North Carolina Newspapers

FOR GREATER PROGRESS OF THE LAKE PHELPS AND PETTIGREW PARK REGION AND FELLOWSHIP WITH OUR NEIGHBOR COUNTIES VOL. II; NO. 41 NEARLY HALF A MILLION AVAILABLE AT ONCE FOR MANTEO AIRPORT Initial Outlay Is $404,000 to Construct Tw o 3,000 Foot Runways, and a Seaplane Ramp in (. roatan Sound; W ould Give Dare Countv Air Facilities Unequalled on the North Car olina Coast- and a Tremendous Facility For Future Growth of the Town Work can start immediately near Manteo, on an airport to cost nearly a hall-million dollars, as soon as the title for the land is; clear. The Civil Aeronautics Au-; thority is to spend S4O-I,Out) to con- ! struct, not only two 3,O(<U foot run ways but a seaplane ramp in Cro atan Sound. Dare County is already develop-! ing an airport with dirt runways, in this area, out because the Army ! and Navy both like the the loca tion and view it as valuable to Na tional defense, the CAA will give the county $404,000. It is likely that further improvements will be required, particularly another run way, and one easily anticipates a final investment of a million dol lars in the area. The airport will be property of! Dare County, if it furnishes the land, and if it doesn’t furnish the land, it will lose the project, and not for many years, if ever, will the county have another opportun- i ity to get an airport of this kind. Options have been taken on the j land and the means of financing the ( cost must be worked out within the next few days. | The paved rimways will be ade- | quate for the landing of modern | air transports, bombers, and other large planes. It will make possi ble a vast amount of business in airplane travel in a few years. Surveys of the aviation industry] now indicate that the early possi- j bilities of aviation stagger the im-; agination. I Unless Roanoke Island and Dare! County have au adequate airport, this section will soon be left off the map, as other localities that cater to tourist business develop facili ties for taking care of air travel led- With prospects for this being the center of a great National Park bringing in hundreds of thousands of tourists a year, it would be sui cide nit to have an adequate air- ■ port in this section. I Loss of it would mean the death of the commercial life of the town of Manteo, which even now is be ing matched or eclipsed by the nearby beaches of Nags Head and Kitty Hawk. These are rapidly de veloping commercial facilities com parable with those in Manteo. Modern hotels, on the ocean are doing a large business. It now become? necessary that the busi ness men of Roanoke Island wake up to the situation. i It would well profit the several men of large interests on the is land to donate the cost of the land, if the means are not otherwise; available. A very reasonable price has been obtainted for the, property. Ln the meantime John Ferebee, County Commissioner, whose vis-j ion months ago saw an opportunity to develop an airport here, and as I a result of whn?e persistence the appropriation of $404,000 was made for Roanoke Island, is mak ing efforts to carry matters through to a successful conclusion. MANTEO SCHOOL ENROLLS 239 STUDENTS THURSDAY I The Manteo schools opened Thursday morning with an enroll ment of 239 students. 106 of this number are high school pupils, the other 133 are in grammar school, j The commercial course, which j has been added this year for the; first time, enrobed a large number! of students, both among high school pupils and those who have already finished high school. The school lunch room will open next Thursday, September 18, but it has not yet been announced who will supervise the project this year. SALES OF THE BOOK “Fessenden, Builder of Tomorrows” Will Help the Association A limited number of copies of the story of the life of Prof. Fes senden, radio pioneer, is in the hands of the Fessenden Memorial Association, Inc., and the pro ceeds from the sales of the book will go to the general purposes of the Association. The price is $3 plus 15c for postage and insurance and mailing. Address FESSENDEN NATIONAL MEMORIAL, Inc. Manteo, N. C. THE TYRRELL TRIBUNE SOME DECLINE IN ACTIVITIES | OF FISHERMEN Many Employed on Defense I Projects, Leaving Better Opportunities to Others ' The employment of many fisher men on defense projects at this time means that those fishermen remaining on their old grounds may have a bigger opportunity this year than usual. There will be little decline in the fall fishing at Manns Harbor and Mashoe3, as most of the fishing i equipment there will be worked. | Stumpy Point does comparatively ' fall fishing anyway, but there will be still less activity this season, although plans are for a lot of ac tiv’ty next spring, j Hatteras, as always, will be an active fishing center. There is j fishing of one kind or another there, practically the entire year. ! Prospects are good for fair I prices on fish. The