North Carolina Newspapers

THE ENTERPRISE IS READ BY • OVER 3,300 MARGIN COUNT* FAMILIES TWICE EACH WEEK THE ENTERPRISE THE ENTERPRISE IS READ B1 OVER 3,300 MARTIN COUNTY FAMILIES TWICE EACH WEEK VOLUME LVII—NUMBER 82 Williamston, Martin County, North Carolina, Tuesday. October 19, 1954 ESTABLISHED 1899 Two Are Badly Injured In Auto Accident Sunday -<•> Properly Damage Runs Up To About SI.800 In Four Wrecks Four persons were injured, two of them critically, in a series of four automobile accidents on the highways in this county during the past few days. Onnie Mae Lanier, 19, and Preeius Staton, both of Oak City, were badly hurt when their car was in collision with another on the Gold Point-Hassell road about 5:30 o’clock Sunday evening. The Lanier woman suffered a broken pelvis and severe lacerations on the face. The Staton girl suffered a neck injury, possibly'a frac ture. and abrasions about the body. Pracius Staton, driving a 1949 Chevrolet, ran off the right side of the road and pulled the car back to her li ft and into the path of a 1949 Ford driven by Al ton Edward Grimes, Jr. Grimes was driving toward Gold Point. Grimes and his companion, a Miss' White, were 'remove to the Rob-! ersonville clinic where they were i treated for lacerations and bruis-; es. The other two victims of the accident were moved by a Rob erson ambulance to Marlin Gen-: eral Hospital, where they were said to be getting along as well j as could be expected.' Damage to | each car was estimated at about , $600 Hebei Riddick Taylor yf RED1 2. Williamstun, was driving on the j Leggett road in Bear Grass Town- J ship last Wednesday moaning j about 10:00 o'clock when the j brakes failed on a 1952 Interna-1 tional tiuek belonging to H. L. I (Red) Taylor, and the machine overran the Bear Grass-Everetts | road, crashed into a ditch and | turned over Taylor was not in- j jured, the investigating patrol of- j fiver explaining that an iron | guard saved him from the load of logs The brake fluid line broke, I throwing the breaking system out: of order on the truck which was damaged about $300. The cars of Fred Harvey Moor e J and Charlie A. Biggs were in col lision near Bear Grass last Wed 4^scitry night about 10:30,o'clock. No one was hurt. Damage to Moore's 1952 Buick was estimat ed at $150 and that to Biggs' Ford *t about $40 Driving about thru- miles out (Continued on Page Eight) Little Opposition To Nickels Plan Little opposition was recorded in a special referendum held last Friday in this county to the Nic kels for Know-How plan, accord ing to a review of the vote re leased this week by the office of the county farm agent. The hurricane wiped out a strong vote potential, observers declaring that it fell short by nearly two-thirds of the expected count Polls were closed in some | districts about noon, the poll hof ders, serving without remunera tion, ‘finding it advisable to re pair to their own homes, expluin * ing that traffic to the polls vir tually ceased about the noon hour. The report shows 493 votes were cast, and 490 of them favored the plan The three opposition 9 vi'te: were cast, two in Hamilton and one in the Bear Grass dis ti iet. Tin favorable vote was report ed, by districts, ak\follow.s: B^ar Grass. 49; Cross Roads, 20; Goose Nest, 81; Griffins, 76; Hamilton, 21: Hassell, 16; Pop lar Point-Willianiston, 33, Rob ■4^.iiville, 100; and William- 14 0 A sizable majority was word ed throughout the State for the plan which supports agricultural research and finances special ser vices for farmers. The income is levied at the rate of five cents a ton on fertilizers, feeds and seed. I\eir Hide Screen Iteiiifi Inslulled il The Vircar The Viccar Theatre here will he #rlosed today and tomorrow, Tues day and Wednesday, for installa tion of the wide CinemaScope screen on which such outstanding pictures as "Duel In the Sun” and "The High and The Mighty” are shown. These two great enter tainment features are to he shown k at the Viccar soon. Tobacco Sales Pass Twelve Million Mark INGENUITY r Ingenuity had a big- part in helping solve problems created here by Hurricane Hazel last Friday. When the power went off. the iorce at the Fartol Ra dio Station tried to place an emergency unit into opera tion. but the wind kept top pling the make-shift antenna. Engineer M. S. (Slim) Davis and the operators quickly changed the system and used the power from the emergen cy unit to operate the regular station. The maneuver made it possible for tt e station to direct traffic over