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PROGRESS SENTINEL
VOL. XXXXVM NO. 31 USPS 162-860 KENANSVILLE. NC 28340 AUGUST 1.1985 * 16 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
Duplin Attractions Worth
A Vacation At Home
Vo/talintl (nnci Hnnlin familiac !?/? ? vnnnn tn/4 ?/1/l?accar f?A?vi h t' t ftl I rpH A nnthar attvaofinn i<- til..
T avauVII iv nival uupiiu taiuiiiv^
means packing the auto and travel
ing several hours to relatives or
?resorts at the coast or mountains.
Vacation to 29,000 people last year
meant traveling to Duplin County
where they visited one of many local
restaurants, Liberty Hall, The Liber
ty Cart outdoor drama, the Cowan
Museum, the Duplin Winery, the
Wallace stockyard flea market, the
tobacco and produce markets, anti
que shops or other local sites.
According to the North Carolina
Department of Travel and Tourism,
^Duplin's 29,000 visitors generated
"$186,000 in the county and each of
those dollars turned over at least
three times and as many as seven
times in the local economy.
"I think local folks are cheating
themselves by not visiting what their
own county has to offer," Cowan
Museum Curator George Cowan
said. "I would think the community
people would have more interest in
their local attractions. They would
certainly derive a lot of knowledge
Aand pleasure from attractions like
this museum, Liberty Hall and the
Liberty Cart outdoor drama."
Within the past month the Cowan
Museum in Kenansville has hosted
754 visitors. According to Cowan, as
few as 25 percent of the museum
guests are local Duplin citizens.
"When we do get some of our
focal folks in the museum," Cowan
said, "they leave wishing they had
been sooner.
IK "We have put a lot of time and
^thought into the collection and
museum grounds and think it is
paying off," Cowan said. "We're
getting a lot of letters to the effect
that the museum is becoming a
major tourist attraction throughout
the state.
"We have been having unusually
good attendance." Cowan flipped
through the museum register point
nig iv/ ?tpi?aitu auui iiv/m
Gojdsboro and Raleigh. "The big
gest crowds we've been having are
from Wavne County, lately."
Liberty Hall, the restored southern
plantation home in Kenansville, has
been open to the public"l7 years and
according to Curator Dorothy Rollins
as much as SO percent of Duplin's
population has visited the home. She
also pointed out, a majority of the
local visitors have toured the home
as public school students. Each year
fourth grade students in Duplin visit
Liberty Hall as guests of Tom Kenan
and the county board of education.
Liberty Hall is recognized as one
of the most authentic restorations of
a southern plantation home and has
recently been featured in Atlanta,
Ga. based magazine "Southern Ac
cents." The home and grounds have
also been photographed by "South
ern Living" magazine for a feature
later this year. Listed on the home's
register are guests from all 50 states
ind 21 foreign countries.
"While there are lots of people
from Duplin who have seen Liberty
Hall," Rollins said, "there are just
as many who have not visited.
"The house is a typical southern
plantation home and by visiting you
can see the way people lived in those
days," Rollins said. "Liberty Hall is
ideal for local folks with guests or
visiting relatives. Our local people
who have toured with their visiting
family or friends keep coming back
and bringing more guests."
In addition to Liberty Hall, Rollins
pointed out, historical attractions
like the Kenansville Baptist Church
and Grove Presbyterian Church can
nuvuivi muatiiuu ? uic
courthouse spring which has flowed
more than 200 years.
"Another important place is the
spring," Rollins said. "The spring is
the reason Kenansville was selected
as the county seat. And, there are
free picnic facilities around the
spring."
Bringing all of Duplin's history to
life is the outdoor drama THE
LIBERTY CART. And. like other
Duplin attractions, local citizens
make up a small percentage of the
annual attendance, the LIBERTY
CART General Manager Jim
Johnson said.
"Duplin families, local businesses
and industry support the show in
many ways. Opening night at least
90 percent of the audience is local
people and that is generally the
largest crowd of any night during the
season," Johnson said. "After open
ing night local people make up a very
small portion of the daily at
tendance." The Liberty Cart is in its
10th season at the William R.
