jDEMOCRAT
THURSDAY BY RIVERS PRINTING COMPANY
R. C. Kivna, JE, PUBLISHER
l Independent Weekly Newspaper
hi 1888. Published for 48 year, by the late Robert C. Rivera, Sr. M
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
County: One yen, 82.80; lis month ? 8180; four month*, $1.00. Outslda Watauga
One year, 8800; six months. $1.78; lour months, $1.38.
'i OLd*:E ZSUBZn ' !??&?""" du"W 11 u Important to
J Entered at the poetofflee at Boom, N. C., as ?eco nd class bmU matter, under the art of I
of March 8. 1878.
?The bads of our imruMt hetag the opinio u ef tfcr people, the vary first objective shorfd to
to keep that right, and Were R left to mt to decide whether we shootd have a government with
; newspapers, or aeeqMpu.li wtthaa*. government, I should no# hesitate a moment to rhooeo
' latter. But (should mean that every man should receive these papers and be capable of
BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 1960
New Air Speed
Only a few years ago they acid It
couldn't be done ? that flying was too
much against the natural laws to be
tuccessfully consummated by van.
Gravity, resistance of the air, plus
"it was fixed to"* only the Mrds coold
do it," were cited as reasons why man
had just as well quit toying with the
notion of sailing around in the ether.
But, like all prophets of the status
quo, these were wrong, and just how
wrong is shown in the fact that a test
pilot has recently flown a rocket plane
taster than any human has ever moved
before ? 2,150 miles per hour.
Joe Walker rocketed to this unbe
I lievable speed to a shallow two-mile
dive from 78,000 feet, and dropped
down for a safe landing oa the mlles>
long saltbed runways of Edwards Air
Force Base, CsMlsrato.
Man's quest of fatting there faster, it
would seem, has just about reached its
apex. In his first effort to get off his
feet, he perhaps rode a beast, later a
crude sled helped, but when his tools
and his genius finally resulted in his
slicing slabs from the ends of a log,
boring ? hole near the center and fash
ioning a crude wagon, he was on the
way.
The machine age has been geared
to the wheel. The motor car, the air
plane, the trains, all date back to the
invention of the wheel.
We uaed to hear a lot in the old day*
of express trains which managed a milo
a minute, and when automobiles were
devised which could go that fast where
road conditions permitted, we thought
we had reached the acme in transpor
tation. Later one could travel 100 mile?
an hour in a plywood, canvass-covered
eirplane and aviation-minded men were
saying we could some day travel with
the sun across the country. In mak
ing 2, ISO per hour, pilot Walker has
shown that the age of speed is yet in
its beginning, and thus the size of the
world has been so constricted that we
can't get away from world-wide prob
lems, and their lethal dangers.
But man has always looked toward the
horizon and wanted to go. Out of his
dreams came powered travel and a
new world of pleasure and of peril.
Death Toll Runs High
Watauga had more than her share of
violent deaths within th? past few days.
Three lost their lives when a citizen
slew twa, and than ended his own life,
to bring sorrow in their neighborhood
and in the county at large.
We extend our sympathies to these
people who hava been ao aorely atuiftan.- f
Two residents of Welcome wQmWSnt
when their car waa struck by a gravel
truck which had evidently gone out of
control near the Wiikes county line, be
ing the first fatal highway accident in
the county for more than a year.
It is particularly aad that these visitors
to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountain*
became casualties of the age of speed. -
Man's inhumanity to man, however,
is never ao plainly seen as when vio
lence stalks peaceful neighborhoods,
when a man strikes down his neighbor,
or when there is tangled metal and
broken bodies on the pavement. In
other words such occurrences seem to
bring uncommon excitement and almost
joy to some people.
A man of the cloth who had stopped
were the travelers were killed, and
offered the rites of his faith, marveled
at the curiosity which attended thq
gruesome accident. Motorists stopped
and tried to get pictures of the bodies
? for what, it would be hard to say, and
lingered when it was apparent they
could offer no aid.
The recounting of the violent deaths
which occur, and for which We are
grieved, are part and parcel of the news
of the county and must be faithfully re
ported, but the evident relish with
which so many people delve into the
gory details of these tragic events, re
veals a sinister quirk in human nature.
