Articles in regional publications that pertain to a wide range of North Carolina-related topics.
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for "Greenville Times / Pitt's Past"
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22839
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Rising out of oppression and segregation, African American community leaders in Greenville decided to form their own church. St. Gabriel's resulted from those dreams. Started by Father Charles J. Gable and Father Maurice Tew, this church opened its doors on March 1, 1936. Continuing to fight oppression and Jim Crow, the parish operated a mission to educate black children from 1956 until 1965.
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Record #:
22840
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There were Catholic congregations in Washington, NC as early as 1824 and even earlier in New Bern. The earliest reference to Catholics in Greenville goes back to 1828. A Catholic priest preached to a large audience in the Greenville Academy in 1829. Some of the early Catholic families in Greenville included the Dr. Jesse Randolph family and the Thomas Hanrahan's family. In 1868, Bishop James Gibbons (later Cardinal) came through Greenville and preached at the Greenville Methodist Church. Some of the Catholics in Greenville after 1870 include the Dr. Charles O'Hagan Laughinghouse family, the Foley family, the Latham family, the Skinner family, and the Grimes family.
As early as 1884, the first parish, St. Peter's, was established in Greenville and the old Episcopal Church was purchased and moved to Second Street. A new St. Peter's Catholic Church was built in 1927 on Second Street. St. Peter's dedicated a new church on March 31, 1991.
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Record #:
22841
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There is no question that television changed the nature of life in America. In Pitt County, the same can be said. The drive that changed lives began in 1949. Two years later, in May 1951, Channel 9 (WNCT) was granted affiliation by the Federal Communications Commission to become Pitt County's first television station. A construction permit was granted in December 1953 and they built a tower. However, due to FCC rules and population problems, the first television broadcast did not take place until December 22, 1953 at 5:00 p.m. In October 1953, it was reported there were 3,437 TV sets in Pitt County and a total of 24,000 TV sets in eastern North Carolina.
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Record #:
22842
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In 1929, the Greenville Merchants Association wanted a better way to advertise. They formed a stock company called Greenville Broadcasting Station, Incorporated to inform the public about their products. However, the first successful radio station began broadcasting in September 1933, under the station tag of WEED and under the management of Avery Wynne. This station could not stay in Greenville and was replaced by WGTC (World's Greatest Tobacco Country) in 1940. This was Julian Jordan White's brainchild. It also had North Carolina's tallest tower at 208 feet to give WGTC a clearer reception. It, too, did not last. In the span of four years, three different stations opened to try their luck.
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Record #:
22843
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Greenville's first book club, the End of the Century Club, began in 1899. The San Souci Club (1902) was the next club to be formed. These first two initial clubs were followed by several including: the Round Table Book Club (1910), the Athenaeum and the Chatham clubs (1936), the Inter Se Book Club and the Clio Club (1937), the Thalian Club and the Lector Club (1946), the Cosmos Club and the Aries Club (1949), and the Semi-Centi and the Literature Department of the Greenville Woman's Club (1950). These clubs brought the number of book clubs to twelve by 1952. For the large number of clubs, a Book Club Day was to be held the first week in May. This event has been held every year since 1947.
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Record #:
22844
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Everyone has wonderful memories of Christmas. However, the generation fortunate enough to celebrate Christmases from the 1920s through the 1960s might have more cherished memories. It was about 1916 that electric Christmas lights were first used in Greenville. In 1928, the Merchant’s Association began putting a 30 ft. Christmas tree on top of the traffic island at Five Points. In the 1960’s there used to be a nation-wide radio broadcast from Greenville, issuing a Tar Heel Christmas greeting to the whole country.
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Record #:
22845
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Christmas was a lot different in the 1880s than it is today. In Greenville, merchants sold Florida oranges with other fruits, turkey, oysters and everyone's favorite--whiskey. Social activities of the day included the usual dances, balls, hops, and Germans, interspersed with late suppers, jousting tournaments, different religious celebrations, and bands with singers. In 1883, Col. Isaac A. Sugg, a local capitalist, bought all the fireworks in town and on Christmas Day gave them away to all the kids. There was a parade by the Rough and Ready Fire Company, serenaded by cornet and brass bands. The Post Office was even open for a short time on Christmas Day.
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Record #:
22846
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Three early pilots that used to fly out of Greenville were Jack Bellamy, Matt R. Long and Ben. S. Sheppard. One of them, Ben Sheppard, made the first airmail delivery in the State in the early 1920s. In 1930, the Pitt County Chapter of American Air Cadets was formed which promoted interest in aviation to youngsters. Greenville's airport history begins in1933, when some businessmen decided that Greenville needed a local airport to help develop the city. In 1940, the Junior Chamber of Commerce pushed the idea of an airport. The City and County bought 500 acres of land that already had an airstrip on it. In 1942 the Greenville airstrip became an auxiliary training base for Marine Corps pilots and the Navy leased the property for $1.00 a year. In 1946, the Airport Commission was appointed to lease and operate the airport. Five different companies provided service between April 1946 and 1960. Today, US AIR is Greenville's air service provider.
