cY[ew6 - journal
(Ja/io&tta,
PRES S
ASSOCIATION
Published Every Thursday at Raeford, N. C. 28376
119 W. El wood Avenue
Subscription Rates In Advance
Per Year - $5.00 6 Months - $2.75 3 Months - $1.50
PAUL DICKSON Publisher-Editor
SAM C. MORRIS General Manager
LAURIE TELFAIR Associate Editor
MRS. PAUL DICKSON Society Editor
MARTY VEGA Reporter
Second Class Postage at Raeford. N. C.
THURSDAY. JANUARY I <>75
As We See It.
by Laurie Telfair
The new year got off to a dismal start, with huge layoffs announced
at one of the county's major employers and a shortage of natural gas
threatening production of another major plant here. The same gas
shortage also disrupted the soybean marketing in the county.
It didn't help matters when gloom and grey mist settled over the area
for the first few days of 1975.
Well, maybe it's time we all ye.ll "hold it just a cotton, pickin*
minute", and issue a moratorium on predictions of disaster.
This is not to say that we can stick our heads in the sand and ignore
all the very real problems. But we can refuse to be cowed by them.
Franklin Roosevelt once rallied the American people by saying "All
we have to fear is fear itself."
Fear and mistrust feed on themselves, multiplying in grotesque
proportions. Now, I'm no economic expert, but 1 believe statements
that I've read that say that recession, and. before that, inflation, are self
- perpetuating. Oversimplified, inflation eventually eats away buying
power, consumers then consume less, causing manufacturers to cut
back on production and lay off employees who can then buy even less,
leading manufacturers to, well, you see what I mean.
Fear deepens the problems and makes solutions that much harder to
obtain. It should be enough to have to fight the complex tangle of
inflation and recession, without having to do battle as well with
difficulties brought on by fear. ?
This is not the first time the nation has faced hard times, and as we
enter the first year of our Bicentennial celebration, it might be well to
remember that.
Courage, determination and indomitable spirit are part of the
American tradition. These qualities will be invaluable tools in meeting
and solving the problems that are before us.
The fund raising committee for the Bicentennial library is facing a
tough job in the next tew months. The deadline is approaching when
$100,000 must have been raised to match the revenue sharing funds.
About $40,000 of that sum is still to be raised. So much effort has
already gone into drive for a new library, with donations from nearly
every segment ol the county. It must not fail The library is a good
project with which to commemorate the Bicentennial. It is a symbol of
faith in the future as well.
Browsing in the files
of The News-Journal
25 years ago
Thursday, January 5. 1950
County Farm Agent Herman t
Vernon submitted his resignation to the
Hoke County Board of Commissioners
at their monthly meeting Tuesday, and
it was accepted to be effective on
February 1st.
+ * ?
Funeral services were conducted last
Thursday afternoon for Mrs. C atherine
Ellis, who died in Moore County on
Wednesday after an illness of about two
weeks, following a fall in \Ahich she
broke her hip. V,.
? ? * ?
Robert Currie and Rex Bullock have
bought the stock and leased the building
where the Walter Parks grocery has been
operating.
* ? ?
A.B. Hamilton left The Bank of
Raeford the first of the year to accept a
position as cashier of the Security Bank
and Trust Company in Kannapolis
? ? ?
From Poole's Medley
Consolidation of schools cost almost
all the school houses built following
Aycock's school administration.
# ? #
Leon Cameron, Jr. and Billy Black
were Blue Ribbon Winners in the Hoke
County pig chain and show, sponsored
by the Sears & Roebuck Foundation."
* * *
Mayor W.L. Poole said yesterday that
Paul M. Van Camp of Southern Pines
had been employed by Hie Town of
Raeford as engineer to lay dut.the work
to be done on water and sewer lines
with the bond money the town recently
voted.
15 years ago
Thursday , January 7, I960,
Clyde Lpchurch. Jr , was installed as
president of the Raeford Kiwanis Club
at the regular meeting Thursday
evening
Charles William Seate. former
resident of Raeford and son of Mrs
T.D. Potter, died Friday night at his
home in Fayetteville
"If the enthusiasm of the eommntee
is any indication. Raeford families will
have a pool sometime in June." said the
Rev. W.B. Heyward. committee
chairman.
The Chamber of Commerce
announced Wednesday that it has
contracted with the Hospital Savings
Association of Chapel Hill to provide
hospital insurance to Chamber membeis
and their employees.
