North Carolina Newspapers

0 L-:Hn5" T own opics Mr. and Mrs. J. Harold Turner, of Plymouth, returned home Tuesday after having spent the holiday season in Damascus, Va., where they visited Mrs. Turner’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Spurgeon. Mr. Turner reported a nice trip and wonderful wea ther. Mr. and Mrs. J. Robert Camp bell, of Plymouth, had the most pleasant kind of Christmas sea son—all the family at home, in cluding three grandchildren. Their son and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Campbell, of Winston Salem, and their daughter and ■■band, Mr. and Mrs. Randolph ^len, of Williamston, together with the children, were all here for the occasion. Local highway patrolmen at least have enjoyed a respite late ly from highway accidents, even though they are usually pretty busy people in many other ways. When a young colored driver from near Roper turned his car over last Sunday morning on the Folly road, it marked the first accident reported in the county in exactly fourteen days Mr. and Mrs. M. L. Nobles spent the Christmas holidays at West Point, N. Y., with Mrs. No bles’ son, James Polk Spruill, who is a cadet at the United States Military Academy there. They expected to return to Plym outh Tuesday, but Mr. Nobles called yesterday to say that they were snowbound at West Point, but planned to leave this morn and be home sometime to •ftht or tomorrow. Local Board in Routine Meeting Here Last Night Final Meeting for Chairman Tellerlon; Office Will Be Closed Until Next Tues day Morning A routine meeting of the local selective service board was held in the board office at the court house here Wednesday night to classify those registrants newly turned 19 years of age and to pass on the requested reclassifi cation of other registrants. It was the last board meeting for Chair man Robert L. Tetterton, of Plymouth, who recently gave no of resignation from the post. The board office will be closed until Tuesday morning, January 2, it was announced. At that time it will reopen for business at the usual hour—9o’clock. It is again urged that all regi strants requesting deferments or reclassifications not wait to do this after receiving notice to re port for examination or induc tion, but to make appeals early, It was also pointed out that once a registrant receives notice to report for examination, he can not lawfully enlist in the service, as he would be subject to fine or imprisonment, or both, under selective service regulations. Registrants should enlist, if they so desire, before such time as they are notified to report for examination. jjhose married registrants who We now classified 1-A and who wish to be reclassified, should bring their marriage certificate along when calling at the board office, it was said, since it is not mandatory that local boards classify such men in 3-A and in some cases, without the certifi cate, they may be sent on into service. Christmas Shopping Up To Expectations A cross section of Plymouth merchants interviewed reported the concensus of opinion that business was more gratifying I than they had earlier hoped for, I in view of all the circumstances. Buying power certainly reach ed no peak in the county this year and prices of most commodi ties were up as high or higher than a year ago. From the stand point of the farm population, main segment of the economy in this rural county, it was surely no banner year, although the prices received lor peanuts were goodi The yield was nothing tc brag about and the tobacco crop had been cut short already, prob ably leaving many farmers with debts to be settled through sale of later crops. Crowds on the streets during the days preceding Christmas were large and traffic from store to store was rather heavy. Toys and other special seasonal item; were reported to have moved ir good volume, and it is though' that carry-overs will be small generally. The Roanoke Beacon ****** and Washington County News ****** A home newspaper dedicated to the service of Washington County and its 13,000 people. VOLUME LXI—NUMBER 52 Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina, Thursday, December 28, 1950 ESTABLISHED 1889 ! Monday Is Last Day of IDccr and Bear Season With the open season on bear and deer ending Monday, Jan uary 1, 1951, it is expected that there will be considerable activi ty the remainder of the week among those who like to hunt the bigger game—that is, provided the hunters are hardy enough to withstand the bitter, cold wea ther. The open season on squirrels in Washington County exipres the same day. The season for hunting opossum and raccoor with gun and dogs will expirf February 15. Rabbits, quail anc turkey may be lawfully taker through January 31, as last sea son. The season on ruffed groust i closes January 1. Trapping for mink, muskrat opossum and raccoon may b< lawfully done through Februarj 15. There is no open season fo: trapping beaver. Otter may b< trapped legally until February 1 just as a year ago. Christmas Holidays