Kenan, Jr. Memorial Amphitheatre
in Kenansville. The outdoor drama is
performed Thursday, Friday ar *
Saturday night from mid-July until
late August each year.
"Kenansville is ideal for a vaca
tion,"Johnson said. "It would be
easy to fill-up an entire day visiting
Liberty Hall, the Cowan Museum
and eating at one of many fine local
restaurants before attending an
evening performance of the Liberty
Cart. And, you need not be from
out-of-the-county; Duplin's attrac
tions have a lot to offer local citizens,
too."
?JSTC Second
Summer
Begins
? Aug. 7
Five courses in the business
education department will be offered
in a five-wood shortened session
beginning Wednesday, Aug. 7 at
James Sprunt Technical College.
The courses are Introduction to
Business, Records Management,
Business Law II, Accounting III and
Introduction to Microcomputers. All
_ are regular curriculum courses carry
9 ing credit toward an associate de
gree.
The shortened session will operate
until Sept. 16. Students may register
for classes on or before Aug. 7. for
more inforamtion, contact Rita
Brown, registrar, JSTC, Kenans
ville, NC 28349, or phone 296-1341 or
285-2077 foil-free from Wallace.
( Kenansville
Jaycees
Support FC
Telethon
?
Tim Kennedy and the Kenansville
Jaycees will man the satellite tele
phone bank in Kenansville during
the eighth annual Cystic Fibrosis
Telethon. The station will be for the
convenience of area citizens who
would like to, support the telethon
effort without having to make a long
distance call.
Co-sponsored by the New Bern
Jaycees, Jaycee Women and
PWCTLTV, Channel 12, the telethon
will be broadcast for 19 hours
beginning at 11 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9
through 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10.
Over $108,000 was raised at last
year's telethon. The funds are used
for research, treatment and educa
tion programs conducted by the CF
Foundation to help those who suffer
with the fatal lung disease. The
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation supports
centers at UNC School of Medicine at
Chapel Hill and Duke Medical
^ Center in Durham, and more than
125 other such centers in the U.S.
The Foundation also supports a CF
research development center at
UNC-Chapel Hill.
Youth Interested In Their Heritage
Stuart Miller, Timmy Jenkins and Frankie Wood of
Kenansville stop in the Cowan Museum often. Along
with their interest in the museum artifacts the boys say
the curators are "just good company." Pictured above.
left to right, Timmy, Frankie and Stuart listen to one of
many different types of early model phonographs as it
is being demonstrated by George Cowan, curator of the
museum.
Liberty Cart Season Is Underway ,
The 10th annual production of the outd< ..r drama THE
LIBERTY CART began July 13. The "?how is a major
seasonal t-xirist attraction in Duplin County. The drama 1
is performed each Thursday, Friday and Saturday night
* >
in the William R. Kenan Memorial Amphitheatre in
Kenansville through August 24. Pictured above are
scenes from the J9&5 production of the historical
outdoor drama. THE LIBERTY CART.
V
Southern Plantation Life At Liberty Hall
Liberty Hall in Kenansville offers a walk through the
past which has been taken by people from all 50 states
in the native and more than 20 foreign countries. The
home is just one of many tourist attractions within
Duplin, and since the home was opened, additions have
been made to the restoration project in the form of
support buildings on the grounds of Liberty Hall. The
support buildings represent models of facilities com
monly found around a plantation home such as a smoke
house, chicken house, wash-house, carriage house,
bath house and overseer's cottage. Liberty Hall is
pictured above viewed from behind the wash house.
Public Typewriters Funded
At Duplin County Library
The summer youth reading pro
gram ended yesterday at the Duplin
County - Dorothy Wightrnan Library
and local town branches, but the big
excitement is the funding of public
innotc h nou ?. tare I in/I' 1-1 o/I,'!nn
ij nvio, i iuwo iiauuvii(
Dorothy Wightman libraiian said
According to the librarian, the
public access typewrit will be
available this She ex- .
pects the typewriters great
cprvipp tn hioh crhinil shiHt>ntc anH
local college students.
