■
v-.‘W'. r ’
k^^TsaSfs'i
THE DARE COUNTY TIMES
The Weekly Journal of the North Carolina Coastland—Devoted
VOL. IV; NO. 205
AN ANCIENT GRAVEYARD
REVEALED BY THE WINDS
TO REVIVE BIG LAWSUIT
^ Told About It
but No One Believed Her; Now Bleaehed , years of age, cap-
Bones Corroborate Her Story, at Greenleaf "m I't to Is
Peterson Case Takes Spotlight, and I>e- ‘
mands Another Hearing'
interests of More Than 30,000 People of the Four Southern Albemarle Counties
IVIMIM I EO, N. C.. JUNE 2, 1939
CAPT. E. H. PEELE
DIES THURSDAY
AT AGE OF 74
Captain Eugene Holstad Peele,
74, died Thursday morning at 8:30
in the Marine Hospital at Norfolk.
He had been ill for some time and
was taken to the hospital last Fri
day.
DARE
?E d^^uWeT>%"p'JETHRO MIDGETT
Dismissed by the United States
Circuit Court of Appeals because
there was no graveyard where an
^5-year-old witness had testified a
burying ground existed as a land
mark, tho long-fought case of Pet-|
erson vs. Sucro, involving the title
to real estate on Nags Head Beach]
valued at $50,000, will come again
into court on petition for a hearing.
Dead three years ago the unsup
ported witness has found corrobo
ration at the hands of the wind.
There was and there is a cemetery |
where Mrs. Pattie Tillett testified,'
nnd the bleached skeletons of her|
ancestors, mutely support her dec-j
laration. The ancient graveyard
Was brought to light when a north
west gale blew three days and
moved a great sand dune that had
covered it for two generations.
Uncovered four weeks ago, the
lost cemetery occasioned no great
concern among the natives of Dare
county’s outer banks, for things
i^^e that have been happening since
the beginning down here. This
SOLICITOR MORRIS IN
dare first time
retiring in 1919, as a Warrant
Boatswain. He was the possessor
of a watch engraved with the Ger
man coat of arms and presented to
him by the German Imperial Gov
ernment for his heroism in heading
the i-escue of the German ship,
Brewster, when it was wrecked
November 29, 1909. He was keeper
of Creef’s Hill station at the time.
For the same heroism the U. S.
Government gave him a Congres
sional gold medal.
Survivors are Captain Peele’s CRANBERRY
widow, Mrs. E, H. Peele, and their
sons and daughters, Mrs. L. R.
Williford, Burlington, Reginald A.
Peele, Wildwood, New Jersey; Mrs.
M. L. Pennyston and Eugene H.
Peele, Jr., both of Manteo. Chil
dren by Captain Peele’s fir.st mar
riage who survive him are: Charles
O. Peele, Elizabeth City, Mrs. G. L.
Fulcher, Norfolk, and Mrs. N. W.
Midgett, Buxton. His only living
si.ster is Mrs. Hal Hardin of Afton,
Iowa.
