North Carolina Newspapers

T own opics The Roanoke Beacon ****** and Washington County News ****** A home newspaper dedicated ||j to the service of Washington j{| County and its 13.000 people, jjj VOLUME LIX—NUMBER 5 Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina, Thursday, January 29, 1948 ESTABLISHED 1889 Quite a delegation of Plymouth residents attended the Sliriners’ convention held last Thursday in New Bern. Among those who represented Plymouth at the af fair were Mr. and Mrs. H. H. Allen, Mr. and Mrs. C. T. Rob bins, Mr. and Mrs. D. R. Satter thwaite, Miss Miriam Ausbon and Wilbur Daniels, W. S. Bowen, and Charles Painter. The Plymouth Lions Cluh will observe their annual Ladi es’ Night at their meeting to night in the high school cafe teria. All members, accom panied by their wives or girl friends, have been requested to I attend. A special program for the amusement of the guests has been planned. Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Chapin are in Wilson today where they are attending the marriage of their son, Howard B. Chapin, to Miss Mary Alice Beasley. The wed ding is being solemnized in the First Christian Church there. W. Willis Bowen, supervisor of #the Washington-Tyrrell Farmers Home Administration district, is in Williamston today attending a meeting of district supervisors there, S. E. Wilson, State field representative is the principal spaker at the assembly. Grading operations on the athletic field in Stillacres have been temporarily stopped by the cold wave which struck the county last week-end, officials in the Washington County Athletic Association have reported. It was said that about one more day's work remains before that phase of the work to put the field in play ing shape will be completed. o Plymouth Police Chief P. W. Brown has reported that activi ty in his department showed a marked increase last week-end over the record of the past several months. Five persons, three white and two colored, were arrested on minor charges in the Friday-Monday period, he said, adding that with Spring approaching, at least accord ing to the calendar, police ac tivity should increase steeply. ® ——— the county Bureau at its State convention in Asheville Monday through Wednesday of next week. Mrs. Spruill was awarded the trip for having written the most memberships during the Farm Bureau’s recently conducted membership drive. Two Stills Taken By ABC Officials Washington County law en forcement officers, led by Coun ty ABC Officer L. L. Basnight, captured and destroyed two stills during the past week, pouring out on the ground a total of 400 gallons of working mash. Oper ators of neither illicit business were apprehended, however. The first moonshine factory was destroyed on Friday and was lo cated on the Scuppernong River between Cherry and Creswell. In the Friday raid, two barrels of mash, cooling barrel, doubling keg, worm and cap were taken. L. C. Snell and Deputy Sheriff W. D. Peal accompanied Basnight in the foray. The second still was found be hind the Ted Blount farm about six miles from Plymouth on the Mackeys Road and was demolish ed on Wednesday. Three barrels, two of them filled with mash, were taken as well as the still itself, and a doubling keg. Roper Boy Named Editor Ot College’s Magazine -♦ Lewis A. Lawrence of Roper, student at Elon College, has as sured the duties of editor of “The Colonnade,” literary magazine published at the school, accord ing to an announcement from college officials. Mr. Lawrence is majoring in English. announced. She said that efforts are now being made to secure the aid of a State library authority in getting the work done. Heretofore, it was pointed out. the books have not been classified properly, mak ing it difficult for student read ers to locate volumes assigned by instructors in research work and parallel reading. *| Monday Is the Day for ; Groundhog to Emerge According to time-honored tra dition, next Monday, February 2, a small brownish-gray rodent called the Groundhog will come out of his burrow and make his annual prediction on the state of the weather for the next 40 days. The oldtimers say that if the day is sunny and clear so that the groundhog can see his shadow, he will turn around and go back to bed for another 40 days which are sure to be cursed with sleet, snow, and icy winds. On the other hand, they say, if the day is cloudy so that no Town and County Boards Schedule Meetings Monday Commissioners to Have Bond Issue Hearing; Council to Continue Building Sale Study All local government boards in Washington County will convene next Monday. First Monday, for their scheduled February meet ings with at least two of the groups having major items of business to be considered at their respective sessions. The board of county commis sioners, who will convene