weekly Perspective
Guest editorial
High values placed
on education
\
By GOVERNOR JIM HUNT
North Carolinians have always
placed a high value on education.
Parents in particular have seen
education as the way for their
children to have greater op
portunities than they had.
That still holds true, but there is
developing across this land a new
sense of urgency about excellence in
education. There is also a demand
among our people for greater ac
countability by our public schools.
Education for its own sake is no
longer enough. People rightly want to
know what kind of education their
children are getting in return for
those hard earned tax dollars.
North Carolina is taking the lead in
asking those questions and searching
for the answers. Last Thursday, we
began a massive statewide effort
aimed at deep and lasting change in
our state's public schools.
On that day, I appointed 50 citizens
? including business executives,
educators, legislators, local and state
government leaders, parents and
students ? to the North Carolina
Commission on Education for
Economic Growth.
Over the next five months, this
commission, which I will chair, will
listen to our people, take a hard look
at what is happening in our schools.
We will develop recommendations
for action by our legislature, by
businesses, by parents, by citizens,
by students and by educators.
We are doing this because North
Carolina and America cannot con
tinue to grow and prosper if we don't
have excellent public schools. Our
future and that 01 our children
depend as never before on good
schools.
North Carolina has already taken
giant steps in education ? steps that
other states are striving to copy. We
have a primary reading program,
testing programs, tougher
requirements for graduation, and the
North Carolina School of Science and
Mathematics.
But much remains to bt done. We
must pay teachers in a way that will
attract and keep the best. We must
make the curriculum more rigorous.
Classroom time must be used more
productively. We must make
homework more valuable. We must
reduce the dropout rate.
In short, we must do a better job of
preparing today's students for
tomorrow's world.
The Commission on Education for
Economic Growth will hold its first
meeting on Thursday of this week in
Raleigh. That will be followed by
regional hearings, on dates yet to be
determined, in Raleigh, Asheville,
Greenville and Charlotte during the
fall and winter.
In February, there will be a day
long meeting to hammer out our
recommendations. In March, we will
issue a final report.
Your participation in one or more
of these regional hearings is urgently
needed. Whether you are a parent, a
teacher, a student, a business
operator, or from any other walk of
life, you have a stake in the direc
tions our schools take.
I hope you will plan to come to one
of the regional hearings and tell us
what is on your mind. You will be
listened to, and your ideas will be
carefully considered by the com
mission.
In this way, you can do your part to
see that our nation retains its
leadership in the world and whether
this generation of children will have
a better life than ours.
Coroner's inquest
used to determine
mortality rate
Other than the Mortality Schedules
of the Federal Census, the principal
source of information regarding
causes of death in Perquimans
before this century is cornoers'
inquests.
_ The coroner was a public official,
appointed by the County Court prior
to 1868 and elected by the voters
thereafter. It was common in the
years just before the Civil War for
Perquimans to have two coroners at
one for each side of the river.
F!ew of the county's coroners were
doctors.
#
' ;Ante bellum law declared: "It
(ball be the duty of... coroner
s'.. whenever they have knowledge of
themselves or are informed by others
f&at any person is slain or suddenly
4(pad,... to.. .summon a jury of good
^d lawful men,.. .(to) make Inquiry,
when, how, and by what means such
deceased person came to hii
death,..."
The jury gathered at an inquest
would view the body, looking for
signs of violence or obvious causes of
death. Testimony might be taken
from persons having knowledge of
the matter at hand; opinions might
be sought from doctors.
death to have been natural, ac
cidental, or deliberate.
Silvy Nixon in 1842 "died by the
visitation of God, in a natural way."
Caroline Godfrey died of heart
disease in 1869. Joseph Stallings,
found dead on a June morning in
1857, came to his end "by fatiguing
himself after a calf."
Accidents frequently involved
drowning. Ishmill (Nixon) and
Benton Kelley, in separate incidents
in 1840, both drowned in the upsetting
of canoes.
A body which floated ashore near
Benjamin S. Skinner's landing on the
north side of Perquimans River in
July 1847 was found to be that of a
slave named Oliver from Roanoke
Island; he had drowned while
bathing.
Trees and animals often figured in
accidents. Jonathan W. Kirby ws
killed by a tree falling upon his body
in 1840. A three-year-old named Joe
was run over by a cart pulled by a
yoke of oxen who had not been well
broken.
Some deaths were deliberately
caused, either by the self (suicide) or
another party (murder). In August
1836 John T., by jumping into Skin
ners Cretk, "himself Voluntarily and
Feloniously drowned." John M.
heroically escaped bullet and can
nonball through the Civil War, but
destroyed his own life in 1902.
Murder was, unfortunately, no
stranger to Perquimans. On New
Year's Day IMS, William K. was
found dead on Little River road, his
lungs, stomach, and legs pierced by
swan slut. The inquest found he had
been killed by Richard W. aad Alfred
T.
