OUR SEASHORE NEWS
Doings of the Communities of the Dare County Coast,
Duck, Kitty Hawk, Caffeys Inlet, Kill Devil Hills, Nags
Head, Colington, Whalebone, Oregon Inlet, and Corolla
in Currituck.
Edited by MISS SARAH HALLIBURTON
Kill Devil Hills, N. C.
OREGON INLET
ROAD SPROUTING
MORE COTTAGES
Three Use Identical Floor
Plans But Differ in Out
side Appearance
Oregon Inlet.—At least four
more houses will extend the Ore
gon Inlet road development nearer
to the Inlet.
One of these is for J. D. Rich
ardson of Chapel Hill. It is of
concrete block construction, panel
ed inside with cypress and stuc
coed outside. The house, to have a
flat roof, will be painted gray and
yellow. The building plan includes
a living room and kitchenette,
three bedrooms and bath.
Next door is the cottage being
erected for Lt. R. E. Muller of
Elizabeth City. It will be on the
same floor plan as the Richardson
cottage, but will be painted green
and yellow. Both cottages will
have fireplaces, clothes closets and
linen closets.
A house to be built on the same
plan, but to be of frame construc
tion will be erected for J. B.
Wright, Elizabeth City insurance
man. This house will have asbes
tos siding.
Not far from these three houses,
which are rising on adjoining lots
is one being built for Raleigh Bur
roughs of Baltimore, Md. It is to
be 24x28 in size, with a living
room, kitchenette, two beedrooms
and bath. Os frame construction
it will have asbestos siding and a
green asphalt shingle roof.
Mrs. Sarah Hill, Mrs. Lucille
Daniels, Mrs. Elizabeth Beasley,
Miss Callie Johnson and Mrs.
Ralph Johnson went to Wanchese
Wednesday night to attend serv
ices at the Pentecostal church.
GRAVEYARD OF
THE ATLANTIC
By DAVID STICK
Factual Accounts of Numerous
Shipwrecks Along the
Outer Banks.
$5.00 at Your Bookseller or
from the Dare Press,
Kitty Hawk, N. C.
y-’yero
PRICES AS LOW AS
Aero-Lark 2-Door Sedan, List Price
F. 0.8. Toledo, Ohio, plus Federal
Taxes, State and Local Taxes, if any.
Freight, Delivery and Handling
Charges, Optional Equipment, Extra.
HARRIS MOTOR CO.
SCARBOROUGH’S GARAGE
Phone 1002 Nags Head, N. C.
a $2.00}
pint J
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$3.20
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GESHEN OBSERVES
BRIGHT DISK SPIN
ACROSS HEAVENS
Kitty Hawk.—George Geshen,
manager of Journeys End, was
up unusually early about 4
o'clock one morning recently and
was startled to see a strange
disk hurtling across the heav
ens. It was a huge affair, he
said, and very bright. The "fly
ing saucer” raced across the sky
in great leaps, leaving a scal
loped pattern. Within seconds
the disk, which seemed to come
from the north, had disappeared
in the southwest.
CLUB AT SCHOOL
TO BACK WEEKLY
CLEANUP DRIVE
Parents to Inspect Each Room for
Most Orderly Appearance
Kitty Hawk.—Plans for a school
cleanup program, sponsored by the
high school Emerson club of En
glish students, were announced
Wednesday morning at chapel
program.
Under the plan, two parents will
visit the school each week to in
spect every room. Their identity
will not be made known, and the
committee will change each week.
Neither pupils nor teachers will
know when to expect the inspec
tion.
The winner each week will be
announced in chapel program and
that room will be awarded the
use of a picture, provided by the
club. If any room wins the picture
three weeks in succession, the pu
pils will receive two hours off from
classes for recreation.
As president of the Emerson
club, Norma Spruill is in charge
of securing the committee of in
spectors each week.
The rest of the chapel hour was
devoted to a program provided by
Mrs. Roy Kessinger’s third and
fourth grade pupils. Those in the
fourth grade put on a playlet,
‘‘The Three Tests,” after which
R. E. (Dick) Jordan played a num
ber of piano selectins. Mr. Jor
dan, who is manager of “The Lost
Colony” and president-elect of the
Manteo Rotary club, broadcasts a
weekly program of music from
Manteo.
Fifteen parents attended chapel
exercises. Next Wednesday, the
first grade, taught by Mrs. Eliz
abeth Adkins, will be responsible
for the assembly program.
