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Martin-Cmmtv Chapter_
NEARLi 1000 MARTIN COUNTY
SERVICE MEN NOW READING
THE ENTEPRISE IN ALL PARTS
OF THE WORLD EACH WEEK.
A
NEARLY 1000 MARTIN COUNTY
SERVICE MEN NOW READING
THE ENTFPRISE IN ALL PARTS
OF THE WORLD EACH WEEK
VOLUME XLVIII—NUMBER 19
William sl<m,
Martin County, Nnrlh GartAitttif' l> i*U.>\.~M<:rch 19 /.«■*’ •
tiSTABUSHRO 1SSE9:
Judge Calvin Smith
Calls Twelve Cases ;
In County’s Court
State Appeals To Superior
Court from ‘Contemplated’
Judgment Last Monday
Calling an even dozen cases. Judge
J. Calvin Smith held the Martin
County Recorder’s Court in session
a full two hours last Monday clear
ing the docket. A fair-sized crowd
' was present, but the docket, as a
whole, attracted very little attention
from the general public.
For the first time in years, and
possibly the first time in the his
tory of the court, the State filed
exceptions in a case and appealed
to the higher courts. Berry Wynn,
charged with cruelty to animals, en
tered a plea of not guilty. It was
declared by the prosecution that
the defendant had poisoned his col
lards with arsenic of lead and that
a steer, cow and calf hud eaten the
poison and died. After hearing the
evidence, Judge Smith intimated he
would find a verdit of ‘‘not guilty”
and at that point the prosecution
noted its appeal to the superior
court.
Charged with violating the motor
vehicle laws, Arthur Lee Teel and
Erie Lee Anderson pleaded not
guilty and their pleas were sustain
ed by the evidence. The case grew
out of a truck accident near Parmele
week before last. The vehicles driv
en by the two defendants sideswip
ed each other, and each of the de
fendants swore that the other was
on the wrong side of the road.
Walter Knight, charged with
speeding, was fined $10 and taxed
with the costs.
The case charging Robert L. Rob
erson with non-support vyas nol
prossed with leave.
Floyd Lanier, charged with as
saulting his wife with a deadly
weapon, was sentenced to the roads
for six months. The sentence was
suspended upon the payment of a
$50 fine and the court costs and $25
to Tom Hardison for advancing the
prosecuting witness’ doctor’s bill. It
was also stipulated by the court that
Lanier, a Williams Township man,
is not to mistreat his wife again. It
was pointed out during the trial that
Lanier’s wife left home Saturday
afternoon and did not return until
Sunday. The husband attacked her
with a knife, making a wound on
her thigh that required thirty-one
stitches to close.
Alex Rawls pleaded guilty in the
case charging him with assaulting a
female, and the court suspended
judgment upon the payment of the
court cosis.
Charged with drunken driving,
Cecil Edgar Williams pleaded guilty
and was fined $50. He was required
to pay the court costs and had his
driver's license revoked for one
year.
The case charging Prince While
with disposing of mortgaged proper
ty was continued until March 12.
Appearing in court for the second
time for alleged drunken driving,
Herman William Daniel pleaded not
guilty. Adjudged guilty, he was
fined $100, required to pay the
cost and had his driver’s license re
voked for one year.
Crosby A. Breeze, said to have
(Continued on page four)
County Young Man
Wounded on Luzon
Pfc. Franklin V. Modlin, county
young man, was slightly wounded
in action on Luzon, presumably in
the Manila area, on February 2, his
brother, Galen B. Modlin, was ad
vised by the War Department here
this week.
A paratrooper, Pvt. Modlin enter
ed the service in August, 1942, and
had ne/.r returned home for a visit.
At the time he volunteered for serv
ice, the young man stated that ho
did not want tc return home until
the fight was over. He had been ov
erseas since April, 1943, and is be
lieved to have participated in the
invasion of several islands in the
Pacific, including Luzon in the Phil
ippines.
He is a son of the late Mr. and
Mrs. W. A. Modlin, residents of
Jamesville Township for many
years, and later of Williamston. Be
sides his brother who received the
message, he has a brother. Willie
Modlin, of Williamston.
