NEWS-TIMES OFFICE
804 Ar.nd.ll St.
Morehead City
Phone 6-4178
CARTERET COUNTY NEWS-TIMES
10c
FULL PAGE COMICS
42nd YEAR, NO. 18. TWO SECTIONS TEN PAGES MOREHEAD CITY AND BEAUFORT, NORTH CAROLINA TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 1953 PUBLISHED TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS
County Has Paid
Bond Coupons,
Board Announces
Commissioners Hear
Paving Petitions,
New Jail Plans
More than $500,000 worth of in
terest coupons on old county bonds
lave been paid off and the coupons
are now back in the county's pos
session. Dr. K. P. B. Bonner, chair
man of the Carteret county com- 1
mission. announced yesterday j
morning at the regular monthly
meeting of the commission.
The coupons represent interest
on bonds which was not paid be
tween the time the county went |
into default on its bonds in 1928
and the time of the refinancing
tf the county's obligations in 1937.
"This day marks a new era in
the financial stability of the coun
ty," Dr. Bonner said in making the
announcement.
A resolution disapproving a re
quest by the Beaufort town board
that the Beaufort court be allowed
"exclusive jurisdiction" for five
miles outside its limits was unan
imously passed by the county com
mission. The Beaufort court now
has concurrent jurisdiction with
the county court and the Morehead
City court over much of that area.
Merriyion Paving
Sheriff C. G. Holland brought
1# the board's attention a petition
for paving of a road in the Mer
rimon community. A petition had
loeen approved several years ago,
b?t no action had been taken by
Ike highway commission, Sheriff
Holland said.
Other road petitions which were
heard included one in Straits
township near Gloucester; a road
war Stella; re-paving of a road
leading from highway 70 to Tay
lor's store at Sea Level.
In commentiing on the road pe
jtion, Moses Howard, commissioner
from Newport, said that he thought
Jut the western end of the coun
ty should receive some paved roads
Iwfore more roadi were paved in
tbe eastern end of the county.
During the meeting. Sheriff Hol
land presented plans fqr an addi
:ion to the county jail. II# described
the present jail as inadequate for
liie county's needs. "When we get
somebody who might want to break
out, we have to take him to New
Bern or Kinston," the sheriff told
the commissioners. The county au
ditor, James D. Potter, was asked to
prepare a possible method of fi
nancing jail construction for pres
entation at the board's next meet
ing.
Tax Listing Action
The commissioners also pa&ed a
resolution asking that the proper
Aithorities cite all persons who
wilfully and deliberately refuae to
list their property for taxes to the
grand jury next week. Failure to
list property for tax purpoaes is
a violation of the criminal code of
the state.
The board also raised the adver
tising fee on delinquent real estate
from $1.50 to $2.50. This is for
delinquent 1952 taxes. The commis
sioners also approved the purchase
ot $89,000 of bonds during 1952
The clerk of the court, A. H.
James presented the report of pay
ments his office made to the county
in February. The total was $6,142.70
of which $3,989.80 came from the
county recorder's court; $257.75
from the superior court; $190.50
ifrom the sale of confiscated motor
tf vehicles', and $120 from probate
Hand clerk's fees. Fines and forfeit
lures for the month were $1,470.65
Ifrom the Morehead City recorder's
Hcourt; $85 from Vernon Guthrie,
H justice of the peace and $120 from
?Fred Seeley, justice of the peace.
Morehead City Chamber
Hears Harden Friday
Congressman Graham A. Barden
of New Bern told an Informal meet
ing of the Morehead City Chamber
of Commerce Friday night that the
proposed coastal highway connect
ing the outer banks highway at Hat
teras to highway 70 at Atlantic is
"one of those things that take time
to realiie."
"You may have to do it in short
bits," he continued. "Such roads,
however," the North Carolina con
gressman said, "are projects that
the Federal government has been
known to assist."
Congressman Barden spoke at a
Clambake held in the recreation
center. Grover Munden, president
of the business group, presided
over the meeting. Joseph Dubois,
chamber manager, outlined the
proposed highway to the group.
The coastal highway would link
the recently constructed highway
from Nags Head to Cape Hatteras
by ferry to Ocracoke Island. Eight
een miles of paving on Ocracoke
and a car ferry from the island to
Atlantic would complete the high
way running from Elizabeth City
down the Carolina coast connecting
with highway 17 below Jackson
ville.
