::::::::::::::
<
T'own If
opics |
Residents of Washington Coun
W ty are pointing with pride to the
fact that for the second succes
sive year the quota alloted the
county in the March of Dimes
drive, conducted through the na
tion each January, has been over
subscribed to the point of almost
twice the amount asked. In 1947,
$813 was asked, $$2,085.41 was
given; in 1948, $1,220 was asked
and $2,148.76 has been given at
the last count.
J. Shepherd Brinkley of Plym
outh has been appointed Wash
ington County chairman for the
annual American Red Cross drive
which begins March 1 and ends
March 10, it has been announced.
Quota for Washington County in
the 1948 campaign has not yet
been determined and will be an
nounced at a later date.
Mayor of Plymouth A. J. Rid
dle was unable to attend a
meeting of the town council,
held Monday night, for the first
time since he assumed office in
January of 1946 at which time
he was called to fill the va
cancy left by the resignation
$ of Mayor E. F. Still. Mayor
Pro Tern J. Shepherd Brinkley
presided over the council meet
ing in Mr. Riddle’s place. The
mayor, whi was ill, has now
recovered and is back at busi
ness again.
Matt White Norman, student
at Emory College in Oxford. Ga.,
and son of Mr. and Mrs. C. J.
Norman of Plymouth, has been
placed on the school’s merit list
for excellence of academic work
done by his during the fall
quarter, according to Registrar
R. A. Thorne. Mr. Norman was
one of 54 students at the school
who were awarded recognition
by the school during the fall
period.
Approximately $10,000 in cur
rent Town of Plymouth taxes
were collected by Police Chief P.
W. Brown during the month of
^January, Mr. Brown has report
ed. The chief said that the col
lection for the month just past
is the all-time high for any 30
day period since he took over the
job some 25 years ago.
Roy F. Lowry, superinten
dent of the Washi*’' ton Countv
Schools, has been appointed by
State Superintendent Clyde A.
Erwin to the membership of a
committee to re-organize the
school lunchroom system of
records and reports, it has been
announced. First meeting of
the committee will be conduct
ed in Raleigh on February 17
at 10:3d a. m.
Colonel H. J. Hatcher, director
of the North Carolina Highway
Patrol and the State Safety Di
vision, will be the featured speak
er at tonight's meeting of the
Plymouth Lions Club, it has been
announced. Guests of the club
at the meeting tonight will in
clude all law enforcement of
ficials in Washington County. L.
J. Darby is program chairman
for the club this month.
In recognition of his two and
|jne-half years service to the
Plymouth Rotary Club, Former
President J. Shepherd Brinkley
was presented with a past-presi
dent’s pin by the club members
at the organization’s meeting this
week. President Carl L. Bailey
made the presentation.
Bible Convention
Slated by Church
-•
A convention of all Bible class
es of the Christian churches lr
Washington County will be helc
in the Plymouth Christian Churcr
Sunday, beginning at 2:30 p. m.
H. H. Allen, lay officer in the
local church, has announced.
The convention, which is th<
first in a series of such gather
ings, will be held under the di
rection of J. C. Gardner, instruc
tor of the local adult Bible class
Representatives of the six Chris
tian churches in Washingtor
County will attend the meeting
Officials in all the churches wil
take part in the program.
-4
•Negro Woman Is
Accident Victim
-4
Mary Pettiford, 60-year-olc
colored resident of Plymouth
suffered a fractured back when i
Carolina Trailways bus on whict
she was a passenger skidded of:
the highway and turned over ii
a ditch about five miles fron
. Tarboro Friday afternoon.
Six other passengers wen
slightly injured and another 1!
badly shaken up by the accident
The Plymouth woman was mos
seriously hurt. All were take:
to a Tarboro hospital for treat
ment. The bus was en routi
from Raleigh to Williamston a
the time the accident occurred.
The Roanoke Beacon
****** and Washington County News ******
A home newspaper dedicated
to the service of Washinjjton jjj
County and its 13,600 people. ;jj
Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina, Thursday, February 5, 1948
ESTABLISHED 1889
VOLUME LIX—NUMBER 6
Heavy Snowfall Climaxes
Week End of Bad Weather
One of the heaviest snowfalls
occurring in tVashington County
since a 6-inch fall fall in Dec. 1943
came Sunday, local residents stat
ing that the first flakes began
to come down around 6 a. m. with
an approximate 4-inch precipi
tation taking place within the
next four hours.
