Evening star., 1936-04-02
BY WARD MOREHOUSE.

CHERAW, S. c., April 2 (N.A.N.A). |
-Eerie, and yet somewhat soothing, |
are the middle of -the-night sounds Of |
railroading in the South. The cease |
less puff-pufi1ng of freight and pas
senger trains, however distant, seems |
always just outside your hotel window. |
The long, low, melancholy whistle
blasts are actually reassuring. They |
make you feel that, down here in the |
cotton country, at least, real old
fashioned locomotives, no stream-lined |
nonsense, are hurtling past the pine
thickets, drawing real coaches with
grimy, sooty red plush seats.
Cheraw, with its quiet streets, its
sawmills and its embracing Incidence,
seems far removed from q chromium
and hurrying world.
And then, too, the before-daybreak
sounds from the barnyard, intruding
upon the 4 am. stiffness, are easy upon
ears accustomed to Manhattan clatter;
the tall pines, fragrant in the early
morning air. and fringing the open,
tr1ffic-free roadway, are even easier
upon the eyes trained and strained to
take in the warnings and enticements
Of Northern traffic lanes. There are,
to be sure, roadside placards down
this way, but you do find endless
straightaways where no signboard
shrieks at you, miles and miles of
white road, pine trees and sky-not
human, not a signboard, not q dog,
mule or sheep.
Pleasant Countryside.
For the fragrance Of the pine
groves, for the spectacle Of a placid
countryside, with the chimney smoke
indicative Of before breakfast hustle
in the one-story farm houses. I sug-
gest the stretch Of Roadway, U. S.
No. I, from Camden to Cheraw on
cool March morning. just tried it
and 1t seemed to make this whole
jaunt worth while.
Talks with people encountered en-
route-impromptu little talks that
didn't take much time-have yielded
opinions on a variety Of matters. In
setting down the ptrasings I've
striven for complete accuracy of quo
tation. There was, remember, the
filling station man near the high,
mud yellow Appomatox River. He
spoke his mind as he cleaned the
windshield.
I'VE all doin' pretty good around
here can't really say whether
we're really for Roosevelt or against
him. More people seem to be passing
through and we're selling q good bit
of gas Gee. these bugs sure stick,
don't they? We call 'em night gnats.
They dry on there and they're mighty
hard to get OF There! Guess
that does it. Nothing like chamois
for gettin' a windshield real good and
clean"
Base Bah Weakness.
News stand, Hotel Sir Walter, town
of Raleigh. The man at the counter
discovered mutual weakness-base
ball. YEAH" he said. "the big
leagues are sure full Of the boys from
Carolina. Ferrell, Bolton, Whitehead.
Dusty Cooke. Johnny Allen, Gosin,
Cecil Travis, Buddy Myer. You could !
do all right with an all-North Caro- |
lima ball club Want to know why |
there're so many Of them up North? |
Well, there're. these amateur leagues |
all over the State, these fellers are |
playing all the time and the kids not |
old enough to make the leagues are
playing on corner lots. No wonder"
At Apex, N. c., not 20 miles from
Raleigh, q roadside merchant runs q
ZOO in connection with his gas station
and lunch stand. The recent Winter
seems to have bothered him. He said:
why, that was the coolest Winter
we've had in 40 years. I guess we
had II snows-no, IL. Sure hurt
business, too. All that cold weather
come On us all of a sudden. Had
to be careful about my animals
especially the monkeys. Didn't bother
the big brown bear though. Shed
stay inside her house there and come
out when she felt like it. Nothing
bothers that bear. She's a fine bear.
Best ever had. She drinks a couple
O. dozen bottles O. soda pop every
day and 1t seems to agree with her"
Pinehurst, one of the Nations much
advertised resort spots, is of the main
highway some six miles. The Spring
season is now at its height. The
hotels, all American plan, are jammed.
Many guests come for golf. many
for health.
Once . Professional
At the Carolina, apparently the
pride of Pinehurst, Edward G. Fitz-
gerald, the manager, spoke thus:
II used to catch in professional
ball-was with the Philadelphia Ma
tionals for few weeks. They then
had Doom and Jacklitsch and didn't
need me. was offered a proposition
to come down here and play ball.
Well, I did and I've been around
Pinehurst for rs years. Fine place,
great climate. Smell those pines?
Come, let me show you around. Il
This is what we call our pine room
the cocktail bar. Sure, North
Carolina's dry-all but 1S counties.