Newspapers / The Coastland Times (Manteo, … / Nov. 16, 1956, edition 1 / Page 1
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VOLUME XXII NO., 20 COAST CITIZENS WARNED OF WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN Civil Defense Program Outlines Possibilities in Event of War, Safety Measures Under the direction of Robert Gunn and his assistant Frederick Trew, the Dare Coast Civil Defense Program now in an embryonic stage, made further developments here on Monday night when repre sentatives of welfare, medical, schools, communications, high way and highway patrol and state and federal agencies met at the Community Building . With the theory that since the Norfolk area would be a primary target of a nuclear warfare enemy, evacuees by the thousands might pour through Currituck and into the Nags Head-Roanoke Island area, if the port city were demol ished by a hydrogen bomb, Gunn gave a dramatic picture of what could be expected and how the people of this area should be mobilized to meet such an emer gency. Those at the meeting Monday night were named chairmen of various groups which would be assigned to aid in feeding evacuees, giving medical and surgical at tention, policing highways, and maintaining communications. Inso far as the latter is concerned a civil defense communications sys tem is already in its early stages of development here on Roanoke Island under the direction of Good rich Williams, a retired Coast Guard communications officer, who is conducting regular classes. If, as and when the Norfolk area should be attacked, survivors might move southward into North Caro? lina over various routes and one of the main routes, is considered to be U. S. Highway 158 to the Dare Beaches and Roanoke Island via Currituck County and thence southward across the new Croatan Sound span (a 314-mile bridge scheduled for completion within the next few weeks) over U. S. Highway 364 into Hyde County and tfience to Washington and other sections of North Carolina. Gunn’s descriptive ideas of what could happen and may happen at any time in a world of chaos, gained ready support from those present who will be his assistants See WARNING, Page Four RIHA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ADOPTS TENTATIVE BUDGET Roanoke Island Historical Asso <iation’s executive committee, ' meeting in Manteo Saturday, dis cussed and adopted a tentative bud get for operation during the 1957 season, a total of $88,475 or slight ly less than $2,000 more than the budget for the fiscal year ending in 1956. Robert Lee Humber, chairman of the board of directors, presided at the meeting which was attended by executive committee members Bruce Etheridge, Miles Clark and Melvin Daniels; Martin Kellogg, Jr., association attorney and C. S. Meekins, the treasurer. Also pres ent for the meeting were board member L. L. Swain and general manager R. E. Jordan. Also discussed were two vacan cies on the board of directors, that of the late M. K. Fearing of Man teo and Russell Grumman of Chap el Hill. Nominating coiAmittee for the replacements include R. Bruce Etheridge, W. B. Rodman and Syl vester Green. They will make rec ommendations for the appoint ments which will be made by Gov ernor Luther H. Hodges, ex-officio head of the state agency associa tion. Jordan announced during the meeting Saturday that the Lost Colony had shown a profit in its 1956 season’s operation and was in position to open without financial aid from the State of North Caro lina. THUS. LLOYD CLARK, NATIVE OF FRISCO DIES IN NORFOLK Thomas Lloyd Clark, 59, of 710 Kimball Ct., Grandy Park, Nor folk, died Wednesday at 3 a.m. in a Norfolk hospital after a short illness. He was a native of Frisco, Dare Co. and had lived here the last three years. He was a son of the late Bond Stowe and Mrs, Evalena Fulcher Clark. Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Des sie M. Pierce Clark; one sister, Mrs. Mary H. Jennette of Virginia Beach, and one nephew, Andrew Clark of Manteo. Until three years ago he oper ated a hunting and fishing lodge at Poplar Branch for several yean. Funeral services will be conduct ed Friday at 3:30 p.m. at the Sykes Funeral Home, Berkley. Burial will be in Riverside Memo rial 1 Park. THE COASTLAND TIMES PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE INTEREST OF THE WALTER RALEIGH COASTLAND OF NORTH CAROUNA THE NEW THREE-MILE CROATAN SOUND BRIDGE MAY BE READY CHRISTMAS * WVr &-y*'•. i £ i jl, MJ l&NMl THE WILLIAM B. UMSTEAD MEMORIAL BRIDGE, stretching three miles across Croatan Sound will be open for traffic about Christmas if the hopes of the contractors materialize. This will be the newest toll-free bridge in the state. It is a connecting link in U. S. 264, and all but one of the open links on U. S. 64. It unite? the Dare County mainland with Roanoke Island and shortens travel distance between Raleigh and Manteo by some 60 miles. It is built entirely of concrete and steel; the T. A. Loving Co. of Goldsboro the contractors. The job with approaches costs over $3,000,000. It will be named in honor of the Governor whose leadership