o
'OLUME XX NO. 19
RUSTEES NAMED
FOR HEALTH UNIT
CAPE HATTERAS
i
County Board Also Approves
Two for Tourist Bureau;
Other Business Wed
nesday
The Board of Commissioners
of Dare delayed their regular
meeting until Wednesday this
week, due to the election, and
an important item of business
was the appointment of a board
of trustees for a period of two
years for the Cape Hatteras
Health center, which is owned
by the county and operated by
the Hatteras Island Board.
Named to this Board are com
•munity representatives’ as fol
lows: Hatteras: Donald Oden,
William Z. Burrus and Cecil Bal
lance; Frisco: U. L. Rollinson;
Buxton: W. A. Gray, Chairman,
Raymond Basnett, Secretary, and
Isaac C. Jennett; Avon: Nelson
Gray, Earl Meekins and Willard
Gray; Salvo; Graves Midgett;
Waves: A. H. Gray; Rodanthe,
E. R. Midgett.
The Board approved the fol
lowing for the Tourist Bureau:
Mrs. Grace White, Manns Har
bor; Chas. Williams 111, Avon.
The Board agreed to remit to
N. F. Jennett of Buxton $68.81
in back taxes and to write a
deed to him for property sold
for taxes some years ago.
Jethro Midgett Sr. of Nags
Head was donated $7.29 in fail
ure to list penalties.
The Board agreed to extend
the garbage contract with O.
Burrus until July 1955, but to
advertise in March for bids for
a new contract for the Dare
beaches.
The Board disclaimed -any re
sponsibilty for Mrs. Odessa
Meekins and Mrs. Ernest Wil
liams as welfare wards.
ROAD REPAIR UNDERWAY
ON OCRACOKE ISLAND
Ocracoke, Nov. I.*—Not long
after Hurricane Hazel had des
troyed a good many sections of
Ocracoke’s paved highway,
strange signs and signals appear
m i in the village. At any rate
(0 ey were strange for Ocracoke,
zhich for so many years had no
state maintained road. Here and
there on its 1.9 miles of narrow
pavement signs such as “ROAD
OUT”, “WARNING”, “ROAD
UNDER REPAIR”, and block
ades made of black and white
railway-crossing warning mater
ial and at night burning flares
warned the residents of defects
in their highway. And at the
same time state trucks began to
haul in sand to fill in the gullies
made by the sea tide. One bene
fit from Hurricane Hazel: the
State Highway Engineer could
plainly see where the Atlantic
Ocean came through and cul
verts will be placed in several
places not previously graded for
storm entrenchment. A cement
mixer has been brought > and
cement is to be poured where
ever needed. There still remain a
good many gullies alongside the
roadway to be filled in and state
trucks will probably be hauling
ocean sand to the village for
sometime to come. The prompt
ness of the State Highway De
partment in making repairs is
appreciated because in two
places at least the pavement was
impassable causing considerable
delay in reaching the postoffice,
the stores, and the docks of the
village.
THIS IS SEASON FOR
RECORD SURF FISHING
Buxton. —Early November, if
this year is like past seasons, is
the best time for catching big
channel bass in the surf. Many
of the national records made in
recent years have been accom
plished during early November
in surf waters of Hatteras Is
land between Oregon and Hat
teras Inlets. Year before last E.
P. White of Buxton landed the
. A national record for channel bass
or 1952 on Armistice Day near
Jape Hatteras Lighthouse.
Surf fishing has been better
than usual in recent weeks all
the way from Kitty Hawk south
ward to Hatteras Inlet. A 60%
pounder was landed last week at
Kill Devil Hills. Scores of big
channel bass have been caught
in the surf of Hatteras Island re
• cently and the fish ranged up to
45 pounds each. Inlet fishing at
Hatteras has been the best in
years. Ernal Foster’s party on
board the Albetross caught 20
channel bass the smallest 28
pounds and largest 45% on one
tide during the week end.
THE COASTLAND TIMES
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE INTEREST OF THE WALTER RALEIGH COASTLAND OF NORTH CAROLINA
KILL DEVIL HILLS COUPLE WIN PRIZES
ON TV PROGRAM WHILE IN NEW YORK CITY
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HERBERT MORRISON, vice-mayor Os Kill Devil Hills, and Mrs.
Morrison are pictured on CBS-TV’s “The Big Payoff’ with co-stars
Bess Myerson and Randy Merriman after Mr. Morrison won an expen
sive wardrobe for his wife. Prizes include dresses, lingerie, sportswear,
hats, shoes and jewelry. Mr. and Mrs. Morrison appeared on the TV
program while on a recent vacation trip to New York.
