“Discover History Worth Repeating” in Warrenton

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— courtesy The Chamber of Commerce of Warren County | Craig Hahn, Executive Director ~ 252-257-2657 ~ info@warren-chamber.org ~ Facebook

— by Craig Hahn

Discover History Worth Repeating is up and running in Edenton, Halifax and Warrenton. This program is a unique collaboration of three historic North Carolina towns coming together in a joint effort to market and promote themselves as connected tourist destinations. Involving elected officials and staff, the common thread among the three towns is a strong core of history and historic sites that are significant not only to the state but to the entire nation.

On occasion, it is important to repeat significant events of the past and each town has examples to “Discover History Worth Repeating”. Edenton with its Tea Party was home to a political protest organized by women in response to the Tea Act, passed by the British Parliament in 1773. Halifax with its Resolves was the site of the first official action by an American Colony calling for independence from Great Britain. Warrenton, home of the “first” architect of North Carolina, Jacob Holt, blended architectural styles while sending his workforce of sixty craftsmen to build colleges in Raleigh, Oxford and Randolph County.

The passport tour leads visitors through the participating towns and the passports are stamped at each historic, merchant, or artisan location. Hands-on activities in each town are tailored for kids of all ages: re-signing the resolves in Halifax, building architectural elements in Warrenton and cruising the bay where the Tea Party occurred in Edenton. Passport holders share their experiences online and register for giveaways and prizes.

For more information or to print a passport visit www.historyworthrepeating.org. Preprinted passports are available at any of the following locations:

Warrenton:

 Jacob Holt House – 122 S. Bragg Street

 Quilt Lizzy – 115 E. Market Street

 Town Hall – 133 S. Main Street

 Hardware Café – 106 S. Main Street

 Robinson Ferry Restaurant – 111 N. Bragg Street

 The Scarlet Rooster – 117 N. Main Street

 Friends Two – 126 S. Main Street

There are plenty of activities to do around Warrenton as part of “Discover History Worth Repeating”…

– Scavenge for relics at the Jacob Holt House.

– Build an architectural model with an artisan’s guidance at the Jacob Holt House.

– Design and make a quilt square using Underground Railroad symbols at Quilt Lizzy.

– Wander through Warrenton at your own pace and see North Carolina’s most extensive inventory of antebellum architecture in one place…start at Town Hall or the Jacob Holt House.

The website is www.historyworthrepeating.org. Great work from a number of dedicated people throughout Warrenton and Warren County!

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Norlina Market Festival Kicks Off Sat., May 19

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— courtesy The Chamber of Commerce of Warren County | Craig Hahn, Executive Director ~ 252-257-2657 ~ info@warren-chamber.org ~ Facebook

The Norlina Market Festival is the biggest celebration to come to Norlina to highlight and celebrate farming and agriculture!

There will be fresh foods, produce, goods & services available from local and neighboring county farms. The celebration includes live music, fun & exciting games, arts, crafts, food trucks, vendors, fresh locally grown fruits, fresh locally grown vegetables, locally raised meats, and more!!! This family event will take place on Saturday, May 19 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Norlina Junction Park on Liberty Street near the Norlina Post Office in downtown Norlina.

If you’re interested in setting up goods for sale or to educate the participants…or if you have a food truck you’re looking to set up at the event, please contact Latarshia Turner-Brothers via Facebook or call her at (252) 425-9845. You may also email her at newlifeofwellness@gmail.com.

This Festival is a result of the Revitalization & Planning Committee for the town of Norlina. Headed up by Norlina resident Latarshia Turner-Brothers, this committee is designed to give local families an opportunity to attend events without having to leave the county.

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Warren County to Recognize Historic Communities with Signs

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— courtesy The Chamber of Commerce of Warren County | Craig Hahn, Executive Director ~ 252-257-2657 ~ info@warren-chamber.org ~ Facebook

Warren County’s Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) is moving forward with its program to preserve County history. Permanent signs will eventually be placed across the county in communities contributing to the history and development of Warren County. To date, four pilot communities have been designated: Ridgeway, Russell Union, Arcola/Bethlehem and Soul City.

Citizens seeking to be included in this new effort are still needed to form committees to research their communities’ history, select a roadside site where motorists can pull over to read the sign and to raise funds for the purchase of the signs (similar in appearance to the silver-toned signs already in the county). The County’s Planning/Zoning and Code Enforcement Department working in conjunction with the HPC will select a company to produce the signs similar to what is done for State markers through the State Historic Preservation Office.

