Perspective
Hummingbirds:
Always use white sugar to
make simple syrup. Never put
red food coloring in the syrup
it weakens the egg shells.
The promise of the Easter season
I succumbed to the charm and pure
genuineness of Ma Frattie as she
greeted me on her rickety old porch
with her face ripled and dimpled all
over like a brook when a sunbeam
strikes it.
She chuckled good naturedly as I
clutched at a porch post when I
nearly lost my footing while walking
up to greet her.
"Careful there, girlie," she in
structed. "That little spring breeze
blowed that rain ever which way and
left this old porch slicker'n split pun
kin on cee-ment ." .
Inside, I settled into the old chair
near her wood stove that still held a
buit of warmth from a log, despite
the fact that it was weeks into spring.
She tossed me a pillow for my back,
slid a stool across the floor for my
heels and then settled into her own
rocker. Then was a pregnant pause
while the mantel clock finished strik
ing and I vied for a more comfortable
position in the overstuffed chair.
We spent an hour bringing each
other up to date, and then finally
ended up at the kitchen table smear
ing homemade pear preserves on
cold biscuits.
"It's Easter, so before you leave,
I've got sumpt'n I wantcha to see,"
she said as she finished clearing the
table and headed out the back door.
"Come on."
I trailed along behind her through
the back yard and down a long, wind
ing path in the woods, my soft-soled
moccasins making little noise in the
damp leaves and straw underfoot. I
finally caught up with her at a bend
in the path, where she stopped and
pointed to a little cemetery.
The whole woods was dressed in
the finery of spring, while the old
stones stood with dignity beneath
feathery whit dogwoods that blos
somed in profusion. Lacy shade
spewed down upon the ground where
wild violets and daffodils ran ram
pant. The air was full of fragrances
wafting from a ring of apple trees
with limbs bowed in graceful bounty
of pink and white flowers whose pe
tals were stewn among the violets
still glistening from the rain. It was
the most beautiful place I had ever
seen.
"My pappy planted all this," she
whispered in pride. "He said this was
a special place. He was jest a boy
when he come here with a new bride
and a young dream. Hit won't easy
'em. He buried his first born there,"
she pointed, "and the thrid born
there.. .all in the first five years."
"He told me he was hunt'n back
here one Easter when he found
sumpt'n special, so be cleared away
the underbrush and made room for
this place. He planted all these
things. All my folks is buried here,
and hit's where I also plan to lay."
We wandered among the many
stones and then stopped at the foot of
a grave that rested closest to the
large old dogwood in the center.
"This here's my pappy's grave.
See there? See why my pappy chose
this spot for his kin to sleep 'neath?"
As I stepped up to the tree in
amazement, I saw that somehow,
through nature's glorious handiwork,
the perfect contour of a large cross
covered half the trunk. Suddenly,
tears stung my eyes and a warmness
filed my heart, and in that moment I
knew how Ma Frattie's father must
have felt here all those years ago.
Easter. With all the splendor and
beauty of new awakenings. Easter. A
time for resurrecting that which lays
silently awaiting new birth. Easter.
Life eternal, for all mankind. No
matter how heavy the stone, how
deep the grave or how painful the
loss, Ma Frattie's "pappy" knew that
there is always hope in a dogwood
and a cross.
Survey indicates public has low opinion of T.V.
Though the story didn't say exactly
who was poled as a cross-reference of
Amnerican thinking, the results were
interesting.
The poll, conducted by the Roper
Organization, and sponsored by U.S.
News-CNN, indicated most Ameri
cans have a very low opinion of TV
ministers. Recent media exposure of
the controversy surrounding the tele
vision ministry has certainly had an
effect on these opinions, as Oral Rob
erts received a very low rating from
those polled. Billy Graham, who re
ceived a favorable rating of only 51
percent, was considered the mo6t
honest. These ratings reflect much of
the mistrust many Americans have
for TV evangelists.
Of those polled, nearly two-thirds,
or 62 percent, held an unfavorable
view, while 30 percent reported fa
vorable opinions. Thirty-five percent
admitted the recent controversies
surrounding Roberts and Bakker had
an effect on their feelings. Only l per
cent said they feel better about TV
evangelists as a result of rcent news
reports.
By now most Americans are well
aware of the tactics employed by
Oral Roberts to raise $8 million fcr
medical-missionary scholarships.
