VOLUME XXII NO. 2
BOOKS OPEN FOR
REGISTRATION FOR
SCHOOL BOND ISSUE
Those Who Do Not Register
Won't Have Opportunity to
Vote August 11 th.
Registration for the election to
vote on a school bond issue to build
a $250,000 high school at Manteo
■will begin Saturday when the
books open at the usual polling
places at Nags Head, Manteo,
Wanchese, Manns Harbor, Ma
shoes, East Lake and Stumpy
Point.
The election will be held Satur
day, August 11, and calls for au
thority to issue $250,000 in bonds
for the purpose of erecting a
building to serve the pupils of the
Dare mainland, Roanoke Island, a
part of Nags Head, and the high
school pupils living north of Kill
Devil Hills. However, this area
will not share in paying the tax.
Last year the Commissioners
levied a tax of 25 cents on the SIOO
to buy a $25,000 school site from
the Brinkley property at Manteo
for this proposed building, and for
a site for a proposed school at Kill
Devil Hills.
It is said the proposed bonds
sought on August 11 will require
a tax increase of about 20 cents
to pay off principal and interest
over a period of 20 years.
The books will remain open for
four weeks, but registration must
be done on Saturdays, July 14, 21,
and 28th. The following Saturday,
August 4, is challenge day, and
the next succeeding Saturday, Au
gust 11, is election day.
People who do not register for
this special election will not be
permitted to vote on this impor
tant issue. It is not enough to al
• ready be a registered voter; every
person who wishes to have a voice
in the deciding of this question
must go out during the next three
Saturdays and put his name on the
books.
Those now registered cannot
vote in the August 11 election un
less they register anew, during the
—next three weeks.
WILSON PRESBYTERIAN
MINISTER TO PREACH AT
COLONY SERVICES SUN.
Rev. R. Murphy Williams, Jr.,
pastor of Wilson’s First Presby
terian Church will be guest minis
ter in the third of a series of
Sunday worship services at Water
side Theatre on Roanoke Island
Sunday morning. The Sunday serv
ices are held each Sunday morn
ing during The Lost Colony sea
son and in addition to guest min
isters of various faiths preaching
sermons the worship services fea
ture music by The Lost Colony
choir under direction of Dr. Elwood
Keister with Hedley Yost at the
console of the organ.
Mr. Williams is a native of
Greensboro, and son of Mrs. Mur
phey Williams and the late Rev.
Mr. Williams, who was first pas
tor of the Presbyterian Church of
the Covenant in Greensboro and
remained its pastor for 39 years.
The Wilson minister is a graduate
of Davidson College and the Union
Theological Seminary. During
World War II from 1944 he was a
Navy chaplain with service on
Saipan, Tinian and'in the Marianas
Islands. Since he was ordained in
the ministry of Orange Presby
tery, Synod of N. C., in 1944, he
has been pastor of Bethel Pres
byterian Church, Staunton, Va.,
from 1948-51, after serving as
FMCA secretary in Davidson Col
lege for one year. He has beeri
assigned to his present pastorship
since August 1951.
He is a member of the Board of
Trustees, Peace College, Raleigh;
chairman, stewardship committee
of the Albemarle
' chairman, council of Albemarle
Presbytery; member of council of
the Synod of N. C. and member of
the board of trustees Albemarle
Presbytery Conference Grounds.
He is married to the former Jean
Batchelor and they have two sons,
Robin and- Sandy and one daugh
ter, Jean.
REPAIRS TO COURTHOUSE
ROOF AFTER FLOODING
Although a large section of the
Dare County courthouse roof was
blown off in the northeaster of
three months ago, nothing was
done about getting on the job to
actually repair it until Thursday
of this week, following the flood
ing of the courtroom and several
offices in Tuesday’s rain. Consid
erable damage was done to the in
terior as a result of failure to get
the building repaired. This sort of
neglect seems typical throughout
the county. Those in charge of
county property do not give it
proper supervision and apparently
never have heard the old saying,
"A stitch in time saves nine.”