Tom Anderson, director for Hoke
County, of the Farmers Home
Administration office leaves at the end
of the week for a new post in Whiteville
J A. Baucom. for many years a Main
Street merchant, retired from Raeford'!
business life Dec. 31,
The Chamber of Commerce begins
the new year with an announcement
that its retail trade committee will
sponsor a program honoring the "Clerk
of the Month." ?
Members of the Raeford's town
board voted unanimously to endorse the
creation of an "Industrial Park" in the
southeast comer of the town.
'Putting all those people in the back wilt give us
traction, see .. . once we get the car started'
o
o
lib
Th* Chrtefcen Science Monitor
? by Marty Vega
Improve, You Wretch
Standing in line at the supermarket
these days is risky business, not only
because you ate about to be robbed of a
week's wages. The danger is those so ?
called wdniens' magazines they put right
where something is sure to catch your
eye as you wait.
You pick one up. thumb thtough it.
and end up buying up With the cashier
glaring at you. you don't want to put it
back
I should have learned by now. but
once a sucker, always a sucker. On the
cover you see "How To Save S600 on
Food" then alter reading you discover
in order to accmnplish this, you have to
grow your own garden, then can 200
lbs. of tomatoes. 75 jars of beets, and
si\ bushels of cucumbers. I always
throw the article away because I don't
like cucumbers.
Ot, an article titled "Save Hundreds
of Dollars on Your Car" and you read
that idling your engine at the drive - up
Letter To The Editor
Dear Editor:
M\ home was built in l4>55 WITHIN
the city limits. I still have not received
city water c\en though it has been
requested lor yeais. In the early sixties
my husband was promised city water
and I he City of Raet'ord e\cn went so
tar as to string water lines down St.
Pauls Highway to our drive. We paid our
city tax jnd suddenly the city picked up
their water pipes and used them
elsewhere. That is the closest we ever
came to getting city waier.
Now. in I4)74. lire City of Raet'ord
says they do not have the money to run
watei lines down Si. Pauls Highway. II
the cu> can't lurmsh me water, I think
my property should be icmoved from
the city limits, last night I went to the
City Council meeting and requested that
this he done. Oh, no. They couldn't
remove me irom the City; this would
have to be done by the State legislative.
And vet the City Cauneil would not
instruct then lawyer to work on having
my piopeity removed from the city
limits So. I have written Mr. Luther
Biitt. 1 umberton. N. ('., and Mr. David
Parnell. Parkion, N.C., explauimg my
situation. I asked them to contact the
City and work towards having my
property removed from the city limits
since the city cannot afford to give me
water.
Aie there other citizens of Raeford
who pay city taxes and do not have
water' Frankly the city does not know.
Now is ihe time to make your wants
known so the City of Raeford can make
long-range plans to serve you. If we are
paying city taxes, we arc all due water.
Aftei all. the last bond issue passed by
the Citv of Raeford was a WATER
BOND.'
Sincerely,
Agnes Mae J. Campbell
(Mrs John F. Campbell)
Dear Editor:
As the conclusion of my term as
District Attorney approaches, I just
wanted to say that I truly enjoyed
working with and for the fine people of
Raeford and Hoke County. You
certainly have a community which can
be looked upon with pride.
I sincerely hope that the efforts of
the District Attorney's Office in the last
four years have lived up to the
expectations of the people of the
community.
Hoping you all have a happy and
prosperous new year.
Sincerely yours.
Jack A. Thompson
District Attorney
window fouls your plugs, so don't do it
anymore. The effects of fouling your
temper are not mentioned.
I suppose the editors feel they arc
performing a real service, being so
informative. That's okay, most of the
year 1 can take them or leave them.
But the January issues are just too
much. Everyone of them is packed with
endless lists of things to do. not just for
a month, hut the entire year.
Your figure, your skin, your budget,
your meals, yout laundry, there's
something wrong with everything. The
message screams a Aire reader; You've
got to start the year off right with all
kinds of self improvement and fren/ied
activity.
They don't try to be subtle or kind.
Their meaning is quite clear. You are a
wretch and a mess.even though you are
solvent enough to spend a SI for their
magaeine. But if you will only follow
their regimen, you can become the total
woman.
No more killing the evening in front
of the tube, no. you should be
re finishing furniture or painting the
bathroom.
No. you shouldn't be sleeping until
noon on weekends, you should be out
taking some artsy craftsy course or
writing a novel.
