m
tJtc cYlew* ~ journal
Caftotoui
PRESS
ASSOCIATION
Published Every Thursday at Raeford, N. C. 28376
119 W. El wood Avenue
Subscription Rates In Advance
Per Year - S4.00 6 Months - S2.25 3 Months - SI.25
PAUL DICKSON Publisher -Editor
SAM C. MORRIS . .General Manager
LAURIE TELFAIR Reporter
MRS. PAUL DICKSON Society Editor
Second Class Postage Paid at Raefurd. N. C.
Your Award - Winning Community Newspaper
"It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness"
A letter from the publisher
Dear News-Journal Reader:
. . .wherever you are. And while I am certain most of you are right here in Hoke
County where 1 am writing this on a chilly, rainy morning, it occurs to me that
many who will read these words are far away - Alaska, Vietnam, Germany, and all
over the United States where Raeford and Hoke County people have moved or gone
off to school. To all of you I guess a special sort of greeting may be due right at this
season, for if you are getting and reading The News-Journal, you certainly have some
sort of tie to this old place, whether it's your home, or was for a while, or you
married someone from here, or whatever the reason. I hope you can get home for
Christmas, and if you can't know that we are thinking about you and hoping you are
finding happiness in this season which brings so much joy to the world.
This "letter" idea has occurred to me as maybe a workable way to handle a lot of
ideas and comment more readably and informally than a column of editorials, and
particularly better than the ones I so often get with the scissors instead of the
typewriter . .. not that anything I can say will be better or often as well said as some
of the fine comments 1 have picked up from The Christian Science Monitor and The
Wall Street Journal. It's just that comments on many things occur to me which are
just comments about which I don't want to go to the trouble and research to write a
more formal editorial. I found out a while back that if you write an editorial
without getting all the facts, somebody better informed on the particular subject
and with perhaps a more personal interest in it can come along and make you wish
you had kept your mouth shut. It's not that I am afraid of being wrong: that will
happen to anyone who moves at least occasionally, but it's just that I hate to make a
complete fool of myself right out in front of everyone. Don't you?
You probably noticed in last week's paper that the county board of
commissioners have called another referendum on the extra one cent sales tax
question for next February 9. This was beaten by a small margin in this county
when voted on last year, but was passed by about a fourth of the counties of the
State, making the sales tax paid by buyers in those counties four percent instead of
the three it is here.
There is no question but that this county needs this extra money, or that it would
broaden the county's base of taxation, that is. let more of us share in the payment
of the money to run the county. I believe the people of the county will be inclined
to vote for this tax next time if the commissioners will at least suggest some things
' that might be possible if it is passed. 1 know they can't very well go so far as to flatly
promise to do certain things if it is passed, but I do think they could go so far as to
express the HOPE to do a thing or two, or to indicate areas in which they think the
money would be beneficial . . . say joining with the town in a public recreation
program, or working at a county landfill project, or any of many others. Just saying
"the county needs the money" is not going to be enough, in my opinion.
And on this subject. Neill McFadyen was wondering this week if it will do this
county any good to vote for it now, anyway, as he thinks he remembers that the bill
provided that counties voting for the tax when it was voted on would be in the
program, and that no provision was made for others changing their minds and
getting in later. He is going to check this out. and it may be that the county
commissioners have already done so. We'll let you know.
They are telling that Alfred Leach took a business trip to the middle west or
somewhere afar recently, and while talking to his wife, Sarah, on the phone from
there one night inquired how things were at home, as people will do. She said
everything was o.k., except that the pony which had been sick, had passed away.
She said further that she had a hard time getting rid of his remains, but that she had
finally gotten Frank Crumpler to bury the pony. Alfred, probably thinking this a
rather expensive way to get rid of a dead pony, came home the next day.
Several other items from the news of the past week or so strike me as maybe
worthy of investigation or comment, such as the election procedures in our REA
Co-ops. where most members are not white and where most directors and officers
are white, and I wonder why two resignations in our county health department, and
what organized labor is doing to this country, themselves along with the rest of us.
and some of the concerns of most of our young people, wholesome. 1 believe. Maybe
I can get around to some of these later.
For the moment, though, look carefully at the cartoon to the right, and I'll be
back later.
Sincerely.
"N
Publisher
Browsing in the files
of Tho Nowi-Journal
25 years ago
Thursday. December 20, 1945
Tom Cameron, secretary -
treasurer and manager of the
Upchurch Milling and Storage
Company here, was elected
President of the North Carolina
eed Manufacturers association
at the concluding session of a
two - day convention in
Raleigh.
????
