North Carolina Newspapers

I'T'OWllIII | topics In addition to the Christmas lights hung over Plymouth’s busi ness streets, pine boughs, decorat ed with colored lights, have been placed at the four corners of the ijjater-Washington Street inter section. The Yuletide decorations are Plymouth’s first since 1941 when wartime restrictions pro hibited the customary street lighting. The teachers meeting held at the local school are usually very solemn affairs, devoted solely to business matters, but the one held last Wednesday shattered that tradition with one telling blow. To the goggle-eyed amaze ment of the teachers, htey were served fruit cake and coffee fol lowed by an animated social hour in the best southern style. Washington County Athletic Association officials are planning to have a survey of the athletic field in Stillacres completed by the end of this week, they have reported. • It was announced that they hope work on grading the land will be started by at least the first of next week. Police Chief P. W. Brown has announced that the office of the town clerk in the Municipal Building will be open each Saturday night until 9 o’clock, Iftieginning this week, until Feb ruary 1, 1948, to accep- pay ment of town taxes. Chief Brown pointed out that after February 1. one per cent in terest will be required on all town tax payments. Mrs. Annie T. Chesson of Pleas ant Grove has had some of her literary work selected by Vali ant House publishers editors for inclusion in their forthcoming book. ' Important American Poets and Songwriters of 1947,” it has been announced. Mrs. Chesson has been Pleasant Grove corres pondent for The Roanoke Beacon for several years. A transformer located in front of the theatre on Washington Street threw a fit last Monday night and pluged an entire block of the business district from Water to Main Streets into dark ness for about an hour. Cause of the it part suffer hit Little Washington several weeks ago. John C. Owens, son of Mrs. Charles Bradon, of Plymouth, and sophomore at Hobart College in New York State,' participated in the sixteenth annual Christmas carol service presented at Trini ty Church in Geneva, N. Y., last Sunday by the School Cantorum Society of Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Oldest Workers Honored Tonight -4 The North Carolina Pulp Com pany’s Plymouth plant will en tertain 42 of its oldest employees at a dinner to be held at 6:30 p, mi today at the Plymouth Sjtantry club with J. A. Auchter. mill manager, acting as master of ceremonies, and President H. M. Kieckhefer making awards for fidelity of service to the guests. Gold watches and lapel pins will be given to employees who have served from 25 to 40 years, while men who have been con nected with the mill from 10 to 24 years will receive silver lapel pins. Bronze lapel pins will be awarded to those who have been employed from 15 to 19 years at the mill. J. Melville Broughton, former governor of North Carolina, will be featured speaker of the even ing. An orchestra will be pro vided for the event and the club rooms will be decorated in ap propriate Yultide fashion. Another Still Is *Found by Officers Law enforcement officials, led by County ABC Oficer L. L. Bas night, raided and demolished an illicit whisk ■'y factory on the Scuppernong River, near Cres well, last Saturday around 12:30 p. m. Captured in the raid were two barrels containing 200 gallons of working mash, a cooling keg, buckets and jugs, a shovel and an ax. Other equipment used in making the whiskey was not found, noT was the owner of the business on the job when the officers made their raid. Accompanying Officer Bas night were Deputy Sheriff W. D. Peal and Clyde Snell. Earlier in the week, a more complete dis tilling unit together with 400 gal lons of mash were taken and de stroyed by law officials near Plymouth. The Roanoke Beacon ****** and Washington County News ****** !S*»l«irW«rW*!r 5 Shopping Days Until Christmas VOLUME LVIII—NUMBER 51 Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina, Thursday, December 18, 1947 ESTABLISHED 1889 Roper Fire Truck Is Delivered to Town Last Week Machine Shows Up Well Under Tests Given by Department; Purchase Price $1,250 The new fire truck for the Roper Fire Departrrjent was de livered there last week from Eas ley, S. C„ where it was purchas ed by the Roper fire department, with assistance from private con tributors, from the Easley town government at a cost of