North Carolina Newspapers

T. :Sn:nn-:::niH!HnmBnnUin!SS!H:iH:::iC own opics The county recorder’s court will >. not reconvene until Tuesday, ' January 20, Judge W. Ronald Gaylord has announced, pointing out that the two-week session of supeijior court has postponed the county court’s sessions until that time. Frank Elmo Mayo of Plym outh left here Sunday for Green ville where he will enter East Carolina Teachers College as a sophomore. Prior to entering the school, he was employed at a local soft drink bottling plant. Attorney John D. Larkkin, jr., of Trenton, former president pro tem of the State Senate, will be the featured speaker at the meeting of the local Lions Club tonight, it has been an nounced. Attomew Larkin who has been the State campaign chairman for the North Caro lina division of the American Cancer Society, for the past two years, will address the cluh members on work done by the society for the care and pre vention of cancer. Mrs. B. W. Gaither, of Creswell. was in Richmond, Va., Saturday where she attended the funeral of her cousin, Alexander Weddell and Mrs. Weddell who were vic tims of a railroad wreck at Ot terville, Mo. Mr. Weddell was formerly-United States ambassa dor to the Republic of Argentina, Auto License Examiner James Boyce has reported that dur ing the first week of the re examination period alloted to drivers in the “C-D” surname group, only five licenses have been issued. The reason for this small number, he said, is that there were only five ap plicants. The examiner said resignedly that it’s an exact duplication of what happened during the “A-B” exam period when nearly everybody waited until last minute to take the test. ^ Although the new year was given an uproarious welcome in Plymouth last week, complete with the traditional whistle blow ing and bell ringing, local law en forcement officers reported that they had seen little or no evi The total collections made in the Tuberculosis seals sale drive in Washington County have risen to $786.66, according to a report from Mrs. H. W. Everett, county chairman. This is $86.66 above the assigned goal of $700 for Washington County, Mrs. Everett said, adding that she hopes to report an even $800 by next week. Old Christmas, which came on January 6, Tuesday, of this week, passed almost unnoticed although in past years it received consider able attention in Washington County. Residents of the Cuter Banks, remaining peoples who still commemorate the festival, gave it only slight recognition. The last vestige of the festival remains in The Feast of The Epiphany which, incidentally was observed in the local Episcopal Church Tuesday night. • dence Miss Miriam Ausbon has been re-elected chief clerk of the Washington County friple-A of fice and Miss Florence Parrisher has been re-elected office assis tant by the county AAA commit tee, it has been announced. Miss Ausbon has been chief clerk since May of 1944 and Miss Parrisher has been assistant since July of the same year. Local Furniture Store Has Moved In New Building Construction Experts Say New Structure Is One of Most Modern in This Section — ♦ Moving of stock and equipment from the Plymouth Furniture Company to the business’s new store building on Water Street has been completed, according to a statement from the store’s management, the report adding that the company is now ready for business. The building has not yet been fully completed, but is expected to be within the next 30 days at which time a formal opening will be held to acquaint patrons with the new building, which has been termed by local construction experts one of the most modern structures in Plymouth. The building is 50 feet wide by 70 feet long and contains 3,500 square feet of space on each of its three floors. The front is al (See LOCAL STORE, Page 12) Beacon A home newspaper dedicated to the service of Washington County and its 13,000 people. ★ ★★★★★ and Washington County News ★★★★★★ VOLUME LIX—NUMBER 2 Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina, Thursday, January 8, 1948 ESTABLISHED 1889 Organization in County Is Completed For Annual March of Dimes Campaign Organization for the Washing toin County March of Dimes cam paign with the county goal placed at $1,220, has been completed, ac cording to a statement from Mrs. Athalia G. Tyree, county chair man, who added that the drive will begin in the county next Thursday, January 15, and will end on Friday, January 30. Local chairmen have been ap pointed to supervise contributions in the major communities of the county, Mrs. Tyree said, listing the local officials