Pinehurst’s
runners-up for the State Class
1-A basketball championship are
pictured on page 11.
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i Glen don
Zgoridor /
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1 . .
?oncl CofffiaQe.
Jadsop
. Cameron
LaVeviej/'
fol
Sp-i:
tllerbe
oouiri
•"Bnes'
Piri'i
A|jcrdai
Gov. Sanford
should remain in public service
after his term ends at Raleigh.
Editorial, page 2.
VOL.—44 No. 20
SIXTEEN PAGES
SOUTHERN PINES, N. C., THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 1964
SIXTEEN PAGES
PRICE: 10 CENTS
Peach Crop Wiped Out
By 2 Freezinji Nights
North Carolina’s 1964 peach
crop, along with that of nearly
the entire South, was wiped out
by freezing cold Sunday and
Monday nights.
Hard hit in Moore County was
the belt of orchards along its
western edge—a portion of the
"peach triangle” that includes
parts of seven counties.
The Weather Bureau station at
Radio Station WEEB on Midland
Woods Fires Hit
Area; Many Fight
Blaze On Easter
A stubborn forest fire fed by
high winds burned 80 to 100 acres
of timberland south of Pinebluff
Sunday, threatening numbers of
outbuildings and several trailer
homes. This was one of several
woods fires occurring over the
Easter weekend.
Members of the Forest Service,
a half-dozen fire departments and
the Clarendon Gardens fire truck
fought the blaze for about eight
hours.
Joining were a contingent of
soldiers on maneuvers at Canap
Mackall. An airplane being used
in the exercise, Cherokee Trail
II, did spotter service from above.
With the use of a loudspeaker,
ground fighters were directed to
places where new fires were
springing up.
Major Gerald L. Sweeney of
Hurlburt Field, Fla., was the
pilot of the U-10 plane.
Forest Ranger Travis A. Wick
er said several persons trying to
“backfire” to save their property,
in strong winds, got new fires
started.
The fire was one of three which
sprang up along the Seaboard
Railroad track just after a south
bound train had passed. Wicker
(Continued on Page 8)
Road listed 27 as low temperature
for the night of Sunday-Monday
and 17 as low for the Monday-
Tuesday night.
“If any peaches are surviving
in the Sandhills, they are few,
and scattered, not anything like
enough to call a cash crop,” said
A. N. Stutts of Shamrock Farms
near Pinehurst, where some 300
acres or orchards were devastated.
T. Clyde Auman of West End,
with 150 acres lost, said early this
week that the extent of the
damage couldn’t actually be
known for three or four days,
when the killed blossoms would
start falling off. However, the
veteran grower, who is president
elect of the National Peach Coun
cil, said there is “practically no
hope” of any peaches surviving.
Reports from Candor growers
who also own orchards in Eastern
South Carolina, were that there
may be a possibility that some
fruit may have survived there.
But the speculation was not yet
confirmed.
The disaster was startlingly
similar to that of 1955, when, on
March 27 and 28, the tempera
ture dropped to 19 on one night,
21 on the next, after a spell of
balmy weather. The result was
a 100 per cent kill of the crop,
the most complete known to the
peach-growing industry in the
Southeast. Nearly complete losses
by freezing also took place in
1947 and 1950.
This time, it isn’t quite so bad.
Though the peaches themselves
may be entirely lost, Stutts and
Auman both said the trees were
apparently not hurt. In 1955,
some of the trees were killed
and many were severely injured
(Continued on Page 8)
Lake To Campaign
In Hoke April 9
Dr. I. Beverly Lake, candidate
for the Democratic gubernatorial
nomination, will campaign in
Hoke County Thursday of next
week, April 9, stopping in each
precinct and coming close to the
Moore County line.
He will be at Odom’s Esso Sta
tion, in Buchan Precinct, at 9 a. m.
This is six miles south of Aber
deen on US 15-501, and J. D.