SI.250. The truck was driven from Eas ley to Roper by Henry S. Everett of Roper. In a tryout test of the machine made Friday, all points of the truck were put through their paces and bore up very well, the entire truck being pronounced satisfactory. The fire truck is a 1928 American-La France 500-gallon pumper and is equipped with a 12-foot roof ladder and a 24-foot extension ladder. Other equip ment purchased with the truck include a 200-gallon booster tank and 200 feet of booster hose and nozzle, two chemical fire extin I guishers, two grass fire guns, a | siren and spotlight, two sections | of hard suction hose and strainer, a gas mask and other minor equipment. The fire truck is presently be ing housed at Mizell's cotton gin until the planned fire house can be constructed. The Roper fire department has 20 volunteer members with R. E-. Harrell serv ing as fire chief. Officials Report Diphtheria Case -—•» Mrs. J. E. Wolfe, Plymouth resident, is confined to her bed wit . (Oiphtheria, according to bi statement from officials at the p/ashiHgl/i-Ty^rell District Heal th Dep«jttWMnt, ‘who added that the report Was made this week by Dr. E. M. Furgurson, Mrs. Wolfe’s attending physician. Mrs. Wolfe, whose condition is reported as satisfactory, is the fourth victim of the disease in Washington County this year, the department officials added. The first case was reported early in the year while the others have occurred upthin the past two months. -♦ Roper Colored School Band to Give Concert The J. J. Clemmons High School Band, directed by C. D. Wooten, instructor, will appear with the school’s glee club in a cantata, “The Christmas Story,” tonight at 8 o’clock in the school auditorium, Principal E. V. Wilk ins has announced. The public is invited to attend and witness the 1 progress made by the band since its organization in September. ■...“*'i j Next Tuesday j ; Shortest Day j; According to the old almanac, 1 next Monday, December 22, I will be the shortest day of the s year, with the sun rising at 1 7:15 a. m. and setting at 4:41 p. m. i The calendar also lists Mon day as the first day of the winter season. This may be true in some sections of the na tion, but residents of Washing- 1 ton County and surrounding r areas view the statement with f acepticism, since low tempera- r tures, freezing rain, and even a F light snow came to this section t a good two weeks ago bringing s the icy season ahead of the r calendar schedule. j Present Foot1 To Team Hex The football championship tro- a phy of the Albemarle Athletic c Association’s conference for the 1 1947 season was awarded to I Plymouth High School’s football I team by B. G. Stewart of Wil- y liamston, secretary of the associa tion, at a convocation of the a school’s students in the high \ school auditorium on Wednesday p afternoon. a The trophy, a 12-inch hard- S wood pedestal topped with a gold- t colored metal figurine of a foot- ii ball player, was accepted on be- S half of the school by Joe Reid, o captain of the local team. Follow- t ing the presentation recognition h was given Coach George Z. Ingle 1 But Few Days Left for A and B Drivers To Take Exam for Renewal of Licenses Automobile License Examinei James Boyce has reminded driv ers in Washington County tha1 there are only four and one half days left in which re-ex aminations will be given to driv ers in the A-B surname group with the deadline for such re exams being Wednesday, Decern ber 31. Mr. Boyce will be in the Muni cipal Building in Plymouth or Mondays and Tuesdays from i a. m. until 5 p. m. and on Satur days from 9 a. m. until 1 p. m Fund for Creswel! Gymnasium Rises To About S6,00f -♦ Money for School Ath letics Building Increas ed by County Board Appropriations Officials in the Creswell Par ent-Teacher Association, meeting in the school last Thursday, re ported that the fund for the con struction of a gymnasium, spon sored by the PTA. has risen tc approximately $6,000. since the county commissioners had made a sum of around $1,200 available to the school for athletic facili ties improvements. The gym project had been be gun by the Creswell PTA uni1 some months ago and, througl sponsoring several drives anc public entertainments, a sum oi around $5,000 had been raised for the construction of the building Previously a delegation had ap peared before the commissioners and requested aid in the pro ject but were refused since the county’s budget would not pert mit such a