T'own
opics
Patrons are requested to take
note that the office of the area
license examiner, located on the
second floor of the Washington
County Courthouse, will be closed
all day Monday of next week in ob
servance of Labor Day.
It isn’t every day that one hears
talk of father and son celebrating
birthdays together, and when it
comes to include father and two
sons then it is really getting rare.
Miss Statha Spruill, of Roper, en
tertained her brother, J. N. Spruill,
and two nephews, Nathan Spruill
and James Leary Spruill at the J.
N. Spruill residence Wednesday of
last week with a wiener roast. The
occasion was James Leary Spruill’s
fifth birthday and since his bro
ther, Nathan, and his father, J. N.,
became eight and 31 years of age,
respectively, the very next day, it
•was a triple-header, so to speak. A
number of relatives and friends of
the three enjoyed the event to
gether.
Washington County ABC stores
will get two holidays next week.
They start off the week on Mon
day by closing for Labor Day and
then end it up on Saturday, when
they will be closed on account of
the special general election.
Among persons from this county
who attended the ASC soil bank
meeting at Roanoke Country Club
near Williamston Wednesday of
this week were ASC county office
manager Miriam Ausbon, ACP
clerk Phyllis Gauthier, Soil Conser
'jjponist Henry J. Bragg, J. L.
Outlaw, assistant county agent, and
Joe Snell, chairman of the county
ASC committee, all of Plymouth.
The meeting was conducted by
state ASC officials and attended
by representatives from 30 eastern
counties, as reported elsewhere in
this paper.
Dr. Alan S. Hurlburt, well-known
educater who joins the Duke Uni-1
versity faculty September 1, will be
the principal speaker at the regu
lar meeting of Plymouth Rotary
Club Tuesday evening of next
week, it has been announced. Dr.
Hurlburt will be remembered here
as a former faculty member at East
Carolina College, Greenville, who
served on a survey panel which
visited this county in the interest
of determining needs in improving
the county school facilities some
years ago.
The regular monthly meeting of
the Plymouth City Council will not
be held next week. The meeting is
now scheduled for Monday night,
September 10, at 8 p. m., City Clerk
W. A. (Bill) Roebuck stated Wed
nesday. Since Monday is a legal
holiday it was decided to postpone
the meeting date for one week,
Roebuck explained.
-®
Second Round of
Free Clinics To
Start on Friday
Free Public Vaccine Clinic
To Be Held at Roper Com
munity Building Tomor
row From 1 to 3 P. M.
The second round of free public
Salk anti-polio vaccine clinics is
slated in this county Friday of this
week and Tuesday of next.
Clinic schedules include Roper
Community Building Friday of this
week;
Health Department, Washington
Street, Plymouth, and Creswell
-High School Tuesday of next week.
Hours at each place will be from
1 to 3 p. m., it was said.
Washington County doctors vac
cinated 230 children during the
first round clinics, it was reported
last week.
Vaccinations also continued at
doctors’ offices at a good rate, ac
cording to Dr. E. W. Furgurson,
chairman of the county’s polio clin
ic vaccine committee.
Cooperation of the public is
urged as determined efforts are
made here to guard against any
possible outbreak of the dread
poliomyelitis. Two injections of
vaccine, two weeks apart, give pro
tection against , a. alytic polio, it
has been explained.
The Roanoke Beacon
****** and Washington County News ******
5: Hi
A home newspaper dedicated
to the service of Washington iij
Sjl , County and its 13,000 people, jjj
VOLUME LXVII—NUMBER 35
Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina, Thursday, August 30, 1956
ESTABLISHED 1889
m This scene is typical of many
1 || 11 % , % , ^ W- taking place throughout the to
bacco-growing section at this
time. Mr. and Mrs. Clyde C. Chesson are taking cured tobacco from
their packhouse and preparing to have it graded for market. On
his farm in the Pines section, near Plymouth, Mr. Chesson has 11.5
acres of tobacco, planting the Coker 139 variety. He had already
sold six barns when this photo was made recently, three on the
Georgia markets and three on the border markets. While some of
it didn’t sell too well, he had an average of 55 cents per pound for
the last three barns sold on the border markets. Markets in this
belt opend last week, and farmers throughout the county are kept
busy with the crop at this time, harvesting and preparing the leaf for
selling.—Staff photo.