Leaders have pointed out that
tourists desiring to take the octan
highway south are now detouring
at least 90 miles away trom the
banks and the Cartoret recreation
area on highway 17. Such a coast
al highway would also connect state
and national parks for two-way traf
fic.
Clyde Douglass, Raleigh attorney
and Moreheud City property owner,
congratulated the group on "vis
ualizing a cbastal highway which
will mean so much to this commun
ity." v
"The only way a turtle makes
progress is by sticking his neck
out," Mr. Douglass said, "and men
and women also have to stick their
necks out to make any progress."
In his comments, Mr. Douglass
also lauded Morehead City country
club fur their golf course develop
ment. "I am astounded at the golf
course," he said. "It will mean
much to this whole area."
Many out-of-town guests attended
the meeting. The food preparation
committee was headed by H. P.
Scripture.
Members of the business group
were urged to promote the coastal
highway in every way possible.
Leaders are attempting to interest
state or federal agencies in the
project.
Charlie Piner's Tug Launched,
To Be Finished in Five Weeks
Beaufort Radio
System Complete
The Beaufort police radio sys
tem was completed Thursday with
the installation of a telephone ex
tension in the Morehead City po
lice station. The installation of the
extension makes a policeman avail
able to citizens of Beaufort at all
times.
Morehead City officers will now
be able to answer the Beaufort
telephone when Beaufort officers
are ua patrol in Utt police car.
They will then dispatch the car by
radio to the scene of any trouble.
Until the extension was installed,
it was necessary for residents to
call the Morehead City police de
partment in order to reach Beau
fort officers.
Glenn Adair, Beaufort police
commissioner, said that he wished
to emphasize that Beaufort resi
dents can still reach the police by
calling the old number, 2-5611. The
telephone will ring in both sta
tions and will be answered by
Morehead City officers if the Beau
fort police are out on patrol.
The telephone extension was to
have been installed when the radio
was placed in the Beaufort car in
January. Technical problems con
nected with running the extension
from Beaufort to Morehead City
delayed the installation until the
present time.
Commissioner Adair said that the
extension proved its value shortly
after it was installed. A resident
of Queen street called to report
some trouble and the Morehead
City station dispatched the Beau
fort car to the scene. The officers
arrived and had the trouble under
control within a minute of the time
that the call was made.
Commissioner Adair said, "We
are very pleased with the setup and
are grateful to the Morehead City
town officials for their coopera
tion."
Capt. Charlie Piner's tugboat,
which he has been building on the
shore of Bogue sound off Shackle
ford street, Morehead City, was
launched Friday after an attempt
Wednesday afternoon left the tug
aground in shallow water.
As the tug slid down the ways
Wednesday, it did not gain enough
momentum to carry it into deep
water and it came to rest with its
bow still high on the shore. Finer
finally pulled it free at high tide
Friday afternoon.
The tug was brought to a More
head City dock Saturday and will
remain there while the engine is
installed and the deck house is fin
ished. Captain Piner estimates that
the tug will be completed and
ready for operation in about five
weeks.
The launching was originally
trhadwbtl frr 14, but bod
weather and a shortage m*?
terials delayed the construction.
Captain Piner will operate the
tug as the Carteret Towing com
pany and will use it to bring ships
in and out of the harbor. There
is also a possibility that the tug
will be equipped for use as a fire
boat.
A 400-horsepower dipsel engine
will turn the 72-inch screw and the
boat's owner says that the tug will
be powerful enough to handle any
ship which uses the facilities of the
Morehead City port terminal.
The 67-foot craft will have sleep
ing quarters for a crew of six and
will also have a galley, pilot house
and toilet and bathing facilities.
The tug's hull was .constructed
completely with native North Caro
lina hard pine. Captain Piner said
that the native pine, although more
expensive, is better suited to ship
building than other varieties. It
was the difficulty of obtaining the
pine which held up construction of
the tug. The tug and its equipment
cost approximately $75,000.
Captain Piner said that he be
lieves that a local tug will attract
more shipping to the Morehead
City port He said that many com
panies will not send their ships to
ports where tugs are not available.
Core Creek Men
Have Blanks
Dan Walker, manager of the
Beaufort chamber of commerce,
has announced that application
blanks for telephone service in the
Core Creek community may be ob
tained from J. M. Whitley and Jeff
Sabiston.