move. The money was made available througb4J rebate from the State of beer and wine taxes for the past year, the sum being divided among the county’s schools by the commis sioners for athletic improve ments. Other matters considered by the group during the business ses sion were of a routine nature. Phe program consisted of Christmas musical readings by members of the churches in the town followed by a tableau de picting the Birth of Our Lord. County Is Given Bus Replacement The latest school bus replace ment for Washington County was lelivered at the Plymouth School Friday morning, according to a datement from Roy F. Lowry, ■ounty schools’ superintendent, vho said that the new vehicle, it ;elf designated as Number 15, will eplace the old Number 15 on >uses operating from the Plyni iuth Schools. The new bus is a Chevrolet vith a 19-foot body and forward eating arrangement. It was de ivered to Plymouth from Wil on. The new bus is approximate y the seventh such replacements o be made in Washington County ince the replacement program legan last year. -♦ 7FW Post Will Convene In Courthous Tonight The Plymouth post of the reterans of Foreign Wars will leet in the courthouse tonight at o’clock, according to an an ouncement from W. S. Daven ort, post commander. He said hat principal topic for discus ion will be means for raising loney for the construction of the nnt Legion-VFW clubhouse. -)all Troph y e This Week nd the six players chosen as all onference stars. They were ierman Hooker, Hugh Pearce, ialph Basnight, Robert Swain, :aymond Peal and Henry Saw er. Prior to presenting the trophy, few remarks were made by L. I. Alexander of Scotland Neck, resident of the association and lumnus of Plymouth High chool, who praised the local ;am for their sportsmanship dur lg the season, and by Mr. tewart, who gave a brief resume f the Plymouth team’s record lis year and of the association’s istory since its founding in 346. to give the tests. Saturday, De- ; cember 27. will be an exception since the examiner will be on an nual Christmas vacation. Boyce stated that during the first two weeks on December the anticipated rush of persons who waited almost until the last minute to take their re-exams really got down to business and so swamped the Plymouth ex amination center that an extra road test examiner had to be en gaged. He pointed out that from De cember 1 until December 15. ♦ three times as many examina tions were given as during the entire month of November when approximately 250 persons ap plied for new licenses. There were comparatively few rejec tions, he said, for the December examinees considering the un usually large number of appli cants. Examinations for persons in the C-D surname group will be given in the January 1—June 30 period which starts in two weeks, he said. CANDIDATE VISITS HERE TUESDAY | I .... , ■ I <S3TO^ia8w8SB8«Wii^ H. Mayne Albright and Mrs. Albright pose in front of their trailer campaign headquarters, "The Challenger.” Mr. Albright visited Plymouth on Tuesday while on his 100-county tour of North Carolina campaign to secure the Democratic nomination for election to the State’s governorship. Stores To Be Open Later for Shoppers Peak of Christmas Buy ing Is Expected to Take This Week-End t W, C ll Beginning this Friday, all busi ness houses in Plymouth will re main open until 9 p. m, each nighl for the convenience of persons who are unable to do their gift buying during the daylight hours In addition to providing this ex tra service, the majority of the local stores have engaged a larg er staff of clerks to aid shoppers in selecting gift purchases, while one or two of the stores have set up gift wrapping departments. According to reports from Plymouth merchants this week, business is not as good as had been anticipated, although it was predicted that an increase would be seen during the week-end and extending right up to 9 p. m. on Christmas Eve. Perhaps the keenest indicator of the lessening of holiday busi ness is contained in a report from the local ABC store whose offici als stated that a 30 per cent de crease in the volume of sales be low last year’s record for the same period had been noted. Stocks in the Plymouth stores continue good although waiting lists for the larger items such as electric stoves, refrigerators, and some makes of washing machines have been piled up. Christmas tree decorations are available but scarce, especially extra electric bulbs, although