Newspaper Page Text
Egood
venin VT
By Quimby Melton
Freddie Pitts, a young man
Who until a short time ago lived
In Griffin, has been killed in ac
tion, in Vietnam, Freddie, a
Marine, was killed as the Am
erican troops stormed one of the
mountain strong points of the
Viet Cong. There are many here
Who will remember this young
man and who will join Good
Evening in extending condolen
ces to the Pitts family.
And may we remind the fam
ily the Good Book says “No
greater love hath man than to
lay down his life for a friend.”
Untold number of fathers and
mothers, who have had their
sons killed in action, have found
comfort in this: For if there is
greater love of anything earth
ly than love for one’s country
Good Evening does not know
what it is.
And remember this: no man
killed in action tor his country,
be he young or be he old,
“loses” his life. He "gives” his
life.
Sunday ushered in National
Family Week.
Let’s not forget, as we hustle
and bustle ?“ring the business
week, that V'ur families are
more than any busi
ness; that tne welfare of mem
bers of the family should come
first; that the sort of men and
women our boys and girls will
become depends on the type fa
mily life they live today; and
let’s also remember that the
“head” of every home should be
none other than “Our Heavenly
Father.”
The day National Family
Week officially ends will be Mo
ther’s Day Eve; for Sunday,
May 14th is Mother’s Day. There
are few happy homes but that
Mother is the real key to happi
ness. A good way to observe Na
tional Family Week will be to
not wait until next Sunday, but
right now to let Mother know
how dear she is to you.
Two former presidents of the
United States are in the news
today.
Harry S. Truman, the 33rd
president, is celebrating his
83rd birthday, having been
born on May 8, 1884.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th
president, is in Walter Reed
Army Hospital after suffering
an attack of stomach cramps
that has been diagnosed as “ac
ute gastroenteritis”. Reports are
that he is, as hospital reports
almost invariable state, “doing
as well as could be expected.”
This is the second time in less
than six months that the 76-year
old former President has been
in the hospital. Shortly before
Christmas he underwent sur
gery to remove gall stones
All America will be “pulling”
for him to make a quick reco
very from this illness.
— + —
Now as to the other former
President who is in the news to
day
There’ll never be another man
like Harry S. Truman. And
fortunate this nation and the
world that he was born 83 years
ago today. Had Harry S. Tru
man not been “standing in t h e
wings” on the stage of life that
day when fate struck down
Franklin D. Roosevelt, as FDR’s
“understudy” there is no tell
ing what turn events might
have taken.
But Truman, unrehearsed
though he was, unfamiliar with
the “lines” of the “lead” part
he was to play, came onto the
stage and though he had to "ad
lib” until he got the feel of the
part he was to play, mastered
his role and w'ill go down in his
tory as one of the truly great
Presidents of the United States
It’s also interesting to note
that it was on his 61st birthday
that President Truman announ
ced the end of the war in Europe
and May 8 became the official
“V-E” Day
Happy birthday Harry S. Tru
man.
And while we’re writing about
Harry S. Truman —it might be
appropriate to quote him on
what he said some hours after
his order to drop the A-bomb on
Japan had been followed: He
said “The force from which the
sun derives its power has been
loosed against those who brought
war into the Far East.”
INSIDE TODAY
Hospital. P»ge 2.
Funerals. Page 2.
Stork Club. Page 2.
Scouts. Page 2.
Sports. Page 3.
Editorials. Page 4.
Television. Page 4.
Billy Graham Page 4.
Music Week. Page 5.
Choir To Visit Page 5.
Priest Quits. Page 5.
M a ddox Probe. Page 5.
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The State Highway Department erected detour signs this morning at Eighth and
Taylor streets so the overhead bridge on Taylor street can be repaired. A confused
situation was created by the detours. Northbound traffic will detour on Eighth,
Solomon and Tenth streets. Southbound will be re-routed on Tenth, Poplar and
South Hill. The bridge work is expected to take about two weeks.
Gov. Maddox Shouts Carroll
School Man Out Os Office
Can’t Satisfy
HEW Demands,
West Charges
ATLANTA (UPI) — Fulton
County School Supt. Paul West
said Sunday it was impossible
to satisfy federal desegregation
requirements no matter how
hard local schools tried.
“You cannot satisfy them, no
matter what you propose,”
West said in a television inter
view'. “It’s the most inflexible
situation in which school people
have ever been involved.”
West, labeing U. S. educa.
tion Office methods as “tyran
ny,” said he had encountered
nothing but frustration and
evasiveness in his efforts to
meet federal requirements.
