Making miracles happen
A small group of dedicated and
hard-working residents deserve the
gratitude of thiscommunity. These
people have made a miracle hap
pen.
In less than a year, the Raeford-
Hoke Museum Board obtained the
historic McLauchlin-McFadyen
f louse and its five acres of grounds
to hold the community’s his
tory.
The dream of a museum came
out of plans for Raeford’s centen
nial celebration held in May of last
year. A scant year later — on June
— an open house was held in
which the public was invited to
visit the almost lOO-year-old
home.
What a wonderful event that
was as visitors explored the 6,()()0
square ft. home and checked out a
few of what is hoped will be
many historic displays. Visitors
climbed stairs where children
once played and explored spa
cious rooms that had housed fam
ily members and even visiting
soldiers and ministers as well as
paying guests for a time. Music
floated in the warm spring air as
guests partook of refreshments
and visited. Hugs and laughter
were the order of the day.
Perhaps that day will set the
tone for the future of a museum
that is to rellcct the history of all
the people who lived, worked
and died in this community.
There is still much to be done.
Money, artifacts and labor arc
needed if this glimpse of the past
for future generations is to con
tinue to happen.
The Raeford-Hoke Museum
Board is made up of Grace
McDonald, Bob Gentry, Lauchlin
MacDonald, Betty Smith, Mike
Lucas, Janice Griffies, Palmer
Willcox, Mike McNeill, Robert
Wright, Lyncttc Dial, Jeni Smith
and James Leach. Contact any of
them if you have anything todonate
to the museum.
Monetary contributions in honor
of people we admire or in 'memory
of people we loved may be made.
Send checks to; (’ity of Raeford,
.^15 N. Main St., Raeford, NC
2.S37().
And while you are considering
what you can do to add to the Rae-
ford-lloke Museum,don’t forgetto
thank those — and they are not all
board members — who have
worked to make it a reality.
Whatcha Name writes from memory — or lack of
Some of the best material 1 have
for a column comes from silting in a
doctor's office. I paid such a visit last
week to the urologist — the man with
the gentle finger. Before 1 was called
I looked around the room and all I saw
was old folks. Then it dawned on me
thiit 1 was one of them.
I am happy with my age. I have
known many who didn't make it.
Along with age comes forgetfulness.
When 1 was a high .school principal, I
took pride in being able to call ‘JO
percent of my students by their first
names.
There were 1,750 of them; it took
concentration.
Now I still ktiow most of the faces,
but it is harder to put a name with
them. If that .sounds like bragging, it
is. I have called Mildred Maxwell
■‘Marie" for years. She answers and
goes right along with my mistake.
Sarah Maxwell has been "Krances"
most of tjje time. You see, us elders
understand such.
Now Fcan't come up with the
names like 1 did at one time, but 1 am
not as forgetful asaprincipal I worked
with in my younger days. He couldn’t
remember anyone's name. When he
wanted to see any member of the
faculty, he would say "Whatcha
Name, come by my office." 1 taught in
Gibsonville for two years before 1
found out everyone's name wasn't
"Whatcha Name."
It was an interesting time in my
life. One day he called me into his
office with tears in his eyes. He said,
■‘Whatcha Name, 1 want you to go to
room 37 and fire that teacher."
1 said, “I don’t have a right to fire
Ihiit teacher."
He replied, "I am giving you the
authority to fire her; she is drunk.”
1 went to her room and fired her.
She had been drinking ‘slump hole.'
It smelled like some an uncle of mine
brewed. Since her husband was a doc-
A View from
the Country
Raz ,4ulry
tor, she didn’t protest, just gathered
up her belongings and went home.
I thought about that teacher over
the years and wondered what hap
pened to her. She did love that brew.
I learned later from the students she
came to school most mornings with
it on her breath.
The goof-olfs w ere probtibly sad
she was gone; now they would have
to go to work.
Apparently either students or par
ents informed the principal. Not me,
the only time 1 ever saw her w'as
when I illegally fired her. If 1 had
done such a deed today I would still
be in jail at ‘JO — if 1 lived that
long.
