North Carolina Newspapers

■ The Roanoke Beacon A home newspaper dedicated jjj i|! to the service of Washington jjj III County and its 13,000 people, jjj and Washington County News ★★★★★★ ★★★★★★ Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina, Thursday, February 19, 1948 ESTABLISHED 1889 VOLUME LIX—NUMBER 8 ipr-ftrtnnn iTown I topics The weather station on the Roanoke River at Williamston has reported that the river was stand ing a bit over 11 feet there on Monday and was expected to reach 13.5 feet, or about three feet above flood stage, by Satur day. Although no great flood danger is expected at any point along the river, logging interests and river commerce are expected to be curtailed sharply. County School Superintendent R. F. Lowry, W. F. Veasey, Beau fort County schools superinten dent, and E. D. West, superinten dent of Washington city schools will leave Saturday for Washing ton, D. C.. to attend a meeting of the American Association of Sec ondary School Administrators. Mr. Lowry said that he planned to return to Plymouth on Wednes day of next week. Plymouth Town Clerk W. A. Roebuck left here yesterday for a 30-day leave of absence due to illness. Mr. Roebuck enter ed a hospital in Raleigh for * treatment on Wednesday and undergoes an operation there today. He expects to resume his duties with the city ad ministration some time in the atter part of March. Mr. and Mrs. William C. Jones of Plymouth, attended the fun eral of Mr. Jones’ father, Luke Jones, which was conducted at Tuscarora Free Will Baptist Church, Tuscarora, on Tuesday afternoon. The elder Mr. Jones died on Monday. Jesse B. McNair, former Plym outh resident, has returned to the old home town, this time to stay, after living in Norfolk, Va , since September 1946. Mr. Mc Nair took up his duties as elec trician at the North Carolina Pulp Company’s plant here on Wednesday, Mrs. McNair, who is still in Norfolk, although tem porarily, will join her husband mere as soon as living quarters can be secured. All buses reported in on time and a normal attendance was recorded at the Plymouth schools yesterday, the first day of school since a full week’s closure enforced by bad weath er conditions, J. S. Fleming, pri. ipal of the school, has re ported. Some of the class rooms reported a 100 per cent attendance, he said, adding that bus driver:; found all roads in the county in a normal condi tion. Joe Gray Beasley of Plymouth, route one, has assumed the duties of conservation aid in Washing ton County under the supervision of Donald B. Jones, county soil conservationist, Mr. Jones has an nounced. Mr. Beasley took up his position with the conservation service on Tuesday of this week. Roy F. Lowry, Washington County superintendent of schools, attended a meeting of the North Carolina committee to revise school lunchroom reports in Ra leigh on Tuesday. Mr. Lowry f^ras recently appointed to the membership of the State group by Dr. Clyde A. Erwin, North Carolina Superintendent of Pub lic Instruction. None Injured in Monday Accideni -1 All parties involved escaped in jury and only a relatively small amount of damage was done to the Town of Plymouth Police Car driven by Police Chief P. W. Brown, when it was struck by a Ford automobile being driven by Paul Hardison, local white man, at the intersection of Main and Washington Streets here Mon day around 8 a. m. According to reports from local law officers, Hardison admitted being at fault, stating that he “was in a little too much of a hurry." The accident occurred directly under the intersection’s stop-light. Registrations for Bond Election to Begin This Week All County Voters Must Sign Up in Order to Cast Legal Ballots in Bond Election Books for the registration of Washington County voters will be opened by registrars in the five voting precincts in the coun ty next Saturday at 9 a. m., in accordance with a measure passed by the county commissioners or dering a completely new registra tion of county voters for the $50,000 hospital bond election to be held on March 26. In making provision for the new registration, the commission ers have pointed out that not only persons who have come of age since the last election are to register, but persons who have previously registered for elections must do lo again. rtegistrars ana tneir locations are listed as follows: Plymouth precinct: J. T. McNair, registrar, located at his home on week days and at W. T. Freeman’s office in Plymouth, on Saturdays; Lees Mill precinct: Wade Hardison, registrar, located at his home on week days and at Knowles Gro cery store in Roper on Saturdays; Wenona precinct: H, J. Furbee,( registrar, located at his home on week days and on Saturdays: Skinnersville precinct: