TYRRELL
TOR GREATER PROGRESS
VOL. I; NO. 8
BOTH MR. RUSSELL AND
MRS. RUSSELL WISH TO
APPEAR IN PROPER LIGHT
Lawyer Insists That Publication of Article
Puts Him at a Disadvantage; Mrs. Russell
1 ranks Damages Due Her by Mr. Russell
Because of Allegations Made by Mr. Russell
in Complaint Against (apt. Midgett
Nothing so sensational in many
a, day, as the suit in which Lawyer
I>. L. Russell alleges that Capt.
Thomas Midgett, 83 years old, took
his wife away from him, has
popped up in Dare County court.
Lawyer Russell, whose specialty is
bringing suits against people for
alleged damages, and who to date,
has created some ill-will for him
self, on the part of the defendants,
wants this newspaper to refrain
from comment on the case. In fact
he has written a letter to the paper,
which we are glad to give space
tu.
At the same time, Mrs. Russell
expressed herself as much 'hurt by
the allegations made by Mr. Rus
sell in the complaint served upon
Capt. Midgett, and says her hus
band has reflected upon her good
character, and severely injured her
and caused her great worry.
Mr. Russell’s letter, which we
cheerfully give space for, is as fol
lows:
D. L. RUSSELL
Attorney at Law
MANTEO, N. C.
1940
January 20th
Editor of the Dare
county Times.
1 was very much shocked and sur
prised at the article appearing in
the last issue of your papper com
menting on the suit I brought
against Cap. Thomas P. Midgett.
I kindly ask you hereafter to please
refrain from commenting on the
merits of the casemas I am afraid
that your article has already made
,*• ibr *<ifc mk obcaih affair 1
&&<) impartial trial in Dare County
and I feel that any judge holding
court here will remove the case to
another county for trial; I
Upon resding that article
Please do not hereafter comment
on the merits of the case either for
me or against me, or either for
Cap Tom or against him.
This case will not be tried in the
newspapers but in the courthouse
somewhere in this district and then
the public will know the truth of
matter. This letter is written
without any malice or ill will toward
you but in fairness and in justice
to myself.
Very rulv yours.
D. L. RUSSELL.
It is hard for me to think that you
really meant to disparge my case,
but in view of the matter and view
of my friends it certainly had that
effect.
Note: The editorial reply to the
above is that this paper doesn’t
seek to try the case through the pa
pers. We do not believe anyone
will deny that this case is extreme
ly sensational not only in nature,
but because of the prominence of
the principals. Certainly no news
paper would overlook it as an item
of news, and the interpretations of
many of its features doesn’t mean
we have any prejudices.
So in order to be fair, and in
view of Mrs. Russell’s claim that
she has been damaged by the
treatment of Mr. Russell, and that
she is much hurt, and ill as the re
sult of the suit, which is being
chewed over by gossips, we are
willing to set forth some of the
claims she makes.
Mrs. Russell tells this newspaper
that up and until after the time
Mr. Ruissell left home, there had
been no complaint whatever about
Capt. Midgett’s visits to the house.
She said the two old men were
buddies. She says Mr. Russell
brought Capt. Midgett to the home
and demanded, that she, over her
urgent protest, take on the respon
sibility of nurse, and dress Capt.
Midgett’s sores, and instructed her
to get all she could out of him.
She says later her daughter came
to the home to live, and she being
a nurse, agreed to help Capt. Mid
gett; that he paid her in small
amounts ,of money for her work,
which was well earned, and that
Mr. Russell told her daughter to
get all the money she could from
the old Captain.
As proof of the good companion
ship existing between the two old
men, it was Capt. Midgett who
bonded Mr. Russell out of jail,
when a highway patrolman arrested
them one Sunday afternoon near
Fort Raleigh and charged them
(Please turn to Page Four)
OF THE LAKE PHELPS AND
SUBMARINE BOMBS
|OFF HATTERAS
ONLY NAVY TESTS
i Operations From Oceano
j graphic Institute Ketch, At
lantis, to Run Six Weeks
Bombing started Monday approx
imately lUU miles off Cape Hat
teras, but there is ru> need of alarm
for it is being done neither by the
i Russians nor the Germans nor the
Allies. The Navy Department last
week end advised merchant ship
captains they need not take fright
at submarine explosions heard
about 1()0 miles east of Cape Hat
teras during the next six weeks.
