The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1959-01-23
CITIZENS RISE TO RESCUE
OF LOST COLONY SUNDAY
AND WILL RAISE $4,000
The Show Has to 60 On This Year Because Area
Cannot Afford to Let 1t Lapse; Citizens Make
Sizeable Financial Contribution to Our Most
Important Enterprise; Dare County Friends Of
Lost Colony Go in Action.

cfi0n.
The show must go on! The never
say die motto of the circus world
was never more important than on
Sunday afternoon when Dare Ceun-
ty people met at the Shrine Hall
on the beach and heard what they
were up against.
! They must raise $4,000 to get
the Lost Colony on the track, come
June 9th, and they subscribed
fifth of the money right there and
the drama a shot in the arm.
1t is the first time the citizens
of Dare County have made a not
able contribution to the show, and
they were told the state is now
looking to its own people to give
tn drama a shot in the arm.
The people of the community are
going out and raise the money and
they didn't start in any small man.
ner. Of SO people present, 81
pledges were made, and all of them
save two were for $3.50 each and
the others for 500.
President Robert Lee Humber
promptly paid $3.50. Paul Green
who wrote the Lost Colony, but
has been paid nothing for the
service he rendered this region is
another $3.50 contributor. Mrs.
Lucille Winslow gave $3.50 for her
self, and another $3.50 for the Caro-
linian Hotel.
Robert L. Humber, President of
the Roanoke Island historical as
ISOLATION called the meeting to or
der and explained its purpose was
to find way to raise the 5000 or
more essential to opening the show
this year.
Manager Dick Jordan read a re-
port showing that the show paid
out last year more than $4,000 in
salaries and other expenditures,
most of which remained in the
community. Paul Green cited travel
figures to show that visitors to the
Lost Colony spent an estimated
100000 each season. In all, Mr..
Jordan's figures indicated the
show had spent one and quarter
million dollars for operation during
Is seasons, and it is obvious that
several millions have been spent
here by the tourist visitors to the
show.
1t was obvious that although the
money might be merely gift it
would be better to give, the $3.50
to the show than for the commu-
nifty to lose more than million
dollars worth of business this sea-
son.
Despite all the benefits to the
community, Mr.. Jordan's figures
indicated that of the many thou
sands of dollars donated to the
show in Is seasons, only the fol-
lowing had come from the citizens
of the community:
In the spring of 1917 the commu-
nifty Clipped in $475 when Cover
ror Broughton was chairman of the
show, and following the fire of
194S the community gave contribu-
tons of $460.25 1t was in this year
that the Board of Commissioners
1gave from ABC profits $4,000
which paid for the ten acres of
land now leased to the Elizabethan
Gardens.
How to Raise the $4,000
At the opening of the meeting
David Stick, most recently APP
pointed member of the Roanoke Is
land Historical Association made
a comprehensive talk outlining the
needs of the show, and some sug-
gestions for stepping up attendance
and the movement of tickets.
/ Some suggestion was made that
the county might help with con-
tribution, or levy more taxes in the
form of an advertising fund. At
this point Victor Meekins, chair
imam of the County Board poured
Icold water on the theory of run
ming to the county for everything
and explained that the county now
Twas worse off than the Lost Colo
ny in that it needed to raise
$4,000 to fill up hole. He told
Mr.. Humber it would be no trou-
BILE to get the money if someone
would ask for it, just as all other
money comes this way. He said
there ought to be no trouble in
raising ten per cent of the SIS, 900
lat this meeting. and asked that
Miles Clark of Elizabeth City be
recognized.
j Mr.. Clark said why not go out
and get 100 people to give $3.50
each and that would settle the mat
ter. He said he had four checks in
his hands then for $3.50 each, in
Icluding his own, Mrs. Winslow's
land Meekins'. Green and Humber
volunteered $3.50 each.
There was some tendency to get
/. Al 1