in the courthouse at 10 a. m., will con duct a public hearing on the mat ter of a $50,000 bond issue for the purpose of securing a portion of the money which must be provid ed by the county if such a medical center is to be secured by this section through State-federal aid under the North Carolina Good Health program. If opposition to the project is encountered, the commissioners will hold discussion at length on the matter. If not, a date for submitting the issue to the quali fied voters of the county will probably be set. All opinions ex pressed by individuals and civic and other organizations have been much in favor of the project and very little, if any opposition to the matter is expected to come before the board next Monday. The Plymouth town council, meeting in the Municipal Build ing at 8 p. m., will probably con sider the feasibility of re-adver tising the Municipal Building and fire house for sale at public auc tion. A committee to investigate action along this line was appoint ed at a special meeting of the council two weeks ago and is to report its findings at that time. The county board of education will meet in County Superinten dent Roy F. Lowry’s office in tfie «t M and will --. » Funeral Is Held For Huflon Child -1 Funeral services were conduct ed from the J. A. Hufton home, near Roper, on Wednesday at 2 p. m. for Joyce Marie Hufton, two-month-old daughter and only child of Mr. and Mrs. Mor ris M. Hufton of Roper, route one. The infant died unexpect edly around 4 a. m. on Tuesday The Rev. B. E. Bingham, Roper Methodist minister, officiated at the last rites. Interment follow ed in the Soundside Missionary Baptist Church cemetery in Tyr rell County. The little girl was born in Tyr rell County last November and was living with her parents at her grandfather’s home at the time of her death. Besides the parents, the maternal grandpar ents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Combes of Creswell, and the pa ternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Hufton of near Roper, sur vive. School Bela Club To Help Library The Beta Club of the Plymouth High School, honorary scholastic society, has voted to undertake the classification and re-arrange ment of all books in the school’s library, Miss Gwen Ward, faculty adviser to the organization, has announced. She said that efforts are now being made to secure the aid of a State library authority in getting the work done. Heretofore, it was pointed out. the books have not been classified properly, mak ing it difficult for student read ers to locate volumes assigned by instructors in research work and parallel reading. shadows are cast, the little fel low will stay above ground, foi Spring is just around the cornei and milder weather is on the way Further up the river in Martir County, people have a differen method of determining the lat< or early advent of Spring. Tha is in the date of the catching o the first herring of the season known to Jamesville residents a: “finding the Smokehouse Key.’ The key is found around Ground hog Day as a rule, but so far n< report has been heard as ti whether or not that fish has beei caught. For Fish. Ileis All commercial fishermen who will use net sets in inland waters during the approaching fishing season this year must have a license for each net Dis trict Game Protector J. T. Ter ry of Plymouth has announced. License fees, which include the required tax, will be 50 cents, Mr. Terry added. Fishermen are requested to see Mr. Terry in order to pro cure the net licenses, it was stated, since licensing agents in Washington County will not carry the permits this year. The season will open in the latter part of February. Final date will be announced later. County March of Dimes Donations Stand at $836.9] -♦ Plymouth and Creswel Section Sole Areas Re porting; Others Arc Not Heard From Yet -♦ To date a total of $836.91, mor< than half the county quota, ha: been collected in Washingtoi County toward the $1,220 goal ii the 1948 March of Dimes cam paign, Mrs. Athalia Gardne Tyree of Plymouth, county chair man, has reported. This amount h* been turned in b; i iiOWiiillii o Jones, PIymoutli’ehairmM reporting a $697.18 contributioi and Mrs. J. M. Phelps, Creswel chairman, turning in a $139.7; collection. No report has yet been mad from other sections of the coun ty or from Prof. A. R. Lord, lead er of the campaign among th county’s colored residents, Mr; Tyree said, but added that in dications are that the drive i being conducted successfully b; them. An itemized account of th Plymouth and Creswell collec tions, the chairman said, reads a follows: Plymouth, $375 fror house - to - house solicitations $196.07 from the white higl school, and $126.11 from the whit elementary school; Creswel] $67.75 from house-to-house soli citations, $43.70 