Another service beneficial to high
school and college student research
will be the possibility of having
heavily used periodicals microfilmed
from the previous ten years and filed
at the Dorothy Wightman Library.
Some of the most heavily used
periodicals include the magazines
Time and Newsweek. Hadden said.
But for now, Hadden pointed out,
the library is closing out the summer
reading program in which more than
150 Duplin youths have participated.
In addition to the 45-55 youths
participating at the Dorothy Wight
man Library in Kenansville, 40-50
youths signed up for the program at
both the Rose Hill and Beulaville
branches of the county library.
"This is the first year we have
included the pre-school age child
ren." Linda Hadden said. "School
age youths contracted through the
program to read a certain number of
books and the pre-school age were
included through the read-to-me
agreement with parents.
"Each youth completing the con
tract will receive a certificate signed
by the Governor, during a party held
at the library." she said.
"Presently, we are trying to
nurchase new titles and get ready for
a., school year," Hadden said. "I
know there is quite a bit of student
research each year. And, we are
always trying to keep up the collect
ion of new best sellers. We also plan
j i _ ?_ ? ? i
to cxpanci me variety ui large pnni
books at tb^library.
"1 want (tostyss tne availability of
he mterlibrary loan program, too,"
>*?!. "If vi*i "<fre to, thy
i>OT%TV\irf don't find what ytJu artt
1 1_: f??? nn/f >1>A mail Kd
UHUUIlg lUT, aaK us anci v?c may wv
able to get the book through the loan
program." According to Hadden,
requests from Duplin's library are
made to the state library. If the book
is not available through the state
library, the exchange program
searches university and technical
college libraries.
The Duplin County - Dorothy
Wightman Library offers services
beyond its Kenansville head
quarters. The library branch offices
open in Faison, Beulaville and Rose
Hill and the bookmobile travels a
regular schedule through out Duplin.
"1 can look at the circulation
figures and tell they have jumped
with opening of additional hours at
the town branches." Hadden said.
F.ach branch is open at least 20 hours
each week. In Beulaville the hours
are weekdays 1-5 p.m.; Rose Hill,
weekdays 1:30-5:30 p.m.; and Faison
weekdays except Friday. 12:30-5:30
p.m.
Linda Hadden began work at the
Duplin County - Dorothy Wightman
as librarian, June 3. She is a native
of Bladen County and a graduate of
East Carolina University with a
bachelor of science and masters
degree in library science. Before
coming to Duplin. Hadden worked as
a public school teacher, and youth
services librarian in Edgecombe and
Stanley counties.
Architect Seeks
Bids For JSTC
An architect expects to advertise
For bids on the James Sprunt
Technical College student center
this month.
Architect Herb McKim of the
Wilmington firm of Ballard, McKim
snd Sawyer told the JSTC Board of
Trustees Thursday night that draw
ings for the structure were virtually
:omplete and would be sent to the
state department of community
:o!leges this week for review.
McKim also recommended insula
tion and replacement of windows to
reduce the heating and cooling load
on the equipment in the McGowen
building. The work would be fi
nanced by a $200,000 special appro
priation the school received recently
From the General Assembly. The
school will receive $100,000 in each
of the next two years.
Two new members were sworn in.
Allen Williams of Wallace replaces
J.W. Hoffler of Wallace, who had
been vice chairman of the board
since its organization in the mid
1960s. Jim Stocker of Kenansville
replaces another long-time member,
Edd Dudley Monk of Kenansville.
Certificates were prepared for the
two veteran members. Hoffler's
illness prevented his attendance.
Monk said he was appointed to the
board 14 years ago when he was 73
years old. He said that as a boy he
carried wood on an tix cart to the
original James Sprunt school, a
private school, for 50 cents a load.
W.E. Craft, who serves on the
finance committee, moved to name
the auditorium in the Hoffler Build
ing the Edd Dudley Monk audito
rium after a $4,000 improvement
project is completed.
The board re-elected James F.
Strickland of Warsaw as chairman.
Strickland has been chairman since
the board was formed. Charles
Albertson of Beulaville was elected
vice chairman.
Congratulations
Duplin All-Stars, State Champs
j ,