Newspapers / The Roanoke Beacon and … / March 28, 1940, edition 1 / Page 1
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The Roanoke Beacon * * * * * * * and Washington County News ******* 1— VOLUME LI NUMBER 13 Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina, Thursday, March 28, 1940 ESTABLISHED 1889 Town OpICSj Boy Scouts of Plymouth. Roper and Creswell have beep invited to attend a camporee at Williamston Saturday, when Field Commissioner W. Harvey Sharrer, of Severn, and Scout Execu tive J. J. Sigwald, of Wilson, will be on hand to participate in the train ing school for scouts in preparation for a meeting of several hundred scouts in Kinston within the next few weeks. Snow fell here Easter Sunday for the first time in half a een-. tur.v. Old-timers say that snow* has fallen here several times im mediately before or after Easter but never on Easter Sunday in years. Temperatures fell to the low twenties also. In 1915 there were several inches of snow on Easter, which came April 4 that year. The infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Herman A. Bowen, of Williamston. died in a Washington hospital Friday morning. Mrs. Bowen is the former Miss Mae Dell Wynne, who worked with the Branch Banking & Trust Company here for several years. In terment took place in a Williamston . cemetery following the funeral last tSaturday. The Roanoke District. Disciples of Christ, will hold their quarterly meet ing at Zion's Chapel Chrisian church near here Saturday and Sunday of this week, according to Rev. N. A. Taylor, who added that usually a large crowd from churches in sur rounding counties attended the event. H. P. Davis, of Elizabeth City, was here Wednesday on business and said he thought he had a chance to win the Democratic nomination for rep resentative from Perquimans County to the 1941 General Assembly over two opponents. Fletcher Waters has granted per mission to local flying enthusiasts to land pleasure flying craft at the air port on his farm near the golf course, where Mayor John A. Gurkin, of Nor folk, has been landing his ship for several months when he comes here to visit his brother. Fire Chief L. W. Gurkin. W. B. Cox has been made project supervisor of WPA projects in Wash ington, Martin and Tyrrell Counties. Under his supervision sanitary privies are being constructed at the rate of about 100 monthly for the three counties. Corporal T. B. Brown has been as signed to duty several hours a day in weighing trucks and directing traffic over the Currituck bridge, which is being repaired after having been bad ly damaged by the snow and ice this winter. He returns to Plymouth oc casionally, but does not know when he will be stationed here regularly again. \V. Herbert Phelps, route one, Plymouth, who was mentioned in the list of delegates chosen to represent this county at a Repub lican convention, asked the Bea con to state this week that he was not a Republican but was a Dem ocrat. Walter Smith, baseball catcher for Hertford when that town was in the old Albemarle League, is making his home here for a few weeks while checking on filling stations in Wash ington County for samples of the products that they sell for a state agency. Easier Weather Damages Plants ——« Easter Sunday snow followed by freezing weather the first part of this week proved costly to plants and pos sibly to fruit trees, but farmers in this county hesitate to offer an esti mate of the extent of the damage. One farmer said some damage had been done to tobacco plant beds, but it is understood that fruit trees and tender plants were the principal suf ferers. Planters were agreed that the cold weather would retard the growth of tobacco plants and delay transplant ing from one to two weeks. Some went as far as to predict a shortage of plants and a scarcity of fruit as a result of the cold weather. Infant of Mr. and Mrs. Rankin Ambrose Dies -<§> The infant child of Mr. and Mrs. Rankin Ambrose died in a Washing ton hospital at 3:30 Wednesday morning. The report reaching here indicated that Mrs. Ambrose was also very ill. No funeral arrangements had been made today. Operations Are Resumed at Pulp Plant Today Following Shutdown lor Repairs Operation of the plant of the North Carolina Pulp Company was resumed here today after having been closed for about 10 days for seasonal repairs, it was learned today from O. II. Cox. manager. There are still about 381 regu lar shift employees at work, with 250 corfitruction workers employ ed by the plant and about 200 or