Henderson daily dispatch., December 08, 1933, Page PAGE SIX, Image 12

About Henderson daily dispatch. (Henderson, N.C.) 1914-1995

Image provided by: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, Chapel Hill, NC

                
PAGE SIX
Telephone Company And
City Grew Up Together
\
Carolina Telephone and Telegraph Company, Which
Absorbed Old Home Company, Given Boost in In
fancy by Henderson Business Men of lhat Day
One of the early business concerns
of this city that had much to do with
the growth and development of Hen
derson was the Home Telephone and
Telegraph Company. It was organized
here and gradually expanded until
it had exchanges in all this part of
Noith Carolina and a number in
Virginia. Several years ago it was
merged with the Caroptla Telephone
and Telegraph Company, a corpora
tion operating in Eastern North Caro
him. and the home office was mov
ed from Henderson to Tarboro, where
the offices are now located. J. R
Porter is executive vice-president ol
the larger company, having held the
same position also with the old Home
company prior to the consolidation.
A pcrusual of the history of th<
company reveals the names of many
business leaders of Henderson in
years long gone, many of whom have
since died, hut many of whom are
still living and reside here or else
where in this or other states.
The Carolina Telephone and Tele
graph Company was organized No
vember 11. 1895. as the Henderson
Telephone Company, with the late N
l*. Strause ns president; T. T. Hicks
vice president; H. P. Strause. treas
urer and general manager; J. H
secretary; F. C. Toepleman
electrical adviser. They also served
as directors of the. company.
The original capital was $5,000,
which was owned by the officers.
The company started business with
52 subscribers in Henderson, with an
estimated annual gross income ol
$1,315. In May, 1896. John D. Cooper
was made a director, and in January,
1900, J. Bailey Owen was chosen as
a d hector to succeed T. T. Hicks,
who had resigned.
By the end of 1900 the company
had a capital stock of $50,000, with
exchanges in Henderson, Oxford, Lit
tleton, Louisbburg, Enfield, New Bern
Warrenton and Weldon. During 1901
and 1902 toll lines were built to Wake
Forest, Greenville, Kinston, New Bern
and other places, connecting up the
Carolina fund Virginia Telephone
Company, which at that time ope
rated exchanges adjacent to the Hen- ;
derson Telephone Company.
fn 1903 the Henderson Telephone
Company and the Carolina and Vir
Henderson Has Been Big Factor
In Telephone Development
Henderson has played no small part in the early development of the telephone business. It was here in 1895
(hat this company was first started with only 52 local subscribers. Today there are over 1300 telephones
operated through the Henderson exchange, which are in daily communication with all parts of the country.
Hast communication has been the outstanding factor in world progress. Os all the methods of electrical
communication, the telephone is the most popular and widely used, because its use permits a direct contact
between people in widely separated areas. Your telephone instantly puts you in touch with your family,
friends and business associates, both far and near. If necessary your telephone can be quickly connected
with with 92 per cent of the telephones in the world.
Your telephone is a constant protection to you and your family in the event of sickness, accident, fire, burg-
I ary or any calamity. The cost of having a telephone i| insignificant, when compared with the savings in
time, money and the convenience it offers. [
Call or communicate with our local manager and arrange to have a telephone installed in your home, office
or place of business. It will be one of the best investm ants you ever made. /
Carolina Telephone & Telegraph Co.
ginia Telephone Company were, mer
ged into the Home Telephone and
Telegraph Company, with the follow
ing directors; J. P. Taylor, J. Bailey
Owen, F. C. Toepleman. John D.
Cooper, W. T. Gentry, Hunt Chipley.
J, P. Taylor was elected president
and continued to serve until the
Home Telephone and Telegraph Com
pany was merged with the Carolina
Telephone and Telegraph Company.
F. C. Toepleman was elected gen
eral manager and continued to serve
'intil his death during the early part
if 1918. at which time he was suc
ceeded by J. R. Porter, the present
'•'xecutive vice-president of the Caro
’ina Telephone and Telegraph Com
pany.