The snow was preceeded on
Saturday by sleet and freezing
rains which rendered both side
walks and streets hazardous. The
snowfall on Sunday dealt the
final blow to the roads, insofar
as the schools were concerned,
and classes throughout the coun
ty were ordered suspended until
Wednesday.
By noon Sunday, the mgnways
in the county and the principal
streets in Plymouth had been
scraped and were in fairly good
condition although most residents
had trouble getting their cars out
of garages.
Coming in conjunction with a
serious shortage of all kinds of
fuel, the snow hit hard at a large
number of farm’ ’s and business
houses in Plyrn and the coun
ty in general. .idren, though,
were delightet th the event
and spent the da. making snow
men and having snowball fights
while their elde hiving fuel or
not, enjoyed a -ity fill of
snow cream.
Let Contract :ror
Part Road Project
Groundhog SeesI
Shadow Monday j
AH Washington County resi
dents who put faith in the an
nual weather prediction made
by the Groundhog each Febru
ary 2, have announced that the
next 40 days will be filled with
bitter cold, for the Groundhog,
who emerged from his burrow
at noon on Monday, found the
sun shining and most certainly
saw his shadow.
Legend has it that if the ro
dent finds the sky cloudy so
that no shadows are cast, spring
is most certainly on its way,
but if the sun is out, winter
will reign for an additional 40
days.
Skinn
Leadin
In Listing
List Taker Reports 90-95
Per Cent Taxpayers
Appeared; Scuppernong
in Second Place
According to County Tax Su
pervisor Hubert L. Davenport,
Skinnersville Township, with
Walter W. White list taker, is
leading the county in the per
centage of taxpayers who have
appeared before Mr. White to
list taxes in the current period.
The township, he said, has re
corded a 90 to 95 per cent list
ing as of Wednesday of this week.
Scuppernong Township, Paul
B. Belanga list taker, is running
Skinnersville a close second,
Davenport said, Mr. Belanga re
cording an estimated 80 to 85 per
cent of taxpayers, while Plym
outh Township, Mrs. Hermine
Ramsey list taker, is third with a
recorded 75 per cent listing.
Lees Mill Township occupies
the bottom position in the coun
ty with only about 65 per cent
of taxpayers appearing before
List Taker R. W. Lewis who is
also covering the Wenona sec
tion.
In the lower end of the coun
ty, Supervisor Davenport report
ed, the majority of delinquents
are colored people and young
men and women who have just
become old enough to be subject
to poll tax. In the upper end of
the county, he said, some of the
most glaring examples of failing
to appear on time for the list
ings have been set by some of
the section’s most prominent resi
dents. Poll tax delinquency, how
ever, the supervisor said, is gen
erally outstanding throughout the
county. Farmers are being quite
cooperative about reporting for
the farm census which is beine
taken this year for the last time
before 1953.
Some delinquency in making
out tax lists has been due tc
bad weather so the county com
missioners allowed an extensior
of the listing period, until Feb
ruary 14, to make up for the
loss.
State Highway Commis
sion Grants Portion of
Job to Durham Firm;
No Bid on Rest
The State Highway Commis
sion awarded the contract for
grading US Highway 64 from the
Martin County line to the Roper
city limits to the Nello L. Teer
Company of Durham at a meeting
of the commission in Raleigh on
Thursday at which contracts were
let in the total amount of $1,
909,521.28 for highway propects
in North Carolina for 1948. The
Washington County project bid
was $109,417.
The bid made by the Durham
contractors was on the roadway
alone. No bids were received
on structures in the project.
According to plans made by
the highway commission, the road
from the county line will be wid
ened from six to 10 feet from a
ioiat near the county .Jine,, the
Plans afto call for the re-routing
of the road which would cut di
agonally across the dairy farm,
run parallel to the Atlantic Coast
line railroad tracks for some dis
tance turn south and rejoin the
present highway at a point near
Juniper Lodge.
