North Carolina Newspapers

W CARTERET COUNTY NEWS-TIMES _ 41st YEAR, NO. 10. THREE SECTIONS EIGHTEEN PAGES MOREHEAD CITY AND BEAUFORT, NORTH CAROLINA FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1952 PUBLISHED TUESDAY AND FRIDAYS Raging ?100,000 Fire Razes Three Beaufort Stores Police Raid Dwelling On Gordon St., Beaufort Woman Injured Thursday Morning InTwo-CarWreck Accident Occurs Shortly After Midnight on High way West of Morehead A thousand dollars dam age was caused to two auto mobiles a few minutes after midnight yesterday in a crash in front of the Blue Ribbon club west of More head City. Mrs. Charles Ed ward Godby, a passenger in one of the cars, was severely shaken up and taken to Morehead City hospital for observation. Donald B. Ja cob, Cherry Point, has been charged with failure to yield right-of-way, causing an ac cident. Mrs. Godby, who was discharged from the hospital yesterday morn ing, was riding with her husband toward Morehead City when they collided with the car. driven by Jacob, which was pulling out from the west side of the Blue Ribbon club, headed toward Cherry Point. Jacob told highway patrolmen that he did not see Godby approach ing. Damage to his ear, a '41 four door, was estimated at $400 and to Godby's car, a '50 four-door, $600. Godby said that he threw on the brakes when he saw the car pulling out into the line of traffic but could not avoid the collision. Passengers with Jacob were Miss \ .tv Abbott and Miss Laurice Karan, both ol f Jew Ber? and George Tillottson of Cherry Point. Investigating patrolmen were W. E. PicKard and J. W. Sykes. , t County License Tag Sales Lag A report Wednesday from the Carolina Motor club agency, lo I cated in the loan department of ' the First Citizens Bank and Trust , to., Morehead City, revealed there Were approximately 1.028 license tags to be sold in Carteret county before today, the legal deadline for . obtaining 1952 tags. Sold by Wednesday were 3.472 ? auto tags, eight motorcycle tags, 585 tags for private trucks, 100 farm truck tags, 175 for Z trailers and 40 for C trailers. Persons had not vet begun to stand in line but a rush was predicted for yesterday. The highway patrol throughout the state began strict enforcement of the 1952 tag regulation at mid night last night. Motorists have been unusually slow this year throughout the state in purchasing their plates, the De partment of Motor Vehicles point ed out, adding that long lines at the main office in Raleigh and the , 71 branch offices were to be ex pected on the last days of sale be fore the deadline. More than 1,226,000 motor ve hicles were registered in the state in t951. Approximately 665,200 plates had been issued by Jan. 25. Workman Hurl Yesterday h Fall from Rooi Halters ' Fred Willis, Salter Path, a work man on the new Pender building in Beaufort was injured at 11 e'clook yesterday morning when he fell from roof rafters 12 feet to the ground. He was admitted to Morehead City hospital and treated by Dr. John Morris who said his injuries were not serious. Several small ' bones in Willis's back were crack ed and he suffered bruise? of the right hand and arm. He is expected to be hospitalized several days. Yard Office at Morehead Yacht Basin Catches Fire The yard office at Morehead City yacht basin caught fire yesterday .morning. An alarm was sounded from box 21 and firemen had the blaxe out in a short while. It is not known how the fire started. Damage was slight but firemen said tt could have been serious if the flames had gotten sut of con tnL I ? Police Chief Carlton Garner and State Highway Patrolman J. W. Sykes raided Mordav afternoon the Charlie Robinson house on Gordon st.. Beaufort. Robinson. Reuben Whitehurst. and Walker Sykes were arrested. Robiivon has been charged with allowing drunks to lie around his place and with having an inde cent house. Whitehurst has been charged with being a public drunk and public nuisance and Walter Sykes has been charged with driv ing drunk. Police were informed Monday morning that a 1950 eoupe was ly ing in a ditch on Mulberry street. It was abandoned but the highway patrol learned the car was owned by Walter Sykes and that White hurst was there the night before trying to got people to help him pull the car out of the ditch. Chief Garner and Patrolman Sykes located Whitehurst at the Robinson house and there they found Robinson, but later picked up Sykes in another part of town. Whitehurst and Robinson have been released under $50 bond each snd Sykes has been released under $150 bond. The Rohinson house was inspect ed Tuesday by A. L). Futford, coun ty sanitarian, who declared the house in a state unfit for occu pancy. Committees Set Up for Pupils' Speaking Contest Appointed Friday in (he county agent's office. Beaufort, were com mittees to conduct the annual Green Pastures speaking contest in this county. The contest is sponsor ed