North Carolina Newspapers

THE ENTERPRISE IS READ BT OVER 3,000 MARTIN COUNT! FAMILIES TWICE EACH WEEK THE ENTERPRISE THE ENTERPRISE IS READ BT OVER 3,000 MARTIN COUNTT FAMILIES TWICE EACH WEEK -VOLUME L\ -NUMBER 23 Wifliamaton, Martin County, l\orth Carolina, Tuesday, March 16, 19.12 ESTABLISHED 189$ 10ak_ City Making Plan’s TerAnnaai Municipal Voting Old Charter Law Provides An Election Every First Monday In May While some towns in the coun ty have difficulty of one type or another in holding elections every two years, the town of Oak City is making plans for holding its an nual municipal vote. A nominating convention is to be held there the night of March 28 when the assembled group will name a Democratic slate, includ ing a mayor, three town commis sioners and a constable. In a meeting last evening, the officials, ‘Mayor R. L. Bunting and Com missioners H. M. Ainsley, M. C. Liverman, W. W. Tyson and Hack ney High, named a registrar and two judges of election for holding the general election on the first Monday in May. The registration books are to be opened on Satur day, April 12, 19 and 26 for new registrations and on May 3 for challenge of any electors. Observing election trouble en countered in other municipalities, Oak City officials have ferreted out the old laws, tracing down the town history and studying the charter providing for elections within the municipality. Back in 1891 when the name of the town was changed from Goose Nest to Conoho, a special act oi the North Carolina General As sembly provided for an election of a mayor, three commissioners and a constable on the first Monday jf'n May, 1891, "and every year thereafter. . . .” The same act also provided “That until their successors are elected on the first Monday in May, 1891, the follow ing persons shall fill the offices: Mayor, Z. M. Whitehurst; com misioners, W. B. Ross, R. T. Ed mundson and Samuel Hinson, and for constable, Lawrence Howard. The 1891 act established the corporate limits as follows: 880 | yards east, west, north and south Srom the center of the street be tween Hyman’s, Taylor’s and Jef frey's stores, and shall run with (Continued on Page Eight) ! Minor Accident On Local Street No one was hurt and damage •as fairly limited when two cars crashed at the intei section of Main ind Washington Streets here during the snow storm Bt 3:40 o’clock last Saturday after noon. Willie Charlie Ellis was making a left turn with his Ford oft Main into Washington Street when Ro bert William Small, operating a 1949 DeSoto taxi, pulled out from the taxi parking stand and the cars crashed, battering the bump t^js and a fender on each car. No estimate on the damage could be had immediately from the police who made the investi gation. Has Eye Removed Following ItfJUFy Losing just about all the sight j in the left eye following a farm .R'cident three weeks ago, Farmer Roy Martin had the eye removed I in an operation performed in a Washington hospital last Thurs day. He was able to return to his home in Bear Grass Saturday. . Mr. Martin, 35, was working on an automobile axle trying to at tach a pulley to run a sausage grinder when a chisel bounced and struck him in the eye. ROITNIM TP j Ten persons were arrested and detained, temporarily at least, by local, county and state officers last week-end. Four of the ten were book ed for drunken driving, two for being drunk and disorder ly, one each for arson, and larceny, and a tenth one was * ordered held on account of mental illness. Thre of the ten were white' and the ages of the group ranged from 22 to 55 years. Little, Time_JLeft To File 'For' CoffnfjT mimtvmr There's little time for candf dates for political offices in this county and district to get their names in the pot, according to Board of Elections Chairman C. D. Carstarphen who explains that up until now there have been no entries in his 1952 book. The last I filing date is at 6:00 o’clock p. m. on Saturday, April 19, or just about a month from now. Plans for holding the 1952 elec tions are beginning to shape up. On Saturday of this week, the State Board of Elections will meet in Raleigh to name the coun ty boards of election. The election board will meet on Saturday, April 12 to perfect its organiza~ tion for another two years and name the registrars and judges of election for the thirteen precincts. I Messrs. C. D, Carstarphcr of W’l liamston, Hassell Worsley of Oak City and Wade Vick of Robcrson ville have been recommended to succeed themselves on the board in this county, and their appoint ments are expected to come through. Offices in the county and dis trict now open arc: county com missioners, board of election, rep resentative and district senator in the North Carolina General As sembly, Register of deeds, judge and solicitor of the recorder’s court, treasurer and surveyor. The democratic primary is to be held on Saturday. May 31. C ANNOUNCES v__/ A. Corey, Jamesville man, yesterday formally announc ed his cahdidacy for Martin County representative in the North Carolina General As sembly, subject to the May 31 Democratic primary. E. G. AiUUnon. *Kb represented the county in the last session, advised that he would run again and that he planned to