HATTERAS GROUP
OF HOME CLUBS
HEAR DR. JETER
Fall Federation of Home
Clubs Highly Successful
Tuesday This Week
The Dare County Fall Federa
tion Club meeting was held at
Hatteras, on Tuesday, November
2, at 10:30 a.m. with the Frisco
Club hostess.
Dr. Frank Jeter, Edijor for the
Extension Service at State Col
lege was speaker for the event.
Mrs. Edgar Hooper was unable
to attend the morning session
and Mrs. Leo Midgett presided.
Mrs. Hubert Guthrie gave the
devotional.
The following reports were
submitted: Mrs. Hazel Foster,
minutes of the last Federation
meeting at Nags Head; Mrs. Mel
vin Daniels, Treasurer’s report;
Mrs. Pearl Midgett, report of
Nominating Committee.
Mrs. Carrie Midgett introduced
the speaker, Dr. Frank Jeter,
who gave an interesting and in
spiring talk.
After the attractive lunch
served by the ladies of Frisco,
the meeting convened under the
leadership of Mrs. Edgar Hooper,
President.
Miss Mary Harris, Eeastern
District Home Agent, held an in
stallation service for all of the
new club and county council of
ficers.
The meeting was closed by all
repeating the Club Collect.
FREE CHEST X-RAYS
CURRITUCK AND DARE
Mobile Unit to Spend Month of
November in These Counties
The Currituck-Dare District
Health Department, in coopera
tion with the Tuberculosis Sec
tion of the North Carolina State
Board of Health, is conducting a
Mass Chest X-ray Survey for all
the people of Currituck and Dare
Counties during the month of
November.
By X-ray tuberculosis can be '
discovered in the early stages,
even before there are any symp
toms. The early detection of the
disease together with early and
proper treatment gives the pa
itient a far better chance of early
and complete cure.
There are a number of other
chest ailments that may be de
tected at the same time by the
X-ray. Chest X-ray is required
for a number of reasons, such as
health certificates, marriage, etc.
The procedure i s painless,
takes only a few minutes, no one
has to undress and the service is
free. So be sure to get a Chest
X-ray.
Below is the schedule giving
places and dates. Go to which
ever place is most convenient
for you:
Knotts Island School, Novem-
See X-RAYS, Page Four
GUEST MINISTER NOV. 7 AT
MANTEO CHURCH OF CHRIST
Edsel Bridgman of Hampton,
Va., and an elder in the Hampton
Church of Christ, will be guest
speaker Sunday afternoon, No
vember 7, at the services of the
Manteo Church of Christ to be
held in the courthouse at three
o’clock. The public is invited to
attend. Mr. Bridgman is former
ly of Scranton, where he was
active in the local church.
OCRACOKE BROTHERS SERVING THEIR COUNTRY
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Sfc James D. Garrish and his
brother S/Sgt. Walter Potter
Garrish are the sons of Mrs.
Ruby Garrish of Ocracoke.
James has been in the Army for
eight years and is now serving
in Korea. Potter has been in the
Air Force for five years and is
now stationed in Newfoundland.
Both served in Germany for a
two year period, and met up with
each other over there now and
FLORIDA FEARS
FISHING FAME
OF HATTERAS
Florida’s reputation as a year
around fishing ground is in jeop
ardy if we can believe stories of
sensational catches several hun
dred miles up the Atlantic coast.
And Bimini may also start
worrying about being the blue
marlin capital of the world after
reports of a sensational number
of the billfish hooked and boated
in a very short while in the same
northern waters.
To this old shellback Hatteras
was just a spot to be worried
about if you happened to be a
sailorman. Many’s the times I
have stood on the deck of a
freighter going past Hatteras
Lightship its cargo ports wide
open and one of the crew fishing.
Most of the time, especially in
late fall and winter, the weather
was anything but inducive to
fishing and the waters were
dreary looking.
Still, its that part of the At
lantic coast that is challenging
Florida and Bimini as year
around fishing capitals of the
world. And they have some very
remarkable figures to back up
their arguments.
14 Marlin Landed
During the 1954 season no less
than 14 blue marlin have been
landed along the North Carolina
coast by boats operating out of
Hatteras and Oregon Inlets. One
Washington, D. C., fisherman
said “Our group raised 39 marlin
in less than a week and that is
better than they do down in
Bimini, which heretofore has had
the distinction of being the most
famous blue marlin fishing wa
ters in the world.”
