ESTABLISHED JULY, 1996
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SECOND CLASS POSTAGE PAID AT BURNSVILLE, N. C.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 7, 1967 • NUMBER ONE
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OUT OF COUNTY $4.00 PER YEAR
Scene From Top O’ The Hill
< By: Jack Kelly
Since almost everyone in the
Country is familiar with the
name of the Mason-Dixon line,
and since I stumbled across
some facts about it that I didn’t
know, I figured there might be
one cr two of the readers of this
column who were a bit unfami
liar with the details too. There
fore, I’ll feed them to you.
The famous “Line” is gener
ally accepted as the dividing
line between the North and the
South whereas, actually, it is no
such thing. The Mason-Dixon
Line divided Maryland and
Pennsylvania, then swung south
and east and divided the States
of Maryland and Delaware. The
total length of the Line was 230
miles, 1,813 feet, 9 and' one
quarter inches. The official sur
veying measurement of the time
expressed it as ”230 miles, 18
inches, 21 Links.” I figured out
the chain and linkmeasurement
for you. The most amazing
thing about the entire business
is the fact that recently, with
the most modern of instruments,
a cheek was run on the “Line”
and the entire distance was only
"off” 232 feet. When you stop to
consider that these two British
rurveyers had to fight "hos
tile. with one hand while they
measured with the other, they
did a right fair job.
The original necessity for the
measurement sprung frrm a dis
pute between Holland and Eng
land when the Calverts of Mary
land laid claim to the wonderful
peninsula between the Delaware
and Chesapeake Bays. That be
gan in the mid 1600’s. Later,
when the Dutch were chased
out, that famous Quaker, William
Penn, inherited the dispute. The
Calverts of Maryland were tough
in a scrap. Finally, in
England’s Court of Chancery, a
compromise was reached. Mary
land got the greater chunk of
the region and the State of Dela
ware finally emerged from the
email piece F<r the final settle
ment of the boundary. Mason
and Dixon came over here from
England in 17G3 and set to work
The whole Job only cost
s7:> 000 Oft for the four years it
took This price included the
boundary markers which bore
the Coat of Arms of Penn on
one side and Calvert on the oth
er, at five mile spacings, while
at the mile marks were less
ornate stones bearing a simn'e
T’ or ”M" on either side. Be
sides serving a noble purpose,
it is a noble monument to Char
les Mason and Jeremiah Dixon,
who were listed as Astronomer-
Surveyors.
Up in Maine last week, an old
gentleman sitting near me in the
dining t«ld a vnuneer man
at his table that "Sins and debts
are always greater than we
think them to be" I felt real
sony that 1 hadn't headr the
ci nversation that lead up to that
sage remark I rank this gem
with an elderly lady in Alabama
who once remarked that "A
secret is either too good to keep
or not worth keeping” and thus
excused her gossiping.
They have some fairly nice
scenery up in Maine but when
you compare it to our part of
Yancey County it doesn’t stand
up too well. Every time I make
such comparisons, I miss not
being there more and more.
Worst thing about our vacations
down home is that they come to
an end too quickly. The month
we spent this Summer fairly
flew past. Dozens of people that
we figured to visit well, we
just didn’t make it. FR, blame
it on Blanche because die used
up two weeks in the play she
performed. Speaking of my wife
mate, she was mightly pleased
that she was invited to the Meth
odist Ladies Circle for a lunch
eon. She hroke the news to me
one morning by saying "You
don’t need to be. so proud of your
self for getting invited to the
Baptist Church while I was in
rehearsal.” I enquired what she
meant and she informed me that
her Methodist friends had invit
ed her to the luncheon. I prob
ably would have starved to death
that day except that I had a
Methodist friend, Mrs. Ransom
Higgins, who brought me a
splendid chicken dinner.
Later in the day, down at Ray’s
Food Center, I told Roy about
this and jokingly remarked that,
if the Lord was to call Blanche
and Ransom home, Lizzie and I
might make a deal. Roy thought
that was very comical. Later
that afternoon when Blanche and
I were sitting with Ransom and
Lizzie, I repeated what i had
said. My friend Ransom reached
out and tapped Blanche and said
"Jack don’t think what might
happen if the Lord called him
arid Lizzie first, does he?"
That will teach me not to try to
get ahead of my neighbor Ran
som in smart-cracks.
AH the fun and vacationing is
now behind us and we can hard
ly wait for late October for our
next visit. Then, the Lord will
ing, it won’t be too long before
we make the final move to home
and we will |r»»k forward to the
Summer People's coming and
look forward to their going.
Blanohe if alreadv figuring what
to send and what to give away
and how she will fix which
room. It would be all right if
she had decided things to her
self but she continually will ask
do I or don’t I think suoh and
such *ould be a go«d idea. Os
course. I know she will do what
she wants so I agree with her
and continue reading or whatnot.
Then she proceeds to explain
how wrong I am. I wish she
would stop giving me ballots
since she doesn’t let me vote.
Speaking of voting, when can
we register?
Buy U.S.
Savings Bonds
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ProQasLv I / u.*a \ JBe aitL tv'&o tscc
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Cadets Train In Marine
Technology
WILMINGTON Cadets are in
training at Cape Fear Technical
Institute for a career that will
hring them face to face with the
challenges of inner space.
The technical institute is offer
ing a two-year educational pro
gram in marine technology,
which has proved to be the most
ambitious undertaking of its kind
in the United States.
