Newspapers / The Roanoke Beacon and … / Sept. 24, 1937, edition 1 / Page 1
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A home newspaper dedicated to the service of Washington County and its 12,000 people. The Roanoke Beacon ******* and Washington County News ******* Advertisers will find Beacon and News columns a latch-key to 100 Washington County homM. VOLUME XLVIII—NUMBER 39 Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina, Friday, September 24, 1937. ESTABLISHED 1889 Barge Sinks Loaded With Pilings for Use New Sound Bridge ——<*. Construction Is Proceeding Rapidly on Both Sides; Concrete Is Poured A barge loaded with pilings which had been brought all the way from the Pacific coast for use in building the new Sound bridge sank a few days ago at the mouth of the Roan oke River. The barge did not go to the bot tom, but floated on a level with the water due to the fact that it was carrying only wood. Efforts are being made to salvage it as the price of barges is very high at present and every one available is already in use all along the At lantic coast. The piles which made up the load ranged in length from 93 to 98 feet, and are reported to be worth close to $100 each. After the barge went down they broke away and went floating down stream, but were recovered shortly after. Just what caused the barge to sink, has not yet been disclosed, but it is thought that there may have been a rotten plank in the bottom, which suddenly gave way. The logs were being taken from the loading terminal at the Plym outh railroad station to the Edenton side of the bridge. Rapid Progress Construction work has been pro gressing rapidly of late, according to state inspectors on the job. Half a mile of piling has now been driven out from the shore on the Plymouth side by the T. L. Lov ing Company, which is building the Southern approach to the central span. By the middle of the week 800 feet of concrete had been poured virtually completing the bridge that far out from the shore, and by the first of next week it is expected that an additional 200 feet will have been poured. On the Edenton side, the Tidewa ter Construction Corporation, which is building the northern section of the bridge and also the span, is re ported to have poured 600 feet, and is expected to be ready to pour an other 200 feet of concrete within a few days. —-$ Tom Davenport Death In Franklin Reported ——• Friends of Tom Davenport, who formerly lived in Creswell, learned this week of his death in Franklin, Va. Mr. Davenport was the son of Tom Davenport and is survived by two brothers, Ben Davenport and Dallas Davenport; and by one sister, Miss Susan Davenport. He leaves two sons, Tom and Wal lace Davenport, both of Creswell. He had been in bad health for some time prior to his death, members of the Governor Hoey Stops Over for Brief Visit in Town Thursday Governor Clyde R. Hoey stopped in Plymouth on his way to Colum bia for the dedication of a new agri cultural building there Thursday. He was accompanied by State Treasurer Charles M. Johnson, Sec retary of State Thad Eure, and a chauffeur. The Governor and his party chat ted for about ten minutes with a group of people who were in Arps’ Pharmacy when they entered to re fresh themselves. Earl Davenport waited on the Governor who ordered a Coca Cola. Alvah Wheaton, who is also em ployed at the pharmacy, had prev iously waited on the Governor when he paid a visit to Morehead City, where he was then working. Abe Adler raised quite a laugh when he told the Governor, known as a leading “dry,” that he is very popular in Plymouth since he gave the town its A.B.C. store. “I had nothing to do with that,” the Governor replied. W. B. Chesson of Roper told the Governor that the farmers of Wash ington County feel it is unfair for the state to tax them $251) for the privilege of making $51' worth of wine from their grapes in the fall. “I guess we will have to have a conference about that,” the Gov ernor said, laughing. The State Treasurer asked several questions as to the exact location of the Sound Bridge, how far it would be necessary for the party to go from the main road to see it, and indicated that they would inspect it on their way to Columbia. While in the Pharmacy the Gov ernor and his friends also chatted with Sidney Ward and Sidney Ward, Jr., and several others. Report Town Finances In Critical Condition CCC ENROLLMENT I Boys interested in enrolling in the CCC during the October en listment period should see Miss Ursula Bateman, county welfare officer, at the courthouse as soon as possible, it was announced this week. The law under which the CCC now functions requires that ap plicants be between 17 and 23 years old, but permits boys who have been in the CCC and left with honorable discharges to re enroll after a period of six months, whereas they were for merly not permitted to return to the camps until they had been out for a year. Cut-throat Is Hunted On The Plymouth Streets -s Saturday night a man was found bleeding badly about the throat at the rear of the Plymouth post office. Someone called for the police and Chief P. W. Brown with State Pa trolman Tom Brown set out to find the man who had knifed him. After questioning several men who had been with the wounded man just a few minutes before the crime was committed, they arrest ed a suspect. 