But what really worries this
reporter is that since the advent
of twin-screw cruisers with
plenty of speed the skippers
along the Dare coast have been
able to get to other species which
in the past were well known on
ly as a Florida fish. Aycock
Brown of Manteo, N. C., writes
that kingfish or king mackerel
have been caught in those same
waters. '
MANTEO, N. C., FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1954
C APT. J. D. HAYMAN
RO’NOKE’S OLDEST
MAN DIES AT 91
Popular Citizen Had Been
Boat Captain, County
Sheriff and Historian
Capt. Jefferson Davis Hayman
91, died Thursday at 12:35 p.m.
at the home of a niece, Mrs.
Bristow O’Neal in Manteo,
where he had resided since Jan
uary this year. He was born at
Kitty Hawk, June 1, 1863, the
son of the late Daniel W. and
Abbie Tillett Hayman, and was
one of a large family. Most of
his life had been spent on Roan
oke Island where he married
early in life, Miss Lizzie Daniels
of Wanchese, to them being born
four sons and two daughters. He
lived in Wanchese many years
before moving to Manteo and
vicinity. Late in life he married
Miss Hattie Dough who also died
several years ago. He was the
oldest man on Roanoke Island.
Capt. Hayman will be remem
bered by many people for long
tenure at Fort Raleigh where he
served as unofficial host, care-
See HAYMAN, Page Four
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then.
Whenever furloughs permit
they make a bee-line for Ocra
coke to see their relatives and
friends here. In addition to his
mother, James has a wife, Dora
Jane, and an infant son, James
111.
James left for Korea about a
month ago. Potter was home on
furlough en route from Roswell,
New Mexico, to Newfoundland.
Thousands of Ducks and Geese
Arriving at Lake Mattamuskeet
By the North Carolina News Bureau
Ducks and geese by the tens
of thousands are arriving at
Hyde County’s Lake Mattamus
keet. By full moon (October 12),
the migration was in full swing,
as the wildfowl followed their
seasonal schedule.
Mattamuskeet. winter feeding
ground for nearly a quarter mil
lion ducks and geese last year,
expects a greater influx of wing
ed visitors this season, and even
better hunting for the sportsman.
The prediction of a “somewhat
greater” gamefowl population at
Mattamuskeet in the ’54-55 hunt
ing season was made by Willie
G. Cahoon, U. S. Fish and Wild
life Service representative in
charge of the Mattamuskeet
Wildlife Refuge.
Mr. Cahoon is a top authority
on gamefowl, with 20 years of
background and observation at
Mattamuskeet.
“We have more Three-Square
around the lake than last year,
which usually means more geese,
and we have a good crop of Duck
Millett”, he said.
Explaining, he said that Three
Square is the common term for
Scirpus Americanus, a bullrush
type of plant which averages
about three feet in height, and
which geese consider quite a
delicacy. Duck Millett, echinoch
loa crusgalli, is tops on the
duck’s winter menu in North
Carolina.
A variety of other plants fav
ored by wildfowl abound in the
50,000-acre Refuge area, giving
the visitors a well-rounded diet
and making 30,000-acre Lake
Mattamuskeet a favorite winter
ing spot along the Atlantic Fly
way.
And a favorite it is. Last year,
at least 239,000 ducks and geese
were accounted for in the Matta
muskeet 'bill-count. Os this num
ber, Canada Geese totaled about
70,000, Pintails were slightly
ahead with 75,000, and the 16
other species of ducks accounted
for a total of 92,000.
HATTERAS BOY IN NAVY
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT
Norfolk, Va. (FHTNC)—Ed
ward A. Austin, hospital corps
man second class, USN. son of
Mrs. Lovie Austin, and husband
of the former Miss Nancy M.
Willis, all of Hatteras, has re
ported to the Naval Supply Cen
ter here for duty in the Medical
Department.
Austin, who entered the serv
ice in 1950, is a graduate of Hat
teras High School.
MANY PREACHERS
RETURN TO OLD
COAST CHARGES
Methodist Communities Ov
erjoyed at Return of Fav
orite Pastors
Most of the Coastland com
munities were overjoyed to learn
that their popular Methodist pas
tors were returned to them Sun
day night, when the list of as
signments were read out in Ra
leigh. Rev. W. R. Ashmore re
turns to Manteo; Rev. C. W.
Guthrie to Wanchese; Rev. A. L.
G. Stevenson to Stumpy Point;
Rev. E. R. Meekins to Columbia;
Rev. Dan E. Meadows to Hat
teras; Rev. W. B. Gregory to
Kitty Hawk.
