THE ENTERPRISE IS READ BY OVER 3,000 MARTIN COUNTY FAMILIES TWICE EACH WEEK i THE ENTERPRISE IS READ B1 OVER 3,000 MARTIN COUNT! FAMILIES TWICE EACH WEEK VOLUME L—NUMBER 28 William3ton, Martin County, North Carolina, Tm-sday, April 8, 1*117 ESTABLISHED 1899 Harrison Appointed New Board Member John H. Edwards Elected Chairman 01 County Board Officials Had Little New Business Oil Calendar For Monday Session Appointed to fill the position made vacant by the death of Rob ert L. Perry last week, William M. Harrison, Bear Grass Town ship farmer, yesterday entered upon his new duties as a member of the Martin County Board of Commissioners. Marked silence prevailed as the officials gathered for their first meeting following Mr. Perry's death, and more than one of the old commissioners who had served for years with Mr. Perry turned his head from the empty chair as the new appointee subscribed io the oath of office administered by Clerk of Court L. B. Wj^nne at 9:45 o’clock. The appointment, resting be tween Griffins and Bear Grass Township went to Mr. Harrisbn after the clerk had heard several delegations from both townships last Friday, There were several potential candidates in Griffins, but the Bear Grass delegations were unanimous in supporting the appointee. The clerk, making the appointment Saturday, reas oned that even though Bear Grass had been represented directly on the board for more than twelve years, the position was filled only last year by the voters, and that the people make their own choice in the elections next year. The installation ceremony, wit nessed by only three or four spec tators, was quite brief. Commis sioner C. Abram Roberson, acting as temporary chairman, offered wards as chairman, explaining that Mr, Edwards lived in Wil liamston, that he could be con tacted by the county officials from time to time as matters pre sented themselves without much trouble. The motion was second ed by Commissioner Joshua L. Coltrain, and the board’s reor ganization was effected unani mously and in a matter of a few minutes. The new chairman ex pressed his appreciation for the confidence expressed* and pledg ed his best efforts in handling the new assignment. There was very little business scheduled for consideration, and the new commissioner hardly got a sample of the headaches the board is called upon from time to time to cure. The Edgecombe Bank and Trust Company of Oak City was desig nated as a county depository. J. Sam Getsinger was reappointed county accountant for the ensu ing two years. cqjnmittee 'w as named to. iii -o-: (Continued on page eight) Firemen Answer Two Calls Sunday -o Iroixi a damp and 1'iring a pile of peanut hulls, fire threatened the large plant cf the Dixie Peanut Company here last Sunday afternoon at 3:30 o'clock. However, there was more smoke than fire and very little damage was done. Burning into the boiler room, the fire got hot enough to place the automatic sprinkler system in operatiog. Firemen laid two lines of hose, one arouijd each end of the build ing and loon had the fire under control. Returning to the station the volunteers were called to the old Harrell farm on the McCaskey Road, a short distance off High-H way 125. where a large two-story tenant house belonging to the Griffin Brothers was burning. The house, occupied by Harrison Land and his family, had burned down, and firemen could render little aid. A wind from the south west kept the fire from spreading to a large barn just to the side of the house. Woods across the road in front of the house were fired, but the fire was checked be fore it burned a very large acre ape. No estimate on the proper ty loss could be had immediately. I i '-S PAYMENTS ! •_/ To date, 1,579 Martin Coun ty fanners, participating in the 1946 soil conservation program, hav* received a to tal of S37.312.67, the Triple A office in the agricultural building announcing that 300 applications for payments are still pending. It was pointed out that 948 contracts or worksheets had already been cleared, that possibly forty or fifty are still await ing farmer signatures in the county office. Reliable reports indicate that a comparatively small number of farmers in this county are qualifying for 1947 payments under the soil building program. Miniature Peanut Mill Constructed 9 In Local Factory —«— Unit Designed Especially For Shelling Seed Peanuts Alter experimenting for several , seasons with various types of me chanical shelters designed to shell farmers' seed peanuts, Larry Bul lock, superintendent of the Wil liamston Peanut Company plant ! here, started working months ago to develop a nearly perfect ma chine for the task. The old problem of handling small, medium and large size pea nuts had to be solved, the blund er recognized at the beginning. Proper shelling without cracking j was his next problem. His last * *?