VOLUME XXIV NO. 11
TO LET CONTRACT
FOR VISITOR CENTER
KILL DEVIL HILLS
Quarter Million Dollar Project to
Give Coastland Another
Tourist Attraction
Scaled bids will be opened on
> January 28th for construction of
the Visitor Center at Kill Devil
Hills, which will contain office,
.museum, assembly room with con
crete shell roof, lobby, toilets and
mechanical room, The project is re
ported to entail a cost of a quar
ter million dollars, and will give
the Dare Coast another great tour
’ ist attraction.
The contract will include general
construction, plumbing, drainage
and electrical work, heating, venti
lating and cooling. Framing of re
inforced concrete. Roof decks of
poured concrete with asphalt built
i'P cover. Exterior walls are of
wood panel and poured concrete.
, Partitions of either wood, glass or
masonry. Windows are steel pro
jected and fixed sash.
Specifications may be obtained
from the office of Horace A.
Dough, Supt., Kill Devil Hills, N. C.
LEE O'NEAL HOME
BURNS AT WAVES
SATURDAY MORN.
Sometime about five o’clock
Saturday morning, Dec. 27, while
the family was asleep the Lee
O’Neal home at Waves on Hatter
as Island caught fire. It burned to
the ground, an almost complete
loss save for a small sum of insur
ance, and with the house went all
the furniture of Mrs. Rowena
> O’Neal, her clothing and personal
.souvenirs which included the med
als that had been given the late
Mr. O’Neal for his participation in
the widely publicised Mirlo rescue
in 1918.
At the time of the fire, Mrs.
O'Neal, a son-in-law and a daugh
.. ter were asleep in the house. The
origin of the fire is undetermined,
possible causes are a breken chim
ney or shorting of metallic
sheathed electric cable.
KITTY HAWK PREPARES
FOR OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY
FOR ITS NEW SCHOOL
Mrs. Tom Briggs, member of the
Dare County Board of Education
and Mrs. Robert Young of Kitty
Hawk are busy decorating the new
elementary school for the district
which is to be the scene of an
“open house” on Sunday, January
4, from 2 to 4 p.m., preparatory to
going into service on Monday, the
sth. Music will be rendered by
'* tape recorder handled by W. D.
Washburn of Hopewell, Va. Re
freshments will be served: the
chairwomen of this committee be
ing Mrs. John Forbes, Jr., and Mrs.
Charles Shackleford.
Mrs. Young and Mrs. Jackson
Twiford are Chairwomen for the
open house party. The community
is taking much pride in the new
structure which is costing well
1 over $200,000, and is financed by
a bond issue on the property in the
district, which includes Kill Devil i
Hills. Colington, Kitty Hawk,‘Duck.
Southern Shores, and other beach
in the area.
HARRIS FAMILY REUNION
AT NAGS HEAD SUNDAY
The family of Mrs. Ora Harris of
Manteo, formerly of Elizabeth
City, held a family reunion Sunday
at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. E.
Harris at Nags Head. Tho~e pres
ent were Mrs. Ora Harris. Mr. and
Mrs. J. E. Harris and family of
Nags Head; Mr. and Mrs. Walter
Harris of Manteo; Charles Hams
and Alton Dunbar of Elizabeth
City. Mr. and Mrs. Archie Harris
and family and Mr. and Mrs. Mari
on Harris and family, all of Eliza
beth City.
TWO YOUNG HUNTERS WHO
GOT A GOOSE APIECE
Two young hunters during the
school holidays got a goose apiece
while hunting on a Saturday at
Mirlo Beach, Rodanthe. Gary Lew
ark age 14, and Vernon Lewark
age 12, both of Manteo, were
t. hunting with their father Dan Lew
ark who operates Mirlo Bench
Lodge during the •booting season.
Incidentally these two boys are
keeping up the name of the Lew
arks as good shots, for during
Thanksgiving each won a turkey
during a match at Manteo. Luck
attends them in other things. for
the Christmas week an electric
train was won by Vernon in a raf
fle at Manteo.
