T'own
opics
A special bus with 37 Washing
ten County draftees was on its
way. to Raleigh Thursday of last
week and was near Zebulon when
one of the fellows, drinking a
fountain coke, made the idle re
mark to the driver, “Don’t turn
this bus over until I finish my
drink.” Some 500 yards diown the
road, only seconds after the man
had thrown the empty cup out the
window, the bus was crowded off
the road and it continued down a
15-foot embankment. “I was only
kidding you,” the fellow fold the
driver as he clambered out of the
wrecked bus.
L. W. Gurkim, sr., Harry Gur
kin and L. W. Gurkin, jr., return
ed to Plymouth Thursday night
of last week from New York City
Where they attended the National
Motor Boat Show at Kingsbridge
Armory. The local group also at
tended the auto show. Harry Gur
kin stated that the boat exhibit
offered many interesting develop
ments, among them silencing
equipment for outboards in one
line from 5 Vi to 25 horsepower.
Nearly 400 boats were on dis
play, most of them outboard craft
ranging from fishing skiffs to
elaborate cabin cruisers. This
year’s show set a new record in
number of exhibitors which in
cluded 70 boat builders, 29 en
gine and 131 accescry manufact
urers.
The season on' upland game, in
cluding quail, wild turkey and
rabbits, closes next Monday, Jan
uary 31. The season on deer and
squirrel closed earlier, so this
about winds up hunting for the
year. County Game Protector J.
ff T. Terry said yesterday that, as
a whole, the season was one of
the worst he could remember. In
the past, it was not unusual for
many hunters to get their limits
of small game, but very few man
aged to do so during the season
coming to a close, he stated.
R. F. Lowry, of Plymouth, at
tended an executive board meet
ing, Bast Carolina Council of Boy
Scouts of America, held in the
education building of Jarvis Me
morial Methodist Church, Green
ville, Wednesday afternoon.
Rufus Bowser, local Negro who
has had quite a few brushes with
the law, pulled an entirely new
one this week. Bowser was hail
ed before Justice of the Peace
C. M. “Bugs” Beasley charged
with assault on a female. He had
had a drink or two, also, and be
came infuriated during the course
of things and tried to snatch
Magistrate Beasley’s watch off.
The watch was damaged and at
his subsequent trial in recorders
count Tuesday Judge Gaylord
fined him $25 and costs and or
dered that he pay for the dam
age to the watch. It was said
that Officer L. L. Basnight also
damaged a flashlight on Bowser's
head while trying to subdue him.
Local Youth Heads
4 - H Club Council
Reuben Turner, of the Plym
outh club, was elected- president
of the 4-H Club County Council
ait a meeting held Monday night
of this week ait the Agriculture
Building here.
Other officers named were Di
ane Gaylord, Roper club, vice
president; Wayne Mobley, Plym
I\ outh club, secretary; Mary Vir
' ginia Dixon, Plymouth club,
treasurer; Margie Brown, Plym
outh club, reporter; Flossie Noo
ney and Wayne West, both of the
, Plymouth club, song leaders; and
Rachel Peele, Plymouth club,
pianist.
iDiane Gtaylorld presided and
Margie Brown acted as secretary
for the meeting.
During the brief business ses
sion County Agent W. H. Pruden
urged1 thait the club members be
gin thinking about caimp and 4-H
Club Week to be 'held later this
year. He also strongly urged that
the boys and girls enter the var
!'■ ious contests which are held on a
statewide basis.
For recreation, a wildlife film
in color was shown to the group.
Attendance was held down by
the weather and the Creswell
clubs were not represented
The Roanoke Beacon
****** and Washington County News ******
Fight 'Polity in 55/
Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina, Thursday, January 27, 1955
VOLUME LXVI—NUMBER 4
ESTABLISHED 1889
OFFICERS OF JUNIOR WOMAN'S CLUB ORGANIZED HERE RECENTLY |
Pictured above on the steps at the agricultural building here, where preliminary meetings
have been held, are officers of the recently organized Plymouth Junior Woman’s Club. They
are as follows, left to right: Mrs. Mildred Wimsett, recording secretary; Mrs. Phyllis Gauthier,
vice president; Mrs. Borden Komegay, president; Miss Gail Harrison, treasurer; and Miss Amanda
Reynolds, corresponding secretary.—Polaroid 1-Minute staff photo.
I
Tree-Farm Program
Is Started in County
j Polio Dance Set
j For Febrnary 12
The March of Dimes Ball,
which annually climaxes the
drive for funds with which to
combat polio, will be held Sat
urday, February 12, Thos F.