•■*«*• *•*****>■ ; inspection, to eliminate faulty seed. With these principles in mind, Mr. Bullock started work on his plans, and when finished they called for a modern and complete mill but one of reduced propor tions. Starting with a dump hop per. he built an elevator to deliv er the farmers’ stock to screens where they were to be cleaned and the foreign substance remov ed. He installed graders and l iglit there he solved his first big prob lem. Medium-size peanuts were diverted to the right size shellers and the large ones were turned into a larger shelter. The grading ooeration for size reduces the number of splits or damaged pea nuts to a minimum. After the shelling tihe shrivel kernels are removed by mechani cal grading. To eliminate any damaged kernels and any foreign matter that escaped the mechani cal separators, Mr. Bullock pro vided a conveyor belt, beside the farmer a guaranteed seed. To ! make the little mill complete, Mr. Bullock installed a mill hammer i to crush the hulls and other waste matter. The miniature unit is geared to handle one bag of farmer’s stock . peanuts in the shell, the farmer unloads thrift M the hopper and by ‘he time he drives to another door, the shelled seed a^e there (Continued on page eight) Dog Vaccinations Show A Big Gain —— Reporting yesterday on the campaign against rabies in this county, Dr. W. F. Coppage stated ' that more dogs are being vaccin ated this year than ever before. While it is possible that the dog count has been increased, it is ap parent that the drive this year is more thorough than heretofore. During the first four days of the drive, 674 dogs were immunized against fabies, including 104 at Dardens, 209 at Jamosville, 76 at No. 90 station. 131 at Manning and Gurkin’s store, 63 at J. Eas on Laliey’s and 91 at Cross Roads. A schedule for remaining clinics has been publicised. When the campaign is ended, a house-to-house check will be made. Dogs that have not been vaccinated will be impounded | and destroyed. Dies In Hospital Last Evening Of Accidental Burns .♦ ■ - Funeral in Chureh Here for Mrs. R. W. Bondurant Wednesday Afternoon . ■ Accidentally burned in her home here shortly after four o’clock yesterday afternoon. Mrs. Rush W. Bondurant died in the local hospital at 9:00 o’clock last evening without regaining con sciousness. She was home alone at the time and just how she was burned is not known. Visiting in the Bondurant home, neighbors had just left a short while before. After the departure of her visit ors, Mrs. Bondurant went to the kitchen and prepared rolls for the evening meal. She returned to the living room and sat down in an easy chair and lighted a cigar ette. She apparently fell asleep and the cigarette fired her cloth ing and the chair. She got up, ran and opened the front door and then started back into the living room. It is believed that she suf fered a heart attack and fell un conscious to the floor. A neigh bor, Mrs. Mayo Modlin, across the street saw smoke coming out the front door and she called the Goffs next door and the Rev. Mr. Goff and others rushed there to find most of her clothing burned away. She was removed to the hospital immediately, the attend ing physician finding that she had suffered third degree burns on nearly two-thirds of her body. The daughter of the late W. T. and Nannie Virginia Swinson Co burn of this county, Mrs. Bondur ant was born in. Norfolk on Janu ary 11, 1901. The former Miss Gladys Coburn, she was married to Mr. Bondurant on December 26, 1921, and located in Williams ton in 1926, making her home here since that time. Mrs. Bondurant is remembe.ed here as a real friend to every one, her goodness reaching out to creed, color or station in life. She willingly accepted individual sac rifices that she might help others, working always to make life a lit tle brighter and a little easier for those she knew. News of her un timely passing came as a shock to j the community. Surviving besides Mr. Bondur i ant are a son, Rush Bondurant, Jr.; a