McMillan of Raeford, Dr. Lake’s
Hoke County manager, invites his
Moore County friends to come
over the line and greet the candi
date.
His committee in this precinct
is composed of J. D. Pickier, W.
G. Rumfelt and Albert Kellis.
Dr. Lake will start his tour at
the Hoke County courthouse in
Raeford at 7:30 a.m.
k
JOHNSON SWORN IN—W. Morris Johnson
(with glasses) was sworn in Friday as acting
postmaster here, succeeding J. W. Causey, right,
who resigned. Administering the oath, at left,
is Chief Postal Inspector C. W. Hubbard of
Raleigh. In the background is Postal Inspector
Orrell of Raleigh. Mr. Johnson resigned as
manager of the Southern Pines Country Club
and as mayor, to take the office.
(Humphrey photo)
8 Homes, Gardens
On April 15 Tour
Preparations for the 16th an
nual House and Garden Tour,
sponsored by the Southern Pines
Garden Club on Wednesday,
April 15, are continuing.
Eight homes and gardens
chosen for their good taste, ori
ginality and charm, in and around
Southern Pines and Pinehurst,
have been chosen for the tour.
Full details will appear in next
week’s Pilot.
'Queen of Sandhills' To
Be Chosen On April 10
The annual Queen of the Sand
hills contest for Moore County
high school girls and benefit
dance, sponsored by the Pinehurst
Volunteer Fire Department; will
be held Friday night, April 10,
it was announced this week.
Joe Harper and the Esquires,
with Honey Lucas, vocalist, will
play for the dancing at the Pine
hurst Country Club. Further de
tails will be announced next
week.
ITEMS OMITTED
Because of a small paper, this
post-Easter week, a number of
news items and photos had to be
omitted from today’s Pilot. Most
of them will appear next week.
The editors regret necesisary
omissions and shortening of oth
er items to fit available space.
JOHN M. BIGBEE
Bigb ee Promoted
By Phone Co.
John M. Bigbee, assistant gen
eral manager and chief engineer
of the United Telephone Com
pany of the Carolinas, Inc., has
been elected a vice president ef
fective April 1, it was announced
by E. W. Smail, president of the
company, this week.
Mr. Bigbee is a member of the
First Baptist Church and Elks
Lodge in Southern Pines and a
member of the Masonic Lodge in
Beaufort, S. C. A native of South
Carolina, he has been employed
by United Telephone Company of
the Carolinas, Inc., since 1952. He
will retain his present position as
chief engineer along with his new
duties.
He is married to the former
Vesta Shaw of Fairfax, S. C. They
have three children and live on
Little Road in Southern Pines.
Mrs. Liddell To
Be Secretary For
•> ]
Camp Easter Here
Mrs. Mark Liddell of Southern
Pines has been appointed area i
secretary for Moore and nearby
counties by the North Carolina
Society for Crippled Children and
Adults, to coordinate Society ac
tivities, especially the Camp
Easter-in-the-Pines project, it has
been announced by Robert A.
Lassiter of Chapel Hill, executive
secretary. Her office will be lo
cated at Camp Easter-in-the- j
' Pines near here, in the staff
house. Her telephone numbers
are 695-5122 or 695-5022. The |
mailing address of this new office
is P. O. Box 962, Southern Pines.
Mrs. Liddell’s primary respon
sibilities at this time the an
nouncement said, include:
Act as liaison between the state
office and local chapters and com
mittees.
Supervise and coordinate the
work of the “Rehab Shop,” the
proposed year-round training pro
gram for the handicapped.
Supervise the general manage
ment of the camp property as pro
vided by Bob Paxton, caretaker.
Be responsible for all bills and
budget of the year-round opera
tions at the campsite.
Organize and coordinate in
Moore County all fund-raising
programs for the construction and
operation of the camp.
The camp is now under con
struction, to open this summer
for handicapped children from
over the state.