The explosions will be from sub
marine bombs dropped as experi
i merits of toe Oceanographic Insti
jtution’s ketch Atlantis, a notice to
i mariners explained. The Atlantis,
Ja white-painted craft of about 350
jtons left Woods Hole, Mass., Thurs
day to conduct seismic investiga
tions on the eastern side of the
Gulf Stream.
Operations are scheduled to con
tinue southward from the point of
beginning approximately 100 miles (
off Cape Hatteras to the parallel !
]of 29 degrees north, between the
meridians 74 and 76 degrees west. •
; Shipping circles have been asked !
;to give the Atlantis a wide berth ■
in order not to interfere with the!
i tests, I
j
i Held For Killing
j :; '. ’Wiimington—'"testitffonyl
lof numerous witnesses that Zelda
'Delores Morrison, 12, told them
freely that she shot and killed her j
I father, William H. Morrison, 64,!
.member of a prominent Toronto!
: (Ontario) family, a coroner’s jury ■
j found that Morrison ‘'came to his j
1 death as the result of a wound in-j
;dieted by a rifle bullett fired by the
: hand of either Zelda Morrison or|
i her mother, Mrs. William H. Mor- j
1 rison.” Both were ordered held urt-!
: der $5,000 bond each.
Raleigh—The State Democratic'
executive committee will meet in!
the hall of the House of Represen
tatives in Raleigh Friday February
2 at 8 o’clock to fix the time and
place for the Democratic state con
vention it has been announced by
R. Gregg Cherry chairman.
HYDE COUNTY MOURNS PASSING OF
REGISTER OF DEEDS R. O. PAYNE
Succumbs at Age of 49 in
Washington Hospital of
Angina Pectoris
Funeral services were conducted
from Providence Methodist church
at Swan Quarter at 2:30 Saturday
afternoon for Ronald O. Payne,
register of deeds and one of the
best known men in Hyde County,
who died at Fowle Memorial hospi
tal in Washington, N. C., Friday
night at 2 o’clock. The services
were in charge of his pastor, the
Rev. E. G. Cowan, with fellow
members of the Swan Quarter Odd
Fellow's and Masonic lodges con
ducting the services at the grave
at Soule cemetery.
Mr. Payne was taken to the hos
pital Wednesday night and was
thought to have suffered an attack
of angina pectoris. He w r as 49
years of age.
Bom at Gulrock, the son of Mrs.
Adeline Payne and the late M. S.
Payne, Mr. Payne had spent his
life in Hyde County, being engaged |
in farming until 1934 when he en
tered politices and was elected (
register of deeds. He had served;
two two-year terms and was elected J
in 1938 for a third term, a four-;
year term. He was also formerly;
associated with the New Holland,
activities at Lake Mattamuskeet.
Surviving are his wife, the for-i
mer Miss Ida Pugh; two sons, Hol
land and George Payne of Swan
Quarter; a daughter, Mrs. Carl
Davis of Elizabeth City; his mo
ther, Mrs. Adeline Payne of Gul
rock; and five sisters, Mrs. Addie
Gibbs, Mrs. Joe Pugh of Gulrock,
Mrs. J. J. White of Belhaven, Mrs.
Tom Credle of Swan Quarter, and
Mrs. Mollie Casons of Lenoir.
AH county offices were closed
during the funeral in respect to
Mr. Payne.
COUNTY
NORTI CAROLINA JOINS “MARCH OF DIMES”
i Washington—Citizens of North
Carolina are enthusiastically behind
the March of Dimes drive in tiro
“Fight Infantile Paralysis” cam
paign, Under Secretary of the
Treasury John W. Hanes, (right),
te : Is George E. Allen, Com mission-
Jer of the District of Columbia.
I Mr. Allen is Chairman of the
“March o Dimes” Committee,
which is a division of the Commit
tee for the Cele'oraton of the Pres
cient’s Birthday, of which Keith
■ Morgan is National Chairman.
