FOR BEST RESULTS
advertisers invariably use the col
umns of the Democrat. With its full
paid circulation, intensely covering
the local shopping area, it is the
best advertising medium available.
■■-.'I.*-'.
BOONE, WATAUGA COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 1965
10 CENTS PER COPY
22 PAGES—3 SECTIONS
VOLUME LXXVII—NO. 28
CONTENTS COPYRIGHTED I9W
RIVERS PRINTING CO.. INC
STEEL BEAMS ARE UP on the State Farm Road. Recent
rains have stunted work on the plant of the American Saw
A Tool Company, which agreed to operate here at the be
quest of the Industrial Committee this summer. Stanley
Harris, committee member, says builders hope to enclose
the building soon, so that work may continue despite the
weather. (Rivers photo.) -v
New building in Watauga
County reached a peak dur
ing 1964, and local utility
corporations “hooked up” 397
houses and commercial build
ings in the year, according to
a survey made by the Demo
crat the first of the week.
The New River Light and
Power Co., whose territory .
embraces the town of Boone,
reports that it turned dee
tricity into 81 new buildings
in 1964.
The Blue Ridge Electric >
Membership Corfu, which sup
plies Blowing Ruck and rural '
Watauga, reports the acquis}
tion of 316 new structures to
its supply lines. Of these, 37
were commercial buildings
and 279 dwelling houses.
Both companies point put
that hookups for summer
residents, or so-called ‘trans
fer connections,” are not in
the figures given.
Mr. James Marsh, manager
of the Watauga Savings and
Loan Association, says that
his corporation loaned money
on 232 new houses. Of this
number, loans were made for
building 129 dwellings vand
for buying 112 newly-con
i strutted houses. Many others
fa* listing got off to a good j
start this week at the Court j
House in Boone and at the des- j
ignated places in the various;
townships, according to R, G.
* Greene, Tax Supervisor.
Prior to beginning their work,
the listers attended a school of
instruction at the court house
under the supervision of the
supervisor. Mr. L, E. Tuek
wiiler, County Agent, gave in
structions and assistance rela
tive to the taking of a farm een
D. G. Moretz Is
New President
Watauga Y. D. C
The Watauga County Young
Democrats Club, at its regular
meeting in the Courthouse Mon
day night, elected the following
officers for 1965;
President — Mr. D. Grady
Moretz, Jr,
First Vice-President — Mrs.
Geraldine Ragan, employed at
Shadowline.
Second Vice-President — Mr.
Eddie P. Norris, State High
way Engineer.
Third Vice-President — Miss
Jo Anne Aldridge, Teaches at
College.
Secretary — Mr. Robert
Danner, Principal at Cove Creek
Elementary School.
Treasurer — Mr. Johnnie
Austin, Mortician with Reins
Sturdivant.
Mr. Moretz announced plans
for an active club, a banquet,
and having outstanding state
and nationally-known speakers
at the regular meetings.
Outgoing President, Glenn
Hodges, was praised for the out
standing Work of the dub rfur
ing the two' years he- was presi
dent, especially this past elec
tion in which “the dub gave
advertising and just plain bard
work in so many areas to help
bring the county to support a
Democratic nominee for Presi
dent for the first time since
J940>
j; ::
>ri Sfew&isy':''
m - i
sus in conjunction with the tax
listing.
Also attending the session and
speaking briefly were Mr. S. B.
Greene, Chairman, Board of
County Commissioners, and Mr.
Stacy C. Eggers, Jr., County At
torney,
It was brought out at the
meeting that a special effort
would be made by all listers to
see that all persons owning
house trailers list them with
other property." A recent survey
indicated that many had not
been listed previously.
Officials announced that out
standing regulations providing
a penalty for late listing would
be enforced this year. The law
requires that all property be
listed during the month of Jan
uary and for a 18% penalty for
those who fall to do so. It was
explained that laxity in the past
with respect to listing had caus
ed a delay in getting tax boohs
ready for early payment of
taxes when taxpayers could
take advantage of j discount.
Taxpayers are urged to con
tact their local listers whose
schedules were announced in
the Democrat last week. Listers
(Continued on page six)
were financed, of course, by
banks, insurance companies,
and by the individual proper
ty owner*.
Building is still being car*
ried on, and there will be no
letup during the winter, ex
cept when weather conditions
shut down construction opera
tions,:. : . Si
Boone Postal
Receipts Gain
3P
Postal receipts at the Boone
Post Office in 1964 were $138,
| 863.57.