as follows: Mrs. W. C. Jones, Plymouth; Mrs. J. M. Phelps, Creswell; Mrs. Barton Swain, Roper; Mrs. Edison Daven port, Mat-keys; and Mrs. Golden Williams, Wenona. School children will also aid in the county campaign, Mrs. Tyree stated. They will be giv en cards with spaces for 20 dimes and will solicit donations to fill the spaces, the full amount, when completed, being turned in to the local chairman. Other collections will be made in theatres in the county and through door-to-door solicitations by the community canvassers. The county chairman stated that of the money collected in this section, one-half will remain in Washington County to be used in combatting and preventing in fantile paralysis, while the re maining half will be forwarded to the March of Dimes national headquarters to be used for the same purposes on a national scale. Get $32,500 Offer For City Property ! Bureau Meeting !Set on Friday The members of the Wash ington County Farm Bureau will conduct their first meeting of the new year on Friday at 7:30 p. m. in the Agriculture Building, W. T. Freeman, presi dent of the county organization, has announced. Featured speaker of the even ing, he said, will be K. S. Trowbridge, head of the Wood and Land Department of the North Carolina Pulp Com pany’s Plymouth plant, who will talk on reforestation and conservation of forest resourc es in the county. Mr. Trow bridge will address the Bureau after the regular business meet ing. Mr. Freeman will pre side. Criminal Term of Lack of Full Grand Jury Delays gome Trials; Others Remanded to Recorders Court -- With less than the usual num ber of cases docketed for trial in superior court and the failure of the court to secure a full grand jury to consider several bills on cases slated to be heard this week, due to the lack of records of the first nine jurors drawn last July, the criminal term of Washington County’s Superioi Court in session this week was limited to one day only, Mon day. Of the 10 cases slated to be tried, four were continued for bill and two were remanded for trial in county recorder’s court. Two jail sentences were meted out by presiding Judge R. Hunt Parker of Roanoke Rapids, one sentence being suspended and the defen dant in the second case filing notice of appeal. Most important case tried was that of Frederick Sutton, local Negro, charged with assaulting two white women employed at the courthouse. Sutton was not found guilty of (See COURT, Page Seven) -4 AAA Holds Meet Here Last Week -, Members of Washington Coun ty’s newly chosen Triple-A com mittee, meeting in the Agricul ture Building here last Friday, discussed the $16,436 allocation of funds from the State to this county and decided to divide it according to the percentage of cropland in the section. It was emphasized that the amount of money was extremely limited and that strict account must be kept of each dollar spent in the county this year. They also declined to adopt premeas urement programs for the coun ty’s tobacco crop this year since they thought it to be ineffective, but set up a 50-cent per acre rate for the job in case it had to be done anyway. Adjustments were made for farmers requesting an increase in tobacco acreages and the 8.5 acre set aside for such matters was divided between the several communities in the county as fol lows: Creswell-Mt. Pleasant Cherry, 0.2 acres; Plymouth-Long Acre, 3.3 acres; and Roper-Pleas ant Grove, 5 acres. R. L. Still man, chairman of the committee, presided over the Friday ses sion. Legal Aspects of Matter Must Be Cleared Before Final Sale Can Be Made Following lengthy and involved discussion of the pros and cons of the $32,500 bid made by A. I,. Alexander of Plymouth on the local Municipal Building and fire house offered for sale at public auction Monday noon, members of the Plymouth town council, meeting in closed session Monday night, voted to accept Mr. Alex ander’s bid. Final agreement on the matter has been apparently deferred until next Wednesday night when the councilmen and Mr. Alexander’s, attorney will re view and clear up certain legal problems concerning the deed to the property, term of continued occupancy to be given the town and other matters. i it was pointed out, however, that due to the manner in which the auction was held, Mr. Alex ander is free to withdraw his bid if he chooses. No specific in formation was immediately avail tion of a new fire house and the renovation of the Old Market Building which would be used to house the town’s administrative offices. A contract submitted to the council by the State Highway Commission