Profit From The Civil War
We've had a notion that the Civil
War should be concluded, and that
the wearing of replicas of the grap caps
of (tie Legions of Lee and the waving
of Confederate flags have done little
for us in the councils of the political
parties. May have hurt.
This is not to say that we are any less
Southern in many basic beliefs than
were our ancestors, or that we have
strayed away from some of the funda
mental teachings. It's just that the Civil
War didn't pay off and won't now.
Or that is what we thought until thi*
business of collecting Civil War relics
came into being.
Appropriately enough the business of
hunting relics on old battlefields starte 1
in Richnond, when N. E. Warriner one
day found n cannon bell, and thus was
born a new industry out of the misery
and travail of oar country's most vicious
baptism of blood and tears.
Like prospecting for metals, relic
hunting is already competitive, we learn,
I and those who engage in the activity arc
i!
without honor, Mr. Warriner says.
As In the days of the fabulous finds
of gold and silver in the old west, if
one tells of where be found something
which was left by a bluecoat or a John
ny Reb nearly a hundred years ago,
others in the business will strip his
"hot spot" down to the bedrock.
Minnie balls, uniform buckles, but
tons, swords, pistols, cannon balls, and
the supreme treasure ? cannon, are being
sought.
Natives of Dixie will be pleased to*
know that a Confederate buckle brings
$65, compared to $2.50 for a Union
buckle.
Richmond is the relic hunter's capital,
since many battles of the Civil War were
fought nearby. However, the newest col
lecting fad will spread and apt as not
somebody will come up with some of
the leavings of General Stoneman't
foray into Boone and environs one of
these days, to enhance local history and
provide collector's items.
-
Trees
(Ashcvllle Citizen)
It is apparent, looking around you and
comparing what you see with what you
remember about past years, that trees
are indeed a part of vanishing Ameri
i <*???
The forests are still there, true, but
what we're talking about are just plain,
garden variety residential trees ? the
kind that shade an over-heated lawn
mower or that abed leaves for you to
fSS
rake in October.
It seems that a lot of folks, when they
get a lot for a new house, launch into
let -themselves get talked into?
.<> ' 'HUSKS
having the trees knocked down right
away. ' \
We grant it's easier, and we wouldn't
stand four-square for building a house
so that a tree rises to its lofty grandeur
right through the living room. But our
contention is that a little extra planning
will save most of 'em for you and your
kids to enjoy.
It's hard to put a price on ? full
grown tree. You can buy a replacement
but only time can bring it into its own.
And goodness knows, we're all running
short of time.
* ' MIS
m mm>
?V>.,
mM
Poor StartBAt Being His Own Boss
--
SOME LOCAL HISTORICAL SKETCHES
From Early Democrat Files
Sixty Years Ago
AagMt ?, ltOt.
Mercury registered at 92 in the
shade at the Blackburn House
yesterday
Aunt Laura Lenoir, one of our
afed and beat colored women,
died in Boone a few daya ago.
Attorney E. S. Coffey ia push
ing the work on hia new residence,
and when completed, it ia aaid,
will be the beat in the county.
Mr. 0. J. Hawkins of Caldwell
la erecting a neat residence near
the Academy building.
Dr. M. C. Boyden, dentist, of
Baltimore, will be in Boone on
the 10th inst. Dental work respect
fully solicited
The school opened here Monday
with flattering prospects, there
being a larger attendance than
waa expected. There are now
about liS boarders in. Good.
. Mr. and Mra. W. H. Gentry of
Jefferson are guests of their
daughter, Mrs. Nathan Horton.
Judge Councill will open his
first term of court at Smithfield,
Johnson county, on the last Mon
day in this month.
From the Tennessee Tomahawk:
Robert C. Rivers, editor and prop
rietor of the Watauga Democrat,
Published in Boone, N. C. waa in
the city Wednesday and gave us
a business call. We found him to
be a sociable and pleasant gentle
man and it ia due him to say that
he ia getting out a splendid coun
try paper notwithstanding his
Democracy.
Hon. J. F. Spainhour of MOrgan
ton, who waa elected to the Legis
lature from Burke county by a
majority of 376 votes, was in town
Monday and Tuesday.
Thirty-Nine Years Ago
August 11, 1M1
The schools of the county are
now practically all in session, and
County Superintendent Smith
Hagaman says the attendance is
unusually fine.
