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AUGA
EMOCRAT
In Wataufa
Cewity:
IS&VCD CV UY THURSDAY BY RIVERS PRINTING COW.KT
R. C. HIV*M, n, PU?UMKR
All Independent Weekly Newspaper
Published for 48 yean by the late Robert C. Riven, Sr.
MTMTOTPTirtN RATES
(o?r months, ?1.00. Outside Watauca
$1.23
address, it Is important to mention the
second class mail matter, under the act of Congress
Can Buy Tags At Home
,|j| One of the best things that has been
accomplished by Herman Wilcox through
Ira the Chamber of Commerce, that is, for
the convenience of the motoring public,
is the establishment of an automobile
license bureau in Boone.
Before this move was made a year
ago, motorists had to send to Raleigh for
their tags by mail, or go pr send to an
adjoining town to renew their rights to
operate their car.
So well received was this accomplish
ment, says Mr. Wilcox, that more than
seven thousand tags were sold here for
the current year, and there were over
six hundred transfers of tags.
At the same time, the office has been
a convenience for our neighbors in ad
joining counties many of whom found it
expedient to get their licenses here.
Since every effort is made at the
Chamber of Commerce bureau to render
quick, efficient service, Mr. Wilcox
should have the complete cooperation of
the people in some suggestions he has
made calculated to further improve the
service.
Be sure to remove card from envelope.
Write name of your county in space
provided on front.
Sign insurance declaration on bacl(
of card.
Have correct amount of money ready,
including ope dollar for driver training
program in the schools.
And please bear in mind checlu can
not be accepted.
Tags will be on sale between 9 a. m.
and 4 p. m. Monday through Friday and
9 a. m. to 12 noon Saturday, it is pointed
out.
Tags this year will be yellow numerals
on a black background, the reverse of
last year. Incidentally, we are hoping
that the new administration will give us
a rest from the constant switch between
black and yellow. Black is traditionally
the color of mourning, while yellow has
traditionally been used to reflect cow
ardice. Since we are not grieving and
have never been particularly scared,
let's come forth with some bright, new
colors, just for a change.
Kennedy Elected
John Fitcgarald Kennedy, who re
ceived more votes than Vice-President
Nixon, has at last been elected Presi
dent, nearly six weeks after the people
of the country went to the polls and
expressed their preference. '
That is, the electoral college met last
week and made the thing sort of official.
Of course Congress has yet to officially
oount the electoral votes on January 6th.
Then, if nothing happens, on January
20th, Kennedy will in fact become Pres
ident of the United States.
As is usual, there is renewed opposi
tion to the manner in which the Con
stitution says a President of the United
States must be elected. Some say that
the system should be abolished altogeth
er, and give the candidate with the great
est popular vote the prize. Others say
* t)ie time-honored college should be re
tained, but that the runner up should be
given credit for his share of the electors
in states he loses, and various other
methods have been propofed. However,
it would appear to be a good sound bet
that nothing will be done and that the
Executive will be chosen by the electors
for some time to come.
Of course, we would think that an
elector should be legally bound by the
result of the election in any given state,
qn4 sfiould not be free to vote against
the wishes of the voters themselves.
Be that as it may, our pet peeve is
the elapsed time. That U, it takes from
early November to mid-December to
find out who't elected, then a lame duck
administration holds forth, with reduced
prestige for five weeks more before
there can be /change. There should be
a way to make the transfer less involved.
And of course, we think everyone will
be glad to get down to calling the suc
cessful candidate, President Kennedy,
rather than the awkward-sounding Pres
ident-elect.
He Had It Figured
The late David P. Lavietes, who did
big-scale pipe manufacturing from the
(tools of rhododendron and ivy in Boone
during the war, and who later moved his
plant to Sparta, used to tell us that the
smoking pipe business was going to bur
geon beyond belief in the years ahead.
We couldn't see it at the time, since
most everybody we saw had a cigarette
lipped, and we just couldn't see where
the people could be found to keep the
briarwood fire* smouldering.