In Hyde County, Rev. A. H.
Stone returns to Swan Quarter.
Ocracoke this year gets Rev. W.
R. Hales.
Rev. A. M. Cameron goes to
Mattamuskeet.
Belhaven gets a new pastor.
Rev. C. H. Beale. Rev. Wilford
Wise returns to Bath.
Rev. R. N. Knight, a Columbia
native returns to Moyock. Kin-
See PREACHEKS, Page Eight
From 24 blinds operated with
governmental supervision along
the southern shore of the lake, a
total of 3,429 geese were killed
last season, along with 2,257 Pin
tails, and 2,215 other ducks.
From information furnished
by local wardens, an estimated
14,000 Canada Geese were killed
on adjacent (privately owned)
lands, bringing the total kill to
17,429, or about one-fourth of the
peak concentration.
Since 1934, when the Depart
ment of Interior established the
Wildlife Refuge at Mattamus
keet, 212 species of birds have
been counted in the lake area,
making this spot one of the most
popular bird havens along the
entire Atlantic coast.
Public hunting on the Refuge
is under suoervision of the North
Carolina Wildlife Resources
Commission, and blinds may be
reserved by contacting L. B
Tunnell, Refuge Protector. New
Holland, N. C. Specific blinds or
guides cannot be reserved, as
assignment is made by drawings.
Season for hunting both ducks
and geese this season begins on
Wednesday, November 10, 1954,
and closes on Saturday, January
8. 1955.
Rates for blinds, including
guide service, are: Two hunters
per blind, sl2 per day; three per
blind. $1 per day: and $lB per
day for four hunters in a single
blind.
Hunters on the Refuge are re
quired to have a North Carolina
Hunting License (Resident.
$3.10; Non-Resident, $15.75 per
season); Lake Hunting Permit.
$1:50 per day, and Federal Duck
Stamp, $2.00.
One of the most familiar land
marks for wildfowl hunters
along the Atlantic is Mattamus
keet Lodge, a large white build
ing with 120-foot tower, located
on the southern shore of the
lake, which is operated by Mr.
and Mrs. Dick O’Neal, and offers
lodging accommodations so r 45
to 50 people. Other accommoda
tions are convenient to the lake.
DEMOCRATS JUBILANT OVER
GAINS IN NATION TUESDAY;
CONTROL OF HOUSE SEEN
Three House Chairmanships Will Go to N. C.
Congressmen; County Tickets Go Over Big
As Voters Abandon GOP Generally
Throughout the Nation; New Democratic
Governors.
Democrats throughout the na
tion are jubilant as a result of
Tuesday’s voting which indi
cated that for the time, voters
were swinging away from the
Republican party which enjoyed
many gains by candidates who
rode to victory on the personal
popularity of President Eisen
hower in 1952.
Democratic candidates on
Tuesday routed out five Republi
cans for governor in the states
of Colorado, Connecticut, New
Mexico, New York, Pennsylvan
ia, which with Maine in Septem
ber makes six new Democratic
Governors.
Democrats will have control
of the House, which will mean
that three important chairman
ships will go to North Carolina
Congressmen, including First
District Representative Herbert
C. Bonner. Charles R. Jones,
North Carolina’s only Republi
can Congressman will retain his
seat.
Contests in several states not
definitely heard from may de
cide Senate control, but this
appears mighty close.
Save for Mr. Jones, all Demo
cratic candidates in North Caro
lina were big winners, as in the
counties of the east. In Dare
County all Democratic candi
dates went over big, includiing
four who had Republican oppo
sition. In Tyrrell County Ihere
See DEMOCRATS, Page Four
HUNTING GUIDES
ARE ALL READY
FOR WILDFOWL
Kitty Hawk.—The wildfowl
hunting guides of this flight
famous community o n Kitty
Hawk Bay are ready for the mi
gratory goose and duck season
which opens next Wednesday,
November 10. In the past several
weeks they have been building
blinds or painting decoys. Many
of the hunters have booked part
ies for the opening of the gun
ning season.
This is the story generally on
the Dare Coast from Duck vil
lage on lower Currituck Sound
southward to the communties of
Nags Head, at Wanchese, in the
Rodanthe-Waves region and at
Buxton and Hatteras. Blue bird
weather at the end of October
made a sort of gloomy pictures
for wildfowl hunters but with
the cold snap brought on by
northwest winds during the
week much game has arrived.
There seems to be plenty of
geese in the Currituck-Kitty
Hawk area and farther south
ward, both north and south of
the Pea Island National Wildlife
Refuge.
