North Carolina Newspapers

AWARD WINNER In 1966 and 1967 the Democrat won 10 State Press Assn, awards for General Excellence, Excellence in Typography, Local News, Adver tising, Columns and Photographs. WATAUGA DEMOCRAT An Independent Weekly Newspaper Seventy-Ninth Year of Continuous Publication BOONE ' 1967 HI JjO ___ April 16 67 47 April 19 60 38 April 20 69 28 April 21 68 57 tr. April 22 65 54 tr. April 23 62 44 38 April 24 60 45 .15 26 PAGES- 3 SECTIONS Beautifying intersections could be a new concept, but one sure to pay off in heavily traveled freSh’ Spring scene at an intersection on Blowing Rock Road is exemplary. Institution Of Marriage More Popular In Watauga Conduct Of Students At Fire Is Probed By Dean Dean of Men Ronnie Brooks released a statement tuesday morning on concluding his investigation of Appalachian students at the scene of the fire last week. Brooks said students told him they were attracted to the fire area from the campus, because from where they were it looked as if Tony’s Pizza Place was on fire. When they got there, the house was burning, and they said they began chanting “Where’s the fire truck?” The students said Fire Chief R. D. Hodges asked them to help keep the sparks down in the woods behind the house and that more than half of them complied with the request. They told the Dean that the fire truck, which supposedly had gone to Deep Gap, finally got there to the cheer, ■Here’s the fire truck!” The students said than that, either intentionally or accidentally, several of the students were doused with water from one of the hoses. Then they began jeering the fireman, and clods of dirt and probably a few rocks were thrown at the burning building, but, according to testimony, none were heaved at any fireman. Watauga Schools To Collect Used Clothes Watauga County schools will participate in a discarded col lection on May 10th thru May 18th. The purpose of the program is to collect donations of used and discarded clothing, rags, shoes, toys and small appli ances for the handicapped work ing and training at Goodwill Rehabilitation Center in Winston-Salem. The discards make available vocational training and jobs for 250 handicapped persons from many counties of North Caro lina. The discards are cleaned and repaired and then sold in six Goodwill stores. Articles gathering dust in the homes of citizens of this area will be I much appreciated. Students from the Watauga schools will i be glad to receive the donation j from parents and neighbors to help fill their Goodwill bag. All donations of discards will be helping a disabled person to get a new lease on life by giving him a means of vo cational theraphy. Goodwill Rehabilitation Cen ter is a non-profit agency. ui vYdiauga county, me in stitution of marriage has beer growing in popularity over the years. That is what the latest figures show. As a result, a greater pro portion of the local population is married today than was the case a generation or two ago. This is true despite the rise in the divorce rate. The trend disproves the wide ly-held belief that this is an age in which the divorce rate is increasing much faster than the marital rate. On the basis of data com piled by the Census Bureau in a nationwide sampling, the reverse appears to be true. It shows that, although the actual number of divorces is much greater in most parts of the country than in earlier years, the rise is not that sharp in terms of population. It has been more than off set, furthermore, by the rising proportion of people in the “married” column. Such has been the case in Watauga County. According to the latest government figures, no less than 61.7 percent of the local population, above age 14, are married. Some 63.9 percent of the men in that age group and 59.5 percent of the women are listed as married. The Census Bureau’s sur vey, which covers 1966, re peals that 3.2 percent of all (Continued on page six) Court Clerk Has leart Seizure __ Watauga County Clerk of 'ourt, Orville Foster, suffered 1 heart attack Friday evening it his home. Mrs. Foster said he was on he critical list at Watauga bounty Hospital, but had shown ilight improvement by Tuesday norning. Eight-Part Effort Ambitious Co. Program Of Improvement Is Discussed Cleanliness, Beautification Are Among Aims BY RACHEL RIVERS The responsibility for com munity improvement will rest