a wide area. Emergency messages were also handled, and the station provided the only means of communication for this section with the outside world during the storm. The station operators did not have time to eat. and nervous tension was at a high pitch long before the storm was spent. Brother Of Local Nan Storm Victim William E. Taylor, brother of Mr. Jimmy B. Taylor of Williams ton, was fatally injured when a warehouse collapsed in Wallace last Friday noon. Removed from the debris, he was carried by am bulance to a Clinton hospital where he was pronounced dead. An employee of the warehouse, Mr Taylor was making ready toj leave just behind four other em ployee* when the entire struc ture caved in. One other person was injured but three escaped. It was said one of the three was picked up and blown into a rjitchj a short distance away. Mr. Taylor was born in Rock- < ingham County and located in Warsaw in 1920^ engaging in the1 farming and the mercantile busi ness and winking in the ware house business part of the time. The funeral was conducted in the Warsaw Methodist Church Sunday afternoon at 3:00 o’clock. Interment was in the Warsaw Ce-1 metery where the Masons were in charge of the rites. Surviving besides his brother here are his widow, the former Miss Eunice West of Warsaw; one son. Wm. E, Taylor, Jr.; six bro thers, G H., Lester and Jesse Tay lor of Stoneeville, Dr. L. A Tay lor and M. D. Taylor of Winston Salem and J. M. Taylor of Reids-1 villc: three sisters, Mrs. C. F.j King of Stoneville, Mrs. Frank Townes of Rocky Mount, Va., and! Mrs. Leon Cahill of Winston-Sal em Authorize Loans For Improvements The Farmers Horne Adminis tration is authorized to make or insure building improvement loans. The authority reads in part “Building improvement loans made or insured to enable per-1 sons who own family-type farms to improve, including to construct, alter, repair, replace or relocate, an essential building or buildings on the farm.” It further stab-s that loan funds may be included for water systems to provide the home with adequate water, to re finance real estate d°bts whem refinancing is incidental to the lour, and to pay necessary an-' thomed fees incident to the mak-i ing or insuring the loan. Any one interested in this type' service should contact the FHA! office located in the Martin Coun ty Courthouse, Williamston, North Carolina any Monday,] Thursday or Friday. Asking Bills For Home For Cemetery Keeper Bid;- a>c being asked by the! town for the remodeling and en- i larging of the cemetery keeper’s! home on Rhodes Street. The build ing was recently moved to make way for a new entrance to the ce metery. Bids are to be opened at the next meeting on the fust Monday in November. Prices Continue To Hold Firm On The Market Here Average For The Current Season Stand* Right At 156 Per Hundred Sales continue to hold ud well, and the receipts toi the season passed the twelve million-pound mark on the local tobacco market this morning. Prices continue to hold firm, official reports show. Despite the high wind and wat er, the market last Friday sold 101,486 pounds, and the sale aver aged $57.12. Yesterday, the mar ket handled 281,988 pounds for an official average of $57.51 Up until this morning the mar ket had sold 11,966,814 pounds for $6,675,090, an average of $55.78 for the season. Sales today car ried the poundage over the twelve million figure and prices continu ed to hold firm. A report for the entire belt fol lows: Average prices continued low er this week for most grades of Eastern North Carolina flue-cur ed tobacco. Volume of sales was fairly heavy according to the Federal-State Market News Serv ice. Quality of offerings improv ed slightly. Auctions were suspended at several markets on Friday be cause of the hurricane. The strong winds did considerable damage to several warehouses in this area. Sales figures for Friday were not available due to the fact that Wil son, N. C., was without communi (Conlinued on Page Eight) Wm. H. Harrison Victim Oi Storm Bill Harrison, local young man, was marked down as a victim of the hurricane here last Friday nhon. En route to his home, Harrison started to run into the Colonial Store, slipped and fell. He chip ped the bone in his left heel and suffered a fracture of the left to regain his footing, he was said to have been blown down. Treated in a local hospital, he was able to continue to his home on Haughton Street Sunday. About the time he suffered the leg fracture, a large window in the