The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., December 09, 1949, Image 1

About The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1941-1949

Image provided by: Mississippi Department of Archives and History

                
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Saturday 12:52 a.m. 12:27 p.m.
I / , Sunday 1 39 a.m 1 00 p.m
■ I# MM_,l __ Monday 2:27a.m. 1:15p.m.
^^H^yQlIQll Tuesday 3:14 a.m. 1:02 pm.
* t.. . . , .Wednesday 7:35 p.m. 11:32 a.m.
IT MISSISSIPPI Thursday 7» p.m 5 24am
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Si' _ __ Saturday 8:14 p.m. 6:58 a.m. .
Kg IWfGLE COPY 10c Sunday 9 oa p m. 7.49 a.m. -
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.,.. . _______._._—
VoTlM National eKI!'Amocia.ion PASCAGOULA AND MOSS POINT, MISSISSIPPI, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1949 Th. J&^'pras NO- 50
_i_ — ■ ■ ■ - ■ ■ - . ■. 11 . ... -— ,
Campground
Blaze Ruins
17 Buildings
New Prospect Fire
Fouqht By Buckets
Until Under Control
By Winifrad Havom
(Chronicle Correspondent)
Seventeen “tents" at historic
New Prospect camp grounds near
Vancleave burned to the ground
late Thursday afternoon in a
blare of undetermined origin.
Word spread about 5 p. m. that
Are buildings were afire. Men and
cars began racing to the scene
from miles around.
By the time two fire trucks j
from Ocean Springs arrived, vol- j
unteers already had prevented
the blare spreading by tearing
down the old Quitmah House tent, i
now known as the Carl Randal
and Ida Roberts tent.
Tabernacle Saved
The tabernacle started to burn j
but was saved.
A bucket brigade was used ef- '
fectively in battling the blare,
which was first discovered in the
Horace and Carl Q. Roberts tents.
Straw, which had been left in the
rooms, aided the fire, which
spread rapidly to other tents.
Burned to the ground were the
tents of Lewis Tootle, Joe Wares,
M. P. Davis, Mack Roberts, Bur
ton and Chandler Roberts, Van
Horn and Rubla Roberts, Thomas
Roberts, Eunice Greens.
Roland and Latirin Ware, Sadie
Steed, Horace and Carl Roberts, j
Paul Carter and Will Fletcher, C.
L. Decs, Inman Ramsey, Jim Ram
"•.
The camp committee met Sat
urday to plan rebuilding. A group
of Jackson county citizens has of
fered a $200 reward for the arrest
and conviction of the person or
persons responsible for starting
the fire.
The new caretaker's home, just
completed, anti the tents built
away from the tabernacle were
not destroyed. Most of tnosc
which burned housed three or
four families last meeting.
Sent to the fire were trucks
from Biloxi, Ocean Springs and
Pascagoula. The Pascagoula en
gine turned back at Vancleave
when its operator heard by radio
that the blaze was under control.
Soft Drink Truck
Overturns On 90;
Driver Uninjured
A toft drink truck ovTturn«d
in a ditch near Ocean Springs
on Highway 90 Saturday night
but the driver. Willard J. White
Route 1. Pascagoula, escaped in
jury. according to State High- i
way Patrolman Cecil Byrd.
White escaped from the truc’t.
which landed top down, by
crawling through the side win
dow. The truck was en route to
Pascagoula with drinks which
had been loaded in Ocean
0 Springs.
Sash weights, window cords
and pulleys were invented by the
Dutch about 1650.
. • - --** — ——— t
Bishop R. O. Gerow
Dedicates School
In Ocean Springs
School is . second only to the
home In importance to religious
training, Bishop H. O. Gerow,
Natchez, said Monday in his ded
icatory address at the new St.
Alphonsus school in Ocean
Springs.
Education without religion, said
the bishop, makes a child think
that religion and God are of sec
ondary importance to material
things.
Other visiting officials at th<
dedication were the Revg. Char
les Hunter, Yazoo City, and J. P.
McGlade, Biloxi. With Bishop
Gerow they blessed the $41,000
building.
In his address, Bishop Gerow
stated that his audience should
he thankful for its Catholic faith
“which, if followed faithfully,
will mean the salvation of your
soul.”