with everyone. The Watauga Community Im provement group, formed re cently by leaders erf wide spread civic organizations, met Thursday to review a broad pro gram drawn up by their presi dent, Glenn Hodges. Hodges said he had met with Dan Mackey of the State De partment of Commerce and In dustry, from whom he received a land development plan for Boone. He also had studied other city plans, including city zoning ordinances. By giving clubs an opportunity to divide up the program, com munity improvement can be ex panded into a large-scale op eration, Hodges explained. PLAN OF ACTION The steering committee will ask presidents of clubs to meet with them at 7:30 p. m. Tuesday, May 9, at the Appalachian Ele mentary School to discuss its eight-point program. Immediate aims will be to organize a program of action, investigate and analyze con ditions, define problems and formulate solutions, derive specific town and County goals and develop the plan accord ingly. As it stands, the program is classified in eight parts: Highway cleanliness and safety would cover public fa cilities, trash containers, no tices of fines for littering. Training and information would be given for beautification would involve brochures, maps and courtesy classes. Awards and recognition would be given for beautification and improvement accomplishments. Under community develop ment and new projects, gov ernmental affairs, such as zon ing restrictions, would be ex amined. Property clean-up and de velopment would include im provement of lots, junk yards and lawns, and assistance in designing new facilities. Scouts and 4-H could help with natural resources, help ing prohibit dumping of trash on roadsides, helping keep woods along highways clean and sites for parks in Watauga,, Landscaping and beautifi cation would benefit all town and County-owned buildings and, upon request, church pro perties. (Continued on page six) Spectators mill about in foreground as house goes up in smoke. (Minor photo) firemen Are Heckled As Wey House Is Destroyed A blaze of undetermined ori gin spread through a frame house on Blowing Rock Road Wednesday night, April 19. Fire Chief R. D. Hodges said he fire, which started on the x>rch facing the highway, spread quickly and by the time iremen arrived was beyond Blowing Rock Theatre Will Have Meeting The Blowing Rock Community rheatre will hold its annual neeting at 8 p. ma May 1 at he Town Hall for the purpose >f electing officers for the com ng year and outlining the pro Tam. All interested persons are sked to attend whether they are nembers nr not isitors Board Takes Look At Appalachian -- •'W It i caLIICl S College’s Board of Visitors, in “get acquainted” sessions here Friday and Saturday, re ceived an in-depth look at the institution’s academic arei ad ninistrative activities. Seven members of the ad visory board met with depart nent chairmen to obtain de ailed information on the func ions of each department. The uuara memDers also were pro vided a study of administrative practices by directors of each organization. As the two-day meeting end ed, Grover C.Greeneof Swarth more. Pa., summed up the board’s general opinion when he said: “This has been a most rewarding, enlightening and constructive session.” Another board member. former State Senator Irwin Belk of Charlotte, noted that he was a member of seven other gov erning boards of colleges in North Carolina. “Thereare now 74 colleges or universities in this state,’ he said, "and I know that Appalachian ranks near the top of this large group In the quality of instruction.” Present for the board’s sec >nd gathering, in addition to Belk and Greene, were Mrs, Harry B. Caldwell and Dr. T. Edgar Sikes, both of Greens boro; Walter E. Wiles of Chi cago, 111.; Dr. L. H. Hollings worth of Winston-Salem; and Mrs. Paul Broyhill of Lenoir. Unable to attend due to other committments were J. E. Col lette and John M. Ehle Jr. both of Winston-Salem, Terry San ford of Fayetteville, Lewis Jen kins of North Wilkesboro and Edwin Duncan Jr. of Sparta. Major L. P. McLendon Greensboro was absent due illness. Those present first heard brief statements by administra tive officers concerning their areas of Yesponsibility. Ad dressing the board in the ini tial discussion hour were Dr. (Continued on page six) •S 3 Seven members of Appalachian's Board of Visitor* Q-r) Grover