Gerald Lavenstien, a Petersburg,
Va. sportsman and real estate man
has twice brought his young sons
to Mirlo Lodge with him this sea
son on hunting trips. They were
them the first two days of this
week, and the whole party had
, good shooting.
THE COASTLAND TIMES
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE INTEREST OF THE WALTER RALEIGH COASTLAND OF NORTH CAROLINA
ANOTHER SURVEY ON
ALLIGATOR BRIDGE
IS NOW DEFERRED
The State Highway Commission
has deferred consideration until its
January meeting on the recently
completed survey of a New York
engineering firm on the bridging
of Alligator and Cape Fear rivers.
The state had previously appro
priated $20,000 for survey to de
termine the cost of the Alligator
River bridge. It has now spent
$50,000 to determine the feasibility
of financing the two bridges by
toll charges.
It is amazing that in a supposed
ly civilized state that we would
have public officials who are not
only willing, but anxious, to dis
criminate against some sections of
the state, and in this instance the
poorer sections, and make them
pay tolls in order to have the high
way benefits other sections enjoy.
■fyction was deferred at the meet
, ing this week because highway
officials had not had sufficient
time to study the engineering re
port. It is somewhat obscure as to
what aotion might have been taken,
since toll-bridges could not be built
without legislative authority. Such
a proposal at this time will per
haps bring up considerable opposi
tion to so rank discrimination
against the people of this area.
The Highway Commission meets
next on January 22nd.
- ~ 1
UNCLE DOCK FROM DUCK WRITES:
We re Going To Be Swamped by the Soaring
Sixties If We Don't Get A Hump On Soon
' *• J
Dear Mr. Editor:
I have been so well fed these
holidays that I have done little
else but sit around and meditate,
and by golly it looks to me like
our long loafing period is about
over in this country. I just believe
by the time 1960 rolls in we are
going to be right slam bang in
the hardest-driving times the
world has ever known, and it will
be impossible for any fellow to
get out of doing a little work, no
matter how hard he tries.
The tough guys has got control
of the labor unions, and they are
greedy for money, and they’ll con
tinue to put on the big squeeze
until they drive the country com
pletely nuts. That means they’re
driving the whole world hell-bent
, into automation as they say,
meaning also that mankind, in
stead of getting his freedom from
labor, will become still further
slaves of machines. It’s going to
take so darn much education to be
able to handle all this machinery
and scientic equipment that the
fellow who doesn’t have education
will be out of luck.
That is why, Mr. Editor, that,
we have got to improve our j
schools, and give our children a!
better chance here home. About j
all the education 90 per cent of I
our children get is what they get
here, and we got to do better by
I ’em. The fellow that doesn’t get
education in the next few years
is going to be awfully out of luck. 1
W e’ve heard the old phrases, like
the “gay nineties,” the “tittering
twenties,” the “tottering thirties,”
the “fabulous forties,” and the
“foolish fifties.” Well, I think we
might as well get ready for the
“soaring sixties,” for everything is
headed straight up. Big business
is getting bigger; we’ll soon have
no small business, and the bigger
business gets, the fewer people
without good education will be
used. We’re not going To use
muscles much longer; we’ll make
machines out of men’s minds.
Working machinery may stimu
late brainpower, but we
got to feed it first with ed
ucation. In North Carolina
a dozen years ago we spent 50
millions dollars a year for educa
tion. This year we are spending
more than 170 millions, and the
end is not in sight. What we have
got to do here at home is fix
things better for our own kids.
We got to give em mo.e in science
and more in manual arts. It don’t
look like taxes can be cut, but we
ought to be sure we get some
thing for the money; that will be
a big help.
