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WATAUGA DEMOCRAT
# An Independent Weekly Newspaper ? Established in the Year 1 888
WATAUOA COUNTY
1U0 POPULATION 1(441
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Blowing Rock, on* o 4 th?
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VOL. LXV. ? NO. 28.
BOONE, WATAUGA COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, JA&UARY 15, 1953.
12 PAGES ? 2 SECTIONS
William R. LovillDies ;
Town 9s Oldest Laivyer
KING
STREET
BY
ROB RIVERS
END OF A UNIQUE CAREER
William R. Lovill, the oldest
member of the local bar, who
has pleaded with juries and jud
ges in the courts of Watauga and
adjoining counties for half a cen
tury, is dead, and thus is ended
the career of our last old-time
lawyer, as one of the town's old
est citizens comes to the end of
the way. . . . Whatever Will Lovill
lacked in formal education, he
made up in the brilliance of his
intellect, and at the height of his
power he was considered by many
to be one of the ablest criminal
lawyers rtf the State, and through
his qualities of unselfishness and
generosity had enjoyed wide
spread friendships. ... He shun
ned the role of prosecutor, and
his success in the law, centered
about his ability to plead for the
man or woman, or boy or girl,
who had transgressed. ... He
didn't know the language of a
State's attorney ... his wa6 the
voice of the prisoner at the bar ?
the golden voice, ringing out its
cries for mercy and for justice
for the folks who'd missed the
path somewhere, and who want
ed one more chance to go right.
MONEY OR NO MONEY
Will LotUI was not a finan
cial success. ... As the folks
roundabout say. ha was not
"naturad" to gat hold of a lot
of coin, for his lore of his fel
lowman who ami bafore tha
courts of tha land waa so com
pelling that ha appaarad for
him. fought with all his might,
without knowing whathar or
not ha would receive a cant.
. . . Many the times we've seen I
him rise from his seat within i
the bar. aim a shot at a cus
pidor. and go to bat for the
lad who didn't have counsel,
and who was sitting in the mid
dle of a greased plank, with one
end pointed to a cellblock in the
State prison. . . . While not all
the folks for whom he appear
ed were freed ? far from it ? it's
a matter of record that none of
them went to the gallows, to
the chair, or to the gas cham
ber, though soma were sent
enced. but escaped the death
penalty on appeals to higher
tribunals.
" TWONT DO TO HANG EM"
Once a fellow had been par
ticularly cantankerous, it is re
called. ... As they say out West
"he hadn't oughta" shot the guy,
and the people were bilin' mad.
... A lot of 'em wanted the
hemp stretched. . . . But lawyer
Lovill couldn't agree. "It just
won't do to get juries started to
hanging folks . . . it'll be easier
to do the second time, and pretty
soon our courts will be vicious
and cruel, and the scales of jus
tice will tip dangerously in favor
of the State!" ... And to our
knowledge no one from Watauga
has paid the supreme penalty by
court decree. . . . Will Lovill al
lowed a lot for the frailties of hu
manity and for the weaknesses of
the flesh, and labored long and
faithfully in his fight for justice
for offenders. . . . Astride "Old
Sport" we can easily recall the
erect figure of the lawyer of yes
teryear, his saddle bags filled with
books of legal lore, going into the
outlying districts to appear be
fore magistrates, or into sur
rounding counties to be heard be
fore the Judges and juries of the
Superior Court. . . . And some
timei Sport was stabled while
the lawyer entrained for Northern
and Western States where a
home-town lad was behind the
bars; or where some fellow from
the hills had got a rough deal,
and wanted to hist a bit of dam
age from the big fellow. In those
days Will Lovill was always on
the job, always pleading . . .
praising t#r Judge, and asking
for his tender mercies. . j . On
the political hustings, as a mem
ber of the State Senate and as
Mayor dt the town. Will Lovill
was popular with the folks. . . ,
He loved his fellowman, was big
hearted and gracious, and kind.
(Continued on page eight)
WILLIAM R. LOVILL
PRODUCTION OF
FEED IS TOPIC
DAIRY SCHOOL
A panel discussion emphasiz
ing feed production will be the
main feature of a dairy school to
be held at the County Courthouse
in Boone on Wednesday, January
21, L. E. Tuckwiller, County
Agent, announced this week.
