Ahead In Carolina
The Democrat led all N. C. weeklies
in 1965 Press Assn, contests. Four
first place awards included .the one
for .General Excellence. , Ny
An Independent Weekly Newspaper . . . Seventy-Eighth Year of Continuous Publication.
May
May
May
. May
May
May
May
BOONE WEATHER '■
m hi lo
3 83 38
4 65 48
71 34
M
VOLUME LXXVIII—NO. 46
6 73 52 .
7 73 52
8 78 53
. 9 73 40
Snow Given To Nea
BOONE, WATAUGA COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, MAY 12, 1966
Half
. tv v
81 43
79 48
78 54
77 54
74 54
75 51
78 53
10 CENTS PER COPY
20 PAGES—3 SECTIONS
With the Watauga County Prison Unit in the background,
Mrs. Josephine Gaines of Boone and Fulmer M. Rudisill of the
N. C. Prison Department, pause as they go about the work
of organizing a new program for inmates in North Carolina.
(Staff photo)
First In Carolina
Citizens Asked To Join In
Helping State Prison Inmates
BY BACHEL RIVERS
A' Watauga County -faffnafi
and a supervisor of alcoholic
rehabilitation in the state pri
son department are pooling
their efforts to build a “Bridge
of Understanding” between in
mates of the local prison and
professional people in Boone.
Fulmer M. Rudisill of the
Hickory division said that the
program getting underway in
the Watauga Unit is a first in
the state of North Carolina.
The idea is to set up a program
which ultimately will benefit
both the community and the i
men., .who will serve their sent
ence or be paroled in the area.
Rudisill explained that the
state program is part of the
new administration of prisons
under V. Lee Bounds, and that
the plan calls for transfer of
inmates into the prisons in the
area where they will be living
when they are released.
“The time to treat the man
is when he’s in prison,” Rudi
sill said. “Our philosophy in
the North Carolina Prison De
partment is treatment rather
than puniahment.” In order to
open new paths of interest gnd
desire to inmates, Rudisiff said,
all men, regardless of where
they entered prison, will even
tually be quartered in their
home area.
Role Of Alcohol
Between 75 and 80 per cent
of the more than 10,000 inmates
in the state are in prison be
cause of the influence of al
cohol upon their lives.
“A I c h o 1 i c s Anonymous is
most effective in getting them
to realize that alcohol is their
Dr. Colvard Will Speak
As 545 Receive Degrees
Dr. Dean W. Colvard, Chan
cellor of the University of North
Carolina at Charlotte, will be
the speaker at commencement
exercises at Appalachian State
Teachers College Friday, May
27, when approximately 549
seniors will receive degrees.
Dr. Colvard is scheduled to
speak at 10:30 a.m. in .entdoor
exercises planned for William
J. Conrad Stadium.
Dr. Colvard, recently appoint
ed Chancellor of the University
at Charlotte, is a former presi
dent of Mississippi State Uni
versity. He was Dean of Agri
culture at N. C. State College,
Raleigh, frtm 1953-60, when he
assumed the reins at Mississippi
State.
He is a native of Ashe Coun
ty and is a graduate of Virginia
Carolina High School at Grassy
Creek. He was graduated from
Berea College in 1935, received
his M. A. degree from Univer
sity of Missouri in 1938 and his
PhD. from Purdue University
in 1950.
Dr. Colvard Joined the faculty
at N. C. State in 1947 when he
bee a‘m e professor of animal
science. In 1938 he was ap
pointed head of the Depart
ment of Animal Science at the
college.
Dr. Colvard has been promi
nent in a number of profes
sional organizations. Among
others, he presently is Chair
man of the President’s Council
of the National Association of
State Universities and Land
Grant colleges. He was chair
man of the Mississippi Rhodes
(Continued on pegs three)
ASTC SPEAKER—Dr. Dean W. Colvard, above, will be
speaker for Commencement exercises at Appalachian State
Teachers College on Friday, Hay 27. Dr. Colvard, a native of
Ashe County, is chancellor of the University of North Caro
lina at Charlotte and is ■ former president of Mississippi
Stats University, ^
- - i I ,7 - . >' :-h'
i basic problem. In addition to
jjdftohQl .problem*, many have
personality and behavior pro
blems”—and, he added, narcot
ics and alcohol often go hand
in hand.
