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VOLUME XXVI NO. 23
HURRICANE LEFT
TERRIFIC TASK
FOR LOST COLONY
Directors at Annual Meeting in
Raleigh Faced With Raising
$40,000; Show Must Go On
The Roanoke Island Historical
Association in Raleigh Tuesday set
July 1 for the next season’s open
ing of “The Lost Colony” and
started picking up the pieces left
by Hurricane Donna.'
Mrs. O. Max Gardner, president
of the association, appointed Wil
liam D. Carmichael, controller of
the University of North Carolina
and Mrs. Fred Morrison of Wash
ington as co-chairmen of a com
mittee to raise funds to repair the
storm damage.
"We must have the courage and
faith to restore what is lost,” Mrs.
Gardner said. “We will open July
1.”
J. Sib Dorton, who has just
completed his first season as man
ager of the historical drama at
Manteo, estimated it would take
$40,000 “to get the show on the
road again.”
The Council of State will be
asked to contribute SIO,OOO as
authorized by law when a deficit
occurs in the show’s operating ex
penses.
Part of the loss was covered by
insurance but underwriters have
not completed their estimates of
how much they will pay.
Dorton estimated the hurricane
damage covered bp insurance to
taled $21,000 but “The Lost Col
only” carried protection only
wind damage and some of
the loss was caused by high wa
ter.
In other business, the associa
tion elected Dr. Frank Graham,
United Nations official and form
er UNC president, as historian.
Mrs. Ruth C. Cannon of Con
cord, who was president of the
Association ten years ago was
named an honorary vice-chairman
of the Association.
Members also voted to buy
comprehensive insurance for The
Lost Colony” Theater. Dorton re
ported that the 1960 season was
one of the most successful in his
tory with the drama ending the
year in the black for the first
time since 1946.
See LOST COLONY, Page Six
STATE CONSIDERS TAKING
BOAT OFF TAYLORS' HANDS
Ocracoke Ferry Has Been Abandoned
Because of Shoal Water; Cedar Is
land Landing Contemplated
Indications are that the State
Highway Commission will be asked
at its meeting in Fayetteville next
week, Dec. 7 and Bth to take over
the operation of the ferry between
Ocracoke and Carteret County. In
March of this year, the Taylor
Brothers, wealthy Sea Level na
tives put a boat on the route which
they had built at a cost of several
hundred thousand dollars. The boat
was improperly designed for the
waters it had to travel, and there
were many delays from its going
ashore in shallow waters and fin
ally they gave up trying to operate
it
There was much public clamor
for this service, and during the
heavy tourist season its one trip
a day did not begin to accommo
date all the cars that sought to
travel. The boat could take only
20 cars, but it had room for many
foot passengers. It had a long run
of some four and a half hours, and
most people believed that the
Taylors were motivated in estab
lishing this ferry, partly out of
their desire to bring further traf
fic into their old home community,
Sea Level, and the motel they own
there, and partly because they be
lieved pressure could be brought
to get the state to take over the
route at some early date.
When such ferry was originally
proposed some years ago. Cedar
Island was to be the southern
terminal of this route, and this
would have made the run an hour
shorter, but there would have been
some more road mileage at this
end of the route. A three and a half
hour trip to Cedar Island would
be plenty long. New docks and a
great deal of dredging would be
required at heavy cost to accom
modate the boat at Cedar Island.
Highway officials are consider
ing the adaptability of the present
ferry boat. The Taylor Brothers
have indicated they are going to
sell the boat to somebody, which
means they do not intend to at
tempt its continued operation. It
had been operated on a toll basis.
Highway officials who contemplate
operating the boat as a toll ferry
may expect opposition on this score
since many fear it may open the
way for tolls on other highway fa
cilities in the east, thereby dis
criminating against a. part of the
state which has greater need of
road extensions than other areas.
