• O''
RoIrtriNS
^GI«n<lon
VOL. 41—NO. 16
EIGHTEEN PAGES
SOUTHERN PINES, N. C.-, THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 1961
EIGHTEEN PAGES
PRICE: 10 CENTS
i®
, -*
Police Chief Newton Killed as
He Attempts to Serve Warrant
Tributes to
Chief Praise
His Record
LEAVING CHURCH—The body of Police
Chief C. E. Newton leaves Brownson Memorial
Presbyterian Church after funeral services
Monday, borne by local police officers, who
FELLOW OFFICERS PAY LAST RESPECTS
were pallbeaiers, and funeral home personnel.
Fellow law enforcement officers line up in
files between which the casket passes.
(V. Nicholson photo).
Hundreds Attend Funeral For Chief
The high esteem in which this
community’s slain chief of police,
Charles Edwin Newton, was held
here and throughout the state
was symbolized by the estimated
700 or more persons who attend-
his funeral at Brownson Memori
al Presbyterian Church Monday
afternoon.
Only a small portion of the
crowd could be accommodated
in the church itself. Others lis
tened to the sec's ice brought to
them outside on a public address
system. More than half of the
seats in the church were tak^n
by family and t«latives, town of
ficials, a school delegation and
members of the Moore County
Law Enforcement Officers’ Asso
ciation which includes all law
enforcernent officers in the coun
ty, judges, solicitors, justices of
the peace, court officials and>l and friend. They are: Sgt. E. S.
Program On High
School Will Be
Given For PTA
Students and parents of stu
dents in grades 8 through 11 are
urged to attend the regular meet
ing of the East Southern Pines
Parent-Teacher Association, to
be held Monday at 8 p. m. in
Weaver Auditorium.
Max Rush, PTA president, said
thaf the program will deal with
requirements for high school
graduation and for registration
in the high school grades.
Parents of 8th graders and the
students themselves, who will
enter high school this fall, are
especially urged to attend.
The program will be presented
by Supt. Luther Adams, High
School Principal Glenn Cox and
Don Moore of the faculty.
Among topics under discussion
will be the newly authorized rul
ing that high school graduation
here wiU require two more units
than heretofore—a requirement
that goes into effect with the
class entering high school this
year. Study habits and other im
portant factors will be discussed.
Aim of the program is to give
parents and students a clear un
derstanding of the high school
program, Mr. Rush said.
others engaged in some aspect of
law enforcement work. All mem
bers of this association were des
ignated as honorary pallbearers.
Active pallbearers were the
six officers in the police depart
ment, all of whom had received
most if not all of their training in
police work under Chief Newton
and revered him as chief, advisor
Seawell, Sgt. L. D. Beck and Pa
trolmen C. A. Wilson, O. C
Bridges, A. J. Benner and G. L.
Wright.
Many officers were present
from other police and sheriff’s
departments around the state, as
well as representatives of FBI,
SBI, State Highway Patrol, Al-
(Continued on page 8)
MEMORIAL FUND
A nsemorial fund for- the
late Police Chief C. E. New
ton — started spontaneously
by some of the town's mer
chants—is open for contribu
tions from any local resident.
Louis Scheipers, Jr., town
manager, said today.
Since there is no chamber
of commerce, the fund is be
ing handled through the
^own Information Center, by
request of merchants. Contri
butions may be sent to the
Newton Memorial Fimd at P.
O. Box 939, the Information's
Center's box.
Mr. Scheipers said that the
town is . not sponsoring the
fund, '! le council, he
said, w iil prbably appoint a
commit! t handle it. The
council i^ die to meet Tues
day night. ^
Nature o:f the memorial is
likely to depend on how
much is given. On Wednes
day. the fund amounted to
about $100.
Camellias On Display
Ai Town Library
Fifty varieties of camellias are
on display this week at the
Southern Pines Library, where
they will be through Friday.
These near-perfect flowers,
ranging from pure white to bril
liant scarlet, are a portion of the
200 varieties grown by Harry
Vale in his Young’s Road conser
vatory, and exhibited by him
each year at the Library.
