JONES COUNTY
NUMBER 2
TRENTON, N. C, THURSDAY, JUNE 1,1961 VOLUME X1IV
Jones and Lenoir Tenant-Farming
Takes Sharp Drop from ’54 to ’59
'Farm tenancy in North Carolina
decreased sharply from 1954 to
MSS, reaching its lowest level
.since 1960. .> ^ -
A preliminary report from {he
I960 Census of Agriculture shows
that 31.4 per cent of the farms in
Ndrth Carolina were tenant oper
ated in USB as compared with
36.9 per cent five years earlier.
The national percentage was 20.5
in I860.
In Lenoir County the census of
’59 shows 2,429 farms, with 1,385 of
t these, or 57 per cent tended by ten
ants. This is a considerable drop
from ’54 when 68.3 per cent of Le
noir County farms were tenant
tilled.
In Jones County for ’59 there
were 1,063 farms, of which 440 were
tenant farmed. This is 40S per
cent, compared to 55.6 per cent in
'Of* ■ : ’i .;V
Translated into actual - Buyers;’
' North Carolina had 59,035 tat^WT
in 1950 as compared with 98,819 inr
1951. The total number of farms in
the state declined from 367,906 to
190,-567 during the period. A change
in definition of a farm accounted
for 16,661 of the los.
Dr. Selz C. Mayo, head of the
Department of Rural Sociology at
State College, says that farm ten
ancy in North Carolina reached its
peak about 1930 .
While the percentage of tenants
has been declining since then, the
decrease in North Carolina has not
states. - -*
He attributes this slower de
crease to tobacco, which has been
called America’s last great un
mechanized crop,
i In 1959, for example, 18 Tar
Heel counties still had over half
their farms operated by tenants.
Edgecombe led the list with 74.1
per cent. Others (listed in order of
tenancy percentage) were Greene,
Wilson, Pitt, Nash, Robeson, Hert
ford, Granville, Scotland, Person,
Lenoir, Martin, Vance, Halifax,
Wayne, Bertie, Hoke and Caswell.
All counties falling in the over
50 per cent category are heavy
producers of tobacco with the ex
ception of Scotland, Bertie and
Hfoke, which produce either cotton
or peanuts in large amounts.
Watauga bad the distinction of
having the lowest percentage of
tenants In 1050 — 1 per cent as
compared with 8 per cent in 1854.
Most mountain counties had very
few tenants. Alexander, Alleghany,
Avery, Burfte, OaWwell, Macon,
and Watauga, for example, had less
than 5 per cent. '
Hyde, Jackson, Mitchell and Or.
ange had more tenants in 1050 than
they did in 1854. Percentage of in
crease was small in each of these
counties however.
Dr. Mayo says that where ten
ancy rates are low the'tenant is
usualy in one of two categories:
first, he may be a young farmer
Without much capital working tow
ard farm ownership; or secondly,
he may be a relative of the land
lord beginning to assume owner
ship.
“In either case,” Dr. Mayo add-r
ed, “his position is much dfferent
from the tradtional tobacco or cot
ton sharecropper.”
Many-Named Negro’s
Probation is Revoked
Monday Judge Rudolph Miatz re
voked the-pFabation«ry*,|Hdvi8tens
hi a 3-to-6 year prison term of a
negro youth brought before him by
'Probation Officer Robert Everett.
Everett told the judge that James
A. Green had been given a 3-to-5
year term in Onslow Oounty for
stealing a record player. Then uder
the name, “James A. Davis,” he
was convicted in May in Kinston
of auto theft.
Everett says the negro youth has
also “done business’ under the sur
names of Winfield and Lewis. He
is also serving four months for the
auto theft.
Education Board OK’s Plans for
Lenoir Community College; Meet
Thursday to Make Further Plans
A meeting was set tor a:jo toaay
by the steering committee work
ing to establish a community col
lege for fjienoir County after last
week the green light was given to
the effort at a special meeting of
the Iienoir County Board of Educa
tion.
Co-Chairman Don Henson and
Bob Gilbert apeared before the
school, board and outlined all that
had been done through last Week;
which including the setting up of
the steering committee and a sur
vey of 20 schools “within a 25-mile
radius of 'Kinston to determine the
number of potential students such
a community college might have.
After getting approval from the
couiUy school board, and making
the survey to determine thfe need
the next step is to appear before
the State Board of Higher Educa
tion, which will either accept or
reject the proposal.
BE the state board approves, then
it will be necessary to hold a re
ferendum to determine if the vot
ers of the , county will support the
» sufficient tax levy
to underwrite the establishment and
In, Out, In Again
For Local Peddler
Of Illicit Elixirs
(Last week Craven County officers
caught a load of stumphole whis
ky, 'but the driver escaped and
left Willie Bennett of 532 South
Queen Street in Kinston, who was
“riding shotgun”.
