North Carolina Newspapers

The Roanoke Beacon ******* and Washington County News ******* VOLUME LII NUMBER 37 Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina, Thursday, September 11, 1941 A home newspaper dedicated to the service of Washington County and its 12,000 people. ESTABLISHED 1889 Town opics County Forest Warden S. F. Dar den spent Thursday and Friday at White Lake, where forest wardens of the eastern counties gathered to hear talks by their superiors and to hold conferences about the forest laws. Asa Rogers is working in the aft ernoons and during the week-ends at Womble's Drug Store. Misses Collia V. Davenport and Lula Brown are also employed there. Rogers is at tending Plymouth High Schooi and is a member of the football squad. Members of the Lions Club are meeting at 6:20 this afternoon for a conducted tour of the Nortli Carolina Pulp Company plant at the invitation of E. L. Walker, manager. Returning about 7 o’ clock, the group will hear Frank Heyward, jr., of Atlanta, Ga. gen eral manager of the Southern Pulpwood Conservation Associa tion, speak, illustrating his talk with slides. Jack Peele was appointed a justice of the peace by Clerk of Superior Court C. V. W. Ausbon last week to succeed John W. Darden, who became postmaster. Having served as cor oner, Mr. Peele was elected constable In the 1940 election, but resigned to become a justice of the peace. C. W. Dinkins, a resident of Plym outh, lost a watch here the day be fore he left to begin teaching in the Allen Jay High School at High Point last Thursday, He placed a want ad in the Beacon offering a reward for its return, and Earl Craddock came in Saturday morning to return the watch and claim the reward. Shop Brinkley will present "Plymouth's Labor Day Parade,” as filmed by Warnie Gurkin, as an added attraction at the Plym outh Theatre tonight and tomor row. The Him shows the entire parade, boat races, and scenes at at the barbecue held at Albemarle Beach. Washington County will not have a quota to fill in the 18th call which will be issued for October by selective service officials, according to Clerk S. A. Ward, of the local board. So far as known now, there will be no young white or colored men to leave the county for the army next month. It is reported that the store on Water Street recently vacated by W. E. Weede has been rented to either S. Ganderson, of Elizabeth City, or one of his sons. The store is being remodeled and improved preparatory to opening of a men's wearing ap parel store there. -— J. R. Manning Will Help Find Jobs for Returning Soldiers -<£ Named Reemployment Lia son Officer for Selective Service Board -® J. R. Manning, of Plymouth, was 'last week appointed reemployment Uason officer for the Washington County Selective Board, of which he is also a member; and he will be glad to render all possible aid to men who are released from the armed forces in obtaining employment, according to E. S. Blount, chairman of the se lective service board. The function of the liason office is to get in touch with the former employer prior to the return of a se lectee from the army, to find out if the soldier’s former job is available, to transmit the records of returning soldiers who have no jobs awaiting them to the nearest state employ- j rnent office, and generally to use all i means at his command to assist the ex-service man in obtaining employ ment, Mr. Blount said. The selective service act provides that a person leaving the armed serv ices of the country shall be restored to work by his former employer in a position of like seniority, status and pay unless the employer’s circum stances have so changed as to make it impossible or unreasonable. Mr. Blount said that Mr. Manning was well qualified to act as reemployment committeeman because of his connec tions with clubs, factories and other groups of employers in the county. Detailed records of the selectee’s experience and efficiency for specific classes of work will be supplied Mr. Manning, who will render all the aid possible in securing employment DRIVERS OF SCHpOL BUSES IN WASHINGTON COUNTY ...---..■•• . ,,,.^- : .- ■ y.-,.-,, -. This picture shows the school bus drivers of Washington County, who passed an examination on safe driving with a mark of 97.85 per cent last Friday, a new high mark for this region. Those in the picture, reading from left to right, are: First row, H. H. McLean, county superintendent of schools; Milton Spear, Carol Van Davenport, Charlie Bagley, ,jr„ Wendell Haire, Wilbur Davenport, H. Phelps, Guilford Furlough. A. Caramon, Mrs. Alice Futrell, representative of the Highway Safety Patrol, who gave the examination; sec ond row: Edison Allen, school bus mechnic, Marvin Davenport, Hubert Davenport, Newman Allen, Irvin Tar kenton, Bryan Chesson, Gerald Spencer, Aubrey Spruill, Loomis Swain, and A. T. Brooks, principal of the Creswell school; third row: Corporal T. B. Brown, of the State Highway Patrol, Leo Ambrose, Horace Alli good, Chester Hopkins, Edsii Barnes, Clayton Marriner, Wilford" Armstrong, C. Barber, and C. Marriner; fourth row: D. E. Poole, principal of the Roper school; Leroy Furlough, W. Davenport, E. Ayers, Garland Har dison. J. Halsey and Robert Bateman; fifth row: Freeman Allen, Sam Carlysle, M. Daniels, Aubrey Dixon, R. Phelps and Bryce Peacock.