1'own
opics
»--^a
A Williamston youngster suffer
ed a cut foot at Albemarle Beach
Sunday. John Benny Whitley, son
of Mr. and Mrs. John Whitley, is
said to have stepped on a piece of
glass and opened a cut requiring
four sutures. He was treated in a
Williamston hospital and released.
J. T. McNair, veteran Plymouth
Justice of the Peace, performed his
186th marriage ceremony Tuesday
of this week at his home on W'est
Third Street. Mr. McNair united in
marriage Donald Craddock, son of
Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Craddock of
Roper, and Ruby Anderson, daugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles An
derson of Plymouth. Mr. McNair
expressed the hope to reach the
200-mark before he calls it quits.
Roy Chauncey of Glendale, Cali
fornia, was a visitor to The Beacon
office Wednesday. Mr. Chauncey
is a native of New Bern but has
been making his home in Califor
nia for many years. He and his mo
ther, Mrs. Eva Pierce of Windsor,
are spending a few days with Mr.
Chauncey’s aunt, Mrs. J. T. McNair,
on West Third Street here.
Three Plymouth Boy Scouts will
be advanced to Second Class Scout
at a Court of Honor to be held Sat
urday, it is announced. The event
is scheduled for 7:30 p. m. and will
be held at Plymouth Presbyterian
Church. Scouts to be advanced in
clude Frank Lowry, Joe Early and
Charles Walker.
Dr. and Mrs. A. L. Whitehurst of
Plymouth plan to attend the east
ern district meeting of the North
Carolina Chiropractors Association
to be held at Morehead City Wed
nesday of next week. The meeting
will be held in the offices of Dr.
R. 0. Baraum.
A number of Jaycees from Plym
outh are making plans to attend
the district Junior Chamber of
Commerce meeting in Ahoskie
Wednesday of next week. Among
those from here who plan to go to
Ahoskie are Carl L. Bailey, jr.,
Ralph Hunter, Billy Blackburn,
Jack House, jr., Glen Jones, Rob
ert Darden Swain, Ralph Basnight,
John Outten, Warren Oliver, Andy
Wood. Walt Furlong, Charles Wal
ker, Bill McCombs and Walton
Swain.
Warren Waters, aged Jamesville
man who is the grandfather of Mrs.
W. B. Cherry of Plymouth, was
transferred Tuesday from Wash
ington County Hospital to a Green
ville hospital. Mr. Waters suffered
third degree bums on hip and legs
in a freak accident Saturday after
noon at Jamesville. According to
reports the man was standing near
a tractor where Jake Downs was
cleaning parts when a live wire
came in contact with the battery
and ignited the can of cleaning
fluid. Mr. Waters was rushed to
^the hospital here. Sunday morning
he fell from his bed and fractured
his hip, it is reported. His condit
ion remains poor, it was said.
E. E. Harrell, of the Plymouth
Furniture Company, returned home
last Thursday after spending the
first of the week at the furniture
market in High Point. The 10-day
summer market, which started
July 9 and continues through to
day, had exhibits by almost 400
manufacturers in the 14-story
Southern Furniture Exposition
Building in High Point.
-<i>
Eight From Here
At Legion Meet!
Next to the Windsor post which 1
was host, Plymouth had the largest 1
— delegation at the American Legion 1
» district meeting Tuesday night.
The meeting was held at the 1
Veterans Club near Windsor with '
four of the seven district posts *
represented. These were William- <
ston, Hamilton, Plymouth and 1
Windsor. Creswell, Columbia and j
Robersonville posts were not repre
sented. t
Matters pertaining to the several 1
posts such as membership and serv- 1
ice officers were discussed at the 1
business session.
A fried chicken supper was t
served by the Windsor post. i
Members of the James E. Jethro 1
Post here who attended the dis- t
trict meeting were Commander P. r
W. Brown, Sam Carpenter, R. L.
Tetterton, Ronald Waters, Hubert I
Ange, J. B. McNair, B. G. Campbell a
and Jim Porter. 1 i
The Roanoke Beacon
****** and Washington County News ******
A home newspaper dedicated jjj
jjj to the service of Washington jjj
County and its 13,000 people.
