VOLUME LXXIV? NO. 1?.
AUGA DEMOCRAT
BOONE, WATAUGA COUNTY, NOBTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1N1
NEW BUILDING. ? High atop Grandfather Mountain, highest peak i
in the Blue Ridge range, a new visitor facility has been opened.
Built to withstand 200-mile an hour winds, the structure contains J
meeting facilities, snack bar, gift shop and restrooms. Next spring
a natural history museum will be added.
Grandfather Mtn. Now Boasts
Commodious Visitor Center
Grandfather Mountain. ? A new
visitor center which combines nat
ural stone 800,000 million years
old with the very latest vinyl and
polyester materials has just been
opened atop this 6,000-foot high
peak of the Blue Ridge Range.
Built to withstand winds of 200
miles an hour, the building atop
Grandfather Mountain contains
meeting facilities capable of seat
ing 200 people, snack bar, gift
shop, restrooms and storage. An
observation deck has been put on
the top of the building, and a
specially designed flag pole has
been erected. Because three
Grandfather Mountain flag poles
have been destroyed in the past
four winters, the new pole has been
hinged and' can be lowered if
winds higher than 125-miles an
hour are expected.
The new visitor center, which
owner Hugh Morton says is the
largest single construction project
in the development program at the
mountain, has as its outside sur
face Grandfather Mountain stone,
and native hemlock wainedged sid
ing.
A natural history museum will
be added to the visitor center in
the spring.
The meeting area, called the
Skyscraper Room, will be available
to civic, fraternal and business
groups who desire a daytime meet
ing place at a mountain top set
ting. "We believe it ii something
that will be an asset to the whole
region," Morton said.
New heavy duty equipment for
the U. S. Department of Commerce
Weather Station will be installed
atop the new facility. Weather in
struments have been destroyed
each winter since the station was
established in 1993, but the new
heavy duty instruments are be
lieved adequate for the mountain
top station.
Native Grandfather stone forms
one wall of the Skyscraper Room
and the gift shop below. The floor
of the meeting ar?a is of oak, and
all the steel beams are furred in
surfwood.
The entire building is wired for
Mountain City
Editor Dies
Mountain City, Tenn., October
11. ? Death claimed D. 11. S purge
on at hii home here Saturday
evening after many montha of ill
health resulting from a aeries of
heart attacks.
He was 98 years old, and had
been a resident of Mountain City
since 1M3. He was editor and
publisher of the Johnson County
News, which later came to be
known as the Tomahawk.
He was a native ' of Clinton
County, Ind. He was a member of
the Mountain City Methodist
Church and a Colonel on Gover
nor Ellington's staff. He attended
Purdue and Northwestern Univer
sities and held BS and MA degrees.
Funeral was held at the Meth
odist Church Tuesday and burial
was in the Donnelly cemetery.
Surviving are the widow, a son,
Patrick, of Knoxville, and a daugh
ter, Mrs. Palna Larkey of McLean,
Va.
sound so that music can be pro
vided, lounges are walled in ce
ment enamel, snack bar fixtures
are stainless steel and glass window
panes are reinforced with wire.
Designer of the new facilities
was Charles C. Hartmann, Jr., of
Charles C. Hartmann Architects,
Greensboro. Hartmann, who also
designed the Mile High Swinging
Bridge on Grandfather Mountain,
supervised construction, which was
done by Brooks dumber Company
of Greensboro. Rock masonry was
done by Hartley Brothers of Lin
ville.
Opened last week, the new visitor
facilities will remain in operation
until the close of the season at
Grandfather Mountain on Novem
ber 19. Formal dedication of the
building will be made when the
new museum is completed next
spring.
Visitors last week with Mr. and
Mrs. Aud Ward were Mrs. Lillie
Coffey, Lenoir; Mrs. Dailie Turn
er, Hickory; Mr. Ellie Privett,
Blowing Rock and Mr. and Mrs.
J. M. Harwell of Hickory.
BLOODMOB1LE COMING OCTOBER 26
Lives Often Saved By Supply
Of Blood At Local Hospital
By JOE McCLUNG
(Recruitment Chairman)
la discussion but week with Mrs.
Virginia A. Croce, administrator of
Watauga Hospital, a number of in
teresting and important cases were
cited in the uae of whole blood.
