Newspapers / The Coastland Times (Manteo, … / Nov. 19, 1954, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Coastland Times (Manteo, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
JLUME XX NO. 21 REMOVING MOTORS FROM FORMER S. S. BEACHED IN DARE Closing Chapters of Wreck of Omar Babun Being Writ ten in Norfolk Now For her size no steamship ever stranded on Hatteras Island caused more excitement for the length of her stay, nor got more publicity, most of which was highly favorable to E. A. Canipe, than the S. S. Omar Babun, which came ashore on Pea Is land, some three miles north of Mirlo Beach, Rodanthe, last spring. The old ship is now tied up in Norfolk where her motors are being removed, it appearing that she is not worth the cost of put ting her into commission. The vessel is only 200 feet long, and is built of wood, a former Navy net tender. Great publicity attended the salvaging of the cargo and of the floating of the stranded ship af ter many weeks ashore on the coast of Pea Island. Somehow the word got out that she was the only ship ever saved from final destruction on these shores, once having been stranded here. As a matter of fact, many ships have been unloaded and refloat ed after spending much time in such uncomfortable ings. 9 But the attendant publicity made it a great thing, and it sounded as if Mr. Canipe, a new comer from Havelock, had ac complished a stupendous under taking. So much so in fact, that it now appears he is receiving offers from distant lands to un dertake salvage operations, a business in which the Omar Babun was his first undertaking, less than eight months ago. Mr. Canipe was a visitor to Rodanthe this week, and settled up with a number of local peo ple who aided him in his salvage operation. It was not all easy sledding, getting the heavy cargo of machinery out of the ship and across the beach, and onto trucks, and hauled to Morehead City for shipment anew to Cuba. But he finally handled the ‘ al, and squared accounts with .s neighbors on the beach. Anent the more recent happen ings to the Omar Babun, now tied up in Berkley, Virginia, the Virginia Pilot tells us: E. Arnold (Nip) Canipe, the Havelock, N. C. automobile deal er, who robbed the Graveyard of the Atlantic of the Honduran freighter Omar Babun may soon have a go at salvaging a vessel beached on the far-away shores of Guatemala, a victim of the re cent Guateamalan revolt. Canipe told the Virginian-Pi lot last night from his Havelock, N. C., home that he is consider ing an offer to salvage the Springfjiord, a freighter of about 300 feet build in Britain in 1937 and abandoned after it was bombed during the recent revolt in the Central American coun try. He said home business would keep him from getting his crew down to Central America immediately “but I’m sure think ing about going down there. . .” The president of the Canipe Salvage Company (a business formed to salvage the Omar Babun) said his plans for the Ba bun, presently call for dismant ling the engines and selling inde pendently of the hull. Canipe is not sure of the fate of the hull of the Omar Babun, formerly the Stagbush, built in 1944 as a United States submarine net ten der, but he is against the expense involved in having it towed to North Carolina. Fixing the ship up as a sal vage vessel also probably would be prohibitively expensive—“it would take at least $75,000.” An idea in the back of Canipe’s thinking for using the Babun as a heavy salvage vessel was dealt a severe blow by a damaging fire which swept up from the Ba bun s engine room during Hum ane Hazel. Canipe’s exploits of last May 4nd June in which he rigged the Babun to winch herself slowly off the beach just north of Cape Hatteras and saved $250,000 in machinery bound for a Cuban sugar mill, attracted national at tention. Geis More Offers The publicity, Canipe said, has brought his several salvage of fers. the most noteworthy of which were the Guatemalan of fer and an offer from Canadian interests for a salvage operation in Holland. Canipe said he is still making efforts to learn more about the Holland salvage. He has no details at present. According to the scanty in- See OMAR BABUN, Page Four THE COASTLAND TIMES PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE INTEREST OF THE WALTER RALEIGH COASTLAND OF NORTH CAROLINA ANOTHER TWO BROTHERS IN GOVERNM’NT SERVICE . B* |MBM| r lu» *>P . WW- OSILJw - /’4Or./ fiHMh - ~ ' |BbF« ' wHfeA ■ A Among the many Ocracoke boys who are serving in the Coast Guard are two brothers, Jack and Allen Scarborough, sons of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence D. Scarborough. Jack first served in the Navy and dur ing World War II was stationed in the Pacific area. After joining the Coast Guard about nine years ago, he served in Greenland and has just been transferred from the ice patrol cutter “Eastwind” to the Dis trict pay office in Boston. Allen joined the Coast Guard about eight years ago and has served here at the local station, at a lighthouse in the Potomac, and taken training at Groton, Connecticut. He has recently been transferred from Port Security in Berkley, Virginia, to Cape May where he is instructing in boot camp. BIG CHANNEL BASS LANDED AT POINT CAPE HATTERAS Buxton.