I—— —.
VOLUME LXVII—NUMBER 29 Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina. Thursday, July 19, 1956 ESTABLISHED 1889
FIRST BRICK:
Construction work was started recently on the new
Sunday school annex for Ludford Memorial Baptist
Church here. In the photo above, the Rev. Paul B.
Nickens, pastor, lays the first brick under the supervision of Contractor P. E. Ambrose (left) of the
Ambrose Construction Company of Creswell. The new building, on a lot adjoining the present church
property fronting on Washington Street, will be 50 by 110 feet overall, two stories high, and will be
constructed of cement block faced with brick. It is hoped the structure will be ready for use around
Thanksgiving.—Staff photo.
Disaster Plans Made
By County Red Cross
Pepper Prices
Headed Upward
Pepper prices, which reached
a low of 90 cents a bushel to the
grower Friday, climbed to a dol
lar a bushel this week, it is re
ported.
Rains the first of the week
held receipts down on the Plym
outh Produce Auction Market,
Manager W. T. Freeman said.
However, receipts were running
about 1,000 bushels a day by
Wednesday, it was said, and
more volume is looked for Fri
day and Saturday of this week.
Local Church Has
Good Report for
Meeting of Synod
Plymouth Presbyterians fai
Surpass Quota for Build
ing of New College a:
Laurinburg
James L. Rea and the Rev
itobert L. Combs represented
Plymouth Presbyterian Church al
he Synod of North Carolina, Pres
jyterian Church in the United
states. The Synod met for its 143rd
,ession at Flora Macdonald Col
ege, Red Springs, July 17-19.
The Plymouth church reported
o the N. C. Synod a very success
ul year with an increase of 28
nembers since the last Synod
neeting and a church schooi or
[anized with an enrollment peak
if 53.
The church was happy to report
hat it exceeded the quota assign
d by the Christian Higher Educa
ion Committee to build the new
Consolidated Presbyterian College
t Laurinburg. The church raised
ive times the amount of its quota,
'he representatives also reported
hat the Plymouth church’s first
milding program has been com
ileted with total property valued
t $30,000.
The Synod reported that Presby
erians were continuing to grow at
rapid pace. Rate of growth for
’resbyterians was almost as fast
s the largest Protestant denomi
ation in North Carolina
Albemarle Presbytery, of which
’lymouth church is a member,
gain led the Presbyteries of the
ynod in growth percentage-wise.
r#
Ask Bids on Test Piles
For Alligator Bridge
In a letting scheduled for July
31, the State Highway Commission
this week advertised for bids for
driving test piling on the proposed
bridge across Alligator River on
US 64 between Sandy Point and
East Lake. The work was said to
be a part of the preliminary sur
vey to determine how long the
piles must be and the approximate
cost of the bridge.
The commission will meet with
Highway Chairman A. H. Graham
a
J
li
c
u
t
P
b
n
a
ti
l
ii
nd Chief Engineer W. H. Rogers,
on Thursday, August 2, in Ra
;igh to canvass the low bids re
lived.
While this letting will not act
ally commit the state to construc
on of the long-awaited bridge,
eople in this section who have
een fighting for the bridge for
lany years feel encouraged by the
:tion this week. At the persent
me the state is operating free
srries across the river where it
proposed to build the bridge.
»
Meeting Held Here Monday
Night To Make Prepara
tions for Coining Hurri
cane Season
-f —
About 2C prominent citizens from
all parts of the county attended
the Disaster Preparedness meeting
here Monday night.
The meeting was held in the
auditorium of the Agriculture
Building and was presided over by
A. L. Whitehurst, county Red Cross
chapter chairman.
Miss Eleanor Ramsey, from the
Atlanta, Ga., field office, repre
sented the American Red Cross
Disaster Service. Miss Jewel
Graves, Red Cross field representa
tive from New Bern, also attended
the meeting.
