The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1927-05-20
A MILLION DOLLAR
IDEA FOR A REGION
If We Can Find Miss Virginia Dare the Whole
Country Will Fall Over Itself
Paying Her Homage
by W. o. SAUNDERS


visits to North Carolina de
clared that what North Caro-
lima needs more than anything
else in the world is Il press
agent. But a press agent can't
do very effective work without
an idea. I've got the idea: in
fact believe | have the idea
for one ot the greatest re-
"ional publicity stunts ever
pulled i'll america.
believe l can put Elizabeth City
and Northeastern North Carolina on
every moving picture screen in AM
erica and on the front pages and
rotagravure sections of every worth
while newspaper for weeks. | give
my idea IL Elizabeth city and il
any one wants To appropriate it,
there is no copyright on it.
In lJST there WAS born on Roam
okc Island near Elizabeth city the
first white child of English parent
age born in America. They called
her Virginia Dare. The fact of her
birth waS recorded and there her
biography ends. The English col
Ony of which her parents were
members disappeared from Roanoke
Island and were lost IL the great
white world and To history forever.
No trace of them waS ever found.
But the poetry. the romance. the
tragedy. the mystery of the fate of
Virginia Dare make 4 deathlcSS ap-
peal 10 the imagination of genera
tion after generation. AL Ot those
first col0ni<tS are forgotten save
Virginia Dare alone.
To-day the name Of Virginia Dare
is memOrialiZcd in Elizabeth City'S
beautiful community hotel--The
Virginia Dare HOtel-whiCh will
onrn early in the fall. \ great
COASTAL real estate development near
Roanoke Island has taken the name
of Virginia Dare Shores. y visOr-
Gus movement is ON foot TO have Il
great state highway leading from
the mountains to Roanoke Island
via Chowam Bridge and Elizabeth
City. named Virginia Dare Trail.
Virginia Dare has become the
hcraldic symbol of Il great region
of which Elizabeth City Is the social
and commercial metropolis. And
there isn't painting or IL statue
or even so much as 4 print of Nlr-
.inia Dare worthy of the name any
where on earth. y wine dealer put
4 picturp OF Il NOrdic blonde on Il
bottle and called it Virginia Dare.
Some sculptor made Il statue of
fat dutch woman and called it Nir-
"jnia Dare. But nowhere Is there
a picture or an image of the Nlf-
! "inia Dare that is enShrincd M the
( Imagination Of the people Of the re-
"ion or of the nation.
/ And there must he an image OF
! this romantic maiden enShrinrd
somewhere within the Imagination
/ of thc people, even tho that image
hasn't taken perceptihlc form. MY
/ idea then is TO recrcate virginia
| Dare.
/ Virginia Dare surely lives to-day
i'm the face and form Of SOME SlrI
child or woman here in Eastern
North Carolina. Who is she: W hh'
"irI child ur Young woman here III
Eastern North Carolina would bt
acclaimed Virginia Dare and her
face and form accepted aS the her-
aldic symbol of Il region that loves
and adOreS the romantic name
Shall we seek tn find her:
/ would open Il competition I"
every female. from the cradle up
to pose and compete for the honor
iof being designated aud accepted Tor
once and for all time a> Miss VIZ
..iuio Dare. would have her por'
trait PAINTED and hung in the lobby
of nur VIRGINIA Dare Hotel. would
have Il similar portrait presented 10
the State museum. | would %NC
Miss Virginia Dare herself hahd'
some purSc of money. send her on
n tour of the State accompanied DS
Elizabeth City's boy band. L would
Srnd her on Il tour of the prlnclpai
cities Of the Atlantic scab0ard, all
of her expenses paid. She WOu1d
90 every place for Il season as Il
type and representative Of IL great
region and would DC the most talked
about. the most photographed ana
most popular picture news idol ol
the day.
Folks. il can he done. Incident
ally we can bring to Elizabeth City
all the girliSh charm of Eastern
: North Carolina and stage here Il
beauty pageant unique in the his
tory of things of its kind. The
country is bit bored and nauseat
ed by bathing beauty contests: the
1 world is eager for pageant oi
{ simply sweet. beautiful. wholesome
girls. We've got EN- here in North
eastern North Carolina.
Bur the trouble with my idea Is