Newspapers / The Roanoke Beacon and … / Sept. 28, 1944, edition 1 / Page 1
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The Roanoke Beacon ******* and Washington County News ******* VOLUME LV NUMBER 39 Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina, Thursday, September 28, 1944 ♦♦it******* KEEP \mthu$t—\ \by buying \ War bonos ESTABLISHED lgS9 Town opics It was learned last week that Lt. Wamie Gurkin. son of Mr. and Mrs. L. W. Gurkin. of Plymouth, has named his B-26 Marauder medium bomber "Plymouth." in honor of his home town. Lieutenant Gurkin, pilot and flight leader of his group, is sta tioned in Sardinia: and has already been on several misisons over enemy territory. It is regarded as certain that Germany will now- hear plenty from Plymouth." Richard West, owner, reopened his Plymouth Barber Shop this week at its new location, on the second floor of the old Brinkley Hotel Building, over Womble's Drug Store. His for mer location, on the first floor of the same building, has been leased as an office for the engineering staff of the North Carolina Pulp Company. Mr. West invites his former patrons to visit his shop at its new location. Farmers are finding all to tobarco markets in the eastern belt glutted. It is not unusual for tobacco to be placed on floors I and remain there for upwards of a week before a sale can be se cured. All warehouses are filled several days before a sale is due. This is resulting in considerable damaged leaf, especially when the weather, is damp, as tobacco spoils rapidly if not properly j cared for. Relatives in Washington received word Sunday that Sgt. George P. Morgan died August 4t,h from wounds received in action in France on Au gust 3. He worked at the Pender store here for more than a year before leaving for service with the National Guard in 1940. and he had many friends in Plymouth. Sergeant Mor gan was member of a tank destroyer unit in General Patton's Third Army. The Roanoke River flood which caused some damage upstream is not expected to reach serious proportions here. Swamps are flooded, and the water level is up some, but it is only in very exceptional cases that dam age is caused in this area from floods, as the river empties into the Albe marle Sound only a few miles beliw Plymouth. The annual meeting of stock holders of the Plymouth Building & Loan Associate- will be held in the municipal council room here Wednesday, October 12, it was announced this week. Direc tors will be elected by the stock holders and they, in turn, will elect officers of the association for the following fiscal year. The firemen defeated the Lions Club last night in a free-scoring con test. 21 to 15. in the fourth game of the “series to end all series.’’ The firemen are now well out in front in the series by a count of three games to one, and need only one more win to end the series and season. Leslie B. Spruill, son of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan W. Spruill, of Roper, was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant September 1. He is a fi nance officer stationed at Cincinati, Ohio. Lieutenant Spruill has been in the service since January 15, 1941. entering as a private. He had up wards of two years' foreign service be fore he returned to an officers’ school last year, graduating and re ceiving his commission October 27, 1943. Edgar S. Stillman Wounded in France Parents, Mr. and Mrs. M. J. Stillman, of Plymouth, Notified Monday —<? A telegram from the War Depart ment was received Monday of this week by Mr. and Mrs. M. J. Stillman, of Plymouth, advising them that their son Pfc. Edgar S. Stillman was seri ously wounded somewhere in France the seventh of this month. No de tails were given as to his wounds in the message, however. j Private Stillman is a native of j Plymouth, having lived here until he entered the service in February, 1942. He attended high school here and worked at the Pulp Mill for about a year before he went into the Army. He trained at Fort Jackson. S. C.. and was serving in a mechanized cavalry unit. After completing his training Pri vate Stillman went overseas in April of this year and was stationed in England. He did not participate in the invasion, but followed about two weeks later and has been France since then. He will be 22 years of age in Octboer. Crews Arriving Here This Week to Start on Housing Development KILLED IN ACTION Sgt. Roscoe J. Browning, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. T. Browning, of Plymouth, was killed in action in Italy on September 3, accord ing to a message received here from the War Department Tues day of last week. He was a mem ber of a tank-destroyer unit with General Mark Clark's Fifth Army and had been in the service since April 14. 