! Commissioner Allen' will be in
charge of the “March of D ines”
.birthday card feature. These
greeting cards distributed through
out this state, will be filled with
dimes and mailed to President
GRAPE GROWERS
i IN TYRRELL MAY
] SIGN CONTRACTS
Chaplin Brothers of Columbia
R3presentina: Garrett
< ’ - • or. Co., Inc.
t
Chaplain Brothers in Columbia
'aie again representing Garrett &
I Company. Inc., in signing contracts
j for grape growers in Tyrrell Coun
ty. By the terms of the contract
| growers agree to plant a minimum
jof two acres according to instruct
ions of the U. S. Department of
! Agriculture and to deliver the crop
J to the Garrett Co. at a guaranteed
amount equivalent to SI.OO per 60
! poun d bushel.
! Those interested in learning the
,terms o' the contract or in con
tracting acreage may secure infor
mation at Chaplin Brothers store.
Mrs. R. E. Turin ell had as guests
for the week end Miss Mary Wilson
of Belhaven and Mrs. Dewey Top
ing of Pantego.
OCRACOKE MAN IS
KILLED IN MASS.
Johnny B. Foster, quartermaster
aboard the U. S. Dredge “Marshall ‘
now stationed at Buzzard’s Bay,
Massachusetts, died in a hospital,
there early Monday, a few hours
after he was struck by an automo
bile, said, according to reports
reaching here to have been driven
by a man under the influence of
liquor, Capt. Nafie Scarborough,
phoned details of the death to the
superintendent of the Philadelphia
District, U. S. Engineering Corps
at Pennsville, N. J., wired and tele
phoned details of the death to the
nearest relative of the deceased,
Zion Foster, surviving brother, at
Ocraooke.
Zion Foster went to Bourne,
Mass., where the body of the de
ceased was being prepared for bur
ial to accompany th ebody to Oera
coke Island for burial.
Foster was said to have been re
turning to his shop, walking when
he was struck by the automobile.
Massachusetts officers arrested the
driver of the car and he is being
held in jail on charges of man
slaughter. Johnny Foster was well
liked on Ocracoke where he is co
| owner of a beautiful home with his
1 brother and where he frequently
| spent extended vacations. Prior bo
his employment on the U. S. S.
i Marshall, he was an officer aboard
| a Merchant & Miners vessel.
Wheeler, Hull Coming
I
! Chapel Hill—Senator Burton K.
Wheeler, Montana Democrat, and
| Secretary of State Cordell Hull
have agreed to address the Coro
lina Political Union during the
coming spring.
PARK REGION AND FELLOWSHIP WITH OUR NEIGHBOR COUNTIES
COLUMBIA. N. C. : JANUARY 25, 1940
uoosevelt at the White House be- 1
fore his fifty-eighth birthday on;
January 30th. In this manner
those who contribute will join with
the President in the war against
this crippling disease.
One-half of the donations receiv-|
ed a: the White House will be re-,
turned to North Carolina and the
other one-half will be sent to the
Committee for the Celebration of
the President’s Birthday to be turn
ed over to the National Foundation
for Infantile Paralysis. Every
dime will be accounted for, under
the direction of a nationally known
firm of auditors. j
Mrs. Es ie Briclchouse of Colum
bia is countv chairman of the drive
in Tyrrell County. i
TOMATO GROWERS
CALLED TO MEET
IN COLUMBIA SAT.
at Agriqultur- j
I ai VYKI 'DlwMtedl
respects for Cannery j
A n announcement elsewhere i n
1 this paper reminds farmers of the
meeting to be held at the agricul
tural building in Columbia at 2
o’clocit Saturday afternoon by rep
resentatives of the Neuee Packing
Co. of Wilmington. The meeting,
as announced in the last issue by
A. Ij. Alexander of Columbia, rep- j
resentative of the packing com- :
pany, is to acquaint Tyrrell County
armors with the terms of the con- 1
j tracts offered by the company fori
growing tomatoes for either or both !
j green pack delivery and ripe de-!
livery for canning.
j If enough interest is shown in the
(meeting here Saturday afternoon;
to warrant, the company plans to i
! locate a canning plant here for op- j
i eration this spring and summer,
taking both green pack tomatoes
and ripe -ones for canning.
A greenpack receiving plant will
be operated in Columbia in any
event with ripe tomatoes accept
able at Roper in the event there
is not suf icient acreage contracted
in Tyrrell, to justify the location
of a canning plant here.