-ft
Minor Accident Reported
On The Everetts Highway
No oks- 'tos li
damage resulted in a minor truck
auto accident on the Everetts High
way near here last Wednesday af
ternoon.
Operating a truck loaded with fer
tilizer, Guy Forbes, Jr., started to
turn off the highway just as Dennis
«tartc»d to him in hie
Ford coupe. The damage to the
car was estimated at $25 by Cpl. W
S. Hunt who investigated the acci
dent.
KILLED IN \CTION
I’fc. Alton Earl Allcox. a resi
dent of this county for several
years, was killed in action on the
Western Front on February 3,
his wife ,the former Miss Effie
V. Harrison, of near Gold Point,
was advised a few days ago.
Average Number of
Marriage Licenses
Issued Last Month
Six Licenses Go to While and
Ten to Colored Couples
In This County
-<§,
About an average number of mar
riage licenses was issued in this
county last month bv Register of
Deeds J. Sam Getsinger, six of the
licenses going to white and ten to
colored couples. While the issuanca
is slightly below the pre-war norm*
ul, it is the second largest since the
war started in late 1941.
Members of the armed forces fig
ure, as a rule, to a fairly sizable ex
tent in the number of marriages
among the white population, but
comparatively few colored men in
the service have been married in
this county.
Licenses were issued last month
to the following:
White
George Robert Graham, of Red
Springs, and Marion Franklin Hur
ley, of Williamston.
Kenneth W. Loudon, of Bell Gar
dens, Calif, and U. S. Marine Corps
and Cherry Point, N. C., and Nina
Mae Bunch, of Williamston.
Wesley Chesson, of Williamston,
and Doris Gilmore, of Robersonville.
William Daniel Leggett and Char-,
lie Frances Leggett, both of Wil
liamston.
William Whitaker and Chloe
Louise Taylor, both of RFD 2, Wil
liamston.
Robert Gurganus, RFD 1, Wash
ington, and Doris Mobley, James
ville.
Colored
Bernice Williams, of Roberson
ville, and Effie Mae Boyd, of Pitt
County.
James Robert Brown and Mary
Bell Knight, both of RFD 1, Wil
liamston.
(Continued on page four)
Pfc. Joe J. Moore
Wounded in Action
Pfc. Joe J. Moore, Jr., Williams
Township colored man, was slight
ly wounded in action over in Italy
on February 10, his wife was noti
fied yesterday by the War Depart
ment. A letter, reaching his wife yes
terday, stated that he was wounded
; on the hand, that the injury was only
a slight one. The soldier added that
he expected to return to actual com
bat within a few days.
A native of Williams Township,
Pvt. Moore volunteered for service
about three years ago, lie waived ail
dependency claims because married
men with children were not being
called into the service at that lime
He was in the quartermaster corps
for about two years, and then volun-;
teered for service in the infantry, \
going overseas abor' five months
ago. He and his wife have three small
children.
KEROSENE RATIONS
--
Upon the expiration of tbeir
present rations, users of kero
sene for Sighting and cooking
a^atnd for general farm uses will
apply directly to the War Price
and Rationing Board in the agri
cultural building, Williamston,
for new allotments, it was an
nounced this week by the ration
> board office.
Those who do not find it pos
sible t« cal! for the proper appli
cation forms may write for one,
prepare and return it to the of
fice and the rations will be re
1 turned by mail.
Joshua L. Williams
Tells Exactly What j
He Is Fighting For
-■$> —
Janiesville Youth Declares He
Is Ready To Fight To
The Bitter End
-«
In a letter written recently in
France to his parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Lonnie Williams of Janiesville, Pfc.
Joshua L. Williams. told how happy
he was to get mail from home after
a long delay. At the time the letter
was written he had not received any
packages. While it is apparent the
young man was disappointed, he was
not complaining. Pvt. Williams went
on to tell about the hardships of war,
and then he effectively explained
exactly what he was fighting for.
