North Carolina Newspapers

SEND RENEWAL OF SUBSCRIPTION BEFORE EXPIRATION DATE ON ADDRESS 16 Pages in 2 Sections VOLUME XXVII NO. 52 25TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON OF LOST COLONY UNDERWAY 1 MANY NOTABLES TO ATTEND ♦A- ' Nation's Oldest Outdoor Drama By Paul Green Opening Sunday for Two Months -Run; New Theater, Sparkling Talent and Brilliant Decorations Mark the Beginning of What Appears to Be A Bumper Year for Attendance. The Lost Colony, Paul Green’s brilliant drama of the New World, will premiere its Silver Anniversary Year on Sunday at 8:15 p.m., with Luther Hodges, • Secretary of Commerce, Roberto Compos, Brazilian Ambassador to the United States and William Friday, President of the Univer sity of North Carolina as spec tators, in the pine-encircled new Waterside Theater on Roanoke Sound. , Edgar Thomas, business man ager for the production stated on Thursday that: “We believe this year, the 375th Anniversary of the birthdate of Virginia Dare and the 25th Anniversary of The Lost Colony will be re membered as one of the most exciting and memorable ever ex perienced by our audience.” “We are doing our utmost to ensure s its success, but realize that our efforts will be futile without the support of the people of the Dare Coast. .. who have always been the real heroes of this drama,” Thomas stated. The new manager has em phasized that “every effort will be made to make Sunday, our opening night, a memorable evening for those present.” “Ralph Swain, Dare’s decoration ehairman has done a magnifi cent job,” he said. The manager noted that nearly 200 Eliza bethan flags bearing the Cross of St. George will be flying on the stores and streets way to Fort Raleigh. On Sunday evening, Secre- • tary Hodges, Ambassador Com pos and President Friday will witness a star-studded cast create anew the stirring dream of a nation’s destiny on the shores of Roanoke Island. “We are overwhelmed by the influx of brilliant talent with us this year,” he said. , ‘We believe that the people here on the coast, who are the real critics of the play, will share our delight in the vivid performances by such new comers as Jeff David, “Old ‘ Tom”; Robert Grubbs the new Sir Walter Raleigh, Gordon Clark, our John Borden, and Larry Steele, as the Rev. Mr. See SHOW, Page Six k MRS. ANN BASNIGHT DIES IN ACCIDENT Former Civic Leader is Killed By Auto Early Friday Morning Mrs. Ann Gray Basnight, 58, Was killed instantly on Friday at 9:15 a.m., when struck by a car as she attempted to cross the y highway to her home. The ac cident occurred on U. S. 64 when John Griffin, a reporter for WTAR-TV in Norfolk, is report ed to have hit Mrs. Basnight , while driving towards Manteo, ■ approximately 2 miles north of town. No charges have been filed, according to Sheriff Frank Ca hoon. A corners’s inquest has been scheduled for Monday, July 2 at 7:30 p.m. Griffin, who was visibly upset and apparently in shock after the acciddent, stated that he was driving his Volks wagen towards town, in an at- * tempt to reach Nags Head, when •’ the collision occurred. *, “The lady started to cross the road and stepped back. ..1 thought she saw me. . .then she Stepped out again.” “I wouldn’t have hit her for anything in the I world,” he said. ' Mrs. Basnight, a native of Manteo, was a past matron of Roanoke Island Chapter 79, Or der of the Eastern Star, past noble grand of Rebekah Lodge 52, and a member of Mt. Olivet Methodist Church, where funeral services were conducted on Sun day. The services were conducted at 3 p.m. by Rev. Harold F. Leath erman, pastor of Mt. Olivet Methodist Church, Rev. Robert Pullman of Wanchese Methodist Church, and the Rev. C. W. Goodwin of Northside Baptist Church in Manteo. Burial followed Jn Manteo cemetery, where grave-side cer emonies were conducted by Re bekah Lodge No. 52. Pallbearers were: Jack Cahoon, Arvin Bas ? See TRAGEDY, Page Six 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 BELT BEATING EPISODE TOLD BEFORE JUDGE "Brutal Attack” is Recalled By Victim Who Says He was Knocked Unconscious Jesse Royce Perry, a 20 year old Collington youth, was fined $25 and ordered to pay doctor’s bill for what Judge W. F. Baum described as the “cold-blooded and brutal attack” upon Wood row Johnson on the night of June 17 during trial in Recorders Court on Tuesday. Johnson, 19, related in court that he was knocked unconscious outside the Diner Bell at Nags Head when his head was lashed by a belt and buckle swung at him, by Perry, for no apparent reason. Johnson said that he drank several beers at the Din