sister, Mrs. Henry W. Div ers of Norfolk; a brother, J. W. Coburn of Baltimore, and a niece and a nephew, also of Baltimore. (Continued on page su) | Offers Patrolman Chance In Movies —«— The North Carolina Highway Patrol might lose a good patrol man and the movies gain a new star ere long, according to John G. Bragaw. The story, appearing in the Washington Daily News iihSh JXs.. IdhVihcfedtfcnt^'XSfciifjMH Titus Martin, termer Jamesvlle young man, reads as follows: A few days ago Patrolman T. : M. Martin, of the local highway j patrol detachment, stopped a ! speeding automobile near the city of Washington. That’s just a part of the day’s . worM..fr>T- ; >r-,h highway pa | trolmen but what happened next is really something, j The driver of the big automo ; bile, either on his way to Florida or back from the sunny south | land, took the officer right off his feet w'hen he offered him a try out in the movies. "You’re the best looking officer I ever saw,’ the man is reported to have told the highway patrol man. Whether the movie man got off w'ith a warning and whether Pa trolman Martin plans to face the movie camera is something of a mystery. That is the story as it was giv en to me. I always try to be fair about such things so I interview ed Mr. Martin before letting it get into this column. The fellows were saying that he stood on his unfailing Southern courtesy and told the man just to drive along and it would be all right. Mr. | Martin, though,* says the movie j offer was not made until after the fine had been paid. The speedster was one of the executives of Columbia Pictures. Gentlemen of the jury, take the I case. I Large Crowds Present For j The Easter Services Here Places of religious worship were filled to overflowing here during the Easter season when the faithful were joined by hun dreds making their annual pil grimage to the various shrines for the special services. The several ! Sunday schools reported record attendance figures and all seats were just about filled in every church for the morning services. The sunrise service in Woodlawn Cemetery here attracted its great est number since it was instituted several years ago. Religious leaders in other parts of the county reported record crowds for the worship services. Throngs were also present for services throughout the nation, the Moravian service in Winston Salem attracting an estimated 45,000 people Easter morning. Flowers and wearing apparel made the greatest showing since the war, the ladies’ corsages in cluding orchids in some few cases. The Easter season, no doubt, reached a new high in concen trated effort and in attendance figures, the schedule of services demanding a great deal of religi ous leaders. The period >vas not marred by serious accident in this county even though traffic was unusually heavy. Yesterday was observed as a mixed holiday locally and large numbers went fishing. Nearly all heavy industry and most of the stores suspended ac tivities for the day. Basket Factory Fire Loss About $65,000 r WEST END CHURCH The foundation for the West End Baptist Church was litid last Thursday after noon following- a brief but appropriate ceremony. The contractors and workmen moved in immediately and construction is well under way at the present time with the possibility that the struc ture will be completed by early May. Mrs. Hettie Hardy, 7 7 years old and the oldest member, laid the first brick at 1:00 o'clock that afternoon. She was followed by Mrs. Tom Phelps, Mrs. David Keel, Mrs. Dennis Hardy, Mrs. J. S. Par ham and Mr. and Mrs. Exum Ward, Sr. Town Board In Short Meeting; Monday Evening -- - Father PreHenls Board witli Sizable Bill For Hi* Soil’s Funeral -o Meeting in regular session here last evening, the local board ol town commissioners had very lit tie business other than that of t routine nature and that was handled1 in a very short time. Several matters were discussed briefly, but action was delayed in those cases until next month, the officials pointing out that a pri mary election will have been held during the meantime. Included in the discussions was the police department and some alleged ir regularities. It was fairly defin r\lilitmiiedr 'in* l some urift.