for GREATER PROGRESS ( VOL. I; NO. 2 LOCAL STORES TAKE ON HOLIDAY AIR AS GOODS FOR CHRISTMAS ARRIVES T be Fact That Business in Country Generally Has Been on Incline Lately Is Reflected in Increased Stocks of Christmas Goods; Urged to Shop and Mail Early For Christ mas Christmas lights in Columbia were turned on Tuesday night fol lowing the addition of about SIOO worth of lights to the stock of the Town of Columbia. At a meeting of the town council December 7, ap proval of the expenditure of money to provide additional lights was made. Mountain laurel and pines are being used along the streets to add to the Christmas effect of the lights. The Virginia Electric & Power Co. is furnishing the current gratis for the Christmas lights, ac cording to Chief of Police Julian L.! ] Postom. The only other item of business before the town council . at its meeting was auditing of bills. Nearly all stores in this terri- 1 tory have now put their Christmas 1 goods on dispTay and with the many < Yule decorations that have gone ■ up in most of the stores a general ( Christmas atmosphere is evident on ] every hand. In fact, it is apparent ] that local merchants are sharing t the optimism of metropolitan prog- , nosticators who have pointed to a ( record business this Christmas for j wholesale and retail outlets. The sharp upward course of! business of late, the prognosticators ; say, has bulged consumer pocket-; 1 hooks, what with at least 1,600.000) 1 persons having gone back to work ! in non-agricultural industries slrre 1 May. Also they point to the un- 1 usual failure of business to slack off in November this year. Extra • dividends this year from better ( business is expected to turn prob-! ably $100,000,000 over last year to 1 some 11,000.000 or so investors in!: stocks of American corporations. I All along with the general appeal ] of the merchants to shop parlv forj Christmas comes the appeal from . the local postmaster to mail early, ; Christmas mail usually creates an j added burden upon the postal &u~i thorities and even with extra sea- j sonal help there are of necessity i 1 some delays, so the advice of the ' post office officials is mail Christ-J mas packages and cards early. ' BAND. GLEE CLUB TO BE IN MUSIC FESTIVAu The Columbia high school glee , club and the high school band will , appear in a music festival program !■ in Elizabeth City Sunday afternoon along with glee clubs from Ply- ; mouth, Edenton, Elizabeth Citv, Newland. Weeksville, Central Kig?l school, and Perquimans high school. C. L. McCuPers, director of the Columbia and Edenton high school bands will direct the band music at ; the festival. Mrs. Juanita Dillon Poole, public school music teacher at Columbia, is to direct the glee club singing of the glee clubs in I tbe Albemarle area at the festival, j Miss Estelle McClees of the Eliza beth City faculty and formerly of the Columbia faculty will be in charge of the program. MILL SITE NEXT TO SCHOOL SOLD At an adjourned meeting of the Tyrrell County board of education Friday resolutions were passed set ting forth the need of the school for more grounds with Chairman C. Earl Cohoon being authorized to * take advantage of a trustee’s sale of town property Monday of this week and to bid on the property adjacent to the Columbia school in the name of the board of education.; The property, however, was sold subject to the terms of a lease by the Town of Columbia to the Betty Lumber Co. which prevented Mr. Cohoon from bidding. The proper tv was bid in by W. A. Williams of; Raleigh for $1,025, representing j $725 unpaid balance on a purchase, price of $2,000 and interest and sale cost. EFFECT OF WAR SEEN !N CHRISTMAS TOYS That the European war has in fluenced Christmas toys is easily apparent from an inspection of the displays in the stores in Columbia. In Chaplin Brothers’ store, for in stance, this week were observed toy soldiers, war tanks, machine guns, airplanes, army trucks, and sub marines. A similar influence of the war on ladies’ hats has been predicted. The SIO,OOO DAMAGES ASKED AS RESULT CART-CAR WRECK Sues State Road Body; Negro Asks SIO,OOO of Creswell Men; Cohoon Seeks $177 Alleging that his crops have been damaged as the result of a bridge replaced across a canal near his arm by the State Highway and Public Works