Newspapers / The Coastland Times (Manteo, … / Sept. 12, 1958, edition 1 / Page 1
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VOLUME XXIV NO. I * “LET GEORGE DO IT” AGAIN CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY AT MEETING Only 34 of 600 Customers Appear to*Aid in Af fairs of Cape Hatteras Lighting System Tues day When Annual Meeting is Called; No Quo rum, Nothing Transacted While Business Con tinues to Run in Red. By VICTOR MEEKINS The old maxim, “Let George Do It” was never more unanimously endorsed than at Cape Hatteras Tuesday night, when for the third year in succession the required quorum of 50 failed to show up to transact business of the Cape Hatteras Electric Membership Co op. Os 600 members of this im portant facility, only 34 attended. Capt. George Harrison Meekins of Avon, serving as the President of the co-op opened the meeting and presented several visitors. First was W. T. Crisp, Attorney of the N. C. Association of Elec tric Membership Co-ops. T. B. Slade of Enfield, Gilbert Whitley of Farmville, G. L. Rucker of Tar boro and V. E. Taylor of Rich Square, all heads of co-ops in their respective communities, expressed pleasure at being present, offered an invitation to others to visit their annual meetings and said they were having some of the same difficulties that prevail at Cape Hatteras. Mr. Whitley is president of the State Association. Mr. Crisp gave a splendid talk on co-ops in North Carolina, illus trated with colored slides, which included some views of Hatteras and Ocracoke. He mentioned that of the 32 co-ops in North Carolina, stretching from the sea to Waynesville in the far west, Cape Hatteras was only the largest of the three smallest, those at Ocra coke and Harkers Island being smaller. For three years, despite all their grumbling about high rates, the members of the co-op have failed to show up when the annual meet ing is called to discuss the prob lems of the REA of Hatteras Is land. It is ably managed by one man, Herbert Oden, and nobody knows what would happen if some thing happened to hy i. He does office work, gives pt illpt service in all kinds of weather, drives a truck, climbs poles and there ' isn’t anything he can’t do or doesn’t do. His hard work and ef ficiency no doubt lead people to think it’s all right to leave every thing up to him. The Co-op, which serves seven villages from Hatteras to a point north of Rodanthe, an area of about 35 miles long has a splendid plant at Buxton, now with a capa city of producing 1,700 kilowatts. It has twice been enlarged. With out having actual figures .at hand, this has been provided for these people by loans from Uncle Sam in an aggregate amount of upwards of • million dollars. It has never operated in the black, and actually 'considerably much in the red were property depreciation figured. A paper operating margin of $53 is shown this year. But this doesn’t consider the depreciation which should be earned for replacement of the investment. la theory, this plant, serving 603 customers, it having gained only three more during the year, is to belong to the people who buy its current, when it has repaid Unde Sam for the money ad vanced. Its income is limited, for the average household customer * paid only $7.73 monthly the year just past, and $7.30 monthly the year before. The average “small” commercial bill, apparently high, was $44.90 this past year and $3A46 monthly the year be fore. The report read by Capt. Meekins showed the operating loss had slumped from a profit of $328 for the year 1957 to an operating loss through the year just ended of $2 ,116. This in spite of con stantly increasing consumption of current, due to the rapid growth of business incident to the Sea shore Park tourist trade, and the growing Naval facility at Buxton. What most people don’t take into consideration, when grumbling about the high cost of current, as compared with areas served by the big power companies, is that at Cape Hatteras, it’s costing more than three cents per kilowatt hour to manufacture it. The problem is how to effect economies, and in crease business, but the customers, who have all to gain, don’t care enough about their own interests to attend the meetings to find out, .7 nd devise plans. Now with enough effort, a suf ficient number of people could be got to attend these meetings, but those in charge for some reasons don’t put out the effort to get them there. We don’t know the reasons, but the results continue to See CO-OP, Page Eight THE COASTLAND TIMES PUBUSHE6 WEEKLY IN THE INTEREST OF THE WALTER RALEIGH COASTLAND OF NORTH CAROLINA POPULAR BEACH MERCHANT DIES ON WEDNESDAY Willie C. Rogers, 46, Rushed to Elizabeth City Hospital After Sudden Attack Some ten minutes after he got to the Elizabeth City hospital, Willie C. Rogers, 46 a popular