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Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs

Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs taught economics and then business law at the University of North Carolina from 1929. He served on Chapel Hill's board of aldermen in the late 1930s. Elected to the Orange County Board of Commissioners in 1952, he was its chairman from December 1954 until he retired in December 1960. In 1959 he warned that the new Research Triangle would bring the county mostly new residents and school costs rather than industry.

Source: Documenting the American South: University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Library. North Carolina Collection, Compiled by.…

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StorylineChapel Hill town elections, 1933–19491933–1949 · 10 events · On May 2, 1933 former town manager John Foushee was elected mayor of Chapel Hill over Mayor Zeb P. Council and B. J. Howard, and he was returned in 1935, 1937, 1939 and 1941, twice without opposition. In May 1942 he said he would resign because he was moving to his farm outside the town limits, and on July 8 the aldermen unanimously elected R. W. Madry, director of the University news bureau, as mayor. The Weekly believed no one in the University's service had headed the town government before. No one filed against Madry in 1943. On May 3, 1949 Edwin S. Lanier defeated him 811 to 589, ending his seven years as mayor. StorylineABC stores and liquor by the drink in Orange County, 1938–19781938–1978 · 35 events · After Orange County voters turned down ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control) liquor stores in 1938, efforts to bring the question back failed for years; in 1955 the commissioners refused the Chapel Hill PTA's request for a countywide vote. In September 1958, on petitions with 1,049 names, the board set the county's first liquor vote since 1938. Despite a dry campaign through the churches, the county voted for the stores on February 3, 1959, carried by the Chapel Hill precincts and by Hillsboro. Stores opened in 1959 and 1961, and in 1964 the ABC board voted for a second Chapel Hill-area store over opposition from university officials, ministers and the Carrboro town board. The state board turned down the West Rosemary Street site chosen for it in January 1965. Orange County voted for liquor by the drink in a 1973 statewide referendum that failed, and when a 1978 state law allowed a local vote, the county approved mixed drinks; Chapel Hill restaurants began serving them that November. StorylineThe five-member county board, 1953–19561953–1956 · 8 events · In January 1953 rural residents brought petitions with about 940 names asking that the county commissioners and the board of education each be enlarged from three to five members. After a heated hearing on February 2 the commissioners voted 2 to 1 to ask for a five-member board elected at large, without the one-per-township rule the petitioners wanted, and the General Assembly passed the local act that March. The first primary for five seats came in May 1954, voters filled the enlarged board that November, and the first five-member board took office on December 6, 1954, electing R. J. M. Hobbs chairman. In 1956 the commissioners asked the legislature to limit the board to two members from any one township, and after protests from Chapel Hill speakers and the League of Women Voters they reaffirmed the request that November. StorylineThe 1956 school bonds and what they built, 1955–19581955–1958 · 14 events · In 1955 commissioners' chairman R. J. M. Hobbs asked the county and Chapel Hill school boards to plan for a large bond election, and the board called a vote on $2 million in school bonds, divided among the county schools, Carrboro and the Chapel Hill unit. At the February 1956 hearing two Hillsboro men objected, citing the uncertainty left by the Supreme Court's school decision; Remus J. Smith Sr. answered that the classrooms would be needed even if segregation ended. Voters approved the bonds on March 27, 1956. The county board put a new Carrboro school first and that fall adopted a $1.17 million building program, and contracts for work from Carrboro to Efland followed through 1958.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 76 dated events in the chronology →

  1. University faculty members resolve to back the Chapel Hill school supplement After their regular meeting the University faculty met as citizens, heard school board member R. J. M. Hobbs explain the proposed supplement, and passed without dissent H. H. Williams's resolution supporting the special school tax. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Henry Horace Williams Place: UNC, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, September 22, 1933, p. 1
  2. Civilian Conservation Corps crews cut trails and build bridges in Battle Park and the University woods A squad of about a dozen men from the CCC camp near Durham cleared dead undergrowth, built and repaired footbridges, dug drainage ditches and marked trails in Battle Park, and a crew of 25 then began laying about three miles of trails in the University woods south of the campus under botanist H. R. Totten, work expected to last until October. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Henry Roland Totten Place: Battle Park and the University woods south of the campus, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 15, 1934, p. 1
  3. R. J. M. Hobbs joins the Chapel Hill board of aldermen in Connor's place R. J. M. Hobbs was elected to the Chapel Hill board of aldermen to succeed R. D. W. Connor, who was leaving to become Archivist of the United States. People: R. D. W. Connor Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, December 7, 1934, p. 1
  4. Chapel Hill re-elects Mayor Foushee and elects R. H. Wettach alderman In the town election Mayor John M. Foushee was returned without opposition, P. L. Burch (268 votes) and R. J. M. Hobbs (207) were re-elected aldermen, and law professor R. H. Wettach (236) won the third seat from Brodie S. Thompson (174). L. J. Phipps kept the recorder's court judgeship with 201 votes to 169 for C. P. Hinshaw and 102 for Roy W. McGinnis. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Brodie Thompson, Luther James Phipps, Robert H. Wettach, Peter L. Burch, Clarence P. Hinshaw, John M. Foushee Place: School athletic building, Chapel Hill · Also named: Roy W. McGinnisSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 10, 1935, p. 1
  5. A Black delegation asks the Chapel Hill aldermen to curb lawlessness in their neighborhood Representatives of a Black organization for social and moral improvement asked the aldermen for more police protection on West Franklin and West Rosemary streets, where they said bootleg liquor, rowdiness and profanity made the streets unsafe at times and drew children into bad places. The aldermen and the town manager promised to cooperate and asked for specific complaints, which would be kept confidential. People: Clyde Eubanks, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, John L. Caldwell Place: Board of aldermen meeting, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: West Franklin and West Rosemary streetsSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 12, 1935, p. 1
