Newspapers / Watauga Democrat (Boone, N.C.) / Aug. 26, 1954, edition 1 / Page 1
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boone- lA/ATA'TTP A I WAiAPD AT WATAUGA coukty The educational center of Western North mi W# LB ? / % ? I ? LA ? ? rl 1/1 ? ?? . N / % ? Farminf and touriit region. Fint In Carolina Carolina. ^ ^ JLjL JL XjL VJjLjL JL^ M Vlf 1\/V ^ l\ 7% 1" in .heep production. ? 1950 Population 2,973 . An Independent Weekly Newspaper ? Established in the Year 1888 1*5# Popu'*tion 18,341, SIXTY-SEVENTH YEAR. NO. 8. I BOONE, WATAUGA COUNTY, NORTH C ABO LIN THURSDAY, AUGUST 2?T 1?54. TWO SECTIONS? 12 PAGES MANAGER T. MILTON GREER is shown beside the battered and rifled safe at the Dixie Home Store, following Boone's largest robbery. ? Democrat photo by Joe Minor. Safe Crackers Garner $1893 In Dixie Home Store Robbery KING I STREET BY ROB RIVERS WELCOME RAINS The week end brought showers and enough continuing cloud iness to brighten hope that the drought is soon to be broken? to the point that the springs and water courses will be restored, and the grass and burley and stuff get a bit of finishing-off before next month's frost blank ets the hills . . . This being the fourth plumb dry year in a row, the grass on the hillsides is hav ing a hard time surviving, and late garden and field crops are wilting, and there's little grow ing time left ? nearly none. Farm ers are turning to irrigation prac tice more and more as the dry cycle continues, one catch to this practice being that there's less and less water in the creeks from which to do the pumping, as wells are being drilled here and there ... J. Wayne Gragg, one of the main well-diggers in these parts, who is now busily engag ed in sinking another shaft for the town of Boone, and who has the hole down 250 feet, says he's already brought in thirty new wells this year, and that the de mand for his services is greater every day . . . And it appears that one does not always find water when he sinks a well . . . Quite often the amount tapped is not enough for the purpose, and another has to be dug . . . Wayne shows us a jar of cuttings from the bottom of the town well, which by the w^y, should be finished in a few days . . . The stone is a hard blue granite type, and extremely heavy . . . The well, says Wayne, is being dug near the city reservoir, where getting the new water into the mains is no great prpblem . . . He says he looks for a lot of wat er from the new well. THANKS Sonny T ugmsn, on* of our good friends, and on* of the moil wholesome lads in our neighborhood, didn't forget us when he and his father went on a fishing trip to Watauga Lake the other day , . . The crappies . were biting good, and Sonny i lifted his share of tha tasty fishes from the cool waters, and when he returned he passed on to us a nice "mess" of the fine pan fish, which we enjoyed no end. Thanks I TRAGEDY ON THE MOUNTAIN One of the saddest occurences in recent local history was the death by drowing in Tater Hill l.ake, of two youths, whose bod ies were recovered some fourteen hours after the search began Tired from the days work, the lads were enroute home from their logging operation when the heat of the day motivated their plunge into the lethal waters . . . We can well remember when a day's work in a hay field or any where else as for that matter, and eveji a hard day of play in the j (Continued on page four) '< Boone's biggest cash robbery took place last Thursday night when thieves forced the front door of the Dixie Home Store, broke open the safe and took $1,214.40 in cash and $679 in checks. About $400 in checks has been recovered. T. M. Greer, manager of the store, said Tuesday an inventory was being conducted, but appar ently no merchandise was taken. Police Chief Glenn Richardson said the safe door was opened by knocking off the combination and using a chisel to open the inside door. An axe and a chisel were found lying near the safe. Local officers and SBI agent Robert Epley, of Valdese, who was called in by Chief Richard son, have some good leads, and have fingerprinted several sus pects, tHe' chfef 'ifald, but the' re port on the fingerprints taken from the safe, sent to Raleigh for processing, had not been re ceived Tuesday morning. This report, when received, may wrap up the case, said Chief Richard son. Owners of the Watauga Hotel, located on the second floor of an adjoining building, heard noise of hammering in the store about 3 a. m. and called police. Investigating officers, found a number of checks and two money bags at the rear of a miniature | golf course a short distance from the store. Mr. Greer said there were four bags of money and checks missing from the otore, which indicates that two persons : stopped at the golf course to di j vide the loot. A new safe was installed in the ! store Friday. Ervin, Caldwell To Speak At REA Meet Hon. Sam J.. Ervin, Jr., United States Senator and Hon. Harry