SENIOR 4-H CLUB GIRLS
ADOPT PROJECT VARIETY
Kitty Hawk.—Room improve
ment is the project to be stress
ed among the girls in Dare coun
ty 4-H clubs this month, Miss
Mary Kirby, county home agent,
has revealed. It will be a subject
of special interest to Phyllis
Sawyer, daughter of Mrs. Curtis
Toler, a member of the Kitty
Hawk 4-H club, bscause last
summer she won room improve
ment recognition in the county.
For this she received a pin and
was sent to the district rally.
To earn this recognition, she
put a rod for in her
clothes closet, made a desk out
of a table, furnished it with a
lamp and desk set, rearranged
the furniture, worked out a plan
for the storage space for blankets,
bought new bedspreads, got her
stepfather to put up a door for
her room, equipped it with a
clothes hook and secured a lamp
for her chest of drawers. The
Toler home is new and not en
tirely completed, which was the
reason the room door had not
been hung.
Continuing with this work
again this fiscal year, Miss Saw
yer will also have as projects
leadership, citizenship, pub li c
speaking, recreation and rural
activities.
Other members of the Kitty
Hawk 4-H club, their parents
and the projects on which they
are working this year are:
Betty Lou Beasley, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Beas
ley of Colington—Canning.
Annie M. Miller, daugter of
Mr. and Mrs. Pat Miller of Col
ington—Canning.
Clara Faye Haywood, daugh
ter Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Haywood
of Colington—Clothing, better
grooming and home manage
ment.
Janelie Haywood, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Haywood of
C o 1 i n g t o n—Food preparation
and better grooming.
Anges’ Eliabeth Toler, daugh
ter of W. R. Toler, Sr., of Kitty
Hawk—Food preparation, knit
ting anij crocheting.
Margie Mae Duvall, daughter
of Mrs. Evelyn Duvall of Kitty
Hawk —Home management and
htome improvement.
Dawn Tillett, daughter of Mr.
and F. L. Tillett of Kitty Hawk-
LAWRENCE OWENS
PLANS TO OPEN
NEW LAUNDR’MAT
Four Cottages Launch Devel
opment of Lakeside Ave
nue Property
Nags Head.—A new business
soon to open on the beach is a
laundromat to be operated by
Lawrence Owens. He plans to
start April 15.
; The building, erected by his
father, R. D. Owens, is a two
story structure on the land side
of the highway, near Lakeside
avenue. The lowar part, painted
yellow, is of concrete block con
struction.
The second story, which is an
apartment for the Lawrence Owens
family, is of frame construction,
painted green.
All the laundromat equipment
has been received and will be
ready to use as soon as it is in
stalled. However, he does not plan
to open the business until the mid
dle of April.
Equipment includes 22 washers,
with dryers and ironers. Persons
can either bring the laundry to be
washed and take it home to iron,
or they can have a complete job
done. In the latter case, 24-hour
service will be assured.
The building is only one of sev
eral construction jobs Mr. Owens
has undertaken in the development
of the Lakeside avenue property.
His own home, at the end of the
avenue, overlooking the Sound, is
a frame, one story house, painted
white with red trim. It includes a
living room, dining room, kitchen,
four bedrooms and two baths. The
garage is attached and Mr. Owens
also has arranged an office be
tween the living quarters and the
garage.
In addition, Mr. Owens has
erected three cottages along that
avenue, all of which are for sale.
STICK WILL CALL
FIGURES AT DANCE
Kitty Hawk.—David Stick, au
thor of a recent book, “Graveyard
of the Atlantic,” will call the fig
ures for square dancing at a Val
entine dance Friday night, spon
sored by the high school French
club. The evening will be divided
*between round and square danc
ing, with proceeds to be applied
to an Easter banquet fund.
BEACHCOMBING PARTY
FOLLOWS PICNIC MEAL
Nags Head.—Mrs. John C. Pet
erson and children, John Carl, Jr.,
Karen and Margie, Mrs. Carl
Gard and children, Mike and Jerry?
and Mrs. Ida Butler and children,
Delton, Faye and Harold, picnick
ed on the beach Saturday. After
their picnic lunch, they went
beachcombing.
Mr. and Mrs. R. F. Rountree of
Sunbury spent Sunday at their
Kitty Hawk cottage.
Better grooming, home manage
ment and home improvement.
