North Carolina Newspapers

VOLUME UI—NUMBER 97 fPilliarmtont Martin County, North Carolina, Thursday, December ft, 1049 ESTABLISHED 1899 I.Twenty-Five Cases Slated For Trial i In Superior Court Judge Leo Can* Scheduled To Preside Over One Week Term Here Twenty-five cases appear on the criminal docket for trial during the one-week term of the Martin County Superior Court opening here next Monday with Judge Leo Carr of Burlington presiding. The list carries no cases of a sensa tional nature, and the sessions are not likely to attract much public attention. In addition to the criminal cases, a few civil actions, including some divorce pleadings, are to be heard during the term. Quite a few of the cases were continued from previous terms, same of the actions having been pending in the courts for about a year. The following cases appear on the docket: O. K. Harrison, abandoning j crop. Geo. Mobley, embezzlement. Bernice Douglas Adama, Harold Homer Cauncey, and Irving Red dick, drunken driving. LeRoy Coffield is charged with having broken into the home of Joseph Slade and carried away a watch, bracelet and other articles, all valued at $40. Charged with drunken driving in October of last year, Lollie Wil lims did not appear for trial and his bond was forfeited. The case is again on the docket. Wilbur Sitton, bastardy. Selling a mule to Chas. Dugger and claiming that no papers were held against the animal, Joe H. Mizelle is to lace trial on a false pretense charge. Cornelius Jones is charged with DreaKing into tne name ot Joe Johnson in Williamston on Oc tober 29, and Albert Green is charged with breaking into the home of Louis D. Ormond the same night. Linwood Speight, deaf mute, is charged with breaking into the home of Lillie Berry on November 24. Charged with seducing Mary Davis under promise of marriage last May 30, Andrew Lyons, Jr., si i facing trial next week. Fred Wilson is charged with breaking into the home of Ollie Whitley on December 4. Stewart Edward Wiggins is charged with breaking into the Luke Harrell home on September 26 and stealing $00 cash belonging to Williams Chapel Sunday School. Sam Gorham is charged with > breaking into the home of Louisa Biggs and assaulting her. Ernest Wilson Bunting, young Oak City white man, faces the court on a manslaughter charge. The defendant was driving the car that figured in an accident, cost ing Gus Bryant his life in or near Hamilton last September 14. Paul Thomas is charged with forging the name of W. S. Mizelle to a $350 check and cashing it at a local bank on October 10. James Willis Lloyd and N. S. Nichols are alleged to have held up and robbed John Clay of $12 on October 7. Charged with drunken driving, county court judgment. Sentenced in the county court to serve six months on the roads for non-support, John J. Trnacek ap case is slated to be called next week. Admitting paternity and charg ed with non-support, Robert Jas per Rogers appealed from a low er court judgment. John E. Walker, bad check. James B. Hilleald and Donald Eugene Gaddis, two young white men, are booked for trial on a breaking and entering charge. They are alleged to have entered the home of Wra. H. Taylor near Williamston in December and car (Continued on page eight) Loral Baptist Choir To Offer Christmas Program The local Baptist choir will pre- J sent a Christmas program in the church Sunday afternoon, De- j cember 18, at 5:00 o’clock, it wasj announced today by the pastor, Rev. Stewart B. Simms. Plans Are Completed For Vote On Cotton Thursday Plans have been completed for holding the cotton referendum in this county on Thursday, Decem ber 15, between the hours of 8:00 o’clock a. m. and 5:00 o’clock p. m., the Production and Marketing Administration office announces. Polling places will be maintain ed in ten communities, and in ad dition to voting on cotton quotas for 1950, farmers will elect their triple A community committee men and delegates to the county convention. Approximately 700 farmers are eligible to participate in the cot ton referendum, but all farmers are eligible to and should vote in the committee elections. The polling places for the vari ous districts will be maintained on December 15, as follows: Bear Grass Township, Harri son's Garage in Bear Grass. Cross Roads Township, Hardy's Store in Everetts. Goose Nest Township, districts one and