THE COASTLAND TIMES
WITH WHICH IS COMBINED THE PILOT AND HERALD OF BELHAVEN AND SWAN QUARTER
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE INTEREST OF THE WALTER RALEIGH COASTLAND OF NORTH CAROLINA
NEW WRIGHT MEMORIAL VISITORS CENTER AT KILL DEVIL HILLS
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Highspot of the 57th anniversary celebration of the Wright Brothers First flight at Kill Devil
Hills near Kitty Hawk on December 17 will be the official dedication of the new Visitors Center and Ad
ministration building which is shown here as a backdrop to the granite marker which designates the
exact take-off location of the famous first powered flight on December 17, 1903. Kill Devil Hills Me
morial Society, National Park Service and the Air Force Association will co-sponsor the dedication cer
emonies which will feature Maj. Gen. Benjamin D. Foulois, U. S. Army Air Corps Retired, as speak
er along with Governor elect Terry Sanford who will make the address at the Memorial Luncheon fol
lowing dedication. The Visitors Center already visited by more than 100,000 persons since it was open
ed in late summer, houses a museum of the Wright brothers’ early aviation experiments.
(Photo by Aycock Brown)
KITTY HAWK CREW
MEMBERS COMING
TO DARE DEC. 17
Naval personnel of the USS
Kitty Hawk, (CVA-63) the world’s
first guided missde aircraft carrier,
will attend the dedication of the
new Visitors Center of Wright
Brothers National Memorial, dur
ing the 57th anniversary celebra
tion of the First Flight at Kill
Devil Hills on December 17.
S. Wade Marr, president of Kill
Devil Hills Memorial Society, ex
tended the invitation by letter
earlier this month followed by a
formal invitation from the Society.
Addressed to the Public Infor
mation Office of the Kitty Hawk,
now undergoing final preparations
for her commissioning in March
1961 at the Fleet Training Center,
Naval Base, Norfolk, Marr’s invi
tation follows:
“An unlimited number of per
sons may attend the dedication of
the new Visitors Center, wh'ch is
actually a museum of Wright
Brothers early aviation experi
ments,” said Marr, pointing out
that the dedication would take
place at the National Memorial
site.
The new (and first) guided mis
sile aircraft carrier was named in
honor of Kitty Hawk, where the
Wrights, Wilbur and Orville began
experiments in 1900 which led to
their conquest of the air in power
ed flights on December 17, 1903
at Kill Devil Hills.
Principal speaker at the dedica
tion will be Major-General Benja
min D. Foulois, U.S.A.C., retired,
See CREW, Page Six
HYDE RESIDENTS WILL
NAME SOIL SUPERVISOR
IN ELECTION DEC. 5-10
Residents of Hyde County will
elect a Soil Conservation District
Supervisor next week, December 5
through December 10.
Thomas V. Jones and J. B. Berry,
both of Fairfield, have been nomi
nated by petition as candidates to
succeed Earl Topping of Scranton
who has served for the past three
years.
The person elected at this time
will serve with Leon G. Ballance
of Engelhard and U. B. Fisher of
Swan Quarter to direct soil con
servation activities in Hyde Coun
ty. The three supervisors in Hyde
County are members of the Pam
lico Soil Conservation District
Board along with the County,
Supervisors from Beaufort, Wash
ington, Tyrrell and Dae counties.
Any qualifed voter in Hyde
County may vote for one super
visor any time from Monday, De
cember 5, through Saturday, De
cember 10, at any of the follow
ing polling places:
P. R. Simmons’ Stores—Ponzer;
W. E. Bishop’s Store—Scranton;
Allen Credle’s Store—Sladesville;
C. M. Swindell's Store—Fairfield;
Hyde Implement Company—Engel
hard; J. S. Jennette’s Store—Lake
Landing; Earl Pugh’s Store—Ne
braska; Agricultural Building-
Swan Quarter.
I
How Joseph Knapp Brought to Currituck
Unprecedented Benefits for Schools
And Lifted Many Other Horizons In N.C.
