weekly perspective
My View
The upcoming Democratic primary
election will have far-reaching effect*
on the residents of Perquimans
Caonty. for it will he in that election
that the board of education and
sherrif are elected, and the county
commissioner candidates know
whether or not their names will ap
pear on this fall's ballot.
Voting is a right and a privilege
which has been fought for for many
years in this country. It is one of the
bases of our democracy.
Yet. many of our citisens are not
even registered, even though the
hours for registration were extended
on a Friday night by the county
Democrats who volunteered to man
registration sites.
We forget that it is not only our
right, but our responsibility to vote in
all elections for which we are eligible.
Each individual vote can indeed make
a tremendous difference, especially in
our local government.
The people ve elect on June it will
control our law enforcement, our
school system, our tax dollars. Care
should he taken to vote for the most
qualified candidate, shoving aside all
prejudices and resistance to change.
Our youth are our most precious
resource. We are obliged to see to it
that they receive the best education
possible, for education can affect the
role a young person will play upon his
entrance into adult society.
Although funds are scarce and
budgets tight, education still deserves
our utmost support. Therefore, we
must take care to elect those persons
who truly believe in a good
educational system to the board of
education.
Law enforcement affects us all. If
we've never had any dealings with the
law enforcement officials in our area,
how fortunate we are. If we have, we
know the meaning of true dedication
and service.
Nationwide, crime is on the up
swing. We must elect locally those
persons who can best halt local of
fenders and make our county a safe
place in which to live.
The board of county commissioners
controls all county tax dollars as well
as those funds which come from state
and federal grants. Persons who seek
a position on this board must be of
good character and have the best
interest of our county at heart, even if
an ordinance they pass may be
detrimental to them personally.
Consider the choices carefully.
Attend all forums to meet candidates
for public office. Ask questions. Be
informed. Don't let someone else
make the decision of who will govern
our county for you. Your vote can
make a difference.
Pacing South
JUDSONIA, Ark. ? Mention local
history in Arkansas, and the name of
W.E. Orr comes to mind.
Orr is known for his book THAT'S
JUDSONIA, his articles in Judsonia's
newspaper, the WHITE COUNTY
RECORD, and his many talks on
White County history.
He's also known for making history.
As a teacher, school superintendent,
and later as county school supervisor,
he helped build strong schools and
libraries in the area for about 43
years. One of his accomplishments as
supervisor was consolidating a
number of weak school districts into
^ood ones.
"A school superintendent was a
glorified principal during the 1930s
and 1940s," says Orr. His job was to
manage the schools, recommend
teachers to be hired, teach whatever
classes were left over, and coach
girls' basketball.
"But what people will remember
me fbr is the South's Most Spectacular
tournament," Orr says. In the 1940s,
he built the high school girls' county
basketball tournament, which had
been drawing small crowds, into a
lively show that thousands came to
see ? held in a different town each
year.
the first SMS tournament, held at
Judsonia, drew about 10,000 Orr says.
"There may be some exaggeration,"
he admits.
He tells about introducing beauty
reviews, orchestras, style shows,
circuses, vaudeville, fireworks, and
even ? once ? an elephant to pep
things up. He rented a bull elephant
from some carnies, and people came
to see him fall through the floor, Orr
says.
The SMS tournament is still going
strong, but side attractions aren't as
colorful as they were in Orr's day.
For five years during his service as
county superintendent, Orr found
time to edit the Judsonia newspaper.
He commuted about 30 miles a night
or two a week to get the paper out.
This involvement sparked his interest
in local history.
Some Judsonians born about 1870
were still living, and he interviewed
them for the paper. He collected so
much material that he began to plan a
book.
Orr had the manuscript ready in
1952, but a killer tornado that March
blew many town landmarks away. He
rewrote part of the book, and didn't
publish it until 1957.
Orr had waited until his forties to
marry ("I don't rush through life," he
says), and the older of his two
daughters was born the week THAT'S
JUDSONIA came out.
He recalls telling his wife, Bonnie,
that they would lose $300 on the book.
He didn't think people outside Jud
sonia would be interested in it, but he
was wrong. "Libraries at colleges I
had never heard of bought the book,"
he says.
Selling THAT'S JUDSONIA for
$3.50 a copy brought in more than
enough to cover the printing costs. He
still has five copies, and wishes he had
more. He's heard of a copy selling for
$25, and he has sold one himself for
$15.