/
THE COASTLAND TIMES
Published weekly in the interest of the Walter raleigh coastland of north Carolina
ENDS 44 YEARS OF
PREACHING; SERVED
THE OUTER BANKS
Rev. R. N. Fitts Lived Among Us
For 20 Years; Retires
To Oxford;
Known far and wide in the
Coastland of North Carolina is the
Rev. R. N. Fitts, Methodist r.-inis
ter who has retired after 44 years
of preaching and will make his
home in Oxford. Incidentally it is
on the Oxford circuit that P. D.
Midgett 111 has been assigned his
first work in the ministry. Mr.
Midgett is from Hyde County, and
is of Dare County ancestry in
which counties Mr. Fitts spent
many years.
Regarding his retirement his
home paper, the Oxford Ledger,
carried a lengthy article last week,
parts of which we reprint here:
The Rev. R. N. Fitts, who retired
June 28 from active ministry on
the Oxford Methodist Circuit, lived
for 20 years on or near the Outer
Banks of the North Carolina coast,
where the fishing is good, but
fishing is not for him. And now,
after 44 years as a pastor, he
rather expects to remain occupied
with the Lord’s work in evangelis
tic fields.
“I’ve often wondered if that was
the reason I was kept there so
long,” he said. The Rev. Mr. Fitts,
who was retired two years ago, but
retained on active service, explain
ed that he always felt he was too
busy to fish or hunt. A look at his
record support that feeling.
During the first of his two as
signments at Shallotte, he was ask
ed to take on the extra duty of
teaching school. The year before
he went there, the boys were so
meaa the teacher quit, leaving the
community without a school. On
his way to the first day of teach
ing, a committeeman stopped and
asked what was under his arm.
It was a Bible.
"This is my persuader,” he re
plied.
"Preacher, you better get an
arm full of switches,” the commit
teeman said.
But the persuader worked. When
school closed for the summer, some
of the students cried because they
were sorry the term was over.
While he taught school at Shal
lotte, his fourth assignment, he
preached in seven churches.
Shallotte holds memories, for his
eldest living daughter was born
there, and during his second as
signment there 16 years later, she
graduated from the high school.
Students he had taught 16 years
before, then prominent in business,
medicine and other fields, came
back and thanked him for his in
fluence on their lives.
Born in Warren County
The Rev. Mr. Fitts was born in
Warren County on October 27,
1881, one of a family of nine chil
dren. He actually began his min
istry at the age of 30, having
worked as a machinist before, go
ing to college. It was not that he
disliked being a machinist, he said,
but that he felt the pressure of the
call to the ministry.
Changing his course in life, he
entered Trinity Park Preparatory
School in Durham. From there he
went to Trinity College, graduat
ing in 1912. Four years of corres
pondence study through Emory
University, Ga., earned him his
theological degree. He preached
regularly while pursuing this de
gree, having begun preaching in
his senior year at Trinity.
Twenty Coastal Years
The 20 years spent on and near
the coastal regions of the state,
the Rev. Mr. Fitts termed “very
pleasant” and called the people in
those areas “most hospitable.”
On Hatteras Island, the people to
this day still observe Old Christ
mas early in January, retaining
pure old English customs, manner
of speech and thought. They are
hard-working and serious minded
people, he said. Roadways built
recently to join the outer banks to
the mainland, have opened up ave
nues to tourists and the inhabit
ants, and are fostering a changing
of their ideas and brogue.
A chronological listing of his
different charges includes Swan
Quarter in Hyde County, Hallsboro,
Scotts Hill, Shallotte, Vanceboro,
Dare Circuit, Kinnakeet, Ocracoke,
back to Shallotte, Robbinsville,
Stonewall, Seven Springs, Mar
shallberg and Oxford, all in East
ern North Carolina.