strings of lights, complete with the colored bulbs, are much in. evidence. As for fancy wrapping paper, ribbon, tags and seals for tying up gift packages, they are ap parently plentiful though they may be sold out before the shop ping season ends. Christmas trees are also available, but the better specimens have been' cold. -♦ Elwood Gurganus House Is Burnpd -»■— The home of Mr. and Mrs. El wood Gurganus, located on the Whiteoak Neck Road about five miles from Plymouth, was com pletely destroyed, along with most of its contents, by flames originating from an alleged faulty chimney around 9:30 p. m. on Sunday. The house was own ed by Sidney Allen. Mr. and Mrs. Gurganus and their three children, James, Eve lyn, and Ralph, were downstairs at the time the fire was dis covered and barely had time to escape before the roof of the structure began to cave in. Only a few pieces of kitchen furniture and some clothing was saved. Until more permanent living quarters can be secured, the family is living with Mr. Gur ganus’s father, J. L. Gurganus, and Daston Ambrose, a neigh bor. ! City Tags Go j On Sale Here Town of Plymouth automo bile licenses for 1948 are now on sale at the City Clerk’s of fice in the Municipal Building, W. A. Roebuck, city clerk, has announced. The deadline for purchasing the licenses, which is required of all car owners in Plymouth, he said, is February 1, after which any car owner in Plym outh are liable to prosecu tion if the city license is not displayed. Price of the license is $1, he added, advising all drivers to get them at once. The lot of 650 licenses arrived here and went on sale Tuesday. Landowners' Vote Favors Setting-Up Drainage District —♦— Average Cost of Project Per Acre Would Be $5.10 as Listed by En gineer G. M. Renfro Landowners in the section of Plymouth Township between Plymouth and the Lees Mill Township boundary line, meet ing in the Agriculture Building in Plymouth last Saturday after noon, voted almost unanimously in favor of the institution of a drainage district for that section of Washington County. According to estimates given by Drainage Engineer George M. Renfro total cost of the project would be approximately $13,231. Broken down into separate items, the estimated cost. Mr. Renfro said, would be as follows: exca vation of 42,300 cubic yards it soil at 20 cents per yard, $8,400; right of way on 31.3 acres at $10 per acre, $313; clearing 21.7 acres 1 at $150 per acre, $3,255; legal fees i and other small items. $1,203. He added that the length of ditches in miles would be around 4.5. It was also pointed out that average cost per acre for setting up the district would be about $5.10, which, it was emphasized, is a very low figure for the in stallation of a drainage district. The petition for setting up the district is now being re-circulated among the landowners who would be involved and will be returned to the county soil conservation of fice shortly after Christmas when plans for the actual survey will be made. It is rather generally believed that in view pf the small cost per acre, the amount to have the construction work done can be raised by the land owners with out floating a bond issue, the usual procedure in such cases. Report Result on Community Ballot In AAA Election -f New Committeemen Take Offices Immediately; Total Number of Votes Cast Is 189 Triple-A community commit teemen for all seven sections of the county were elected last week, the balloting taking place at the same time as the referen dum on the establishment of pea nut marketing quotas, with total votes cast in Washington County amounting to 189, Delegates from each communi ty were chosen by voters to at tend the County AAA convention held in Plymouth on Wednesday of last week when a county AAA committee was elected for the coming year. New committeemen for each community, according to a state ment made by Miss Miriam Aus bon, county AAA secretary, are as follows: Plymouth: H. G. Simpson, chairman: L. S. Styons, vice-chairman: L. T. Gurganus. regular member; E. H. Livermar. and A. S. Allen alternates; Roper: F. C. Tarkenton. chairman: R. W. Lewis, vice-chairman: Wendell C. Spruill, regular member; Roy C. .Chesson and W. A. Koonce, al ternates: Creswell: Sam D Spruill, chairman: W. D. Phelps vice-chairman; Marvin L. Dav enport, regular member; Stanley Oliver and Isaac Furlough, al ternates; Pleasant Grove: T. R. Spruill, chairman; W. C. Spruill, vice chairman: J. C. Tarkenton, regu lar member: Jack Gurkin and C. G. Gurganus. alternates; Long Acre: R. C. Jackson, chairman; L J. Beddard, vice-chairman: W. J. Ange, regular member; A. J. New berry and E. H. Boyd alternates; Mount Pleasant: L. L. Davenport, chairman, L. T. Snell, vice chair man: P. B. Belangn, regular mem ber: W. H. Stillman and D. H. Furlough, alternates; Cherry: Steve Davenport, chairman: L. A. Furlough, vice-chairman; I. S. 1 Phelps, regular member; R. A. Gibbs and P. L. Ambrose, alter nates. Pleasant Grove community led the voting with 53 votes cast while Roper community trailed second with 38. Creswell and I Cherry tied for bottom place with 10 ballots each. Terms for the new committee men will begin immediately. The polls were held in the balloting last week by members of the re tiring committees. J^ocal Soldier Finishes Training in California -♦ Private Ralph M. Armstrong, of Plymouth, has completed a basic training program in Com pany E of the Twelfth Regiment of the Fourth Infantry Division 1 at Fort Ord, Calif., and is on j orders for further duty at Camp I Stoneman, according to an Army release. -4 Chrisiian Church Will Call Pastor -♦ Members of the First Christian | Church of Plymouth will conduct! i meeting in the church’s audi-1 lorium immediately after morn ng services next Sunday for the | • purpose of calling a pastor, H. , 4. Allen, superintendent of the ■hurch’s Sunday school, has re- | ported. Mr. Allen stated that several | Prospective pastors for the | ihurch will be considered with ' he congregation expressing their < preference at the meeting. ■ The church’s pastorate has been | vacant since the resignation of i he Rev. E. B. Quick several veeks ago when he accepted a 1 rail to the Lumberton church. < services have been held by guest 1 pastors in the meantime. Most Local P. Two Days fc All places of business in Plym- 1 puth, the restaurants excepted, vill be closed on Christinas Day i ind the day afterward, re-open- ! ng for business on Saturday, De- ■ rember 27. The local eating i places will be open for regular i neals on Christmas Day. Al- : :hough two of the local drug ■tores will be closed on Christ nas, they will reopen on the day i ifterward. The third drug store i will observe the same two-day ! plosing schedule taken by other 1 businesses. All offices in the courthouse < Creswell School Bids Rejected by Board Education Beacon lo Be Printed Early Since the Christmas week edition of The Roanoke Beacon is being printed over this week end, all correspondents and contributors to the newspaper are requested to place the.ir copy in the mails so that it will be received at the Beacon of fice not later than Saturday, December 20. The reason for the rush-up schedule is that the Beacon of fice will be closed from Mon day, December 22, until the Monday of the following week so that the staff members may have their annual Christmas vacations. Episcopal Groups Alone Hold Riles On Christmas Day -4 Other Religious Groups in Plymouth Plan to Present Cantatas on Sunday Evening So far as can be learned at present. Episcopal church groups in Plymouth and Roper are the only ones in Washington County who plan special services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, although all churches will have special sermons and piusie on the Sunday immediately pre ceeding Christmas and two Plym outh churches have planned can tatas on that date. Celebration of Holy Commun ion will be held in Grace Episco pal Church in Plymouth on Christmas Eve, beginning at 11:30 p. m., which will be followed by a sermon by the rector. Com munion will again be observed at Grace Church on Christmas Day itself at 9 a. m., while St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Roper will hold celebration of Holy Com munion, followed by a sermon by the rector, at 11 a. m. on Christmas. The two cantatas to be held in Plymouth will be presented by the Methodist church in the sanctuary at 5 p. m. and by the Baptist church in the courtroom of the county courthouse at 7 p. m. The Methodist cantata is entitl ed ‘The Christmas Story,” and will be presented by candle light under the direction of Mrs. Ken neth S. Trowbridge, with J. Shep herd Brinkley as organist. The (See CHrRCHEsTPagTFiwT" -»— Candidate Visits Town on Tuesday, R. Mayne Albright, 38, young est candidate for Democratic lominee in North Carolina’s gub ■rnetorial elections being held lext year, visited Plymouth ruesday in his