brought about its construction two years ago. —Aycock Brown photo DARE GROUP FINDS FIRE CONFERENCE MOST IMPRESSIVE Raleigh Meeting Attended By Two Thousand Numbering 12 Rom Dare County A dozen people from Dare Coun ty returned home Wednesday night after a long day during which they journeyed to Raleigh to attend a conference called by Governor Hodges to point up the importance of forest fire prevention in North county in North Carolina was represented, according to ob servations made by members of the press. From some areas, they came by the bus loads and from distant mountain counties as well as those in Eastern Carolina from six to 15 representatives were pres ent to hear the panel of speakers, see the dozens of forest fire pre vention displays and to enjoy one of the biggest free barbecue din ners ever held in Raleigh. Attending this meeting of some 2,000 people were the following persons from Dare County: Sher iff Frank Cahoon, Aycock Brown, William Ernst and Harold Hudson of the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Co., also two other employ es of the ‘company, C. C. Duvall of East Lake and Alton Best of Stumpy Point, and Mrs. Best; Fire Warden Frank Himmelwright and W. S. White, game protector, of. Manns Harbor, County Agent Bob Smith, Mrs. Mary Evans, school supt., Gus Hultman of the Na tional Park Service. The purpose of this meeting was to stimulate observance of Novem ber as Forest Fire Prevention Month, to arouse support among law enforcement officials, school officials, writers, legislators and others who can contribute to means of curbing what has come to bring to this state an annual loss in property of 35 million '’nil—• The group reported Governor Hodges address on this subject as being particularly able and well re ceived. He was backed up by ad dresses by other oicials and author ities on the subject. Fred H. Clar-I idge, the N. C. State Forester, out lined the purposes of the meeting; Tom Pearsall of Rockv Mount de scribed the losses to the farmer from fires; Turner Battle of Rocky Mount, president of the N. C. Wild life Federatiqn, talked on Forest Fire Prevention and v—> or . See FIRE GROUP, Page Four MANNS HARBOR WOMAN HAD CLOSE CALL IN EXPLOSION Mrs. W. E. Pinner of Manns Harbor narrowly escaped serious injury Thursday night when a boil er exploded in the Jefferson Hotel annex, Norfolk. Mrs. Pinner es caped by getting through a win dow. Other occupants of the hotel also had close calls. One guest at the hotel, Eugene Rawls, 22, of Williamston, RFD, was occupying a room in the hotel basement, with window too small to crawl through, and he was scalded critically and taken to a hospital, where his chances were reported as slim. The Jeffer son Hotel consists of two units. The main part of the hotel has suffered three costly fires during the past several months. The boil er explosion in the annex may have been the result of careless operation resulting in turning cold water into a dry boiler. CONTRACT $329,860 FIRST PHASE LET OREGON INLET JOB I Wilmington. Weather permit ting, the dredging of an approach channel from Pamlico Sound to Oregon Inlet below Manteo, will get underway within the next 30 days. Bids on this, the first of the two phase job, were opened last week by the Corps of Engineers with the Norfolk Dredging Company of Norfcdk, Virginia, submitting a $529,860 to do the Job. The Norfolk firm will have ap proximately 30 days to begin work after the award of contract which normally follows the opening of bids by a few days. This would put the actual dredging to begin De cember 10-15, providing weather conditions are favorable. Plans call for the initial channel to be 12 feet deep and 100 feet wide from that depth in the sound to the inlet, a distance of about six miles. The second phase through the gorge and across the bar calls for a channel 14 by 400 feet to deep water in the ocean. This is scheduled to be done by a hopper dredge during the second I half of the fiscal year ending June 30. 1957. Col. Gillette A Booster of Oregon Inlet Job The coming improvement of Ore gon Inlet on the Outer Banks was described in Wilmington recently See INLET, Page Four EDWARD P. BONNER Edward Perry Bonner, 67, for mer resident of Norfolk and a relative of the Basnetts and Whed bees of Frisco, Dare County, died Saturday morning at his home in Silver Spring, Md., after a long illness. z His parents were John W. and Zorada Whidbee Bonner of Nor folk. He had often visited his friends in the Cape Hatteras area. He operated 41 private detective agency in Washington for many years and had lived in Silver Springs the last 40 years. Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Eva Lee Bonner of Silver Spring; a son, Jack Bonner of Washing ton; a sister, Mrs. A. W. Ballard of Suffolk, and a brother, Thomas Bonner of Brooklyn, N. Y. Services were conducted Wed nesday. Burial was in Arlington National Cemetery. FRIED CHICKEN DINNER AT KITTY HAWK NOV. 17 A Fried Chicken Dinner will be served by the members of the Kitty Hawk W.S.C.S. on Saturday evening, November 17, 5 to 8 p.m. in the Kitty Hawk school cafeteria. The public is invited to attend. A nominal charge will be made, pro ceeds to go toward the recent re pairs on the parsonage. Plates to be taken out will also be pre pared on order.. 