, At the meeting will be Carrol
, Crocket of the Neuse Packing Gom
-1 pany who will explain the terms
! of the contracts and solicit growers’
contracts.
FAIRFIELD WOMAN’S
CLUB HAS MEETING
Mrs. Isabelle Cartwright was
i hostess to the Fairfield Woman’s
Club Thursday afternoon in the ab
sence of her sister, Miss Robena
I Midyette.
Mrs. R. L. Harris read her favor
! ite poem from Edgar Guest’s “A
i Heap O’ living.” Mrs. J. L. Blake
j gave a reading of the hymn, “May j
]We Find Our Place,” which wa3;
1 appropriate to the work <of the
club'. !
New officers were elected as fol-.
lows: Mrs. H. C. Jones, Sr., presi
dent (re-elected); Mrs. J. L. Blake, ;
Vice president (re-elected); Mrs. P. I
C. Simmons, second vice president;
Mrs. R. L. Ham's, recording secre
tary; Mrs. L. G. Mooney, corres
ponding secretary; Mrs. H. L. Cuth
rell, treasurer, (re-elected); Miss
| Annie Jones, program chairman
and Miss Janie Chadwick, librarian,
j .The subject for the February
, meeting is “Hea’th”. W. W.
Stinomates of Elizabeth Citv will
give a lecture on “Cancer Control.”
Members of all clubs in the county
j will be invited to attend this meet
ling. Feb. 15, with Mrs. E. N. Mur
ray and Mrs. L. G. Mooney as host
, esses.
[ Mrs. Cartwright served a sweet
I course.
! SUBSCRIBE TO THE TYRRELL
| COUNTY TRIBUNE
GUBERNATORIAL
! CANDIDATES BID
I SPEAK IN HYDE
I
Asked to See Road and School
Needs Firsthand; Com
mittee Named
| Hyde County commissioners this
week appointed a twenty-member
eomnvttee to greet gubernatorial
; candidates who have been invited
,to speak in the county before the
primary ami to take charge of
showing them the needs of the
county, with particular emphasis on
roads.
J Already acceptances of the invi
tations extended have been received
’from Candidates A. J. Maxwell and
;J. Melville Broughton. Candidates
! Wilkins P. Horton and Lee Gravely
have not been heard from since tha
invitations were sent.
In a letter to all the candidates
tby county School Superintendent
IP G. Gallop it was pointed out
I that for years Hyde County has
| been lost to North Carolina. Mr.
! Gallop’s letter invited the attention
jof the candidates to the school and
I road needs of Hyde County with
their expressions invited as to rem
edies in order that the people may
have something tangible on which
to base their vote in the May 25
i Primary.
I The letter pointed out that Hyde
County has poor roads—“dusty and
'the worst dust in the state in dry
weather, and muddy with the worst
mud in the state in wet weather."
The embarrassment caused bv the
outmoded school buildings with no
indoor toilets or running water was
also pointed out in the letter of
invitation to the candidates to
* speak in the county before the
primary.
jCRESWELL PTA
IN JANUARY MEET
The Creswell PTA met in the
school auditorium Thursday even
ing for its regular meeting. The
president, Mrs. E. Woodley pre
' sided at the business session. The
of Mrs.. W. }V. Batemgn
! aceepi
with regrets and Miss Mary Foy 1
'Peterson was appointed to succeed,
her.
W. S. Riddick as program chair-;
man presented the fallowing pro- 1
gram: The Spider and the Fly by
Ada Virginia Hopkins; Piano Solo
—Moonbeons on the Lake--Edna
Bae Spruill—a talk, Cultural Co
operation with Latin America—Dr.
j. Martin. i
WPA BEGINS WORK ON
j TYRRELL BUS GARAGE
j Construction work on a new Tyr- j
jrel County school bus garage 116
(by 50 feet was started Thursday
.of last week by the WPA, with 12
men working on the project. The
building is to be of galvanized
j frame construction and will meet
(state requirements thus enabling
the county to secure grants of tools
and equipment from the state.
NO PROBABLE CAUSE FOUND IN
SLADESVILLE BUS CONSPIRACY
GOING TO BEAR DOWN
ON DEALERS IN BEER
Raleigh—lnvestigators for the
beer industry will visit every North
Carolina county during 1940 to
make certain that retail beer deal
ers conduct reputable places of
business.