ANCIENT VESSEL, BURIED
IN SAND, STILL HOLDING
NATION-WIDE INTEREST
li^b£ration in'D^rsuperiorcoSt Visits Muscum Es Interest Still Runs
I MidJetPs car s'tru;k the two peo-1 Awuited Report on Old Ship’s
ipie and killed them as he drove' jaentity, Spocimens of Wood From Hull
Sent to European Laboratories
FREED BY JURY IN
SUPERIOR COURT
Jethro Midgett, facing trial final
ly for the fourth time, for the
jdeatbof Mrs. Ethel Drinkwater,
I Hartley, and Winston Green, on
' September 2, 1938, was freed by a
Grandchildren who survive
down the highway north of Manteo
, that fateful day, after eight o’clock
I at night, bhrst tried in Recorder’s
j Court, his trial next in Superior
I Court resulted i.n a mistrial. He
I was convicted the following May,
I a year ago, and sentenced to five'
years in prison. The supreme
! court sustained his conviction, but
his attorneys, P. W. McMullan and
|W. A. Worth of Elizabeth City
fought for a new trial on the
rh- f r iJ r dowdy, former grounds of newly discovered evi-
Chief of I ohce of Manteo, was this.dence. The evidence was the testi-
week appointed a Deputy Sheriff of.mony of C. F. Johnson, an employe
Dare County by Sheriff D. V. Meek-]of the Park Service work caX at
ms, to assist with the usual rush Hatteras, and did appear of great
of work that comes in at this time'value, but time and a different iurv
of year, during the summer months, ■ viewed the case differently The
when the tourist business gets 'new trial held this week was grant-
heavy He succeeds E. S. Wise, ed by Judge Thompson last fall. In
who has served a considerable. the meantime, young Midaett had
while as Deputy Sheriff, but recent-j married Miss Celia Gray of Wan
the
DARE WELFARE OFFICER
GETS COURT’S PRAISE
ly resigned for other employment, j chese who was with him at
“Because of Mr. Dowdy’s ex- time the people were killed,
perience and knowledge of local
conditions, I think I am fortunate MANTFO’^ IVF'W
POSTOFFICE TO
^eek W. A. Worth, Elizabeth City; Solicitor Chester Morris, of Cur-
attorney, who fought the case rituck, who this week made his
mrough the courts years ago, came first official appearance in theUV- *' ^ —
down to the semi-annual session of Court of Dare County, where he p'T®
Countv^s suDerior court nrn«oollfor^ Arthur Peele,
¥
Dare Regina, Joan, and Devera
County’s superior court and Prosecuted the criminal'docket and' William Eu-
a the exposed cemetery found the won considerable favorable com-1 Montague Le-
ane link of evidence needed to sup- ment because of his forceful and Pennyston, Jr. There are also
nn.A ... ..... the Court TT m /-ndchildren
Mr Ai,Arr;= I, 1 u I ^ Masonic funeral is to be held
I\lr. iViorris has long been popular, Saturday afternoon for Capt. E. H
nOTlO'* rhii 1 4-1 VA _ J? T-v T-v , m . * *
Mrs. Goldie Snow, Mrs. Virginia j in obtaining his'aid ’’ Sheriff Meer
Scarborough, Misses Edna, Edith ins said onerin Meek
and Lovie Peele, Dexter, Charles O.' «The work in the office has in-
6 6’ r., isses Anne, Frieda, creased constantly during the past
Marjorie and Thelma Fulcher, few years, and nL when on a tax
George and Richard Fulcher, Mrs. ^ “
Daphne Evans, Rodney Midgett,
port his contntion
Every link in John Brockett Pet
erson’s case was complete except among the citizenship of
establishment of landmarks. County and is recognized as
the
and for this point there was only
the testimony of Mrs. Tillett, then
that
years old and since deceased,
once there had been a forest
Dare
a capa
ble and earnest lawyer who holds
the highest esteem of the district
and who is expected to terminate
his career as State’s Attorney with
that shadowed an ancient burying' great honor to himself and fidelity
ground, trees that were used as, to his office. His friends predict
.undary lines. But there was no big things for him, for as
graveyard there.
Vainly did Mr. Peterson cite the
^ct that the lands in question were
t^ranted by the State of North Car-
(Please turn to Page Four)
Peele, when the members of Wan-
chese Lodge, of which he had long
been a member will do the final
honors for the highly esteemed
citizen. The funeral will be
preached from the Manteo Metho
dist church at three o’clock.