make his formal announce ment shortly. Local Young Han Wounded In Korea Pfc. David R. Gurganus, son of Air. and Mis. John Gurganus of Williamston, was wounded in ac tion over in Korea on March 9, according to a message received by his parents Sunday from Wm. E. Bergin, Adjutant General. No details, telling the extent of his injuries were offered in the brief telegraphic message. It was ex plained that he was in a hospital for treatment, and his address was listed under an American Post Of fice number. The young man entered the ser vice about a year ago and took his basic training at Fort Jackson as a member of the infantry corps. He left the States late last fall, reaching Korea shortly before Christmas. The casualty report was the first to have been received in this county in several months. Mickey was w star player on the local high school football team. Radio Station Has Anniversary The Martin County Broadcast ing Company is observing the first anniversary of its radio sta tion. WIAM, this week. Plans for a formal observance of the event had to be cancelled at the last minute, but the owners-operators, including the entire staff, are ex tending their cordial thanks in a special advertisement in this pap er today to all those who have supported and given the station good will during the past year. Congressman Herbert Bonner who participated in the formal opening on March 19 of last year in the local high school audi torium, was jnvited to return and participate in the first annivers a;y program, but due to illness he is unable to attend and the special event was called out. Since it was opened a year ago, the station has made many friends : throughout this section of the j State and its patronage is steadily j increasing. Two Local Young Men Purchase The Slaughter House RiikhpII Griffin and George Peel Buy Business And Equipment Outright - * Purchasing the properties and all equipment, Messrs. Russell Griffin and George Peel, two young local men, this week took over the Williamston Packing Company, formerly known as Roberson’s Slaughter House, lock, stock and barrel, including the "Switch" cafe building. Handling the last details late J yesterday, Mr. Griffin said that plans are already in the making for* modernizing and expanding operations of the plant. “Within a short time, we hope to .nake the plant one of the most modern and complete in this section,” Mr. Griffin explained. New equipment is to be install ed and connection* will be made shortly with other firms to insure a reliable market for producers I and consumers, it was explained. The new owhers-managers are in position to offer top market prices for all livestock and they are pledging courteous and effi cient service to' producers and their trade. Mr. Griffin is to be in charge of the office and Mr Perl will he in charge of the plant with Mr. Jasper Jones as head butcher. John B. Roberson is to be in charge of sales and he and Thus. Earl Martin will travel the terri tory. The new owners have already started a clean-up movement in and around the premises, "and we hope to have a creditable plant within a short time,” Mr. Griffin said. The firm is completing plans shortly to slaughter all types of animals and do custom slaughter ing, it was explained. An important industry in any (Continued on Page Eight) Series Of Wrecks 'QfftcnihyiftsaSs During Week-end —«— Five *nto9 Involved In One Aeeidenl During Snow Storm Saturday No one was believed badly hurt, but property losses climbed right along in a series of automobile ac cidents on the highways in this county during the week-end. There were four accidents on the highways and at least three of them were traceable to road con ditions. Williamston’s police department reported two accidents but no in juries during the period. The pro perty loss, reported by the police, exceeded $600. The first in the highway series was reported two miles east of Robersonviilo on U. S. 64 Satur day morning about 7:00 o'clock. George Howard Gerald, Berkley, California, lost control of his 1941 Chevrolet i na curve, the machine skidding and coming to a stop in a nearby field. Patrolman B. W. Parker making the investigation, said no one was injured and there was no property damage. A trac tor was brought into use to free the oar. About ten miles south of Wil liamston on Highway 17, Claude Miller Owens, Jr., a Norfolk youth stationed at Camp Lcjeune with the marines, lost control of his 1947 Ford on a slippery road. The machine jumped one ditch and came to a stop in another. Owens I said he was running about 55 miles per hour when the ear skid ded and went out of control. A companion was cut about the face, but not badly. Damage to the car was estimated at $50 by Patrol man B. W. Parker who made the investigation. Before a two-car wreck could be cleared near Old Mill Inn on Highway 17 at 3:1)0 o'clock Satur (Continued on Page Eight) 200 Volunteer To -Wlloonfce With two hundred signed up, the bloodmobile project schedul- | eci here on Friday of this wicek j is now only twenty-five short of] its goal, Chief Recruiter J. Paul Simpson announced late yester day. Reviewing the recruiting work;, Mr. Simpson listed the following sign-up, by districts: P. C. Blount, Jr., reported elev en in Jamesville. Hugh B. Grif fin and Oscar Roberson have signed up fifteen in Griffins. Over in little Williams Township, Er nest Jones says his district will be represented by ten volunteers.! Out in Bear Grass, A. B. Ayers, I Jr., says they’ll have at least 1 seventeen to report to the center. Mrs. Irving Terry, taking a part in the recruiting in Bear Grass, discussed the project at the P.