less men employed by contract ors who are rushing their crews to complete the expansion pro gram that has been under con struction for several months. Thirty-nine electricians and their helpers employed by the plant on construction work walk ed out last Thursday, but Mr. Cox said that the differences had been settled and the men re turned to work this morning. Mr. Cox said the cause of the strike was due to a misunder standing and that immediately after it came to his attention all differences were settled by a con ference between the manage mnt and the workers. Both construction and regular operation of the plant were mov ing along rapidly at a smooth pace today. SOUTHERN ALBEMARLE LEADERS NOW ON RECORD IN OPPOSITION TO DIVERSION OF GASOLINE TAX I MEET POSTPONED | __/ Because of the fact that Com missioner E. F. Swain will be at tending Federal court in Wash ington next week, the Washing ton County commissioners will not meet Monday as is the usual custom. It is not known now just when the commissioners will meet, but it is understood that it will prob ably be some time next week, al though a definite date for the meeting will be announced later. Caiilemen Organize At Meet Held Here Last Tuesday Night W. M. Darden Elected Pres ident; L. E. Hassell Vice President Out of a welter of opinions ex pressed by cattle growers at a meet ing held in the agriculture building here Tuesday night, the Eastern Car olina Cattle Breeders and Feeders As sociation came into being to provide an organization for cattle growers all over this section to use in group pur chasing of facilities and group sales of products with an educational pro gram in animal husbandry included in the by-laws. » A nominal fee will be charged for membership in the organization to defray the small expenditures neces sary, according to Representative W. M. Darden, of Plymouth, who was named president, but the benefits of this organization will greatly out weigh them. The organization is the outgrowth of a localized plan developed in this county, but now, with the new name and the by-laws adopted by the or ganization Tuesday night, member ship is eligible to cattlemen all over the eastern part of the state. Fred P. Latham, of Belhaven. vis ited a meeting recently and told of his experience with his herd of 150 cattle. Robert Everett, of Palmyra, another cattle grower, is a prospective member. Van G. Taylor, W. O. Ab bitt, and L. P. Lawrence are Martin County members. Scores of other cattle growers from surrounding counties are expected to join the or ganization. Officers are L. E. Hassell, Roper, vice president; County Agent W. V. Hays, Plymouth, secretary and treas urer; directors: W. H. Thompson, Greensboro shoe-store supervisor, who has about 200 cattle on his T-Ranch near Plymouth; A. J. Riddle, Plym outh; and J. L. Rea, jr„ of Wenona, assistant director in charge of the Blackland Experiment Station. L. I. Case, of Raleigh, specialist in animal husbandry at State College, and Paul Fletcher, marketing expert, told teh men in a recent meeting here that this was a good section for cat tle growing in a small way. It is expected that when the or ganization becomes fully launched, the membership would represent the ownership of close to 1,000 cattle in the surrounding counties. The asso ciation is non-profit and will be oper ated similar to mutual exchanges. Stale College Specialist Slates This Section Adapted To Cattle Production Opportunities for the produc tion of beef cattle abound in this section of North Carolina either on an extensive scale or as a sup plementary enterprise, it was said today by L. I. Case, specialist in animal husbandry, N. C. Seate College, who was here this week visiting County Agent W. V. Hays. “Carefully kept records at the Blackland Experiment station at Wenona show that native reed pasture will carry the main herd of cattle for about nine months of the year, and calves running with their dams on this type of | grazing: from May 1 to weaning time in November, will average from :100 to 400 pounds." it was pointed out by Mr. Case. “There are thousands upon thousands of acres of this type of grazing that are not now being utilized, said Mr. Case, who add ed that “it is felt that such areas will be more grenerally used for cattle grazing on a large scale.” Another advantage of this sec tion of the State is the large sur plus feed production, and in the Blackland area much corn is often a surplus crop, concluded Mr, Case. Resolutions to That End Passed at Recent Man