Orr's own evaluation of the book is,
"It's the best book about Judsonia."
More seriously, he wishes more
writers would try local history.
"It's tragic that more is not done."
he says. He has a manuscript on
White County history ready for the
printer. But because "Printing costs
are out of sight," he plans to wait
awhile to publish it.
Orr wrote features for the Judsonia
paper throughout his 31 years as
county school supervisor. When he
retired from that position seven years
ago, he found he wasn't ready to quit
working.
"I walked the floor with nothing to
do," he recalls. After about nine
months, the paper was sold, and the
new owner asked Orr to edit the
paper.
As editor from 1976 to 1979, Orr
worked many 60-hour weeks, and built
the paper's circulation to more than
2,000 in a town with 1,600 inhabitants.
Now in his early seventies, Orr
currently works as associate editor,
responsible for the editorial page, for
which he writes editorials and
columns about Judsonia's past. He
aslo makes speeches on local history.
"I have 21 speeches on White
County history, and any time the Elks
Club doesn't have a program, I give
one," says the colorful W.E. Orr.
HERBER TAYLOR
freelance
Cparrv Ark
FACING SOUTH welcomes
readers' comments and writers'
contributions. Write P.O. Box 531,
Durham, N.C. 27702.
Looking back
By VIRGINIA WHITE TRANSEAU
JUNE 1M4
SIX WHITE SELECTEES OR
DERED TO REPORT FOR NAVY
ON JUNE 22: Six Perquimans County
young men, James Baker, Quinton
Stallings, McMullan White, Charles
E. White, Jr., Lloyd Bagley and
Vernon Perry, have been ordered to
report for induction into the Navy on
June 22. These youths were accepted
for service from the contingent of men
who took examinations during April.
ERNEST A. PHILIPS WINS OAK
LEAF CLUSTER: Staff Sergeant
Ernest A, Phillips, son of Mr. and
Mrs. E.A. Phillips, armored gunner
with a 15th Air Force liberator
squadron based in Italy, has been
awarded the first Oak Leaf Cluster to
his Air Medal, "for meritorious
achievement while participating in
sustained aerial operations against
the enemy in the Balkans, Austria and
Northern Italy".
FORMER COUNTY BOY WOUN
DED IN ACTION: Pfc. Julian L.
Thatch, former Perquimans County
boy, son of Mr. and Mrs. B.W. Thatch
of Norfolk, was slightly wounded in
action in Italy on May 24, according to
a telegram received last week by his
mother, from the War Department.
Early leaders able
For three centuries prior to 1966
Perquimans County was entitled to
send one or more representatives of
its own to the North Carolina General
Assembly.
During the colonial period it sent
fivr members to the House of Com
mons at each election.
From 1777 through 1S35 Perquimans
had one Senator and two Represen
tatives in each legislature.
In ISM it was limited to one
Representative; at the same time it
was placed in a state senatorial
district with adjacent counties.
, In 1966 the county lost its single
Representative and has since relied
OH district representation in both
taues of assembly.
; Many able political leaders sat in
(he legislature for Perquimans.
Foremost among them was Col
Except for George Catchmaid in the
1660s, no other resident of
Perquimans has held the speakership.
For many years only landowners
were allowed to sit in the Assembly,
so eigteenth century Perquimans
tended to elect men from the
dominant plantation families.
There were few sessions from 1731
through ISM to which Perquimans did
not return a Harvey, Skinner, or
Blout.
Such great planters as James
Leigh, Jonathan H. Jacocks, and
Josiah T. Granbery - whose mansions
still stand - served a few ante bellum
terms, but nineteenth-century
representation generally came from
the middle class.
The record for consistent service in
the Assembly for Perquimans was set
by Col. WiBte Riddkk He sat in the
House 1105-1407 and (he Senate 1MC
1121 and 1
Ray
Whitlow
1881 sat Ira S. Biaisdell, a Vermont
born lumberman who lived in the
county for a very short time.
In two periods Quakers dominated
Pernuimans' legislative delegation.
The controversial first decade of the
eighteenth cenmtury produced such
Friendly legislators as those of 17M.
namely Isaae ' Wilson, Timothy
Cleare, Thomas Peirce. Samuel
Nicholson and lelui Barrow
Then in IMS a Republican majority
Editorial assistants turn
By SUSAN HARRIS
With Tom on vacation I finally get
my chance to write a column. After
six months of thinking about what I'd
write if gfven the opportunity to
compose a column, I am terrified now
that my time has arrived.