  6. Chapel Hill committee declines a state historical marker opposite the campus A committee of Mayor John M. Foushee, Aldermen Clyde Eubanks and R. J. M. Hobbs, and planning commission members Carl Durham and Louis Graves voted unanimously to decline the State Historical Commission's offer of an aluminum highway marker on Franklin Street naming the University as the first state university to open its doors. After marking out the sign's size, three and a half by three feet, on the bank's directors' table, they judged it too large for the front of the campus. People: Clyde Eubanks, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Louis Graves, John M. Foushee, Carl T. Durham Place: Board room of the Bank of Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Franklin StreetSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 22, 1935, p. 1
  7. Protesting citizens get the aldermen to put off the new garbage ordinance The day after the town tried its new tax-supported garbage collection, about a score of citizens led by historian H. M. Wagstaff came to the aldermen's meeting to object to a rule that containers be set in sight of the street, and some to shifting the cost onto taxpayers. The board put off the ordinance, sent the trucks back to the old method, and soon dropped the disputed rule. People: Charles Staples Mangum, John M. Booker, Clyde Eubanks, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Board of aldermen meeting, Chapel Hill · Also named: H. M. WagstaffSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 14, 1936, p. 1
  8. Aldermen name a committee to review the West Franklin Street paving assessments Lawyer John Manning, speaking for owners on West Franklin Street, asked the aldermen to cancel the 1927 assessments of $7.70 a front foot for curb, gutter and paving and to reassess the owners at much lower rates, saying many of them, most of them Black, had been misled about the cost and faced foreclosure. The board named aldermen F. O. Bowman and R. J. M. Hobbs to study the case with Town Manager John L. Caldwell. People: John Manning, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, John Caldwell, Frederick O. Bowman, John L. Caldwell, John M. Foushee Place: Town office, Chapel HillThe Chapel Hill Weekly, August 13, 1937, p. 1
  9. The aldermen's committee holds hearings on the West Franklin Street paving assessments Owners told the committee they had been assured in 1927 that the charge would be far below the $7.70 a front foot finally levied, and Mrs. J. P. Nesbitt testified that her husband had been told the assessments were meant to get Black residents off West Franklin Street. Former mayor Zeb P. Council answered in a letter that the board of 1927 had acted on a valid petition; the committee members signaled that they thought the levy too high and might seek an act of the legislature to validate relief. People: John Manning, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, John Caldwell, Frederick O. Bowman, John L. Caldwell, Zeb P. Council, Clarence P. Hinshaw Place: Town office, Chapel HillThe Chapel Hill Weekly, October 29, 1937, p. 2
  10. Chapel Hill's aldermen legalize Sunday movies The board of aldermen adopted rules allowing Sunday picture shows from 1 to 7 P.M. and after 8:30 P.M., leaving the evening church hour clear, and requiring the Chapel Hill Movie Guild to report its receipts and spending to the board each year. Sunday shows had run for years under an informal understanding, with part of the money going to relief and civic causes. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Robert H. Wettach, E. Carrington Smith Place: Town hall, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 19, 1937, p. 1
  11. The town and the University agree to split the cost of shared services Committees of the two met and agreed to share equally the cost of fire protection, police, jail and recorder's court, the health department, and the sewers and incinerator. Their figures showed the University paying less than half for fire and sewers and more than half for health and police, leaving a net $186 due from the University. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Robert H. Wettach, Arthur R. Hollett Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, December 24, 1937, p. 1
  12. R. J. M. Hobbs leaves the Chapel Hill school board and J. Temple Gobbel joins it The trustees of the Chapel Hill schools elected J. Temple Gobbel on March 31 to fill out the unexpired term of Congressman Carl Durham, and at their April meeting reluctantly accepted the resignation of R. J. M. Hobbs. Under the new school law requiring annual reappointment, they unanimously reappointed superintendent Allison W. Honeycutt. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Carl T. Durham, R. E. Coker, Allison W. Honeycutt Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: J. Temple Gobbel · Also mentions: Chapel Hill schoolsSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 7, 1939, p. 1
Show all 76 dated events
  1. The legislature lets Chapel Hill reduce the West Franklin Street paving assessments At the aldermen's request, carried by state Senator John W. Umstead Jr., the legislature passed a law permitting Chapel Hill to reduce the paving and curb assessments levied about eleven years earlier on West Franklin Street property owners, after an aldermanic committee found them excessive and unfair. The Weekly noted that some owners, among them poor Black homeowners, had already legally forfeited their property for unpaid assessments, though the town had not sold them out; the aldermen had yet to decide whether to use the law. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also named: John W. Umstead, John W. Umstead Jr.The Chapel Hill Weekly, March 3, 1939, p. 1
  2. Chapel Hill re-elects John M. Foushee mayor over Clarence Pickard In the town election John M. Foushee won another term as mayor, beating A. Clarence Pickard 411 to 369, and aldermen R. W. Madry, R. J. M. Hobbs and P. L. Burch were returned. The Weekly said Madry's 657 votes were more than any candidate had ever received in a Chapel Hill town election; Andrew McIntosh, unopposed, polled 663 for judge of the recorder's court. People: Robert W. Madry, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Clarence Pickard, Peter L. Burch, John M. Foushee Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: A. Clarence Pickard, Andrew McIntoshSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 5, 1939, p. 1
  3. Mrs. R. H. Wettach is elected to the Chapel Hill school board Mrs. R. H. Wettach was elected to the Chapel Hill school board in place of R. J. M. Hobbs, who had resigned. The other members were R. E. Coker (chairman), Collier Cobb Jr., E. W. Knight, Shell Henninger and J. T. Gobbel. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Mrs. R. H. Wettach, Collier Cobb Jr., R. E. Coker, J. T. Gobbel, E. W. Knight · Also mentions: Chapel Hill school boardSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 19, 1939, p. 1