—When R. G. Waller returned to Baltimore this week he had a true fish story to tell about the 54-pounder that did not get away; a channel bass U'hich W’aller landed in the surf at the Point of Cape Hatteras. While not the largest of the species to be landed w'ith rod and reel during 1954 along the coast of Dare, it was a season’s record for the Point of Cape Hat teras, where once was caught a 75-pound world record channel bass. Previously this year at least two larger channel bass than the one landed by Waller have been caught in the Dare coast surf. This was a 60% pounder taken at Kill Devil Hills and a 62% pounder landed at Hatteras Inlet. Waller will tell his customers that he landed his 54-pounder with a Penn Squider reel on a Hornell rod. Fishing *here at the same time that Waller made his catch was Gardner Marsh who recently re ceived national publicity as a surfcasting champion in the Nantucket, Mass., region. Here he had accounted for many surf fish this week. George Fuller of Cape Hat teras Cottage Court reported several other catches made in local surf waters recently: Mr. and Mrs. Orom Snell and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Sandburg of Mentor, Ohio, accounted for a 48-pounder and one that scaled at 35, in addition to a score or more “puppy drum”, and plenty See BASS, Page Eight PLAN DEVELOPMENT OF BODIE ID. SECTION Officials Considering Northern Area of Cape Hatteras National Seashore National Park Service officials from the Eastern Office. Division of Design and Construction, Phil adelphia. Museum Chief Ralph Lewis, Director’s Office, Wash ington, D C., met with Superin tendent Hanks of the Cape Hat teras National Seashore Recrea tional Area and members of his staff, November 5-7, to plan de velopment of the Bodie Island Section of the National Seashore, Construction of visitor facil ities on Bodie Island was brought closer to reality as a re sult of field inspections and con ferences held during this three dav period. Projects under con sideration were development of a bathing beach south of the Na tional Park Service headquarters and construction of approach roads to the beach area and the proposed museum of natural his i tory at Bodie Island Lighthouse, i Edward Zimmer, Chief of the Philadelphia Office, Highway ’ Engineer Thomas Moran and Ar ichitect John Cabot inspected the area of development in order to I design structures to harmonize 1 with surroundings. Roads and i narkins? areas will be constructed to facilitate easy flow of traffic i and accommodation of a maxi mum number of visitors. Construction funds for a major portion of the proposed work have been appropriated and it is believed that a substancial part of these facilities will be ready for public use duriing the next summer season. SIGNS UP FOR SIX MORE YEARS IN THE AIR FORCE I- '■ Wife ■ S/Sgt. ALBERT L. AUSTIN of Hatteras who is home for a months* visit with his mother, Mrs. Kate Burrus, has recently signed up for six more years, and at the end of his visit will report for duty at the Pentagon, in Washington. He has recently completed four years in the Air Force, having spent the past three years at Kirtland Air force Base, New Mexico. COVERING THE WATERFRONT By AYCOCK BROWN . \ —. J Nags Head. Passengers aboard the southbound ferry “Conrad Wirth,” at Oregon Inlet on Thursday morning, November 11, witnessed a sight which bird watchers of the nation would have traveled great distances to see. Greater Snow Geese by the hundreds in perfect V-forma tions passed overhead, silhoutted against the reddish-orange hues of a rising sun. This was the rear guard of some 4,500 of these rare water fowl that had passed over during the full moon of Wednesday night, I learned later from L. B. Turner, manager of Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, the principal winter resort of all the Greater Snow Geese in the world. The refuge, which gives migratory waterfowl absolute protection, with no hunting priv ileges for goose and duck hunt ers, begins at the south shore of Oregon Inlet and extends south ward on Hatterqs Island for about 12 miles to the Old Christ mas community of Rodanthe. Earlier during the week refuge manager Turner- and his assist ants had counted 8,500 Canada Geese and 14,000 ducks of sev eral species. But the count had listed only three snow geese. More Snows Will Come “Those three were stragglers. They had gotten mixed