19 AVOCETS SIGHTED ON PEA ISLAND REFUGE Rodanthe, N. C.—ln the wild fowl count at Pea Island last week 19 Avocets, a rare bird for the east coast, and one that looks like a giant snipe, were observed. “This is the largest number of this species ever recorded in North Carolina,” said Refuge Manager L. B. Turner. MANTEO, N. C., FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1956 SNOW GEESE ARRIVE ON USUAL SCHEDULE ON "OUTER BANKS" Most of the 15,000 "White Brant" Now Extant Have Showed Up in Pea Island Area By AYCOCK BROWN Rodanthe, N. C. lt’s uncanny, but it is also traditional, that most of the 15,000 greater snow geese in the world should arrive at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge between this village and Oregon Inlet, their principal whiter feed ing ground on Veteran’s Day (Armistice) November 11, each year. The magnificent wildfowl which natives along this coast call ed “white brant” in the old days, ran true to form again this year. L. B. Turner, refuge manager reported 17 greater Snows had ar rived about two weeks ago mixed in with a flock of Canada geese. Then, early last week 200 more arrived. “They must have been the advance guard,” said Turner, “because on Sunday afternoon (November 11) the first big flight of about 1,500 snows arrived. Then they continued to come in Sunday night and by Monday there were several thousand greater snow geese here on the refuge.” “It was about like this, one day there were a few scattered snows, mixed in with the Canadas, then on the next day a certain area of the refuge was literally white with snow geese. They almost al ways arrive on November 11, or that is when the bulk of the flocks arrive,” he said. They have a traditional date for arriving each year, just as the swallows of Capistrano have a traditional date for arriving at the California mission city, and like wise, in this community here on Hatteras Island the natives will tell you that the Snows have a traditional date for departing on their migratory flights to Arctic breeding grounds. That will be on the night of Old Christmas, Janu ary 5, according to local lore, which in most cases is correct— the bulk of the flocks of these great rare birds which attract birdwatchers from all parts of the country, head north, and their de parture date is Old Christmas night. THEIR WORK IN DARE MEANS FUTURE PULICITY FOR AREA During the next few days the syndicated column of Nelson Bene dict of Newark, N. J. Star-Ledger, will carry Dare Coast datelines, < And his stories will hinge around fishing, hunting and other outdoor sports for which Dare is famous the year around. He will also shoot two full page Sunday feature stories while here with his cam eras. Benedict arrived in Dare on Wednesday and filed his first col umn that afternoon. While here he is hunting and fishing was Lans dale “Bounce” Anderson and his 1 camermen who are shooting special films on Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Anderson, whose head quarters is West Palm Beach, heads the Outdoors Afllm organi i zation. Aycock Brown of Dare County Tourist Bureau is working ' closely with Benedict and Ander i son on their Dare endeavors which ’ mean much future publicity for the .area. DEATH OF SAILOR AT HATTERAS OF PASSING MOMENT No Responsibility Attaches To Anyone Following Alleged Highway Racing. Human life these days doesn’t count for much, as one may note the many fatal instances involved on the state’s highways and the little attention that is given them. On October 10th, Eliphus Florence Parris, 22, of Spartanburg, S. C. was injured in a car mishap some two miles southwest of the village of Cape Hatteras. Seven days lat er, he died of his injuries. Tuesday this week, in recorders court in Manteo, Joseph Guy Dan na, 22, of Baltimore, Md. was ac quitted of charges of racing and reckless driving on the narrow, black-top road at Cape Hatteras which constitutes one of the worst menaces in the coastland, because of lack of policing. In 30 days, the evidence of the race and reck lessness has petered out. There was nothing to satisfy Judge Baum as to who might have contributed to the death of this young man. About nine p.m. on the date of the mishap, Shank Austin of Hat teras was headed toward Buxton, and met the two cars, going at high speed, which appeared after he had gone by, from their tail lights in his mirror to be side and side or passing. The drivers were two men, it developed later, of the Seabee crew engaged in building a Navy facility at Cape Hatteras. Danna was driving a 1949 Pontiac, and Parris a 1950 Olds. Ahead of them on the road were Melvin Lewis Bragg and David Lee Glotfilty of the Navy detachment at Cape Hatteras, and they had to slow up in order to safely pass a parked asphalt trailer left marked with lights by highway forces. Parris then, too close behind, no doubt contributed to his own death