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VOL.—43 No. 43
TWENTY-TWO PAGES
SOUTHERN PINES, N. C., THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1963
TWENTY-TWO PAGES
PRICE; 10 CENTS
R. F. HOKE POLLOCK
Pollock Named To
Fill Vacancy On
Education Board
R. F. Hoke Pollock, partner in
the Pollock and Fullenwider
local law firm, has accepted ap
pointment by the town council
Tuesday night to fill the nine
months unexpired term of J. E.
Sandlin on the Southern Pines
board of education.
The council accepted with re
gret the resignation of Mr. Sand-
in who is moving to Lumberton
as executive vice president and
administrative officer of the
Southern National Bank. In a
letter of resignation to the coun
cil, he called his servcie on the
school board “the most reward
ing experience of my residence
in Southern Pines.”
The new board member, a na
tive of Kinston and a Wake For
est Law School graduate, has
practiced law here since 1946 and
has been active in community af
fairs. He is an Army Reserve col
onel, is a former president of the
Moore County Bar Association
and the Sandhills Kiwanis Club
and is a vestryman and former
senior warden of Emmanuel Epis
copal Church.
Living at 230 Valley Rd., he
and his wife, the former Jeanne
Dickinson of Southern Pines,
have two teen-age children,
Stephanie and Hoke D. Pollock.
At the council meeting, Mr.
Pollock was nominated by Mayor
Pro Tern Norris L. Hodgkins, Jr.
There was one other nomination,
Alton L. Scott, by Councilman
C. A. McLaughlin. In secret bal
loting by the five council mem
bers, Mr. Pollock received four
votes and Mr. Scott one.
Other memlsers of the board of
education, which administers the
Southern Pines independent city
unit school system, are; N. L.
Hodgkins, chairman; Mrs. Wal
ter Harper, Dr. C. C. McLean and
P. I. York of West Southern
Pines.
Brady Appointed
To Attendance
Post In Schools
Gurney A. Brady has been ap
pointed attendance counselor for
the white schools in the Moore
County School system.
Sixty-six such positions were
created by the 1963 General As
sembly and the State Board of
Education alloted one counselor
to the Moore system, which in
cludes all schools in the county
except those at Southern Pines
and Pin-shurst.
Mr. Brady is a graduate of
Bennett High School and attend
ed Elon and Campbell College.
He is married and has one son.
His wife is a teacher at the High-
falls school.
The County Board of Educa
tion recognized the need of at
tendance counselors three years
ago and appointed one for the
Negro schools, Mrs. Edna Taylor
of Pinehurst who was reappoint
ed this year after a leave of ab
sence. The attendance record has
improved and fewer drop-outs
have been noted.
Mr. Brady will work with the
principals of the schools and will
visit students who are absent. His
office wiU be located in the Ed
ucation Building in Carthage.
Council Approves
Zoning Change For
Golf World Plant
An amendment to the zoning
ordinance approved by the town
council in regular session Tues
day night granted a Business II
designation to a tract on No. 1
highway parkway that is expect
ed to become the site of the new
Golf World magazine offices and
printing plant.
The zoning change, from a resi
dential designation, had been
previously approved by the
town’s Planning Board, on re
quest of Golf World whose inten
tion to move its headquarters
from Pinehurst to Southern Pines
has been announced.
Golf World is a national week
ly golf news magazine operating
at Pinehurst since 1947, founded
by the late R. E. Harlow and
now operated by his widow, Mrs.
Lillian Harlow as editor and pub
lisher.
Lying on the parkway access
road, between Iowa Ave. and
Lowe Ave. (a street that is not
open), the land rezoned includes
the property of Mrs. Mildred
Clark as well as the Karl An
drews tract that is being pur
chased by Golf World.
E.2fore approving the zoning
change, the council inspected ele
vation drawings of the proposed
Golf World building, noting that
the only signs would be on the
wall of the building itself and
that it generally meets the taste
ful design council members say
they will require of all buildings
along the parkway.