The two men received the appli
cations at a meeting Wednesday
night at the Core Creek Methodist
church. Mr. Walker and Dr. W.- L.
Woodard chairman of the cham
ber's utilities committee. s|koke at
the meeting and explained pro
cedures being used in the telephone
rarvcy which the chamber is mak
ing in rural sections of Carteret,
Craven, Onslow and Jones coun
ties.
A recorded talk by Walter Fuller
of the North Carolina RTA was
presented at the (feeling, which
was arranged by E.M. Foreman,
county forest ranger.
R. M. Williams, county farm
igent, has announced that meet
ings will.be held Wednesday night
ia Bettie and Otway. The Bettie
meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at
Cleve Gillikin'i store, and the meet
ing in Otway will be held at 8:30
p.m. at Connie GilUkin's store. Mr.
Williams and Mr. Walker will speak
it the meetings.
A1 Newsome, asaiatant county
igent, has arranged a meeting at
J pjn. March 11 at tha Crab Paint
frocery.
lEnglish Ship Captain Writes
iAbout Ocean Flying Pigeon
The pigeon which (lew the At
lantic and landed at Bill Styron's
Gulf dock lait July is still exciting
interest around the world.
i Jerry Schumacher, whose picture
and story on the bird won wide cir
culation. received a letter recently
from Port Said, Egypt, by way of
Colliers magazine about the bird.
Ih September the magazine carried
a short notice about the bird in it*
States of Mind column.
Captain W. King, master at the
MT London Spirit whose home is
in Yorkshire, England, wrote ask
ing for more detail about the bird.
Writing to Walter Davenport of the
Colliers staff, he said:
"I read with great interest your
item of 48 States of Mind in
r issue of September 20, 1952,
tegarding the pigeon retrieved by
Mr. Schumachcr of Morehead City,
N. C. 1 am wondering if this is
our 'Jenifer.'
"We sailed from England July
1* for Houston, Texas, and ran Into
Widespread fog at the western ap
proaches to the English Channel.
Forty-eight Maura later, about #00
miles west, Jenifer ambled into the
chartroom exhausted. We gave him
or Iter a drink and a feed at var
ious well advertised breakfast ??r
eals. From then on be or she was
a well cared for paasenger without
cage restrictions. Although we
passed two miles o it Bermuda, one
mile off the Bahamas in Providence
Channel and came close in to the
Florida coast, Jenifer made no at
tempt to fly ashore and I had hopes
of landing the bird in the care of
i pigeon fancier in Houston. How
ever, on passing the very last ia- 1
land off Florida, about August- 5, i
the bird left us and headed north.
We had got to be good friends and
all were sorry to aee it go. i
"Should it (the pigeon which
landfed in Morehead City) be Jenl- <
fer the coincidence still has a se
quel. The Colliers was received '
from Mr. and Mrs. Schumacher now <
at Aruba, Netherlands Antilles."
Not every story can have the per- <
feet ending of fiction, and the pig- I
eon which landed here was un- I
doubtedly not Captain King's i
Jenifer. The pigeon landed at (
Styron's dock July 22 and was last i
seen July 27, several days before |
Jenifer left the London Spirit 1
Since both birds seem to have been <
bent on leaving England at the
same time. It is unfortunate they i
could not have made the trip to- '
letter. |
German Vessel
Brings Cargo
Here Sunday
S. S. Carl Fisser
Unloads Potash
For Fertilizer
The cargo of a German freighter
being discharged at the Morehead
City port terminal this weel* may
promote a new pattern of North
Carolina harbor development and
prove of "deep significance" to the
state's northeastern farm and in
dustrial economy, leaders here de
clare.
The S. S. Carl Fisser arrived at
the dock Sunday and is the first
foreign merchant vessel to import
fertilizer to its new deep sea ter
minal. It brings in several thou
sand tons of muriate potash from
Europe for manufacture and distri
bution throughout this area. Other
ships with similar cargoes are ex
pected this spring and summer, it
was said.
Agricultural Commodities
Morehead City has had a brisk
petroleum products traffic and
a heavy movement of cargo and
personnel for the 0. S. Marine
bases at Camp Lejeune and Cherry
Point, with more than 80 navy ves
sels visiting the port within the
past 60 days. But special interest
has been centered on the import
of agricultural commodities, and
the docking of the Carl Fisser be
gins what Morehead City leaders
hope will develop into a two-way
traffic to make this harbor one of
the principal fertilizer and tobacco
import-export centers on the South
Atlantic coast.