by traveling at a high rate of speed and unable to slow up suf ficently in time, was rammed from behind by Danna, whose car close ly followed. The two Navy seamen gave no helpful testimony in court, nor did any other witness, although the day following the accident there were plenty of people who seemed to know that racing was going on on this unsafe road. The tendency in 30 days is to excuse the death of a person on the ground he is already dead, and it would do no good to prosecute or punish some one else. Patrolman Arthur Fields of Manteo was called to the scene next day, and but for this, there would probably have been little no tice of the case. Many accidents have happened on this road, some serious, some fatal. It has been fortunate indeed there have been so few. One won ders what would happen should some inept driver, with a car load ed with children, meet two of these racing cars driving side and side at terrific speed. 5 Hatteras Island is in need of law enforcement. Many citizens must be taught by strong measures they must stop their children of ten years old and up from driving on the highways. Many of the young and reckless bucks need drastic ex amples to stop the horrible disre gard for life and property that is shown by racing on this narrow road. Citizens in general must rea lize that all people must suffer too, in loss of business from visit ors who won’t come to visit places and spend money where roads are unsafe and honest drivers are un protected. Figures show that more people have been killed in America by automobiles than by all the wars in which this country has been engaged. No wonder life and death is so lightly considered by the American people. METHODISTS AND BAPTISTS PLAN JOINT THANKSGIVING SERVICE HERE NEXT WEEK Mt. Olivet Methodist Church in Manteo will be host church for a joint Thanksgiving service next Thursday, November 22, at 10:30 a.m. in which Manteo Baptists will participate, with the Baptist min ister, the Rev. Wilfred A. Choler ton, delivering the' message en titled “Unto God Thanksgiving,” and his Scripture reading being the 103rd Psalm. Rev. L. A. Aitken, the host min ister, in making the announcement, said the Methodist choir would provide the music for the occasion. MEN’S CLUB FISH-FRY TO BE FRIDAY NIGHT Everyone is reminded of the flash fry to be held tonight, Friday the ■ 16th. Sponsored by the Methodist Men’s Club of Mt. Olivet Church i in Manteo, the affair is to raise i money for church improvements. Time is from 5:80 to 7 p.m., DEDICATION OF CROATAN SOUND BRIDGE MAY SET OFF BIGGEST CELEBRATION EVER Event Contemplated for Early April May Bring Legislature and Highway Commission to Dare County and Launch Annual Pirate's Jamboree Festival With Biggest Bang in History of the Area. The proposed dedication of the Croatan Sound Bridge in early April may easily set off the big gest celebration ever held on this coast, and launch the annual Pi rate’s Jamboree festival and sum mer tourist season with the big gest bang in Coastal history if plans advocated by State Highway Commissioner Emmett Winslow, and other leaders of this region are carried out. While the $3,000,000 bridge is expected to be open to traffic about the first of the year, Mr. Winslow believes the dead of win ter is no time to plan a celebra tion which might become the big gest dud ever with the possible ad vent of sudden unfavorable weath er. It is Mr. Winslow’s idea that the entire North Carolina legisla ture might be brought to the Dare Coast for this event, along with the entire Highway Commission, the Governor and other state offi cials. Coming along in April, the dedi cation of the bridge will coincide with the Pirate Jamboree festival which usually extends ovei- a three day period with the star event taking place on Hatteras Island. A combination of all these observ ances would bring the biggest crowds evei- known on this island, and would serve as never before, to center the entire attention of the state and its officials upon the advantages as well as the problems which face the develop ment of the Coastland. By early April all the state’s ferry boats will have time to be put in top condition after taking three off the Croatan Sound run, and adequate working schedules may be worked out across Alliga tor River and Oregon Inlet, and perhaps an improved ferry service established across Hatteras Inlet, for by that time it is expected the road now under construction on Ocracoke Island will have been finished and open to traffic. To properly plan for and stage such a suitable celebration will call for the combined acitivities of the ablest leadership of the entire See CELEBRATION, Page Four BACK CHECKS; STEALING BEFORE DARE RECORDER In Recorders Court Tuesday in Manteo, the following cases were disposed of by Judge Washington Baum: John A. Mackey of Elizabeth City sls and costs for being dis orderly on a public highway. Willie Davis, drunk on the high way $25 and costs. William B. Miller, drunk on the highway $25 and costs. A charge of racing on the high way and reckless driving against Joseph Guy Danna