Newspapers / The Enterprise (Williamston, N.C.) / March 25, 1952, edition 1 / Page 1
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THE ENTERPRISE IS READ BY OVER 3,000 MARTIN COUNTY t AMILIES TWICE EACH WEEK THE ENTERPRISE THE ENTERPRISE IS READ BT OVER 3,000 MARTIN COUNT! FAMILIES TWICE EACH WEES ._yOL| ME LV—MIMB.KR 25 Willigm*lon. Martin County, North Carolina, Tuesday, March 25, 1952 ESTABLISHED 189* J&miraLJilnsdayJ Al The Home For J. Lawrence Peele W.ll-Kiiowti Local Business Man Died Early Last Friday Morning Jesse Lawrence Peele, well known local business man, died at his old home in Bear Grass Town ship at 5:20 o'clock last Friday morning following a long per iod of declining health. Suffering a stroke about eighteen months ago, he partially recovered and was able to be out until a few weeks ago. His condition had been critical following a stroke suffered week before last. Mr. Peele was born in Bear Grass Township 09 years ago, the son of the late Jesse P. and Mar tha Godwin Peele. After spend ing his early life on the farm, he came to Williamston in the early nineteen hundreds and was as sociated with his brother, the late Herbert 1) .Peele, in the jewelry business for a number of years. In early manhood he was married ^ to Miss Lottie Bullock of Suf folk and engaged in business there for about a year and traveled as a salesman in Virginia and other states for a short time before re turning to open a jewelry busi ness of his own. Forced to retire on account of declining health, he later sold his business and re turned to his boyhood home Mr. Pee'- was a natural sales man and one who enjoyed life to the fullest. He lived his politics 1 and iVas without doubt one of the late President Roosevelt’s greatest admirers. A few years ago he was mar tied to Mrs Lillian Yancey Buch anan, formerly of Granville Coun ty. He was a member of the Bap (Continued on Page Five) -1 Reviews Work 01 r Local Guardsmen Captain E. S. Pecle, Jr. was U was guest speaker ai the Kiwunis * Club meeting held here last 7 Thursday night. Captain Peele’s talk included a brief resume of the aecnmplishments of the loral National Guard Unit since it en tered Federal Service on May ti, 1951. ^ He highly praised the fine work of the enlisted men as well ns the officers. Continuing, he stated that the town and county should be justly proud of their boys because, afe the records show, the local unit started from scratch and is now rated as one of the better batteries in the battalion. Captain Peel, who is now de tached from the local unit for a tour of duty in Korea, concluded his remarks with an appeal — ^that the unit be remembered "as individuals" upon their release from active Federal Service. In a brief business session the Club, with the exception of a sole "Nay” voiced by Bill Spivey, vsnamiously elected the dissenting voter to be manager of the Ki wanis entry in the local Little League baseball organization. Realizing that he was caught in the draft .baseball version), Spi vey accepted the assignment and ♦ named Bob Newell and Vernon Bunting to serve with him as of ficial coaches. President Reg Simpson will ap point a Little League Committee to work with Manager Spivey and his coaches on or before the next meeting. Guests of the Club at the meet ing included J. S. McFall, intro duced by R. P. Monteith, and Tom Brandon, Jr., introduced by Bob ^Newell. Driving Teals Tor High School Students Friday Safety engineers, representing an insurance company, will give a series of driving tests at the lo cal high school next Friday morn ing at 8:30 o'clock as an added feature to a safety lecture and special movie. Directing the tests, W. W Mor ris is bringing special equipment for the tests which will check stopping distances and other driv er reactions. The public is invit ed. At Center Here On Friday The Tidewater Regional Blood Bank representatives collected 174 | pints di blood at the station maintained in the Methodist Church educational building here last Friday, the collection exceed ing the 150-pint quota by 24 pints. The collection reflected thorough work by the Red Cross Chapter recruiters, J. Paul Simp son and Bruce Wynne, who has tened to explain that volunteers from outside the immediate chap ter greatly helped in carrying the undertaking over the top. One donor drove in all the way from Craven County to give a pint and help the cause along. Quite a few of the donors last Friday were repeaters, many of them keeping an appointment with the bloodmobile on each of its four visits to date. Most of those in the eanteen were o'd hands, too. all of them offering a willing hand to maintain the pro gram in this chapter. Reports from the station, said that operations ran smoothly, that 198 volunteers showed up. There were 24 rejections, the doctors advising against the donations when it was learned that the vol unteers had been ill or had colds. About a dozen cancelled their ap pointments for various reasons and about an equal number failed to report as planned. The bloodmobile is scheduled to make its