  4. The Chapel Hill aldermen create a town recreation commission On July 31, 1940, the Chapel Hill board of aldermen unanimously passed an ordinance creating a five-member recreation commission appointed by the mayor, and Mayor J. M. Foushee named R. J. M. Hobbs, Mrs. R. H. Wettach, Harold D. Meyer, A. W. Honeycutt and Joseph Hyde Pratt. A 1948 account says Hobbs was named chairman; the Chapel Hill Weekly reported that when the commission organized on September 17 it elected Pratt chairman and Honeycutt secretary. On May 8 the aldermen had agreed to sponsor a community center for Black residents to be run by such a commission, and the board had first appointed a town recreation committee on September 13, 1939. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Joseph Hyde Pratt, Harold D. Meyer, John M. Foushee, Allison W. Honeycutt Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Mrs. R. H. WettachSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 10, 1948, p. 6 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, May 10, 1940, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, August 30, 1940, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, September 20, 1940, p. 5
  5. R. J. M. Hobbs takes command of Chapel Hill's Citizens Defense Corps Civilian Defense coordinator Guy B. Phillips named Alderman R. J. M. Hobbs to replace S. A. Stoudemire, who had gone into the Navy, as commander of the Citizens Defense Corps, over the air raid wardens, auxiliary police and firemen, demolition and road repair crews, and the medical and nurses' aides corps. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Sterling A. (Sterling Aubrey) Stoudemire Place: Town Hall, Chapel Hill · Also named: Guy B. PhillipsThe Chapel Hill Weekly, January 8, 1943, p. 1
  6. Chapel Hill holds a blackout Chapel Hill held a blackout on a Monday evening that the Weekly reported was well observed, with no wilful violations; wardens went into a few empty houses to put out lights. Civilian Defense commander R. J. M. Hobbs said one signal had been misunderstood, as in other towns. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Chapel HillThe Chapel Hill Weekly, February 26, 1943, p. 4
  7. No one files against Chapel Hill's mayor, aldermen and recorder in the 1943 town election When nominations closed for the May 4 town election, no one had filed against Mayor R. W. Madry, aldermen R. J. M. Hobbs, R. H. Wettach and P. L. Burch, or recorder's court judge H. A. Whitfield, so their reelection was automatic. People: Robert W. Madry, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Robert H. Wettach, Henry A. Whitfield, Peter L. Burch Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 30, 1943, p. 1
  8. The picnic pavilion in Battle Park burns The picnic pavilion in Battle Park burned to the ground early on a Saturday morning, apparently from a cooking fire left by a student picnic party the night before. Professors J. C. Russell, R. J. M. Hobbs and Critz George put out the fire spreading in the leaves before firemen, who could not see the blaze from the road, found it. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, W. C. George (Wesley Critz George) Place: Battle Park, Chapel Hill · Also named: J. C. RussellSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, October 29, 1943, p. 1
  9. Quakers organize the Chapel Hill Monthly Meeting of Friends The Chapel Hill Monthly Meeting was organized, the first Friends meeting in Orange County since the old Eno Meeting was laid down about a century earlier. It had no building and had bought a lot on Highway 54. People: Dudley Dewitt Carroll, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 292
  10. Chapel Hill's aldermen decide to enlarge the town sewage plant At their November 8 meeting the Chapel Hill aldermen decided to go ahead with enlarging the long-inadequate sewage disposal plant and asked Gilbert, White and Company of Durham for a survey and cost estimates. A committee under R. J. M. Hobbs was also studying a plan to extend the town limits to Morgan Creek on the south and Bolin Creek on the north. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Robert H. Wettach, Peter L. Burch Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Bolin CreekSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 16, 1944, p. 1
  11. Chapel Hill citizens organize a housing corporation to build homes Forty citizens met at the Town Hall and laid plans for a corporation to build apartments and houses; seventy signed for stock and nine directors were elected. The National Housing Agency had approved priorities for 30 dwellings in Chapel Hill, five of them for Black families. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Robert H. Wettach Place: Town Hall, Chapel HillSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 27, 1945, p. 6
  12. Chapel Hill aldermen pass a strict taxicab ordinance The board unanimously passed a seventeen-page ordinance governing taxis. From February 15, a cab driver convicted of a traffic violation, speeding included, would lose his license to drive a taxi for 30 days. People: Edwin Sidney Lanier, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Town Hall, Chapel HillSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 17, 1946, p. 1
  13. Chapel Hill orders traffic lights for the post office corner On the recommendation of aldermen R. J. M. Hobbs and Obie Davis, the Chapel Hill board told town manager Gilbert Ray to put up two lights at Franklin and Henderson streets, one for pedestrians at the safety walk and one for cars, to end U-turns at the post office corner, and moved Henderson Street parking to the west side. The same meeting swore in Robert Fowler to fill the seat of the late alderman E. B. Patterson. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Gilbert W. Ray, Robert Lee Fowler Place: Franklin and Henderson streets, Chapel Hill · Also named: Obie Davis, Gilbert Ray, Robert Fowler · Also mentions: Henderson StreetSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 29, 1948, p. 1
  14. Chapel Hill's new town board asks for zoning a mile beyond the town limits At the first meeting of the board installed after the May 3 election, which Mayor Edwin S. Lanier opened with a prayer the paper called a new practice, the aldermen asked the Planning Board to draft a zoning ordinance for the area within one mile of the town limits under authority newly granted by the General Assembly. They also set one-hour parking on parts of Henderson, Columbia and East Franklin streets and kept R. J. M. Hobbs as mayor pro tem. People: Edwin Sidney Lanier, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Town Hall, Chapel HillSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 19, 1949, p. 1
  15. Chapel Hill and rural Orange observe United Nations Day with flags sewn by home demonstration club women At 10:45 church and University bells rang and United Nations flags made by Orange County home demonstration club women were presented to the University and the town on the steps of South Building, while Chapel Hill stores closed for the ceremony. Other flags went to schools, churches, grange halls and the Hillsboro Legion hut, twelve of them in rural communities, and more flew along Franklin Street. People: R. B. House, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: South Building, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Orange County home, Franklin StreetSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 26, 1950, p. 1