1942. Over $14,000 Being Paid Employees of Schools This Week Pay Day Moved U Two Weeks Because of Long Lay-Off Period Pay day is coming early this year for principals, teachers, janitors and bus drivers of county schools, ar rangements being made this week to send out the first month’s salary checks from the office of the county superintendent, H. H. McLean. The checks are being distributed two weeks ahead of the regular pay day, due to the fact that most teachers' finances are at low ebb following their lay-off during the summer months. The total payroll for the 103 teach ers and principals, 5 janitors and 21 bus drivers amounts to $14,297.81 for the first month. This figure will probably advance next month, as there are four vacant teaching posi tions. two colored and two white, it was stated. Amounts of individual teacher checks range from a low of $71.33 to a high of $155, with prin cipals drawing slightly more, and bus drivers coming at the bottom of the list with $13.50 each. The aggregate amounts paid to the various groups are as follows: Three white pricipals get a total of $714.08: 14 white school teachers, $1,232.33; 38 white elementary school teachers. $4,760.62; 2 colored prin cipals. $452.83; 4 colored high school teachers, $554.33; 42 colored elemen tary school teachers, $5,935; 3 white janitors, $267.30; 2 colored janitors, $97.82; 20 white bus drivers, $270; and 1 colored bus driver. $13.50 The figures above are based on base pay plus a special war bonus, and are, of course subject to retire ment and withholding tax deductions. The retirement pay is 4 per cent, while the witholding tax averages about 10 per cent. A few married teachers who do not claim any per sonal exemptions are taxed with $31 per month for the withholding de ductions. Revival Held Last Week At Church in Creswell Creswell.—Last week a series of revival services was held at the Methodist church by the Rev. W. Parkin, of Stumpy Point. The meet ings were well attended and describ ed as a success in every way. Bap tismal services were held Sunday morning at the church by the pastor, the Rev. R. N. McDonald, assisted by Mr. Parkin. . ! Roper Churches Stage Drive to Gather j Clothing for Victims oi European War j The churches of Koper are sponsoring the collection of old clothing for the destitute in war torn Europe, it was announced this week. Directing an appeal to the people of that section, Mrs. C. L. Walker, president of the W.S.C.S. there, issued the follow ing statement: “Winter means hardship to lib erated Europe, Give all the cloth ing you can spare. Unless you help, millions of men, women and children in Europe will suffer bitterly next winter. Your church is cooperating with UNRRA in the collection of clothing, used or new, for war victims. “Bring garments to ‘Barton's,’ which will be open daily from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., and urge your friends and neighbors to do like wise.” Material Is Being Placed and Some Work Underway Project To Be Completed in 90 Days If Sufficient Labor Obtained Construction crews started arriv ing this week to begin work in the next few days on the housing develop ment recently authorized by the War Production Board for employees of the North Carolina Pulp Company who are now commuting to work here from their homes in other sections. Tool houses and other temporary buildings have already been erected in the country club village by the ad-1 vance crew of the H. C. Player Realty j & Construction Company, of Pay- j etteville. under the direction of W. P. Dail. of Wallace, superintendent. It is understood that workmen for the Weaver Construction Company, of Greensboro, will begin arriving today and that they will immediately start work on the Methodist parsonage, for which priority was recently grant ed. Material has already been placed on the lot, located on Latham Lane, and work will begin there immediate ly. it is stated. It was learned yesterday that at least 15 of the 40 houses in the initial building project will be located in the village near the country club, the other 25 to be built on East Third Street Extended in the town. Each of the two construction cofnpanies has a contract for 20 houses. Accord ing to the original plans, 10 of the houses will have three bedrooms, while the other 30 will have but two bedrooms. They will be of one-story frame construction, representing a j total investment of approximately' $4,500 each. The two- bedroom houses will have j approximately 800 feet of floor space' each and will be built to conform to PHA specifications. Hardwood floors, tile bath, electric kitchen with built in cabinets, and other modern fea- j tures are called for in each of the houses. They will be equipped with j 'See HOUSING. Page Pour) War Fund Drive Will Begin Soon Details of Campaign To Be Announced Next Week; Goal Is $5,000 Arrangements for the United War Fund