up with the Canadas somewhere along the Atlantic Flyway,” said Turner, who added, “Snow Geese as a rule do not associate with other geese. They move in flights of several thousand, and they arrive at Pea Island on al most the same date each year. This year they were slightly earlier.” Turner has developed a theory on the arrival of the Snow Geese each year. He believes that they arrive at Pea Island on the night following the first day of the hunting season in Virginia and upper Currituck Sound. “They seem to know they have protec- MANTEO, N. C., FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1954 REV. L. D. HAYMAN RETIRES TO LIVE AT SOUTHPORT Well-Known Methodist Min ister Establishes Handi craft and Boat Shop One of Dare County’s natives, a well-known and popular min ister of the Methodist Church for 44 years retired this month, his last pastorate being Carolina Beach, and has established a a home as he says he and wife “are going back to Southport where we formerly served, to spend our remaining days in that quiet but lovely old town.” “Now we have moved into our own home—“he says ‘Dun- Movie’ is the name we have given it, a neat six-room cottage and comfortably furnished—with fig trees, grapevines, blueberry bushes and a large yard and gar den spaces. We have our shop and also our 36-foot boat for ’ commercial services. We are not retiring in the sense of stopping : work—but retirement age caught ■ up with us, and we are making ■ a change over to this way of liv- ■ ing. Tell our friends to come to see us here at Southport.” Mr. Hayman’s shop referred to is a boatbuilding and woodcraft shop. He is a skilled mechanic. ; He says, while some things of the present day ministry are a little difficult as one grows older, he expects to miss and doubtless al ways feel the hunger for such things as a congregation to visit; the preaching of twice on Sun day, the ministering to the sick and dying, etc.” It has been a full life—44 years in the ministry and many friends will miss him too, but will wish him God-speed. TRAFFIC CASES TRIED BY DARE RECORDER Were it not for the cases i brought into court by the High way Patrolmen, there would be nothing for the Dare Recorder to do, judging by Tuesday’s term, this week. Allen Stelle Hopkins of Wanchese was fined sls and costs, being held by the court for speeding at 70 miles per hour. He had been charged with driv ing at 75 miles, but contended he was driving at only 65 and 68 miles, and made so good a wit ness for himself that the Judge decided to average up the con tentions. Gilbert Henley of Nags Head was fined $25 and costs, after he pleaded guilty to careless and See COURT, Page Eight tion from hunters until the sea son opens in the Back Bay and Currituck region. A check of our records show that they arrived on the night of November 20th during years the season opened cn that date,” said Turner. They Are Rare Fowl Before the season passes or during the next few weeks, that is, there will be several thousand Snow Geese at Pea Island, a ref uge which was created primarily for their protection during the late 1930’5. Last year about 8,000 of the showy fowls that come each year from their breeding grounds above the Arctic Circle, spent the winter at Pea Island. Actually, they remained until early January and there is a tradition in this region that they begin their migratory flights northward again, on the night of Rodanthe's Old Christmas, Janu ary 5. (Actually they seem to choose any early January night, when the moon is full, for begin ning their return trip north.” Such authorities as National Geographic Society indicate that the total Greater Snow Goose population in North America is between 14 and 15 thousand. During one severe winter when coastal feeding conditions were probably below par, 14.000 were counted at Pea Island. Regard less of the size of the flocks, their appearance at Pea Island always attracts bird-watchers from far and near. . .■. As the “Conrad Wirth” squeezed into the south side slip the final flock now in a formation that resembled a See BROWN, Page Eight UNION THANKSGIVING SERVICE IN MANTEO A union Thanksgiving sen-ice will be held in Mount Olivet Methodist Church in Manteo on Thanksgiving morning at 10 o’clock. Rev. H. V. Napier will bring the message. The public is invited to attend. RODANTHE BOY SERVED ALL ALONG ATLANTIC DAVID B. MIDGETT JR. of Ro danthe, is a seaman who in a short time has served just about the entire length of the Atlantic Seaboard with the Coast Guard. He is the son of the late David B. Midgett and Mrs. Midgett who is now Rodanthe postmaster. He is also a nephew of Capt. Levene Midgett. He graduated in 1953 from Buxton High School, work ed On the Oregon Inlet ferry a short time, and took 12 weeks basic training at Cape May on entry in the Coast Guard. Serv