-. is to be expected in department activities shortly. Tom Stokes, father of Tom Stokes who was fatally shot by a town officer acting in self defense several weeks ago, presented the town with a funeral bill in the sum ol $285, the itemized bill list ing flowers,,,id. casket a! $15(1 and $35 for time lost. WBYIc'iht board denied legal obligation, it expressed a willingness to accept (Continued on page eight) Wreck Car Here On River Bridge - -— No one was hurt but consider able damage was done to the 1948 Ford coupe belonging to George H. Vaught when Miles Lewis Hall, Jr., ran it into a barricade on the river bridge here at 4:00 o’clock last Thursday morning. Hall, Vaught and David Nichol son, three Princeton students, were traveling south to spend j Easter. Hall told Patrolman I Saunders that he did not see the warning lights in time to avoid ♦be crash. Nichtolson and Vaught are from Akron, Ohio, and they were en route to Hall’s home in Coral Gables, Fla. They borrowed a car from a relative in Durham and continued the trip, leaving ♦ he coope here for about $304] worth of repairs. —« Warehouse Packed With Baskets And Dry Kiln Burned -o Over 100,000 Baskets Lost 111 Fire Here Karly Friday INifjlil Fin.', its origin yet undetermin ed, burned a large storage ware house, including over 100,000 bas kets, wrecked the large dry kiln and threatened the entire factory of the Williamston Package Manufacturing Company near the river here last Friday night. No official estimate on the damage could be had immediately, but re ports indicate that the loss would surance covering only a portion of the loss. Starting in the warehouse, the fire apparently had gained much headway among the dry baskets when it was discovered by the I plant night watchman, and by the j time an alarm was sounded the structure was a raging inferno. Answering the call, local vol unteer firemen carried both trucks to the scene, but there I wasn’t sufficient water to serve ! the several lines of hose. The pressure would shift from first one line of hose to another, build ing up to a point where it would burst a hose and then subsiding ■ to a point where there wasn't suf ficient water to reach the top of the one-story dry kiln. Taking u stand close to the fire, the fire men were driven back by the in tense heat, finding refuge in a deep ditch until a new approach was chosen, The town’s new fire engine was stationed to the rear of the fac laid to keep the fire from spread ing Jo the main factory unit. The old truck wais stationed near the j front, and there was a fairly good possibility of keeping the fire \ from spreading to the large dry kiln, but the water supply was j not sufficient to furnish the addi tional lines. Windsor and Hobei sonville sent trucks here and they were given stations, but there again the wat ! cr supply proved a problem. -« (Continued on page six) Robber Enters Business Here ——•— Breaking into the Blue Star Cleaners’ place of business oh Washington 'Street some time during last-Saturday night, rob bers carried away several suits of clothes, one or two coats and a sport jacket, leaving his own sport jacket in exchange. Believed to have been a local operator, the robber broke a side window and entered the building. The robbery was discovered j about 5:00 o’clock that morning by Officers Ballard and Keisler,. County officers were called and blood hounds from the prison camp near here were placet! on the trail which ended at the rail road. No lead has been estabhsh i ed in the ease. S' far ns it COUld be learned. County Board Of Education Holds Two-day Meeting Viilliumston Group Asks Adequate Facilities and Enlarged Committee Meeting in regular session j Monday, the Martin County | Board1 of Education listened to | two delegations, handled a few routine duties and delayed action until today on several major problems, including local school committee appointments. Just what the board will do today in meeting those problems is prob lematical. but there is a possibili ty that a go-slow policy will be continued. Following the end of the war the education board advanced an improvement program on a coun ty-wide scale, including new buildings or enlargements fot nearly every school. The pro gram was virtually abandoned when a test case was made at Ev eretts where steps were taken tc replace the building destroyed by fire. The costs were three to four times in excess of the estimates The Everetts school has been con ducted since that time in church es. Meeting with Architect E. G Flannagan of Henderson today the board is studying revised 1 plans for the Everetts building and will shortly send up another trial bullion to determine