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PROGRESS SENTINEL
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VOL. XXXXV1I NO. 9 USPS 162-860 KENANSVILLE. NC 28349 MAkCHj. 196J 18 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
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GOSHEN GROVE, CALYPSO'S BEGINNING - The first
settlement of the community of Calypso was known as
Goshen Grove, life-long resident Leonard S. Guy said.
Calypso will be celebrating its 70th birthday this Sunday at
the town hall, and the public is invited to attend'. The
? ?
present town has a population of 645 citizens. The town
was incorporated in March of 1913 and its first post office
was established in 1898 bearing the name Calypso.
Pictured above, right to left, town resident Buddy Batson.
Postmaster Haywood Custer of Faison. and Calypso native
Leonard S. Guy.
_ ? ?
Calypso To Celebrate
9 70TH Birthday Sunday
The town of Calypso was
founded many years before
its incorporation in 1913. The
community was originally
named Goshen C-rove and
grew into a lumber and
produce town. Sunday,
t ^Calypso celebrates its 70th
..wbirthday.
Goshen Grove was a very
small settlement, only con
sisting of David Cameron's
general store and a platform
where local farmers sold
produce. Cameron would buy
the produce and ship it north
by railroad. Cameron was the
second postmaster of the
e /^-t A . ?
town in taivpso. n posi
office was established June
A>5. 1898. The first post
inaster was Jacob W. Par
rott.
The community began to
develop when Wellington
Patten moved to town and set
up a flour mill. Calypso
native Leonard S. Guy said.
Patent gave up flour-milling
and began to cut lumber and
later changed his operation
into a packaging company.
?The packaging company pro
duced bushel hampers, po
tato barrels and lettuce
crates for local farmers and
agricultural areas outside
North Carolina. Today the
operation is the Calypso Ply
wood Company.
. "The story 1 have always
heard about how Calypso got
its name is when Wellington
Patent moved here, he
?wanted to change the name
from Goshen Grove and
name it after his wife, Eliza
beth." Leonard S. Guy said.
"But, they couldn't name it
Elizabethtown because there
was already another place
with the name, so a teacher
by the name of McQuarter.
at the local school, suggested
the name Calypso. They'say
McQuarter had been
teaching Greek mythology in
school during the time and
told the folks there would
probably not be another
community by that name."
Calypso appeared in
Homer's tale The Odyssey.
In Greek mythology. Calypso
is the daughter of Atlas. She
lived on the island Ogygia. In
the Odyssey, Calypso kept
the ship-wrecked Odysseus
from returning home seven
years. Calypso allowed
Odysseus to leave on a ship
of his own making upon the
command of Zeus.
"Us boys used to go down
to the Neuse and swim in the
big holes where they would
bring the big logs out from
the water to load on oxen and
bring to the mill," Guy said.
"And. later Patten had a
tram built to bring the logs to
the mill. Joe Pentella used to
operate the train for Patten
and they'd go about twice a
day and pick up a load." The
railroad in Calypso also
brought about the town's
fame as a porduce market.
The Calypso shed was
phased out by the Faison
produce market, a more or
ganized and larger facility.
Guy said.
"Before the Faison pro
duce market was built, we
had the largest and busiest
shed." Guy said. "There
would be wagons and carts
lined up for a mile in each
direction of the shed. The
place would get pretty crazy
and Mr. G.W. Albritton
(produce buyer and Calypso
fesident) would T~'t i-nt*
everything around there was
mad and then he'd jump up
and tell them he'd give 40
cents a crate, for it all."
Patten left the lumber
milling operation to build
produce crates and employed
more than 500 people during
green seasons. The agricul
tural community grew water
melons. strawberries and
canteloupes. Strawberries
were often loaded on box
cars in the fields. The train
cars were refrigerated by
blocks of ice. Guv said.
"In 1930 Calypso's popu
lation was about 1.000."
Ruddy W. Batson. former
employee of the packing
company, said. "1 came to
Calypso in 1927 and worked
in the plant as foreman of the
lettuce crate department and
later a truck driver. During
the depression, we worked
seven-hour days, seven days
a week and were paid seven
cents an hour. We got our 49
opnrt in Hiip htllc n. ?t puch
and we could trade the due
bills in at George Albritton's
store for supplies." At the
conclusion of the depression,
Batson said. Patent could no
longer make a profit due to
the enactment of the national
Waae and Hour laws and the
packaging company was
sold. Guy Ross operated the
company approximately one
year before the sale in 1941
to B.E. Bryan. Bryan opened
the business as the Calypso
Veneer Company and later
changed the name to Calypso
Plywood.
"1 came to Calypso and
never wanted to leave,"
Batson said. "Some say it's
because I made the mistake
of drinking the water.
Houses and mercantiles
lined the roads beside the
railroad and on the corner
was a handpump which sup
plied water for all the homes
and businesses. They said if
you drank from that pump
vou woutH^fwwer leave, and I
haven't."
Today Calypso has a
population of 645 citizens,
according to the 3980 census.
Postmaster Haywood Custer
boasts the name Calypso
only appears once in the U.S.