Seawell Placed
In Charge, Until
Appointment-Made
Sgt. Earl S. Seawell, as senior
officer, was placed in charge of
the police department temporari
ly following Chief Newton’s
death, by order of Louis Schei
psrs, Jr., town manager.
Several applications for the
vacant post have been received
by the manager. All these, as
well as officers now in the de
partment are being considered,
he said.
Under the council-manager
form of government, Mr. Schei
pers has the hire-and-fire duty.
Sgt. Seawell, 33 years old, was
born in Rockingham, formerly
lived in Aberdeen, and married
an Aberdeen girl, the former
Nancy Averett. They have three
children. He is a veteran of mili
tary service and formerly ran the
Sandwich Shop in Aberdeen.
He joined the Southern Pines
department May 1, 1959. He rer
ceived all his police training
from Chie/ Newton.
Town’s Last Four
Chiefs of Police
Died of Violence
Police Chief C.‘ E. Newton
was the fourth successive South
ern Pines Police Chief to die un
der circumstances of violence.
Three of them, including Chief
Newton, were murdered.
Chief Joseph C. Kelly was shot
by a motorist he stopped for
speeding March 20, 1929, and
died the following morning in a
Fayetteville Hospital.
Chief Benjamin H. Beasley was
shot and killed October 21, 1931,
while he was driving an automo
bile near Durham, by a man
whom he had befriended and
drove to Virginia to try to get a
murder charge ^ against the man
dismissed.
Chief j”. A. Gargis dropped
dead of a heart attack on Christ
mas Day, 1939, after a violent
struggle with an apparently men
tally deranged transient whom
the chief had put in jail.
It was in January, 1940, that
Chief Newton, who had then
been a member of the police
force since 1931, was appointed
chief.
Further details of these former
deaths and the circumstances
surrounding them will be recal
led in a forthcoming story in The
Pilot.
Formal tributes to the late
Police Chief C. E. Newton have
been adopted by several govern
mental and civic bodies, and oth
ers are expected.
Individual members ' of the
town council have paid informal
tribute to Chief Newton and, the
morning , after his death. Mayor
Robert S. Ewing issued a State
ment for the press, extolling the
chief’s long and gble service to
the community and especially his
work with young people.
The council’s formal resolution
of sympathy and respect is ex
pected to be authorized at its
regular* meeting Tuesday night
of next week. Mayor Ewing left
town on a business trip Tuesday,
after attending Chief Newton’s
funeral with other members of
the town council Monday.
At their regular meeting in
Carthage Monday, the county
commissioners authorized a
memorial resolution for Chief
Newton, but it had not been
made available for publication
by the time The Pilot .went to
press today.
A tribute to Chief Newton was
prepared for publication by the
West Southern Pines Civic Club,
an organization whose member
ship includes most of the civic,
religious, business and profes
sional leaders of the Negro com
munity. The resolution was pre
sented to The Pilot by Town
Councilman Felton Capel and H.
A. Wilson, principal of West
Southern Pines schools. It reads:
“We deeply regret the grave
and tragic loss to our communi
ty in the death of Chief of Police
C. E. Newton.
“A man of integrity, he gavi
himself to the work to which he
was dedicated. He performed the
duties of his office with dignity
and a splendid spirit of service,
giving help to the needy and
succor to the distressed.
“In the many years of dedica-
(Continued on page 8)
u
(Humphrey photo)
Charles Edwin Newlon
November 9, 1898 — March 3, 1961
COMMUNITY CHAIRMEN
Sandlin Heads Local ARC Campaign
Change Taken In
School Break-In
The Moore County sheriff’s
department is investigating a
break-in at the Cameron school
Sunday night, in which various
small amounts of cash were
taken.
Chief Deputy H. H. Grimm
and Deputy R. A. Edwards of
Vass, who are investigating, said
entry was effected through the
breaking of a rear window. A
vending machine in a rest room
and an ice cream box were bro
ken open, and a small change-
box in a primary classroom was
rifled.