One of the topics I had considered
when mulling over possible column
subjects was soap operas ? the siz
zling nighttime versions that tell all.
A conspiracy between Dallas' J.R.
Ewing and Angela Channing of
Falcon Crest would stop Cecil Colby
and Alexis Carrington of the
provocative Dynasty in their tracks.
And wouldn't you like to take Lucy
Ewing and Fallon Carrington of
Dallas and Dynasty respectively to
the woodshed for a good spanking ?
even if it would come IS years too
late? _
Mostly these stories make us feel
like normal Americans with
relatively few problems and good
families.
At least we know the nighttime
soaps are fairy tales and that's the
way they're viewed, but those com
mercials that interrupt all the juicy
parts insult the average person's
intelligence. ,
Victoria Principal takes time out
from portraying the sexy but
emotionally unstable Pamela Ewing
to tell us about the benefits of working
out and using her glamour shampoo.
We all know the average person
could eat bird seed and move in a
health spa and still not look anything
like the shapely actress. And if a
hairdresser did oat hair everyday
we'd have a chance at lovely locks,
too!
Vickie forgets to remind us to use
Coast soap after our workout to
"bring us back to life."
Of course we could opt to run, play
tennis and swim with Susan Anton and
then forget our troubles on a perfect
sleeper "by Serta. When you're that
worn out you could sleep anywhere.
Just make sure you don't begin any
of the afore-mentioned exercise plans
without first taking your vitamins.
These vitamins should contain enough
of everything from A-Z so that you
won't have to eat for a week and you
can endure the physical stress of a
marathoner.
Even so, don't be a meal skipper.
You know, this nation is becoming a
nation of meal skippers. The good
news is several companies have come
out with diet meals that might fool
Julia Child.
They won't fool your pocketbook.
One little glob of delicious low-cal food
costs as much as the rest of the
family's groceries for a week!
Alas, food is not everything. There's
something else we all need: bathroom
tissue. Thank goodness Mr. Whipple
has finally stopped squeezing the
Charmin.
The man was very obviously ill and
hopefully he's getting the professional
help he needs.
So much better off he was than the
poor butcher who spends all his time
directing people to the dog food. And
he's truly more stable than the poor
woman looking for the pork chops in
the dry dog food section.
Another thing I had considered
writing about was Jim Kincaid of the
evening news and his farm in Elam.
Now I don't know what Jim's
definition of a farm is, but it seems to
me that the work on his Elam farm
and the work I did growing up on our -
Bear Swamp farm differs greatly.
Jim speaks of Spending his
weekends chopping a tittle wood,"
walking his dog and sitting by the"
fireside with his lovely wife, his"
devoted children and his faithful dog,"
Murphy.
On weekends we rested, but during
the week in the good ole summertime^
we chopped peanuts, not firewood;* |
chased the dog out of the garden, not
walked him; and sat as close to the air,
conditioner and as far away from
each other as we could, nursing our
sunburn.
Don't get me wrong, I never worked
myself to death (just ask Grandma.,
She always told us about her,
childhood when we complained about
working, I think we were supposed t# (
feel like we were on a picnic after he?
tales of yore, but H didn't work that
way. It did, however, shut us up.), but
I don't remember chopping peanut^
being as much fun as Jim's farming,
escapades. ,
Perhaps it's an attitudinal dif
ference, but 1 think my attitude k
positive. I'm positive chopping
)>eanuts was not fun. It did, however,
lend itself well to becoming suntanned (
and the exercise kept me from
spreading as Ilia ve in later years (we
won't go into that!).
When you get right down to it, our
farm was probably better than Jim's;
because on our farm there wa<
daughter and the taste of homemade
Ice cream. That was pay enough foi^
the hours we spent weridng am?
growing up together. J t
? 1
More than 200 people die while
swimming or boating in North
Carolina each year. Many of these
death's occur in the state's 68,000
(arm ponds and smail lakes.
The Division of Soil and Water
Conservation in the N.C. Department
the cwimmer is a fm?U child. If yoo
don't have a life line or pole, use an
item of clothing. ?
?Put a fence around a pom! if you havft
n to protect.
Molt (
aadi