the window if
the fimds weren’t made available.
Added to aU these problems.
Pierce said, is the fact that some
50 per cent of the regular clerical
employees of the post office here
were lost last year and it has had
a big effect on the local office.
He also reminded patrons to
day that, because of a revision in
the highway postoffice schedule,
there will be a one-half hour later
distribution of the morning mail.
Air mail service in and out of
KnoUwood Field will also be sus
pended, as it is regularly this time
of year, on April 30.
3 Incumbents Seek To Retain
Council Seats; 2 Newcomers
THE HOUSE IN THE HORSESHOE, one of
Moore County’s most famed landmarks, will of
ficially become a state historic site at dedication
ceremonies Saturday afternoon. The house,
scene of a small skirmish between Whigs and
Tories during the Revolutionary War period, has
been completely restored though bullet holes
from the skirmish may still be seen on the outer
walls. (N. C. State News Bureau photo)
Glee Clubs Will
Compete Here For
Picquet Cup Award
The largest number of contest
ants ever wUl compete for the
coveted Charles * Picquet Cup
when glee clubs from seven
schools sing at Weaver Auditori-
ilm Thursday night, April 11, at
8 p. m.
The annual contests, sponsored
by the Sandhills Kiwanis Club,
win have entries this year from
Southern Pines, Pinehurst, Aber
deen, Carthage, Vass-Lakeview,
Robbins, and Farm Life schools.
The Picquet Cup is perhaps the
most prized possession any glee
club in the county may possess.
Mr Picquet started the contests
many years ago. It was taken
over, at his request, by the Ki
wanis Club in 1950.
Council Calls For
Public Meeting On
TownDevelopment
A public meeting to discuss
what is being accomplished in
the “balanced development” of
Southern Pines has been sched
uled at the library here tomor
row (Friday) at 5 p. m.
Sponsored by the Town Coun
cil, the ^ meeting will bring to
gether representatives from a
v/ide variety of groups in South
ern Pines concerned with promo
tion and development. Mayor
Voit Gilmore said the meeting
should be ovdr by 6 p . ttu
He said the meeting was called
so that various groups and indiv
iduals working on development
plans that would affect the
town’s future could report on
progress made. ‘'We hope that as
many people'as possible may at
tend the meeting,” he said, “and
learn about the ideas the groups
have and, if they have any, to in
voke new ideas into the think
ing.”
Those who have already said
they would make brief reports
on work their individual clubs or
committees had been engaged in
are' John Ostrom, chairman of
the Moore County Industrial De
velopment Committee; several
members of the committee from
Southern Pines; Earl Hubbard,
president of the Chamber of
Commerce; James Baird, presi
dent of the Junior Chamber of
Commerce; Mrs. Claude Reams,
president of the Southern Pines
Garden Club; and Mrs. Ernest
Ives, representing the Moore
County Historical Association.
Representatives from tourist
interests and other businesses
will also be on hand.
Red Cross Drive
Lags; Only 68 Per
Cent of Quota In
The £innual Red Cross cam
paign for members and funds in
Moore County is seriously lag
ging, according to a report made
today by Donald D. Kennedy of
Southern Pines, county-wide
campaign chairman.
“To date, the total for the en
tire coimty has reached only 68
per cent of the quota,” he said,
adding it would be necessary to
continue the drive for at least
two weeks longer.
Five commvinities have either
reached or exceeded the quotas
established there. Reports from
several other communities have
not been made at all.
Here is the breakdown on the
drive to date, with the name of
the community, the quota, arid
the percentage of the quota
raised:
Aberdeen, $1,500, 101; Addor,
$35, no report; Bensalem, $25,
100; Big Oak, $20, 100; Cameron,
$200, 54; Carthage, $800, 24; Clay
Road Farms, $35, 40; Eagle
Springs, $100, 97; ^stwood, $35,
85; Eureka, $30, 100; Highfalls,
$100, 75; HUlcrest, $60, 80; Glen-
don, $30, no report.
Jackson Hamlet, $60, no report;
Jackson Springs, $175, 80; KnoU-
wood, $400, 85; Lakeview, $60,
75; Manly, $75, no report; Niag
ara, $75, 60; Parkwood, $60, no
report; Pinebluff, $200, 50; I^e-
hurst, $4,200, 77; Pleasant Hill,
$20, 100; ^bbins, $700, 40;
Roseland, $35, 101; Southern
Pines, $5,250, 68.
Spies, $15, no report; Taylor-
town, $200, 50; Horseshoe, $25, no
report; Union Church, $25, 34;
Vass, $350, 47; West End, $400, 88;
Westmoore, $70, 44; West South
ern Pines, $200, 116; Eind White
Hill, $55, 20.
Dairy Barn Near
Pinebluff Burns
The Silver Springs dairy barn
on the outskirts of Pinebluff was
completely destroyed by fire
about 7:30 last night (Wednesday).
Gordon Colnett, owner of the
farm, said today he was stOl un
able to determine the cause of the
fire which brought out the fire
departments in Pinebluff, Aber
deen, Southern Pines and Pine
hurst.