on a state-wide basis by th? gorili Carolina Bankers association. Students in grades 9 to 12 in all white schools in the county are eli gible to compete. Cash prizes will be awarded by the First Citizens Bank and Trust co. The county winner will be award ed a $25 savings bond and second place county winner will receive $10. At the individual schools the first prize winner will get $15, sec ond place winner will get $10 and third. $5. The school contest will be held March 21. county contests March 28. group contests April 4. and the j final state contest April 11. The subject of the speech will be j "Green Pastures. Their Use and 1 | Management." Each contestant is required tc take a tour of country pasture \ lands. Committees are as follows: jud ges. H. L. Joslyn, W. C. Carlton, j Bob Howard, George St ova H: tour, Roy Beck. B. J. May. C. S. Long, j Lawrence Garner, D. W. Truckner; finance, I. E. Pittman, James Davis; information and materials, R. M. Williams. James Allgood, Miss Mar tha Barnett. Death Claims Dr. Dan Caldwell The Rev. Dr. Dan T. Caldwell, 60. died Tuesday night in Rich mond hospital after a short illness. Funeral services will be held at 2 o'clock this afternoon from Thya tira church near Salisbury and in terment will be in the family plot there. Dr. Caldwell served as pastor of Webb Memorial Presbyterian church, Morehead City, from Sep tember to December of the past year. He had just moved his furni ture from his home at 1501 Fair mont St., Greensboro, to Wrights ville Bcach where he had accepted a call to organize a new church, i Prior to coming to Morehead i City, Dr. Caldwell served as pastor of the Immanuel Presbyterian church in Wilmington from 1918 to 1925, and at the Second Presby terian church in Petersburg, Va., from 1925 to 1941. Since then he had been ia charge of religious education in the North Carolina synod, and during the war he was in charge of the selection of chaplains who served in the United States armed forces. Surviving are his wife and a son of the Greensboro address. Firemen. Bike Tags Arrive Mrs. BlJnda Mcl.ohon, city treas urer. Morehead City, announced to day that firemen and bicycle tags for 1952 have arrived and are avail able at the treasurer's office, city hall. Yesterday was the deadline for obtaining 1962 town ta^ Those who do'not have them are liable to arrest ? New Port Facilities Grow Here is the artist's pencil con ception of how the present and en larged port of Morehead City will appear from the air when work underway there now is completed. Docks, totalling 2.800 running feet and sufficient to handle five or six ocean-going ships at one time, are already completed. Work now is progressing on transit and storage sheds which, when finished, will total 170.000 square feet of floor space. This will be enough to store 17,000 hogsheads of tobacco at one time. Just recently dredging operations I were completed at the port which , give a depth of 30 feet of water at the pier. Early next month the hopper dredge, Lyman, will start dredging j operations at the Beaufort bar to; give the bar and the channel lead ing up to the Morehcad City docks 30 feet of water. The work at Morehead City is a part of the North Carolina State Ports Author ity's big building program, sanc tioned by the $7,500,000 authoriza tion of the 1949 legislature. Simi lar port development is underway at Wilmington. Henry Davis Makes Fine Discovery, Bui Too Late Fortune smiled on Henry Davis of Markers Island ? but too late. In an oyster he was eating at Leo's Plaee, Straits, he found a good-sized pearl. Steaming the oyster, however, had made the pearl just another hunk of stuff. Whether uncooked pearls in North River oysters, if flawless, are as valuable as the pearls found in oysters in (he world's famous diving grounds, has never been proved. Oysters should be equipped with a red warning sig nal which would blink if a pearl were inside, then human beings would know when to cook an oyster and when to take it to a jeweler's. Fire Alarm System Will be Revised / Charles B. Harrell. Beaufort fire chief, stated this week that plans are under way to revise the town's (ire alarm system. This will include placement of alarm boxes in the areas recently added to the town and will also en tail replacement of boxes already in town so that every part of Beau fort will be adequately serviced. For example, two weeks ago a fire occurred at the Crockett oyster factory at the west end of Eroad street, but the closest alarm box was at Front and Moore, three blocks away. From that box the alarm had to be turned in. Chief Harrell said the changes cannot be made immediately, but revisions are being worked out and discussed with the Gamewell Fire Alarm corp. March of Dimes kome Lags Funds in the March of Dimes campaign totaled $2.808 72 at H a.m. yesterday. Yet to be heard from arc communities throughout the