Now Mr. Editor, you know there
ain't going to be no end to this
thing. Our young folks have really
been going to town since the war,
increasing the population, and ten
years from now we’re going to 1
have another 30 or 40 million j
more people in this country than
we got now. They all got to have
houses, food, clothes, etc. There’s j
going to have to be a lot of work
done. And by golly let’s see that
everybody does his part of it
Friends, we have got to think
big and work hard to keep up
with the times, or we are going
to be run over and swamped by
the soaring economy that is bound
to keep us humping before 1960
comes in. Cap’p, it just ain't going
to be any fun for anybody who
don’t keep up with the times.
Sometimes I think how foolish
we’ve been to wait so long to do
> , . '• 1
QUIET CHRISTMAS
THROUGHOUT THE
COASTLAND NOTED
Considerable Gain Noted in Sale
of Alcoholic Beverages, But
Less Disorder
Much comment has been noted
upon the “quiet Christmas” which
prevailed this season. There were
no fatalities in the coastland, no
automobile mishaps reported, and
no drinking or disorder reported.
People are said to be behaving
better than 25 years ago in the
bootleg days, when so many
seemed to consider it spicy adven
ture to tank up on fighting liquor
and see how disagreeable they
could make things for other peo
ple.
It has been somewhat surprising;
that despite the good behavior ofj
the people of the coastland at j
Christmas time, there was a con-,
siderable gain in the sale of alco-j
holic beverages.
While reports from some other i
counties indicate a drop off or stat-!
ie situation in liquor sales on the!
Christmas week-end, the figures in!
Dare County show a gain ofj
$460.20 over the same period in
1957.
In 1957 on the day before Cliirst
mas, and Saturday, the next day
the store opened after Christmas
See CHRISTMAS, Page Two
things, that it’s almost too late
to start. But on the other hand,
if we’d done too much of it earlier,
part of it might of had to be un
done. Maybe what we do now wjjl
be worth more, in the light of
our mistakes, neglect and failures
of the past.
Yoprs for the big payoff,
UNCLE DOCK FROM DUCK
DISTINGUISHED COASTLAND COUPLE TO BE HONORED IN WASHINGTON JAN. I 0
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ANUY GRIFFITH, screen star, and his wife Barbara Edwards Griffith are to be the guests of honor at
a dinner and dance at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D. C. on the evening of Saturday, January
10th. This event is under the auspices of the North C arolina Society of Washington, D. C. This year’3
president of the society of Mrs. Fred W. (Emma Neal) Morrison, who spends her summers at Kill Devil
Hills, the Morrison family being among the top friends of the Coastland. The event has been arranged
as the result of considerable work on the part of Mrs. Morrison, and it is in keeping with the Society’s
policy of doing honor to North Carolinians who h ave won reknown and rendered service to the publiic.
The dinner will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will be followed by a dance lasting until 12 midnight. The picture
shows the couple relaxing this summer at their Roanoke Island home where they spend a large part
of the year.
MANTEO, N. C., FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 1959
OLD CHRISTMAS TO BE CELEBRATED SATURDAY
YrV
H IN I
w \ ;7
Shown here are two principals [celebration is being held early and
of Rodanthe’s Old Christmas cele- jon the week end because it will give
bration which will be celebrated on more former residents of the com-
Saturday January 3 in the Chica-lmunities on Hatteras an opportu
macomico section of Hatteras Is- nity to return home and take part
land this year instead of on the jin the festivities. The tradition
traditional date of January 5. The 1 See FESTIVAL, Page Four
BEARDS TO SPROUT
[THIS MONTH FOR
PIRATE FESTIVAL
KITTY HAWK. Pirate King
Linwood Tillett has issued a
decree that all males of Dare
| should begin sprouting beards for
I the fifth annual Dare Coast Pirates
Jamboree, the all-county vacation
season springboard scheduled to be
! held on the Dare Beaches, April
j 24, 25, and 26.
It has been an annual custom
I for hardy males of the Outer
Banks to begin beard growing on
j New Years. The champion beard
grower of the events each year if
their costumes were authentic
have been selected as “Pirate'
Kings” for a year and by virtue of
reign they become the following
year the chairman of the beard
growing committee.
