»
T'own
opics
EsSHi::::::::::::::::
Mrs. Mary Horton and daugh
ter, Nell, have moved back to
Plymouth from Greenville and
are now living at 418 Washington
Street. Mrs. Horton has been
studying floral work for the past
few months in connection with
her duties as hostess at the Wo
man’s Club in Greenville pre
paratory to returning to Plym
outh as proprietor of a local
flower shop.
!
Old Man Santa Claus got his
self in bad repute with little
Lloyd Owens, jr., here last week,
but he came through the day after
Christmas and everything is
lovely now. Lloyd wanted a pony
for Christmas and Santa made
all arrangements for getting him*
one, even leaving the animal in a
lot at one of his daddy’s farms
near here early last week to be
ready for delivery on Christmas
day. Then, on Christmas Eve
night, the pony got out of the lot
and ran away. Lloyd, sr., spent
most of Christmas day looking
for it. but it was not until the
next day that the pony was final
ly located and delivered to Lloyd,
jr., clearing Santa’s reputation
around the Owens’ home. The
pony didn’t seem to think too
much of the whole deal, though,
because he dumped little Lloyd
off in a mudhole Sunday morn
ing.
Due to the fact that Superior
Court will be in session here for
the next two weeks, there will
be no recorder’s court held
during that time. The next
regular session of the lower
court is scheduled for Tuesday,
January 19, and it is expected
that a rather heavy docket will
have accumulated by that time.
Harvie Hill, 11-year-old Plym
outh golfing whi.:, posted an 82
for low score in his age group in
the Donald A. Ross Junior Golf
Turnament at Pinehurst Monday
of this week. Harvie was the only
Plymouth boy among the 300 or
more from several states who
competed. The tourney was run
off over the No. 4 course. Harvie,
son of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Hill, shot
a 110 two years ago in the tour
nament and last year posted a C2
for low score in his age bracket.
Mr. Hill accompanied his son to
Pinehurst Sunday and they re
turned to Plymouth Monday
night.
Mrs. Claude Read is reported
to be getting along as well as
could be expected, following a
recent fall. Mrs. Read suffered a
fracture of the right arm and a
shoulder separation, it is report
ed, when she fell as she was leav
ing her home Saturday before
Christmas to visit her sister
across the street.
-«
rrominent bounty
f Citizen Succumbs
At Home in Roper
-*
Services Held at Zion's
Chapel Church of Christ
Tuesday Afternoon for
Leon S. Brey, 66
Leon S. Brey. prominent Roper
farmer, churchman and political
leader, died Sunday, December
20, at his home. Death came at
3:30 p. m. He was 60.
Mr. Brey was a native of th”
county, born December 3, 1837.
the son of the late Benjamin and :
Linda Povner Brey, of Roper.
He was a lifelong resident of I
the county. Mr. Brev was first
married to Hattie L. Sw’ain who
died 30 years ago. Then 24 years
ry ago he was married to Pearl Hop
■ kins, of Creswell, who survives.
Mr. Brey was a member and
deacon of Zion’s Chapel Church
of Christ, Roper. He was active in
politics, having served as chair
man of the Democratic Executive j
Committee of Washington Coun
ty. He also held the post of coun
ty treasurer at one time. He was
a member of the Roper Ruritan
Club and interested in all civic
affairs.
He leaves, other than his wife,
four daughters, Mrs. Audrey R.
Phelps, Roper, Mrs. Frank A.
Lasley, Staunton, Va„ Mrs. Na
than P. Whitfield, Vinton, Va.,
and Mrs. Arthur Wallace Lilley,
Jamesville; two sisters, Mts. Mil
ton Bowen, Plymouth, and Mrs.
Richard T. Chesson, Portsmouth,
See SERVICES, Page 12
The Roanoke Beacon
****** and Washington County News ******
muse %
loin The
MARCH OF DIMES
January 2 fo 31
I"-" ■ " ' =" ~ - - ' f "■ -—' - -
VOLUME LXIV—NUMBER 53 Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina, Thursday, December 31, 1953 ESTABLISHED 1889
FIVE NEW MEMBERS OF "OLD-TIMERS" GROUP AT PLANT HERE
Completing 25 years of service with the North Carolina Pulp Company, five men were wel
comed into the "Old-Timers Club” by plant ofiicials at a banquet held at the country club here
Monday night of last week. Each was presented a gold watch by the company president. Her
bert M. Kieckhefer, following the banquet presiled over by J. A. Auchter, toastmaster and man
ager of the Plymouth plant. In all, there were 31 “old-timers” at the meeting last week. Pictured
above are the five new members and company o ficials, as follows: Otis Tyree, Fred Keyes, Maur
ice Dotson, Mr. Kieckhefer, Mr. Auchter, Farley M. Bowers and Hencil Matheny.—Polaroid 1-Minute
staff photo.