  16. County commissioners drop a bill to zone along the new Durham boulevard On February 5 a Chapel Hill delegation asked the commissioners to seek power to zone 1,000 feet on each side of the new Durham-Chapel Hill boulevard. In two closed sessions the following week the board decided against it after the Institute of Government advised that the whole county would have to be zoned and that zoning one strip might be judged discriminatory. People: Collier Cobb Jr., Paul W. Wager, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Louis Graves Place: Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also mentions: Institute of GovernmentSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 15, 1951, p. 1
  17. Chapel Hill opens its second century with Mayor Lanier's seventeen-point program At the May 14 meeting marking a hundred years since the town's charter, Clerk of Court Edwin M. Lynch swore in Mayor Edwin S. Lanier and aldermen P. L. Burch, G. Obie Davis and Oliver K. Cornwell. Lanier then laid out seventeen goals, among them sidewalk paving, a tax map, a new white cemetery, a printed code of ordinances, Social Security for town workers, zoning along the Durham highway and more playgrounds. People: Edwin Sidney Lanier, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Edwin M. Lynch, Peter L. Burch Place: Town Hall, Chapel Hill · Also named: Oliver K. Cornwell, G. Obie DavisSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 17, 1951, p. 1
  18. Orange County Democrats renominate Forrest and Efland, add R. J. M. Hobbs and choose Clarence D. Jones for the school board In the primary Orange gave William B. Umstead 3,314 votes to Hubert Olive's 1,594 for governor and Congressman Carl T. Durham 3,028 to Tom Sawyer's 1,228. For three commissioner seats R. O. Forrest, Sim L. Efland and UNC professor R. J. M. Hobbs beat R. E. Murray and Roland McClamroch, keeping the board's balance between Chapel Hill and the rest of the county, and Jones of Hillsboro won the school board nomination with 2,006 votes over four Chapel Hill candidates. People: Sim Efland, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, William B. Umstead, Carl T. Durham, Roland P. McClamroch, Robert O. Forrest Place: Orange County · Also named: Clarence D. Jones, Roland McClamroch, Hubert OliveSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 5, 1952, p. 1
  19. Orange County casts a record vote and carries the Democratic ticket About 9,000 voters went to the polls in the county's 16 precincts on November 4, 1952, the biggest vote on record, after the heaviest registration ever. Adlai Stevenson carried the county over Dwight Eisenhower, who got 3,813 votes, and the Democrats won every county office; Carrboro, St. Mary's, Caldwell and Rock Springs went for Eisenhower, but only Rock Springs also favored Republicans down the ticket. People: Adlai E. (Adlai Ewing) Stevenson, Sim Efland, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, John W. Umstead Jr., Robert O. Forrest Place: Orange County precincts · Also named: Dwight D. EisenhowerSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 6, 1952, p. 1
  20. Commissioners hire the J. M. Cleminshaw Company to revalue all county property On November 10, 1952, the county commissioners voted unanimously to have all property in Orange County revalued in 1953 by the J. M. Cleminshaw Company of Greensboro, for $44,000 to $47,900, the first full revaluation since a local board did one in 1947. Sim Efland argued the fee was too high but seconded R. O. Forrest's motion, and the board decided against a tax map. People: Collier Cobb Jr., Sim Efland, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Robert O. Forrest Place: Courthouse, HillsboroSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 13, 1952, p. 1
  21. R. O. Forrest becomes chairman of the county commissioners When the new Board of County Commissioners took office on December 1, 1952, with R. J. M. Hobbs joining R. O. Forrest and Sim L. Efland, the members chose Forrest of Hillsboro as chairman in place of Collier Cobb Jr., chairman since 1942. The board reappointed Recorder's Court Judge L. J. Phipps, Solicitor John Q. LeGrand, accountant Ira L. Ward and the township tax listers. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Sim Efland, Collier Cobb Jr., Luther James Phipps, Ira Ward, Robert O. Forrest Place: Courthouse, Hillsboro · Also named: John Q. LeGrandSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 4, 1952, p. 1
  22. Collier Cobb Jr. leaves the Orange County Board of Commissioners after fourteen years Elected in 1938 and chairman since December 1942, Cobb left the county board after seven terms, having missed only three meetings. The new board passed a resolution thanking him, and he pointed to the school improvement program and the start of the new courthouse. People: Collier Cobb Jr., Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Sim Efland Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 4, 1952, p. 1
  23. Rural citizens petition for five-member county boards At a special meeting of the county commissioners on January 21, 1953, a delegation of rural residents brought petitions with about 940 names asking that the Board of Commissioners and the Board of Education each be enlarged from three to five members, no two from one township, with staggered four-year terms and a limit on consecutive terms. Commissioner Sim Efland backed the plan; Robert O. Forrest and R. J. M. Hobbs had reservations. People: Sim Efland, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Reid Roberts, Robert O. Forrest Place: Courthouse, HillsboroSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 22, 1953, p. 1
  24. Commissioners ask the legislature for a five-member board elected at large After a heated public hearing on February 2, 1953, the county commissioners voted 2 to 1 to ask the General Assembly to enlarge the board from three to five members elected at large for staggered four-year terms, without the one-per-township rule and term limit rural petitioners wanted. A Chapel Hill group brought a 330-name petition against those limits, backed by the League of Women Voters. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Sim Efland, Paul W. Wager, Luther James Phipps, Reid Roberts, Robert O. Forrest Place: Courthouse, HillsboroSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 5, 1953, p. 1
  25. County commissioners vote 2 to 1 to issue $80,000 in bonds to finish the new courthouse Chairman R. O. Forrest and R. J. M. Hobbs voted to issue the bonds without a popular vote, as debt retired the year before allowed, while Sim Efland held out for paying as the county went; ceilings, plastering, lighting, heating and plumbing had been cut from the original contracts to keep them within the $250,000 voted in 1949. The board refused the school board's request for $65,000 to finish the Hillsboro elementary school, and when no one objected at the October 5 hearing it passed the bond order. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Sim Efland, Robert O. Forrest Place: Courthouse, HillsboroughThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 27, 1953, p. 1