But now comes word from the Pipe
and Tobacco Council 'hat the pipe in
dustry is booming so fast the manufact
urers can't get enough briar root or
block raerschaum to meet the demand,
and that in Washington, Missouri, the
oenter of the corncob pipe industry, onei
factory is running three shifts trying
to keep up with orders.
The retail value of pipes sold last year
bit $44,000,000 in spite of the continu
ing boom in the cigarette market, and
sales this. year may reach $50,000,000.
Sales of pipe tobacco may hit $80,000,
000.
And the pipe smokers are buying
better grade tobaccos ? 30 to 40 cents
an ounce ? but the average price paid is
only 20 cents.
Ninety per cent of the pipes sold in
the United States are manufactured in
this country, but still the greater part
of the blocks used are again coming from
Algeria and other Mediterranean coun
tries. '
It is interesting to know that more
and more people are enjoying what al
ways appeared to us to be a mora pleas*
ing smoke by stoking one of the odi
ferous pipe bowls, and also of interest
to us is that Mr. Lavietes' faith in the fu
ture of the industry has been borne out.
We believe also, that maybe if we had
wanted his industry a little more it
would still be here, and that if he had
lived, American briarwood would have
established itself firmly, and have taken
an increasingly large share of the busi
ness. He demonstrated conclusively the
quality and beauty of pipes made from
local burls. And any mountain man
could tell you that there'd nevter be a
shortage of ivy or laurel burls in these
parts.
Yields To The Bald Facts
(Baltimore Evening Sun)
Those who consider the barber ihop
one of the less inhibited market places
Of ideas have always been puttied by
one paradox. Common-sense logic, if
puttied often enough and loudly enough,
can be counted on to carry thaoday in
*11 cases but one. A good big man ought
to be able to beat a good little man,
ahouldn't he? A club can't expect to
toJce the pennant without power in the
outfield, can it? You can't win a toot
hall game if you give up the ball on
interceptions, can you? Impeccable lo
?fc. to which even the most obtuse bar
ber must bow. , .... r ?
Ovtr the years, however, one piece of
logic which hat made no imdway at aU
? .. .
if the plaintive question, "It shouldn't
cost as much to trim a thin fringe
around a bald pate as to shear a full
mop on a younger customer, should it?"
The answer, the illogical frustrating an
swer has until now been, "Yes." Finally,
one barber who may bf thrown out of
the lodge for his heresy, has answered,
"No." Mr. Domminick St. Angela, of
Tea neck, N. J., will henceforth barber
on a gliding scale of |1.75 for the full
head of hair down to $1 for a few wispy
remnants. Mr. St Angelo, apparently, is
running for no higher office than that
of a successful barber. A pity. The
egghead is his for the asking.
Happy New Year, Anyone?
FROM EARLY DEMOCRAT FILES
Old Time Bear Hunt Recalled
Sixty Years Ago
December Zt, 1900.
Editor Democrat:
On the 7th inst, a party consist
ing of Clarence Mason and Robert
Farria, Norman and James Shook,
Emanuel Brewer, Larkin Town
send and James Cornell, eight of
Watauga's hardy mountaineers,
went on Grandfather Mountain to
hunt for a bear. After traveling
for some distance their dogs bayed
and they made great haste to the
spot indicated by the noise. Not
knowing however that a bear den
was near, but after an examination
they discovered bruin in a dark
cavity in a cliff, he being about
eight feet from the mouth of the
hole which in all probability was
selected for his winter quarters.
Bruin's movements indicated
that h* looked upon this high
handed invasion of his premises
with disfavor, as the men were
armed with six guns -and an axe,
he considered it nothing short of
forcible trespass. Cornell shot, the
ball striking the bear above the
eye. Other snapped, but owing to
the dampness their guns failed to
diacharge. In about a minute af
ter the shot the bear made for
the mouth of the den, and as he
passed one of the dogs snapped
him on the hind leg. The bear
turned and caught the dog in his
ama, wounding him seriously in
several places. About this time
Monroe Shook shot him with a
rifle. The bear arose to his hind
feet, released the dog snd ran,
but the dogs pursued him so close
ly that he was bound to stop at
short intervals for a fight, the
hunters trying in vain to get close
enough for another shot, but the
bear would again flee. This man
ner of procedure was kept up for
three miles. At about night one of
the party gave him a third shot.
