Newspapers / The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.) / July 28, 1977, edition 1 / Page 13
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'Golden Age ' Of Railroading sPuffs On In Special Outings By WUIUub J. O'Neill National Geographic New? For generations of Americans a train whistle in the night exerted a haunting, Pied Piper pull. That drawn - out not quavering in the dark air roused a restless urge to leave everything and follow the gleaming rails to visionary places beyond the horizon. Diesel horns, despite their potent bass timbre of power, do not stir the spirit quite the way the whistle of a steam locomotive did. Perhaps it's because railroads today are usually associated with freight, not travel. In the National Geographic Society's new book, "Railroads: The Great American Adventure," Charlton Ogburn remembers how it was 50 years ago in his boyhood. "We were all more or less in thrall to the steam engine," he relates. "It was the middle '20s; passenger airlines were unknown, and long motor trips exceptional. Travel, and the romance and excitement of far places, meant steam ?? steamships and steam locomotives." * Rail lines have been dieselized for years, yet younsters and rail road buffs of all ages can still ride behind vintage locomotives on . special outings. Mr. Ogburn notes that many of the old steam engines have been spared from the scrap heap. Oiled and polished until they glisten, the 150 ? ton engines are fired up in the warm vacation months to pull trainloads of fans. Passengers range from nostalgic oldsters to children who have never before seen the wonder of steam exploding from cylinders when the heavy pistons spin those massive drive wheels. The author joined one such group for the run from Alexandria to Charlottesville in Virginia behind a 191 1 Mikado engine, and found that "No. 4501 brings back the past on her summer excur sions." "And surely she did that for us as she roared through the green Piedmont," he writes, "a barrel - chested charger, rods churning, exhausts coming in trip - hammer tempo." "How that whistle brings people out," observed one of the Pas sengers. Mr. Ogburn reports that people came from farm buildings and houses and from shops in towns to stand and wave as the whistle "loosed the fluted wail that tugs at the soul the way few sounds do." The big engines are drawing SCC Summer Commencement Ceremony Scheduled Aug. 19 The twelfth Summer Commence ment ceremony at Sandhills Com munity College will be held Friday evening August 19, and in keeping with the precedent set in the spring commencement in May, recogni tion will be given to members of the Board of Trustees. The speaker for the occasion will be J.C. Robbins, of Aberdeen, who PAINT UP -FIX UP With Supplies From The Decor Center J.R. Kennedy 111 WEST ELWOOD RAEFORD has served as secretary of the Board since it was organized in 1963. Sandhills was the first new com prehensive community college authorized by the State Board of Education following passage of the General Assembly bill establishing a state - wide system of technical institutes and community colleges. Robbins, once president of North Carolina Community College Trustees Association, a prominent businessman and civic leader in Moore County, is a native North Carolinian and a graduate of UNC - Chapel Hill. Always interested in education, he taught for several years and was principal of Aberdeen High School, before purchasing a hardware business to which he has devoted his time for several decades. Mrs. Robbins still teaches in the Moore County school system. Robbins and Dr. W.E. Alex ander, vice - chairman of the Board of Trustees since the beginning, will be awarded Honorary As sociate in Humanities Degrees by Sandhills Community College, at the August commencement. Honorary degrees were presented at the May commencement to six other original members of the Board in appreciation for their dedicated service to the college. Nearly 100 students will receive associate degrees and diplomas during the formal exercises in the Fountain Courtyard on the Sand hills campus. A reception for graduates and their families and program participants hosted by Dr. and Mrs. Raymond A. Stone, will be held in the Student Lounge at the close of the ceremony. TSmUfa tym Horn /. ? ? *0n The Spot Financing* ? * ?WE DO OUR OWN ? VOUCHES OUR SPECIALTY STORAGE BUILDINGS Custom Built Add On Rooms And Screen Porches I'NDFR P!