The Boone Fork Lumber Co.
put a crew of hands to work in
the trackage of tkeir lumber road
from near the Winkler siding,
back of the Rich Mountain Tues
day. They are getting everything
in readiness for the re-starting of
the big operation at Shulls Mills
which Mr. Gilley hopes will not
be farther in the future than ten
days or two weeks.
Mr. M. E. Towson of Lynchburg,
Va. and Mr. N. C. Parsons of Ab
ingdon, both Knights of the grip,
were among our merchants Satur
day, soliciting orders for their re
spective houses. They were of the
opinion that Boone was fuller of
activities in many lines than any
small town they had visited. In
fact, Mr. Towson suggested that
the name of this metropolis be
changed to Boom Town.
A cut of approximately SO per
cent in the price of all candy from
gumdrops to bonbons was an
nounced by a chain candy store
company, following a general agi
tation against high prices of these
and other commodities.
Last Monday the directors of
the Peoples Bank k Trust Co. held
a meeting in the bank building,
the main idea of the meeting be
ing to transact business looking
to the erection of their new brick
building on the Lovill corner. It
is hoped the building can be oc
cupied by late fall or early win
ter.
Just One Thing
ay CARL GOERCH
Ronald Mumford, hotel man who
I* now a big shot in the Robert
Meyer hotels, was at one time
president of the corporation which
operates the Governor Clinton Ho
tel in' New York.
1 was in Now York some time
ago while Roland was there; so I
went around to pay him a visit
"I'd like to see Mr. Mumford
please." I told one of the young
ladies in the outer office.
'Tm sorry, sir, but Mr. Mum
ford it in aa important conference
aad won't Ito out for about an
hour."
"I don't believe I can wait that
long. Just toll him I dropped in,
will you please?"
"What Is the name?"
"Hodges. Tm Governor of North
Carolina."
The young lady gasped. Tw? or
three other ladies, siting In. the
immediate vicinity, swung around
In their chairs and Marad.
"Just a moment. Governor," said
the first one. "Ill tell Mr. Mumford
you ara here."
She daahed Into a? offke dost
by. The door was opao and I could
hear Mumlord's voice plainly.
"Who did you say? . f . The
Governor at North Catalina? . . .
Governor, hell! It's elAar Elvey
Thomas, George White, ar Cad
Goerch. Whichever one If is, teA
him to sit down and 111 be out in
Just a minute."
The girl delivered the message
with a hurt expression upon her
countenanw.
Mr. S. G. Winatoad is a well
known resident of Roxboro. Used
to ha mayor af the town. Mr. Win
AFTER ANOTHER
(tead attended old Trinity (now
Duke) College.
He i? the father of eight chil
dren. When the first child was
ready to enter college, Mr. Win
stead said: "What college do you
prefer?" And the answer was
"Carolina."
So he went to Carolina.
When the second child got ready
to go to college, Mr. Winstead
asked the same question, and again
the answer was "Carolina."
Mr. Winstead sighed, but he
acquiesced.
The same thing happened with
the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and
seventh children. AH of them went
to Carolina. And last week the
eighth child graduated ? also at
Carolina.
Of course, Mr. Winstead 1*
mighty praud of his eight children,
but h* ateo it still mighty proud
of Trinity aad Duke alto.
Gewral Albart Cox, <rf Washing
tM, ft C? formerly of Raleigh, ra.
turaed rwently from a trip over
tea* He apent" tome time in Lon
doa and found thrft the people in
that city were greatly interested
in 4ac raaat There are a number
of tracks in an* around London.
Albert awarded one of the races.
He- di<tn't know anything about the
Mia, but when he looked at hia
program, he taw that aae of them
waa named "White's Creamery."
Albert thought of his old friend,
Georce L. H. White in Raleigh. He
Imme<f1ately placed a bet on
"White's Creamery" for sentiment
al reasons. The dog won in a walk,
and Albert took in a nice little
winning. P
i
Fifteen Year* Ago
August ?, IMS.
A special meeting of Watauga
Port American Legion will be
held at the Legion hut Friday
evening at 8:30 (or the purpoie of
initiating plans for the construc
tion of a war memorial, honoring
those who have served their coun
try from this county in both world
wars, it is announced by Com
mander H. S. Steelman. Mr. Steel
man asks that the Lions Club,
Chamber of Commerce, Merchants
Association, ministers of the coun
ty. members of women's clubs and
any other organization interested
be present for the meeting.