next trip to the chapter in June. During the meantime, those who can and will help the program, are asked to volunteer with Recruiters Simpson and Wynne. Arrest Seventeen In Enforcement Raids >1 I DELAYED Civil proceedings, continu ed last Thursday until yes terday, were again delayed in the Martin County Superior Court when Judge J. Paul Frizzelle of Snow Hill advis ed the clerk that illness was keeping him at home until tomorrow, at least. There is some doubt if the jurist's health will permit him to re turn tomorrow. lie wasn't feeling at all well when he presided over the trial of criminal cases here last week. The calendar has been mov ed up with those cases set far trial last Thursday ten tatively scheduled for hearing tomorrow, including a hearing in the Jamesville election case at 2:30 o’clock. Coast Line Files Brief In Stubborn Under pass Action Stiff 0|i|)osilioii To Town's Petition For Improved Kail Ihulerpass After appealing to Judge J. Paul Frizzello in the superior court here last Thursday morning to strike out as irrelevant much of the wording in the complaint filed by the town of Williamston in its case against the A. C. L. Railroad Company and Ihe State Highway Commission, attorneys for the Coast Line, batting the problem occasioned by an out moded and extremely dangerous highway underpass back to the highway commission, filed the following brief: Th<‘ complaint alleges that U. S. Highway t>4. constituting the Main Street of Williamston, passes under the track of the defendant Railroad Company within plain tiff’s corporate limits. It alleges "that about seventeen years ago, (Continued on Page Eight) Young Boy Dies Oi Heart Attack Alfred Ormond, 16-year-old colored boy, died suddenly of a heart attack at his mother’s home on Martin Street here yesterday morning. Getting up about 6.30 o’clock, the boy complained of having a severe headache, and the mother stepped out to get some medicine to rub it when she heard him fall. He died a few minutes later. Handicapped by a deformity of the back, the boy asked no favors and held his own, complaining oc casionally of headaches but work ing along with others. He "butch ered” papers for The Enterprise for some time. He was a son of Goldie and Car lie Purvis Ormond. Funeral ar rangements had not been complet ed early today. Night Hear Cases At Night Session Oi Court March 31 Wholesale Arrests Complet ed By ABC. Officers Last Saturday Morning Climaxing the work of under cover agents during a period of several weeks, a forced conven tion of alleged bootleggers will be held in 1he Martin County court house next Monday, possibly late in the afternoon or early that night. Twenty-seven cases have been placed on the docket following the arrest of seventeen persons last Friday and Saturday, the list of defendants including several who have been in the courts be fore and one or two who are now laboring under suspended jail and road sentences. The drag net was to have been cast the latter part of last year, but apparently there was a leak somewhere and the undercover work was delayed until a few weeks ago. Officers are of the opinion that the drive, centered mainly in Williamston and Rob ersonville, fell far short of its po tential maximum. The undercov er' work W'as handled by J. M. Knight and Win. D. Lafater, two white men, who rounded up white and colored and men arid women. In most of the cast4; the de fendants are charged with boot legging store-bought liquors. Two or three are charged with retail ing illicit or non-tax paid liquor and one is booked for selling beer on Sunday. The list includes several Wil liamston taxi drivers, and under the terms their licenses were granted, conviction automatically means the suspension of those li censes. It is also fairly certain ■ r Cor. l.r. ucu on Tag. T ygy.tj — -<*,— Two Injured In Wreck On Street Two persons were injured, one of them believed badly, when their car, a 1946 Ford, went out of control on the Washington Street curve and plowed into a large freight truck parked in the triangle between the ACL freight station and the Roanoke-Dixie Warehouse lust Sunday morning at 12 10 o’clock. Police said that Frank Powell of the Hassell section apparently was driving so fast he could not make the curve. Suffering lacera tions about the faces and bruises about the body, Powell was re leased from a local hospital later in the day following treatment He was booked for drunker driv ing and reckless driving and speeding. State Hill, 55, riding with Powell was said to have been badly hurt and was kept in the hospital for treatment. Oficers said the car was wreck ed and that the damage would ap proximate $600. Very little dam age was done to tne truck. Mrs. W. R. Banks Hied In Hospital Here On Saturday —<s>— Fu»w!il Service Conducted lit Methodist Church Yesterday Morning Mrs. Vivian Smith Banks, well known local citizen, died in a hos pital here last Saturday after noon at 2:30 o’clock following an illness of only a few hours. News of her sudden death came as a distinct shock to her many friends here