Hopkins, county March of
Dimes chairman, announced to
day.
The ball will be held at the
Veterans Club, Mr. Hopkins
stated. Details will be worked
out and anounced later. Plym
outh High School Music Di
rector Ed Taylor and Mrs. Dick
Norman, a member of the
school faculty, are in charge of
arrangements, the county chair
man said.
More Volunteers
Needed for Roper
Observation Post
Construction of Spotting
Tower Now in Progress;
Will Be Located back of
Fire Station There
Mare volunteer spotters are
needed by the Roper Ground Ob
servation post. This announce
ment was made Tuesday follow
ing a visit to the post by two
young airmen, Joseph Subarton
and Robert H. Tucker, of the Dur
ham Air Defense Filter Center,
who are in charge of organizing
and training personnel to man
such local posts.
The Roper post was organized
last August, with 5 volunteers
originally signed up. Jesse Rawls
volunteered his spare time to serve
as the post supervisor along with
Tom Norman, who is the chief
observer. Men, women, boys and
girls are urged to got in touch
with either of them and volun
teer to help man the post. Mr.
Norman can be reached by writ
ing to him at Roper post office
Box 123 or caKlimg 1626. Mir.
Rawls’ telephone number is 6138
and his post office box number
is 93.
An observation post is being
constructed back of 'the fire sta
tion in Roper. Poles have been
secured on which to erect the
tower and are being placed this
week. When completed the struct
ure will be about 20 feet high.
See” VOLUNTEERS, Page 7
Monday Is Last Day
To Use Old Licenses
Sales of state license plates for
motor vehicles averaged nearly
100 a day during the past week at
the branch license bureau on
Washington Street here, accordi
ing to figures released early yes
terday.
For the five sales days between
Thursday of last week and Tues
day of this week, 467 plates were
sold, bringing the total sold at
the local office through business
of Tuesday to 1,943.
The sales, according to cate
gories, were, listed as follows:
autos, 1,380; motorcycles. 5; pri
vate trucks, 320; farm ^tt-ucks, 64;
\
small 'trailers, 148; commercial
trailers, 26.
Monday of next week is the last
day on which old tags may be
displayedl legally. Beginning Feb
ruary 1, all motor vehicles must
display the 1855 plates or owners
will face court citations if caught
operating with the old plates.
Manager James H. Ward is
strongly urging that those who
have not yet obtained their new
tags come in at once and get
them. If they wait until the last
day they are sure to run into a
crowded, inconvenient situation,
he warns. j
Some 68,000 Acres Boughi
By Dwight Corporation
From Roper Lumber Com
pany, Involved in Plan
Dwight Corporation Tree Farms
of Roper, has just lert the first
contracts to begin work on its
program for development of 68,
000 acres in Washington County it
acquired last summer from Roper
Lumber Company, Charles L.
Glleaves, who is in charge of ope
rations, has announced.
The area lies between Route 99
on the southeast, Lake Phelps on
the east, and Route 64 on the
North. The program also includes
about 17,000 acres in Hyde Coun
ty lying between Belhaven and
Lake Phelps.
The program calls for the de
velopment of about 10,000 or more
acres of farm land which will lie
along some 60 miles of roads to
be built. The farm land will break
up present solid blocks of timber
lands into ten or more pieces of
tree-growing land so that the
timber tracts will be separated
from each other by belts of farm
land..
When the program is finished
the whole area will not only have
proper drainage but the farms
will act as fire breaks and the
reads will furnish access to the
farms and timber and will allow
fire fighters to get to fires quick
ly and to have good bases from
which to operate their more ef
ficient equipment, such as pumps,
hose, plows and crawlers, Mr.
Gleaves pointed out.
Dwight Corporation, he stated,
intends to stick to its tree farm
ing operations and will operate
the open land farms only until
it can sell them, preferably in
80 to 160-acre blocks, to indivi
dual farmers.
The Dwight program for tree
farming calls for the sale to in
vestors of blocks of tree-growing
land for as tittle as $10,000 or as
much as $100,000. The company
will then, for a smaill fee, care
for the investors’ forests, insure
them against destruction, and
handle the sale of pulpwood and
sawtimber which are produced,
it was explained.
