BOONE
1M0 POPULATION UH
WKmk 1
WATAUGA DEMOCRAT
An Independent Weekly Newspaper ? Established in the Year 1888
WATAUGA COUNTY
1M0 POPULATION 1U41 /
fcSSS*.
VOL. LXV ? NO. 4S.
BOONE, WATAUGA COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA. THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1853.
? 12 PAGES ? X SECTIONS
KING !
STREET
BY
ROB RIVERS
"YOU CAN'T MISS IT!"
"Go straight on down this road
for about two and a quarter, pass
a field full of sheep, but pay no
'tention to that, take a lelt turn
onto a gravel road, go four mile*
and a bit over to Jim Smith'i red
barn, just below the Athene High
School, ihen take a right turn,
and keep going till you get tc a
big white house, close to an oil
station, where there's a lot of
cows grazing nearby . . ? That's
the place . . . you can't miss it! '
. . . But folks do miss the direc
tions we give our visitors . . .
Fact, is, most folks traveling in
strange parts, are determined to
become confused when they stop
and ask, and we ought for a fact,
to be a bit more polite, and not
quite so involved when we tell
the man from Kankakee how to
get down to Bill Tedder's place,
where he was told he could do
some fishing, or buy a country
ham, or visit some folks he used
to know away from here . . . For
instance the other day, some
folks from Florida were trying
their best to get to Blowing Rock,
and in some fashion toured up
Howard's Creek, and came down
into Boone via the Junaluska
Turnpike ... On this side of the
mountain, the strangers picked
up some youngsters who obliging
ly showed them how to get to the
Rock, which they appreciated,
since of course they had no great
appetite for banging their auto
mobile around over bumpy roads,
when they were overdue at their
destination.
EASY TO DO
We often overlook tha fact
that it'i easy to gat loat in tha
hill country, and those of ua '
who ara callad upon often for
traveling instructions should
try to bo explicit . . . and by
all maans courteous . . . Noth
ing is so appreciated by weary
travelers as the fellow who will
go to some pains to tall tham
where to go . . . It's good man
ners. and good advertising for
the area . . . Let's lend a help
ing hand when the fellow says.
"Here. I'm a stranger, could
you . . .?" . . . and don't be mad
with him 'cause he don't know
as much about your county aa
you do.
PICNIC TIME
The time of picnics and sand
wiches and outdoor furnace cook
ery, and trips to cool brooksides
and mountain peaks is here and
we look forward to these brief
forays into pleasant places, with
the basket and the thermos jug
and the other equipment which
a good picnicker is liable to ac
cumulate . . . The cold cuts, the
cold pop, tea or buttermilk, the
deviled eggs, and the fried
chicken, and the jelly and the
pie and stuff, all add up to good
dining and good times . . . And
of course one needs the eggs
pickled in a bit of beet juice, and
the sour cucumbers, and some
cake . . . And all the discomforts
of the place are forgotten in the
joys of the outdoors, and you try
to imagine that you are more
comfortable than at home, and
that the tangy taste in the sand
wich wasn't an ant after all, and
that certain foods are better
when they are sogged . . . Yes,
its picnic time, and we're for
these outdoor feasts, which are
as fundamentally American as
baseball, income taxes, or hot
dogs . . . But down Charlotte
way, the other afternqon we no
ticed something that looked a
little olf . . . The folks had taken
their food out into the boiling sun
where they stood around a table !
and ate without respite front the
torrid insistence of Old Sol . . .
Anyway, such is the urge of pic
nicking!
THEY'LL DO IT . . . ALWAYS
When a craw Is unloading
machinery of thousand- pound
rolls of pa par. thara'll always
be 'a fallow who'll ask If U'a
heavy . . . Whan the presses |
roD. and the Democrats are be
ing mailed, we're often asked.
"Ara you printing off a few?",
and when wa take to cleaning ;
up the lawn, someone is apt to I
want to know if we're mowing <
the grssa . . . Theea things ara
amusing and ara only an effort
on the part of the folks to pro- i
mote pleasant conversation ...
