m ENTERPRISE IS READ BE
OVER 3,«M MARTIN COUNT!
FAMILIES TWICE EACH WEEK
k«t ♦'*•«'«««vv ».* «4» 4
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•>*«*•>« 44>.« .*.•*■*
THE ENTERPRISE
THE ENTERPRISE IS READ B1
OVER 3.000 MARTIN COUNTS
FAMILIES TWICE EACH
VOLUME LI—NUMBER 63
Williamston, Martin County, North Carolina, Tuesday, August 10,1948
ESTABLISHED 1899
Distribute Leaf
Marketing Cards
* Later This Week
Some V ill Be Distributed
To Farmers Direct, Others
To Go Out By Mail
The distribution of approxi
mately 1,650 tobacco marketing
tfr cards will be effected in this coun
ty on Thursday of this week, it
was announced' by the office of
the county agent. Some of the
cards will be distributed in per
son to farmers by the community
committeemen, others will be
mailed and still others—the red
ones—will be distributed in per
son at the agent's office in the ag
ricultural building.
Meeting Wednesday afternoon
In the courthouse, county and
community committeemen will
make plans for distributing ap
proximately 1,200 of the cards in
person to the growers on Thurs
day at designated places in the
several communities.
The community committeemen
» will deliver cards in person only
to those farmers who are partici
pating in the current soil conser
vation program. The farmers are
being asked to make their farm
reports at that time, presenting
bills for cost of lime, oats for seed
and pasture programs.
♦
Those farmers who are not par
ticipating in the soil conservation
program will receive their cards
by direct mail on or about Thurs
day of this week. The office is
placing the cards for the approxi
mately 400 non-cooperating farm
ers in the soil program in the
mails on Wednesday.
Then there are approximately
fifty cards to be delivered to far
mers who planted in excess of
their allotments. The red cards
will be delivered to the farmers
at the agricultural building. Far
mers planting in excess of their
allotments must submit a produc
tion estimate advanced by the
community committeeman. The
agent's office pointed out that a
farmer, planting in excess of his
one farm, must have the*conmuS"
teeman estimate the production
on each farm. Those farmers who
planted in excess will be penaliz
ed at tne rate of 16 cents a pound
for tobacco marketed in excess of
the allotment.
Quite a few farmers in this
county planted in excess of their
allotments, but all but about fifty
destroyed the surplus in the field.
Pests Threaten
Acres Of Corn
Combining their destructive
power corn car worms and the old
army worm are threatening one
of the oest corn crops in the coun
tv. Farm Agent Torn Brandon said
* this week.
Centering on seven acres of
corn on Bill Abbitt’s farm near
WilJiarnston, the worms have ex
acted considerable damage al
ready and the agent advised the
farmer to turn his 160 or more
hogs into the field and let them
race against the pests.
It was conservatively estimated
that the seven acres would have
9 produced approximately 125 bush
els of corn per acre.
^ While the corn would have been
more valuable if ii had been saved
for harvest in the fall, the farm
er is certain to realize something
from it by letting the hogs harvest
it
The iii iTwt•yhr.rreti,3i.«i *
trucker’s corn there and it was
attacked by ear worms, the second
crop of worms coming just in time
A to threaten the second crop of
corn.
--^
liOUND-UP
-a
Seven persons were round
ed up and temporarily detain
ed in the county jail last
week-end for alleged viola
tion of various laws. Two
4 were bonked for drunkenness,
two for larceny and two for
assaults and one for drunken
driving.
The group, including two
white men and a colored wo
man, had ages ranging -from
21 to 44 years.
*- -
CITIZENS OF TOMORROW
The Enterprise takes much pleasure in presenting another
in a picture series of this section's “citizens of tomorrow”. So
far none has figured prominently in public affairs, t it as fu
ture citizens they have a tremendous assignment to handle in a
muddled world. Certain they'll do a better job than has been
done or is being done, The Enterprise presents the youngsters
as the one great hope for the luiure.
Top row, left to right, Melvin, two months, son of Mr. and
Mrs. M. O. Crisp, Oak City; Sandra, two months, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. M. H. Leggett, Williamston; Brenda Gail, four
months, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. F. Scott, Williamston; Bot
tom row, Kenneth, eight months, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Stalls,
Williamston; Jimmy, seven months, son of Mr. and Mrs. W. D.
