The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1921-06-24
FUN, FROLIC AND THRILLS
WHEN COAST GUARD CONE
Throngs Will See Hydroplanes Assist in Rescue
In Mimic ShipwrecL, While Cinema Cam
eras Grind - Other Stunts

w h1NiA AAASo AAy 1llS, Od1Iu pldy1IlS,
airplanes lowering overhead and
everybody out for good time,
Elizabeth City will welcome the
annual convention Of the Surf
mems Mutual Benefit Associa-
ton which meets in this city
Tuesday, June 28- Elizabeth
City has had several of these
conventions before and every one
Of them has been the occasion of
4 great holiday.
The Surfmen's Mutual Benefit Asso-
citation, organized right here in Eliza
beth City nearly quarter of a century
ago. is a fraternal, benevolent and pro-
tective organization composed entirely
of men in the q. S. Coast Guard or life
saving service. These seasoned veterans
of the surf are friendly, frolicsome and
full of pep. When they come they not
only graciously receive entertainment,
but they do a bit of entertaining on
their own account. They will entertain
Elizabeth City next Tuesday with. a
number of spectacular exhibitions, show
ing just how they work in actual ser
vice.
Commodore W. E. Reynolds himself,
commandant of all the Coast Guard, af-
fectionately known as The Old Man
(tho he is hardly 50), will leave his desk
in Washington and come down to see
the Coast Guard put on their stunts.
The Fox Film Co., producers and dis
tributors of news films will have their
camera men to get moving pictures of
these exhibitions, the first of their kind
ever made for the screen. These pic
lures will be shown in every moving
picture theatre in America.
With both The Old Man and the NOV
ing picture men here to watch them, the
men of the Coast Guard are determined
to give the biggest show possible.
Picked crews, composed of men who
have participated in the saving of lives
from many of the worst wrecks record
ed in the annals of the service, will
man the life boats and other ife-saving
apparatus. One of the crews will be in
charge of John Allen Midget who was
decorated by the King of England for
the heroism of himself and men in brav |
ing sea of fire to rescue the crew of
a British oil tanker which was de- |
stroyed by a German submarine off the
North Carolina coast during the world
war.
Tuesday The Big Day
Tuesday will be the feature day of
the Surfmen's Meet. The days doings
will commence at two o'clock with a
duck race, for which everybody will be |
eligible. A number of ducks will be re-
leased at a point on the river bank, and
the contestants will swim after them.
The prizes for the winners will be the i
ducks themselves. Each swimmer will
be permitted to keep all that he can
capture.
The beach gear apparatus will be
brought into play at 2:30 and the spec
tators will be shown the life savers
way of rescuing the crew of stranded
schooner, with a real vessel anchored
in Pasquotank River in full view of all
4 crew from the Fifth District will
compete with an outfit from this, the
Seventh District, in the various drills
and races of the day. At 2:45 the two
L. S. Coast Guard hydroplanes, sched-
,1led to arrive here Monday, will go
thru a series of demonstrations which
will include. the carrying of shot lines
to the ''sinking' schooner In the river,
showing the application of the latest
development of aircraft in life saving
operations. A second beach gear drill
will be given at $50, and this will be
followed by a race between two SURF
boats, manned by eight roWers each'
over a mile course. At point IN thls
race. the crews will oyerturn the Doats'
right and bale them, climb IN and com
plete the race, demonstrating thelr
training for an accident that may hap
pen at any time in a heavy sea. |,
Meanwhile. the crowds will be regaled
with music by Ziegler's band, under the
leadership of F. r. Hufty, director OF
the Elizabeth City Choral Society. HUI
tv is something of musical genus
and can be depended upon to make the
bands part of the days celebratloh
success. The baseball teams OF Heft-
ford and Edenton, the two fastest non
league baseball outfits in this part OF
the State, will play on the local ula-
mond Tuesday afternoon, and haru-
fought contest is indicated, because this
game will break an existing tie IN games
won by the contesting aggregatlons.
A Thrilling Race.
Another feature of Tuesday afternoon
will be a race between hydroplane,
skimming the surface of the water, and
a high-powered motor boat, both cap
able of a speed of 45 to SO miles an
hour under the conditions of the race,
which do not permit the airship to rise
clear of the river. Crack swimmers
will also compete for the championship
of the Coast Guard Service, and a lud1-
crous touch will be added in the tub
race, in which contestants will endeavor
to best each other in tubs, padding with
their hands. There will also be a tllt-
ing contest between rival crews IN ca
noes, the objective of each crew Delng
to capsize it's opponents craft with long
poles as weapons. 80.
On Tuesday night, the visiting IRE
savers will be rendered banquet at tne
Southern Hotel. The business sessions