We don't mind at all confirm- i
ing that we're printing a news
paper whan the sheet goes in
while and pomes out covered I
with reading ... We don't care ,
(Continued on page lour) 1
i
READY FOR SEASON? Standing beside the special bus of the Blue Ridge Parkway touring party last
week are, left to right G. C. Robbins, president of the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce; Chief
Parkway ranger E. M. Dale: Highway Commissioner W. R. Winkler of Boone; Superintendent Sam P.
Weems of the Parkway and Ed Pickard of Charlotte, tour director. (Photo Carl Wiegold, Winston-Salem
Journal.)
Newsmen And Travel
Officials Visit County
Democrats Will
Hold Convention
On Friday Night
The first signs that this is a
municipal election year for Boone
comes today with the call for a
Democratic convention issued by
Homer Brown, chairman of the
commitUe for the town of Boone.
The cpnvention will be held at
the courthouse Friday evening,
June Sth at 8 o'clock, and candi
dates for Mayor and the three
members of the board of alder
men will be nominated. The elec
tion will be held June 23.
The Republicans haven't call
ed a convention.
It is generally believed along
the street that Mayor Gordon H.
Winkler, who has occupied the
top spot at city, hall for ten years
will be renominated. Guy Hunt,
member of the board of alder
men, has made a public state
ment withdrawing from another
race. It is predicted that the other
members of the board, Grady
Moretz and Grady Tugman will
be nominated again by the
Democrats. Little speculation has
developed over Mr. Hunt's prob
able successor on the ticket.
Horn Offi? es Are
Moved To Theatre
Administrative offices for
"Horn in the West" are noto
located in a new building at the
Daniel Boone Theatre, where the
outdoor drama opens its second
summer season June 26.
The new building will be head
quarters for a spacious tourist in
formation and accommodations
center as well as the business and
publicity offices formerly locat
ed in downtown Boone. It is a 24
x48 foot rustic structure of board
and fatten, and will be painted
a soft gray to thatch the nine
other auxiliary buildings sur
rounding the 2,500-seat amphi
theatre, and adjoins the main
parking lot.
Boone People
In Horn Gist
Residents of Boone who will be
members of the cast of the out
door drama, "Horn in the West,"
which begins its second season
here June 26, include the follow
ing:
Ned Austin, as Daniel Boone;
William Ross as Colonel McKen
tie, Stanley South as the Indian
leader, Atakulla; Jerry McCrack
en, Dr. J. J. Van Nop pen. Dr.
Ann Van Noppen, Phil McGuire,
David Culler, James Blanton,
Coaker Triplett, Glenn Miller,
Keith Phillips, and James Hol
?houscr.
Hay stocks on North Carolina
farms May 1 totaled 292,000 tons,
compared with 130,000 tons on
Kay 1 last year.
Some forty-five newsmen,
photographers, magazine travel
editors, and travel bureau offici
als from many sections of the
nation were of one voice in de
claring that the scenic wonder
land of the Blue Ridge Parkway
is excelled only by Watauga
County hospitality, as the cara
van stopped at Boone and Blow
ing Rock last Wednesday in the
third annual Blue Ridge Park
way Tour.
In Boone, they visited the
Daniel Boone Theatre, site of the
outdoor drama, "Horn in the
West," then moved on to Blow
ing Rock and Cone Memorial
Park, where an old; fashioned
picnic lunch awaited them, pre
pared and served by Kirk's Bar
B-Q, of Boone, and sponsored by
the Boone and Blowing Rock
Chambers of Commerce.
Sponsored by the Carolina Mo
tor Club, in cooperation with the
National Park Service, The Blue
Ridge Parkway Association, the
National Park Service, Blue
Ridge area communities, Virginia
Trailways, and the Smoky Moun
tain Tours Company, and direct
ed by T. Ed Pickard, of Charlotte,
vice president and general mana
ger of the Carolina Motor Club,
the tour began in Roanoke and
ended Friday in Asheville.