from the motioi picture theatre, $10 from Phillip pi Church of Christ, $5 fron Christ Episcopal Church, $5 fror Creswell Methodist Church, $ from Creswell Woman’s Club, an. $3.28 from Creswell Baptis (See March of Dimes, Page 12 -1 Clubhouse Plans Are Approved at Veterans Meeting Building Committee Tol< to Appoint Buyers fo Materials and Super visor of Work -» - - Members of the Plymouth post of the American Legion and th Veterans of Foreign Wars, meet ing here in joint session last Fri day night, approved the suggest ed plans for the construction of one-story, brick-veneer clubhous on a lot owned by the two or ganizations near the County Horn with construction to begin as soo as possible. The committee in charge o building operations was authoriz ed to go ahead with the plans a they now stand and to have th contruction carried as far as th funds now at hand will permi The committee will meet in th near future at which time the will appoint purchasers of m: terials and will name a super visor of contruction. In addition to the present merr , bers of the building committei W. S. Davenport, W. Blount Roc ' man, and W. Ronald Gaylor were also named to serve wit ; the group. Building plans ca ' for a general assembly roon . men’s and women’s restrooms, i kitchen, and storage space. Th i building will be 60 feet wide b i 40 feet long and will be built i the Southern Colonial style. Some Relief Afforded Neediest Cases When Merchant Here Provid es Emergency Supply -- Coming in conjunction with the coldest weather to hit Washing ton County this year, Plymouth homeowners and business houses are now being subject to one of the most severe fuel oil short ages' ever experienced in this section. By Monday morning of this stores ordinarily heated with oil stores ordinarily hated with oil were completely out of fuel while a great many private homeown ers in town also found them selves with no fuel or an ex tremely scant supply. By Wed nesday one local merchant had made it possible for persons and firms in town, who were com pletely out of oil, to secure sup plies from dealers in Williamston, with 3,000 gallons of liquid fuel having been delivered in town at that time and further shipments expected. Local oil dealers were also prac tically without supplies, one firm stating that it had none at all, but expected delivery of 6,500 gallons on Tuesday. It would be ■ distributed they said to those . most in need as soon as the trucks arrived in Plymouth. Plymouth coal dealers stated that there was enough coal on their yards to supply their regular 1 customers, but that there was not ; sufficient amount of the solid 1 fuel for persons who are now at 1 tempting to convert from oil to coal as a means of heating homes or stores. Cleaners, laundries, and restaurants in Plymouth and the county who use coal, they added, are well supplied. A ship ' iMpt af.around 100 more tons is * «p**Hfrl(t®rrive here this week, * they Mid. 1 The schdols in town and the 1 county, according to county edu * cation officials, have an adequate supply of fuel on hand and will not be forced to close because of the cold, as is the case with school units in several neighboring coun ties. The Plymouth Clinic found itself without oil earlier in the week and one local theatre was closed Tuesday afternoon for the ' same reason, but supplies have been allocated to both for the : present. Meanwhile, everyone has been j asked to utilize such fuel as they i have and to use it as economical ; ly as possible. Steps have been i taken by national leaders to cease > shipments of oil overseas and to , divert it to domestic use which, . it is believed will in some mea i sure relieve the present situation . which is prevalent throughout i the country. Acute Oil Shortage Strikes Both Homes And Stores Monday j OES Officials to ! Be al Meet Here -♦ The Grand Matron Mrs. Rae Emery and the Grand Patron W. J. Pell of Elizabeth City will make their annual official visit to the Plymouth Chapter No. 95 of rthe Order of the Eastern Star at its next regular meeting, to be held on Friday, February 6, Mrs. , Laura Keyes, worthy matron, has 1 announced. r Mrs. Keyes added that Mrs. . Blanche Twiford, past grand ma tron. Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Smith and Mr. and Mrs. James Gregory, all of Elizabeth City, will also 5 attend the meeting. All officers ' of the Plymouth organization are requested. : Name Committees j For County NCE A Members of the various unit 1 committees in the Washington ' County chapter of the North s Carolinia Education Association - have been appointed, according J to an announcement from J. S. ■ Fleming, president of the county 2 NCEA unit. ' The committeemen were chosen ' from teachers in all three major " school units in the county, it was pointed out. They are as fol - lows: Professional service com ‘, mittee, Miss Ethel C. Perry, Mrs. - Gladys A. Ingle, and A. H. Tuck d er; public relations committee, C. a A. Hough, Mrs. Mai;y G. Lowry, .1 and Mrs. Essie J. Lassiter; legisla i, tive committee, Hal L. Furr, Mrs a Inez S. Burnham, and Mrs. Helen e W. Peele; program committee y Miss Matilda Alexander, Mrs n Irma K. Hough, and Mrs. Annie Lou Gurkin. Will Discontinue Passenger Trains Here Next Sunday -♦ Deliveries of Mail and Freight to Plymouth and County on Sundays Also Stopped Beginning next Sunday, Nor folk Southern trains one and two will be discontinued according to a report from J. C. Swain, Plym outh postmaster, who said that he had been advised of the step by L. P. Kennedy, general sup ervisor of Norfolk Southern Rail way Company, which means, Mr. Swain pointed out, that Sunday freight and mail delivery to Plym outh will be stopped temporarily. To date, the postmaster added, | no arrangements have been made to fill in the gap left by the re moval of the trains, permission for which was granted the rail road company by the North Caro lina Utilities Commission after a hearing on the matter conducted several weeks ago. Passenger service by the trains during the week days will also be stopped, it was pointed out. This removes the last vestige of passenger train service to Plym outh and Washington County al though this aspect of the removal will hardly work inconvenience on county residents since the ma jority travel by bus or private automobile. The announcement climaxes and brings to an end negotiations on the part of the railway com pany to have the trains removed. The company made announce ment of its intention to request permission for the removal from the utilities commission in the Spring of 1947 but aroused such a storm of protest from the towns in northeastern Carolina who were serviced that the matter was dropped. The issue was revived in November of 1947 and a hear ing conducted in December. A delegation of Plymouth resi dents, under the leadership of the local Merchants' Association pro tested the removal at the hearing, but the railway company proved that the trains had been operat ing at a loss for quite some time and that few if any ever took ad vantage of the passenger service offered. The utilities commission announced its decision in favor of the railroad last week.end. -♦ Uomplefe Repair Work on Sewers Here This Week Total Cost of Project Estimated at $1,500; Street to Be Paved in Next Two Weeks Repair work on the broken sewer connections in the section of Washington Street from Main to Water Streets was completed over the week-end and the exca vation has been filled. Plymouth Police Chief P. W. Brown, who supervised the repair project, stated that the surface of the street removed by the workmen will not be repaved for about two weeks and because of this auto drivers are asked not to park in the area between Satterthwaite | Garage and the Main Street corn er. The total cost of the repair, Chief Brown said, is approximate ly $1,500. The pipe breakage is the second to occur in the Wash ington Street line in the past year and occurred only a few yards above the point of the last break. Deterioration of the terra cot ta pipes with subsequent leakage and clogging was given as the source of the trouble. Chief Brown stated that pipes which are expected to last 50 years have been placed in the line where the break occurred. Leaf Acreages To Be Released Tobacco acreage allotments for ; the 1948 crop to be grown by Washington County farm opera ; tors will be released within the i next two or three days, Miss | Miriam Ausbon, county AAA sec retary, has announced. The total acreage for this year's leaf crop in this section, she said, is 1,247.9, or 497.7 acres less than the 1,745.6 acres which were alloted to county tobacco producers for the 1947 season. The decrease, she pointed out, is due to the 27.51 per cent reduction in county tobacco acreages recently ordered by Secretary of Agricul ture Clinto» P. Anderson. J. Robert Campbell First To File for County Office J. Robert Campbell, who was appointed to the office of register of deeds of Washington County in 1943 and elected to the office in 1944, has announced that he will be a candidate to succeed himself in office, subject to the May Democratic primary. Mr. Campbell stated that since he has held the register’s posi tion he has endeavored to be on the job at all times and to give one-day service to persons who have business with the deed of fice. If re-elected, Mr. Campbell pointed out that it was his firm intention to maintain the policy of one-day service, with special attention being given farmers and ex-servicemen especially in the matters of crop liens and dis charge recordings. Mr. Campbell, prior to becom ing the county register