Rogers, Williamston; and Dianne, six months, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. W. Beach, Jr., Everetts.
\ NEARING END |
v._f
The tobacco harvesting sea
son is rapidly drawing to a
close in this county, reports
stating that a majority will
have harvested their crops be
fore the week-end. Several
completed the task week be
fore last, and a goodly num
ber barued their tips last
week.
In a few cases, the growers
will hardly complete the work
before week after next with
the possibility that a dozen.or
so will gel their tips the fol
lowing week.
The crops looks very good
and is curing out much better
than was expected before the
dry spell was broken.
An Embankment
—».
Bending over to recover an;
electric cigarette lighter he had j
dropped in the foot of his car, I
a Plymouth motorist lost control l
of his car and ran it down an em
bankment just this side of Sweet
Water Creek late last Saturday
afternoon. Traveling alone, the
driver had almost stopped his car
but while he had his head down
the machine moved off the road.
He regained his driving position
too late to stop the car and it
gradually moved down into the.
swamp, injuring no one and caus
ing very little damage. A wreck
er recovered the car.
Small Outhouse
Burned Sunday
— •
Believed to have been of incen
diary origin, fire destroyed a
small outhouse near the basket
factory on East Main Street short
ly before 4:00 o’clock Sunday
morning, The owners had some
winter clothing and blankets
packed in the small structure
which were a total loss.
Firemen answered the call and
kept the fire from spreading to
adjoining buildings.
Neighbors heard some one run
jVom the sm-.ll hoildim io^t -hm.
fore the fire broke out.
The call was the third receiv
ed by’ volunteer firemen here in
seven days.
-*
Injured Officer lias
Operation In Durham
Suffering a broken hip when at
tacked by a prisoner in Oak City
on the night of July 31, Constable
Edmond Early of Oak City under
went an operation in Duke hospi
tal last Saturday. The operation
was said to have been successful
and the officer’s condition was re
ported as fair, according to infor
mation reaching here this week.
His attacker, Willie J. Dickens,
22, continues in the county jail. A
hearing has been delayed pending
the outcome of the officer’s condi
tion.
Club Directors
i
In Meeting Here
The members of the board of
directors of the local Lions Club
| voted to continue their support of
I five dollars per month to the lo
! cal library, for the next year, at
I their regular meeting last Thurs
1 day evening.
j Several bills were approved for
j payment by the group, and con
1 siderable time was spent discuss
! ing the attendance problem and
I the importance of making up at
S tendance by absentee members.
! Absentee members may make up
i their attendance by attending din
I ner meetings of other clubs, local
directors’ meetings and commit
! tee meetings.
red 1 he
®fflfflfff^ffTesT,*Tesu'v a n**9W*^f
committee of five members was
appointed to handle this project.
Chairman Shag Abernathy an
; nounced that the club is now
■ sponsoring 51 ball gum machines
| and expects to place a few more,
i in an effort to raise funds for use
among the blind and visually
handicapped.
The group set Thursday night,
September 9, as Faculty night, at
which time members of the local
school faculty are to be guests of
the club.
The directors meeting was held
at the firemen’s house boat, and
followed a rock supper, prepared
and served bv Chef John Cooke.
Those present included C. J.
Goodman, E. R. Froneberger, Joe
Davenport, Phil Morrisette, D. C.
MeLawhom, B. G. Stewart, H. D.
Harrison, D. V. Clayton, K. D.
Worrell, Julian Harrell, W. H. Ab
ernathy and Wheeler Manning.
Misses Dynamite
By Few Minutes
•
Considerable property damage
resulted as it was, but had Mrs. C.
F. Merten of Miami Beach driven
her new Lincoln into three parked
cars on Main Street here a few
minutes later than she did last
Thursday there's no telling what
would have happened.
Farmer Clarence Stallings of
! arid knocked into the Woolard
Furniture Store Iront, was on his
way to his car to place some dy
namite and caps in it for use on
his farm.