Harrison home was blown out, spilling glass on his mother, Mrs. L. B. Harrison, who continu es ill. Mis. Harrison was not in jured, but was upset a bit by the broken glass and a falling chim ney. Funeral Held For Mrs. Harrison In Church Saturday Well-Kiumn Loral Citizen Died At Daughter'» Home Thursday Mrs. Henrietta Swain Harri son. well-known local citizen, died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Katie Wynne, on North Haugh ton Street last Thursday after noon at 3:30 o’clock following a long period of declining health. She had been an invalid follow ing a stroke suffered nearly five years ago. Her condition, while critical for several months, im proved and she was getting along very well until last Saturday a week ago when she suffered a heart attack. The daughter of the late John R. and Mary Leggett Swain, she was born in Cross Roads Town ship 83 years ago on January 29, 1871. She was married April 27, 1892, to James Eli Harrison who died last year. She continued to make her home for seven years in Cross Rtads following her j marriage, and then located in Edgecombe County near Tarboro. Nine years later in 1909, she re turned to this county, making her home in or near Williamston since that time. Mrs. Harrison joined the church at Cross Roads in her early life, ' transferring her membership to i the First Christian Church here I when she returned to this county | to make her home. She was a de voted mother and played the role j of a good neighbor and thought I ful friend to all. Surviving are six sons, James ; E., Ira and Bernard Harrison, all I of Williamston, C.' B Harrison | of Rockv Mount, Lewis Harri son of Pulaski. Virginia, and Rob ert Harrison of Tarboro; three daughters. Mrs. Katie Wynne and Mrs. Mary Coltrain of Williams ton, and Mrs. Della Conrad of Miami; two sisters, Mrs. Lucy Terry of near Robersonville and Mrs. Hoyt Holliday of Williams ton; fifteen grandchildren and twenty-nine great-grandchildren. The funeral service was con ducted in the Christian church here last Saturday morning at 11:00 o’clock by the Rev. John L. Goff, pastor. Interment was in Woodlawn Cemetery. PAVERS r i Delayed a day when Hur ricane Hazel disturbed the base, contractors resumed the paving; of local streets this morning;. The asphalt spread er started on the far end of School Drive early today, and is making steady progress. < During the meantime, other forces are making progress in installing curbing and gutter ing on other streets in town, including Church, Pearl and Sycamore. Storm Leaves Million Dollar j Damage In County On Friday To Dedicate Guard Armory Here Friday, October 29 Dedication ceremonies for the new $100,000.00 National Guard Armory located next to G & H Builders Supply Company on the corner of the Jamesville Highway and Route No. 17 by-pass will be held Friday afternoon, October 29 at the Armory. It is believed Ma jor General John Hall Manning, Adjutant General of the North Carolina National Guard, will re present the State and be the main speaker for the event. The public is cordially invited to attend the big program which will begin at 4:30 p. m., with a band concert by the Williamston High School Band. Following the dedication ceremonies a barbe cue dinner will be served in the Armory by the boys at Griffin’s. I Tickets will at $1.00 per plate and Minor Accidents In Town Friday No one was hurt and property damage was limited in two minor accidents reported on local streets during the storm last Friday mor ning. Starting out of a used car lot on Washington Street at 10:00 o'clock on a trial run with a 1952 Chevrolet, Julius Crandell of Rob ersonville drove into the path of1 a 1952 Ford pick-up, driven by! Ira T. Hardison of Griffins Town-! ship. Officers pointed out that Crandall's view to the left was blocked by a beer distrubtor's I truck. Damage to the truck was esti mated at $175 and repairs to the car will cost approximately $25, it was reported. Friday afternoon at 1:05 o’clock Wayne Bowen stopped his 1948 Kaiser on Sycamore Street be fore attempting to enter Highway 17 at the Roanoke Chevrolet cor ner The brakes failing on Ins 1948 model, Victor Roberson crashed into the rear of the Kais-1 or, doing about $850 damage to the Bowen ear and about $120 to his own. Raise Money For Boy Scout Cause Approximately $3,f>00 has been raised iu this district for the Boy | Seoul movement, according to n report released a few days ago by the East Carolina Council. The district includes Washington and Martin County. A