Capt. Peele had served for many
, . ^ town years as chairman of the Demo-
J .. years, j cratic Executive Committee of Dare
as
Fishing
and all
Out Doors
-By-
Aycock Brown
Authority on Fishing News
practiced at Currituck Courthouse,! County. He had also served
won for himself considerable re- j secretary treasurer of the
nown at the bar as well as political I mans Mutual Benefit Association,
pr^tige. . I and has been secretary of the Man-
He IS a native of Gates county, j teo Tribe of Red Men.
who married a Currituck girl and —
collecting trip through the county,
that requires several days, there
are many things of an urgent na
ture that often arise. Ten years
ago when I became sheriff, there
there wasn’t one warrant a month
to serve; nobody got sued for any
thing; there were no executions
from judgments; most everybody
was prospering, and paid taxes
promptly. Now there are numer
ous warrants, summons, and other
papers a week; now executions,
garnishee and levy proceedings for
taxes, as well as beer license, and
Schedule B. License to collect. A
little reflection will reveal that the
normal business of Dare County in
'all lines, is many times greater
than before roads and bridges were
established. A small city has de-
Manteo is to have
A though it will likely be several
weeks before there is anv authori-
tative tetermination of the identity
of the ancient ship’s bulk exhumed
from the Outer Banks a month ago,
belief grows among scientists who
are at work on the mysterv that
first conjectures that it belongs to
the period of Sir Walter Raleigh
and Sir Francis Drake are probably
correct.
This report was brought to The
Island by Ben Dixon MacNeill
Thursday after he had spent the
previous day with Capt. Joseph T.
Holzbach, superintendent of the
Mariners’ Museum at Newport
News, Virginia, checking such
Wogress as has been made toward
identification’ and in examination
of the acres of maritime relics that
have been assembled under
Holzbach’s direction.
Nobody is yet walling to say that
the hulk is one thing or another,
or that it is neither one nor the
other. Very frankly the laboratory
technicians and research experts
admit that they are yet without any
unassailable clue. The ship may be
^ ^ _ either Spanish, English or Scandi-
it will be a | ficiency in handling the relief prob- i®. P^'e^^bly one of the
s. J. _ .7 I 1 /I T.V .... ^ thTPia hnr Tirki.rtVi ^,^4. —^4. t
Mr,
COST $8,000.00
ISAAC P. DAVIS, well known
County Superintendent of Public
. , ^ _ a new and j Welfare for Dare County, who
modern postoffice to cost about I came in for praise this week by the
$S,000, according to Postmaster C. | Grand Jury for his ability and ef-
. Evans, w'ho. says it will be a | ficiency in handling th
brick structure’ soon to be erected, j lems of Dare County.
It will have modern conveniences, Mr. Davis' '
with s^cious lobby, and steam' having been
located I county for only a comparatively
the vacant lot adjacent to the | short period, has been faced with
start "shortfv^^*'®' ^ to j exceptional problems and a great
start shortly. amount of work far in excess of
department, while
organized in this
only
has continuously practiced his brief
in the latter county since his grad
uation from college.
BEACHES TAKE
HEAVY WINTER
FIRE LOSSES
STUMPY POINT SCHOOL
ROW FINALLY SETTLED
Community Now to Have Commit
tee of Five Instead of Three
Members
ATKINSON ATTENDING
GREENSBORO REUNION
Superintendent R. H. Atkinson of
the Dare County schools, left this
morning for the western part of the
state where he will remian until
Monday night.
Superintendent Atkinson will
stop in Raleigh for a conference
with membehs of the state board
of education, and wall go from
there to Chapel Hill w'here he will
interview a number of prospective
teachers for the next school year.
He will spend the w'eek end in I
that which usually prevails in the
average county of the size of Dare.
The manner in which this office
has been administered during his
administration was such as to
arouse the particular interest of
the Grand Jury, who felt that was
due more than passing notice.
three but which has not yet been
I determined.
Specimens of wood from the hull
have been sent to laboratories in
Europe for examination, and Am
erican experts have similar sam
ples. The laboratories that took a
section from the “Lindbergh lad
der” and traced the wood to the
North Carolina woods tract frqm
which it was cut have come in on
the investigation, as well as th'-
Bureau of Standards, the National
Park Service and a commercial lab-
(Please turn to page eight)
veloped on the beaches, and in fact,
the cottage settlements are far
greater than Manteo, the largest
town in the county. More than a
hundred and fifty thousand visitors
come to the county each year,
I when probably a thousand or two ' a v - j
I would have taken them in a decade Dreensboro and will attend the facing the
ago. The vast influx of visitors i reunion of his graduating class highway when it came to a stop. i
bring new problems, for now andi®* Guilford College. ' ® accident occurred just before |
then there is a death, a suicide, nl — [Belton had reached Manteo on his
BELTON BURRUS NOT
injured in car mishap
The oar which Belton Biirrus was
driving skidded on the west pave
ment, Tuesday evening, leaped a
ditch, turned over several times.
