Feb. 29, 1936

Staff

Published Sunday, February 29, 2004

Stories featured in the Suffolk News-Herald on this date 68 years ago include:

Ready to launch vast new farmer subsidy program

WASHINGTON (AP) -Officials awaited only a scratch of President Roosevelt's pen today before hastening to launch a vast new agricultural program applicable to every American farm and administered by a reorganized AAA.

Hurrying to beat the spring planting deadline, AAA men eagerly saw the $500,000,000 soil conservation measure complete its journey through Congress yesterday. President Roosevelt was expected to sign it quickly, perhaps today.

After a White House conference last night, it was indicated President Roosevelt would ask next week for taxes to finance the program. These are expected to total about $500,000,000.

Authoritative sources said officials would call farm representatives into regional meetings to discuss details of subsidies the government would pay farmers for conserving soil by taking land out of commercial crop production.

Gilbert Hume dies of heart attack

Gilbert L. Hume, 59, prominent Suffolk business man and widely known throughout the American lumber industry, died of a sudden heart attack at Rick's Hotel, Rocky Mount, N.C., at 6 a.m. today.

The seriousness of the heart ailment is not known. But his death while in Carolina on business proved a shock to his Suffolk friends when notified this morning.

The body was brought to Suffolk at noon and carried to the Hume residence, 130 Avenue, to await burial Monday.

Two meet sudden death in rail crossing accident

Two men were recovering in Lakeview Hospital today from injuries received in a railroad crossing crash here Saturday night which took the lives of two other men.

Ishmore Nevels was instantly killed and Killie Everett injured so that he died yesterday morning when the Seaboard Air Lines Fast Freight No. 85 struck their car at the North Main Street crossing. Ed Hicks received superficial injuries and Guy Smith a painful chest injury but hospital authorities said today both will recover.

The crash

occurred at 11:20 p.m., a half-hour after the crossing watchman had gone off duty. The four men, all tenants on farms in the Chuckatuck district, were returning home from a Saturday night of shopping in Suffolk.

Health officer reports many cases of influenza

There are 270 cases of influenza under treatment of physicians in Suffolk and Nansemond County, Dr. William F. Wild, city-county health director, announced today after tabulating reports from physicians.

"But that is not all, " Dr. Wild declared. "There must be at least twice as many cases suffered under the misnomer of 'severe colds' and 'la grippe.'

"But people are only fooling themselves. They are making a mistake in not getting proper treatment."

Wrestling team in first match

A new sport - and not-so-gently game of grunt and groan - will be inaugurated by Suffolk High School tonight when the wrasslers of Coach Al Hawkins go to the mat with a husky squad of Hamtowners coached by J.A. Upshur.

Hal Nelson, body-scissors, toe-holds and a varied assortment of equally descriptive terms - jargon of the game of shoulder-pinning - has been added to the vocabulary of some thirty boys during the past two weeks as they made ready for their first mat season.

...Hawkins said his Suffolk boys are keen on the sport and are anxious for a tussle. Eliminations have been held this week with the following weight champions emerging to claim places on the varsity match with Smithfield: 75 lbs., Jack Harrell; 85 lbs., Billy Hobbs; 95 lbs., Knox Brown; 105 lbs., David Elliott; 115 lbs., Victor Simonetti; 125 lbs., Bill Holland or Phil Moses; 135 lbs., Clarence Powell; 145 lbs., Worth Dunning; 155 lbs., Carlton Guthrie; and 165 lbs., Joe Bagley.

- Compiled by Allison T. Williams

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