During discussion of the
change, the council heard a letter,
(Continued on Page 8)
Council Adopts
Safety Measure
On motion of Councilman Fel
ton Capel of West Southern Pines,
the town council Tuesday night
adopted a resolution directing the
town manager to make certain
that assurance of public safety
measures are written into con
tracts for town construction work.
The action was linked to the
recen I drowning of a child in
drainage water in the municipal
swimming pool under construc
tion in West Southern Pines.
The safety measures suggested
included adequate barriers,
warning signs or other devices to
minimize the danger of accidents
at construction sites where a
guard is not kept on duty.
Blood Program Serving
County Threatened By
Shortage Of Donations
DAMAGED GRAVES— Nearest tomb with
broken slab is that of Mary Chalmers Williams,
daughter-in-law of Governor Williams; in cen
ter, tomb of Governor’s widow Elizabeth, with
slab smashed in two and pieces shoved aside.
The flat slab of Governor Williams’s grave, in
background, had been pushed out of place, with
corner broken off, in past vandalism. Note
foundation stone pulled out of place on ground
at foot of the Governor’s tomb. At its head is
the granite marker erected in 1921, bearing
bronze plaque now defaced with scribblings.
(Photo by V. Nicholson)
Croup’s Directors Planning To Repair
Historic Tombs Defaced By Vandalism
Suicide Ruled
In Inquest Of
Woman’s Death
A coroner’s jury, convening
Saturday night in the Cameron
town hall, heard testimony in the
drowning death of Miss Lola Ger
trude Thomasson, 57, on August
19 and returned a verdict of sui
cide.
In this they reaffirmed the
original ruling of Moore Coroner
W. K. Carpenter, handed down
August 20 following an investiga
tion. He later suspended this rul
ing after rumors of foul play be
came widespread with suspicion
directed at the brother of the de
ceased.
The bruised left eye of the de
ceased, observed when the body
was removed from a farm pond
near her home and the admis
sions of her brother Francis King
Thomasson that they had quar
reled the night before, and he had
slapped her, were the subjects of
close inquiry by the jury.
Thomasson, 47-year-old bach
elor who had lived with his sis
ter on her farm, operating it on
half shares, frankly admitted,
“The blame is mine. I believe she
killed herself because of depres
sion, because of the way I had
treated her.”
The balding, bespectacled man,
graduate of Campbell and Wake
Forest colleges, looking and
speaking more like a schoolteach
er than a farmer, said he had
been upset because of the poor
condition of the crop and up
braided his sister Sunday night,
August 18, for not having seen
that it was “suckered” better.
“She was always good to help,
though she didn’t have to work,
(Continued on Page 16)
Vandalism taking place during
the summer at Governor Ben
jamin Williams’s tomb in Deep
River Township, a spot revered
by Moore County citizens, has
moved the directors of the Moore
County Historical Association to
take immediate protective action.
“We must do something at once
or there will be nothing left to
protect,” Dr. Colin G. Spencer of
Carthage told the quorum of di
rectors he was able to assemble,
despite the summer recess, at the
Southern Pines library Saturday.
Consideration was given to the
suggestion that the graves of the
Revolutionary war hero and
three-time North Carolina Gover
nor, who died in 1814, his widow,
son and daughter-in-law be re
moved to a site near the Alston
House, Governor William’s retire
ment home, a mile and a half
away. However, said Dr. Spencer, I.
he had contacted members of''
the Harrington family, whose
burying ground the spot subse
quently became, and found them
opposed to any move. Also, it was
believed the consensus of the
association membership would be
Investigation
Of Human Bones
Reveals Murder
A 12-year-old murder was
brought to light in the investiga
tion following the finding of scat
tered human bones in a Negro
cemetery near Aberdeen Sunday
morning, August 25.
The grim find reopened the
case of a strange “disappearance”
in which murder was suspected
but never proved.