Minnie Oma Spruill, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Charlie A. Spruill
of Duck—Clothing, better groom
ing and home management.
Phyllis Scarborough, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Scarbor
ough of Kitty Hawk—Clothing.
Marion Joyce Gaimel, daugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Gaimel
of Colington—Clothing, home
management and home improve
ment.
Jean Hines, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. A. L. Hines of Kitty
Hawk—Clothing, better groom
ing, home management, and
home improvement.
Norma Lee Spruill, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Charlie A.
Spruill of Duck—Clothing, bet
ter grooming, home management
and home improvement.
Kaye Whitfield, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. G. A. Whitfield of
Kitty Hawk—Collection and
study of insects.
Viola Kathleen Rogers, daugh
ter ’of Mr. and Mrs. H. L. Rogers
of Kitty Hawk—Clothing.
Judy Perry, daguhter of Mr.
and Mrs. H. F. Perry of Kitty
Hawk—Better grooming, home,
grounds beautification and home
improvement.
Mary Jones, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Clyde E. Jones of Kitty
Hawk—Better grooming.
Annis Midgett, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Barney Midgett of
Colington—Canning, clothing
and home management.
Janice Pugh, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. E. G. Pugh of Kitty
Hawk —Frozen foods.
Jackie Tillett, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. B. A. Tillett of Kitty
Hawk—better grooming.
Vonita Haskett, daughter of
Reuban Haskett of Kill Devil
Hills—B ell e r grooming and
home improvement.
Susan Sanderlin, daughter of
of Oscar C. Sanderlin of Kitty
Hawk—Clothing.
The club meets once a month,
at school, with the home dem
onstration agent. Since the club
also includes boys, the session
starts with a joint business meet
ing, after which the boys coufer
with the county agent and the
girls with Miss Kirby.
DAYS OF SAILING SHIPS
RECALLED BY MAN WHO
HEARD OWN LAST RITES
Kill Devil Hills.—A man who
heard his own funeral service read
many years ago, this week cele
brated his 44th wedding anniver
sary. He’s able to get a laugh now
over that “funeral,” but it wasn’t
funny then.
T. H. Erickson of Norfolk, Va.,
who frequently visits on the beach,
recalled that he was a young fel
low, on the crew of a sailing ves
sel caught in a severe storm on
the Atlantic. When it looked as
though the ship could not with
tand the storm’s nattering
through the night, the skipped call
ed the crew together and read the
funeral service. He closed it with
words Mr. Erickson never forgot:
“If it be Thy will, we consign our
bodies to the deep. Back to the
pumps, boys!”
Back to the pumps they went.
The storm subsided and all was
well.
It was 44 years ago Monday
that Mr. Erickson harnessed a
horse for the first time and drove
through the early morning hours,
before light ,to the home of his
prospective bride. After a cup of
coffee, they, accompanied by her
sister and another witness, went
to Elizabeth City and were mar
ried.
Mrs. Erickson celebrated Mon
day by making a sentimental jour
ney to Elizabeth City, but Mr.
Erickson stayed on the beach to
“keep store” for his son-in-law,
W. S. Gregory.
Although the Ericksons live in
Norfolk, they spend a good deal
of time especially in summer, on
the beach with Mr. and Mrs. Greg
ory. Retired five years, he is still a
young sprout, with a running fire
of jokes and funny stores. It’s not
often he can be persuaded to rem
inisce about his experiences.
Even when he does, he leaves
out many of his most thrilling ex
periences, such as the time, when
he was on patrol duty in New
York harbor he saved the life of a
woman. She was one of the sur
vivors in a wreck which took 40
lives. Although he got her to safe
ty, two of her children were drown
ed and the shock was so great that
she lost her mind.
Born in Sweden, Mr. Erickson,
—whose name was spelled Ericson
until the telephone company kept
writing his checks with a “k” in
it, —he went to sea when he was
only 13. His home, Motala, was
beside a lake, in the central part
of Sweden, only 40 miles below
the Arctic Circle. Through this
lake, which is 300 miles above sea
level, runs a canal to the sea. All
his boyhood he had been around
boats and by the time he was 13
he could hold out no longer
against the call of the sea.
He first shipped as cabin boy
on a sailing vessel carrying
freight? Within a year he had visit
ed England, Germany and Russia.
After a year, he went home, only
to find that he couldn’t be satisfied
away from the sea. Again he ship
ped out, this time on a case oil
ship, before the day of tankers.