providing that Plym outh be responsible for payment of >one third of the cost of re moving any building standing in the way of the planned relocation jof Highway 64 was rejected, the council agreeing that city financ es would not permit such. Motion was also passed that a new census be taken of Plym outh, subject to the approval of the State Attorney General, in order to increase the beer and wine tax rebate from the State which is expected to be between $4,000 and $5,000. Unfortunately, this would also increase the privi lege tax in Plymouth. The cen sus would be taken under govern ment supervision for a $750 fee. Request from W. E. Waters for a 20-foot strip of town property at the rear of the water tank for a delivery driveway for East Carolina Supply was referred to the town attorney for inspection. Police Chief P. W. Brown was named a committee of one to in vestigate the possibility of ne gotiating procurement of right of way for opening a.through street to provide an easier exit from Little Richwood Village. Mayor A. J. Riddle presided at the meet ing. Court Almost Has First Lady Juror -* Washington County came with in a hairsbreadth of having a woman on a jury for the first time in its history Monday when Mrs. Mary V. Pharr took her seat in the jury box as the only one of the three women drawn for jury duty who did not file a plea to be excused. However, Mrs. Pharr was among the four jurors requested to be excused. to excuse themselves, a privilege accorded to both prosecuting and defending attorneys in cases to be tried. The other two women selected for jury service during this term of superior court, were Mrs. Mar garet Browning and Mrs. E. C. Patrick, both of whom presented doctors’ certificates «n which grounds they were excused from duty. Members of the shop commit tee chosen by the union voters were Thomas H. Clifton and T. A. Terry, with John West and W. J. Hedgepeth named as alternates. Stockholders of Ball Group Will Elect Directory Selection of Athletic As sociation Heads to Fol low; To Hear League Meet Reports All stockholders in the Wash ington County Athletic Associa tion will meet in the county courthouse courtroom on Monday January 19, at 8 p. m. for the pur pose of electing a board of di rectors who will subsequently elect association officials for the year 1948, it has been announced. They will also hear reports from W. H. Joyner and Joseph Foster, who wilt represent the Washington Cour.cy organization at a meeting of the Albemarle Baseball League’s board of di rectors who will meet in Eden ton next Monday. The present officers in the As sociation have requested that all stockholders in the organization be present at the meeting since the reports from Joyner and Fost er will have direct bearing on the county’s participation in Al bemarle League games next sum mer. Fauceite Engaged To Construct New School at Creswell Supervisor Says Work to Begin Soon as Enough Materials Are Avail able There -♦ E. W. Faucette, construction supervisor of the Plymouth High School additions and renovation, was engaged by the county board of education to supervise con struction of the planned Negro high school building at Creswell, the board members having made the decision to follow this method of securing the work at the group's regular meeting in Plym outh on Monday. According to estimates submit ted to the board of education by Mr. Faucette, total cost of the building will be around $95,000. Of this amount, Mr. Faucette re ported, approximately $74,000 would be used for general con struction of the project with the remaining $21,000 being used for installation of plumbing, heat ing, and wiring. Work on the erection of the school building, he said, would begin as soon as enough materials are available. The floor plan was staked out on Tuesday. Original plans for the building called for the walls to be built entirely of cinder blocks, but the board members decided that the structure would present a better exterior appearance if smaller cinder blocks, 8 x 8 x 16, were used and the building covered with 4-inch brick veneer. Eight classrooms, a library, auditorium, office, lunchroom, and furnace room will be included in the school building. Rosa Brickhouse, instructor at the Macedonia Colored School, was granted leave of absence for the rest of the school term. Other business transacted at the Mon day meeting, the board’s first for 1948, was of a routine nature. la’ltefincmce Town Bond Indebtedness Step Taken to Eliminate Increase in Interest Rate on Outstanding Indebtedness -*■. The Plymouth town council, meeting last night in special ses sion, authorized the issuance of $250,000 in town bonds for the purpose of securing funds to re fund outstanding bonds of the town before the four per cent interest payments go into effect in April. Provisions in the ordinance au thorizing the bond sale state that a tax sufficient to pay the princi pal and interest of the bonds au thorized will be levied and col lected annually and that the or dinance will take effect immedi ately and not be submitted to the voters of the town. Bonds to be refunded by the new issue are de scribed as “$250,000 General Re funding Bonds dated April 1, 1938, payable April 1. 