total of $7(1.772 has been rais ed in the twenty county area, it was learned. can be obtained in advance from National Guardsmen and from members of many of the coun ty’s civic clubs. At 10:00 p. m., following the Williamston High School vs. Weldon football game and the Friday night fair program, a dance will be held in the Armory, Jim my Page and his ECC orchestra will play for the dance, and tic kets will sell at $1.75 per couple and $1.00 for stag tickets. Proceeds from the barbecue dinner and the dance will go to ward the beautification of the Armory grounds and the furnish ing of the Armory. Members of the local National Guard unit hope all their friends will visit them on October 29 in their new home. I JOINT MEETING I v-/ A joint meeting of the local Mon’s and Kiwanis Clubs will he held tonight, Tues day, October 19, at 7:00 o' clock in the Carolina Ware house here. Dinner will he served in the warehouse and all mem bers are requested to wear working clothes as they will be asked to assist in decorat ing the warehouse for the Martin County Fair which will he held next week. First Hunting Season Casualty Chas. H. Manning, local attor ney, was the first casualty of the hunting season in this county. Hunting along Broad Creek, the attorney tried to retrieve a squir rel, lost his footing and went into the water up to his shoulders last Saturday. “The water's fine,” he said, ex tending an invitation to his com panion, Dr. Jas. S Rhodes, Jr,, to join him. Huntsmen N. C. Green, Hugh Wyatt and Homer Barnhill were marooned in the Broad Creek Hunting Club house boat all day last Friday by the storm, but they rode out the blow without trouble but with great anxiety. The river was so rough they could not na vigate it. Reports from the hunting areas indicate that there are numerous squirrels but few deer have been taken so far. Squirrel hunting has shifted to the ground, the hunters explaining that most of the ber ries were blown from the trees by the storm. Civil War Diary of Docton Warren Bagley Installment 20 < Docton Warren Bagley, the old Civil War patriot who lived in Williamston on the site where the j post office now stands, passes on some disheartening observations of late September, 1861. He wel comed the attempt to form a company out of the two wrecked at Fort Hatteras, but expressed contempt when the plan failed and confusion crept into the war effort here at home. Mr. Bagley, too old to take part in the fight,' contributed liberally of his fin ancial means and time, and he neId no brief' for ih*- slacker, the current or 20th installment of his diary indicates). Saturday, Sept. 28, 1861 Yesterday, Captain J. It. Lanier mustered his volunteer company. for a short time (the storm pre-1 venting), and had but a small squad. I fear they are dwindling off. Today, the remnant of Captain Lamb's and Captain Clements’ companies who were here on fur lough or escaped from Hatteras, mustered under Lieutenant! Knight and Sitterson, bong over sixty in number, and who pro-: posed to unite the two parts of said companies and constitute one, and to fill up the requisite by other volunteers, but I learn thei Hamilton Company refused to dui so, saying they would form a com pany of themselves and recruits. Captain William H. Lanier then mustered his Home Guards, and having today received his com mission, will proceed to hereafter muster under the new organiza tion of the Militia L^w made by the recent extra session of the Legislature. A very unfavorable sign is and has been seen from the many in prefering to lead rather than to be led, which fact has caused at least one company from the coun ty less than would have other wise been, at which evi-rv i> ''lot ;-»rparticulariy now ♦hat we hear the enemy is near our very door, heing in full force in the lower sounds, we learn, ready to carry out their heretofore acts and threats of burning and laying waste in their beastly and wanton manner. The cavalry were to parade at Hamilton, I learn, today under Captain Walker. But we are evidently relaxing. There arc too many fearful he will do more or make more sacri fices than his neighbor, or not get well paid, or that he expects U he pays his taxes that alone is his i whole duty and share of defense.1 Saturday, October 5, 1861 A meeting was called < after the mustering of the Cavalry. Capt. J. *R. Lanier’s Company Volun hers anil Capt. William B. Lam er’s Company of Home Guards)! al the courthouse to appoint dele gates to attend a meeting of dele gates at