Signs have been researched to cost approximately $2000 and funding is available to assist the Ridgeway, Russell Union, Arcola/Bethlehem and Soul City in starting their respective efforts. Communities that raise the necessary remaining funds would need to have checks written out to Warren County General Fund and delivered/mailed to:

Warren County Planning/Zoning and Code Enforcement Department

Attn: Ken Krulik

542 West Ridgeway Street

Warrenton, NC 27589

Ken Krulik, Planning and Zoning Administrator, as staff to the HPC, shall maintain records of funds collected and from which community. In an earlier article he said “In identifying the various communities with these signs, those who visit our county and those who reside here can learn more about its history and contributions as well as how these local areas were formed. Through this new program, the HPC is working to preserve and promote these communities as well as protect our county’s cultural heritage.”

The signs will include the name of the community, historical information such as when the community was established and why it is prominent in Warren County’s history, the county seal and the county’s tourism website address, where additional information can be viewed. The HPC plans to partner on the project with the county library, which can archive additional historical information about the communities, such as genealogical research and photographs.

Community members interested in participating or getting more information may contact Ken Krulik at (252) 257-7027,    (252) 257-3037, or KenKrulik@warrencountync.gov.

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Hayley-Haywood Park Dedication Ceremony in Warrenton, Sat, May 19

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— courtesy The Chamber of Commerce of Warren County | Craig Hahn, Executive Director ~ 252-257-2657 ~ info@warren-chamber.org ~ Facebook

The Town of Warrenton is set to dedicate the Haley-Haywood Park, a new park just off Franklin Street, next to the Warren County Senior Center on Saturday, May 19, 2018. Officials from the Town of Warrenton, Warren County, and local residents will be on hand to officially open the park and honor famous Warren County native, Dr. Julian Haywood, who donated the land.

The ceremony is scheduled to have light refreshments, African drumming, a raffle and several speakers. Mayor Walter Gardener of Warrenton will be on hand with remarks and a proclamation.

Following the ceremony, the Town of Warrenton will have a disc golf giveaway and a chance to play a round of disc golf on the course in the Hayley-Haywood Park.

The new park will serve as a gathering place for the community, complete with nine “holes” of disc golf.

Disc golf is similar to regular golf; however, instead of using golf clubs and balls aiming for a hole, disc golf players use golf discs and aim for a disc pole hole, a pole extending from the ground with chains and a basket where the disc lands.

The object of the game is to complete each hole in the fewest number of throws, starting from a tee area and finishing at the disc pole hole. Players start at a tee area and complete the course in order, playing through to the last hole. The player with lowest total cumulative score wins.

“Beatle Mania Mystery” at the Historic Hotel Norlina

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— courtesy The Chamber of Commerce of Warren County | Craig Hahn, Executive Director ~ 252-257-2657 ~ info@warren-chamber.org ~ Facebook

— by Craig Hahn

***Photographs courtesy Leigh Traylor***

As many of you know from earlier Warren County Historical Tidbits and daily drives thru Norlina, we have a diamond in the rough and 100+ year old treasure in the Hotel Norlina right on US #1 in Norlina.

The Historic Hotel Norlina as it appeared in 1973

Recently, a Warren County resident, Margaret Moseley has begun working with the current owner of the Hotel Norlina to bring it back to life and open a new chapter for this regal building. As they’ve worked to host sales before Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter for local home-businesses that attracted up to 200 shoppers in a day, Margaret and the owner have been working to take the steps necessary to earn funding and support for the Historic Hotel Norlina over the recent months. Part of their work has been doing extensive research into the history of this hotel.

In doing that research, one “local legend” that kept tugging at Margaret was that of a visit in the 1960’s by Beatles’ members John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Could she find proof? Check out the telling of this story by Margaret herself…

“Beatle Mania Mystery”

By Margaret H. Moseley

As some of you may or may not know, the owner of Historic Hotel Norlina is in the beginning process of restoring the old building to her former glory and has plans to start a historic museum/library. We have been researching the history of the hotel and of the town of Norlina and want to incorporate the library/museum to retain the history of its past and record the present day activities for generations to come.

For decades it has been rumored that “The Beatles”, well at least a couple of them, stopped at Hecht Hardware Store’s Indian Museum in Norlina during the 1960’s. It was rumored that John Lennon and Paul McCartney visited and other rumors stated it was John Lennon and Ringo Starr.

