Weekly Perspective
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Looking back
MYllfi A|o
By VIRGINIA WHITE TRANSEAU
RECENT GRADUATES AT
ALBEMARLE HOSPITAL: The
Elisabeth City School of Practical
Nursing graduated 13 students, seven
from Perquimans County, at exer
cises at the Episcopal Church in
Elisabeth City.
The graduates are: Carolyn
Bowen, Becky Sutton, Louinda
Hollis, Elaine Sumner, Sarah Dail,
Linda Tynch, trlene Milter, Eloise
Smith, Peggy Spear. Novie Abbott,
GaU Miller. Gail Johnson. Joyce
Miller and Marjorie HoUowell.
PLANNING BOARD PRESENTS
BY LAWS: The first monthly
meeting of the Planning Board was
held at the Hertford Municipal
Building on Tuesday. Members
present were W. H. Ward, chairman;
Jack Kanoy, vice-chairman; J.
Emory White, secretary.
Members absent were J. Moody
Mathews and Julian Broughton.
DEALERS DISPLAY NEW 1M4
CARS: 1964 automobile showings in
Perquimans County have been going
on now for the past week. Already the
new creations on display are at
tracting much attention and more to
come.
The Chevrolet* went on display at
HoUowell'i Chevrolet Company. The
Ford* were on display at Winslow
Blanchard Motor Co. Earlier thi*
month of September the new Dodge
made its appearance At Towe Motor
Co. along with the Plymouth Valiant
and Chrysler.
FARM BUREAU REPORTS
TOTAL OF 391 MEMBERSHIPS:
Rollo White, president of the
Perquimans County Farm Bureau,
reports that Perquimans County
Farm Bureau has reached a mem
bership of 391 members and ex
ceeded the quota of 357 by 54 mem
bers.
ENGAGED: Mr. and Mrs. Charles
Fraklin Tynch of Belvidere announce
the engagement of their daughter,
Linda Rae, to Robert McCoy
Phthisic, son of Mr. and Mrs. Barney
M. Phthsic of Tyner.
COTTON ESTIMATED AT 315,000
BALES: Cotton production in N. C. is
estimated at 315,000 Bales of 500
gross weight. This is 20,000 bales
above the August 1 estimate.
Longevity concern
of early residents
Many an early Perquimans will
quote a phrase from the Epistle to the
Hebrews, "It is appointed unto men
once to die." The manners in which
county residents have kept that
appointment were quite varied.
Threats to life began even before
birth and were constantly present.
Widespread disease, harsh con
ditions of living and working, and
accidents were compounded by the
inadequacy of medical care.
Bibles and tombstones bear frequent
testimony to the mother and child
who did not survive the orderal.
Children faced many haxards.
Open fireplaces and steep stairs were
dangerous temptations for earless
play, and the kitchen was filled with
curious things to swallow.
A peep into a deep well could prove
disastrous, and water was
everywhere a danger. Twenty-month
old Samuel Stepney fell "into a hole
of watter and thar was drowned" in
1692, and such accidents were
common.
An angry bull, a stray wolf, or a
shiny snake would not be the friendly
playmate some child might suppose
it to be.
Especially vulnerable were knee
babies and lap babies neglected
while attention centered upon
newborns.
Those who survived into adulthood
still encountered disease, and adults
also frequently suffered accidents at
work. Boas Boswell, for example,
was clearing land in 1762 when a
falling tree struck him fatally.
No serious attempt was made to
record complete statistics on deaths
in Perquimans until 1850, when the
Mortality Schedule of the federal
Census sought to list "Every Person
Who Died during the Year ending 1st
June. 1850. "
According to the 1850 Mortality
Schedule, 143 persons died in
Perquimans during the census year
(June 1, 1849 through May 31, 1850).
Those persons included 47 white
males, 34 white females, 2 free black
males, 4 free black females, 30 male
slaves and 28 female slaves.
Infants through the age of five
comprised about one-third of the
white deaths and female slave
deaths, but a full half of the male
ilave deaths.
No white decendent surpassed his
70s. Samuel Newbold was 70; Esther
Billups, 72; and Isaac Wilson, 74. The
longest-lived persons were slaves:
Dick (Scott), 80; Hulda (Nicholson),
SO; Winny (Sutton), 90; Cader
(Goodwin), 98; Rufus (White), 100;
Lonno (Winslow), 100; and Sally
(Wood). 100.
Nearly 40 causes of death were
listed. The primary stated cause for
white males was disease of bowels;
white females, bilious fever; and
male slaves, dysentery.
Other causes included worms,
consumption, catarrh, rheumatism,
nephritis, pleurisy, pneumonia,
gravel, sunstroke, liver disease,
uncerated mouth, dyspepsia,
stomach cancer, measles, brain
inflammation, croup, childbed, liver
inflammation, typhoid fever, brain
fever, apoplexy, hernia, marasmus,
uterine causes, scrofula, smallpox,
dropsy, heart disease and bowel
inflammation.
Five deaths were due to accidents.
Addison Towe drowned. Augustus
Saunders was thrown from his horse.
