The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County and its people
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Learning about the grand jury system
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i*
May 20, 1999
Vol. 67, No. 20 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
The
4 Ulol65 1U/U9/1999 *C20
ERQUI^IANS COUNTy LIBRARY
110 W ACADEMY ST
PERQUlLViArNS
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may 1 9 1999
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Webicly
350
A large crowd listens to Jon Strother singing “Beautifui
Morning,” the county’s new theme song, during the dedication
ceremony for the compietion of the new Centrai Schooi buiid-
County celebrates
schools completion
Cooperation key
to successful
completions,
officials say
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Elitof
Teamwork was credited for
the successful completion of
two major school construction
projects Sunday when state
and local officials spoke at the
dedication ceremony for the
two sites.
Perquimans County
Commissioners Chairman
Charles Ward likened the cere
mony, dedicating the new
Central School building and
the Hertford Grammar School
renovations, to lighting the
candle on a birthday cake. He
said like the cooperation it
takes to turn wheat into flour
and sugar cane into sugar for a
cake, so it took the school
board and administration, the
county commissioners, the
architect and construction
management firm working
cooperatively to build schools
that will serve students in the
county for years to come.
Ward also told the crowd of
about 200 that braved the wet,
windy weather to attend the
ceremony at the new Central
School that the county is firm
ly committed to education.
“Without education, our
county can't prosper,” he said.
State Rep. W.C. “Bill”
Owens was guest speaker. He
echoed Ward's message that
teamwork could be credited
for. the $6.2 million building
projects. He included the
General Assembly and the vot-
[;! ers on the team of those who
worked together. About $4 mil-
I, lion of the funds used in the
. building projects came from
state bond funds and other
I state grants.
I “We all know the most
important need we have in our
state is educating our chil
dren,” Owens said. “Most
everyone I know in Raleigh is
committed to education.”
School board chairman
Wallace Nelson dedicated the
buildings. He, too, credited
teamwork with the timely, on-
budget completion of the two
projects.
“It just touches my heart a
lot to see this building here
today,” Nelson said.
Nelson added that when
potential industrial clients
come to the county to consider
locating here, one thing they
want to see is schools. While
buildings are only a first
impression. Nelson said, both
Central and Hertford
Grammar will give beautiful
first impressions, which will
be backed up when the clients
meet the dedicated staffs
inside the buildings.
Nelson also used an article
on trying from the Bits and
Pieces magazine in his talk.
“There's no such thing as
trying,” Nelson said. “You
either do it or you don't.”
Telling people you will try
to do something is often actu
ally a lie, the autho^ Nelson
quoted said.
Nelson said the article stat
ed that “try” is not in the
vocabulary of high achievers.
“This building is not here
because somebody tried to do
it,” he said, but rather because
the commissioners, school
board, representatives in
Raleigh, citizens and parents,
architects and others involved
in the planning and construc
tion of the building and com
mitting both local and state
funds to the projects were
“absolutely, positively com
mitted. All these people ... did
more than just try. It hap
pened.”
Also on the program were
former schools superintendent
Randall Henion, under whose
leadership the funds were
obtained and the ground bro
ken for the projects, Steven
Howie of M.B. Kahn
Construction Management
Co., Inc., James A Claywell of
Boney Architects and Gregory
T. Todd, schools superinten
dent.
Henion said when he accept
ed the Perquimans superinten
dent job in January 1991, a
look at critical needs in the
schools turned up about $12
million in projects. With local
and state funds and grant
monies, new wastewater sys
tems were installed,
Perquimans Middle School
was renovated, and the pro
jects were begun at both
Central and Hertford
Grammar, he said.
“It is such a day of celebra
tion,” Henion said.
Howie noted that one of the
greatest pleasures he experi
enced in working on the pro
jects was seeing the expres
sions on the faces of the staff
and the children when they
saw the new and remodeled
Spring
Weekend
events
approach
History buffs won’t know if
they’re in Hertford or in heav
en when Perquimans Spring
Weekend arrives Friday.
There will be no carriages
and bonnets, but the barbecue
and entertainment on the
courthouse green Friday
evening is sure to rival that
served when Scarlett O’Hara
held court at Tara. Tickets for
the fireworks benefit are $8
each and can be purchased at
downtown businesses.
Hertford’s unique shops will
stay open until 8 for the
evening.
Saturday will kick off the
self-guided tour featuring 24
historic homes and structures
across the county.
Registration is at Newbold-
Gregory’s back
in business
DAILY ADVANCE PHOTOS
Ing and the renovated Hertford Grammar School in the Central
School multi-purpose room on Sunday. State and iocai officials
said teamwork led to the successful project completions.
Gaii Layden and her daughter, Lindsay browse through one of
four new ciassrooms at Hertford Grammar Schooi after the ded
ication ceremony Sunday.
facilities.
Todd noted that man’s
knowledge is moving ahead at
an astounding pace. As society
heads into the new millenium,
a clear signal is being sent to
those in education that chil
dren must be made ready for
this information explosion.
“We can’t be content with
what we’ve been doing in the
past,” he said. “ We have to
make sure kids are ready to
live in a world where knowl
edge doubles almost monthly.”
A group of second graders
led the pledge of allegiance in
Spanish. The senior class offi
cers were on hand for the bur
ial of the time capsule which
had originally been buried at
the Winfall site in 1987.