The potash was directed to the
port by General Fertilizer corpor
ation of New York for the account
of Mathieson Chemical corpora
tion's standard fertilizer division at
Williamston, one of the state's lar
gest processors of insecticides, fun
gucides and fertilizer.
J. D. Holt, port manager at More
head City, said special conveyor
equipment has been purchased by
the Authority to handle bulk ship
ment. He also announced that the
well known stevedoring firm of
Stevenson & Young have expanded
their AUantic coast operations to
include offices at Morehead City i
The firm is handling the Carl Fis
ser's cargo and> is moving in equip
ment to handle all type of traffic,
Holt i?id.
Heavy Fertilizer Consumption
"The tobacco and grain growing
areas of northeastern North Caro
lina are probably the heaviest con
sumers of fertilizer in the state,"
Mr. Holt declared, "yet tradition
ally this vital material has always
moved to us through Norfolk and
Wilmington with a higher trans
portation cost which the consum
ers must pay. We believe the cur
rent movement through our ter
minal will demonstrate that as
much as a dollar a ton can be
saved for users in some areas when
it comes through Murehead City."
"It would certainly be to the per
sonal interest of every farmer, deal
er and processor in this section of
North Carolina to influence the use
of our deep water facilities upon
which the state has spent several
million dollars for modern ware
houses and docks," Holt added.
"The tobacco crop alone used 331,
000 tons of fertilizer last year and
a high percentage of it was im
ported. The stite uses close to 2,
000,000 tons of fertilizer a year."
Holt said the state authority has
a program for rate equalization
with other ports on all commodi
ties, and that plans for additional
warehouse space are already being
made for the terminal here.
"Eventually," he said, "we hope to
have all the equipment and service
here to accomodate the export and
import of any commodity for which
there is a. North Carolina demand."
C. G. Crockett, manager of the
Mathieson branch plant at Will
iamston, indicated the Carl Filler's
cargo was a foreruner of similar
movement. His firm has bean in
business at Williamston aa the
Standard Fertilizer company since
1927. It produces aluminum irriga
tion equipment as well as agricul
tural chemical commodities.
Holt described the decision of
Stevenson It Young to open oper
ations. at Morehead City as a major
port development. Up until the
present, he said, stevedoring has
been.managed with equipment and
some labor being imported from
Wilmington and Norfolk with a
higher cost accruing to shippers.
Tide Table
Tides at Beaafart Bar
HIGH
LOW
Tuesday, March 2
9:40 ajn.
19:01 p.m.
3:S3 p.m.
3:46 a.m.
Wednesday, March 4
10:11 a.m.
10:36 p.m.
4:29 p.m.
4:22 a.m.
Thwadajr, March I
10:46 a.m. 4:50 a.m.
11:15 p.m. 4:90 p.m.
Friday, March 6
11:36 a.m. 9:40 a.m.
11:9* p.m.
Carteret Farm Leaders Reveal
4
Agricultural Progress Plans
Two Held for Car Theft ,
Have Inferiority Complex
Nonhead Merchants
Hold Election Today
The annual election for offi
cers of the Morehead City Mer
chants association will be held
this morning at U:SO in Cap
tain Bill's waterfront restaurant.
1. C. Harvell, president of the
group, urged all the members of
the association to attend the
meeting. Plans for the coming
year will also be made at the
meeting.
Plans Completed
For Fund Drive
Final plans for the annual fund
drive of the Beaufort chaptcr of
the American Red Cross were made
at a kick-off meeting Friday night
in the Beaufort town hall. The
goal in the drive which will cover
Beaufort and the eastern part of
the county is $2,700.
Braxton Adair, chairman of the
chapter, gave the campaign work
ers instructions for the drive which
began Sunday and will continue
until March 16. He also passed out
the material which will be used in
the drive and explained its use.
The drive will be conducted
through personal contacts with po
tential contributors. The area cov
ered by the drive will be divided
into sections with a chairman for
each section. Workers will then
contact residents of the sections to
solicit contributions.