Court Term Here
To Start Monday
:
Farm Census Is
Of Great Value {
Many farmers seem to think
that the farm census which is
taken each year by tax list
takers has some direct connect
ion with taxes, County Agent
W. H. Pruden pointed out this
W'eek.
The inventory of crops by
townships is valuable to all
agricultural agencies in helping
to map a sound and progressive
farm program and actually
benefits the farmer who gives
in the correct information, the
county agent emphasized. It
should be remembered that the
information is strictly confiden
tial and in no way has any bear
ing on taxes.
Add Improvement
In Four Schools
The county board of education
aas taken advantage of the holi
day closing of schools to effect
several major improvements,
bounty School Superintendent R.
F. Lowry announced this week.
Among improvements made
luring the period Mr. Lowry list
'd the addition of tile and new
alumbing fixtures at Roper High
School, Plymouth Colored School
jnd the addition of tile at Cres
.vell Colored School.
Also, the W. M. Wiggins Com
pany began wTork Monday of this
■veek on the new heating plant
it Plymouth High School, the
superintendent said. It is under
stood that the work is expected
so be completed early next week.
Total of 37 Cases, 24 Crimi
nal and 13 Civil, To Be
Tried; Judge Morris To
Preside
The two-week mixed term of
Washington County Superior
Court will open here Monday of
next week with Judge Chester
Morris presiding.
A total of 37 eases is sched
uled to be tried. 24 on the crimi
nal calendar and 13 on the civil
calendar.
The docket will be prosecuted
by Elbert Peel, of Williamston,
who was appointed as district
solicitor when former solicitor
George Fountain was appointed
to the Superior Court bench by
Governor Umstead. This will be
Solicitor Peel’s first visit here in
his official capacity.
Among criminal cases expected
to attract more than usual interest
will be the Patrick murder case
and the trial of Ronald Boyce Ku
low on a manslaughter charge
growing out of an automobile ac
cident at Roper which claimed
the life of Martha Hornthal, of
Plymouth.
Lizzie Patrick is charged' With
having fatally shot her husband,
Johnny Patrick, at the home of
the Negro couple in Skinnersville
last March. The alleged weapon
was a 38 caliber pistol which the
woman is said to have picked up
from a table after the two re
turned from a neighboring house.
Kulow, a Marine stationed at
the Edenton Base, is alleged to
have been the driver of a 1951
Ford which failed to stop at an
intersection and struck a 1947
Oldsmobile operated by Mrs.
Ruby Grimes Booth, of Plymouth.
Miss Hornthal, a passenger in the
Booth car, was killed in the col
See COURT, Page 7
T own, County Boards
Are To Meet Monday
More or less routine sessions
are expected here Monday of next
iveek when various town and
county governing bodies meet in
regular monthly session.
The Washington County Board
af Commissioners will meet in
their room in the courthouse here
Monday morning. A strictly rou
tine session is anticipated, Clerk
to the Board J. Robert Campbell
said.
Superintendent of Schools Roy
F. Lowry, of Plymouth, said yes
terday that a routine session of
the Washington County Board of
Education is expected Monday.
The board, composed of L. E.
Hassell, of Roper, chairman; J.
W. Norman and Mrs. K. S. Trow
bride, of Plymouth, J. Whitford
Swain, Roper, and P. B. Belanga,
of Creswell, will meet in the of
fices of the superintendent at the
courthouse at 10 a. m. Monday,
The Plymouth Town Council
will meet Monday night at 8
o’clock at the Municipal Buildr
ing on Water Street here.
Tax Listers and
Supervisors Take
Oaths of Office
-+
Sworn in at Adjourned
Meeting of County Com
missioners; Prices f o r
Listing Livestock Fixed
—♦—
The county tax supervisor and
township lax listers were sworn
in and prices for listing livestock,
tractors, trucks, automobiles, etc.,
were fixed at an adjourned meet
ing of the Washington County
Board of Commissioners at the
courthouse here Monday night,
December 21, at 7:30 o’clock.
Members of the board present
were Frank L. Brinkley, chair
man; J. C. Knowles, H. L. Dav
enport, A. R. Latham and H. W.
Pritchett.
The chairman of the board ad
ministered the oath of office to
H. L. Davenport, county tax sup
ervisor, and to Tax Listers R.
