Other views
Feeding expanding population
ByJOHNSLBDGB
N.C. Farm Bureau Federation
<?- Almoat loat in the course of a day's
am was the item that the world
populitton haa now reached 4.7
bflUon people. According to the
Census Bureau, the world has grown
by nearly one billion people since
lfTO. The lastest figures seem to
Indicate that the world is on target
for what is expected to be a 10 billion
population within a hundred years.
Id the past, there have been dire
predictions that we won't be able to
feed our expanding population. In
(act, one writer predicted that by the
year 2000, we would see food shor
tages and revolution in the world as
have-not nation* try to wrest their
need* from neighbor*.
Fortunately, that acenario 1* less In
vogue today. Nobel Prise winner Dr.
Norman Borlaug says we could
double food production in 40 to 60
years if we don't slash funding for
agricultural research. Borlaug says
many of the developing nations are
still cultivating their land with very
primitive methods resulting in low
food yield.
The expanding world population is
an opportunity for American
agriculture. Despite this year's
drought, it should be obvious that we
in this country are blessed with a
tremendous ability to produce food.
And there U Uttle doubt that the
world needs our food despite the
recent competition for agricultural
exports.
According to a United Nations
report, even with good progress in
agriculture, only half of the countries
of the world will be able to feed
themselves by the year 2000. The
other half will have to look to their
neighbors.
It would seem, then, that as the
world's population continues to ex
pand, the position of the United
States as the preeminent exporter of
food will, by itself, assure us a
leading role in the whole community.
Suicide : A tragic and
mystifying cause of death
One of the most tagic and
mystifying causes of death is suicide.
Perquimans County history contains
a number of instances of self
destruction.
? I
? ? The language of one of the oldest
? coroner's inquests on record in
Perquimans reflects the eighteenth
!. century view of the causes of suicide
? ?and the judgment society passed
upon the act. An inquest was con
evened at Sarah Decrow's tavern in
"Hertford on August 22, 1794, to view
the body of Jeffrey R.
As found by the inquest, Jeffrey
i'."not having the fear of god before his
"Eyes, but being moved by the In
. stigation of the Devil" (a phrase
!! common in criminal indictments) did
!!"with a Razor of the Value of three
, pence Sterling which he held and on
lihimself make an Assault and made a
!! wound on his own throat..."
" Having cut his windpipe in two,
Jeffrey "Languished, and
It
? I
Languishing Lived for the Space of
one hour and half and then died."
No one can ever prove why an
individual resorts to such an action,
but contributing factors can
sometimes be discerned.
Much seems due to a mind per
manently insane or temporarily
distraught, unable to work through
periods of startling depression,
overwhelming loneliness, or crip
pling self-deprecation.
External circumstances may act
upon internal pressures in many
ways, the most extreme reaction
being a deliberate exit from life.
Problems with a new job may have
aggravated a sense of homesickenss
in the case of Jonathan S., for
example.
Jonathan had come from Smith
field, R. I., to teach school in
Perqimans. Something went amiss
with him, and in January 1838 he
went alone to "a common
River.. .called Perquimans River,
(and) himself voluntarily and
feloniously drowned."
Another professional man from
afar was Dr. Hales W., a Mary lan
der, who cut his throat in Hertford in
September 1827. Perhaps a common
thread in such tragedies is a com
pelling feeling of not being at home in
one's environment, a feeling which
can manifest itself in the midst of
family and friends, with an outward
appearance of normality.
Then, too, there are instances
which seem to be borderline. Ac
cident or suicide?
In July 1836 Polly M. was crossing
Jesse Wilson's mill pond in a canoe
with some children. She "was Sup
posed to have been taken with a fit
and Leaped out of Said Canoe and
then and there must have drowned
being no Sufficient aid at hand."
Did Polly really "leap" into the
water or did the exertions caused by
some sudden mental or physical
distress cause her to lose balance and
"fall" overboard?