Drive in Washington County will be comp eted in a few' days and full details announced, it was stated this week by P. Bruce Bateman, county chairman. The campaign will be conducted sometime during the montli of October. Mr. Bateman has indicated that he hoped to put on a whirlwind drive and W'ind the matter up in about a week. The county quota, for both local and national purposes, totals $5,000. Principal beneficiary of the United War Fund are the USO. United Sea men's Relief Fund. War Prisoners Aid. and local organizations, includ ing the Boy Scouts and other com munity benevolent and charitable funds. Besides the agencies listed above, there are 14 others, and the united campaign is designed to eli minate the necessity for a multitude of drives for individual worthy caus es. County Tax Sale Is Set for Monday Sale of county property for delin- j quent taxes will be held in front of the courthouse door at noon next Monday, and upwards of 500 par cels will be placed on the block. It is expected that the tax certificates will be bought in by the county, with possibly one or two tracts drawing some private bidding. Tlie tax list this year is one of the smallest on record, according to the tax collector. Tax collections have been the best ever. Incidentally, the county is now preparing the 1944, tax books, and they will be turned over to the collector sometime next month. There is a small discount for pre payment of taxes prior to November. Revival Begins Sunday Night at Baptist Church Rev. LEE A. PHILLIPS. Pastor A revival begins at the Ludford Me morial Baptist Church Sunday night and will continue through the week. Rev. W. C. Frances, of Harrelsville, will be the guest speaker for the week. Everyone is invited to come to these ervices which will begin at 7:30 each evening. Board Agriculture Here This Week to Inspect New Farm May Get Prisoner of War Labor for Erection of New Buildings Members of the State Board of Ag riculture. headed by Commissioner W. Kerr Scott and Fred E. Miller, di rector of the division of test farms, were in the county Monday inspect ing the 2.000-acre Tidewater Test Farm, five miles east of Plymouth on Highway 64. They were accompanied by James L. Rea. jr„ of Wenona, who is in charge of the new experiment station. County Agent W V. Hays, and Thompson Greenwood, of Ra leigh. publicity director of the State Department of Agriculture The party arived here at noon Monday and spent the remainder of the day going over the property, which was recently bought by the state. They discussed improvements and the building program which are to get underway there soon. It was stated that the main dwelling on the farm will be utilized, although exten sive repairs will have to be made. Mr. and Mrs. Rea will live in this home. A large number of barns, stock houses. and other necessary outbuild ings must be built. The state officials said that application would be made for prisoner of war labor to help in the building program. It is under stood that there are a number of car penters and other artisans among German prisoners stationed in the state, and their services will be sought from the Army. Shortage of lumber and labor has been the chief hold up in starting the building program, it was explained. It is possible that a sawmill will be put on the property to cut lumber needed for the farm buildings. Since the state recently sold its property in Wenona. the work at the new farm must be completed by January 1, and all operations transferred there by that time. Members of the inspection party left Monday afternoon to make a series of inspections of other new test farm properties in the western part of the state bought this year. Mrs. Davenpft Is Elected President State Club Women Prominent in Home Demon stration Club Work for Number Years Mrs. Edison Davenport, of Mackeys and Plymouth, was last week elected president of the North Carolina Fede ration of Home Demonstration Clubs at a state council meeting held at State College in Raleigh. Mrs. Dav enport has been active in county home demonstration club work for a number of years, serving as president of the county federation, and she has held office in the state organization for the past seven years. It is a decided honor to Mrs. Dav enport and the county, as it marks the first time a Washington County woman has ever served as head of the state organization. There are 2.200 clubs and approximately 45.000 club women in the state. At the state council meeting, at tended by 300 rural women, a reso lution was passed urging women to study issues and principles now be fore the nation and exercise their right to vote. Other resolutions fa vored employment of competent teachers in the schools with increas ed salaries; better medical care and health services for rural people: more careful study of juvenile