Cape Hatteras National Sea
shore officials have stated that
public shooting will be allowed
> on National Park lands south of
: Salvo to Hatteras village. The
I Gooseville Club properties on
Hatteras Island been closed to
| hunters. As a matter of fact
j has long been closed to public
hunting under the ownership of
the club which previously had
I jurisdiction.
None of the area immediately
adjacent to sound side villages is
restrictedl to hunting this year
and none of the waters north of
Bodie Island Park Service Land
will be restricted. Hunting will
be permitted in most of Roanoke
and Croatan Sound marshes.
FRISCO MAN SLAYS BIG
COTTON MOUTH MOCCASIN
John L. Austin, a well-known
citizen of Frisco near Cape Hat
teras must have got the grand
daddy of all snakes of the species
recently. A picture furnished
this newspaper shows Mr. Aus
tin holding the snake, which is
called a cotton mouth moccasin,
four feet long. It was killed in
Mr. Austin's back yard.
MANTEO TURKEY SUPPER
There will be a turkey supper
at the Mount Olivet Church,
Manteo, Thursday 11,
at 6 p.m. “Take out” plates will
be ready from 5:30 until 6 p.m.
The proceeds will benefit the
Manteo W. S. C. S.
Single Copy It
MUCH COMMENT
ABOUT STRANGE
FUMES AT WAVES
Several Theories As To Cause
of Paint Turning Gray on
Houses on Banks
Gilbert Love’s Notebook, a
column in the Pittsburg (Pa.)
Press carried the following item
recently:
“It almost seems that Dare
County, North Carolina (Popula
tion (5405), has more unusual
happenings than Allegheny
County, Pennsylvania (popula
tion 1,515,237.”
The column continued: “Last
week, for example, a 15-foot
pilot whale ran aground in shal
low water on the beach near
Kitty Hawk. The crew at “Navy
Duck” an aircraft target range,
tried to push it out to sea. Fail
ing they got a bulldozer, lassoed
the tail of the whale and drag
ged it across the sand dunes to
Currituck Sound. . . . They suc
ceeded in launching it there, but
it was somewhat the worse for
wear and soon turned up its
flippers.”
Another item in the Notebook
column reported: “A couple of
treasure hunters have been dig
ging in the woods near Cape
Hatteras in the hope of finding
some of Blackboard’s pirate
hoard. They found a strange
looking coin with Arabic engrav
ing and the numerals 1287.”
Interesting Dare
This reminded me of the time
one of the up-state editors pub
lished an item that went some
thing like this: “North Carolina’s
most interesting newspapers are
the Coastland Times, published
in Manteo by Victor Meekins and
The Beaufort News, edited by
Aycock Brown.”
Victor had the answer in an
editorial the following week. He
wrote, “It is not a hard job to
have an interesting newspaper
here on the coast. That is be
cause this coastland is an inter
esting place to live and run a
newspaper.”
Mystery at Waves
On October 2, this year, the
peope of Waves, most easterly
postoffice community in North
Carolina, went to bed as usual in
their neatly painted homes. Just
before daybreak on October 3,
those awaking early began in
haling fumes that smelled of sul
phur. A Mrs. Gray even went
farther in her description of the
strange oderiferousness.
“It smelled just like a gunshell
after it has been fired.” she said.
There were various explana
tions of what happened while the
village was enveloped in the
strange odor—the fact that most
of the neatly painted white
houses turned grey.
Newcomb Midgett an old timer
at Waves said the odorous fumes
came from rotting eel grass that
had been pushed into the shal
low waters of the sound adjacent
to the village following westerly
winds in the wake of Hurricanes
Carol and Edna. He had never
known the odor or fumes from
eel grass being strong enough to
change the color of paint over
night, but for the past “30 years
or longer” he had on occasions
known the air to be filled with
sulfuric fumes that he knew was
created by the rotting grasses.
Publisher Victor Meekins had
a theory about the mystery
and so did Allyn Hanks, who re
cently moved to Dare County to
become superintendent of the
Cape Hatteras National Sea
shore.
Meekins said the odor might
have drifted across the wood
lands and then the sounds from
the pulp mill in Plymouth. He
had heard of the fumes from the
plant there being so strong on
occasions that it would change
the color of white houses to grey.
Hanks stated that the same
thing had appeared down in the
Everglades National Park o f
Florida. “Fumes in the atmos
phere, o r something, caused
houses painted with lead paints
to change color,” he said.
LiMo Goes Long Way
Gilbert Love o f Pittsburg
Press under the caption “Little
See COMMENT, Page Four