teo Meeting Oppose Toll Ferries Modernized toil free ferries over Alligator river, Croatan Sound and Oregon Inlet and emphatic opposi tion to gasoline tax diversion is con tained in a resolution passed by the executive committee of the South* ern Albemarle Association at Manteo last Wednesday which was read and approvd here by Z. V. Norman, vice president for Washington County: J. W. Darden, secretary of Washington County Chamber of Commerce and Representative W. M, D; rden. Introduced by I. P. Davis, of Dare County, and prepared by a committee composed of Wallace Tatem. of Co lumbia, the resolution reads as fol lows: ‘'Inasmuch as all-weather, safe transportation is an in tergal part of our school system, diversion of gaso line tax funds constitute a handicap to the equal operation of the schols and is a direct discrimination against those rural schools of the State which have to depend upon dirt roads, some times impassible, in order to enjoy the educational facilities offered by the State." Further the resolution points out that "ferries operating across the Alligator River and Croatan Sound as links in highway No, 64 and the ferry across Oregon Inlet should be modernized and made free from tolls as all other bridges and ferries in the State are free from tolls. This is an inexcusable discrimination against this section of the State, which in common fairness and de (Continued on page six) D. M. Chesson Dies At County Home Funeral services were held Wednes day afternoon for Durward Mackey Chesson, 67, who was found dead sit ting on a divan at the Washington County home Tuesday afternoon by Keeper L. L. Basnight as he was pass ing through the lobby. Heart trou ble was said to have caused his sud den death. The Rev. M. R. Gardner, Roper Methodist minister, officiated. Interment took place in the Chesson home place cemetery. For about 30 years Mr. Chesson was a bridge tender for the Norfolk Sou thern Railroad bridge near Mackeys. He never married. Surviving is a sister, Mrs. George W. Dixon, of Roper, and one brother, W. R. Chesson, of Portsmouth. Two Negroes Held For Robbing Shop Al Roper Last Week Fingerprinting and Sleuth ing by Officers Gets Results A little fingerprinting by Corporal Tom B. Brown, of the Highway Pa trol, in cooperation with the sleuth ing efforts of Sheriff J. K, Reid and Chief of Police L. C, Snell, of Roper, resulted in a couple of negroes being held for the July term of superior court on charges of robbery, follow ing a preliminary hearing at a spec ial session of recorder’s court here Wednesday morning. Corporal Brown secured finger prints from a glass window that was broken in the barber shop of Percy Anthony in Roper one night last week and sent them to Greenville, along with fingerprints taken of Isaiah Hill, and expert Bowen Dorsey said the prints on the glass and those of Hill tallied. Spurred on by this discov ery, the officers went to the home of Elmer Norman, where they found $5 in nickels alleged to have been taken from a musical instrument and slot machine when Anthony's barber shop was entered. A shoe worn by one of the defend ants, coupled with tracks found about the scene of the robbery, also pro vided additional evidence upon which the negroes were ordered held on the robbery charge. Tenialive Schedule Of Closing Exercises For School Outlined Sermon To Be Preached by Rev. P. B. Nickens on April 21st Class and school officials of the lo cal high school this year are insti tuting the custom of having local ministers in rotation preach the com mencement sermon. Rev P. B. Nick ms. of the Baptist church, being se lected to start the procedure with a sermon on Sunday, April 21. at 11 a. m.. it was announced today by Principal R. B. Trotman. Class night will be observed on Wednesday night. April 21, at 8 p. m.. in the form of ‘ A Southern Rosary" of the Colonial period, with the fol lowing taking part: Mary Charlotte Jones, salutatorian. with a four-year average of 93.2 on her studies; Brin son Cox. valedictorian, with an aver age of 93.7 for four years; other par ticipants being elected by the class as follows: Jimmy Hays, giftorian; Carita Jackson, poet; Douglass Gur kin, statistician: Dorothy Simpson, prophet; and Jack Stubbs, testator. Graduation exercises will be held on Thursday. April 25. The speaker has not yet been secured. This year's class of 23 is smaller than usual be cause pupils are taking advantage of extra courses offered. Equalization Board Makes Few Changes At Meet Last Week Most of Claims Result