delinquency and crime; employment of more home demonstration agents in the in dustrial centers and in the counties; and on other matters connected with farm life. All members of the federation council were entertained at tea by Mrs. J. Melville Broughton at the Governor’s mansion Thursday after noon. when officers were elected. Other officers elected were: Mrs. A. W. Pierce, of Wayne County, first vice president; Mrs. Glenn Duncan, of Chatam County, second vice presi dent; Mrs. George Apperson. of Davie County, third vice president; Mrs. P P. Gregory, of Camden County, re cording secretary; Mrs. Eva Person, of Franklin County, treasurer; Mrs. H. M. Johnson, of Lenoir County, chair man of the Jane S. McKimmon Loan Fund Committee; and Mrs. Estelle T. Smith of State College, counselor. Relatives Notified Levin Ange Seriously Wounded Mrs. Tom Sanderson, cf Plymouth, received a message from the War Department on Tuesday of this week, stating that her brother, Pfc. Levin W. Ange, was seriously wounded somewhere in Fiance, but no de tails were given. Private Ange worked for four years in Washington. D. C„ before volun teering for the Army. He was ac cepted, and placed in the infantry and trained for six months before go ing overseas. He is now 22 years of age. Primary School Condemned Following Meeting Thursday Action Is Forced by Petition Following Meeting Last Week History of Local Situation Shows Complications Began Years Ago Dissatisfaction over continued de lays in improvements to local school facilities "boiled over” at the first; meeting of the local parent-teacher ’ association last Thursday night, re sulting in condemnation by fire au thorities Saturday of the Old Hamp ton Academy building on Main Street. This action left 212 first, second and third grade pupils and six teachers ; with no place in which to hold class- ; es after just one week of the new I term. The entire school situation here is a mass of complications, extending back over posibly a score of years, embracing the consolidation program in the early twenties, the depression, lack of county finances, then sudden industrial expansion, the war, and is coupled with both public and official indifference. The Hampton Building was erected j shortly after the turn of the cen- i tury and was adequate for upwards of 20 years. Then the present high school building was planned just prior to general consolidation of rural schools in the twenties. This latter fact rendered the new building in adequate within a few years of its completion, and use of the Hampton building was resumed for the primary grades. Opportunities Missed The depression came along, with lowered tax values, increased taxes and general business stagnation. The county was unable to match Federal grants available during this period on account of its bonded indebtedness al ready being high. Possibly the best opportunities were mlssecl in the late thirties, when grants were still avail able and the county began to work lout of the hole it was in. A new building was secured for Creswell about this time, but interest in schools generally was at low ebb. and no over-all program was pushed. In 1937 the pulp mill was located near here, but not in Washington County, although most of the people connected with it lived in this coun i t.y and sent their children to school I here. This resulted in an increased j enrollment for the local school, while the added tax valuation of the pulp mill property went to the adjacent county of Martin. TseTsCHOOL CLOSED, Page 4) Legion Condemns Ban on Festival Resolution Says Post Not Allowed To Present Its Side of Case Following is the text of a resolution ! passed at a recent meeting of the James E. Jethro Post of the Ameri can Legion and for which publication has been requested: Whereas, at a regular meeting of James E. Jethro Post No. 164 of the American Legion, in Plymouth. N. C., on the 8th day of September. 1944, a resolution was adopted unanimously, by the membership, condemning the j recent action of the defacto Board of Health relative to prohibiting the an | nual Fall Carnival of the American Legion in Washington County, alledg 1 ing that the carnival would add to the danger and spread of the recent Polio ; outbreak—now therefore: Be it resolved, that the meeting as held by the defacto Board of 'Health, notice of which was not giv len to all its members, nor to the ; American Legion so that they might present their side of the controversy, and inasmuch as the revenue derived from the annual carnival is devoted i to the charitable and educational j growth of the community: and, fur ; ther, that other places of amusement in the town and county were permit ted to continue their operations: We, the American Legion, feel that I both ourselves and the community at I large have been grossly