1968, and redeemable on April 1st of any year prior to their maturity." It was further pointed out at the council session last night that the refunding of the bonds will give the town a five-year breath ing space when no bond interest must be paid and at the end of that time interest payments will begin at $6,0C0 instead of the $10. 000 to $12,000 now being paid. It was explained that this would enable the city governing body to divert more money to improve-1 ment of town facilities, which, t the councilmen agreed, have great need of attention. Any action or proceeding i questioning the validity of the ardinace approved and passed by the town council must be com menced within 30 days after its first publication. Mayor A. J. Riddle presided over the meet ing which was conducted in the Municipal Building. Creswell Legion Hears Christmas Cheer Report Creswell.—Reports given at a meeting of the Lake Phelps Post :>f the American Legion, held in the Creswell school building on Friday, stated that a total of $75 worth of Christmas gifts were distributed to needy families in Creswell during the Christmas holidays. Principal speaker of the even ing was A. H. Tucker, who ad dressed the legionnaires on the Veterans Farm Training Pro gram. The next Creswell Legion meeting will be conducted on Friday, February 6. j Change Date oi I Civil Actions In order to expedite trial of cases slated for the Washing ton County Superior Court, now in session for a mixed civil and criminal term, some re-arrangements have been made in the dates for the trial of civil actions. Cases set for trial on Wed nesday and Thursday of this week will be heard on Monday of next week, January 12, while the cases originally slated for next Monday were moved to Tuesday, January 13, and those set for next Tuesday moved to Wednesday, January 14. R. Hunt Parker of Roanoke Rapids is presiding judge of the court. Good Start Seen By Local Takers In Tax Listings -« Between 150-200 Resi dents Appear at Local Office in First Few Days of Period -- According to reports from the Plymouth city and township tax list takers, residents of this lo cality are being very cooperative about listing their taxes promptly this year. It was stated that dur ing the first few days of the listing period, which began last Friday, between 150 and 200 persons have listed their taxes. In previous years taking of tax lists has got off to an extremely slow start and the majority of persons waited until the last few days of the listing period to put in a appearance at the lister’s of fice. They did remind local citi zens who have become 21 years of age in the past year that they arc obligated to appear and list poll taxes by January 31 since the listing period ends on the fol lowing day and the one per cent interest begins accumulating at that time. Reports on listing progress in other commities in the county are not immediately available. Plymouth city tax list taker is W. A. Roebuck, township list taker is Mrs. Hermine Ramsey. Says Contract to Be Let for Wider U. S. 64 This Month Thieves Steal Whole Fruit Orrliaril Here There have been a number of odd and unusual thefts reported in Washington County over the years, but the strangest by far occurred last week when I. Miller Warren, local business man. was bereft of an entire fruit orchard consisting of 17 trees and four grapevines. Mr. Warren's ex-orchard was located on some property owned by him in the Stillacres section of town and the theft was dis covered when he went out to ad mire his acres last Saturday. He estimated his loss at about $60 and considerable hard work. He says i he doesn’t know how on earth the robbers ever made away with it all. Local police say that they are working on the unusual crime and have a lead or two as to the identity of the culprit or cul prits. The trees stolen included apple, peach, plum, and cherry trees. Hospital Bond Issue Approved by Board Will Conduct Public Hearing on Matter in