Reporting damage estimates,
Chief W. E. Saunders said the loss
would approach $1,100 or $1,200,
including between $750 and $1,000
to the store, $150 to the Stallings
DeSoto, $45 to Asa Hardison’s
Ford and $100 to the Lincoln. W.
R. Banks, whose Chevrolet was
battered a bit when Mrs. Merten
rounded the corner at the inter
section of Washington and Main
Streets and swerved a bit too far
to the right, had filed no claim as
far as t could be learned.
Mr. Merten, accompanying his
wife, remained over night and
made arrangements to pay all the
damages. i
Paper Will Issue
Tobacco Edition
Later This Week
Old Pnpers Reveal Many
Interesting Faets About
This Section
i _
Following a custom dating back
at least forty years, The Enter
prise publishers plan to issued
their annual tobacco edition as
usual this year. Scheduled to
reach the press on Thursday of
this week, the edition carries a
goodly number of items of local
interest.
The publishers are greatly in
debted to Mr. Henry C. Bourne,
Tarboro attorney, for the use of
old files of the Tarboro Souther
ner now in his possession. Quite
a few items and stories were tak
en from the paper dating back as
many as 89 years ago and pertain
ing to this county and its people.
While the first of the five sec
tion in the edition is limited, more
or less, to current topics, the
others deal more with history, es
pecially the Civil War period. In
section 2, the incorporation acts
of the town of Williamston are re
viewed in detail. The review is
a bit long, but it picks up the
town's history from its incorpor
ation and follows it right on down
through the years. The section
also carries a few Civil war items,
general stories and a few perti
nent facts about various topics.
Section 3 features a Civil War
story by the late Wilson G. Lamb,
father of our present Wilson
Lamb. Then there is a story
about a comparatively new cot
ton picker, not to mention a short
account about honesty during a
war period.
Section 4 offers a detailed re
port on the Martin County Health
Department and its activities for
the past fiscal year. In the sec
tion, quite a few itmes were
picked up from the old Tarboro
papers, telling about the fight at
Rawls’ Mill. King James’ at
I tack on tobacco, trouble on the
j Roanoke and other little stories,
I no doubt, .will he , rea.t^w i.t.h Jn
-a »«««■;
prediction, looking for “good
times" for the next twenty-five
years
In the last section, Professor V.
B. Hairr, Jamesville agriculture
teacher, reviews the veterans’
trainee program in that section of
the county. There are other ar
ticles dealing with methods em
ployed by the students in pro
moting a progressive agriculture
on a practical basis. Possibly
one of the most entertaining ar
ticles in the edition is the one on
page two of the No. 5 section, hav
ing to do with collards—just plain
old common, ordinary collards.
The collard story was written by
a Confederate veteran who re
called a collard feast after play
ing hide and seek with Foster’s
army in various parts of the coun
ty. On page 8 of the same sec
tion is a hot word feud between
two newspaper editors back in
1859. Abner S. Williams, editor
of the Williamston Mercury at
the time, had no love for Bill
Eborn, editor of a Washington
paper. Williams, near the end of
his attack on Eborn, calls him a
"fiddle-backed, flat-footed, razor
nosed whangdoodle”.
Other stories in the paper deal
with early railroading in Martin
County, and there is a general
(Continued on page six)
■
Farms Requiring
Fewer Workers]
Two U. S. Department of Agri
sulture reports tell this story:
“Farm output per worker” in
creased 45 percent from 1935 to
1947, while “farm employment”
fell more than 10 percent.
Farm population” decreased
from 32 million in 1910 to little
more than 27 million in 1947, and
is expected to fail to only 24 mil
lion in 1975.
In short, fewer and fewer peo
ple are required to produce more
and more on fauns, so millions
move to towns and cities to com
pete with industrial workers for
jobs. I
The results are not very no- ! 1
ticeable now, in the present 1
"boom,” but would be serious in <
a depression. j t
1
Meiers Provide
Plenty of Parking
Space This Week
Feu Violations K<|>oiT«mI
tin* First l)uv; Warnings
Are Issued
--•
Placed in operation yesterday
for the first time, parking meters
provided plenty of parking room
in the business sections here.