ed nine months on the Sebago on weather patrol duty out of Boston. The cutter was later sta tioned at Mobile, Ala. to be nursemaid for the Shrimp fleet in Campeached Bay, Mexico, and is now stationed at Portsmouth, Va. WANCHESE BOY SERVES AT CAMP GORDON, GA. tp* iy '* * • ■R ’Mwl MR ■R ‘ WESLEY JARVIS PAYNE, son of Mr. and Mrs. Corbett Payne of Wanchese, is in combat train ing at Camp Gordon, Ga., having joined the army September 23. He expects to be home for a visit some time in December. DUCK HUNTERS DEFIED BY TOURIST WEATHER Wildfowl Just Not Interested in Associating With Dummies When Weather Is So Fine Florida has nothing on North Carolina. Weather during the past week has been far warmer than it was at Palm Beach the same time last year, take it from one who was there. This fine tourist weather has been a won derful thing on the Dare Coast, making pleasant days on the beaches. Home owners find it fine for saving fuel, to the cha grin of the oil and coal dealers. But the weather has been the despair of duck hunters, who have been generally disappoint ed if they came, and discouraged from coming in so many in stances that the few guides who now cater to the sportsmen in the area are worrying about their Christmas money. Hunters are inclined to put off their hunting trips longer each year. For the days have been so nice and balmy on Currituck Sound, Roanoke and Pamlico that ducks and geese are not interested in alighting to seek the company of any old wood and canvas dummies stuck out along the marshes, or afloat on the water. It is true a number of geese and ducks have been shot, but the number rarely has reached the limit allowed by law. Each day old hunters arise and look at the weather; each night they hope for reports of rough weath er to come, and even the radio forecasts have been misleading twice during the week. Hunters, like fishermen, always hope for what they want badly; now they are sure the weather will change tonight, and allow them some sport Friday and Saturday, or surely on Monday at the latest. DEATH CLAIMS THREE OF SEVEN FLIERS CRASHING IN PAMLICOSOUNDSUN. NIGHT Mishap Occurs 40 Miles West of Cape Hatteras at Bluff Shoal; Coast Guardsmen From Elizabeth City Rescue Four Found on Life Raft Monday Morning While Bound On Another Mission. Four service fliers were rescued and three others are missing and presumed dead after two planes went into the water off the coast of North Carolina Sunday night. The four airmen were found Monday morning in Pamlico Sound, inside the outer banks. They were crew members of a Navy PV-2 Harpoon patrol bomber that was ditched in the sound about 6:30 Sunday night. The fifth member of the crew did not escape, and was never seen after the ditching. Several hours after a distress message from the PV-2 was re ceived by Task Force 28, a Marine Corps jet fighter with two aboard was diverted from a routine flight to join the search. It radioed at 9 p.m. that it had sighted two flares while flying at 300 feet and was descending to 200 feet to get a better look. That was the last word from the plane, which was presumed to have crashed during its low-level flight. No trace of the occupants or their plane was found in a daylong search Monday by 75 aircraft and 40 ships. Missing from the PV-2 bomber was Richard Zigmund Garlenski, seaman apprentice, USN, who was in the big two-engine plane’s rear radar seat at the time it hit the sea. The plane broke in two and sank quickly, and only the four in the forward section were saved. Names of the two Marine air men aboard the missingf F3D jet fighter were listed by a Marine Corps spokesman as Second Lt. Roy O. Wilkins, 23, of Indio, Calif., the pilot and Master Sgt. Gerald A. Moreau, of Havelock, N. C., the radar operator. Messages from the ill-fated Har poon bomber before its final re port unfolded a story of increasing troubles. First one motor and then the other sputtered and died. The four survivors of the Har poon were picked up by a Coast Guard amphibian plane and flown to Elizabeth City. They were found about 7 a.m. 10 miles from the North Carolina mainland in Pamlico Sound between Ocracoke Island and Bluff’s Point. The four survivors said their life raft had been thrown clear of the plane, and automatically in flated in the water before they reached it. They climbed aboard and made for a red channel marker about a mile and a half away, se curing the raft to the triangular metal structure. They remained there shooting orange flares found in the raft’s compartment, and dy ing the water witth green dye. Shortly before 7 a.m. Lt. R. T. Penn, Jr., pilot of the Coast Guard plane, flew low and dipped his wings at the men, three of whom were standing on a platform of the navigation light with the fourth lying in the raft. This was Lt. Comdr. George Sanford Smith, of