of Pulpwood Being Cut From Woodlands Washington's board of county com missioners. sitting as a board of equalization and review here last week, heard complaints from more than 20 persons seeking adjustments on the tax valuations of their pro perty but granted only a minor num ber. Most of the requests for reductions on valuations came because of wide sperad cutting of timber for pulp Wood which owners claimed decreas ed the value of their forest lands con siderably. The woodland of the George Brooke place owned by E. L. Owens was reduced from $10 to $6 per acre. From the Mary E. Bateman land owned by Ethel E. Allen there was an an acreage reduction of three and a half acres that was taken by the State Highway Commission for a roadway. W. A. Mizell's woodland in Plym outh. township was reduced in valu ation by $145 because of pulp wood cut from the land. Mrs. Jessie D. McNair had three acres taken from her taxable proper ty because of a cemetery on the land. Rev. B. B. Slaughter Will Preach in Mackeys Sunday The Rev. B. B. Slaughter, of Eliza beth City, district superintendent of the Methodist church, will preach at Mackeys Methodist church Sunday night at 7:30. Special music will be provided by the Roper community choir. Immediately following the sermon, the Rev. Mr. Slaughter will conduct the second quarterly conference of the Roper charge. Officials of the church urge a large attendance. New Auditorium at CreswellNowinUse Students of the 12 grades in the Creswell school assembled for the first time in the auditorium of their new $85,000 school plant Tuesday aft ernoon as the high school band, un der the direction of Bob Merritt, played several march selections. When the 500 students were seated in their new auditorium chairs, in stalled last week. Principal A. T. Brooks and Dr, G A, Martin, Baptist minister, spoke to the students who were elated to be in the new build ing after years in the old badly con gested structure. Dr. Martin conducted the devotion als and told the students that ‘‘all knowledge is vain unless God dwells in and acts as a motivating force in their lives." while Principal Brooks dwelled on the perfect order in the line of march of the students, many of whom had not atended a chapel exercise during school hours since 1934, when the auditorium in the old building was div ided into classrooms. ASKS COOPERATION | v■> Chief of Police P. W. Brown to day urged citizens not to put trash and refuse on the streets Saturday mornings after the trash truck lias passed, as it will remain in front of the homes on Sunday, presenting a very un sightly appearance. Mr. Brown did not give the schedule of the trucks, as he said most of the citizens knew about the time the truck passed their homes. I Stockholders Asked To Help B. and L. Directors in Sale of Stock in New Series Stockholders will be urged to assist the directors of the Plym outh Building and Loan Associa tion in the sale of stock in the tenth series which is being offer ed to the public now, with the new series dated April 1. it was said today by President E. F. Still. The burden of the stock sale heretofore has rested almost en tirely upon the shoulders of the few directors, but this time the stockholders will be given an op portunity to help in selling both full-paid or installment stock. Secretary M. VV. Spruill is in re ceipt of a letter from officials of the State Department of Insur ance advising that the earnings of the association justify paying 4 per cent interest on full-paid stock and 5 per cent on install ment stock. With this knowledge and con fronted with the urgent need of new houses here, officials and stockholders of the association are getting set for an intensive campaign for the sale of stock. New Registration Is Ordered for County Action Taken by Board of Elections At Meet Saturday Up To Candidates and Party Workers To Get Voters’ Names Back on Books Meeting in official session at the courthouse here last Saturday morn ing, the Washington County Board of Elections ordered a new registra tion in each of the five precincts, and perfected its organization with P. W. B»inkley as chairman, W. J. Marrow, sr., secretary: and J. R. Carr, Repub lican, as the third member. The registration books were in such condition that it was decided to have a complete new registration so that three books could be set up. one for the Democratic primary, one for the Republican primary, end one book to contain the names of registered voters of both parties for use in the genera! election