Liltle League Try-Outs
Will Be Held Saturday
Boys nine through 12 years are
invited to try out for local Little
League baseball teams, at the
Little League park opposite the
armoiy on Morganton Road,
starting at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Southern Pines has a fully
organized and supervised official
Little League organization of
which Dr. W. F. Hollister is
president.
iiiiSSiiSiiasasWifmM
NEW MAYOR—Norris L.
Hodgkins, Jr., formerly mayor
pro tern, was elected mayor
of Southern Pines by other
members of the council at a
special meeting last Thurs
day afternoon, following the
resignation of Mayor W.
Morris Johnson to become
acting postmaster here. Harry
H. Pethick was elected to
fill the vacancy on the five-
member council. Election of
a new mayor pro tern was
deferred until the full board',
including Mr. Pethick, meets.
Other members of the council
are Felton Capel, C. A. Mc
Laughlin and Fred Pollard.
The pew mayor, 37, is serving
his first term on the council.
He is executive vice president
of the Citizens Bank and
Trust Company and has long
been active in civic affairs.
69TH ANNIVERSARY
The 69th anniversary of its
founding in April, 1895, will be
observed at the 11 a.m. service
Sunday by the United Church of
Christ, reports the Rev. Carl
Wallace, pastor.
THEATRE MEETING SET
The Theatre-in-the-Pines, local
' amateur acting group, will meet
I Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the Southern
' Pines Country Club. Interested
! persons are invited.
Taylor Chemical
Co. Joins With
Grower Service
Taylor Chemical Co., Inc. of
Aberdeen, effective April 1, be
came the Taylor Chemical Divi
sion of Grower Service Corp. of
Lansing, Mich., Jack M. Taylor,
president, and manager, announc
ed Wednesday.
There will be no change in
management or personnel, Mr.
Taylor stated, adding that “join
ing hands with Grower Service
Corp. will make available greater
basic research, additional techni
cal service and a more complete
line for agricultural chemicals for
our customers.”
New chemicals are being con
stantly developed to help farmers
grow higher quality and larger
yields of food and fiber, he noted.
Grower Service Corp., with
vast resources in research and
marketing, is a leader in this ad
vance, Mr. Taylor said. Concen
trated mainly in the midwest, it
is, in its addition of the Taylor
Chemical plant, making its initial
expansion into the Southeast.
Taylor Chemical, founded at
Aberdeen about 30 years ago, em
ploys about 100 persons. Its prod
ucts are sold throughout the
southern states.
Antiques Fair
Termed Success
Last week’s 7th annual An
tiques Fair at the National Guard
Armory was termed a success by
Mrs. F. F. Rainey, executive di
rector, who said that it netted
about $2,000 for the sponsoring
Moore County Historical Associ
ation.
The 26 dealers participating
were a larger number than in any
previous show and several indi
cated they would return next
year, Mrs. Rainey said.
’The door prize, given Friday
night at the close of the show,
was won by Mrs. Dan Assad.
Stoneybrook Races Get
Wide Attention; Events
PlannedBy Committees
The Stoneybrook Hunt Race
Meeting, to be held here Satur
day April 11, annually brings
thousands of visitors to Southern
Pines and an unprecedented
crowd is expected. Long consid
ered a top sports and social event
of the area, the 17th Stoneybrook
this year has received nationwide
publicity and recognition.
According to a recent issue of
Life magazine which devoted its
“Guide” page to featuring
BY TELEPHONE FIRM
Extended Area
Service Slated
For West End
Clarence Beasley, manager of
Central Telephone Company’s
Troy, Biscoe-Star, Candor, Mount
Gilead and West End exchanges,
announced this week that a pro
posal for extended area service
has been approved by majority
vote of West End subscribers.
This extended area service per
mits customers to dial their own
calls without a toll charge from
West End exchange into the Troy,
Biscoe-Star, Candor and Mount
Gilead exchanges. The same free
service is provided from the four
Montgomery County exichanges
into West End.
