Perspective
Author reflects on
meaning of holiday
You'll find them in mo6t cemete
ries They are simple marble foot
stones, engraved with a cross and the
name of one who has served his coun
try. It is a simple way of remem
bering those who gave of themselves
in support of freedom.
The memory of fallen heroes is, un
fortunately, as old as the hills, be
cause as long as the hills have stood,
mankind has gone off to battle and
soldiers have fallen in the fight. In
this nation, we had fought several
wars before the idea of a Memorial
Day became a reality.
In 1868, the first national memorial
occasion was observed, though
Southern women in several Dixie
states had been remembering their
dead for years. Each Spring, flowers
were placed on the graves of Civil
War dead. The Grand Army of the
Republic, an organization of veter
ans of the Union Army, asked its
members to do the same o May 30,
1868. General James A. Garfield,
later to become President, spoke at
the first Memorial Day service, held
at Arlington National Cemetery,
which had been established four
years earlier.
Speaking of those who had died,
Garfield said, "We do not know one
promise these men made, one pledge
they gave, one word they spoke; but
we do know they summed up and per
fected, by one supreme act, the high
est virtues of men and citizens. For
love of country, they accepted death
and thus resolved all doubts and
made immortal their patriotism and
virtue."
Th6se who laid the flowers on the
fresh graves that day are themselves
long gone. And we have seen other
generations caught in the savagery
of too many othe rwars What began
as the memorial to the fallen heroes
of one war is now our day to honor the
memory of casualties of all our wars.
This isn't the time for statistics,
but there is one figure that deserves
to be remembered. More than half a
million Americans have died in bat
tle since the beginning of the Civil
CF
Sk
War, and more than half of those
have been killed since 1940. Thou
sands more have been scarred for
life, either physically or mentally.
This is why a single day of remem
bering should be so important to us
all.
In earlier times, this day was more
popularly known as Decoration Day
because it was observed by decorat
ing the graves with flowers or flags.
That tradition of leaving a symbol is
still a strong one. But our emphasis
today should be in remembering the
supreme sacrifice so many made in
the service of our country.
And as we are reminded of past sac
rifices, we must be inspired to re
member what we have to day be
cause so many were willing to risk
their lives to protect our heritbe.
The words of General John Logan,
Commander of the Grand Army of
the Republic, in his first call for the
observance of Memorial Day in 1868,
are as eloquent and meaningful to
day. "Let no ravages of time testify
to coming generations that we have
forgotten as a people the cost of a
free and undivided Republic." And
President Lincoln, speaking at a re
lated occasion, reminded us, "That
we here highly resolve that these
dead shall not have died in vain."
Memorial Day is no longer cele
brated May 30, but rather the last
Monday in May. This gives many a
long week-end, which may or may
not add to our memorial to the dead.
Regardless the uncertain date of Me
morial Day, we must all hope that fu
ture memorials will be to peace
pather than war.
Geritol on the rocks
I recently received a letter from a
friend which contained a list of ways
I can continue to tell I'm aging with
out gazing into a mirror or checking
the calendar on the wall. It brought a
few smiles and a nod of agreement,
so I'm going to pass it along to you
today!
You Know You're Getting Old
When...
You feel like the morning after and
you haven't been anywhere
You sit down in a rocking chair and
can't get it started
You order Geritol-on-the rocks at
the bars
Your back goes out more than you
do
Your little black book has only last
names ending with "M.D."
You need oxygen after blowing out
your birthday candles
You get worn out dialing long dis
tance
Your favorite newspaper column is
"25 Years Ago''
You need a fire permit to light all
the candles on your birthday cake
It takes an hour to undress and an
other hour to remember why
You burn the midnight oil by 9:00
P.M.
You get your exercise by being a
pallbearer for a friend who exercised
Your knees buckle and your belt
won't
Anything under a quarter isn't
worth bending over and picking it up
Your pacemaker opens the garage
door whenever you see a sexy girl go
by
You get winded playing checkers
You sink your teeth into a thick,
juicy steak and they stay there
The only whistles you get are from
the tea kettle
You need a smaller house with a
bigger medicine cabinet
EASTERN
ECHOES
Of GAIL R08ERS0N
Work becomes more fun and fun
becomes more work
The gleam in your eyes is the sun
reflecting off your bifocals
A dripping faucet causes an uncon
trolled bladder urge
You forget what happened yester
day, but can easily remember events
40 years ago
Your children begin to look middle
aged
You finally get to the top of the lad
der but it's leaning against the wrong
wall
You regret all the times you re
sisted temptation
You look forward to spending a
quiet evening at home
Your mind makes agreements
your body can't meet
You start eating Bran Flakes and
Prune Juice for breakfast
You remember today that yester
day was your birthday
You buy a health club membership
and don't go
You have more hair on your chest
than you have on your head
After painting the town red, you
have to wait a long time before apply
. ing a second coat
That little old lady you helped
across the street is your wife
and
Everything hurts, and what doesn't
hurt... doesn't work.
SHOCKED?
Your first electric shock
Is a WARNING.
The next one could be FATAl
STOP using the product*
Have It checked end fixed
Fixing your o?m appliances
can be risky.
Always handle electricity
with care.
Business Builders
If you are a new business
or a business
who does not advertise frequently
You can advertise weekly
for as little as
: *1.50 Weekly for 52 Weeks
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*2.50 Weekly for 13 Weeks
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Girls, it's berry time again
and with a little effort you
can "put up" your own
preserves. ( \
\ x i, . ? .