He said he and other Fulton
school officials have traveled
several times to Washington to
discuss their desegregation
plans and claimed they were
mistreated by federal officials.
West singled out Stanley Kru
ger, who has since moved to
another position, as being “au
tocratic and dogmatic” in his
dealings with local officials.
West said the Fulton desegre
gation plan was “most reason
able” and stronger even than
U. S. Education Commissioner
Harold Howe’s policy of “grad
ualism.”
He said the plans propose
closing two small Negro
schools, desegregating 18 oth
ers and increase faculty deseg
regation from six teachers to
66.
West said the Education Of
fice was going beyond “what
the civil rights bill calls for”
and insisted guidelines should
be applied equally throughout
the country.
“They say the South is the
only place in the country where
there is de-facto segregation,”
he said. “I know for a fact that
many large cities are far more
guilty of violations for which
they charge the South.”
He cited a National Education
Association study in which Bal
timore, Md. was described as a
city where Negroes not only
live in ghettos “but go to school
in ghettos.”
DAILY NEWS
Daily Since 1872
Society. Page 6.
News Quiz. Page 7.
Bruce Biossat. Page 7.
Ray Cromley. Page 7.
Tornadoes. Page 7.
State Toll. Page 7.
Want Ads Page 8.
Comics. Page 9.
Truman. Page 10.
CIA Funds. Page 10.
Viet Protests. Page 10.
Flag Law. P a ge 10-
Whoa — Detour
By DON PHILLIPS
United Press International
ATLANTA (UPI) — A shout
ing Gov. Lester Maddox today
angrily ordered the chairman
of the Carroll County Board of
Education to get out of his of
fice.
The board had just asked
Maddox not to block $1.25 mil
lion in state money for school
consolidation. Maddox is chair
man of the State School Build
ing Authority which controls the
money.
Maddox shouted at Chairman
J. C. Brown, jerked open the
door to the governor’s office
and ordered Brown out.
“It’ll be a pleasure,” Brown
retored as he and the board
members and other Carroll
County officials left.
“They can send anybody they
want to the governor’s office
and they won’t change my
mind,” Maddox told newsmen
afterward.
Newsmen heard Maddox
shouting at the board members
but could not hear all he said.
“We’re talking about chil
dren, my children, your chil
dren, your grandchildren,”
Maddox was overheard to say.
When he yanked open the
door, Maddox appeared angry
and snapped, “That takes care
of it,” and pointed the way out
the door.
Maddox has taken a personal
hand in blocking the consolida
tion of Carroll County schools
Griffin Giri Played
Piano At White House
Twelve-year-old Susan Len
hart of Griffin had the thrill of
a lifetime last week — she play
ed a piano at the White House.
The daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Thomas Lenhart was among the
Griffin-Spalding school patrol
men who visited the nation’s ca
pital last week.
Her piano playing happened
like this:
“Rusty” Young who has been
chief florist at the White House
since 1953 is the brother-in-law
of Mrs. Reenie W. Young of
Griffin. Mrs. Young was a cha
perone oq the tri> She had no-
GRIFFIN
Griffin, Ga. z 30223, Monday, May 8,1967
Griffin Man Survives
Boat Fire In Gulf Waters
(Griffin Daily News Staff Photo)
into one large school. Maddox’s
House floor leader, Tom Mur
phy of Bremen, is one of the
leaders against Carroll school
consolidation.
Brown accused Maddox of
“paying a political debt” to
Murphy “at the expense of
7,000 school children.”
Brown said Maddox became
angry when he accused the
governor of blocking a school
bond referendum, and refusing
to give the county consolidation
money.
“The thing he didn’t like was
when I asked him how we were
going to house the children,”
Brown said. “I also told him
if the majority of the people
had to rule in every instance
he should resign because the
majority of the people didn’t
elect him, and that made him
madder.”
Maddox has said he would in
sist on a referendum in each
instance before schools could be
consolidated.
MARCH FATAL
NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE, En
gland (UPI) —A 17-year-old girl
was crushed to death Sunday
when she fell beneath other
marchers during a “charity
walk” parade.
The girl, identified as Marga
ret Hurford, was one of about
10,000 persons who took part in
& 26-mile walk as part of a
fund-raising drive from the
Oxfam charity organization.
tified her brother-in-law of plans
for the visit.
When the Griffin group arriv
ed at the White House, they lin
ed up for the regular public
tour. However, Mr. Young met
them at the gate and took them
on a special tour which he had
arranged. Thus the Griffin gr
oup saw far more of the White
House than most people.
