North Carolina Newspapers

T'own opics A Creswell correspondent re ports that in spite of the muddy roads in the vicinity, a large number of persons visited Petti grew Park Sunday, a majority of Whom attended the celebration of the golden wedding anniver sary of Park Ranger and Mrs. T. F. Davenport. The first herrings caught in Washington County this season was reportedly taken by Onley Swain last Saturday at Bee Tree Canal, Lake Phelps. Reports of herring catches have also come from Jamesville, in Martin County. Dr. and Mrs. E. W. Furgurson returned home Tuesday night from Winston-Salem where Dr. Furgurson has been hospitalized. Mrs. Furgurson had been visiting her parents at Buzzards Bay, Mass., and flew down to Win ston-Salem to be with her hus band. Dr. Furgurson said Wed nesday that he was much improv ed and that he will resume his duties at the Plymouth Clinic Monday after next. Several local people are known to have observed that total eclipse of the moon Monday night. The eclipse reached its total period between 9:17 and £ 9:47 o’clock. This was briefer than in some lunar eclipses be cause this time the moon passed through a low sector of the earth’s deepest shadow rather than through the mid-line. K. S. Trowbridge, of the Wood and Land Department at North Carolina Pulp Company here, was on the program Wednesday of this week at the annual meet ing of the Southern Pulpwood Conservation Association, meet ing Tuesday and Wednesday at the Atlanta Biltmore Hotel, At lanta, Ga. Mr. Trowbridge dis cussed “North Carolina Pulp Company’s Seedling Program’’ at the afternoon session. ♦ Plymouth Boosted By N. Y. Scouts Dr. Alban Papineau, skipper of the Plymouth Sea Scouts, report ^ ed this week that the sea scouts from New Rochelle, N. Y., who recently visited here, really car ried home glowing reports of Plymouth’s hospitality. Dr. Papineau made public a let ter which he received from the New Rochelle skipper, Douglas F. S. Williams. Mr. Williams wrote in part: “As I told you when we were down there, I have been Scouting in 12 different countries and met all sorts of people, but this trip I think will always stay in my mind as being one of the most en joyable I have ever undertaken. As one of my boys said to me when we arrived back in New York, ‘Skipper, when can we go back down South where the peo ple seem to put friendship be fore anything else?’ “I know that the boys who were fortunate enough to make this trip with me really know now f what being 'a good citizen’ means, - and for the rest of their lives not one of them will forget you and your boys in Plymouth. All I can say for all of us is a very humble thanks; thanks a lot. “I do sincerely hope that some day, somehow, you all will be able to visit this part of the world so that we may in some small measure try to repay you all for what you did for us.” - * Attendance Record Good At Plymouth Past Month With an enrollment of 938 stu dents, Plymouth Schools made an outstanding record during the past month, Principal J. S. Flem ing reports. Mr. Fleming said that the aver age elementary school attendance for the month was 97 per cent and that of the high school 96 per cent. This is above the re quirement for honor schools, he stated. The latest sanitary rating given the school cafeteria was also out standing, Mr. Fleming said. The cafeteria received a rating of 97.5. Rebublican Precinct Meets Next Tuesday County Republican leadens this week announced sites for the 1954 precinct conventions which will be held Tuesday evening of next week at 7:30 o’clock. Plymouth No. 1 and No. 2 will meet at the county courthouse, Lees Mill at the Roper Communi ty Building, Skinnersville at Lewis Bateman’s Filling Station, Scuppernong at the American Legion Building at Cherry and Wenona at Community Center. Precinct committees are to con sist of five members to be elected by the registered Rpublican vot ers of the the precinct. All Re publicans are urged to attend the meeting in their respective pre cincts. The county convention will be held February 11 at 7:30 p. m. At this meeting the county officers for the party will be elected for a two-year term. The Roanoke Beacon ****** and Washington County News ****** VOLUME LXV—NUMBER 3 Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina, Thursday, January 21, 1954 ESTABLISHED 1889 1 PERFECT SUNDAY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE CITED | wmcmamm These eight