county as well as schools. Mrs. Koma Noe, chairman of the campaign, today urged everyone who has not contributed to the March of Dimes to do so at once. The campaign officially ended yes terday. Scoreboard Tuesday Basketball Game . $ 71.75 Queen Street School 55.00 Morehead City School (total to date) 456.79 Free Grace Pilgrim's Holi ness church, Markets Island 12.00 Junior Woman's Club Will Colled Paper in Beauiort The Beaufort Junior Woman's club will conduct a scrap paper drive in Beaufort Sunday after noon. Club members request that home owners have paper and magazines bundled and placed on the curb by 1 p.m. CAB Examiner Issues Report On Airline Service to Carteret 4 Mb Toma Pays Stiff Fine, $250, In Court Monday John F. Tuma, USMC, paid a $250 fine plus court costs Monday in Morchead City recorder s court. He was found guilty on the charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants and resisting arrest. A six-month jail sentence was sus pended on condition that he pay a fine of $11)0 on the first charge, S 100 on the second, boar court costs and remain on good behavior two years,. Judge George McNeill lectured Tuma, telling him "the gravity of your offense is as great as any I have seen in this court." The judge remarked that Tuma endan gered and imperilled the lives of people in Morchead City and on the highways wherever he travel ed. He further added that he felt i he would be fully justified in send ing the defendant to the road for six to 12 months. The case of James Edward Stan- j ley. charged with driving the car which crashed Saturday night, Jan. j 19. into a car driven by James Lawrence, was again continued. Injured in the crash was Kemp j Bonner of Morehead City. Speeders Tried Nine out of Monday's 3^ cases ! were speeding charges. All dc fendants were found guilty: Robert Frederick Lawrence, court costs; David Arnold Harrell, court costs; Ellis Loftin Yeomans. $10 fine and court costs; Ronald B. Diaz, paid court costs, half of which were re mitted; Gene Mason Bell, court costs; Patsy Marino, court costs; See COURT, Page 2 ' Recommendations by Frederick* 1). Mpran, Civil Aeronautics board examiner, places Morehead City Bea f->rt airport on a Ne,y Sern-] Wilmington flight, advocates serv ice to Morehead City-Beaufort Slay 1 to Sept. 30 each year, and sug gests that permission to fly the route cast of Raleigh-Durham to Morehead City-Beaufort airport be extended with Kinston substituted for Goldsboro as an intermediate point. Examiner Moran's recommenda tions were released in Washington this week. They were based on CAB hearings conducted last Au gust at Winston-Salem and concern j Piedmont Aviation, inc. Attending the hearing from this area were Dan Walker, manager of the Beaufort chamber of com merce, and Glenn Adair, member of the chamber communications | committee. The Beaufort representatives ' asked that summer service to Morehead Citv-Beaufort be contin ued, asked that Morehead City Beaufort airport be pUt on flight between New Bern and Wilming ton, and requested that the airport be re designated as Beaufort-More head City. The first two requests evidently met with the approval of Moran, CAB examiner who conducted the hearing, and a compromise was reached on the designation of the airport. The airport, located at Beaufort, appeared as Morehead City on all airline maps and tickets were sold to "Morehead City." Walker and Adair agreed that a designation of Morehead City-Beau fort would be satisfactory if the request for inclusion of the Car teret airport on the New Bern-Wil mington flights was approved. Moran's report is merely a rec ommendation which must be acted upon by the Civil Aeronautics hoard. The board's decision is ex pected within the near future. Appreciative Audience Hears Little Symphony Last Night A large ana appreciative audi * ence last night heard the concert by the Little Symphony orchestra in Beaufort srhool auditorium. The free concert for children in grades 3 to 6 will be given at 2:30 this afternoon In the school auditorium. The orchestra began its 1952 tour Jan. 17 and will concludc it May 20. The orchestra appeared in New Bern Wednesday night. Dur ing the coming months they will play at the following places in this general area: April 17. Wilming ton; April 21. Rocky Mount: April 22, Washington: April 23. Wilson: April 24, Goldsboro; April 30, Ral cigh. Membership cards will be honored at all these concerts but tickets may be bought at the door. The evening concerts start at 8:30 p.m. and children'! concerto at 2:30 p.m. Tide Table Tide? at Beaufort Bar HIGH LOW Friday, Feb. 1 12:11 a.m. 6:34 a.m. 12.27 p.m. 6:45 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2 1:06 a.m. 7:32 a.m. 1:19 p.m. 7:38 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 3 2:02 a.m. 8:34 a.m. 2:15 p.m. ' 8:34 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4 3:02 a.m. 