May 16,
The Perquimans Weekly
Vol. 64, No. 20
The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County people
Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Storm blows through county
High winds
down trees,
electric lines
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Black clouds circled like a
hawk before unleashing a
wind and rain storm Saturday
evening that sent electric and
telephone poles and trees
crashing down throughout the
county.
Emergency Management
Coordinator Todd Tilley was
Hertford
moves to
curtail
fishing on
bridges
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Hertford Town Manager
John Christensen wasted no
time complying with the town
board’s wishes to curtail fish
ing from the bridges within
the town’s municipal limits.
After being directed by the
town council Monday night to
find out what action the town
would have to take to outlaw
fishing from the bridges,
Christensen called the state
department of transportation
first thing Tuesday morning.
Christensen said the council
should have the information it
needs to move on the issue at
its next meeting.
The fishing issue was put
before council by town resi
dents Eldon Winslow and
JoAnn Morris. Winslow told
the council that a portable
restroom should be placed
near the S-bridge so “people
will stop urinating in front of
my wife.” Winslow lives on the
river just off the bridge.
Morris added that fishing
on Walter’s Bridge (on Church
Street Extended) is extremely
dangerous due to the heavy
traffic there. She said it is
especially hard to see the fish
ermen at dusk. One of her con
cerns was also that there are
often children fishing, either
alone or with adults. She
reminded coundil that a child
was kUled on Skinner’s Bridge
years ago.
Councilman Sid Eley said
he had crossed bridges to find
fishermen in the roadway and
had had his vehicle hit with
lures from people casting.
Both Eley and councilman
Bill Cox said it was time to
stop the fishing from the
bridges.
Christensen said DOT must
concur with the town’s deci
sion, althoughjresident Don
Morris said he was told by
DOT officials that the decision
is the town’s, not the state’s. In
any event, Christensen called
DOT Tuesday and “got the ball
rolling” on putting an end to
fishing from the town’s
bridges.
On Eley’s recommendation,
the town will also consider an
ordinance to keep boat trailers
off the streets. Although the
town has a municipal lot with
overflow parking adjacent to
the tennis courts, there is no
ordinance disallowing parking
along the streets. Council
authorized attorney Walter
Edwards to move on an ordi
nance.
out of town Tuesday, but area
law enforcement and utilities
officials reported no injuries
to people resulting from the
storm.
The Hertford Fire
Department was kept hopping
with a series of calls, but Chief
Sid Eley said there were no
blazes. The calls stemmed
from arcing after trees and
heavy limbs fell over electric
wires. Eley said the Brian
Center fire alarm, went off due
to a downed telephone wire.
Parker Newbern, mainte
nance supervisor for the town
of Hertford, said the storm cut
a path from the schools admin
istration building back to the
river.
“It was unreal,” Newbern
said. “After it was over we
drove through Sunset and
Crescent drives and down
Artie Street. Those yards
looked amazingly clean. Over
on Pennsylvania Avenue, you
couldn’t even see the street for
the leaves. We were very fortu
nate.”
Newbern said his depart
ment responded to nine calls
with three trouble spots. Trees
on an electric line on
Perquimans Street knocked
out one service. Pennsylvania
Avenue also lost power due to
a downed line. The line to the
town’s pumping station in the
cemetery was burned in two.
Sgt. Dale Vascoy of the
Hertford Police Department
said the deck was ripped from
a home on the old 9-foot road.
Trees also reportedly fell on
at least two homes in town.
Just as quickly as it blew in,
the storm subsided, leaving
only the downed lines to attest
to its strength.
Old Timers reunite
Old Timer John Stallings reacts to a play during the night
cap, the former state champs of the ‘60s vs. the 1996
Pirates varsity and JV squads.
PHOTOS BY BRIAN MCLAUGHLIN, THE DAILY ADVANCE
The annual Perquimans County Old Timers games Saturday brought out over 200 fans,
about 50 old timers from the 1950s to the 1990s, and the three 1996 Perquimans High
teams. Everyone had a great time. Including possible future old timers (left to right) Kinnan
Stallings, Alison Winslow and Whitney Stallings.
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
No one earned the brag
ging rights this year —not
the 1963 state baseball
champs or the 1996 Pirates,
who themselves may be
poised for infamy—because
a storm cloud cut short the
annual Old Timers game.
But nobody seemed to care
because one thing’s always
for sure during the event:
Perquimans wins!
The fans began pouring
into the high school stadium
just prior to 2 p.m. to watch
the 1996 Lady Pirates softball
team face off with players
from Perquimans’ past. Last
year, the old girls pulled it
off. This year, the high
school team was just too
tough, pulling off an 11-2
win.
The old timers, however,
surprised the younger squad
with some leaping catches
and tough outfield defense.
The game celebrated the
20th anniversary of softball
at Perquimans High School.
Four players from the first
team—Lynn Hurdle
Winslow, JoAnne Meads
Jones, Mary Wood Hurdle
and Yvonne Stallings Baker
attended the game and remi
nisced about old times on the
diamond.
The first Lady Pirates had
no official ball uniforms.