The case was closed last Wed
nesday atfernoon, when Deputy
Sheriff J. A. Lawrence and
Moore Coroner W. K. Carpenter
took the bones, along with shreds
of a brown woollen suit found
with them, to Carlisle, S. C.
Positive identification through
dental work was made by Oscar
Peake of Carlisle of the remains
of his brother, Clifton Peake, who
had lived in the Cabbage Hill
section just east of the Aberdeen
town limits off NC 211, near the
cemetery where they were found
Oscar Peake and the sheriff
and a magistrate of Union Coun
ty, S. C., also identified the wool
len shreds as portions of a suit
worn by Clifton Peake, whom
they all knew well.
The remains were turned over
to Oscar Peake for long-delayed
funeral and burial services a
Carlisle.
Working from clue to clue and
running up on many a blind al
ley, Lawrence had pieced togeth
er from long-kept secrets a grim
tale of murder, fear and guilt
There will be no prosecution, he
declared.
“I am satisfied beyond a doubt
that Clifton Peake was fatally
stabbed July 13, 1951,” he said.
(Continued on Page 9)
against it.
The alternative considered was
the encasement of the historic
tombs in cement, the memorial
slabs covering them to be em
bedded in but not covered by the
cement; also the possible closing
of the entrance road to automo
bile traffic.
E. T. McKeithen of Aberdeen
and Dr. Spencer were given
authority as co-chairmen to de
cide what measures to take, and
to take them without delay.
“It is obvious the place is being
used by young people as a ‘party
ing spot’, ” the president said,
“though how any young people,
or anyone with any sense of de
cency, could have wreaked this
last mischief is difficult to see.
It must have taken real labor to
smash those marble slabs.”
The three-inch-thick slab cover
ing the grave of Mrs. Elizabeth
Williams whose death followed
that of her husband by three
years, has been broken complete
ly in two and the pieces pushed
aside to expose the earth beneath.
Broken entirely across, and the
top portion also halved, is the
slab memorializing Mary Chalm
ers Williams, who married the
Governor’s only son Benjamin
William Williams, and died at age
21 in 1821, following the birth of
her first child.
On the Governor’s widow’s slab
the words “Sanford 63” have been
scrawled in red paint. Names and
initials have been scribbled and
scratched on the bronze plaque
affixed to the granite shaft placed
in 1921 at the head of the Gover
nor’s grave. Except for a few
attempts at name-scratching, the
tomb of the Governor himself has
not been bothered this time,
though still showing the effects
of past vandalism, when it was
pushed crooked on its foundation
and one comer broken off. The
six-inch-thick brownstone slab
covering the grave of his son has
so far escaped damage.
Some of the heavy foundation
stones of native brown rock on
which the slabs were laid have
been pulled out, a half dozen of
(Continued on Page 8)
MAIfKETS OPEN
The Middle Belt tobacco
markets at Aberdeen and
Carthage opened Monday
with full sales.
Three warehouses axe auc
tioning the leaf at Aberdeen
and two in Carthage.
Selling will continue daily
on both markets, Monday
through Friday each week.
1st PTA Meeting
Postponed Again
To September 23
Postponement of the first meet
ing of the East Southern Pines
Parent-Teacher Association from
Monday of next week to Monday,
September 23, was announced
today by Mrs. J. S. Hiatt, Jr,,
president.
The meeting had previously
been postponed once from the
regular “second Monday” meeting
date.
Reason for the second change,
Mrs. Hiatt said, was a conflict
with two church meetings, one of
them involving several teachers.
She said members of the groups
had called her asking for a
change of date if possible.
“We expect to be back on our
regular schedule in October,” she
said.
PTA memberships, at 50 cents
per person, were taken in connec
tion with the payment of school
fees for students last week. How
ever, memberships will be ob
tainable later also.
School Registration
Here Rises To 1,794
Registration of pupils in the
Southern Pines school system
stood at 1,794 on Tuesday of this
week, Supt. J. W. Jenkins re
ports—109 more than on the
schools’ opening day last Thurs
day.