I Postmaster Ralph Beshears
said receipts were $126,000
| plus in 1963. Since he took of
| ficc four years ago, receipts
have grown 60 percent.
“Volume of mail has increas
ed in porportion to postal re
ceipts/' he said. ,
The Post Office staff worked
all incoming mail on Christmas
Day and delivered Christmas
packages for the town. Be*
shears said volume was 10 to
12 per cent greater than last
year.
He said mail was worked for
the post office boxes on New
Year’s Day.
Joe A. Luther
Dies In Gaffney
Services were held on Dec. 24
for Joe A. Luther, 74, who died
in Gaffney, S. C„ on Dec. 22,
after a long illness.
Mr. Luther was the son of
Mrs. John Luther and the late
Mr, Luther of Deep Gap.
Surviving are: his mother;
his widow, Mrs. Lucille Davis
Luther; three brothers, Ray and
Gurney Luther of Boone and
Thea Luther of Todd; and three
sisters, Mrs. Blanch Stewart of
Deep Gap, Mrs. Eula Bledsoe
of Sparta and Mrs. Zilma Greer
Of Kannapolis.
Burial was in Oakland Cem
etery.
ACP Signup
Will Begin
On Monday
The regular signup for the
1965 Agricultural Conservation
Program will begin January 11,
and continue through January
29, County ASC Chairman
Vaughn Tugman announced this
week.
Farmers should make early
plana for the practices they in*
tend to carry out next spring
and be ready to apply for what
ever assistance it is.felt will be
needed on their farms.
Conservation of the soil and
water resources is vital to the
economy of our county. A
prosperous agriculture - -eaftftbt'
continue unless these measures
are continually carried out.
The following practices were
selected by the Watauga County
ACP Development Group and
have been recommended to the
State ACP Development Group
for approval:
(continued on page sixV
Electrical Power
Is Interrupted
Electrical power was Inter
rupted in Boone Saturday night
for about 45 minutes when an
electrical shortage developed
at the New River Light and
Power Sub-station.
Winds of high velocity which
raged through the area .broke
a guy wire, letting the high
voltage wires come together
causing the shortage, and many
people in the area witnessed
what they thought to be an in
tense electrical storm, with
the lights from the heavy con
ductor wires emanating into
the sky.
Repairs were made by mem
bers of New River Light and
Power Company and power was
restored with a minimum of
inconvenience to the residents.
Several reports have been re
ceived of trees being blown
over by tbe high winds with
electrical servicemen having
to make repairs at several
places in the county.
■ " A summary uf the fatal traf- ]
lie accidents in Watauga County
during 1964 is as follows:
' January 2—This area’s first
traffic fatality of the year oc
curred when a Boone woman's
automobile skidded into the
rear of a truck that had stopped
because of a minor accident.
Mrs. Katherine Greene Hardy,
30, was driving on Highway 321
221 about a mile north of
Blowing Bock wben the fatal
accident occurred. Icy pavement
was blamed for the crash.
February 2—Donald Edmund
Watson, 37, of Kt 5, Lenoir,
was killed in a one-car crash on
the Bitte Ridge Parkway about
five maw southeast of Boone.
The auto skidded on an ice
patch, overturned several times
down an embankment and stop*
ped iu a creek. / ' '
Runs Off Highway
February 1ft — Injuries sus
tained in a February 9 wreck
claimed the life of Cletes Gene
Potter, 23, of BL I, Zionville.
Potter’s ear ran off Highway
421 about 10 miles west of
Boone, went about 10(1 feet
down a mountain and over
turned. ,
July 22 — Raymond Junior
Isaacs, 24, of Rt J, ZmovOJe,
• V ' ' ' ' ■ " , , '<;i'. ' ■ '
; "• “ -/- ;'V\ V';' " ’ ’ ' • .1
was killed and five persons
were injured in a head-on col
lusion on Highway 105 near
Boone. The auto in which Isaacs
was riding was being chased by
Watauga County law enforce
ment officers when fife crash
occurred. ■ \ j
October 20 — Watauga Coun
ty's fifth fatality was the result j
of a head-on collision on a I
rural road about 10 miles west
of Boone. Mrs. Lucille Potter j
Main, 30, of Sherwood, was a |
passenger in an automobile that
was crashed into by a car that
was crashed into by a car said
to be on the wrong fide of thej
road
'tty**
iplfflit
Fewer Acres, Larger Yields
Crops In Income
With $920,000
Watauga County farmers con
tinued to reduce acres culti
vated and increase yields per
acre on most crops in 1964, To
bacco is an exception to the per
acre yield increase, but the
quality and value per acre did
increase. £
Better yields of apples and
cabbage, a big increase in
trellised tomato production, and
increased sales of forest pro
ducts offset reduced cattle I
prices and gave a small increase j
in gross farm sales over 1963. I
Burley tobacco continued to
be the leading cash crop with
787 acres on 1,530 farms pro;
during an estimated gross sale!
