July 13,1995
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The Perquimans Weekly
350
Vol. 63, No. 28
The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County people
Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Filing
period
opens
Hertford Mayor John G.
Beers was the first to file to
retain his position in the
municipal elections scheduled
for Oct. 13. Beers filed
Monday.
The mayor’s seat and two
council seats are up for grabs
in both Hertford and Winfall.
In Hertford, seats held by
Beers, Billy Winslow and
Larry Chappell are up. In
Winfall, it is those held by
Mayor Fred Yates and council-
men Jake Chesson and Bert
Hayes.
The filing period closes on
Aug. 4.
Inside
Band revs up for
upcoming season
Page 6
Hunt to lead 1995
gridiron teams
Page 6
Jennings is NAACP
Mother of the Year
Pages
Classifieds.„page8
Lighting up the night sky
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Fireworks punctuated the sky over Missing Mill
Park last Tuesday during the community celebra
tion of Independence Day. Entertainment, games,
food and a street dance were also a part of the
day’s festivities, organized by a volunteer commit-
PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS
tee and supported by businesses, government
groups and individuals. The park was filled with
people who cheered at the conclusion of the 25-
minute fireworks show. Even the weather cooperat
ed, with the rain stopping for the show.
Hertford to
look at new
ordinances
Council will hold work session
to discuss congestion at boat
ramps, improper parking
Hertford residents may get the relief from
weekend congestion at the town’s boat ramps
they have sought for years.
Town manager John Christensen presented
information to council Monday night outlining
steps the town can take to free up convenient
parking for Hertford residents near the town
dock and stem improper parking by owners of
boat trailers.
Residents have long sought relief from the
town, complaining especially about the conges
tion caused by out-of-towners who sponsor Ash
ing tournaments in the Perquimans River and
use Hertford’s boat ramps and parking facili
ties. While the town can place restrictions on
parking, it cannot deny access to the boat
ramps because they were built with state and
federal public access grants.
Christensen said the town’s options include
requiring notiAcation from groups sponsoring
bass tournaments; requiring parking permits
and/or fees; and initiating tough penalties for
non-compliance. In addition to the problems at
the boat dock behind the town ofAces, the town
has experienced problems with boat trailer
parking in other areas.
Christensen recommended that the town
divide the municipal parking lot with pcut to be
used by any boater and part to be used by town
residents only. He said the move should be
backed up with stiff fines and/or towing for
violators.
The town would need to change its ordi
nances to institute the recommendations.
A work session to discuss the issue was
agreed upon, but no date was set.
One last party for the Wolfman Diposition of
amphitheater
grant request
questioned
Over 1,000 visit
Belvidere Saturday
to pay last respects
to famous deejay
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor and
FRANCINE SAWYER
The Daily Advance
Wolfman Jack, whose howl
was a symbol of good music on
the radio for generations of
rock and rollers, was buried
Saturday at Belvidere. The 57-
year-old disc jockey died of a
heart attack on July 2.
While celebrity allowed
Wolfman and his family to rub
elbows with the rich and
famous, it was Belvidere, the
plantation home from which
the Perquimans County com
munity derived its name, that
allowed him to step out of the
spotlight. Associates say he
truly felt Belvidere was his
home, a place where he could
relax and enjoy his famhy and
friends.
“They (the people in the
cpmmunity) treated him like a
friend,” said Judy Hollowell,
an employee of Wolfman
Productions and a cousin of
Wolfman’s wife, Lucy.
“He was just like anybody
else when he was home,”
Hollowell said. “He’d sit back
and watch television, go out on
his boat. He loved to read. And
he’d write too. He kept a per
sonal journal.”
Doug Layden, operator of
Layden’s Supermarket in
Belvidere, said Wolfman
enjoyed his status as a “regu
lar person” in Belvidere.
“He wasn’t dressed in black
but he liked to wear shorts and
a T-shirt and just push his cart
PHOTO BY JEFF HUTCHENS, THE DAILY ADVANCE
Wolfman jack’s hat sits on a memorial stone during a service
Saturday at his home in Belvidere.
down the aisles (of Layden’s
Supermarket),” said Layden.