two, Ayers Store in Oak City. Griffins Township, Manning's Store at Pincy Grove. Hamilton Township, Cherry and Edmondson's Store in Hamilton, and P. C. Edmondson’s Store in Hassell. Jamesvillc Township, districts one and two, City Hill in James ville. Williams Township, County House at No. 90 Station. Williamston - Poplar Point I Townships, Agricultural Building • in Williamston. i SUCCESSFUL } \_ _/ While the collections last Sunday was very successful, the Jaycee Christmas Cheer committee explained today that a few more toys eould be used to a great advantage in meeting a somewhat increas ed demand coming from the less fortunate tots in the town and immediate community. Those who have toys they can spare and did not get them in the last Sunday col lection are asked to deliver them to the city hall or call Thad Harrison or Junie Peel for spot collection service. Eight Cases In Justice Courts Justices John L. Hassell and R. T. Johnson handled eight eases in their courts during the past few! days. Drunk and disorderly at the Lit tle Savoy, Chas. B. Taylor was sentenced to the roads for thirty days, Justice Hassell suspending the road term upon the payment of $11.50 costs. Jim Gray, colored, was sentenc I ed by Justice Hassell to the roads for thirty days for being drunk on Washington Street. The road term was suspended upon the payment of $10.50 costs. Justice Johnson handled the fol lowing cases in his court: William Hoggard, drunk, $5 fine I and costs. Charged with non-support, George Bonds was bound over to the county court under $100 bond. In a second case, Bonds was fined $10 and taxed with $6.85 costs for being publicly drunk. Judgment was suspended upon the payment of $5.85 costs in the case charging Cleveland Manning with operating a motor vehicle with improper equipment. Charged with breaking into the home of Ollie Whitley, Fred Wil son was bound over to the sup erior court for trial next week. Unable to raise the $750 bond he continues in jail. Jonah Clemmons was bound over under $150 bond to the coun ty court for drunken driving. • • -mm " . > D »'n •—,. •• - Make Plans For Special Contest * - • •••<*» Tentative plans are just about complete for advancing the 1949 holiday lighting or Christmas de corating contest, Chairman W. H. Carstarphen said today. Three first prizes will be award ed for the best doorway or roof top arrangement, the most orig inal decoration, and the best yard or lawn scene. It is now planned to judge the decorations on Sun day, December 18 between the hours of 9 and 11 p. m. Judges will be recruited from the sur rounding towns of Hamilton, Jamesville, Oak City, Everetts and Bear Grass. Schemes for decorating local public buildings are said to be nearing completion. The Jaycees are again locating the Nativity scene on the Presby terian church lawn, and it is plan ned to play recordings during brief periods each evening. Divorce Cases On Docket For Trial In Superior Court All Plaintiff)) Bane Their Claim*) On Two-Year Separation Grounds In addition to the twenty-five ' cases on the criminal docket, the Martin County Superior Court in the one-week mixed term opening here next Monday is scheduled to hear six divorce actions. All the plaintiffs are basing their claims on two-year separation grounds. Judge Leo Carr of Burlington is to preside over the term, and the divorce cases are tentatively set for trial next Thursday after al lowing three days in which to clear the criminal docket. In the case of Wallace C. Moore against Annie E. Moore, the plain tiff says they were married in 1940 and separated in August, 1947, that no children were born to the union, and that the defend ant left and is now believed to be living in Philadelphia. Naomi Dixon Vick, in her case 1 against Major Junior Vick, says, they were married in Edgecombe County on February 11, 1939, and separated on October 6, 1947. Asking an absolute divorce from j Flossie Riddick Chamblce, the1 plaintiff, Spurgeon ChambleeJ states they were married in Hert-1 ford County on March 9, 1942, and separated on December 10, 1940, ; that the two children born to the union are living with him. In the case of Raleigh L. Mc Nair against Ethel McNair, the. plaintiff says they were married in May, 1939, and separated on I September 15, 1947, that the one child born to the union is living with him. The case