a trend in building costs. If the costs are still considered extremely high, it is quite likely that the county wide program will again be de layed, leaving the schools to op erate as best they can until a more opportune time presents it self for executing the program One official was quoted as sdying that he did net think it advisable to go into debt on a big scale when tobacco is selling for 4f cents and cotton 30 cents a pound and have to pay it back with 30 ton. Another problem carried over from file Monday meeting is cen tered in the burned-out James villo colored school. Some action has to bo taken in that case soon if the children there are to be housed next year. To aggravate the problem, attendance is drop ping rapidly, making it difficult to reach a decision. The supei inl tendon! and Board Member F. W. Holliday were instructed to search around for a site. A dele gation, headed by George Cordon and numbering a dozen or more, appeared before the meeting and pleaded for consideration. At the meeting Monday, the board moved to continue its same organization for the next two years with J. I). Woolard as chair man. J. C. Manning was reelect ed superintendent of county schools for another term,, and he was instructed to draft an agree (Continued on page six) Winberr v Fiuiieral' Sunday Afternoon —•— Funeral services were conduct ed in the Skewat key Primitive j Baptist Church near here last ! 5>t)nd.a.y aft! ■ iMi.'iiMt-ldiO ii'-i.>i!. I'm Mrs. Minnie Winbrrry who died at the iiome ol' her daughter, Mis. Sam Bunting, near Oak City last Saturday morning at 7:15 o’clock. Elder B S Cowin, the pastor, officiated, and burial was m the cemetery there. She hud been in declining health for a year or more and her condition had been critical following a ; stroke suffered about two weeks ago. The daughter of the late James Asti and Della Price Leggett, she J was born in this county (16 years | ago. Following her marriage to Sta : ton Bland she' made her home in I Ayden, returning to this county thirty years ago. Three children, John Bland of Bear Grass Town ship, James Bland of Williams 1 Township and Mrs. Edward | Pritchett of Hamilton, survive j that, union. Her second marriage I was to Jesse Winberry who sur j wives with a daughter, Mrs. Sam 1 Bunting. She also leaves a broth er, James Leggett of Roanoke j Rapids. Mrs. Winberry was a member . -.f the CilUi C'll at Ske w a. 1,1 > fat I several years. Eighteen In Rac e for Town Board, Mayor t....—. REGISTRATION v_, Right at "40 now names were added to the municipal registration books here dur ing the three Saturdays the books were open. Registrar John E. Pope announced fol lowing the close of the regis tration period last Saturday. The additions boost the total number of eligible voters to an estimated 1,250. The new registrants include about twenty-five colored citizens. It is estimated by some that the vote in the primary elec tion next Monday will range between 600 and 1,000, the number depending on cam paign developments between now and then. General Assembly In Final Session Late On Saturday -o l.ryislaimc Itlous (looi And Had During l.i”lil\ Eiftlit Days Nor in liirolina s ueneral As sembly completed an her;tic 88 day session shortly after 10:81 o’clock last Saturday night aftei blowing first good and then bad accomplishing much and leaving much unaccomplished. The valui of the legislative acts and action: is to be determined as tire mori than 1,000 laws and resolution: are reduced to practical applica tion. With tlie exception of on< or two accomplishments, most o them delayed for years until ar aroused public rose up to domain • ••— 4-i»». minx land low-paid state employees I and to see that other sharnetu i conditions were remedied. That tire Legislature muddler i through much of its work is evi 'deuced in the uncertain status o [some of the laws passed. The ul J coholic beverages laws are no quite clear, and the exact mean ! ing of any liunibt r of other law: is yet to be determined. One leg 1 islator is quoted as saying that ; county may upon the request o 15 percent of its voters, call for ; referendum on beer and wine sales, that if the county votes dry an incorporated town of 1,000 oi more may call a referendum of its own. I', was also reported that ; county muy vote on the liquol question, that if the vote is dry no town or city may call a refer endum of its own; yet. several towns and cities, in Uie State an empowered to hold liquor ri ler endums. In one of the most progressive steps, the Assembly moved to nTT ! ’vs.1"-, ..