The company has been a success
.Tom the beginning, developing and
xpanding. and at the time of the
merger with the Carolina Telephone
pnd Telegraph Company in 1926 had
a capital stock of $1,000,000 and over
’O.OOO subscribers in the 28 exchanges
it served. None of the original in
corporators are now connected with
‘he company. One of them. J. H.
Rridgers, is a prominent attorney in
Henderson, and two of the present
1 tractors. J. P. Taylor, of Richmond
°nd J. Bailey Owen. of Henderson,
have been connected with the com
nany almost from the very begin
ning.
A large number of the present
stockholders of the Carolina Tele
phone and Telegraph Company live
in Henderson, some of them holding
a large number of shares. Some of
the present stockholders have held
shares almost from the beginning of
the Henderson Telephone Company,
The following were stockholders on
January 15. 1901. Jennie Brodic. J.
D. Cooper. H. P. Copeland. Mrs. Jun
•"s Daniel. E. G. Davis. C. A. Lewis,
A. McCult*>n. J. Bailey Owen. H. P.
«U.rnnsn. N. P. Strause. .T. P. Taylor,
F. C. Toepleman. A. C. Zollicoffer.
The earnest, loyal support and con
tribution, both personal and in a fi
nancial way of the following pioneers
such as J. P. Taylor, J. D. Cooper,
J. Bailey Owen, F. C. Toepleman, J.
H. Bridgets, A. C. Zollicoffer, H. P.
Strause. N. P. Strause, T. T. Hicks,
James I. Miller and J. R. Teague,
contributed very much to the success
of the company. These men helped
to fix policies that are being pursued
at the present day.
HENDERSON, (N. C.) DAILY DISPATCH, FRIDAY. DECEMBER 8, 1938
’Phone Executive
.fSI
h IhF I
k it m
■ Hk mslmß
J. R. POUTER,
Executive Vice-President, Carolina
Telephone and Telegraph Company
J. EARLY JOHNSON
AUTO BODY EXPERT
Establishment Founded by His
Father 17 Years Ago, Doing
General Overhauling
J. Earlie Johnson, is the operator
of the garage and repair shop in the
Southern part of the city operated
under the name of his father, J. W.
Johnson, who is no longer actively
identified with the company. It was
started in Henderson 17 years ago,
and the company has been a pioneer
in body and fender work, and is one
of the few authorized Duco painting
concerns in this section. J. W. John
son, the founder of the business, is
retired and lives with his son in
Pennsylvania.
This enterprise specializes in tin*
complete repairing of wrecked auto
mobiles. including welding. frame
straightening, Duco painting and up
holstering. Mr. Johnson is some
thing of a mechanical genius and has
patented a number of novelties of
merit. He is the patentee of the auto
niatic time-controlled checker board,
which is now being placed on the
market, and which is something new
of its kind. He is an enthusiast
checker player and has won titles in
several tournaments.
J. S. Dixon is in charge of the up
holstering department of the busi
ness. He has a quarter of a cen
tury of experience in that work, and
in wood working trades. He was
formerly with the Jones Furniture
Company of Henderson in charge of
that company’s upholstering and
wood working departments. He is a
expert in his line. Mr. Dixon is a
native of Beaufort county, (North
Carolina.
Manufacturers Popular
Brands of Flour for
Homes of Section
TAKES LOCAL WHEAT
Buys or Exchanges Hour and Feed
for Grain; Robert E> Shot well
Is Manager of Five-Story
Factory
In the Vanco Mills Company Hen
derson has an establishment in which
always it has taken more than or
dinary pride. It is a concern that has
carried the name of Henderson far
and wide in the territory that is ser
ved by this community as a distribut
ing center.
Vanco is one of the older manu
facturing enterprises of the city. It
came into being nearly a quarter of
a. century ago, and in its day has
been one of the most prosperous con
cerns here.