The Story of an Unusual Man, Unusually Philanthropic Who Set
A County on Its Feet and Left A Foundation to Carry on
Works in North Carolina. Knapp Funds Assured The Recently
Dedicated Government Institute Building at Chapel Hill.
In 1916 Joseph Palmer Knapp
came to Currituck County to hunt
with his friend Thomas Dixon, the
North Carolina novelist, who own
ed a shooting lodge on Mackey Is
land. Mr. Dixon had become involv
ed in real estate developments in
the N. C. Mountain l ’ and Mr. Knapn
becoming attracted to Currituck,
bought Mr. Dixon’s place and made
a magnificent estate of it.
Mr. Knanp was born in Brooklvn,
N. Y., in 1864. went to the public
schools and Columbia University
and after going into bus’ness, made
fortunes. He lived to be 8 7 years
old. When he died in 19!>1. his
ashes, according to his request
were brought to Moyock in Curri
tuck, the county in which he lived
a great part of his time from 1918
until late in the 1940’5. •
During his business career he
worked his way through every
printing process and business op
eration of the American Litho
graphic Co;, and became its direct
ing head. This business, and the
Crowell Publishing Co., which he
headed, published Colliers, The
American Magazine, The Woman’s
Home Companion and Country
Home. It developed the multi-color
printing process and applied it to
"This Week,” the first Sunday
supplement for mass distribution
through daily newspapers from
coast to coast.
“Mr. Knapp was a director of
the Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company and chairman of its fi
nance committee. He was active in
creating loan funds and retirement
systems for employes. He won
many trophies for his excellence in
the world of sports and recreation.
For further information about
Mr. Knapp’s work in Currituck
County, we take up here with an
article written by Albert Coats, Di
rector of the Institute of Govern
ment where the Knapn Building
has been dedicated at Chapel Hill.
It follows:
From Brooklyn to Currituck
The story of his life in North
Carolina begins with his 1916 trip
by rail, ferry and horse and buggy
to Currituck County in quest of
good hunting, and the building of
his hunting lodge on Mackey’s Is
land where he hunted, fished, and
welcomed personal friends and
business associates for thirty years.
For fifty years or more before
him sportsmen had been coming to
Currituck County, catching fish,
shooting ducks, enjoying life, go
ing away, and leaving behind
them little if anything besides the
wadding from empty gun shells,
wages paid to hunting guides, and
money for room and board at hunt
ing lodges. But this man took root
and grew and flourished here as
MANTEO, N. C., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1960
native to the soil and looked on
ducks, fish, sky, land and water
as natural resources belonging to
people living on this soil, and need
ing to be converted into better life
for homefolks as well as into sport
for strangers.
From Hunting and Fishing
to Hunters and Fishermen
When he saw sportsmen gaining
pleasure out of Currituck without
giving a quid pro quo to develop its
resources, he helped Currituck
leaders push through the General
Assembly of North Carolina a law
requiring non-resident sportsmen
to pay license fees for the privi
lege of hunting in their skies and
fishing in their waters and with
these revenues turn a local system
of neighborhood paths into a coun
tywide system of public roads.
When he saw salt water from
the Elizabeth River and sewage
from Norfolk flowing into the
northern end of Currituck Sound
after the locks were removed to
widen the inland waterway in
World War I —polluting the waters,
killing the fish, destroying the
feeding ground of ducks, and cut
ting into the livelihood of people
he had come to love—he helped
them push a bill through Congress
authorizing Army engineers to re
store the locks. And as military
authorities pleaded lack of funds
earmarked for this purpose as an
excuse for indefinite delay, he
See KNAPP, Page Six
NEWS OF RECORDERS
COURT IN DARE CO.
A long time guest of Dare
County is a negro from parts un
known, who is being held in de
fault of $3,000 bond. James David
Arthur Perkins, Jr. is the cogno
men he has chosen, but no one
knows his name. He went up to the
roads from Dare County for of
fenses in 1957. Since getting out,
he has been living hereabouts, and
has been forging the names of num
erous persons to a series of small
checks. He used any name he
could think of, Borne of them be
ing Ephraim Midgett, Thos. B.