members of the junior class of Christian Hope Church Sunday School, Long Ridge Road, set perfect attendance records for the past twelve months. They are, left to right, front row-: Gracie Davis, Fay Davis, Jerry Hardison and Mary Alice Simpson. Back row, same order: Margaret Simpson, Ray Davis, Jimmy Browning and Tommy Hardison. Class teacher is Mrs. Eva Mae Alford. Plymouth Produce Market To Be Best On Seaboard, Said Local Auction Market for Truck Crops Expected Tc Serve 18 - County Easl Carolina Area When the Plymouth Produss Auction Market opens here in May it will give this section the benefit of What sponsors have de scribed as “the largest and most efficient such market on the At lantic seaboard.” The market is expected to serve as many as 18 coastal counties and offer Eastern Carolina farmers an opportunity for extra income to make up for loss of income from cash crop acreage curtailment. Farmers in Currituck, Pasquo tank, Perquimans, Chowan, Ber tie, Northampton, Edgecombe, Martin, Pitt, Craven, Carteret, Pamlico, Beaufort, Hyde, Tyrrell, Camden and Washington Coun ties will be asked to grow such truck crops as tomatoes, cucum bers, peppers, snap beans and squash in support of the market. It was also said that other com modities might be added to the list. Warehouse facilities already are available for the market and it is now planned to construct additional facilities on the old Brinkley Ball Park site at Wilson Street and Brinkley Avenue, ac cording to James H. Ward, W. M. Darden and W. T. Freeman, who will operate the market. Mr. Freeman, who has had long experience in buying and selling produce, has stated that a number of large produce buyers have promised to support the market if sufficient volume can be main tained. Among such buyers men tioned were the Atlantic Commis sion Company — said to be the world's largest. Army Market Center, of Richmond, Va.. and Co lonial Stores, huge grocery chain. Local banks and other lending agencies have already pledged support to farmers who wish to grow vegetables for the market. Also, the State Department of Agriculture and the State College Extension Service have pledged their cooperation. Inspection ser vice will be made available by the department and it will also ren der valuable service in inform ing buyers of the local market. Sponsors of the market say that recommended varieties of seed will be available locally, as well as needed insecticides and the most suitable types of containers for produce. 1954 License Tag Sales Still Slow With little over a week to go before the deadline for dis playing old license plates, sale of state motor vehicle licenses continues slow at the branch license bureau on Washington Street here. Sales through Monday of this week totaled 1,483 in all categories which is a little better than for the cor responding period a year ago. It seems that lagging sales represent a trend of long stand ing here. Sales for the past two years have been roughly at the same pace. However, in 1951 for the comparable period more than 2,000 plates had been sold at the local bureau. This year's sales thus far have been for automobiles, 1,070; motorcycles, 2; private trucks, 242; farm trucks, 47; Class Z (small) trailers, 100; Class C (large) trailers, 22. The period of grace for displaying old license plates will expire January 31, and owners will be cited to court for failure to display the new tags beginning February 1. George Z. Ingle, Former Resident, Passes Suddenly Was Teacher and Athletics Coach in Local School for Two Years; Final Rites Held Monday George Z. Ingle, former teach er and coach of athletics in Plym outh High School, died at mid night last Friday in Jonesville after suffering a sudden heart at tack. He was 41 years old and was principal of the Jonesville school at the time of his death. Mr. Ingle taught in the local schools and was athletics coach during the school years of 1946 47 and 1947-48. The team coached by him, with Joe Foster as assit ant, won the Albemarle confer ence football championship in 1947. He left here in 1948 to be come principal of the Long Creek school in Mecklenburg County, later going from there to Jones ville. Born in Chatham County, he was the son of J. B. Ingle, of the Silk Hope community, and the late Mrs. Ingle. A graduate of the Silk Hope High School, he re ceived his A. B. degree from High Point College and the M. A. de gree from East Carolina College at