VOLUME XXIII NO. 52
OLDEST AND BEST OUTDOOR
DRAMA, THE LOST COLONY
OPENING ITS 18TH SEASON
Many Competitors Have Sprung Up About It,
But Time Never Dims The Lustre Nor Takes
Away Appeal of Paul Green's Matchless Story
of Mystery Surrounding First Settlements By
English in the New World.
j Saturday night of this week
I "marks the most important event
I that takes place each year on Roa
j noke Island, and in fact a mighty
| important event to all North Caro-
• lina. This week it will be the open-
• ing of the 18th season for Paul
Green’s matchless outdoor drama,
The Lost Colony, which is present-
I erl nightly except Mondays,
[through July and August on the
site the first settlements.
The Lost Colony was the first
outdoor drama in the country,
presented first in 1937, when
President Roosevelt came to see
it, and continued each year except
for the interruption of World War
11. The number of people who
have seen it now runs to millions;
its success as a tourist attraction
soon set other towns a-fever for
something like it. And usually the
other regions who have established
outdoor dramas turned to Paul
Green, our beloved North Carolina
genius, for help in writing their
dramas too.
Now, barely 100 miles away,
three similar shows are operating
in Virginia. First established was
‘The Common Glory” at Williams
burg. Last year nearby at James
town, a new one “The Founders,”
»egan business. This year Virginia
Beach opens up “The Confederacy.”
Western North Carolina long ago
■aught the cue, after seeing what
The Lost Colony did to boost tour
ist business on Roanoke Island.
\nd it is presenting some three
outdoor dramas in the mountain
•egions where greater accessibility
;o tourist volume has brought
Ruge success.
■ Free Bridge Built Lost Colony
U Plans had been considered for
Kome years to establish The Lost
■Jolony. but toll bridges and ferries
Buul long been a deterrent for it
Bras feared that no great volume
■>f traffic would come to a region
■ hat penalized its visitors. But
B See DRAMA, Page Twelve
3OAT RACES IN
MANTEO HARBOR
SET FOR JULY 4
An interesting schedule of
peedboat races is being planned
or July 4 in Manteo’s Shallowbag
lay. This event is being sponsored
y the Dare Power Boat Associa
ion, and begins with time trials
t 1:30 p.m.
There will be 30 to 35 boats rac
ig in five divisions, all outboard
unabouts, with some good contests
romised. Ellsworth Midgett, Jr., 1
ommodore, welcomes everyone to
le holiday event.
ÜbGE MORRIS MOVES
SWIRLY, CLEARING 25
CASES FROM DOCKET
Some good has come out of the
azareth of the congested docket
t civil litigation that has gathered
>bwebs in the Dare County court
ouse for some 30 years, .in that
idge Chester Morris, moving with
“termination and dispatch this
eek has flung out about 25 of
lem. The cluttered up mess'
h'ich has no doubt cost thousands
' dollars by being in the way, and
■laying terms of court time after j
me through many years, is some
hat relieved. In this lot were
ses 30 years old, some of the
igants on both sides dead, as
ell as their attorneys and many
the witnesses. i
Judge Morris, an old favorite]
id neighbor in Dare County was
aring testimony read in a civil
tian Thursday, in which both
irties to the suit preferred to
live the case to his judgement
ther than a jury. The case in-
Ived a strip of land 50 feet wide,
tending several hundred yards
om the, Muddy Marsh-at Cape
utteras to the Pamlico Sound,
te Plaintiff is the late Parley
Neal Miller whose immediate
irs are Mr. and Mrs. James S.
irner, versus Eph Midgett et als.
te defense, supported by the
itten. testimony of many wit
sses was underway Thursday
d hearing the testimony was
pected to consume most all day.