Organization of 34
County communities is under
way preparatory to the start of
the 1961 Red Cross fund drive
next week.
Chairmen have been appointed
in all but two of the communi
ties and the list is expected to
be completed next week, accord
ing to County Campaign Chair
man Joseph I. Scott.
R. M. Cushman of Aberde>sn
and Southern Pines has accept-
WIN 3rd TITLE
James H. Me Alvin of Lake
Forest, Ill. and Thomas C.
Robbins of Pinehurst retain
ed the title for the third year
in the Pinehurst Country
Club Seniors Four-Ball
Tournament in yesterday's
rain-interrupted finals match
with Egon F. Quittner of Ry-
dal, Pak and John W. Roberts
of Chicago, Ill., giving them
a 2 to 1 edge in the three
meets between the two pairs
ilor the dual crown.
Halted by the morning's
drenching downpour with a
one-up lead at the end of
four holes, the victors were
carried back to the afternoon
starting point before the de
ciding putt on the fourth ex
tra hole.
Moore ed the post of industrial chair
man.
Joseph E. Sandlin is general
chairman for Southern Pines
with Gen. R. B. Hill chairman
for advance gifts here. Felton
Capel is the West Southern I’ine.®
chairman.
Other community chairmen
named so far are:
Aberdeen, the Rev. Brooks Pat
ten, Walter H. DeLong and the
Rev. U. S. Leverette, co-chair
men; Addor, Mrs. Henry Addor:
Bensalem, Mrs. Harold Blue; Big
Oak, Mi:;3. Connie Cole; Cameron
Mrs. Pete Phillips; Carthage, to
be appointed; Clay Road Farms,
C. L. Ragsdale; Eagte Springs
Mrs. Margie Lewis; Eureka, Mrs.
Glenn Horne.
Eastwood, Mrs. W. E. Black,
Fred Vest, co-chairmen; Glen-
don, Mrs. HaskiU, Mrs. Thomas;
Willie Gray,
Who Fired Gun,
Also Killed
Police Chief Charles Edwin
Newton, 62, was instantly kill
ed at 9:20 last Friday night by a
shotgun blast fired at a range of
a few feet by Willie Gray, 46-
year-old Negro, in a house occu
pied by Gray in the 600 block of
W. Massachusetts Ave. Gray was
later fatally shot by officers.
Chief Newton and three other
officers—Sgt. Earl Seawell, and
Patrolmen Charles Wilson and
O. C. Bridges—had gone to the
house with a warrant for Gray,
who is known as “Eagle Eye” and
has a police record going back
to 1944, charging assault on a
female.
The warrant was sworn out by
Gray’s daughter, Mrs. Carrie Lee
Campbell, 20, who lives nearby
and who charged that her father
had assaulted her when she went
to the house to clean it up, earli
er that evening. The house is
owned by Mrs. Edna Evans who
has been staying in New York
City but returned to Southern
Pines this week to look after her
property which was badly shot
up in an exchange of gunfire be
tween Gray and police. Gray had
occupied the house since last
July.
Chief Newton, not on duty but
at the police station, volunteered
to accompany the officers when
they went to serve the wan-ant
I and arrest Gray. After conviction
and a year’s sentence to th.c
roads, on a larceny cha,rge in
1959, Gray is said to have sworn
that he would never be arrested
again or be killed resisting. He
had given two local officers «
hard fight when they arrested
him on that charge in 1959.
As related later by officers who
(Continued on page 8)
3-Dayy 100-Mile Ride to Start March 16
The Sandhills 100-Mile Ride,
sponsored by a new Association
of that name, under auspices of
the Town of Southern Pines and
with support of the Moors Coun
ty Hounds, will be staged here
next week.
With divisions for senior and
junior riders, the ride is designed
to stimulate greater intersst in
the breeding and use of good
horses and in the pleasure deriv
ed from riding horses. Many vis
itors are expected, most of whom
will bring their own horses.