Courthouse on Febru ary 2nd -1 The Washington County board of commissioners went ori record Monday as approving a $50,000 bond issue to secure two-thirds of the county’s quota in obtaining a hospital for the county through state and federal aid, the remain ing one third to be collected through public subscription. A public hearing on the matter will be held by the commission ers on Monday, February 2, at 11 a. m. in the commissioners room in the county courthouse. If no opposition is encountered, date for the bond election will be set at that time. The action was taken by the county board at the request and recommendation of the Washing ton County Hospital board of managers, formed for the purpose of securing a medical treatment center for Washington County through the State’s good health program in which financial aid is given by the state and federal governments to counties who will assume a percentage of the con struction cost and keep the in stitution in operation for two years. According to approved plans given the managerial board by the State, a 30-room hospital at an estimated cost of about $240, 000 would be constructed in this county provided the county would pay about 27 per cent of the cost, making the county obligation stand at around $75,000. The hospital board, deeming that fig ure too much to be raised through public subscription voted to ask the commissioners to make ar rangements for a $50,000 bond is sue with the remainder to be got through subscription which they felt could be done with little dif ficulty. According to reports given the board of managers at their last meeting, practically the entire population of the county is will ing tc cooperate in securing the hospital, among the strongest groups approving the project be ing rural women's organizations, :ivic groups and religious insti tutions in the county. The hospital association’s board if managers is composed of j prominent citizens from every [ portion of Washington County. E H. Liverman of Plymouth is j thairman of the board. Conduct Masonic Installation Rite -*— C. W. Dinkins, master of the Perseverance Lodge No, 59 A. F. and A. M. of Plymouth, follow ng his installation as lodge mas ;er at a meeting held by the Masons here Tuesday night, ap pointed and installed six lodge nembers to official positions in :he local organization. The appointed officers were W. Carlyle Hall, senior deacon; Wil iam Harden, junior deacon; J L. Horner, steward; Earl Grace and Bowen, steward; Phillip Liverman, tiler: and R. L. Lucas, chaplain. Installation of the ap pointive officials followed the in stallation of elective officers who .vere chosen last fall. The elective officers installed vere Mr. Dinkins, master; L. E. Doxey, senior warden: W. A. Roebuck, junior warden: B. G. Campbell, treasurer; and John W. Darden, secretary: The installa tions were held immediately fol lowing the lodge’s annual ban quet which was held in the Ma sonic Hall at 7 p. m. I First Baby of i New Year Born The first baby to arrive in Washington County in 1948 was born at 3:15 a. m. on Thurs day, January 1, to Mr. and Mrs. Joe S. Jones of Plymouth at the local Clinic, it has been re reported. The baby, a plump, pink cheeked little girl, has been named Bonnie Lynn by her proud parents. Mrs. Jones is the former Miss Annie Bryant, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Bryant of Plymouth. Highway Official Explains Delays In Road Program -1 Lack of Rights of Way Is Major Impediment to County Highway Pro jects --♦ In answer to a request from the county board of commission ers for a statement to why sev eral road projects approved by the State Highway Commission have not been acted upon as yet, J. J. Gilbert of Washington, high way district engineer, reported to J. R. Campbell, board clerk, upon four delayed jobs in Washing ton County Tuesday. In the matter of bushing out the road to the Kenneth Allen home on Long Acre. Mr. Gilbert stated that the road is not on the highway system and serves only one family, making it impos sible to spare more time than needed in cleaning out a ditch along the roadside, which, he said, has already been done. As for a three-fourths mile stretch of road leading from the J. C. Tarkenton store in Pleasant Grove to the foot of the Middle Neck Road, Gilbert said that when the weather is agreeable, he will attempt to get Mr. Tar kenton's permission to tie the road into a road leading out from one of his farms which Gilbert said, would provide better road service than the one at present. Referring to the Hortontown Road, the engineer stated that a