Davis, Andrew Jernigam The to
tal runs into many dollars. Judge
Baum found probable cause.
Other cases disposed of this
week are as follows: for driving
while drunk, and for driving on
the left side of the center line,
John Durwood Britt of Manteo
was fined sllO and costs and his
driver’s license revoked. Sandra K.
Sawyer for ignoring a stop sign;
Charles D. Evans of Manteo for
speeding, and Joe McGowan of
Belhaven for selling unculled oys-
I ten were each fined $lO. Jerry M.
Austin of Manteo, for speeding
was fined sls.
SANFORD COMING
TO DARE FOR KDH
ADDRESS DEC. 17
To Participate in Ceremonies with
Governor Hodges, Conrad
Wirth and Gen. Foulois
Hon. Terry Sanford, Governor
elect of North Carolina Thursday
told the committee in charge of
the program that would accept
their invitation to be principal
speaker .at the dinner meeting on
December 17th, an annual event
which this year will be a part of
the dedication ceremonies of the
new $400,000. visitor center at the
Wright Bros. Memorial.
Mr. Sanford expressed regret
that he was prevented from at
tending the Southern Albemarle
meeting in Pantego Wednesday,
and appreciated this opportunity to
come to the area.
Conrad Wirth, Director of the
National Park Service will speak
at the morning session at the vis
itor ' center. Governor Hodges will
appear briefly to welcome Major
General Benjamin D. Foulois, the
venerable retired Major General
who flew the first army airplanes,
and who will deliver the dedication
address.
The Kill Devil Hills Memorial
Association will hold a dinner im
mediately afterward at the Dare
County Shrine Club, where all par
ticipants in the day’s program will
be guests, and Mr. Sanford will
deliver the address. Many distin
guished men have filled this role
through the years. Two years ago,
Senator Mike Monroney of Okla
homa, a great aviation leader in
Congress was the speaker.
Mr. Sanford, who has long de
clared his sincere interest in the
activities and benefits of the Na
tional Park service is expected to
pay tribute to the leaders in the
movement for the Wright Memori
al, and those who have continued
to work for its expansion since
1926.
SALT WATER SPORT
FISHING BANQUET
ON FRIDAY NIGHT
Striped Bass Being Caught in
Surf; Many In Nets; Channel
Bass Still In Hatteras Area
The Salt Water Sport Fishing
Association of North Carolina will
hold its annual awards banquet at
the Washington (N.C.) Yacht and
Country Club Friday night Jim
Mays reports in the Norfolk Vir
ginian Pilot. Winners in the as
sociation’s second annual all-coast
fishing tournament will receive
their awards and plaques at the
banquet. The contest opened April
1 and closed November 1. Virginians
will be prominent among the
awards winners. A 528-pound blue
marlin, boated off the North Caro
lina Outer Banks ,earned a grand
prize for R. L. Ellis, Jr., Yorktown.
John Wood of Princess Anne placed
second in the blue marlin division
with a 523%-pounder. Wood will
also receive the dolphin trophy for
a 48-pound dolphin boated off the
Outer Banks .... Gus Gostel of
Norfolk will receive first prize in
the sailfish division for a sailfish
that measured seven feet and
seven inches D. B. Wheeler of Rich
mond copped the white marlin
award with a seven feet, eight
incher.
Among other things reported by
Mr. Mays are the following:
Striped Bass Moving South?
New Jersey surf anglers are still
murdering striped bass in the surf.
The latest report from New Jer
sey’s Tournament of Fish head
quarters at Seaside Heights, N-J..
lists stripers from nine to 14
pounds taken within the past week
... This should keep Eastern Shore
surf anglers hopes up, because it
is an indication that the fish are
still moving south through the surf,
if the theory is correct that these
fish will ultimately reach Chesa
peake Bay to spend the winter.