Pirate Queen Mary Burras of
Hatteras will encourage women of
the Dare Coast to begin working
I on costumes for the annual Jam
boree.
I Lawrence Swain of Manteo heads
; up the Pirate Jamboree steering
[ committee, and has called a meet
ling for January 11th, time and
[ [ place to be announced during the
I coming week as all persons of Dare
j are urged to attend and help do the
I planning.
Absent from the meeting on
January 11 will be Julian and Li
ma Oneto, working committee
members of previous jamborees.
They will be attired in their pirate
costumes attending a booth at a
travel show in Hartford, Conn., at
the time, telling visitors there of
Dare and its attractions including
the sth annual Pirates Jamboree
April 24-26.
SPRUILL REPORTS
ROADS IMPROVED
IN HIS DIVISION
Tyrrell Gets Improvement on 54
Miles; Nine Miles in Hyde;
Dare 26 Miles
RALEIGH. Division Engineer
W. N. Spruill of the First
Highway Division, reported today
that during this construction sea
son •> total of 326.847 miles of road
work has been completed.
With headquarters located in
Ahoskie, the First Highway Divi
sion is composed of Camden, Cur
rituck, Dare, Gates, Pasquotank,
Perquimans, Bertie, Hertford,
Northampton, Chowan, Hyde, Mar
tin, Tyrrell and Washington Coun
ties. In addition to Spruill, the en
gineering staff includes J. J. Gil
bert the Assistant Division Engi
neer and three District Engineers.
George K. Mack is District Engi
neer at Elizabeth City for Camden,
Currituck, Dare, Gates, Pasquo
itank and Perquimans Counties; T. j
IC. Liverman is District Engineer
lat Ahoskie for Bertie, Hertford
and Northampton Counties; and
W. F. Sessoms is District Engineer
at Plymouth for Chowan, Hyde,
I Martin, Tyrrell and Washington
[Counties. R. C. Speight is Division
! Road Oil Supervisor.
In Bertie County, a total of
45.923 miles has been completed by
j both State and contract forces
j during the period from December
! 1956 to October 1958.
State forces applied drag seal to
two secondary roads in Camden!
County, for widths of 18 feet.
Drag seal was applied to two
primary reads in Dare County by
State forces for widths of 18 feet.
These roads were: 14.4 miles of
US 264, from Manns Harbor to
Stumpy Point; and twelve miles of
US 64, from junction of US 264 to
East Lake. Sand Asphalt mix-in-j
place was applied to 0.2 mile of;
a county road in Avon by State
forces, for a width of 18 feet.
I A total of 13 9 miles was com
pleted in Gates County.
Two projects were completed in
Hertford-Northampton Counties by
contract forces.
State Maintenance forces com
pleted a total of 52.341 miles of
road work in Hertford County.
State forces have applied drag
seal to nine miles of secondary
roads in Hyde County. The roads
included: 7.5 miles of county road,
from 1.7 nilies west of Fairfield,
to Hodges Fork for a width of 18
feet; and 1.5 miles of county road,
from Lake Landing, south for a
width of 16 feet.
A total of 36.404 miles of road
work has been completed by both
State and contract forces in Martin
i County during this construction
season.
In Tyrrell County, a total of
54.056 miles of road work has been
completed. Contract forces graded
and paved 0926 mile of US 64
(Columbia Bypass). Contract
forces also constructed a bridge
over the Scuppernong River, in
cluding the river spans and the ap
proach spans. Two-inch sand as
phalt base and leveling was ap
plied by State forces to 14.7 miles
of US 64. from Columbia to San-
See SPRUILL, Page Fear
Single Copy /#
OLD CHRISTMAS HAS
BEEN OBSERVED FOR
. A THOUSAND YEARS
r Nothing Unique About Events at
i Rodanthe Which Will Take
Place Saturday Night
’ Contrary to what some folks
1 think, Old Christmas and its ob
! servanee is nothing new or unique.
