'V.
VOL, 39—NO. 24
TWENTY PAGES
SOUTHERN PINES, N. C., THURSDAY, MAY 7, ,1959
TWENTY PAGES
PRICE: 10 CENTS
NEW MEMBERS of the Southern Pines Town Council were
sworn in yesterday in the Council chambers by Mrs. Mildred
McDonald, Town Clerk, shown at left. Members, from left, are
Jlohn Ruggles, Felton Capel, James Hobbs, Robert Ewing and
Ewing Picked As
New Mayor; Hobbs
Is Mayor Pro-Tern
Robert S. Ewing was elected
Mayor of Southern Pines at
swearing-in ceremonies for the
Town Council and new officers
of the Re'corder’s Court yesterday
morning.
Ewing’s election was on a split
vote. The other nominee was
James Hobbs, tcp vote getter for
Councilman in the Tuesday elec
tions, and also tops in the ballot
ing in the primary. Ewing stood
second in the balloting Tuesday,
third in the primary.
Hobbs was elected Mayor PrO-
Tem, a position formerly held by
Ewing, and then the Council, in
a rare action, named a non-mem
ber cf the Board as Town Treas
urer. That position went to D. E.
Bailey, outgoing member of the
Council and a defeated candidate
for Judge of the Recorder’s
Court.
W. Harry Fullenwider was elec
ted overwhelmingly to the posi
tion of Judge of the Recorder’s
Court and Jchn D. McConnell
went in as Solicitor with an im
pressive vote over Arthur Rowe.
In addition to Ewing and
Hobbs, other Councilmen for the
next two years will be Felton
Capel, Harry Pethick and John
Ruggles. Capel will be the second
Negro ever to servrf on the town’s
governing board.
A total of 1,090 people voted
Tuesday, not a record but con
sidered a good turnout in'the ab
sence of any real issues. At one
point in the day, shortly after
lunch, it seemed as though the
voting would exceed the record
set four years ago, but it started
slacking off in the afternoon and
as the time for the polls to close
approached, voters were strag
gling in in small numbers.
Outgoing Mayor Walter Blue
told the some 50 people that at
tended the swearing in ceremon
ies, held in the Council Chamber,
that he was retiring from public
(Continued on pagp 8)
Harry Pethick. Ewing was elected Mayor soon after the swear
ing in ceremonies to succeed Walter Blue. Hobbs was picked as
Mayor Pro Tern.
NEW COURT OFFICERS elected by voters of
Southern Pines were sworn in yesterday morn
ing following certification of the vote by the
outgoing Town Council. At left is John D. Mc-
Ccnnell, Solicitor, and at right is W. Harry
Fullenwider, new Judge. In the middle is R. F.
Hoke Pollock, outgoing Judge who swore the
new officers into their jobs.
Official Vote
FOR COUNCILMAN:
Felton Capel
577
Robert Ewing
619
Janet FoUey
no
James Hobbs
654
George Leonard
346
Donald Madigan
242
Dante Montesanti
283
Harry Pethick
477
John Ruggles
369
Julia Steed
'256
FOR RECORDER:
D. E. Bailey
233
Harry Fullenwider
719
FOR SOLICITOR:
John D. McConneU
653
Arthur Rowe
328
Saturday Is Maternal Welfare Tag
Day In County; Funds Badly Needed
WOULD HELP NORTH-SOUTH TRAFFIC
Piedmont Airlines Proposing Route
Linking Area With Raleigh-Durham
Piedmont Airlines has proposed
a new routing for traJEfic out of
Southern Pines which woud, if
approved, give this area a long
sought North-South air service.
Tom Davis of Winston-Salem,
president of the firm, revealed
the information to a group of
some 15 people representing var
ious segments cf public and busi
ness life at an informal meeting
yesterday.
Mr. Davis, invited here by Voit
Gilmore to tell of his company’s
plans, said that the present East-
West route for Southern Pines
“doesn’t begki to tap the traffic
potential we believe exists in the
Sandhills.’’
He said also that the predomi
nant traffic for the area, as indi
cated in several surveys, was in
a North-South direction.