Rainpostponed that part of the
ceremony.
In addition, Jon Strother
sang his original song,
“Beautiful Morning,” which
has been adopted as the county
song.
Both buildings were open
for tours after the ceremony.
Downtown
icon reopens
after 8-month
fire cleanup
By CINDI COURBAT
Daily Advance Correspondent
This Friday’s grand re-open
ing of Gregory’s proves the
American dime store tradition
isn’t dead - at least not here.
Located beneath red and
white striped awning, across
the street from the
Perquimans County
Courthouse, Gregory’s was a
community icon for nearly a
century.
Then tragedy struck when
the store was almost destroyed
'by fire in September. Eight
months and extensive remod
eling later, the historic five
and dime is back in business.
Today, Gregory’s is run by
Margaret Ainsley-Brewin and
her mother, Doris Gregory
Ainsley, daughter of the
store’s founder, Mark Gregory.
“We are so glad to be back
in business,” Ainsley-Brewin
said recently. “Most of the peo
ple who come here to shop are
those we’ve known all our
lives...
“The benefit of a small com
munity store is the social con
tact and the intimacy that
large retail stores are not able
to give,” she said. “Gregory’s
has always been an important
part of this community.”
When Mark Gregory opened
the store that bears his name
on Church Street in 1915, it
was the only dime store in
Perquimans County.
Back then, Gregory’s used
about triple the floor space it
does today and the store had
the reputation of stocking just
about anything you might
want or need.
Today, Gregory’s special
izes in school and office sup
plies and some of the store’s
floor space is leased to other
tenants.
In addition to the school-
office supplies, browsers can
find unusual gift items,
antiques and memorabilia
from days gone by. For exam
ple, Gregory’s carries a unique
little patch kit for pots and
pans called “Mendets,” a popu
lar item about 50 years ago,
Ainsley-Brewin says.
According to Ainsley-
Brewin, Mendets are still in
great demand among older
folks. She believes younger
people would buy them too if
they knew what they are.
“It’s actually a way to recy
cle,” she said.
Before and after World War
II, Gregory’s had a huge collec
tion of toys for sale.
“It was known as the toy
center of the Albemarle for
many, many years,” Ainsley-
Brewin said. “Even today, we
have a great collection of old
toys, including just about
every old game you can imag
ine.”
Upstairs, over the store, the
family has collected a great
assortment of toys, dolls,
antiques and heirlooms.
During the 1970s the collection
was on display above the store
and served as the town’s unof
ficial museum. It was called
the Cricket Gallery.
“We still have most of those
old items stored upstairs,”
Ainsley-Brewin said. “We plan
to display some of them on the
top shelves in the store (after
we open).”
Today’s “condensed ver
sion” of the family five and
dime sells old post cards, gift
items, antiques, toys and a
great selection of old-fashioned
candy. At Gregory’s you also
can buy all-time favorites like
coconut ices and chocolate-
covered peanuts by-the-scoop.
The store still features
much of its original furnish
ings. On the counter, near the
candy case, for example, is the
store’s original brass scale.
Cashiers will ring up sales
using the store’s wooden cash
register.
Gregory’s also sells a com
plete line of custom framing
supplies, Ainsley-Brewin said.
The frame service is located in
the back of the store.
Doris Ainsley, who grew up
working in the store, knows
the real meaning of the old
song, “I Met my Baby at the
Five-and-Dime.” Gregory's is
where she met her husband
Willie. Together, they ran
Gregory’s for more than 50
years.
RELAY set for Friday
White House Saturday at 9
a.m. and Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
Tickets are $20.
Riverside Plantation will be
the site of the annual
Restoration Association
Garden Party Saturday
evening at 6 o’clock. Tickets
are $20 for buffet and music.
Call Newbold-White, 426-
7567 for information.
You can still buy purple rib
bons and luminaries, and
donations are most welcome
as organizers make final
preparations for the American
Cancer Society RELAY for Life
this weekend.
About 400 walkers are
expected to participate in the
Chowan-Perquimans fund
raiser Friday and Saturday at
the Edenton Holmes athletic
complex.
The most special partici
pants will walk at 6 p.m.
Friday. That’s when the sur
vivors wiU take a lap, signify
ing their battle with and for
some, their defeat of - cancer.
Survivors are asked to register
by 5:30 at which time they will
receive a free T-shirt.
The goal of this year’s cam
paign is $100,000, according to
RELAY co-chair Brenda
Newbern. Last year, RELAY
raised about $90,000.
Chowan County wUl field 27
teams, Perquimans, 10. Each
team generally has 10-15 mem
bers. Each team pays a $100
registration fee, and then
holds benefits to raise as much
money as possible. Car wash
es, yard sales, gospel sings,
auctions and other means are
used to raise funds for cancer
research and education.
Newbern said it is not too
late to support RELAY. Purple
bows are on sale for $3 at
Dozier’s Florist, BJ’s Unisex
Beauty Salon and Country
Flair. Organizers said it would
be wonderful to see purple
bows dotting both counties in
support of RELAY this week
end.
In addition, luminaries may
be purchased for $10 each in
honor or in memory of some
one who has had cancer. Call
Brenda Newbern at 426-8349 or
Claudia Bunch at 426-5854. The
luminary ceremony is sched
uled for 9 p.m.