Disaster Group Lists
By County Red Cross
I Lunchroom To j
{ Open Sept. 5th j
■••■■■■■■■■■■■■a annaannaanan> #»•
\
Students at Plymouth High
School will have the opportunity
to get a hot lunch the opening
day and every school day there
after during the school year.
The school lunchroom will be
open next Wednesday, it was an
nounced by J. S. Fleming, prin
cipal at the school, just as it was
opening day of the 1955-56 school
year.
Dr. Hurlburl To
Address Teachers
MeeiingsTuesday
Duke University Faculty
Member Will Speak at
Plymouth in Morning and
Roper That Afternoon
Dr. A. S. Hurlburt, assistant state
superintendent who is to begin his
duties at Duke University Septem
ber 1, will address teachers’ meet
ing in this county Tuesday of next
week.
Dr. Hurlburt, formerly on the
faculty at East Carolina College,
Greenville, will be the principal
speaker at the meeting of white
teachers held at Plymouth High
School Tuesday morning and also
at the meeting of Negro teachers
that afternoon at Washington
County Union School.
The Plymouth meeting will open
at 10 o’clock, while the meeting
at Washington County Union
School, Roper, is slated for 2 p. m.
The announcement was made by
R. F. Lowry, county superintend
ent of schools. In his statement to
the teachers Mr. Lowry said:
“As usual, let me remind you
that your job is a momentous one.
SeeHMEE TINgT" Page5 ~
Stores Divided Over
Wednesday Closing
Plymouth merchants are divid
ed over continuing the Wednesday
half-holidays through the month of
September, it was learned in a sur
vey yesterday. After several stores
announced this week that they
would be open on Wednesday
afternoons, starting next week,
others announced they would con
tinue closing as they did last year
until October.
R. L. Hollowell, manager of
Belk-Tyler’s, said yesterday his
store would start remaining open
Wednesday afternoons next week.
Several others have decioed to do
likewise, it was indicated, although
many said they would go along with
whatever the majority did.
Most of the uptown grocery
stores will continue closing Wed
nesday afternoons. Jewelry stores
also will continue closing, it was
said. Clothing stores generally were
waiting to find out what the ma
jority wanted to do, as also were
the 5-and-10 stores. The same was
true in the auto supply and furni
ture field, with some indicating
they wanted to close and others
favoring remaining open.
County Disaster Chairman
Releases List of 11 Shel
ters, Managers and Food
Chairriien of Each
A listing of the completed or
ganization was released this weelc
by Washington County Disaster
Chairman R. F. Lowry of Plym
outh.
The Disaster organization in
cludes three local disaster chair
men for Plymouth, Roper and Cres
well, 11 disaster shelters in var
ious parts of the county, and man
agers and food chairmen for each.
Purpose of the set-up is advance
preparation to meet emergencies
such as the hurricanes that struck
the county and section in the past
two years.
The Washington County Disas
ter Organization is sponsored by
the county chapter of the Ameri
can Red Cross of which Dr. A. L.
Whitehurst of Plymouth is chapter
chairman.
Plans for the organization were
laid at a special meeting of about
a score of prominent county citi
zens held Monday night, July 16 of
this year, at Plymouth.
At that time it was said that the
purpose was to set up a program
for the county in anticipation of
me approacning nurncane season.
This program was to include such
vital matters as communications,
food, shelter and clothing.
Mr. Lowry, county superintend
ent of schools and a tireless civic
worker, was elected at that time
as county disaster chairman, and
E. E. Harrell, Plymouth business
man who is active in a number of
organizations, was named assistant
chairman.
Local disaster chairmen named
include Mr. Harrell for Plymouth;
Aubrey Dixon, Roper; A. K. Spen
cer, Creswell.
Disaster shelters, managers and
food chairmen of each, are listed
as follows:
"^See^ED^ROsiTPage^
-$
Opening Program
For School Here
Plymouth High School will
operate on the regular schedule
from the very start, Principal J. S.