Stepping down from his 200-foot
prayer tower in Tulsa, Roberts jubi
lantly declared, "It's April and I'm
alive." He went on to note the strug
gle he had with the Devil, and an
nounced that a new message from on
high instructed him to raise $8 mil
lion more every year until Jesus re
turns.
Few of those polled really believed
God would "call him home" if he
didn't raise the money as Roberts
claimed. Only 12 percent thought
Roberts honestly felt he would die,
while 75 percent saw through his
clever scheme to raise money.
Others didn't fare well either. Jim
Bakker, surrounded by accusations
he paid blackmail to coyer up an ex
tramarital affair, was considered in
"not very high regard" by 76 percent
of those responding. Pat Robertson,
who is considering a bid for the Re
publican presidential nomination,
was rated by only 17 percent as being
of "high" regard. Only 12 percent
said they might vote for him in an
election, while 73 percent said they
wouldn't.
In some circles, there are those
who feel the antics of these "min
isters" will have an adverse effect on
religion in America. They fear a
"turn-off" toward God and organized
religion.
These fears may have some foun
dation.
Traditionally, Americans have felt a
personal obligation to support reli
gion and have had few qualms about
"digging deep" to support their
church and related programs. Mil
lions of dollars are donated yearly to
mission and other work, often with
few questions about the results of
such donations.
The future may find churches with
out sophisticated methods for raising
funds in serious trouble. As many be
come turned -off by the insincerity of
electronic religion, the traditional
church will suffer as well. Should
such develop, the community church
must share the blame. While evange
lists and self-proclaimed preachers
of God's word have always had their
followings, tradition has been in fa
vor of the community church be
cause worshipers felt they received
more. However, the past couple de
cades have seen the local church
show less interest in local matters
and a reduction in spiritual contact
outside the walls of the church.
They've allowed the electronic
church to take a foothold in homes
they should have been visiting.
Until the local churches recognize
their responsibility in reaching out
side their walls, TV evangelists such
as Roberts and Bakker will continue
to receive millions for their bank ac
counts.
Letters to the editor
The Perquimans Weekly,
We hear so many negative things
about our young people in Perqui
mans County, but last Sunday morn
ing at the Hertford Baptist Church, a
large group of boys and girls filed
into our Sanctuary with a quite dig
nity that was warming to the heart.
They were honoring the memory of
their Mend and playmate, Jonathan
Ward, who had died one ago. They
sat in their pews with heads erect and
listened attentively to the Palm Sun
day Sermon. Their courteous behav
ior was a great testimony to their
friend. Jon would have been so very
proud of you all.
Mary Ambrose
221 Market St. ?
Hertford, NC 27944
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THE
PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Established In 1932
Published Each Thursday By The Daily Advance, Elizabeth City, N.C.
Second Class Postage Paid at Hertford, N.C. 27944 USPS 428-060
GiM K. Jepson
| Editor
Anzie L Wood
Advertising Manager
ONE YEAR MAIL SUBSCRIPTION RATES
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1 1 9 West Grubb Street
P.O. Box 277
Hertford, N.C. 27944
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Notional Newspapor Association
Km
Klnrtn f nun ||? ni A aen r I n a* /" M e i ? n < ?? ? a ? ?
iNorTii %_aroiinu ^ssociaiion ot v.ornmuniTy r??wspoper5
Fort Bartow attacked ?
After ten months of warfare, the
United States was seeking an entry
into the Confederate States through
some vulnerable point in the tatter's
defense.
One of the chosen points of attack
was the North Carolina coast, where
a whole company of infantry from
Perquimans County garrisoned Fort
Bartow on Roanoke island. Capt. Lu
cius Johnson and the "John Harvey
Guards" (Company I, Seventeenth
Regiment, North Carolina Troops)
were in the path of Union forces un
der General Ambrose Burnside and
Admiral L.M. Golds borough.
The events of February, 1862, were
reported by the Confederate officer
commanding Fort Bartow, who had
cause to mention several Perqui
mans men.
"On the morning of the 7th, while
the men under my command were at
drill in the fort, we saw that the fleet
of the enemy was coming up the
sound. I immediately cleared the fort
for action and make every prepara
tion in my power to give then a warm
reception.
"About 11:30 o'clock their fleet.. o
pened fire... throwing shell, with
shrapnel, a few round shot, and every
variety of rifle projectiles. We an
swered cautiously and slowly... and
they soon fell back...