There was a wholesale movement
from the streets to the backlots,
merchants clerks and others
cleaning up the out-of-the-way
parking places to relieve the con
gestion in the streets in the busi
ness sections. The mass move
ment from the parking places to
the backlots left the streets almost
deserted during certain pei iods of
the day. and one would almost
think a holiday was in effect.
As far as it could be learned
there were no strenuous com
plaints registered against the met
ers the first day, several shoppers
declaring they were pleased to be
able to pay a penny to get a place
convenient for their shopping.
For the most part, the cars park
ed at the meter posts were from
out of town, proving that most of
the parking space had been used
previously by merchants, clerks,
and other business men.
Very few violations were re
ported the first day. No one has
yet been cited to the police sta
tion. Violators from out of town
are advised of their action and are
asked to pay for the parking time
without reporting to the police
station The same courtesy is be
ing extended the local people, but
they are reminded that the viola
tions a*'e being entered in the po
lice records with the warning that
a second offense will carry a fine.
It is fairly certain that while
the meters may constitute a min
or nuisance, they apparently are
pointing the way to a solution for
the parking problem.
During the ten days the meters
were installed and before they
were to go into actual use, nearly
$50 in pennies and nickels were
dropped jntothr boxes, mostly fov
.■ .mm' ."jv
facts.
The meters are m operation
each week day from fi:00 a. m. un
til (1:00 p. in., excepting holidays
and Sundays when no charge is
made for parking.
Offers Proof To
Support Claim
The doubt registered on Farmer
Will G. Hardison's luce a few days
ago when Gardener P. H. Brown
told him he had a vince bean ever
so long and so large in circum
ference has been eliminated with
the proof.
Gardener* Brown placed the
prize bean on display in The En
terprise window today, and check
measurements show its length to
be 32 3-4 inches and its circum
ference, 8 1-2 inches.
The only thing in doubt now is
identity. Mr. Brown, experiment
ing with new types of vegetables,
says he planted bean seed, but
some others say he reaped an Ital
ian squash.
At Least Twelve i
Dixiecrats Here
— •—
According to unofficial informa
tion there are at least twelve J
Dixiecrats in Martin County, and j
W » . r »«.«»• ^ ** • « m
mere is> ,j Mii-amiij Ieeimg lual
there are quite a few more
Press reports state that twelve
Martin County persons signed the
petition to place Thurmond and
Wright on the presidential ballot
for the election in November.
The names of the petitioners in
this county could not be learned
since the petition did not clear
through the board of elections.
-o
Tyson Named Temporary
Officer Tor Oak City
Gene Tyson, Oak City young
man, was named last week-end as
temporary chief of police there by
the town officials. He is serving
while the regular officer, Edrnond
Sarly, is receiving treatment in
iDuke nospital for injuries receiv
'd while arresting Willie J. Dick
ms on July 31;
Postal Receipts At Local
Office Gain Last Quarter
After following a downward
trend for several months, receipts
at the local office checked that
trend and went ahead to show a
fairly sizable gain in the three
months ending June 30. it was an
nounced a few days ago by Post
master Wiley E. Dunn. The post
master admitted that he could not
readily explain the factors sup
porting the gain. "There was
nothing unusual happening to
cause stamp sales to increase
other than a gradual increase in
the number of patrons,” Postmast
er Dunn said, adding that the in
creased patronage, under normal
conditions, would hardly support
the revenue gain.
Receipts at the office last quar
ter were $525.11 greater than
those recorded in the correspond
ing quarter of last year and were
actually $17.42 greater than those
reported for the previous three
months in this year. Ordinarily,
the first quarter receipts are
much larger than those recorded
in the second three months. Last
quarter stamp sales amounted to
$8,267.48 as compared with $7,
742.37 reported in the 1947 cor
responding period. Postage stamp
sales in the second quarter of last
year were nearly $1,200 under
those reported for January, Feb
ruary and March, 1947, making
the gain last quaiter over the first
three months of this year even
more pronounced.
Money order business last quar
ter while showing no gain, drop
ped a few hundred dollars to
stand at $62,127.37. At the same
time the business in April, May
and June of this year was some
over $4,000 greater than it was in
the corresponding months of last
year.