Extended Area Service will en
able about 300 West End ex
change ttelephone users to reach
the approximately 4,100 tele
phones in the Troy, Candor, Bis
coe-Star and Mount Gilead ex
changes on a local call basis.
It is expected that the new ser
vice will be put into effect by the
end of 1964, the announcement
said.
Elsewhere in Moore County,
extended area service is furnish
ed by United Telephone Com
pany of the Carolinas, Inc., to the
Southern Pines-Pinehurst- Aber
deen area.
steeplechase circuits, “At the
first sign of spring thaw, fan
ciers of that more stirring of
horsy events—the steeplechase—
come alive like the early bloom
ing crocus. With picnic baskets,
blankets, cameras and binoculars
they do a kind of steeplechase of
their own, flocking across country
to the scenes of their favorite
meets.”
Quoting from the same page in
Life, “Southern Pines is the win
ter home of some 300 racers and
jumpers and the site of the Ston
eybrook Racing Association pro
gram April 11. There are 22 tim
ber fences to be leaped over in
the three-mile Sandhills Cup race
and 15 hurdles in the two-mile
Stoneybrook. There is algo a
shorter hurdle race for maidens
and two flat races.”
Stoneybrook also was given
publicity in an article in the trav
el section of a Sunday New York
Times, and is listed as one of the
most important events of the
spring season in The Chronicle
and other magazines devoted to
horse activities.
Plans Complete
According to Donald D. Ken
nedy, chairman of the Stoney
brook Hunt Racing Association’s
executive committee, the commit
tees in charge of activities for the
weekend report plans are com
plete.
Michael G. Walsh, famed horse
man and trainer and owner of
Stoneybrook Farm, says that the
track is in excellent condition,
with new brush and timber
fences.
Serving on the executive com
mittee with Mp. Kennedy and Mr.
Walsh are Henry C. Flory, Wil
liam M. Frantz, James W. Tufts,
(Continued on Page 8)
865 GET VACCINE
A total of 865 persons got their
Type I Sabin oral polio vaccine
at the “make-up” clinic held Sat
urday in the Health Center at
Carthage for those who had miss
ed the March 22 county - wide
“feeding.” Next county - wide
clinics, for Sabin vaccine protect
ing against another type of polio,
will be held Sunday afternoon,
April 19.
RACE CHAIRMAN
TO APPEAR, TV
StoneybE^k Sleepledhase
Chairman Donald D. Ken
nedy will appear in a tele
vision interview, about the
April 11 races, at 3:30 p.m.
Saturday on Channel 11, Dur
ham.
In another steeplechase in
terview, Mr. Kennedy ap
peared last week with Ray
Reeves, on Channel 5, Ral
eigh.
News coverage ol the ra
ces, by press and TV report
ers and photographers, is ex
pected to be extensive.
Extensive Remodeling Undertaken
At Sfc Joseph of the Pines Hospital
Remodeling under way at St.
Joseph of the Pines Hospital will
give the building a new entrance,
new driveway and parking areas,
a unique first floor chapel and
numerous other conveniences
and improvements, costing nearly
$200,000, according to Sister M.
Virginia, hospital administrator.
Among the improvements will
be the piping of oxygen to each
room.
The main entrance will be mov
ed to the opposite side of the
building from where it now is,
to the actual front side, with
terrace, overlooking the front
lawn. 'The driveway will be re
located to that side, with ap-
LOCAL SERVICEMAN WRITES EYE-WITNESS ACCOUNT OF DISASTER
Sandhills Area Families Safe After Earthquake In Alaska
Sandhills relatives of three
young families living in the An
chorage, Alaska, area have been
informed that they are safe and
well, after the devastating Good
Friday earthquake.
Heard from by telephone calls
or letters, or both, in the past
several days were:
The Rev. Lewis Hodgkins, rec
tor of an Episcopal church in
Anchorage and' son of Mr. and
Mrs. N. L. Hodgkins of Southern
Pines, whose wife and young
daughter were also reported well.