"The enemy maintained an unin
terrupted fire for more than six
hours;. ..We fired the last shot...
"Early in the action the quarters
were fired by the enemy's shells and,
notwithstanding the strenuous efforts
of Lieutenant (Thomas H.) Gilliam,
of Company I, who was sent with a V
detachment to rescue the property'
contained in them, nearly the whole ,
of it, including the small-arms of m>
battalion, was destroyed.
"While in this service Private Bag* ? ?
ley, of Company I, was serverely- .
wounded by the explosion of a
shell..."
"On Saturday, the 8th, my men ? -
were at their post by 5:30 a.m. in fim;.< , r
spirits, expecting a renewal of the ai- , ??
tack.
"At 9 a.m. the enemy's fleet ai ?
tempted an advance up Croatan , ? ;
Sound, with the apparent intent of, . ?
cutting off our re-enforcements land- - . ?
ing on the north end of the island..."- , ?
Firing continued until 12:3U .
o'clock, when, "receiving the intelli
gence that our land defenses had.-,
been forced and my position conse
quently turned, I abandoned Fort .
Bartow, destroying the ammunition ?
and disabling the guns."
Unable to get off Roanoke Island, .
nearly all the "John Harvey Guards]'.
were captured by Federals that Feb: ? . .
ruary 8, 1862.
(Part 4 next week).
Broughton receives
award
20 YEARS AGO
Sid Broughton Wins Dodge Award
In Deleware: Dodge Division of
Chrysler Corporation has announced
the awarding of the coveted "Dodge
Dealer Owner Award" to Sidney C.
Broughton, the only Dodge dealer in
the Metropolican Wilmington, Dela
ware. Mr. Broughton is the son of
Mrs. Vera Broughton Batten of Hert
ford, and the brother of Sherriff Ju
lian Broughton of Hertford. The
award was presented to Mr. Brough
ton while he and his wife, the former
Sybil Chappell of Tyner were taking
a ten day tour of the Hawaiian Is
lands as guest of the Chysler Cor
poration. The trip was the result of
Broughton's membership in the
Dodge Charger Club, a select group
of Dodge dealerships throughout the
United States who have attained a
sales record of over 1,000 cars sold
during 1968.
Neighborhood Youth Corp Gets
Summer Funds: The Neighborhood
Youth Corps program in the Albe
marle area will have $165,200 to oper
ate with this summer, which will give
employment to about 400 people. The
announcement was made by John T.
Biggers, NYC director who said that
in-kind contributions amounting to
about $16,000 will be provided by lo
cal agencies which wUl donate office
space, supervision and other assis
tance. Biggers stated that survey
/Lome
I ?A( K
I BY
I Vlt
K.
By
VIRGINIA WHITE
TRANSE/VJ
Hit
19CC
197C
forms are being sent to all high
schools in the ten county area for use "
by anyone interested in working with *
the Neighborhood Youth Corps. The
announcement was made by John T.
Biggers, NYC director who said that
in-kind contributions amounting to
about $16,000 will be provided by lo
cal agencies which will donate office
space, supervision and other assis
tance. Biggers stated that survey
forms are being sent to all high
schools in the ten county area for use,
by anyone interested in working with
the Neighborhood Youth Corps. The,
purpose of the program will be to pro
vide useful work -experience amj
learning skills for high school stu
dents. Eligible students will be given
certain jobs in and around school, on
state and local public properties and
in government agencies. These eligi
ble students will be paid $1.30 pef ,
hour for 26 hours per week and paid ?
.every 2 weeks.
NEWS COUPON
The news and editorial staff of the Perquimans Weekly
would like you to tell us what kind of stories you like to see in
the paper, if there is something or someone you feel is impor
tant ? or some provocative issue you would like us to exam
ine ? please, let us know.
Just clip and fill out this coupon. Include as many details as
possible (Names, addressses, telephone numbers, etc.)
It may not be possible for us to use some of the stories sug
gested but we are always looking for new ideas.
So, next time you think of something you feel would make a
good story, send it to: News Coupon. Perquimans Weekly,
P.O. Box 277, Hertford, N.C. 27944.
STORY IDEA:
COMMENTS:
The Perquimans Weekly
1 19 W. Grubb St. Hertford
426-5728