—Photo by Carl L. Bailey, jr. ^_ Splendid Record Made By School Bus Drivers Distribute $1,217 In Cotton Stamps A total of $1,217 worth of cot ton stamps have been distributed to growers who have cooperated with the AAA program on this crop in the county up to Satur day of last week. It is believed there will be between $500 and S600 waiah r... e m lss:‘ '.d be fore the program is completed. Merchants handling 100 per cent American - grown - cotton merchandise in Roper, Creswell and Plymouth are accepting the stamps. 1942 Farm Plans To Be Signed in County Last of This Week Representatives Will Be at Three Places in County Friday-Saturday Farmers of Washington County are urged to meet representatives of the county agent’s office at one of three places in the county Friday and Sat urday to sign their 1942 agricultural conservation program farm practice plan and make their requests for con servation benefits. All meetings will be held Friday and Saturday at the following places simultaneously: Plymouth Township farmers, at the agriculture building in Plymouth; Lees Mill and part of Skinnersville Township, at J. H. Gay lord's store in Roper: Scuppernong and the lower part of Skinnersville Townships, at W. D. Phelps’ store in Creswell. The purpose of the farm practice plan is to help farmers in selecting and carrying out their soil-building practices, which farmers and com mitteemen agree upon as most need ed on the individual farm, and to en able the farmer to fully participate in the farm program, participation be ing voluntary. Last year nearly all county farmers signed the forms, which is necessary in order to be eligible to receive soil conservation program payments and benefits. Number Tickets Sold by Lions Club For Collins Entertainment Festival A number of tickets have been sold so far for the four programs to be presented by the Collins Entertainment Festival at the Plymouth High School Building on four consecutive Thursday nights, beginning on September 25, according to P. W. Brown, chairman of the committee on arrangements for the Lions Club which is sponsoring the perform ances. ‘Community life so reflected in its wide selection of entertain ment is a fine expression of Am erican democracy,” said Mr. Brown, in pointing out that these four semi-classic programs will provide a different kind of en tertainment which Plymouth folks will like. The first entertainment will be presented by the Madrigal Sing ers. They sine many of the Old English and modem madrigals and song hits from light operas will also be rendered. Four sing ers comprise this group. On Thursday night, October 2, Robert N. Zimmerman, deep sea diver, prorides a trip to the bot tom of the sea for the audience; on October 9, Victor Charles will present his marionettes in “Tom Sawyer,” assisted by a company of three persons; and on October 16, the series will close with a revival of Henry Davies’ comedy success “The Mollusc,” presented by the Casford Players. Chairman Brown and all of the members of the Lions Club hope and urge a big response by the people of Plymouth as the Lions Club will share in the receipts above a stated sum. Pass Examination By Highest Mark 'Made in District -<S> Certificates Are Awarded at Luncheon Meeting Held Last Friday -® School bus drivers of Washington County established a record for the 15 counties in thsi section las ^ Fri day, when they passed an examina tion on safe driving with an average percentage of 97.85. The examina tion was given by Mrs. Alice Futrell, of Ahoskie, a representative of the Highway Safety Division, who was very complimentary in her remarks on the satisfactory manner in which the county drivers answered the ques tions. Certificates were awarded the 37 drivers and their assistants at a luncheon meeting held at the Pines. In addition to Mrs. Futrell and the school bus drivers, a group of coun ty citizens attended the luncheon, in cluding Representative W. M. Dar den, Corporal T. B. Brown, Walter H. Paramore, H. H. McLean, D. E. Poole, A. T. Brooks and others. Mrs. Futrell was very lavish in her praise of the excellent showing made by the boys and for the good work done by Corporal Brown in instruct ing the drivers for six weeks prior to the opening of the schools. As there have been no serious accident involv ing school buses in this county for the past four years, it was suggested by the highway safety division rep resentative that school boy safety pa trols be organized in all of the white schools, which would make this a model county for others in the dis trict to emulate. There are actually only 20 drivers of school buses in the county, but the assistants are appointed to keep or der in the buses and to assist the drivers in any other way possible, as well as to substitute for them when they are absent from any reason. The drivers taking the test here last week came from Roper, Plymouth, and Creswell schools. Tobacco Prices Are Pleasing io Growers Washington County tobacco grow ers are reported to be selling their tobacco as rapidly as they get it grad ed, and ready for market, but Coun ty Agent W. V. Hays said today that so far as he could learn there