An administrative conference
for the teachers of the county is
to be held in the auditorium of
Appalachian High School Wednes
day, August 13 at 0:30 a. m. it la
stated by County Superintendent
8. 9. Horton. Dr. Henry High
smlth and Miss Hattie S. Parrott
of the division of instructional ser
vice will direct the conference.
Mr. J. Paul Winkler, who has
recently resided at Newport News,
Va. has purchased an interest in
the Watauga Insurance Agency
here, and is now in the office to
render a more complete service
to the patrons of the concern.
Pfc. Paul T. Swift of Beech
Creek, was killed in action in
France on July 19, his parents,
Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Swift have
been advised by the office of the
Adjutant General of the Army.
It Seems
To Me . .
By RACHEL RIVERS
Because it is late summer, and
the nights are beginning to cool
off somewhat, you may find your
self seated beside a blazing camp
fire, laughing with your friends
over a cup of coffee. If you do,
then you may amble into the age
old habit of communicating mys
terious, weird stories ? just to add
to the depth of a moody moonlit
darkness. And so I told my tale ?
one which I cannot verify:
About eleven years ago at ?
University, an experiment was be
ing run to determine whether or
not four of the top mediums (those
who can call spirits into the pres
ent, good or evil) in the country
could produce the Headless Horse
man, ? legend once told that in
spired George Washington Irving
' to pen, "The Legend of Sleepy
Hollow."
It is understood to t? ose of the
"spirits' ways" that the pig is an
evil animal, an animal of the
Devil, and mostly because It is
said in the Bible.
The men were seated in a room
much like a bank vault The walls
were of metal four feet thick.
Inside the walls were white and
a table and four chairs were placed
there for convenience's sake.
The mediums were to have one
and one-half hours and then the
doors would be opened to see
what had happened. From the out
side, nothing could be heard for
even the ventilating system was
sound proofed. ?
When the given time expired,
the huge door was opened. The
walls were covered with hoof
prints, the sound of ? galloping
horse was heard, the stench of a
pig was unbelievable, and the four
mediums lay there trampled to
death by a horse.
We poured the coffee out,
mounted our horses, and went
home. "H
KING STREET
By ROB RIVERS.
About A Spreading Tree . . They Speculated
When the work of grading the Rivers corner got under
way some time back, preparatory to the construction of a
market thereon, there was a good deal of speculation up and
down the street as to whether we'd let the huge sugar maple,
which has been a landmark for generations, go the way of
all the other old trees along the Street, and be carted away
to the city dump for its deadened trunk and limbs to rot
awav In the sunshine and the rains and the snows of the
multiplying years. . . . And when tree removal stopped short
of the maple, and a circular brick well was erected to keep
the dirt away from the aged trunk, a lot of people came by
to sav how glad they are that the tree will continue to deal
kindly wfth the traveler in the heat of summer, and battle
for its life against winter's gales. . . . And never is there a day
that doesn't bring inquiries as to how old the tree is, who
planted it, and reckon how long it will last.
About the year 1867, the late Bob Rivers, then six years
old, was playing, he said, with some colored boys on a
hillside, when one of his plavmates pulled up a tiny maple
seedling. ... It was brought to the Rivers home, where
Doctor J. G. Rivers promised the lads to help them set it
out. . . . Being busv, however, the tree laid in the creek
for a week or so, before young Bob watched his daddy
plant the saoling in the damn rich soil near what used to
be called middle branch. ... So the age of the old tree, from
the time the winged seed sprouted, is running close to the
century mark.
In its growing davs there was plentv of room, and nothing
was done to prevent the spread of its limbs in all directions.
. . . Crowded bv buildings, and paving, it has lost some of
its limbs through the years, but still is.a magnificent tree,
with prospects of being around for a long time. . . . When
the Democrat office stood below street level under the shade
of the maple, it was a gathering nlace in summertime for
those who came to confer with Bob Rivers about civic matters,
about an ad in the paper, or about politics, and Senators,
Governors. Coneresmen, Sheriffs, Representatives, county
officials and Justices of the Peace, of all political persuasions
have stooped under its kindlv branches to settle the prob
lems of the countv. State and nation. ... It was big and
strong when the first automobile chugged uncertainly along |
the street, and when the Wrights made their first flight down
at Kitty Hawk. ... It sheltered the laded beasts when the
carriages and the fringed surries or ought the wealthy to the
countv in another century, and was experiencing a lustv
growth in the davs of reconstruction when the South, while
not dving, wasn't gaining much in its race for survival.