W. Lewis, of Lees Mill Township;
P. B. Belanga, of Scuppernong
Township; Clarence L. Blount, of
Plymouth Township; and W. W.
White, of Skinnersville Town
ship.
Prices were fixed for listing
livestock, etc. for 1954 as follows:
Sheep, $4 and up: goats, $2 and
up: milch cows, $100 and up; other
cattle, 10 cents per pound; poul
~Sce~TAX~LISTERS, Page 7
-♦
Infant Perishes
In Blazing House
—*—
Fire which gutted the attic of
a one-story frame house on Wil
son Street Thursday of last week
claimed the life of a four-month
old baby boy, Jimmy Armistead,
colored.
Prompt action by the local vol
unteer fire department saved the
house, residence of Grover Armi
stead and wife, along with most
of the furniture and personal ef
fects. The only damage to the
lower floor was from water, ac
cording to Fire Chief I. Miller
Warren.
The baby was sleeping on a
bed in the attic when the fire
broke out. The blaze was caused
by overloaded wiring, Chief War
ren determined. Some clothes as
well as the family linens stored
in the attic were burned. There
were two beds in the attic also.
The alarm was sounded at 2:30
p. m. and firemen immediately
sped to the scene.
It was the second fire fatality
of the year in Plymouth. Joseph
Haislip, jr., perished in the flames
which destroyed the trailer home
of his parents, Joseph and Doro
thy Dye Haislip on Wilson Street
last March 19th.
Highway Fatality
Record in County
Better Than 1952
-•
Only Two Deaths So Far in
1953 Compared With Four
For Last Year Properly
Damages Running Less
-•
With the last few hours of the
old year running out, it appeared
virtually certain that the highway
and street fatality record for 1953
would be an improvement over
1952 when four lives were lost
within the county in automobile
accidents.
So far during 1953, two persons
have met death from motor ve
hicles mishaps along the streets
and highways of Washington
County.
The first of these — Martha
Hornthal, of Plymouth—was kill
ed in an accident which happened
within the city limits of Roper
while the other took place along
a county highway.
Miss Hornthal was a passenger
in a 1947 Oldsmobile operated by
Mrs. Ruby Grimes Booth,, of
Plymouth. The car was struck by
a 1951 Ford said to have been
driven by Ronald Boyce Kulow, a
Marine stationed at the Edenton
Base. Kulow is scheduled to be
tried for manslaughter at the
January term of Washington
Coun'y Superior Court here. The
accid nt happened Augu=t 27.
Creswell Negro, was struck down
and killed instantly by the ve
hicle of a hit-and-run driver
while walking along the Creswell
Cherry Road on the night of Oc
tober 9.
Two near-fatal accidents also
happened during the year. Sam
uel Morris Bell, five-year-old col
ored boy, was struck January 24
near Roper by a 1940 Chevrolet
operated by Blond Hair Overton,
of Creswell. The boy was serious
ly injured.
Then on May 17 a hit-and-run
driver’s machine struck a pedes
trian. James Earl Ellis, on the
Mackeys Road. Ellis was critical
ly injured and hospitalized.
Those who were 1952 victims of
high and street accidents in the
county included Samuel Henry
Woodley, of Creswell, killed Jan
uary 25, when a dump truck he
was driving on the Lake Phelps
Road overturned and pinned him
beneath the wreckage; William
Bell, Plymouth colored man, who
subsequently died of injuries af
ter having been struck October
31 in Plymouth while walking
along the street. The machine
which struck Bell is said to have
been operated by C. E. Jones, jr.,
of Plymouth; Mrs. Addie Watson,
of Pantego, who died of a fractur
See~FATALITIES, Page 12
Tax Listing for New Year
Will Be Started Saturday
NEW PARISH HOUSE IS USED FOR FIRST TIME j
The new parish house erected here by members of Grace
Episcopal Church was used for the first time Tuesday of last
week, when a Christmas party was held there for children of the
parish. The building is practically complete, only some wiring
remaining to be done. Formal dedication of the structure will be
held later, according to church officials. In addition to an audi
torium with a stage the new parish house contains four Sunday
school classrooms and a kitchen.—Polaroid 1-Minute staff photo.
300 Families Aided
Spokesmen for Sponsoring
Rotary Club Term Project
"Outstanding Success,"
Thanks Given
With the completion Christmas
Eve of distribution of gift boxes,
the annual Empty Stocking Fund',
sponsored by the Plymouth Ro
tary Club, was brought to a suc
cessful conclusion for 1953.
Rotary Club spokesmen term
ed the project “an outstanding
success,” as great as ever. More
than 300 needy families in Wash
ington County were given a hap
py Christmas as the project pro
vided food, clothing and toys for
them.