Post Office records and that
is in Duplin County. North
Carolina.
"Four or five years ago I
received a letter from the
famous explorer Jacques
Costeau." Postmaster
Custer said. "He wanted to
know if he could come down
the Neuse to Calypso in his
little explorer submarine
named Calvpso, too." At
that time Costeau was work
ing off the North Carolina
coast with a crew gathering
information about the possi
bility of raising the ship
Monitor.
Calypso will celebrate its
birthday March 6. 1983. with
an open house at the town
hall. Open house begins at 2
p.m. concluding at 4 p.m.
The public is invited to the
open house where the town
charter will be on display and
refreshments served,
f Tf" > J Sf M. V
Tar Heel Fine Arts
Society Schedules
0 Additional Concert
The Tar Heel Fine Arts
Society has scheduled an
additional concert for the
1982-83 season. On Satur
day, March 12 at 8 p.m. in
the Kenan Memorial Audi
torium in Kenansville. a
concert will be given featur
ing Edmond Karlsrud,
bass-baritone, and The Men
of Song.
H Karlsrud, the popular
American bass-baritone, is
one of the most outstanding
and experienced recitalists of
our day. His record of over
1,400 concerts and over 400
Metropolitan Opera perfor
mances may be unequaled by
any singer in the world
today.
The Men of Song quartet
has been rated by many
? critics as the finest concert
quartet ever assembled. In
addition to tremendously
successful concerts, these
\
artists have performed on
television, radio, recordings
and in the movies.
Plan now to attend this
concert on Saturday, March
12. A limited number of
season tickets will be avail
able at the door. The concert
is open to any person who
currently has a 1982-83
season membership ticket.
UNC-G DEAN'S LIST
Two students from Beula
ville attained the dean's list
at the University of North
Carolina at Greensboro
during the first semester
which ended recently.
They are: Diane Blizzard,
a mathematics major, daugh
ter o^ Mr. and Mrs. Earl D.
Blizzard of Route 1, and
Laura Williams, an English
major, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Surry V. Williams, also
of Route 1.
Greyhound
Asking OK To
Abandon Route
Greyhound Lines Inc. has
filed a petition with the N.C.
Utilities Commission to dis
continue bus service along 17
rural routes in North Carolina,
becoming the first bus com
pany serving the state to take
advantage of the recent
federal deregulation of the
industry.
Among the routes Grey
hound is asking to abandon is
the route between Warsaw
and the junction of N.C. 11
and U.S. 117 south over N.C.
N.C. 24 to Kenansville,, in
cluding through Tin City.
A
Duplin County 1982 Gross
Agricultural Income 231326995
By Lois G. Britt
Duplin County's estimated
gross agricultural income for
1982 totals $231,326,995
which is an increase of
$3,735,586 from 1981. his
increase came about because
of a combination of higher
prices and greater produc
tion. Agricultural extension
officials are quick to point out
that coupled with this, the
farmers experienced greater
expenses in order to produce
last year's crop.
Labor, fuel, feed, seed,
fertilizer and all raw products
were higher than ever
known. So, even though total
agiiiunurai lacomc was up,
net income may, in fact, be
do?'n for individual farmers.
However, the total amount
of $231,326,995 was put into
circulation many times i': the
economy.
. Income figures were as
follows, with the 1981 and
1982 figures: Tobacco.
$36,877,439 and 41,623.978;
Corn. $12,720,000 and
$9,798,750; Soybeans.
$8,743,500 and* $8,186,250;
Other field crops, $2,698,190
and $2,021,940; Swine,
$30,485,000 and 33.917,
700; Poultry. $110,852,627
and $114,292,396; Horticul
ture. $15,852,089 and $12.
Beef & Dairv
$1,197,700 and SI. 150.580:
Forestry, $7,932,090 and
$6,278,067; Honey. $5,145
and $3,602. Total Sales
amounted to $227,363,780
and $231,238,438. Govern
ment payments, 227,628 and
$88,557. Total Sales and
Government Payments.
$227,591,408 and $231,326.
995.
Duplin tobacco growers
harvested 10.931.56 acres in
1982 with an average yield of
2.362 pounds per acre. The
value of tobacco was $41,
623,978. In 1981 growers
harvested 11,432 acres of
flue-cured tobacco with an
average yield of 1,893 per
arrp u.'hirh *ailft for $.16.778
886 and 87 acres of Maryland
tobacco with an average
yield of 1.200 per acre which
sold for $98,553. In 1982
tobacco income was $4,746.
539 higher.
Duplin County farmers
produced approximately
65.000 acres of corn in 1982
with an average yield esti
mated at 100 bushels per
acre. This gave a total pro
duction of 6,500.000 bushels.
It is estimated that 4,355.000
bushels of corn was sold for
$9,798,750. This was a de
crease in income from corn of
$2,921,250 under 1981
income from corn.
The Duplin County soj'
bean crop of 59,000 acres
produces an estimated yield
of 25 bushels per acre for a
total production of 1.475.000
bushels. The average price of
soybeans was $5.55 per
bushel for a total value of
$8,186,250. This was a de
crease in income from soy
beans of $557,250 under 1981
soybean income.