Such sensitive topics are often
swept under the rugs of history, but it
might be said the inability to air
grievous difficulties is itself a major
factor in triggering suicide.
History amply illustrates the un
predictability of events. Astounding
achievements come from unexpected
quarters, and people shape events in
unimaginable ways.
No individual can know what the
rest of life may bring, and no state of
mind remains unaltered. Surrender
too often comes just before rescue.
An individual, indeed the whole
human race, should hold on a while
long, and yet a little longer, until the
play is ended and the author appears
on stage.
i in2 ba^
20 Year* Ago
" ! By VIRGINIA WHITE TRANSEAU
I; MRS. FANNIE HURDLE AT
TENDS NATIONAL HD CON
VENTION: Mrs. Fannie Hurdle
.returned from Little Rock, Ark.,
Jthere she attended the annual
Convention of the National Home
demonstration Council.
~ Mrs. Hurdle is District President of
the 25th District of Home Demon
stration Clubs. She made the trip
jrith other delegates by chartered
gua. She was one of 31 women at
tending from North Carolina.
- , TWO LOCAL STUDENTS AT UNC
Conference: two student from
Perquimans High School, Mary Lee
Newby and Perry Monds, were at the
University of North Carolina with
their coach, Mrs. Elizabeth Britt,
attending the first background
discussion conference ever to be held
for North Carolina high school
debaters.
The conference was held in
Peabody Hall on the UNC campus
Friday and Saturday, October 25 and
26.
Representatives from throughout
the state were there to dicuss the
amount of control the federal
government should exercise over
medical care. For these discussions
the national high school debate
proposition will be chosen in
January.
55 PARTICIPATE IN PUNT,
PASS, KICK CONTEST SUNDAY:
The thrid annual Punt, Pass and Kick
contest sponsored by Winslow
Blanchard Motor Company, the local'
Ford dealer, which had been
weathered out on the first schedule,
was held on Sunday afternoon on
Perquimans Memorial Field. It drew
a large crowd of young people and
parents.
A total of 55 boys from the county
paticipated in four age groups for 16
prizes. First prize winners were
Jeffrey Haskett, Willis Proctor,
Henry Stokes III and Herbert Win
slow.
Second prises went to Donald
Waters, Tony Lane and Michael
Lane. Thrid prize to Carl Owens,
Martin Fleetwood, Billy Nixon and
Clarence Goodman.
[Letter to the editor
THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
^Thi* year the North Carolina
Qteneral Assembly made a one-year
Impropriation for the creation of the
Eastern Office of the North Carolina
QpvMon of Archives and History.
^The office, which opened October 1
to the historic Robert Lee Humber
foue to downtown Greenville,
serves individuals and groups in
twenty-three counties in eastern
North Carolina: Beaufort, Bertie,
Camden, Carteret, Chowan,
Currituck, Dare, Gates, Greene,
Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Jones,
Lenoir, Martin, Northampton,
Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans.
Pitt, Tyrrell and Washington.
iTHE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Published Every Thursday
By Advance Publ., Elizabeth City
Jane B. Williams
Managing Editor
Pat Mansfield
ng Manager Circulate Monagf
?
V .v ?
During the current fiscal year, our
three- person staff will publicize the
office and undertake limited
preservation-related activities.
We will inform the public of the
many programs of the Division of
Archives and History, especially
those pertaining to the preservation
of historically or architecturally
significant structures.
The Eastern Office will assist
citizens in taking advantage of
services provided by the staff in
Raleigh. In addition, the staff in
Greenville will aid property owners
in nominating their historic stoctures
to the National Register of Historic
Places.
i The staff welcomes the opportunity
the role of the Eastern ottcTtn
information, coatact me by writing to
Eastern Office. N. C. Division of
Archives and History, 117 W. 5th St,
Greenville, NC 27M4, or call (HI)
TSMTJi.
Keep those doorbells ringing
Chris's cartoon really struck
home with me this week. It seems
that this is the time of year that
people pick to go out peddling
their wares to raise money for
their organizations.