  26. County commissioners order $65,000 in bonds to build the Cameron Park School in Hillsboro With no one appearing to protest at a public hearing, the commissioners unanimously passed an order for $65,000 in school building bonds, issued without a vote of the people, for the Cameron Park Elementary School on St. Mary's Road. Hillsboro's crowded school was teaching classes in its auditorium, gym, halls and condemned basement rooms. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Sim Efland, Robert O. Forrest Place: Courthouse, Hillsboro · Also mentions: St. Mary's RoadThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 6, 1954, p. 1
  27. Orange Democrats nominate four men for the newly enlarged five-member Board of Commissioners In the Democratic primary, the first election for a five-member county board, Edwin S. Lanier, Henry S. Walker, R. J. M. Hobbs and Sim L. Efland won majorities among twelve candidates, with Dwight M. Ray narrowly ahead of H. Broadwell for the fifth place. In the sheriff's race to succeed the retiring Sam T. Latta Jr., Odell H. Clayton led with 2,434 votes but fell short of a majority, and Frank C. Maddry, voting from a hospital bed, called a runoff. People: Edwin Sidney Lanier, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Sim Efland, Dwight Ray, Odell H. Clayton Place: Orange County · Also named: Henry S. Walker, Frank C. Maddry, Sam T. Latta Jr., H. BroadwellSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 3, 1954, p. 1
  28. County commissioners cut the Chapel Hill school supplement from 20 to 12 cents Setting a tentative 62-cent county rate after the revaluation, the commissioners refused Chapel Hill school officials' plea to keep the 20-cent district supplement on the doubled valuations and cut it to 12 cents, which would bring $34,600 instead of about $57,800. Chairman R. O. Forrest said the board opposed raising teachers' supplementary pay and suggested Chapel Hill hold a vote on the tax; Commissioner R. J. M. Hobbs said he favored at least 15 cents. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Robert O. Forrest Place: Courthouse, Hillsboro · Also mentions: Chapel Hill schoolSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 8, 1954, p. 1
  29. Orange County voters elect an enlarged five-member board of commissioners Under a local act of the last General Assembly enlarging the board from three members to five with staggered terms, voters gave four-year terms to the top three, Dwight M. Ray (3,100 votes), Edwin S. Lanier (3,098) and Henry S. Walker (3,090), and two-year terms to incumbents R. J. M. Hobbs and Sim L. Efland. Democrats won every county race in a light vote, Odell H. Clayton for sheriff and Betty June Hayes for register of deeds among them, and the county voted against the amendment limiting each county to one state senator. People: Dwight Ray, Edwin Sidney Lanier, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Sim Efland, Odell H. Clayton Place: Polling places countywide; canvass at the courthouse, Hillsborough · Also named: Henry S. Walker, Betty June HayesSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 11, 1954, p. 1
  30. The county's new five-member board of commissioners takes office and elects R. J. M. Hobbs chairman The first five-member board took office, elected R. J. M. Hobbs chairman by secret ballot, reappointed the county's appointive officers, hired Chapel Hill attorney Emory B. Denny Jr. to collect taxes more than five years overdue, and told court officials that the $7,000 to $8,000 owed to the county court in unpaid fines and costs was very disturbing. People: Edwin Sidney Lanier, Dwight Ray, Sim Efland Place: Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also named: Emory B. Denny Jr.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 9, 1954, p. 1
  31. Commissioners chairman R. J. M. Hobbs urges moderation on school desegregation Speaking to the Hillsborough Lions Club, R. J. M. Hobbs, chairman of the county commissioners and a UNC business professor, traced the legal background of the Supreme Court's May 1954 decision. He called the ruling the highest law of the land but said the time was not right for full desegregation in the South, and he favored proceeding slowly without agitation. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: HillsboroughThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 13, 1955, p. 1
  32. County commissioners vote more money for Aid to Dependent Children after weeks of dispute Meeting in Chapel Hill, the county commissioners amended the 1954-55 budget to add $2,106.10 to the welfare department's Aid to Dependent Children program, which drew $14,291.90 more in state and federal money for the rest of the fiscal year. The vote was 3 to 1, with Sim Efland holding to the original budget. Earlier in April the board had clashed with acting welfare superintendent Jane Parker over Venetian blinds and secrecy, and had been told the April checks used up the ADC fund. People: Sim Efland, Edwin Sidney Lanier, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Jane ParkerSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 28, 1955, p. 1
  33. County commissioners inspect the Chapel Hill schools, including the site for a Lincoln High addition The county commissioners toured the schools of the Chapel Hill district to see their condition before acting on the Chapel Hill school board's budget requests. At Lincoln High School they looked over the site of a proposed addition with principal C. A. McDougle. The board had made a similar tour of the county schools some weeks earlier. People: Charles A. McDougle, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Edwin Sidney Lanier, Sim Efland, Dwight Ray Place: Lincoln High School and other Chapel Hill schools, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Chapel Hill school, Lincoln High SchoolThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 19, 1955, p. 3
  34. Chapel Hill's Citizens' Committee for Better Schools asks for a 20-cent school supplement tax Carrying a petition with more than 1,100 legible names, against 1,588 registered voters in the district, the Chapel Hill Citizens' Committee for Better Schools asked the county commissioners to levy a school supplement tax of 20 cents per $100 in the Chapel Hill school district so its schools could run above the state standard. No one spoke against it, and chairman R. J. M. Hobbs said the board would take it under consideration; in July the board set the supplement at 15 cents. People: Carl Smith (Chapel Hill businessman and county commissioner), Collier Cobb Jr., Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Charles S. Hubbard Place: Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also mentions: Chapel Hill school districtSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 9, 1955, p. 1