An able group of lecturers, un
der the leadership of Sam P.
Weems, superintendent of the
Blue Ridge Parkway, explained
various aspects of the scenic
highway.
Members of the tour who visit
ed Boone and Blowing Rock in
cluded:
Mrs. Eyphemia Anderson, Auto
Club of Michigan. Detroit; Mrs.
Louise T. Baker, travel counselor,
Orlando, Fla.; Mrs. Jean Burton,
Louisville Auto Club, Louisville,
Ky.; Miss Nellie Mac Caldwell,
Winston-Salem Auto Club;
George M. Carter, Carolina Mo
tor Club, Charlotte; Miss Marcia
Cantlin, D. C. Division, AAA,
Washington, D. C.; E. M. Dale,
Chief Park Ranger, Roanoke, Va.
Mrs. Lois Delancey, Parkrrs
burg Auto Club, Parkersburg, W.
Va.; Thomas Eckles, Cincinnati
Auto Club, Cincinnati, O.; Miss
Judy Ann Evans, West Virginia'
Auto Club, Beckley, W. Va.; Mike ;
Frome, American Automobile 1
Association, Washington, D. C.;
Mrs. Anne M. Gibson, Virginia '
State Chamber of Comrnerce,
Richmond, Va.;
Thomas 6. Gorman, Automo
bile Club of New Yofk; Mrs.
Ruby N. Hatch, Blue Grass Auto
Club, Lexington, Ky,; Miss Doris
Holt, East Tennessee Automobile
Club, Knoxville, Tenn.; Josh L.
Home, publisher Evening Tele
gram, Rocky Mount, N. C.;
Mrs. Marjorie Hunter, Winston
i Salem Journal; Mrs. Lanier G.
Krise, Tidewater Automobile As
sociation, Norfolk, Va.; Miss Jean
Linnaman, Hoosier Motor Club,
Indianapolis, Indtna; Henry Lol
lis. South Florida Division, AAA,
Miami, Fla.; Misa Jerry Lucas,
Parkersburg Auto Club, Parkers
burg, W. Va.; Miss Joan E. Madi
gan, travel counselor, Washing
ton, D. C.; William C. Mallery,
Rnanoke World-News, Roanoke,
Va.
Mrs. Louise Maynard, Cincin
nati Auto Club, Cincinnati, O.;
Jack McDonald, Cincinnati En
quirer, Cincinnati, O.; Draughn
Miller, Carolina Motor Club.
Charlotte, N. C.; Clyde Osborne,
Charlotte Observer, Charlotte;
Lawrence O'Neill, Automobile
Club of New York.
Mrs. Mary Parker, Mademoi
selle Magazine, New York; Cor
bin Patrick, Indianapolis Star,
Indianoplis, tnd.; T. E. Picard, Jr.,
Carolina Motor Club, Charlotte;
Mrs. Elizabeth Potter Toledo
Automobile Club, Toledo, Ohio;
Miss Mildred Rauichkolb, Cleve-j
land Plain Dealer, Cleveland, 0.;|
(Continued on page tour)
Home For Alcoholics
Is Dedicated Sunday
I Grace Home, for the rehabilita
tion of women alcoholic*, ' was
dedicated Sunday with a service
held at 3:30 p. m. in the new
building located near Shulls
Mills, one and a half miles from
Hebron Colony, the men's home
for alcoholics.
Dr. E. A. Dillard, founder of
both Hebron and Grace homes,,
spoke briefly, explaining the pur
pose and methods of operation of
the new home, and gave a brief
foiatoipr of Hebron Colony.
"Our ministry is spiritual, not
medical," Dr. Dillard told the
gathering. "We try to prepare
our men and women for their
lives after they leave here. We
plan to prepare l^em for work
with children later."