ner Bell with Perry and that his former schoolmate asked him to walk outside. “We walked between Gaston Mann’s and the Dinner Bell ... I never made any remarks and he didn’t speak to me.” “He pulled out his belt and began to hit me with it,” Johnson stated. “It was about 10:30,” he said. The youth said that he remem bered being hit twice, once in the mouth and once in the nose. “I don’t remember after that,” he said. “He hit me with the buckle ... he was holding the leather end in his hand.” Johnson stated that he was knocked unconscious from the blows and that when he could remember again his jaws was swollen and he was bleeding from the mouth and nose. “I had scars on my back too,” he said. Johnson said that he still suffered from headaches as a result of the assault. Deputy George Frank of the Sheriffs department stated un der oath that he arrived at the Recreation Center on the night of the 17th and found Johnson at about 11:30 p.m. being treat ed with ice packs near the bar. “His shirt was off and I could see a swelling of his face and jaw.” “I saw marks across the defendent’s back and bruises,” he said. Johnson had stated on the stand that his shirt was on when he walked outside to talk with Perry. He was unable to say when it was removed. Mrs. Ralph Johnson, the boy’s mother, stated on the stand that she found two pieces of his shirt out side the Recreation Center and a fragment of it near the Din ner Bell on the morning after the alleged assault. See COURT, Page Four TAR HEELS TOUT TOURIST TREATS IN LAND OF LOST COLONY L * JI r ißr ~ I k» *<-•> \ ?«■’ / » ml . a ' 1 Ifc Mr llßill, I /-.a RpwbKls' ww -;>• VOIT GILMORE, Director of the U. S. Travel Bureau, (left) Mrs. Lutherl Judges, Mrs. Dean Rusk and Luther Hodges, Secretary of Commerce, (right) were shown discuKhg plans for pro motion of Paul Green’s “The Lost Colony,” as the Tar Heels gathered in Washington recently. All have pledged their efforts towards making the 375th Anniversary of the birth of Virginia Dare, and the Sliver Anniversary Year for the outdoor drama, prominent dates in the minds of millions of tourists at home and abroad. SEC. UDALL HAS HIGH PRAISE FOR SEASHORE PARK Interior Department Director and Family Vacation at Cape Hatteras Secretary of the Interior Stew art L. Udall and his family vacationed this week on the Cape Hatteras Banks as the busy Cabinet officer took a brief respite from his official duties in Washington. The Udall family were housed in the old lighthouse caretaker’s cottage at Buxton, and appar ently enjoyed their stay to the fullest. They arrived late Friday night, and were met at South Oregon Inlet by Chief Ranger Anthony Stark, who guided them to the cottage. Next morning, District Ranger Jack Stark, no kin to the chief ranger, took the visitors in tow in four-wheel-drive jeeps for a tour of the beach and the Bux ton woods. They all went swim ming, and the kids climbed to the top of Cape Hatteras light house several times. Fishing, Air Tour Next on the program was a fishing trip. Balfour Baum took out the party in the launch, Butch, accompanied by Park Supt. Reese Smith, who had looked after the party from the time of their arrival. Superin tendent Smith took Secretary Udall on a trip Tuesday over the Outer Banks in one of Bill Henderson’s planes. The Secretary then was flown to Norfolk to board another plane for Washington. His fam ily remained at Hatteras a few days longer. The family consists of Mrs. Udall, the former Erma Lee Webb of Mesa, Ariz., and the children, Tom, 14, Scott, 13, Lynn, 12, Lori, 10, Denis, 6, and James, 3. Lynn and Lori are girls. See UDALL, Page Six PUBLIC INVITED The public has been invited to join in welcoming cere monies at Manteo Airport for Secretary of Commerce Luther Hodges at 4 p.m. on Saturday. M. K. Fearing, Jr., Vice- Chairman of the Governor’s Commission for the Celebra tion of the 365th Anniversary of the Birth of Virginia Dare and Mrs. Fred W. Morrison, Chairman of the Roanoke Is land Historical Association have encouraged everyone to join in welcoming the former Tar Heel governor to the coast. At the airport, Secretary Hodges will be presented with a key to the Citie of Fort Raleigh by Governor John White (Clarence Felder) and Eleanor White (Marjalene Thomas) in a short welcom ing ceremony. At 4:15 a police escort and motorcade will carry Secretary Hodges to Kill Devil Hills where he will vacation, before attending the premiere per formance of The Lost Colony on Sunday night. MANTEO, N. C., FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 1962 A GRACIOUS