Now back to my physical extims.
When 1 left the building where the
man with the soft touch hung out, 1
journeyed over to get an ultrasound
on my carotid artery.
A pretty young lady was at the
desk, and when I stated my name,
she looked at the sign-in sheet to
make sure 1 was the one I claimed to
be.
Never have 1 been able to deter
mine why they have check-in sheet
with the time you arrive. You arc
never called on time. 1 am sure that is
necessary, although 1 don’t know a
bunch of people called “Raz. ”
Nevertheless, when all of the pre
liminaries were taken care of, she
asked, "Have you had anything to
eat or drink today'.'"
I replied, “I ate breakfast."
"I am sorry, you can’t have an
ultrasound; you were not supposed
to eat anything."
I answered, ‘‘That is the first time I
ha\ e been told such. I’letise tell me why
should my etiting interfere with an ul
trasound on my carotid artery'.'”
She ctime back with, ‘‘You are to
have tin ultrasound on your stomach."
‘‘There is nothing wrong with my
stomach, and I know I tun not preg
nant."
“The paper says yrni are supposed
to have an ultrasound on your stom
ach."
"1 don’t care w hat the paper says, it
could say you are going to cut my
throat, but I am not going to stand here
and let you do it; 1 would suggest you
call the doctor’s office. "
She did and while talking her face
started Hushing. Hanging the phone
up, she stated, “You are right; you
could eat breakfast. ”
I wondered how m;my shy folks get
tests they aren’t supposed to have. I
was ushered back in a room where
another lady does the test. It wasn't
quite as tough as the doctor with the
gentle fi tiger, but it is no piece of cake.
I had much r.ither be chasing squirrels
out of my orchard.
Approach ing those doctor visits is a
little like the young man who had a
case of laryngitis. He stood hesitantly
in the reception room in the doorway
eyeing the blonde nurse. “Is the doctor
in'.'" he finally managed in a hoarse
whisper.
He wasn’t exactly set at ease when
the nurse w hispered back, "No, come
on in."
My parting thought — according to
the sports news some folks paid $50
bucks to see the hockey game in Ra
leigh. Goes to show you some people
have more money than they have sense.
1 wouldn’t pay for a ticket if they let me
ride on the back of one of the players
for the entire game. I had rather be
chasing a possum; you can do that for
free.
Political
Lines
This column is dedicated to mai
lers involving Hoke's political race of
21)02.
Candidules and campaign staff
who wish to announce fund-raisers,
rallies and other events, should con
tact The News-.lourn:il editor, Pal
\llen Wilson. Those announcement
will he included in this .space only.
Ja.son (’amp. 21-yeiir-old son of
Pete Camp, l.ibertaritm candidate for
Hoke County commissioner, has filed
for soil and water commissioner in
Moore County. The N.('. I.ibertarian
Ptirty has approx ed his candidacy.
The Libertarian Party of North
Carolina has 151 caiulidates in the
state. In 2IKH), there were 54.
Election laws reciuire the final list
of candidates be turned over to the
state Board of Fdections Julv 1.
Over the past few months. The
News-Journal htisdedicated a full ptige
(IB) to introducing local candidates
to the readers. Names were draw n to
determine the order the catididates
would be presented.
Candidates tiren’t always available
when it comes their turn to be inter
viewed, and the tiext listed ctmdidate
is generally called until the skipped
candidate can find the time for an
interview and to gtither photos.
Right now, there arc three candi
dates who htive been skipped due to
scheduling conflicts.
Because of the problems experi
enced with scheduling interviews, this
week and next week page 1B are
being used for feature articles.
Articles on candidates w ill resume
July 3.
Happy birthday to North Carolina’s oldest hving war veteran
If there is a surviving World War 1
veteran, help me find him.
This was my plea in a recent col
umn in which I suggested that there
were probably no more surviving
World War 1 veterans in North Caro
lina. But I wrote maybe we should
call roll one last time, against the hope
that one or two might still answer.
