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THOMASVILLE
Find results from today’s County Commissioners’ meeting in Thursday’s Times.
Times
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
119th Year - No. 30 50 Cents
www.tvilletimes.com
Memories of Pearl Harbor Veteran recalls ‘Day of Infamy’
BY KARISSA MINN Staff Writer
BY ELIOT DUKE Staff Writer
Lt. Frank Earnheart was like any other teenager in 1941. He was in the Navy ROTC program and going to school at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill when he came to Greensboro one weekend for a Earnheart date with a young girl. W h i l e making his way to pick up a lady friend, Earnheart noticed students at what is now called the University of North Carolina at Greensboro talking out of windows to each other about something that would change his future in an instant. The day was Dec. 7, 1941, and the Japanese had just bombed Pearl Harbor, thrusting the United States directly into World War II. “It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon,” Earnheart, 85, said. “It was unusually warm. I hate to say it, but I didn’t really know how to feel. A lot of us didn’t know where Pearl Harbor was. Most of us couldn’t fathom the Japanese attacking the United States. The mag-
See VETERAN, Page 9
Festival to connect residents with businesses
TIMES PHOTO/ELIOT DUKE
Llwellyn Weaver and his wife, Marinelle, hold pictures of themselves at the time he joined the U.S. Army and was stationed overseas during World War II.
Attack gives local man opportunity to serve BY ELIOT DUKE Staff Writer Llwellyn Weaver had every intention of joining the military well before World War II began for the United States on Dec. 7, 1941. But when he went to the Naval Academy, a slight hearing impairment kept him from service. After returning home to Georgia, Weaver joined the state guard, which he described as more or less “militia made up of mostly old men and boys.” On a sunny weekend afternoon, Weaver, 88, was spending time with his future wife, Marinelle, and her friend in Macon when news broke that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. Just like
that, Weaver would get his wish. “We had just returned home when we were told the Japanese invaded Pear Harbor,” Weaver said. “I wasn’t in the Army yet, but I would be in early 1942.” With the country committed to war, Weaver got recruited by the Army as a ordinance officer, handling ammunition and servicing vehicles, as his experience working on cars suddenly became a valued commodity. “They could tell it was very much going to be a mechanical war and I was an automobile parts man,” said Weaver. Midway through 1942, Weaver, after receiving ammunition training in Illinois, found himself in California, where the war against
Japan was very much real. Weaver recalls how Japanese citizens were rounded up and arrested as fear spread throughout the country. “All of the country west of the rocky mountains was in wartime,” Weaver remembered. Weaver soon left California and found himself stationed in Germany operating bomb dumps. Following D-day, Weaver’s services were needed in the South Pacific, bouncing around from New Guinea to the East Indies. While on the island of Papua, some 262 men died defusing bombs and securing different air fields. “We would go in after they said
See SERVE, Page 9
A new festival in downtown Thomasville this weekend will help connect area residents with local businesses and notfor-profit groups. Thomasville’s Community Festival and Business Expo will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The local Civitan Club, in partnership with the City of Thomasville, is sponsoring the event. “It’s a way to assist small business by encouraging people in our own community to look first at businesses that are here,” said Eddie Brinkley, a member of the Thomasville Civitan Club. “They may be surprised to find out how many there are.” Brinkley said that more than 100 companies and organizations have signed up to participate. The downtown area along Main Street is almost full, but some spots on side streets have been reserved for overflow vendors. “We’re incredibly pleased to have this many people,” Brinkley said. “It has had a remarkable reception from the community.” At no cost, the groups will be given up to three different 12-foot-by-12foot spaces, where they will sell their products or showcase their services to the public. Businesses also can connect with potential partners and customers. Not-for-profit organizations will share
See FESTIVALS, Page 6
New city council members installed BY ELIOT DUKE Staff Writer
Two new city council members, as well as five re-elected members and the mayor, were installed Monday in the council chambers. Friends and family members stood beside the officials as April C. Wood, district court judge, asked each official to repeat the following oath: “I, [name], do solemnly swear that I will support and maintain the constitution and laws of the United States, and constitution and laws of North Carolina, not inconsistent therewith, and that I will faithfully, fairly and impartially perform and discharge the duties of my office as [council member or mayor] of the City of Thomasville, so help me God.” Former Thomasville police chief
Ronald Bratton was one of two new city council members installed Monday. As he stated his oath, he laid his hand on the Bible held by his wife. “It’s a great honor, first of all, to be elected to be on the city council,” Bratton said. “I’ve worked for the city for many years, and I truly feel like this is a great honor. I plan to do the best job I can for the citizens of Thomasville.” Bratton said that as a council member, he would like to see a new police department built. “I think this building has probably had its day,” Bratton said. “It would make a great museum for the city of Thomasville, though.” The second new council member installed was Jackie Jackson, who has previously served on the city council
Community Sponsor
See COUNCIL, Page 9
TIMES PHOTO/LARRY MATHIS
ONE COOL SANTA
More than 1,000 bikers rode into Baptist Children’s Homes Mills Campus Sunday to bring toys to children in residence. The ride has become an annual event to help bring thejoy of the holiday season the children.
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