Fleming stated this morning.
The school, along with all others
in Washington County, will open
for the 1956-57 school year Wed
nesday of next week. Plans for the
opening are complete and the
faculty was completed Tuesday of
this week, it was said.
Since Wednesday is the regular
day for auditorium period accord
ing to the schedule at the local
school, Mr. Fleming said an open
ing program has been arranged to
which the public is invited.
The program will include the
usual songs, invocation, and brief
remarks by school officials. The
feature will be a talk by the Rev.
Paul B. Nickens, minister of Lud
ford Memorial Baptist Church here.
Local Man Burned
By Lightning Bolt
Sunday Afternoon
Luther Nobles and C. W.
Burnham Have Narrow
Escape While on Fishing
Trip Up Chowan River
M. L. Nobles, proprietor of the
Mayflower Restaurant here, was
painfully burned and severely
shocked by lighting Sunday after
noon, while on a fishing trip on
Chowan River. His companion, C.
W. Burnham, local insurance man,
was knocked several feet by the
bolt, which also killed a small dog
owned by Mr. Burnham.
The two men put their boat in |
at Edenhouse Beach and started
upriver, going about two miles be
fore deciding to seek shelter from
the approaching storm. They went
into a three-sided fishing shed and
were sitting on empty kegs, with
the dog between them, when the
bolt struck a pine tree and glanced
inside the shack, instantly killing
the dog and knocking the men
around.
Mr. Nobles was severely burned
on his back and on one hand and
paralyzed from the waist down. Mr.
Burnham was shocked but less ser
iously hurt and managed to carry
and drag Mr. Nobles to a nearby
farmhouse. An ambulance was se
cured and Mr. Nobles was taken
to the hospital at Windsor, where
he remained for se\eral hours be
fore returning home later that
evening. The incident occurred
about 2:30 p. m.
Mr. Burnham was wearing shoes
with heavy crepe rubber soles, and
Mr. Nobles was sitting on an old
inner tube on the keg when they
were struck| Except for these fac
tors both believe they might have
been more seriously hurt.
-»
Farming Leaders
From County at
Martin Meeting
Conservation and Acreage
Reserve Phases of New
Soil Bank Regulations
Discussed
Washington County agricultural
leaders were among those from 30
eastern counties at a meeting Wed
nesday of this week at Roanpke
Country Club, Williamston, to dis
cuss conservation and acreage re
serve phases of the soil bank pro
gram.
Agricultural Stabilization Con
servation officials from the state
office at Raleigh met with the
group for the all-day conference.
State ASC officials discussed
new regulations for administering
the program for 1957, new instruc
tions having recently been received
from national headquarters at
Washington, D. C.
More than 200 persons were on
hand to consider plans for advan
cing the new program, reports
stated.
The group included county
agents, soil conservation technic
ians, foresters, chairmen of the
boards of soil conservation super
visors from the district, county
ASC committeemen and chairmen,
and others interested in the pro
gram.
Counties other than Washington
represented at the meeting includ
ed Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Car
teret, Chowan, Craven, Currituck,
Dare, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gates,
Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Jones, Le
noir, Martin, Nash, Northampton,
Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Per
quimans, Pitt, Tyrrell, Vance, War
ren and Wilson.
-»
Marine To Face
Assault Charge
Sheriff J. K. Reid stated Wed
nesday that an Edenton Marine
named Newton will be tried in
Washington County Recorder’s
Court here next Tuesday for ag
gravated assault.
Newton, the sheriff stated, is
charged with striking Frank Dew,
jr., of Plymouth Monday night at
Albemarle Beach. The assault is
said to have been unprovoked and
Reid said he could uncover no mo
tive for the attack.
The sheriff related that a pre
school party for teen-agers was be
ing held at the resort between
Plymouth and Mackeys and that
Dew, 16-year-old son of Mr. and
Mrs. Frank Dew, was in the group.
At about 10 p. m. the Marine
strode up to Dew, it was said, and
struck him on the mouth with his
fist, knocking out four of the
youth’s front teeth.