Thanks to Tom Mayer, editor of
The Daily Southerner in Tarboro, I
learned there is still an answer to the
World War I veterans’ roll call.
What an answer it is!
First of all. North Carolina does
have a surviving World War I vet
eran—a very important one. Hisname
is Robert Hodges. He lives in the little
townofStonewall in Pamlico County,
not far from New Bern.
Here is what is extra special.
Hodges is the country’s oldest known
veteran. In fact, after his birthday this
Tuesday (June 18th), Hodges is 111
years old. When the folks in the com
munity learned that Hodges was our
oldest veteran, they organized a cel
ebration for him at Pamlico Commu-
One on One
D. G. Martin
nity College on March 8.
Freda Hudson, editor of the
Pamlico News, sent me the clip
pings from her newspaper describ
ing the ceremony. Generals from
Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune, and
Cherry Point, along with representa
tives of state and local veteran ser
vice offices, came to pay their re
spects. Messages from the President
of the United States and local con
gressional representatives were read.
A representative from the governor
presented Hodges with the Order of
the Long Leaf Pine, bands played,
speeches were made, and through it
all Robert Hodges sat in dignified
silence.
I wondered if such a ceremony
would mean much to someone who
Worth Repeating
“The wealth in Hoke and other low income counties is simply
insufficient to give boys and girls the kind of training they need to
succeed.” — Representative Dan Blue said during his visit to Hoke
County last week.
was so old. But when the program was
over, according to the report in the
Pamlico News, Hodges brought the
house down by raising his strong bari
tone voice in an energetic rendition of
“Over There.” In case you didn’t re
member, “Over There’’ was one of the
most popular war songs of the era.
Don’t feel too bad. Apparently most of
the folks at the ceremony couldn’t sing
the words either, so Hodges sang a
solo.
The only thing wrong with this cel
ebration, in my opinion, was that ev
eryone in North Carolina could not
participate.
Robert Hodges is a living monu
ment, tying us back to 1918 when he
enlisted. He was shipped to France,
served for more than a year, and got to
know General Black Jack Pershing
before coming back home to Eastern
North Carolina.
Hodges takes us back even further.
Having been born in 1891, he lived
through times we would hardly recog
nize—before automobiles, before the
Wright brothers, before radio and tele
vision, and all that goes with it.
His grandparents were slaves. He
grew up in a small house on a planta
tion, working in the fields from the
time he was a young boy. With little
more than a fourth grade education, he
came back from the war, worked hard,
acquired property, got married and had
eight children and many grandchildren
and great-grandchildren. Apparently,
he doesn’t dwell on the things that
w ere denied him because of his race,
poverty, and lack 'of education, but
takes pride in his accomplishments,
his family, and his Army service.
Last week the residents of Mary
land mourned the loss of a 46()-year-
old oak tree that had been a symbol
and a living link to their state’s past.
News reports said that people from all
over the state came to see the fallen
tree and salute it before it was cut up
and taken away.
Some cried. Others were proud
that the people of Maryland had hon
ored their link to the past, long before
the tree fell down.
While Robert Hodges is still alive,
we North Carolinians have a chance
to celebrate the special link to the past
that Robert Hodges gives to us. He
connects us tangibly to our history
and gives us a welcome opportunity
to celebrate those who came before
us.
We can start by joining together
and wishing our 111 -year-old veteran
a rousing happy birthday.
D.G. Martin is Carolinas Director
of the Trust for Public Land, a na
tional conservation organization that
preserves land for people. He hosts
UNC-TVs North CarolinaBookwatch,
which returns to the air in July on
Sundays at 5 p.m.
S, V
THANK YOU
Letters to Editor policy
The New.s.lournal \sc\comes Letters to the Editor and encourages readers to express
their opinions.
Letters must be signed :ind include an address and phone number. The street address
and phone number will not he pubi ished, but arc required so we may verify authenticity.
The name of the writer and, in some cases, the tow n the writer is from will be published
;it the end of the letter.
