RAEFORD, NORTH CAROLINA
ews-Journal
Covering Hoke County Like A Roof Since 1905
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Volume LXXVni Number 45 Thursday, February 26,1987 2^ CENTS
Around Town
By Sam Morris
The ice storm last week slowed
things down in the county for a
few days. It was not as bad here as
it was in the northern counties of
the state. We closed school for on
ly one and one half days, but they
missed the entire week in many
counties. There were still some icy
spots Monday on the north side of
trees and buildings. The old saying
is that it’s waiting around for more
ice or snow. Now I think we have
had enough for this winter.
The temperature reached the
high 50s Monddy and the same is
forecast for Tuesday. It is forecast
for the thermometer to be in the
high 40s for the remainder of the
week and for rain to arrive Friday.
* * *
Don’t forget that the full com
mittee of the Constitutional
Bicentennial Committee of Hoke
will meet Monday, March 2 at the
Hoke County Library at 5 p.m.
This is the first meeting since a
group went to Raleigh; so many in
teresting things will be presented.
Also many sub-committees will be
appointed. So make plans to at
tend!
« « *
1 am always interested in old
papers and any other thing that
relates to history. Recently a man
brought a copy of a “Discharge
From Draft’’ dated June, 1918 in
to the office. It was given to the
late Grover C. Lyttle at Fort
Jackson, S.C.
The reason for discharge was for
reason of “defects existing prior to
draft.” Mr. Lyttle was drafted
from Marlboro County in South
Carolina. It doesn’t say how long
he was at Fort Jackson, but he did
receive $11.74 pay for his time.
* * *
Some more tips on “How to
Know You’re Growing Older:”
1. You turn out the lights for
economic, rather than romantic
reasons.
2. You sit in a rocking chair and
can’t get it going.
3. Your knees buckle, but your
belt won’t.
4. You regret all those tempta
tions you resisted.
5. You’re 17 around the neck, 44
around the waist and 105 around
the golf course.
« « *
When I think about Raeford 50
years ago, it brings to mind the
financial institutions, then and
now. I can’t remember the Bank of
Hoke, but have heard folks older
than me talk about it.
My first known banks in
Raeford were The Bank of
Raeford and Page Trust Com
pany. The Bank of Raeford was a
locally owned bank and was on the
corner of Main Street and Elwood
Avenue. This building is now own
ed by Bobby Carter. The bank
moved to its present location in the
1970s. Then in the 1980s it merged
with the United Carolina Bank
with headquarters in Whiteville.
UCB in Raeford is a branch of this
bank.
The Page Trust Company was a
branch out of Aberdeen and
Raleigh and it closed in 1933 when
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
closed all the banks in the nation.
It did not reopen after the then
called “bank holidays.” It was
located on Main Street and
Elwood Avenue opposite The
Bank of Raeford building.
In the 1960s Southern National
Bank, headquarters is Lumberton,
opened a branch in Raeford. It is
at the same location today, Main
Street and Elwood Avenue.
Another financial institution
was Raeford Savings and Loan
Association. It was a locally owned
institution until the 1980s when it
merged with Heritage Federal,
with the home office in Monroe.
Last year Progressive Savings
and Loan, home office in Lumber-
ton, opened a branch office on
Harris Avenue in Raeford.
So you can see that the financial
institutions that had two locally
owned businesses have now gone
the way of most institutions in the
nation. They have merged with
larger banks.
The banks and savings and loans
are not the only small businesses
(See AROUND, page 3A)
Comments prompt second hearing
By Sally Jamir
News-Journal Staff Writer
The Hoke County Commis
sioners responded to community
comment last week at a public
hearing for the proposed subdivi
sion regulations and set a second
hearing for additional responses to
major changes which may be made
to the proposed ordinance.
After the hearing Tuesday night,
commissioners responded to both
positive and negative comments
which residents made about the or
dinance. As a result of citizen
response commissioners plan to
make changes which will require a
second hearing on the ordinance.
Commissioners set the public
hearing for March 3 at 8 p.m. in
the Commissioners’ Room of the
Pratt Building.
Chairman Wyatt Upchurch said
he sensed that there was more of a
lack of understanding than there
was dissatisfaction about the or
dinance.
Some of the changes may con
cern clarifying requirements to
prepare the final plat and the cost
of the final plat.