"May God bless you," he con- ;
eluded, ‘ and this school huilding j
which has come into being,
through your haid work.”
freight Train Engine
Tumps Local Track
A freight train engine jumped !
the rail on a side track near the j
L&N station in Pascagoula Fri-1
day, requiring several hours to!
get it back in running condition.!
John Walts, railroad agent, said. |
No other trains were inconven-'
ienced, he said.
_
A new wiggling plastic worm I
has been devised for fishermen
who hate to dig for bait.
. Photo h\ %Va»*on
WILBUR G. DEES SECOND FROM LEFT ABOVE. IS SWORN INTO OFFICE AS MAYOR
of Pascagoula in a brief ceremony Tuesday in City Hall. Administering the oath is Vertis Rim
sey. right, circuit court clerk. Witnessing are city commissioners V. P. DeJean. left, and H. C.
Errll.
4
3 Photo by WatiOi ®
Mother Greets Moody At Front Gate
Til Slick Close To Home/
Says Billy Frank Moody
Billy Frank Moody, ek-lnmate
of Camp 6, Mississippi state pen
itentiary, spent his first night in
10 years as a free man sitting at.
a table in his mother's home in
Kreole. /
On the table were a radio re
ceiver and a transmitter, the
fruits of Mriody's labor and the
instruments by which he nearly
lost his chances for freedom.
"I was listening to some of the
hoys talking on the receiver," said
Moody, “Sort of offhanded I
threw the switch on the trans
mitter.
Turns Switch Off
“ 'Oh, oh,’ I said to myself, ‘it
you put it on you’ve broke the
law.’ So I turned it off."
Moody, now a blue-eved, blond
six-footer of 2!). is known at'ound
the world as "the broadcasting
con.”
It was he who was "discovered”
in October conducting unlicensed
radio broadcasts from his prison
cell and trusty's guard booth at
the Parchman prison.
Since August he had been work
ing for a suspension of sentence j
The furore following his '‘discov
ery” came near costing him that |
suspension.
The daily press carried sensa- '
tional stories indicating that a !
desperate criminal had been un- j
covered using an illicit radio
transmitter in d campaign to gain 1
his freedom.
Could Have Been Goat
Because unlicensed broadcast
inf! is against FCC rules, state
anti prison authorities easily could
have made Moody the goat to
cover un their own red-faces.
Hut Supt. Marvin Wiggins at
Parchman and Gov. Wright, both
of whom knew of Moody's hard
earned knowledge of radio, as
sured the Chronicle-Star and Ad
vcrtiser that the publicity would
not affect their views on Moody’s,
case.
“Newspapers called me from
London. England, and Paris.
France." said Moody, "wanting;
to talk to me. Rut Mr Wiggins
wouldn't even talk to them him
self."
The Chronicle on Oci. 28 ran
the ungarbled story of Moody and
his offense. “If it hadn't been for
the Chronicle's story and editorial
(Nov. 41,” Moody said Thursday.
“I don't know what would have
happened to me,
“That story was read over the
air by dozens of hams and when
the editorial came out it was read
too. It sure made me feel better
to know the real storv was being
told.
“The first of my friends to read
lhe story out was Bud Felder of
Tvlertown. His call is W5FSS.
Then Robert Barr. W5GHF. of
Spring Hill, La., read it and the
editorial. I want to thank all my
hundreds friends on the 75-meter,
band who wrote me and sent me
messages after that.”
Sentenced For Holdup
Moony, who has spent all his
manhood to date as a convict, was
sent to prison attcr a 5>Jo noicnip
of a Wade grocery. His sentence
whs seven years.
"It was hard, awful hard, at
first," he explains. "The state
farm then was not like it is now.
: It was mean We chopped cotton
all day, from tight to dark. The
i guards were mean.
"After I’d been there two years,
the last of the boys who went up
with me was turned loose. I was
still there. I just figured there
was no hope. So I took to the
woods."
That was the first of three es
cape attempts that brought
Moody’s sentence up to 65 years
and classed him as a “three-time
loser." As are "lifers,” he was not
eligible for a suspension until he
had served 10 years.
Studied At Night
After his last escape. Moody
settled down. He began a corre
spondence course in radio. "I
studied all night sometime trying
to learn from a book. They
wouldn't let me have a light in
the cell cause it bothered the oth
i ert. But, I paid somebody two-bits
[to let me stay in the toilet with I
iny book.