price of $920,000. This is about I
97 acres less than the 19831
acreage due to a cut in B}lot
ment and the fact that some
allotments were not planted in
1964.
Trellised tomato production
increased by about 400 percent,
bringing gross average s*< of
approximately $1,500 per acre,
with some acres bringing double
this amount.
Strawberries continued to
n average of more than
gross sales per acre.
late season cabbage yields
and price per ton were very
favorable in 1964, giving some
gross sales per acre of over
$1,000. Cabbage insects were
serious pests in 1964.
Cattle prices were weaker,
but Iambi and poultry were
some better than in 1963. Wool
sold higher and more milk went
into class I and II grades, there
fore returning more to the pro
ducer. .
Sales from the woodland In
creased with nursery stock, na
tive shrubs, Christmas trees and
other evergreens reaching rec
ord volume in 1964.
The 1964 Watauga County
gross farm sales, including gov
ernment payments, is estimated
at nearly $3,564,000, Burley to
bacco leads in crop sales, re
turning approximately $920,
000, potatoes and cabbage re
turned $290,800; tomatoes, $35,
000; strawberries, $17,500; ap
ples, $148,000; and other crops
sold, $37,100, giving a gross
estimated income from the sale
of crops of $1,448,400.
Gross sales of poultry and
eggs amounted to approximately
$648,000, and eattle sales fell
to about $517,000. Sheep, hogs
and horses brought an estimated
$45,000; milk sales, $217,500;
and wool, meat and other live
stock products sold for about;.
$58,300, giving an estimated
gross income from the sale of
livestock and livestock products
of $1,485,800. The sale of tim
ber, lumber, wood, posts, Christ
mas trees, shrubbery and other
forest products is estimated at
(Continued on page six)
Mrs. Watson Is
Taken By Death
Mr*. Millie Carroll Rainey
Watson, 78, of Rt. 1, Boone,
widow of Charlie M. Watson,
died at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday
in a Morganton hospital after
an illness of 18 months.
Mrs. Watson was born in Wa
tauga County to John and Ellen
Grubb Carroll.
She was a member of Bethel
View Methodist Church.
Her husband was a forma’
sheriff of Watauga County.
The funeral was conducted
at 2 p.m. Friday at Bethel View
Methodist Church by the Rev.
R. H. Ballard and Dr. John G.
Barden. Burial was Is Fairview
•!; &■
/ ’ ■; * «• , ' ' « Photo Flowe;*' Photo Shop
Truck purchased by the newly organised Deep Gap Volunteer Fire Department
ires
Cashion Rites
At Wadesboro
Shelley Walker Cashion, of
Boone and Wadesboro, died in
that town last Thursday morn
ing after an extended illness,
■He was 05 years old,
Mr. Cashion was bom in
Cornelius, N, C. October 5,
1890, a son of Samuel Edmond
Cashion and Mary Elizabeth
Lee Kelley Cashion. He attend
ed Davidson College and Trin
ity College, and taught in the
schools of Lincoln, Mecklen
burg and Anson counties until
his retirement in 1002. He and
his family established a sum
mer residence in Boone in 1050.
Mr. Cashion was a member
of the First Methodist Church
of Wadesboro. He volunteered
for service in both World Wars,
and was a member of the Am
erican Legion, was a Moose and
a Mason.
Funeral services were held
Friday at the First Methodist
Church in Wadesboro.
Survivors include the widow,
a daughter, Miss Jcannie Lee
Cashion of the home; a brother,
S. Pat Cashion, of Charlotte;
two sisters, Mrs. A. M. Moore
and Mrs. Ben Kelley, of Char
lotte. '
C. W. Lookabill
Dies Thursday
George Washington Lookabill,
63, of Route 2, Boone, died
December 28 at his home after
a long illness.