Mr. Fitts has been in Oxford for
four years, and was at the other
places from one to five years each.
Home Acquired in City
The house at 207 Grove Street
now to the Fittses. He
bought it and has added a room.
Mr. Fitts said he and his wife like
Oxford as well as any place they
have lived, and that here they are
dose to relatives.
See PREACHER, Page Eight
HATTERAS BOY WINS RECOGNITION IN NEW YORK
IBafl - z
Ronald R. Stowe, Jr., of Hatteras, receiving a special trophy
awarded by the N. Y. Institute for the Education of the Blind, in New
York City, for “the most valuable wrestler of the year”. Ronald cap
tained the school’s wrestling team which won all its meets during the
season. Ronald also received a medal at the commencement exercises
from the Jewish War Veterans of N. Y. for his “kindness, leadership,
and democratic spirit”. He expects to spend another year at the In
stitute to complete his college entrance requirements and then go on
to Obtain a B. S. degree in recreation and physical education, with the
ultimate objective of working with handicapped children.
FINE ARTS SCHOOLS GET
UNDERWAY IN DARE CO.
Art Schools and Lost Colony Drama
Adds Culture Aspects to Coastland
By AYCOCK BROWN
Additional cultural aspects, in
cluding Roanoke Island School of
Fine Arts and a school of water
color painting began this week on
Roanoke Island, where Paul
Green’s symphonic drama The Lost
Colony operates. The Outer Banks
Gallery and Studio is open at Kill
Devil Hills.
“The school of fine arts is un
der the same sponsorship as The
Lost Colony. Di- Elizabeth Welch,
of Salem College, Winston-Salem,
is the supervising director,” said
Lost Colony Manager Dick Jordan.
Classes in adult and children’s
chorus, dance, beginner’s dance for
children, stage craft and playwrit
ing, lighting and play production,
costume execution, voice and dic
tion, will be offered students. The
staff of instructors include: Dr.
Elwood Keister, Vai McCarter,
Charles McCraw, Lois Garren and
assistants, Karen Wenworth, Wil
liam I. Long, James Byrd, Irene
Rains and Dr. Welch. The purpose
of the school which opened July 11,
See SCHOOLS, Page Eight
RE-UNION FOR 40-YEAR OLD MANTEO CLASS SCHEDULED AUGUST 10
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The 12 living members of the 13 who constituted the remainder of the class which graduated from
Manteo High School in 1916, are planning to celebrate their 40th anniversary with a re-union and dinner
on Friday evening, August 10th at the home of Mrs. Lena Pearsall in Manteo. Os this class, there were
two male graduates, both of whom went on through college, as did most of the girls. Only member oi
this class tn die is Randall B. Etheridge, late Chief of the Division of Markets in Raleigh. Reading from
left to right, back row, they are Mrs. Edna Evans Bell, Miss Callie Jones, Mrs. Cass B. Daniels of Nor
folk, Randall B. Etheridge, Mrs. Gladys W. Lennon, Miss Holland Wescott, Mrs. Naomi D. Wescott,
Edward N. Meekins of Raleigh, Mrs. Annie Griffin McCoy of Norfolk, and E. W. Joyner, who was
principal of the High School. Front row: Mrs. Hattie Forbes Minton of Virginia Beach, Mrs. Louise
Miller Meekins, Miss Effie Wescott of Hamlet, and Mrs. Madge Daniels Barber of Philadelphia. Os
this lot, three never married, one is widowed, and one is dead. All have done well in life.
This was the first class to graduate after a high school was established in Manteo, the first in the
county. About ten other members' of the class drop ped out during the term and didn’t graduate, includ
ing the editor of this paper. Some of those went away to college and others to work at various
jobs. Back in those days the girls swept the rooms, and the boys kept the fires, usually cutting the wood
and toting it in the house, and nobody thought they had a tough lot. They had to be in school on time,
the teachers got about SSO to SBO a month, and every living person in this class knows the pupils got
more out of a year’s schooling than one gets these days, despite all the facilities, the advances, and
the equipment available to them in a nine-months term.