Nags Head merchant, owner and operator of Rogers Grocery, died Wednesday. He had been rushed there by Pat Bayne, a neighbor who had stopped at the Rogers store for'gas and had just been waited on when Mr. Rogers suf fered his attack. Mr. Bayne took him in his car and went immediate ly to Elizabeth City. Mr. Rogers, a native of Kitty Hawk retired as a Chief Petty Of ficer from the Coast Guard serv ice in 1946. He was a veteran of World War 11. He was the son of the late William D. and Lillie To ler Rogers, and the husband of Lena Perry Rogers. He Is survived by his wife, and a daughter, Mrs. Leona Fay Forbes of Charlotte; three brothers, Herman Rogers and Edward Rogers of Kitty Hawk, and Lewis Rogers of Smithtown, N. J.; two sisters, Mrs. Ben Shannon of Manteo, and Mrs. Clyde Beacham of Kitty Hawk;and one grandchild. The body was removed to the Twiford Funeral Home in Manteo. It will be taken to the Austin Cem etery, Kitty Hawk for graveside services at 2:30 p.m. Friday. TOURIST BUREAU MEETING SEPT. 17 TO BE AT HATTERAS Tickets for the annual dinner of the Dare County Tourist Bureau are now on sale, and Wheel- 1 er Ballance of Hatteras is Chair man of the ticket selling for the dinner, which will take place Wednesday of next week, Septem ber 17th at 6:30 p.m. at Scotty’s Restaurant. The dinner will be preceded by the annual meeting of the Tourist Bureau at 3 p.m. which meeting will be held at the adjoining At lantic View Hotel. Alvah H. Ward Jr., tourist Bureau chairman is making arrangements for the speaker for this meeting, which is the usual annual meeting for elec tion of officers. Others on the ticket selling com mittee in Dare County are as fol lows: . George Fuller and Rany Jen nette, Buxton; Charles Williams, Avon; Woodrow Edwards, Waves and Rodanthe; Melvin Daniels and Lawrence Swain, Manteo. A second Tourist Bureau Promo tion Meeting and Banquet Ips been tentatively planned for investors and others interested in the travel and vacation business of the area on Wednesday, September 24, at some location (to be announced) north of Oregon Inlet in the Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk or Roanoke Island area. As soon as plans are completed, announce ments will be made via the Inquiry List, through the press and over radio. RETURNS TO OLD HOME TO FISH AND SEE OLD FRIENDS; PASSES ON The years roll on, but those who have lived in this Coastland love to return, to visit old friends and to fish as in the good old days. Ed ward Francis Payne, had passed his three score and ten. and he was back to the scene of his boyhood Thursday, off for mullet fishing in the cool of the evening with his brother Ellard Payne. It was like in the old days, and he was happy, but he died suddenly of a heart attack. Mr. Payne 79, had been living away from Stumpy Pbint nearly 40 years. For many years he was employed in the joiner shop of Kramer Bros. Co. in Elizabeth City. For the past three years he had Hved in Portsmouth, Va. with a son,. Major E. Payne. A second son, Elmer, survives at Cayuhoga, Ohio. His wife, the late Daisy Payne died two years ago, and is buried at Stumpy Point too. He was of a large family of children, the son of the late Cornelius and Leah Payne See PAYNE, Page Eight WHITE MARLIN FISHING REACHING SEASON’S PEAK It was late getting started but white marlin fishing off Oregon Inlet has •apparently reached a peak for the 1958 season with one of the best catches brought in to date shown above. These marlin were caught aboard the cruiser Jerry Jr., skippered by Capt. Omie Tillett and his mate Herman Swain in fore ground. G. C. Culpepper, manager, Nags Header Hotel at left caught one of the billfish, Dr. E. Vernon Davis of Moorestown, N. J., who has been vacationing at Southern Shores, caught three and 14-year old Jimmy Culpepper at right brought in one single-handed. More than 40 white marlin have been landed by anglers aboard Oregon Inlet-based boats since September 1 and the season’s total on the Dare Coast for the species now stands at more than 125. (Aycock Brown Photo) HUNTING PLANS IN SEASHORE PARK AREA OUTLINED Road Construction May Hinder Access at Some Places This Season The management plan of legal public hunting within the Cape Hatteras National Seashore for the 1958-59 hunting season has been made public by Supt. Robert F. Gibbs. Provision for hunting in designated portions of the Seashore was made in 1940 by Congressional amendment of the original legis lation authorizing establishment of the Seashore. All of Ocracoke Island was designated plus 2,000 acres elsewhere within the Sea shore. Representatives of the State of North Carolina and Department of the Interior in 1954 recommend ed to the Secretary of the Interior 1,500 acres on Bodie Island and 500 acres in 3 separate locations on Hatteras Island, and he so desig nated those acreages. All desig nated lands are now under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. Access to the wildfowl blinds on Bodie Island will be disrupted by the new entrance highway con struction this first season. An at tempt will be made to provide ac cess over the new road to desig nated parking areas in the vicinity of the blinds. However, conven tional type vehicles may experi ence some difficulty in traveling the new road. 1. This plan sets forth the pol icies, rules and regulations which are designed to provide for and manage public hunting as author ized law on designated lands within Cape Hatteras National Seashore, hereinafter referred to as the Sea shore. 