Several Teachers
Resign In County
■ ■ ■ —
Late resignations leave seven
teaching positions 'in the various
schools vacant, according to a re
port coming from the office of the
board of education over the week
end.
Four of the vacancies exist in
the Williamston school, and one
each in Everetts, Robersonville
and Oak City.
Mrs. Mary Lee Hassell, a teach
er in the Williamston school since
1933, tendered her resignation
when she explained that she had
been unable to find a place to live.
Her resignation was reluctantly
accepted along with the other
three. Mrs. Hassell had ably
taught the seventh grade during
the fifteen years, having taught in
the rural communities for several
years prior to 1933.
Other resignations were sub
mitted by Miss Ada Morris, first
grade teacher; Miss Mamie Mod |
«* ■.■.•-Vie,—w
rlM 1fc—« • ’ r-Kg
grade, and Mrs. Josephine Everett1
Bullock, fourth grade teacher in '■
tlie Williamston school, and Mrs.
Christine Bailey, second grade
teacher in the school at Everetts..
The seventh grade position in
Robersonville has been tentative
ly supplied, it was learned, but
the opening in the science depart
ment at Oak City is still begging
for an applicant, the report de
clared.
Several applications for three of
the positions in the local schools
have been received, but no ap
pointments have been made.
Purse Snatchers
Caught Saturday
■—*—
George Grt-en and Ananias
Thompson of the Oak City section
were arrested on Elm Street here
late last Saturday night for al
legedly stealing two pocketbooks
from tne operators of Duck Inn,
a beer joint on Washington Street.
The two men went to the beer
joint and ordered two bottles of
beer. Apparently the sale was
made after hours and they were
advised to step into a back loom
and drink it. While there they
saw the pocketbooks on a shelf,
snatched them and ran. The op
erators of the place gave chase
and they were followed by a large
j number of others who were loit
| ( i ing around the joint.
•-jYeen'alffi-Thonjpso'fi ‘wTi-e'Tiv*
ertaken in front of the H. H. Cow
en home on Elm Street. The poc
ketbooks were thrown away, but
one was recovered after Frank
Scott, one of the owners, hud
worked over one of the alleged
thieves The other pocketbook is
still missing.
The chase disturbed quite a
few residents along the route.
Both of the defendants pleaded
guilty when carried before Jus
tice R. T. Johnson last evening
and they arranged bond in the
sum of $200 each for their appear
ance in the county court next
Monday. It was not definitely de
termined who stole which pocket
book, but Frank Scott said he re
covered his $22 or $23 while Sadie
Ruffin said she recovered a few
papers but not the $U5 from her
pocketbook.
COM) I IKK
It burned nil right but sev
eral blocks of iee cooled
thing's down when a Linds
I ley Ice Company ice truck
blew a gasket and fired the
wiring system on the vehicle
j on Perry Street near Sunny
Side Inn here last Thursday
j afternoon shortly before 3:00
| o’clock.
The truck, operated by I,e
| under Winbusli, was stopped
within three or four feet of a
home and when the fire start
ed spreading to the cab, Win- j
bush called their fire depart- i
menl, fearing the fire would !
catch the house. The fire was
soon brought under control
and the truck was rolling aft
er repairs were made a few
hours later.
Jaycee Dinner
1 ^ -7
At their regular dinner meeting,
held last Friday evening, the
members of the local Junior
Chamber of Commerce heard a re
port on the progress of rebuilding
Camp Charles, Boy Scout camp
near Wilson, from Chairman K. P.
Linds ley of the Martin County
committee.
Camp Charles contains over 100
acres of wooded urea, with the ex
ception of a 50 acre lake, and
when completed, will make an
ideal camp for all the scouts of
the Eastern Carolina Council.
There are 0000 boy scouts in the
council, and plans are being made
to take care of about JOOO at a
time at Camp Charles. Various
civic organizations throughout the
eastern part of the state are co
operating in this project to give
the scouts of the Eastern Carolina
Council a camp site second to
none, with the Jayeees spearhead
ing the chive, Kiwanis, Lions, Ro
tary and other civic groups are
participating.
A motion was carried that the
local Jayeees contribute to this
worthwhile project, the amount to
be decided by the club directors.