Be was born in Watauga
County to John and Sua a n
Hodges Lookabill. He was a
farmer and spent his life in
Watauga County. He was a
member of Hopewell Methodist
Church.
Surviving are his widow, Mrs.
Zora N. Lookabill; a son, James
Lookabill of Black Mountain;
two daughters, Mrs. Carrie Zo~
wadski of Baltimore, Md., and
Mrs, Lucille Stephens of Cul
pepper, Va.; a brother, Reese
Lookabill of Rt 2, Boone; two
sisters, Mrs. Fannie Ragan and
Mrs. Belle Greene of RL 2,
Boone, Id grandchildren; and
five great-grandchildren.
The funeral was conducted at
2 p.m. Wednesday at Hopewell
Methodist Church by the Rev,
Garland E. Smith. Burial was
mtfae church ceinettfv. ;r
‘ ,V..' . /: .
The Deep Gap Volunteer
Fire Department, Inc., of the
Deep Gap community has pur
chased a fire truck from the
city of Bristol, Virginia. " k f*
The truck is a dual-thermo
dine Mack engine with a 750
gallon-per-minute pump and
has all standard truck equip
ment. It is being housed at
i Watson’s Garage,
Fund'raising for this project
was started by a contribution
of $1,200 by the Deep Gap
i Legion Post, They sponsored
three chicken dinners at Park
way Elementary School during
the summer to raise this money,
The fire department raised
additional funds through mem
bership and plans to continue
the membership drive in order
to pay for fire fighting equip
ment recently purchased. This
equipment comprises 600 feet
of ame and one-half inch dacron
fire hose that will not require
drying after being used; two
one and one half inch fog noz
zles; parts necessary to install
two pie-connected hose on the
the rear of the truck; and six
complete uniforms (helmets,;
j a c k e t s, pants, boots and
gloves).
Since the truck was a part of
a city fire departmtnl it had a
water tank with only 160-gallon
capacity. Claude and James
Watson are building an addition
(Continued on page six)
....W
Another series ©I break ins
of business places In Boone has
! been reported by Boone Police
Chief, Hubert Thomas, each fol
lowing almost the same pattern
of the previous break-ins which
have been occuring in the past
three months,
Chief Thomas reports that on
the night of December 31st in- jf
traders broke the glass in the ^
front door of Church's Garage f
on West Main jStr&t making
off with several tools. On the
same night vandals entered the '
rear door of the Atlantic Ser
vice Station on West Mata
Street. Taken in this raid was
candy, cigarettes and money
from the cigarette machine. Ac
cording to owner Lee Colvard/
items amounting to approxi
mately |100 were taken. v
On January 1, entrance was; |
made into the Fanners Hard- ;
ware and Supply Co. building,
through a window in the base
ment, and entrants made off
with two guns and a consider
(Continued on page ih)
New Year Bring!
c* -•.: fi a v
Series Kreak-Ins
C. Of C. Offices
- -
“We are extremely pleased tfl
have been able to. move into
our new quarters so quickly."
This was the sentiment of
Chamber of Commerce mana
ger, Fred McNeal on Monday,;
just before Christmas, the
Board of Directors of the
Chamber of Commerce voted
to moved its offices from 211
South Depot St. to the corner of
East King Street and the Blow
ing Rock Road in order to in
crease access to the tourist
stream.
Prior to this resolution, the
Board voted to rent the pro
perty from C. D. Coffey of
North Wilkesboro. The build
ing, formerly the Horn Cafe, is
adjacent-to Mock’s Dress Shop
pe.
The renovation committee,
headed by Fire Chief R. lj>.
Hodges began work immediate
ly. According to McNeal, equip
ment from the Northwestern
Bank and the Watauga Savings
& Doan was installed by New
Year’s Day. Other equipment
owned by the Chamber also wa» ;?|
installed.
Although the offices were
not completely finished, they
were sufficiently organized to
handle the sale of license tags
beginning Monday morning,
McNeal said.
The Auto License Bureau
granted permission to have its
station transferred to the new \
location; McNeal was instruct
ed by newly elected C of C
president, Col. Clyde Miller, to
obtain permission from the Ba
ieigh office of the License Bur
eau to move.
The Merchants’ Association
also is quartered in the new
facility.
A conference room for ex
ecutive committee and board
meetings has not yet been
equipped, McNeal said the
northeast corner of the huddl
ing will contain his office,
C. IX Coffey agreed to reno
vate the outsido of the budd
1 thg« a)u|g‘