The panel will be composed of
the county agent, two farmers,
one a good provider of legume
hay, the other, a good maker of
silage, two extension dairymen, a
farm specialist and an agronomy
specialist. The influence of feed,
breeding, and testing on econom
ical milk production will be dis
cussed.
Those taking part in the school
will be; J. D. George, Extension
Dairy Specialist, Marvin E. Sen
der, Exfenilon "Dairy SpCtialtst,
Dorris D. Brown, Farm Manage
mcnt Specialist, and O. W. F.
Faison, N. C. Department of Ag
riculture.
The school will begin at 10:00
a. m. and close at 3:00 p. m. At
the afternoon session two films !
will be shown. One entitled "No '
Hand Stripping" shows the niosti
tificient practices in milking 1
cows. The other is called "Dairy
Conveniences" and shows metn
ods of saving labor in dairy farm
operations.
William Richard Lovill, Boone
lawyer, the dean of the local bar,
former State Seriator, and Mayor
of the town of Boone, died in a
Morganton hospital Sunday even
ing, following a long period of
declining health. Mr. LoviU's
condition had been considered
critical for the past several weeks.
He was 86 years of age.
Funeral services are to be held
this (Wednesday) afternoon at 2
o'clock at the Boone Methodist
Church. The pastor, Rev. Joseph
T Shackford. will be in charge of
the rites, and interment will be
in the Hine cemetery, one mile
west of Boone.
Surviving are the widow, Mrs.
Lucy G. Lovill; three sons, Bill
Lovill of Boone; Rom Lovill,
Fresno, Ohio; Robert G. .Lovill,
Detroit, Mich.; two daughters,
Mrs. Josephine Eldreth, New
ark, Delaware; Mrs. Quentin
Johnson of Winston-Salem.
Born In Surry County
William R. Lovill was born in
Surry county, a son of the late
Captain Edward F. Lovill, and
Mrs. Lovill. He had resided in
Boone for about 70 years, where
he attended school. Later he stu
died at Sutherland Academy, and
studied law under Major Harvey
Bingham of Statesville. Upon se
curing his law license he began
practice with his eminent father,
a captain in the Confederate
army. He practiced in Boone for
more than 50 years, and was
widely known as a defense law
yer in the criminal courts of
North Carolina and other States.
He served as Mayor of Boone
and as a Democratic member of
the State Senate for one term.
Through his life-long friend
ships with the R. J. Reynolds
Tobacco officials, he was able to
get the promise of buyers for tho
Boone tobacco market, which in
sured the building of the ware
houses in Boone.
Also of interest is the fact that
he typed the bill, which passed
the Legislature, and resulted in
the establishment of Appalachian
Training School, now Appalach
ian State Teachers College. Dr. :
B. B. Dougherty, president of the i
institution in reflecting on the ;
past, says, "I knew of no other I
man who could use a typewriter, |
or who had one." Captain Lovill l
and Dr. Dougherty drafted the <
important document, which 'was
dictated to W. R. Lovill.
Lutheran Church Pays
Honor To Mr. T routman
Grace Lutheran Church was |
filled Sunday, when representa
tives of all the church congrega
tions of *he town gathered to join
in the celebration marking th?
change of the church from a mis
sionary status to that of a self
supporting unit.
The service also took the form,
of a> testimonial meeting, honor
ing Rev. Edwin Troutman, pastor
of the church for fifteen years,
through whose ministry such not
able progress has been made.
Dr. Herbert Wey presided at
the anniversary service, and a
number of visitors spoke words
of congratulations to the church
and of praise for its pastor.
Prof. H. C. Tripp offered a his
tory of the church; Miss Cora
Jeffcoat brought greetings from
the Women of the Church, while
Miss Barringer spoke on behalf of
the Lutheran students of Boone
Messages were presented from
the Lutheran Synod of North Car
olina and from Lenoir Rhyne Col
lege.
Mayor Gordon H. Winkler
spoke on behalf of the city; Dr.
J. D. Rankin, Appalachian State
Teachers College, and Dr. J. G.
Barden praised Rev. Mr. Trout
man for his activities in connec
tion with the Ministerial Asso
ciation.
* Attorney J. E. Holshouser
greeted the congregation and its
pastor on behalf of the profes
sional people qf the town, and
Attorney Wade E. Brown offered
the felicitations of the Parent
Teachers Association. Clyde R.
Greene, prominent Boone mtr- i
chant, spoke on behalf of the bus- :
iness Community.