was no scramble to get the weed to the warehouses. Tobacco is moving to the markets rapidly but in an orderly manner throughout the belt, it was said. Prices started off, when the mar kets opened August 26, at average of around $26 to $28 per 100 pounds, and reports through Wednesday of this week indicate there has been a slight increase, the general average now running around $28 on all mar kets. __—,« PLYMOUTH SENIOR CLASS ELECTS OFFICERS MONDAY The senior class of the Plymouth High School held its first meeting Monday, electing the following offi cers: Elmo Mayo, president; John Brown, vice president; Joe Weede, secretary; and Claudia Biatten, treas urer. Enthusiasm manifested at the first meeting by students betokens a successful year for the class. Town Plans To Tax ABC Store Here To Get Share of Profits -v Instruct Attorney To Find Out What Law Is on This Matter -® Town Attorney W. L. Whitley has been directed by the Plymouth city council to go through his law books and write to the attorney general to get all the information possible on the taxing powers of the municipality on the ABC store operated by the county here. It was stated that the city fathers may put a privilege tax on the store, which will net about $25 or $50, or some such figure. It is also believed the town may apply the regular property tax rate against the stock of the store. The store usually has about $10,000 worth of stock on hand, which, at $2 per $100, the current local rate, would yield about $200. The $250 total is not what city offic ials think is a fair share of profits of the store, but it was pointed out that it would be "a darn sight more than they nothing they have been getting for the past four years.” The federal government gets a tax on the whiskey sold, the state gets its sales tax, and the county gets about $10,000 a year in profits, it is pointed out, while the town, which provides police and fire protection as well as some of the store’s best cus tomers, gets no return at all. Attorney Whitley is going to find out whether the town will have to wait until listing time in January, 1942, to place the ABC store stock on the books, or whether they can study the audit and get the amount of stock from that in order to levy a tax on the store for 1941. Gross sales for the Plymouth store were $64,696.20 last year. The gross profit from the operation of the Cres well and Plymouth stores was $26, 201.43, out of which the state re ceived $6,307.88 and the county $10, 000, while the town of Plymouth re ceived nothing. It has been suggested that if the ABC store should be taxed by the town, the county officials might re taliate by making a rental charge for town prisoners when placed in the county jail. Total oi $2,070 Allotted To NY A Work in County A total of $2,070 has been allotted for student work in Washington County by the National Youth Ad ministration, according to an an nouncement made by John A. Lang, state administrator. Tlie fund was allotted as this coun ty’s part of the $315,631 made avail able in the State of North Carolina by the NYA, to be used in carrying on NYA student work programs in the schools during 1941-42 term. A total of 171 high schools in the state participated in the allocation of funds -« C. E. Ayers Now Dealer for Pyrofax Gas in This County Pyrofax gas is now available in this county for cooking, refrigera tion and heating, according to C. E. Ayers, who this week became dealer for the gas and is also handling re frigerators, ranges, and other appli ances that use this fuel. Mr, Ayers declared this method of cooking was one of the cleanest, most economical, uniform and dependable known, adding that it compares with gas available in cities but was far less expensive. He said the fuel supply could be depended upon, as it is not affected by government priorties for national defense work. Binding and Loan Siockholders Hold Annual Meet Here --fr J. C. Tarkenton Reelected President; Report Made Of Progress ——» Stockholders of the Plymouth Building and Loan Association held their annual meeting at the munici pal building here last night and elect ed a board of directors for the com ing year, as well as listening to re ports of the progress made by the association. Immediately after the stockholders’ meeting, the directors elected officers of the association, as follows: J. C. Tarkenton, of Pleas ant Grove, president; J. R. Manning, vice president: M. W. Spruill, secre tary; and Z. V. Norman, solicitor. Mr. Tarkenton, one of the largest stockholders in the association, was reelected for his second term, as was Mr. Manning. Mr. Spruill is begin ning his fifth year as secretary and treasurer, and Mr. Norman has serv ed a similar term as solicitor. At the stockholders’ meeting, the following directors were elected: J. C. Tarkenton, P. W. Brown, H. E. Beam, A. J. Riddle, J. R. Manning, W. M. Darden, B. G. Campbell, T. W. Earle, and E. F. Still. At the directors' meeting, the following appraisal com mittee was appointed: B. G. Camp bell, J. C. Tarkenton, H. E. Beam and J. R. Manning. There were 15 stock holders present and 22 were repre sented by proxies. The financial report for the fiscal year ending June 30, shows $39,871 in stallment stock in force