  35. County commissioners clash with the Chapel Hill school board over a Lincoln School gymtorium At a budget hearing commissioner Edwin S. Lanier, a former Chapel Hill mayor, opposed the Chapel Hill board's request for $100,000 to build a gymtorium at Lincoln, the town's Black high school, and to raise the district school supplement from 12 to 20 cents, urging a year's delay until the integration question was clearer, while board chairman Carl Smith and Superintendent C. W. Davis insisted the gymtorium came first. In a statement the next day Lanier said he did not favor the Supreme Court's order to combine Black and white schools and would not vote to raise taxes for new school buildings while the system's future was uncertain. People: Edwin Sidney Lanier, Carl Smith (Chapel Hill businessman and county commissioner), Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also named: C. W. DavisThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 30, 1955, p. 1
  36. County commissioners hold the 62-cent tax rate and find money for the Lincoln gymtorium The commissioners tentatively approved a 1955-56 budget of $869,720.50 at an unchanged 62-cent rate, denied all salary raises until a job classification system was adopted, set the Chapel Hill district supplement at 15 cents, and voted $34,000 in bonds, issued without a public vote and split evenly between the county and Chapel Hill school units. The Chapel Hill share brought the long-delayed gymtorium addition at Lincoln within reach of a call for bids, with commissioner Edwin S. Lanier, who days earlier had fought it, leading the fight for Chapel Hill's request. People: Edwin Sidney Lanier, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Dwight Ray, Sim Efland, Carl Smith (Chapel Hill businessman and county commissioner) Place: Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also mentions: Chapel Hill schoolThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 7, 1955, p. 1
  37. The county has the Institute of Government classify its jobs and holds raises until it is done At a joint session the commissioners refused the welfare board's plea for $1,083.60 in raises and car allowances, even after two caseworkers and a secretary resigned for better-paid Durham County jobs, because they had frozen salaries until a job survey was done. Chairman R. J. M. Hobbs said the Institute of Government would start classifying every county job the next day and finish by September 1, and the board later agreed to make any changes retroactive to August 1. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Alexander Heard, Edwin Sidney Lanier, Sim Efland Place: Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also mentions: Institute of GovernmentSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 28, 1955, p. 1
  38. The county board clears the way for bids on a gymtorium at Lincoln School The county board of education agreed to transfer $10,000 of its share of new school bond money so the Chapel Hill board could let contracts for the long-discussed gymtorium at Lincoln School, on condition that Chapel Hill pay it back. Both boards asked the commissioners to issue $34,000 in school bonds. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Lincoln School, Merritt Mill Road, Chapel HillThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 8, 1955, p. 1
  39. Commissioners pass a $34,000 school bond order with no one objecting No one appeared at the public hearing on $34,000 in school building bonds, and the commissioners went ahead with the order, which needed no popular vote. The money was to go with other funds toward a new facility for the Chapel Hill unit and additions to county school buildings. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Sam M. Gattis III Place: Orange County Courthouse, HillsboroughSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 22, 1955, p. 1
  40. County commissioners ask both school boards to plan for a school bond election Chairman R. J. M. Hobbs called the county and Chapel Hill school boards before the commissioners and asked them to study the county's school needs with a view to calling an election on a large bond issue. Chapel Hill chairman Carl Smith agreed at once and put his district's need at about a million dollars over five years; the county board, reluctant, agreed only to meet the Chapel Hill board on November 7. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Carl Smith (Chapel Hill businessman and county commissioner), Charles W. Stanford Place: Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also mentions: Chapel Hill schoolSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 6, 1955, p. 1
  41. County commissioners call a March 1956 vote on $2 million in school bonds After the county and Chapel Hill school boards laid out building needs they had never agreed to put into a joint request, the commissioners voted unanimously to let the people decide on March 20, 1956 whether to issue $2 million in school bonds. The money was to be split by tax valuation: $860,730 for the county schools outside Carrboro, $311,202 for Carrboro and $828,068 for the Chapel Hill unit. People: Edwin Sidney Lanier, Dwight Ray, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also mentions: Chapel Hill schoolSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 10, 1955, p. 1
  42. County commissioners back a five-member Board of Education The Board of County Commissioners endorsed the Democratic committee's call to enlarge the county Board of Education from three to five members, adding that no more than two members could come from one township. The change needed an act of the legislature. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Courthouse, HillsboroSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 9, 1956, p. 1
  43. Pastor asks the commissioners to stop Sunday jalopy races at a new track The Rev. W. I. Conway of the Gospel Baptist Tabernacle asked the county commissioners to block Sunday jalopy races at a new half-mile track just finished off the Orange Grove road, half a mile from his church, calling them a danger to his congregation. The commissioners asked the county attorney and sheriff to study legal remedies; the paper backed him in an editorial. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Odell H. Clayton Place: Courthouse, Hillsboro · Also named: W. I. Conway · Also mentions: Gospel Baptist TabernacleThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 5, 1956, p. 1
  44. Orange County Democrats renominate R. J. M. Hobbs and Carl Durham and leave two races for a runoff Commission chairman R. J. M. Hobbs led the commissioners' race with 2,821 votes, John Hawkins of Cedar Grove beat Vernon Truesdale for the school board seat, and Congressman Carl Durham carried the county 4,150 to 1,107 over Ralph Scott. Donald Stanford (2,199) led Sim Efland (1,879) for the second commission seat and John T. Manning (2,025) led Edwin S. Lanier (1,773) and Edwin J. Hamlin (1,362) for the State Senate, but neither leader had a majority. People: Carl T. Durham, Sim Efland, Edwin Sidney Lanier Place: Orange County polling places · Also named: John Hawkins, Vernon Truesdale, Ralph H. Scott, Donald M. Stanford, John T. Manning, Edwin J. Hamlin, Ralph Scott, Donald StanfordSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 31, 1956, p. 1