The total value of horti
cultural crops sold in Duplin
County in 1982 was $13,
965.*176 which was a de
crease of $1,886,913 from
1981. No one horticultural
crop accounted for all the
loss but some experienced a
decrease because of price
and weather
The income from pulp
wood and saw timber sold by
Duplin County farmers was
estimated at $6,278,067
which was a decrease of
$1,752,023. There were no
Christmas trees sold in 1982
which was a decrease in
income of $2,000.
Duplin County hog
growers sold 3f3.500 head of
slaughter hogs for $39,814,
500 which was an increase of
$5,532,000 over 1981 hog
sales. This increase was be
cause of higher production
prices.
Cattle sold for slaughter
amounted to 1.900 head
which, sold for $795,340.
Total income from slaughter
cattle and feeder cattle was ?
$869,140. Income from dairy
cattle sales and milk sales
was $16,120.
Poultry was the leading
agricultural commodity in
Duplin County in 1982. The
total income from poultry in
1982 was $114,292,396.
Broiler production in 1982
was 35,823.000 head which
had a live value of $36,
277,952. This was a decrease
of $1,274,665 because prices
were lower than 1981.
Turkey production in 1982
amounted to 9.651,174 head
compared to 9,454.338 head
in 1981. Turkey production in
1982 was valued at approxi
mately $62,943,633 which
was $5,699,541 more than
the 1981 sales. Commercial
eggs sold for $2,494,415.
Broiler hatching eggs and
turkey hatching eggs were
valued at $11,477,.256 in
IWA
Gross agricultural income
in Duplin County has con
tinued to increase as pro
ducers have utilized tech
nology to produce and as
prices have continued to rise
due to inflation. The impact
of $250 plus million in the
economy cannot be dis
counted ever, though many
farmers are experiencing
les . and less net income.
I ? .
commissioners uk txpenairure
The Duplin County Com
missioners last week pur
chased a heavy-duty truck for
the county garbage service
and authorized purchase of
two ambulances if they be
come available through the
Neuse River Council of Gov
ernments.
The countv will pay
$57,345.35 for the 1972
model White truck. It is buy
ing the vehicle from Triple T
Parts Equipment Co. of
Wilmington.
Installing a garbage con
tainer and hydraulic equip
ment on the truck will cost
another $3,000. The vehicle
will replace a broken-down
truck and will be one of four
garbage collections trucks in
the county's service. Duplin
County has maintained a
county-wide garbage pick-up
service for many years.
Authorization for the am
bulances came following the
KE* t
report of Hiram Brinson.
county emergency services
director, that the state is
purchasing 15 ambulances
and is assigning two of these
to Rceion P. represented bv
the Neuse River Council of
Governments. The state will
provide 25 percent of the cost
and the county or counties
getting the vehicles will put
up the other 75 percent.
Brinson said he thought
Duplin County has a good
chance of getting the ve
hicles. The county wants to
use the vehicles to replace
aging ambulances in Wallace
and Bculaville. Brinson esti
mated the cost at $18.0(X) to
the county.
Brinson also reported an
unusually high collection rate
on ambulance bills from Julv
12. 1982. to Jan. I. 1983. The
county, which supplies
ambulances to area rescue
squads, sends out bills for
\
service. Brinson said that
during the last billing period,
bills totaled $57,347.35. Col
lections totaled $45,470.84.
County Finance Officer
Russell fucker said the 79
percent collection rate for the
first half of the fiscal year
was far higher than the
average of 60 percent col
lected in the past. Use of the
county computer to get bills
out soon after service is
rendered was credited with
some of the improvement.
Commissioner Allen Neth
ercutt said the improved
collection rate will go a long
way toward paying for the
new ambulances if they be
come available.
In other business:
? Brinson also reported
receiving 26 sets of antishock
trousers. Each rescue squad
will be issued one set ? one
pair for adults and one for
children. The trousers are
W1 \ v
put on persons facing shock
problems and inflated to
force blood from the lower to
upper body- Thev can only be
used when prescribed by
duty physicians at Duplin
County General Hospital in
Kewansville. The rescue
squad ambulances have
radio contact with the hos
pital.
? County Librarian John
Michaud was authorized to
purchase a library sign and
have a brick wall constructed
for it on the library grounds
at a cost of $1,150.
? A public hearing will
be held at 7 p.m. March 24 in
the courthouse following a
request by the Greyhound
Bus Lines Co. to eliminate its
Warsaw ? Itenansville - Tin
City - Wallace route. It would
retain its Warsaw-Wallace
route.
MUSEUM AND LIBRARY IN DEPOT - The three-room Faison depot was
moved to the town's parks and recreation ground during 1980 with plans
for restoration. When completed, the depot will house the Faison town
library and a museum of items relative to the town's past. Restoration of
*
the depot is coming to a standstill until additional funds can be raised to
complete the job. restoration committee member Nan Fespermaa said.
However, committee members are hopeful that funds will be available in
time to complete the project this summer. .
?