The products manufactured are
Vanco plain and self-rising flour, and
a brand known as Vanity Fair flour.
Seaboard meal is also a leading pro
duct of the concern.
The company owns its own factory,
located at South Henderson, a five
story, concrete building, with two
large grain elevator shafts built on
to the rear, and with spur tracks of
the Seaboard Air Line railroad abut
ting the side entrances. The loca
tion is ideal for shipping purposes,
and Henderson is an equally advan
tageous shipping point and distribut
ing center. It has a capacity of 200
barrels ot flour a day.
Only the most experienced millers
are employed in producing the varied
brands that are manufactured. This
is a surety of quality products and
good workmanship, all of which is a
factor in the achievement of the suc
cess that has come to the company.
Robert E. Shotwell is manager of
the factory and director of sales. He
has been with the company for many
years. First he was a salesman and
in more recent years he has been in
charge as manager. His abilities were
recognized by the owners and the re
cognition that has come to him has
been deserved.
Under the direction of Mr. Shot
well the business has grown and sales
have increased. The territory covered
has been stretched further out and
the Vanco brand of flour products
has come to be well and widely known
to thousands of people. In spite of the
depression. Mr. Shotwell has been able
to keep the business on a profitable
basis, and in the past year or so has
made what is considered a highly cre
ditable showing with the enterprise.
Mr. Shotwell has been in business
in Henderson long enough to know
the advantages and needs of the com
munity. As a progressive manufac
turer he is looked upon as a man
who can be relied on for carrying
GREEN GRILL VERY
POPULAR RETREAT
Operated by Otto Pahlman as Drink
And Smoke Establishment In
Prominent Location
The Green Grill is a popular lunch
eonette in one of the stores of the
Stevenson Theatre building, on the
right as one enters. It is owned and
operated by B. Otto Pahlman, and
its slogan is, “You Otto Trade With
Otto,” Sandwiches, sodas, candies
and tobaccos are sold, together with
the latest magazines most in demand
and prominent newspapers of this
and other sections of the country.
Much of the favorable consideration
given the establishment is due to the
popularity and esteem of the prop
rietor. Otto Pahlman has lived in
Henderson for the past four years. He
made his acquaintance with the city*
back in the spring of 1929 when he
came here as first baseman of the
Henderson “Gamecocks,” one of the
teams in the Piedmont League. His
wonderful playing of the initial sack
on the professional baseball team won
for him a warm place in the hearts or
the community, and he lias maintain
ed that respect ever since. He was
one of the favorites on the team dur
ing the years he was with the club.
When baseball vanished from Hen
derson with the advance of the eco
nomic depression, Mr. Pahlman found
it impossible to separate himself from
the city and settled here to make his
home. He was welcomed to the city
as a resident and has made for him
self a big place in the community,
and drawn many patrons to his place
of business, which is frequented by
many patrons daily.
DR. J. E. BAXTER HAS
BIG PRACTICE HERE
Has Been Physician Attending Col
ored Patients Here for Past
Quarter of Century
Dr. J. E. Baxter is a practicing phy
sician of Henderson. He is a native
of Beaufort, Carteret county, where
ho received his early education, later
studying in a college at Talladega,
Ala., and took his medical courses
at Leonard Medical College, winning
his degree in 1905. He returned to
North Carolina and started practice
at Rocky Mount, where he had pre
viously taught school, but six months
later he moved to Henderson, and
has resided here since 1908, or 25
years.
Dr, Baxter has built ut> a large
medical practice in this city among
the people of his race. He is a mem
ber of the Baptist church, the Me
sons, Pythians and Odd Fellows. He
is the father of five children, all of
whom live in He 1°
known over a wide territory in the
practice of his profession.
his part of the responsibility of any
movement that aims at the further
ance of the best interests of Hender
son.