When they reached the fam
ous ball room, the guide asked
if anyone in the group could
play the piano. Susan volunteer
ed.
She seated herself at the mas-
Storm
Damage
High
By JAMES BRITNELL
United Press International
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (UPI) —
“You always here about the
good people getting killed. My
mother-in-law was a good wom
an.”
G. C Bridges spoke with a
soft sadness in his voice Sun
day. His mother-in-law, Mrs.
Nora Peeler, 57, was killed
Saturday night when a tornado
boiled 20 blocks through Birm
ingham’s West End.
The storm injured at least 100
other persons, three seriously,
and caused damage estimated at
$1 million by civil defense offi
cials. Most of the injured did
not require hospital treatment.
Mrs. Peeler was the lone fata
lity. She was killed in her home
by flying timber.
"The timbers...l think they
were two-by-twelves...were blown
from a nearby lumber yard,”
Bridges said. “One of them
pinned Mrs. Peeler to a wall.
A Good Woman
"Sue (his wife) somehow cut
her mother free.
“She was a good woman.
“Spent all her thnp helping
the children and other people in
the neighborhood,” Bridges said
Tornadoes raked a wide area
of Dixie Saturday and Sunday.
Mississippi, Georgia, South
Carolina,' Tennessee, Alabama
and Tennessee reported twister
damage. In most cases damage
was light and there were no
other fatalities.
High winds destroyed a seven
room home and three barns
owned by James F. Garner at
Trenton, Tenn., Saturday night,
with damage estimated at $40,-
000. Mrs. Garner was cut by
flying glass.
Virginia Tornado
A tornado struck the south
eastern Virginia community of
Keeler Sunday, unroofing houses
and blowing down trees, and
then lashed scores of ships
docked in Hampton Roads. There
were no serious injuries, but a
17-year-old sufer, Nolen Rutledge
of Chesapeake, Va., was swept
five miles out to sea before a
Navy helicopter plucked him
from the rough waters.
Birmingham suffered the
hardest blow.
Mrs. J. W. Hanvey sat in her
cab waiting for her husband to
close his Birmingham business
when the sky turned black. She
looked forward to an evening
with friends.
“Then I heard this horrible
roaring sound and all kind of
trash flying through the air.
There were huge tree limbs,
sections of buildings and metal
signs hurling through the air.”
Her automobile began rocking
in the wind.
"I lay down in the front seat
and prayed to God That’s all
I knew to d 0... That’s about all
there was to do,” Mrs. Hanvey
said.
sive gold piano and rapped out
“The Sound of Music.”
The some 200 people who made
the trip to Washington last week
returned home Sunday.
Ed Crawford, juvenile proba
tion officer who has made 11 of
the trips, called the one this
year the best ever.
He said it was well planned,
the children cooperated with
chaperones and officials, and
everything went off without a
hitch.
Sheriff Dwayne Gilbert who
handled the trip deserves a lot
of credit for the project, the ju
venile probation officer said.
Vol. 95 No. 107
They Were
In Water
30 Minutes
By JAMES STEWART
A Griffinite who spent the
weekend fishing in the Gulf of
Mexico is at home today with a
better-than-average story to tell
—and it’s true.
Aldine Pelt, a salesman for a
Griffin firm, was aboard the
party boat Mar-Ann when it
caught fire. Fishermen aboard
the boat were forced to go over
board to avoid the flames which
destroyed the boat.
Pelt told the story this way
this morning:
“We had been out for some
time —two and a half, maybe
three hours, — when one of the
deck hands, there were three
crew members aboard, stepped
on a hot spot on the deck. He
was bare-footed and could not
stand the heat.
SMOKE
"He went back and raised the
lid covering the hole where the
motor was and smoke just boil
ed out. The engine had begun
to slow down by then, but pick
ed up when he let oxygen in.
“They (the crewmen) used all
the carbon dioxide fire extin
guishers on it, but failed to br
ing it under control. We (the
fishermen) did not get upset ab
out the fire and did not actual
ly realize how serious it was un
til the captain was forced by the
heat from the wheelhouse.
“He (the captain) came down
and told us to put on our life
packets — most of us already
had them on — and to go to the
bow of the boat and prepare to
jump overboard.
IN SIXTIES
“There were two men in the
group who looked to be in their
sixties and everyone was con
cerned about them, but they
came out about as well as any
one.
“The fire had been burning
for 20 to 25 minutes when we
were forced overboard. Someth
ing about the boat exploded
shortly before we jumped.