Two years ago, an AA group
was started at the local prison
unit, which serves Alleghany,
Ashe and Watauga counties.
Although an AA in Boone
would have been the logical
support of prisoners, there was
no group here and AA workers
from Lenoir, Hickory and oth
er towns had been helping with
the local program, according
to Rudisill. Recent demand to
expand their own programs has
prevented these workers from
assisting here.
So the “Bridge of Under
standing” is being built.
Community Approach
The importance of the com
munity approach cannot be
overemphasized, said Rudisill.
; Since the prisoners in the local
unit will soon be residents of
the area, community leaders
(Continued on page three)
R. A. Doughton
Memory To Be
Honored Friday
A memorial plaque will be
unveiled on the courthouse
lawn in Sparta Friday, May 13,
honoring the memory of Rufus
A. Doughton, former Lieuten
ant Governor and veteran Leg
islator.
The exercises will begin at 2
o’clock when Judge Johnson J.
Hayes, Edwin Duncan and W.
B. Austin will pay tribute to
the career of Mr. Doughton.
Judge Crittendon of the
State Department of Archives
and History will present the
memorial which will be unveil
ed by David Doughton Gregory
and John Sidney Miller, grand
children of Mr. Doughton. The
public is invited.
Besides the office of Lieuten
ant Governor, Mr. Doughton
had served as Chairman of the
State Highway Commission,
was State Commissioner of
Revenue, and served many
terms in the North Carolina
House of Representatives. A
graduate of the University of
North Carolina, Mr. Doughton
provided leadership in the
fields of public education and
Signs Detailed
Former Vilas I
-***..?• i
ion
’ - ' -V
He Killed, Buried Three
Says Prayer
Made Him Feel
Like A New Man
BY RACHEL RIVERS
A Vilas, North Carolina man
sought by the FBI after es
caping a Greene County, Penn.,
jail on July 17, 1965, confessed
to three murders and hundreds
of burglaries and robberies
when police in Maywood, Calif.,
arrested him on April 25 in
connection with a shooting.
James Morris Fletcher, 48,
signed a detailed confession, in
which he stated, “When they
shot me the other night I
thought I was gonna die . . .
and as I said, I’ve been goin’ to
church and I prayed, ‘Lord,
save my life and I'll confess
everthing and then You can do
what You want to but take me
to Heaven’. I wanted to get
this all off my mind and I
went to that hospital and . . .
after I prayed at night, I felt
like a new man the next morn
ing. I couldn't walk or any
thing, and the doctor was amaz
ed at my recovery.”
Fletcher was stopped by a
police bullet when he returned
to an apartment owned by Pat
Dennis of Maywood. He and
Dennis had struggled with a
gun earlier after arguing over
a woman. Fletcher said the gun
went off “accidentally”, the
blast hitting Dennis in the
ankle.
neicner nea irom tne scene,
and Dennis was taken away in
an ambulance. Later Fletcher
saw police patrolling the area,
jumped out of his car and ran.
An officer yelled “Halt”, then
fired.
Described as ruddy complex
ioned, with blue eyes and gray
hair, Fletcher is 5 feet, 11 inch
es tall, weighs 175 pounds, and
was born July 8, 1918, at Vilas.
He said the men he had
murdered are all buried in
Greene County, Penn., and that
he would show authorities the
graves when he was transport
ed back to Pennsylvania. Wata
uga officials say that if three
bodies are found, Fletcher will
be charged with murder and
tried in Pennsylvania.
The local man stated that the
murders were committed in the
fall of 1964 in Greene County
before he was jailed on seven
charges of burglary, said to
have been in Watauga County.
He named a woman accomplice
in the murders, and named
three as accomplices in more
than 1,000 burglaries.
He stated that he had had
one large truck and two small
ones on “jobs”.
interstate Chase
When Fletcher fled Pennsyl
vania, where he was being held
for charges in Noith Carolina,
he became a fugitive from just
ice on an interstate basis, hence
the intervention of the FBI.
He stated in his confession
that a woman accomplice had
“talked him into" escaping
Greene County jail, and that
she handed him three hacksaw
blades to facilitate the escape.