2. Lands within the Seashore on which hunting is legally permitted See HUNTING, Page Eight DRIVE UNDERWAY FOR BOY SCOUT FUNDS IN DARE There are 180 Boy Scouts in Dare County, and this week the annual drive for funds to support their work began. A group of leaders met Tuesday at the Caro linian Hotel to start the drive. Julian Oneto, leadership gifts division chairman, said he had seen the scout program grow from two troops in 1956 to nine units which serve 180 boys of Dare County. Gene Trautwein, district scout executive, presented the program for 1958, indicating that interest is being shown in prospective cub scouting on Hatteras Island, Wan chese, Stumpy Point and East Lake. He pointed out that the Tide water Council uses funds to serve the individual community, supply ing training, administrative know how and program aids. The coun cil also helps with a full-time, year round camp program, maintenance and upkeep of camp sites and area wide activities, he said. The Rev. Louis Aitkens of Mt Olivet Methodist Church and Da vid Stick praised scout work ac complishments in the area. “The influence along the ave nues of being physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight, coupled with continual spirited growth, has the qualities that are necessary to develop the future leaders of Dare County," the Rev. Mr. Aitkens said. MANTEO, N. C. ( FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12. 1958 YOUNG FISHERMAN * I L , | For 7-year old Billy Carl Til lett, son of Capt. and Mrs. Gilbert Tillett, Wanchese, this eight pound dolphin was his first Gulf Stream fish caught on his first offshore trip. His father Capt. Tillett is owner-skipper of the cruiser Bum baloy which operates from Oregon Inlet Fishing Center during the summer months. Billy Carl is a 2nd grader at Wanchese school. (Aycock Brown Photo) STATE TO PAVE DRIVE TO MANTEO SCHOOL Raleigh.—Plans for the paving of an access drive to the newly completed Manteo high school were approveji last week by the State Highway Commission. The Dare County project was among more than 100 given official ap proval by the Commission at its August 30 meeting in Raleigh. It August 30 meeting in Raleigh. The estimated cost for the Statewide projects is $169,463.58. Estimated cost of the Dare County project is $2,500. The Dare County project includes a 20-foot bituminous sur face treatment. AUGUST TRAVEL FIGURES . GIVEN BY NPS OFFICIALS There was an. 18.8 percent in crease in number of visitors en tering Cape Hatteras National Seashore during the past month as compared to August 1957 and the calendar year count to date has in creased to 240,598 persons. This, according to the official report is still 3.4 percent lower than the same eight months last year, and a 81.5 percent decrease over July 1958 when travel to the National Seashore reached an all time peak. Fort Raleigh and Wright Me morial visitation or the calendar year to date is still trailing the same period last year. For Fort Raleigh the decrease is 12.2 per cent and for the Wright Memoria} a 20.3 percent decrease. January through August visitation last year was 263,240 persons as compared to 208,859 for the same period this year, according to Superinten dent Horace Dough’s report. MARLIN CAUGHT OFF DARE COAST BY YOUNG ANGLERS During the week ending Septem ber 5, a total of 37 white marlin were boated by anglers fishing out of Oregon Inlet, six by boys rang ing from 11 to 15 years of age. Four blue marlin were also landed off the Dare coast, three by ang lers fishing out of Oregon Inlet and one from Hatteras. Dolphin catches ran into the hundreds, and several large wahoo were taken. Capt. Ernal B'oster reported that one blue marlin, a 227-pound er had been landed by a Bayside, Va., angler off Hatteras last Sun day, and said blue marlin were taken until November 15 last year. Two blue marlin have been landed by boys this summer off Dare, the first a 293-pounder by Bill Reid of Bayside, Va., on Au gust 3 and the second by 15-year old Phil Burnham of Villanova, Pa., on August 31. White marlin catches by boys have included during the