01 Jan 1955
Page 1
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Newspaper
High Point Enterprise
Location
High Point, North Carolina, United States of America
Date
Jan 01, 1955
Page
1
The article surveys New Year customs across cultures including China Japan Scotland France and Europe. It notes watch nights in America open houses and festive street celebrations with wealth of symbols promising health wealth and luck.
All college and preparatory students of First Presbyterian are invited to a church dining room breakfast tomorrow at 9 30 oclock. Fellowship Sunday School Class members will host and Miss Mary Stuart will give the invocation. Mrs E B Collins, teacher of the Fellowship Class, will deliver a New Years message at the conclusion.
Newly elected officers of the First Presbyterian Church will be installed during a special service in the church sanctuary tomorrow evening, following the regular six o'clock supper for the young people.
First Baptist sets a morning service theme Journey Into 1955 with the Rev. Rawlinson delivering the message. An ordination service for deacons is planned for the evening worship hour. Also announced is an organ recital by Norman Acker and Henry Whipple on Monday January 17 in the church auditorium hosted by the Musical Art Club of High Point.
The pastor Rev Neil Armstrong underlined the need for every member of both the Sunday School and the church to be present for this important day. The roll call will line up the entire Membership of the church for more on page two.
Americans greeted 1955 with reverence and joy from Times Square to Trinity Church. Watch Night services and a nationwide chain of prayer organized by the Methodist Church marked the start of the new year while revelers celebrated with horns confetti and noisemakers. A baby was born in Great Falls Montana to Lt and Mrs Lowell W Voses at the air force base.
The 1954 weather in North Carolina was dominated by Hurricane Hazel and an extended drought. The drought began in January and Hazel caused about 100 million dollars in damage on October 15 as it crossed two thirds of the state. The eastern Piedmont saw the heaviest rains while Raleigh recorded 8.43 inches in January and the year overall ran nearly eight inches below normal. The state also marked the hottest September on record at 109 degrees in Weldon and an October high of 102 in Albemarle.
Western Europe welcomed 1955 with a spending spree described as its gayest since before the war. Yet beneath festive celebrations the Iron Curtain warned of tensions from both blocs.
The sixth annual Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena features 34 equestrian units a score of bands and many floats including Long Beach’s Say It With Flowers. Miss Universe 1954 Miriam Stevenson joins float No 1 as queen with six princesses.
Sen. Russell announced a careful Senate inquiry into administration defense plans including a proposed Army strength cut. Ridgway and other service chiefs would briefing on manpower reductions of 243000 to 1,100,000 by June, with further 100000 cuts planned next year. Discharges of 44000 draftees and 3400 reserve lieutenants were also anticipated pending final approval.
A resident sought guidance from Omaha Fire Commissioner Simon about a condemned shed on her property. He suggested hosting a party and inviting friends to help tear down the building with hammers.
In Gastonia North Carolina a group of teenagers planned a large firecracker salute from a car but failed to open the window first the blast injured 14 year old Robert H ar severely and other youths including James Robert Roper 17 and Benice Crumbley 16 received injuries two boys escaped serious harm. The blast shattered the car windshield disrupted the radio and upholstery. The injured were taken to hospitals in Gastonia and Charlotte while police investigated which youth threw the cracker.
Mrs O M Bolin of Macon gave birth to a daughter at one second after midnight. The event marks the arrival of a newborn girl in the city records.
North Carolina reported 943 highway deaths in 1954 with eight hours of 1955 still to count. The last fatality was Clyde Wadford, 29, of Thomasville, when a truck overturned in Davidson County. Officials noted traffic was light to normal but expected to rise during the holiday weekend. The toll was slated to be the lowest since 1950, compared with 1,118 in 1953.
A New Year’s Day survey records 42 violent deaths in the United States from 6 p.m. Friday to midnight Sunday. Among the fatalities are 35 in motor accidents, 3 in fires, 4 from other causes, with Hoke L. Vandigrill of Montgomery Alabama named among the deceased. Two Indiana highway crashes killed six, and three teens died when struck near Batavia New York. The National Safety Council projects 240 traffic deaths for the holiday period, with state totals listed for Alabama California Indiana and others.
The North Carolina Motor Vehicles Department reminds Tar Heels they have until month end to obtain 1955 automobile license plates. The notice stresses timely renewal to avoid penalties.
Washington reports a note from the Soviet Foreign Ministry offering to release William T. Marchuk William A. Verdine and John H. Noble in exchange for a U.S. concession. The three have languished in Soviet custody since 1945 1949 and 1948 with varying fates. The note arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow amid limited official comment from the State Department and Secretary of State Dulles. Possible swaps include Russian sailors on Formosa seeking asylum in the United States.
North Carolina legislators head to Raleigh for the 1955 session with state finances and the school segregation issue dominating the agenda. Leaders say no final move on segregation until the US Supreme Court rules, while some urge a policy statement to express the state's stance.
In Fayetteville North Carolina an unidentified Black man was shot to death at the home of Mrs W S Bethea near Raeford Road. Sheriff L L Guy said Mrs Bethea returned from work at the Prince Charles Hotel and found the intruder at the kitchen table. C J Johnson of Hope Mills armed with a 20 gauge shotgun aided in detaining the man until officers arrived. The assailant raised a hand as if reaching for a pocket and a warning shot was fired into the ceiling before the unidentified man was fatally shot.
U N Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold departs for New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Nehru and then Peiping for talks with Premier Chou En Lai on freeing 11 U S airmen held as spies and pursuing broader UN personnel releases since the Korean War. Mendes-France expressed good wishes for his mission.
Gov. Hodges weighs a move to trim the five member State Utilities Commission to three. Sam Worthington resigned to join the Legislature. Fred C. Hunter, 70, is recovering from a heart attack and his term ends soon. The panel grew from two to five in 1949. Hodges cites 1954 industrial gains and tax comparisons as signs North Carolina attracts industry. He also noted federal hurricane aid and approved funds, and named Judge Hoyle Sink emergency superior court judge. He will present the message to the General Assembly next Thursday at 11 a.m.
ATLANTA Experiments with prisoners at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary claim a cure and preventive for malaria using primaquine and chloroquine. About 300 inmates participated over six years, receiving $50 and 30 days shaved from their sentences. no casualties occurred. Results supported by the National Institute of Health for the Defense Department and corroborated by Illinois tests.
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