North Carolina Newspapers

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)