Under his proposed route
changes, which is now being con
sidered by a Civil Aeronautics
Board examiner. Southern Pines-
Pjnehurst would have a direct
flight to Raleigh-Durham Airport
for a tie-in with North and South
traffic. He said it would take
probably eight to twelve months
before the examiner makes any
formal recommendations as to
his findings, and then the CAB
would have to act on them. Such
action, he anticipated, would not
be forthcoming until 14 to 18
months had passed.
“Though this is not a matter
of immediate importance for this
(Continued on page 8)
Buy a tag for Mother’s Day
and help Moore County’s needy
mothers,’’ will be the plea heard
in town Saturday.
This is the day, when, all over
the-county, the annual fund drive
of the Moore County Maternal
Welfare Committee takes place:
the day before Mother’s Day.
In Southern Pines' folks going
fcr the mail, or weekend shop
ping will find a table by the bank
and one by the postoffice manned
by volunteers where, the little
green tags may be “purchased.”
The postoffice table, this year,
will be in charge of the. Junior
Woman’s Club, Mrs. Stanley
Austin president, with the pro
jects chairman, Mrs. Ted Kling-
enschmidt, heading the group. At
the bank, under the chairmanship
of Mrs. Claude Reams, will be the
usual group of women who loyal
ly man this post each year. Mrs.
L. T. Avery and Mrs. James Boyd
are county committee members
from here.
Said Mrs. Boyd, who is co-chair
man with Mrs. J. Talbot Johnson,
of Aberdeen, of the county com
mittee: “Due to the public’s gen
erous response last year, we have
been able to extend the service
of the free bed the committee
maintains at Moore Memorial
Hospital. Twenty-one mothers
have had their babies there, five
more than last year.” Mrs. Boyd
said the Nurses’ Fund, establish
ed to enable the public health
nurses to meet emergency needs
without delay, had proved most
useful in speeding up needed re
lief through the purchase of med-
ecine, milk, baby clothes and so
on—mostly for the babies.
, Those heading the work in the
county-wide drive Saturday are:
Carthage: the American Legion
Auxiliary, Mrs. Fred Beck, presi
dent, helped by Mrs. W. D. Sa-
biston, treasurer of the county
FOUR CASES
(A) "Husbai^ out of work
since mill closed. Patient 24-
years-old; this is ninth child;
no Welfare help: serious med
ical and mental condition:
sterilisation performed."
(B) "Husband out of work.
HL Mother hypertension,
severe varicose veins. This
was tenth baby. 7th month,
baby died. Sterilization, bad
ly needed."
(C) "Mother, age 33; 8 liv
ing children; father ilL un
able to work; gets ADC
grant: one child polio."
(D) "Husband dropped
dead 3 months before baby's
birth: 10 living children; gets
rent free because she and
children work on farm; gels
some Soc. Sec. money."
committee, and Mrs. Worth Mc
Leod of the. Health Department
staff; Aberdeen: the Senior Wo
men’s Club, with the help of Mrs.
Johnson; Pinehurst: Mrs. Alfred
N. Dercuin, Mrs. A. P. Thompson
and Mrs. Hugh Carter are county
committee members; Pinebluff:
Mrse. Walter C. MacNeiUe, who
is secretary of the county com
mittee. West End and Robbins
include this charity in their Com
munity Chests. The Vass collec
tion is in ^ the hands of the Wo
man’s Club, Mrs. C. R: Pope,
president.
It should be noted that the
West Southern Pines churches
make a special contribution to
this cause, as does also the Pine-
hurst school.
Miss Mary Swett is the public
Health nurse covering this gen
eral area, Mrs. McLeod the Car
thage region and Mrs. Kinney
(Continued on page 8)
Howard Johnson
Tournament Set
Here For Weekend
Betsy Rawls Is
Favored To Beal
Field Of Forty
Betsy Rawls of Spartanburg
will be seeking her fourth tour
nament victory of the seasop and
her second in a row tomorrow
(Friday) when more than 40 lady
golfers tee off in the first annual
Howard Johnson Invitational
Open Golf Tournament.
The tournament will be play
ed at Mid Pines Club, 18 holes
a day, Friday through Sunday,
with a purse pf $6,000 to be divi
ded among the winners.