The sheriff said young Dew did
not know the Marine and claimed
he had never seen the man before.
County Schools To Begin
New Term September 5th
Last Teacher Vacancy Is
Filled Tuesday of This
Week; Expect Total En
rollment of About 3,400
School bells will ring again Wed
nesday of next week for some 3400
students in the white and colored
schools of Washington County.
All county faculties were com
plete for the opening with the ad
dition of several new teachers at
the Plymouth White Schools with
in the last few days to fill the on
ly remaining vacancies at that time.
The last vacancy was filled Tues
day of this week, County Superin
tendent Lowry said.
A complete roster of faculty
members at the several schools
in the county system was released
today by the county superitendent’s
office, showing that 16 persons who
did not teach in schools of this
county last year have become fac
ulty members for the 1956-57
school year. New teachers in this
category include five at Plymouth
High School, four of them elemen
tary teachers and one in the high
school department. They are Dal
ton L. Finch, jr., of Roanoke
Rapids, who will teach English and
Math in the high school, and Mrs.
Vernelle Beasley, Mrs. Mildred
Martin of Jamesville, Miss Ila Bul
lock of Rocky Mount, Mrs. Mary
Cotten Davenport of Plymouth,
all elementary teachers. Another
new addition to the elementary
faculty here is T. C. Martus, who
is well-known in the county, having
taught for the past several years
at Roper.
Other newcomers to the county
schools this year include at Roper:
Mrs. Geneva H. Buekels of Kissi
mee, Fla., elementary department;
at Creswell, Mrs. Grace S. Cox,
Thomasville, and Miss Pauline
Moore, Bath, in the high school,
and Mrs. Doris M. Nichols, Mrs.
Lillian B. Fisher, both of Colum
bia, and Mrs. Annie S. Davenport,
Mackeys, all elementary; at Plym
outh Colored School, the only new
on to the county system 'his
>ear is Miss Dorothy Holman of
Burlington; also at Creswell Color
ed there is one teacher who did
not teach in the county last year.
She is Mrs. Edith H. Battle of Nor
folk, Va. The remaining three of
the 15 newcomers will teach at
Washington County Union School,
Roper. They are Miss Margaret L.
Thomas of Grantsboro and Robert
C. Williams of Roxboro, high school
teachers, and Miss Mary L. Smith
of Plymouth, elementary teacher.
A successful school year is an
ticipated by all as the opening date
for the new session draws near.
The complete faculty list for each
school is given below;
Plymouth High School, J. S.
Fleming, principal — high school
teachers, Mrs. Gale W. Lucas, Mrs.
Lucia Long, Mrs. Ethel T. Gurkin,
Joseph W. Foster, Dalton L. Finch,
jr., Mrs. Lucy R. Liverman, W.
Bernard Ham, Mrs. Irma K. Hough,
Julian R. Rawls, jr., Miss Carolyn
SeTsUHOOLsTPagrT™^'
No Lead in Store
Break-in Monday
Sheriff J. K. Reid stated Wed
nesday that there was no lead in
the Monday night break-in of the
C. T. White store at Skinnersville.
The sheriff said he went to Skin
nersville at 8 o’clock Tuesday
morning and found that screws had
been removed from the hasp on
the front door, the store entered
and a small amount of merchandise
and about 100 pennies taken.
Articles missing from the store
included soap, sugar, canned goods,
cakes, etc. The money drawer was
turned upside down and a roll of
pennies was missing, it was said.
Sheriff Reid said he was unable
to get any fingerprints and that he
had little to go upon, but his in
vestigation is continuing.
-<*.
First Graders To Be
Registered This Week
— ■» —
Registration of beginner pupils
at Plymouth School will be made
Thursday and Friday of this week,
it is emphasized. Teachers will be
on hand to register all first graders,
Principal J. S. Fleming has an
nounced.
Registration before opening of
the school next Wednesday will
make for improved service, it is
believed. Cooperation of parents is
urged.