Several other minor cases were
ard week. A case in which
irl Green et als was suing C. C.
ivall for damages growing out
a collision involving Mr. Green’s
r and Mr. Duvall’s fish truck, re-'
Iting in serious injuries to occu-J
nts of the car, appears to have
etj settled out of court. (
THE COASTLAND TIMES
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE INTEREST OF THE WALTER RALEIGH COASTLAND OF NORTH CAROLINA
LOST COLONY SPEAKER
BRUCE CATTON, distinguished
journalist, author and editor of
American Heritage Magazine, will
deliver a short pre-performance
address at the 18th season prem
iere of The Lost Colony in Water
side Theatre at Manteo, on Roa
noke Island, Saturday night, June
28. He will be introduced by Dr.
Robert Lee Humber of Greenville,
Chairman, Roanoke Island Histori
cal Association board of directors,
the drama’s sponsor. (Lost Colony
Photo)
BRUCE CATTON
WILL SPEAK AT
DRAMA OPENING
American Heritage Editor To
Launch Lost Colony Season
Saturday ..
In a short pre-performance ad
dress, Pulitzer Prize Winner Bruce
Catton, editor of American Herit
age magazine will launch the 18th
season of Paul Green’s symphonic
drama “The Lost Colony” here in
Waterside Theatre, Saturday night,
June' 28.
The distinguished journalist, au
thor, histdrian and top authority
on the Civil War wi’l be introduced
by Dr. Robert Lee Humber, Green
ville, chairman of the Roanoke Is
land Historical Association’s board
of directors.
Catton is a native of Michigan.
He graduated from Oberlin Col
lege, and during World War I.
he was a gunner’s mate third class
in the Navy. He holds an Honor
ary Doctor of Literature Degree
from Oberlin—and from the Uni
versity of Maryland, Wesleyan
I University, Dickson College, Olivet
College, Gettysburg College, and
Harvard University, as well, plus
a Doctor of Civil Laws degree
from Union College.
His journalistic career has in
cluded reportorial jobs in Cleve
land and Boston and other news
papers. For 15 years he did special
editorial work for the Scripps-
Howard chain of newspapers and
their syndicates. In World War II
he served as director of informa
tion for the War Production Board
and later in a similar capacity he
was with the Departments of Com
merce and Interior, before leaving
|in 1947 to write his first book
j “The War Lords of Washington”—
] an account of the WPB trials.
| Since early 1930 she has been
collecting Civil War narratives.
From his collection he developed
ideas for the trilogy of books on
the War between the States, which
won for him the coveted Pulitzer
I Prize in Literature. In 1954 he
I moved from Washington to New
York to help found and edit Amer
ican Heritage, the bi-monthly mag
azine of history.
The pre-performance program
Saturday night will begin at 8
o’clock. Fifteen minutes later the
lights of the theatre will blaze
forth on the opening scene of The
Lost Colony. The drama will be
presented nightly, except Mondays,
through August 31.
WILLIAM C. OWENS WAS
NOT FINED FOR DRINKING
William C. Owens of Wanchese,
who was listed in the Recorders
Court news of last week, was in
the wrong column. He was charged
with reckless driving but by mis
take it was made to appear he was
charged with drunkenness. We re
, gret the mistake that was made
, and any embarrassment that might
. have been caused him. He doesn’t
i drink, he is 17, and is working at
a man’s job on a tugboat in Nor
ifolk.
STAGE S C T FOR LOST COI OMY OPENING SATURDAY
HL;;* IttSgO
Ik ifli watr ><■* iB
wir Mt
v Jr & Ll
i’ne stage is all set for the 18th season premiere of Paul Green’s
symphonic drama The Lost Colony in Waterside Theatre at Fort
Raleigh near Manteo on Roanoke Island Saturday night, June 28. Per
formances will begin nightly at 8:15 o’clock, (except Mondays) through
August 31. ,
An exception to the opening time will be made on Saturday when
Bruce Catton, distinguished journalist, historian and author, will make
a short address after being introduced by Dr. Robert Lee Humber,
chairman of the Roanoke Island Historical Association’s board of direc
tors. The speaking preceding the colorful and exciting premiere will
begin at 8 o’clock and continue only for 15 minutes.
Under the direction of Clifton Britton The Lost Colony of 1958,
after three weeks of day and night rehearsals, will this year be more
like the drama during the heights of its popularity in the early 1950’5.
There will be no changes in the script, but Britton has given assurance
that the scenes and the acting this year will be better than ever before.