  45. County commissioners ask the legislature to allow no more than two commissioners from one township On Commissioner Sim Efland's motion the board voted 4 to 0, with Chairman R. J. M. Hobbs abstaining after failing to get a public hearing first, to back a bill limiting the five-member board to two members from any township; banker W. E. Thompson, Representative John W. Umstead and others had urged it that day. After protests from Roland McClamroch Sr. and the Chapel Hill League of Women Voters, which called the change 'tantamount to disenfranchisement' of part of the county, the board set a public hearing for September 10 and later moved it to October 8. People: Sim Efland, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Roland P. McClamroch, W. E. Thompson, John W. Umstead Jr. Place: Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also named: Roland McClamroch Sr., John W. UmsteadThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 7, 1956, p. 1
  46. County commissioners stand by their request to limit the board to two members from any township After an October 8 public hearing at which Chapel Hill speakers, among them Paul Wager, Roland McClamroch and members of the League of Women Voters, urged reconsideration, the commissioners voted unanimously, with Chairman R. J. M. Hobbs abstaining, to reaffirm their June request that the legislature limit the board to two members from any one township. Supporters such as R. O. Forrest argued that Chapel Hill's heavy vote could otherwise fill every seat. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Roland P. McClamroch, Robert O. Forrest, Paul W. Wager Place: Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also named: Roland McClamrochSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 8, 1956, p. 1
  47. Claude Pope and Donald Stanford join the county commissioners Donald M. Stanford of Chapel Hill, who had beaten Simpson L. Efland in the spring primary, and Cedar Grove tobacco farmer Claude T. Pope were sworn in as county commissioners, Pope appointed by Clerk of Court Edwin M. Lynch to the two years left in the seat of Edwin S. Lanier, who had resigned by letter on November 29 after his election to the state Senate. The outgoing board thanked Efland and Lanier, and the new board put off electing a chairman because R. J. M. Hobbs was ill. People: Edwin Sidney Lanier, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Edwin M. Lynch Place: Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also named: Claude T. Pope, Donald M. Stanford, Simpson L. EflandSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 6, 1956, p. 1
  48. Commissioners name Roy Cole county court solicitor over John Q. LeGrand Meeting at the Chapel Hill Town Hall, the county commissioners voted 3 to 2 by secret ballot to make young Chapel Hill attorney Roy Cole solicitor of the Orange County Recorder's Court in place of John Q. LeGrand, a result the News called surprising, while reappointing Judge L. J. Phipps and naming Graham and Ranson county attorneys again. The board also reelected R. J. M. Hobbs chairman and set a January 3 public hearing on the proposed Chapel Hill recreation district. People: Luther James Phipps, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Town Hall, Chapel Hill · Also named: Roy Cole, John Q. LeGrandSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 13, 1956, p. 1
  49. Hearing on the interstate route south of Hillsboro draws protests At a Highway Commission hearing in the courthouse on the planned interstate highway south of Hillsboro, landowners on the new route and businesses on old Highway 70 protested a road that would bypass Efland, Hillsboro and University Station. About 50 people came; Dr. J. B. Rhyne said citizens were only being allowed to let off steam and attorney R. Percy Reade said the road would stifle Hillsboro's business, while commissioners' chairman R. J. M. Hobbs welcomed it for safety. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Robert O. Forrest Place: Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also named: J. B. Rhyne, R. Percy Reade · Also mentions: University StationSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 25, 1957, p. 1
  50. Commissioners name Roy Cole assistant solicitor for Orange County Superior Court At the request of Fifth District Solicitor William Murdock, the commissioners appointed Roy Cole of Chapel Hill, already solicitor of the county recorder's court, to help prosecute Superior Court cases in Orange, paying him $100 a term until a salary could be set. The same meeting reelected R. J. M. Hobbs chairman of the board for a fourth year. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also named: Roy Cole, William MurdockSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 12, 1957, p. 1
  51. County commissioners call the May 20 Carrboro-White Cross school merger election On their third try at a legal description of the area, the commissioners adopted the resolution calling a May 20 election on enlarging the Chapel Hill city school unit to take in the Carrboro and White Cross school districts at the Chapel Hill school tax rate. They ordered a new registration of voters and set polling places in Carrboro and White Cross. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Dwight Ray Place: Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also mentions: Chapel Hill school, White Cross schoolThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 10, 1958, p. 1
  52. Commissioners declare an unknown cemetery abandoned so the state can move its graves for a highway The county commissioners declared a cemetery of unknown burials on private land along a highway abandoned and authorized the State Highway Commission to move the graves to another cemetery, under the supervision of the board and the county health officer. A legal notice gave unknown relatives thirty days to show cause against the removal. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Private land along a highway (name left blank in the notice), Orange CountySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 26, 1958, p. 7
  53. Commissioners call a second Carrboro school merger election for August 5 At the request of both the county and Chapel Hill school boards, the county commissioners called a new election, limited to the Carrboro school area, on joining the Chapel Hill city school unit and its special school tax. The same question had failed on May 20 across Carrboro and White Cross, 916 to 565; after a long silence Henry Walker moved the call and Donald McDade seconded it. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also named: Henry S. Walker, Donald McDade, Henry Walker · Also mentions: Carrboro school, Chapel Hill schoolThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 3, 1958, p. 1