Greenville. At the time of his death Mr. Ingle was chairman of the board of stewards of the Jonesville Methodist Church and teacher of the adult class. He was also a member of the Jonesville Lions Club and Masonic Lodge. Survivors include his widow, the former Gladys Gaston, of Greenville; two children, oJc and Kay Ingle, of the home: his fath er; three brothers and three sis ters. Funeral services were held Monday morning in the Jones ville school gymnasium by the Rev. J. M. Barber, pastor of the Jonesville Methodist Church. In terment followed in the Mount Vernon Methodist Church ceme tery near Siler City. County at Bottom Of List in Value Increase of Farms Washington County Farm Land Shows 59 Per Cent Increase in Value in 10 Year Period Washington County ranked at the bottom among the 100 coun ties of North Carolina in per cent increase of farm real estate value per acre during the period 1940 50, figures published by “North Carolina Facts’’ show. The increase in value of farm land in this county during the period was listed as 59 per cent, whereas Scotland County—rank ing next above Washington showed an increase of 80 per cent. At the top was Brunswick Coun ty which showed an increase of 230 per cent. Farm real estate value per acre in Washington County in 1950 was listed as $64.87, good for a ranking of 84th in the state. At the top was tobacco-growing Wil son County with a per acre value of $238.34. Greene County stood second with a value of $198.20 an acre. Third was Pitt, $197.56. The state as a whole leads all other states in the nation in the rate of increase in its farm real estate values and also can take pride in its low total farm mort gage debt, standing second behind South Carolina in this regard. The per capita farm debt in the state in 1953 stood at $101, while South Carolina had the only bet ter figure, $80. Nevada had the highest per capita debt, $1,286. Services Tuesday For Mrs. Bateman -» Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon at 2 o’clock from Plymouth Christian Church for Mrs. Annie Bateman, 87, of Plymouth. Mrs. Bateman, widow of the late Reddin Bateman, died at Washington County Hospital here Sunday at 6 a. m. after an ill ness of one week. She had been in declining health for the past two years. Mrs. Bateman was the daughter of the late William and Hester Sennett Bateman, of Martin County, where she was born De cember 1, 1866. She was a mem ber of the Plymouth Christian Church. Surviving are three daughters. Mrs. Alma Brown, of Lexington, Mrs. Addie Craddock, of Roper, and Mrs. Lucille Jones, of Nor folk, Va.; two sons, William Bate man, of Washington, D. C., and Owens Bateman, of Plymouth; 20 grandchildren, 24 great grandchil dren and six great great grand children. Services were in charge of the pastor, the Rev. C. N. Barnett, assisted by the Rev. Mark Wool ard, of Washington. Interment was in Albemarle Christian Cem etery. 1 j RECOGNITION FOR OUTSTANDING SALES RECORD] mm Leroy Bateman, of Plymouth, is shown as he was presented “Sammy” statuette in recognition of his outstanding sales record during the past year with Panther Oil & Grease Manufacturing Company, of Fort Worth, Texas. The presentation was made by A. M. Pate, jr., banquet chairman, at the 25th annual Distinguish ed Salesmen’s Award banquet at Hotel Texas in Fort Worth. Bateman has been volume leader in his division for six years in a row. JAMES T. BOYCE GETS 'MAN OF YEAR' AWARD AT FRIDAY DINNER James T. Boyce, president of the Plymouth Junior Chamber of Commerce and who headed the recent Empty Stocking Fund drive here, is shown with Mrs. Boyce as he was presented an award as “Young Man of the Year" in Plymouth at a dinner held Friday night at the Plymouth Country Club. Presenting the award is a former winner, Thos. F. Hopkins, who is also a former president of the local Jaycee organization. Looking on at the left is State Jaycee President Gene Ochsenreiter, of Asheville. Other notables attending included the district vice president, Edgar Gurganus, of Williamston.