of deeds, operated a mercantile business in Plymouth for 35 years. Saturday Final Day For Listing Property Hunting Season Ends Saturday Open season on quail and rabbits in third district will end on Saturday, January 31, J. T. Terry, district game protector, has announced. The season for turkeys closed on January 15, while the deer, bear, and squir rel season closed on January 1, Mr. Terry added. Hunters in this section had a comparatively poor season on quail and rabbits, the game pro tector said, while deer, bear, and squirrel were found in abundance. The wild turkey season, Terry pointed out, was about the same as in past years State OK's First Lot of Triple-A Checks in County Total Amount Primary Payment Slips About $2,500; Forward More Applications Soon -«—— The 100 applications for pay ment on farm practices completed in Washington County under the 1947 Triple-A program recently filed at the local AAA ofice have been approved by the Raleigh AAA office and within the next few days checks in the total amount of about $2,500 will be on their way to farm operators in the county. Miss Miriam Ausbon, county Triple-A secretary, has announced. The applications which were sent off last week, the secretary said, were the first in a series of 100-application lots which are being prepared and computed in the county office and being for warded to the Raleigh headquar ters for auditing and approval. The next 100 applications will be forwarded within the next two or three days, she added. Farmers who have not yet pro duced their lime bills, seed tags, and secured tenant signatures on their applications are urged to do so before this Saturday. January 31, she added. Otherwise pay ment for practices completed in 1947 will not be made, secre tary stated. -» Permits to Burn Brush Necessary Beginning next Sunday, Febru ary 1, and extending through June 1, burning of trash or brush in or near woodlands will not be al lowed unless a permit is procured for that purpose, S. F. Darden, forest fire warden, has announc ed. Mr. Darden pointed out that the February-June period is the forest fire season for this part of the country and that the burning of trash in woodland areas with out first obtaining a permit from a designated warden will make the offender liable to prosecution in the courts. Violators of the ruling, he said, would be subject to a $50 fine or a 30-dav jail sentence or both. Begin Excavations for Negro School Building -♦ Foundations for the construe-1 tion of the new Negro high school ; building at Creswell have been' dug, according to a statement from Roy F. Lowry, superinten dent of the county’s schools, who added that stumps are now being cleared from the 15-acre school site. He added that shipments of materials are also beginning to come in and that several lots of cinder blocks and sand have been delivered. Last-Minute Rush Is De veloping, With Many Property Owners Still Not on Lists -♦ The total number of persons from Plymouth and Plymouth Township who have so far ap peared for the listing of taxes during the current listing period amount to approximately 1,000 for the township and between 85C and 900 for the town itself, list takers W. A. Roebuck and Mrs. Hermine Ramsey have reported. Although no official informa tion is immediately available con cerning the listings in other sec tions of the county, it is under stood to have progressed satis factorily beyond the percentages reported last week. At that time, Skinnersville and Scuppernong List Takers W. W. White and P. B. Belanga had reported about 50 per cent of the taxpayers in their respective territories as appear ing for listing. R. W. Lewis, Lees Mill list taker, said that only about 30 per cent in his section had appeared, although he had been swamped by the number of persons appearing before him in Wenona section when he made his visit there. He will be in Wenona again today. Although farmers are the most prompt as a group when it comes to making out the tax lists, list takers have reported a general slackness throughout the county in putting in an appearance at the listings places. Merchants and other business men appear to be the most lax while the number of young men and women who have become 21 years old and now subject to poll tax is also said to be far below what it should be. All taxpayers in the county have been reminded by County Tax Supervisor Hubert L. Dav enport that the deadline for the listing of taxes is this Saturday, January 31, and that penalties may be incurred for waiting un til after that date. He also point ed out that the farm census is be ing taken this year for the last time until 1953 and that all farm ers should come prepared to give a report on machinery, stock, and other equipment. -4 House Chevrolet Shows 1948 Auto -♦ A new 1948 deluxe Fleetmaster