The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1957-08-16
BIG DAY
Continued from Page One)

"
Franklin d. Roosevelt to attend
the big doings at Roanoke Island
on Aug. 49,. 1887, the President
accepted.
Committees were named to rep
resent the U. S. Congress at the
historic event and Gov. Hoey
named what he called the North
Carolina State Committee to give
President Roosevelt the right kind
of greetings when he set foot on
Roanoke Island.
Members of the u. S. Senate
committee were: Senator's Charles
C. McNary of Oregon, Alben w.
Barley of Kentucky, Henry Cabot
Lodge of Massachusetts, and
Josiah w. Bailey and Robert R..
Reynolds of North Carolina.
House committee members We're:
Representatives Warren, and Ora
ham A. Barden of North Carolina,
Sam Rayburn of Texas, S. Otis
Bland of Virginia, Patrick j. b.
land of Pennsylvania, Bertrand
Smell of New York, and Norman
R. Hamilton of Virginia.
Members of the North Carolina
State committee were: Gov. Hoey,
chairman, former Gov. ]. C. B.
Ehringhaus, vice chairman, Miss
Beatrice Cobb of Morganton, Wade
Lucas of Raleigh, Percy w. Meek
ms of Lenoir, Mrs. M. L. Yelver-
ton of Fountain, Mrs. w. H. Belk
of Charlotte, and D. Hidden Ram
sey of Asheville.
The President, accompanied by
Postmaster General James A. Far
ley, members of the congressional
committees, Representative Robert
L. Doughton of North Carolina,
then chairman of the powerful
tax-writing House Ways and
Means committee, and numerous
others arrived at Elizabeth City
at 9:27 am. on Aug. 1S, 1887,
enroute to Roanoke Island.
Thousands upon tn ou n d S
greeted the smiling Roosevelt at
Elizabeth City. After about Is
minutes after the presidential spe-
cial train had halted at the Nor
folk Southern station at Elizabeth
City, Mr.. Roosevelt and his party
rode through the cheering throngs
to the dock.
There they boarded Coast Guard
cutter 143 and headed for Manteo.
Meanwhile, the members of the
North Carolina State committee
waited at the Manteo docks. For
mer Gov. Ehringhaus, who was
born in Pasquotank county and
who was considered the best in
formed of any member of the COM
mittee to tell President Roosevelt
the story of the lost colony sent
out by Sir Walter Raleigh some
$50 years before, was the commit
tee spokesman.
AS the only newspaper reporter
allowed aboard the Coast Guard
cutter and then only because this
writer happened to be an official
member of the welcoming commit
tee, we went up the gangplank to
receive a yard-wide smile from
Mr.. Roosevelt and the typical
Rooseveltian handshakes.
Gov. Ehringhaus, always adept
at phrase making and in unusually
good speaking form that hot Au-
gust day, began to tell Roosevelt
about the lost colonists the while
he boosted Roanoke Island and
North Carolina as the birthplace
of the nation.
Putting cigarettes through the
long-remembered and long holders
he used, Mr.. Roosevelt listened
closely for several minutes.
nPardon me, Governor, but ]
might be able to add a little to
what you are telling US about Sir
Walter Raleigh's Inflated colon
ists," said President as he gently
interrupted the oratorical Ehring-
haus.
And "add little" the President
of the United States did, too. For
quite some time Mr.. Roosevelt ex-
pounded on the abortive efforts
of Sir Walter Raleigh to establish
a permanent colony in what RAJ
leigh called "The New World, the
various and still unproven stories
of where the unhappy colonists
went, what might have happened
to them, and whether or not they
left Roanoke Island and were lost
to history by perishing or inter-
marriage with the known Indians
Of that day.
It was marvellous recital. We
listened while we became more and
more flabbergasted.
After we had seen President
Roosevelt ashore, the committee
boarded cars for their trip to Fort
Raleigh, where Mr.. Roosevelt
later spoke and vigorously attach
ed what he termed "the economic
royalists" of that era.
And what was the general re-
action Of the North Carolina conn
mittee? Gov. Ehringhaus summed
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