9:38 a.m. 3:17 p.m. 9:33 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5 4:02 a.m. 10:41 a.m. j 4:20 p.m. 10:33 pjn. Defendant Gets Suspension, Pays Costs of Court Mitchcll Wetherington, charged with assault on a female with in tent to commit rape, was given a tv\ o-year suspended sentence by | Judge Lambert Morris in court | Tuesday. Wetherington was told j to remain on good behavior for five years and pay court costs. Ernest Morris, who faced the same charge, did not appear be- j cause he could nol be found so that a warrant could be served. I Wetherington, who is reported to have given himself up to authori ties, stated that he and Morris were invojved in the case. Charges against them were fijed j in October and the alleged assault | took place at Stella. Helen Rogers Hill did not con- 1 test the charge of driving after her I license was reyoked. She was given a one-year sentence suspended on j condition she pay $200 within 10 days. Durant Chase, charged with abandonment and non-support, and Abraham Williams, charged with assault with a knife, did not appear and their bonds were forfeited. Eugene Gaskill, Markers Island, al- j so forfeited bond. He was charged with failure to stop at ? stop sign. Luther Merrill Guthrie, James Edward Rhodes, and John Benja min Sewell, jr., were charged with failure to stop at a stop sign. Each pleaded guilty and paid court Costs. John Dewey Lewis, jr., faced the same charge but the case was dis missed. William Buxton Norris and John H. Thornton, each charged with speeding, forfeited bond. Dillard Webster Russell pleaded guilty to driving without a license and paid court costs. Thclma L. Boartfield, charged with the same offense, received a costs penalty. Robert Lee Buchanan pleaded guil ty to having a faulty muffler and paid costs. The state decided not to prose cute cases against B. W. Hender son and Paul Burdctte Christian, j charged with motor vehicle viola- 1 tions. Cases continued were the fol lowing: Ralph Willard Riggs, Reu ben Franklin Bell, John W. Burke, i Charles Lindberg Frazier, John j Reed Sparks. Vernon Edward Lee, I Gladys Daniel Lupton. John Joseph Bolduc, Richard W. Broton, Royal Edward Gore, Walter Henry Sykes, Charlie Robinson, and Reuben Whitehurst. The Carteret district, Boy Scouts of America, will hold a court of honor in the First Baptist church, Morchead City, at 7:30 p.m. Sun day, Feb. 10. ? j Firemen Battle Blaze For Four Hours A $1(10,000 fire gutted three stores in the heart of Keau fort's business section yesterday morning. Firemen from five municipal fire stations battle 1 the blaze from 10 a.m. until mid-afternoon. Flames were reported under control lat 1:15 p.m. but at that point Fasten* Kulane, Downum's 5 and 10, and Downum's department store were shambles. Damages Wert* expected to go far beyond the $100,000 mark as acrid smoke and penetrating fumes seeped from store to store on the north side of Front street, the damag ing vapors flanking out east and west from the holocaust. The blaze was caused by an explosion in tho rear of Eastern Kulane. A workman, Charles llu Igins, was trans ferring gas from a small cylinder to a larger one. The [ fumes came in contact with an open-flame gas heater and the fire leapt up, burning Jack Crawford, Eastern Kulane manager, who was standing nearby. He was admitted later to Morehead City hospital for treatment of first and Morehead Jaycees To Attend Sunday School in Group " Bernard Leary Speaks at Monday Meeting; Jaycees To Collect Paper Sunday Morehead City Jaycees will at tend. in a group, the men's adult Sunday school class of the Frank lin Memorial Methodist church. Morehead City, Sunday morning. The Jaycees will meet at the church at 9:30 a.m. J. C. Ilarvell, chairman of the Morehead City Jaycee religious ac tivities committee, informed the group at their regular meeting Monday night at Captain Hill's cafe that the Sunday project was in .sup port of the Jaycee city wide Hack to-Sunday school movement. Distributed yesterday throughout the town were more than a thou Sarjrf K.unphleifVrging residents to a t no Sunday school this coming Sunday. At Monday's meeting Bernard Leary, winner of the 1951 Jaycee man of the year award and a for mer state Jaycee director, spoke on the duties of a state director. Fred Hamilton and Bill Godwin were appointed editors of the Jay cee bulletin. Ocean Roar, for Feb ruary. and Sal Palazzo, chairman Persons with strap paper to be collected Sunday by the More head City Jaycees should have it bundled and on the curb by 1:30 p.m. of the February scrap paper drive, asked Jaycces. who will do the col lecting. to report at the city hall by 1:30 p.m. Sunday. There will also be a J ay ceo scrap metal drive Wednesday afternoon, March 5. Jaycces took under considera tion a request by Mrs. D. G. Hell of the Morchead City Woman's club, to help plant dogwood trees throughout the