Miss Agnes Mac Johnson,
chairman of the l(>45
Christmas Seal Sale in Hoke
County, reported yesterday
that the goal of 5700 had been
reached.
????
Cpl. John Lee Stephens
anhred in Rueford last Sunday.
Ha has been on duty in the
Philippine Islands.
???*
SKTI-C Tommy Teal arrived
?t Camp Shallon, Vs.,
17 from Guam and
expects to be home for
Christmas.
*???
Bill Smith, son of Mr. and
Mrs. N.A. Smith of Shannon
has been discharged from the
army and is at home. He was in
the LTO for over two years.
????
Sgt. Bcrdcr Niven landed last
week at Fort Lewis. Wash.,
from Burma area after having
been out of the U.S. for
twenty - one months. He
expects to be home for
Christmas.
????
Sgt. Woody Hendrix arrived
here Sunday night from the
Pacific. He has been discharged
from the army.
????
Pfc Frank Mewherter landed
this week in Norfolk from the
KTO.
????
Cpl. Graham Monroe arrived
home December S, after
spending thirty months in New
Guinea and the Philippines.
*???
From Pottle's Medley
There is always one doctor
in each generation of Dkksons
of thjs town. Dr. A.P. Dickson,
Dr. James Dickson and now
Dr. Alvin Dickson.
15 years ago
Thursday, December 15, 1955
Churches from all over Hoke
County took part in the first
rton - commercial Christmas
parade here, Wednesday night,
and several thousand people
not involved in making or
moving the pa.ticipated floats
lined Main Street.
? ???
Chairman R.B. Lewis of the
American Legion's swimming
pool committee gave plans and
description of a swimming pool
to cost an estimated S30.390
to members of the local post.
We hope you're not getting bored with the same old line!
mmmmmmmmmmsmm By LAURIE TELFAIR
Air Rings With
Morning Crises
It is ^ama/ing the number
crises that can develop from
the time you get up until the
time one adult and two
children get off to work or
school.
There arc actually two
adults that live in our
household, but the titular head
of the house slips quietly off to
work before the rest of the
family gets into full swing.
There was a time when he got
coffee, breakfast and
conversation in the pre ? dawn
hours before his work day
began. That later dwindled to
coffee and breakfast, then
coffee and finally he gave up
on even that. Since I don't
drink coffee. I don't know how
the stuff I brew tastes, but I
understand that it is really
pretty bad.
But the kids supply enough
dire emergencies to do for the
entire family, so I hardly even
miss the anguished laments
over the quality of coffee.
This morning it was the
great toilet paper roll crisis. I(
seems that the little one
needed desperately a paper roll
such as is found on the inner
core of toilet tissue or paper
towel rolls. It was a Brownie
project.
A quick check revealed the
fact Jut leither bathroom
harbored an empty roll, and
no. I was not going to let her
roll off a full roll of tissue to
get the core. Instead, I
unwound a roll of plastic bags
and used the core, but that was
too skinny. She assurred me
with tears in her eyes that that
one was too skinny.
I finally relented and let her
unroll the smaller of the two
bathroom tissue rolls in use so
she could have the core. As 1
left, late as usual, she was
muttering about having to fold
up the twelve yards of tissue
paper on the floor.
Then there is always a
clothing crisis. No matter what
garments arc available for use
that day. the one that each
child feels she absolutely must
have is always in the dirty
clothes basket. It isn't so
hopeless if the garment merely
needs ironing. But even
washday miracles don't make it
possible to wash, dry and iron
(if absolutely necessary) a dress
between 7:15 a.m. and 7:45
a.m. No way.
The cat has a constant crisis
also. She is convinced that she
will not be fed ever again and
that she will shortly die of
hunger. So she sets about to
convince everyone else within
three blocks, with loud wails,
broken by low moans. The fact
that this is probably her fourth
meal since midnight has
nothing to do with it.
I am a slave to that cat's
voracious appetite. I would
tight for freedom, but I get
more sleep by going along with
the program than by trying to
change her habits. I am, in fact,
the best trained animal owner
m the neighborhood.
The cat sleeps all day and
goes in and out of the house all
night. This means that she
must be let in or out at least
four times during an? given
night and each time she comes
in. she requires food.
Now, you may well wonder
why any sane person puts up
with something like that,
(leaving any questions of sanity
aside for the time being) there
is a very simple explanation.
Not only is she too obnoxious
to ignore, but, like the mafia,
she has an enforcer. Our 90 -
pound German Shepherd gets
upset if the cat is not let in or
out, whatever the case being.
An upset German Shepherd is a
force to be reckoned with.