Edgar H. Bain of Goldsboro,
State director of the brewers and
North Carolina beer distributors
committee, announced today that
the industry’s “clean up or close
up” campaign has resulted in the
revocation of 40 licenses in 13 coun
ties, and revocation proceedings
against a score of other dealers in
eight counties.
“A great majority of beer deal
ers conduct reputable places of
business,” Colonel Bain said, “but
there is a minority which disre
gards the law and public decency.
Our campaign is directed at these
scattered outlets. During the next
11 months, our field representa
tives will check on these outlets and
when necessary, we will request the
county officials to revoke their
licenses.”
In recent months, dealers in Bun
combe, Mecklenburg, Guilford, Ire
dell, Gaston, Columbus, Brunswick,
Lenoir, Haywood, Burke, Hender
son, and Wayne counties have lost
their licenses through efforts of our
committee and local enforcement
:officers.
Petitions requesting the revoca
tion of licenses are now pending
before county boards of commis
sioners of Richmond, Caven, Le
noir, Alamance, Cabarrus, Transyl
vania. Buncombe and Rowan coun
ties, Colonel Bain said.
TRIBUNE
SUGGESTS FUTURE OF
TYRRELL DEPENDS UPON
AGRICULTURE AND YOUTH
Writer Competing For Prize Offered by Trib
une Says Progress Depends Upon Coopera
tion, and Concessions to Systematic and
Scientific Farming; Cites Grape and Black
berry Possibilities
FISHERMEN HAVE
i TAKEN OVER LAKE
MATTAMUSKEET
i ■_
Rod and Reelers Didn’t Wait
Long After Gunners Left to
Take Over Popular Place
Fishermen moved in on Lake
I Mattamuskeet almost as soon as
jthe duck and geese season closed
'December 29, ami have been mak
ling good catches according to J. D.
I Chalk, state game and inland fis.h
'eries commissioner. One recent
j party of three on the 50,000 acre
| lake reported catches of 52 crappie
and 22 bass, weighing from one
| and a half to four (rounds, Clark
j said.
! Arrangements for fishing Matta
! muskeet are the same as before,
1 because of a continuation of an
agreement between the department
of conservation and development
| and the U. S. biological survey,
j A special fishing privilege fee of
1 60 cents applies daily and fisher
'men must have a guide or use a
! guide’s licensed boat. All guides
j are licensed and listed with Oscar
j Chadwick, chief game protector at
,Ne\v Holland.
; Minimum lengths are 10 inches
'for bass, six inches for perch, with
•daily hag limits of 8 bass and 25
1 perch. There are no restrictions
! bor blackfish, carp and other coarse
'fish.
FUNERAL HELD FOR
j MRS. NELLIE GODFREY
! Funeral services for Mrs. Nelli"
Godfrey, 33, were conducted from
the home in the Creeks section of
Tyrrell County Tuesday of last
week by the Rev. Cecil Alexander.
Interment was in the family ceme
i lew.
j Mrs. God rey, a native of Tyrrell
i County and the wife of Wallace
Godfrey, died Tuesday morning af
ter an illness of several years,
j Surviving besides her husband
are two daughters, Audrey Mae and
Willie Lee Godfrey; her parents,
Mr. and Mrs. R. I. Hassell: two
sisters, Mrs. Agnes Bunch of Cho
;wan County, and Miss Iris Mae
[Bunch of Tyrrell County; and two
j brothers, Ruben Hassell of Wash
ington County and Iredell Hassell
of Tyrrell County.
Harvey Credle, Blair Credle
and Forest Sears Released
by Justice Cahoon
State Bureau of Investigation
■officers failed to tender convincing
evidence in n preliminary hearing
before Justice of the Peace C. J.
Cahoon at Swan Quarter Saturday
morning, and no probable cause was
found against the three Sladesville
men charged with conspiracy to
confiscate state property.
Harvey Credle, his son Blair
Credle, and Forrest Sears had been
arrested by the SBI officials in con
nection with the abduction of a
Hyde County school bus the night
of January 12 from the yard of the;
driver, Laddie Fisher. They had j
been placed under $250 bond each i
pending the preliminary hearing at
which they were released.