And you are not supposed to get
periodic inquirtes from the health
department inspector, because your
house is clean and immaculate at all
times.
And. you delight your family with
your imaginative meals that aie whipped
up in no time.
But sadly, not all of us can become
total. You cither got it or you don't. If
you don't got it. it must be tired blood.
Bicentennial Notes
County Was Created
From Conflict
(Taken from the souvenir program
prepared for the Golden Jubilee in 1961
by a committee composed of Miss
Josephine Hall, Mrs. D.B. McFadyen,
Mrs. Luke Bethune and Rear Admiral
A.M. Patterson Ret.)
For a number of years just after the
turn of the century there was much
unrest in Robeson County. People in
the northern and southern sections
resented the power and influence
wielded by the politicians around
Lumberton and in the center of the
county.
There was some agitation for splitting
Robeson into three new counties:
Robeson, Upper Robeson and Rowland.
People in what is now Hoke County
were much dissatisfied with the
situation. Roads were unbelievably poor
and the horse was still the primary
means of transportation. They
complained of the distances and the
almost impassable roads to the county
seats at Fayetteville and Lumberton. In
some of the remote areas, the trip
required as much as two days each way.
Not only did the people in "Hoke ? fo
- be" complain about the roads and
distances, but they felt they were being
discriminated against because available
tax monies were spent for schools, roads
and other improvements in more
populous areas of the county.
Finally, leaders demanded action.
Gradually the proposed boundaries of a
new county began to take shape, and
citizens were urged to campaign for its
establishment. Proponents of the new
county saw their chance when J.W.
McLauchlin. distinguished statesman
and Confederate veteran, was elected
state senator from Cumberland County.
He had been one of the prime movers
for a new county. Sen. McLauchlin
introduced bills for the fotmation of the
new county in both the 1907 and 1909
sessions. On Feb. 11, 1"09, about 400
advocates of the county went to Raleigh
to be present at a joint hearing before
the legislature, which was not
enthusiastic.
At that time, advocates ot the new
county planned to name it Glenn, but
Governor Glenn declined the honor and
suggested instead that it be named for
Confederate General Robert F. Hoke.
Finally, when the I'M I legislative
session began. Mclauchlin, armed with
petitions from the vast majority of the
people in the area concerned,
introduced Senate Bill .1.1 on Januaiy 7
tor the creation of a new county
...Under McLauchlin's skillful
leadership, it passed both houses... The
bill was enacted into law on Feb. 17. to
be effective April .1. 1911.
The act described in general the
boundaries of the county. It provided
that the governor should appoint
county officials until the election could
be held. It appointed Jeptlia Peele and
W.T. Covington as commissioners to
meet with the county commissionarics
of Cumberland and Robeson counties,
primarily to lay off the boundaries of
the new county. It provided that Hoke
should assume its per capita share of the
public indebtedness of the parent
counties and that pending court cases
should be transferred to ihe new
county. It designated Raeford as the
counts seat.
Settlement of problems with
Cumberland County before and after
Hoke was established seems to have
proceeded amicably, but not so with
Robeson. Some of the citizens of the
North Robeson area introduced
considerable controversy over the
boundary. They claimed also, that the
Robeson sector was the only part of the
proposed county of any value; that the
northern two - thirds was non -
productive and the southern area would
have to pay practically all the tav?s and
support the rest of the county.
The new officers were to have been
appointed by the governor, but he
refused to do so until a primary was
held... The first county officials were:
clerk of court, W.B. McQueen; register
of deeds. J. Hector Smith; sheriff, Edgar
Hall; treasurer, W.J. McRaney; county
commissioners, J.W. Johnson, chairman;
S.J. Cameron and J.A. McPhaul.
Puppy Creek
Philo'spher
Dear editor:
I had intended to fill this letter this
week with my predictions for I97S but
gave up when I got through reading all
the predictions by the experts.
As I understand them, some say 1975
will be worse than 1974, some say
better, and the rest have their fingers
crossed. The one I liked best was the
expert on television who squared his
shoulders and said we'll be all right if we
adopt a program lhat will stop a
recession and whip inflation, but time
ran out before lie could say what the
program is. Runner-up was tire one who
said the big automobile companies have
got to stop making cars and switch to
bicycles.
At the heart of our troubles, most of
them agreed, is oil and the way the Arab
nations are pricing it so high they'll
eventually own all the money in the
world.
