The Hoke County News - Established 1928
VOLUME LXXIII NUMBER 19 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLIN A
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- journal
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
S? PER YEAR THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 3. 1981
Around
Town
BY SAM C. MORRIS
For another week the weather
has been what I would call perfect.
Cool nights and warm days and
enough rain for crops. But don't
cut off the air conditioners because
we can have hot weather in
September.
The old picture on the front page
of last week's paper brought forth
many comments. Some were about
the old cars, no paved streets, and
of course about the lady in the
middle of the picture.
The First clue came from John
McKeithan. when he said it was
^ one of the Rackley girls, and this
F was followed by Jesse Gulledge,
who said the same thing. Others
agreed that it was either Ava or
Ethel Rackley, who lived on South
Stewart Street, then called 'Red
Bone.'
Last Friday afternoon, I had a
call from Mrs. Mamie Livingston
Spears who lives on the Hoke
County line before you get to
Lumber Bridge. She didn't know if
It the picture was of Ava or Ethel, but
stated that her mother was a
half-sister to the Rackley girls, and
that her name was Lida Rackley.
Lida married W.F. Livingston of
the Stonewall section of Hoke
County.
Mrs. Spears said that her grand
father owned a large farm below
where the Arabia Golf Course is
now located, and had a grist mill
and cotton gin on the farm. After
^ the death of Mamie's grandmother,
he married again and Ava and
Ethel were children of the second
wife. After the death of her
grandfather, she said that the
second Mrs. Rackley sold the farm
and bought a house in Raeford.
She stated that Ethel was dead,
but that Ava now Mrs. J. Pat
Jackson lived in Kingsport, Tenn.
Mamie said she would give her a
call and try to find out which of the
r ladies worked at Townsend Drug
Store.
The surprise came when Mamie
called back and said that Mrs.
Jackson (Ava) said that neither of
them worked at the drug store.
Mrs. Jackson stated that she
worked at Hatcher's Jewelry Store
and went to Fayetteville to work
when Mr. Hatcher moved his store.
She said the girl in the picture must
be Virginia Canoy. who boarded at
p the Rackley home.
A paper has been sent to Mrs.
Jackson and maybe we can get
further information after she takes
a look at the picture.
Anyway it is nice to talk to people
and bring back memories of the
"good old days."
* * ?
Robert Ward Whitley of Phila
^ delphia. Pa. was by the office last
week. He was visiting his sister and
brother. Mar/ Hazel and Ed here
for a few days. Robert and I were
schoolmates at Raeford High
School. He finished in 1936 and I
finished in 1935.
It was good to talk over old times
with him and we hope he will come
more often after his retirement,
which he says will be next year.
A note in a subscription renewal
is as follows:
"Always enjoy each issue of The
News-Journal . No matter how far
away I go, family ties keep pulling
me back to Raeford.
"1 will be coming home for the
Walters Family Reunion on Sept. 6
at Aberdeen Lake. During my two
weeks in the area, I plan to see as
T many relatives and friends as
possible: and hopefully do some
genealogical research on my Mc
Diarmid Family and its allied
branches.
As ever
Betty Whaston
? ? ?
While getting a hair cut last week
Stanley Koonce made mention of
? the Baptist Measure. He said that
' the late Mr. Cary Stephens said
that the measures were as follows:
a Methodist Measure was when the
bushel basket was heaped on top:
the Baptist Measure was when tne
basket was filled to the rim and
then smoothed over, and the
Presbyterian Measure was when the
basket was filled with the elbow of
the Presbyterian still in the basket.
Since I know that Mr. Cary was a
| Methodist, I won't put much faith
in these measures.
In Hoke County Schools
Classes Start Thursday
For New Year
SCH00L
DAYS#
I
Mqj. Barrington ( left] and Ptl. Baker with poster they put up Tuesday
morning on Bethel Road near Hoke High. [Staff photo. J
\
* - * ? ? * v -V. " ?-*
Put Up By Raeford PD
The door of the first-grade classroom of Miss Martha Ann Wood at West
Hoke School has been fixed up like this in preparation for the coming of the
students Thursday morning for their first day of the I9,SI-S2 school year.