When the resulting 50,000 or
more acres of timber-growing
land in Washington County are
properly drained and cared for
See~PROGRAM,"page" 12
Two Volunteers
Left on Tuesday
♦
Two Plymouth boys, both stud
ents at East Carolina College,
Greenville, volunteered for serv
ice with the Armed Forces and
left with three other registrants
of the local draft board Tuesday
morning for the Raleigh Recept
ion Center to be inducted. They
are Jack Mar ton Frank and David
Gordon Brown, jr.
The bus transporting 37 regis
trants of the local board to Ra
leigh last Thursday for pre-in
duction was wrecked near Zebu
Ion but none of the men was hurt
except for minor scratches and
being shaken up.
The bus was crowded off the
hard-surfaced road by traffic, it
is reported, and went down a 15
foot embankment, head-first.
The driver hitched a ride to
Raleigh, came back with another
bus and picked the registrants up
and proceeedd with them to the
Raleigh Reoeption Center, the re
port stated.
i
Carl L. Bailey, Jr.
Is Named 'Man oi
Year' Al Meeting
Award Presented by 10th
Jaycee District President;
Rocky Mount Man Makes
Feature Address
Carl L. Bailey, jr., young Plym
outh attorney, was given an award
in recognition of having been
chosen “Young Man of the Year”
for 1954 here at the Plymouth
Junior Chamber of Commerce’s
Distinguished Service Award
Banquet Friday night at the May
flower Restaurant.
The award presentation was
made by Henry C. Stokes, jr., of
Hertford, himself winner of thie
award given by Hertford Jaycees
recently. Mr. Stokes is 10th dis
trict vice president, North Caro
lina Junior Chamber of Com
merce.
D. A. L. Whitehurst, president
of the local Jaycees, served a«
toastmaster. There was near 100
per cent attendance of club mem
bers. Special guests included past
president of the local club; Mayor
A. J. Riddle; and W. H. Booker,
local newspaper editor and pub
lisher.
W. B. “Billy” Harrison, promi
nent Rocky Mount businessman,
past president of the Rocky
Mount Jaycees and N. C. Junior
Chamber, former national Jaycee
airector, and past president of
the North Carolina Young Demo
crats, made the feature address.
Mr. Harrison told the gathering
that young men should form
strong, definite beliei. in the
fields of religion, politics, gov
ernment, family and extra curri
cula activities and show the cour
age of their convictions.
The address and presentation
followed a brief business session.
The Distinguished S e r v ic e
Award goes annually to the man
between the ages of 21 and 35 who
is deemed to -have rendered the
outstanding service to his com
munity in the preceding year. Se
lection was made by a special
committee of local businessmen.
Bailey was born at Roper June
3, 1924. He moved to Plymouth
in November of 1934 and gradu
ated from Plymouth High School
in 1942. After graduating from
high school he entered Wake For
est College in September of 1942.
In March of 1943 he was induct
ed into the army, committed to
thie reserves and permitted to fin
ish his collegiate year.
He was called to active duty in
the autumn of 1943 and served
See BAILEY, PageTi
-t
Special Workshop
Slated Next Week
A physical education workshop
for white teachers who teach
grades one through four is sche
duled to be held in Plymouth
High School gymnasium Tuesday
of next week, County Superin
tendent of Schools R. F. Lowry
announces.
The workshop will be conduct
ed by Miss Helen Stuart, advisor
in physical education for 'the state
Department of Public Instruction,
and is slated to begin, at 3 p. m.
It will be Miss Staurt’s second
visit to the county during the
present school year. Last fall, she
talked to the teachers in the
county and led a demonstration
on physical education activities.
The worshop next Wednesday
will also be held at the high
school gymnasium, but the time
will be 7:30 p. m.
Office Switch Is
Finished Monday
By Local Agencies
Welfare Department Moves
To New Quarters; High
way Patrol, License Ex
aminer Combine
A three-way office switch, in
volving the county welfare de
partment, the highway patrol and
area license examiner offices, was
completed Monday of this week.
The welfare department, prev
iously housed' in offices on the
second floor of the county court
house here, moved to its newly
renovated quarters in the base
ment of the courthouse, while the
offices of the highway patrol and
license examiner were combined
and now occupy the offices vacat
ed by the welfare department ad
joining the courtroom.
The license examiner previous
ly occupied a room in the Munici
pal Building which will now be
used by the police department,
affording it additional and needed
space. The former patrol office in
the basement of the courthouse
is now vacant.
Space on the east side of the
basement corridor has been uti
lized for the new welfare offices
and it is partitioned off into at
tractive office space including re
ception room, offices for welfare
superintendent and case workers,
filing room and' a storage room
for Various donated items such as
clothing, shoes, furniture, kitchen
utensils, etc., to be distributed to
needy families in the county.