in November. Chairman Brinkley said that since there had been no new registration of voters in the county for more than 25 years he felt it was important to do this work now so that the books could be brought up to date. Some have told Chairman Brinkley that j^would take much pressure amj work" to get all of the old voters re registered. but Mr. Brinkley said that if the candidates were sufficiently in terested they could aid and encour age voters to register so that they could vote in both the primaries and elections. It was suggested that the voters’ names could be copied in new books, but after going over the old books, the election officials decided it would be best to order a complete new reg istration. The county board will meet on April G to appoint registrars and judges of elections. ft Large Crowd Hears Cantata at 'Roper Roper.—In spite of a driving snow storm Sunday night, a good congre gation heard the community choir give a rendition of Fred B. Holton's cantata. “The Thorn-Crowned King," at the Roper Methodist church. Solo parts were taken by Miss Mar garet Chesson, Mrs. Eula Chesson, Mrs. M. R. Gardner, R. W Lewis, and Tom Furness, jr. Other members of the choir were: Alma Knowles, Mrs. H. M. Williams, Katherine Leary, Mrs. Roger Chesson, Eva Chesson, Mrs. Pearl Bray, Mrs. Hattie Bell, Mrs. A. R. Hooker, Miss Ida Peacock, Miss II lean Peacock, Mrs. Milton Chesson, Jesse C. Knowles and B. B. Spencer. Mrs. M. R. Gardner directed the cantata and Mrs. Hyacinth Mizzell | was accompanist. District Meeting of Methodist Laymen i Will Be Held Here To Gather at Local Metho dist Church Sunday Afternoon ■-$ Stewards of Methodist churches in the Elizabeth City district will gather in the Plymouth Methodist church Sunday afternoon at 3 o'clock to dis cuss the theme of "Stewardship," with John R. Jenkins, jr.. of Wash ington, district lay leader, in charge. The Scripture lesson will be r< ad by C. G. Morris, of Washington past district lay leader. Prayer «:ll be offered by B. W. Evans, < u. associate district lay 1( ufi< Ml' Jenkins will present a rep •11 ,lie conference board of lay stewardship activities. Rev. B. B. Slaughter, of El.zabcth City, district superintei ' speak on "District Steward'!.' A. Holmes, of Edenton. wil t’■ on ‘‘Christian Stewardship u 1'*- s Berry, of Swan Qaurt . : on "Responsibilities ant. Pro 1 of a Methodist Steward." Z. V. Norman, of Plymout make an address on “S Through Fellowship." C. S ' of Wanchese, will pronounce tic ben ediction. r CANDIDATE / ! m ■ \_ • i P. G. Gallop, superintendent of Hyde County schools, last week announced his candidacy for the state senate from the second dis trict, bringing to three the num ber of aspirants for the two nom inations to be decided in the pri mary May 25. Wrong Man Gets Pay Check and Winds Up With 60-Day Term Theodore Roosevelt Ford Gets Several Other Folks Involved in Deal This is the story of a check which was paid at its face value at the bank, but four persons interested in the transactions connected with it were each in turn embarrassed by it, so officers were called in to smooth out the confusion. The first to handle the check was a local industrial plant, which issued the check to a man named Downing, but, through an error, it was turned over to Theodore Roosevelt Ford, who had Sam Scherr, local merchant, to cash it. Then Downing went down Satur day and called for the check. Heads ached until it was found in the bank, with Mr. Scherr’s name on it as en dorser. Officers next apprehended Ford, who was identified as the negro who had Mr. Scherr cash it. Tuesday morning in recorder's court, where the whole business was aired out, it was found that the in dustrial plant's clerks gave the check to Ford instead of Downing, and they were out $12.47; Mr. Scherr was out a lot of worry; and Ford was ordered by tire court to be taken out of cir culation for a period of 60 days, dur ing which time he will devote his ef forts and talents to the affairs of the county. Willie Wynn, negro, was also or dered by Recorder J. W. Darden Tues day morning to contribute $5 month lytoward the support of his two chil dren. His wife claimed she found him impossible to live with. Negro Woman Shot To Death; Husband Jailed tor Murder Leamon Alexander To Face Trial for Life Result of Killing Friday At a preliminary hearing held here this week Leamon Alexander, colored, was ordered held without privilege of bond on a first-degree murder charge in connection with the death of his wife. Neci Alexander, who