Bids for Payment
Sent by Triple-A
-♦- \
The second 100-lot of applica
tions for payment for practices
completed in Washington Coun
ty by farmers under the 1947
Triple-A program have been
forwarded to Raleigh for approval
by the State AAA committee, Miss
Miriam Ausbon, county Triple-A
secretary, has reported.
The second application lot,
amounting to an estimated $2,
500, are for payment for conser
vation materials only, the sec
retary said, pointing out that the
first applications were for mini
mum assistance checks. The first
lot was approved by the State
last week, Miss Ausbon said, add
ing that the third batch of ap
plications will be sent to the
State committee as soon as pos
sible.
Icy Road Causes
Wreck Saturday
All persons involved escaped
injury although some damage
| was done to the automobile when
a 1941 Chevrolet C^upe, driven
by Jasper Brey Hardison, Roper
white man, skidded off the road
and turned over a few hundred
yards east of the Juniper Lodge
railroad crossing on Highway 64
Saturday around 1 a. m.
State Highway Patrolman John
S. Sanderson, who investigated
the accident stated that the
cause of the spill was due to ice
on the highway at that particular
point. He added that the accident
was the only one reported to the
Washington County division oi
the highway patrol during the
ice and snow storm which lashed
the eastern part of the State last
week-end.
Councilmen Hold
Regular Meeting
Here on Monday
-4
Discuss Alleged Misuse
of Police Car; Defer
Planned Buildings Sale
Until 1949
-♦
The Plymouth town council,
meeting in regular session at the
Municipal Building Monday night,
held much heated discussion con
cerning the use, or some state
ments have phrased it. the misuse
of the town’s police car.
One councilman reported that
he had had numerous complaints
from residents of the town that
the car, while on night duty, had
been seen at points beyond the
city limits. He added that the
average milage shown on the
car, according to checks made,
was 57 miles per night for eacli
night during January.
In order to clarify the situa
tion, Police Chief P. W. Brown
stated that since the city limits
were extended last June, the car
must travel much farther in its
nightly check-up rounds which
extend now from Little Richwood
Village to Stillacres. Six rounds
per night are made, he said. The
chief added, however, that the
car should not be taken outside
the city limits at any time, but
that he knew of no instance in
which this had occurred.
Considering the problem ot re
advertising the Municipal Build
ing and fire house for sale at
public auction, the council voted
to let things remain as they are
until the State General Assembly
meets in 1949 and have the prop
erty disposed of by authority of
a special legislative act.
Luther Gurkin appeared be
fore the board and requested that
he be allowed to continue in oc
cupancy of a warehouse owned
by the town and located behind
(See COUNCIL, Page Ten)
empty Resident
red by Fall
Mrs. David Cutler, Washing
ton County resident, sustained
two broken wrists incurred in a
fall at her home on Highway 32
last Wednesday, it has been re
ported. Dr. T. L. Bray, of Plym
outh, who treated the injuries,
stated that a simultaneous frac
turing of both wrists in the
same accident is one of the most
unusual accidents he has ever
seen. He added that in his 32
years of practicing medicine, he
has seen such a case but three
times.
Mrs. Cutler was standing in a
chair painting when she fell and
was hurt. Dr. Bray said that her
condition this week is very satis
factory.
Potato Acreages Sent
Out by AAA This Week
-♦
Allotments for potato acreages
in Washington County have now
been mailed out to producers,
Miss Miriam Ausbon, county AAA
I secretary, has announced. A total
I of 172.4 acres were distributed,
!she said, adding that all farm
operators who want new potato
grower allotments should make
application at the local Triple-A
office before February 15.
j Farm Bureau
I Heels Friday
A meeting of the Washing
ton County Farm Bureau will
be conducted in the Agricul
ture Building in Plymouth on
Friday at 7:30 p. m., according
to announcements from W. T.
Freeman of Plymouth, presi
dent of the county farm organi
zation.
Featured event of the even
ing’s program, he said, will be
the showing of a motion pic
ture, “First in the Hearts of the
; Farmers,” which will depict
I soil conservation practices from
i the time of George Washing
ton to the present. All mem
| bers of the Farm Bureau have
I been requested to be present.
County Schools
Resume Classes
Classes in the Washington
County Schools were resumed
at the regular hours on Wednes
day morning following a two
day closure necessitated by
heavy snows which blanketed
this section on Sunday.