B. Caldwell, master of the North Carolina State Grange, will be the guest speakers at the seven teenth annual meeting of the Blue Ridge Electric Membership Cor poration in Boone, September 4. according td A. B. Hurt, presi dent of the corporation. Mr. Hurt stated that this is the first time an annual meeting of the members has been held out side of Lenoir, the headquarters location of the corporation. More than 4,000 members and their families are expected to be on hand. The meeting will be held in the Daniel Boone Theatre, home of "Horn in the West." Mr. Hurt added that the program will start at 2 p. m. In addition to the guest speak ers and the business session a pro gram of sacred music will be furnished by the choirs from ten churches served by the Blue Ridge Membership Corporation. At the close of the meeting a number of door prizes will be given away which will include a fifteen foot home freezer, an elec tric range, a water pump, a tele vision set, a food mixer and four electric blankets. ? Mr. Hurt pointed out that the Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation serves 15,200 con sumers and operates 3,250 miles of distribution and transmission lines 'i Caldwell, Ashe, Alle ghany, Watauga, Wilkes, Avery, Alexander and Surry counties and HARRY B. CALDWELL | that the assets of the corpora I tiori are in excess of eight million | dollars. "We feel our greatest ac complishment has been to take electricity to every farm home in our area of operations," said Mr. Hurt. "If thek-e is a farm home in our area that desires electric ser vice and does not have it, I do not know about it." National Polio. Foundation Sends $1250 From Depleted Funds A token acknowledgment of the financial needs faced by the Watauga County Chapter of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis came today from na tional headquarters of the March of Dimes organization^ the form of a check for $1250 00. "Thii help, which is not apough to cover all the chapter s out standing bills nevertheless points up the fact that the March of Dimes, while facinc a financial crisis itself, is doing* the besLit can to help pay patient aid bilTs," said R. D. Hodges, Jr., Chairman of the Watauga County Chapter. "This emergency aid comes at a time when the National Founds tion counts upon funds raised in the current Emergency March of Dimes to redeem fully iU pledge to all polio patients." Thi. money will be used to help pay for treatment already pro vided to polio patients here last year. Mr. Hodges explained that the National Foundation's funds were exhausted because, of the high patient aid load coming together with crpenditure of 264 million to double the supply of gamma globulin and to finance the field test and evaluation of the new polio vaccine. Despite a record sum, raised in January through the March of Dimes, the amount fell $20 million abort of the gear's minimum needs. "We have in Watauga County Chapter a good example of how the local unit and national head-( quarters work together," he said. "In the past, the National Foun dation has always sgnt us ^iat e'ver sum was needed to pull us of the red. This year, its I treasury drained, it sent usfhat ! it could." | Mr. Hodges said that patient care bills still outstanding will be paid out of the chapter's share of contributions to the emergency | drive. Four Thousand Children Will Start Journey To SchoolMonday English Lady Is Injured In. Fall From Cliff Mrs. Leonora Zontz, 50, suffer ed a broken back last Thursday when she fell from a 12-foot cliff at Flat Top Mountain near Blow ing Rock. Mrs. Zontz, a resident of Ox ford, England, was found about nine o'clock Friday morning, af ter having been missing since the previous afternoon. Mrs. Zontz was visiting at Dr. Vera Lachman's Camp Catawba near Flat Top Mountain. Missing since she left the camp in late afternoon to go for a walk. Mrs. Zontz was found by a park ranger. It was though that the injured woman lost her footing on a pathway after dark had overtaken her. She is a patient at Watauga Hospital. Andrews Area Chairman For Auto Dealers G. R. Andrews of Andrews Chervolet, Inc. in Boone has been appointed area chairman for Wa tauga County by the North Caro lina Automobile Dealers Associa tion, according to an announce ment by Association President Wilson F. Yarborough of Fayette ville. As area chairman, Yarborough stated, Mr.' Andrews will serve as liason between dealers in his county and the State and Nation al Dealers Associations. He will j also direct the Associations' fall membership campaigns in his area and participate in Area Chairmen Day to be held in Ral eigh in October. Dr. Matheson In New Offices Dr. William M. Matheson has moved his dental offices from the Boone Drug Store building to his recently constructed office at 416 East King Street. Situated on a spacious corner lot directly across from the Ad vent Christian Church, the build ing was