LADY, MOST LIKELY LOST COLONY'S SAVIOR I i HI .? ' i • MRS. EMMA NEAL MORRISON, one of North Carolina’s great women, who perhaps is most nearly responsible for having saved the Lost Colony, the prime attraction of the North Carolina Coast land from having been lost to the people of North Carolina. Mrs. Morrison, wife of Dr. Fred W. Morrison an eminent attorney, heading the law firm of Gardner, Morrison and Rogers in Wash- ington, D. C. and who with her husband is a part time resident of Kill Devil Hills, became a member of the Board of Direc tors of the Roanoke Island His torical Association some eight years ago. Somewhat removed from the scene of. the Lost Col ony theatre, she began to note with considerable dismay that the show was apparently going down hill. It appeared to be lacking in adequate promotion. Mrs. Morrison, with a great record for doing things success fully, busied herself with re viving interest in the drama and pointed out its great value to North Carolina. She was in strumental in enlisting the dedi cated support and interest of Mrs. O. Max Gardner of Shelby, and this noble and gracious North Carolina woman became the second woman Chairman of the Roanoke Island Historical Association. The Association and the show had flourished several years ago under the momumen tal leadership of Mrs. Charles A. Cannon of Concord. Mrs. Gardner became a worthy suc cessor, and Mrs. Morrison be came her right bower. There was no task too tiring or too large for Mrs. Morrison to tackle. Un der the constant supervision of Mrs. Gardner and Mrs. Morrison, memberships increased, contri butions to save the show in creased and there was a revival f interest on the local level to higher peak than had ever e•'See SAVIOR, Page Five MRS. MORRISON LISTS COLONY'S SUMMER EVENTS i Mrs. Fred W. Morrison, Chair > mail of the Roanoke Island His ; torical Association, has announc ed a distinguished calendar of events for the Silver Annivers ary Year of the Lost Colony. The array of prominent person alities to be featured at the Wat erside Theater is as follows: On Sunday, July 1, Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges, will officially open the 1962 season for the Colony. Mrs. Mor rison will be present to introduce the guest speakers for the occa sion and William Friday, Presi dent of the University of North Carolina will be present for an historical address as Chairman of the Governor’s Commission for the Celebration of the 375th Anniversary of the Birth of Vir ginia Dare. Another gala occasion is plan ned for July 4, when the Associ ation will honor Paul Green on the 25th Anniversary perform ance of The Lost Colony. Dur ing intermission, a special tri bute will be delivered to the au thor by Dr. Frank P. Graham, U. N. Ambassador. Rep. M. K. Fearing, Jr., vice chairman of the Governor’s Commission will also be present to participate in the holiday cer emonies. One of the outstanding events of any year will take place on Saturday, July 14, when the Association will honor the Secretarv of the Interior, the See EVENTS, Page Five METHODISTS NAME LOCAL MINISTERS FOR AREA POSTS Two local ministers were ap pointed as area superintendents at the North Carolina Methodist Conference held in Kinston last week. Bishop Paul N. Garber and a nine-member cabinet have announced that Rev. R. S. Pull man of Wanchese and Rev. Har old F. Leathman of Manteo will both assume important church duties in the coming year. Rev. Pullman, pastor of Beth any Methodist Church in Wan chese, has been named as Dis trict Director of Christian So cial Concerns, and Rev. Leather man of Mt. Olivet Methodist Church in Manteo, will serve as District Director of Christian Vocations. Elizabeth City District ap pointments included: Belhaven, J. M. Waggoner; Bath, C. H. Beale; Hatteras, V. E. Cash; Kinnakeet, M. L. Johnson Jr.; Kitty Hawk, H. L. McLaurin and associate C. W. Guthrie; Manteo, H. F. Leatherman; Mat tamuskeet, R. V. Mabe; Ocra coke, R. D. Shinkle; Stumpy Point-East Lake, R. M. Smith son, Jr.; Swan Quarter, D. T. Goodwin; Wanchese, R. S. Pull man; and Columbia, E. R. Meek ins. DANIELS WINS DARE SEAT IN SECOND PRIMARY Oil Distributor's Campaign Defeats Fearing In Big Vote Moncie L. Daniels, Jr., Manteo oil distributor, carried 10 of the 16 county precincts with 1,094 votes to post a 125 vote lead and second primary victory over in cumbent Keith Fearing, Jr. for the Dare seat in the North Caro lina General Assembly last Sat urday. The official returns gave Dan ! iels 1094 votes to 971 for Fear [ ing. All returns were in by 8:40 