local demand 1 has been unusual this summer, and ; fishermen, on the whole, have done • good business. Prospects look good for those fishermen who will look well to their work this season, i It will be cool weather before shio jinents start moving to the North - I ern markets. ,$105,000 ALLOWED FOR ! BEACH CONTROL WORK I Congressman Herbert C. Bonner ;was notified by the White House Tuesday that the President has ap proved a WPA project in the amount of $105,274 to continue the beach erosion control and sand fixation work along - the coast lines of Dare, Hyde and Currituck coun ties, and restore, conserve and pro tect natural resources of water, jsoil, forest and wildlife. Work in cludes planting grass, shrubs, and trees; reducing fire hazards; con ducting fire pre-suppression work; operating nurseries; improving buildings; providing water control facilities, fences, trails, and small structures; and performing appur- I tenant and incidental work. The work also includes making surveys and conducting investigations and research activities. Publicly and privately owned property. Opera tions on private property, for which proper agreements have i been obtained, is to consist of con ducting beach erosion control work, i The United States Department ' of the Interior, National Park Ser vice is the sponsor. Lew wildlife order I IS TO BE REOPENED i Congressman Herbert C. Bonner i Tuesday held conferences with W. C. Henderson, assistant adminis trator, Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, regard ing the new regulation of nfigra- Itory wildfowl hunting in Hyde 'County. Mr. Bonner requested I the Fish and Wildlife Sendee to reconsider this unjust and unfair regulation pertaining to Hyde County, and requested that they be dealt with as the other adjoining counties were. I The Congressman also held a I conference with Honorable Jack , iJ. Dempsey, under-secretary of the ! interior, who has direct super vision over the Fish and Wildlife | Sen-ice. Mr. Bonner wa? assured that reconsideration of the matter would be given, and he hopes that ‘ a satisfactory adjustment can be j worked out. |DARE LIBRARY ADDS NEW' REFERENCE BOOKS The Dare County Library at Manteo has recently added several very fine reference books to its shelves, among them being “The Junior Book of Authors”, especial ly good for children between the ages of seven and 17; “A Treas . ury of American Prints” bv ■ Thomas Craven; “Who Was When” ; a dictionary of contemporaries, bv De Ford; and “The Shell Book” bv Julia E. Rogers. The last named book should orove most interest ing to anv local people who make a hobby of collecting seashells. TYRRELL LEGAL | LIQUOR STORE’S | PROFITS GOOD More Than $5,000 Turned Over to County Last Year Says Leary ] Refuting a report from Raleigh i recently published : n the Trbune, Tyrrell ABC store Manager C. H. 'Leary pointed out that $6,299.53 in profits from the sale of ,egal liquor in this county were turned over to the county treasury last year alone. ; The Raleigh report quoted Rob ert Grady Johnson, State ABC | chairman, as giving the profits J from the Tyrrell store since its es i tablishment as $5,736.52. Audit | Leary’s figure was taken from a 1 copy of the annual audit of the state’s 27 ABC counties, as certi fied by Alditor C. S. Wester. The audit shows that the county’s per centage of profit over taxes and operating expenses was 20.74 per cent, among the highest percent-: | ago of profit in the state and al-! j most two per cent: above the aver age of 18.76 per cent. [ According to the audit, for the 12 month period from July 1, 1940 to June 30. 1941, the gross sales, for the county were $30,375.30., Cost of the liquor sold during the year was $19,283.67, eight and one-half per cent revenue tax and three per cent sales tax took $2.- 410.72, and operating expenses i were $1,872.85. The county ABC i board paid $686 for law enforce- ■ ment and other forms of revenue j were listed as bringing in $178.16., Petition Reports are that petitions are! being c'rculated is the county call-, ing for an election to determine whether the county will remain wet or go dry. According to the ] law, 15 per cent of the registered! voters in the last election must! sign the petition before the county; board of elections can call an elec- j tion. None of the petitions have appeared in Columbia to date. Loss of the $6,000 a year income! from the ABC store would be a! serious blow to the county budget, j operating on a 14 cent less tax rate , this year than before. The $6,000 j represents from one-eighth to a tenth of the estimated $48,741.57 income from real estate and prop- j ertv taxes during 1941-42 assuming 100 per cent collections. TWO CASES DISPOSED OF BY RECORDER BAUM! I Two cases were disposed of in • short order by Recorder W. F.! ; Baum in Dare Recorder’s court 1 Tuesday. j Alfred Pfieffer and James I. I Learv both pled guilty to simple 1 I