Mrs. Ursula Spruill, welfare
superintendent, is particularly
pleased with the new arrange
ment and points out that it will
be better for the aged and in
firm who have business to trans
act at the office, for now there
will be no steps to climb.
Also, Mrs. Spruill pointed out,
under the old arrangement there
was no storage room for donat
ions such as clothing and before
such could be made it was neces
sary,. decide upon recipients of
such'*?*nations and make deliv
eries direct to them.
- . (k
Last Rites Held
For Mrs. Alford
Funeral services were held
Sunday at 2 p. m. from Christian
Hope Church of Christ, near
Plymouth, for Mrs. Eva Mae Al-'
ford, 57, of Plymouth. Officiat
ing was ithe Rev. W. C. Chesson.
Burial was in Jackson Cemetery.
Mrs. Alford died at noon Jan
uary 17 in a Sacramento, Calif.,
hospital. She was a native of
Washington County and had mov
ed from here to California only a
month ago.
She was bom February 22, 1897,
the daughter of the late Mr. and
Mrs. George Allen, of this coun
ty. She was a member of Christ
ian Hope Church and was form
erly a Sunday School teacher
there.
Surviving are two daughters,
Mrs. Hilda McDaniel, of Burling
ton, and Mrs. Emma Browning,
of Plymouth; a son, Albert Ange,
of Sacramento; one brother, Hen
ry Davenport, of Rocky Mount;
and 10 grandchildren.
The remains were left at Hor
ner's Funeral Home here until
one hour prior to the service
Tax Listing Is Two-Thirds
Complete; Four Days Left
OFFICERS OF PLYMOUTH HIGH SCHOOL BAND
— »
i !i
Officers of the Plymouth High School Band for the current
term, elected shortly after school started last fall are pictured
above as follows (left to right): Lynn Magee, secretary and treas
urer; Carol June Windom, vice president; Phil Ange, president;
Mary Eleanor Sanderson and Nyal Womble, reporters.—Polaroid
1-Minute staff photo.
Half of Quota Raised
For March of Dimes
House-lo-House Canvass in
Plymouth Accounts for
$600, With Report Incom
plete, Chairman States
The annual Washington Coun
ty March of Dimes reached the
half-way mark in funds this week
toward the goal of $3,500, County
Chairman! Tho®. F. Hopkins, ol
Plymouth, reported.
Of the amount in hand, Mr,
Hopkins stated, about $600 was
reported from the house-to-house
canvass in Plymouth. That re
ihjpcniv'V-i he aided.
In urging full cooperation oi
everyone toward meeting the
goal set for this county, Mr. Hop
kins pointed out that although
■March of Dimes dollars retained
by the Washington County chap
ter of the National Foundation
for Infantile Paralysis are in
tended for the care of local polk
patients, residents of the count}
a loo -are actually -helping to lick
the dread disease national Iy> b>
preventing it before it strikes.
“Fifty per cent of March oi
Dimes contributions stay righl
here to help mend the lives ol
polio patients in the county,” the
chairman said. “The other 50 pej
cent goes to national headquar
ters to support the vast programs
of polio attack.
“It is estimated that out of the
national 50 per cent, $2,700.00C
will be used on scientific research
in 1955; $2,900,000 on profession
al education, including fellow
ships and scholarships .to train
professional people to fight poiic
more effectively both in the lab
oratory and in the hospital; $6,
000,000 will pay for gamma glo
bulin contracted for in 1954 but
not yet paid for. Gamma globu
lin’s limited protection is import
ant until ia vaccine becomes wide
ly available.
See QUOTA, Page 7
* ‘
I Snow Vanishes j
| Overnight Here |
The county got its fourth
snowfall of the winter when
big, fluffy flakes began failing
thick and fast at around 9 p. m.
Sunday hut rain Which fell
later in the night all but ob
literated any trace of the snow.
Believe it or not, there were a
few people at least who did not
realize Monday that there had
fcci any >=••. ; Sunday night.
Officers of Local
Bank Reelected at
Stockholders Meet
Held in Wilson Last Week;
President Reports Earn
ings Last Year Best in
History of Institution
H. E. Beam was reelected vice
president and cashier of the
Plymouth unit of the Branch
Banking & Trust Company
at the annual stockholders’
meeting of the bank held in Wil
son Tuesday of last week. J. W.
Alien, jr., and Mrs. Blanche G.