None of the cows were injured,
he said, although the bam and
two silos were ruined. Two calves
in the barn were led to safety, as
were a number of cows.
Mr. Colnett, who has owned the
farm five years, said he had it in
spected and it was aU right at the
time.* He produced about 150 gal
lons of milk each day which was
sold to Montgomery Dairies.
The building was not covered
entirely by insurance.
Interest Picks
Up As Deadline
To File Nears
Five candidates, three of them
present members, had filed for
election to the Town Coimcil at
press time today.
Councilmen filing for re-elec
tion were Walter Blue, Sam Rich
ardson and T. T. Morse. Retired
General IJearson Menoher of
Khollwood, an unsuccessful can
didate two years ago, paid his fil
ing fee late Wednesday afternoon.
Leland M. Daniels, local con
tractor, filed at 1 o’clock today,
the last of the first five.
There has been much talk that
a rash of candidates would file
before deadline at 5 p.m. tomor
row (Friday).
Richardson, in a long statement
said he felt that some members of
the present coimcil should offer
themselves for re-election because
“the present Council has started
several major projects which I
think we should feel some respon
sibility toward seeing through to
completion.”
He said that, though it was dis
tasteful to do so, he would, if
elected, make a motion that a row
of cedar trees on West Pennsyl
vania Avenue be cut down to
make way for a cement sidewalk.
The present Coundl, at the insti
gation of the town’s garden clubs,
had requested that the trees be
left intact and Council had agreed
to do so.
Richardson also said he felt
Councilmen should be paid for
their time, “abuse and responsi
bility without pay,” and that he
would make a motion to that ef
fect.
Blue, who received the largest
(Continued on Page 8)
Registration To
Begin Saturday
Registration books for the
forthcoming municipal elections
will be open Saturday, April 6,
from 9 a. m. to 9 p. m., according
to MrSi Grace Kaylor, registrar.
Registration for new voters
will be held at the Fire Station
on E. New Hampshire Ave.
'Ihe books wiU be closed Sun
day, but wiU be open Monday
through Friday from 9 a. m. to
5 p. m., and Saturday, from 9 to
9.
New registrants must have
been a resident of North Carolina
for one year and of Southern
Pines 30 days.
I Separate books are kept for
I Southern Pines election and
I county elections, Mrs. Kaylor
i pointed out, and voters who have
j not registered specificaUy for a
town election must do so if they
wish to vote in the municipal
electionsT"
REGISTRATION for the annual Homes and Garden Tour of
the Southern Pines Garden Club was placed at almost 1,000,
equal to any tour the club has ever sponsored. Visitors are shown
here registering with Mrs. N. L. Hodgkins and Mrs. James S.
MUliken at the Shaw House, tour headqusirters. (Pilot photo)
Perfect Weather Greets Estimated
1,000 On Annual Home & Garden Tour
Around a thousand garden- ’ tour started, by Mrs. James S.
lovers invaded this flower-be- MUliken and Mrs. N. L. Hodg-
decked town yesterday to make gins, and at the doors of homes
the 1957 Garden Club tour the on the tour by the hostesses for
best yet. ' j the day.
In fact, with close to 900 regis- | More than 250 luncheons were
tered and many known to have ' served at the Shaw House, with
“started in the middle”, or oth- the buffet table in charge of Mrs.
erwise failed to get themselves Dwight W. Winkehnan and Mrs.
written down, the number enjoy- ■ Ernest L. Ives, Mrs. Harold Peck,
ing the sunny m (be homes Mrs. T. T. Hayes, Mrs. A. P.
and gardens of the tour may Thompson and members of the
have exceeded the 1000 mark. Junior Women’s Club, who have
The tour, this year, included been hostessing at the Shaw
Pinehurst as well as Southern House tearoom this season, wait-
Pines. ^ed on the guests.
Ticket sales amounting to In the gardens, Mrs. K. N. Mc-
$1,742 had come in ’"’norted Coll and Miss Helen Butler were
to ■ ’The PUot at press-time by on hand to give data on the herbs
Mrs. Claude Reams, president of and other flowers,
the local club. 'Tickets were sold Among those rnnking the
at the Shaw House, where the| (Continued on Page 8)
Boosters Club To
Meet, Plan 1957
Program Monday
The annual spring meeting of
the Blue Knights Boosters Club
will be held Monday night at the
Church of Wide Fellowship.
Tentative items on the agenda
for the program, which begins at
8 p.m., are the treasurer’s report,
a discussion of the football pro
gram, and election of officers.
J. B. Perkinson,! president, said
that 11-man football, which wiU
be played in Southern Pines for
the first time next season, will
also be discussed, as will the pro
gram for the Boosters Club in the
coming months.
The club, composed of friends
and boosters of the athletic pro
gram at Southern Pines High
School, has been active in raising
funds for various necessities of the
various teams, and building an in
terest in the athletic program.
Refreshments and entertain
ment will be provided, “both
free,” Perkinson said.
Members are requested to bring
a friend and, if available, wear
the regular badges.