Purpose of the meeting was to
set up a program for the county
in anticipation of the approaching
hurricane season. This program
would include such vital matters
as communications, food, shelter
and clothing.
A series of articles designed to
publicize steps which can be taken
by individuals to insure greater
safety in the home in time of hurri
canes will be released for publica
tion by the Plymouth Junior Cham
ber of Commerce, it was agreed.
Roy F. Lowry of Plymouth, was
elected county disaster chairman
and E. E. Harrell, also of Plym
outh, was named vice chairman.
Aubrey Dixon was elected chair
man for the Roper area and Jack
Leary was named as vice chairman
there. The Creswell area will have
A. K. Spencer as chairman and
Mrs. Gladys Davenport as vice
chairman.
Plans for the coming season
were thoroughly discussed. Every
effort will be made, it was said,
to secure adequate advance pre
paration so that the county will
not be caught flat-footed in case
of hurricanes such as those which
hit this section during the past
two seasons.
The several area chairmen and
the county chairman met at 10
a. m. Wednesday in the county
superintendent of schools’ office
to set up the program, including
designation of shelters, emergency
first aid, etc.
-<*
Chesson Sworn In
On Welfare Board
James A. Chesson of Roper was
sworn in Tuesday night as a mem
ber of the Washington County Wel
fare Board. The oath was admin
istered by W. Ronald Gaylord,
county recorder, during a routine
meeting of the board here.
Mr. Chesson was recently ap
pointed to a three-year term on the
board by the county commissioners.
He succeeds R. C. Peacock of
Roper whose six-year term has ex
pired.
Other members of the board are
Mrs. H. C. Carter of Plymouth,
chairman, and Mrs. Clyde Smithson
of Creswell. Mrs. Carter was ap
pointed by the State Board of Pub
lic Welfare and Mrs. Smithson was
named by the other two board
members. This is-procedure, it was
explained—the chairman is named
by the state board, one member by
the county board of commission
ers and the remaining member
named by the other two members
of tbe welfare board.
Action Expected
On Applications
Acreage Reserve
praises Yield Preparatory
To Passing on Nine Soil
Bank Forms
Action is expected Friday of this
week on 9 Soil Bank applications
I which have been filed in this coun
ty, Miss Miriam Ausbon, county
ASC office manager, stated late
Wednesday.
Miss Ausbon said that applica
tions include five for corn, two for
tobacco and two for cotton. Name*
of growers will be released follow
ing approval of application, it was
said.
The county committee was in the
field Wednesday to appraise yields
of the crops on which application
has been filed, it was said.
Friday is the deadline for farm
ers to sign agreement forms to
place tobacco, wheat, cotton or
corn under the acreage reserve
phase of the Soil Bank Act, it was
stated.
The deadline for destroying to
bacco and wheat in order to par
ticipate in the acreage reserve
benefits is already past; date was
July 15. Other deadlines for de
stroying crops are Friday of this
week for corn and Tuesday of next
week for cotton.
A farmer’s Soil Bank corn base
acreage, it was explained, replaces
his corn acreage allotment which
he received last spring in advance
of planting. The allotment was de
termined on the basis of the na
tional corn allotment of approxi
mately 43,000,000 acres. In enact
ing the 1956 Soil Bank legislation,
however, Congress replaced the
1956 allotment with a nationwide!
base acreage of 51,000,000 acres, |
about 17 per cent above the former |
allotment.
This national base acreage has
now been broken down to individ
ual farms and forms the basis of
the farmer's participation in the
1956 acreage reserve program for
corn.
To earn acreage reserve pay
ments, the farmer places in reserve
specified acres of his corn base
and agrees not to harvest corn or
^sodi^SiT^iar
+
Commitiee Ap
Collections on 1956
Taxes Total More
Than $60,000 Here
-*
Many Taxpayers Taking
Advaniage of Discounts
For Early Payments of
Town and County Taxes
Approximately $62,000 in 1956
taxes have already been collected
by the Town of Plymouth and
Washington County, it was learned
Tiiesday of this week.