Before he was 16 he had been to
Java, around Cape Horn and
around the Cape of Good Hope,
adventures that most boys day
dream about but never experience.
Although he loved the- sea, the
boy had his moments of terror.
For instance, when phosphorous
appeared on the water, sailors told
him that was the eyes of a drown
ed seaman. The lonely call of a
loon they told him was the hope
less cry of the sailor’s ghost.
Afraid to look and yet too fasci
nated not to peek, he spent some
uncomfortable hours.
Drawn partly by the stories told
by an uncle who had spent much
time in the United States, the
young Erickson came to this coun
try and for some, time after that
shipped on coasting vessels out of
New York.
The young man put his time to
good use, studying navigation, un
til he became a captain. In 1908,
he came to the Currituck Shooting
club, to skipper a boat operating
between Munden, Va, and the
shooting club at Poynor's Hi'l.
The evening he arrived, early in
November, he met the future Mrs.
Erickson and was imitten. By Feb
ruary, he had won his suit and they
were married Feb. 9.
Later that month, he took his
bride to New York, where he went
into government harbor supervis
ory service. This service, no long
er in operation, amounted to har
bor police duty and was under the
navy department. The Ericksons
were in New York in 1909 for the
joint celebration of the 300th anni
versary of the exploration of the
Hudson river and the hundredth
anniversary of Fulton’s steam
boat.
When he was on patrol duty be
tween Bedloe’s Island and Gover
nor’s Island, he watched one of the
Wright brothers fly around the
Statue of Liberty. The patrol’s
duty was to keep all shipping out
of the way ,as it’was feared ships
might so disturb the air as to be
dangerous for the plane.
As he recalls it ,the plane had no
wheels. Instead of taxiing along a
smooth runway for a takeoff, the
plan’e was pushed up a ramp to
the top of a contraption that look
ed somewhat like a roller coaster.
The plane swooped down a steep
descent and climbed an incline to
hurtle into space. This plane,
which, he said, looked like a box,
had one engine and two propel
lers.
After a year in New York Mr.
Erickson bought a schooner and
sailed her south. He recalls that in
1911 he sailed into Manteo and put
the schooner on Creef’s marine
railroad. It was at Manteo that he
had an engine put in the schooner.
At that time, the elder Creef’s
son, Herbert, was a gay young
blade who was fixing up a speed
boat.
“I’ve always wondered how he
came out with it,” Mr. Erickson
said.
After he had the engine install
ed in his schooner, he carried
freight for a year or two. By that
time he decided that he’d rather
be with his family than anywhere
else, so he quit and went to Nor
folk to work for the telephone com
pany.
That lasted until 1920, when
again he went to sea, this time
for Bennett’s North Caroline Line,
which operated steamboats. Pret
ty soon he went back to Norfolk
to work for the city 18 years.
For a last fling at feeling the
roll of a vessel under his feet, he
took a yacht from Norfolk to Du
luth, Minn., for the brothr of
former Governor Osborne of Mich
igan. It was quite a jaunt and even
today he recalls the wonder of the
lift at Peterboro, Canada, which
raised the yacht 60 feet straight
up, this avoiding a whole series
of locks which otherwise would
have been necessary. At another
place, a canal under construction
paralleling a river too rought for
navigation was not complete, but
the vessel was raised up and over,
to be slid by cable again into wat
er.
Returning to Norfolk, Mr, Erick
son also returned to the telephone
company, for which he did subma
rine cable work. In both world
wars, he was lent to the armed
services to do similar -work in
Chesapeake bay.
It was while thus engaged in
World War II that something
broke and struck him on the fore
head. Although he was thought to
be in such a serious condition when
he was taken to the hospital that
his wife and four children were
summoned, he still could not re
sist playing a joke. Left unattend
ed in a corridor a few minutes be
fore he was rolled into an exami
nation room, he straightened his
body neatly and stiffly, pulling a
sheet up over his face. He was
careful to leave a peep hole so he
could enjoy the expressions on the
faces of hospital visitors who mis
took him for a corpse lingering in
the hall.
Thinking back to his boyhood,
Mr. Erickson said that he was ice
skating by the time he was 5 years
old It was not long before he was
skiing with the best of them, he
having learned on a pair of skis he
made out of barrel staves. All the
youngsters in that part of Sweden
were as much at home on skates or
skis as walking.