Bennett convinced New Bern au
thorities that he was an innocent
hitch-hiker, who know -nothing of
the contraband cargo. He told
them "Vincent Newkirk of the “Big
Wheel” in Kinston was driver of
the car. x
Newkirk was indicted, but a Cra
ven County judge turned both men
loose, despite the fact the eacty
has long records of liquor law.vio
lation, and both are currently un
der indictment for such activities
ip Lenoir Courts.
Friday Lenoir County ABC offi
cers arrested Bennett once more
for having a small quanity of this
potent portion in his possession.
Trenton Teachers
Visit Charlotte to
Study New Methods
Eleven of the thirteen teachers
at Trenton School went to Charlotte
Sunday to observe the Charlotte
school plan, which is called “The
IMecfcenburg Plan.”
They met Monday morning at
the board of educaton with their
supervisors and then went to visit
one of the county schools. They
stayed all day at the school,obser
ving in the grade that they will
teach next year in Trenton.
Attending were Principal Fred
Pipin, Amos Taylor, Mrs. Clifton
Pollock, Mrs. Wallace Banks, Miss
Letha Pridgen, Miss Tiny Ham
mond, Mrs. Hazel Turnaige, Mrs.
Jason Arthur, Mrs. W. H. Ham
mond, Miss Hidegrade Brock, Mrs.
Louis Strobel, and Miss Sallie
Murphey, supervisor in Jones
County.
Pancakes and Square Dancing
Friday for 4-H Clubber Fund
Pancakes and square dancing
will be the older of the day on
Friday, June 2nd at the Amer
ican Legion Building in Trenton.
Jones County 4-JTers, in trying
to complete their quota in the 4-H
Development Fund will put on a
sqare dance that night.
The pancake supper will be served
from 5:30 to 8 and will consist of
sausage and “all the pancakes you
can eat.” Cost will be $1 per plate.
The square dance begins at 8 and
will feature a performance by the
illaysville doggers, Prices for the
dance are: ADULTS 50c — CHIL
DREN 25c.
Mrs. W. W. Lowry, president of
the Jones County 4-H Leaders, says
“iWe still need to raise $525 to
meet our Quota of $1650.00 which
is Jones County’s share of the
million dollars being raised for the
4-H Development Fund. This mo
ney is to be used to improve 4-H
camps, provide scholarships and to
improve the 4-H Club program in
general.”
“We hope to go a long ways tow
ard raising this $525. on June 2nd”
stated Mrs. Lowery. She urges folks
to “come out for a good meal and
a good time while helping a good
cause.”
DRIVING charge
Osbie Norwood Dixon of New
Bern, Arthur James Holmes of
Kinston route 2, Emmett Murphy
tWade of Kinston route 3 and George
Mooney Ham of Goldsboro have
been arrested during the past week
on charges of 'drunken driving.
Canoe Trip Down Roanoke is
Taken by Trenton Scouts
Boy Scout Troop 100 of Trenton
went on a canoe trip over the week
end with 17 scouts attending. The
trip started at Scotland Neck
lie
river at 3 Friday. They spent the
night on the dark Farm at Nor
fleet. Then they spent Friday night
near Hamilton near an old dvil
War Fort which the scouts toured.
They landed at Williamston at
2 Monday which made the trip a
total of 64 miles in eight canoes.
Bill Parker carried food and
sleeping equipment and met the
boys every night. R. H. Daven
port, C. M. Pollock and Rogers Pol
lock furnished transportation.
Scouts who went with their
leader, J. R. Franck were Butch
Huffman, Keith Green, Kenneth
Mallard, Bobby Davenport, Phil
lip Cox, George W. Cox, Eddie,
Phillip and Robert West, Billy Par
ker, Rich Franck, Jimmie Pollock,
Charles Pollock, Ronald ''Hawkins
and Rodney Johnson.
Funeral Friday for
George G. Noble
Funeral services are to be held
at 2 Friday afternoon from Garner
Funeral Home in Kinston for 91
year-old George G. Noble retired
Jones County Register of Deeds,
who died Wednesday after a long
period of declining health.
Burial will be made in the grave*
yard of Pleasant Hill Christian
Church.
Noble, a native of the Pleasant
Hill section, served almost 30 years
as Register of Deeds and stepped
down in 1956, when his assistant,
Mrs. Dorothy Koonce, was elected
to take his place.
Funeral Friday
Funeral services will be held at
Three fYiday for 16 year-old De
lores Ann Jones, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Clarence Jones of the
Haskins Chapel section of Jones
County /who died early Wednesday
after a brief illness.' The last rites
will be held from die home and
burial wiU be made in Westview
Cemetery in Kinston.