This is probably true and I have
figured out why Arab oil is so high, I'll
explain.
Have you noticed that when an Arab
leader appears on television invariably
he speaks English fluently? I got to
checking into, this and found that most
of ihem got their higher education in
America.
That's where the trouble started.
American universities thought they were
over here learning our culture when all
the time they were learning how to
charge for something somebody else
can't get along without. They may have
made good grades in American history
but what they were fascinated with was
seeing how companies can put a high
price on sugar and get by with it, or
how to buy meat cheap on the hoof and
sell it high in the supermarket, or how
to get SI00 a day for a hospital room.
They took one look at all the cars
and filling stations over here and sard,
"There's no future in sand and camels;
oil is where the money is."
What's Washington hung on" Why
isn't it sending American farmers to
study a while in Arab universities?
Arabs have to eat, the same as we have
to drive cars.
Yours laithfully,
J.A.
CLIFF BLUE ...
People & Issues
ELIMINATING THE FAT-In a brief
chat with Jim Hunt last week ihe
Lieutenant Governor said that the 1175
General Assembly would go over state
expenditures with a fine tooth comb.
This action will receive the applaud of
taxpayers all over North Carolina.
In recent years much fat has grown
up within state government. With more
revenue coming in each year and big
surpluses piling up there has been little
inclination in the direction of economy.
Spend and spend has been pretty much
the rule, and with the revenue schedule
geared to the economy the money
continued to pile up. This has been irue
under the Democratic administrations as
well as Holshouser's two years.
Bui now, with the election over,"the
eyes of ihe people will be focused upon
the Democrats to put thrift and
economy back into start government.
BANKRUPTCY-The rate in which
Tar Heel business firms are turning to
bankruptcy seems to be a sign of the
times, with a reflection backwards
toward the days of the 1930's. From
North Carolina's Eastern District.
Thomas Moore of Wilson, federal
bankruptcy judge, says about 65
bankruptcy cases are being filed each
month as compared with 30 per month
a year ago.
In the Western District, Joseph
Cruciana, the bankruptcy referee says
bankruptcies have almost doubled in his
region. He says 500 cases were filed in
the district last year and he expects
more than 1.000 this year.
ROBERT MORGAN-Robert Morgan
is being applauded for not jumping
ahead and trying to gain seniority
advantage over some other new senator
just because Senator Ervin stepped
down a few days early to gain a larger
retirement salary. While reports are that
Morgan's office staff urged him to jump
ahead, from comments which we have
heard it appears that Morgan made
political hay by biding his time. The
people feel that Morgan has the ability
to move ahead on his own and not by
jumping ahead in an out-of-order
manner.
JUST IN CASE--Just in case someone
is thinking of running for Secretary of
State in 1976 let it be said that on aood
authority we learn that Thad Eure, "the
oldest rat in the Democratic barn" has
every intention of seeking reelection,
come the 20Oth anniversary of this great
nation of ours.
CRIME WAVE-We suspect it would
help reduce the felonies which are being
committed-tlie people being beaten up
and robbed, if the laws were changed so
that a convicted felon could not be
paroled or set free until after
three-fourths of the sentenoe was
served.
?<- Under our ' present system, almost
before you realize it the felon has been
paroled and back at the old crime tame
again. Certainly, crime has been on the
increase under the present soft and lax
attitude of our courts toward serious
crime. In South Carolina we are told
that a "Natural life sentence" means
just that and no parole is possible,
unless they elect a bleeding-heart
governor!
NIXON-Our friend Bobby Simpson
of Newton Grove has called our hand on
a statement in last week's column in
which we referred to former President
Nixon as "likely brooding himself
away." Bobby says that a man who can
rank seventh as the best liked or most
admired man in the world, which Nixon
ranked in a recent Gallup poll, has a
chance for a comeback.
Well. Bobby may be right. After
Nixon's defeat for Governor' of
California in 1962, he cussed out the
press and said they would not have "old
Nixon to kick around anymore." Well,
the press just buried Nixon, but lo and
behold, just six years later he was back
and had been elected Prfsident of the
United States! Nixon's comeback has
often been referred to as the greatest
resurrection since Lazarus was raised
from the dead.
GUBERNATORIAL-We keep
hearing names being mentioned for
governor among the Democrats for
1976. Jim Hunt leads the pack but a
new name which has surfaced it that of
Allen Bailey of Charlotte .