Washington next Tues day, the flth, from other counties adjoining to take into considera tion the defenseless situation of our coast and to act in conceit and cooperate in every way pos sible (for security against the enemy. S. R. Spruill was called to the chair and Col. S. W. Watts was ap pointed secretary. On motion of M’ Stubbs (after the objects of Te meeting had bt en .i.uut known by him and others) that the chairman appoint twenty-five delegates which he did in the fol lowing persons (in part, as 1 re collect), namely: Jesse R Stubbs, Col. S W. Watts, Captain J. R. Lanier, Capt. F. W Moore, S. R. Spruill. Thu-; mat Jones, Captain J Walker, William R. Hyman, J. A. B. Coop er, G. W. Ward, D. W. Bagley and others. The nanu s of the chair- ' man were added to the appoint ments by motion of Mr. Stubbs. Judge Asa Biggs, being absent from the county and not expected back in time, was not appointed, but he unexpectedly returned Monday night when many of us prevailed upon him to go, which de did together with S R Spruill, * - Copts Lanier and Moore, Hy man, Cooper and others. The delegates, upon their re turn from the meeting, reported having had a very pleasant col loquy with persons from Pitt,j Edgecombe, Hyde, Washington and Martin counties, and parti cularly with the brave and good General Hill who is now in com-j mand. (In his next installment, Mr.' Baglcy tells about the organiza tion of the Hatteras Avengers,! and lists the first major l;“‘ ofj r;., unities t. <!(►• j (K. . pmg up with the diary at: his home in Baltimore, Mr. John I C. Lamb offers the following sup- [ plementary comment' "In Mr. Bagley’s diary I have noticed the name of Mr. J. A.| Whitley mentioned several times.| He was m the Battle of Gettys burg. The company of which he was a member reached a point the farthest north of any other in General Lee’s Army, and he the farthest north of any individual in hi. company. He was known to the Martin County people as ‘Gus Whaley'. When I first knew him he was a resident of Hamilton and a member of the mercantile firm of Whitley arid Everett. He afterwards moved to Williamston where he spenPthe remainder of! his days . One Hurt In The i County By Worst ! Storm On Record --f j Section Digging Out And Various Services Are Nearinjr Normal I No one was killed only one reported painfully injured, but property damage in this county was estimated at close to a mil lion dollars as a result of the hurricane that swept through this area last Friday. Identified as “Hazel", the storm was said to have been tb" most devastating on record in this immediate area, and even then the hurricane did not spend its full fury in this or surrounding counties. Ending its trail in the Hudson Bay area over the week-end, the storm left eighteen dead and many injured in North Carolina. The death toll for the States ap proached one hundred as isolated communities were heard from. In Canada, it is feared the death toll will reach or pass one hund red. No estimate on the damages is to be had as yet for the country,, and the million-dollar figure in! this county is just a guess. Some' are of the opinion the loss will1 I exceed that figure. J A preliminary survey in this1 I county indicates the damage was I | possibly heaviest from the Wil-| liamston area on up into the Oak City section, but winds, estimat-i ed at seventy-live miles or morel an hour, were general through-! out the county. Farmer W (1. Peele liar! a mas-1 onrv tobacco barn leveled on his farm in Williamston, and a few! I other buildings were flattened,! but most of the damage was cen tered on roofs, riot to mention the havoc visited on the power! and communications systems. It is fairly certain that two thousand or more homes and buildings were damaged by the storm in this county. Roofs, with their shingles blown off and I away, looked like picked ehic-| kens. A few shingles were miss ing, while on other buildings! nearly all the roofs were blown) away. Several chimneys were toppled and bricks were picked from oth ers. Considerable damage was done by falling chimneys on the (Continued on Page Five) Oak City Youth Victim Of Storm • William Hackney High, Jy, Oak City young man and a .student at the University of North Caro lina, was critically hurt during the hurricane last Friday after- j noon. Complete details could not he learned Immediately, just Iasi reports stated the victim, suffer ing a bruised brain, had not fully ' regained consciousness in Me morial Hospital at' Chapel Hill. Traveling