Commission, Willie !i Dodge of Tyrrell County has brought suit in Superior Court de-! manding $3,000. Mr. Dodge alleges ' that the engineers in process of j constructing a bridge over a canal ( which he dug from his farm to drain it, filled the canal with about five feet of dirt. He also says he' has been damaged because the en-i, gineers built a low bridge, which !, stopped the canal to the navigation of small boats. He is represented ! ■ by D. D. Topping of Bel haven. | Ellsbery Ambrose and Stanley Oliver of Creswell are defendants I in a suit brought by C. A. Bryant, • a negro of subnormal mind. He j asks SIO,OOO damages, alleging | they ran into his car on a highway! at night causing hi,m to suffer se- i vere and permanent injuries. Me-! Mullan and McMullan of Elizabeth j City represent the negro. E. P. Cohoon of Columbia seeks; I title to a car, and judgment for), $177.30 in a suit brought against) A. N. Bateman. Attorney J. C.: Meekins represents the plaintiff. j ( TYRRELL VOTES 100% | FOR COTTON QUOTAS 1 Less than half of the eligible . cotton farmers voted in the 1940; quota referendum at the agricul- . tural building in Columbia Satur day, it was reported by County Agent H. H. Harris. Os the 51 formers eligible to vote, 21 cast ballots with one ballot being chal- i lenged. The other 20 ballots were 100 per cent for the quotas in 1940.; i The referendum was held in 19 ,cotton growing states in the nation J with quotas for 1940 being ap proved by a vote of 803,059 to 79,-, 928. ' | COLUMBIA PERSONALS r ' Miss Mary Blanch Strickland spent the week end at her home near Nashville. The following from Columbia at tended the reading of A Christmas | Carol by Prof. F. H. Koch of the University at Edenton Monday I night: Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Meekins and daughter, Nancy, Mr. and Mrs. C. Earl Cohoon and daughter, Ann, Miss Edna Ray Yerby, Miss Vir ginia Yerby, Roy Litchfield, Misses Hortense Boomer, Magnolia Owens, Mary Blanch Strickland, Rose Bate man, Mrs. Elsie Holloway, Mrs. Clara Alexander, Mrs. Clarence Chaplin, Mrs. Camille Everton, Paul Liverman and W. T. Crutchfield. Billy Shallington, Fred Arm strong and Earl Weatherly, stu dents at State College, Raleigh, are spending the Christmas holidays; at home with their respective par ents. Mrs. Herbert Jones of Pantego spent Friday with her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. A. T..! IChsplin. . . ! j Mrs. W. S. Carawan was a visit-; jor in Norfolk Tuesday. - | M ITCH”ELL—DAVENPORT i The marriage of Miss Myrtle i Davenport of Columbia to Robert Mitchell of Columbia was solemn ized Thursday, December 7, at the j home of the groom’s parents in j Askewville in Bertie County by the , Rev. J. E. Copeland. Only a few relatives and friends were in at tendance. Mrs. Mitchell is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Davenport of , Columbia. Mr. Mitchell is the son of Mr. and Mrs, J. G. Mitchell of near Windsor and for the past few , years has been engaged in the bar ' bering business in Columbia. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell are at • home in an apartment with Mrs. J. . E. Reynolds. Tyrrell OF THE LAKE PHELPS AND NYA EXPERIMENT BEING TRIED IN TYRRELL COUNTY Current School Projects May Develop Into Permanent Maintenance Jobs An experiment with NYA work i ers is being carried out at the pres ent time ori three Tyrrell County 's'h°ol projects which may later de j velop into permanent maintenance projects, County School Superin tendent W. T. Crutchfield announc ed this week. The National Youth Administra tion is umishing trained project, supervisors and giving employment to deserving youths in the county in carrying on its program. One project is the building of new con crete steps at the Columbia school, another is putting a new roof on the vocational agricultural shop building and the third is a general repair project on floors, ceilings and windows at the school. I The only cost to the county is for materia! with deserving youths be ing trained in the projects whicl# also provide nominal remuneration i for them. • “It is hoped,” Mr Crutchfield said, “to transfer the projects to other schools in the I county after these in Columbia are completed, and possibly to use them as permanent maintenance proj , ects.” j