Carolina Power & Light
Helped The State Along
Has Contributed Large Portion of Electrical
That Made Possible Marvelous Development of P
15 Years; Big Investment In Henderson
The Carolina Power and Light
Company was chartered in 1908, and
originaly served only three towns, Ra
leigh, Sanford and Fayetteville. At
the present time it rurnishes electric
service to approximately 235 towns
and communities in the central sec
tions of North Carolina and South
Carolina and in Western North Caro
lina.
The total installed generating cap
acity of the company’s plants in 1910
was 3.500 horsepower, as compared
with the present generating capacity
of 330,000 horsepower, or an increase
of around 10,000 percent.
In 1910 the company was serving
1,250 electrical customers,, whereas
today the number is approximately
65,000.
In 1919 the total of the transmis
sion lines was 75 miles, and today it
is 2,000 miles. The transmission lines
at the present time extend from the
Virginia State line across North
Carolina and deep into South Caro
lina, and cover a considerable portion
of Western North Carolina, especially
in the Blue Ridge Mountains territory.
The most recent generating station
was put into service in 1931. This was
the Watervile plant, located on the
Pigeon river in Western North Caro
lina, with a capacity of 145,000 horse
power, with an operating head of 861
feet, which is the highest head used
by any plant east of the Rocky Moun
tains.
Prior to the opening of the Pigeon
river plant, the Norwood hydro-elec
tric plant with a capacity of 83,000
horsepower was completed, and has
been recently been designated as the
Paul A. Tillery hydro-electric station,
in honor of the late president of the
company, whose foresight conceived it
and whose efforts achieved it.
Through the contribution made by
the utilities companies of North Caro
lina, industries have developed to the
extent that the old North State ranks
among the leaders of the nation in
manufacturing.
This state is first in the manufac
ture of tobacco, cotton and textile
products, first in the manufacture of
.kitchen and wooden bed room fur
niture, second only to New York in
the payment of Federal taxes, is
■fourth among the agricultural states
in the value per acre of farm crops,
and leads all the Southern States in
the amount of capital invested in in
dustry and in the number of opera
tives employed. This progress and ad
vancement was not made nor could
it have been made without the assis
tance of a large and dependable supply
of electric power, a substantial
of which has been furnished ov A?'
years by the Carolina Pow e ,
Light Company. 1 dn <i
With its transmission lines sunm,
mg energy to approximately 234?;,'
and communities, the Carolina j! " S
and Light Company i s making 1 '
sible a fuller utilization of na tS
resources and bringing employment
contentment and opportunity u ’
people it serves. the
The company has been a bi E
in the development of Henderson
like other communities i n n s ,
ritory, The Carolina company has f,!!.
nished an unlimited supply of electrL'
energy to this city and section an?
has made possible the expansion and
development that has come with ti!
broadening of the State’s industrial
base in the past several years.
The company maintains on the
suburbs of this city one of the finest
sub-stations to be found anvwhere in
the State, and which is estimated to
have cost around one million dollars
Tremendous investment of capital
■has been made by the company i n
building up its equipment in Hender
son, and it offers facilities today for
a still further and unrestricted ex
pansion of the business and manu
facturing community here.
GATEWAY SERVICE
STATION THRIVING
Owned by A. M. Massenburg and Lo
cated at Juncture of Raleigh
Road and Main Street
The Gateway Service Station is own
ed and operated by A. M. Massenburg,
and is located at the juncture of Hen
derson’s main street and the Raleigh
highway, otherwise known as Federal
Route 1 and the national highway.
It is situated in a strategic center
for serving the tourist and for local
and neighborhood motorists
The company sells Shell gasoline
and oil products and Goodyear tires
and tubes. It is fortunate in having
entrances from four different direc
tions and an adequate crew is on duty
at all times to give prompt service to
all comers.
Mr. Massenburg has oeen a resident
of Henderson for many years, and is
well and favorably known to residents
of the community in general. His re
putation for honest and square deal
ings has attracted many customers to
his place of business, and the cour
teous treatment extended them is an
inducement to return again and again.