Just recently a life was laved in
Watauga Hospital when whole
blood was administered to a patient
who had received burns over 69%
of the body, and by administering
whole blood (four pints), a life
was saved.
Every day, even In routine sur
gery, I discovered from Mrs. Groce
that whole blood playi an import
ant part in any hospital. It is not
unusual, as Just recently a case
was cited to me, for a patient to
receive as much as five pint* of
blood. In this particular case, a
patient needed 5 pints of a posi
tive blood. This blood was on hand
in our hospital and again blood
proved to be an important factor
at an important time in this par
ticular patient's life.
It is difficult for the hospital
to anticipate their blood needs, for
whole blood can only be kept 21
days. Not more than a month ago
an accident occurred and the pa
tient needed 3 pints of blood.
Again this supply was on hand in
our hospital. In this past year in
one particular case in surgery, I
learned that 9 pints of blood were
used before the operation was
completed. In another case cited,
10 pints were used in surgery.
This sounds like a great deal of
blood; however, there are two
cases on record at the hospital
where over a period of time a pa
tient was administered 33 pints of
blood, and the second patient over
a period of time was administered
72 pints of blood. Twenty-eight of
these 72 pints were Red Cross
blood.
In this past year there have been
two complete blood exchange* In
two newborn children.
Thus far this year, Watauga Hos
pital has used 151 pinta of blood.
This, however, is below average.
Usually it would be much higher.
I had the pleasure of seeing and
having it explained to me by Mrs.
Groce, how the blood Is ordered,
shipped, received, stored, and re
turned if not needed. Our census
is a deciding factor as to the
amount of blood ordered and kept
on hand by the hospital. A ship
ment might consist of 12 pints of
blood lesving Charlotte in a foil
insulated box with divided parti
tions packed in ice in a plastic
bag and double sealed. Arriving in
Boone by bus, the blood is picked
up by the hospital, taken immedi
ately to the laboratory where it
is stored under refrigeration. If at
any time the temperature drops, a
buzzer goes off, notifying those in
charge that the blood must be
transferred to proper refrigeration
immediately. If this blood Is not
used in 21 days, then it is returned
to the Charlotte Blood Center un- |
der refrigeration, where it is then
nude into plasma or other import- .
ant derivatives of blood.
Each shipment of blood is enter
ed in a ledger incoming, the pa
tient who used the blood, the date
it was received by the patient, the
type of blood used snd the reac
tion, if any, to the patient Accu
rate records are kept at all times
on this blood so vital to life. If
this blood is not used, the date
the blood Is returned to Charlotte
Blood Center Is then entered in
the ledger also.
A, O, and B type blood are kept
on hand most of the time at the
hospital. However, this month
alone the hospital has had need
for and has used 3 pints of AB
positive.
Blood can't be placed In value
>f dollars or cento tor a life alone
:?n't be placed In the category
Ither, and blood being a life-giving
ind life-saving lubstance, only on
Jie importance of giving blood can
the value be placed.
Before Watauga Hospital became
i member of the Red Cross Blood
Program, we had a walking blood
tank; people were typed and clae
ilfied, and when blood was need
sd a person bad to be called. Life
ind time were involved.
This proved unsatisfactory. Now
by belonging to the Piedmont
Carolines Blood Program, it is im
portant not only for us, but to
every other chapter to meet tiieir
juota so that our needs for Wa
tauga County can be met at any
:ime. Importance can not be stress
id enough for participating in the
Red Cross Program, for accldenta,
iinforseen needs and death can not
M anticipated. So, let's remember
October 36, and let's all give so
lomeone may live.
Cannon Hospital
Given Approval
Banner Elk? Dr. Lawson Tate,
Director of Charles A. Cannon Jr.
Memorial Hospital, snnounced to
day that the two million dollar
liospital has been fully accredited.
The Board of Commissioners of
the Joint Commission on Accredi
tation of Hospitals approved Char
les A Cannon Jr. Memorial Hos
pital as accredited for a period of
three years. The hospital survey
was conducted on August 7, by
Dr. Arthur A. Magill, field repre
lentative, of the Commission. The
last inspection wu May 2, 1098,
it which time Grace Hartley Mem
orial Hospital was approved for
full accreditation.
Bargains In Household Items and Farm Needs
SALE CONTINUES THROUGH SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21
New Low Prices During Our
Farmers Hardware & Supply Company
King Street Boone, N. C. AAA 4-8801