June 27, 1956

Staff

Published Sunday, June 27, 2004

Stories featured in the Suffolk News-Herald on this date 48 years ago:

Big steel strike is drawing near; fires are banked

NEW YORK (AP) - The nation's steel industry began banking its fires today after major companies and United Steelworkers of America rejected each other's proposals to deal a Saturday midnight strike of 650,000 workers. Negotiations were not broken off when the flurry of compromise proposals failed last night.

But with the deadline nearing, fires began going out in plants across the country. Workers at U.S. Steel's Gary, Ind., works, largest in the world, at Bethlehem's Sparrow's Point plant in Maryland, the next largest, began slowing down coke ovens and were scheduled to begin banking blast furnaces late tonight.

And, unless a sudden settlement is reached, open hearth fires will get their last stoking sometime tomorrow. Similar cooling-off operations were reported at dozens of smaller plants.

Three stunned when bolt hits tree

Two women and a man were stunned by lightning yesterday around 4 p.m. while chopping peanuts on the farm of Chester Riddick near Saunders Station on the White March Road.

Nellie Irish Talton, 18, was knocked down and reportedly remained unconscious for almost an hour after lightning struck a nearby tree.

Miss Talton was taken to Obici Hospital but not admitted.

Also stunned was Mrs. Chester Riddick. Mrs. Riddick said she didn't know what happened. She was knocked flat on her back and believes from what her neighbors tell her that she was out for some time. She feels numb and a big tingly today, she said.

John Simms was the other person stunned for a short time from the tremendous force of the lightning strike.

Courthouse site approval is urged

Nansemond County Commonwealth's Attorney Joshua Pretlow urged approval of the proposed new courthouse in a talk before the Suffolk Rotary Club today.

"I am very anxious that the people of Nansemond County vote favorably on the referendum," Pretlow said. "There is no doubt as to the need of more adequate facilities for the county offices with a central location and adequate parking spaces, all of which will be provided in the proposed site

"We have, as you know, under option a site at the corner of Broad Street and Constance Road."

Christian team loses first game

All good things, the man said, must come to an end - and Christian Church's seven game winning streak was no exception.

Christian , which was threatening to make a runaway of the race for league honors finally went down last night after seven successive triumphs, bowing to Oxford Methodist, last year's champions, 7-5 in a

doubleheader at Wellons Park.

Although Christian managed seven hits off Harold Bradshaw - two more than Oxford got off Dewey Howell - Bradshaw was tight in the clinches with 11 strikeouts.

Henry Cross hit a fifth-inning homerun with one aboard for Oxford.

Mrs. Estes honored for work as a teacher

Mrs. Mary E. Estes, a retired teacher who taught for 47 years in and around Suffolk and Nansemond County, was honored last night at the First Baptist Church on Mahan Street.

In a special ceremony called the Janie Porter Barrett Hour, conducted by Miss Mary Hairston, the tribute honored Estes for outstanding work and as a civic and educational leader. It was a program feature of the 49th annual session of the Virginia State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs.

- Compiled by Allison T. Williams

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