Scratching out some paper in an
abandoned French home, the soldier
declared that he had little time to
write, but asked others to write of
ten to him. As for the war and what
he is fighting for, Pvt. Williams tells
it in his own words, as follows:
. . I’m up on the front line today
freezing myself nearly to death. This
weather is terrible, what time it
isn’t snowing, it is raining, and it is
nearly impossible to get through the
mud and snow. Right now it is snow
ing and raining. I am in a dugout
trying to write. We have some straw
and brush over the top and that
keeps out some of the water, but not
much. My feet stay wet just about
all the time, and gee, do they get
awful cold. Well, Mom, I’ve been at
it long enough to get used to it, and
it doesn’t seem to bother me as much
now as it did at first. I am getting so
I don’t dread it at all now. 1 just ex
pect the worst and if anything comes
good, I let it be a surprise to me.
‘‘When 1 go back to civilian life
I won’t even know how to live. I'm
so used to living out on the cold
ground that a house to live in would
look like something out of heaven to
me. Whenever we get a chance to get
a little sleep, we are so cold that it
is impossible to sleep. We just find a
little corner somewhere and cuddle
up and try to stay warm for a few
minutes. I guess I will be just like
a new-born kid when I come home.
You will have to teach me to live
like a human again.
“Any way, you might look at it,
Mom, it’s tough and it’s tougher at
times. But I am doing now what 1
have been wanting to do ever since
I have been in the service. Yes, I am
getting a chance to get even with the
supermen that started this war. And
they will start another one in 15 or
20 years if we don't do the job good
this time. Mom, I’m thinking of kids
like Larry, Billy and all the lest of
the young generation coming up. I m
(Continued on page four)
Two County Men
Denied New Trial
—$—
Their appeal for a new trial de
nied by the State Supreme Court
this week, Herman Manning and Joe
Martin are expected to start serving
sentences on charges of aiding and
abetting in an illegal operation. The
two men were sentenced in the Mar
tin County Superior Court last
September to serve two years. It is
expected that the sentences will be
invoked at the next term of the su
perior court convening here on the
19th of this month.
The opinion handed down by the
court stated, ' The only question pre
sented by the appeal is the suffi
ciency of the evidence to carry the
case to the jury as against Manning.
We join with the trial court in be
lieving the case to be one for the
twelve.”
In another case on appeal from
this county, the court - -uited a new
trial. The defense in the case charg
ing Lucille Bowen Brown, Washing
ton County colored woman, with al
leging violating the transportation
laws, u»ok exceptions to the judge s
charge, and was sustained.
Distinguished Service
Auard For Local Firm \
-♦
The Williamston Parts and Metal
Company, W. K. Parker, owner-man
ager, was recently presented the Dis
tinguished Service Award by the
War Production Board for meritor
ious service in maintaining a suffi
cient flow of ferous scrap to meet
production schedules required in
the prosecution of the general war
effort.
The award, just recently present
ed, was signed by J. A. Krug, chair
man of the War Production Board
-♦
Divorce Actions Started
In The Superior Court
-«.
Based on two years of separation,
two divorce actions were filed in the
Martin County Superior Court re
cently, one by Maude Ward against
Tiirrior vy.^rd. and tbn other by Nnra
Harris against Charles Harris. One
of the couples had been married
nearly thirty years and the other
about 27 years.
. THESE AMERICANS WERE HELD . „iSONER BY THE JAPS
THE GHASTLY EFFECTS of life in the Santo Tomas Jap prison rmy- Vo Manila are evident in this photo of a
group of prisoners liberated when our fortes drove out the enemy The men a-e (1. to r.) • Hugo G. Winkler,
30, a proofreader on n Manila newspaper. He entered the camp weighing 135 pounds and now weighs 87.
Thomas B Loft, traffic manager. General Foods, who came in at 160 and is now 102. Arthur Williamson, 45,
exporter; eame in weighing 145, is now 103 Harold IT. Leney, 31, accountant; came in at 185, is now 105.
Oavid Norvell, 38, employee of Soriano Brothers; entered at 135, and is now 95 pounds. (International)
Red Cross Drive Is Off To A
Good Start In This Chapter
Although only a few canvassers’
reports were submitted complete up'
until late yesterday, it is apparent
the annual Ked Cross War Fund
Drive made splendid progress the
first day, Fund Chairman V. J. Spi
vey announced last night. In sever
al instances the contributions were
willingly increased over the indi
vidual allotments, three canvassers
reporting an excess of about $25 of
the actual budget.