They didn’t even have a
playing field. They shared
the baseball field with the
boys. They may have been
the underdogs, but the scrap
py team managed to pull off
a second-place finish in the
Albemarle Conference.
From there, the fans
migrated to the baseball
field, where hotshots from
the 1952 and 1954 state cham
pionship teams showed their
stuff against some younger
old timers. No scoreboard
was necessary for that con
test, as the outcome was
based on pride and fuh. The
game featured two father-son
pairs: Stanley “Dimp” Pierce
and Mike Pierce, and
Marvin Hunter Sr. and
Marvin Hunter Jr. . ,
Marvin Sr. is one of the
mainstays of the ‘50s gang,
tagged the “old old-timers.”
Why does he continue to
play?
“I still can see a baseball. I
still know I can hit a base
ball,” Hunter said. “I love it
and I love to see any kind of
baseball game played...I’ll
stop anywhere to see a ball
game if I’ve got time and I’m
by myself.
“It shows the younger
boys too that someday they’ll
be able to come back. I just
love it.”
The nightcap didn’t get
very far due to the storm.
The 1996 squad had pulled
ahead on the scoreboard and
Perquimans’ favorite son,
Jim “Catfish” Hunter had
taken himself off the mound,
bowing to guest pitcher Ron
Davis, a former major league
pitcher and friend of Hunter,
when the game was called.
The Old Timers game was
begun about 15 years ago to
support the baseball pro
gram at Perquimans High .
Now sponsored by the
Perquimans County Athletic
Boosters, funds raised from
the day’s events are used to.
support aU athletic programs
at both Perquimans High
and Perquimans Middle
schools.
Sports at the high school
include football, volleyball,
basketball, track, softball,
baseball, golf, cross country
and cheerleading. Football,
volleyball, basketball, soft
ball, baseball and cheerlead
ing are offered at the middle
school level.
PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS
A huge limb fell on this Grubb Street home in Hertford during
the storm Saturday night.
Unsung heroes
sought for award
Nominations are being
accepted for the llth annual
Nancy Susan Reynolds
Awards, which recognize
North Carolinians who have
demonstrated extraordinary
leadership at the grassroots
level. Nominees should be
“unsung heros” - people who
have sworn a resourcefulness
in tackling problems that
required new approaches and
who have worked without
recognition and outside the
mainstream of existing organi
zations.
The deadline for nomina
tions is June 1. Categories for
the awards are advocacy, per
sonal service, and race rela
tions. Each award is accompa
nied by a grant of $25,000,
$20,000 of which wUl be desig
nated to charitable organiza
tions chosen by the recipient.
The selection panel will con
sider many criteria. Among
these are the impact of the
nominees’ efforts and accom
plishments, the difficulty of
the circumstances surround
ing the nominees’ work (per
sonal adversity, community
attitudes, geography, etc.) and
the degree of recognition
adready received.
The awards were estab
lished in 1986 in memory of
Nancy Susan Reynolds, who
died in 1985. Mrs. Reynolds
was born in Winston-Salem
but lived most of her life in
Greenwich Conn. Even so, she
maintained a keen interest in
her native state, visiting here
frequently and giving gener
ously to charitable causes.
Nominations may be made
by anyone except the nominee.
They are to be submitted to the
Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation
on forms supplied by the
Foundation.
Nomination forms may be
obtained by calling 1-800-443-
8319 or (910) 725-7541 or by
writing to the Foundation at
the following address: Nancy
Susan Reynolds Awards, Z.
Smith Reynolds Foundation,
101 Reynolds Village, Winston-
Salem, N.C. 27106-5199.
The Z. Smith Reynolds
Foundation was established in
1936 as a memorial to the
youngest child of R.J.
Reynolds. During its history, it
has made grants of more than
$218 million to projects in all
100 counties in North
Carolina.
The Foundation’s current
areas of major interest are pre-
collegiate education, minority
issues, women’s issues, com
munity economic develop
ment, and the environment.
Garden party set
A beautiful setting. A wor
thy cause. A good time.
All can be said of the annual
Perquimans County
Restoration Association
Garden Party set for this
Sunday, 4-6:30 p.m., on the
lawn of the riverside home of
Julian Winslow on Front
Street.
The garden party has
become one of the premiere
fundraisers of the restoration
group, according to party com
mittee member Mary Alice
Brinn. Held for four years in
the gardens of Dr. and Mrs.
Robert Earl Lane, committee
members Brinn, Sharman
Haskett, Chris Lane and
Jeanne White opted to change
the scenery for event number
five.
The Winslow gardens fea
ture a fish pond, flowering
shrubs, a patio, perennials and
a breaktaking view of the
Perquimans River. Sunday,
the lawn will be filled with the
sounds of Wayne James, food,
dancing and good company.
Tickets for the affair are
$15. Reservations may be made
by calling Brinn at 426-5696 or
the Newbold-White House at
426-7567. A drawing will also
be held for twin fern stands.
Donations are $5.
Proceeds support local his
toric preservation.
Outside
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
High: Low:
80s 60s
CHANCE OF RAIN
High: Low:
80s 50s
CHANCE OF RAIN
High: Low:
80S 50s
CHANCE OF RAIN