Approximately 250 guests call
ed at the Grace Home Sunday
and inspected the new building
with its highly polished pine
wall* and shining floors. Many
windows provide a surrounding
view of mountains, and the bed
rooms and liv ing rooms an well
appointed.
Members of the board met
earlier Sunday afternoon and
discussed policies to be carried
out in administration plans to
promote the work financially.
Among board members present
were Dr. Dil^ard, Claude Best,
Chapel Hill, vicr president; H. W.
Wilcox of Boone, treasurer; R. C.
Rigdon, Greenville, S. C; Mrs.
W R Taylor, Norfolk, Va.; the
Rev. Wayne Moore, San Mateo,
Fla.; Mrs. Joseph Cannon, Blow
ing Rock; and Mrs. D. W. Alder
man, Florence, S. C.
Paul Frazier, head of the alco
holic state home in Georgia,
spoke briefly in praise of the
work being done by Dr. Dillard
at Hebron Colony, and predicted
that Grace Home would prove to
be the 'salvation of women al- i
coholics" as Hebron Colony haa
been to the MM men alcoholics
who have gone through Ha doors
since Hebron was founded in
lMft. 1
College Summer Term Is
Seen As Record -Breaker
Man Buried As Frank Shore
Is Identified As Indianan
? , ? ? j .
The man buried May 21, as
Frank Shore, and exhumed after
Short showed up, has been iden
tified as a homeless wanderer, a
former popcorn vendor with
Ringling Brothers and Barnum
and Bailey shows, and a mem
ber of a substantial Mitchell,
Indiana family.
Coroner Richard E. Kelley, who
exhumed the body May 25, and
who has been holding it at Reins
Sturdivant mortuary since that
time, received word Monday
from the FBI at Charlotte, iden
tifying the corpse as that of John
W. Lynn, 52, of Mitchell, Ind.
The FBI told Coroner Kelley
that the man was a "homeless
wanderer'," and was born in
Mitchel, Ind., May 31, 1900. He
hadn't been guilty of any serious
offenses against the law, it was
stated.
A sister of the deceased, Mrs.
Bessie Lynn Hufford, Blooming
ton, Ind., the wife of an associ
ate professor at the University
of Indiana, was. contacted, and
told Mr. Kelley she had not seen
her brother for many years, and
could not identify the body, but
that she would accept the finger
print identification. "The body
was shipped Tuesday to Mitchell,
where it will be interred in the
family plot beside the parents.
He was a veteran of world war I.
Died In Georgia
The man died in Calhoun, Ga.,
the night of May 16, after .he had
secured permission to sleep in the
jail. The wife and brother o<
Frank Shore of Watauga identi
fied him as Frank, and spent ?
considerable sum for funeral ex
penses, only to learn that Frank
was alive and well. He returned
home soon after the funeral and
the body was exhumed by Cor
nor Kelley, who is also the local
mortician. Officials took the
fingerprints taken at Calhoun
and sent them to the FBI. Since
1939 the >FBI said he had been
checked at Charleston, S. C., '
Minneapolis, Dothan, Ala., Hous
ton and Indianapolis..
Many Inquiries
Since the body has been at the
local funeral home, there have
been many callers, seeking to
identify the man who was given
a church funeral as a Watauga
countian. Besides those who came
in person, letters and phone calls
were numerous. Inquiries were
listed from Chilhowie, Va., Bur
lington, Lenoir, Hickory, Gas
tonia, Johnson City, Birmingham,
Ala.; Atlanta, Ga., and Asheville.
H. W. Hiott, Jr.
Is New Parkway
Group Official
North . Wilkes boro ? Harry W.
Hiott Jr., manager of the Wilkes
Chamber of Commerce, hai !>een
elected vice-president of the Blue
Ridge Parkway Association.
He succeeds Randolph H. Perry
of Charlottesville, Va., who now
serves as president of the group.