On Christmas Day ISM, the body of
the said Richard W. was viewed by
another inquest, which determined
he had been Wiled by Calvin H.
County residents to get new directory
The search Is on in Perquimans
County for the name of every
business or individual that has
merchandise to sell or a service
to offer.
A Chat
With Jane
By
Jane
Williams
THE PERQUIMANS
WEEKLY and the Perquimans
County Chamber of Commerce
are currently compiling a list of
businesses and individuals that
are interested in being included
in a county-wide Service
Directory.
The Perquimans County
Service Directory is an idea that
was formed through the efforts of
the Merchants Association of the
Chamber of Commerce. Earlier
this year the Merchants Com
mittee under the leadership of
Ben Berry began a series of
general memebership meetings
to discuss ways to improve the
business relationship in the
county.
During the course of these
meetings, the membership split
up into several different groups
to try and find ideas that would
enable them to work together
more efficiently while increasing
the interest of local residents in
county businesses.
The Perquimans County
Service Directory is the
"brainchild" ol the committee
headed by Allen Winslow.
The purpose of the Service
Directory is to let the people of
Perquimans know what types of
goods and services are available
in the county. Any business or
individual with merchandise to
sell or a service to offer will be
given the opportunity to obtain a
listing in the directory.
The directory will be com
prised of listings, much like those
found in the yellow pages of the
telephone book, and advertising.
Emergency numbers will be
listed in large print at the front of
the directory and listings will
also be available to churches and
civic groups.
The directory will be
distributed free of charge
throughout Perquimans County
by means of mass mail campaign
scheduled by THE
PERQUIMANS WEEKLY.
Copies of the directory will also
be placed throughout the county
at any business wishing to stock
them.
The directory will be printed in
a handy booklet form that you
can keep by your phone as a
guide to merchandise and service
availability in the county.
Hopefully, the directory will
encourage local shoppers to look
towards businesses in
Perquimans County for their
wares before heading out of town ,
to shop.
The county merchants ask that
individual shoppers take the time
to make them aware of any
merchandise that they need that
can't be found in the county.
If the merchants are made
aware of community needs, they
are better able to stock their
stores to fill these needs.
We encourage each business or
individual that would like to
participate in the Perquimans
County Service Directory to
contact THE PERQUIMANS
WEEKLY at 426-5728 at your
earliest convenience.
For additional information
about the directory contact the
paper or the Perquimans County
Chamber of Commerce.
Letter to the editor
Editor
THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
On behalf of the Perquimans
County Extension Homemakers, we
would like to take this opportunity to
thank the many people who helped to
make the 1963 Festival of Skills a
success.
We especially appreciate all of the
visitors who attended ? both local
and those from out of the county ?
Plymouth, Windsor, Kitty Hawk.
Virginia Beach and Elisabeth at*,
just to name a few.
Also, we are indeed grateful to the
exhibitors who participated and to
the many volunteers who assisted.
Thanks to Jackie Hobbs and
Thelma Rogerson for their TV ap
pearances and to the Perquimas
Weekly, Daily Advance, Shopper and
radio stations for publicity.
Thanks to each merchant who
sponsored the beautiful double page
ad for the Festival o( Skills.
A special thanks to Mayor Bill Cox
and Town of Hertford who made
arrangements for the Street Banner
and seven (7) roadside signs
(provided by The Coca Cola Bottling
Company) to be displayed .
Looking back
MYmt* Afo
By VIRGINIA WHITE TRANSEAU
BANDON PLANTATION IN
CHOWAN COUNTY DESTROYED
BY riBX: Om <A Chowan County'*
went out at Sunday af
ternoon wbau Barton Plantation waa
totaBy destroyed by Are.
The main dwelling bouae waa
B4atttou and Centae
Hill-Cross Road! were able to tare
the old kitchen and the school house
Mir the home.
1
The An was discovered by an
unidentified passing motorist when
he noticed smoke coming from the
roof as he was driving on the high
way.
All ware able to make their exit to
but everything on the aocoad
floor WM cm?mi ml hv the
Thanks to Emily Harrell (or the
Window Exhibit and Helen North as
guest demonstrator.
A very special thank you is ex
tended to the Extension Homemaker
clubs who provided food, volunteers,
helpers and equipment for the con
cessions booth.
And a big thanks to the
Perquimans County Board of
Education and Mr. William Byrum
for use of the school facilities.
Again, thanks to all who par
ticipated in anyway.
Sincerely,
Paige L. Underwood
Home Economics
Extension Agent
Juanita T. Bailey '
Assoc. Home Economics
Extension Agent, 4-H
THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Published Every Thursday
By Advance Publ., Elizabeth City
/" t. ? ''i '
Jane B. Williams
Managing Editor
Pat Mansfield Ken Castelloe
Advarllafng Manager