Commissioner Tom Howell said
he agreed with Upchurch and add
ed, in response to commmunity
concern about the possible rise in
land costs, that the commissioners
are not “against affordable hous
ing” but just needed to “get
together on how to do it legitimate
ly”.
Commissioner MePhatter sug
gested the matter be studied before
a hearing was held in March. The
hearing is scheduled for 8 p.m.,
one-half hour after the commis
sioners meeting is to begin so that
commissioner’s may review ques
tions about the ordinance which
were raised at the public hearing.
Land surveyors Leland Strother
and John Furmage raised several
questions relating to the or
dinance. Commissioner Howell
suggested County Manager
William (Bub) Cowan meet with
the two men in order to answer
questions and receive input from
them.
Cowan mentioned that it would
also be helpful to compare the or
dinance to those which are current
ly in use in neighboring counties.
Cowan stressed that the ordinance
should be compared to those being
used in similar rural areas rather
than urban areas.
During the hearing, developers
requested a 30-day extension on
the effective date of the ordinance
in the event that the ordinance is
passed.
Chairman Upchurch responded
to this request by saying that he
had a problem with people re
questing this for personal gain.
The commissioners spoke of
wanting to establish an ordinance
which would not make unnec-
cessary hardships on area
residents.
However, Commissioner Howell
said difficulties would arise
regardless of what form of the or
dinance they adopted due to the
(See HEARING, page 3A)
1
Reopening
Jimmy McPhaul is the proorietor of the newly opened
McLauchlin Hardware and Lock Company on Main Street.
The new store takes the place of the one which was destroyed in
a fire in January of last year. McPhaul says he has no plans to
build in the site where the old storefront was. “It might look
good with some grass and trees, a couple of benches, maybe an
old wagon, ” McPhaul said.
After the fire
Hardware store reopens for business
By Sally Jamir
News-Journal Staff Writer
McLauchlin Hardware and Lock
Company opened its doors again last
week after seven months of restoring
and preparing a store front to take the
place of the Main Street building
destroyed by fire in January of last year.
The business is owned and operated
by Jimmy McPhaul who says that a
grand opening for the store is planned
for April.
“We’re looking forward to it and
ready for people to come in and see it.”
McPhaul said much work is still going
on but that by the time of the grand
opening the store will be complete and
fully stocked.
The building which now houses the
store was previously a cotton
warehouse. McPhaul has renovated the
building using brick and oak counters
from the destroyed building and pine
wood from an 1860’s house in the coun
ty owned by the Phillips family and Mill
Village in Hope Mills.
The pine wood was used for floor
boards. Additional counters were ob
tained from a hardware store in Galax,
Virginia, where McPhaul’s sister, Carol
Sample, lives and from the Post Office
in Hope Mills.
Among the vintage furniture in the
store is an antique seed bin which dates
back to 1928.
The ceiling has been renovated with
oldstyle slatted wood which McPhaul
said took 6,000 nails to secure. The
wood is freshly-painted and the ceiling
has six fans hanging from panels where
skylights used to be.
While central heating is being installed
in the store, a wood stove from the
original store heats the building.
The area where McPhaul’s office is
being finished is flanked on one side by a
turn-of-the-century vault door which
was previously on the opposite side of
the vault leading to an area which used
to be used as an office area when the
building was used as a warehouse in the
early 1900’s.
Opening the store in the old
warehouse building may mean the hard
ware is returning to its original home.
McPhaul said that long-time resident
Neill McFadyen states that in the late
1920’s and early 30’s, the hardware store
was first housed in the present store
building and later moved into the
building which burned.
McPhaul bought the business from his
father, J.W. “Buck” McPhaul, and
rented the building from him in 1982.
The newly opened store will offer the
same products and some of the same ser
vices which the old store offered.
Some new items will be available, in
cluding some general items. McPhaul
said he wants to keep an “old-timey” at
mosphere in the store.
Helping out at the store will be Ver
non Hubbard of Fayetteville and Bob
Colson and B.B. Smith, both of
Raeford.
Family and friends are helping
McPhaul get ready for the grand open
ing, tentatively scheduled for May 1.
Safety reduces
number of fires
Fires have been less frequent in Hoke County due
greatly to area residents being more safety conscious,
according to a Raeford Fire Department spokesmen.
Fire Chief Crawford Thomas said recently that
structure fires were on the decline mainly because
residents were “getting more cautious” in their treat
ment of heat sources.
“We are having fewer fires,” Thomas said. “I think
people are getting more safety conscious.”
