Newspapers / Jones County Journal (Trenton, … / March 20, 1952, edition 1 / Page 1
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Journal A BETTER COUNTY THROUGH IMPROVED FARM PRACTICES - NUMBE R 45 Cameron Langston : B. Cameron Langston, the dis tinguished Commissioner from Contentnea Neck, is a person ality by many—or perhaps any yardstick. If nothing but hjs size were taken into consideration he would stand out in practically any congregation but aadea to _,_(and is now busy s erv-? big his third term tin that tpp board of the eounty. Among those who frequently come to seek funds from the purse-hold ers Lapgston is known, at times, as “Scrooge” because his Scot temperment causes him to be cautious In passing out money— even when it Isn’t his own. Several years ago he promised former newsman, Fred Whitaker, some ham for some nice things that had been written about him. Whitaker years later got the ham—it was the “sawdust” from a ham that Langston had sawed up at the local freezer locker plant.. Not too many moons ago Langston exhibited some more of his - personality with all of the subtle weight of a brick by sending a mess of country sau sage and pork brains to the ed itor of the local semi-dally news paper. A note with the gift Ex plained that the sausage werev for ‘mama” and the brains were >lor “papa” who had said a but ting thing or two about the “Commissioner from Contentnea Neck." Langston recently spent a while visiting with his daughter, whose husband is stationed with the Army Air Farce in Texas. When he arrived back In the saner east he was adorned, as pictured here, with a consider able outlay of cowhide and rab bit fur in the jacket and hat that' had been picked up south of the border. Every two years Langston swears that he is through with politics but by the time the filing deadline has arrived he has managed to get his name in the political pot. Two years ago he came within she votes of be ing trimmed, which was the closest squeak he has had In his political career. In a “Thank You” note pub lished after the election Langs ton said, “I want to thank every one of the voters who cast a ballot for me,' but I most par ticularly want to thank that last five.” So far and with election just around the corner he has given no indication of whether or not he will be seeking those last five votes this year. Our money says he will. y&fs ... ,, V „ M In file Alex H. White School aud itorium' in Follocksville. This pro gram is sponsored by the Pol locksvllle Rotary Club in Its con tinuing effort to raise money for the completion of the com munity building. Miss Foy is a graduate of the school of music of 'East Carolina College in Greenville and she has appeared in solo performances in many North Carolina and Virginia communities. Ellington is a student at the Westminister Choir College in Princeton, N. J., and has given solo performances in many North Carolina New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The. scheduled recital is to be gin promptly at 8 p. m. and ev eryone is invited to attend for the nominal admission fee that is being asked. Jones and Lenoir Politics Warming up As John Hargett Announces Desire to Represent Jones in State’s Assembly Spring Is just around the cor ner according to the calendar and in the even numbered years that means county politics all over North Carolina and a great many other states. So far there has been very little outward political activity at the county level in either Jones or Lenoir counties. In Jones the only announuced candidate is Register of Deeds George Nobles who has not been opposed during the many years he has held this office and it is most unlikely that he will have opposition this year. The five members of the Jones County Board of Commissioners have made no expression on whether or not they will seek another two year hitch on the county’s top board and the same Is true in Lenoir County where the five commissioners are keep ing quiet in two or three differ ent languages on the subject of running or not running. Not announced but rumored to be strongly considering a try at county commissioner seats in Lenoir County are Kenyon Wha ley of Southwest Township, J. D. Paschal of Kinston and Jack Alexander of Kinston Township. wnaiey nas naa nis nat in the sheriff ring on two occasions but has never had a crack at the county’s ruling board. Alex ander two years ago ran a very strong i-aoe In the county com *•—*-**-- b£ TL _flatter ls well known, very much In the rumor state is the candidacy of Mollle Hart for the Register of Deeds post In Lenoir County that is now held by Caimllle Aldridge. Miss Hart, post observers agree, woud have some extreme diffi culty in beating Miss Aldridge at the polls but the thought of a race between two well known women always tends to add fla vor to the political pot boilings. School boards in both Lenoir and Jones County are up for reelection and in each there is bound to be competition but so far there are no announced can didates either from the incum bents or the/ would-be board members. In Lenoir County Incumbent Representative Marion Parrott long ago snatched his derby out of the race and up until now Pink Hill Lawyer Harvey Turner is the only anounced candidate for this post. Jones County’s in cumibent representative, Robert Wednesday morning John M. Hargett, one of Jones County’s best known citizens, became the second publicly announced candidate for Jones County office, when he issued a statement announcing his candidacy for the^county’s scat in the North Caiiolina General Assembly. Hargett, long active in the public affairs of Jones County is the son of a former sheriff of the county who served four terms in the State Senate and was head of the Inland Fisheries Division of the Deparment of Conserva tion and Development. The County’s second announced candidate graduated from Trenton High School in 1917 and from the University of North Carolina in 1921. He married the former Iona Thigpen of Duplin County in 1942. He served for 22 years as teacher and principal in the public schools of the state but hasn’t taught since 1945. He is at present engaged in operating a community store and livestock farming oper ation. He served on the county PMA committee and a number district senatorial two posts repre