THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 61, No. 3
Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, January 16,1992
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Hospital Employee
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Briefs
stickers on solo
The Town of Hertford now
has city tags and stickers on
sede for $5 each. These must be
on Hartford residents’ vehicles
by Feb. 15 to avoid being fined.
Board mootings changod
!> The regularly scheduled Jan.
20 meeting of the Perquimans
. County Board of Education has
heen cancelled due to the Mar
tin Luther King Jr. holiday.
The Perquimans County
Commissioners rescheduled
their Jan. 20 meeting for Tues
day. Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m.
Bancor Society benefit
The American Cancer Society
will host an All-You- Can-Eat
Pancake and Sausage Day on
Saturday, Jan. 25. at Perqui
mans County High School. Serv
ings hours are 7-10 a.m., 11
ajn. - 1 p.m., and 5-7 p.m. The
cost is $3.50 per person.
Seminar to bo. hold
at Chowan Hospital
\ Chowan Hospital will spon
sor a special presentation on
anxiety disorders on Friday.
Jan. 31 at 12 noon in the hospi
tal classroom.
■ A box lunch and refresh
ments will be provided. Seating
is' limited, so register by Tues
day. Jan. 28 at 482-6322.
3j|pko sale planned
: There will be a benefit bake
sale for the Marching Pirates on
Saturday, Feb. 8 beginning at 9
*■ a.m. hi front of Woodard’s Phar
macy.
The Band Boosters have ex
tra 1992 community birthday
calendars. Anyone interested in
purchasing a calendar for $4
should contact Ellen O’Neal at
Perquimans Central School.
Monthly mooting sot
The Memory Lane Senior
Citizens Club will hold their
monthly meeting on Monday,
Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. at the senior
center.
Soybean Festival ached
ulod
The annual North Carolina
Soybean Festival will be held on
Thursday. Jan. 23 at the Kermit
E. White Center. The exhibit
area will open at 5 p.m. and the
banquet will begin-at 7 p.m. Dr,
Jim Miller will be the keynote
speaker. There is no charge for
the meal: however, reservations
are required and may be made
by calling the Perquimans
County Extension Office at 426
5428 by noon Jan. 21. The of
fice will be closed on Jan. 20 in
observance of Dr. M. L. King
Jf.’a birthday.
JVAACP to IMM ,
v The Perquimans County
branch of the NAACP will hold a
Special meeting on Thursday,
Jin. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the se
njpr citizens building.
Chamber banquet set
^ The annual Perquimans
Cpunty Chamber of Commerce
banquet will be held Monday,
Jan. 27 at the Holiday Island
Clubhouse. A social hour will
begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by a
phme rib dinner at 7. Gwen
White, director of public infor
mation for Dare County, will be
the guest speaker. Tickets are
6)5 and are available at the
Chamber office. Reservations
should be made by Jan. 17.
DEADLINES FOR THE
PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
ARE AS FOLLOWS:
releases^.MON. 3 P.M.
ADVEKnSMQ.. .MON. 3 P.M.
ftffis .... MON. 3 P.M.
PRIOR TO THURSDAY
PUBLICATION
PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
v l - •• ■ ■' :‘
119 W. Grubb St
426-5728
©4*5
ftourthmise annex dedicated Sunday
Courtroom
overflows
Over 100 people crowded
Into the Perquimans County
Courthouse Annex Sunday af
ternoon for the building's ded
ication. Representatives Vernon
James and R.M. “Pete“ Thomp
son and district court judges
Grafton Beamon, Janice Cole,
and J. Richard Parker were
among the honored guests who
attended the ceremony held in
the new second floor courtroom.
“It’s a proud day for Perqui
mans County and its citizens,”
county commissioners chairman
Mack Nixon told those gathered.
The commissioners dedicated
tiie building to the citizens of
the county.
Nixon said the renovation of
the building represented the
wise use of resourses. He stated
that “recycling” the former J.C.
Blanchard building was in keep
ing with the present trend to
wards recycling.