Another reason for fewer fires may be because of re
cent unpredictable trends.
“It comes in spells,” Thomas said. “Sometimes
there will be a good year and there will be a few fires.
Some years there will be twice that many.”
Thomas said most fires start in the kitchen. Precau
tions should be made to safeguard this area against the
possibility of fires. A fire extinguisher is a good invest
ment.
In order to be prepared for the likelihood of dif
ferent kinds of fires in the future, the Fireman’s
Association just obtained new fire suppressant foam
and fire-fighting equipment for the county.
The foam is made for use on petroleum products
which easily catch fire, usually the result of gasoline
tanker vehicles which are injured and leak gas onto
highways and roads.
Several of these kinds of accidents have recently oc
curred in Fayetteville and the surrounding area.
Stonewall Fire Department Chief Neil McKenzie
said after a recent woods fire that he thought that
woods fires were still abundant in the area but that
stucture fires were on the decline.
“There has been a gradual decline in structure fires
because people are doing a better job of maintaining
chimneys, cleaning them out,” McKenzie said.
In addition, old farm tenant buildings which were
more frequently in use in the past are not used now
and thus are not prone to burn, he said.
The tenant houses were not well maintained and
many have burned in years past.
Regarding woods fires, McKenzie said people are
“still being careless”.
New faces at DSS
By Sally Jamir
News-Journal Staff Writer
There are some new faces at the Department of
Social Services (DSS) due to staff changes announced
recently at the DSS board meeting this week.
Linda McNeill is now filling an Eligibility Specialist
1 position in the Medicaid area and Allison Newton is
now Eligibility Specialist 11.
Linda Brown now fills a Child Support Agent I posi
tion and Sheffie McLaughlin has been made Eligibility
Specialist II.
The Eligibility Specialist I position in the Food
Stamp area has been filled by Debbie Hamilton and
the Eligibility Specialist I position for the program in
Aid to Families with Independent Children (AFDC) is
currently held by Gail Beasley.
These position recently opened at DSS because of
re-locations of staff and a retirement. DSS Director
Ken Witherspoon said that the positions are opened
first to those who currently work at DSS and then to
the public.
(See NEW, page 3A)
Johnson named ‘Citizen of the Year’
Local businessman E. Marvin
Johnson was named for the Hoke
County “Citizen of the Year
Award” by the Raeford Kiwanis
Club last Thursday night during
Ladies Night activities.
Johnson, who is president of
House of Raeford Farms, Inc.,
was cited for providing over 3,000
jobs for workers in eastern North
Carolina. He was also recognized
for “his benevolence and concern
for his community.”
Johnson currently serves as the
majority stockholder and owner of
seven related businesses. One of
those companies, House of
Raeford Farms, Inc., is the 14th
largest independently owned com
pany in North Carolina.
An innovator in the turkey in
dustry, Johnson owns a research
facility that has established the
“Johnson Great White” breed
which has a higher yield of breast
meat than any other breed.
During Johnson’s first year in
the turkey business with his father
and brother, the men grew 2,000
birds. Currently, the House of
Raeford Farms operation pro
cesses roughly 4 million pounds of
turkey each week.
A native of Rose Hill, Johnson
is a member of the North Carolina
Board of Agriculture and the
United States Department of
Agriculture Advisory Committee
on Foreign Animal ar.d Poultry
Diseases.
He is past president of the North
Carolina Poultry Federation, a
former president of the South
eastern Poultry and Egg Associa
tion, and a past president of the
National Turkey Federation. He is
also a past member of the North
Carolina Ports Authority and a
member of the Congressional
Club.
Johnson is married and the
father of four children. He has
seven grandchildren.
The annual Kiwanis event was
held at the Quality Inn in Southern
Pines.
Also during the evening. Bill
Niven captured awards for the
most raffle tickets sold and the
best program.
The award for the most pancake
dinner tickets sold went to Tony
Austin.
Receiving perfect attendance
pins were; Gene Carter, 11 years;
Avery Connell, 23 years; Frank
Crumpler, 21 years; Marion
Gatlin, 43 years; Terry Houston,
three years; Paul Livingston, two
years; John D. McAllister, two
years; Benny McLeod, 23 years;
Ernest Sutton, 13 years; Bill
Niven, 14 years; and Wendell
Young, four years.
The local Kiwanis Club was
established in 1924. The “Citizen
of the Year” award has been
presented annualy for the past 38
years.
E. Marvin Johnson