I
White, instrumental in founding of Winfall
One of the men most intrumental in
the founding of the town of Winfall
was Josiah H. White. White was born
in Perquimans County on July 1,
1863, and he died there on May 26,
1895.
White was married at least three
times; first, in May 1849, to Elizabeth
Saunders, daughter of Robert J.
Saunders; second, on April 5, 1864, to
Louisa Eason; and third, on October
15, 1886, to Rebecca Robbins. He fa
thered at least nine children, the el
dest of whom, Robert White, was
Sheriff of Perquimans County from
1879 to 1887.
White was a merchant and farmer
living in the town of Hertford in 1850.
In that year, however, he began ac
quiring land north of Perquimans
River. He was given a tract of sev
enty-six acres by his father-in-law
Saunders on May 13; the land lay be
HISTORICAL
NCTES
BY
RAy
WINStow
tween the river and the main high
way from Elizabeth City to Belvi
dere.
On August 11, 1851, White pur
chased from Henry White a tract of
forty and one-tenth acres across the
highway from the former tract. It ad
joined the Joseph Spence farm, of
which White bought fifty-five acres
on June 9, 1853. He evidently moved
from Hertford about this time.
From 1854 to 1862 White was part
ner in the mercantile firm of W.R.
Blanchard and Company. (For a
time he courted one of Blanchard's
daughters, who was quite relieved
when he married someone else.) He
had a store in the building in which he
resided in 1873, and was listed in a
business directory for 1878 as the op
erator of a general store. His second
wife also ran a shop of some sort.
Josiah H. White began public serv
ice before February 1848, at which
time he was elected Register of
Deeds of Perquimans. He served
three years and then because justice
of the peace. In August 1861 he was
appointed to the committee assisting
needy families of soldiers. In No
vember 1862 White was appointed
Treasurer of Public Buildings, and
his duties included oversight of the
important bridge in Hertford. He
served briefly as deputy superior
court clerk in 1868, and in January
1873 he bacame postmaster at Win
fall, serving in the latter post until
1880.
Winfall, in fact, was laid out in par}|
on land which had belonged to White, '
had he was owner of much of the
town that was located on others
men's contributions to the town site.
In 1878 White was again a magis
trate, and in 1887 he (or his son and
namesake) was appointed to the
town council when Winfall was for
mally incorporated. From 1892 to
1894 he was Treasurer of Perquimans
County. .
1
The home of this father of Winfall
still stands, although not on its origi
nal site.
Letter to the editor
Editor
The Perquimans Weekly,
On behalf of the Winfall Centennial
Committee we would like to offer our
thanks to the many individuals and
busineses that helped to make the
celebration of Winfall's first one-hun
dred years a tremendous success.
Saturday's celebration was a time
of renewed acquaintance with old
friends as well as a day to reflect on
our wonderful history while we plan
for the future.
While it is impossible to list every
one that helped to insure the success
of the day, we would like to offer a
special thank you to the following:
Mr. Larry Swindell of Swindell Fu
neral Home for the stone that marks
the site of the Winfall Time Capsule,
as well as for the loan of tents and
chairs for the event;
the Hertford Fife and Drums Corp
for leading our procession to Central
School;
Layden's Radio and T.V. for the
loan of a public address system;
Emmett Landing for the loan of our
stage;
Estelle Felton for special music
provided;
the Reverand Willie Moore for
leading in the invocation;
Mr. Tross White and Mrs. David
Trueblood for the beautiful flowers in
memory of their late husbands, both
former mayor's of Winfall.
Mr. Morris Kornegay, Principal of
Perquimans Central School, for his
help with the site of the festival and
his input with the committee;
and the numerous other individuals
that manned booths, volunteered
their time and talents, the civic orga
nizations and any and all others who
helped make our centennial cele
bration a success.
We would also like to offer a special
thanks to our financial contributors,
without whom we would have been
unable to carry out our plans; while
there is not room to list each of you in
this limited space, please accept our
thanks for your part in the success of
our celebration.
We would like to offer a special
thanks to the Winfall Volunteer Fire'|
Department, the Winfall Police; De
partment, the Perquimans County
Sheriff's department, the North Car
olina Wildlife Commission, and the
Perquimans County Jaycees.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Williams
Winfall Centennial Chairman
Looking back
20 YEARS AGO
Captain Cherry Visits Here: Cap
tain Corbin Cherry and his family are
visiting his mother, Mrs. Eliabeth
Cherry. Captain Cherry, Chaplain in
the U.S. Army, has been hospitalized
for some time at Walter Reed Hospi
tal as a result of wounds requiring
the amputation of his foot while in
Vietnam.
Graduated From Southeastern
Baptist Seminary: William Franklin
Ainsley Jr., of Hertford has com
pleted the requirements for gradua
tion from Southestern Baptist Theo
logical Seminary. He will be awarded
the Master of Divinity degree at the
seminary commencement exercises
on May 30. Ainsley, the son of Mr.
and Mrs. W.F. Ainsley, Jr., who lives
at 108 N. Covent Garden Street, is a
graduate of Perquimans County High
School and UNC at Chapel Hill.
Ainsley is married to the former
Mary Fennell of Burgaw, N.C.
1
lilt,
PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
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