Four large fires, all of undeter
mined origin, and all discovered too
late to be brought under control,
r, destroyed seven buildings on the
Best catch of the week was made i Dare Beaches during the winter Committee as now consti-
at Hatteras Inlet bi; Foreman past, and did damage esti-! v ^ '
PI ^^e and three of the em-' ni^ted at upwards of $20,000.
P2®®s who are working on thei Most recent, and probably the Shortly before the close of the
boathouse and launchway at ^'orst of the conflagrations was th^ h ’ ^I'^^Con^Atee which
at^ there. The burning last month of the j had been r^ently appointed me
!f_teh, made near the station con- Anderson Hotel and two cottage^!
bass which I up at Kitty Hawk Beach, Point but omitting from the list one
at over 1,000 covered first at about five o’clock 1 teachers an estim-
Pounds- 20 Sunday morning, the fire staH^^ ^^on ThTis rshTe’r-imirw of"?
oT- fin a small cottage belonging to J 'S p ’ sister-in-law M C.;
m. 1 j‘ 4. • 1 • .1 txiexe js a aeaun, a suicide, a
The long dispute involving the ^.^eck or a string of bad checks
Stumpy Point School Committee ealling for legal action,
was at last ended this week when,! •4. -m u . 7, .
upon bringing the matter to the'fi^n S 'f t
courts, the first committee was re-|„„j. f j ^ , now ^r two
instated by the Board of Education i iu’ ^ busy
during the summer.”
BUG IN EAR
John B. Etheridge, well-known
carpenter of Roanoke Island, suf*
painful
fered
CAMPMAN BREAKSNECK'T^^ home from the Beach. Aside
IN DIVE FROM WHARF slight Icerations and bruises
' Belton miraculously escaped injury,
especially as the
JJ^VICTOR. MEEKINS
Floyd Reavis, 26, an employe of r n ear was heavily
the WPA work camp WrighL of the ‘^^“??ed. Belton is the son of Mr.
National Park service took a notion
and Mrs. Orlando Burrus.
Sunday to take the first dive of the
'atch
CO
the
tj**'®*^ ef 38 channel
the scales at over 1,000 .... ........
. uds. The smallest weighed 20 Sunday morning, the fire started
(in a small cottage belonging to J 'S p ’ • ^
t was a'v°?'“%\''r? ' L^spread\f und i c;unt‘rBoard'o"f Education,
so rnanv of ' ° ^^Istructed 15 rnrfm"f i "e"^ e°U'I lowing this, the Board of Education i
Colored beautipc uv, and a npiVlin ’ met and declared the committee out I
uiajoritv of Vl eni failure to cooperate'
"■a® not tbp oa R appointed a new committee
fish A. Everjmne ot^^hich i^ere housed in the garage i consisting o'f R. L. Midgett, D. L.
“““Ae “ ES aestJoyE; ' | Hcper ». D Midgett, the letter
? tbe cS lA f , A the Dal rp 1 . A i the old committee became considei-
®tate News Rnr if WriVbi- m ^ eutnance to thei ably wrought up at the action of
Hatterls vvhf ' ^ to tho burn-[the Board of Education and said
alov-i e™® "ho IS ever on the eu to the ground. The fire was dis-Li. u p i • at .