Greene, Craven, Onslow, Jones, ana Lenoir counties is still stagnant and with the filing deadline just a round the corner. Incumbent Carl T. Hicks of Walstontourg and John Larkins of Trenton “ain’t talking." There are no other names officially in the pot. Libby Ward of Ne<w Bern and Luther Hamilton of Carteret County are reported to be “itching to run,;’ Lenoir County does not have even a rumored candidate for one of these sena torial posts. One of the most interesting races already officially offered to Lenoir voters is the choice be tween 29-year-old veteran John Kerr of Warrenton and L. H. Fountain of Tarboro for the sec ond district’s seat in the United States House of Representatives. Kerr with 29 years of very politic political appointing in the district is naturally rated as a favorite over the young Tarboro attorney but the general consen sus seems to indicate that Foun tain has a fair to good chance of “scaring hell out of Kerr.” Kerr has never been a stump • thumping vote getter but has rather relied on the smoke-filled room style of politics. Those who have long favored a change in the district representation say ' that Fountain will have an ex cellent chance of licking Kerr if he wages an all out person-to person campaign. If Fountain follows the pattern of fence mending and alliance building in which Kerr excells, these same friends of Fountain admit that the Tarboro hopeful has lit tle chance. Fountain’s appeal, they insist, must be t othe so-called unorganized vote rather than to the so-called party liners. An interesting spring is with us. Demonstration On Terracing Thursday A terracing demonstration will be held on the farm of Robert Taylor, Pink Hill, on Thursday, March 20th at 2:00 p. m. This farm is on the highway between, Jones’ Forks and Pink Hill. The construction and use of, * terraces and the use of the thod to lay out arranged and conducted" operation with Dave Dixon,Ip. Concervation Service represen tative Preston Collins On Oak Ridge Honor 5 Roll For Term Cadet Preston A. Collins of Maysville has been included in the select group of cadets making the scholastic honor roll at Oak Ridge Military Institute for the six-weeks period ending last week, according to an announce ment from Col. T. O. Wright, president of the Institute. Cadet Collins will be author ized to wear a special*ribbon sig nifying his scholastic achieve ments. To make the schlostic honor roll at ORMI, a cadet must make an average grade of “B” or above and must have no grade below “C”. Since the dawn of the bootleg whiskey business back, in the roaring twenties the Liddell sec tion which lies In the wester nmost edge of Lenoir County has been ncrtorious for its connection with the illicit liquor business. -There have been a number of reasons for this unhappy situ ation. Perhaps the first is geo graphical. Lying,as the commun ity does at the nnftYimiim dist ance from the county teat and the la<^ .‘enforcement headquar liquor ethan living. Never, of course, were all of the people In the neighbor hood engaged in breaking the law but there was a time when the majority was not greatly in terested ip enforcing the law. With the paving of roads and the distance between police and the community cut greatly in time, if not in miles, and with the more stringent enforcement of the Illicit liguor regulations added to the general farm pros perity the backwoods distillery business1 has gone from bad to worse' and is now hanging grtmiy on in a kind of “Custer’s Last Stand." A few of the old and more hardened and habitual process ors of the sumphole variety of boose still survive and these have lately caused this prosperous community, which is now trying HBfliWQ. a foie will be forthcoming unless some positive action Is taken In the direction of heading it off. On Sunday, March 3, Melvin Strofid, was viciously and badly beaten, be says, by John Cruse and Norman Jones. Stroud says they told him the reason for his awful beating was “sticking his nose In their business.’’ Cruse whose only semi-perm anent address since 1032 has been either the state or federal prison has a record that began on June 8, 1932 when he was glyen six months for forgery. On May 11, 1938 he was given 18 months for breaking, entering and larceny and larceny and re ceiving stolen goods. Five days later he was given 10 more months on another larceny and receiving charge. On September 5, 1934 he escaped from prison and when caught was again charged with larceny and given an addition*! eight ^months. < I In 1935 he escaped again from prison, stealing a car in the pro cess, and for this he drew a nother three years and two months. Somehow, apparently through the liency of a parole (board, he was out and on De cember 24, 1936 he was sen tenced to a term of two to six years on two charges of felon ious assault. x . July 31, 1943 a reckless driving and improper license indictment against him was nol pressed. In federal courts in September 1943 he was given a year and one day for violation of the Internal Revenue Code. On February 1, 1946 Cruse Was given IQ years for highway robbery and two years for secret assault not with intent to kill—these two senten ces to run concurrently. Two years after being given a 10 year sentence hie was arrested in Wayne County for stealing a car and drunken driving and the & court gave him a six month jail sentence suspended on payment of a $100 fine and court costs., The arrest and trial of Cruse and Jones during this week has brought to a head the aggravat ed and dangerous situation that has been growing steadily worse in this community. Still it is rumored that the “head of the gang” is not caught and further it is rumored that he has threat ened to “have two more men beat up like he had Melvin Stroud beat up.” . Arson, poisoning of livestock and damage to personal prop erty are part of the vicious story that is today causing this com munity its greatest anxiety in many hectic years. Those who know and watch th^ situation feel that it is rath er like a charge of dynamite with an extremely short fuse and there is danger that the fuse may burn out at any minute.
Jones County Journal (Trenton, N.C.)
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March 20, 1952, edition 1
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