While only three canvassers, Dr.
W R. Burrell, Mary W. Taylor and
Mrs. T. S. Critcher, filed their com
plete reports, it is understood that
other canvassers are busy and that
they are meeting with success. The
three canvassers, calling on a com
paratively small number of contribu
tors, turned in $376,115. Using these
reports as a basis, Chairman Spivey
predicts that the Martin County
chapter will reach and pass its goal.
Canvassers are cordially urged to
complete their work as soon as pos
sible, and the general public is re
minded that the canvassers are not
begging, that they are working in
support of an organization that is
doing a wonderful job in nearly ev
cry corner of the world.
Preliminary reports from the
schools clearly indicate that the lit
tie folks are working hard to estab
lish a record during the current Red
Cross campaign.
A lone report from the Roberson
ville chapter, comprising the five
townships of Cross Roads, Roberson
ville, Poplar Point, Hamilton and
Goose Nest, states that one district,
Poplar Point, has already exceeded
its goal. Under the direction of Mayo
Little, tile drive for the $2,000 quota
is assured of success.
RAINFALL
Although it was short on days,
February was long on rainfall,
the weather station on Roanoke
River here reporting 4.57 inches
of rain during the month
While much rain has fallen in
this area so far this year, the to
tal to date is considerably below
that reported in January and
February of last year when near
ly ten inches of rain fell as com
pared with <>.G7 inches in the
first two months of 1!I45.
Call Several Cases
In Justice’s Court
Following a period of little activ
ity, Justice J. L. Hassell reports an
increase in business during recent
days. The following cases were
handled by the trial justice.
Alfred Jones was required to pay
$8.50 costs in the cast charging him
with being drunk and disordi rly.
Buck Godley, facing a similar
charge, was fined $1.50 and taxed
whh $8.50 costs.
Charged with operating a motor
vehicle with improper licenses, 1). V.
Purvis was fined $10 and required
to pay $6 costs.
John Bryant was fined $1.50 and
required to pay $8.50 costs in the
case charging him with being drunk
and disorderly.
A fine of $10 was imposed plus
$6 costs in the case charging C. D.
Pittman with operating a ntiuir.r ve
hicle with improper licenses.
Lazrus Williams was fined $1.50
and required to pay $8.50 corts in
the case charging him with being
drunk and disorderly.
PRISONER?
j
l
Reported missing in action on
the Western Front since Feb
ruary 6th, Pvt. William Jennings
Etheridge is now believed to
have fallen into the hands of
the Germans. Writing to his
wife, the former Miss Vivian
Bland of Hassell, Pvt. Dewey
Stiiiis, a county boy, stated that
he was with Pvt. Etheridge when
the young man was taken pris
oner Pvt. Stalls did not explain
how his companion was eaptur
ed or how he (Stalls) managed
to escape capture. He instruct
ed his wife to tell Pvt. Ether
idge’s father, Mr. Dave W. Eth
eridge of near Hassell no* to
worry.
The two youths went overseas
together the early part of last
January.
Mrs. Maggie Taylor
Dinl \l Homo Early
Yostmlay Morning
llllicrul Services Being! llclil
\l Home in (!rohh Itoiiils
This Aflcriiomi
Mrs. Maggie Thomas Taylor, well
known and highly respected citizen
of Cross Roads Township, died at
the home of hri daughter, Mrs.
Sherrill Gurganus, there yesterday
morning at (1:45 o’clock. She had been
in feeble health for some lime and
her condition had been critical for
about a week.
Mrs. Taylor, 74 years of age, was
a native of Raleigh, tail had lived
in this county for a number of years.
She was the daughter of the late
George Washington and Jennie pow
diell Thomas. Her mother was born
near London, England, and came to
this country as a young girl, locat
ing in Texas, where she was married.
Her parents later located in Raleigh,
and following their deaths, she
moved to this county and married
A E. Taylor of this county who died
1 a few years ago.
Mrs. Taylor never joined the
church but she liberally supported
it, arid was held in high regard by
aU who knew her.
Besides her daughter with whom
she made her home, she is survived
by four children, two daughters, Mrs.