Church History
In connection with the anni
versary atrvice, excerpts from the
church history, as prepared by 1
Mr. Tripp, are of interest: i
The tint pleaching service vii
REV. EDWIN F. TROUTMAN
held in the old St. Lukes Epis
copal Church September 9, 1923,
with the late H. W. Jeffcoat de
livering the sermon. This St.
Lukes Episcopal Church was lo
cated on the present site of the
Big Dipper and Roger's Shoe
Shop.
The church was officially or
ganized on November 11, 1923,
with 22 chartcr members present
by the late Reverend H. W. Jeff
coat, with Thomas Moretz, J. M.
Moretz and W. C. Lyons as coun
cilmen. Services were held at
this site until May 1, 1929i
In the meantime, the large cor
ner lot in back of the Daniel
Boone Hotel on Grand Blvd., op
posite Dr. Mathcson's was pur
chased with the help of Synod,
for the building site. As time
pasjed, it seemed advisable to
rhange the location of the build
ing Kite to a more desirable one
The parking facilities being quite
limited in that region, the expense
of grading being considerable' and
(Continued on page elfht)
HEALTH CROUP
HOLDS MEETING
AT COVE CREEK
The Watauga County Health
Council met in regular quarterly
session at the Cove Creek High
School lunchroom on Thursday,
January If.
Sickness and weather condi
tions were a barrier to many for
attend *nce. The president and
vice-president both being absent
left the presiding to the secretary.
The program was a panel dis
cussion in the interest of a health
center for Watauga county. Mr.
Welch Tester was moderator for
the panel and started the discus
sion with a short history of the
development of the health depart
ment in Watauga county and a
comparison of the 1935 "first
year" with the present year as
to facilities, housing, personnel
and service. The question, "Why
a health department?" brought
some lively discussion from the
audience. The services that are
available to all from the health
department was quite informative
to some who have not used the
service as they might. Some of
those present said they did not
reali/.e before that the service
was for all.
Public health was related as
health for all the people with the
interest of the community para
mount and the preventive rather
than the curative type of health
being promoted.
All of the discussion pointed to
the major purpose of the meeting.
All agreed that better service
could be expected if adequate
facilities . and adequate housing
were provided. The same space
is provided now that was provid
ed by the county for the first
health department in 1935, but
the services have been increased
many times over. "The housing
can be improved if we the citi
zens want it bad enough" was
said over and over by those pre
sent. It was pointed out that
through Federal and State aid
this county can have a modern
health center by supplying the
lot on which to build and one
fourth of the cost. Those present
expressed the desire for rapid ac
tion and the willingness lo push
for improvement for the county. [
Milk Suppliers
Are Given Grades
By Health Dept.
All milk suppliers in (he coun
ty have been graded by the Wa
tauga County Health Department
in accordance with the grade
specifications of the milk ordi
ance and code governing the
same.
All consumers arc urged to pur
chase milk on the basis of grade.
These grades appear on the bot
tle cap or carton and placards are
posted in every restaurant, soda
fountain, etc., where milk is sold,
stating the grade of milk sold.
At the present time only Grade
A pasteurized and Grade A
homogenized milk are legally
available to Watauga county con
sumers. Excellent information is
given about milk in a bulletin,
"What Every Person Should
Know About Milk," copies of
which may be obtained from the
local health department or the
United State Public Health Ser
vice in Washington, D. C.
ine louowing waiauga couniy
distributors have been approved
for pasteurized product*: Appala
chian State Teachers College;
Coble Dairy Products, Inc.; Hil
lards Dairy; Hillcide Dairy Pro
ducts, Inc., and Southern Dairies.
All persons are urged by the
'Health Department to not use or
play any part in the lilegal sale
of ungraded milk or milk pro
ducts. Any person knowing of
any milk being sold illegally
should notify the local heulth de
partment. It should be remember
ed that milk from Grade A pro
ducer dairies is intended for pas
teurization and is not necesssarily
equal to that (bacteriologically)
of Grade A retail raw and should
not be purchased to be consumed
raw or for cooking. There arc
about 700 leases of undulant fev
er in the United States yearly
due principally to raw milk.
Some of the other disease* caus
ed by consuming raw milk are;
tuberculosis, typhoid f ever, food
poisoning, diphtheria, scarlet fev
er, septic sore throat, undulant^
fever, foot and mouth disease, an<T
diarrheal and dysenteric diseases.