-T. A. meeting last night but a re-1 port could not be had immediate-1 ly Volunteers are coming in from outside the chapter which is agreeable since blood has been made available in fairly large quantity outside the area. Dar rell and George Taylor, Jr., re ported twelve volunteers in Eve retts. William White has lined up four volunteers in Poplar Point, and Frank Stokes and Norman Everett say Hamilton will have at least six donors on hand. Williamston, its report not yet complete, has 125 ready. Firemen Called To West End Thursday Firemen were called to the Old erman home in West End shortly after fi:00 o'clock Thursday even ing when an oil burner in a water heater went out of control and al most fired the house. A gust of wind blew' the fire out in the heater and oil leaked into the bowl. When the burner was fired again, the surplus oil made it hot in the house for a while. No general alarm was sounded. Plans Are Made For Farm Bureau Meeting April 11 Meeting in the agriculture i building last Friday night, officers and representatives of the Martin County Farm Bureau made ar rangements for holding the or ganization’s annual meeting and barbecue in Williamston on Fri day, April 11, The event coincides with the annual stock show and sale. A committee composed of Messrs. Reuben and Sam T. Ever ett, Mayo Hardison, Johnny Gui - kin, Carl Griffin and T. B. Bran don, was named to execute the ar rangements. The barbecue calls for thirty pigs and thirty-two pecks of corn meal along with several hundred pounds of cab bage for the slaw and other “trim mines." It is planned to have the ladies of the Jamesville Methodist Church to bake the bread and serve the meal. I It is planned to hold the event Jat the high school, the hour and detailed program to be announced later. The group is extending an invi tation to have Commissioner of Agriculture Balientine and R. Flake Shaw, executive secretary Jot the North Carolina Farm Bu reau, to address the meeting. The organization repotted a cash balance of $3,213.92 on hand as of March 14, the expenses of the barbecue and meeting to cut deeply into the cash. It was vot ed to contribute $150 for prizes at tin' fat stock show. $iiperior Court Has • JL * **mmmmmmmtmrmmm*mmmmn mmii Lone Case First Day Split Verdict Zs Returned In Case Alter Long Trial Attorney Insist* On Jujitsu Demonstration In Court Monday Noon After getting off to an early start yesterday morning, the Mar tin County Superior Court, in the first session of a two-week term, ran into an all-day snag and at 5:30 o’clock only one case had bean cleared from the docket by the jury and sentence in that ac tion was not pronounced immed iately. The regular term, called for the trial of cases of both a criminal and civil nature and presided over by Judge J Paul Frizzelle of Sr.ow Hill, attracted a record at tendance the first day. The court room was packed from wall to wall right up until a recess was ordered. After studying the docket for the first three days, the court call ed the speeding and resisting ar rest case against James Elmer Godarcl. Evidence was completed shortly before 4:00 o'clock and Judge Frizzelle charged the jury for three-quarters of an hour. Af ter deliberating the issues for more than half an hour, the jury came out with a split verdict, the action apparently puzzling the court but no comment was heard from the bench. Godard was found guilty of speeding 05 miles an hour between Oak City and Ham ilton last September !) and not guilty of resisting arrest in Rober sonville on October 22 Judge Frizzelle ruled that the $300 bond had run its course and ordered the defendant into the custody of the sheriff. Bond ir the sum of $500 was later grant ed, and the defendant missed go ing to jail by a narrow mar'in. J Sentence had not been pronounc ed shortly before noon today. , The trial was dragged out to the nth degree, the counsel for the di fense exploiting every detail. When the attorney asked the pro secuting witness, Patrolman B. W Parker, how he took away a knife from the defendant, Solicitor George Fountain explained to the court that the action had been demonstrated at previous trial, adding that “it is evident that someone is trying to make a three l ing circus out of the court Judge Frizzelle ruled that the de monstration had been invited and Patrolman Parker proceeded with the demonstration. The attorney, holding a pencil in his hand and his hand back of him to portray the defendant with a knife drawn 'Continued on page eighti County Sweet Potatoes Gaining Prestige Martin County sweet potatoes, dignified by and marketed under the brand name "Drippin’ Honey” are rapidly gaining prestige on the big markets, a group of farmers were told in a meeting held in the courthouse Monday night. The Martin