stretch of the road was fixed up before the recent war but one mile of it was incompleted. This was not due to wartime restric tions, he pointed out, but the work was stopped because the Commis sion didn't have the right-of-way to Continue. Gilbert added that if (Sec HIGHWAYS, Page 12) Ange Re-Elecled Local President -4 Leroy Ange was er-eleeted I president of Local No. 3,16 of the | International Brotherhood of Pulp. Sulphite and Papermill Workers in office elections held by the union on Monday. Other union officials chosen bv union members in the balloting were as follows: W. W. Hardison, succeeding W D. Walker, vice president; E. L. McNair, re-elect ed financial secretary; W. cC. Blackmon, succeeding W. W Hardison, recording secretary; ,T. N. fruickshank, re-elected treas urer; L. M. Mooney, Carl Rober son, and Wesley Ange, trustees; A. C. Blount and Tarleton Gard ner, guards. Commissioner of District Also Says Mackeys Road Survey Is Being Made Now According to statements made by District Highway Commission er John G. Clark of Greenville, to the board of county commission ers, meeting in the courthouse here on Monday, the county will soon get some progressive action, on the highway program in Washington County, with special attention being given the Mack eys Road and bridge relocation and the widening and relocation of US 64 through Plymouth. » k. repui icu inai a sur vey is now being made of the Mack eys project which will closely follow the original survey. At the completion of the surveying, Clark said, a public meeting will be called in Plymouth and dis cussion of the commission’s plans will be held. The original sur vey placed the Mackeys bridge at a point some considerable dis tance above the point where the present span crosses Mackeys Creek and was the cause of con siderable disturbance to residents served by the road and bridge. The commissioner announced further that contracts would be let sometime this month for the widening of US 64 from 16 to 22 feet from the Martin County line to the Roper city limits and that the contracts for similar treat ment of the rest of the highway from Roper to the Albemarle Sound Bridge would be let at a later date. Surveys for the re location of the highway as it passes through Plymouth would have the road leave its present location at a ooint n°ar the Lucas dairy farm west of Plymouth, cross the Lucas property, run about 300 feet parallel to the ACL railroad tracks for some distance and then bend back south, joining the present high way at a point near Juniper Lodge. W. N. Spruill, division engineer, also attended the Mon day meeting. commenting on the Turnpike Road, Clark said that the all weather surfacing of the road has not been completed but will be as soon as the weather permits. He added that the Cherry Road project will be done at that time also. The county board, turning to other business, voted that the 1948 Red Book Used Car Market Report be used in the listing of all models of cars and trucks for 1948 taxes, less 20 per cent of the valuation as shown in the column giving the cash values. The question of a bounty on (See U. S. 64, Page 12) -4 Sewer Pipe Here Is Broken Again -4 The Washington Street sewer pipe has collapsed again Plym outh Police Chief P. W. Brown has reported, but added that re pair work was begun by the city sanitation deportment on Wed nesday and will be completed as soon as possible. Due to the nature of the work, the chief said, the street will be blocked from the Plymouth Theatre to the Washington-Main Street intersection. He said fur ther that precautionary measures will be taken to prevent the heady aroma of the sewer pipe from permeating local stores and eating establishments. The col lapse of the pipe, Chief Brown said, was due to quicksand. Take Free Photos Of Children Here -♦ The Roanoke Bacon announces the forthcoming publication of a series of local children’s pictures yet to be taken. Arrangements have been completed with the Woltz Studios of Des Moines, la., who specialize in children’s pho tography for newspapers to take the pictures and furnish the en gravings. Studio photographers for "this work will be in Plymouth on Thursday, January 29. from 11 a. m. until 8 p. m. in the American Legion Hall. Their are neither charges, obligations, or age limits of subjects. Parents do not have to be subscribers of this news paper nor are they obligated to purchase pictures after they are taken. Those who want addi tional prints may obtain them by arrangement with the studio representative when the pose for newspaper publication is selected.