According to his confession,
he hauled some of the stolen
goods from Pennsylvania to
North Carolina. When he es
caped from Pennsylvania, he
apparently went on to Cali
fornia, with no charges of mur
der against him. It is not yet
known whether the three he
said be killed in the Greene
County area were reported
missing.
He stated he traveled from
California to Tennessee to bor
row money from his sister and
a son in Kingsport In New
Mexico and Arizona, he said, he
got two speeding tickets.
He named Maryland, West
(Ceotinued at page three)
I
ROCK MASON MIDAS WHEELER winds up
his work on the Boone entrance sign founda
tion, Highway 421 East of Boone. He and
two other men began work Saturday morn
ing and finished the job Monday afternoon.
Fred McNeal, manager of the Chamber of
Commerce, and donor of land for the pro
ject, said this is the “guinea pig" project,
so that the results of plan and design may be
seen before beginning the foundation for
the sign on Blowing Rock Road. (Staff
photo)
Retired Foscoe Farmer Is
Killed By Car On N. C. 105
Linville Aldridge, 76, a re-1
tired farmer of Route 1, Ban
ner Elk was struck and killed i
by an automobile about 6:10 p.
m. on Wednesday, May 4, on
N. C. 105, six miles south of
Boone.
Patrolman George Baker said
Robert Mackey Pumphrey Jr.,
18, of Bowling Green, Va., was
operating a 1962 Chrysler sta
tion wagon owned by his fath
er, Robert Mackey Pumphrey
Sr., and was traveling south on
105 when Mr. Aldridge entered
the highway in the path of the
car.
Baker said Pumphrey said he
pulled to the left of the road
to dodge Mr. Aldridge, but that
the car hit him near the center
of the road and carried him 75
feet to the left shoulder of the
highway.
Pumphrey, a student at Lees
McRae College, was returning
to campus with six other stu
dents, Baker said. They had
been on a shopping trip to
Boone.
Baker said Mr. Aldridge suf
fered spine, skull and leg frac
tures, and was dead on ar
rival at Watauga Hospital.
82,000 More On Parkway
In 1966 Than Last Year
ujiuxiga - x lie ui lie
Ridge Parkway has attracted
nearly 82,000 more visitors dur
ing 1966 than for the same
period in the previous year, the
National Park Service office at
Roanoke, Va., announced Fri
day.
For the current year, 997,743
had visited the Parkway thru
April compared with 915,622 in
1965.
A large increase in visitors
was registered for April. The
Park Service said 501,060 tra
veled the Parkway as compared
with 431,506 in April last year.
The Asheville District hid the
CdlCdl IlUlllLTt.1 U1 V1MIUI A IdM
month — 168,312 as compared
with 154,534 last year in April.
Hie Bluffs District, which ex
tends from the Virginia line to
Blowing Rock and includes
Doughton Park near here, had
95,821 visitors compared to 83,
885 in April, 1965.
The Janies River District at
the northern end of :he Park
way recorded 100,109 as com
pared with 88,404 in April,
1965. The Rocky Knob District,
also in Virginia and extending
to the North Carolina line, had
136,488 visitors as compared
with 104,888 to Apfl, 1965,
No charges have been made,
investigation pending.
Services for Mr. Aldridge
were held at 2 p. m. Friday at
the Foscoe Christian Church.
He was born in Watauga
County to James and Sallie
Gragg Aldridge.
Surviving are his widow,
Mrs. Julie Aldridge; lour sons,
Shula, Cluss, Garner and James
Aldridge, all of Route 1, Ban
ner Elk; four daughters, Mrs.
Snow Hooper of Banner Elk,
Mrs. Mina Joe Storie of Boone,
Mrs. Mamie Shook of Route 1,
Banner Elk and Mrs. Eva Burn
ell Meredith of Trenton, Fla.;
a brother, John Aldridge of
Boone; and a sister, Mrs. Ethel
Wyke of Boone.
Burial was in Foscoe ceme
tery.
Saturday Is Last
Day To Register
Watanga County voters ;
are reminded that Saturday
h the last date far newly
qualified doctors te register
for the priaury.
» is reemphasised that
there is ao new registration,
and only those who have §
■ever hitherto registered to
a county eioctien will he re
quired to
Saturday the list hi
Inge day while the
mmm )Urn,
b
ft