town. A large number of men indicated their intention to attend the 8th district board meet at 7 p.m. Wed nesday, Feb. 0, in the Cherry Point | school auditorium. Havelock. Dr. Russell Outlaw, in charge of the program, presented Bill Nor wood and his accordion. Guests at the meeting were Norman R. Wiley. USMC, Lowell Liles of Oldsmobile division, General Mo j tors, and Edward C. Weeks, Morc head City. | Jimmy Wallace, president, was in charge of the business session. Rotarians Discuss Asiatic Problems Colonialism and Nationalism in the Middle and Far East was the topic of a talk by Gene Smith, pres ident of Beaufort Rotary club, at the Rotary club meeting Monday night at the Inlet inn. Following his address. Rotarians entered a round table discussion on the problems in the Middle Kast and Asia and came to the con clusion that United States should give aid wherever it will do the most good in blocking communism, regardless what type of government is in power in the country under consideration. In charge of next Tuesday's pro gram will be I)r. Walter Chipman who is in charge of the radio-iso tope laboratory at the Fish and Wildlife station, Piver'a Island. Contract Let The contract for the two new bridges over the White Oak river at Swansboro was let Tuesday. The low bidder was F. A. Triplett, inc., Chester, S. C., $462,014.40. i m i ni 1 1 1 uckic o urns on ins i ace and hands. Hud h ins escaped un hurt . Dr. !ohn Way. who treated Crawford, reported his condition as ! satisfactory yesterday afternoon. Half an hour after the alarm, box 16 at Front and Turner, was sound cd, the M ore head City lire depart ment was called, Newport, Cherry I'oint and New Hern fire trucks later turned up on the scene, New port and New Bern to stand by at the Beaufort fire station. Hundreds of spectators, who jammed the south side of Front street, were scattered periodically by explosions and clouds of yellow smoke that blanketed the business section. Fumes Penetrate The dense fumes caused choking, coughing, and tear filled eyes. Per sons rushed from the vicinity of the fire only to return in a short tune to watch the valiant efforts of Beaufort firemen who were scaling ladders and maneuvering over the roof tops to pour water on the ; flames. A light wind from the north car ried smoke out over Beaufort inlet, i Spectators milled around the rear ! of the stores, able to get a clearer | view because the dense fumes were | l?ein? Jf.^eti in Hje opp*ctte direc j tlon. F ire hoses snaked the ground be ! hind the stores and lined Front | street from Turner to Craven. Two j Beaufort pumpers were gulping ! salt water from TayloV creek at I the Esso dock and the third was pumping fresh water from Craven and Turner. Salt Water Used Cherry Point pumper, at the Sin clair dock, was pumping salt water to fight the blaze, while Morehead City firemen on Turner street in ! front of the Davis house were pumping fresh water at 750 gallons a minute. Front street gutters ran full as the water squelched blazing tim bers and rushed outuard again into I the street. Black billows of smoke I poofed upward, to be followed by smaller, strangling clouds of angry j fumes. Employees in Downum stores evacuated the buildings several minutes following the Rulane ex i plosion. Eastman employees later | left the building as did personnel ' in Herring's radio and ready-to wear shop. Eastman's side walls were fire proof and an air space of 12 inches separated Downum's department store from Herrings. Smoke dam I age. however, was reported in the radio and clothing shop. Hal Pot ter, owner of the two Downum | buildings, was partially covered by I insurance. It could not be learned whether the Rulane building, own ed by Mrs. Kosa D. Chadwick, was covered. Fronts Dangerous The fronts of all three buildings were declared in dangerous condi tion and that section of the street was roped off to protect passcrsby should the walls collapse. At 1:45 p.m. Beaufort and More head City pumpers were still in op eration but New Bern, Cherry Point, and Newport firemen were lined up at Holden's restaurant for chow. Every Beaufort fireman in the vicinity turned out. Morehead City firemen on the job were Clyde Willis, John Parker, Lindsey Guth rie, Dr. John Morris. George Sto vall, Harry Burns. Charles Guthrie, | Mack Edwards, Walter Smith. Alex ' Roberts, Chief Grady Bell, Assist | ant Chief El Nelson, and Norman | Canficld. i Beaufort police Officers Maxwell I Wade. Carlton Gamer and Bertie Clyde Piner were directing traffic, as was Deputy Sheriff Marshall Ayscuc. j This fire was one that has been predicted in Beaufort for many years. The fear expressed was that a strong wind from any direction Mould cause destruction of the en tire business section. Yesterday was a snappy day, the sun bright, and the wind, fortunately, light. At noon it practically eased to no wind at all. ,LV*- . .t>A