Arthur Myles Jones of A?he
ville,* outgoing president, report
ed at the recent meeting that
during 1?62 the Parkway di*w
more thin 3,000,000 visitors,
breaking all records for attend
ance at any national pafk in the
nation
He added that visitors thua far
in 1953 are averaging 30 per cent
ahead of last year.
The Blue Ridge Parkway As
sociation is the promotion agency
tor the 500-mile scenic drive
which begins at Front Royal, Va.,
and extends South and West
along the crest of the Southern
Appalachian, Blue Ridge, and
Great Smoky Mountain ranges to
Gutlinburg, Tenn.
County Sing
Set For June 7
The annual Watauga Singing
Convention will be held Sunday,
June 7, at the Gospel Tabernacle
in Boone, Chairman Ivan Younce
has announced. All singers are
welcome to participate In the
event, and the public is cordially
invited to attend. Mid Mr. Y ounce.
?1 '
GETS $10,000 CHECK ? A check for $10,000, the amount appropriated
to the outdoor drama, "Horn in the Wert1' by the' 1953 Legislature,
was delivered last week by State Auditor Henry L. Bridges. Mr.
Bridges, left. Is shown presenting th? check to Dr. D. J. Whitener,
executive vice-president of tltc Southern Appalachian Historical
Association, sponsors ol the drama. (Photo Palmer Blair.)
First Company Call'
For Horn Cast Set
For Saturday Night
The first "company call" of
1 1953 for the full cast and product- .
I ion staff of the outdoor drama,
! "Horn in the West," will be held
| Saturday, June 6, at 7:30 p. m.
in the Daniel Boone Theatre.
| Dr. D. J. Whitener, vice presi
dent of the Southern Appalachian
' Historical Association, producers I
j of the play, will welcome the
group on behalf of the associa- j
I tion, and recognize civic leaders
and officials of Watauga County, 1
Boone, and Blowing Rock.
Kai Jurgcnsen, director of the
drama, has announced that fnany
popular actors and actresses are
returning from last year's pro- ,
duction to take leading roles in
the play this summer. j
The drama opens its second
season June 28 and will run six
nights weekly through September j
7. The cut of 75 actors, singers
and dancers chosen after tryoutc i
at Boone and Chapel Hill this
spring will begin rehearsals next
week.
Mr. Jurgenseo, who is associ
i .I.
ate professor in the Department
of Dramatic Art at the Univcr
lity of North Carolina, is spend
ing his second summer as direc
tor of the drama.
Ned Austin, native of Watauga
County who originated the role
of Daniel Boone during the
drama's first seasoh, will again
play the famous woodsman who
exemplifies the spirit of the
pioneers who followed the "horn
of freedom" to the Southern Ap
palachians in the 1700's. Charles
Elledge, principal of the Marion
High School, Marion, N. C., will
repeat the role of Amos Howard,,
the tall booAiing-voiced frontier
leader. .
Irvine N. Smith, who played
John Sevier last summer, will be
seen this year in the leading role
of Geoffrey Stuart, English-born
physician who moves to the Ap
palachians after the Battle of Al
amance.
The story of the Kermit Hunter
drama centers around Geoffrey
(Continued on page four)
Civil Air Patrol Heads
Expected To Meet Here
Civil Air 1'atrol personnel
frt>m four states will converge on
Boone June 27 for a mountain
outing and the second 1953 per
formance of the outdoor drama
"Horn in the West "
The Boone CAP SqUtadron,
with the cooperation of the North
Carolina CAP Wing, is fending
invitations to the S.OOO officer*
and members of the Civil Air
Patrol in North and South Caro
lina, Virginia, and Tennessee.
The Southern Appalachian His
torical Association, sponsors of
"Horn in th< West," and Boone
civic organizations ate cooperat
ing with arrangements for enter
taining the visiting, CAP mem
bers and their families.
L. H. Smith, commanding of-:
ficer of the Boone Squadron and
legal officer for the North Caro
lina CAP Wing, is chairman.