“Sometimes during the day I'd
-hop cotton arid not even sec it.
Thinking about something in the j
book I couldn't understand.”
But he finished the course, re-1
reived a diploma. Every penny j
uf the money he got went into ra- j
dio equipment. He built receivers,
.transmitters, table models and
portables, began repairing the
nVison radios. To his knowledge
he added that of electricity and
became the most valuable handy
man in camp.
Then he began experimenting
with the range of his transmitters.
Soon he could broadcast thou
sands of miles. “I had a lot of fun.
1 told people I was broadcasting
from Vancleave. Some of them
asked questions, but nobody ever
got suspicious.
“They knew T was doing it
down here at home. When my
brother-in-law’s brother was
killed in Puerto Rico I got the de
tails from a ham there and sent
them to the family here. I tallked
to lots of friends here.”
he read the Chronicle’s story over
the air. After that I got letters
from all over the country. They
were the nicest letters a man ever
received.”
About his future. Moodv is de
termined. ‘ I’m going to stick close
to home for six months till I get
this off me. I’m going to try to
work up a radio repair business
at home.
"Maybe soon the governor’ll
giv'e me a pardon. I’ve got to get
mv citizenship back before I can ,
take the FCC exam for a radio j
license. If I do get it I want to
get a job as radio operator on a
ship.”
The ham grapevine is evident- ]
ly all-knowing. Several days he- 1
foie his suspension was an
nounced Moody said he began1
hearing over the radio strange
talk about the “contract for.
W5BNK."
The “contract,” he said, “was
the suspension awaiting the gov
ernor’s signature. One ham said
one night that the ‘top man
signed that W5BNK contract to
iav.’ 1 knew what it meant.
Knew FCC Was Coming
About the alleged “hectic 20
day search" made by FCC inspec- j
bu s before they “uncovered" i
Moody: Ho laughs. “Three days
before they came and took my
transmitters away I knew they
were on to me.
"A fellow over near the river,
he s a ham too, couldn't .get his i
signal out when I was on the air. |
He had me reported. They knew j
where I was. lots of hams did.
A friend came to me and told
fna the FCC was coming. There
wasn't anything hid. How could
t hide transmitters in the prison?"
Moody used the call W5BNK in
the broadcasts.
"I was pretty low when they ,
took the rig.” Moody confesses.
I sat and listened to the hame
talking about it. Bud Felder came
ln the first night and told all of
hem that there was another ••irle
(Continued On Page 8)
• - - J—-1
Tuna Plant!
The Associated Press reported
from San Diego Thursday that
construction of a §300,000 tuna
cannery at Pascagoula may be
gin in February.
Cecil Drake, spokesman for a
group of San Diego tuna boat
owners,'the story said, announced
that negotiations for the cannery
site are expected to be completed
in Pascagoula next week.
Drake said the local plant
would bo supplied by 10 boats,
some moved from California.
Drake and M. D. Marsh of the
South Pacific Canning Co., Long
Beach, Calif., had planned to be
in Pascagoula this week, but no
tified local officials that they bad
to fly suddenly to the west coast.
They are expected here next
Wednesday to confer with citi
zens and officials.
All day efforts by the Chronicle
Star and Advertiser to reach
Marsh by phone Thursday failed.
He was "in conference” at San
Pedro, a coast town a few miles
north of Long Beach.
Mayors Support
Bloodmobile Visit
Here Next Week
The Red Cross bloodmobile will
make its third visit to Jackson
county next Thursday from P
a. m. to 3:30 p. m. It will be
parked at First Methodist church
Pascagoula.
Quota for the visit has been set
at 200 pints. On the past two trips,
quota was 73. Each time dona
tions exceeded that amount.
Use More Than Received
"Nevertheless,” said H. Doyle
Magee, public information chair
man for the program, "during thr
past six months Jackson enuntians
have used blood considerably in
excess of the amount obtained
during the two previous visits.”
The cities of Moss Point and
Pascagoula have officially en
dorsed the grogram. Mayors F. W.
Cirlot and Wilbur G. Dees ask
that all citizens plan to contribute.