County Welfare Superintendent. J. W. Hamilton stated this week i that he has names of some 25 ! youths certified for NYA employ ment, but that Miss Adelaide Tuttle !of Edenton, who is in Charge of NYA in this area, assigns the j workers. EMPLOYMENT" PLACEMENTS 200 IN AREA ! ;Hyd© and Tyrrell Counties I Share in Job Placements by State Office I c. | Around 200 placements scattered ! over the five-county area which in • eludes Hyde, Tyrrell, Martin, Beau j fart. and Washington ”ntier wer !made by the Williamston office of j the N. C. State employment service |in the past two months. Most of !the placements were in regular e.m iployment Manager C. W. Bazemore I reported. I Job-seekers may register at any time with the State Employment Service. If no job is available at the time, their applications are kept active for sixty days and in special cases a little longer, before i becoming “inactive.” There is never any cost or obligation for thi? ! service. Referrals are made on tbe basis of a person’s qualifications ' for the job. Recent placements include such I typical jobs as carpenters, cooks, I bricklayers, pipefitters, salesmen, j clerks, laborers, truck drivers, j maids, cement mixers, tobacco I workers and others. TWO TYRRELL FARMERS FIND BEES PROFITABLE WITH MODERN METHODS New Queens and Patent Hives Found to Increase Pro duction Ten Fold “There’s money in them thar hives” might well apply to apiaries in Tyrrell County thinks County Agent H. H. Harris who this week reported on results of two apiary demonstrations conducted in the county under the direction of C. L. Sams, extension apiarist of State College. W. A. Armstrong of Columbia, route 1, reported 59 colonies of bees in modern hives with 50 of the colonies producing 2,755 pounds o' honey which sold for $344.3 i. There was one colony with a new queen, Mr. Armstrong reported, which produced 160 pounds of honey. Mr. Armstrong has found |over a period of several years that [colonies with new queens produce | far more honey than colonies with i old queens. Mr. Armstrong raises ! his own queens following methods jrecommended by the extension ! apiarist. i H. S. Swain also of Columbia. ! route 1, produced 1,120 pounds of I honey from 15 colonies which soi l j for $167.20, the county agent re- S ported. The total pounds of honey produced by the-e two bee keepers !\vas 4,275 pounds with tbe total in come amounting to $511.57. The honey is sold locally. County Agent Harris pointed out that these demonstrations show that by using patent hives about ten times as much honey is pro duced and that by use of the mod em hives it is not necessary to kill the bees. The old type of hives (onlv average producing 10 pounds jof honey while Mr. Armstrong re ported 160 pounds from one modem PETTIGREW PARK REGION AND FELLOWSHIP COLUMBIA, N. C., DECEMBER 1939 , 'jWPA PROJECT FOR jTYRRELL GARAGE IS NOW APPROVED r Work Waiting on Arrival of i Federal Material for $4,860 School Project •'*! • ". > y County School Superinten1940 he will need only six quarters 1 coverage, or six three-month j periods in which he makes SSO in I Images in covered employment, to j be eligible for benefits. Those who ! reached 65 before January 1, 1937) were not covered until January l,; 1 1939, when the law was changed, i All wages received since January j, 1, 1939, count toward benefits. If the age of 65 was reached as-! tet 1936 and before 1939, all wages:, after, 1936 and before the 65th | birthday and all wages after Janu-1 TRt»‘ those reaching 65 during 1939, j 44. wages received in 1937, 1938,1 1539 and thereafter count toward j benefits. |! ■♦'Claims can be filed for monthly! Itenefits a ter a worker reaches 65, j, Provided he has six quarters of! coverage to his credit. No month- I, ly benefits will be paid before Jan-' 1, 1940. ! ] jm. n. p. fitts j: ;ICfcAVES DISTRICT U HEALTH OFFICE > ; Accessor ?.s Assistant Dis-! ■f§: trict Health Officer , % Not Yet Named l > 4N. P. Fitts, located in SwanJ ter as assistant district healrij t January, 1938. j ii . ith t/ie health u,?