drunkenness pnd were each fined the costs of court. I WANCHESE SCHOOL HAS SMALLER ENROLLMENT School opened at Wanchese Thursday with around 89 pupils, slightly less than last year’s en rollment. The school lunch room, which will open in a few dnvs, will be un der the supervision of Miss Ophelia Davis. SOUTHERN ALBEMARLE WILL PLAN CONTINUED PROGRESS AT HYDE COUNTY MEETING Representatives of the Four Counties to Hear Report From President Daniels on Success of Association Program; Officers For Com ing Year Will Be Elected Important developments in the Southern Albemarle’s road and bridge program will be presented to the members of the association by President Melvin li. Daniels of Manteo at a meeting in Engelhard early in October. Hyde County association mem bers, under the leadership of Vice President O. L. Williams, will act as hosts to the representatives of the three other counties. Plans are being made to secure a promi nent speaker for the day. Election of new officers to serve for the coming year is also sched uled to come off at the meeting. President Daniels is quite en thusiastic over the recent strides made bv the association toward the completion of its program of coun tv seat to county seat highways for Hvde. Washington, Dare and Tvrrell and of bridges or “free and adequate ferries” over Alligator river and Croat an sound. He points out that the fact that no mention was made of freeing the ferries over Alligator and Cro atan when Governir Broughton re moved the tolls from the Oregon COLUMBIA, N. C., THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1941 EAST LAKE’S OLDEST AND BELOVED CITIZEN JOHN FENNEL HOLMES, S 3 years old, and the oldest citizen of : East Lake, visited the town of Manteo last week, after an absence if three years. He came to see his 1 son, J. P. Holms. He is one of the finest citizens ft' Dare County and is the oldest man in the entire East Lake section. Moreover, he is a ] man loved by ail the community for his gentle, friendly and upright life. For 40 years, more or less, he served his community as Superin , tendent of the Methodist Sunday ; school. He married Miss Patsy | Payne of East Lake about 60 years ; ago, and they have eight living j children and two dead. His entire I life has been spent in one locality, | and his present home- was built j some 35 years ago. “I remember.” j sad Mr. Holmes, “that Dalphus Hooper and Tom Tillett from ! Manns Harbor came to East Lake ; and built the house for $1.50 a day j and their board.” Mr. Holmes re ! calls much of the old life on East ; Lake as far back as 75 years ago. | “For 20 years I worked for the | Buffalo Lumber Company for a { dol’ar a day, and had to walk four i miles night and morning, and I ! worked ten hours a day at that,” ihe said. “But it was easier to live I then, for I tended a place, farming j every vear, r n •* - nised corn, peas and other crops, ln fact raised about everything I ate except i flour, because there was no mill ti grind corn in those days. We had hogs, and cattle, and chickens, and there were plenty of game of all kinds.” ! Mr. Holmes is active and in an i parent good health. Asked if he had his life to live over again, he ' said: “I suppose I would farm, ; but T should try to buv property— :in the right places. Property does I more for a man than anything 1 eUe.” he said. “Property builds a man up.” Mr. Holmes doesn’t be i lieve people today are as good as *thev used to be. particularly about, keeping their word and paying their debts. Life is a little too easv for them, he thinks. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Holmes are Alpheus, Chester C. and Mrs. Harrv Crees of East T ake; J. P. Holmes of Manteo; Sevmour Sawver. Alonzo and Ebert Holmes of Elizabeth C’tv; and Mrs. Charles Jarman of Wil mington, Del. '■ | Inlet ferry recently can be taken i as an indication that the highway . j department is contemplating . bridges rather than the more ex ’ i pensive free ferries for the river l, and the sound. j Daniels believes that the depart i ment fully intends to build both : , brdges as soon as it can be con ; viently accomplished. However, ' j the present shortage if steel, due i, tc the enormous demands of the j defense program on the steel in -1 dustry, has indefinitely pistponed ■, any action by the department, j “The governor has promised us (free ferries,” Daniels said, “and if ! this bridge proposition seems too [ j far in the future the association 11 will see if the Southern Albemarle J can’t get something temporary i: done about the ferries. ! Present officers of the associa- I tion are Melvin Daniels, president; - W. L. Whitley of Plymouth, vice president: D. V. Meekins Manteo, : vice president; C. Earl Cohoon Co lumbia. vice president; O. L. Wil • Hams Engelhard, vice president; and Rev Parramour of Plymouth, i recording secretary. LAND DONATIONS FOR PARK AREA ARE SHAPING UP First Dare County Gift Re