MANTEO, N. C., FRIDAY, JULY 13, 1956
MANY 4-H GROUPS OF N. C.
TO VISIT LOST COLONY
Almost 1,500 boys and girls of
4-H clubs in more than 30 North
Carolina counties will see perform
ances of Paul Green’s symphonic
drama The Lost Colony during the
current summer.
They are members of the Ro
anoke Island 4-H Summer Encamp
ment located in the former U. S.
Navy barracks at Manteo Airport,
which during the summer season
offers weekly courses to groups
from 32 counties. The encampment
is under the supervision of the N.
C. State College Extension Divi
sion, who with Dare County Farm
Agent, R. S. Smith, has charge
of local arrangements.
Many other Dare Coast attrac
tions will be seen by 4-H mem
bers while on our coast; Fort Ra
leigh National Historic Site,
Wright Brothers National Monu
ment; trips to the ocean beach for
swimming in the surf, daily in
struction in swimming under life
guard protection at their Croat?.n
Soupd encampment; and a cruise
across Croatan Sound to Manns
Harbor and return aboard one of
the toll-free state operated ferries
serving the waterlink of U. S.
See 4-H-ERS, Page Eight
A BAPTIST CHURCH
TO BE ORGANIZED
NAGS HEAD- SUNDAY
Pasquotank Laymen to Meet
at Mission, July 15th at
10:30 For Purpose
A new Baptist church will be or
ganized at Nags Head Sunday, Ju
ly 15, by the congregation of the
Nags Head Baptist mission. The
service of organization will be su
pervised by an advisory council
consisting of ministers and laymen
from Blackwell Memorial and Be
rea Baptist churches, Elizabeth
City, and from the sponsoring
church, the Roanoke Island Bap
tist Church of Manteo. Also on the
council will be the Rev. G. M. Sin
gletary, missionary of the Chowan
Baptist Association.
The advisory council will con
vene at the Nags Head mission
building at 10:30 o’clock Sunday
morning, elect its own officers,
and then proceed to examine tire
circumstances justifying the for
mation of a Baptist church. The
council will then advise the con
gregation of the Roanoke Island
Baptist church and its pastor, the
Rev. Frank B. Dinwiddie, of its
findings, and if the findings are
favorable, the organization service
will proceed at 11 o’clock.
After an opening devotional
service at 11 o’clock, a letter will
be read from the Roanoke Island
Church dismissing from its mem
bership those who propose to or
ganize the new church. Following
this a resolution will be read com
prising the charter of faith and
practice to which the new church
will subscribe, and including the
church covenant and the Southern
Baptist Declaration of its Articles
of Faith. This resolution will then
be voted on by the proposed mem
bers of the new church, and if rat
ified, will be publicly signed, at
which time the new church will
be considered as officially in exis
tence as a self-governing mission
ary Baptist church for the first
time. The first official act of the
new church will then follow,
which will be the election of a pas
tor and such other officers as they
deem essential at that time.
The Baptist council, which was
called at the request of those wish
ing to form the church, will then
extend to the members of the new
church the right hand of fellow-
See CHURCH, Page Eight
BLUES OFF OREGON INLET
Although they are not being
caught close inshore, numbers of
big blues of the 10-pound class
have been caught near the Gulf
Stream off the Dare Coast during
the past week. Biggest catch by
a single party were brought in
Sunday by Roper C. Whitehurst,
Dick Garner and H. W. Anderson
of Portsmouth, Va. Each caught a
giant blue, the fishing ranging
from nine to 12 pounds, while they
trolled from Capt. Omie Tillett’s
cruiser Jerry Jr.