Mrs. Michael Niewald, the for
mer Susan McKenzie, daughter
of Mrs. Thom McKenzie of Pine
hurst. Mr. Niewald, a salesman
for a business machines company,
and their two children are also
safe.
T-Sgt. James V. Hatch, son of
Mr. and Mrs. P. V. Hatch of
Southern Pines, at Elmendorf Air
Force Base, near Anchorage, with
his wife and' two children — all
safe.
Not reported to The Pilot as
heard from locally and not
mentioned in any communication
from the three families listed
are the B. A. Morgan family who
left Southern Pines in August,
1962.
Mr. and Mrs. Morgan and their
five children had lived here for
several years, in the old Grover
house on E. Indiana Ave. exten
sion. They were active in Boy
Scouting and other youth activi
ties. Mr. Morgan, a Reserve
lieutenant-colonel who worked as
a Civil Service equipment speci-
jalist at Fort Bragg, was to be
assigned to similar duties in
Alaska. Their mail add'ress there
v/as Route 5, Anchorage.
If anyone in this area has
heard from the Morgan family.
The Pilot asks that this news
paper please be notified.
Letters have been received di
rectly by The Pilot from the
Rev. Mr. Hodgkins and Sergeant
Hatch. The Hodgkins letter came
in this morning, too late for in
clusion in today’s Pilot. Follow
ing is an eye-witness account of
the quake, as told by Sergeant
Hatch:
By JIM HATCH
It was about 5:35 p. m., AST, on
March 27th. I had just come in
from work, changed into my
bathrobe and settled down in my
living room to read the evening
paper. My daughter was sitting on
the adjoining couch and my son
across the room. My wife was
busying herself in the kitchen
with a meal we would never eat.
The first tremor, a mild one,
caused no undue alarm, as this
area receives them quite fre
quently. But this one didn’t slow
down—it just got worse. The
building we live in, an eight-
apartment, two-story structure
began to shift from side to side.
I got to my feet and staggered to
wards the kitchen where my wife
was, ■ but I saw her staggering
crazily towards me, hoiTor in
her eyes. I fell in front of the
chair in which my son was sit
ting. He had begun to cry as
lamps, glasses, flower pots and
our supper began to crash to the
floor. My wife remained stand
ing and braced herself against
the large mirror hanging over our
television set. ’ I screamed at her
and asked her if the stove was
off and she shook her head, no.
During this time, I prayed as
I never had before. My thoughts
were jumbled. I knew we had to
get out of the building but then
I remembered movies of earth
quakes and how the ground open
ed into large chasms. I got to my
feet and managed to maneuver
around the remains of a lamp and
looked out our window. I don’t
know what -I- expected to see, but
what I did see scared me even
more. My cars, g full-size family
(Continued on Page 8)
propriate parking areas nearby.
The circular chamber now used
as entrance hall and waiting
room, some 60 feet in diameter,
will be made into a chapel, plan
ned by Benzinger Brothers, noted
chapel designers of New York
City. The present porch and
porte-cochere of stone and brick
will be enclosed to provide a
chaplain’s quarters. Chapel and
chaplain are now on the fifth
floor.
Rugs and wooden flooring are
being taken up on the entire first
floor and terrazzo floors being laid*
Offices on that floor will be re
arranged anad brought together
for greater economy of space,
leaving a spacious area for the
new entrance hall.
The remodeling began on the
second floor, which now has a
terrazzo floor, with terrazzo base
board, throughout, with doors
widened so beds can be moved
in and out of each room. One
patient room at the elevator has
been eliminated to provide a
nursing station or chartroom, also
a waiting room, open to the cor-
(Continued on Page 8)
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 WEEB
studios on Midland Road.
Max. Min.
March 26 72 48
March 27 65 30
March 23 71 35
March 29 65 41
March 30 42 27
March 31 50 17
April 1 53 27