corded Is by Miles Clark; Stanley Wahab, Others • The first deed filed for record in Dare County for land donated the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Park is a gift from Miles L. Clark, pioneer oil man of Elizabeth City and went into the hand? of Dare County Registrar of Deeds Melvin R. Daniels Monday. The gift is 45 acres of land fronting on the ocean near Cape Hatteras, and was formerly the property of the English explorer and writer F. A. Mitchell-Hedges. Mr. Clark purchased some 700 acres of his holdings when the explorer left Hatteras in 1936 for further exploits in Central Am erica. Mr. Clark is planning to make further donations of his land in the Park area it is said. While there have been donations running into hundreds of acres pledged, Mr. Clark’s gift is the first of record in Dare County. Several deeds have been recorded in Hyde County, covering gifts made by citizens of Ocracoke Is land. Among these donors is R. Stanley Wahab. who, like Mr. Clark, is a member of the Sea shore Park Commission. Both men, highly successful in business, have been generous boosters and financial contributors to public movements in their locali ties for many years. Wahab owns a light and ice plant, a hotel and other enterprises at Ocracoke. Mr. Clark, some 30 years ago founded a successful oil business beginning with a small boat he bought for S2O at the Norfolk Navy Yard. It is a sLurce of satisfaction that contributions are coming first of all from Coommission members themselves, which indicates enthu siasm and strength necessary for the successful work of any group. “This manifests loyal support and cooperation, and when two members of the Commission plan the gift of hundreds of acres, others far removed from the pic ture cannot doubt their sincerity and enthusiasm,” it is said. Other donors,, all on Ocracoke Island in Hyde County and the acreage given are: Earl O’Neal 21, Jane Bryant 58, R. F. O’Neal 11, I-W. O’Neal 21, Calvin O’Neal 6. Charlie McWilliams 91. While some 4,000 acres are nledged in the vicinity of Cape Hatteras and Ocracoke Island, there yet remain about 6,000 acres to be contributed, and deeds to ap proximately only 500 acres have yet been made, it is stated. The North Carolina Commission, while seekng 10,000 acres neces sary before the Park Servce will take over and administer the area as a National Park, hopes for an eventual 60 acres over a distance of 125 miles extending from Ocra coke Inlet to the northern part of Currituck Beach. Members of the Commission are J. C. B. Ehringhaus, Raleigh: R. Stanlev Wahab. Ocracoke: S*»nt iford Martin, Winston-Salem; Roy Famnton, Plymouth: Mrs. J. A. Puchanan. Durham; Van C’mnen Heilner. New York: .Tosh Home. T?nr>kv Mount, and Miles Clark of Elizabeth Citv. R. Bruce Etheridge is ex-officio chairman of the Commission. NUMBER OF MARRIAGES DROPPING OFF IN DARE Only Five Licenses Issued by Registrar of Deeds in July and August Only five marriage licenses were i issued during the past two months Iby Registrar of Deeds Melvin R. 'Daniels. Two went to out-or-state 1 couples. j The registrar of deeds could of ' fer no reason for the decline in the number of marriages per month. People apparently aren’t getting married as much as they used to. The licenses were issued to I Charley R. Beasley and Miss Stella E. Gavriel of Coiington; Jasper Kranke and Miss Sarah Tuck of Alta Vista, Va.; Hugh McChessney of Woodruff, S. C., nd Mrs. Alice Etheridge of Manteo; Gordon Rid dick of Hobbsville and Miss Pearl Etheridge of Manteo: and Fred A. Guyer of Newport News and Miss Marie L. Gillis of Barnesville, Va. HENRY TWIFORD SERIOUSLY ILL IN NORFOLK HOSPITAL Henry Twiford, well known Manteo resident, underwent an emergency operation Wednesday night at 11 o’clock, at St. Vin cent’s Hospital in Norfolk. Mr. Twiford is seriously ill, but last reoorts are that he is expected to get along all right unless compli cations set in. PARK OFFICIALS VIEW HATTERAS ISLAND IDEAL ! FOR GREAT DEVELOPMENT Intensive Study Has Revealed Many Excep tional Advantages Possible For North Carolina Coast; We Have Learned That Roads Will Be a Distinct Advantage and May Be Expected to Follow Establishment of Seashore Park r.y VICTOR MEEK INS, Secretary North Carolina Seashore Park Commission This week gave me an opportunity to study in detail some of the plans and observations of National Park offi cials concerning the possibilities of the Cape Hatteras Sea shore recreational area, which when consummated, will give North Carolina the only National Park on the seacoast ; of this Nation. An hour and five minutes after I board the Pennsylvania air transport at Norfolk, I was landing at the magnificent new Washington National airport. In Washington I ran into Ben Hall Lambe, public relations man for the U. S. Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Lambe. who is a frequent visitor in Dare County and a great booster of the North Carolina coast, is the owner with Joyce O’Hara of some 200 acres of land near Salvo. j Before we had gotten around to eating a delightful dinner at one of the country clubs near Washington, I learned that Mr. Lambe is a native of North Carolina, a great friend of Josh Horne, of Rocky Mount, who was his classmate at Duke University, and I was further delighted to learn that he considers donating his land to the Seashore Park. i On Monday and Tuesday, I visited in the colossal build ing that belongs to the Department of the Interior, which under Harold L. Ickes, administers so many of America’s far-flung interior affairs. Here is the headquarters of the | National Park Service. Here I found the National Park Service officials intensely interested in the possibilities of developing first of all, Hat teras Island, as a show place for America. They have i given it great study aid revealed many of the features of ,the area that by comparison with other sections of the country, make it exceptional from the viewpoint of the tourist. I was glad to find, instead of the impression once abroad that the Park Service officials opposed roadbuilding, that io the contrary they realize the need for roads in this area, i and 1 k now they realize that roads must be built, not only to serve the people who live there, but to permit an antici pated tens of thousands of visitors annually from all parts of America. From a glance now and then at the advertising matter is sued by the Park Service about other recreational areas, i that tremendous advertising of great value will be given the Hatteras region, once it is definitely established as a park. I noted particularly the opportunities for making a living that have been opened up for guides, for tourist homes, for local businessmen that have characterized other National Parks. This feature is impressive because it will likewise mean a ; new. and steady income throughout the year for the people of the North Carolina Coast. There seems to be no objection to buildiig roads, but there is a general desire, that any road that might be built in the near future shall be of a permanent nature, that will fit in the finished picture of a carefully planned develop ment created for the enchantment of the natural beauty and , the conservation of the Natural resources of the region, i It seems that this kind of policy will be the best one for the State of North Carolina, since by building good roads as it goes along, it will build something of permanent and lasting benefit, something that will not have to be abandoned or torn up later. The National Park service will not encourage any kind of desecration of the area, whether it be a possible desecration of the Natural resources, or the erection of objectionable i places of business. i „ Either of these things would defeat the purposes of a I National Park, and would make the area undersirable and i unatractive for tourists. The National Park Service under the plans in mind, will take it over as soon as ten thousand acres of land are made available to it by gifts of citizens or from the state of North Carolina. | While there are several large property holders who have tentavely pledged the gift of their land, there will remain many small tracts locally owned that are essential to the success of the project. The owners of these lands are, in few cases, able to donate them free of cost. But if they will be willing to sell them at no more than they are worth, in order that they may be dedicated to the public benefit, an effort will be made to interest some patriotic and philanthropic American to provide the funds necessary to buy this land and to give it to the cause. This objective seems quite feasible, but it will onlv be possible, if other wealthy men cooperate in giving their lands, and if the other landowners will cooperate fully and reasonably with their good will and assistance. I I rom my best observation, North Carolina has not an other opportunity anywhere so great, for it will the” have an unusual attraction, and one that will endure for all time. scanning the new law, I was further impressed with the wisdom, the understanding and foresight of Lindsav Warren, the father of the law, who has made it possible to set aside, not only broad waters in Currituck, Dare and ; Hyde where natives may continue with their time honored ! hunting, but that an additional 2,000 acres may be set aside for public shooting grounds. YVith this contingency having been properlv anticipated I and carried out. it appears that greater satisfaction opportunity for those who wish to hunt will result from the park than from the present meagre possibilities that loom i or those who wish continued enjoyment of their favorite ! sport. To sum up the situation, it now appears, that the on* thing, to create more than early neighborhood roads, will (Please turn to Page Three) Single Copy 5c