A clinic was scheduled for this
afternoon with Miss Rawls and
other top women pros taking
part.
In additkn to Miss Rawls, 25
of the country’s leading profes
sionals and 13 noted amateurs
are entered. Other professionals
entered include Peggy Kirk Bell
of Pine Needles, Wiffie Smith,
who also is attached to Pine
Needles; Louise Suggs, Joyce
Ziske, Betty Jameson, Mickey
Wright, Marilyn Smith, Barbara
Romack and Alice Bauer.
Amateurs include Laura Lee
Menoher and Mary Agnes Wall
of Southern Pines; Gwen Derouin
and Lcis Rettew of Pinehurst;
Mrs. Frank Stranahan of Toledo;
Hope Yorker of Columbia; Janice
Seiber of Philadelphia; Cornelia
Trott of Raleigh; and Willie Haw
ley of Fort Bragg.
Of particular interest to local
people is the entry of Helen Gray
Smith of Wilmington, who grew
up here. Rated as one of the best
amateurs in the state, she has
won several tournaments in the
Wilmington area.
Miss Rawls won the Land of
(Continued on page 8)
School Officials Give
Reasons For Failure
To Re-Elect Principal
Large Crowd At
Meeting Held In
Auditorium
Pine Needles Club
Scene Of $3,000
CGA Tournament
A $3,000 (maybe plus) golf
tournament will be played at
Pine Needles Club May 16 and 17,
according to an annbuncement
received here this week from D.
F. Harris of Sanford, the sponsor.
Mr. Harris is president of Har
ris Cushman Buggy Company
and has the North Carolina fran
chise for sales of the well-known
electric golf cart.
All pros in Nerfh and South
Carolina and several members
and association members of this
section have been invited to play
in the toumment, a 38-hole med
al play affair with 18 holes to be
played each day.
There will be no admittance
to the tournament, which will be
an added event for the 1959 Caro-
linas PGA schedule.
In addition to the tournament
a social hour is planned the open
ing evening.
WINDOW BOXES
The Southern Pines Gar
den Club, pleased, as punch
with the reception given the
window boxes on various
business establishments here,
is also a little unhappy:
somebody has stolen a plant
from one of the boxes and
members are afraid the "fun"
will spread.'
This is the first reported
theft from the boxes (though
some people still insist on
throwing cigarette butts,
candy wrappers and other as
sorted trash into them) and
the Garden Club hopes, ac
cording to one member, that
it will be the last.
It is, a member said, a case
of "please* look, admire and
be pleased, but please don't
touch."
Pre-School Clinic
Hates Announced
)
Pre-school registration for chil
dren who will be entering East
Southern Pines school for the
first time next year will be held
next Thursday, May 14, accord
ing to A. C. Dawson, school su
perintendent.
From 9 a. m. until 10:30 a. m.
parents are requested to bring
their children for registration,
and they have also been request
ed to bring birth certificates and
vaccination records.
At 9 o’clock, Mr. Dawson said,
children will be registered whose
last names begin with the letters
A to J. At 10:30, those children
whose last names begin with let
ters K to Z- will be registered.
Only children who are six
years old on or before October 15
of this year are eligible to enter
school.
Alumni Of State
College To Meet
state College alumni of Moore
County will meet Monday of next
week. May 11, at the Carthage
Hotel, according to T. C. Johns
ton, Jr., of Aberdeen, program
chairman.
The meeting, which begins at 7
o’clock, will feature Professor G.
W. Giles, as the principal speak
er. Professor Giles is head of the
Agricultural Engineering Depart
ment at State.
All alumni are asked to make
their reservations through Cal
vin Howell of Southern Pines.
BANK CLOSED
The Citizens Bank & Trust Co.
will be closed Monday, May 11,
for Confederate Memorial Day,
and on Saturday, May 30, for Na-^
tional Memorial Day.
Some two hundred people at
tended what was unofficially
termed a “public hearing” in
Weaver Auditorium last night to
listen to school officials and in
terested citizens discuss the
events that led up to the decision
by school officials not to reap
point Irie Leonard to his position
as principal of the high school.
Included in the audience, larg
est ever to attend a meeting of
the School Board, were a large
number of students who occu
pied seats in the first two or
three rows.