\StuJf photo].
Posters For School Opening Caution Drivers
The Raeford Police Department
this week put up posters saying
"School's Open -- Drive Carefully"
this week throughout the city in
preparation for the opening of
school Thursday morning for the
1981 fall term. Police CTiief Leo
nard Wiggins reported.
Maj. J.C. Barrington, assisted by
Ptl. George Baker, finished the
work Tuesday morning.
Wiggins said that this years
poster program is part of a yearly
undertaking conducted jointly with
the Carolina Motor Club. He added
that it is designed to remind
motorists that school has started
again and to be especially careful
while driving through school zones.
T. Ed Pickard. president of the
motor club said. "This is a
particularly difficult time for all
concerned. During the summer
months drivers have gotten out of
the habit of slowing down in school
zones. ..and many students have
forgotten to watch out for cars."
He added. "The daily school
journey is a serious matter for
millions of youngsters each year.
Although the 35 million students in
the United States between the ages
of 5 and 14 represent about lb
percent of our total population,
they are involved in nearly 32
percent of our annual pedestrian
accidents."
The new school year will start
at 8 a.m. Thursday for Hoke
County's public school students,
and it will be a full day.
School buses will be running
on their regular schedules, and
school dining rooms will be
serving lunch to students,
teachers, and supervisors.
At West Hoke, everybody was
"all excited and ready to go."
West Hoke Principal Milton
Williams said last Thursday,
and the same could be said for
the county's other schools. Wil
liams is starting his First year as
West Hoke principal after serv
ing as an assistant principal of
Hoke County High School. His
predecessor at West Hoke.
Woodrow Westall. is going into
his first year as South Hoke
School's principal.
West Hoke is expecting 420
students in its grades kinder
arten through fourth, and has
2 teachers for them.
About 4.900 boys and girls
are expected during the first
days of the 1981 fall term, in
kindergarten through Hoke
County High School senior
class.
The first week of classes will
be followed by the annual Labor
Day holiday weekend, with
Monday the traditional holiday.
Classes will be open again
Tuesdav morning.
The teachers went to work
August 19, and wound up
preparations last week and
Monday for the opening of the
new year by participating in
staff development sessions,
which opened August 24 and
continued through Monday.
The next holiday for the
students is October 30 when the
North Carolina Association of
Educators will meet. Teachers
and supervisors will be at
tending.
The other holiday before
Thanksgiving is November 11,
Veterans Day, but parent
teacher conferences are sche
duled for that day. a Wednes
day.
The Thanksgiving holiday
will be November 26-27, with
classes being resumed the fol
lowing Monday morning.
At Association Dinner Meeting
A state corrrectional officer at
McCain and retired Navy veteran
was named Hoke County Law
Enforcement Officer of the Year
August 25.
Sgt. Lee Croft, on the staff of the
McCain State Correctional Unit for
men for the past 12 years, was
chosen for the honor for 1980-81 by
the majority of the members of the
Hoke County Law Enforcement
Officers Association attending the
association's annual dinner meet
ing at Woodmen of the World Hall.
The members voted on the nomi
nees in a secret ballot.
The association also during the
meeting gave the Hoke County
Rescue Squad SI 00 as a gift in
appreciation of the help the squad
has been giving law enforcement
officers. The gift was accepted by
Jim and Ginny Wade for the squad.
Jim Wade is a charter and active
member of the squad, which was
founded about 20 years ago.
After the business meeting, the
association members and their
guests watched outdoor demonstra
tions given by dogs in tracking,
drug detecting and attacking and
subduing felony suspects. The dogs
performed under the supervision of
Gerry Lapham. He was assisted by
several experienced dog-handlers,
including Lisa Madden of Raeford,
a Hoke County High School stu
dent and daughter of Hoke Deputy
Sheriff and Mrs. James Madden.