and throughout the com-' munity. A daughter of the late Howard and Vivian Iola Strong Smith, she was born in Richmond 39 years ago on February 10, 1913, but spent most of her early life in Lynchburg. She attended and was graduated from Kings Daughters’ Hospital School of Nursing in Portsmouth and was married in 1937 to William R. Banks of Hert ford. After making her home in Norfolk for about one year, she moved to Williamston in 1938, making her home here since that time. During her stay here she nursed the sick whenever it was possible for her to do so, and she was ac tive in the activities of the Meth odist church, making many lasting friendships among all groups. Surviving besides her husband are two sons, Charles M. anrl Wal ter E. Banks, two daughters, Vi vian Virginia and Bernice Iola Banks, the latter just three days ild; two stepdaughters, Mrs. How ird A. Thomas of Jacksonville, Fla., and Mrs. Garland Eure of Hertford; two brothers, Charles William Smith of Richmond and Howard Edward Smith of Balti more, and one sister, Mrs. Bernice Coleman, of Lynchburg. The funeral service was con ducted in the local Methodist Church yesterday morning at 11:00 o’clock by the pastor, the Rev. R. E. Walston. Interment was in Woodlawn Cemetery. Four Accidents On County Roads During Week-end -_ Four Persons Reported To Have Been Injured, Two Believed Badly — After traveling through most of the week-end without Sellout} trouble, motorists on Martin County highways started piling up the wrecks Sunday and Mon day. A preliminary report re leased lute last night by members of the highway patrol listing four accidents on the highways and an other on a town street with at least four injured, two of them possibly badly. Monday afternoon at 1:20 o'clock S. A. Roberson, Williams ton man associated with the fed - (Continued on Page Five) Glee Club WiU —BrG&est Choir The C-lee Club of Williamston High School which recently won a Superior rating at the music festi val and contest at Greenville, will be the guest choir for the service of Evening Prayer at the Episco pal Church of the Advent at eight o’clock Wednesday night The announcement was made by the Rector, The Rev. Thomas Hastings, who also cordially invit ed the public. Miss Ann Royster is director of the Glee Club. KOUN1MJP > Thirteen persons were plac ed in the county jail last week-end, several of them go ing there to await transfer to prison and road camps. Four were booked for rob bery and four others for pub lic drunkenness, two for as saults, and one each for vio lating parole, larceny and dr&nken driving. Four of those jailed were • white and the ages of the group ranged from 17 to 57 years. Lengthy Briefs Filed In Case Against Highway And Railroad Manufacturing Cumpany To Locate In Robersonville Completing final business ar rangements over the week-end, officials of an nationally known dress manufacturing company of New York City announced their plans for establishing a plant in Robersonville, and stated that op erations were expected to begin on or about April 25. A five year lease was signed last Friday by Mr. Lewis Lux, secretary-treasurer of the com pany, for the A. E. Smith and Wilson buildings on Railroad Street. The plant, to be known as The Martin Manufacturing Com pany, will manufacture cotton dresses, robes and other ladies' wearing apparel. The plant will employ approx imately 150 persons in its present quarters and will bring into Rob ersonville an estimated payroll of $1100,000 annually. Employment will expand to about 400 persons upon the completion of the addi tion. End Criminal Case Trials On Friday In Superior Court ^ | Four I’rirtonrrs Transfer red To Stale Prison In Kaleigh Friday Struggling along with a rather complicated criminal docket for almost five days, the Martin Coun ty Superior Court folded its tent early last Friday afternoon for a breathing spell before tackling a long and weary civil calendar this week. The docket was not cleared of all its criminal cases, the court finding it necessary to continue quite a few even after running over into the time set aside for civil case trials. Four prisoners were transferred to State’s Prison in Raleigh and quite a few others were removed to road camps, leaving the jail empty once more. Proceedings not previously re ported: Henry Clay Jackson, pleading guilty of an assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, was sentenced to prison for not less than five and not more than six years. His wife, Esther Mackey Jackson, found guilty of an as sault with a deadly weapon, was sentenced to prison for two years, the court suspending the prison term upon the payment of the costs. She is to live with her mo ther in Belhaven. Jackson fired four bullets into the chest of Roosevelt Mackey, the father of Jackson’s wife, and almost killed him in Williamston on last De cember 23. , Charged with breaking and en tering, Collins (Rudy) Smith, pleaded guilty of forcible trespass and was sentenced to the loads for twelve months. The court sus pended the sentence upon the payment