School officials in announc
ing the suspension of classes in
the county on Monday point
ed out that while the paved
highways in this section had
been scraped and were fairly
safe, dirt roads were covered
with four to six inches of snow
and slush making travel, par
ticularly of loaded school buses,
extremely hazardous.
Light Agenda Is
Presented County
Board on Monday
Groundwork Laid to Se
cure Rights of Way for
Completion of County
Road Project
-♦
The Washington County Board
of Commissioners, meeting in
regular session in the courthousa
on Monday, was presented with a
light, though varied, agenda.
Notice was given the tax-paying
residents of the county that the
period for listing taxes will be
extended from February 8, next
Sunday, through February 14, the
following Saturday, due to ad
iverse weather conditions in Janu
ary which kept many taxpayers
away from the listing places.
The clerk of theboard was in
structed to notify Mrs. J. H. Gay
lord, jr., of Roper, that she is to
secure from landowners who have
property bordering on the un
finished Horton Town Road to the
effect that they will sign right-of
way agreements with the State
Highway Department sc that the
road project can be completed
The work being done on the road
was halted some time ago because
the State lacked rights of way
from several property owners in
that section and could not legal
ly proceed with the work on the
road. The clerk was also instruct
ed to forward a copy of his letter
to Mrs. Gaylord to J. J. Gilbert,
district highway engineer.
Arrangements were made tc
have a special meeting of the
county board relative to the pro
posed $50,000 hospital bond issue
as soon as certain papers from
New York bonding attorneys are
received by the board.
reports wore nearcl irom Mrs.
Frances M. Darden, county home
demonstration agent, and from
E. J. Spruill, county auditor and
tax collector. Jim Hamilton was
employed as custodian of the
county courthouse and the Agri
culture Building for the month
of February. Frank L. Brink
ley. chairman of the county borad,
presiding at the Monday meet
ing.
None Injured in
Thursday Wreck
-♦
All persons involved escaped
injury although considerable
damage was done to the 1946
Oldsmobile sedan driven by
Plymouth Attorney Carl L. Bail
jey when it collided with a 1941
Ford sedan, driven by John Cole
train. of Jamesville, and a Mar
tin County school bus, several
miles west of Jamesville last
Thursday around 4 p. m.
Coletrain, followed by Bailey,
was meeting the school bus when
the bus driver dropped the ve
hicle's “stop” sign. Coletrain im
mediately applied his brakes and
Bailey, unable to stop his car
at such abrupt notice, struck the
rear of Coletrain’s car and the
front of the bus. Both fenders
and the radiator grill of the
Bailey car were demolished. NY
damage was sustained by eithe:
of the other two vehicles. Cole
train admitted being at fault anc
damage payments will be arrang
ed out of court. Martin Countj
Highway Patrolman Whit Saun
ders investigated the accident.
Extend Tax Listing Period
To Include All Next Week
Only One Car Halted for
Not Having New Licenses
So far only one - automobile
driver attempting to travel the
highways in this section without
a 1948 license plate has been ap
prehended, according to repoi ts
from Highway Patrolman John
Sanderson, who made the arrest
on Monday afternoon.
Sanderson reported that Con
nie Ray Askew, white resident
of Pinetown, was arrested by him
on Highway 32 for not display
ing the new license plates. Dead
line for driving with a 1947 li
cense, Sanderson pointed out,
was last Saturday, January 31.
From now on, he stated, all driv
ers must display the new plates
and, if Plymouth residents, city
tags as well, or suffer the con
sequences.
Askew, the patrolman added,
will be given a hearing in Wash
ington County Recorder's Court
shortly. As far as the rest of
the county's drivers are concern
ed, he said, everyone seems to
have secured the 1948 plates from
the stations in Williamston. Eden
ton, or Washington.
Near Twice Quota
In Polio Campaign
Contribution Now $928.76
Over Amount Asked;
Final Count Expected
to Reveal More
By Wednesday of this week a
total contribution of $2,148.76 had
been collected in Washington
County for the annual March of
Dimes campaign, and one or tw5
sections f the county were y
to be he from, according '
report from Mrs. Athalia Gard
ner Tyree, county chairman for
the drive.