W atauga T eacher s F ound
To Be Best-Equipped
CLOTHES FOR KOREA? Some of the clothing for the destitute people of Korea, which
was contributed by the people of Boone and the county, and which was assembled at the
Methodist Church. ? Photo by Palmer's Photo Shop.
Clothing For Korea Effort
Meets With Fine Response
...X <VVV...
' for Korean relief has met with
large public response, according
to the Rev. Joseph T. Shackford,
pastor of Boone Methodist
Church, who headed the effort.
More than 800 pounds of cloth
ing has been assembled from the
! ty and the surrounding area, in
! eluding Blowing Rock, and the
| homes of local citizens.
Mr. Shackford emphasized thai
additional funds are needed to
handle the clothing, however, as
freight charges must be paid to
March Of Dimes Sing
Is Slated For Jan. 24
Thir'y quartets have been inr
vited to take part in the March
of Dimes songfest which will be
held Saturday night, January
24th, at the courthouse and the
high school audiiorium, says
John T. King, March of Dimes
director for Watauga County.
Friday, January 16, radio sta
tion WATA will conduct a re
quest program as an aid to the
polio campaign, and Saturday,
January 17 the Lions Club spon
sors the "miles of dimes" in front
of the Northwestern Bank.
Mr. King has his organization
about completed and functioning,
and solicits the continued fine
cooperation of the people in
reaching Watauga's quota for the
polio fund at the earliest pos
sible date. The need is urgent,
and it is hoped that the people
will be particularly generous this
year.
"Diversion" of highway taxes
in millions charged.
| IN SENATE ? &dwin Duncan, of
Sparta, who is representing Wa
tauga, Ashe and Alleghany in
the State Senate. Mr. Duncan, a
Democrat, is executive vice-pres
I ident of the Northwestern Bank.
Automobile To Be
Awarded On Friday
Drawing for the grand prize of
fered by the Boone Merchants
Association as a part pf the
Christina* trade promotion pro
gram, a 1952 Chevrolet automo
bile purchased from Andrews
Chevrolet, Inc., will be held at
3 p. m. Friday, January 16, on
Depot Street near Mountain Bur
ley Warehouae No. 1.
Two other prizes, an RCA-Vic
tor television set purchased from
Swofford's and a Nnrge refrigera
tor purchased from Fanner's
Hardware, were given away on
Christmas Eve. Miai Mary Helen
Neill of Boone was the winner of
the television set, and Mrs. H. A.
Buxlon of Blowing Rock won the
refrigerator.
Registrations have been going
on in most Boone stores since the
first of December fgr all three
prizes, and all tickets entered
since the registrations began will
'be eligible to win the car. The
winner is not required to b? pre
sent at the drawing, but will be
notified at the address shown on
the winning ticket.
As in the case of the first two
prize*. all participating merch
ants are asked by J. V. Caudill,
Merchants Association president,
to leliver their ticket boxes not
later than 2 p. m. on Friday to
the truck which will be stationed
at the site of the drawing. Auth
orized personnel will be present
'to supervise placing the tickets
in one large container, from
which one ticket will be drawn
for the car.
The National Defense Program
hus reached it* midway point,
according to Mobilization Direc
tor Fowler who declared that the
$128,000,000,000 already spent
should b& supplemented by new
laws and funda and that this
could be done "without strain"
on the nation's economy.
the Church World Service Center
in Maryland, and the clothing
must be accompaincd by 8 to 10
cent* per pound for re-shipment
to Korea. Using all packing bags
on hand, Wr. Shackford stilted
that 470 pounds were packcd and
shipped last Tuesday.
With the help that local chur
ches are to give along with help
from the Boone Lions Club and 1
the Methodist Youth Sub-District
of Ashe-Watauga and individual
citizens equivalent lor this ship
ment will be cored for. However,
over 300 pounds remain in the
vestibule of the Methodist Church
with clothing still coming in. for
which an estimated $50 or more
of additional funds will be need
ed. Interested persons or clubs
arc asked to contact Mr. Shack
ford. Additional clothing may be
deposited at the Methodist
Church or parsonage, and where
possible postage of 13c per pound
accompanying will be appreciat
ed.
Mr. Shackford expressed high
praise for the full cooperation
and publicity given the campaign
by the local churches, the Wa
tauga Democrat, and Radio Sta
tion WATA. He extended his ap
preciation to these agencies and
to everyone who assisted in the
drive, including Crayte Teague
and the Air Scouts, and Mr. Mar
vin T. Culbreth, who aided in
collection of the clothes from the
homes of residents and establish
ments where clothing was depos
ited.