past week the following: Tommy Thom as, Springfield, Va.; Hatcher Cale, Skip and Den Bloxom, of Newport News and Jimmy Culpepper of Nags Head. Den Bloxom, age 11, was the youngest angler to make a catch. Best catches of the week were made by Dr. E. Vernon Davis, 306 Moorestcwn, N. J., who boated three while fishing with Capt. Omie Tillett aboard the Jerry Jr. Two other whites taken from the same boat on the same day were landed by G. C. Culpepper of Nags Head and his 14-year old son, Jimmy; and, Mr. and Mrs. Kermit George of Perkasie, N. J., who boated three and released a fifth white marlin on Sept. 3 from cruiser Bumbaloo. MRS. ANNIE K. GRAY Funeral services were conducted near Norfolk Thursday of last week for Mrs. Annie Kelly Gray, the wife of Wm. R. Gray, former Dare Co. clerk of the court, who died Tuesday at her summer home after a short illness. She was a na tive of Currituck County and a res ident of Norfolk 45 years. Beside Mr. Gray, who was her second hus band, she is survived by one son, Maurice M. Bishop of Boston, Mass.; one stepson, Stephen C. Gray 6f Norfolk County; one step daughter, Mrs. Nancy Gray White head of Franklin; two sisters, Mrs. O. H. Walker and Mrs. Bessie El liott, both of Norfolk, and six grandchildren. Burial was in Riverside Memori al Park. Norfolk. MRS. AUSTIN HONORED A bridal shower was given Mrs. Hubert Austin Friday, September 6 at the Hatteras Community Building. 33 guests attended. Games were enjoyed by all. The hostesses, Mrs. Myrtle Ballanee, Mrs. Senora Merrill and Mrs. Em aline Austin, served delicious re freshments. The bride received many beautiful gifts. COMMISSIONED LIEUTENANT Robert O. Ballance Jr., of Man teo, was commissioned a Second Lieutenant U. S. Air Force at Greenville, August 16 and is await ing orders for flight training. He heljl the position of Cadet Com mander during the fall quarter of his senior year and was active in cadet activities. BEACH VOTERS REACH OUT TURN OFF ALARM, PUT OFF WATER JOB ’TIL LATER DAY About Two Thirds of Voters in Sanitary District Conclude This Is a Bad Time To Consider Big Projects and More Taxes; Won't Be Any Mil lion Dollar Water and Fire Protection System Soon. Despite all the advice of engi neers, and fears of the people for the safety of their water supply and the security of their health, the alarm wasn’t set for the right time, and some two-thirds of the voters of the Dare Beaches Sani tary District on Saturday abruptly reached up and turned off the • alarm, and said “no, not this time, the job of building a waterworks and a fire fighting unit will have to wait until another day. The issue for a $1,140,000 water bond issue lost by a vote of 186 to 105. The issue for a fire protec tion system lost by a vote of 177 to 108. A number of ballots being defaced had to be voided. Os the 312 voters registered, 294 cast bal lots. It was really about the heav iest voting ever done by the same group of citizens. The proposed bond issue for fire fighting was for $40,000. When the Dare County Commis sioners a year ago, without close investigation or scrutiny of what they were doing, bargained to give some New Jersey newcomers $22,- 000 to value the property of Dare County taxpayers, they didn’t know it of course, but they sealed the fate of Saturday’s election on the waterworks. The uproar that followed the bungling, discrepancy and stupid ity of the tax appraisal job re sulted in great distrust and lack of faith in the stability of the county government. The people in the beach areas had just voted favorably for a half million dol lars in school bonds. They found themselves unfairly valued, assessed without any sense or system, and facing the prospect of paying two or three times the taxes of neighbors in other localities or which had the favor of the County Commission ers. They were sore and perplexed ’ and disgusted, and they were afiaid of sanctioning further tax-1 es, in view of the raid they had! just suffered. They didn’t take seriously the | warnings of health officials, of engineers and their neighbors who are really afraid about the water situation. The Commissioners of the Sani tary District put a lot of time and sincere effort into working up the program to submit to the voters. They got all the advice and infor mation they could, but they didn’t get quite enough. They tried to get information to the people but they didn’t get this out soon enough. No doubt they figured the public in general would see the situation as they saw it. Under normal conditions perhaps they might have done so. But these are not normal times. The public was in a bad mood; it was still plenty sore about the ridiculous New Jer sey job, and the raw deal it at tempted to give the people of the beaches. The people were ready to slash at anything. Clearly it was a most