Nettie Rogcrson of Williamston, and
Mrs. Ludie Roebuck of Hassell, and
I two sons, James Taylor of W-'Hiam
I ston and John Tayl.a of Norfolk; one
brother, G. A. Thomas of Helh-ven;
tventy-twa grandchild! eu u>. i.ne
great-grandchildren.
Funeral services are being con
ducted a* the home this afternoon
at 4:30 o’clock by Rev. if. M. Pope,
pastor of the local Pentecostal Holi
ness Church, assisted by Rev. Dennis
Warren Davis, pastor of Christian
Chapel Church. Interment will fol
low in the Rogers Cemetery, near
the home.
Car Wrecked lleyond Re/tair
In Wednesday !Sif>kt Accident
Crashing into the rear of a 1937
! n/>d< 1 Chevrolet during the rain last
(Wednesday night about 9:15 o’clock,
I Carroll Coltrain, local filling station
(operator, wrecked his 1941 Plymouth
'sedan beyond repair. The Chevrolet
j belonging to Richard Allen Reese
was only slightly damaged and no
one was hurt.
Coltrain stated that he did not see
the Reese ear until he was right on
it nr ton late to avoid ft crash Dam
age to the Coltrain eat was estimat
ed at about $700 by Patrolman W. E.
Saunders who investigated the acci
dent.
Six County Colored
Men Answer Call for
Induction Thursday
Unusually Small (lulls ('mi
lium* Despite Itcporli-)! In
creased Demand for Aleu
Six Marlin County colored men re
ported for final induction at an
Army center yesterday, a seventh
man having been transferred to an
other board for induction. The call
for colored men is one of the small
est answered in this county in some
t imc.
Three of those reporting are in
then teens and the ages of the oth
ers range from 2li to 21) years of age.
Two ot the seven men answering the
call yesterd.y were in the -1 F class
ification arut had made at least one
trip to the induction center during
the past year. Three of those leav
log were fanners.
James Andrew Moses, registering
m Wiliianislon, was transferred to
Brooklyn for final induction. Moses
has moved nine times since he reg
istered back in October, 11)40.
The names and addresses of the
men answering the call here yester
day follow:
Randolph Bridge Ormond, Wil
liamstnn
Alon/.a Teel, Robcrsonville. Teel
is the only man ied man in the group.
FI,sic Bryant, RFD 2, Wdliamston.
Thad Hai ris, Jr . RF1) 2 William
stun.
Arlhui Brown, RFD 3, Williams
tori.
William Jasper Keel, hiverclts.
Other March calls for pie induc
tion and final induction have not
been announced, but it is believed
that they will continue unusually
small.
Miieli has been said about changes
in draft rules and regulations, hut it
is fairly apparent that future calls
(Continued on page four)
Funrral Today l or
Alonza T. RoImtsoii
Funeral services arc being con
ducted at the home near Roberson
ville this afternoon for Alonza T.
Roberson, prominent county farmer
who died early Wednesday afternoon
following an appendicitis operation
performed in a Greenville hospital
ten days previously. Elder B. S.
Cowin is conducting the last rites
and burial will follow in the Rober
sonville Cemetery.
Mr Roberson war born in Rober
son vi lie on August 31, 1895. the son
of Mr. T. W. Roberson and Ins late
wile. Mr. Roberson was a veteran of
world War I and with the exception
of the few months he was in the
service back in 1918 he had made
his home with his father who sur
vives at the age of 90 years, lie al
so leaves three brothers, M. E. Rob
erson of the home, and Henry and
Eli Roberson, both of Robrrsonville.
ANSWER CALL
v.
For the second time since De
cember, 1940, Selective Service
issued a call for two white se
] leetees in this county, Anpbus
Llewellyn Knox, RF3> 2, Wil
liamston, and John Lawron
llouse of H i'.Mill 3.u,d RFI) 2,
Robersonvilie, answered ihe call
on Wednesday of this week.
One of the two was married,
one was a non farmer, and the
other, 23 years of age, quit the
farm and was called
The call was the smallest an
swered in this county since “Doc”
Conp |f*f| all hv sHoilt
three years ago.