Mrs. W. W. White, registrar, located at her home on week days and at White’s store on Saturdays; Scup pernong precinct: J. A. Combs, registrar, located at his home on week days and at his office on Saturdays. The registrars will keep the books open from 9 a. m. until 6 p. m. each day from this Satur day, February 21, until Saturday, March 13. The last Saturday be fore the election will be challenge day. All persons who have be come 21 years old since the last election registrations are re quested to appear before the regfstrar in his precinct and have his name entered on the books as soon as possible. Persons who have already registered and fail to re-register during the coming period will be ineligible to cast legitimate ballots in the bond election. If the bond election passes, and indications are that it will, the $50,000 will be used to pay a portion of the county’s debt on a hospital to be built here with State-federal aid. ■ — ■ « Local Citizen Involved In Jamesville Accident Minor damage resulted but no one involved was injured when Clarence Taylor, Plymouth white man, swerving his car in an effort to avoid striking two children, struck another automobile in Jamesville on Monday afternoon. Reports states that a fender on one of the cars was dented but that no further damage resulted ot the automobiles. Legion Auxiliary Will Meet on Monday Night The American Legion Auxili ary of Plymouth will hold a regu lar meeting at the Charlie Weeks home Monday night, Mrs. Dallas Waters, auxiliary president has announced. She added that all members of the organization have been requested to be present. -i County Marine Engaged In Training Exercises Pfc. Harrell L. Woodley, USMC, son of Leon A. Woodley of Cres well is now participating in the amphibious training exercises be ing held on the Southern Califor nia coast while serving with Com pany C, Sixth Marines, it has been reported. */Vo Players Secured Yet For Baseball Team Here Although no definite commit tments have been made two county residents are being lined up to play on the Plymouth team in the Albemarle Baseball Lea gue’s 1948 season, and interviews are scheduled with two more out-of-county players contacted for the county athletic associa tion by R. H. Goodmon, president of the Coastal Plain League, A. J. Riddle, president of the county association, has reported. Nego tiations are also underway to secure a team manager. He added that Mr. Goodmon said he could supply Plymouth with almost a complete team of out-of-county players, the re mainder of the Plymouth group to be filled out with local talent. No contracts will be signed, how ever, Mr. Riddle said, until after a meeting of the board of direc tors of the Albemarle League, scheduled to be held in Colerain next Wednesday. At the directors meeting, the Washington County president said, the number of hired play ers allowed each team, and per manent by-laws to govern the league this year will be decided. Representing Plymouth at the meeting will be W. H. Joyner and Joseph Foster. Other members of the League are Colerain, Edenton, Windsor, Elizabeth City and Hertford. State Inspection Lane for Automobiles Will Be Located Here March 24 to 28 -*- -.- -• The State Motor Vehicles De partment has announced the sche dule of operations for 16 auto mechanical inspection lanes throughout the State during the next four months with Lane 35 being provided for the Washing ton, Martin, Tyrrell, Beaufort County area beginning in the town of Washington on Febru ary 23 and closing out in Aurora on April 24. The inspection lane will Do set up in Plymouth on March 23 at which time public-owned vehicles will be inspected and mechanics instructed on the program. The lane will be opened on the follow ing day, March 24, through March 28. The lanes are portable and will be moved from place to place and will operate at central loca tions throughout the area during the inspection period. Included in the area served by the local unit will be Dare, Pamlico, and Hyde Counties. The full schedule for this area is as follows: Washington, Febru ary 23-25 public owned vehicles inspected and garage and repair men oriented on program, lane open to public from February 26 through March 10; Williamston, March 13, adjustment and ori entation period, March 14-21, op en to public; Plymouth, March 23, public-owned vehicle inspec tion and mechanic instruction pe riod, open to public March 24-28; Columbia, March 30, public ve hicle inspection and mechanic in struction, March 31-April 2, lane open to public; Swanquarter, April 5, public vehicle inspection and mechanic instruction, open to public April 6-8; Belhaven, April 10, public vehicle inspection and mechanic instruction, lane open to public April 