(■ iy '.‘i, iina, proposing among othei things, more hospitals, medical centers, doctor, and a medica school at Chapel Hill. While the law makers acted tc relieve the deplorable condition: existing in the State's institutions they hardly met the t x it - Mg needs;.. Hut the group possible i did lie1 re iT'T*i-i*<—WWff ; tianity than any half dozen uni lar bodies ahead of il. Possibly well meant and onlj (Continued on page eight) Telephone Strike Little Felt Here —«-— The telephone strike, tying ut most ol the nation's telephomi communications, was hardly no ticeable here, according to unof ficial reports. No .strike was call ed in the Carolina system, ant operations' were not interruptec in Virginia. Long distance calls wen handled, more or less, in emer gencies west of Rocky Mount anc to other states with the cxceptior of Virginia. A few cails welt cleared through here to New York the first day of the stiikt yesterday. Since a bulk of the long dis tance messages handled by the local exchange is limited to this wbvtioii', t»iC bti int (lid liot IT»wi»Vv Rsclf felt very much. Fourteen Out For Commissioner and Others ior Mayor Campaign 0<-ts Uml<>r Way For Primary Flection Next Monday Williamston’s municipal politi cal picture was given more or less definite form lute last Friday aft ernoon when several candidates entered the race for places o-n the local board ot town commission ers and for mayor, one beating the filing deadline by a mere five minutes. Homer Barnhill, part owner and operator of the B. and W. Tire He building Service here, was the last to file for one of the five places on the board of commis sioners, his candidacy boosting the total number in that contest j to fourteen. C. D. Carstarphen, business man and representative of the Lawrence Bonded Warehouse Company, filed for mayor Friday afternoon. S. II. Grimes, local , insurance company representa tive. filed for the mayor's job at 5 55 that afternoon, boosting the 1 number of candidates in that con j test to four. The line-up, as it now stands, includes eighteen candidates in the field for towoi commissioners and mayor, as follows: For commissioners: John Hat ton Gurganus, K. I). Worrell, Ben , I>. Ourtney, N. C. Green, G. H. i Harrison, V'. D. Godwin, L. P. Linds ley, Hoy T. Griffin, A. J. Manning, Dillon Cobb, H. Leman Barnhill, David Moore, George A. For mayor: John L. Hassell, Hubert Cowcn, C D, Carstarphen, and S Harcum Grimes, The time is short for a cam paign, and it isn't likely now that any burning issues will be inject ed into the contest. However, public appeals as well as those by mail and in person are expected before the campaign is closed. o (,a|>tiire Seventh Convict Escapee —<*— Chester Marsh, onr of eight convicts who sawed their way out of the higl^ay prison camp near i In re last November 4, was recap tured by FBI agents in Norfolk a few days ago. His arrest leaves only one of the eight, Albert Bowser, at large. Marsh, convicted of an assault with intent to commit rapt and sentenced in the Guilford County Superior ('<ant to serve fourteen >eais iil !' * ' V,~ IT 1 ' * ',, [ii Raleigh* reports reaching here stating that he lias been or will be transit rred to Die rock quarries. When arrested, Marsh was work ing at an ice plant in Norfolk. Since breaking out of camp near here Bowser is believed to liavt^ L wp -as 1 d coloved ginia. At the time he escaped | from the camp in this county, Bowser, sentenced in Halifax | County, w as serving a 15-year ■ term for an assault with an in I tent to commit rape. Sevt al of those escaping last November 4 have been returned to the camp here and are now in ^hackles. One, Otis Ragland, died in the State Pi; ;an gas cham ber. -♦ Limits Modified l or ( I or l<d airier Position Any person residing in Martin I County may now apply for exam | ination for appointment as substi i lute clerk carrier in the post of fice at Williamston. the Civil Ser vice Commission has announced, First announcement of the exami nation had limited applicants to I bona fide patrons of the post of* . lice here. Applications will he accepted through the close of business i*a April 23, 1047, at the office of ! the Director, Fourth U. S. Civil 1 Sorvitro R-":cn, Nisscr*. i Winston-Salem 3, North Carolina^

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