Although he had done no skating
for a long time, the sound froze
over while he was with the Curri
tuck Shooting club. When he voiced
a wish that he had skates, some
one phoned to Norfolk and had
them sent down by the beach pa
trol. The next day, he went skating
and stayed out for hours. Meeting
a friend who was going hunting,
he skated ahead to get the ducks
up off the ice into the air. The
ducks kept skidding on the ice in
their efforts to get aloft. Two of
them were too slow, —he caught
them in his hands.
In fact ,he had such a good time
that his friends at the shooting
club became anxious about him
and on the way home he met a
searching party, led by his broth
er-in-law. They were sure he had
drowned.
Maybe if steam hadn’t replaced
.pl; Ji'- .
i Even a Mental Marvel •
> Knows It's Best to
I Check the Directory
Before Calling .
Remembering telephone
numbers is tricky business
...they can be easily mixed
up . . . easily forgotten.
That's why smart telephone
users always look up num
bers in the directory before
they call. So play it safe.
Check the directory and save
your time and temper.
The Norfolk & Carolina
Telephone & Telegraph Co.
Manteo - Elizabeth City - Hertford
Edenton - Sunbury
NAGS HEAD CLUB
CANVASSES BEACH
IN POLIO DRIVE
Importance of Utility Room
in Home Stressed on Pro
gram at Home of Mrs.
Carrie Baum
Nags Head.—ln order that the
beach might have a chance to par
ticipate in the current polio fund
campaign, the Nags Head Home
Demonstration club, meeting Mon
day afternoon with Mrs. Carrie
Baum, undertook responsibility for
a house-to-house canvass of the
22 miles of beach. Mrs. Edward
Reber and Mrs. Lewis Mann were
named as a committee to make the
solicitation.. With Miss Mary Kir
by, home demonstration agent, pro
viding transportation, they began
work Tuesday. They met with good
response, collecting $lO in the first
hour.
The program Monday was on
utility rooms. Bob Smith, county
agent ,and Miss Kirby, discussed
how to include such rooms in new
construction, by remodeling or by
adding to the present home. Slides
were shown and Mr. Smith also
used a number of house floor plans
to show practical ways to include
utility rooms.
Mrs. Horace Barnett of Nags
Head was received as a new mem
ber. Guests were Mrs. Gehe Dan
iels, Mrs. Elizabeth Beasley, Mrs.
Ralph Johnson and Mrs. Bill Twi
ford.
The club has adopted a point
system, with credit to be given for
attendance, participation, new
members, guests and other items.
The club membership has been di
vided into two teams, Ducks and
Geese. At the end of the year, the
losing team will entertain the
sails, Captain Erickson would still
be at sea. Steamships probably are
all right, he admits, but he doesn’t
think they compare with sailing
vessels.
There was one ship, though, he
was happy not to have been on.
When the Charles S. Hirsch was
new, he sailed on her. Later, when
he was no longer with her, she
was wrecked off Hatteras.
Mr. Ericksoh never dwells long
on sad or serious things. He broke
off quickly after telling about the
fate of the Charles S. Hirsch to
ask :“How does a sailor know
there’s a man in the moon?” The
answer is: “Because he’s been to
sea.”
Bright Jewelry Co.
Jewelers and Silversmiths
VIRGINIA DARE HOTEL, ELIZABETH CITY. N. C.
ARCHIE BURRUS
SELF-SERVICE FOOD CENTER
Phone 237 Mantee
WE DELIVER
Choice of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Daily
All Western Meats
GW
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BLENDED WHISKEY, 62'/,% NEUTRAL SPIRITS DISTILLED FROM GRAIN
GOODERHAM & WORTS LIMITED, PEORIA, ILLINOIS
EVANGELISTIC GROUP
TO COLINGTON CHURCH
Colington.—The Cain evangelis
tic party will be here Saturday
night from Norfolk, Va., to con
duct services at the Pentecostal
church. These will include preach
ing and music. For several weeks,
the group has been coming to the
Colington church on alternate Sat
urday nights.
winners, probably at a Christmas
party.
After the business and program,
the hostess served refreshments.
The next meeting will be March 9
with Mrs. Erskine Harris.
To Relieve
vAL666'
uqvio oa T**irrs-SA»ii fast muu
LIFE
INSURANCE
Thousands of your fellow citi
zens have found the way to
family security through Farm
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know you should attend to, be
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SAM E. MIDGETT
Phone Manteo 74-J or 36