A specially Invited guest will
be MaJ, On Lucas V. Beau, na
tional commander of the CAP,
who Is expected to arrive in
Boone from Washington on June
? ,
On the morning of June 27 Uie
CAP visitors will participate in
? parade through Boone. At noon
they assemble on the grounds of
the Daniel Boone Theatre for a
picnic luncheon. A bus tour of
the Blue Parkway, with
| stops at the Blowing Rock,
Grandfather Mountain and Lin
ville, has been arranged for that
afternoon. At 8: IS p. m. the visi
tors will see a performance of
"Horn in the West" which will be
designated "Civil Air Patrol
Night."
CAP members and officers who
arrive in Boone June 28 are in
vited to a banquet honoring Gen
(Continued on page four)
More Teachers
Than Ever Are
Expected Here
Appalachian State Teachers
College is expecting an enroll
ment this summer that will be
equel to or will surpass that of
last summer, which was the larg
est in the history of the institu
tion, according to Professor
Chapell Wilson, director of the
summer sessions. Last summer
233 from Watauga county were in
attendance.
The college has two new dormi
tories, one for men and one for
women, which are open for the
summer. This will make it pos
sible to accommodate mor? than
five hundred additional students
on the campus. At present the
business office states that it has
available a limited number of
rooms for women, a limited num
ber for married couples, and a
larger number for men. However,
they say also that these ? rooms
are being reserved rapidly.
Last summer the majority of
the students enrolled were in
service teachers. They came from
18 states and two foreign coun
tries. However, of the 2453 en
rollments, 1888 came from North
Carolina, with South Carolina
next in line with 158, and small
er) numbers from the additional
states represented.
Mr. Wilson also predicts that
the graduate school enrollment
will be larger this summer than
last, when 869 students already
holding the bachelor's degree
studied at Appalachian. Of this
number 144 already held the
master's degree. The 869 came
from 147 different colleges and
universities.
With the stated ideal of the
college "to improve the teaching
in the public schools," and all
work that is offered pointed to
ward the avowed purpose of giv
ing the teachers something to
carry back to their own indivi
dual classrooms, larger numbers
are attending each summer. The
college also brings to its campus
each sumn\er many of the out
standing teachers in the country.
These facts, and the cool, invi
gorating climate of the 3333-foot
elevation of the college, make
Appalachian a desirable place for
teachers to continue their study
1 during the summer months,
i
Arden Wilcox
House Is Razed;
Loss Is $6,000
A five -room frame house, the
property of Arden Wilcox, and
I occupied by himself and family,
I was totally destroyed by fire
j early Saturday night. The loss of
buildings and contents was esti
mated at six thousand dollars.
There was a partial insurance
coverage.
The family was away from
home when the blaze started, and
the frame structure quickly
burned. The fire department rush
ed to the scene and prevented the
spread of the flames from the
doomed building to nearby struc
tures.
A 9 per cent increase in North
Carolina's watermelon acreage
this year is predicted.
Watauga WoolPoolTo
Be Weighed On June 16
ine Watauga wool FOol will
be weighed on June 16 and 17 at
Boone, according to L. E. Tuck
wilier, county agent. Details will
be given next week, he said. Mr.
Caldwell took up wool in Avery
County Monday and gave a good
grade, but was very much dis
pleased because the wool was not
packed in large bags. He asked
that all clear wool belonging to
one mart boOpacked in one bag.
A small supply of wool bags Has
been left nt the county agent's of
fice and any farmer may obtain
one for packing his wool by call
ing at the oflic* and Jiving his
: ? i
nam*.
Any former who brings his
wool in many small baffs to th?
pool will be given a wool bag
and uiked to resack bis wool be
fore it is weighed, the county ag
ent stated.
It is< not necessary to hava a
wool bag to pat the wool in. Two
to four feed or seed bags sewed
together will make a good bag tor
wool.
Mr. Tuckwiller urged fanners
to "please have all your dear
wool la Just one bag so that it
can be weighed and loaded quick*