The Lost Colony is the story of English-speaking America’s begin
ning in the New World during the reign of the first Queen Elizabeth
nearly 400 years ago. Two colorful scenes from the drama with Water
side Theatre in center are shown above, as Queen Elizabeth is intro
duced to the Indians Manteo and Wanchese, and as Virginia Dare, first
child of English parentage born in the New World is baptised. (Lost
Colony photos by Aycock and Brantley Brown)
Uncle Dock From Duck Says—
Only Real Wealth We Have is Our Children;
Its Foolish to Allow Them to Go to Waste.
Dear Mr. Editor:
I didn’t write you a letter last
week for me and the Old Woman
took a little trip. Got back Sunday,,
tired and disgusted, for anything
good I saw away from home, we
got much better right here.
But I do want to tell you that
I think you are now on the right
track like you never been before,
and that is when you go to talk
ing about what we ought to do
about our schools. I say to you
Mister Editor that we haven’t been
trying to do for our schools, and 1
a lot we have thought we were
doing did ’em more harm than!
good. ,
Why it’s actually getting so no-'
body wants to be on the school I
committee any more. Now that, I
lay mostly to this all-fired fever]
for consolidation. Used to be when
every neighborhood had a school, |
there was competition to get on
the school committee in order to
get the teacher to board. Teachers
soon learned it was the smart!
thing to board at the home of ope
of the committee.
My old woman wouldn’t let ’em
board at our house and so I never 1
got on the committee.
Mr. Editor I do want to say that
we being all poor folks more or
less in this part of the country,
about the only real wealth we got
is our children. About the only
thing we can leave them when we
die is an education. Not many of
our children will be able to find
money enough to go to college, so
about all the learning that 90 per
cent .of ’em can get is a high
school education. There’s no reason
we can’t give ’em a good one if
we try.
You might say. it’s because I
live in a small neighborhood, when
I say I don’t be.leve one child
"should have more done for it than
another; or to put it the other
way round, I don’t think we ought
to stand for any child having to
MANTEO, N. C., FRIDAY. JUNE 27, 1958
! take less than the rest of them.
What we ought to do is to do
away with the special school bonds,
] and put all the bills share and
share alike on all people, and dis
tribute the money to all schools
I equally for each and every child.
There is too much of this “spe
cial business.” We ain’t supposed
to have any special privileges, and
nobody is any specially better than
anybody else unless he makes him
self so by hard work and decent
conduct.
i If we are going to be Christians,
we should quit saying: “Let’s vote
] bonds to give the children of our
See DOCK, Page Twelve
EDGAR CREF.F. EAST LAKE
NATIVE DIES IN NORFOLK
I Edgar Lennon Crees, 67, died
Thursday night of last week in a
Norfolk hospital after an illness
of two years.
, A retired painter who formerly
worked at Norfolk Naval Ship.
| yard, he was the husband of Mrs.
Rennie Sawyer Crees, He was a
native of East Lake, Dare County,
I the son of the late James Wash
ington and Mrs. Tib Basnight
Crees.
He had been living in South
Norfolk for 35 years and was a
member of the Chesapeake Avenue
Methodist Church.
Surviving besides his wife are
two sons, Otis O. Crees, Lynn
haven, and Donald H. Crees of
Norfolk; a daughter, Mrs. Aubrey
Todd of South Norfolk; a sister,
Mrs. Mary Muse of Elizabeth City;
four brothers, Otis Crees of Man
teo, Van Crees of Elizabeth City,
Sheldon B. Crees of South Nor
folk, Sam Crees of Norfolk, and
seven grandchildren.
Funeral services were conducted
Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Graham
Funeral Home. Burial was in
r Riverside Memorial 1 Park.
PARK ENTRANCE
ROAD CONTRACT
IS $3 17,2 13.15
rive-Mile Entrance to Cape Hat
teras Seashore Area to
Be Built
A contract is being awarded to
Ballenger Paving Co. to build the
five and a quarter mile entrance
road to the Cape Hatteras Nation
al Seashore, at a cost of $317,213.-
15, Supt. Robert F. Gibbs said this
week. The contract is subject to
approval by the director of NPS.