- p_ ment last week, it was learned from members of the Hyde County) Boaid of Health. No announce ment has been made by Dr. S. V. 1 Lewis of Plymouth, district health 1 officer, as to who will succeed Dr. Fitts in Swan Quarter for the work in Hyde and Tyrrell counties. • Ne'ther have the plans of Dr. Fitts been made public. Dr. Fitts is a graduate of William and Mary College and of the Medi cal College of Virginia where he also spent his internship. He has 1 served before coming to Hyde County -on the Eastern State Hospi tal staff at Williamsburg, Va.. and; also in the army medical corps dur-' ing the world war. He was general practitioner for two and one hal,'; years in Strasburg> Va. DON’T FORGET YOUR LOCAL MERCHANT i With the Christmas shopping I one season now in full blast, every lone is reminded and urged to take advantage of the opportunity of fered right here at home by the local merchants before going else where to make gift purchases. This year local stores have a more elaborate display of toys for| the children than ever before, num- ( erous gifts for father, mother, bro ther, and sister, and the prices are in line with the same quality of 1 products offered anywhere. ! With only 8 shopping days to go,; plan now to trade at home and make this a strictly community Christmas. Remember the local merchant now, just as they are al- j w ays remembered whenever a con-1 tribution is needed for community j betterment. I WEEKLY COURT HAS NO CASES 8 WEEKS ! Recorder’s court in Tyrrell Coun itv, scheduled to sit each Wednes-j |day, is almost a forgotten institu- i jtion at present, according to Clerk jof Court George W. Jones who re- I ported this week there had been no • rases f*>r trial s ! noe the last week ■in October. I I GRAINS , This fall has seen farmers o - " (Johnston County turning more than ever to the growing of small grain?. ! reoorts Assistant Farm Agent R. ,M. Holder. WOOL Increased domestic and tereign demand for wool brought about, bv the European War and reduced 1 sunnlies of wool in the United j States wall tend to support domestic Iwool prices in 1940. Tribune 1 WITH OUR NEIGHBOR COUNTIES BRIDGES CAN BE BUILT IF THERE IS A WILL, SOUTH CAROLINA CASE PROVES Alligator River and Croatan Sound Might as Easily Re Spanned as the Hunting Island Project Below Charleston, With No Inhabi tants and Suited to Sport Alone DISTRICT OFFICE ! SES BOOSTING I I HYDE, TYRRELLi l . ]l List of Hunting and Fishing;, I Guides of Two Counties , Being Sent Out 2nd Year i j A list of hunting and fishing I ; guides in Hyde and Tyrrell, withy j number of years experience, equip-i ■ ment available and their specialty 1 1 I has been prepared and is being sent 1 | out to professional men, corpora- 1 ! tion officials, and big-timers and j' hunters and sportsmen in general j by the Williamston office of the j 1 North Carolina State Employment < service. . < j Manager C. W. Bazemore ad- ‘ i vised that a similar list was sent | out last year both for Hyde and 1 Tyrrell counties and that many ! | new people visited this section to 1 ; hunt and fish. 1 I With the list was sent a form ! letter explaining that the service * Iw as in keeping with the activities j 1 iof the office in directing attention ( !to the unusual recreational oppor- 1 j | tunities for hunters, fishermen, and t 'sportsmen in general, as well asi tourists and visitors. 1 I ( NEW LICENSE TAGS c MAKE APPEARANCE j ' ,1 A score or more new automobile i license plates are seen on cars j parked about the county this week, t as residents of this county begin \ the purchase of tags, which must' be op all motor vehicles in (fie b cjt£; «*by*Ja‘Ting ,>'* began JJeceinuer l. / i The new plates were purchased in either Edenton, Williamston or < j Elizabeth City where branc h bu- - reaus have been established, with a few being ordered by mail tram i Raleigh. i 1 Last year no extension of time was given for purchasing the new j ! plates, and the same rulings will i likely be enforced beginning Janu ary 1. i COLUMBIA PTA TO MEET FRIDAY NITE I The Columbia Parents-Teachers ( association will meet in the school auditorium tomorrow ("Friday) | evening at 7:30, it has been an nounced by Mrs. H. T. Crutchfield, president. A community sing pro gram with musical numbers also by members of the faculty arid stu dent body has been arranged and all members are urged to attend. TOWN LICENSES DUE JANUARY 1. POSTOM j The Columbia town automobile 'licenses and the merchants’ privi-j lege licenses will be due January 1, 'and the law will be enforced to the i