“He loved our steaks. He said
his favorite food was steak and
eggs. No one bothered him at
the store. No one asked for
autographs. He was just a reg
ular person.”
Hollowell said over 1,000
people, including friends and
business associates from
across the country, visited
Belvidere Saturday to pay
their respects to Robert
Weston Smith. The disc jockey
entertained three generations
of radio listeners with his
deep, gravelly voice and wolf
howl.
As the gathering waited for
the services, delivered by tele
vangelist Dr. Robert Schuller,
pastor of Crystal Cathedral in
California, and the Rev.
Charles D. Stratton Jr. of
Sawyer’s Creek Baptist
Church in Camden County,
the gospel group Mighty
Clouds of Faith entertained.
Schuller said that if Smith
were there, he would say.
“We’re going to have a party.”
“We reAect now on happy
memories of Wolfman bub
bling over in our minds and
through the tears we hear the
echo of laughter,” Schuller
said.
Schuller quoted from the
Bible in Timothy 4:7: “I have
fought a good fight, finished
the race and kept the faith.”
That could have been the
summation of Smith’s life, he
said.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y. on
Jan. 21, 1938, Smith began his
radio career at Newport News,
Va., radio station WYOU in
1960. He later used the air
name Daddy Jules on his next
gig at WTID in Norfolk, Va. He
became known as Wolfman
Jack in the late 1960s and early
1970s when his nightly snow
was broadcast nationwide.
In 1961 he met and married
Perquimans County native
Lucy Lamb. The couple bought
the Belvidere plantation that
had been in her family for
more than 200 years in 1976. It
became their permanent home
in 1988. Wolf, as his longtime
friends refer to him, used his
home as the base for Wolfman
Productions. A recording stu
dio sits on the property.
Wolfman experienced the
normal ups and downs of show
business. His career skyrock
eted in 1973 when he was cast
in the hit movie “American
Graffiti.” He hosted the popu
lar weekly music show “The
Midnight Special” in the 1970s.
Smith was busy promoting
his just-released autobiogra
phy, “Have Mercy!
Confessions of the Original
Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal” at his
death. The book reveals how
he went through two decades
doing serious drugs, throwing
away hundreds of thousands of
dollars on cocaine and jeopar
dizing his marriage with years
of carousing.
But he knew the basics, said
one friends - the quiet life with
his wife of 34 years and his two
children.
“Wolf knew what the real
values were. He loved living
on the edge, but he knew true
love brought true joy. He is not
really away, he continues to
live on tape and in our hearts
and soul,” said Frank Cotolo, a
comic writer hired to produce
material for Wolfman in 1978.
In addition, he continued to
Ay to Hollywood and
Washington, D.C. for his syn
dicated radio show, broadcast
by 80 stations around the coun
try.
Smith had just returned
from a 20-day road trip on July
2 when he went upstairs to
give his wife a kiss and suf
fered the heart attack.
The stone on the plantation
yard where his cremated
remains will be buried bears
his name and a slogan he made
famous: One more time.
The disposition of a grant
request submitted to the
Northeast Regional Economic
Development Commission by
the town of Hertford in
September 1994 was ques
tioned Monday evening by a
Hertford resident.
Tommy Harrell, who sup
ports the construction of an
amphitheater at Missing MAI
Park, said he felt he had been
misled by town ofAcials on the
disposition of the grant appli
cation. After councA denied its
support to an amphitheater
project in August 1994, HarreA
spearheaded a petition drive,
coAecting about 350 signatures
of those who favored the pro
ject. The town reversed its
position in September 1994,
and requested the commis
sion’s consideration of a
$58,796 grant to construct and
light the amphitheater and
renovate the Kemp building.
In its request, the town asked
that the Kemp renovation be
considered the priority por
tion of the project. The request
was sent to Charles H. Ward, a
member of the commission.
HarreA said he was told by
town ofAcials that the funding
was almost guaranteed.
Harrell said he was told in
May that the commission had
changed its philosophy and
funding was denied. He said he
questioned Ward and was told
that the application was never
taken to the commission.
Town manager John
Christensen said he was told
the request was turned down.
Councilman Erie Haste
asked Christensen to investi
gate and update the board
within one week on the dispo
sition of the application.
Outside
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