The early payments were made
in order to take advantage of the
discount for pre-payments.
E. J. Spruill, county auditor and
tax collector, said about $32,000
had been received by the county
on 1956 taxes up to Tuesday. The
county allows a discount of 2 per
cent for 1956 taxes paid during the
months of June and July.
W. A. Roebuck, town clerk, said
about $30,000 or roughly one-third
had been collected so far on 1956
taxes. The town uses the regular
state schedule of discounts, which
calls for lj per cent for payments
made during the month of July.
The number of taxpayers who
have prepaid their accounts runs
into the hundreds, Mr. Spruill stat
ed. He said there was a time when
he could count on his fingers the
taxpayers (almost solely corpora
tions and mortgage companies)
who paid in advance, but now many
individuals follow the practice and
earn the discount.
Mr. Roebuck said the bulk of
prepaid taxes with the town is still
from large corporations and the
mortgage companies that pay taxes
on much of the property on which
they hold papers.
When taxes are paid before the
receipts are made out, the amounts
are based on last year’s valuations
and rates. Then when the books
are completed later, any discrepan
cies are charged or credited, as the
case may be, according to the tax
collectors.
Incidentally, the size of prepay
ment collections is a pretty good
gauge of economic conditions. Last
year at this time about $60,000
had een collected by town V
couiuy governments.
-<s>
Plymouth School
Has Six Vacancies
-®
Miss Ethel Poe Mercer, of Wash
ington, who taught a third grade
section in the Plymouth schools
last term, has tendered her resig
nation, it was announced this week
by County Superintendent Roy F.
Lowry. It is understood that Miss
Mercer has accepted a teaching po
sition in Florida for the coming
school year.
This brings the number of teach
ing vacancies in the Plymouth
schools to six, Mr. Lowry stated.
Miss Mercer was to teach a fourth
grade section this year, so the new
vacancy exists there. Other vacan
cies include one third grade teach
er, one seventh grade teacher, one
eighth grade teacher, a high school
science teacher and a high school
English-math teacher.
One reason for the larger num
ber of vacancies in the local school
is that three additional teachers
were earned here last season.
Other vacancies were caused by
resignations.
Hospital Gives Party
For Negro Employees
-*
About 23 persons attended a
party given by the Washington
County Hospital for its colored em
ployees Monday night at the home
of Sam Halsey on Madison Street.
Hamburgers, hot dogs, canta
loupes and marshmallows were en
loyed by the group.
VISITOR:
A 1947 Mercury, owned and driven
by Phillip McNair, jr., left the
Mackeys highway on a slight curve
near Westover Farm Sunday morning about 9:30 and plowed into
the side of a house occupied by the Jerry Lucas family. No one was
at home at the time and the driver escaped uninjured, but consider
able damage was done to both the car and the house. McNair said
the steering gear locked. All the brake fluid was lost when the left
front wheel snapped off, and the car ran down the side of the high
way about 100 feet before ramming into the house. "Frisco,” the
Lucas family dog, had crawled into the shade of the wrecked car
and gone to sleep by the time Highway Patrolman L. N. Walters
(right), who investigated the accident, and the photographer arrived.
—Staff photo.
County Legislators Favor
Changes in School Laws
TO RALEIGH:
I)r. J. M. Phelps of
Oeswell (left), Wash
ington County Repre
sentative, and Edward L. Owens of Plymouth, one of the two state
senators from the Second Senatorial District, will go to Raleigh
over the week-end to attend the special session of the North Carolina
General Assembly, which convenes next Monday at noon. It is ex
pected that the session will deal only with legislation designed to
maintain segregated schools in the state and that it will complete
its work in about 10 days.