died al most immediately after he had shot her at a local dance hall last Friday night. Officers said Alexander walked in to the Dreamland Auditorium, col ored dance hall, and seeing his wife there, after he had forbidden her going to the plaee. he pulled a pis tol. pressed it against her side, and fired a bullet into her body. She dropped at his feet, and friends, with officers, rushed her to Dr. T. L. Bray's office, where a short time after the fatal shot had been fired she was pronounced dead. The shooting occurred about 10:15 Friday night, and about 2 o'clock the next morning Alexander was found hiding in an unfinished dwelling house at the south end of Jefferson Street, where officers said he was making an effort to escape by having a car pick him up. Officer Paul Basnight. with Joe Nobles accompanying him. found the negro in the unoccupied house in a white neighborhood and he was lodged in jail to await the July term of superior court, when he will go on trial for his life. Thief Grabs Money Af Movie Box Office Police today were unable to estab lish the identity of the negro who reached a hand through the ticket window of the Plymouth Theatre last Thursday night at 8:10. grabbing be tween $18 and $25 and escaping with his loot down an alley beside the the atre building. Immediately after being notified, local officers nabbed a suspect and held him for several days, releasing him later when Mrs. Jack Frank, the ticket seller, said she could not posi tively identify him as the robber. Shep Brinkley, owner of the the atre. said the negro slipped inside an outer door to the ticket window, grabbed the money hurriedly and es caped. Mrs. Frank cot mi:: 'd up in the col or the hat the thief wore and when the suspect was brought before her would not identify him “beyond a doubt." No Waiting List at Library for Books In the future there will be no wait ing list for books on the rental shelf of the Washington County Library on the second floor of the courthouse, it was announced today by Mrs. Lu la Jackson, librarian, who said she had been instructed not to reserve books for any one at any time from the rental shelf. With this new ruling, Mrs. Jackson also announced new libarary hours as follows: 10 to 12 a. m. every day except Saturday and Sunday: and from 2 to 5 p. m. every day except Sunday. Mrs. Jackson also said that the folliwing books would be placed in the library on he rental shelf in a short time: "The Crying Sisters." 'Eastwood in Eden,” “The Late George Apley," ‘Stranger Within the Gates.” "Song After Midnight." “Red Lanterns on St. Michaels,” “Finder’s Keepers," ‘The Trees.” “Native Son,” "Nazarene,” "No Hands on the Clock." and "Thus Dr. Mallory,” Mrs. Harry Barnes Dies Suddenly at Cherry A report has reached here that Mrs. Harry Barnes, wife of a Cherry mer chant and a school teacher in Wash ington County, died suddenly last right at her home. It was reported that she was stand ng beside a child when she suddenly ’ell and died almost immediately. No details concering the funeral could ae learned here today. $161,000 Allotted To Twelve Counties For Repairing Roads Damaged by Cold estimate the share of Washing ton County in the $161,000 allo cated to the second division by W. Vance Baise, State highway engineer at Raleigh, for the pur pose of repairing state and county highways that were dam aged by the recent severe winter. Counties to share in this fund Beaufort, Pamlico. Craven. Cart aret, Onslow. Jones, Lenoir, Greene and Pitt. All of these counties with the exception of Hyde are larger than Washing ton and if the usual procedure is followed most of the money will be used before this county can claim a large share. A total of $86,900 will be spent on repairing State highways in the 12 counties in the division while $75,000 will be spent on pairing county highways. The su mof $1,887,000 was ap portioned by the State Highway official to the 10 State highway divisions embracing all of 100 counties. This sum was appor tioned to the divisions for imme diate use in repairing damaged highways. As the money is earmarked on ly for repairing highways, there will be none of this fund used on construction of new roads pro peets in the county nor for hard surfacing roads that are now im passible during the winter months. Officials here today could not
The Roanoke Beacon and Washington County News (Plymouth, N.C.)
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March 28, 1940, edition 1
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