Fairfax, Va., who had a broken leg- The inflation of a life raft as their plane hit the water was cred ited by four survivors of a plane crash Sunday night with saving their lives. A fifth crewman ap parently went down with the craft when it sank after ditching in Pamlico Sound. The plane, a PV-2, attached to a Naval Reserve unit at the Anaeostia, D. C., Naval Air Station, lost power as it was re turning from a week-end cross country navigational flight to Mi ami, Fla. According to the survivors, all reservists on week-end training duty, the raft which Jcept them afloat during the night before their rescue was thrown loose from its place in the plane when the ship broke in two after the crash. It inflated automatically. The plane’s pilot, Lt. Robert L. Mallonee of Towson, Md., esti mated that the plane sank in about 15 seconds after it hit. “My head was under water as I came out of the cockpit,” Mal lonee said. “Smitty (Lt. Comdr. George S. Smitty of Fairfax), had his hands on my feet as I came out.” The remaining two survivors, ■ Lt. Albert W. Funkhouser, a Coast - Guard Reserve, of Edgewater, Md., I and D. C. Sotiropoulis, an airman [ apprentice, of Washington, D. C., were in the main cabin of the plane. R. Z. Garlinski, airman appren tice, also of Washington, who is still missing, was in the radar See FLIERS, Page Four Single Copy 7< ROANOKE ISLAND WAT’RS SWARMING WITH ROCK FISH Weights Up to Seven Pounds; One Party Lands 107 By AYCOCK BROWN Waters to the west, east and north of Roanoke Island have been literally alive with rockfish or striped bass this week and catches have-been ranging from 50 to more than 300 fish by parties trolling with bucktail lures. Best catch by one man was that of U. S. Midgett of Manteo, who last week end accounted for more than 300 stripers from 9 o’clock until sunset-'or about seven and a half hours of fishing. A runnerup to this catch by Midgett was made by a party headed by Jim Gray of Robersonville. They were trolling in Croatan Sound between the Air port and Manns Harbor. Capt. Jes se Etheridge, the skipper, said catches of 50 to more than 100 fish were taken by parties trolling on Wednesday. Weather conditions this week have been perfect for this type of fishing and for the first time this year (during the past week) the striped bass have been appearing in great schools. Catches have been reported from Roanoke Sound, where Midgett made his remarkable one-man catch and this week from Croatan Sound. Catches have also been reported from fresh-water Albemarle Sound, but the best fishing currently, seems to be in Croatan Sound, according to Capt. Etheridge. Bob Young and party of Kill Devil Hills caught 57 in waters See ROCK, Page Eight U. S. MIDGETT HITS ROCKFISH JA’KPOT ROANOKE SOUND Ulysses S. Midgett of Manteo became the rockfish champion of Dare coastal waters on Friday. From 9 o’clock in the morning until near sunset he trolled with one line from a small power boat and caught over 300 fish, all of them rock fish (striped bass as the off-islanders call them. He fished alone near Beacon No. 33 in Roanoke Sound, a marker off Manteo’s Shallowbag Bay( the local harbor). He said that he quit counting after passing 300, so he got some over 300 fish. The fish were not wasted. “I gave away 10 messes and carried a 50 pound sack full home for my personal use,” he said. “That did not include $23.20 worth that I sold at a local fish house.” He re ceived 22 cents per pound for the larger fish and 12 cents for the small ones. At first Midgett was the on ly person fishing at’ Beacon No. 33, but several boats went there before the day had passed and everyone had good catches. GROUND BREAKING HELD FOR NEW M. E. CHURCH Hatteras People Launch New Pro gram Sunday: District Super intendent Attends The ground breaking cere mony for the new Hatteras Methodist Church, was held Sun day morning after the service. The welcome was given by the chairman of the official board. Mrs. Harold Midgett. A brief statement concerning the build ing by the Chairman of the Building Committee, Carlos Peele. The Doxology was sung by all. Prayer was by Rev. Dan Meadow's, the pastor and the history of the church w'as given by the- Superintendent of the Sunday School, Roy Gray. After the reading of the ceremony by District Superintendent C. Free man Heath, the spade turning was by Roy Gray an d Carlos Peele. After the ceremony the ground was turned by Mr. Heath and pastor Meadows, then the benediction by the pastor. Many from Buxton and Mr. and Mrs. John Austin of Frisco and Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Midgett of Waves attended the ceremony, and the first Quarterly Conference of the year.
The Coastland Times (Manteo, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Nov. 19, 1954, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75