Only two bids were received. Bal
lenger has built many other roads
in this area. ,
Superintendent Gibbs said that
this contract will further develop
the Cape Hatteras National Sea
shore Recreational Area and is in
line with the MISSION 66 pro
gram proposing preservation and
adequate development of the Na
tional Park System by 1966 when
the National Park Setwice will ob-,
serve the golden anniversary of
its establishment.
The contract will cover the con
struction of a Park Entrance Road
to the National Seashore over
lands owned by the Federal Gov
ernment. It will form a natural
and easy approach from the new
State Highway now under const
ruction between Whalebone Junc
tion and Wright Memorial Bridge.
Construction will be of stone
base with triple bituminous sur-
See CONTRACT, Page Twelve
OCRACOKE PLANS BIG
JULY FOURTH CELEBRATION
Ocracoke, June 24—The annual
July 4th celebration at Ocracoke
: s being planned for. Various in
terested persons are working on
entertainment for the many rela
tives and friends who always come
home for the holidays and this
year from all indications hotels
and cottages will be filled to capa
city with visiting tourists.
On Friday, July 4th, there will
be Pony Penning at about 9 to 9:30
a.m. At 11 a.m. there will be the
annual Flag Raising Service at thp
Schoolhouse, after which the wom
en of the Methodist Church will
sponsor a big dinner, whicn will be
served in the school library and
adjoining classrooms from 11:30 to
1 p.m. Baked beans and ham are
the main dish with trimming and
dessert of course. That night there
will be an old-time square dance,
also one on Saturday night and
other events, including a Commun
ity Sing, are being planned for the
weekend holidays.
GREAT SLUEFISH LIKE THESE COME BUT SELDOM
Ik ~
Sr
-'Jr S
Z/MMNB k t ! II w
■’w a I ' >vl ? fl
Mr
Unless you have been fishing in the vicinity of Wimble Shoals, 22
miles southeast of Oregon Inlet, since June 8, you’ve probably never
seen bluefish so large that four weighing a total of 55 pounds makes
, a shoulder load for Capt. Billy Baum of Wanchese, skipper of the
cruiser “Kay’’ of Oregon Inlet Fishing Center. The four fish he is
shouldering is part of a Gulf Stream catch made one day last week
■ by a party of Raleigh and Washington, D. C. anglers, who also caught
] yellowfin tuna going to 35 pounds each and a few dolphin. Since June
8, when the great schools of great bluefish were discovered at Wimble
I Shoals off the N. C. Outer Banks, more than 1,000 have been caught
, j by anglers aboard Oregon Inlet-based boats, and the fish have ranged
, from nine and half to 16 pounds each—none smaller and none larger.
I The average has been 12 to 14 pounds each. (Photo by Aycock Brown).
I•. . .
NEW BY-PASS BRIDGE OPEN
FOR TRAFFIC IN COLUMBIA;
MAIN STREET IS CONCERNED
New Concrete Bridge And Wide Street Open
For Traffic Costing Close to Million; Contin
ued Operation of Main Street Bridge Consi
dered to Life of Community.
JESTERS ENJOY
DARE JOURNEY
ON WEEK END
Shriners Entertained at Arlington
Hotel and Dare County
Shrine Club
Some 88 members, and their
wives, of the Royal Order of
Jesters, an organization made up
of men who have been most active
in the work of the Mystic Shrine
had a royal week end at Nags
Head, with some of them fishing,
1 some taking part in a dance Sat
urday r.ight at the Dare County
Shrine Club, and all enjoying a
seafood dinner at The Arlington
Hotel, where the party stayed.
The group, all members of Su
dan Temple in New Bern were
from Eastern Carolina, and they
began arriving Friday. Among
this group were many notable
men, mostly officers or past offi
cers of the temple. In the party
were Potentate Otis M. Banks of
Cary; past potentates Lester Gilli
ken of New Bern, Dick Bundy of
Greenville, Sam Toler of Rocky
Mount, Clarence Parker- of Bel
cross, George Waters of Goldsboro.