Buy Clothing
For City Stores
Guy Hunt, Fred Church and G.
T. Bare attended an advance
showing of spring stylo in men's
clothing and accessories A Char
lotte on Monday of this week.
While there they m?dc purchases
for their respective stores, Hunt's
Department Store in Boone, and
Bar's Department Stores in
Boone and North Wilkesboro.
Mrs. Mary Lenoir
Dies At Age 87
Mary Lenoir of Boone died at
the age of 87 on January 9 at the
Watauga Hospital. Funeral ser
vices were held Monday, Janu
ary 12, at the Minnitc Baptist
Church, conducted by Rev. Mr.
Builcy.
Survivors include three daugh
ters. Mrs. Georgia Blanton "of
Columbus, Ohio, Mrs. Elizabeth
Wagner of Gary, West Virginia,
and Dell* Horton of Boone; and
one brothap, Remus Horton of
Boomer. tC C.
Quality Of Local
Tutors Tops
State List
The one-hundred and thir
ty-two teachers in the schools
of Watauga county are better
trained than those in any
county unit in the State, it is
revealed in the North Carolina
Public School Bulletin, organ
of the State Department of
Public Instruction.
Scoring high among the one
hundred county units, Watauga
had an index of 813.2, next in
line being Cabarrus, B03.7, Dur
ham, Greene, Jackson, Mecklen
burg, New Hanover, Orange and
Wake followed in the order giv
en. Watauga's index reflected the
large number of teachers with
graduate certificates, the report
says, and marks a gradual im
provement in the quality of the
teachers here during the past
several years.
County Superintendent Howard
Walker recalls that the board of
education passed a resolution in
1934, soon after he began his
duties with the school depart
ment, calling for the gradual up
ping of teacher quality until no
certificate less than A grade
would remain. This effort has
been continued through the
years, with the result that now
there arc only three in the coun
ty, whose certificates are less
than A (the equivalent of a col
lege education.) A number of
IdV-standard certificates were ac
cepted during the emergency
created by the last world war,
but the upward trend was con
tinued since. Mr. Walker recall*
that at the beginning of his ten
ure Watauga county ranked with
the ten lowest counties in the
state in the quality of its teach
ing staff.
Mr. Walker further points out
that Watauga is one of ten coun
ties in Carolina that has complet
ed its consolidation program. The
fifty-four schools have been re
duced to eight white district
schools and one negro consolida -
cd unit. All three Negro teachers
have the A certificates.
Recital To Be
i Given At College
The Department of Music of
Appalachian State Teachers Col
lege will present its second stu
dent recital of the season on Fri
day night at B o'clock in the au
ditorium of the Fine Arts Build
) ir>K
Those appearing in the rccital
are as follows: Nell Norris, "My
Johann" by Edw. Grieg; Mary
Alva White, 'The Silver Ring"
by Cecile Chaminade; Alene
Queen, "With Verdure Clad" from
Haydn's Creation; Gene Wilson,
"Three for Jack," by Squires;
Catherine Ray, "He's Coin'
Away," spiritual by Katheryn
Davis, The above arc students of
Mrs. Virginia Wary Linney.
From the studio of Hoyt Safrit
arc: Jackie Snyder, "One Fine
Day" from Puccini's Madam But
terfly; Marie Vaught, "The
Sweetest Flower That Blows" by
Hawley.
John Allen will present Rebec
ca Moxley in "Now the Day Is
Over.'' by Speaks; Bobby Greer
in "Morning" by Speaks; Eliza
beth Gore "Love's in My Heart"
by Woodman.
Students of James Rooker in
piano who will perform arc Re
hec^p Austin, "Gavotte" by Han
del; Ann Smith, 'Toccata" by
Khatchaturian; Giles Sal^>, Etude
in C Minor, Chopin.
Other piano students of Walton
Cole studio arc Gwen Liftman.
Aadgio Cantabile from Beethov
en Sonato op. 13; Gay Banner,
"About Slfangc Lands and Peo
ple." Schumann, and "Curiou*
Story" by Schumann.
An invitation to the public ii ,
extended by the Music Depart
ment.
Bone discovery In Tramvaal U
held ape-to-miui link.