'About that time someone discov ered a broken bottle near where the victim had been “assaulted” and the truth gradually began to leak out: There had been no knifing. The wounded man had simply stumbled and fallen to the ground cutting himself on a piece of jagged glass. The man arrested on suspicion of attacking him was held on charges ,of drunkenness. Architect Working on Creswell School Plans Preliminary Plans For New Building To Be Ready Soon Condemned by Slate, Present School To Be Demolished On Federal Orders Plans for a new school to be built in Creswell are now being drawn by Henry Deitrick, a Raleigh archi tect, County Superintendent H. H. McLean announced this week. The school will be built partly with federal and partly with Coun ty funds. Congressman Lindsay C. Warren notified Superintendent McLean a few days ago that the government has approved a $22,185 grant out of PWA funds for the project. The County has already arranged to put up $25,000, which is available from the State literary fund, mak ing a total of $47,185 now in sight for the building. The original plan was to use the money in remodeling the present building and to build ten addition al rooms and an auditorium also. Entirely New Building The federal authorities, however, turned thumbs down on this propo sition, insisting upon an entirely new structure if any federal money is used. They also placed another restriction on their grant of funds: The school must be started prompt ly or the money will be withdrawn (Continued on page four) Old - Age Assistance Program Well Under Way in State Now —$— Approximately 50 Applica tions Are Approved by County Authorities -$ Within the next few days old-age assistance checks will be mailed to more than 8,000 needy persons over 65 years of age in North Carolina, ac cording to information received here from Nathan H. Yelton, director of the division of public assistance of the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare. The distribution will be the greatest yet under the state’s social security program, Yelton said. About 3,500 checks were mailed in July and 7,717 in August, he added. Payments for August average $8.84, as compared to a July average of $9.39. August checks to 1,800 fam ilies gave aid to 4,000 dependent chil dren. “We hope soon to be in a position to make payments in advance, on the first of the month for which grants are issued," Yelton said. “It is going to be winter-time pretty soon, and we want to lighten the county relief loads by caring for those eligible for this program. However, we don’t want them approved too rapidly. We want a thorough investigation of each case.” Approximately 50 cases have now been approved by Washington Coun ty authorities. Either Higher Taxes Or Refunding Bonds Called “Inevitable” Plymouth Already in Default More Than $40,000; More Due Soon Plymouth town finances are in such condition that further defaults on municipal bonds and interest will be inevitable unless some refunding plan is adopted at once, it was dis closed this week. The city now has a total bonded debt of $297,000, of which approxi mately $22,000 in payments on prin cipal and $19,000 in accumulated in terest is already in default. At present City Clerk M. W. Spruill has standing orders to make no pay ments on either interest or principal. During the month of October ad ditional bonds, amounting to $5,000, will fall due, and during N member $1,000 more will fall due. Another $2,000 will be due in December, mak ing a total of $8,000 between now and the end of the year. More Taxes or New Bonds There appear to be only two ways in which the town can meet the prob lem: Either by raising the taxes, or by entering upon some refunding plan. The tax rate was raised to $2 last year and it is believed that is about all the community can stand. Fur ther increases would probably result in widespread non-payment and eventually in wholesale foreclosure actions, it is said. Last July, when James M. Williams made an audit of the town books, he recommended that the town ask the assistance of the state commission on local government. The commission was accordingly informed of the situation and Plym outh was told to “sit tight” until something could be worked out. No Plan Offered Yet But so far no plan for refunding has been brought before the town authorities, and as the months pass and more and more bonds go into default, the situation becomes more complicated. City Clerk Spruill wrote