Plenty Polio Vaccine
Available in County
Mass Free Anti-Polio Clinics
To Start Next Monday
Throughout State; Salk
Shots Available Here
A dispatch from Greensboro
Monday stated that a statewide
emergency has been declared in
North Carolina in an effort to get
more people to take Salk anti-polio
shots.
Local health department officials
say they have received no notifi
catj " of such but are in hearty
Miss Elizabeth Wood, county
health nurse, reminds that plenty
of vaccine is on hand here and
that persons from six months of
age through 19 years can avail
themselves of the Salk shots.
The North Carolina Medical So
ciety’s polio vaccine committee
states that North Carolina ranks
next to last among the states in
the number of eligible persons im
munized against polio.
Dr. Donald Koonce of Wilming
ton who is president of the society
said that 1,935,000 North Carolin
ians are eligible to receive the
shots but that only one third of
that number have done so.
At the local health department
it was said that few eligible per
sons are taking advantage of the
opportunity to obtain the shots.
Officials are anxious for all eligi
ble persons to understand that the
shots are available.
Booster shots arc given to eligi
ble persons who have had their
second Salk shot at least seven
months ago. No other booster shots
will be necessary later so far as
local health department officials
have been informed, it was said
yesterday.
Shots will be given Tuesday and
Thursday afternoons of each week
at the health department on Wash
ington Street, between the hours of
1 and 4:30, Miss Wood stated.
-♦
Little Addresses
Farm Bureau Here
William Little, state Farm Bu
reau field representative, present
ed some pertinent information on
Ihe current farm situation at a
meeting of the Washington County
Farm Bureau here Friday night.
Mr. Little also congratulated the
;ounty unit on reaching its mem
bership quota for the first time in
several years.
T. It. Spruill, publicity chairman,
brought out some interesting facts
bn the export trade.
The meeting was held in the
suditorium of the Agriculture
building and was presided over by
1. L. Rea, sr., president of the
:ounty unit.
-®
Members of Troop 284
Off To Camp Croalan
Eight members of Boy Scout
rroop No. 284 will leave Sunday for
1 week at Camp Croatan, near
Nfew Bern, it is announced.
The group will return home the
'ollowing Saturday. Boys who will
make the trip were listed as Joe
Early, Larry Browning, Joe Foster,
Richard Furlough, Richard Kelley,
\ubrey Ashy, Charles Walker and
Jene Waters.
Jerry Ashwill, scout field execu
te for the East Carolina Council,
Wilson, will serve as a councilor :
at the camp.
Hog Cholera Is
Reported Here
Cholera has been reported
among swine herds in the county.
Veterinarian Bill Kinsey of
Washington was in the county
this week and diagnosed the
trouble as cholera in the herd
of Charlie Roberson, near Plym
outh.
Growers who have not had
ti.eir h 'accinated against the
disease are urged to do so. Assist
ant County Agent Joe Outlaw
points out that to wait until hogs
have the disease is too late.
Seven County 4-H
Club Members To
Attend Club Week
-♦
Annual Event at Slate Col
lege Starts Monday and
Continues Through Fri
day, Announced
-*
Seven county 4-H Club member!
and their advisors, Mrs. France.'
M. Darden, home agent, and Joe
Outlaw, assistant county agent
plan to attend the annual 4-H Club
Week at State College, Raleigh,
next week.
The event will continue from
Monday through Friday and the lo
cal group plans to return home
Saturday, July 28.
The county clubs will be repre
sented by five girls and two boys.
Five members of the Plymouth
Club and two from the Roper Club
will attend.
Plymouth members include Lar
ry Hopkins and Henry Turner,
Helen Manning, Rachel Peele and
Mary Margaret Atamanchuk.
Roper Club members who will
make the trip are Diane Spruill
and Emily Mizelle.
Larry Hopkins and Rachel Peele
will represent the county as health
king and queen, respectively, while
Helen Manning will serve as an
usher.
Diane Spruill will enter the
State Dress Revue.