of A. J. Stark against Ouida Stark is again on the calen-' dar, the plaintiff saying they were married on January 12, 1946 and separated the following July, and that no children were born to the ; union. Martha Davis, suing Marion j Davis for an absolute divorce, j points out in her complaint that they were married on September 19, 1941, and separated on October 22, 1947, that three children born ,(*r> the union are living with and t>-~ Joint Personnel In The Local CAA Office Mr. "EMii-sr timed of And-TSO';. South Carolina, joined the operat ing staff of the local Civil Aero nautics Administration a few days ago. He is making his home with the R. A. Critchers on Watts Street. Unable to find a home here, Mr. Baird left his family jn the South Carolina city for the present. He succeeds Mrs. J. H. Saund ers, Jr., who resigned to join the local school faculty. Will Name Committee Outside Convention Instead of choosing a county committee for the Production Marketing Administration within their own ranks, elected delegates to the county convention will have to go outside their group to get a chairman, vice chairman, regular member and two alternates, it was explained yesterday. Fifteen Speeders In County Court Monday Morning Hurry To Brat Cold Weath er Is Costing Motorists Quite a Bit ! The hurry to get to Florida arid j beat the cold weather is costing I some motorists quite a bit. Very few deny the speeding charges, j but nearly all of them can’t under stand why they should not be al I lowed to exceed the speed limits, I and fly low at eiRhty miles or j more. The strangers, advised that State law fixes the amount of' I fines, complain about that and i generally "hit the ceiling” when I fixed costs arc added to the bill. One speeder, a few days ago, admitted he was cruising along when a car came up and started “pushing" him, that he speeded right on up to 83 miles an hour. But he couldn’t understand why he should be found guilty and fin ed. Another of the speeders, accept ing the verdict without complaint, explained that he was worried be cause his girl had "kicked” him, that he was hurrying along to try to make amends. At the trial Monday he explained that he had lost out, that he was looking around for a North Carolina girl. The court handled fifteen speed ing cases Monday, imposing fines in the sum of $315, plus approxi mately $330 in court costs. John Edward Crr-.wford of Gris wold, Iowa, was fined $15, plus costs for speeding. Traveling along in the higher speed brackets, William Common Schuster of Watertown, N. Y., was fined $50, plus costs. Frank W. Stcinle of Mcadvillc, Pa., was fined $15 and taxed with the costs. Pleading guilty, Hosea Vick of I Rocky Mount was fined $13, plus costs. Alice May Cox of Washington pleaded guilty of speeding and was fined $16, plus costs. Major James Harry Phillips of Cherry Point and Philadelphia, was fined $50 and required to pay the costs for running along at 75 miles an hour. Benjamin Hebrew Belcher of Plymouth, Herman A. Ehrlich of Albany, N. Y„ Joseph Gilman of St. Albans, N. Y., Ferdinand Fred Balestrieri of San Diego, Calif., i William D. James of RFD, Rober sonville, Edward Nathaniel Hop kins of Robersonville, John Coop er of Wilson and Sam Jones of Robersonville each pleaded guilty of "slow” speeding and each was fined $15, plus costs. Herbert W. Fisher of Hallan | dale, Fla., forfeited a $50 cash bond when he did not return to i court and answer a speeding ! charge. ■o 'Fire Destroys ! Country Home 1 Starting around a defective flue, fire destroyed the country home of Leslie Jones on the old Ballard farm in Poplar Point Township last Tuesday, but neighbors and Williamstor.’s fire truck kept the blaze from spreading to nearby buildings, it was reported furniture and furnishings were saved. No official estimate could be had, but the loss will approximate * : or mar with $2.700 insui - 11 in force. --- 1 Continue* III In A j Washington Hospital After experiencing a slight re lapse yesterday when he hemor rhaged at the nose again, Mr. V. D Godwin, local man, was report ed this morning to be holding his own. He was planning to return home in a day or two, but follow ing the relapse yesterday it could not be learned when he would be able to make the trip. ■o Reported Improving In Durham Hospital Mr. Hoyt Cowan,' local man, was reported improving