Aycock Brown of Manteo, N.C.,
relayed word from Willie Newsome
of Hatteras that Bill Foster’s
commercial fishing crew saw a tre
mendouus school of channel bass
at the mouth of Hatteras Inlet
Monday. Hatteras surfmen are hop
ing that the channel bass will hit
the beach now that cooler weather
has finally arrived.
Comercial netters made a tre
mendous haul of giant striped bass
in the surf near Oregon Inlet Sun
day, according to Dave Weiss of
Portsmouth, who saw the fish pull
ed up on the beach . . . Dave said
the stripers weighed from 40 to 50
pounds each, and he estimated the
catch at 200 fish of this size . . .
The haul-seiners used two amphibi
ous DUKW’s to get their nets out
through the surf and surrounded
the school of giant rockfish.
Wade Morse of Virginia Beach
has found stripers in the surf there.
Surfeasting with an Atom Striper
Bee SPORT, Page Six
SOUTHERN ALBEMARLE ELECTS
ROBERT H. COWEN PRESIDENT
DURING 25TH ANNUAL MEETING
Unanimously Disapproves Suggestions of Any
Highways Tolls in N. C.; Favors Ferry from
Ocracoke Mainland; Roanoke River Bridge
Near Plymouth; Advocates Beach Road to
Virginia Beach, and Gives Support to Lost
Colony Project, Among Other Things.
COLUMBIA WOMAN FIRST
SAA VICE-PRESIDENT
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MRS. EFFIE A. BRICKHOUSE is
the first woman Vice-president of
the Southern Albemarle Associa
tion. The Columbia woman was
elected Tuesday at the 25th annu
al meeting in Pantego. The asso
ciation broke precedent last year
in naming Mrs. Scott Topping,
first woman president, and she
has done a good job. Mrs. Brick
house, former teacher, and now
postmaster is one of the area’s
most active civic workers.
BIG TRAWLER FLEET
ALREADY CROWDING
WANCHESE HARBOR
Deeper Oregon Inlet Provides Ac
cess to Place of Refuge
in Stormy Weather
The vision of those men who
worked for many years for the Ore
gon Inlet project is bearing fruit,
and the deepening of Wanchese
Harbor to 12-feet has already
brought a fleet of ocean going ves
sels larger than the small area can
accommodate. The county is pledg
ed to build a public dock on an area
that was provided last years by
funds donated by friends of the
community, but it cannot be built
before the situation grows more
critical.
On Wednesday of this week, a
reported 40 vessels sought shelter
in the Mill Landing harbor, and
boats had to tie abreast three or
four across, and all the dock space
was blocked off. The public land
ing is not usable because no dock
has been built
Several of the boats remained
in port Thursday because of high
winds making the sea unfavorable
for fishing.
The Oregon Inlet project has
made it possible for the first time
in history for the. larger type of
trawlers to come into a safe harbor
between Norfolk and Beaufort
Greatly enlarged commercial ac
tivity and business opportunities
are predicted for Wanchese when
ever facilities are provided to ac
commodate the traffic now wait
ing.
HATTERAS MAINTENANCE
AUTHORIZED BY ENGINEERS
The Chief of Engineers of the
Army Engineer Corps has author
ized the removal of shoals in the
channel between Hatteras and
Hatteras Inlet, according to advice
from Congressman Herbert Bon
ner, who has been notified to this
effect by Col. R. P. Davidson,
District Engineer at Wilmington.
Bids will be opened on Dec. 20th.
The work will consist of removal
of all lying above the plane of
six feet below mean low water in
the channel from Hatteras to Hat
teras Inlet, and eight feet between
mean low water in Rollinson
channel.
CATCH 60 STRIPED BASS
Mack Etheridge of Wanchese re
ported Thursday that duck shoot
ing from his blinds had been fair
to good recently. He stated that
on Tuesday he had four hunters
in a blind and when the ducks got
scarce two of the party went trol
ling for striped bass. They caught
60 fish, all stripers, from the wa
ters of lower Roanoke Sound.