discriminated j against and condemn and deplore the I recent action of the aforesaid Board ' of Health. Entered and inscribed on the Minutes of James E. Jethro Post No. i 164 American Lesion this the 22nd day of September, 1944. Two Groceries To Observe Wednesday Half-Holidays ; Effective this week, it was announc. j ed that the Pender and A & P. stores in Plymouth would be closed at 1 pin. each Wednesday afternoon on a year-around basis. The store hours on other week days will remain the same as at present. An attempt was made last week to have all grocery stores observe the weekly half-day closing, but severa’ of the independent merchants de cided against it. The management of the A. & P and Pender's stores re I quest their patrons to cooperate by buying their groceries during the morning hours on Wednesdays, I Official Records In School Closing In this article are presented the official records issued in connection with the closing of the Hampton Aca demy school building here last Satur day. They include a copy of the of ficial notification that the building was subject to condemnation, written on March 28. 1941; a copy of the pe tition signed by local citizens last Friday, asking that the building be condemned: and a copy of the order closing the building posted Saturday by I. M. Warren, chief of the Plym outh Fire Department. Inspection of the building was made by Sherwood Brockwell, state fire marshal, on March 21, 1941. Fol lowing this, an official notification was addressed to H. H. McLean, sup erintendent. Washington County Schools, by the late Dan C. Boney, at that time Insurance Commissioner. This notice, dated March 25. 1941, and carrying the official seal of the Insurance Department, reads as fol lows : I have before me a copy of a re port made by a deputy of this De partment who. on March 21st.. 1941, inspected the Hampton School Build ing 'Hampton Academy in Plym outh. From the contents of this report this t vo story school building, with outside W’alls of brick and interior of wood-joist construction, it is of a type which was popular for city and town use prior to the beginning of the great crusade for education led by Aycock, McTver and Joyner in the early years of the present cen tury, many of this type buildings in this state having, in the past forty years, burned or been abandoned as unsuitable for school burposes. This report lists one severely in side wooden stairway serving three rooms on the second floor, this one inside stairway augmented by two non-standard wooden exits in the rear of the building. These outside exits have stairways which in addi tion to being of wood, have more than the safe number of treads to the unit and would, in all probability, collapse under fire conditions. The location of two of the three en trances to these two outside exists are such as to create panic conditions on the second floor in case of fire on tile first floor. The outside walls of the building show pronounced cracks in several places and an attempt has been made to correct this by the use of iron tie rods, but this has been unsuccessful. The floors of the building are bad ly worn and there is evidence of par tial failure of the floor joists in all of the three second floor class rooms and the corrider between. The wiring in the building is of a type long since discontinued in school buildings and considered dangerous by many authorities. Heating of the class rooms is by stoves. A resume of the considtions listed in the report submitted shows: 1 Improper exits from the second floor class rooms: 2 Bad conditions of exterior walls; 3 Overloaded floors 4. Inferior wiring 5. General wear and decav of struc tural members throughout the build ing. Under the provisions of Section 2773 of the Building Laws of North Carolina and other Sections dealing with exits, etc., this is to notify you, as Super.ntendent, that this building is subject to condemnation procedure and o further notify you to discon tinue the use of the second floor for school or assembly purposes until af ter the conditions listed above have been remedied. A subsequent report will, no doubt be filed by the State Board of Edu cation relative to light, ventilation, size of rooms and size of playground. In view of these, and being cogniz ant of the historical value of Hamp ton Academy, please let me suggest that in lieu of removing the building 'one alternative of Section 2773) that the use of the whole building be discontinued for school purposes and that necessary repairs be made to preserve and convert this structure to a library or some other public use m which the occupancy will be lim ited to relatively few people at a time and voluntary. Trusting you will give this matter your immediate attention and with kindest personal regards. At the Lions Club and Plymouth Parent-Teacher