Navy man at Cape Hatteras was dismissed. An other Navy man, said to be racing at the same time died as result of injuries sustained when his car was wrecked. Capias and continued for Frank McGhee of Elizabeth City for fail ing to appear to answer to a charge of driving without opera tor’s permit. James R. Overton of Norfolk was arraigned for giving worth ies checks in the amount of S9O to Clayton Tillett of Kill Devil Hills. Unable to pay up, he was sent to the roads fdr 60 days. Claude Beals and Alonzo Curies of Duck were charged with enter ing the storage room of Clyde Twiford at Kitty Hawk, and tak ing two cases of beer and four cartons of cigarettes. Curies was discharged, but Beals was bound over to Superior Court in the sure ty of S3OO. REV. DAN ALLEN TO PREACH AT ST. ANDREWS SUNDAY The Rev. Dan S. Allen, secre tary of the Episcopal diocese of East Carolina, will be the minister at St. Andrews By-the-Sea on Nags Head Sunday morning, No vember 18. In addition to preaching the ser mon at the morning worship serv ice beginning at 11 o’clock, the Rev. Mr. Allen will also officiate at a celebration of Holy Commun ion. The Wilmington rector is no stranger here on the Dare Coast where he has visited on numerous occasions in the past. In the dio cese he is assistant to Bishop Thomas Wright. Single Copy 7# A BIG WEEK END: SHOOTING. FISHING. HUNTING. DANCING Thanks Giving Next Week Expect ed to Usher in Many Events at Nags Head By AYCOCK BROWN Nags Head.—One of the most unusual number of attractions ever presented during the late autumn season is planned here by the Car olinian hotel on Thanksgiving week end, November 21-25. Outdoor events will include an old fashion turkey shoot, fox hunts, a fishing contest and surfside sightseeing and sea shell-driftwood contest and indoors each evening will be regular or old fashion square dances, it was announced this week'by Mrs. Lucille S. Pur ser. First event scheduled will be on Thanksgiving Day eve—a gi gantic oyster roast of Pamlico Sound oysters gathered from a special locality especially for this occasion. For those who enjoy the baying of the hounds, there will be fox hunts on Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings in Nags Head Woods with John Ray Watkins of Oxford as master of the hunts. The Watkins-mastered hunts have become famous on Nags Head where the big final hunt of the year is held each Valentine season week end in February. The hunts next week end, according to Jul ian Oneto, resident manager of the hetek- -will bee preliminaries of the now nationally famous Valentine hunts. Following the oyster roast on Wednesday night there will be spe cial entertainment and an old fash ion square dance in the Carolinian Pine Room, and following the fox hunt on Thanksgiving (Thursday) morning, will be the featured tur key shoot, with several turkeys to be awarded. To make it unusual, persons taking part must shoot an cient muzzle-loaders, their private guns or those which .may be bor rowed from the hotel’s rack of un usual century-old guns. This event is onen to the public, and residents of Dare County and surrounding area are especially invited. The sightseeing safari along the surf on Friday will give beach combers an opportunity to find un usual shells and driftwood washed ashore from recent stormy seas that have changed the topography of the beach in spots. The surf fishing contest for Car olinian guests with prizes for the biggest fishes will be held on Sat urday morning for those who do not follow the hounds on the final foxhunt and there will be dancing again on Saturday night. CONSTRUCTION BEGUN ON NEW PAVED ROAD ON OCRACOKE ISLAND Ocracoke, Nov. 12.—Actual con struction of the new paved road up the Island from Ocracoke to ward Hatteras Inlet has begun. A good deal of heavy machinery is here and more is en route. Con tractor is Dickinson, Inc. of Mon roe, N. C. Grading foreman Modoy is on the job and approximately a mile is in a partial stage of con struction in the dune area about three miles north of Ocracoke Vil lage. This road is to have a six inch marl base with surface treat ment. There will be seven bridges of creosoted timber, four of which are nearing completion except for hand railings and other minor de tails. These bridges are located at places where in seasons of high tides or storms the ocean water washes across into Pamlico Sound. They will take care of the excess water, thus saving damage to the road. Meanwhile the streets in the Village are being improved by widening the surface area. Ocra cokers, who for so many years have had no access off the Island except by boat or hazardous beach travel, are looking forward eagerly to this link of the proposed All- Seashore Highway. TURKEY SUPPER, HATTERAS The Cape Hatteras P.T.A. will hold a turkey supper Nov. 20 at 5 p.m. The public is invited. Tickets will be sold by the Bth and 9th grades, at adults |1.25, children 8.75.
The Coastland Times (Manteo, N.C.)
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Nov. 16, 1956, edition 1
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