in the 14 series. There are 173 stockholders and 1,613 shares of stock outstanding. Full-paid stock amounts to $14,400. Stock in arrearages was $3,274.40, this being on savings shares. The August report to the stock holders showed $54,885 in mortgage loans outstanding and stock loans of $3,521.25. The organization had $4, 866.79 in cash on hand and total as sets as of September 1 were $63,773.04 Town Council Holds Long Session Here Last Monday Night Discuss Need of Stoplights, But No Action Taken; Other Proceedings ———<♦) The Town of Plymouth Council, in its regular monthly meeting Tuesday night, remained late and heard a lot about affairs of the town in one of the lengthiest sessions held in recent months. W. M. Darden made an offer for renting the old municipal ice plant building, now rented by M. H. Mitch ell Furniture Company and Shep Brinkley for storage purposes. Mr. Darden wanted to have a seed and feed store in the building. The coun cilmen told Mr. Darden they would let him know if the building became available by the present renters giv ing it up. The council is still waiting to hear from fire hose manufacturers relative to prices on hose they wish to pur chase for the fire department. There was a discussion about the need of stoplights at several inter sections here, but no action was tak en. Mayor B. G. Campbell was request ed to write the firm of Williams & Wall, certified public accountants, asking that a report on the recent audit be made to the council on Sep tember 18. A. J. Riddle was asked to submit prices on coal for the town's needs this fall and winter. It was announced that 24 electric street lights would be installed in the area recently added to the town and in some parts of the old area as soon as the power company could secure the materials. It was decided to dispose of the boiler and canning plant equipment formerly owned by W. R. Hampton which was acquired by the town about a year ago. City Attorney W. L. Whitley was asked to draft an ordinance requir ing the use of license plates on all motor vehicles owned by residents of the town. Joe Nobles was named dog catcher, his compensation to consist of 25 per cent of the dog license revenue. Shipment of Vetch Expected Monday A shipment of vetch is expected to arrive in Plymouth next Monday, September 15, to be sold to farmers in Washington County who wish to plant this cover crop, according to County Agent W. V. Hays, who urges farmers to let him know immediate ly of their needs. "This vetch is good seed," the county agent says, "as it meets government specifications and can be bought outright for cash or by assignment of the agricultural payment. The price is $9.85 per 100 pounds in cotton bags or $9 75 in jute bags." Mr. Hays said those who pay cash will probably be able to get the seed for 5c to 10c per bag cheaper than by assignment of the conservation pro gram paymen* Plans for Addition To High School Here Are Finished by Architect Marketing Cards Are Distributed Cotton marketing cards will be delivered to growers in the coun ty within the next few days, so they may be presented when the cotton is carried to the gins or to cotton buyers, it was learned to day from the office of County Agent W. V. Hays. There are about 200 cards to be distributed among growers in the county. They can be acquired by calling at the office of the farm agent. There are about 500 acres of cotton in the county this year, and it is estimated that 400 or more bales will be harvested. At 15 cents per pound, the crop will return about $30,000 to the pro ducers. 14 While Men Leave Monday for Service With U. S. Forces First of July Registrants in Group Scheduled to Go Next Week -® Fourteen white men have been ex amined and will leave next Monday for Fort Bragg, near Fayetteville, for induction into the army with the fif teenth man in the call having enter ed the Naval Reserves last week, it was learned today from S. A. Ward, clerk of the Washignton County Se lective Service Board. Included in the list are three young men who registered in the second registration on July 1. They are the first of the new selectees to enter the service. The remainder of the selectees were chosen the first reg istration, held in October, 1940. The following have been ordered to report: From Plymouth: Albert Duran Williams, order No. S-576 (a new selectee ); Russell Bowen Askew, order No. 583; Johnny Alton Patrick, order No. 595; William Joseph Brown order No. 695; Charles Edward Brinn, order No. 732; William Roy Hampton, jr„ order No. 768. From Roper: Louis Otis Davenport, order No. 488; John W. Sawyer, or der No. S-1163, (a volunteer); Wil liam Allen Holton, order No. 730; Andrew Webster Swain, order No. 792; Leland Barner, order No. 589. From Creswell: Harold Stewart Woodley, order No. S-481 (new se lectee) ; Edison Abraham Twiddy, or der No. 747. From Mackeys: John Forbes Dav enport, order No. 668. The fifteenth man called was Tar as Ramon Ivahiuw, of Plymouth, or der No. 746, who went to New Bern last Thursday and enlisted in the Naval Reserves, choosing to serve in the Navy rather than the Army. Any selectee may enlist voluntarily prior to induction. John W. Saw yer, of Roper, whose order No. S-1163 placed him down