^lert to v:. eovered too late to bf brfugM un-1 n 7 An ^ ^ A" A A
dpy porify,.! u t- 1 “™“Knt un before they would be thus removed
der control, but volunteers man-1 from offiA
t(fit from spreading! They are quoted as having said
ronoripri ®^bms which sur-jfhat their action had no meaning,
To fb if r" n' Fb • 1. • 7- I ether than that they were simply
^ uicner OP- a -j a. y 7 : of r> ^ A ^be main building frying to elect teachers, although
’®iaiid who 'ra A A ' prom^A'^f ®^®b> formerly a Gov-1 none of the teachers had ever made
“•'e of an v p" ° youriernmenMransient camp situated at | direct application to the Committee,
a W I m A A ^be beach and it had been the custom to make
the p .on a handline, landed highway was completely destroyed
''’cek e^bio of the season last | by a fire of undetermined origin,
I'opiid weighed 15 ] And soon after the season closed
season from the wharf at the camp JUDGE WALTER SMALL
on Roanoke Island. The water was 1 MUCH MOURNED HERF
more shallow than he thought. Hei _
■ . broke his neck in the dive when he The death nf Wpi+ t
b b - 77 injury Tuesday struck the hard, sandy bottom. He SmaH Eli AbeA PR 'A A-^
when a bug of some description got died almost instantly. His remains'- " • ■ b^b-abeth City, who died
in his ear which required him to were shipped to his former .home
go to Dr. Johnston for relief. I Ohio.
GRAND JURY DENOUNCES
RECKLESS DRIVING, ASKS
DANCE HALL REGULATION
Bev. Theoff Wescott is Secretary and
last Friday, and w.ho was buried
Sunday, was greatly mourned by
Dare County people. Judge Small,
who was stricken two year:s or
more ago, was a great favorite in
Dare County, and for many years
wa.s a most popular solicitor^ before
becoming Judge.
GRAND JURY PRESENTS
BILLS AGAINST THREE
Late Wednesday afternoon ....
grand jury returned indictments'^.nn^'b®® Bght.
The demolishment of a lighthouse
is like the passing of a faithful
friend. Each year witnesses the
going of one or more of these time-
honored institutions. The other
day a wrecking crew came and tore
down Croatan light, which from
my earliest recollection had guided
vessels along this bold waterway.
They replaced it with a little
mechanical flashing beacon set up
on a post. And once again man
made contraption displaces man
and takes his job.
I recall the delightful aspects of
the lighthouse, as associated with
my childhood. Screwpile lights
they were called and one stood at.
either end of the sound. I could '
look up the shore from where I
w::ded as a barefoot hoy and see
I Croatan light three miles away, or
^],jg, down the sound and see Roanoke
Sometimes I often
5gainst three Dare County ei‘:i:7:ens. I'Y^^bed I could grow up to be
^ — .'Bill}' Tillett of Wanchese and Mrs. i bSibthouse keeper. It seemed that
r Uicher, Foreman of Jury; County Commit- Midgett of-Manns Harbor, jtbis would be an easy job with good
• - - W' v-uiuiins -vho run small stores, and who sell' pay- My longing to see a fight-
beer were charged with operating | boase was one day rewarded bv be-
a nuisance. Ras We.scott. was '"h' permitted to climb an iron lad-
sioners and Welfare Board Are Praised in
Jury Report; Chester Morris and Judge Leo
Carr Commended
'^atch ®^®‘^”aan. This'last year a seven room cottage
to an A particular interest j Built only a year ago, and located
the "b® have been going to [about a mile south of the Kitty
llghte'■^®^ these fierce Hawk Coast Guard Station, was
going-A sportsmen started completely destroyed before volun-
Snni£ ®rter them in a 6ig way last | teers could arrive on the scene.
exeg77 ®*’' Fred Stedman arid those
last ®®bio pictures he made i MRS. LESLIE G.4LLOP
067'^*^'”^®’"’ "’bich have appeared
Wo Y®P*^P6ts from coast to coast.
LOSES eye in .mishap
lavo j,rum coast 10 coast,
he • A responsible for !Mts. Leslie Gallop of 'Wanchese
ibij, "’‘®*'®®t. created in th cabio' 'ost the sig'
inA ®,0"’n in the waters alreadv solt of an
pAuA channel bass.