The "selling" season started
out with one of the grammar
schools and a magazine sale.
Then there were the Boy Scouts,
Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts,
Brownies, church groups, PTA,
Lions Club, Shriners, Jaycees &
Jaycettes, the Booster Club, the
Band Boosters, Rotary, the
BETA Club, and the list goes on
and on.
The leaders of the younger
generation organizations really
know what they're doing by
sending kids out to push this
merchandise. It's a lot easier to
say no to a traveling en
cyclopedia salesman than it is to
say no to your next door neigh
bor's child.
We have given serious thought
to hiring a couple of six year olds
to handle advertising and sub
scription sales at the newspaper.
Kids can and will sell anything
and everything with a minimal
amount of encouragement.
I have recently purchased a
complete storeroom of chocolate
candy, enough to last at least one
lifetime, with plenty of
magazines to read while I'm
sitting around munching.
My supply of stationery and
greeting cards will keep me busy
throughout the long cold winter
months. And the fruit that I've
agreed to order should ward off
those winter cold germs.
I had an interesting con
versation with my 13 year old
brother the other day concerning
the art of selling.
He handed me a catalog and
asked me if I wanted to buy some
personalized Christmas cards.
My immediate response was to
let him know that you never ask
anybody if they want to buy
something. I told him that you
should bait them with your
merchandise by pointing out the
selection he had to offer, and to
get them to make a response such
as, "Gee, these are really pret
ty".
I went on to tell him that when
he got a response such as this he
should go on and ask how many
boxes of that particular item they
would like to purchase.
Being an average 13 year old,
Paul's response to me was, "I
don't think my way of doing it is
so bad, I've only been selling for
two days and I've gotten 36 or
ders not counting the one you're
going to give me.
Naturally I conceded, gave him ,
my order and went home. )
You can't beat a kid when it \
comes to peddling merchandise. '
Guest editorial
State efforts to strengthen
economy produce success
By GOVERNOR JIM HUNT
North Carolina's efforts to
strengthen and expand its economy
over the past several years have
produced a dramatic series of suc
cess stories. Rapid diversification of
our industrial base hafc prevented the
recent recession from hitting us as
hard as it has our neighboring states.
Our entry into the high-technology
age has attracted national attention.
The announcement a few days ago
that the DuPont Company will bring
a major electronics research and
development center to this state
caused business and government
leaders all over the country to sit up
and take notice.
Aggressive recruitment and en
couragement of new and expanded
business has resulted in $12 billion
worth of new or expanded industrial
plants. That translates into 200,000
new manufacturing jobs.
But North Carolina is not about to
rest on its laurels. For example, the
slow but continuing Improvement in
the South and in the nation in at
tracting foreign firms and the Jobs
that come with them.
In the first nine months of 1983
alone, new and expanding foreign
owned firms in North Carolina an
nounced more than >277 million in
investments and more than 3,400 new
jobs.
That investment total makes 1983
the best foreign investment year in
this state's history. It brings foreign
investment in our state since 1977 to
more than >1 billion.
Few rates can rival this record.
Much of our success in recruiting
overseas is a result of the sound
economic development programs
that have also benefitted our existing
business, communities and
educational Institutions.
It is a tribute to our excellent
business climate, our public schools,
our community college system, and,
mo* of all, our quality of life.
Success in convincing foreign
firms to locate in North Carolina
requires personal contact with the
top executives of thoee companies. I
have made several overseas trips to
Commerce C.C. Hope Jr. back in the
summer.
Secretary Hope's mission con- .
firmed that North Carolina's
reputation as a good place to do
business has spread all over the
world.
While in Europe, I will visit top
Officials of leading Swiss, French,
German and British manufacturing
firms.
Letters
The PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
welcomes the opinion of its
readers. We print letters to the I
editor on subjects of local, state,
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terest.
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177. Hertford. N C.
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thouse Square.