Over $1,500 was collected and
the whole amount was disbursed
for the purchase of gift items.
The individual boxes were larger
than ever in the past and an
abundance of substantial food as
well as fruits, nuts and Christ
mas candies, good clothing and
toys were given to each family.
It is estimated that more than
1300 persons benefitted from the
project.
Mrs. Ursula Spruill, county
welfare superintendent, stated
See FAMILIES, Page 7
Few To Observe j
New Years Day j
Comparatively few places of
business in Plymouth are ob
serving New Year’s Day, as a
holiday. Most local stores, in
cluding furniture, hardware,
grocery, clothing and appliance
establishments, restaurants, fill
ing stations and drug stores will
be open for business as usual.
The A&P store will be closed
all day along with federal,
state and county offices. The
local banks, ABC store and post
office also are observing the
holiday. There arc no rural or
city mail deliveries today, but
dispatches are being made as
usual.
Pasture Condition Poor
United States pasture conditions
on October 1 averaged 56 per
cent of normal, as low as any
recorded for that date in nearly
four decades except in 1934 and
1936, when conditions averaged
54 per cent.
WHERE CHRISTMAS BOXES WERE PREPARED FOR NEEDY IN COUNTY
The agriculture building here was a beehive of activity for a week or more before Christmas,
as Empty Stocking Fund officials and volunteer workers were kept busy preparing boxes of food
used toys and clothing for distribution to needy persons throughout the county. The above photo
shows some of the volunteer workers, including white and colored Boy Scouts, engaged in assembling
items for the boxes under the direction of James Boyce, fund chairman, and Mrs. Ursula B.
Spruill, county welfare superintendent, on Friday night before the distribution was completed
Monday of last week.—Polaroid 1-Minute staff photo.
Month of January Allotted
For Listing Property; To
Avoid Late Rush Early
Listing Is Urged
Tax listing will get underway
in Washington County Saturday
of this week when the four town
ship list takers start in on their
annual task under the direction
of Hubert L. Davenport, of Skin
nersville, county tax supervisor.
Final instructions and supplies
were furnished the listers at an
adjourned meeting of the county
commissioners Monday night of
last week when the supervisor
and tax listers were sworn in and
arrangements completed to secure
uniform listing of personal pro
perty throughout the county.
Since Friday is a legal holiday,
it has been decided to begin the
listing job on Saturday and it will
continue through February 1.
Property owners are urged to list
as early as possible, however, to
avoid the last-minute rush which
always develops during the last
few days of the month.
Warning has been given that
no extension of time will be al
lowed for listing, and those who
do not get their property on the
books during the allotted time are
subject to penalties provided by
law for failure to list.
Plymouth
Lees Mill
The following are jjj
the year, app
missioners at
meeting here:
Clarence L. Blount,
Township; R. W. Lewis,
Township: P. B. Belanga, Scup
pernong Township; and W. W.
White, Skinnersville Township.
Mr. Blount will list in the com
missioners room on the first floor
of the courthouse here, his hours
being from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. Mon
day through Saturday and
throughout the month.
Series Important
Farm Meetings in
County Announced
County Agent Issues Invi
tation To Attend Meetings
Set for Agriculture Build
ing in January
A series of important farm
meetings has been scheduled for
Plymouth.
The announcement was made
here today by County Agent W.
H. Pruden. The meetings will be
held on three successive days at
the Agriculture Building, Mr.
Pruden said, and should prove
profitable to those who attend.
The meetings will be held Tues
day, Wednesday and Thursday,
January 12-14, and will consist
of morning and afternoon sessions
daily. These sessions will cover
“practically every phase of pro
duction which farmers of this
county are interested in,” the
county agent stated.
Letters are being mailed to in
dividual farmers urging their at
tendance and all other persons in
terested in the agricultural pro
gress of Washington County are
cordially invited, it was said.
Practically the entire staff of
specialists at State College are
being rotated in 16 Eastern coun
ties during the meeting series, it
was stated. The Tuesday morning
session will cover horticulture,
tobacco will be taken up at the
afternoon session. Wednesday
morning field crops will be con
sidered while that afternoon will
be devoted to study and discus
sion of fertilizers and chemical
weed control. For the concluding
day, poultry and turkeys will be
considered in the morning and
beef cattle, sheep and swine in
the afternoon.
All phases of production in
each of these divisions wiH be
thoroughly discussed, Pruden
stated, and many new develop
ments in production practices ex
tremely helpful to the progres
sive farmer, will be taken up—
for instance, how to raise hogs at
a much lower per-pound coat.