11-13; remainder of period lane to be in Bayboro and Aurora. The lane will then return to all points previously visited, being in Washington on April 27-May 12; Williamston May 14-22; Plym outh May 25-30; and Columbia June 1-5. Organization for Red Cross Drive Set UpThis Week ;. s I County Schools j j Are Re-Opened ] All schools in Washington County resumed regular class schedules on Wednesday morn ing after having been closed since Tuesday of last week be cause of bad weather and the condition of roads in the coun ty. Washington County’s heaviest snow fall since 1927, coming on Monday and Tuesday of last week, effectively put a stop to all school activities for a while and the melting of the snow re sulted in such bad conditions of dirt roads that the im promptu holiday was continu ed in spite of the fact that the main highways had been cleared by Thursday. Eight Entries in Vet Show So Far -4 To date eight entries have been received for participation in the home talent show to be held in Plymouth on Friday night of next week, under the sponsorship of the local post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, W. S. Daven port, commander of the post, has reported. One male and one female so loist have entered the contest, he said, as well as a string band, a cornetist, and a girl tapdancer. The soloists are Joyce McKeel and William McKeel; the string band is under the direction of A. J. Ange and the cornetist is Asa Johnson. Don Pierce, an nouncer at a Washington radio station will be master of cere monies. Entries are still being received, Davenport said, pointing out that the contest is open to all comers. Those who wish to participate should contact Mr. Davenport, O. A. Marrow, and William Booth in Plymouth, or Asa Johnson in i Roper. Commander Davenport, com menting on the boxing tourna ment to be sponsored by the VFW on March 15, said that sev eral bouts ranging from feather weight to heavyweight have been arranged and that a wrestling match has been planned if an op ponent can be found for the man who has agreed to fight in the latter. Friday Last Day To Get Tax Help -* Federal income taxpayers in Plymouth and the county have been reminded that tomorrow will be the last day that a deputy collector of internal revenue will be in Plymouth to aid taxpayers in filing their 1947 income re-1 turns. The deputy collector is located at the Plymouth post office from! 9:30 a. m. until 5 p. m. having maintained the post yesterday and today with tomorrow the fin al day when he will be in this county. Persons whose total earnings during 1947 were $50\) or more must file for federal income tax. They may use either the w:th holding statement provided by their employer, or they may use from 1040, which can be obtained at the post office. All returns must be filed not later than March 15. _ ,,, -» Community Leaders, Co Workers Named; K. C. Lattimer Speaks to Chapter on Tuesday Organization of workers for the Washington County American Red >oss drive which begins on March 1 and extends through March 10, has been completed, iccording to J. Shepherd Brink ey of Plymouth, county cam jaign chairman, who added that he quota assigned to this section s $1,650. The colored quota for he county is $500. Chairmen have been appoint ;d to various sections of the county and to the several urban iivisions of Plymouth. Each :hairman will have a number of :anvassers to aid him in making :ollections for the drive. The chairmen are as follows: Plymouth: business section, Mrs. Ft. J. Sydenstricker; industrial section, E. M. Leavitt, R. J. Syd enstricker, Robert M. Bruce; town residential section, W. F. Winslow; Little Richwood sec tion, Miss Ida Davis; Club Vil lage section, Mrs. K. S. Throw bridge, Mrs. E. F. Bagans; color ed section, Prof. A. R. Lord. Roper, Henry S. Everett; We nona, Mrs. Oliver Stotesbury; Creswell, Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Dav enport; Pleasant Grove, Mrs. T. W. Tarkenton. H. S. Everett in addition to being the Roper chair man is also county co-chairman while Prof. E. V. Wilkins, of Roper is the colored county chair man. K. C. Lattimer of Atlanta, chairman of Red Cross fund rais ing in this section, addressed members of the Washington County chapter of the Red Cross organization, as well as a num ber of other guests, at a meeting in the Plymouth Theatre here on Tuesday afternoon. Mr. Lattimer pointed out that although the Red Cross was a war-born organization and re ceives perhaps most recognition for relieving victims of war, its peacetime activities, though not so widely heralded, are equal in scope to its wartime activities. He emphasized that the or ganization’s workers are on hand at any and all disasters, here and abroad, and that