The Grand Jury this week round- ^ Theoff Westcott, well-known minis-
ly denounced reckless driving and t®!’ of Wanchese, who, as a mem
driving by minors, in their report b®!" of the Grand Jury, was also its
application direct to Mr. Payne, filed with the Court. | S®cretaiT7 and was signed by the
Chairman of the Board of Educa- They also called for strict ree-u-1 a’M was signed by the
Hon. lation of dance halls and enforA-' AAA”’ Fulcher, retired
It is the plan now for a com-[ment of laws against gambling and-
mittee of five, consisting of mem- other forms of vice, tnd urged that f®P°’"*' P®*® special tribute to the
hers of the old board, and two of , persons who allowed the presence ■ ®''®^ A®progressive poli-
the last board who did qualify, to of minors in places of business ?*®®, °f ^be County Commissioners
serve the Community and they will [where they are prohibited be pros- '".*b®ii' management of county af-
elect teachers. The new committee ecuted. The officers were counsel- *be>r cooperation with
had never been able to function be-'ed to use extreme diligence in pro- V^orks activities in Dare
cause the Board of Education upon hibiting reckless driving and cited bounty which has resulted in many
being appealed to had failed to sus-1 tl leir observation that the out- P®™f»®nt improvements in the
tain the attitude of the Chairman; growth of automobile mishaps in i . . ,
4.1.^ £—4. i-t -4 . - . - i , ihe Grand Jury also made spe-
charged with running unlawful .slot
machines. Capias were issued, and
they immediately gave bond.
PARKER ENLARGES
GROCERY STORE
An addition to the C. B. Parker
grocery store .has been built on the
east side of the building. Goods
previously kept in the store are be
ing moved into the new addition to
make room for an enlarged stock
and a meat counter, and the build
ing is being repainted.
... 11 7. 7-7. • 7 J I* ^ and finally, when the first Commit-, this countv had nroved not onl,, .
created m th cabio j lost th® sight of one eye as the re-1 tee anpealed to the Courts, the.'costlv to the taxLvers in the fin •«®ntion of the capable and ef-
sult of an accident Sunday morn- Board of Education concurred in 'ancing of cArt triaD hut in the ’’ ^ "
mg when she was hit in the eye the agreeoble settlement “ ' ’
ROY DfWIS, JR., HO.ME
FRO.M N^JV.A-L HOSPIT.4L
Roy L. Davis, Jr., has returned
boats were out in the Beau-
(Please turn to page tw'o)
.V.
with a curtain pole.
agreeoDie settlement effected great distre.ss and grief of bereaved
remov7oH • XT ®77®)',® I ®f bhis w-eek, which remov- ( relatives and friends,
remored Tuesday in a Norfolk hos-}ed many objection to their tenure ‘ The report of the Grand Jurv
of office. ; -^vas largely the wmrk of Reverend
fective w-ork of the County Welfare !rtom the Naval Hospital at Ports-
Department of which I. P. Davis is i mouth to his home in Manteo. He
superintendent, particularly with'"'®® mj'ured recently in an auto
respect to caring for the needy and motorcycle accident which cost the
/D, 7. , ^ , IIH® ®b young companion, Lionel
(Please turn to page five) [Midgett. •
- ■
der from the water, to emerge
through a trapdoor where I stood
upon the deck of the lighthouse, I
marvelled at the clean w-hite paint
and painful neatness of the w-alls.
j the well-scrubbed floors, and won
dered how things could be kept so
clean. Out over the water, miles
from land, there are few people to
traipse indoors, no dust or smoke.
It was a balmy day in summer
wdien a stiff south breeze bleiv up
the sound and made one crave to
lapse into the lightkeeper’s arm
chair and w^oo the w^ind’s caresses.
What a delightful life it seemed it
W'ould be, to stay here, with nothing
to do but w-atch the light, and reed
good bonks and be visited anon bv
delightful friends. I never thought
the lightkeepers had to paint the
buildings and keep it .scrubbed and
w'hite, to cook their owm meals and
make their ow-n beds and to be sen-
erated from their families -sveeks at
a time. Only the externals recom-
(Please turn to Page 4)
^1
pi