The Tuesday count:
East Southern Pines—elemen
tary, 776; high school, 327.
West Southern Pines—elemen
tary, 533; high school, 158.
Young Father Of 3 Killed In Wreck
Harold Junior Williamson, 24,
of Robbins, Route 2, father of
three young children, was killed
when his car went out of control
on a curve about 2 a. m. Sunday
on the “Punkin Center Road,”
sorne five miles north of Robbins.
It is believed that death was in
stantaneous.
His brother Norman Edward
Williams, 22, the only passenger,
was taken to Moore Memorial
Hospital with injuries reported
serious but not critical.
Patrolman J. F. Cardwell said
the car crossed the left-hand lane
onto the left shoulder, bumping
and overturning at least twice
along the edge of a field. Both
young men were thrown partly
out of the car, a 1951 Chevrolet
two door. The car was a total
loss.
Cardweii attributed the wreck
to high speed, of which he said
there were “definite indications.”
This was Moore County’s ninth
highway fatality of the year.
Funeral services were conduct
ed Tuesday from Browns Chap
el Christian Church by the Rev.
James Caviness, the Rev. Bennie
Maness and the Rev. Hayes Ritter.
Burial was in the church ceme
tery.
Surviving are his wife, Mrs.
Maxine Wiles Williamson; two
sons, Terry and Bobby of the
home; one daughter, Wanda of
the home; his parents, Mr. and
Mrs. John Williamson of Robbins;
one brother, Marvin of Robbins;
two sisters, Mrs. Betty Sheffield
and Miss Hazel Williamson of
Robbins.
A meeting which may decide
the fate of the Red Cross blood
program supplying the two hos
pitals in Moore County has been
scheduled for the high school
cafeteria in Carthage at 8 p. m.,
Thursday, September 19.
J. R. Hauser of Southern Pines,
Many Expected
For Annual N. C.
AA Convention
Advance registrations from
more than a dozen states, the
District of Columbia and Canada
are coming in for the 16th annual
North Carolina Alcoholics Anon
ymous convention, expected to
attract nearly 1,000 men and
women to the Sandhills Septem
ber 20, 21 and 22.
Members of the many Tar Heel
groups will constitute some 90
per cent of attendance, reports
a m.9mber of the Southern Pines
group which is the official host.
With the Carolina Hotel in
Pinehurst as headquarters, the
visitors will fan out to accommo
dations over the Sandhills.
The Sandhills Intergroup—16
AA groups of the area—is assist
ing in all phases of the conven
tion. With anonymity respected
throughout, there are no names
of individuals to list.
An unusual feature will be a
band concert with floor show to
be given Saturday night by the
Central Prison Band from Ra
leigh, several of whom are mem
bers of the prison AA group. The
band will be here by special per
mission of the prison authorities,
through arrangements made by
the convention’s general chair
man, a member of the Aberdeen
group who is a worker with the
prison rehabilitation program.
The Al-Anon, auxiliary con
sisting of wives, mothers and sis
ters of AA’s, will hostess a break
fast Sunday morning, and is also
in charge of decorations and so
cial events for visiting Al-Anons.
A free soft drink bar, coffee
bar and dairy and ice cream bar
will function in the lobby
throughout the convention.
Marker Presented
To State Sunday
At Moore Grave
A cherished project of the
Moore County Bar Association
and the county-wide Alfred
Moore Chapter of the Daughters
of the American Revolution was
brought to an impressive con
clusion Sunday afternoon with
formal presentation to the state
of a new grave marker at the
tomb of Judge Alfred Moore
(1755-1810), Colonial patriot, Su
perior Court judge and U. S. Su
preme Court justice, for whom
Moore County is named.
The ceremony took place at the
grave location in the Brunswick
Town Historic Site near Wilming
ton, with W. Lamont Brown of
Southern Pines making the pre
sentation address on behalf of
the bar association which finan
ced the purchase and prepara
tion of the marble slab marker.