The Dare County Shrine Club
which retained an orchestra four
months ago in anticipation of this
party, entertained them on Satur
day night. The club has 55 mem
bers, of whom 33 are Dare County
shriners.
. WANCHESE RURITANS
TO HOLD BAKE SALE
The Wanchese Ruritan Club is
sponsoring a sale of home-baked
pies, cakes and other goodies Sat
urday, June 28, all proceeds to
purchase equipment for the Little
League ball team. It is scheduled
for 2 p.m. at the Methodist Church,
but in the event of bad weather
will be at the schoolhouse. AU
Ruritan members reminded to fur
nish something for this sale.
Single Copy 70
The new concrete bridge and by
pass in the town of Columbia on
U. S. 264 is open for traffic, and,
presents a great convenience, for
the traveling public. The whole
job cost upwards of a million dol
lars, and allows the motorist to
whiz through town without having
to pause. Little publicity has at
tended the opening of this new
bridge on a route which offers a
50 mile saving in traffic between
Raleigh and Manteo, or a 25 mile
saving between Manteo and Wash
ington byway of the easy ferry
schedules on Alligator River.
Ordinarily the opening of a new
bridge of the importance of this
one at Columbia calls for a con
siderable celebration, but such has
not attended the completion in this
case. In fact there has been almost
no newspaper publicity about the
bridge. This situation apparently
has grown out of the apprehension
along Main Street which accommo
dates some 90 per cent of the com
mercial activity of the Tyrrell
County capital. This situation was
born out of the great concern since
the State Highway Commission be
gan to make a study of the pro
posed bridge some three years ago.
U. S. 264 has always led smack
through Main Street in the heart
of town, past the courthouse. Here
one might find all the direction
signs at the intersection with NC
94 which leads southward to Hyde
County, and here was always the
the ferry schedule. But last week
all the signs were taken down and
moved a block south to the new
by-pass, and this is something that
has aroused the concern of the
Main Street ’ merchants.
Good Faith Agreement
When the Highway officials
came to town to discuss the im
provement of U. S. 64 public opin
ion was overwhelmingly in favor
of keeping the old bridge, and the
road through Main Street. There
is merit in the argument. It is the
nerve center of the town’s commer
cial life. Heavy investments have
been made through the years in
construction of business property.
From this property comes the
larger part of Columbia tax in
come, and of course an important
contribution to the Tyrrell County
treasury as well.
As in most small towns, and in
particularly in old towns, Main
Street is none too wide for today’s
needs. In fact the highway people
figured out that to meet specifica
tions whereby expenditure of Fed
eral money might be permitted, it
would be necessary to widen it
some 30 feet, and that meant some
14 feet would have to be sheared
off all the buildings on either side
of the street for a distance of at
least four blocks, and there were
other expensive complications. The
Highway people didn’t want to pay
for the property to be destroyed
and rebuilt. None of the citizens
felt able to bear such terrific ex
pense incident to the comfort and
convenience of the nation’s travel
ing public. It meant putting every
one out of business for months at
a time while work went on; a con
siderable loss, financially unbear
able to many, and to others it
would mean they wouldn’t have
sufficient store space left in order
to continue in business.
Recognition was given to the
possibility that the building of a
new by-pass 'would mean virtual
confiscation for several types of
business on this street, which car
ried the hotel, three filling sta
tions, a drug store, case, etc. High
way people said they would build »
the new bridge, for the convenience
of tourists in a hurry who wanted
to get through town, but they
wouldn’t penalize the Main Street
merchants, so they would keep
open, and maintain as an alternate
route, the Main Street bridge.
Columbia merchants bowing as
ever to the demands of progress,
acceded to this good faith agree
ment, and were happy that their
time honored route would remain
on the map. They were relieved
on being assured that Main Street
would not become a dead-end street
in which they would never see a
See BRIDGE, Page Twelve
PAYNE’S ADDRESS SOUGHT
The Selective Service Board of
Dare County is seeking informa
tion as to the whereabouts of Wil
liam Clifton Payne, who is regis
tered with his address as Manteo.
Anyone knowing the present ad
dress of Mr. Payne is asked to
contact the clerk to the board in
Manteo.