unfavorable climate in which to launch any. new venture; too arid and hot indeed to attempt to grow even a water plant. Many seasoned observers predicted the failure of the issue in a big way Saturday. There just wasn’t enough of any thing that could be done to allay the suspicions, fears and preju dices that had gotten too much headway before an effort was made toward a public relations program for this project. All the good work of the Dis trict Commissioners was burned up in the determined mood of the people to take an interest in their public affairs. Just as the people became so incensed over the waste ful Jersey tax farce that they threw out in the primary, the en tire Board who put it over on them, they decided to continue their in terest in public affairs, and re fused to permit themselves to go further in debt. If the waterworks project is to succeed on the Dare Beaches, it must wait until the public has re gained some confidence in the safety and stability of the county Government. There must be re stored the belief that a long con tinued effort* has been made to operate public affairs, and to spend money sensibly and econo mically. The Dare County Commissioners last year, although they didn’t know it, signed the death warrant for this year’s waterworks project, when they attempted to shift al- See WATER, Page Eight Single Copy 7< DOUBLE BARRELLED TOURNAMENTS TO BE HELD IN OCT. Cape Hatteras to Follow Upper Coast With Biggest Fishing Event Yet With channel bass a prime ob jective, but with a variety of other fish eligible for prizes, two surf fishinig tournaments will be held on the Dare Coast during late October. The first will be the Inter-Club and Open Individual surf tourney of the Nags Head Surf Fishing Club on October 17-19. It will be the seventh annual surf fishing classic here, an event that has at tracted national attention with up to 35 clubs from all sections of the East Coast sending teams to com pete. During the week end of October 23-25, Cape Hatteras Anglers Club of which Edgar Hooper, Bux ton, N. C., is president will present its first inter-club and open indi-' vidual tournament here on the Dare coast. Teams planning to enter the Cape Hatteras Anglers Club tourney may obtain complete information from its president Edgar Hooper, or from the Club secretary, Mrs. Ormond Fuller, or Mrs. Kitty Lourie, assistant, Bux ton, N. C. Approximately SI,OOO in prizes will be offered, at the Nags Head event, according to the sponsoring club’s president James Scarbor ough of Nags Head. Fishing clubs planning to send teams for the Nags Head tourney should advise with the Fishing Club’s secretary, George Sides of Nags Head. Indi vidual competion wiH be featured on the third and final day of the event. Each of the tournaments plan ned for the Dare Coast are sanc tioned by the International Asso ciation of Surf Angling Clubs. BOUND OVER FOR ROBBERY OF WISE MANTEO MARKET Just Released from Prison; Othfer'’ Cases Tried in Recorder's Court This Week Just out of prison for doing time for robbery, Paul Lawrence Davenport 20, of Manteo was heard by Judge Baum in Dare Re corders Court Tuesday on a charge of taking part in the robbery of the Wise Market in Manteo last November of goods valued at $125. Involved in this robbery of the much robbed store, is another de fendant named Leon Morgan, who is off doing time for the theft of turkeys from the Manteo school lunch room. Davenport was bound over toy Superior Court, and is now in jail in default of SSOO bond. Other cases heard were as fol lows: For beating his wife, Betty K., Lester L. Ritch of Stumpy Point paid a fine of $lO and the court costs. For engaging in an affray, fines of $5 each were levied on Bert Dunlo of South Norfolk, Ji E. Byrd of Manteo and Herbert P. Mitchell of Portsmouth. Randie M. Houston of Nags Head paid $5 because of a defective muffler. George T. McKinney of Manteo paid $5 for following too close on See COURT, Page Four ROTARIANS VISIT SCHOOL Members of the Manteo Rotary Club made a guided tour of the new high schol at Manteo Monday night. Several members of the faculty were entertained at the club dinner. These included the principal W. H. Bunch, Wayland Fry, A. O. Ayers, W. W. Tarking ton, J. B. Hendrick and Clarence Butler. The Manteo Lions Club has also made a guided tour through the school. Any other organization wishing to do the same can make arrangements by contacting Prin cipal W. H. Bunch. CHAMBER RESUMES WORK The Nags Head Chamber of Commerce resumed its regular meetings Thursday night of this week, meeting at the Carolinian Hotel. At the annual meeting in October, officers will be elected.
The Coastland Times (Manteo, N.C.)
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Sept. 12, 1958, edition 1
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