Are Reported Quiet Throughout County | Residents Urged | Pay Taxes Early Plymouth residents have been reminded by P. W. Brown, local police chief, that their town taxes are now payable at par and will be until February 1, after which 1 per cent inter est will be charged to delin quent payers. March 1 mother 1 per cent interest acetaA&flW Vi of 1 per cent interact wHI-ha added for each additional month thereafter. This sched ule of interest is charged by law and applies as well to state and county taxes. Mr. Brown has urged all citi zens to appear at the office of the town clerk and pay their taxes as soon as possible and thus avoid the interest. Local Masons to Install Officers Tuesday Night Installation Ceremonies tc Begin at 8 o'Clock; Sup per Will Be Served Horn Earlier Perseverance Lodge, No. 59 A. F. & A. M., will hold its an nual installment service at the Lodge Hall here Tuesday night January 2, at 8 o’clock with Bro ther V. J. Spivey, of Williamston serving as Installing Officer. The following officers whe were elected in December will be installed: W. C. Hall, Master W. R. Harden, Senior Warden Earl G. Bowen, Junior Warden H. H. Allen, Secretary; and B. G Campbell, Treasurer. Incoming Master Hall has an nounced the following list of ap pointive officers to be installed at ceremonies Tuesday night; Raymond Leggett, Senior Dea con; Harry Garrett, Junior Dea con; Hilton Dunbar, Senior Ste ward; Dick Norman, Junior Ste ward; E. D. Keel, Tiler; and R. H Lucas, sr., Chaplain. W. A. Roe buck is retiring Master. At 7 o’clock in the Lodge Hah i Master Masons are invited to at I tend. Couple of Small Fires Heri And One Accident Art All Reported to Officer: Up To Today General behavior in Plymoutl and Washington County was ver; good over the Christmas holida; season, according to reports fron Sheriff J. K. Reid, Plymouth Po lice Chief P. W. Brown and othe: law enforcement officers. The usual drunken icripw itch as tutting and ahmllhMi ^■irs, did not materialize. Oal] one automobile accident was re ported, and that one involve( just one car. No one was injurer and damage was not considerei very heavy. The one wreck wa also the first reported accident ii the county in exactly two weeks Considering the season, local of ficers think that is an excellen record. There was one small grass fin Tuesday in Little Richwood wit! no damage and Wednesday founc local firemen answering a cal to the home of Mrs. Bob Tetter ton. A chimney fire there causec little damage. Otherwise, fire men enjoyed a holiday, also. Sheriff Reid stated that it wai indeed gratifying to find sucl little trouble cropping up at thii particular season of the year, ai it is usually a time when a gooc deal of excitement takes place if at any time during the year Admissions and Discharge: At Hospital Here Last Weeh Records at the Washingtor County Hospital show that the following persons have been ad mitted and/or discharged there from Wednesday of last wee! through Wednesday afternoon: Admissions, white: Mrs. Ton Carter, Herbert Morrison anc Mrs. Hugh Pierce, all of Plym outh. Admissions, colored: James A Branch, Earline James, Abra ham Moore and Cora Walker, al of Plymouth: and Ruth Arm strong and Georgia Cox, both ol Roper. Discharges, white: Mrs. Ton Carter. Discharges, colored: Viviar Moore, Rachael Baum, James A Branch and Abraham Moore. ♦ - Gurvass Phelps Riles Thursday Funeral services were conduct ed Thursday afternoon from the home near Creswell for Gurvas: Phelps, 21, who died Wednesdaj morning about five o’clock at £ Columbia hospital following £ serious operation for a stomacl disorder. Young Phelps was the son o: Mr. and Mrs. Henry Phelps anc was a native and lifelong resi dent of the county. He was £ member of the Mt. Tabor Fre< Will Baptist Church, Creswell. The services were conductec by the Rev. L. E. Ambrose, as sisted by the Rev. R. C. Ambrose Burial followed in the familj cemetery at the homeplace. Surviving besides his parent: are two sisters, Marian anc Sarah Jane Phelps, and a brother Henry, jr., all of Creswell. Icy Roads Today Cause of Several Accidents Locally -♦ No One Injured, but Lot of Property Damage Caused By Accidents in This Area Early Today Wrecks apparently were a dime ' a dozen in Plymouth and Wash : ington County this morning , (Thursday) and the sudden shift from pleasant to below-freezing weather which hit here late Tuesday could be blamed at least partly for the numerous acci dents. Patrolmen and police officers were really on the run investi gating accidents here and there as calls continued to come in, it i seemed, from all directions. A Williamston colored man, Kader Brown, narrowly escaped certain death when he leaped > from the cab of a truck loaded with lumber when it skidded on * the icy payment two miles west I of Roper. Brown was driving the truck, belonging to the Critcher Lumber Company, of William ston, and was headed for Eden i ton. The load of lumber smashed - its way through the cab soon af ' ter the man leaped to