The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1953-12-18
HISTORY TURNS NEW PAGE
In AVIATION'S BOOK AS
4-DAY CELEBRATION ENDS
Great Success Attends The Closing of Half
Century of Air Progress, With Final Lunch
con at Kill Devil Hills Thursday Afternoon;
Great Predictions Made for Future.


The captains and the kings have
departed, the tumult and the
shouting has died. The formal OBJ
servance at Kill Devil Hills of the
50th anniversary Of powered flight
has subsidized. 1t ended Thursday
afternoon on a merciful note for
this great instrument an air-sea
rescue by a Coast Guard Craft out
of Elizabeth City at p. m.
But like the brook, words, words,
words, run on forever and nothing
may stem the flow of them for a
long time to come. Words about
the events of the past four days,
words about the people who fig
ured in them, words about the
Coastland of Dare County. Words
that will be read, and many of them
remembered through the years to
come, to stir recollections and
arouse interest and to bring a con-
tinuing swarm of visitors to Kill
Devil Hills, the seashore, Roanoke
Island, Cape Hatteras, Ocracoke
and numerous other sites and
scenes.
And while men from many lands
and children from other schools
and speakers from neighboring
towns figured in this four-day
celebration, not too many of Dare
County people had a part in the
doings, and we did not seize fullest
opportunity to display the budding
talent of our students. The high
school bands of Elizabeth City,
Edenton and Princes Anne County
Virginia came to make splendid
showings. People of other places,
Elizabeth City in particular con-
tributed literally of their time and
money to help the cause.
The visitors to this celebration
saw many things of interest, and
they heard new predictions of the
future of flying, which though
fantastic they may have sounded
were not received with any degree
of the skepticism that met the
news of the achievement of the
Wright Brothers SO years ago.
When the last transport load of
visitors disappeared into the sky
from the Manteo Airport Thursday
afternoon, another fresh new page
opened and another half century
Of aviation history began. Visitors
had heard great predictions during
the four days. Predictions by air
experts of incredible speeds, of
trips to the Moon, and other things
which to US seem no more fanciful
today than did the news of SO wears
ago.
News of the events during the
past four days have been covered
in detail in the daily press. The
occasion brought many men famous
in the world of aviation to Dare
County. 1t was a celebration that
was masterfully planned and ex-
ecuted. 1t had able men to see this
was done. Ralph Whitener, of the
U. S. Air Force Association who
master-minded the celebration and
directed its execution publicly
praised his co-workers, and the CO.
operative spirit of the people of
this area who appeared on every
hand willing to help.
Miles L. Clark, for many years
head of the Kill Devil Hills Mem
orial Society was Chairman of the
Celebration. Carl Goerch was
Chairman of the N. C. Commits
sion. Aycock Brown on the local
scene gave valient service.
The Carolinian Hotel at Mays
Head did itself proud in taking
care of the visitors and in mea-
surfing up to the highest standards
to be expected anywhere by a
hotel catering to an event of this
kind. 1t has another time proved
its value to the distinction of Dare
County and was again a splendid
| medium of public relations.
The visitors to this celebration
witnessed many superlative ex-
amples of the efficiency and worth
of our nations armed forces in the
representation present and cooper
ating in this celebration. The
Army, Marine Corp, Navy, Coast
Guard, Air Corp, all had response
bic parts in this affair. The Ma
tional Park Service had big spot
in this program and did magni-
See AVIATION, Page Ten