Quota assigned to the county,
she said, was $1,220, with all in
dications that the final count of
donations made in this section
will double the amount alloted
Ufashington County. At present
’*,928.76 more than the requested
amount has been turned in.
An itemized list of contribu
tions from Washington County,
by sections, reads as follows:
Plymouth, $1,413.31, with $290.79
given by business firms; $95 by
unions; $100 by clubs and church
es; $200 by white high school;
$126.11 by white primary school;
| $141.12 from collection boxes:
! $183.24 from theatre collections;
and $276.55 from house-to-house
solicitations;
Roper, $149.44, with $58.31
given by the white schools;
$46.66 from J. J. Clemmons
School; $13.50 from Macedonia
School; $24.64 from collection
boxes; $6.33 from theatre collec
tions;
Creswell, $442.32, with $23.28
given by the churches; $5 by the
Woman’s Club; $44 from theatre
(See POLIO, Page Ten)
Local VFW to Conduct
Meeting Here Tonight
♦ —
The Plymouth post of the Ve
terans of Foreign Wars will con
duct a regularly scheduled meet
ing in the courtroom of the coun
|ty courthouse tonight at 8 o’clock.
; according to an announcement
i from Post Commander W. S. Dav
;enport. All members of the or
' ganization have been requested
to attend.
Income Tax Man
To Be Here Soon
A deputy collector of internal
revenue will be located in Plym
outh at the post office from
Wednesday, February 8, through
Friday, February 20, to aid tax
payers in making out forms for
the filing of 1947 federal income
tax returns, it has been announc
ed. Hours to be maintained by
the deputy are 9:30 a. m. to a
p. m.
All persons who earned $500 or
more during the calendar year of
1947 are required to file a re
turn, it was pointed out. The
taxpayer may use his withhold
ings statements given him by his
employer for this purpose, or he
may use form 1040 which can be
secured at the post office. Re
turns must be filed by March 15
with the regional collector of in
ternal revenue at Greensboro.
Polio Strikes
Child at Roper
Robert Lee Simpson, two
year-old Roper Negro child, was
stricken with infantile para
lysis last Wednesday and has
been removed to St. Agnes hos
pital in Raleigh for treatment
of the disease, officials in the
Washington - Tyrrell District
Health Department have re
ported.
The polio case, the health de
partment stated, was the first
reported to them this year. The
child, they said, is the son of
Cornel' as and Carrie Lee Simp
son. Three other children, they
added, live in the same house,
but have so far not been in
fected with the disease.
Severe Shortage
Of Fuel Is Still
Evident in Town
-<
Local Dealers Receive
New Monthly Allot
ments but Supply Is
Still Insufficient
Although additional supplies of
oil have been allocated to Plym
outh from nearby towns aiding
greatly in giving some measure of
relief and local oil companies
have begun receiving their Feb
ruary fuel quotas, the oil short
age is still severe in Plymouth.
One local oil dealer has re
ceived his first February ship
ment of kerosene and fuel oil for
the period, totalling 4,500 gallons
of each in the initial delivery. It
has been pointed out, however,
that this is not sufficient to meet
demands made by all oil consum
ers in this area.
Shortages are also very much
evident in coal and wood fuels,
although they are perhaps not
quite so severe as in the oil di
vision. Plymouth retailers of
fuels of all types have continued
their request that local residents
maintain as close watch over
fuel supplies as possible and to
utilize the supplies as economi
cally as possible since there is
still no immediate prospect of the
situation easing.
-♦
Oil Stove Causes Fire
At Outten’s Store Here
■-4
Flames originating from a
flooded carburator in an oil stove
in the John Outten store on
Washington Street ignited the
store building around 1:15 p. m.
Friday, but Plymouth firemen,
summoned to the scene, quickly
put the blaze out. Fire Chief
Miller Warren reported that no
estimate as to the extent of
damage could be made at present,
but that if a great deal had oc
curred, the major portion would
I be due to smoke rather than the
I fire itself.
County Board Grants
Listers Extra Time Be
cause of Bad Weather
in Month of January
-♦
The period for the listing of tax
es in Washington County has been
extended to Saturday. February
14. according to action taken by
the county board of commission
ers, meeting in the county court
house on Monday.