in 1946 several families in Washington County who had lost their homes due to fire were aided by the Red Cross organization. He also said that even though World War II hos tilities have formally ceased, as sistance is still being given vet erans who lie helpless in hos Studio Proofs to Be Shown Friday Proofs of pictures taken of Plymouth children for inclusion in a "Citizens of Tomorrow” fea ture to be published by the Roa noke Beacon, will be shown to parents by studio representatives who will be in the Legion Hall in Plymouth from 1 p. m. to 8 p. m. on Friday of this week, it has been anounced. All parents of children whose pictures were taken at the Legion Hall several weeks ago, will be notified by mail of the date and hours the studio representative will be in Plymouth with the proofs. Those who wish to se cure additional pictures, other than those to be printed in the Beacon, may do so by special ar rangements with the studio’s rep resentative. The “Citizens of To morrow” pictorial feature will be published in the Roanoke Bea con in the near future. Ball Association Resumes Work on Athletic Center Lighting Equipment to Be Shipped March 1st; Plans to Secure Poles Are Complete -« Now that warmer weather has come, plans are going forward rapidly for the preparation of the Stillacres athletic field for the 1948 baseball season, A. J. Rid dle, president of the Washington County Athletic Association, has reported. Mr. Riddle said that arrange ments have just been completed for securing 10 poles 85 feet in height to carry lighting equip ment at the Plymouth ball park. The poles will be cut at Winfall and will be peeled and creosoted in Norfolk, Va., from whence they will be sent to Plymouth. He added that lighting equip ment for the ball park will be shipped by manufacturers on March 1 and should arrive here about March 15. Included in the shipment, the president said, will be four transformers, two 75 KW and two 37 KW, as well as 120 reflectors, each containing 1500 candlepower bulbs. Posts for the fence to be built around the field have also been ordered, he said. Efforts are now being made to secure the services of a bulldozer to resume grading operations on the field which were interrupted by heavy weather in the past two weeks. He added that the asso ciation hopes to resume the grad ing by the latter part of this week. Another Bus for Clemmons School -* In answer to a request from representatives of the J. J. Clem mons Negro School at Roper, members of the Washington coun ty board of education have plac ed an order with State authorities for an additional school bus to be used in carrying rural students to and from the school, the single bus now operating having proved inadequate for the job. The vehicle, a 17-foot Chevro let, is expected to be delivered to the school’s authorities sometime in March and will be sent to Roper from Wilson. In addition to approving the order for an additional school bus at the school, the county has agreed to aid in paying $210 to ward defraying the final cost of the bus. The Clemmons School has raised $1,500 several years back with which to purchase an additional bus, but were unable to do so because of wartime re strictions. Aid from the county has been given because of the increase in prices on the vehicles The school is now attempting to raise the remainder of the money needed Keep Game Fish Caught in Nets According to resolution pass ed by the State Wildlife Re sources Commission at a recent meting, all fresh water game fish caught incidental to com mercial fishing operations may be retained by the fishermen in accordance with State creel and possession limits, black bass excepted, J. T. Terry, district game and fish protector, has announced. This means, he explained, that all game fish caught in any commercial net may be kept by the net owner, unless a black bass is taken which must be thrown back. Creel limit on perch, Terry added, is 20 fish per day. Warmer Weaiher Helps to Relieve Shortage of Fuel -♦ Additional Shipments of Coal, Oil, Aid Higher Temperatures in Les sening Scarcity With the adve of milder weather, three carloads of coal, and additional shipments of fuel oil to Plymouth, the fuel short age which has pinched local resi dents somewhat shaplv in past weeks, has become less acute. Plymouth coal dealers state that they received one carload of briquet coal on Monday, which was distributed on the same day it arrived, and by Tuesday had secured another two carloads, one of splint and one of run-of-mine coal. One local oil dealer said that he expects another 20,000 gallons of kerosene and fuel oil to be de livered here before the end of February, just 11 days away. He added that kerosene seems to be the