safety. He i was not traveling fast, and was ■ unhurt. The damage to the truck • could not be ascertained. Cars driven by two employees . oi U* N. C. Pulp Company here *~i bin<4 4mw>cm estk I outh, at $390 wh n they skidded [ on the icy concrete, with the rear [ car crashing into the one ahead. . Both cars then struck the con , Crete bridge rail. The car in front was a 1948 Plymouth sedan, ’ driven by Jesse Wilson Griffin, ■ of Plymouth. The rear car was a 1947 Ford coupe, driven by Joseph Paul Hardison, of Rt. 1, Plymouth. Estimated damage to 1 the Ford was placed at $225. Damage estimated by Patrol man Young who investigated at $400 was sustained by a 1949 Ford driven by Minnie Freeman Jackson, colored school teacher of Roper, when the car skidded | and overturned on a curve west of Roper, in front of the Wigg '; Gaylord residence. The car was ! traveling in the direction of I Plymouth. The driver was not jinjured. Knerious Sutton, Plymouth ! colored man, was unhurt when his 1940 Chevrolet sedan skidded and crashed into the front yard at the Plymouth High School, knocking down a cement pillar and part of the hedge. The front end of the car was damaged ap $150, according to investigating officers. It was reported from a reliable source that another wreck oc curred near the sound bridge and Patrolman Carl Gilchrist, of Plymouth, left around 10 o’clock to investigate it. Details were not available at press time. Funeral for Mrs. Mary Broughton Funeral services were conduct ed Friday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock for Mrs. Mary Broughton, of Plymouth, who died at her home near here Thursday morn ing at 9:30. Services were held at the home by the Rev. P. B. Nickens, pastor of Ludford Me morial Baptist Church here. Bur ial followed in Bateman Ceme tery. Mrs. Broughton, widow of the late Frank Broughton, of Plym outh, was 83 years of age. She had been in declining health for the past three years and had been confined to her bed for 2 weeks. Born August 29, 1867, in Mar tin County, Mrs. Broughton was the daughter of the late Gable Allen and Sallie Sullivan Allen. She came to Pymouth from Mar tin County and had lived here for the past fifty years. Surviving are 1 daughter, Mrs. Ed Johnson, of Plymouth; one son, Albert Broughton, of Plym outh; four grandchildren and three great grandchildren; two sisters, Mrs. Ella Bateman, of Plymouth, and Mrs. Jefferson Leary, of Bath. Real Property Values To Be Raised 20 Per Cent; Begin Listing Tuesday ! February 1 Is I | Plate Deadline { fmiiiaeaiHiiB «■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■! All State and county offices will be closed Monday in ob servance of New Year’s. The local bank and post office will also be closed to business all day. AH places of business, includ ing drug stores, restaurants, grocery, hardware, clothing, furniture and appliance stores will be open for business as usual. One of the chain grocery stores will remain open as A & P will remain open as last year, but Pender’s will observe the holiday by closing, Mana ger Ralph Humes said. County Boards to Meet January 8 The board of county commis sioners and the Washington County Board of Education which customarily meet on the first Monday in each month will not meet Monday, January 1, but will observe the New Year’s hotUp- Hi convene the follow ilflMAy, Jtmu 11 at the?ir county courthouse here. Business to be taken up by the two boards at their meetings is expected to be of a routine na ture. The Plymouth Town Council is expected to meet Monday night, January 1 at 8 o’clock in Four Township List Takers Outline Schedules; Urge Early Listing to Avoid Last-Minute Rush --- Tax listing will get underway in Washington County next Tues day morning, January 2, when the four township list takers start in on their annual task under the direction of H. L. Davenport, of Skinnersville, county tax super visor. Final instructions and sup plies were furnished the listers at an adjourned meeting of the county commissioners Tuesday night of last week, when the tax supervisor and list takers were sworn in and arrangements com pleted to secure uniform listing of personal property throughout the county. Monday being a legal holiday, the listing will not begin until Tuesday morning, continuing throughout the month of January. Property owners are urged to list as early as possible, however, to avoid the last-minute rush that always develops during the last few days of the month. War ning has been given that no ex tension of time will be allowed for listing, and those who do not get their property on the books during the allotted time are sub ject to penalties for failure to list. The following are list-takers for the coming year, appointed by the commissioners at their De cember meeting: Plymouth town ship, Clarence L. Blount; Lees Mill township, Robert W. Lewis, : of Roper; Skinnersville township, 1 Walter W. White; and Scupper j nong township, Paul B. Belanga, ' ~ See LIST TAKERS, Page 12 Legislative Sessions To Start