I have a simple solution to
most of the morning
emergencies. With the cat
screaming, the dog trying to
get someone to take care of the
cat and at least one kid
sniffling while the other
searches frantically for her
homework. I leave for work,
putting my trusted baby-sitter,
and crisis solver in charge.
It's not a bad solution, but I
have a terrible turnover rate in
babysitters. It must be the
pressure.
STORIES BEHIND WORDS
by
William S. Perfleld
So Long
British soldiers stationed in Malay-speaking countries became
acquainted with a new form of salutation.
Upon meeting or bidding someone farewell, a Malay uttered
the word "salang" and bowed low, with his right palm against his
forehead. The Malay word was a corruption of the Arabic
"salaam" or "salam," which meant "peace" or "health."
The British soldiers adopted the Malay word, but omitted the
ceremonial bow that accompanied it. In adopting "salang," the
British soldiers corrupted it to "so long" and used it only in
bidding someone farewell.
Names
The "ley" at the end of Anglo-Saxon names, as previously
pointed out, means meadow.
The name Wesley means "west meadow." Woodley means
"wooded meadow," and Berkley "birch meadow."
The Anglo-Saxon name Ware is an early form of the current
English word "wary," which means cautious or on one's guard.
Both came from "war." It is incumbent for anyone engaged in
war to be cautious The name Waring developed from Ware.
Creek Philosopher
Dear editar:
Since I don't depend on the
mail service as much as a lot of
people, I can't tell any
difference in a newspaper
delivered by Uncle Sam and
one delivered by a good strong
north wind. I figure I can take
a calmer view of the mail
situation that always develops
along about this time of the
year, railroad strike or no
railroad strike.
Actually of course a railroad
strike isn't all bad for the Post
Office Department, especially
in big cities. It gives it an
excuse for getting bogged
down in mail it was going to
get bogged down in anyway.
But everybody recognizes
mail service isn't what it used
to be and something ought to
be done about it.
One solution the Post Office
Department is looking into tsa
machine that reads
handwriting It wants a
machine that can look at the
address on a letter, decipher it.
and ship it on its way. un -
touched by human hand.
If they can get a machine
smart enough to read some
people's handwrigint. for
example mine and some others
I know, we wouldn't need to
write letters at all. Just let the
machine write each other. One
objection to this though would
be the amount of
unemployment it'd create
among postmasters.
Another method to avoid
the Christmas log ? jam of mail
of course would be to hold
Christmas just every tenth
year, but I doubt if it'd catch
on.
Or, since I don't have any
trouble at all getting a letter
from this Bermuda grass farm
to your office in Raeford,
maybe Congress should
prohibit a man's writing a
letter that goes any further
than his mail carrier can carry
it.
Actually there's nothing
wrong with the mail system,
it's just sort of like the
highway system: loo many
people try to use it at the same
time.
If everybody followed Mark
Twain's system we wouldn't
have anv mail problems at all.
He said if you'd wait six
months before answering your
letters you'd be surprised how
few needed answering.
If you think this is a good
idea, let me know along about
next June.
Yours faithfully.
J. A.
Just One Thing
After Another
By Carl Gocrch
It would be nice if
dictionaries could agree 100
per cent in the spelling of
words. One dictionary we
looked at the other day said
that Reims is the correct way
of spelling the name of that
city in France, and that
Rheims is absolutely wrong.
Another dictionary says that
Rheims is O.K. One dictionary
give "radio" as the correct
spelling, while another one says
that "raddio" also may be
used.
There are plenty of men
who go by the name of Tom,
But I believe Mr. McAn is the
only one who spells his
nickname correctly. It's Thorn
McAn. If Thomas is
pronounced Tomas, why
shouldn't Thorn be
pronounced Tom?
In connection with an article
published in our magazine
about three sisters, each of
whom was more than 100
years of age, buried in the same
burial ground, Mist Fugenia W.
Lore writes us as follows:
"I believe Concord and
Cabarrus County can come in
on this. In our city cemetery.
Oak wood, I know of four
people buried there who
reached the age of 100 or
more: a Mrs. Morgan, Mrs.
Martha Honeycutt, Mrs. Cindy
Swearingen and A Mr.
Funderburg.
"Down in No. 10 Township,
Mrs. Margaret Gray died at the
age of 109.
"We also have a man,
William Whitley, buried in No.
9 Township, whose stone
reads: 'b. Dec. 1775; d. Mar. 4,
1890,' which means that he
was more than 114 years old at
the time of his death."
There's no mark of
punctuation which apparently
causes greater trouble than the
apostrophe. The other day we
passed a filling station which
advertised itself as "Jones
Place."