County potato is mare than holding its own with the best produced anywhere in the nation, one report declaring that Dripping Honey brands are bring ing a 25-cent premium over its S nearest competitor on some mar kets. Kicked around and belittled for years, the Martin County product is branching out and is now show ing up in markets as far away as Pittsburgh, Boston and oven in Miami where it is literally intrud ing in the back yard of the Louis iana potato. During the meeting it was esti mated thrft Martin County pro duced a potato crop last year with a value in excess of three-quar ters of a million dollars, that many farmers made more clear money on sweet potatoes than they did on tobacco, acre for acre. Addressing the meeting, Henry Covington, representing the State Extension Service and a man recognized as knowing his pota -i— toes, wasoDtimistic over the fu tun; for^vc<^^^<tatoes. “i don’t .sec how a farmer can go wrong in planting .sweet * potatoes this yeai4," he said, reviewing the pro duction and marketing opera tions over the past ten years. He told how sweet potato prices held up from 1042 when they reached a record price of $7.50 per bushel through 1949. It was ex plained that the tight control on cotton plantings in 1950 upset the schedule, that many farmers went into production and that while they did not glut the market they flooded it f.’ith inferior quality potatoes, causing the price to drop to a low. Last year, the pccialivt ex plained, cotton farmers went back to cotton and the sweet potato acreage dropped to the lowest point—40,000—in about eighty years. Martin County had about 1,500 acres, a forty percent drop from the 1950 plantings. Mr. Covington doesn’t believe there’ll be a large increase in the acreage this year. The increase, according to the specialist, will hardly be 25 percent. Declaring that sweet potatoes are thq easiest of the big money . crops to produce, the specialist | said he could not understand why more farmers in this county did not plant more of them. "It re quires or.ly 170 man hours to pro duce an acre of sweet potatoes as compared with 640 man hours re quired to produce and market an acre of tobacco,” he,,said "You have market facilities here and the price is right,” he said, declaring that possibly poor management was the main factor in holding the acreage down. “You can’t take the sprouts and just set (hem out,” he warned, explaining that seed selection is necessary, that disease treatment is impor tant, that proper cultivation and handling as* eg pa are all necessary to the successful production of potatoes. The specialist figured that bas ed on 180 bushels production per acre, it costs $1.20 to market a bushel of sweet potatoes. When the price is $3 a bushel, that gives a profit of $ 1.60. He went on to explain that the sweets are selling for $7 a bushel wholesale on the big markets today. , Tiirning to the production fea tures, he explained that the price uf scr.l .s mighty high and that the supply is short. He recorn UU lltifl'C* iy m'' i i ~ I g fill SCCd tho,.!. potatoes of about 1 and 1-2 inches in diameter, exercising due care in selection and treatment. Ferti lization was stressed, the special i.st recommending three pounds of a 4-10-6 for 100 square feet of bed ahead of the seed and three pounds on top. He suggested bed ding the lust of March or early April, and went on to stress prop er spacing. Small potatoes should be given ample space in the bed For the field, 1,200 pounds of a 0-9-9 fertilizer was recommend ed, half ahead of the planting and the other half to be applied at ihe first cultivation. Potatoes trans planted before May 15 should be spaced in the row about eight inches apart. Those transplanted last of May should be about ten inches apart, with the distance in creased to twelve inches for plant ings in June. He warned against the late har vest of potatoes, explaining that a killing frost chilled the earth and damaged the potato. The cold temperature damages the potato and not a chemical reaction from the frost-bitten vine, the specialist said. r s vi isi u:i>: I Martin County property owners are apparently satis fied with their assessed prop erty values. Silting as a board of equalization and review, the county commissioners Monday had only two proper ty owners to present prob lems. One explained that he had sold his farm and wanted it transferred on the books. The i other explained that he had sold one-half acre of his land since listing and wanted an adjustment. The land was valued only at $7.50 an acre, and the $3.75 reduction in value would influence the ac tual tax only three or four cents. No Charge Made To Grand Jurors Nine now members were added to Martin County's "permanent" grand jury Monday, Immediate ly upon subscribing to the jury men’s oath they repaired to their room with the nine old members and started their work L’hev are of the new ready-to-wear store, term of the Martin County Su perior Court Since the “permanent” jury system was inaugurated several years ago, nine, members retire each March and September. C. D. Pittman, one of the nine complet ing their first six months as mem bers of the jury, was made fore man, succeeding Russell