\N1\( 1 AWNINGS No Middle Man - Direct Factory Prices Example: 20 ft. by 10 ft. Canopies *200.00 plus tax and freight $25.00 Down 12 Payments ea. $17.77 (country fiair Stlobile 3^-omes 529 HARRIS AVENUE RAEFORD. N.C. PHONE: 875-4807 crowds in many parts of the country where railroads, historical socie ties, and coteries of loyal "steam ? chasers" band together to keep them rolling. On a branch line of the Denver and Rio Grande Western that is a national historic monument, three engines provide daily passenger service between Durango and Sil verton in Colorado every summer -? and never lack for riders. In the view of Mr. Ogburn and his friends, a little soot and an occasional cinder is a small price for the privilege of hearing "those six - foot drivers pounding the rails" and the siren song of that whistle. DID YOU KNOW- "3 U 'ifVlAT GOVERNMENT ALONE CANNOT PROTECT YOUR COMMUNITY IN A CIVIL DEFENSE EMERGENCY? EMERGENCY PLANNING CALLS FOR USE OF MANY KINDS OF RESOURCES IN EVENT OF NUCLEAR DISASTER. ARE IN THE picture! PERSONAL AND FAMILY PREPAREDNESS IS ESSENTIAL TO COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS more kacts ? CONTACT YOUR LOCAL CIVIL DEFENSE Troublesome Fire Ants In U.S. South To Stay By William J. O'Neill National Geographic New* As if the news hasn't been gloomy enough of late, the govern ment's S150 million campaign to wipe out fire ants now is being called the "Vietnam of entomo logy." In a domestic version of peace with honor, residents of areas infested with the ants are being advised to live and let live. In other words, the imported insects aren't about to roll over and play dead. The ants, named for their fi^ry sting, come in two species, both mean, the National Geographic Society says. Solenopsis richteri, a black ant, probably came to Mobile, Alabama in late 1918 aboard a ship from South America. Its cousin, Sol enopsis invicta, a red ant, pre sumably arrived the same way and was first reported in that state in the early 1930s. Establishing a beachhead, the invaders proceeded to march. The black ant has entrenched itself in a small area of Mississippi and Alabama. The red fire ant has spread through those two states, as well as Louisiana. Georgia, and Florida, a large part of Texas and South Carolina, and the southern portion of Arkansas and North Carolina. Unchecked by natural enemies in their adopted land, the ant colonies multiplied until today from five to ten billion fire ants occupy more than 150 million acres in nine southern states -- often the best farmland. Ant hills almost two feet high dot fields, pastures, parks, and play grounds, wherever the land is cleared and warm. The mounds damage farm machinery and inter fere with plowing. Until mechanized equipment be came widespread, some fields were untended because workers were afraid to venture near the bristling obstructions. If an ant hill is disturbed, an army of defenders scuttles out to repel the intruder. Each ant grips a pinch of skin with its mandibles, then arches its back and jabs a dozen times or more with its stinger. Victims mav receive several thousand stings within seconds of being attacked. The stings raise burning blisters and sometimes trigger an allergic reaction that can send a person to a hospital in shock. Tales of fatal attacks and of the ants killing chicks, piglets, and calves are exaggerated, but the insect hordes can damage crops and orchards. The ants do some good, however, killing ticks and flies that bother cattle and insects that damage sugar cane. Scientists believe the tropical fire ant has reached the limit of its northern range and is unlikely to move further north. Neither will it go away, particularly since Mirex, the pesticide most often used to kill the ants, is being phased out as an environmental hazard. A Florida entomologist who has worked on the fire ant problem admits: "We couldn't eradicate this thing with an atomic bomb." New Peak Set July 20 By Electricity Users The demand for electricity on the Carolina Power & Light Co. system hit its highest point in history on Wednesday, July 20. The previous summertime record demand which occurred