Treasurer Billy Biggs gave a
complete report on the financial |
results of the club's third annual
beauty pageant, held a few weeks
ago, and it revealed a sizable
profit for the organization.
Among other items discussed
was the attendance problem
iLi bSsliiT-ni1 r.xuin' 1 Wai <r 1 pie .td'eil
over tne meeting, with Bill Gray
leading the singing and Wheelei
Manning pronouncing the invoca
tion. Alonza Bland was a guest of
the club, and the attendance prize,
awarded by Ernest Mcars, was
won by Wheeler Manning.
Over 2.000 Killed II Idle
II idtiinfi The Ilitfliivays
Last year 2,000 Americans walk
ing on rural highways were kill
ed bv automobiles Another 7,000
were injured. Since such pre
ventable tragedies occur more
often in the summer, when va
cation travel is at its peak, the
insurance companies warn rural
pedestrians to walk on the left
shoulder of the road facing traf
fice. At night wear white or carry
j a light.
Border Markets
Averaged $34.00
First Four Days
\ —°—
Murkrls Glntlml as Farmers
Foinplele Harvest Of
Hie New Crop
1 A record high general ave ago
| was established on the Sruth Car
. olina and Border North Carolina
I flue-cured tobacco markets dur
j ing the four days comprising op
ening week when 28,448,480
pounds were marketed for an av
erage of $54 44 per hundred. This
average exceeded the previous
first week high of $52.64 set in
1946 by $1.85 and opening week’s
average of 1947 by $6.29. Individ
ual market averages ranged from'
a low of $48.83 to a high of $56.74
per hundred. According to the
United States and North Carolina
Departments of Agriculture, prac
tically all prices advanced over
opening week last year with in
creases ranging from 75c to $11.00
per hundred. However, most of
the gains were from $4.00 to $8.00.
Grade averages compared with
last year show cutters up from
$6.00 to $10.00, lugs $6.00 to $11.00
and primings $4.00 to $9.00. All
averages quoted were at or above
the Commodity Credit support
prices. Receipts of the Stabiliza
tion Corporation were estimated
at around 9 percent of sales.
Volume of sales was consider
ably heavier last week compared
with the two days of sales open
ing week last year, when only 6,
882,125 pounds were auctioned for
an average of $48.15. Some mar
kets were blocked during the
week, but the majority reported
floors cleared daily. Block sales
are expected in the next few days
over the entire area as harvesting
is nearing completion.
The general quality of the offer
ings was about the same as last
year. Bulk of sales was composed
principally of low to choice lugs,
low to good cutters and low and
fair primings. Lugs were the pre
dominating offerings and made up
over half of the marketings fol
w***mmmmm .»*'■■■! MB?" ■ p *
The percentage of leaf was small
but considerably larger than dur
ing opening week last year. The
opinion of most tobacconists is
that the quality will improve as
the season progresses.
A total of 18 markets are oper
ating in the South Carolina and
(Continued on page six)
Financial Report
For Center Here
Its activities suspended for the
month of August, at least, Mrs.
Frank Hitch, director, this week
submitted a financial report for
the local youth recreation center,
the report including only those
transactions handled outside the
regular budget and handled by
Mrs. Hitch.
Money for some of the running
expenses was raised from a box
party, wiener roasts, door receipts
at ,special events, sale of soft
drinks, candy, etc. Expenses in
cluded cash money spent for
cleaning, supplies, magazines,
ping pong bails and nets, records
and needles, decorations, refresh
ment and other incidentals.
In addition to the petty cash
fund, t.ie center deposited $128 in
the bank, cheeking out $64.70,
$12.50 for repairs to music box,
$(J for ping pong paddles and
$12.5(1 for u portable victmia,
has been turned over to W. B.
Gaylord, treasurer of the recrea
tion committee.
NyMhm;
A ml hoi soil ball game is
being arranged between tlic
law enforcement officers of
Beaufort and Martin County.
No date has been fixed for the
tangle, but the officers plan
to play it here sometime next
week if the park can be rent
ed.
The line-ups will include
members of the highway pa
trol. county and towu offic
ers. Recently the Beaufort
officers played the Washing* •
(on Lions before SOU rooting
fans. YisK