-$
Creswell Stores To Close
Next Monday for Holiday
Stores in Creswell will be closed
Monday in obesrvance of the Labor
Day holiday, it was announced this
week. Patrons are urged to bear
this in mind.
Local Business To Halt I
For Labor Day Holiday j
Following the custom of re
cent years, practically all stores
and places of business in Plym
outh will be closed all day next
Monday, September 3, which is
Labor Day, a legal national holi
day.
In addition to the stores, the
banks, post office, county, state
and other offices will be closed.
There will be no rural and city
mail deliveries, but dispatches
will be made as usual and mail
will be placed in lock boxes at
the local post office.
Industrial plants here will ob
serve the holiday with a com
plete one-day shutdown, includ
ing North Carolina Pulp Com
pany, Atlas Plywood Corpora
tion and True Temper Corpora
tion.
Following the usual procedure
drug stores, restaurants and
filling stations will observe the
usual Sunday hours for the day,
it is expected; but other places
of business generally will not be
open at all during the day.
County Towns Get
$22,000 for Streets
Plymouth to Gel $16,490.24;
Roper $3,715.05 and Cres
well $1,900.82; Amount
More Than Last Year
The three towns in Washington
County will receive a total of $22,
106.11 in Powell Bill funds im
provement of non-highway streets
during the current fiscal year, ac
cording to announcement last week
by Highway Commission Chairman
A. H. Graham.
Plymouth is to get $16,490.24;
with $3,715.05 being allocated to
Roper and $1,900.82 to Creswell,
the highway commission’s an
nouncement shows. This is $1,653
.13 more than the three municipali
ties received last year, when Plym
outh was allotted $15,393.23, Roper
$3,326.49 and Creswell $1,733.26.
Plymouth’s increase this year
. amounts to $1,097.01, while Roper
is getting $388.56 more and Cres
■I il $’tj£ 'A more.
I The state total represents the
largest amount since the Powell
Bill was adopted in 1951. The high
way commission chairman said it
was larger because of the ever
growing volume of gasoline being
used. The Powell Bill provides that
municipalities shall receive one
half cent per gallon of the total
tax levied. Gross collection of gaso
line tax last year amounted to
$74,690,855.92.
The money is available only to
legally incorporated cities and
towns which are active and eligible
and whose officials have qualified
their communities by submitting
certified statements and maps of
their street system prior to the
third Monday in July.
The amount each town and city
receives is determined according to
a formula spelled out in the Powell
Bill. Half of the total allocation is
divided among the eligible muni
cipalities on the basis of local
street mileage and the other half
is divided on the basis of popula
tion as reported in the latest fed
eral census.
This year the mileage allowance
was set at $496.66 per mile of non
highway city streets, and the popu
lation allowance at $2.04 per capi
See TOWNS, Page 10
Registrant Local
Board Inducted
Wilbert Isaiah Downing of
Plymouth was inducted into the
Armed Forces at the Raleigh
reception center Tuesday of this
week, Mrs. Lorraine Hunter,
clerk to Selective Service Board
No. 95 here, reported.
The local board has received
a call for two registrants to be
sent for induction into the
Armed Forces in September. The
call is for September 24, Mrs.
Hunter stated. No pre-induction
call will be made upon the board
during September. The August
pre-induction call was for silk
men.
Registrations ior
Four Precincts in
County Total 127
-*
Plymouth No. 2 Reports 63
New and Transfer Regis
trations During a Two
Week Period
A total of 127 registrations in
four precincts of this county was
reported following the closing of
the registration books after Satur
day of last week.
The only reports readily avail
able were from Plymouth No. 1
and No. 2, Lees Mill and from
Scuppernong. The Plymouth No. 1
total was 32, according to Mrs.
James H. Ward, registrar. These
were equally divided between new
and transfer registrations, Mrs.
Ward stated.
In Plymouth No. 2 Mrs. Tom
Darden, registrar, reported 63
registrations during the period
from August 11 through 25 when
the books were open for registra
tion of those not previously regis
tered in order to qualify to vote
See REGISTRATION, Page 5
TARPON:
W. A. Barber, fishermen of the
Pea Ridge section, is shown above
with the 100-pound tarpon he caught
in one of his Albemarle Sound pound nets Monday of last week.