this week fol lowing a major operation in Duke Hospital. If he continues to im prove, he is expected home short ly. Large Percentage County's Peanuts Placed on Market Million Dollur Drop In Flu* Value of Crop Recorded From I^ist Year Unofficial but reliable reports! coming from various sections this I week maintained that at least 98 j percent of the 1949 peanut crop in this county had been marketed, that the estimated 200 000 bags produced had a value of some over two million dollars. Old-timers declare that the 1949 crop was harvested and marketed in the shortest time of any crop in modern times. The season was almost perfect and quality was maintained with some few ex ceptions. Planting right at 20,000 acres, Martin farmers this year fell down on their production and took what has been estimated as a million-1 dollar beating. Right at 5,000, acres were lopped off by the con-1 trol program, the acreage reduc tion accounting for about one half million dollar loss, and the reduced yield accounting for about another half million and possibly more. Peanut prices, holding to parity price levels at the start, gradually pulled away from the set figures and moved up to as hvth as thir teen cents a pound in at least one case. A 12 3 4 cent price was fair ly common during the latter part of the marketing season, but the over-all average is likely to hold between ten* and eleven cents per , pound. Handling well over half million bags of the goobers last year, the market here will hardly handle a ! quarter million bags from the 194!) crop, according to reliable esti- ' mates. The government alone stored more than 100,000 bags here last season, but did not store the 1 first bag this year. Before all of the 1948 crop moved to market, just about every foot of available storage space was packed with goobers. Warehouse floors gave way under the weight, and mills were forced to limit purchases to I the number of bags milled each \ day on account of space shortage. The two mills have fairly large ' quantities stored in their own houses, but hardly more than one outside storage reports peanuts on hand. Following the short crop, a short milling season is in pros pect. Reports from the market today stated that a few peanuts were moving from one or two farms in the county, that purchases are be ing made by local firms in several other counties in the belt, quite a few moving in from Northamp ton. o — Ministers Hold December Meet The December meeting of the Williamston Ministerial Associa tion was held in the parish house with Rev. Thomas Hastings. Of ficers for the coming year were elected. Rev. E. R. Shuller was elected president and Rev. James Lowry as secretary-treasurer. Plans were made for a Union W, iih-h^ditSrrvir, .u liu^knj TTst chumhwAT' Mr sumn?^?? program director. Plans were also made for a family night of the ministers of the county in Janu ary. Mr. Goff was made ehair rrrrrr. oo fuf installation of a Churih Directory i.i the lobby of the George Reyn olds Hotel. Mrs. Nan Bryant Dies In County Mrs. Nan Bryant died at the home of her granddaughter, Mis. Grover Knox near Hassell last Saturday at 2:30 p. m. In declin ing health for more than twelve months, Mrs. Bryant was highly regarded in the community in which she lived. She was 85 years old and leaves one daughter, Mrs. Jack Stalls, of Hassell. Burial was in the Wynn Ceme tery on the Woolard farm near Robersonville Monday afternoon at 3 o'clock. Forty - Three Cases'. In Recorders Court! Miss Genevieve Burton, of Raleigh, will address the re gular December meeting of the Williamstou Parent s Teachers Association in the Grammar School auditorium Monday night at 7:30, with the members of the associa tions at Bear Grass, James ville, Farm Life and Everetts attending as special guests of the local unit. Representing the State or ganization, Miss Burton is ex pected to bring a timely and interesting message to the parents and teachers. Workers Handle Corn Collection In Martin County Yulno of Donation Kstinial <*<l To llavo Boon In Kx ooss of #1200.00 Headed by Farmer Mayo llardi- j son, a group of workers, giving j freely of their time and means, got busy last week and collected more j than 1,000 bushels of corn for the' needy in foreign lands. i The value of the county-wide donation of corn was placed last night at more than $1200.00 at the