“There is a definite need
here in Perquimans County for
two courtrooms.” said Judge
Parker. Parker said he compli
mented the county's foresight in
purchasing and eventually reno
vating the building. His
statements were echoed by
judges Cole and Beamon.
The annex was bom when
the county commissioners pur
chased the building for $55,000
on Dec. 4. 1978 from Talmage
and Barbara-Rose and John and
Betty Beers. Commissioners >Ri
ley Monds, Guy Webb, Joe No
well. Walter Winslow, and Lester
Simpson saw the need to plan
for future office space, and
bought the building which is ad
Photo by Gary Cosby Jr.
The Perquimans County Courthouse Annex was dedicated to the people of Perquimans
County Sunday afternoon. Residents and special guests filled the new second-floor courtroom
and overflowed into the hallways of the building. Here county commissioners Wayne Winslow,
Leo Higgips, chairman Mack Nixon, Thomas Nixon and Lester Simpson prepare to cut the rib
bon.
Jacent to the courthouse. Public
opinion was not overwhelmingly
positive, but the officials stuck
to their beliefs that there would
be a need for the property in
years to come.
Housed on the building’s
—first floor are -“the dispatch de4
partment. sheriffs department,
commissioner’s room, building
inspection department, proba
tion office and magistrate’s of
fice. Two empty offices are
expected to be used by the wa
ter department In years to come.
In addition to the courtroom,
the second floor houses a
judge’s office, jury room, lock-up
area, clerk of court’s office for
use on court days, law library,
and four conference rooms. One
conference room will house the
North Carolina Highway Patrol
breathilizer equipment.
The cost of renovating the
annex was $438,348, slightly
less than the estimate of
$450,000 obtained by the
county five years ago. Court fa
cilities funds covered $180,000
of the cost. Another $15,000
was appropriated by the -state
legislature. The balance was
paid from county coffers. An ad
ditional $22,000 in local funds
was spent for furniture.
After the ceremony in the
courtroom, the commissioners
and their guests moved down
stairs for a ribbon-cutting cour
tesy of the Perquimans County
Chamber of Commerce.
Knights feel sting of Pirates’ sword
Photo by Gary Cosby
It was an emotional night Friday when the Knights of Curri
tuck visited Perquimans and were wounded with losses at the
hands of the Lady Pirates and Pirate varsity teams.
The Perquimans Pirates
Jabbed a double-edged sword
through the armor of the
Knights of Currituck Friday
night as both the girls and var
sity teams won their conference
openers in exciting contests.
Fans leapt to their feet during
both games when the Perqui- <
mans teams drew blood in the
final minutes of play.
Down by 13 points early in
the fourth quarter, the Lady Pi
rates employed tough defense
and outside shooting to post a
39-34 win over visiting Curri
tuck. The win marked the first
time the Lady Pirates had de
feated Currituck in regular sea
son play since 1984. The rivals
have met in th«f conference tour
nament championship game for
the past two years. The Lady Pi
rates took the 1990 win; the
Lady Knights were victorious in
the one-point 1991 decision.
The Perquimans varsity
squad had sought a win over
Currituck since 1982. The Pi
rates’ 55-48 upset Friday re
sulted from teamwork, precision
shooting from the foul line in
the fourth quarter, and taking
advantage of foul trouble for
Currituck’s top offensive threats.
Although the battles of the
Albemarle Conference have just
begun, both teams use£ their
weapons effectively early on. The
players and coaches hope to
keep their swords sharp and re
ady for action until the wars of
the conference tournament the
first week in March.
For a complete review of
both games, please see page 6.
King celebrations planned
Monday. Jan. 20 will main
the fifth state observance of the
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holi
day. State and local government
agencies, community groups,
churches. and private and pub
lic organizations have scheduled
activities throughout North Car
olina during Uie month of Jan
uary In recognition of Dr. King
and his contributions to society.
Hie state theme for the obser
vance Is “Living the Dream, Let
Freedom Ring, Through Serving
Others,"
The .Perquimans County
Chapter of the NAACP will ob
serve Dr. King’s birthday with a
motorcade scheduled at 3 p.m.