Mrs. Alma Potter Howard will
be in charge of. the drive in the
residential sections of Beaufort,
Mrs. Charles Harris of Marshall
berg will conduct the drive in the
/putt? rod Mrs. Roaaiia Davia wttl<
*rve the Beaufort businet>.' i>
trict. Mrs. Frank King will handle
contributions from special grolips
such as county and town employees
and school teachers.
Section chairmen assisting Mrs.
Harris are Mrs. Paul Davis of Wil
liston, Mrs. Virgil Styron of Davis,
Mrs. Dennis Pittman of Stacy, Mrs.
Hallett Styron of Sea Level, Mrs.
Brantley Morris of Atlantic and
Mrs. Hcaden Willis of Smyrna.
Permits Issued
For New Roofs
Permits to rcroof five buildings
were among eight building permits
amounting to $4,137 issued in Beau
fort during February, according fo
Gerald Woolard, building inspec
tor. The roof repairs necessitated
by the high winds which struck
last month.
O. W. Lewis received a permit to
reroof a business building on Front
street at a cost of $1,000. C. D.
Jones company received a permit
to reroof its Front street store.
The work will cost $480. Will Pot
ter obtained a permit to reroof a
business building on Front street
at a cost of $480.
Dick Parker received a permit
to reroof a dwelling on Ann street
at a cost of $300. Leon Mefrill re
ceived a permit to' reroof a dwell
ing on Harsh street at a cost of
$280.
C. G. Austin obtained a permit
to build a garage on Cedar street
The garage wUl cost $700. William
Roy Hamilton received a permit to
alter a dwelling on Gordon street
at a cost of $500. G. H. Besaent re
ceived a permit to make repair* on
a dwelling on Ann street. The re
pairs win cost $300.
Nrnknl City Holary
las Qmiz Progran
Celebrating the anniversary of
Rotary international, the Morehead
City Rotary club conducted a quiz
program on Rotary at its meeting
last Thursday night.
Dr. Eugene Roelofs waa in charge
of the program. Members who
failed to answer their questions
correctly were fined. The fines
were donated to school lunch pro
gram for underprivileged children.
A visitor at the meeting was the
Rev. J. H. Waldrop, jr., of New
port.
Fire Denudes 8Kb
Fire Sunday night caused minor
damage to a sign at the Central
Motor company's used car lot on
Aran dell street The Morelwad City
lire department extinguished the
fire before it coald cause any ex
tensive damage. The fire is believed
to have been caused by wiring in
tke electric sign.
? Two Richmond. Va., men will
probably sec their dreams come
true when they are tried in Rich
mond for transporting a stolen car
across a state line.
When they were arrested Friday
morning in Beaufort, Tommy Ran
dolph Saunders, jr.. and William
Warren Robinson told Highway Pa
trolmen W E. Pickard and J. W.
Sykes that most of their friends
had served time in the penitentiary
and thai they felt inferior because
they hail never been in prison.
The two men will be tried today
in county recorder's court on char
ges of stealing gasoline, speeding,
careless and reckless driving and
failing to stop at the sound of a
siren. They arc being held in jail
in New Bern.
They were apprehended after a
chase which began when they left
a Stacy service station without
paying for gasoline which they had
ordered for the car which they had
stolen Thursday night ill Richmond.
Mrs. Ralph Pittman, whose husband
operates the service station, no
tified the highway patrol.
Patrolman Pickard met the car
about four miles cast of the inter
section of NC 101 and US 70 and
began to chase it toward Beaufort,
lie contacted Patrolman Sykes and
asked him to block the road at the
intersection. Sykes, delayed when
he slowed down going through
Morehead City, reached the inter
section after the fleeing car and
Pickard had turned off on 101.
Saunders and Robinson abandon
ed the car behind George Laugh
ton's garage when it was damaged
and fled into the woods. Pickard
and Sykes, anticipating a long
search, were about to call the
sheriff for assistance when the two
.fugitives walked out of the woods
and surrendered.
The men told the patrolmen that
they stole the car in Richmond and
were heading for Miami, Fla. They
Slitf itlW-tW""" out of ga? and
?wtiey In Rocky Mount. A hitch
hiking marine offered to buy gas
if they would take him to Cherrfr
Point.
After leaving the marine at the
air station, the men continued east
on US 70 instead of returning to
New Bern to pick up US 17. They
ran out of gas in Stacy and slept
beside the road. In the morning
they borrowed enough gas to reach
Pittman's service station.