Mr. Wil liams this week to request that he be present at the next meeting of the mayor and council to advise them on a definite program. Mayor B. G. Campbell has also been in communication with Mr. Wil liams in an attempt to work toward some solution of the problem. It is believed that if about $50, 000 in refunds bonds at reduced in terest (all those outstanding now pay 6 per cent) could be issued in ex change for those in default, for the accumulated interest, and for those to fall due between now and the end of the year, it would give the town a chanCe to catch its breath and re sume payments on the balance. The present financial tangle is the result of failure of the town to carry out the terms of the original sinking fund plan set up at the time the bonds were issued about 12 years ago. For Street Paving More than $200,000 worth of bonds were sold to meet the cost of paving the streets. The sinking fund plan called for levies of 50 per cent of the cost to be made upon owners of abut ting real estate, 25 per cent on each side of the street. The remaining 50 per cent was to be raised from the towns general taxes, and as the installments were paid in, they were to be set aside in a fund to meet the bonds and inter est as they fell due. The 25 per cent levies on the real estate abutting on either side of the streets have been collected promptly ——«■ (Continued on page four) Koper High Teacher Is Honored for Half Century of Service Miss Carstarphen, Known To County as “Gussie,” Has Taught 3 Generations The Roper Parent Teachers Asso ciation paid high tribute to Miss A. C. Carstarphen at its first fall meet ing this week. Miss Carstarphen, known to three generations of school children as “Gussie”, has been teaching in Rop er for more than half a century now, 54 years to be exact. The Rev. M. L. Ambrose, in ex pressing the appreciation felt by hundreds of men and women for the training given them as students by Miss Carstarphen, recalled that his mother had gone to school to her, that he had studied under her, and that two of his children have been in her classes. He spoke of the tremendous sweep of her influence and oi how it will live on to benefit even future gen erations, not yet born. When Miss Carstarphen was call ed upon for a speech, she told of the pleasure she has experienced in helping her boys and girls make a start in life. Many who studied in her classes have gone far. Some are doctors, some are lawyers, several preach ers, others are merchants, farmers, or themselves now teach school. The entire faculty of the Roper school was given a reception follow ing the general program of enter tainment by members of the stu dent body. Addresses of welcome to teachers and parents were given by repre sentatives of each class in the high school. Ida Ruth Knowles read an origi nal essay on “Autumn” and Ruth Nowarrah read an original story on “The Bee Dance.” Mrs. Ordie Blount, president of the PTA presided at a short busi ness session, and Superintendent H. H. McLean and Principal D. E. Poole spoke on the need for close cooperation between teachers and parents in the interest of children in school. -- New Country Club Expected To Open Late Next Month All But Two of Kieckhefer Houses Now Complete; Resurface New Road -® The new Plymouth Country Club will probably be ready for an offi cial opening between October 20 and November 1, it was announced this week. This date is somewhat later than that originally set, but has been made necessary by the fact that work on the club house is just get ting underway with the pouring of the foundations hardly finished. The greens are beginning to look very good and the grass on the fair ways has taken root well, but many minor details remain to be taken care of, some of the traps are not yet finished, and all of the new grass needs several more weeks to develop properly. Forty men are now employed on the Country club project, according to E. J. Preston, who is in charge of the construction of the club house. Half of the men are working on the course, and half on the club building, he said. Only two of the 31 houses built by Kieckhefer Company for its em ployees remain to be completed. These are the two to be occupied by W. W. Henderson, mill supervisor, and one of the other company ex ecutives. It is expected that the houses will be occupied as soon as the contrac tors who are now preparing to hard surface the dirt road leading through the housing development to the country club finish their work. Next Hog Sale Will Be Held On October Fifth -$ The next cooperative hog sale will be on October 5, County Agent W. V. Hays announced following the sale this week at which 211 hogs were disposed of at a price of $12.15. This price is 45 cents better than was paid at the last sale, he said. The sale this week was one of the most successful up to this time. -- Two County Men Drawn For Federal Jury