Members of the association also
participated in the demonstrations
as "targets" for the dogs and
people in a "crowd" through which
the do^s had to pursue a fugitive
but without biting any of the
bystanders despite their yelling and
Lee Croft Voted
Hoke Officer
Of Y ear
simulated striking at them.
Croft, a native of Bedford. Va..
joined the state correctional unit at
McCain after leaving the Navy
following 23 years of service.
He came to Hoke County be
cause he'd married a Hoke County
girl -- Christine Sides of Ashley
Heights. She also was a classmate
of David Barrington, now Hoke
sheriff, at what was then Raeford
High School, graduating in 1951.
The Crofts have three children:
Susan, 24, a graduate of the
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill. Linda, 23. a UNC
Charlotte graduate, and Billy 18.
who graduated last spring from
Hoke County High School and is
now in the Navy. Susan works in
the accounting office of Pinehurst.
Inc., and Linda in the restaurant of
Pinehurst Country Club. Their
mother works in an Aberdeen
pharmacy.
Among the association members
who volunteered to be a target was
District Court Judge Joseph E.
Dupree. Wearing the protective
heavily padded sleeve used in
training attack dogs, he and Doby,
a large and vigorous Doberman
Pinscher. gave each other a stren
uous workout for several minutes.
Among the other dogs showing
their skills for the audience were
Joey, a German Shepherd, and
Duchess, a Rottweiler, also a
German breed. Joey and Duchess
the previous weekend, with Lap
ham handling them, helped Hoke
sheriffs deputies find marijuana at
places the officers searc'ned for
drugs.
In another exhibition. Duchess
and Miss Madden demonstrated as
attacker and attackee. but Lapham
indicated to the audience they were
about evenly matched. He said
Duchess weighs about 100 pounds,
which is about what Miss Madden
weighs.
Doby. directed by Roger John
son. also gave an exhibition in
agility, jumping over hurdles, and
climbing over a nearly vertical
wooden wall about 10 feet high. He
also demonstrated obedience to
Lee Croft |r??/?f| is congratulated by Sam Motley, president of the Hoke
County Law Enforcement Officers Association, on being elected Hoke
County Officer of the Year. [Staff photo].
Johnson's hand and voice diree- Deputy Sheriff Sam Motley,
tions. including crawling on his president of the association, presid
stomach. mnLT ....
Murder Suspect
Guilford
Arrested In Hoke
A man wanted on a murder
charge in Guilford County was
arrested Monday night at his
mother's home in South Hoke.
Detective C.E. Harris of the
Hoke County Sheriffs Depart
ment^ one of the officers who
participated in the arrest, reported
the suspect is Thurman Lee Lock
lear, 37, an Indian, of Greensboro,
a native of South Hoke.
Harris said Guilford officers
were on their way to Raeford
Tuesday morning to return Lock
lear to Guilford County. Locklear
was being held in Hoke County Jail
without bond after he was arrested.
Harris reported.
Guilford County Detective Steve
Shaver informed Harris that the
murder was committed Saturday.
Harris did not know who the victim
was but said he understood it was a
white male.
The Hoke department had been
advised when it was informed
Lockiear was in Hoke County that
Locklear was to be "considered
armed and dangerous." but Harris
said Locklear w as unarmed and did
not resist when he was arrested.
He saicl the other officers parti
cipating in tne arrest wei* Hoke
Detective J. R. Riley. SBI Agent T.
Wade Anders, who had informed
Harris that Locklear was believed
to be in Hoke County, and Robeson
County Deputies H. Bell and H.
Smith.
Harris's report filed at the
sheriffs department after Locklear
was arrested says that after Anders
contacted him, he and Riley went
with Anders and the two Robeson
officers met in South Hoke at 7
p.m. Monday, then went to the
home and found Locklear there.