Midgette were also reelected as
sistant cashiers. M,r. Beam was
the only member of the local
bank’s personnel to attend the
Wilson meeting.
Members of the present board
of managers of the local branch
were likewise reelected at the
annual meeting. They are E. G.
Arps, H. E. Beam, J. F. Jordan
and E. H. Livermiam, of Plym
See OFFICERS, Page 12
JAYCEE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD MADE FRIDAY NIGHT
I ■ !—— - , ... - ■ W
Carl L. Bailey, jr., (left), is shown above receiving the Plymouth Junior Chamber of Com
merce distinguished service award from Henry C. Stokes, jr., of Hertford, 10th District vice presi
dent of the North Carolina Junior Chamber of Commerce, at the local Jaycees’ meeting here last
Friday night. Others in the photo are W. B. (Billy) Harrison, of Rocky Mount, past state president
and national director of the Jaycees; Marvin F. Weaver, DSA banquet chairman; and Dr. A. L. White
hurst, president of the Plymouth Junior Chamber of Commerce chapter. — Polaroid 1-Minute
staff phqto.
Penally of 10 Per Cent Al
lowed by Law To Be Im
posed for Late Listing,
Tax Supervisor Says
County Tax Supervisor Hu
bert L. Davenport, of Skinners
ville, telephoned a Beacon re
porter late Wednesday to state
that an extra day of grace will
be given persons listing taxes.
Tuesday of next week, and not
Monday, will be the final day.
Mr. Davenport estimated the
job 50 per cent completed in
Lees iM.fl TownsHip, 60 per
cent in Skinnersville and 65 per
cent in Scuppernong.
With Monday of next week the
last diay for listing taxes in this
county, the job appeared Wednes
day to be roughly two-itlhirds
completed, according to infor
mation received here.
Plymouth Township List Taker
Paul Swain reported that through
Tuesday of this week about 1,200
persons had listed. About 600
more were expected to list during
the five listing days remaining
from that time.
Mrs. Wade Adams, Town of
Plymouth lister working in con
junction with Mr. Swain in the
kitchen of the county Agricul
ture Building, said abcut 000 per
sons had listed through business
of Tuesday, with another 500
due to list. About 50 of the re
maining 500 are persons living
out of town but owning property
here, it was estimated.
Listing ait the office here was
termed “fairly steady.” However,
Mr. Swain emphasized that the
office is closed promptly at 12
o’clock noon each day for .the
lunch hour .and that afternoon
closing is at 5 o’clock. Those who
come in to, list should bear this
in mind, he stated.
Bad weather has slowed the
listing progress in other town
ships of the county, it is under
stood, but it is thought thait the
bulk of property owners will get
in under the wire.
Those failing to list within the
prescribed time will be subject
tp ten per cent penalty for late
listing—the penalty imposed by
law. Absolutely no extension of
time will be granted, it has been
pointed out repeatedly.
Work Begun This
Week on Moving
Church Building
Trustees and Pastor of
Church Here Sign Agree
ment With County Board
Of Education
Work was started this week on
the job of moving the building
of the Church, of God in Christ
from its present site on Adams
Street and relocating it one block
away on Madison Street.
H. D. Craddock has the contract
with the county board of educa
tion to move the structure, the
board having secured the lot from
the church to be used as am ad
dition to the playground at the
Plymouth School.
Five trustees and the pastor of
the church signed an agreement
with the board of education re
cently to allow the Church to be
moved to a new lot secured by
the board for that purpose. The
signing followed a long period of
negotiations between the board
and officials of the church.
Signing the agreement with the
board were the Rev. J. S. Spruill
and the following trustees: Clen
to n Blount, Noah S obles, Sole
mon Downing, Elmer Cooper and
Samuel Roberson.
During the past year the board
of education has acquired 11 lots
which have been added to the
Plymouth School campus for use
as an adidtional playground area,
Superintendent of Schools R. F.
Lowry said. Much of the former
playground space was taken for
construction of the additions to
the school plant sometime ago.
Members of the board! of educa
tion are L. E. Hassell, chairman,
and J. Whitford Swain, both of
Roper; P. B. Belongs, Creswell;
and Mrs. K. S. Trowbridge and
J. W. Norman, both of Plymouth.
-«.
Roper Parenls-Teachers
To Meet Tuesday Nighi
The Roper Parent-Teachers As
sociation will meet Tuesday night
of next week, February 1, in the
school auditorium, it was an
nounced yesterday. The meeting
will begin ait 7:30 p. m. and every
one is cordially invited and urged
to attend.