High School graduates, who
can qualify, are being selected
to serve as cadets at the techni
cal institute, which is rapidly
pushing North Carolina to the
forefront in unlocking the mys
teries of the vast oceans.
According to an article in the
August 1967 issue of The Amerir:
can Legion Magazine, “Since
World War 11, and more so -with
each passing year, scientific
and industrial activities touching
on the seas have been multiply
ing at a rapid rate.”
Capt. Arthur W. Jordan, mas
ter of the Advance 11, a float
ing laboratory on whic h most
of the technical institute’s mar
ine technology training is held,
says, "Thinking in terms of
spacemen and scientific fron
tiers we must first think of the
ocean. It would seem that the
ocean is of more vital concern
than the inhospitable and fabu
lously expensive moon on which
Congress is being asked to ex
pend $52 billion.
"As the world’s population in
creases," says Jordan, "it is
certain that not enough food can
be grown on the amount of land
available to feed and support the
people. The oceans, however,
have enough food to take care
of the protein needs of many
times the present world popula
tion. The oceans need only be
harvested and managed properly
by trained aquaculturalists.
“Colleges and universities have
been turning out a few graduate
oceanographers from time to
time, but not nearly enough to
meet the demands for trained
personnel in this field,’’ con
cluded Jordan.
In 1964, Cape Fear Technical
Institute inaugurated its course
in marine technology. The pur
pose of the program is to fill the
tremendous need for technicians
In the marine field.
Graduates of marine science
programs are in great demand
by private Industry, state and
federal government and marine
agencies. In addition, chances
are excellent for an enterprising
y'-ung man to build a business
of his own.
A shin, the US*! Wor’snd. an
ex-Navy World War II escort
ve««el, «a« ohtained from the
U. S Naw lo he used as a
U NEVER FAILS
classroom for the m-ovram. She
was re-christened the S S. Ad
vance II in honor of the Civil
War blockade runner by the
same name.
Dr. Dallas Herring, chairman
of the State Board of Education,
says, "It is hoped that she (the
Advance II) will inspire the peo
ple of North Carolina as effectiv
ely and serve them as well as
her namesake did a century
ago.”
Dr. Herring added that it is
hoped that the ship will bring
advancement in education to hun
dreds of young men whom the
State hitherto has neglected in
terms of their special talents
and needs and the State’s own
need to unloose the wealth of
the seas.
This 185-foot ship has been
turned into a floating laboratory.
Heavy bourns and deep sea win
ches capable of handling the
heaviest and largest fishing gear
have been installed on the ves
sel as well as booms and winch
es for lowering water sampling
hollies and bottom coring de
vices.
A magazine, once used for
atcrape of 40 MM aheHs. waa
converted into a chemical labor
atory where sea water is analy
zed to determine salinity and
oxygen content. Instruments for
determining the salinity of aea
water by means .of conductivity
and devices for measuring pro
ductivity were installed on the
vessel.
The ship’s laundry was made
into a marine biology labora
tory. A washroom used by chief
petty officers became a sedimen
tation laboatory where samples
of the bottom and corings of the
ocean’s beds are classified and
the geological age of sedimen
tary deposits are determined.
The ship is outfitted with mod
ern equipment for fish preserva
tion. Twin brine tanks are used
for preserving specimens alive
and also for freezing fish in
brine.
The S. S. Advance II has a
modem "jacketed-type" freezer
for atorage of brine frozen fiah,
which is believed to be the only
jacketed freezer on a ship in
the United States.
The vessel is equipped with
deep sea cameras which enable
the students to observe marine
animals in their natural environ
ment. Also available are plank
tm nets which are used to col
lect both microscopic and ms
cr-scopic organisms f«r classi
fication and study. These small
marine nrennfsms provide use
ful information as to future
stocks of commercially import
ant fish.
Marine tech students fabricate
and experiment w*fh their own
fish canturing devices, and a
comprehensive study of various
types of denth recorders is In
cluded in their electronics course
On board the training vessel, the
students take turns manning
various stations.
Another phase of the marine
technology program is the study
of marine engines. From this
course, the students learn to
make engine repairs at sea,
make fresh water from sea wat
er, man switchboards and man
and maintain auxiliary engines.
Cape Fear Technical Institu
te’s marine technology program
is well-rounded. It includes sub
jects such as physics, chemis
try, English, mathematics, typ
ing, oceanography , navigation,
chart construction, marine bio
logy, and fishing methods and
operations.
Cruises are regularly schedul
ed and range in distance from
the coast of Maine to the Flori
da keys.
This poem I dedicate to all
those girls whose “scraps" have
given me so much pleasure dur
ing the times that I have spent
revisiting hy hometown of Bur
nsviUe, especially the little red
headed one and her friend.
SCRAPS
Every rose is guarded well
By thorns that grow and dus
ter round;
And any hand when reaching
near
Will shed its blood upon the
ground.
Beauty such as roses have
Needs a stouter, firmer stem;
And you, my dear, so like the
rose
Have made a thorn of him.
1 do not wish to shed my blood.
To pluck the rose, I do not
dare;
But if 1 stand aside and wait
Scraps of love the/ rose will
bear.
I feed upon these little scraps
You freely leave for me to find;
I cherish each rewarding piece
Aa if this love were only mine. 1
My eyes do feel a shining glow
When he receives a loving kiss;
My heart ia warmed with just
a blush
Os your gay happiness.
I know that I could never earn
A W e like yours to mix with
mine.
So 1 content my be»ri and soul J
Wi*h hut these little scraps I
find
—Millard Murdock