He was lying stretched on the
ground as if he was dead and the
dogs standing around him. Cornell
fired, the ball striking him in the
shoulder. He rose and ran, going
over a cliff fifteen feet high,
snorting, growling and biting off
laurel and other shrubs in his
path. The dogs pursued him some
distance and again brought him to
bay. As night had now fallen the
party concluded to camp on the
trail. They built a fire, arranged
to spend the night, and the dogs
soon returned.
The next morning the chase was
resumed, and the party was grati
fied to learn that the bear had not,
moved from the place where the
dogs had left him. He was still
lying down and bleeding but the
dogs soon had him up again, and
before the parties could get in
shooting distance he took his de
parture. He would only go about
fifty feet at a time and then stop
and fight the dogs. He kept this
up for a distance of about two
miles, retreating on the approach
of the hunters, but finally getting
tired of constantly retreating, he
took his stand in a cluster of
laurel, where he would pitch first
at one dog and then another, and
while there he was again shot
three times. He ran a short dist
ance and again stopped in another
laurel thicket. Charles Farris got
within ten feet of him and snap
ped, but his gun failed to fire.
Townsend, not knowing the conse
quences that might follow, climb
ed about thirty feet in a tree al
most directly over the bear. The
bear went a little farther and stop
ped for the final fray. Cornell got
behind a tree and as he was pass
ing around it and was almost in
the act of shooting, the bear made
for him in a great rage with his
mouth open for a fight. Cornell
fired, the bear turned and jumped
Jost One
By CARL GOERCH
Seems to us that we ran across
this eight or ten years ago, but ?
friend from Asheville sent it in
last week as an example of an
excellent tongue twister.
By way of prelude, it might be
wall to explain that ? man was
working on some kettles when an
inquisitive lady cave along The
following conversation took place:
"Are you copper-bottoming 'em,
my man?"
"No, I'm aluminuming >m,
mum."
See if you can repeat that con
versation aloud.
From Edmund Harding we learn
ed the following little story re
cently:
In certain sections of Beaufort
county, practically everybody is
named Alligood. There are Just
literally hundreds of Alligoods liv
ing between Washington and Bath.
The family has been prominent
thera for a hundred years or mora.
Rev. M. f Ham was holding a
revival meeting in Washington a
number tt years mo. One day he
drove down to we the sigMa of
historic Bath. Or the way Iwck
he stopped at a filling station near
Woods rtl's Pond for a Coca-Cola
and. while drinking, got into con
versation with a little girl out in
front
"What1* your name, little girl?"
"My name is Mary.'"
"That's fine. Do you live down
here?"
"Yes, sir; up the road a piece."
"Are there many Christians in
this community?"
She shook her head and said:
"No, sir. They're mostly all Alli
goods in these parts."
Several Raleigh men met at one
of the drug stores in the capital
city recently. The conversation
turned to college football.
"I'm opposed to going out of the
state and getting players from
there and yonder," said one of the
men. "I think we can get along
very nicely without bringing a
crowd of Yankee roughnecks to
Duke, State, Carolina and other
colleges."
"Wall," spoke up a iff Beckwith,
"maybe you're right. But in the
event we make a change, I think
we should be decided upon She
rather important factor."
"What kind of factor do you
mean?"
"Whether wr want one of those
Yankee roughnecks to take the ball
and make ? touchdown, or whether
we want one of our fine young
Southern gentlemen to get thrown
for a ten vard loss and drop the
ball besides."
on a log, and Cornell shot him
again, and as the bear fell back,
he caught Brewer's dog in his
arms. Brewer, fearing the fate of
his dog, could stand it no longer.