Poldoe (Sumner) caught his hand
and arm in a corn sheller. Henry
(Toms) and Luke (Bare lift) burned
to death. Five deaths were attributed
to old age, while 17 were due to
unknown causes.
Letter to the editor
THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
I would like to thank each of the
youth who participated in the WALK
and BIKE-A THON Sunday af
r
tcrooon and (or their sponsors who
gave $237.30 for Cystic Fibrosis
research. THANKS.
Rev. Irving E. Cook
1
THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Published Every Thursday
By Advance Publ., Elizabeth City
Jane B. Williams
Managing Editor
Advertising ***** OrnHoHo"
Getting into the holiday spirit |
Department stores never cease to
amaze me. It's not even mid-Octover
yet and already Christmas states at
you from every aisle.
Store windows boast banners
reading "For best selection shop
early" and "Lay-away now for
Christmas". Christmas decorations
blink in the aisles and the toy
counters are overflowing.
Give me a break, Halloween is still
nearly three weeks away!
It used to be bad enough when signs
on the door ready 'Only 21 shopping
days left 'till Christmas', but now
they start at 365. (In case you're
interested we're down to 72.)
With modern technology the way it
is, the shopper that waits until
Christmas Eve to purchase his gifts
is apt to find only Easter baskets for
Christmas gift giving.
For years I've promised myself
that I wouldn't wait until the last
minute this year to do my shopping.
Ideally, it would be nice to have all
the shopping done by Thanksgiving
and then be able to sit back and enjoy
the oncoming holidays without
~\
A Chat
With Jane
By
Jane
Williams
having to give a second thought to the
last minute crowds who throng into
shopping malls all over America, but
how do you get into the Chritmas
spirit when you're missing all of the
fun.
Christmas shopping always began
on the Friday after Thanksgiving
when I was growing up. You were a
comfortable month away from the
big event and the supplies were
plentiful. Unfortunately, it doesn't
work that way anymore.
With toys for children becoming
more and more commercialized you
have to get out early before supplies
and funds run out.
Speaking of funds, while writing
this column I decided to take a glance
at the calendar to see how many
more pay checks would be coming in ?*
between now and the big day. Are
you ready for this? *??
If you get paid weekly you've got"
about ten more checks between do* -
and Christmas Day, unfortunately l'1
get paid bi-weakly (very weakly I
might add) and that means only five*
more paychecks before time runs I
out.
I have spoken with several loan
officers, and they assure me thftT
people have been borrowing mon^y-""
like crazy already to pay for
Christmas. ,,
With millions of gift ideas,,,
available, and almost as manx,?
choices of places to buy these gifts,, I K
think my main wish for Christina, j
this year will be a little bit slower,^
pace of life, like the kind found in the
good ole Albem arle.
Perquimans Opinions
JASIELUlf
The qneation (or this week's
opinion -column is: The New Safe
Roads Act, which became effective
October 1, among other things raised
the legal drinking age for beer and
unfortified wines to 19, what is your
opinion of this new law?
MICH4IL JASBLUM .... "I feel
it will have an impact, but I felt it
should have gone another step far
ther and have beta one for all
alchollc leverages. My main reason
being is an alcoholic beverage, by
virtue of what it is, can be over
misused or overdone at any time.
Aad raising to 1?, by hot one year, it
will help a little; but I think a greater
impact would be seen by raising the
entire drinking age to n for all
"Prior to coming to North
Carolina. I was living in Penn
sylvania; there it Is 21 for all people
GROVE
and I think it worked. There'll (till be
those underage who get Uquor who
get served, but I think you'd see more
of an effect at 21 rather than It."
JACK GROVE ... ."I think that the
state legislature spent a kit of time in
considering this law and the best
information they could come up with
and the statistics that they have show
there's a great incidence of accidents
among young drivers."
"I personally know of three under
the age of 21 who have either died or
were seriously injured due to
drinking so IH have to say that I'm
for It"
"I'm generally in favor of the law
all the way across the board as far as
stiffer penalties. Whether raising the
age mm year will have that much
effect I think remains to be seen. I'm
in favor of this proviska of the law
becauac I fed that U is going to
LEICESTER
reduce the number of fatalities on
our road, not only among teeanagers
but among other driven on the road
that, unfortunately, are involved
with the drinking driver in ac
cident*."
"So, I believe it will have a
favorable effect, but there are those
young people who are going to get a
hold of alcohol if they want it So I
don't know from that standpoint if
those young people are going to obey
the law. It's gonna help there's no
qEDUUCKSTn . . . . "If it can be
enforced and will be cooperated with
by the people who sell it then I think
it's a good idea. When the legal age
was U it didn't keep 17-year-olds
from buying It, I don't see how
raising the age to II will keep U- ,
year-olds from buying it aow."
ANN BERRY .... "I tfcfc* it's
BERRY
good and I would really like to aee the
age ralaed even higher. We have
been needing to do aomething about
drinking for a long time and I believe
thia is a good start"
Letters
The PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
welcomes the opinion of its
readers. We print letters to the
editor on subjects of local, state,
national and international in
terest.
Letters should be limitedjto 300
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number of the writer. Only the
name and address will be
published with the letter.
The subject matter should be of
Merest to the community, not a
personal gripe. Letters may be
by our news staff