  54. Commissioners adopt a $1,144,118 budget and raise the county tax rate to 82 cents Meeting in special session, the commissioners gave final approval to a $1,144,118 budget for 1958-59 and an 82-cent tax rate, ten cents above the 72-cent rate of the past two years, mainly to meet school debt payments. They also asked to enroll county employees in the state Local Government Employees Retirement System, with the county paying 6 per cent of salaries. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Dwight Ray Place: Courthouse, HillsboroughSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 31, 1958, p. 1
  55. Commissioners vote down a referendum on ABC liquor stores by one vote Commissioner Donald M. Stanford of Chapel Hill moved to call a countywide vote on state-run ABC liquor stores, saying the county needed the profits for school buildings after raising taxes, and Donald McDade seconded. Dwight Ray and Henry Walker voted no, and Chairman R. J. M. Hobbs broke the tie against it, saying he wanted some sign of popular support; petitions asking for a vote were circulating within days. People: Dwight Ray, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also named: Donald M. Stanford, Donald McDade, Henry S. Walker, Henry WalkerSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 7, 1958, p. 1
  56. The county commissioners call a countywide vote on ABC liquor stores On petitions bearing 1,049 names, the Orange County commissioners voted 4 to 0 to hold the county's first referendum on ABC liquor stores since 1938, setting it for February 7, 1959. On September 11 they moved the vote to February 3 so it would come before the legislature met and could interfere. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Dwight Ray Place: Courthouse, HillsboroSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 4, 1958, p. 1
  57. County commissioners begin new terms and name F. Lloyd Noell recorder's court solicitor On the day most county officers took their oaths, the Board of County Commissioners reelected R. J. M. Hobbs chairman for two years, reelected L. J. Phipps judge of the recorder's court, and named Hillsboro attorney F. Lloyd Noell solicitor in place of Roy Cole of Chapel Hill. Clarence D. Jones joined the board, Henry S. Walker and Donald McDade returned, and retiring commissioner Dwight M. Ray received a plaque. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Luther James Phipps, Dwight Ray Place: Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also named: F. Lloyd Noell, Roy Cole, Clarence D. Jones, Donald McDade, Henry S. WalkerSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 4, 1958, p. 1
  58. County commissioners inspect the jail and reject the call for a new one Taking up the grand jury's charge, the Board of County Commissioners inspected the county jail in a body and, while finding a need for repairs, repainting and cleaning, decided the building was structurally adequate and that no new jail was needed. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Orange County jail, HillsboroughSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 5, 1959, p. 1
  59. County commissioners set a 95-cent tax rate and raise school funds by nearly half By a 3 to 2 vote the commissioners set the county tax rate at 95 cents, up 13 cents, with a 49 percent increase in school money that included $125,000 for a site and six-room addition at Glenwood School, and raised the Chapel Hill district's supplementary school tax to its 20-cent limit after a campaign by Chapel Hill school supporters. Four days later they gave the record $1,411,243 budget final approval, with raises for county employees and the sheriff's deputies. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Hillsborough · Also mentions: Chapel Hill school, Glenwood SchoolSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 23, 1959, p. 1
  60. County commissioners name Don Matheson to the Research Triangle Regional Planning Commission The commissioners appointed county farm agent Don S. Matheson to a four-year term as one of Orange County's members of the new Research Triangle Regional Planning Commission, set up by the 1959 legislature to promote orderly development of the Durham, Orange and Wake area. Board chairman R. J. M. Hobbs and the mayor of Chapel Hill were members by law. People: Don S. Matheson, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: HillsboroughThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 6, 1959, p. 1
  61. County commissioners order $50,000 in bonds for an eight-room Glenwood School addition With no objections raised, the commissioners finally passed an order for up to $50,000 in county school building bonds toward building and equipping an addition to Glenwood School in Chapel Hill, put at $100,000 in the order. The Chapel Hill board had backed architect Marion A. Ham's plan for an eight-classroom wing with a lower-level multipurpose room, about $145,000 in all. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Glenwood School, Chapel Hill · Also named: Marion A. HamSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 19, 1959, p. 11
  62. Orange County commissioners give a cool reception to a Research Triangle planning request At a special meeting, Orange County commissioners gave only a lukewarm reception to a request to help fund a land development survey for the Research Triangle area and took no action pending firm figures. The Chapel Hill Weekly reported that the county expected to gain mostly new residents and school costs from the park rather than industry, and commissioners discussed zoning the area northeast of Chapel Hill toward the Durham County line. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs Place: Orange CountyThe Chapel Hill Weekly, November 19, 1959, p. 1
  63. Orange commissioners keep the courthouse home demonstration kitchen for white use and vote a separate one for Black clubs Weeks after Black home agent Bonnie Davis asked why the kitchen promised her clubs, which had given $500 toward it about three years before, was never provided, the commissioners split over letting both races share the white agent's second-floor kitchen. Chairman R. J. M. Hobbs broke a 2-2 tie to keep it white-only and set up a temporary separate kitchen, likely on the ground floor, and the $500 was returned. White agent Jessie Trowbridge and county club leaders opposed sharing; the News reported Commissioner Donald Stanford saying the real objection was to the races using the same kitchen. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Bonnie B. Davis Place: Orange County Courthouse, Hillsboro · Also named: Jessie Trowbridge, Donald StanfordSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 10, 1959, p. 6
  64. Donald M. Stanford becomes chairman of the county commissioners as R. J. M. Hobbs retires At the first meeting of the new board, Donald M. Stanford took the oath for a second term and was elected chairman, succeeding R. J. M. Hobbs, whom the board honored with a gift as he left after 26 years of public service. Harvey D. Bennett was sworn in as a new commissioner. People: Harvey Bennett Place: Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also named: Donald M. StanfordSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 8, 1960, p. 1

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