C. Greene, Mrs. Paul Broyhill. Dr. T. Edgar Sikes, Mrs. Harry B Caldwell w,i»e l- 1 Irwin Belk and Dr. L. H. Hollingsworth. Caldwell. Walter E. Wiles. , I The alarm was called in a 11:10 from the Cabana Mote south of the site. The Boom force had been called abou five minutes earlier to assisi the Deep Gap Volunteer Fire Department at a fire in their area. Five men, who remained in town in case of a local fire answered the second call. The PAUL HUNTER WALSH Paul Walsh Is Named To New Banking Post Paul Hunter Walsh has been elected assistant cashier of Wa chovia Bank and TrustCompanv in Burlington. Hunter is the son of Mrs. Paul Walsh of Sugar Grove and the late Mr. Walsh. He is married to the former Jean Abbott of Chesnee. S, C. They have a son, Paul Hunter fll. Walsh, dealer credit mana ger in the Time Payment De partment, became a Wachovia staff member in I960. From 1962 to 1966 he was Time Pay ment loan manager. A native 3f Sherwood, he is a grad uate of Appalachian State reachers College. He is a mem >er of the Burlington Jaycees tnd has worked as a solicitor n the Alamance County United ’und campaign. He is super ntendent of the Adult 1 Depart nent in the Sunday School of he First Baptist Church of iraham. I r ire tniet, who was on hi: way to Deep Gap, was over taken and returned to Boone, he said. The owner of the vacant house, Joe Williams, said he had arranged to have the house moved the morning of April 20. Hodges said when the truck arrived, the house already was destroyed, and Williams asked them to let it burn, as long as it would not endanger sur rounding property. Firemen were reportedly stationed between the house and the Horn in the West property, where it was feared sparks could set off a woods fire. Later, said Hodges, the truck was brought around and water was put on the blaze to slow it down. Several members of a for estry club at ASTC were said to have assisted the Fire De partment in watching for “hot spots” near the house. Estimates of the number of spectators on the scene ranged from 200 to 500 and it was reported that some in the crowd chanted at firemen, at one point hitting them and other on lookers with mud clods and rocks. Oscar Danner Jr. was taken to Watauga County Hospital, but escaped serious injury. The house was construct ed by Dr. I. G. Greer, when he was a professor at Appa lachian State Teachers College, and was known in late years as the Dr. Herbert Wey place. Servicemen Are Being Sent Local Paper Another “letter from home” is on its way to points in South east Asia. non Hester, publicity chair man for the Boone Jaycees, says one-year subscriptions to the Watauga Democrat are being sent to 28 servicemen in Viet nam. Families sent names and addresses of men not already receiving the paper on a form published in the newspaper, and first copies were mailed Wednesday. Postmaster Ralph Beshears points out that mail is being sent by air, as space is avail able, from ports of debarkation in California. The overflow is being sent by boat mail. In order to assist the Jay cees, the newspaper arranged to share the cost of the pro ject. The Jaycees conductcom munity and area benefit pro jects throughout the year. Slave Day Aid To Townspeople Slave Day is coming. Members of the Westminster Fellowship of First Presbyter ian Church, Boone, will mow lawns, wash windows and do other household handiwork on Saturday, May 6. They will work for 50 cents an hour, and their services may •e contracted by calling 264 1144 between 6:30 and 8 p. m itarting Monday, May 1. Proceeds from Slave Day will >e put into the Church's build ng fund. tfloodmobile Will Be In Boone 12th 1 ne nea ^ross Blood mobile’s last 1966-67 visit to Boone will take place Friday, May 12. The mobile unit’s previous visit March 3 resulted in the donation of 278 pints of blood, thus establishing an ali-time record for a single visit. “The students and faculty of Appalachian did a fine job on the last visit, and I certainly hope such a turnout will be duplicated May 12,” said Mrs Goldie Fletcher, executive se cretary of the County Red Cross chapter. Local officials are hoptful that at least 150 pints will be donated next month. Usage estimates for the year alrealy have been exceeded, Mrs.Flet. cher noted. The Bloodmobile will be sta> ttoned outside East Hall oq tbs Appalachian campus from 11 a. m. until 4:30 p. m.