Large numbers from the Slades
ville and Scranton sections attended
the hearing as a climax to the ex
tensive and extended feud among
school factions in those sectors as
a result of the consolidation of high
schools in the area to be located in
Sladesville.
The bus disappeared from the
yard of the driver on the eve be
fore it was to have been turned
■over to County Superintendent P.
G. Gallop for rerouting from
Sladesville into Swan Quarter to
bring 22 students from Scranton
who. had previously been coming to
Swan Quarter by their own con
veyance in preference to riding the
bus which passed their doors to
take them into Sladesville school.
Henderson County growers are
showing a steadilv increasing inter
est in farm records, with the total
keening account books mounting
earh vear since 1936.
ipde Copy 5c
] Editor’s Note: The following
(article on the prospects (or the fu
ture of Tyrrell County was written
!in response to the offer by the
I Tribune of a $5 prize for the best
1 letter.
1
By Ernestine Ballance Liverman
Route 3, Columbia, N. C.
Ages and ages ago a vast up
heaval of the earth’s crust during”
one of its tremendous changes re -
sulted in the forming of the Ap
palachians. The wind and rain and
; hail beat down through the years
! and wore away the peaks, forming
I sand and rocks and gravel, which
I washed down from the hills out up
jOri the floor of the ocean to form
j through the centuries the rich
| -coastal plain, of which Tyrrell
i County is now a part.
I In time the settlers came to the
|coastal plain, sailed up its sounds
| and rivers and built homos and
towns upon the river banks and
j sound shores.
Columbia’s first settler, Colonel
Joshua Tarkington, ancestor of the
( Hoosier-novelist, Booth Tarkington,
i sailed up Ihe Seuppernong in th?
jlGSO’s found the country beautiful,
(game plenti'ul, and a rich soil that
| would pros lea good living. He
[built h's hone oh the banks of the
lScunper.org naming it, “Heart’s
j Delight.”- Other settlers followed
• him, and a village grew up nearby...
Already fc.i • Alligator River see-;
tions o- h? county had beep set
tled From ’vhersa' tV’c&e hd-tfir’a
(Fleane turn to Page 4)
!~ “ '■%'? v -X? ■
; ■ : r ■
!
I; m
;| J at Jsll
i mime*
:
| It has been a long time since I
| wrote this column. I have not had
j time. It is an enjoyable process
Jwhen one has tine to set down in
black and white something be
thinks about that he thinks might
be of interest to others. If he has
nothing of inte:iest to say, why
should he say it?
Thursday afternoon I went to
the Banks, which is reached by the
[Oregon Inlet ferry, operated by
Capt. Toby Tillett. I travelled ih.
an old model A Ford, which is the
finest thing yet for driving in the
deep tracks of the seashore. It waa
late but the evening was waive,
and about supper time I rounded
jup just in time at the home of
j Frank Meekins of Rodanthe, where
II found him sitting down to a nice
| warm supper and with alacricty
accepted his invitation to join him.
After supper we talked awhile,
and then I drove down to Waves,
the newest postoffice in the state,
and the most eastern settlement in
I North Carolina. I stopped awhile
Jat Asa Gray’s store, which is one
lof the 'inest.on the coast. About
i nine o’clock I drove down to the
■ home of Lafayette Douglas. We
! talked awhile, and smoked awhile,
j and then I spent the night in one
[ of his feather beds.
I The next morning, after break
| fast, I became acquainted with his
young grandson, seven months old.
| Mr. Douglas has a brother named
; Robinson Douglas, who is cook at,
; Chicamicomico Coast Guard Sta
jtion. His daughter, Catherine, mar
ried Milton Robinson of Alabama.
Their baby is named Douglas Rob
inson.
] I couldn’t get away from Salvo
without a visit at the home of two
I exceptionally faithful friends, L. O.
■ Gray and L. Y. G-av and then
I drove on tx> ■ Avon, or Big
Kinnakeet where I stopped at
the store of an old friend, O. G.
|Grav. who is a leading citizen and
a r'O'xl merchant. Among the old
familiar faces were Joe Mary Will
iams, Shank Meekins, and good old
; Uncle Mitchell Grav.
Tn the afternoon I went to Cape
Hatteras, and spent s- me time at
the store of H. J. Gray, Mrs. Grav
. | was busy running the store, and
(Please turn to Page 2)