designed especially for the needs of Dr. Matheson, and is thoroughly modern in every detail. Parking space has been provided to the rear of the build ing for the use of patients. Scouts Visit Watauga Lake Members of Air Explorer Squadron 109 recently enjoyed a week end outing at Wftauga Lake on Scoutmaster Craic Teague's houseboat, and learned much about the operation of the craft during the two days abroad. The activities consisted of fish ing, swimming, and riding the surf board which the scouts built last summer. The menu ranged from sandwiches to a steak dinner Sunday night. an BLANKETED BODY of drowned lad being taken from Tater Hill Lake by Jack Davis, left of Zionville, and Morris Branch, Appalachian College student, In the background may be seen many of the autos which rushed to the scene of the tragedy. ? Photo Palmer's Studio. Two W atauga 1 ouths Perish In Chill W aters Of T ater Hill Lake The placjd waters of Tatcr Hill i Lake, high on Rich Mountain, last Thursday yielded the bodies of two Watauga County youths who had gone into the lake for a swim at du&k Wednesday after tieing their hors? to a "No Swimming" sign near the lake's edge. The whinnying of the horse, heard by one of the boys' parents at midnight Wednesday, pin pointed a 17-hour search that ended with the recovery of the body of Charles Ellison, 19, at 12:30 p. m. Thursday, two and a half hours after searchers had fourid the body of his companion, 15-year-old Russell Guy, in 12 feet of water a short distance from the shore. ' Guy was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Guy of Silverstone, ' and Ellison was the son of Mr. ! and Mrs. Will Ellison, also of the j Silverstone section. Mr. Guy said the boys had pre sumably headed for home with I the horse after finishing logging ' operations for the day shortly af ter 7 p. m. Wednesday When he arrived home the boys were not ' [ there, and after waiting for a | i while, Mr. and Mrs. Guy started a search, making a trip to the lake early in the night, but seeing and hearing nothing. Another journey to the lake at about midnight and the whinny ing of the horse led them to the spot where the boys had gone into the water. They found the boys' clothes lying near the post where the horse was tied. Rela tives said the Ellison boy could swim "a little," but the Guy boy could not swim. S. C. Eggers of Boone, one of the owners of the lake, was called about 1 a. m. and asked to drain | the lake. At daylight, Mr. Eggers and Sheriff Earl D. Cook organ ized a searching party of Boone business men and college students under the direction of Coach R. W. Watkins. The grapple with which the bodies of the two youths were i recovered was made by Ray Estes, I Boone electrician. i Coroner Richard E. Kelley said j the boys died of drowning, and | no inquest was held. Funeral services (or young Guy were held at 10 o'clock Saturday, August 21, at the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, with the Rev. Rogcoe Greene and the Rev. Vic tor Trivette officiating. Burial was in the Reese cemetery. Besides 'his parents, he i> sur vived by a brother, David, and seven sisters, all of Zionville, Mrs. Rolf Ellison, Mrs. Glenn Moretz, Mrs. Lexie Trivette, and Georgia, Maggie, Mary Sue, and Annie Guy. The body of the Ellison boy was taken to Mountain City, Tenn., with burial to be in the Tamarack neighborhood. Details were not available. Perry Watson New Bandmaster At High School J. PERRY WATSON Pictured above'is J. Perry Wat son, newly appointed bandmaster for the Appalachian High School Band. Mr. Watson will have the entire instrumental program in the school while he completes work on his masters degree. Mr. Watson received his Bache lor of Music Education from Florida State University. His first teaching was in Janesvillc, Min nesota followed by a three year hitch in the U. S. Air Force. While in the Air Force. Watson was assigned to the USAF Bands man Indoctrination School at Lackland Air Force Base where he was an instructor of theory and harmony, glee club and marching band. Other duties in cluded drum major, sUff ar ranger and radio and television I production manager for the "Air Force Band Of TTie West." Following his discharge, he ac cepted the position as bandmast er at Shallotte, North Carolina. Now that he is in Boone, Mr. Watson has several new and novel band techniques in store for the community and school which will be of interest to^ll. Among these are Swiss flag swinging, animated half-time shows for the football crowd and visual music lor concert*. Many Projects Approved; List Of Teachers Given Approximately (our thousand youngsters will enroll in Watauga county's thirteen schools when the 1954-55 sessions open next Monday morning, and in making the opening day announcements Sunperintendent Walker states that a comprehensive building program has been approved. There are eight white and one negro elementary school in the