We reserve the right to edit letters for grammar, as well as those that exceed .400
words. We will not publish letters that we consider to be in poor taste or slanderous. In
some ctises we mav add an editor’s note as a postscript when we believe a correction,
explanation or amplification is warranted. We may also, at our discretion, limit the
number of times an individual writer may submit a letter for publication.
The News-Journal
Published every Wednesday by
Dickson Press, Inc., Paul Dickson President
119 W. Elwoud Avenue, Raeford, North Carolina 28376
(910) 875-2121 (Call for fax number)
■GB4)
PRINTED WITH
SOY INK
Home Page: www.thenews-journal.coni
Robert Diclcson (robert@thenews-journai.com) Publisher
Ken MacDonald (ken@thenews-journai.com) General Manager
Pat Allen Wilson (pat@thenews-journal.com) Editor
Victoriana Summers (vicky@thenews-)ournai.com) Reporter
Teena ,|ones (teena@thenews-journai.com) Advertising Rep.
Becky ,|unes (becky@thenews-journai.com) Office Manager
Linda Watson (iinda@thenews-journai.com) Receptionist
Robin Thonipkins (robin@thenews-journai.com) Computer Design
Sandra Wiggins Computer Design
Henry L. Blue Production Supervisor
Mantise Andrews Press Foreman
Sam C. Morris Contributing Editor
email ads to: ads(a)thenews-|ournal.com
email classifieds to: classjfleds@thenews-journal.com
email legals to: legals@thenews-journal.com
Periodical Class Postage at Raeford, N.C.(USPS 388-260)
Postmaster: Send address changes to:
P.O. Box 550 Raeford. N.C. 28376
The News-Journal is sold at these locations:
Bolton’s Central Ave.
Barbee Pharmacy Harris Ave.
Bo's S. Main St.
Butlers Grocery Arabia
CVS Pharmacy 401 Bypass
Carthens Grocery... Centre Grove Church Rd.
Community Grocery Five Points
Daniels’ BP 401 Bypass
Daniels' Exxon E. Central Ave.
David's #5 Hwy 20 & Central
Edinborough Restaurant S. Main St.
Fast Shop W. Prospect. Ave.
Food S. Stop W. Prospect Ave.
401 Express Stop ... E. Central & 401 N.
401 Shop & Save #1 Harris and 401
401 Shop & Save #2 E. Central Ave.
G-Mart Hwy 211 E.
Hardin’s Rockfish Rd., Rockfish
Home Food Supermarket Main St.
Howell Drug Teal Dr.
J&L Clover Scurlock School Rd.
Lucky Stop 401 and Palmer
McNeil's (jrocery.... Antioch
MePhatter's Grocery 401 Bus/Vass Rd.
Miller’s Cash & Carry Dundarrach
Miller’s Express Lube 401 By-Pass
0 & J Conv. Mart Old Maxton Rd.
Papa’s Pizza Harris Ave.
Parks Grocery McCain
Poco N. Main St.
Quik Serve 211 East
R&R Grocery Hwy. 211 East
Robbins Hgts Grocery E. 7th Ave.
Short Stop #14 401 & Palmer
Short Stop #23 Rockfish Rd.&401
Short Stop #54 Hwy. 401 Bypass
Short Stop #64 Hwy. 211 West
Short Stop #68 N. Fulton St.
The News-Journal 119 W. Elwood
Wagon Wheel Restaurant. ...509 Harris
Woody's Rockfish Rd. at King Rd.
Zip N Mart 401 N.
Subscription Form
□ New subscription
□ Renewal
□ Newcomer (3 free months)
□ Gift (We’ll notify recipient)
Clip, mail with payment to:
The News-Journal
P.O. Box 550
Raeford, N.C. 28376
Rates (including N.C. tatx)
In Hoke;
One year
.. $14
6 months
... $8
Senior Cit
. $12
Outside Hoke:
One year
. $17
6 months
$9.50
Outside N.C.:
One year
. $20
6 months
. $11
(910)875-2121 for more information
Subscriber information:
Name
Address
City
Phone
State
.Zip
Your name, address (if different from above)
Name
Address
City State
Phone
.Zip