on July 29 last year already has been sur passed on five days within the past two weeks, though the all - time record still at 5,509 megawatts (mw) recorded during very cold weather on January 17, 1977. A new record was set Wednesday when a heavy air conditioning load on top of all other uses pushed demand to 5,597 mw, an increase of 9.3 percent over last summer's high of 5,121 . According to CP&L President Sherwood H. Smith, Jr., the company maintained several hun dred megawatts of reserve gener ating capacity through the period of peak demand and experienced no significant problems in serving its customers. Smith said CP>kL is encouraging conservation, however, particularly during the peak demand hours of 10 a.m. till 10 p.m. He cited conservation as the most immediate and direct means for individuals to hold their electric bills as low as possible. "Conservation during the peak demand period is additionally important to consumers on a long ? term basis." Smith said, "because growth in the peak has a direct bearing on how many new new generating plants we will have to build." Three Hurt In Wreck Three men were injured, .one critically, Saturday morning in. a two-car wreck at the intersection of 401 Business and Prospect Ave. Highway Patrolman R.V. Lee said that William Archie Mat thews, 17, of Autryville was driving a 1976 Dodge eastbound on Prospect Ave. and failed to stop at the intersection. The Dodge struck a 1970 Pontiac traveling south bound on U.S. 401 Business at the left front wheel portion of the car and propelled both vehicles into a ditch and field area on the east side of U.S. 401. Lee said that both cars were considered destroyed with the damage listed at 54,200. Matthews, a Fayetteville Times carrier returning from deliveries in Southern Pines and Vass. was admitted to Cape Fear Valley Hospital and is listed as in stable condition in intensive care there. The driver of the Pontiac, Harold Gustav Koch. 21. of Fayetteville, was treated for a broken wrist and facial injuries. David Hudson. 25, also of Fayetteville. was listed in satisfac tory condition by the hospital. No citations have been served. Trooper Lee noted that the intersection where the accident occurred has during a three week period seen two bad accidents involving seven injuries and four totaled vehicles. In one of the accidents two new vehicles valued at SI 4.000 were totaled. Scouts Enjoy Outing Cub Scouts of Pack 404 and their parents attended an outing Satur day at Weymouth Woods in Aberdeen. They were provided with a tour through the museum, viewed a slide presentation of plants and animals native to North Carolina. The scouts also took a trail hike to see the plants and animals in their natural habitat. The following awards were pre sented: David McLean, Bobcat Badge; David Butler, Bear Badge and Gold Arrow; David Newton, Bear Badge and Gold Arrow; David Simmons, Bear Badge; John Sappenfield. Citizen Activity Badge. SUPPORT YOUR HOKE COUNTY RESCUE SQUAD beat inflation Ask your Nationwide agent about Nationwide's Home owners Insurance with built-in inflation protection! Call today. M. VARDELL HEDQPETH 121 Wait Elwood Avenue Raeford, N. Carolina 21376 ?75-41(7 mfm NATIONWIDE 1 V INSURANCE Nationwide '? on your tide Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Co. Home Qfftca: Columbua. Ohio ISWCV, Trophies by Spotlworld Classics, Inc. from Wesnell Engraving Service Raeford, N. C. 28376 506 E Centra,Ave 875-5655 LEWIS GREY PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS BROTHERS JOIfflSOn ENCHANTMENT Comedian Rodney Winfield BRICK and Special Guest SLAVE Friday, July 29, 8:00 p.m. Cumberland County Memorial Arena Tkk?t? Ad vane* $6.25 $7.25 Day of Shew Tickets available at Arena Box Office Sir William III 336 RAY AVENUE FAYETTEVILLE, N. C. 2 BIG NIGHTS Friday and Saturday Nights - July 29th & 30th 9:30 until 1:30 Clifford Curry Hit Songs: "She Shot A Hole In My Soul" "I'm Gonna Hate Myself In The Morning" ADVANCE TICKETS $4.00 AT THE DOOR $5.00 THIS RD GOOD FOR SI.OO OFF ADMISSION TEL. 483-9961 Our Next Attractions Chairman of tha Board
The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.)
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July 28, 1977, edition 1
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