—Polaroid 1-Minute stiff photo. James T. Boyce Is Named 'Man of Year' by Jaycees Award Presented by Thos. F. Hopkins at Dinner Meeting at Club Friday Night -• Jams T. Boyce, president of the Plymouth Junior Chamber of Commerce, was given an award in recognition of being chosen “Young Man of the Year” in lymouth, at a dinner mec'ing at the Plymouth Country Club Friday night. ’ The awe rd wad presented bjt Thos. F. Hopkins, himself a fornv er winner of the award and also former head of the local Jaycees. The award goes to the man be tween the ages of 21 and 35 who is deemed to have rendered the most distinguishd service to his com munity during the preceding year. Selection was by commit tee and is believed to have been based chiefly on the success of the Empty Stocking Fund which Boyce headed for 1953. Personal leadership and outstanding coop eration in civic affairs, club work, etc., had a bearing on the se lection—a popular one. District Jaycee Vice President Edgar Gurganus, of Williamston, made brief remarks and intro duced the state Jaycee president, Gene Oehsenireiter, of Asheville, who made the principal address. About 30 Jaycees and their ladies were present and enjoyed a delicious ham dinner. Over $3,500 Sought In County Polio Drive I j j One Man Leavesj | For Induction j One registrant of Selective Service Board No. 95 here was sent to Raleigh Wednesday morning for induction into the Armed Forces. He is Harry Lewis Horton, jr. Mrs. Lorraine Hunter, board clerk, reported that a call has been received by the ltci)., beard far firs atm to be *en» to Raleigh for pre-induction examination on Tuesday, Feb ruary 9. An induction call has also been received for three men to be sent on Wednesday, February 24, as previously re ported. Students Present Program at PTA Meeting Tuesday Functions of Honor Society And Student Council Ex plained; New Teacher for School -• At the January meeting of the Plymouth Parent-Teacher Asso ciation, held on Tuesday after noon in the high school auditor ium, a number of high school stu dents presented a program which described the organization and ac tivities of the honor society and the student council in the local high school. Both are affiliated with national organizations. Mrs. Margie Lucas is faculty advisor for the honor society, and Mrs. Ida Ruth Norman for the student council. The devotional, with its theme “Prayer,” was led by Jane Crof ton. Gail Harrison, accompanied by her sister, Narcissa, sang “The Lord’s Prayer.” Barbara McNair, president of the National Honor Society, stated that it gives recognition to outstanding all round students, and cooperates with the school administration and the studnet body in helping to keep the local school on a high ethical and scholastic level. The local chapter sponsors the school paper, “The Panther,” and the other officers are: vice president, Joe Hardison; secretary, Alice Humphries; treasurer, Ruby Lee. There are 12 charter members, with 5 additional ones who have been tapped during the year. Eugene Waters, president of the student council, staled that its purpose was the promotion of knowledge and the practice of the principles of good govern ment. Its personnel is composed of two representatives from each home room. Officers are elected in a student-wide election, with a senior serving as president, a junior as vice president, a sopho more as secretary, and a fresh man as treasurer. The student council cooperates with the prin cipal and teachers and backs civic activities. The business session of the PTA See STUDENTS, Page 10 Strong Corps of Volunteer Workers -Begins House To-House Solicitation To day House-to-house solicitations in Plymouth will begin Thursday of this week in the annual Wash ington County MaTch of Dimes campaign, it is announced. A large corps of volunteer workers under the direction of Mrs. Thos. F. Hopkins will can vass homes in Plymouth Thurs drttf, jC'iday Saturday. county Chairman Thos F. Hop kins pointed to the great need for funds with which to fight polio and asked that contributions be as liberal as possible. The county chairman stated that much enthusiasm has been displayed by the chairmen of the various functions and the organi zation is optimistic. The county organization will endeavor to raise more than $3,500. Mr. Hopkins also stated that he is deeply appreciative of the ef forts and interest of the people of Washington County in the annual fund-raising program for polio and extends his thanks for their fine participation in past cam paigns. “We are looking for the same response that this worthy under taking has met .with in past years in this county,” Mr. Hopkins de clared. MYF Meet Held at Columbia Church -♦ The Washington-Tyrrell Sub District of the Methodist Youth Fellowship, met on Monday even ing, January 11, at 7:00 o’clock at the