With preliminary inspection of
horses on Wednesday, the ride
itself will begin Thursday when
rfders will traverse a 40-mile
course laid out in this area, start
ing at Mileaway Farms. There
will be a luncheon stop in the
course at the ’Fremont Farms of
Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Frantz, Sr.,
off Young’s Road, on the Royal-
ton Pines Dairy road.
Anothej 40 miles will be rid
den by participants on Friday
with the luncheon stop scheduled
at the ring of the Carolina note!
in Pinehurst.
Saturday’s 20-mile ride will
conclude the event.
Most of the course will be in
woodland and rural country
with signs to point the way to all
riders. However, riders can he
observed at various road cros -
ings, a schedule of which will ap
pear in The Pilot next week.
The public is invited to watch
the riders and to take part in
various social events during the
three days, but there will be :
charge for social events to those
not taking part in the ride. These
include a party at the Hollywood
Hotel Wednesday evening, a
party at Mileaway Farms Thurs
day evening and the two lunch
eon stops where box lunches will
be served to the participants and
can be obtained for a tee by
spectators.
The ride is similar to the 25,-
year-old event of the Green
Mountain Horse Association in
J. M. Pleasants
Suffers Attack
James M. Pleasants of Southern
Pines, a member of the board of
county commissioners, was
stricken with an attack Tuesday
morning and rushed to Moore
Memorial Hospital, where he
continues seriously ill.
So far as could be learned to-
Highfalls, Mrs. Jack Upchurch,! day, no definite diagnosis was
Miss Ann Inman; Hillcrest, Miss
Grace Tillman; Jackson Hamlet,
Mrs. Brice Murchison; Jackson
Springs, Mrs. John Patterson
Knollwood, Wilfred Weldon;
(Continued on page 8)
Contracts Not
Let This Week
For Ag Building
Contracts for the proposed
Moore County Agricultural
Building and library were not
let, as had been planned, by the
county commissioners at their
regular meeting in Carthage
Monday because of money prob
lems and the lack of time for
full discussion of them^
Low bids among those which
Vermont, but on a smaller scale were opened February 9 came to
less than the $230,000 originally
allotted for the building, the
commissioners were told by W.
C. Howell, of the Southern
Pines architectural firm Hayes,
Howell & Associates.
However, with only about
$130,000 in reserve toward the
building, planning further ap
propriation to be made during
the next fiscal year, the commis
sioners were advised by County
Attorney M. G. Boyette that it
might be best to wait until be
full amount was on hand before
starting on the building. Some of
the commissioners indicated they
might seek some new bids., '
reached pending further tests to
be made when he is able to take
them, but it was believed not to
be a heart attack, but possibly
a- perforated ulcer.
“Jimmy” was downtown in a
barber’s chair, getting ready to
have his hair cut, when he suf
fered the attack, about 10:30 a. m.
A doctor and ambulance were
summoned.
He has served on the county
commission about 10 years, and
three years ago was president of
the N. C. Association of County
Commissioners. He is in the in
surance business.
Mrs. Pleasants said this morn
ing that his condition remains
about the same, although the re
sults of various tests had ;iot
then been learned.
and under less severe conditions.
Point scores will be kept on all
riders, according to the time tak
en day—which must be neither
more nor less than a certain
number of hours—condition of
horses and other factors.
Officials for the event include
judges, stable manager, time
keeper, recorder, route master
weigher and veterinarian.
Arrangements are being made
through the Town Advertising
Committee whose headquarters is
the Information Center, with
George H. Leonard, Jr., of Resort
Realty and Insurance Co., coor
dinating plans.
Pinehurst Boy Wins
Morehead Scholarship
Albert Lee Sneed, Jr., a senior
at Christ School, Arden, is
among the 25 North Carolina
winners of the Morehead Schol
arship to the University of North
Carolina.
Winners were announced
Tuesday . John Motley More
head, founder of the scholarship
fund, personally presented the
awards.
Sneed, son of Brig. Gen. and
Mrs. A. L. Sneed of Pinehurst,
is a member of the Forsensic
League and the Dramatics Club
at Christ School.