John Yates Family
New Baptist Pastor
And Wife are Honored
A picnic supper was held Satur
day night in honor of Mr. and
Mrs. John Yates, who moved to
Burgaw, and the Rev. and Mrs.
Douglas Ponder, who moved to
Trenton last week.
All of the neighbors on one street
took part, in the picnic for the two
families.
They were, Mrs. Alma Vassey
and Susan, Mr. and Mrs. Warren
Calvert and family, Mr. and Mrs.
Henry Swiggett and family, Mr.
and Mrs. C. D. Hodges and family,
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Pippin and
family, Mr. and Mrs/ Vaughan
IFowler and son, Mr. and Mrs. Wes
ley Oakley, Mr. and Mrs. Clifton
Pollock and family, and guests, Mr.
and Mrs. Joel Pippin.
Patricia Huffman is
Named Dairy Princess
Of ’61 in Jones County
Wednesday night the ag building
in Trenton -was crowded for the
annual Dairy Princess Contest in
which Patricia Huffman was chos
en winner from the seven entrants.
Susan Vassey was No. 1 runner
up and Diane Shepard was the No.
2 runner-up.
Princess Patricia will represent
Jones County in the district contest
that is to be held June 12th in New
Bern.
j
District winners will then com
pete in Raleight later in June for
the Miss North Carolina Dairy
Princess crown.
Kinston and Trenton
Rotary Clubs Hold
Joint Meeting
The Trenton Rotary Club met
Tuesday night in the Trenton School
Cafeteria with Fred Pippin pre
siding and eight members present.
The Kinston Club was also pres
ent with Trenton, Kinston’s off
spring club, as guests. Weston
Reed of the Kinston Club was guest
speaker. Other member from Kins
ton were President Bill Page, John
Page, Ely Perry, Tolbert Midyette,
Dick Parker, Pig DuVal, Albert
Stroud, George Carter, John Gray,
Chris Giles, Norman McCaskill,
George Harper, Gus Leggett and
Charlie McCullers.
It was a good meeting, and Tren
ton members were very happy to
be guests of Kinston members.
Conservation News
.by Emmett Waller Jr.
Fourteen Cooperators in Jones
County received bass fingerlings
recently. The fish were obtained
by the Lower Neuse Soil Conser
vation District from the Fish and
Wildlife Service Hatchery at Ed
enton. This was the final delivery
in the stocking of ponds on these
cooperator’s farms.
Bream were furnished last fall
at an approximate ration of four
bream to one bass.
Cooperators in Jones County re
ceiving fish were; Archie Davis,
J. K. Dixon, Floyd Hill, T. D. Hol
loman, Thomas Hood, H. B. John
son, Carl Killingsworth, Jedious
Metts, Ely Perry, W. E. Phillips,
John H. Pollock, Lynwood Pollock,
J. W. Rhodes and R. C. Tyndall.
Assault Charges Made Against
Man Who Wielded Baseball Bat
Earl Grady of 11-E Simon Bright
(Homes was charged Saturday with
assault with a deadly weapon in
(connection with investigation that
came after two negroes were hos
pitalized with head injuries ad
mittedly given them by a baseball
bat being used by Grady.
Grady, and R. H. Cauley told
police Monday night, May 18th,
when the injuries were inflicted that
the two negroes and a third, who
escaped, were cutting auto tires
in a parking lot at Simon Bright.
They also said that the group
rattled Grady’s front door and dar
ed him to come out and they would
“fix Mm.”
Grady said he came out, they
pulled a knife on Mm. and he be
gan laying about with the bat.
Saturday Police Chief Fred Boyd
said the indictment aganist Grady
came after questioning of the two
negroes, Jether fedwards of 1218
Oak Street and Leo Oliver of 407
Forest Street, whose versions of
tiie incident varied greatly from
that of Grady and Cauley.
They claim that they were walk
ing down Adkin Street, a block
from the parking lot, when Grady
jumped out of his car and im
mediately began beating them with
the bat. They further claim that
they had not been in the parking
lot.
The first impression from the
stories of Grady and Cauley was
that the men were knocked down
in or very near the parking lot,
which is directly in front of Grady’s
home.
Because of this wide discrepancy
in the stories, Chief Boyd said he
felt it was a proper matter to be
settled in the courts. Ediwards lost
an eye from the injuries he suf
fered in the fracas.
The cases are set for hearing in
Recorder’s Court on June 15th. Ed
wards and OUyer are charged with
malicious damage to private prop
erty and disorderly conduct. Three
tires were slashed on cars in the
parking lot.
'