fullest advised Chief of Police Ju lian L. Postom this week. , Automobile owners are required inot only to purchase the town tags at a cost of sl, but are required to display them on their cars after January 1, Mr. Postom said. j i TO RENT ALMS HOME PROPERTY SATURDAY i j The old alms house property will |be rented by Tyrrell County to the i highest bidder at the court house door in Columbia Saturday at noon, i 1 it has been announced by Miss Sara (T,. Taft, clerk to the board of coun-. tv commissioners. I ' ; ip i ■ f | Cumulative rural sales of general merchandise in the first ten months : ,of this year were about 11.5 per 'cent greater than for the same period last year and two per cent above the 11)37 level. j I PROFITABLE II I One acre of al'alfa has paid . i more than twice as much as any ! other acre on the farm of W. S. Phillips, unit demonstration farmer in the Wing community of Mitchell County. i —— r A shipping case for eggs made 1 j entirely of fiber with seven molded 1 j pulp trays and no center dividing o i wall is now available to poultry raisers after undergoing rigid tests. Proof enough that Route 64 can be completed by the necessary bridges when there is a will to do so, may be seen in the Hunting Is land project in South Carolina, where a half million dollar fridge, built largely "through Federal aid, is soon to connect with an unin habited island less than half the size of Roanoke. None of the Advantages achieved by the bridge equal the needs ap parent for our own projects. Ours would aid thousands in obtaining a livelihood for our own people. Maybe our people will put forth a real effort soon to get these proj ects. In the meantime we should examine the South Carolina project as told about in the New York Times: Fifty miles south of Charleston, S. C., a group of islands known as the Barriers stretches from St. Helena Sound to Port Royal Sound. The largest of these, Hunting Is land, uninhabited, heavily popu lated by game and wild life and one of the finest beaches on the Atlantic coast, will soon be opened to the public. Work on the approaches and a bridge to the island is fast being completed and although the official opening of the island as a State park, game sanctuary and public beach resort probably will not take place until next spring, the major portions of the project are expected to be completed in time for the wint*}p season. Ins Jessible except by small boats of com ’••'llow draf* I 1 t South Carolina W marsfaef do] streams through which strong currents surge, Hunting Island has been little known outside the im mediate coastal area ex-ept to few sportsmen who have visited it in private yachts. Around the Island Approximately live miles long and three miles wide, it is bordered on the south by Fripp Inlet, which separates it ro.ni Fripp Island, and on the north by the southern reach es of St. Helena Sound the broadest opening on the Atlantic coast be tween Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. To the west are St. Helena, Ladies and Perth Royal Islands, populated and connected by bridges. To the east and in the same latitude, even to the matter of minutes, lies Bermuda. On Port Royal Island, which will be fifteen miles by the new road from Hunting Island, is the old Southern Summer resort of Beau fort, S. C., the nearest community to the new park, a few miles the south of Beaufort is the United States Marine Training Station on I Paris Island. I Deer in large numbers live on Hunting Island and on it also are mink, otter, opossum and other game; wild pigs, originally domes tic and apparently escaped from Fripp Island, are on Hunting Is land. The marsh hen nests on the island as do quail and many sea birds. A mile or more to the north jof the island are what are known as the egg banks, sandy islands barely visible at high tide. Here, at certain times each year, thou sands of sea birds congregate to nest and rear their young, j Along the five-mile stretch of i beach facing the ocean are the 'wrecks of several old sailing shins blown ashore in years gone by -while attempting to reach a storm .haven in St. Helena or Port Royal ; Sounds. I During the summer months hun dreds of huge sea turtles come through the >rf at right to bury their cmgs in '• sam’ above the tide mark. The sand of the heach