current market quotations and Chairman Hardison said it was i one of the finest efforts ever made by the rural people of the county for such a cause. Their work was so effective that Chairman Hardison declared they should Le given public recogni tion, the chairman explaining that the workers received not one pen ny, not even expense money. He also stated that W. T. Ross, BiP Abbitt, Buck Ayers, Robersonville I Milling Co. and Dewey Leggett j handled much of the shucking and shelling of the coin at their mills without charge. Those helping in the collection: Griffins, Rev. W. B. Harrington and Staton Griffin. Robersonville, Rufus Taylor, Jarvis Powell, Sam Everett and Reuben Everett. Poplar Point, Dock Hollis and J. H. Lillard. Hamilton, J. H. Lillard and W H. Rouse. Goose Nest, VanNoy Smith and C. C Harrell. Williamston, W. O. Abbitt, W. T. Ross, Luther Peel, Mrs. John Gurkin, Clyde Roberson, Muylon Price and Hewitt Kdwards. Jamesville, Linwood Knowles and Carl Griffin. Cross Roads, Paul Hailey, Gar land Forbes, Buck Ayers, Reuben Bailey and Fabian Barnhill. Williams, C. L. Daniel, Grover Godard, J. L. Coltrain, Ernest Jones, Irving Roberson, Howard Tyre, Grady Godard, and R. J. Hardison. Bear Grass, H. U Peel, Chair man, Mrs. June Harris, Mrs. Roy Ward, Mi ■ J l). Wynne, Mr ■.W*. ; Mobley, Mrs. Bdl Harrison and Delrnus Rogers. Mrs. Walter Wynne of Hear Grass was secretary to the county —11 -1"11' ,ImI v^m»‘n . i vice for the cause. Delegates Co To Chicago Meeting Representing this county, Messrs. Chas. L. Daniel, Edgar Harrell, Garland Forbes and Jesse Sumner will leave tomorrow morning for Chicago where they are to attend the annual Farm Bureau Federation convention. The State organization is allow ing part of the expenses of one delegate, the county unit is paying part for two others, and the fourth is a guest of the other three men, it was explained. The convention opens Sunday and closes next Thursday. Martin County now has about 2,030 members in the organization. ;Collect Fines \t i Monday's Session | In Sum of $1,155 Dentil Unit* ( <nirl I <» Tliei Draw In (!:im' ( liartnu" Drunken Dri\in^ Its docket crowded with eases accumulated during a period of two weeks while the superior- tri bunal was in session, the Martin County Recorder’s Court he.d two sessions last Monday when forty - three cases were handled and quite a few others were continued. The court Monday afternoon with drew and will irot meet again un til December 19. The superior tri bunal will operate next week for the trial ot criminal cases and a few civil actions. In the ease in whieh Isaiah Rob erson, 40 year-old colored man, was charged with drunken driv-' mg, death beat the court to the I draw. His back broken in an! automobile accident last October, Roberson died last week, and Judge Chas. Manning ordered the case off the docket. Even though the punishment is fairly certain, quite a few persons appear before the court each week for allegedly operating motor ve hicles without drivers’ licenses, the law requiring a minimum fine of $115, plus costs. Speeders were also fairly numerous in the court records this week. Oliver Bunn, charged with op crating a motor vehicle without a proper driver's license, pleaded not guilty, showing to the court that he had a license. Examine tion revealed that the license had expired and the defendant, ad j judged guilty, was fined $25, plus i costs. Robert Aman, returned to the county from Fort Knox, Ky., to answer a bad check charge, plead ed guilty and judgment was sus pended upon the payment of the costs and $50 on the cheek, lie agreed to pay about $ 1 BO expenses incurred for returning him to the county, running the bill up to about $200. Charged with assault, Sylvester Wynne was sentenced to the roads for three months, the court sus pending the road term upon the payment of the costs. He is not to use intoxicants during the next two years. Drunk and disorderly, Elmer Whitfield, Jr., (colored) was fill ed $25, plus costs. The 17-year old defendant pleaded not guilty. Pleading guilty of bastardy, Robert Fleming, Jr, 10-year old colored boy, was sentenced to the roads for three months, the court suspending the road term upon the payment of the costs and $2 a week for the support of his illegi timate child. The amount was mentioned by the 15-year-old mother, Arlander Barnhill, another 