We're happy that when there was talk around town that
the old tree was going, most folks vowed we'd never stand
for the abolition of such a magnificient contribution to the
beauty of this section of the Street . . and they were right. . . .
So the manle w*H be he" right along, leaning a mite awav
from the prevailing wind like it always did, but still in fair
vigor.
The last of the Street's huge locusts which stood on the
iwtiw of the some W had to go. . . . Ravaged bv age. hollow
and with a shaky hold on the soil, it couldn't be saved.
* * ? ?
Other Noted Treeg . . Some Remain
We recall other trees, like the Daniel Boone Oak. which
if living would be right in Faculty Street between the Bus
Station and the football stadium. . . . Ixical "ost card racks
used to include one with a lithograph of the old oak.
The buckhorn tree which stood near the home of Mrs.
A. E. Hambv has long since been cut down. ... It was
named because of a deer antler which had been fastened
to its trunk and which had been swallowed by the growing
wood.
The old maple on Blowing Rock Road near the present
south entrance to the College campus used to mark the city
limits on that side of town.
The old Moretz oak on Queen Street near where the old
Masonic Hall stood, vet stands. Hollow and burned out, it
still comes forth in full foliage, like an old man, making a
game try when he knows his time is near.
All the bi? cherrv trees which used to line the street
a?-e gone. . . . The asoen on the court house lot grew from a
ridinc switch st?ok in ?K? ground bv the late John W. Hodges
when he was high sheriff more than half a century ago.
Uncle Pinkney
(McKnifht Syndicate)
Fer yean the mail man has
been stuffing my box full of
pamphlet!, circulars, and junk
from the farm agencies, agri
culture departments and other
folks that thinks a farmer or
rancher ain't got nothing to do
but read. I've had to git me a
bigger mail box twict in the last
20 years to handle this stuff and
it looks like the last on* I got is
gitting too small. But I ain't in
vesting in another one. I'm going
to leave the mail man a note and
tell him to pile the surplus up
alongside the post and put a big
rock on it. I don't want it blow
ing over on my neighbor and
maybe poisoning his stock.
But anyhow, in one of them
pamphlets I got last week it was
announced that elephants was
gitting scarce. The piece said
that in a few more year the ele
phant, like the American buf
falo, would be about gone. Just
what elephants has got to do
with agriculture, I aint shore,
but it's nice fer them agriculture
folks to warn us about it.
We was talking about it at the
country store Saturday night and
all the fellers was mighty grate
ful to the Guvemment fer notify
ing us about the matter. One fel
ler said it made him feel like
paying up his back taxe* so's they
could keep gitting out them pam
phlets Ed Doolittle allowed as
hew they wasnt nothing that at
HIS P At AV ARM'S
traded attention at the circui like
a elephant. Fer instant, said Ed,
when a half-naked firl was riding
a elephant they'd be at least a
dozen out of 5,000 that would
look at the elephant. But put the
same girl on a white horse and
they wouldn't be one in the 5,000
that could tell you two minutes
later what color the horse wa*.
Elephants is foing to be missed
and all the fellers agreed that
this item from the agriculture
folka was mighty important news.
From elephants the fellers nat
urally got to talking about the
hot weather. Zeke Grubfc said
it got so hot at his pUce here
awhile back that the scare crow
he'd put out left the corn field
to set in the shade. He allowed
as how next summer he aimed
to rig up his scare crow in a
bathing suit. Nobody gits mead
of Ed Doollttl* in these matters,
so Ed had to tell us about the
time when he was a boy it got
to hot they had a square rain
bow on account of it (fitting
warped from the heat. I left on
that one, figgering that, sooner
or later the fellers would git to
lying.
I aee when a Englishman that
was visiting us when Congress
was in win has wrate that be
was shocked at how little dicnlty
they had. He ain't saw nothing
till he catches one of 'em back
I, - ? 1. ? L|a - _ ,M| ,|
nonre icning aoouc nis rccora.