p.m. on Saturday and Elections i Board Chairman Jack Tillett re ported an orderly vote from all precincts, in what may be a rec ord turnout for a second primary in Dare. Daniels, the current vice chairman of the North Carolina Oil Jobbers Association and a former member, for 10 years, of the Manteo town board, increas ed his 37 vote margin in the first Democratic Primary by 86 votes in his win over Fearing. Rep. Fearing, who announced on Monday that he intends to “return to making a living for Lib and Keith Fearing and fam ily.” “I have personally extended my congratulations to Mr. Dan- See ELECTION, Page Five PLANE CRASHES NEAR SCENE OF WRIGHT FLIGHTS Pilot Suffers Minor Injury in Kill Devil Hills Mishap Kill Devil Hills had its second plane crash Tuesday. As in the first one, damage was chiefly to the plane. Allen W. Watts of Goldsboro, Footing a rented Cessna 172, clme daigpi .for a visit to the Dare beaches. He spied the Wright Memorial, and flew over for a closer look. North of the monument there is a considerable level area. Watts circled the area once, then, came back and flew close to the ground, looking for a land ing place. He found none, and gunned his motor to raise. The motor failed to respond. The plane dipped, nosed into the sand and flipped over. Others on Plane Aboard, besides Watts, were his wife, Mrs. Jean Watts, daughter, Beverly, 8, and her playmate, Linda Carter, 9. Watts suffered only a skinned shin. The others were unhurt. Damage to the plane included a crumpled fuselage and nose and wings scarred up. It was es timated at SI,OOO or more. A friend flew down from Goldsboro in the afternoon to take the stranded party home, and the damaged plane was tow ed away for repairs. The acci dent took place about 11:45 a.m., and National Park Service rangers were quickly on the scene to render assistance. Near Flight Marker So far as could be learned, the crash, which occurred about 300 feet southwest of the First Marker—the spot where the Wrights took off on the world’s first plane flights—was the first since December 17, 1903. During their fourth flight on that memorable day, the Wrights’ plane was wrecked when a strong gust caught it and whirled it over and over. At various times during the intervening years, planes have landed in the vicinity of the Wright Memorial without mis hap. CRASH ON HISTORIC GROUND .. x'-tT-irt; ? v :• J •• •*• < *• WtaamWl* 1 '" w - jaHsMesgt jg? ■ , r ■*‘ W,-, -, I 'X”- > *L' Xf ■ , -y \v,' J / A '_/ , ’X;'.'”’ *‘ THIS CESSNA 172 plane lies on its back where it crashed and overturned Tuesday morning, about 300 feet from the spot where Orville Wright took off on the world’s first pltpie flight December 17, 1903. A few hundred feet to the south is the Wright Monument on Kill Devil Hill. MAJOR CHANGEOVER IN TELEPHONE FACILITIES EFFECTIVE ON JULY 1 Roanoke Island Gets Dial System Along With Toll-Free Service To and From Dare Beaches; Great Improvement for Hatteras Island; Microwave Towers Go Into Service for Long-Distance Usage. HATTERAS ISLAND GETS RATE CUT. BETTER SERVICE Phone Company to Initiate New Rates, Additional Lines To Outer Banks July First L. S. Blades, Jr., President of , the Norfolk and Carolina Tele . phone and Telegraph Company ' announced this week that resi dents of Hatteras Island will : receive a reduction in telephone . rates as well as additional serv ice beginning July first this [ year. 1 According to Mr. Blades, “The ' rates for Hatteras have now been established by order of the North Carolina Utilities Commission on motion of the telephone company and have been made the same as Kill Devil Hills and the Nags Head beach area.” A new zoning system on the island is responsible for the rate change. Under the new sys tem many areas of the island will be considered as if they were in Buxton, the exchange location, and will be billed a flat rate. These areas include Buxton, Frisco, Hatteras, Avon, and Waves. Areas between these towns will be billed mileage ac cording to the nearest village. For example, Buxton will be billed a flat rate. Frisco south of Buxton, will be billed the same flat rate as Bux ton even though there are sev eral miles of wire separating the two. The area between Buxton and Frisco will pick up mileage from each direction until a point of equadistance from the two villages. Phone service from a point one mile north from Frisco and two miles south from Buxton will be billed for only one mile. This zoning system will be in effect for all areas south of Buxton. The rest of the island north of Buxton, except for the Avon and