county, and four high schools. Superintendent Walker met with the State review panel in Raleigh last Thursday and secur ed the approval of the following building projects for Watauga county: Blowing Rock: Renovation. Cove Creek Elementary: New heating plant. Valle Crucis: New building with lunch room and five class rooms. Bethel: New building with lunch room and two primary rooms. Blowing Rock: New building for lunch room. \ Mabel: New building for lunch room and two primary rooms. Watauga Consolidated: New heating plant (pending action on Supreme Court decision.) Mr. Walker points out that these projects will cost more than the amount of money now avail able. Some of the projects, how ever, are expected to start as soon as plans are made available. The projects, it is stated, were set up from: recommendations of the State survey group which made a complete survey of Wa | tauga County schools. The Teachers Following is a list of the teach ers for the various schools. It is pointed out, however, that the list is not complete and accurate: Appalachian High A. R. Crew, principal; Leroy (Continued on page two) W inkier Speaks Out F or Better Primary Roads W. R. Winkler, State Highway Commissioner, spoke on the im portance of working with ad joining states in the construction of state-federal interstate high ways at the meeting of the Pro ject Adequate Roads committee held here last Wednesday. The new organization aimed at tri-State cooperation in road con struction had 35 persons in at tendance from Tennessee, Vir ginia and North Carolina. Winkler said "we are in com petition with tours abroad and need to offset this trend by build ing more recreational and scenic areas." Lee G. Cochrane of Johnson City, Tenn., district chairman of the tri-state PAR Committee, told the group that "our future devel opment will be based upon road developments." He compared roads of today with those of 25 years ago. He said "good roads do not cost, they pay." Another speaker, J. H. Councill of Boone, state highway engineer, spoke of some of the work the planning committee is doing. Councill said Highway No. 16 from Jefferson north to the Vir ginia line is to be improved for a 15-mile stretch. Oe said the first contract would be let in October. Harvey Hartman of Greenville, Tenn., member of the highway committee of the Chamber of Commerce there, said he had not ed increasing cooperation be ! tween highway engineers of the I three states. Golden Spike 10 Weld Blowing Rock's Railroad Line Sunday LX'aacrs in me transportation, civic and business fields will gather at Blowing Rock Sunday when a golden spike will be driven signifying the completion of Blowing Rock's new amuse ment railroad. The company, formed by a group of Blowing Rock leaders who like trains, and who covet more entertainment features for the resort city, is known as the Tweetsie, Jr. Railroad Co. out of deference to Boone's late narrow guagc. The tracks for the midget amusement-park train encircle Mayvicw Park, a distance of one quarter mile, plus 18 feet. The rolling stook for the line, which is designed for the amuse ment of the resort's children, but which is attracting equal interest among the adults, consists of ? steam engine and one car, label led "City of Aho." Other can arc Doing Duiii. The motive power is a scale model of a main line flier and came to ' Blowing Rock from Florida. Originally built for the estate of an executive of the Long Island Railway, the little engine has been fully rebuilt in the railway shops at Hickory, compliments of the Southern, and puffs and pants its way around the circular track, same as its big big brothers did when they roared along the polished rails before fuel oil and elcctric mot ors put out their fires. A cypress water tank, ancl other operating equipment will Bl added. More than 500 kids elbowed their way through the adults to have a ride, when trial rurts were made by Twtetsie, Jr., last week, and operating under 140 pounds at steam, the engine did herself proud when fully loaded. i . Among those who will be- pre sent for the hammering of the final spike Sunday at 3:30 will be G. T. Baker, president of th% Na tional Air Lines, T. H. Broyhill, . of the Broyhill Furniture Co., G. C. Robbins, president of the Chamber of Commerce and May or Robert B. Hardin. Many South ern Railway workers are expect ed to be present, along with Sherman Pippin, veteran locomo tive engineer who drove Tweet- \ sic out of the Boone station that August morning in 1940 never to return. The rains took away her tracks. Plaiu of the Mayview Park railroan are to operate the amuse ment train Saturdays and Sun days through October, and each aftrrnapn, when the weather is favorable. Officers of the company will be named at an oaily meeting.
Watauga Democrat (Boone, N.C.)
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Aug. 26, 1954, edition 1
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