He rushed toward the bear, un
armed, and it took two strong men'
to hold him back. But in the
meantime Brewer had his pants
torn off him, and in the excite
ment put them on hind part be
fore.
After the bear appeared to be
dead, he was shot twice more for
fear there would be a great mis
take made. When Townsend saw
the bear going towards Cornells
with open mouth he made for a
tree and climbed about thirty feet
and it took some little argument
to persuade him that bruin was
dead before he could be induced
to come down, and I am informed
that four of the men toward the
closing exercises thought it safer
to- be perched from twenty to
thirty feet in the timber than to
be on the ground.
The next thing was to get the
animal out. It took five and six
of these strong men at a time to
get him to the road half a mile
away, where he was skinned and
quartered. Then each couple of
the party bore off in triumph a
quarter of the wild king of the
Grandfather to the house of Mr.
McRae, the Scotchman, whose re
sidence is on the Yonahlossee
Road about three miles from
where the bear was brought into
the road. After depositing the
game with Mr. McRae, the party
proceeded to their respective
homes, the most of whom live
near Banner Elk, reaching home
near midnight, tired and worn.
John Farris started at once for
the treasure with wagon and team,
reaching home the next night
The bear was very fat and
weighed something over 400
pounds net, the fat in some places
measuring near six inches in
thickness and the hide measures
eight feet in length.
The writer had the pleasure of
eating some of the meat, which
was very fine. I have but little
doubt that this was the same bear
that was caught in ? trap by Sam
uel Aldridge, son of Harrison Ald
ridge, Watauga's famous bear
hunter two or three years ago, as
this bear had a missing toe, cor
responding with the toe left in the
trap of Mr. Aldridge.
L D. LOWE
Banner Elk, N. C.
Fifteen Years Ago
December 17, IMS.
Watauga County residents got a
slight respite from the frigid wave
which has persisted here for the
past two weeks. Friday, as clear
ing skies and higher temperatures
permitted some thawing where the
sun shone, but the weather man
gives little promise of any ap
preciable relief from the cold
wave.
Mr. Harry Johnson, aged citizen
of Beaver Dam township, recently
suffered a serious fracture of the
hip in a fall on the ice. He is now
a patient at Banner Elk hoepital.
In a recent issue of the School
Review, a nationally known maga
zine. an article appeared by two
local educators. Dr. Ralph W.
House of the college and Mr. Cr?
tis William* of the High School.
Each has made a special study ef
the use of diacritical marks, and
ia this recently-printed article
they present tome of tbelr find
ings. *
KING STREET
By ROB RIVERS
A Day's Brightness , . Subdued Afterglow
For brightness and gaiety and good fellowshipping with
one's friends ... for fueling the warming fires of charity and
of good will and of peace and well-being ... for feasting and
neighboring and having a care for one's friends, and as a
matter of fact for one's enemies too, Christmas is the time.
We love the Christmas trees, glowing in the living rooms
and on the lawns, the brightly-wrapped packages, well-eyed
and shaken, the happy confusion when the gifts are passed,
and the mounds of wrappings and of ribbons and cards when
the excitement crests. ... We like the festive board and the
great fowl, and all the rich and fattening vittles, and the
good humor and the mellow spirits of the diners, and the
restful quiet which settles down after one has dined too
zestfully, and catches a snooze within the kindly arms of his
favorite chair.
And when the merrymaking is over, we'd submit there
is nothing more forlorn than the bough of the Christmas tree,
which died bringing brightness to the scene and the colored
ornaments, which seem to have lost their lustre.
And the wrappings and the packing cases and the ribbons
and bows are all cleared away, and the homecomers are get
ting ready to make the trip back, withbut the degree of
bubbling gaiety they exuded when pop and mom watched
the skyways or the highway or the shining ribbons of steel
for their arrival. . . . And there is food in abundance left
over for the jaded appetites, and those of us who had a few
days off, get down to the business of getting ready for other
Christmases along a Street, strangely deserted after the hustle
and bustle of the shopping crowds of the week end.