As a result of the program, they
pointed out, cost of transfusions
at the county hospital have
dropped from $20 to $50 in the
past down to $5, which represents
laboratory fees. Blood costs noth
ing to patients.
Chairman of the program is
George W. Noe. Recruiting chair
man is Alton Mansfield.
Meeting Lays Plans
Plans for the visit next week
were made at a meeting attended
by program leaders and represen
tatives of cooperating groups. The
latter were Daniel Steinhauer,
Lions; George Steele, country
club: Frank Waters, VFW.
Joe A. Moore, Civic Council and
American Legion; Miss Dottie
Daniel. Eastern Star and Pasca
goula Music club; Mrs. H. B.
Moore, Junior Woman's club.
Charles Bush. Kiwanis; Mrs. E.
L. Brantley, county hospital and
Arts and Crafts club; Miss Bar
bara Holman, county hospital, and
Miss Billie Koch. Young Women’s
Business club and Paspoint Lit
tle Theater.
Pascagoula Firm
Low Bidder On
Wayne Hospital
Pascagoula's G. and K. Con
struction Company was low bid
der at opening of bids Tuesdav
for construction of a new Wayne
county hospital in Waynesboro.
The local company’s hid, one i
of 16 presented the lioard of su
pervisors. was $150,842. Contract
will be awarded at the January
meeting of the board.
The firm is operated by C. G.
Baskin and W. Guy Krebs. Jr.
The 25-bed hospital will be of
brick, and operating rooms will]
ic at*-conditioned.
rWBC DINNER MONDAY
IT LONGFELLOW HOUSE
The YWBC will hold its Christ
nas dinner at Longfellow House
Vlonday at 7:30 p. m.
County Dredge uoming To Pascagoula
As Work On Seawall Extension Begins
Ditch To Bo Dug
Between 2 Rivers;
Beach To Be Made
The county dredge is scheduled
to arrive in Pascagoula late this
week to start work on several
jobs including the pumping in of
a new sand beach along the sea
wall. Beat Three Supervisor Joe
V. Krebs said Tuesday.
The dredge will be towed here
from Ocean Springs where it has
been working since it was put
into operation in early September.
Seawall Work Starts
Meanwhile, work also started
this week on extension of the
seawall approximately 1500 feet
to the east. Construction is of
concrete pile and slab. When it
is completed, a fill will be pumped
in behind it and the road paral
leling will be repaired and black
topped, Mr. Krebs said.
First job the dredqe will un
dertake. Mr. Krebs said, is dredg
ing of a channel to the west from
the mouth of the Pascagoula river
for the benefit of commercial and
sports fishermen.
The former channel was fil’ed
in bv the spoils from the deep
ening of the river and it is now
necessary for small craft to go
well out into the sound to find
sufficient depth of water to reach
fishing, grounds off the mouth of
the West river.
Channel 40 Feel Wide
The channel, which will be cut
through the mud lump just out of
the mouth of the East liver, will
be approximately 40 feet wide
and six to eight feet deep, Mr.
Krebs said.
The dredge will also be used to
cut out a sandbar in the Pasca
goula river near Vancleave which
has been handicapping the barg
ing of paperwood down the river.
Mr. Krebs said.
When this is completed, the
dredge will begin operation on
the beach front, with the first
pumping to be done in front of
Beach park, Mr. Krebs said.
Groins .Being Completed
The creosoted timber groins
in this area are being completed
and it is believed they will hold
the sand beach once it is pumped
in.
The dredge will have little dif
ficulty in finding sand deposits
for pumping in the beach along
the seawall. Mr. Krebs said. The
1947 and 1948 hurricanes largely
swept away the former sand
beach.
Mr. Krebs also said that later
plans call for dredging a chan
nel fronr Bayou Casotte into the
sound and for the cleaning out of
the channel in Krebs lake.
OLDEST CHILDREN S
PROGRAM
f
New York — (AP) — Because
it dates back to 1930. “Let's Pre
tend,” Saturday morning? on
CBS, classifies itself as the “old
est children’s program on the net
works.” All that time it has been I
produced and directed by Nila I
Mack.
Up-Stale Firm
Is Low Bidder
On Dock Work
The bid of W. R. Fairchild of
Hattiesburg was low among 11
submitted Tuesday for extension
of the Pascagoula city dock and
construction of a concrete foun
dation for a proposed warehouse.