Waves area, will be charged mileage from Buxton. A local exchange tariff for the Buxton exchange filed with the North Carolina Utilities Com- See FACILITIES, Page Five ENGINEERS REQUEST DREDGING FUNDS FOR TWO COASTAL CHANNELS The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers recommended a list of waterway improvements totaling $625,000 to Congress, on Mon day, for channel work on the Dare coast. The recommendation calls for for the deeping of Rollinson Channel and the construction of a new channel from Hatteras Inlet to Rollinson Channel. The improvements are contingent up on authorization, during the next session of Congress, by the House and Senate Public Works Committees. The recommendation would provide for a new channel with a 12 foot depth and the deepen ing of Rollinson Channel from six to 12 feet. Maintenance for the project would cost $20,000 a year. MAIL SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO BOX 428 MANTEO, N. C. NOT TO INDIVIDUALS Pages I through 8 Single Copy 70 One of North Carolina’s last manual telephone exchanges will become automatic next week 1 when the Manteo exchange of the Norfolk and Carolina Tele phone and Telegraph Company 1 changes to the dial system. The change is part of a half million dollar program of ex . pansion completed by the com pany in Dare County this year to provide better telephone serv r ice to a growing area. Accompanying the change in , service will be a 25-cent per ' month increase in rates. The rate , hike was established by the North Carolina Utilities Com mission along with a rate re duction for Hatteras Island re . cently. Both rate changes be come effective July first along with changes in telephone serv ice. As Manteo and the beach area switch to the dial system, five new microwave towers at Man teo, Kill Devil Hills, Mamie, Coinjock, and Elizabeth City will connect the Dare area to the company’s main office in Eliza beth City where eventually an other microwave circuit will con nect with Norfolk. The towers, which beam signals in a straight line from one to another, eli minate the necessity for land lines and are supposed to be hurricane proof. As Dare County telephones be come fully automatic, free serv ice will be provided direct be tween Manteo and the Dare beach area. To call Manteo from the beach, customers will first dial “7” and then complete the Manteo number. To call the beach from Manteo, it will be necessary to first dial ‘“44” be fore dialing the beach number. L. S. Blades, Jr., President of the telephone company, warned cus tomers to consult their new directory until the new system becomes completely familiar. Blades also commented that the Manteo rate hike will bring rates up to those paid by Hert ford and pointed out, “The ad dition of the beach area will give them 100 more phones in their free area than Hertford has.” Beach rates will not in crease, nor will ten-party line rates in Manteo since they al ready equal Hertford rates. An additional service offered in the beach area for the first time will be seasonal telephone rates. Previously the company has maintained a policy of a minimum 12-month contract for telephone service. The policy will be discontinued in favor of pre mium rates for seasonal service. Under the new policy if a phone is kept one month, the charge will be a three-month’s billing; the second month’s charge will be equal the amount due for See PHONES, Page Six DARE COUNTY GETS $6,000 IN AID TO FINANCE PLANNING Dare County is expected to receive approximately $6,000 from a federal grant, announced on Wednesday, which will award $84,225 in funds to the N. C. Department of Conservation and Development, for development planning. The county and 11 cities in the state get about $42,000 in state and local funds to make various studies needed for growth and development planning. Approxi mately $4,000 will.be appropriat ed over the next two years in the county to supplement the feder al funds, according to Ralph Swain, Chairman of the Dare County Planning Board. Swain stated Wednesday that $2,000 had been appropriated from the tentative budget for 1962-1963 to cover the county’s share of participation in the var ious surveys which were needed for the current fiscal year. The money from federal sour ces will provide for land use surveys, zoning, subdivision regulations, building codes, and an origin and designation study, he said. Cities named to participate in the two year program were Burlington, Canton, Farmville, Hendersonville, Hot Springs, Mt. Holly, Murfreesboro, New Bern, Roseboro and Selma.