Chevrolet will be on display in the showroom of House Chevrolet Company in Plymouth Friday and Saturday, according to an an nouncement from the firm’s management, who said that the public is invited to come in and inspect the automobile at any time on thise two days. The five-passenger coupe, it was pointed out, has several im portant changes from the 1947 model, among the most outstand ing being a strengthening of the crankshaft and bearings in order to produce a more durable motor. The management added that aside from a change in the grill, no other changes have been made in the car’s exterior appearance Begin Drive for Furnishing Home Economics Room Civic, Business Leaders Shown School Needs at Monday Supper; Cam paign Ends Saturday -« A drive to purchase necessary equipment for the Plymouth High School's home economics depart ment and science laboratory was begun by the men’s group of the local Parent-Teacher Association unit on Monday night when busi ness and civic leaders of the town were entertained at a supper and given a tour of the two depart ments in the local school build ing. Lit. 1VX. ucavm, uiauumu :ampaign and master of cere monies at the supper, informed the guests that an absolute mini mum amount of $2,921 is needed to complete the two school de partments. All business houses and civic clubs will be contacted this week, he said, and asked to contribute to the project. One local industry, Mr. Leavitt point ed out, has promised to donate ap proximately one half of the amount needed which will make the sums requested from other business firms relatively small, averaging between $15 and $20. The campaign will end Saturday. Hoy F. Lowry, superintendent of the county’s schools, informed the group that the effort of re novating and adding new class rooms to the Plymouth school has been tremendous and that the drain on county finances has been severe. He stated that as things now stand there are insufficient funds to complete the school plant and that considering this, the local citizens should do all posible to lend aid to the cam paign being conducted by the PTA group. Among the items necessary to equip the home economics de partment, the guests were told, are a refrigerator, three electric ranges, a washing machine, and a large number of cabinets. In addition to numerous small ar ticles of equipment, the science laboratory still lacks adequate cabinet space as well astables and chairs. Dr. Alban Papineau, local phy sician, commenting on the equip ment drive, pointed out that all colleges require certain minimum credits in the sciences and that if at all possible, the Plymouth stu dents should be provided with a means for meeting those require ments. The guests were served a fried chicken dinner which was pre pared by members of the school’s home economics department, un der the direction of Miss Carolyn Brinkley, instructor in that de partment. -« Children's Photos Are Taken Today •-♦ Photographers from Woltz Stu dios of Des Moines, la., national ly known children’s photograph artists, will be at the Legion Hall in Plymouth today from 1 p. m. until 8 p. m. to take pictures of all children in this trading area for publication in a special fea ture entitled “Citizens of Tomor row” which will be published by The Roanoke Beacon. The pictures will be taken with out charge to parents of the children, although the parents, if they wish, may make special ar rangements with representatives of the studio to purchase extra prints of their children’s pictures. The photographers will be in Plymouth today only and all parents in the Plymouth trading area are urged to take advantage of this opportunity to have their child’s picture included in the Beacon’s special pictorial feature, “Citizens of Tomorrow." Xiku Tags Must Be on Autos After Saturday Alter Saturday, January Jl, an automobiles must display the 194S State license plate and those au tomobiles operated by persons residing in the Town of Plymouth must display city license tags, law enforcement officials here have announced. State license plates may be ob tained at Williamston, Edenton, or Washington, while Plymouth town tags may be purchased for SI at the city clerk's office in the Municipal Building here. Failure on the part of any car owner to secure and display the icenses by next Saturday will uake the driver liable to arrest md prosecution in the courts, the officials stated. Practically all ruto owners around here, how ever, have already secured their State licenses and most of them have obtained the town tags. A few persons are still display ing the 1947 plates and will pro bably wait until the last minute to get their new licenses. If they fail to get the plates by next Sat urday. they would find it advise able to leave their cars at home until the license plates are bought.