“One guy kopt spirits high dur
ing the whole ordeal. Just be
fore he jumped from the boat
he stuck a package of cigar
ettes in each of his shirt pock
ets and said ‘Somebody may
want a smoke while we’re float
ing around’.
30 MINUTES
“We were in the water about
30 minutes, but it seemed like
a couple of hours. When we got
onto a raft, the man with the
cigarettes said, ‘Anyone want a
soggy smoke?’
“First, we were picked up by
a horn-blower (another fishing
boat) which was the nearest to
us. The captain had sent out a
May-Day signal before we all
jumped. The radio on the boat
was still playing when we ab
andoned it.
“We were transferred to a Co
ast Guard boat from the horn
blower. The cutter took us back
to the Coast Guard base at St.
Andrews where we had started
from.”
SHORE
Pelt said the boat was about
30 miles from St. Andrews and
about six miles from shore when
the fire was found. The captain
turned the boat to shore and
was going to try to ground it,
but it got only about a mile from
the shore.
Pelt said the 15 men aboard
the boat who had won the trip
from an appliance company tr
ied to get another boat to take
them out, but could not find one.
“Some of the men lost large
amounts of money when they
jumped overboard. I lost nine
dollars I had in my shirt pocket
and a raincoat I had in my jac
ket pocket.
“Many of the men left their
jackets on the boat and they
were burned. Some of them lost
their shoes in the water and
some lost their billfolds,” he
(Continued on 2)
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Aldine Pelt tells burning boat story.
Ex - Griffinite
Freddie Pitts
Killed On 881
Lance Corporal Pitts.
20, grandson of Mrs. Gladys
Pitts of Griffin, was killed Sun
day, April 30, while fighting with
a Marine unit for Hill 881 near
the Demilitarized Zone in Viet
nam.
Pitts, son of Mr. and Mrs. H.
L. Pitts of Fort Walton Beach,
Fla., made his home in Griffin
until moving to Fort Walton
Beach with his family two ye
ars ago.
Sheriff, Chief,
GBI Agent Leave
For Prisoners
Three Griffin lawmen left ear
ly this morning for El Paso,
Tex., to pick up five suspects
and return them here where
they are charged with the rob
bery of a church and the rape
of two girls, 18, they allegedly
took as hostages.
Sheriff Dwayne Gilbert, ac
companied by Griffin Police
Chief Leo Bladkwell and GBI
Agent Billy Darsey, left this
morning at 3 o’clock for Texas.
They went in a station wagon
the sheriff’s department has eq
uipped for transportation of pri
soners. The eight-passenger car
has the back section sealed with
heavy wire material.
They are expected to return to
Griffin with the suspects later
this week.
The five suspects are: Joseph
Floyd Anthony, 18; William La
mar Clontz, 18; Jackie Wayne
Martin, 17; Winfred Johnny Par
ham, 19; and Robert Lindsey
Smith, 20.
The five decided not to
fight extradition to Georgia af
ter federal charges against them
were dropped. The federal char
ge of unlawful flight to" avoid
prosecution was brought again
st them when the FBI was ask
ed to help track them down.
The five were captured at a
roadblock in Texas some 60 mil
es from Van Horn, Tex.
They had been the object of
a nationwide search following
the robbery of the Pleasant
Grove Methodist Church in Sp
alding County and the alleged
rape of two Negro girls taken
from the congregation as hos
tages.
He entered the Marines in
1966.
Pitts has a brother, Wesley
Eugene Pitts, who is serving
with the U. S. Navy in Califor
nia.
Griffin relatives of Pitts
W’ere notified of his death Sun
day.
Funeral arrangements will
be announced.
Cpl. Pitts was educated in the
Griffin Public School system.
Before moving to Florida, his
father had operated a service
station in Griffin and had work
ed for Dundee Mills.
Mr. and Mrs. Pitts learned of
their son’s death through Mar
ine representatives who came to
their home in Florida to break
the news.
The officials said that Cpl.
Pitts was killed by automatic
rifle fire on Hill 881.
The Marine has a number of
relatives living in Griffin.
Weather:
FORECAST FOR GRIFFIN
AREA — Fair and cool again
tonight. Clear to partly cloudy
and mild Tuesday.
LOCAL WEATHER — Maxi
mum today 78, minimum today
51, maximum Sunday 72, mini
mum Sunday 65. Total rainfall
.92 of an inch. Sunrise Tuesday
6:47 a.m., sunset Tuesday 8:27
p.m.
Country Parson
i< s .» -rz *
“Envy must be our worst
vice because it’s what makes
us miserable when we see our
friends happy.”