of $25 for damage done to C. F. Joyner’s property. He is to stay away from the Joyner premises and remain of good be havior for two years. Charged with robbery, Henry Ottis Williams entered a plea of nolo contendre to common law robbery, and was sentenced to the roads for eiejdcrm^jyomh.s. O. C Brown, Charlie Brown and James Davis, charged with assault and robbery, entered pleas of nolo (Continued on Page Eight) Disirici Church Neel In County The Roanoke District Churches of Christ will convene with the Macedonia Church of Christ on March 29 and 30, it was announc ed by the Rev P. E. Cayton, pas tor of the host church. The theme chosen will be “The Local Church'' Those participating will be B. F. Leggett, President, D. C. Gurkin, Secretary and J. S. Hol liday, vice-president. Services Saturday morning will be conducted by R. 11. Walker. Saturday afternoon services will be conducted by G, C. Bland. Sunday morning services will be under the direction of M L. Ambrose and E. C. Alexander. In the afternoon the young people will hold their meeting. Dinner will be served at the church on both days and the pub lic is cordially invited to attend any or all of these services. V. Ptc. David A. (iurganus, wounded March 9 in action in Korea, lias notified his par ents, Mr. and Mrs. John tiur ganus of Williamston, that his injuries were in the leg and were slight. Although he con tinues in the hospital, he stat ed that it was nothing to wor ry about and that he was sure he would he out and back in the fighting lines at an early date. J. P. House Died Suddenly al Home Monday Afternoon Proinitu'iit I’nrmiT II.id IIitii In lliclimiip llrallli For Srvrrul Yearn John P. House, prominent coun ty fainur and business man, died suddenly at Ins home near Rob ersonviile Monday afternoon at 1:00 o’clock, the apparent victim of a heart attack. He had been in declining health for about two years. Last fall he suffered a sec ond slight stroke, but was able to be out and continued fairly active until he was stricken suddenly and died a few minutes later at his home A son of tin late Berry A. and A.. u Phillip.. House, he was horn lift.y seven years ago near Hubei - sonville and farmed in the com munity all his life, until declin ing health forced his retirement. He was also associated with his late brother, Lee House, in the (Continued on Page Five) Says Town Should Widen Underpass R. Brookes Peters, attorney for the N. C. State Highway and Public Works Commission, in a demurrer filed m the Martin County Superior Court last week, maintains that the Town of Wil liamston has no authority to sue the several state highway com missioners in its ease against the Commission and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company. The attorney went on to main tain that the complaint does not state a cause of action for that plaintiff has not shown that, it is entitled to the relief demanded. The defendant then pointed out that the town already has the au thority to remedy the condition complained of, Lmt has no right to bring the suit, against the highway •commissioners. Town Files Brief In Case Against Highway - ACL Maintains INo Cause of Ac tion lias Been Alleged As To The Railroad After hearing the petition and answers in open court last Thurs day, Judge J. Paul Frizzelle call ed for briefs in the case of Town of Williamston against the State Highway and Public Works Com mission and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. Strong opposition is being expressed to the town's claim for a remedy of a traffic hazard and an improvement at the point where the highway lcresses under the Coast Line track on West Main Street. Representing the town, Attor ney Chas. H Manning filed the following brief with the court: The plaintiff in this action is seeking an order whereby the de fendant Railroad will be required to provide openings through its facility for sidewalks, and the State Highway Commission be re quired to correct the grade in the road and properly dram the site. We say that the Highway Com mission is responsible for what we seek to require of them by reason of The famed Powell BUI - Chapter 260, as amended by Chapiter 948, Session Laws of 1951. -Section 1. “From and af ter July 1, 1951, all streets with in municipalities which now or hereafter may form a part of the State Highway System shall be maintained, repaired, improved, widened, constructed and recon structed by tile State Highway and Public Works Commission, to the extent and in the same man ner as is done on roads and high ways of like nature outside the corporate limits and the costs of such activities shall be paid from the State Highway and Public Works Fund. It is our contention that ‘shall be" is a law of the legislature amounting to a command, and a failure to comply with the com mand is a violation of the law. We also contend that the section says in effect that it shall be done pro perly and in keeping with what is good and safe for the citizens of this state. This, the commission has failed to do. If the duty exists as set out