Wednesday; Woolard Goes Early Washington County Represent ative-Elect W. J. Woolard plans to leave Sunday for Raleigh, where he will be for the next several months attending ses sions of the North Carolina Gen eral Assembly. The session be gins next Wednesday, January 3, when the new representatives will be sworn in; but Mr. Wool ard is leaving early to get lined up for new duties before the ses sion begins. The Democratic caucus will be held Tuesday night, when the speaker and other house officials are to be elected. The big battle will be between Fred Royster and Frank Taylor for the speak ership. and the local representa tive has made no public commit ments as to how he will vote. A Corey, of Jamesville, is reported to be a candidate for sergeant at arms of the house. Mr. Woolard said the first of the week that he has no definite local legislation in mind at this time, and that he would make public anything of that nature before it was offered in the house. He stated that he would be glad to hear from the people of the county about any suggested legis lation; and he also would like to have expressions as to the po sition county voters would like for him to take on matters of state-wide interest. The representative said he had asked the county board of com missioners, board of education and officials of the several towns to make any recommendations they feel should be enacted into law, but had received no response from any of thorn to date. It is likely that some local legislation will be required during the ses sion, but public notice will be given before any bills are intro duced by him, the representative stated. Mr. Woolard said he had re ceived numerous requests for ac tion either by the assembly 01 the board of conservation and de velopment to lower the watei level of Lake Phelps in this coun ty to prevent flooding of farm; in that section. He plans to lool into this matter and will have i more about the subject later. At the present time, it is difficult for farmers in the lake section to plant crops, as the land is sub ject to flooding almost every year, and most farmers believe lowering the lake level will help in this respect. The representative aso stated that he considered the school problem the most serious facing this county, and he is hopeful that state aid may be secured to j alleviate the peculiar local sit-1 uation. The North Carolina Pulp Company plant is located in Mar- j tin County, and this county is charged with the education of 1 their children while receiving no tax revenue directly from the plant. This has resulted in crowd ded conditions in local schools, which the county has found im- j ] possible to remedy with the amount of tax revenue available. I This matter has been brought to the attention of state officials several times in the past, but no i tangible results have been ob 1 tained. Mr. Woolard stated that | he had discussed this matter with representatives of several other counties, and some of them have promised their support in helping i to relieve existing conditions, i The county representative al so has discussed with other rep resentatives some of the propos | ed state-wide legislation due to come up at this session. He said it was the concensus that some I type of automobile inspection law would be passed, with modi fications to eliminate much of the opposition to the old statute. Many legislators feel that the sales tax should be reduced and all exemptions removed. Mr. Woolard statdd that he had not made up his mind about these matters at this time, but would I give them more consideration as | the proposals are presented in | the legislature. He asks all coun ty people to visit him whenever | they are in Raleigh and to in : form him whenever he can be of j service. His headquarters during II the session will be at the Sir .1 Walter Hotel. Some Observe New Years Day State Highway Patrolman R. W. Young has stated that no arrest will be made in Wash ington County for failure on the part of automobile opera tors to display 1951 auto lic ense plates until after the 30 day period of grace, terminat ing on February 1, which has been granted to all motorists of the state. The new state licenses may be bought at the branch auto license bureau located at the Etheridge Company here. The bureau is in charge of E. E. Etheridge. Plymouth city plates may be purchased in the office of W. A. Roebuck, city clerk. License Bureau Sales Have Been Very Slow Here Only 530 Sets of Plates Is sued Through Last Satur day; Deadline Is January .31, 1951 The latest available report from the branch auto license bu reau at The Etheridge Company here reveals that a total of 530 sets of 1951 North Carolina lic ense plates of all types have been issued to motor vehicle owners, the manager of the bureau, E. E. Etheridge, said yesterday. Sales appear to be definitely lagging when it is considered that less than five weeks remain in which to legally operate a motor vehicle displaying the 1950 lic ense plates and that the Motor