by Clyde Parker

February 28, 1943

Friends of John Crump Parker, well-known Franklin citizen, are congratulating him on the signal honor accorded Monday in Richmond at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Virginia State Bar Association. He was elected president to succeed the late Charles E. Pollard of Petersburg who died while holding the office. Mr. Parker, who has been quite prominent and active in the counsels of the State Bar, was Vice President and Chairman of the Committee on War Service for the organization.

Mr. Parker, the son of the late John Crafford Parker who died in December 1918, has been practicing his profession here since September 1919, following his return from World War I in France. In that conflict, the junior Mr. Parker volunteered in November 1917, serving as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Service.     

He is an alumnus of Virginia Military Institute and the University of Virginia; his education at the latter was interrupted by his entry into military service. He completed his education immediately upon his return from overseas. At the University, Mr. Parker was a member of Sigma Chi social fraternity, Phi Delta legal fraternity, and the Raven Society.

He is a charter member and past president of the Franklin Rotary Club.

A special resolution was adopted at the meeting lamenting the death of the late Mr. Pollard: “In the death of Charles E. Pollard, the Virginia State Bar Association has sustained a very real loss in its character, strength, ability, and leadership; and, this Commonwealth has been deprived of Mr. Pollard’s loyalty, service and devotion.

During the Richmond meeting, the Virginia State Bar voted to hold its annual meeting at the Hotel John Marshall in Richmond on Aug. 5. And, an announcement was made that Governor Colgate Whitehead Darden Jr. is scheduled to address the assembled group.

It is interesting to note that both Governor Darden and Mr. Parker served in the U. S. Army Aviation Service during the first world war and both were engaged in air combat at the war zone in France.  Both men are natives of the Franklin section of Southampton County.

News of servicemen

• Leslie V. Whitehead, son of Mrs. Virginia Whitehead of Courtland, who volunteered for U.S. Army service last July, has been promoted to the rank of Corporal. Cpl. Whitehead, who was stationed in New Mexico for the past four months, is now at San Francisco.

Mr. and Mrs. J. Maywood Johnson of Sedley have received word from their son-in-law, Charles B. Burgess, who is on Guadalcanal, that he is well and enjoying the tropical weather in one of the largest coconut groves in the world. Mrs. Burgess, the former Miss Elizabeth Johnson, who lives in Norfolk, has heard from her husband frequently since he has been in Guadalcanal.

• Miss Mildred Pierce, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J.L. Pierce of Franklin, has enlisted for duty with the WAVES, and reported Thursday to Hunter College, Brooklyn, N.Y., for a course of training.

• Second Lt. Alvin Thornton Beale, son of Mrs. J. W. Beale of Franklin, recently graduated from the Officer’s Class at Quantico as a member of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve.

• Private Robert Council, son of Mr. and Mrs. R. J. Council of the Franklin community, recently graduated from the U.S. Army Air Forces Technical School in Chicago. He is now a flying operator, in aerial gunnery, and is stationed at Tyndall Field, Panama City, Florida. 

Parkers celebrate anniversary

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Franklin Parker (Frank and Lucy) of the Smith’s Ferry Community, operators of Smith’s Ferry Grocery at the Forks of the River, celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary on Feb. 19. Their children were on hand to celebrate.

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