I It has been observed one thousand
years in various lands, and is still
1 an important event in many coun
tries. The sixth of January is still,
i among numerous people, the “true
i Christmas.”
The annual festival which uc
[ companies this event is to be held
. on Saturday night, January 3 at
Rodanthe this year, as a matter
[ of convenience. A committee,
' headed by Mrs. Nora Herbert, is
now at work rehearsing the pro
[ gram which will be held at .the
community building. Some out of
town performers will take pai-t in
the affair, but nearly all of the
cast is local people.
Persons from off Hatteras Is
land who are planning to attend
the Old Christmas festival cannot
get there' later than 4:30 p.m.
when the last ferry trip of the day
leaves the north side of Oregon
Inlet.
* In connection with Old Christ
mas, the following news release
is of much interest:
The Twelve Days of Christmas
come to an end on January 6, the
traditional time for burning
Christmas greens.
Twelfth Night, or Epiphany, is
marked with many customs, cere
monies, and legends in various
parts of the world, the National
Geographic Society says. French
and Swiss children, for example,
look forward to the Twelfth Night
pastry—a rich “cake of kings” in
which a black bean, a coin, or a
china figure is hidden. Whoever
gets the prize is crowned king by
the family.
The Three Wise Meat
The Twelfth Night tradition is
a reminder of the day’s signifi
cance in Christian tradition .Epi
phany, meaning “appearance,”
commemorates the visit of the
Three Wise Men—also known as
the Three Kings—to the infant
Jesus. Their arrival was proof to
believers that Christ the Savior
had been born.
“Now when Jesus was bom in
Bethlehem of Judea in the days
of Herod the king,” says Mat
thew (2:1-2), “behold, there came
wise men from the east to Jeru
salem,
“Saying, Where is he that is
bom King of the Jews? for we
have seen his star in the east,
and are come to worship him.”
During the Middle Ages Twelfth
Night was commemorated with
plays presented in churches. But
solemn observances largely disap
peared in Elizabethan England,
and they became a time for joy
ous revelry and wassail.
Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”
reflects the merry mood. The play
was probably first presented in a
command performance at White
hall Palace on January 6, 1601,
during the height of Britain’s era
of boisterous celebration of the
occasion. Queen Elizabeth enter
tained the Duke of Bracciano, Don
Virginio Orsino. The Italian’s
name reappears for the Duke of
i Illyria in the play.
Twelfth Night "later declined in
popularity, but such customs as
feasting and presenting a masque
still survive in parts of Britain.
Witch Plays Santa Claus
Today child “kings” crowned
with golden paper coronets roam
! the streets of Europe on Epiphany,
, singing hymns and carols. In Italy,
millions of children awake on Epi
' phany to find their stockings filled
j with presents from La Befana, the
i good-hearted witch who takes the
| place of Santa Claus. La Befana,
I whose name is a corruption of
j “Epiphany,” is supposed to leave
a lump of coal for bad children,
but she almost never does.
In France, a portion of the 'Epi
phany cake is often set aside as
| “la part de Dieu”—God’s share.
It is given to the first poor person
who comes to the door. In Greece,
three pieces of cake are cut: one
for Christ, one for Mary, and one
for St. Basil. In Britain, Twelfth
Night cake is washed down with
Lambs’ Wool, a drink made with
hot, strong ale spiced with nut
meg and sugar.
MANTEO GAINS; ENGELHARD
LOSES DRIVERS EXAMINER
Mrs. Sybil D. Etheridge, drivers
license examiner for Dare, Tyrrell
and part of Hyde county, an
-1 nounces the following schedule now
■ in effect: Avon: Monday; Colum
; bia, Wednesday and Manteo on
! Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
■ Under this schedule, Engelhard
• loses its office which has been open
Tuesdays. Engelhard area people