Ormans Retreating
\(T0ss Rhine River;
Many Surrendering
FaII of (Jrosit Industrial City
Of Column* in tin* Ruhr
KxjmtWmI Shortly
In their week-old offensive start
ing at the Finer River, the American
First and Ninth Armies are pushing
steadily toward the Rhine River on
the Western Front today, having
captured Muenchcn Gladback and
pushed to the outskirts of the great
industrial city of Cologne in the
Fiuhi'. The fall of Cologne is expect
ed shortly by some observers. The
Germans were reported today to be
retreating across the Rhine m vast
numbers, while others were sur
rendering by the thousands. The re
treat across the Rhine is being
ferociously attacked by Allied air
power, and the ere. . ...g is proving
costly to the enemy It is fairly ap
parent that Germany is reeling and
rocking on its last legs. However,
late dispatches declare that the
Nazis are fighting every step taken
by the Americans, and that another
defense stand will be made across
the Rhine.
At Mucnchen Gladbach, less than
20,000 of the more than 100,000 nor
mal population remained when the
Americans took over, and many of
them were slave laborers. The re
treating Germans by-passed the city
and its capture was effected without
great cost.
As the First Army continues its
drive on Cologne, the Ninth is
knocking at the doors of Dusseldorf
forther to the north. To the south of
Cologne, General Patton’s Third
Army has captured Trier, Germany s
oldest eity, and still farther to the
south, the Seventh Army is about
ready to move again. At the same
time the Canadians to the extreme
northern end of the line is sweeping
everything west of the Rhine in a
move to connect with General
Simpson’s Ninth Army, and it is ex
pected that the British Second Army
now poised along the Maas River,
will strike soon.
On the Fastein Front, the Red
Army moved into position yesterday
for a grand assault on Germany’s
170-mile long Oder-Neisse line,
sending out flank thrusts toward
Stettin and Dresden, while others in
the center inched forward on thoir
■ pi ingboui ds to Berlin in raging but
tles.
Russians driving through Pomer
ania were reported within 11 miles
of an American prison-of war camp
at Gross Tycliow. Another Ameri
can war prison camp is at Kolberg,
on the Baltic coast 33 miles north
east of Gross Tycliow. Whether the
Germans have moved the Americans
from the two war camps is not
known.
The First and Second White Rus
sian armies joined forces for the
drive on Stettin, and Berlin said they
were fighting within 22 miles of Ber
lin’s big port
A German DNB broadcast report
ed that the Russians had launched
heavy new attacks on a 20 mile Oder
front in the Frankfurt-Kustrin sec
tor where the First White Russian
Army was within 31 miles of Berlin.
In the Pacific, the fight still goes
on for I wo .Inna, hut the end is be
lieved in sight. The Japs have been
(Continued on page four)
Purple Heart Aim!
Memorial Received
The Purple Heart, awarded post
humously to I,t. James Willis Ward,
end a memorial from the President
of the United States were received
here just recently by the young
man’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. John «.
A. Ward. The Purple Heart was
awarded over the signature of Sec
retary of War Henry L. Stimson.
The memorial, carrying the sig
nnturojpi President Roosevelt, is a
fitting work of art and reads, as
follows:
"In grateful memory of Second
Lieutenant James Willis Ward who
died in the service of his country in
the European Area, July 12, 1944.
He stands in the unbroken line of
patriots who have dared to die that
freedom might li\e, and grow, and
j increase its blessings. Freedom lives,
and through it, he lives—in a way
I that humbles the undertaking of
, most men."
I
I Funeral Held Yesterday
Far Infant Daughter Here
j Brenda faye Tobin, six months
loir) daughter of Seaman Albert W.
| Tobin and Odell Harris Tobin, died
.•, ■* ■ IvOapibaT" last Tuesday
morning. She was taken ill only the
night before with pneumonia.
Funeral services were conducted
in the home of the child’s great
grandmother, Mrs. W. R Ingram, on
Flm Sh'Pft vp'jfprHay pftf^nonn
at 2 o'clock. Dr. W. It. Burrell con
ducted the last rites, and interment
u'dc in thn fojnjly p]n4 it\ WOCd!?'"» "
Cemetery here.