Duty Two Washington County men, Messrs. M. F. Davenport, of Mackeys and John Woodley, of Creswell, have been drawn for jury service in the federal court convening in Washington October 4. Local Merchants Begin Trade-in Plymouth Campaign Next Week With $800 in Cash Prizes Offered GameDinneir Is Planned for Publicity Party's Visit Here Definite assurance was received here this week that the itinerary of the party of writers and publicists who are to tour the state next month will include Plymouth. Last Week Roy Hampton, who was attempting to have Plymouth includ ed in the tour, reported that the ques tion of whether or not they would come appeared to hinge on whether or not Plymouth could provide them with a luncheon. That problem has now been solved with the appointment of a committee by the Lions Club to make arrange ments for a game dinner. The plan is to impress on the vis itors the fact that Washington Coun ty is rich hunting territory and a sportsman's paradise by feeding them on squirrel and deer, shot near Plym outh. On the committee are J. R. Man ning, B. G. Campbell and Carl Bailey. It is not yet known exactly how many there will be in the party and estimates range from 50 to 100. so that no decision has yet been made as to where the dinner will be served. While the party is here, it will visit the new pulp mill and the southern end of the new sound bridge, accord ing to Attorney Bailey. "We intend to impress upon the minds of the visitors the fact tha* the north-south highway, route 17. will come through this territory as soon as the bridge is completed." he said. Set Up Organization ol Local Building & Loan E. F. Still Is Elected President at First Meet of Directors W. W. Henderson, Vice Pres ident; L. S. Thompson Is Secretary-T reasurer -® Organization of the Plymouth Building & Loan Association was vir tually completed this week with the election of E. F. Still as president. Mr. Still is president of the Plym outh Box & Panel Company, and has been prominent in civic affairs in Plymouth for some years. W. W. Henderson, superintendent of the new pulp mill, was elected vice president, and L. S. Thompson was selected to serve as temporary sec retary and treasurer. Attorney Z. Vance Norman was appointed as counsel for the association. The election of these officers at the first meeting of the directors of the new organization on Monday evening followed a meeting of the stockhold ers in the courthouse Friday evening. The stockholders at their meeting named the following men to serve on the board of directors: A. L. Owens, J. R. Manning, George W. Hardison, W. W. Henderson, J. C. Tarkenton, E. F. Still, J. L .Horton, L. S. Thomp son, and T. C. Burgess. No date has been set for the next meeting of the directors, but it will be called by Secretary Thompson when Attorney Z. V. Norman has completed the drafting of a consti tution and by-laws for the associa tion. These will probably not be ready for at least a week, it is expected. There is a possibility that a perma nent secretary-treasurer may be de cided upon at that time also. According to Mr. Thompson, the man selected for this office should be able to devote considerable time to the work and should, if possible, be someone employed at the local bank. The first series of shares in the association is still open, he said, so that anyone interested in joining may still do so. -<$> Roper Seniors Vote To Stage Class Play Before Christmas Miss Mildred Williams Named Adviser; Mary Davenport Class President -e The senior class of the Roper High ) School will put on a class play some time between now and Christmas. At the first regular meeting of the year the class made preliminary plans for this and elected Miss Mil dred Williams, the music teacher, class adviser. Miss Mar?.- Davenport, of Mackeys, was elected president; Lois Hughes, of Roper, vice president; and Lulu Ange, of County Bridge, secretary treasurer. Three Arrests Made at Crestcell Last Week-End Julian Chesson, of Roper, was ar rested on a charge of reckless driv ing by Deputy Sheriff W. D. Peal in Creswell Sunday morning. Two other men, J. D. Smart and T. Holmes were arrested on charges of drunkenness. IT ISN’T NEWS BUT— Its Never Too Late Still feeling gay and romantic, de spite his 70 years, James R. Moore, colored, of Dardens, took out a mar riage license at the courthouse in Plymouth this week. The blushing bride, Priscilla Bell, of Plymouth, is 50. Both have been married before. Tragedy in Two Paragraphs New York.—A blue-eyed, gray-haired woman, neatly dressed, approached George Wainio, who was standing on the bulkhead at Jefferson Street and the East River. "Please hold my coat,’ she said. 'Certainly,’’ he replied, and she jumped into the river. Her body was recovered a few hours later. What Next? Eagle Pass, Texas.