the old Chapel Hill Raleigh highway with Albert House of Hobgood, High got out of the car to see if they could drive around a tree that had fal-j len in the road. While he was standing near the tree a truck approached from the other direc tion and plowed into the fallen tree, knocking a limb on the young man. One report stated that another J youth was htiuck and, killed, but! the •■“per* could not be verified! heie. Shelter does Down For Third Time On Form Some years ago Farmer Ira! Griffin built a field shelter to; house his farm machinery and iin-; plemerits. A short time later, a wind storm picked the shelter up1 and turned it over. Replacing the shelter he altered the foundation to make the building stronger. A few years later the shelter went down for a second time. It was again replaced and re-enforced. Last Friday it went down the third time. “It was badly wreck ed the third time.” the farmer said, adding that he would not put it back anymore. First Aid Groups Stood Ready For Action In Storm Hr>t Aid Station* ^ *>rr Set I p and Other Meas ure* Taken Here L" 'tig before Hurricane Hazel tore inland between Myrtle Reach and Wilmington last Fri day morning, preparations were well advanced to meet emer gencies here. The National Guard was orrl ti'ed out and a complement, ap proaching nearly 100 percent, re ported. Firemen were called to stand by at the station. All po lice were called for active duty. First aid stations were opened at the National Guard Armory, the high school and courthouse. All forces responded willingly and stood by to meet any emer gency. Guardsmen helped clear streets and highways, visiting several towns in the county to run down any trouble and make certain all was well. Mayor R. H. Cowon declared that all groups were efficiently mobilized in a hurry, and expres sed his appreciation to all for their cooperation. By early Friday morning the tree tops started swinging and rain began falling No one knew what to expect. Reports were con fusing at times, one stating that the "eye" was heading toward this immediate area. Another report stated that it would pass between Williamson and Raleigh. A still later report, bringing some relief to this immediate area, indicat ed the center of the storm would pass between Rocky Mount and Raleigh. Possibly the “eye" did pass between Rocky Mount and Raleigh, but the storm cut a path more than two hundred miles w ide. Damage, while great in all areas, possibly was more exten sive on either side of Williamston. The Virginia area reported heavy losses lo the northeast, and in the towns and cities to the southwest Those areas near water were hardest hit apparently, the storm exacting extensive tolls at Wil mington, Top Sail, Wrightsville and Carolina Beach, Morehead City and New Bern. High waters (Continued on Page Eight) Native Of County Dies In Beaufort Mrs. Fannie Roberson Mizelle, native of this county, died at her home RFD 1, Blounts Creek, Monday afternoon at 4:20 o'clock. She had been in declining health for four years and critically ill fol lowing a stroke suffered about three weeks ago. The daughter of the late Red dick and Athenia Bailey Rober son, she whs born in Bear Grass 04 years ago. She spent all her life in this county until about a year ago when she located in Beaufort County. Her first marriage was to Hen ry Rogers, and her second mar riage was to Lewis W. Mizelle about eighteen years ago. Mrs. Mizelle was a member of the Free Will Baptist Church since girlhood, and was faithful in its service and support. At the time of her death she held mem bership at Piney Grove over in Beaufort County. Surviving besides her husband are two brothers, Tommie L. Rob erson of Bear Grass and W. Al fred Roberson of Williamston, and one sister, Mrs. Rome Rogerson, of Bear Grass. No children were born of either of her marriages. The funeral service will be con duetedii(Jn the.RojS;- of. Sharon. Free VW Baptist Church near Bear Grass Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 o’clock by the Rev. Mar shall Joyner, assisted by the Rev. Graham Baker, both former pas tors. Interment will be in the Rose of Sharon churchyard. Fire Damagea Home In Darden* Section - The Rader Simpson home in the Dardens section was badly dam aged by fire Monday morning, but no official estimate on the loss could be had immediaely. Fire departments from Plym outh and Jamesville were called and the volunteers cheeked the fire, it was reported, several ob servers declaring the firemen did an able job.