DR. MESSICK TO SPEAK
AT COLLEGE NIGHT OF
LOST COLONY JULY 20
Dr. J. D. Messick, president of
East Carolina College, Greenville,
will be the speaker at a special
East Carolina College Lost Colony
night in Waterside Theatre on
Friday evening, July 20, it was
announced today by James W.
Butler, Alumni Secretary and
Sports News Director of the col
lege.
This will be the first special
college night for The Lost Colony
in several years and every effort
will be made through promotional
sources at Manteo and Greenville
to have a large number of East
Carolina students and alumni at
tend the special performance.
Dr. Messick wjll speak briefly
prior to the performance and spe
cial music will be provided by the
Lost Colony Chorus under the di
rection of East Carolina College
Music Director Elwood Keister. Dr.
Messick will be introduced by Mr.
Butler who will also introduce Dr.
Leo W. Jenkins, ECC vice presi
dent and others in the Messick
party.
The Lost Colony this year has
in its cast several who are stu
dents at East Carolina College or
alumni of that institution.
Mr. Butler stated that addition
al details of the East Carolina
special night at The Lost Colony
would be announced prior to July
20. “In the meantime,” he said,
“we are urging all students and
alumni of East Carolina College to
be present for the special perform
ance honoring their alma mater of
July 20.”
DARE COMMISSIONERS BUY
COUNTY'S JAIL CELLS
Triple Pey for Board Members Also Ex
ample of Waste of Public Money.
One of the reasons Dare County
finances are always running be
hind, out of the reckless waste of
the officials was shown last week
when the Commissioners paid a
junk dealer for the steel jail cells
from the demolished Dare County
jail. Although the county owned
the cells and abandoned them,
they paid S3OO for them to send
to Cape Hatteras. They were not
good enough to keep, but good
enough to buy to give the Outer
Bankers.
Another example of waste is
the custom, God knows why, of
paying the Board members from
Hatteras Island, three days’ pay
for one day’s work. Instead of col
lecting $8 like other members, they
collect $24, in addition to their
mileage. This is proof that the
county Board never wishes to save,
never wished. to entertain a new
idea, but still’ conducts the county
business as in the sailboat days,
when it took a county commission
er a day to get to the county seat,
and a day to return home. Al
though the road has been complet
ed to Hatteras Island for five
years, the custom is kept up, al
though only one day’s time is used.
In four years it has cost the coun
ty thousands of dollars.
Another big item of waste is
maintaining several small precincts
in Dare County whose voters could
all be taken to nearby polling
places by the simple expedient, if
desired, of providing one or more
automobile trips. But these tiny
precincts are maintained at con
siderable cost, although a bare
dozen votes may be cost, and not
a single new voter registered
during the four weeks the books
are open.
These and numerous other items,
such as keeping people on the
county payroll who render only a
token amount of service, at salaries
ranging from SIOO a month up,
run the cost of Government too
high, and keep the tax rate high.
Many thousands of dollars might
be saved by cutting off only
waste. Salaries of County officers
See BOARD, Page Eight
CAPT. VICTOR L. BALLANCE
DIES AT HATTERAS SUNDAY
Victor Lester Ballance 70, died
at his home at Hatteras Sunday
night at 11:10 in less than three
hours after being taken ill. Capt.
Ballance is well remembered in
coastal sounds and rivers, having
long operated craft between Hat
teras, and Elizabeth City, Wash
ington and other points. He was a
lifelong resident- of Hatteras, the
son of the late Bascom B. and
Dorcas Ballance, and the husband
of Mrs. Rachel Ballance. He is also
survived by two daughters, Mrs.
Marvin Robinson of Virginia
Beach and Mrs. Eulus Miller of
Buxton; a son, Lester Ballance,
USN, now in Cuba; two sisters,
Mrs. Nelson Stowe of Hatteras
and Mrs. Willie H. Austin of
Oriental, a brother, Cecil Ballance
of Hatteras, and by six grandchil
dren.
He was a member of the Meth
odist Church.