—Dr. A. J. Rickies heard a strange “awk-yak" sound in his bathroom. He grabbed something fuzzy in the dark and switched on the lights. In his hand he was holding a four inch spider, which he promptly dropped. The creature scampered away, barking savagely. Within a few days the doctor found his backyard (Continued on page four) 8200 Grand Prize To Be Given Away On Pinal Drawing -® First of $20 Cash to B«* Given Away Eaeii Week With Four $5 Prizes Plymouth merchants will give away $000 in cash prizes to lucky shop pers during the next 11 weeks. Five prizes will be given away each Wednesday; one of $20 in cash, and four of $5 each. A grand prize of $200 in cash will be given away on Monday, December 27. with a second prize of $50, a third prize of $25, and five prizes of $10 each. Every rm n, woman, and child trad in in the Plymouth stores during these eleven weeks stands an equal chance of winning the $200 grand prize or one or more of the smaller prizes. The are absolutely no "catches” to the proposition. “This money is ret'.;, going to be given away." L. S. Thompson, presi dent of the Merchants’ As._ocia n. said in announcing the j. :an. "Forty dollars will be en awav each week until the final week. That week we will give away $325 "Ail that anyone has to do to get one of these prizes is to _ave the tickets given out by storekeepers with every purchase of merchandise amounting to $1 in value or the same I amount paid on account, l "T,.plicate tickets will be kept by I the merchants who are p rticipating m the plan, and these wi:l be placed in a big drum which will be spun around to mix them thoroughly. “Then a number will be urawn, and the man, woman, or child who holds duplicate number will receive $20 jin casii. Four other numbers will be I drawn, and holders of the corre p.-nd.ng ticket wil leach receive $5 in cash. “When the final prizes are drawn on December 27 all the tickets issued during the previous 11 weeks will be put into th edrum and mixed up to gether. “The fir. t number drawn will pay $200 cash, the second will pay $50, and the third $25. The next five numbers will pay $10 each. There is nothing to prevent one person from winning as much as $400 if lucky enough to win the first prize of $20 each week for the first 10 weeks and the $200 prize on the last week. The only restriction is that no per son may win more than one prize on the same week. The prizes wil )'. drawn a, 3 p. m. each Wednerds- .fcomcon until De cember 15 .. er which they will be drawn on Monday afternoon at the same time. The final drawing will also be on a Monday, December 27. County Farmers' Vote Favors Potato Control C. W. Owens Funeral Services Held Here In Methodist Church Relatives Present from \\ ash ington, D. C.; Was 65 Years of Age Funeral services for C. W. Owens, who died after a sickness of only one week, were held at the Methodist Church in Plymouth with the Rev. C. T. Thrift officiating. Mr. Owens was bom in Tyrrell County 65 years ago, but had lived most of his life in Washington Coun ty. He was well known here as a grocery salesman. He is survived by two sisters, Mrs. Claudia Read and Mrs. A. R Dupree, and leaves two children, Mrs. William Whitson, of Washington, D. C.; and Layton Owens, of Norfolk, Va. Among those attending the funera were: William Whitson, who came specially from Washington: Charles Layton, of Goldsboro; Mrs. Nadine Moore, of Raleigh; C. L. Murphy, of Norfolk, Mrs. M. E. Blount, of Nor folk, and Elmore Blount, jr. Pall-bearers at the funeral were: Dr. C. McGowan, Vance Satter thwaite, J. K. Reid, Robert W. John ston, A. L. Owens, and W. T. Still man. Honorary' pall-bearers included: William Clark. H. E. Beam, Clarence Ayers, E. H. Liverman. Herbert Liv erman, J. W. Norman, and W. L. Whitley. Not One Ballot In Opposition During First Days ol \ ote Both Producer and Consum er Would Benefit by Government Plan Washington county farmers vot ing on the question of acreage con trol from Irish potatoes have regis tered an overwhelming sentiment in favor of the government program. Approximately two-thirds of the farmers who are elegible to vote have done so and not a single vote has been cast in opposition to the proposal. With similar sentiment reported in other counties of this section and throughout most potato growing areas of the country, it is expected that the necessary two-thirds vote required to put the plan into ef fc ct will be easily obtained. If, as a result of this referendum, the Irish potato is made a basic ci mmodity and given government a d like that available for cotton, peanuts, and tobacco, production will become more stable and both producer and consumer would bene fit, government experts maintain. Two factors enter into the price of potatoes, according to County Agent W. V. Hays: -* (Continued on page four)
The Roanoke Beacon and Washington County News (Plymouth, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 24, 1937, edition 1
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