Bids were opened at elty ball
at a joint meeting of the port
commission and the Pascagoula
board of mayor and commis
sioners.
The Fairchild bid for the work
totaled $135,341.24.
Other bids submitted, exclusive
of alternate prices, were:
Other Bids
E. A. Caldwell, Baton Rougp,
S143.294.6P, Arnold V. Wallker
Shipyard, $143,781.46; Ernest Con
struction Co., Mobile, $143,769.96;
Byrd & Bruns Bridge Co., New
Orleans, $148,890.20; Hancock Co.
and Espy Paving & Construction
Co., Savannah. $149,267.38.
Bernard & Byrd. Mobile, $158,
181.09: J. P. Ewin Co.. Mobile.
$162,960.27; J. Ray McDermott
Co., Harvey. La., $159,341.24; W.
Horace Williams Co., Now Or
leans. $167,524.42; R. P. Farns
worth. Inc.. New Orleans, $178,
674.46.
All bids were taken under ad
visement by the city apd port
(Continued On Page 8)
Ocean Springs
Votes On Moore
Plant Bond Issue
Voters of'Beat 4 will go to the
polls Saturday to decide whether
or not a $100,000 bond issue may
be floated for BAWI support of
the proposed E. R. Moore Co. gar
ment factory in Ocean Springs.
Polls will be open from 8 a. m.
until 6 p. m. Voters must be list
ed on the poll books, but poll tax
receipts will not be needed.
Voting will be in the five pre
cincts: West Pascagoula, at Gau
tier school; Fontainebleau, at the
Community House; North Ocean
Springs, at City Hall; South
Ocean Springs, at the new Com
munity House, and Jacobs, at St.
Martin school.
The Moore firm, largest manu
facturers of caps and gowns used
by judges, academies and fratern
al groups, decided last month to
locate a plant at Ocean Springs.
They said they will need a build
ing of 20,000 square feet. BAWI
sanction was granted in Jackson
the following week.
The company has said it will
employ 150 women full time. The
plant is expected to be in opera
tion by April 1.
Negotiations with Moore were
conducted by A. P. Moran. Beat
4 supervisor, and State Rep.
Hermes Gautier.
Buck Furby Goes To Hightower Home;
Funds Needed For Permanent Care
Buck Furhy was moved from
the county hospital Tuesday
hut. thanks to the kindness of
the* people of Jackson county,
he did not go back to the tilth
and neglect that roused public
sentiment a few weeks ago.
This time, the almost totally
paralyzed 20-year-old youth
went to the home of Mrs. W. B.
Hightower. 1800 Elder Ferry
rd. with expenses paid by pub
lic contribution.
Fund Raised Slowly
A fund for the support of
Furby was begun under spon
sorship of the welfare commit
tee of the Elks club, of which
J. F. Velcich is chairman. In
dustries. organizations and in
dividuals cooperated and to
date $325.53 has been raised,
Mr. Velcjch said.
A doubleheader basketball
game will be played Tuesday,
by the Cy Rape girls' team of
Gulfport and the Mobile Pulley
Works girls and by a Pasca
goula-Moss Point all-star men's
team and an undecided oppon
ent at the Moss Point gym. The
games were arranged after play
ers on the teams volunteered to
| stage the tilts to augument the
Furby fund. The girls' games
will be at 7:30 p. m. and tha
men’s at 8:30 p. m.
Members of the local men’s
team are M. J. “Red” Bullock,
D. B. “Mutt" Floyd, Boyce
“Venus” Jones. Manus Bart
ling. Charles Olsen. Perry Gau
tier and Alfred Moore.
Cared For Buck Last Year
Buck is not a stranger in the
Hightower home' Mr. High
tower is a stepson of Buck’s
father by a former marriage
and the helpless boy was cared
for by Mr. and Mrs. Hightower
j for five months a year or so .
ago.
One of several children, the
youngest of whom is less than
two years, Bucl? lay helpless
for nearly 14 years in the midst
of poverty and want.
A kindly neighbor. Mrs. John
Woodcock, saw the youth lying
in his bed in the doorway of the
ramshackle house (for which
the family pays an absentee
' landlord S10 a month rent) and
when investigation proved he
was intermittently fed and nev
(Continued On Page 8)