more plentiful of the two and that there is a possibility that, he may even have some left over in to March from his February al lotment. i-ommenung on in" laci mar warmer weather, appearing close on the heels of the heaviest snow storm Plymouth had seen since 1927, had apparently come to the rescue of fuel dealers in town, another oil dealer said that if the temperatures continue relatively high he might be able to catch up on some if not all of his back orders for liquid fuels. It was also pointed out that the 1947-48 winter was colder by 30 per cent than the 1946-47 season which, of course, placed an increased strain on supplies of all types of fuel in this section. -* $2,189.77 Raised For Polio Drive ■ ♦-— - / Final report on collections in Washington County for the r& cently concluded infantile para lysis drive reveals that a total of $2,189.77 was donated to the cause by county residents, Mrs. Athalia Gardner Tyree, county campaign chairman, has announced, adding that the figure is $969.77 above the $1,220 quota assigned this section. An itemized list of county con tributions, by sections, as report ed by the chairman, reads as fol lows: Plymouth white, $1,417.96, Plymouth colored, $148.69; Cres well, $444.32; Mackeys, $9.36; Wenona, $20; and Roper, $149.44. Community chairmen, she said, were Mrs. W. C. Jones for Plym outh, Mrs. Golden Williams for Wenona, Mrs. Barton Swain for Roper, Mrs. J. M. Phelps for Cres well, Mrs. Edison Davenport for Mackeys, and Prof. A. R. Lord for Plymouth colored. In addi tion to these civic-minded citi zens, approximately 40 to 50 oth er residents lent invaluable as sistance in making theatre col lections, business district canvas ses, and house-to-house solicita tions. Half of the money, Mrs. Tyree said, will remain in the county for aiding polio victims here, while the remaining amount will be forwarded to the drive’s na tional headquarters to carry on the work on a nation-wide scale. Grant Extension For Farm Report A two-week extension of time for filing performance reports under the Washington County Triple-A program has been giv en this area by the State com mittee, Miss Miriam Ausbon, county AAA secretary, has an nounced, stating that the dead line for submitting the reports has been changed from February 15 to February 28. So far, she said, only about 80 per cent of the farmers in the county have filed reports on prac tices carried out under the AAA’s 1947 program in this section. Miss Ausbon added that about 809 farmers participated in the pro gram by carrying out some of the practices or using conserva tion materials. I Roper Parents-Teachers To Meet Tuesday Night -» — The Roper unit of the parent teacher association will convene in the high school auditorium there next Tuesday. February 24, at 8 p. m., officials in the or ganization have announced. A special Founders Day Program is in preparation for the event. A1 members are requested to at tend. Plant To Resume Full-Scale Work Here Next Week Few to Observe! Holiday Monday j Since the anniversary of George Washington’s birthday falls on Sunday this year, the several offices and business in- ; stitutions that observe the day as a holiday will take their holi day, February 23. Among the places to be clos ed next Monday are the Plym outh post office, the local bank, the Triple-A ofice in the Agri culture Building, and the Farm ers Home Administration office^ in the county courthouse. So far as can be learned, other business houses and courthouse offices will remain open as usual. Third Breakdown Occurs in Sewer During Week-End -4 Section of Washington Street Is Closed to Through Traffic Until Pipes Repaired -« Another breakdown of the Washington Street sewer line in Plymouth occurred last week-end in the section of the pipe extend ing from the Fourth Street inter section to the Fort Williams Street intersection, which por tion of Washington Street has been closed to through traffic until repairs can be completed. The break occurred in front of the Gurkin home, near the Fort Williams corner and the Plym outh sanitation department, un der the supervision of Police Chief, P. W. Brown, is now at work repairing the damage. Town officials have stated that much less trouble in getting the re pair work finished is expected this time since there is relatively little quicksand to be found in that part of town. The excava tion, they said, is smaller than that necessitated by the line break occurring several weeks back, and is not as deep, the workmen having had to dig down only about 11 feet. me DreaK is tne third to oc cur on the Washington Street line in the past year. The first happened in front of the Plym outh Theatre, between Water and Main Streets, last summer, the