above, the next question is: Can the Town force performance? A municipality is responsible for the safety of its citizens and also its visitors. It is possessed of Police Powers whereby this protection can be given. It is an obligation of a town, and if same were not exercised we would soon have a breakdown in our civilization. In this case there has been an avalanche of petitions and resolutions, as well as dele gations, demanding the safety to which the public is entitled. If the town cannot then turn to the de (Continued on Page Seven) -<$>— —-• Book Youths On Larceny Charge Four boy: and a girl, their ages ranging from 15 to 22 years, were booked for larceny by Justice H. S. Everett at a preliminary hear mg held in Robersonville last Fri day evening. The defendants, El ton Taylor, J. D. Moore, Joseph Green, Lewis Leggett and Maggie Lee Wynne, were placed under $150 bond each, but Taylor, a pre viously suspended sentence re voked by the courts earlier in the week, was returned to jail. The live are alleged to have stolen five bags of corn, two bags of chickens, a bushel of sweet po tatoes and three quarts of oil from the Robersonville Packing Com pany shed the Friday before. Ac cording to Deputy Raymond Rawls, who made the investiga tion along with the police, the corn was sold in Tarboro for $lfi.;i0. The eases are scheduled for trial in the county court next Monday, Charles L. Smith Died In County's Jail On Monday Fiftv-fivp Yearn 01«I. Man lis lu vru To Have Dk*(i " Of Heart Attack Charles Lafayette Smith, 55 year-old Roberson'Mlie Township farmer, was found dead in the Martin County jail shortly before 8:00 o’clock Monday morning. Following an investigation, Cor oner W. W. Diggs said the man apparently died of a heart attack shortly after Sunday mid-night. Rigor mortis was well advanced when a jail companion, Elton Tay lor, shook the body after receiv ing no answer to repeated calls. Smith, awaiting transfer to a hospital for the mentally ill, died in his sleep, Jailer Roy Peele stating that he thought the man was sleeping .that he (Smith) had his hands resting on his chest, that the covers were in place and that there was no sign of strug gle. The jailer delivered a soft drink to Smith about 8:00 o'clock Sunday evening and heard him talking and moving around later (hat night. His jail mate, Taylor, said Smith got up about 11:00 o’clock for a drink of water and smoked a cigarette, and retired without complaining of feeling ill. Going to the jail about 7:80 o'clock Monday morning, the jail er said ho left breakfast for the two inmates on a shelf, called them and started cleaning up the jail block. Neither Taylor, who was in the top bunk, nor Smith rallied to the breakfast call, and the jailer, after looking into their bunks, thought the two prisoners were sleeping Taylor said he got up soon after the jailer went out, ate his breakfast and then called Smith. Getting no answer, Taylor went back into the cell and found Smith dead. An urgent call was heard by the jailer who summon ed a doctor and the coroner. Confined with Smith since last Thursday Taylor said Smith did (Continued on Page Eight) Russell Jones, 22 Killed By Train Russell Jones, 22-year-old col ored man, was fatally injured when he was struck by a west bound Atlantic Coast Line freight about one half mile west of Eve retts shortly after Friday mid night. Said to have been sitting on the end of a cross tie with his head in his hands, Jones nud ms left leg almost torn away above the knee and suffered double fractures of the skull. Picked up by a Biggs ambulance, the victim died a few minutes after reaching a local hospital at 2:00 o’clock. He never regained consciousness, reports stating that he had to be moved by stretcher some little distance down the tracks to the waiting ambulance. Few details about the accif dent could be learned immediate ly Coroner W. W. Biggs stating •4-hwt flu traipisw:-'/ w.',H he a!.u>s» tinned this evening when they make their regular run to Ply mouth. An inquest is planned lat er, the coroner said. Jones, employed in Williamston, returned to Everetts late Friday night with Russell and John Grif fin, Jr They separated at a small store near Everetts and he cut across to the railroad, stopping at a friend’s house along the way and telling him it was getting late and that he would see him the next day. It was thought the man was all light at that time. The engineer stopped the train and had the man moved to the In ispitat. -fy Parole Revoked For Marlin ('ounty Man, Sentenced in Edgecombe Coun ty for an assault With a deadly weapon and later paroled, Cary Whitehurst, Oak City man, was arrested and turned over to Pro bation Officer Gay last Saturday, Details could not be learned im mediately, but Whitehurst, about 55, was said to have viulated the terms of the parole, and is beinjf returned to serve an additional four months.
The Enterprise (Williamston, N.C.)
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March 25, 1952, edition 1
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