Columbia Church. The theme for the evening was presented, including a playlet given by the Columbia young people, entitled “Where Are The Other Three?” The churches represented were, Mount Her man, Creswell, Woodley’s Chapel, Wesley Memorial, Pleasant Grove WesK-y Chapel, Plymouth and Roper. Creswell was awarded the banner for largest per cent of •youth present. After the business meeting, over which the president, Miss Mary Meekins, presided, group singing and recreation were en joyed by all. Lisiing Over Half [Done in Plymouth; Slower in County -♦ Nearly 900 Have Listed in Plymouth Township, Re ports Show; Job About 35 * Per Cent Done -1-— Reports this week indicate that the job of tax listing is proceed ing at a faster pace in Plymouth Township than elsewhere in the county. Plymouth Township Lister Clarence L. Blount reported late Tuesday that between 850 and 900 persons had already listed to put the task past the halfway mark here. Meanwhile, County Tax Super visor Hubert L. Davenport said that listing has slowed consid erably in other parts of the coun ty. He estimated that the job was 35 per cent complete in Lees Mill, Scuppernong and Skinnersville Townships. It is thought that pro gress was slowed considerably by the bad weather of last week. The remainder of the schedules of various listers is as fallows: Lees Mill Township: R. W. Lewis, lister—January.25 at T. R. Chesson Store. Wcstover; Janu ary 22 at Radcliffe Store, Weno na; all other dates at Knowles Grocery, Roper. Scuppernong Township, P. B. Belanga, lister — January 27 at Cherry; January 28 at Newland; all other dates at Creswell. Skinnersville Township, W. W. White, lister—January 27 at W. E. Phelps Store; January 28 at Mrs. Mattie P. Harrington's store; all other dates at W. W. White’s store. Plymouth Township, Clarence L. Blount, lister—all week days during listing period in commis sioners’ room on first floor of courthouse here. -4 House Destroyed In Sunday Blaze —. Fire which broke out at about 11 o'clock Sunday moroing prac tically destroyed a frame dwel ling house at the foot of West Water Street, with the occupants losing all furniture and personal effects. The only thing recovered was some money cached between mattresses and in a bureau draw er, it is reported. The progress of the flames was so sudden that a young boy was trapped upstairs and had to jump to safety. No one was hurt, how ever. The Plymouth Fire Department promptly answered the alarm and soon brought the fire under control but the house was gutted and Fire Chief I. Miller Warren estimated that the house was a 90 per cent loss. It is the property of Owens Brothers and was the residence of Christine Smith, colored. Origin of the blaze has not been determined but Chief Warren said it might have been an over heated stove. It is understood that there was no insurance on the building but that the con tents of the, house were insured. Chief Warren said that not a house was lost here last year by fire and that the house burned Sunday was the first in about two years. -4 Local Banks To Observe Half-Holiday Wednesdays Both local banks, the Branch Banking & Trust Company and the Planters National Bank & Trust Company, will begin clos ing each Wednesday at 12 noon next week, it was announced Monday. Other local business houses started observance of the i mid-week half-holiday this week, but the banks are waiting until I next week since they were closed i Tuesday in observance of Lee’s Birthday. Band To Be in Shrine Parade at New Bern The Plymouth High School bund will be among some 15 or 20 bands which will participate in the Shrine ceremonial parade at Mew Bern Thursday of next week, Band- Director Edward Taylor announced. The parade will begin at 12:30 and Taylor said the local band had been asked to be at Kafir Park where the bands will as semble by 11:30 a. m. Two buses have been chartered to transport the band, cheerlead ers and chaperones, 70 persons being expected to make the trip from here, including 56 band members. Those who make the trip will be given lunch at the New Bern Recreation Center, the band di rector said. He also stated that there would be a choice of free movie tickets or a tour of the Cherry Point Marine Base. Band members are also invited to a dance that night at which music will be furnished by Bub bles Becker and his orchestra. Taylor said the members would vote whether or not they wish to stay over for the dance.