10 year-old lad, was lined $50 and taxed with the costs for carrying a concealed weapon. In the case charging Nathan'el Boston and Alvin Kola, i son with (Continued on pane eight) THE RECQUJX*. SPEAKS . . . With another twenty-three days left, it looks as if motor ists on tin' highways and streets in this county will chalk up the worst fatality re cord in about ten years. Al ready the record for 1946—a had year for fatalities—has been equalled at seven all. The following tabulations offer a comparison of the ac cident trend: first, by corres ponding weeks in this year and last and for each year to the present time. 48th Week Accidents In.i’d Killed Dam'ge 1949 2 1 1 $ 250 19411 0 0 0 00 Comparisons To Date 1949 132 (10 7 $29,050 19413 130 74 2 31,135 Historical Paper Read \t Meeting Of State Society Mi>. (i. Slaton Promts Dal t To (»roiij» In Kal Frw Day* \<nt I As a member of the North Car ! olina Society for the Preservation j uf Antiquities, Mrs. James G. Sta j ton read an interesting historical paper before a recent meeting of | the group held in Raleigh. Mrs. Staton, the only member of the Society in this county, ex : plained that the organization, now I only ten years old, is doing much to restore as many of the Colonial places as possible in the State, | that one of the big projects now receiving attention is the restora tion of Tryon's Palace in New Bern. While all the properties of the Colonial period have long since disappeared in this county, quite a few Martin citizens arc in terested in the work of the Society ! and they are invited to take mem bership. Life memberships cost only and at trio present time tin' Society has nearly 1.000 mem bers in the State, headed by Mrs. ('has. A. Cannon, president, of Concord. Commenting on the program at the tenth anniversary meeting, Mrs. Staton said that it was feat ured by an address by Warren T. White, director of public relations for the Seaboard Hallway, and a portrayal of the Quakers of Guil ford and Randolph Counties by Guilford College students. The paper, based on data com piled by Wallen H. Riggs and read by Mrs. Staton, follows: From the first attempt at col onization made by the Knglish or Roanoke Island in 1585, a party headed by Ralph Lane, the Col ony's Governor, made a trip up the Roanoke River according to “Hakluyt's Vo^ -.os' one hundred twenty miles in search of gold as reported by the Indians to abound in large quantities. Moore’s North Carolina History says “th - party landed on the spot where Wil liarnstun now stands.’’ They made camp for the night but were attacked and driven off by hostile Indians. Thus, the first inland landing of the English was marie in what is now Martin County. This section was permanently set tled about 1700 and was formed j as Martin County from Tyrrell and Halifax in 1774. Williamston, t he Count v soat, was ineorpurated J live years later in 1770. The County uncording to the fust nu ; live historian, John II. Wheeler, ; was named in honor of Josiah Martin, the last Royal Governor, and was never changed during the Revolutionary War, or after, on aeeount of the popularity of Gov ernor Alexander Martin. How ever, Wheeler does not qualify this by the giving of the source of information and as none can be found, it is more plausible to be lieve the County was named for St. Martin, Patron Saint of France, as the Act in setting up the County says “it shall be nam ! <‘d Martin County and Parish of ! St. Martin.” | The County has furnished its i quota of all major wars of the country. During the Confederacy-, , l‘"'t Branch was erected on Ru,.n Ukr River .;d R iir.bnw Ru .ksjvmC ntl .T,T i i preservation. The first attack by j land troops on naval power was made on the river between Fort .Bi.meli and Williamson) hv Con j P'liei iixeTfgM >p:; coinmsWm-d oy Col. A B. Andrews of Raleigh, driving off and sinking the Union (Continued on page eight) -_— Methodiit Choir To Present (attain Here The Methodist Church Choir will present a Carol choir cantata, “Carols of Christmas,” Wednesday evening, Dece mber 21, at 11 o’clock. Rehearsals have been in pro gress for some time. 1111 /nor inti it 11 is I linin' In Ouk City Mr. Edmond Early is improving at his home in Oak City alter un dergoing a second operation in Duke Hospital tor a broken hip. He returned home a tew days ago from the hospital.