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Record #:
22847
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Kammerer recounts several very interesting stories, including the story of A. D. Gardner, Fountain Police Chief, who drove to Greenville in 1926 and had car trouble. He drove back home and went straight to his mechanic. He opened the hood to discover three sticks of dynamite. In 1874, the Steamboat Cotton Plant found a small coffin floating down the Tar River. After retrieving it, they opened it to find a live baby sucking on a bottle of milk. The baby was taken to Washington and given to a loving older woman. There is the story of W. A. Manning, who lived on the Plank Road, who won the Baltimore Lottery in 1854 and received a check for $2,500. In 1869, the Greenville Municipal election resulted in a shooting when Arthur Dennis killed Edward Hoell. There is a story from 1912 of a black man who went to a store to select a coffin for his wife who had died the night before. While choosing a coffin he was almost killed when a number of them fell on him. And lastly there is the story of a black man named John Burney who owned land in Pitt County, but had a debt on it. Burney moved to Florida and was never heard from again and was presumed dead. In 1907, Burney, now age 64 returned to Pitt County and filed a claim to get his land back.
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Record #:
22848
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James B. Little was born on November 26, 1854, and married Miss Lola Fleming, on January 5, 1893. After a very interesting public life, he was elected to the legislatures of 1903 and 1905. He fought hard for public education. Captain Joseph John Laughinghouse was born on October 4, 1847, and married Eliza O'Hagan in 1870. He served the Confederacy in the Civil War and was an excellent soldier. He was promoted to the rank of captain four days before his seventeenth birthday. After his military duties were up, he was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1904 and 1906. In this article, portraits of these men are available.
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Record #:
22849
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[Mr. Kammerer drew the cover of this issue] Beginning as early as 1890, ghosts, hauntings, and even ESP (extra sensory perception) have affected the lives of many Pitt County residents. Kammerer related a story from 1890s about a large ghost that would come out about 4:00 am to stand sentinel over piece of land on Dickinson Ave. It would only bother those workers building the railroad through the property. Kammerer tells of a cluster of haunted houses in the College View district and the reaction of witnesses. There is an unusual story from 1898 of a haunted clock that tolled when death was near, even with its works missing. And lastly, in 1906, the sister of Royce Tucker, lost her ring. She couldn’t find it and later went into the country for a visit. While away she dreamed that her ring was under a writing tablet on her bureau. Returning home, she immediately looked at the place her dream indicated and found the ring.
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Record #:
22850
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History of Halloween Riots in Downtown Greenville
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Record #:
22851
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In this group of local tales, a horse of Col. Harry Skinner got its hoof caught on a railroad track in 1900. A train came barreling along and stopped just in time. The engineer and another man worked to free the horse. In 1886, it was long known that the Venters Cross Roads and Calico section were filled with tough people. A Deputy Sheriff told of a run in with a tough woman from that section. There is the story of Mrs. Turner Pollard, who in 1885 visited Greenville for the first time since the Civil War, to purchase her burial dress. She went home and had her burial dress prepared. Next she had a grave dug beside her husband, which was bricked up ready for use. It is not known if she died, but at least she was prepared. There is a remarkable story from 1902 of how Isaac McGowan, a black man, ran down and killed a deer on Dickinson Ave. And finally, a hilarious story, of how bears fool hunters. There was a big hunt for a bear in 1886 and when they think they have it, it turns out to be a turkey buzzard.
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Record #:
22852
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Robert Williams, son of Richard and May Williams, was born near Falkland on August 25, 1758. Williams, a prominent man of early Pitt County, played an important role in the Revolutionary War and after his days as soldier ended, he became one of North Carolina's most devoted legislators. Williams was a representative in 1786 and served in the Senate in 1793, 1795, from 1802 until 1806, 1808, and from 1813 until 1814. Williams married three times, fathered 14 children and died on October 12, 1840.
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Record #:
22853
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These tales include the story of a black man from Grifton in 1906 who died and later revived and the coffin was returned to the store. Also in 1906, a wasp got up the pants leg of “Coot” Whichard while at church and hilarity ensued and the story of a number of mad dogs. There is a story of a man with prize hunting dogs and fancy poultry. The man complained that the neighbor’s dogs were killing his prize chickens. To dispatch the culprits, he sat out with a gun in the chicken yard before day break. He shot two dogs killing his chickens and upon discovery, they were his prize hunting dogs. About 1900, it was discovered there was sand rock along the ravine between Third Street and the river. In 1907, the rock was quarried to make the foundation for the granolithic sidewalks in Greenville Heights and early paving on some streets. And finally, there is the story of the sons of Noah Tyson Cox in 1906 that unknowingly sat beside a bush with a rattlesnake in it.
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