MAIL SHOULD BE
ADDRESSED TO BOX 421
MANTEO, N. C.
NOT TO INDIVIDUALS
Single Copy 70
Robert H. Cowen, former mayor
of Williamston was unanimously
elected president of the Southern
Albemarle Association at its 25th
annual meeting in Pantego Wed
nesday. Mr. Cowen has served as
Vice President for Martin County
during the past year. Mrs. Scott
Topping of Pantego, the retiring
president, and the only woman to
hold this office, won extensive
praise for the splendid meeting ar
ranged at the Pantego High School.
Mr. Cowen is also a former
State Senator.
The school came in for much
praise for the welcome signs and
other displays. The Boy scouts who
loooked after traffic were com
mended, as well as the girls who
served the luncheon.
Vice Presidents elected for the
six counties are as follows: Beau
fort, Dr. W. T. Ralph of Belhaven,
a former President and Vice-
President; Dare, Pennell A. Tillett
of Kitty Hawk; Hyde, W. J. Lup
ton of Swan Quarter; Martin, John
H. Gurganus of Williamston; Tyr
rell, Mrs. Effie A. Brickhouse of
Columbia; Washington, E. E. Har
rell of Plymouth. The new record
ing secretary is W. L. Howell of
Williamston, succeeding Mrs. Mary
Winfield of Yeatesville. M. A. Mat
thews of Columbia was re-elected
Treasurer.
On Tuesday, the trustees of the
Alligator-Croatan Bridge Associ
ation, headed by Floyd Cohoon of
Columbia, which was established to
assist the Southern Albemarle
group, met, and disbanded, and
turned over their remaining funds,
some SIOO to the latter group, for
its purposes.
Endorsement favoring construc
tion of a bridge across Roanoke
River near Plymouth was given.
The association went on record as
opposing tolls on any roads, fer
ries or bridges in North Carolina.
It favored state operation of a fer
ry from Ocracoke to some point on
the mainland; endorsed the pro
posal for a road to Virginia Beach
from Nags Head; favored the drive
to aid the Lost Colony and -to estab
lish a museum and visitor center
at Fort Raleigh; and endorsed the
Bath project.
The scheduled speaker, Governor
elect Terry Sanford was prevented
from attending, and pinch hitting
for him was Hugh Cannon of Ra
leigh, who read Mr. Sanford’s
speech. This speech had as an ob
jective to reorganize the highway
commission, gave much attention to
agriculture and to improvements of
education. A resolution favoring
approval of the educational im
provement program, was presented
later by W. J. White of Columbia,
former president, and was unani
mously passed.
The welcome address was by Ma
yor John Ratcliff of Pantego; fol
lowed by responses from the six
county vice presidents. Most force
ful of these being by Woodrow Ed
wards of Dare who touched off the
See SAA, Page Six
STRIPED BASS HOLD
FISHING SPOTLIGHT
IN DARE COAST AREA
Striped bass continued to hold
the spotlight in sportsfishing cir
cles as the first wintry weather of
the season came to the coast this
week.
Expected to start on Saturday,
December 3, will be a concentrated
effort on the part of a large group
of anglers headed by Publisher Hal
Lyman of Boston to exploit the
Hatteras surf for the jumbo rock
fish or giant stripers which have
already arrived in coastal waters.
Lyman and his associated hope
to solve the secret of what kind
of bait or lure will result in hook
ing striped bass.
Meanwhile cold weather slowed
up one of the best seasons in many
years for striped bass fishermen
in Croatan and Albemarle Sounds.
Best catch reported during the past
week was made during a south
west wind on Tuesday when Car
ter Hayes and party of Wilson
boated 55 stripers weighing up to
two pounds each. They were fish
ing aboard the Lollipop skippered
by Chick Craddock of Manns Har
bor who said, “We should be tak
ing rockfish trolling until the first
snow.” The first snow may not
come until January or later.