Williams. The new nine members of the jury are: Clyde Manning, Jack Hardison, LeRoy Savage, J. D Price, C. C. Bailey, W. H. Car starphen, William Beacham, D. C. ■ McLawhorn and Archie B. Grif fin The old members whose terms expire next September include: Nathanial Coltrain, Winford Mob ley, Rome Rogerson, Jr., C. D Pittman, S, C Cowin, W. E. Eve rett, Milton James, J. D. Mason and Ernest Knox Turner Ward, the first colored woman ever to be called for duty as a member of the grand jury, asked to be excused Her plea was recognized by Judge Paul Friz zelle. The jurist, after polling the jury and learning that most of the members had served previous ly on the body, announced he would make no formal charge to tiie group. ; Youths Charged With Tire Theft I). Price, William Li I ley, alias "Muck" Lilley and Clarence Bul lock, all young white men, and S. L. Rogers, colored, have been booked for trial in the Martin He (•order’s Court March 31 in con nection with the theft of two auto mobile tires from the Central Ser vice Station. Given a bearing be fore Justice Claes. 11. Mt/bie,, )is the courthouse Saturday evening following their arrests the day before, each of the four posted bond in the sum of $150. Price was said to have admitted the theft. Lilley said he carried the tin’s to the home of S. L. Rog ers, advising Rogers that the tires were "hot" and to say nothing. Lilley, Rogers and Bullock are booked for aiding and abetting Five tires were missed from the station by the owner, hut the de fendants claimed no knowledge of any except tin two carried to the Rogers home in Griffins Town iship. \Fonnly Yinnifi Man Is Hrliirninfi From Korea After seeing much action in Korea during the course of the past year, Sgt. E. D. Harrison is returning home. He landed in the States Sunday and is now on his way home to visit his parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Harrison, in Beat Grass. Quite a few Martin County boys are returning home while quite j few others are moving to the Far East. Thirty-Fear Cases UtfUivii Calendar In Superior Court Piiiintiff* Kiuht At # Result Of Car Accidents -«> Thirty-four cases, in addition to twenty-two divorce actions, have been placed on the civil cal endar for trial during the current trrm of the Martin County Su perior Court. Most of the cases involve amounts of minor size, I but six go into the thousands of i dollars and $15,000 is involved in j each of two suits. The first of the civil cases are scheduled for trial on Thursday j of this week, subject to the clear ance of the criminal docket. Cases on the civil calendar in clude the following: A boundary line controversy is involved in the case of Willie Bullock against J D. Wynne and Package Company. It dates back to 1946. Dating back to December, 194(1, j the case of R. A. Haislip against Gaines and Kirkman involves ' boundary line controversy. F. A. Whitfield is suing Harper M Peel for $409.66 alleged due him on account, arid Peel is suing Whitfield for $154 27 alleged due him, The old John Allen Davis case against P. L. Salsbury is back on the docket. All but worn to a frazzle by repeated handling over a long period, the case involves a deed to two tracts of land in Flo rida. The defendant is foreclosing on a deed of trust, and the plain tiff maintains that the debt secur ed by the deed of trust is not that of the estate of the late Bettie Salsbury. In the case of Mary E. Holliday against Paul Holliday, the plain tiff is asking the court to deter mine a reasonable subsistence for her and child. Critically injured in an auto mobile accident on Williamston’s main street last May 21. Eva Floy Daniel is suing Harvey Saul Co hen for $15,000 damages. Her hus band, T. J. Daniel, owner of rac ! ing dogs, is asking $1,500 car i damages and $7,500 for damage alleged to have resulted to his dogs. (Continued on Page Eight) Minor Accident On Local Street No one was painfully hurt, but damage, estimated at about $200, resulted when two cars crashed on Wu hington Street in front of the Thrower Hardware and Ap pliance Company here early last Friday evening. Mrs. Edward Corey, driving a Buiek, was proceeding out Wash ington Street when Frank Harris pulled from a parking place at the I curve. The bumper, right fender and headlight on the Corey car I were battered and broken, and the left door on Harris’ Chevrolet \ was badly dented, police said fol 1 lowing their investigation. Funeral Monday For Mrs. Williams Funeral services were conduct ed in Washington yesterday after noon for Mrs. Lucy Morgan Wil liams, step-mother of Dr John W. Williams of Williamston. In terment was in Washington’s Oak dale Cemetery. Mrs. Williams, a native of Eliz abeth City, died at her home in Washington Sunday morning at 10:45 o’clock following a long period of declining health. She had made her home in Washing ton since she was seven years old and was the widow of S. H. Wil liams. / I MKET TONIGHT I v...—— ■> An important meeting of Little League officials is to be held tonight at 7:30 in the courthouse here. Managers, directors and of ficers, and any other persons concerned with the launching Three of the ten were white ball program Iw... this spruffP are urged to attend.