Dr. Christopher Crittenden, di
rector of the Department of Ar
chives and History, accepted the
gift for the state.
Taking part also, from Moore
County, were J. Talbot Johnson
of Aberdeen, chairman of the
project for the bar association;
Mrs. M. G. Boyette of Carthage,
representing the DAR; and Vance
A. Derby of the bar association.
Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Johnson ac
companied their husbands.
The Moore County Bar Associa
tion’s interest in furnishing a new
marker for the Moore grave was
first stimulated by Superior Court
Judge Frank M. Armstrong of
Troy who had noted the poor con
dition of the grave in a visit to
Brunswick Town in 1960.
This year, in a letter to State
Senator Ray Walton of Southport,
Judge Armstrong related the
circumstances of this visit and his
subsequent actions, including an
offer to restore the grave him
self if no group took over the
(Continued on Page 8)
county blood program chairman,
said that some 20Q public offi
cials, business leaders, ministers,
physicians and others have been
invited by letter to attend the
meeting, speak their minds and
decide whether—or how—the
program can be saved.
“Because the program will be
lost,” Mr. Hauser said this week,
“unless Moore County residents
donate at bloodmobile visits , as
much blood as patients in the
hospitals are using, each year.
“As it stands now, the county
has fallen steadily behind in this
respect. For the year ending June
30, Moore County residents used
1,397 pints, but when the blood-
mobile came around, they gave
518 pints less than they used.
People in other counties send
ing blood to the Charlotte center
had to make up the difference.
That can’t continue, the Red
Cross says.
“The most shocking aspect of
the failure,” he added, “is that a
large proportion of persons who
sign pledge cards, promising to
give blood at the next visit of the
bloodmobile, on behalf of some
hospitalized relative or friend,
don’t show up when the time
comes—although they are noti
fied by the Red Cross office of
when they can make good their
pledge.”
If the program is lost, he point
ed out, hospital patients will have
to solicit blood donations as best
they can, with no assurance that
blood of required type will be
immediately available as it is
now from the Red Cross center.
‘■Nobody really wants to go
back to that hectic system,” he
said.
'The blood cha'irman, who says
he hopes that leaders attending
next week’s meeting can wake
the public up to the value of the
program and the need to keep it
going, urged persons he has noti
fied to make every effort to at
tend the September 19 meeting.
Austin, Reid To
Travel To Italy
Stanley Austin, proprietor of
Austin Business Machine Com
pany of S. W. Broad St., will
make a two-weeks tour of Italy
soon, sponsored by the Under
wood Corporation for which he is
a sales agent, leaving September
19.
The local man qualified for the
trip in a. special six-months sales
campaign which closed June 30.
He is one of about 500 Underwood
agents going to Italy in Septem
ber and October.
Accompanying Mr. Austin will
be Jack Reid of Southern Pines,
as the award provides a trip for
two persons. The local agent’s
wife, Mrs. Georganne Austin,
chose not to make the trip be
cause of the couple’s four young
children, one of them an infant.
The travelers will visit the
headquarters, training center
and factory of the Olivetti Com
pany, of which Underwood is now
a part, as well as centers of
general interest.
Picnic Slated Friday
For Lions And Families
The Southern Pines Lions Club
is planning to have a picnic sup
per for members and their wives
and children, at the Elks outdoor
activity area, Friday, at 7 p. m.,
instead of the regularly sched
uled meeting.
Lion Bill Johnson and his com
mittee are in charge of eirrange-
ments. The local Lions club meets
every second and fourth Friday
at the Holiday Inn except when
other activities are scheduled.
THE WEATHER
Maximum and minimum tem
peratures for each day of the past
week were recorded as follows at
the U. S. Weather Bureau obser
vation station at the W E E B
studios on Midland Road.
Max. Min.
September 5 82 61
September 6 75 63
September 7 84 57
September 8 85 56
September 9 85 57
September 10 86 56
September 11 87 61