Single Copy 7£
DREDGING WATERS
IN HYDE AND DARE
PROJECTS UND'RWAY
Operation This Month Near Wan
chese; Stumpy Point and
Engelhard Next.
Several waterway improvement
projects under the Corps of Engi
neers are underway in Dare and
Hyde Counties, and currently, this
month, the channel job between
Oregon Inlet and Wanchese is un
derway, with dredge now moving
from the inlet toward Mill Land
ing. From there it will go to Stum
py Point.
Next the work will continue at
Far Creek, Engelhard, which is to
be deepened to seven feet, 75 feet
wide for a distance of two miles.
The Stumpy Point project will be
a similar channel cut a distance of
one and a half miles. The three
projects are a combined letting,
costing about $90,000.
Steve Wall, public relations offi
cer for the Corps of Engineers of
Wilmington, who was visiting the
projects in this territory this week,
said another project, whose con
tractor is now tied up elsewhere,
would begin shortly at Hatteras.
A $90,000 breakwater is now under
construction at this harbor. The
dredging job'will open the channel
in from Pamlico Sound a distance
of two miles in Rollinson channel,
and deepening a spftr toward the
inlet, to a depth of six feet, and
100 feet wide. The harbor job calls
for improvement of a basin 100 by
400 feet and six feet deep. This
job costing $40,000 will be done in
late August.
The project between Orego * In
let and Wanchese, calls for cutting
through three shoals near the in
let, and digging a side-channel in
to Mill Landing, with a basin 200
feet square, and all of it six feet
deep.
A $60,000 job has recently been
completed at Ocracoke, including
improvement to Wallace Channel,
Wainwright Channel and Silver
lake Harbor.
The achievement of so many vi
tal waterways projects in this area
is the result of a lot of hard work
on the part of a few local people
and organizations in each commu
nity, but little could have been ac
complished without the work of
Herbert C. Bonner, the First
District Congressman, a man
with much influence in Wash
ington, who has continually
fought for these projects.
Despite the extremely long
time required to work up water
ways projects, and the many dis
couragements that follow any ef
i fort to impress the Congress with
the need for them, he has never
given up, sometimes when local im
patience on the other hand would
tempt many people at home to
abandon worthy causes.
HAYMAN REUNION SUNDAY
AT MANNS HARBOR CHURCH
One of the most interesting and
enjoyable of local celebrations is
scheduled to begin Sunday morn
ing, July 15th at Bethany Meth
odist Church, Manns Harbor when
the annual reunion of the Hayman
Clan of Eastern North Carolina
convenes. Ira Spencer Jr. of Manns
Harbor is now president of the
clan, a place held for many years
by Rev. L. D. Hayman of South
port, who is a beloved son of Dare
County. Ten o’clock is starting
time.
The program usually includes a
short business session and an hour
of fellowship and picnic dinner
on the grounds. Previously, Mr.
Hayman has preached at least one
sermon at a nearby church, be
cause of popular demand on the
part of old friends.
OCRACOKE MAN FINISHES
TRANSPORTATION SCHOOL
Fort Eustis, Va.—Armv Cpl.
Edgar M. Ballance, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Elisha Ballance, Ocracoke Is
land, recently was graduated from
the Transportation School's in
structional methods course at Fort
Eustis, Va.
Corporal Ballance entered the
Army in September 1950 and com
pleted basic training at Camp
Pickett, Va. His wife, Maude, lives
in Warwick, Va.
SIR STANLEY SPURLING
MAY VISIT LOST COLONY
If present plans now carry, Sir
Stanley Spurling, member of the
British Parliament from Bermuda,
will be a special guest at The Lost
, Colony now in its 16th season at
, Waterside Theatre at Manteo,
i Sir Stanley on his North Caro
’ lipa visit will be the guest of Gov- ft
s ernor Hodges. Governor Hodges
■ was his guest in Bermuda last
year when the State’s chief execu
tittemade a cruise to that British