Vehicle Bureau in Raleigh has estimated the needs of the local branch in excess of 3,000 sets. Plates issued thus far, includ ing sales through Saturday, are listed according to categories as follows: automobiles, 412: motor cycles, 5; private trucks, 52; farm trucks, 17; class Z (small) trail ers, 42; class C (commercial trailers, 2. Although sales are regarded as rather slow, it was pointed out that they compare very favor ably with sales a year ago for the corresponding time. In fact, at the same time last year, total sales had reached only 317 sets. Mr. Etheridge wishes to remind the public that it costs the same amount to secure the license plates, regardless of the time, and that it is in the interest of every one concerned to get the licenses early. If the majority of the mot or vehicle owners put off getting their plates until near the dead line, it will mean that the local bureau will be unable to give the fast service it would like to i xtend to the public. Therefore, the bureau manager urges every one to come in as soon as possible and get the job done. The dead line is January 31. Horizontal Increase Instead Of Revaluation Favored At Meeting of Board Held Last Week A 20 per cent horizontal in crease in the valuation of all real estate in Washington County was ordered by the board of commissioners for the tax year of 1951 at an adjourned meeting last week. The board also com pleted arrangements for the list ing of all property during Jan uary, 1951, by giving the oath of office to the tax supervisor, H. L. Davenport, and the four town ship list takers, in addition to dis cussing and arranging for the uniform listing of personal pro perty, including automobiles, farm products and livestock. Next year was scheduled to be the time for a complete revalu ation of all real estate in the county; but the board decided, by unanimous vote, to increase the value of all real estate by 20 per cent rather than undertake the task of revaluing each par cel or tract of real estate sepa rately. It was felt that the pres ent unstable and uncertain value of most property might result in too many inequalities if revalu ation was undertaken, and mem bers of the board expressed the hope that conditions would level off before it is necessary to re examine each tract separately. The va.uation on automobiles also will be increased substan tially in the listing for 1951, as the commissioners ordered that they put on the books at the ave rage cash value as shown in the automobile “Blue Book” for 1951. Last year cars and trucks were listed at two-thirds of the ave rage cash value shown in the blue book, and the year before they were listed at 80 per cent of the average cash value. There was some variation in the valuation of farm products and livestock from last year, but the difference is not so great. Values fixed were as follows: Sheep, $3 to $6 per head; goats, $2 to $4; milch cows, $100 to $150; other cattle, 10 cents pound; poultry, 15 cents pound; horses, No. 1, $50 to $75; horses, No. 2, $25 to $75; mules, No. 1, $100 to $150; mules, No. 2, $25 to $75; lard, hogs and meats, 10 cents pound. The most notable change in the livestock category was in the lower values for horses and mules. Value of No. 1 horses last year was carried at $75 to $100, against $50 to $75 this year. Nc. '~^eeTAX~VA£ilESrPagrT2 Recorder's Court Session Called Off Here Tuesday Due to the holiday season, . there was no session of Record | ers Court here Tuesday. The , court will next be in session Tuesday, January 2 and it is like ly that there will be a rather heavy docket of cases to be heard. The following Monday, January 8, Superior Court will convene, I thereby necessitating a postpone ment of the regular Tuesday morning session of Recorder’s 1 Court until Tuesday, January 16. Seal Sale in County Still Short of Quota A total of $547.19 has been re ported toward the county goal of $800 in the annual Seal Sale, County Chairman Mrs. Bosie Owens, of Plymouth, reported yesterday. The total amount reported in cludes the sale of seal bonds and the sale of bangles in the white schools of the county and in some of the colored schools, Mrs. Owens said. Some of the colored schools have not yet turned in their reports on the sale of the bangles by school children. The | total amount reported so far | to date came from solicitations by mail in which the seals were I sent to many persons, both white | and colored, throughout the I county. Although the sale is ordinarily closed Christmas Day each year, it is possible to prolong the cam paign, as has been done on oc I casion in the past. The sale will i continue for a while, Mrs .Owens i said ,in the hope of reaching the quota set for the county. All per 1 sons desiring to contribute who i have not yet done so, are urged i to rush their contributions in. ' Groups, including the schools j mentioned, should also get their I reports in as soon as possible, in : order that they may be figured I in the county totals, the chair | man stated.