The commissioners, reviewing
reports on the scantiness of the
number of taxpayers appearing
before the list takes during the
regular period of January 1
through January 31, decided that
adverse weather conditions were
responsible in keeping a large
part of persons away from the
list takers’ post, hence the ex
tension of the listing period.
The county board in notifying
the public of tjMjdjxtra time al
lowed for the IMfgs, pointed
out that failure <»"»*port to the
list takers on, orJfatffcre Febru
ary 14 will subjew':S|y person,
firm, or corporatia|| all pen
alties according to Tjjb* State tax
laws and that such''deltaquerts
will also be liable toKBM^culion
in the courts. ,'t «L
List takers tor
townships in
are as follows:
ship, Mrs. Hermine
Mill Township, R.
Skinnersville Township,
White; Scuppernong
Paul E.
enport
The list
the same
regular listing period.
-»
John Darden Said
To Be Improving
-*—- >...
The Hon. John W. Darden,
Washington County representa
tive to the State General Assem
bly, who suffered a stroke of
paralysis last Friday morning is
reported by relatives to be rest
ing comfortably at present al
though his condition is still re
garded as serious.
Some improvement has been
noted since Friday, they stated,
and Mr. Darden has regained
powers of both sight and speech
to some extent.
Mr. Darden has been in ill
health for some time and had
suffered a series of strokes last
year. In the fall, he entered a
hospital in Durham for treat
ment and while there underwent
several serious operations.
Extra School Bus
Is Requested for
Clemmons School
-+
Education Board Also
Holds Conference on
Proposed Changes in
Local Heating Plant
-♦
Appearing before the county
board of education, meeting in
regular session here on Monday,
two representatives of the J. J.
Clemmons School at Roper. Wil
liam Johnston and Charlie Bas
night. requested the members of
the board to investigate all pos
sible means of securing an ad
ditional school bus to serve the
school.
The Clemmons School represen
tatives pointed out that the one
bus which now services the
school is not able to give suffici
ent service in transporting ade
quately all rural students to and
from classes each school day.
Members of the board took no
final action on the matter, but
promised to investigate it as soon
as possible.
I he education group also con
ducted a conference with heat
[ ing unit contractors on recom
; mended changes for the heating
I unit of the new section of the
'Plymouth High School. Recom
mended changes include com
pletion of all convector enclosur
es and pipe coverings and the
lowering of the water level of
the boiler. The recommendation
was made by the contractors be
, cause of the loss of heat in the
steam mains not yet covered and
because too much water is being
carried into the boiler by the
'■ feed pipes. The board agreed to
i have the changes made and the
contractors agreed to do the work
this week-end.
Leave of absence was granted
“ for the remainder of the year to
. Margaret H. Berry, colored teach
- er at the Brooks School, for rea
sons of health.
Over 1,500 Pounds Clothing Collected in Drive
A total of 1,534 pounds of new
i and used clothing were collected
by canvassers in Plymouth for
; the local overseas clothing re
! lief drive and have now been
. sent to New Windsor, Md., for
■ shipment to European victims of
: the recent, war, Mrs. Woodrow R.
Collins, chairman of the cam
paign, has announced. The relief
drive, which was sponsored by
the Wesleyan Guild of the Plym
outh Methodist Church, was more
than satisfactory, Mrs. Collins
said, adding that all contributions
made by local stores and private
citizens were of very good quali
ty.
Several merchants, local civic
organizations and the Atlas Ply
wood Corporation donated a total
sum of $40 to pay shipping costs
of sending the packages to Mary
land, the chairman pointed out.
The donations were packed on
Sunday and sent to the European
distribution center on the fol
lowing day, she said.
A total of 65 cartons of cloth
ing, shoes, toys, soaps, and sew
ing materials were contributed
by Plymouth residents, Mrs. Col
lins reported. Large quantities
of new articles of clothing, she
said, were given by the merchants
of the town and one hardware
store donated three pitchforks.
The chairman added that a great
number of games and toys were
also included in the donation
made by the townspeople.
Collection centers were main
tained at the Municipal Buildini
and at Mrs. Collins’ home ii
Coitntry Club Village. Twenty
four townswomen served as can
vassers for the drive. The cam
paign was conducted for on
week, beginning on Monday
January' 26. and ending on Sat
urday, January 31.