meetings last Thurs day night, Mr. Brockwell read the above official notification and com mented at some length on the condi 'See OFFICIAL RECORDS, Page 4*7 Seek Temporary Quarters for 212 Pupils, 6 Teachers County Board Calls on State Authorities for Aid in Solving Problem The county board of education yes terday afternoon called on state school authorities to help solve the problem of finding temporary quar ters for 212 children and six teach ers of the three primary grades in the Plymouth school who were dis possessed last Saturday, when the old Hampton Academy building was con demned and its use for school pur poses ordered discontinued by the chief of the local fire department, I M. Warren. Chief Warren took the action after he was requested to do so in a petition signed by 136 per sons here Friday. Dr. Clyde Irwin, state superinten dent of public instruction, in a tele phone conversation late Wednesday afternoon with L. E. Hassell, chair man of the county board of educa tion. promised to send W. F. Credle. state director of schoolhouse plan ning, to Plymouth immediately to assist in working out the local prob lem. In the meantime, all attempts to arrange temporary quarters for the primary grades have ceased un til the state expert arrives, and the children are remaining at home. The call on state authorities was made yesterday after several sugges tions for temporary quarters had been studied and rejected by county school authorities. It is felt that objections to use of the three rooms on the first floor of the Hampton building can be removed by relatively minor altera tions. However, three additional rooms will be needed, and it is here that officials have run into trouble. It was first proposed that three temporary classrooms be made out of the old agriculture department work shop on the grounds at the high I school building. It was then found j that this structiure had an average i pitch of but 8 feet, which would make it unbearably hot in the spring and early summer months. At best, it is believed more than a year will be required to plan, finance and erect a permanent building, so this plan was abandoned. The county board next considered repairing the old high school gym nasium. and arranging three class rooms in this structure and this was the plan finally agreed upon. How ever the cost of this proposal, coupled with the fact that it would be purely temporary and a total loss when per manent arrangements could be made, aroused doubts as to its feasibility, and it was then that, state officials were called. Several meetings have been held by the local board of education, one Monday night jointly with the county board of comissioners and the fire chief. Both boards have agreed up on the urgent necessity of additional facilities here on a permanent basis, but they have not been able to work out a temporary arrangement fox holding classes. 300 Absentee Ballots Sent Men in Service Walter K. White, of Skinnersville. chairman of the county board of elections, said last week-end that ap plications had been received for about 300 absentee ballots to be sent to men and women in the armed services. He also said that about 50 ballots had already been marked and returned to him for the general election on November 7. According to Mr. White, the ballots already returned are from men in practically every theatre of war. Bal lots have been mailed to all those for whom requests have been made, but it is possible that some will not get them in time to vote in the election in November. Relatives of service men who wish to apply for ballots are requested to forward names and addresses to the county chairman and ballots will be sent. Office of Ration Board Here WiOe ] Closed To Public All Day Tomorrow i The office of the Washintgon County War Price and Rationing Roard will be closed to the public all day tomorrow. Friday, Sep tember 29. in order to complete an inventory of ration currency, make out monthly reports, and perform other like tasks. Mrs. J. K. Reid, chief clerk, announced yesterday. AH members of the office force will be on the job. but there are so many things to be done this week that this was con sidered the best method of getting the work caught up. Mrs. Reid requests those who have business with the office not to call by telephone or knock on the doors of the office, as it will be impossible to serve the public that day. The only exception will be in ease of a life-and-death matter. The office will be open as usual beginning Saturday morning, and those who wish to secure appli cation blanks for any commodity are requested to wait until after Friday.
The Roanoke Beacon and Washington County News (Plymouth, N.C.)
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Sept. 28, 1944, edition 1
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