And we loved the time off, and Santa Claus, for whom
we've argued all our life, and the spirit of the observance,
and most of all those who came by for some visiting even
though there's ice on the hill, which makes for hazardous
driving as well as walking . . . and we're obliged for the
many expressions of good will which reached us. . . . We
liked the gifts, but better still is that intangible, which comes
wrapped in the esteem of our family and of the folks along
the Street and along other streets in other towns and in other
cities, who have tolerated us through the long years, and
whose friendship we cherish beyond all measure.
We had a happy Christmas, and we thank you, as we
settle down to work again, which is also a continuing joy for
us through the multiplying years.
* * * * '
Office Procedure . . No Confusion Here
The Sanford Herald brings the following definitions of
office procedure from Uncle Mat's Line Caster, which should
be good for a smile or two:
Program ? Any assignment that can't be completed by one
telephone call.
Channels ? The trail left by inter-office memos.
Coordinator ? The guy who has a desk between two ex
pediters.
Consultant ? An ordinary guy more than 50 miles from
home.
Activate ? Make carbons and add more names to the
memo.
Implement Program ? Hire more people and expand the1
office.
Under Consideration ? Never heard of it.
Under Active Consideration ? We're looking in the files
for it.
Conference ? A place where conversation is substituted
for the dreariness of labor and the loneliness of thought.
Informed Source? The guy who told the guy you just met.
Reliable Source? The guy you just met.
Negotiate ? To seek a meeting of minds without a knock
ing together of heads.
Unimpeachable Source ? The guy who started the rumor.
Clarification ? To fill in the background with so many
details that the foreground goes underground.
Making a Survey ? More time to think of an answer.
Note and Initial ? Let's spread the responsibility for this.
See Me ? Come down to my office; I'm lonely.
Let's Get Together on This ? I'm assuming you're as con
fused as I am.
Give Us the Benefit of Your Thinking ? We'll listen to
what you have to say as long as it doesn't interfere with what
we've already decided to dp.
Spearhead the Issue ? You be the goat.
Point up the Issue ? To expand one page to 15.
The Issue Is Closed ? I'm tired of the whole affair.
Uncle Pinkney
HIS PALAVARIN'S
DEAR MISTER EDITOR:
Aside from the fact that I tint
got too many yean left, I sorter
hate to see I960 passing into his
tory.
It has been a pritty good year
in a heap of ways. Most Ameri
cans has enjoyed ? fair amount of
prosperty nad there ain't been no
very serious outbreak of brush
ftre war in the world. Unless
they hurry, Tommy Manville and
Elizabeth Taylor will git through
the year without another wedding,
Ouvernment double-talk has been
reduced to talk-and-a-half, the
Democrats got through the year
without dedicating Grand Coulee
Dam again, the Republicans has
quit talking about balancing the
budget and txith parties put in
a good word tar Santa Claus.
And I aee by the papers where
our national debt at the end of
1960 ain't hut MA billion dollars.
In the same paper I saw where
the people of the United States
la carrying 288 billion dollars
worth of life insurance. If the
missile war comes and we all git
wiped out, the insurance money
will be there fer the national debt
and we can start over again fac
ing Adam and Eve with a little
aurplua. Yep, Mister Editor,
things could be a heap worse.
And if the all-out war don't
come, I think them Congressmen
will manage to keep the Guvern
ment in the hands of the poli
ticians. After all, in a country
where they want to shoot the um
pire fer one wrong decision there
ain't much chanct fer a dictator.
Fer 1961 1 wish everybody
Health, Happiness, and a reason
able amount of Prosperty. By a
reasonable amount of prosperty,
I mean I'm hoping folks git along
fairly good. Too much prosperty
can be a dangerous thing. Fer
instant, we've been mighty pros
perous while we was running up
that 260 billion dollar debt. And
hug Hookum, that was bragging
not long ago about the $3,000 he
owes, ain't never had it so good.
At the end of every year I usu-'
ally go through the motions of
making a few New Year resolu
tion*. My old lady, who la a au
thority of such subjects, say* a
feller that don't make some New
(Continued on page seven)