Due to conflicting plans, one of
the members of the county team
(See TlT1viEET\~Page^l2) I
T*
Senator Edward L. Owens
And Representative J. M
Phelps To Attend Special
Session Starling Monday
Two Washington County legisla
tors will leave for Raleigh over the
week-end to attend a special ses
sion of the State General Assem
bly beginning Monday at noon.
They are Edward L. Owens of
Plymouth, one of the two state
senators from the second senator
ial district, and Dr. J. M. Phelps of
Creswell, Washington County Rep
resentative. Both plan to leave
Sunday or early Monday morning
and will have their headquarters
at the Sir Walter Hotel.
The special session was called
several weeks ago by Governor
Luther Hodges, and it is expected
that matters to be considered will
be limited to legislation designed
to maintain the present system of
segregated schools in North Caro
lina. Both Senator Owens and
Representative Phelps said Tues
day they did not think the special
session would last more than' 10
days.
Both the county legislators are in
favor of the state administration’s
program, which is embodied in
eight proposed bills, five of which
in tentative form were released to
the public last week Governor
Hodges has given a brief explana
tion of the three others. Senator
Owens and Representative Phelps
attended a briefing session on the
proposed legislation at Rocky
Mount Monday of last week, when
Governor Hodges and other admin
istration officials explained the
purpose and need for the special
bills.
The eight bills to be considered
by the General Assembly are based
on recommendations made earlier
this year by the State Advisory
Committee on Education, headed
by Thomas J. Pearsall of Rocky
Mount. People of the state will
have an opportunity to vote on the
proposed measures, as their fate
depends upon a constitutional
amendment to be submitted at a
special general election, probably
on Saturday, September 8.
The constitutional amendment to
be submitted to the voters would
authorize tuition grants from pub
lic funds for education in private
schools, and would also empower
local school units, by majority
vote, to suspend their schools ii
integration occurs. Tuition grants,
based on per pupil costs during
the past school year, would amount
to about $135 per student, it is
stated. Local administrative units
could make an additional grant
from local funds if available.
No plans have been announced
for setting up any system of private
See LEGISLATIORS, Page 12
-®
Critically Hurt
In Crash Today
-t
An Edenton Marine who was
admitted to the Washington Coun
ty Hospital at 1 a.m. today (Thurs
day), following a highway accident
near the “Y”, was on the critical
list this morning.
Dr. Claudius McGowan, attend
ing physician, stated at 9:15 this
morning that the man, Hector
Quesnel, was still unconscious. He
suffered a lacerated chin, requiring
six stitches to close, laceration of
the left forearm requiring two
stitches, and serious internal in
juries.
Quesnel reportedly was travel
ing alone when his car apparently
went out of control and struck a
pine tree near Oak Grove Church
on US 64 in the Skinnersville sec
tion.
It is understood that the inves
tigating officer was State Highway
Patrolman L. N. (Red) Walters,
of Columbia, and details were not
available this morning.
Heat Eases Off Some
In County Past Week
The hot weather eased off a bit
iuring the past week.
On the first 10 days of July the
nercury was in the 90’s seven
imes, but during a seven-day per
od from Wednesday of last week
hrough Tuesday of this week the
)0-degree mark was not reached
>nce. However, the high reading
it the weather station near here
vas 85 degrees on six of the seven
lays.
The air was cleared Tuesday by
i downpour which added up to
letter than an inch and a half of
-ain. The exact figure at the station
lear Plymouth was 1.57 and there
was .03 of an inch precipitation
last Wednesday to go with it. Add
ed to the 3.96 inches on the first
10 days of the month the total
stood Wednesday at 5.56 inches.
Tobacco, which before the first
pulling was burning up in the field,
has been retarded in ripening by
the recent rains, some growers re
port.
The list of high and low temper
ature readings at the weather sta
tion from Wednesday of last week
through Tuesday of this week are
as follows:
11th—86, 65; 12th—88, 57; 13th
—89, 64; 14th—89, 75; 15th—87,
68; 16th—87, 67; 17th—83, 66.