And the one word that
probably is misspelled as much
as any other is "Sandwiches."
A friend of ours asked us
recently if we had ever heard
of the McDonald sisters in
England. When we admitted
that we had not. he proceeded
to inform us about this
remarkable family.
"Many years ago a
Methodist preacher by the
name of McDonald lived in
London," he said. "He had a
family of live daughters, and
he supported them and his wife
upon a salary of something like
one hundred and fifty pounds
a year. That was equivalent to
about S7S0 a year in our
money. Of course, in those
days a dollar went further than
it goes now. but even so, S7S0
a year was no big money on
which to rear five girls."
He paused for a moment and
then resumed.
"You know that old
chestnut about preachers' sons
nearly always turning out bad?
One of the most abominable
untruths ever uttered. Look
through "Who's "Who" and
you'll find a different story ...
But about those daughters of
the preacher McDonald. Ever
hear of the great painter. Sir
Edward Burne-Jones? One of
those McDonald girls became
his wife. Ever hear of Sir
Edward Poynter, another great
artist who became president of
the Royal Academy? His wife
was another of the McDonald
girls. The third daughter
married John Kipling, and
named her son Rudyard, after
a lake which had romantic
associations for her.
"The fourth daughter
married a man named Baldwin
and became the mother of
Stanley Baldwin, who was
Prime Minister of England not
so many years ago. The fifth
daughter never married.
"Now." the gentlemen said,
"to produce a family such as
that is a pretty good record.
And when you hear anybody
throw off about preachers'
children, tell them about this
man McDonald's daughters."
CLIFF BLUE ...
People & Issues
DeTn GA,RDNER ~ Many
democrats as well a?
Republicans feel that Jim
nnp Wi" ** scekin8 the
GOP nomination tor governor
again in 1972. that if he
decides to g0 for the
stoTaTuhe Wi" be ^rd to
wdl h at thc Dcm?crats
oil! 6 t0 bnn8 ou' 'heir
"ranges, to hold him out of
the governor's mansion
Jr ofP Jam" uF" h'osshouscr,
GOP nu Wh? is a'ra State
apSar ^lrKan and Gardnef
odd! Fell my much at
Hnl?lir> 8 'S that Rep.
mn -h u Would ''ke very
much to have the Republican
WZ7, f?L ??vernor n
, **. 'hat he doesn't like
fcZSfg*-**??
again ,n j 972 Sir! ?
2lh;g'ha> you can belr in
mind. As the Repbulicans grow
inih!? 'i0ns w'" 'Pring up
n ,hat party just as it has been
Sr y rjn ,he Democratic
S.?Tw" ,e",,n?' -
Republican opponent
?e?d fir6'50" may have
VOI? in V*? "Umber Of
votes in the 13th House
Cofumh1 com Pr'"d of
Columbus and Brunswick
5UST?Whcn ,he matter goes
Asiembly Tht ?[u?e Jjf'jj!
&K2!? -ft ft
Mth iuie Tim. k
conflict between stable prices
and steady jobs, but they argue
persuasively that the time has
come for the world's richest
nation to experiment and see
what it can do."
JOB OFFERS -- The number
of companies coming to Duke
University to recruit employes
is down about 50 percent from
last year, according to Miss
Patricia O'Connor, job
placement director at Duke. A
batchelor's degree used to get a
man a lot of job offers, now
Ph.Ds with about eight years of
college are having to settle for
lower ? paying and lower grade
jobs than they could have
demanded a few years ago.
But, if you are a good
plumber or electrician there is
a tremendous demand for your
services.
Supply and demand
determines the wage for most
occupations and it would
appear that many of the
professions are pretty well
filled ?? professions which
require a liberal arts college
background. But, when it
comes to trades ?? plumbers,
electricians and other lines of
trade - then you will find too
few people to fill the demand."
This probably points to the
need for more of our boys and
girls to think in terms of taking
trade or vocational courses
offered in some of the high
schools, and all the technical
institutes and community
colleges.
We understand that in some
places today a good plumber 4
can earn more than a Ph.D ?
with eight years of coltete
work behind him.
GORDON GREENWOOD -
Rumor is that the UNC at
Chapel Hill is attempting to get
former Stale Rep. Gordon
Greenwood of Black Mountain
to replace Ken Byerly who was
in the Department of
Journalsim - Byerly having left
to return to active
newspapering in the West.
Greenwood, now Chairman of
the Buncombe County Board
of County Commissioners is
former editor and publisher of
the Black Mountain News
which he sold a couple of years '
ago. Chairman of the county
commissioners in Buncombe
County is a full ? time salaried
job.