At the service station, one of
the men tolit Mrs. Pittman that his
father was working in Atlantic and
said that he would get the money
from him to pay for the gas. They
then drove toward Atlantic but i
quickly turned around and headed
west. When Mrs. Pittman saw them
pass, she called the highway patrol.
? "We need to start work for
something better than just getting
by," said Artis Garner of near New
port in commenting on the pro
posed long-range program for
agricultural progress in Carteret
county.
Mr. Garner's comment summed
up the opinions of approximately
50 representative county farmers
and interested business men who
heard the presentation of the ten
tative program at the county court
house Thursday night. The group
voted unanimously to accept the
preliminary report and begin work
on a final draft.
The long-range planning pro
gram is a part of the statewide
North Carolina Challenge agricul
tural program prepared by the
state board of Farm Organizations
and Agencies.
Years of Fluctuation
R. M. Williams, county farm
agent, presided over the meeting.
"Carteret county has had 50 years
of great fluctuation, and our farm
ers have come through the period
still strong," he said.
Pointing out that no nation is
stronger than its natural resour
ces, Mr Williams said, "We must
work with what we have and start
where we arc to increase the rural
standard of living and conserye
and protect our national resources."
The 1950 census showed that
Carteret county has a total popu
lation of 23,059 with 4,021 people
engaged in agricultural work. In
the five years from 1945 to 1950,
the number of farms decreased
from 1,085 to 614; the number of
farm acres from 60,929 to 57,015;
and the number of acres used for
cultivation crops decreased from
10.925 in 1945 to 15.436 in 1950.
The county's farm income in 1950
was estimated at $3,500,000. Truck
crops using 27 percent of the cul
tivated land accounted for 35.6
percent of the income; tobacco
used 16 percent of the land and
accounted for 28.5 percent of the
income; while forestry using 73
percent of the land brought in only
two percent of the income. Live
stock accounted for 15.5 percent of
the income.
Most of the county farma are
small and many are operated an a
part-time Vas? In the 1945-1950
period, however, the average siic
of farms in this county increased
from 52 to 96 acres.
Seven Sections
The long-range plan has been di
vided into seven sections, and a
committee composed of profession
al farm workers and county farm
ers has been working on tach sec
tion. The reports were made Thurs
day night by the committee
chairmen.
Roy Beck, soil conservation ser
vice, is chairman of the land use
and soil committee. He reported
that his committee recommended
that the county work towards
doubling the present cultivated ac
reage and adding 30.000 acres in
See AGRICULTURE. Page 5
New Yorker Burned to Death
In Blazing Broad Creek Home
Poit Tookcr, 65, a retired New
York architect, is believed to have
burned to death early yesterday
morning in a (ire which destroyed
his Broad Creek home.
Coroner L. D. Springlc said that
hot ashes had hampered a search
of the ruins but that neighbors
Beaufort Police
Make 12 Arrests
The Beaufort police department
had a busy time during the three
day period beginning Thursday, ac
cording to Chief Carlton Garner.
The officers made twelve arrests
during the period, half of them for
public drunkenness and the rat
for motor vehicle violations. The
12 men will be tried this afternoon
in municipal recorder's court
The six arretted for public
drunkenness, all Negro*, are James
McCray of Beaufort, Lancy Wade
of St. Marys, Qa.. Willie Stewart of
Beaufort, George Simmons of Beau
fort, Sampson Davis of North Har
lowe and Walter Copes of Beaufort.
They have all been releaaed on 123
bonds.
Charlie Henry Dunn, Negro, of
Morehcad City was arrested lor
careless and reckless driving and
released on his own recognizance.
Robert Lewis Brown, Negro, of
Morehead City, was arrested for
failing to stop at a stop sign. Mar
vin Lee Roberts of Morehead City
was released on his own recoggnlz
ance after he was arested for eare
less and reckless driving. James L.
Forbes of Morehead City was also
releaaed on his own recognizance
after his arrest on a similar charge.
John T. Hardesty was arrested
for speeding and Carl Bailey of
Have lock was arrested for driving
hla cat through a private driveway.
were certain that Tooker had been
in the house at the time of the fire.
Springle returned to the scene of
the fire late yesterday afternoon
in the hope that the two to three
feet of ashes would have cooled
suficiently to permit a search of
the ruins.
Springle and George Dili, More
head City undertaker, went to the
scene while the building was still
blazing and decided to return after
the fire had burned itself out.