I wondered why no one has ever tried to find the answer. My curiosity got the better of me so I was on a mission to find the truth behind the legend. Through extensive research, detective work, numerous phone calls and communications I located the person in possession of the log book and pleaded for just a copy of the pages. I recently received the coveted copies of the Museum Log Book from the present owners. Upon reviewing some of the log pages, I thought we had found the proof necessary to verify that the famous entertainers did indeed stop in Norlina. There it was in black and white, John Lennon and George Harrison’s names dated 12/22/1969. I was ecstatic that we finally had proof of their visit. However; a little voice of reasoning was nagging, “You need to research the authenticity of the signatures”. Although it would have been the easy thing to do and just say we have proof, I listened to the voice of reason and with the confidential help of a friend and “Norlina native”, began an extensive research of authentic certified autographs from both John Lennon and George Harrison.

Much to our dismay, the signatures bear no resemblance to that of the certified autographs. Not only do they not resemble the original signatures, we found that there is absolutely no way possible that John Lennon would have been here in Norlina on that date as there is documentation proving otherwise. You see, December 16, 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono left England on a tour to Canada. This was their “War is Over, Give Peace a Chance” marking the end of their two-year protest of war. https://www.beatlesbible.com/1969/12/16/john-lennon-yokoono-fly-to-toronto-canada/.

Now I have more questions than answers and have begun a new search for some facts. I have always believed that where there is rumor, there is also some truth; therefore, I need the assistance of anyone who actually may have seen, know of someone who saw, or have any other proof that the Beatles were at the museum at Hecht’s Hardware Store. If anyone has any information, could you please come forward and assist us in solving the mystery. You can contact Margaret Moseley at 252-820-8032 or via email at mhmoseley1@gmail.com.

So, there you have it. Can you help? I’m confident that there is someone in our wonderful County that can shed some light on this story. Please keep me in the loop as you pass along your information. Here’s to solving our “Beatle-Mania Mystery!”

Wherever you turn in Warren County we have a jewel… “Warren County Historical Tidbits” is a project of The Chamber of Commerce of Warren County.

NC Coop Extension

NC Cooperative Extension Seeking Summer 4-H Youth Interns

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-Information courtesy Crystal M. Smith, County Extension Director, N.C. Cooperative Extension Service – Warren Co.

NC Cooperative Extension is seeking summer 4-H youth interns to assist in Warren County. Interns will help with 4-H Summer Palooza, assist with 4-H activities, attend an educational field trip, greet youth and parents, attend meetings and have fun!

This program is for teens ages 13 – 18 who want to develop and improve their leadership skills. Teens must apply for an internship position, participate in leadership training, commit to volunteering in 4-H summer fun day camps, and complete a leadership project record book and resume.

This is also a great way for high school students to complete volunteer hours needed for graduation.

Interns must volunteer 35 hours from June – August.

Applications may be found online and should be completed by Thursday, May 31, 2018.

A youth training session will be held Monday, June 11, 2018, from 1 – 5:30 p.m. A parent meeting will be held from 6 – 7 p.m., on Tuesday, June 5. Both sessions will be held at the NC Cooperative Extension Office, Warren County Center, 158 Rafters Lane, Warrenton.

For more information, please call NC Cooperative Extension, Warren County office at 252-257-3640 or contact Crystal Smith via email at cmsmith2@ncsu.edu.

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Grooms Charged with First Degree Murder, Sentenced to Life Without Parole

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-Press Release, Office of District Attorney Mike Waters

Warrenton, NC – Warren County Criminal Superior Trial Court was held during the week of April 30, 2018. Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Henry W. Hight, Jr. presided over the term. The State of North Carolina was represented by District Attorney Mike Waters and Assistant District Attorney Onica Fuller.

Much of the week was devoted to the murder trial of Kadeem Grooms, who, along with Marquis Davis, Montrell Davis and Darren Alston, was charged with First Degree Murder, five counts of Attempted Murder, two counts of Shooting into an Occupied Vehicle and one count of Assault with a Deadly Weapon with the Intent to Kill.

The acts occurred in the early morning hours of August 9, 2015, when six men from Oxford traveled to the Connect 25 nightclub in Warren County. As the six men were leaving Connect 25, they were fired upon. Michael Pressley, a passenger in one of the vehicles, was shot and died as a result of his wounds.

A Warren County jury deliberated approximately 70 minutes before returning guilty verdicts on all counts. Judge Hight sentenced Mr. Grooms to life in prison without parole for the First Degree Murder conviction, plus 70 years for the other offenses. Darren Alston and Montrell Davis had previously plead in the matter. Marquis Davis is scheduled for trial during the September trial term of Warren County Superior Court and is innocent until and unless proven guilty.

