SPECIAL TO THE SOUTHERNER
The Twin County Museum and Hall of Fame will honor nine individuals at its annual banquet on Thursday, Nov. 20.
For the first time, the induction ceremony will be in Tarboro at the Mobley Atrium and Keihin Auditorium on the Edgecombe Community College campus.
This is the fifth time that area citizens have been recognized for their achievements. Among this year’s group are a nationally recognized author, a world-known jazz musician, and former professional football, baseball and basketball players who were nominated by friends, family and interested citizens last spring.
The 2008 inductees are Joe Bourne and Kelvin Bryant of Tarboro, Norris Tolson of Pinetops and Phil Ford, Kaye Gibbons and Charles Hinton of Rocky Mount.
Posthumous inductions will be held for Ed Roberson and Harvie Ward of Tarboro and Thelonious Monk,
Retired attorney Bourne has lived in Tarboro his entire life except for the years he served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. Bourne graduated from N.C. State University but received his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
His experiences in that war inspired him to lead the campaign to create a memorial for those others who served, many of whom did not come home. Bourne’s leadership and enthusiasm resulted in a Veterans Memorial on the Tarboro Town Common where the first Monday of each month a fallen veteran is honored with the raising of a flag. Bourne also led the campaign to build a museum to honor the hundreds of veterans of Edgecombe County.
Bourne’s leadership skills have contributed to many programs in the area. He founded the Edgecombe County Forestry Club, was a charter member of the Edgecombe Beekeeper Association and lead the drive for the Edgecombe County Livestock Arena. He is an active volunteer with 4-H, Habitat for Humanity, the Red Cross, Heritage Hospital and is a HOSTS member at Stocks Elementary School. Another Tarboro native, Kelvin Bryant, graduated from Tarboro High School and went on to play college ball at UNC-Chapel Hill. As a running back there he rushed for more than 1,000 yards and 18 touchdowns in 1981. That outstanding season led to his nomination for the Heisman trophy. Described as “one of the finest backs in college football”, he ranks fourth at UNC with more than 3,200 rushing yards.
Bryant was drafted by the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League, but it was as a Washington Redskin that he played against Denver in the 1988 Super Bowl. Bryant is currently the activity director for Britthaven in Tarboro.
A graduate of South Edgecombe School and N.C. State University, Norris Tolson also received a graduate degree from Penn State. A native of Pinetops Tolson worked for Dupont for 28 years before retiring and coming home to North Carolina. But since his return he has tackled many problems for the state of North Carolina. He first served in the NC General Assembly representing this district. Soon he was tapped by the governor to be the Secretary of Commerce. Then he was appointed as Secretary of Transportation and he reorganized that agency. He then moved into the Secretary of Revenue office, making one of only a few Tar Heels to hold three different cabinet positions under two different governors. Tolson is CEO of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and serves on numerous foundations and boards across the state. He and his wife live in Vinedale, a historic home they restored near Pinetops.
Born in 1909, Edward L. Roberson attended Tarboro schools before going to Davidson College. He received his MD from the University of Maryland and then practiced medicine in his hometown for more than 40 years. He was considered “the dean of Edgecombe County physicians.” He served four years in the Navy during World War II.
"Dr. Ed” earned a reputation as an outstanding physician and surgeon, but he is also remembered for his many years as Tarboro’s mayor and for leading the area through the changes brought on by civil rights. Roberson served the community for 28 years as a town councilman, with 14 years as mayor from 1961-75. Roberson died in 1987.
Edward Harvie Ward Jr. was born in Tarboro in 1925 and graduated from Tarboro High School. He attended UNC-Chapel Hill and went on to become “one of the best amateur golfers in the world.” He was two- time US Amateur and in 1952 he won the British Amateur. He played on three Walker Cup teams. Recently he was the subject of a new golf book, "The Match," describing an unbelievable game with Ben Hogan. Ward died in 2004.
Phil Ford was raised in Rocky Mount. He graduated from Rocky Mount. Senior High before attending UNC-Chapel Hill where he earned his bachelor's degree in business administration. Along the way he played a little basketball, earning All American honors in 1975, playing on the Gold Medal USA team in the 1976 Olympics, ACC Athlete of the Year in 1977 and National Player of the Year in 1978. After he went professional and joined the Kansas City Kings, he was selected Rookie of the Year in 1979.
After playing professional basketball for the New Jersey Nets, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Houston Rockets, Ford retired to become the assistant coach for his alma mater from 1988-2000. Currently he is an assistant coach for the NBA Charlotte Bobcats.
Kaye Gibbons, another Rocky Mount Senior High graduate, attended N.C. State and UNC-Chapel Hill. There she took a writing class under Louis Rubin who encouraged her natural talent. Her first novel, "Ellen Foster," earned her the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction in 1987. She continued to write novels often based on the experiences of Southern women. Two of her eight novels, "Ellen Foster" and "A Virtuous Woman," were selected for the Oprah Book Club.
Gibbons lives in Raleigh with her children.
Charlie Edward “Chuck” Hinton graduated from Booker T Washington High School in Rocky Mount and went on to Shaw University in Raleigh. He played outfield for the Baltimore Orioles, the Washington Senators and the Cleveland Indians . Hinton was the first black player to make the State Department’s Goodwill Tour in Spain, Germany, Italy and France. After retiring from professional ball, he became the coach at Howard University. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife and children.
Thelonious Monk was born in 1917 in Rocky Mount and died in 1982 in New York where he lived most of his career. He created over 70 compositions and is considered one of the world’s greatest jazz musicians. During his rich musical life he played with many of America’s famous musicians including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, and Miles Davis. In 1964 he was on the cover of Time magazine.
Tickets to the annual banquet are $25 and can be purchased from Twin County Board members or at the museum.
Portraits of previous inductees are in the Twin County Museum and Hall of Fame in the Rocky Mount Train Station. The museum is open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. and from 2 to 4 p.m. Sundays.
Anyone can nominate candidates to the Twin County Hall of Fame Nominations are accepted in the spring of each year. This year almost four dozen individuals were nominated.