second beside the Christian Church on the corner of Main and Washington Streets several weeks ago. Repair work on the third break is expected to be completed shortly. + No Diagnosis nf Polio Disclosed -♦ Although the exact cause of ill ness of William Edward Coburn, two-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Bonnie Coburn of Plymouth, has not yet been determined, no defi nite diagnosis of infantile para lysis has been made, Dr. E. W. Furgurson, attending physician in Plymouth, has reported. The child was suddenly strick en ill on Sunday of last week, polio infection was suspected and he was removed to a Raleigh hos pital on the following Monday. He was confined to the hospital for further observation and treat ment until early this week when the Raleigh doctors permitted him to be returned to his home here. Dr. Furgurson has report ed the little boy's condition to be improved. Partial Shutdown Effect ed on February 9 Pro longed by Record Snow fall Last Week Despite a continued shortage of wood at the North Carolina Pulp Company’s Plymouth plant, plans to resume full-time operations at the mill next Monday at 8 a. m. are still in effect today according to an announcement from com pany officials. A threatened rise of the Roa noke River, resulting from heavy snows last wek, may hamper the delivery of wood materials to the mill, it was added, but to date no provisions for an extenison of the partial suspension of activi ties at the plant is planned. L/ue to auveise weciMici tunuj tions earlier in the month, re sulting in an acute wood shortage at the pulp mill, all machines but one were closed down on Mon day, February 9, with plans at the time being made to resume full production on the following Monday. On that day and the one following a record snowfall blocking all roads and highways caused a prolongation of the closure with only the bleach plant, soft side, and Number Two recovery unit resuming operations on Monday, February 16. As things now stand, the officials said, it is planned to start The Kraftsman and the rest of the pulp mill next Monday. , They added that those employ ees who are entitled to additional vacation pay and are not work ing, may receive the pay by ap plying to their departmental sup ervisors. William Vail Reese, 16-year-old white youth of Newport News, Va., was arrested by Highway Pa trolman R. W. Young last Thurs day around 4 p. m. on charges of automobile theft and operating a motor vehicle with improper li cense plates. The automobile, a 1940 Ford deluxe coach, was taken from a used car lot in Newport News some hours before and driven to Plymouth where Reese, appar ently attempting to cover his tracks, stole a North Carolina li cense plate from the car of Wil liam K. Hackney which was park ed at Juniper Lodge. The law officer had seen the car previously with a Virginia li cnse and seeing it later with a North Carolina license plate stop ped the young man and investi gated. Under questioning, Reese admitted stealing both the license and the automobile. He was turned over to Federal Bureau of Investigation officers, arraigned by a United States Commissioner in Elizabeth City and charged with violating the National Motor Vehicles Theft Act. He will be tried in the March term of federal court in Elizabeth City. Young arrested the boy near the Plymouth limits on US 64. Foundation Poured for Creswell Negro School -♦ Concrete foundations for the new Negro school building at Creswell were poured by work men on the project yesterday, ac cording to reports from Roy F. Lowry, county superintendent of schools, who pointed out that weather conditions now permitted the workers to go ahead full steam on the job. He added that all cinder blocks to be used on the construction have been de livered as well as two carloads of brick and supplies of cement and gravel. Mobile X-Ray Unit To Be At Plant Again Tomorrow The mobile chest X-ray unit which gave X-ray examinations to workers at the North Carolina Pulp Company’s Plymouth plant last week v/ill return Friday to complete the examination of plant employees, Dr John W. Wil liams, Martin County health of ficer, has announced. The X-ray unit will be located at the mill from 10 a. m. until 4 p. m„ the return trip being neces sitated by the large number of mill workers who arc taking ad vantage of the service. Examina tions will be given not only to those now working, Dr. Williams said, but also to those employees who were laid off by the partial shutdown of the mill. Workers have also been requested to bring all members of their families 15 years old and older. Dr. Wil liams added that he expects 98 per cent of the mill employees to have been given X-ray examina tions by Friday afternoon.