Febuary 10, 1967

Increasingly, likelihood of the establishment of a community college in the Franklin – Southampton – Isle of Wight area is becoming a strong possibility. 

The State Community Colleges Board has established regions for the purpose of placing community colleges throughout the state. The cities of Suffolk and Franklin, and the counties of Nansemond, Isle of Wight and Southampton are grouped together and designated as being in Region 22.

A few weeks ago, an unidentified site on the southside of Franklin was put forward as a possibility.  Now, that site has been specifically identified. It is on a part of the Paul D. Camp Farm, located on Gardner Street, extended, which runs into the Hercules Road next to St. Regis Paper Company.

Early on, though, proponents of a site located on Route 460 near Suffolk were strongly advocating, if not lobbying, for the college to be located there. It is on a part of the P.D. Pruden farm.

And, just this week, it was reported that another site near Franklin, in Isle of Wight County, somewhere on Route 58 East, between Franklin and Carrsville, is also being considered. 

Just before press-time, staff at The Tidewater News learned that the proposed site on the Carrsville Highway is the Barrett Farm.   

“Details have not been worked out but the owners have told us that site is definitely available,” Franklin Mayor Dr. Darden Jones said today. “It is more centrally located in the Region than the other two sites — this could be a compromise.”

“However!” he said, quickly, “That location does not have utilities and such. And, with the Pruden site, some six miles north of Suffolk, utilities are not in place.”   

Due to the fact that Franklin is CLOSE to being centrally located in Region 22 and CAN offer the benefit of sewer, water, and electricity as well as police and fire protection, it is becoming evident that Franklin is the logical, if not the likely, choice.

Miss ‘Gertie’ retires

Miss Gertrude (“Gertie”) Williams, 300 Lee St., Franklin, just retired as Credit Manager for Union Camp Corporation. When Miss Williams started at the company back in 1927, she and two other girls were the only females working at the company.

Over the years, she held various jobs in the accounting, bookkeeping and credit departments.  rior to work with the Camp Company, she was employed for 21 years in the Accounting Department for the Richmond News Leader, in Richmond, Virginia.

She lives on the corner of Lee Street and High Street in the house where she was born. And, incidentally, she is a granddaughter to Eliza Camp Williams, who was sister to Camp Manufacturing Company co-founder Paul D. Camp.     

Ryland Camp passes on

Paul Ryland Camp died at the age of 83 Saturday night in Southampton Memorial Hospital after an illness of several months. Funeral services, conducted by Reverend Doctor Ira Hudgins, were held Tuesday at Franklin Baptist Church. Burial was in Poplar Spring Cemetery.

Pallbearers were John M. Camp Jr., Paul Camp Marks, Robert F. Marks Jr., Paul D. Camp III, Clifford A. Cutchins III, Charles R. Younts, J. Edward Moyler Sr. and William M. Camp Jr. Ryland Camp was born in Como, North Carolina but lived in Franklin most of his life.

He was a former director and general manager of the Camp Manufacturing Company’s extensive woodland properties. He resigned from the company in 1940 but continued to live in Franklin, and was involved with real estate and investments.

He is survived by his wife, Lila Overstreet Camp, originally from Alabama, and his daughter Lila, Mrs. Merrill O. Young of Boston, Massachusetts; his brother Dr. Paul D. Camp Jr., of Richmond; and his five sisters, Mrs. Webster Walker (May), of Bridgeport, Connecticut; Mrs. Marion Ballard (Ella), of Franklin, Virginia; Mrs. William Henry Murphy Campbell (Ruth), of Franklin, Virginia; and Mrs. Charles Rolfe Younts (Willie), of Atlanta, Georgia; and Mrs. Robert Franklin Marks (Texie), of Boykins, Virginia; and five grandchildren.

His parents, Paul Douglas Camp and Ella Virginia Cobb Camp, and a brother, John M. Camp Sr., all of Franklin, predeceased him.

He was a member of Franklin Baptist Church, member of Bruner Bible Class, and a former deacon and trustee. In his earlier days, he was a trustee of Sycamore Baptist Church, which was founded by his father, Paul D. Camp.

He was a 1904 graduate of Virginia Military Institute and took his Master of Arts Degree from the University of Virginia in 1907, and he attended the University of Virginia Law School.

He was a leader of the Camp P. D. Hunting Lodge in “The Big Woods,” in the Como area of Hertford County, North Carolina, also founded by his father, used for generations by neighbors and outdoorsmen from all parts of the country.

He had been active in Franklin Young Men’s Business Association, was a longtime director of Tidewater Automobile Association, director of American Forestry Association, director of Virginia National Bank, and member of Franklin Rotary Club.

At one time, he was General Manager of the Roanoke Railroad Company, which operated a short-haul rail line built and used by Camp Manufacturing Company in moving timber from the Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina area to Virginia.

During World War I, holding the rank of Major, he served in the United States Army as a lumber procurement officer.

CLYDE PARKER is a retired human resources manager for the former Franklin Equipment Co. and a member of the Southampton County Historical Society. His email address is magnolia101@charter.net