The Wilmington morning star., 1947-10-15
A Testimonial
BY JOHN SKIES

WALLACE, Oct. lZ-IhlS is
sort of begrudged testimonial to
the Morning Stars circulation
in the province of southeastern
North Carolina written with
dazed amazement, or amazed
-dazement- can't figure out ex-
'aetly which.
It should have been writer
yesterday, if at all. But l was
TOO sleepy then, which state Of
exhaustion - physical, mental,
and spiritual - was directly at
tributable to the aforemen-
tioned Morning Stars circula-
ton in the aforementioned prov
inee of Southeastern North Car
ofina.
l was in NO position, figura-
lively and literally, TO gather
any notes for this indition.
Therefore, I draw freely from
memory which l do not trust
any too much because OF its
shaken condition.
. However, it all stems from a
special section of the Star In
which there was printed a good
many sticks of type extolling
the virtues of the town of Wal
lace as a more than commonly
good place for farmers to sell
their tobaccos and as a munich
patty in which the citizens have
a more than ordinary amount
Of get up and do.
Inasmuch as I am 9 firm be-
lever in the merits Of Wallace
and concur Fundamentally with
the opinion of Mayor Hoffler Of
here that the place is one of
the most progressive towns in
America and because I'm paid
for doing the job, I had a hand
in the production of this par
ticular special section.
I fell in love so deeply with
the section and it's attendant
contents that I stuck around the
Star editorial, composing, and
press rooms until the product
had been given birth. And, be-
ing a person of much heart,
even then I was reluctant to
leave this babe without person
ally helping to steer its fledg-
ling steps to the heaths and
hearthstones of the countryside
where it might expect to find
the warmth OF human interest.
Especially since these steps
must be made over the maze
of byways that vivisect south
eastern North Carolina and dur
ing that part of the night which,
on Monday morning, might well
be described as the dank and
stark and gloomy hours before
dawn.
A.. c. Blue, of the Stars bat
terry of normally unseen en-
ployees, - Unseen because they
snap to duty just after the coun-
try club set has sprawled itself
into bed for what is left of the
night and just before the coun-
try set has sprung out Of bed
10 get on with another long
days chores - invited me to
ride with him to Wallace in one
of the Stars panel jobs from
which, each morning, the new
ly-born Star is tossed to the
c%itizenry.
I mention panel job purpose
ly because Mr.. Blue comforted
me, after we'd trundled out
through Wilmington's streets
onto the highway about Wrights-
boro, by saying, when this par
ticular panel job became invol-
we'd in the centrifugal force that
is set up when a vehicle whams
boi-terously around a sharp
curve, that "'these panel jobs
never do turn over when they
seem like they're going to-"
I was glad that he told me
that because I'd already picked
out a spot somewhere about
Castle Hayne where I would
probably look natural laid out
upon the ground while n of
the good burghers went to fetch
Coroner Gordon Dorar to come
out and take a clinical look at
my mortal remains.
Mr.. Blues remarks treasured
me as to thu normal right-side-
upness of the panel job
l was pretty sleepy when Mr..
Blue and I, ana a few thousand
freshly printed Stars, took off
from the lot back Of the Murchi-
son building where the painting
paper boys await their %consign-
ments of Stars each morning.
l figured I'd be in Wallace
IN about an hour and get a cou-
pie OF hours Of sleep before
sprlnglng up eagerly from my
bed to scamper out to the Wal
lace warehouse floors to record
more good sales made by to-
bacco farmers of this section.
That's where I ran into the
Stars circulation a formidable.
huge proposition which must he