Those participating will assem
ble at Missing Mill Park at that
time.
The motorcade will lead to
the St Paul A.M.E. Zion Church
where the Rev. David S. Whiter
hurst of Riddick Grove Baptist
Church will speak at a service
to begin at 4 p.m. Music will be
provided by the Community
Choir under the direction of
Earline Sellers, : ,
Dr. King Is remembered still
for leading a nonviolent
movement to earn equal rights
ft®
tor DiacK Americans. Aiuiuugn
his inarches and gatherings in
churches stressed peace, he and
those he led through the diffi
cult struggle for equality were
often met by violence, some
times from law enforcement offi
cials. His house was vandalised.
Churches where he was to
speak were vandalised. But he
continued his work.
One of his most famous
speeches was the “I have a
dream” theme. He said he
dreamed of a day when all peo
ple would enjoy the same rights
and liberties under the law and
in society. He spent much time
away from his family talking
with government officials about
his dream, and spreading his
philosophy across the country.
Although Dr. King was a
dreamer, he was also a realist
He knew that his beliefs shat
tered those held by other races,
and he knew that it would take
many painful years for his
dream to become reality.
Dr. King Is regarded through
die world as one of the world’s
greatest black leaders. . '
Photo by Susan Hants
One injured
At least one man was Injured Monday afternoon after an
apparent head-on collision on Swamp Road. One man
*• was reportedly taken to Albemarle Hospital. Trooper
Craig Garries Investigated the accident, but no details
were available at press time.
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Building has
rich history
On paper It might be
dubbed the "courthouse
annex,” but it will be a
long time before people In
Perquimans County refer
to the recently-renovated
county building downtown
as anything other than
"the Blanchard building.”
Charles T. Skinner Jr.
provided some history of
J.C. Blanchard, original
owner of the building, and
his business for the ded
ication ceremony program.
According to Skinner,
the name Blanchard's was
synonymous with the mer
chantile business In Per
quimans County from 1832
until 1978. In 1866, Mr.
Blanchard moved his fam
ily from a community
known as Nixon's Bridge
on the Perquimans River
near Wlnfall to Hertford.
The first building on
the site was wood. In
1909, the wood building
was moved back to the
Front Street side of the lot
to make room for a two
story modem brick build
ing. This new building
complemented the other
commercial buildings con
structed downtown be
tween 1895 and 1915.
Several innovative ar
chitectural designs were
used In this new Blan
chard Building. Numerous
windows to allow natural
light and ventilation were
installed. Pressed metal
ceiling panels, a metal roof,
and metal security bars on
the rear window were fea
tures of the building. Can
vas awnings shaded the
sidewalk below. Skinner
found that William F.
Stokes, a prominent local
contractor of the day,
probably built the new
store.
No major structural
changes were made until
after a disastrous fire on
July 2. 1943. The fire orig
inated under the stairs
leading to the second floor.
Flames and smoke spread
throughout the upper floor.
Store employees and pa
trons of the beauty shop
located on the second floor -
were forced by smoke and
heat to Jump from the up- -
per windows on the front
of the store. One female '
employee died from smoke
inhalation trying to reach a
window. A male employee
died later from injuries re
ceived from leaping from
the window. Several people
received serious bums. The
roof collapsed from the fire
damage. Smoke and water
damage to the merchandise
on the ground floor was
tremendous.
The building was re
paired and was operated
by Mr. Blanchard until his
death in October 1948. But
his death did not mark the
end of his business legacy.
A new business organiza
tion was formed with Lind
sey C. Winslow as
president of the J.C. Blan
chard & Co., Inc. firm. The
Winslow family owned the J
business until 1978 when
the county bought the r
building for $55,000.
Scores of people were
employed over the years in #
the Blanchard building. ||
This company and this
building were an important
part or the business com- H'M
munlty for many years, • ;
With Its recent renovations, 7
the building is once again t
serving the community. ;|il
“History has a unique m
way of repeating itself,"
Skinner said. . -
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