When they returned later in the
morning, the ashes were still too
hot to permit a search. The men
placed boards across the ashes in
an effort to reach the ruined
house, but the intense beat set the
board* on fire.
The fire was discovered at about
2 a.m. yesterday morning by a
neighbor who called the Morebead
City fire department. The man
said that the house was already
bjazing when he first saw the fire.
The building was a raging Inferno
when firemen reached the scene
and they could do nothing to bring
it under control. Neighbors said
that Tooker had made extensive re
pairs on the house and that there
was a large amount of lumber in
the building.
Coroner Springle planned to
swear .in a Jury and take it with
him to the scene when he returned
yesterday afternoon. He said that
he hoped at thai time to be able to
find out what had happened. The
cause of the fire is as yet unknown,
and the complete destruction of
the house makes it unlikely that
the cauae will ever be definitely
determined.
Tooker had been spending his
vacations at Broad Creek for many
years and had spent moat of hia
time there since hi* retirement
He is survhrad by hi* wife, Ger
trude, and a son, William, both of
Loss Island, New York.
Merchants Group
To Hold Meeting
The Morehead City Merchants
association will meet this morning
to elect officers for 1953 and make
plans for the coming year at Cap
tain Bill's waterfront restaurant.
The meeting will start at 11:30.
At a meeting of the group last
Friday morning, the elections were
set for today. J. C. Harvell is pres
ident of the group now. The nom
inating committee's report was
made by D. G. Bell, chairman.
Nominated for president was R.
B. Howard. Other nominations
were W. B. Chalk, vice-president;
J. C. Harvell, treasurer; and Joe
DuBois, secretary.
Nominated for membership on
the group's board of directors were
Vergil Jenkins, furniture; Oscar
Allred, jewelry; W. C. Matthews,
drugs; E. C. Watson, general mer
chandise; and Jasper Bell, special
service.
Other nominations will be made
from the floor this morning.
At the Friday meeting, voting
for officers was postponed due to
the small number attending the
meeting. During that meeting the
members discussed Friday night
openings and a "clerk of the
month" award program. Discussion
and final decision on both of these
ideas was tabled until today's ses
sion.
In a letter to the membership,
Mr. Harvell urged every business
in Morehead City to send a repre
sentative. "No decision is possi
ble without the participation of a
large majority of our business
firms," he wrote.
Woman Receives
Minor In juries
Mrs. Marie Murrel, North River
Negress, suffered minor injuries,
Sunday afternoon when she was
struck by a car on the Merrimon
road. She was taken to the More
head City hospital where she was
treated for a lacerated scalp.
Martin Davis, Negro, of Rt. 1
Beaufort, operator of the car which
struck the woman, said that he was
driving north on the Merrimon
road at the time of the accident.
Davis told Highway Patrolman
W. J. Sykes that he had just passed
another car and had pulled back
into his own lane when the woman
crowed the road and stepped in
front of hii car. Davis said that he
applied his brake and turned the
car toward the ditch on the right
side of the road in an effort to
avoid the woman. He said that the
left rear fender of his car struck
the woman as the car swung
around.
Witnesses substantiated Davis'
story.
The accident was the second of
the same type in that area within
recent weeks. Earl E. Johnson,
three-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs.
Marshall Johnson, was fatally in
jured Jan. 22 when he was struck
by a car operated by Marvin Britt
of Bettic.
Few Building
Permits Issued
Only three building permits were
issued in Morehead City during
February, according to A. B. Rob
erts, building inspector. The per
mits were for two commercial
structures and for alterations to
a residence.
The Sinclair Refining company
has received a permit to erect a
metal building at Its bOlk filling
station on Evans street. The build
ing will cost 12.400. Ii) December,
the company received permits for
a one-story building and storage
tanka at the plant
The Gulf Oil company will erect
a small building on its dock at an
estimated costs of $9S0. The build
ing will be used for an office and
for storing marine supplies. It will
be separated from the present s
building which is used as a lounge *
for yachtsmen.
Grover Mundcn has received a
permit for alterations on bis Evans
street home. The work will coat
*700
Construction la running well be
hind that during the corresponding
period of laat year. Permits for Feb
ruary total $4,060 compared to
(14,115 for February 1902. Con
struction for the first two months
of this year amounted to *11.015
compered to $22,515 for the first
two months of last year.