This matter was investigated by the Warren County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

Upcoming I-85 Closures for May

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— courtesy The Chamber of Commerce of Warren County | Craig Hahn, Executive Director ~ 252-257-2657 ~ info@warren-chamber.org ~ Facebook

I-85 Monday (5/7/18) – I-85 northbound traffic will be shifted on a median crossover just north of US-1. I-85 traffic will be in a two-way one-lane pattern from just north of US 1 until northbound traffic crosses back to the northbound lanes just north of Manson Road.

The following ramps will be closed this entire phase (will be reopened this fall):

(I-85 northbound off-ramp at Flemingtown), reference TMP-65 for Detour

(I-85 northbound on-ramp at Flemingtown), reference TMP-66 for Detour

(I-85 northbound on-ramp at Manson), reference TMP-68 for Detour

This shift will build the last northbound section of I-85, scheduled to be completed by mid-November 2018.

Wednesday/Thursday (05/09/18 to 05/10/18) – Flemingtown Road will be shut down for two days starting on Wednesday, May 9 for the I-85 northbound bridge demo. I-85 southbound will not be impacted because the I-85 southbound off-ramp to Flemingtown and southbound on-ramp from Flemingtown will be open to traffic. I-85 northbound ramps will already be closed, so no additional impacts.

Flemingtown road traffic will be detoured from US 158 to Jacksontown to Jackson-Royster Road and the same detour route will be used in the opposite direction for traffic trying to get from Flemingtown Road to US 158.

For real-time travel information at any time, visit DriveNC.gov, or follow NCDOT on Twitter.

WIZS Celebrates 63 Years On the Air!

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On this first day of May 63 years ago, what is now known as WIZS signed on to the airwaves in a full-time capacity for the first time. The station has been on the air continuously ever since bringing the community local news, sports, music and entertainment.

The Rose family, who purchased the radio station from legislator and Oxford native Stan Fox in 1989, are the fourth owners of the station and are very honored to serve the community.

“We are very thankful to be here in the community and to be able to continue a passion that my dad, John D. Rose, III had,” said WIZS Owner/Operator John Charles Rose. “He was fascinated by the radio and the notion that you could talk in one place and someone could hear you in another.”

In speaking of his father, who has been deceased ten years, Rose said,  “I miss him very much. It’s unbelievable that much time has gone by.”

John D. Rose, III was just 10 years old in 1955 when Harold V. Harrell, a tv and radio repairman from Oxford, started the station under the call letters WHVH. Lawrence Brandon, the owner of WWCO in Connecticut purchased the station from Harrell a few years later. The call letters were changed to WIZS around 1959, shortly after the station was sold to Stan Fox and his business partners Irv Fox and Seymour Dworsky.

In celebration of WIZS’ 50th anniversary in 2005, The Daily Dispatch in Henderson printed a publication in honor of the station that included a more detailed history and special memories from local citizens and businesses.

Today, WIZS is still in business, thanks in part to the focus on bringing concise, local news to the community. Recent changes to the programming structure were made with this in mind. Exciting things are happening at WIZS, including a new Beach Music Blast segment. Stay tuned…

Munn Pleads Guilty to Two Counts of First Degree Murder

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-Press Release, Office of District Attorney Michael D. Waters

On Monday, April 30, 2018, during a session of Warren County Criminal Superior Trial Court, Kevin Burton Munn entered pleas of guilty in two counts of First Degree Murder. One count of First Degree Murder in the death of Vance County businessman James Thomas “Tommy” Ellington, Jr., and one count of First Degree Murder in the death of Lake Gaston resident Nancy Bowling Alford.

As part of his agreement, Mr. Munn will cooperate with authorities as to the investigation of other individuals involved in these cases, in exchange for two consecutive life sentences. Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Henry W. Hight, Jr. continued sentencing in this matter.

Below are statements from the Ellington and Alford families:

“The Ellington family continues to be grateful for the dedication of local and state law enforcement working in conjunction with the DA’s office to pursue justice in Tommy’s murder case. While today’s events will not replace the void we all feel with Tommy’s loss, our prayer is that it will aid the healing process for family and friends, as well as bring more peace of mind to the community. As this is an ongoing investigation, we are not able to comment further at this time.” – The Ellington Family

“The events of March 9, 2018, changed our family forever. We will forever be grateful to all of the law enforcement officers who worked tirelessly to apprehend the men responsible and who continue still to work in the investigation process. We are also very thankful to the Office of the District Attorney for their dedication to this case. We know that all of these people have put us on the path toward justice and pray daily for their continued resolve to bring safety to the communities they serve.” – The Alford Family