Robert Ewing, who was elected
Mayor of Southern Pines only a
few hours before the meeting,
acted as spokesrhan for the 10 or
15 people he said had requested
time at the meeting'. He posed a
series of questions for the School
Board and A. C. Dawson, super
intendent, to answer.
Also speaking was C. S. '“Bus
ter” Patch, president of the Par-
eht-Teachers Association, and
several other citizens. Most of
the questions were answered by
Dr. Dawson, though John How-
arth, chairman of the School
Board answered several.
The time had been requested,
Mr. Ewing said, because word got
out last week that Mr. Leonard
had been notified that he would
not be recommended for re-elec
tion for the next school year. He
said that many stories had been
circulated, many at variance, and
that he and the people he was
spokesman for “merely want to
determine what the real story is
and get this thing in its proper
perspective.”
He said that he was acting as
a private citizen and not as a
town official, and also that he
could not speak for others pres
ent. “What we really want,” he
said “is to get to the basic facts
on what seems to be an interest
ing situation.”
With that start, and before
what appeared to be largely a
hostile audience, the School
Board and Dr. Dawson occupied
a hot seat for a little less than
two hours. Some of the questions
were barbed, some obviously
asked to lead to others, and some
not having anything to do di
rectly with the action last week
but were inquiries into the
various functions of school offi-
dials.
Ewing’s questions, and the an
swers supplied by Dr. Dawson
or the School Board chairman
were as follows:
Ewing:
Has Mr. Leonard been ask
ed to resign?
(Continued on Page 8)
EDITORIAL
School Troubles: A Pity From Every Angle
Since the editorial on page 2
was written and printed, last
night’s meeting has taken place
—the meeting which this news
paper hoped would not take
place.
This town’s newspaper, how
ever, holds to its original senti
ments as expressed in the edi
torial: that it would have been
better had the meeting not taken
place. We believe that matters
such as those imder consideration
should be taken up in private;
that only through such private
discussion could all the facts be
ascertained, and that only in this
way was there a chance of
achieving understanding and
even, perhaps, the compromise
which, it is assumed, the protest
ing parties desired.
Both the School Board, Dr.
Dawson, and Mr. Irie Leonard
have professed utmost devotion
to the good of the school—a
phrase that echoed many times
last night. That all are equally
sincere we firmly believe, but,
though some good came from the
meeting as held last night, it
seems likely that the bad far out
weighed the good. Clearly, all
Zl
have at least some share in the
blame.
It is true that such meetings
are open to the public and the
public could not be kept away.
However, we believe that had the
board been alert, realizing to the
full what their decision was stir
ring up, and had they acted
promptly, a private, informal
meeting could have b^n held at
which something constructive
might have been done and last
night’s difficult, emotional, close-
to-disagreeable affair avoided.
Similarly, we believe many felt
that it would have bejn far bet
ter had the students not attend
ed. Mr. Leonard, with his strong
hold on their devotion and re-
liancte, could have prevented this,
we are certain. Just as, of coufse,
he could have prevented the en
tire affair had be been willing to
accept with restraint the board’s
decision.
Among good things that happen
ed was the presentation by Robert
S. Ewing, spokesman for the ob
jecting parents, of their ques
tions. It was dignified and good-
tempered, delivered with con
sideration for those whom he ad
dressed. The students acted with
decorum and self-discipline. 'The
restrained handling by the board
and Dr. Dawson of the matter at
issue was impressive. Chairman
Howarth firm and Dr. Dawson
tireless in his replies and, ob
viously under great strain, most
conscientious in his attempt to
hurt those personalities involved
as little as possible.
The main bad thing about last
night’s affair, of course, was that
it happened at all. It is discour
aging to realize that people of
intelligence can get themselves
into such an unfortunate situa
tion. It is a pity that those of
both sides did not have the fore
sight and public spirit to avoid a
public airing of troubles. All par
ties have suffered. The atmo
sphere of emotional tension that
pervaded the hall, the feeling
that at any moment someone
might come out with something
deeply hurtful to those present
or not present, which could cre
ate long-lasting scars: this was
something not pleasant to experi
ence. Nor the sad realization that
this was happening in a Southern
Pines school.