Only a few tarpon have ever been caught in Albemarle Sound and
none even approaching the size of the one pictured hre. The fish
was 6 feet 4 inches in length and tipped the scales at exactly 100
pounds. It was caught about 2!4 miles east of the sound bridge
and almost tore Mr. Barber’s boat to pieces even after two blasts
from his shot gun. The cut was made from a photo taken by one
of Mr. Barber’s relatives.
Commissioners To
Consider Mailer of
New County Agent
Regular Monthly Meeting
Of Board Slated for Tues
day Afternoon of Next
Week Here
-•
The same question which has
been bothering the county board
of commissioners for the past two
or three sessions is expected to be
the chief item of business when the
county governing body meets Tues
day of next week.
The regular monthly meeting,
customarily held the first Monday,
has been scheduled for Tuesday
afternoon at 1 o’clock, the post
ponement coming because of the
Labor Day holiday next Monday.
J. Robert Campbell, clerk to the
board, stated Wednesday that the
principal business to come before
the commissioners next Tuesday
would be the matter of securing
a county agent to fill the vacancy
caused by the resignation of W. H.
Pruden July 31.
There was speculation this week
that the county might be left with
out an agent indefinitely, should
an impasse fail to be resolved at
Tuesday’s meeting
following announcement ot Mr.
Pruden’s resignation to devote full
time to private business here, the
commissioners unanimously en
dorsed former county agent W. V.
(Bill) Hays of Plymouth for the
post.
The Agriculture Department,
through John E. Piland of Smith
field who is Eastern District Ex
tension agent, then turned thumbs
down, explaining that it is a long
standing policy of the department
not to hire as a county agent any
person who has not had college
agriculture training. Piland said
that according to Hays’ own ad
mission he has none.
However, Mr. Hays served as
county agent at Plymouth for
about 19 years, resigning January
4, 1952. Mr. Pruden, former agent
in Hyde County, assumed the dut
ies of the office March 1 of that
year.
Special meetings have been held
by the commissioners and attended
by Mr. Piland, with board mem
bers generally expressing regret
that Hays would not be accepted
by the department. It is said that
a number of farmers about the
county expressed the desire to see
Mr. Hays come back on the job.
Meantime, the county office is in
charge of J. L. Outlaw, assistant
county agent, and Miss Louise Al
len, who has served as secretary
under both Hays and Pruden.
--
Electrical Storm
Hits Area Sunday
One of the most severe electrical
storms in years struck this county
late Sunday afternoon, accompan
ied by hard showers in the Plym
outh area between 4 and 6 o’clock.
The weather station at Tide
water Research Station between
Plymouth and Roper reported only
.69 of an inch precipitation for the
day, but it was explained that the
station and the Roper section were
on the fringe and did not get near
ly so much rain as the section im
mediately around Plymouth. Scat
tered small hail was also reported
in the county.
The rainfall brought total pre
cipitation for August to 5.97 inches
as of yesterday, according to J. L.
Rea. August is normally a wet
month in this section.
Electric power was reported off
only briefly in Plymouth Sunday.
-»
Three New Units
Will Be Shipped
M/Sgt. Sherman D. Owen, local
Army recruiter, announced this
week that three more units have
been designated for shipment to
Europe under the Operation Gyro
scope plan. These will depart from
the States during February of next
year.
The new Gyroscope units were
listed by Sgt. Owen as the 55th
Engineer Company (panel bridge)
now stationed at Fort Campbell,
Ky., the 379th Transportation Com
pany (light truck) at Fort Gordon,
Ga., and the 613th Field Artillery
Battalion (280 mm gun) now at
Fort Bragg.
Men with previous service in the
army who have been discharged
more than two days but less than
one year and who were trained in
certain specialties can qualify for
reenlistment in one of these units,
Sgt. Owen said.
For more detailed information
interested persons may contact the
recruiter at the Plymouth Post Of
fice on Tuesdays from 9:30 a. m.
to 12 noon, or phone Elizabeth
City 559-6.