the list, voluteered and will leave with the group Mon day. -* Homecoming Day ai Mi. Tabor Saturday -& A homecoming day will be held at the Mount Tabor Free Will Baptist church Saturday. September 13. be ginning at 11 o'clock, it was an nounced this week by the Rev. T. F. Davenport. All members are urged to be pres ent, and all former pastors have been invited and asked to attendthe serv ice. The Rev. E. C. Morris, of Eliz abeth City, is the present pastor. This church was organized on Sep tember 10, 1896, by the Rev. J. B. McCoskey, with 24 members, includ ing 13 men and 11 women. Only four of the charter members are now liv ing. There is a membership now of 200 persons. Submiiled lo WPA Officials Recently For Consideration Meantime, Officials Hope to Reroof and Install New Pleating Plant •-V Plans for the addition to the Plyin outh High School building have been completed by Architect Prank Ben ton, of Wilson, and have been ap proved by the state school planning commission and the state fire mar shall and have been sent to the dis trict WPA office in Williamston for consideration, according to H. H. Mc Lean. county superintendent of pub lic instruction. Mr. Benton has been in William ston conferiing with WPA officials and making a breakdown of the es timated costs of the project, prepara tory to sending it to the Raleigh office of the WPA. Prom there the data on the project will go on to the regional office of the WPA at At lanta and finally to national head quarters in Washington, D. C. In the meantime, local school of lcials are taking steps to begin re roofing and installing a new heating system in the local school building Expense of this was included in the $40,000 appropriation set up by the county commissioners as capital out lay for all school purposes during the current fiscal year, and plans are un der consideration to begin this work immediately without waiting for ac tion on the entire building program, A firm wlich has all the material on hand has offered to start installa tion of the heating plant immediate ly upon acceptance of its bid. This firm will also reroof the building and install the heating equipment in such manner that connection can easily be made when the proposed addition is built to the school. It was stated that if the county commissioners would make available about $8,000 of the $40,000 appro priated, the roofing could be replaced and heating p'ant mstalled within 40 days. Tire present heating plant is said to be inadequate and sorely in need of major repairs, which makes it imperative that some action be tak en soon in order to provide for the comfort of teachers and children this coming winter. Wood Conservation Urged by Heyward In Talk Last Night Says More Wood Used for Curing Tobacco Than by All Pulp Mills in State More trees are used yearly for cur ing tobacco in North Carolina than are consumed by all the pulp mills in the state, Prank Heyward, jr„ of At lanta, Ga., general manager of the Southern Pulpwood Conservation As sociation, told about 30 members and guests of the Grace Episcopal church men’s club at the first meeting of the fall held in the community building here last night. T. W. Earle, manager oi the wood and land department of the North Carolina Pulp Company, presented Mr. Heyward to the group present, and explained that the Southern Pulp wood Conservation Association was composed of pulp plants in 11 sou thern state from Virginia to Texas. In the course of his remarks, Mr. Heyward pointed out that an esti mated 900.000 cords of wood were used for tobacco curing in 1939 in this state, against 600,000 consumed by the pulp mills, and he said that in many cases the best pines in the forest were taken for curing purposes because they were easier to split, while the pulp industry recommends that weak, malformed and diseased trees, which cannot be used to bet ter advantage as sawlogs or poles, be sold to them. He said that the drain '^SeTcONSERVAITONrP^rTi County Tax Rate tor Current Fiscal Year Will Be Same as Last Year, $1.80 Washington County's tax rate for the current fiscal year, begin ning July 1, 1941. and ending June 30, 1942, will be the same as it was last year. SI.80 on the $100 valuation, according to figures released for publication today by E. J. Spruill, county auditor. The $1,80 tax rate will be di vided as follows: General county fund, 15 cents; county poor. 12]<> cents; county health. 5'g cents; old-age assistance. 5'o cents; aid to dependent children. 3,g cents; school current expense, 13 cents; and debt service, $1.25. The total budget requirements for the year are $139,388.45. Of this amount revenue other than that derived from ad valorem taxation is estimated at $32, 719.50. leaving $106,668.95 to be ' raised by property taxes to bal ance the budget. However, the total amount of the tax levy Is 1 fifrured at $112,368.67. The total property valuation for taxable purposes is estimated at $6,242, 704. The amount to be raised by property taxes for each fund Is as follows: General county, $9, 364.06; poor, $7,803.37: health. $3,433.48; old-age assistance, $St 433.48; aid to dependent children $2,184.95; school current ex pense, $8,115.52; and debt serv ice, $78,033.80. Total $112,368.67,