trailer field head- ' juarters, “The Challenger.” Mr. Albright, accompanied by lis wife, spent the day visiting 1 vith residents of the town and jetting acquainted with this sec- j ion of the State in general. ' Vashington County was the fifty- 1 econd of the State's 100 counties : 'isited by Albright in his cam- : >aign to carry political issues di- : ect to the voting populace. He was scheduled to be in I Plymouth on Monday, but was I letained by bad weather. After ' caving here, he went to Wil- , iamston. laces Close r Christmas sill be closed from noon next 1 Wednesday until Monday, De- i ■ember 29, excepting the Farmers ! tome Administration office i vhich will reopen Friday after loon after Christmas. Offices in < he Agriculture Building will ob- i :erve the same holiday closing as i he courthouse offices. The schools will close this Fri- ' lay, December 19 and will re- < ume classes on Monday, January < ■ The Plymouth laundry will i >e closed all of Christmas week. ] rhe post office will be closed on 1 Ihristmas Day only. ( -* No Prospects for General Construction of Cres well Building Is Reason for Action Members of the Washington County Board of Education, meet ing in special session in the su perintendent's office here last Thursday afternoon, rejected all bids made on various aspects of the construction of a new color ed school house at Creswell since no bids had been received on the general construction of the building. Although the board had adver tised for sealed bids on four dif ferent aspects of the school’s con struction, its intention being to let separate contracts for general construction, heating, plumbing, and electrical installations, only a few bids were received. These were three bids on electrical in stallations. one on heating plant work, and none for the general* construction and plumbing. An alternative course for the building of the school house, con sidered by the board at the special meeting, was employment of a construction crew and supervisor on a flat-fee basis as was done in the case of the Plymouth High School additions and renovations, but no difinite action was taken in that direction. Another called meeting of the education group will be held at which time estimates of the total cost of construction on a flat-fee basis will be studied by the board members who may then make some final decision on the matter. Date of the second call ed meeting was not decided upon, but it is expected to be held by January 1. Music System Is Given for Spire Of Local Church -♦ Will Broadcast Bell Mu sic; Gift Made by Fami ly in Memory of Son, John Trump, Jr. The Ludford Memorial Baptist Church in Plymouth has been pre sented with a Schulmerich Elec tronic Tower Music System, given by Mr. and Mrs. J. Berton Trump and daughter in memory of their son and brother, John Trump, jr„ according to an announce ment from the Rev. Paul B. Nick ens, pastor of the church. The music system, one of the best produced in the United States, is equipped with four loudspeakers which will be in stalled in the church belfry in the near future and will carry re corded chime music over the en tire town. The system carries sound within a radius of one mile. No definite schedule has yet been worked out. the pastor said, but added that the system will be operated about three times per week, either at noon or in the late ifternoon. Commenting further on the pro tress made in the reconstruction >f the church building, the Rev. 'Jickens stated that the plaster ng of the interior is now in >rogress and that the hardwood looring has arrived and will be nstalled shortly. He also point 'd out that donations from the ongregation to the building fund s averaging between $600 and 1700 per month which is consider ibly beyond the contributive mount asked. Total cost of the work is ex acted to be between $28,000 and 30,000. Local PTA Holds Final Meel Here The Plymouth Parent-Teacher Vsociation, holding its final meet ng of 1947 in the high school ast Thursday night, heard a con ert by the school's glee club. Selections rendered were appro priate to the Yuletide season. Mrs. Edison Davenport related everal Christmas stories to the [roup, following the glee club’s ongs. During the business session, vhich was very brief, the stage urtain of the school was ordered leaned and re-hung. Other busi less was of a routine nature. Mrs. 1. C. Carter, president of the ocal unit, presided at the Thurs lay night session.