Ahead In Carolina
The Democrat led all N. C. weeklies
In 1985 Pre*g Assn, contests. Four
first place awards included the one
for General Excellence.
An Independent Weekly Newspaper . . . Seventy-Eighth Year of Continuous Publication
BOON* WEATHEI
rm.
tr.
HI L| flaow Pne *68
VOLUME LXXVHI—NO. 48
BOQNE, WATAUGA COUNTY, NORTH CAROUNA, THURSDAY, MAY 26,1966
May 17 73
May 18 68 58
May 19 70 58 .14
May 20 75 54 .12
May 21 76 49
May 22 74 59 .07
May 23 70 55
Snow Given To Nearest Half
10 CENTS PER COPY
24 PAGES—3 SECTIONS
8388883“
Long Controversy Settled
; \a a-.;. a
■ mu
m:
' M/v..
. ’ ^ ;
Grandfather Mountain Parkway Link To Be Built
. a < a;
Governor Acts
To Get Action
On Scenic Road
Governor Dan K. Moore and
Secretary of the Interior Stew
art L. Udall announced agree
ment Friday on a route to com
plete the missing link of the
Blue Ridge Parkway across
Grandfather Mountain.
Agreement on the so-called
“middle route" means the
parkway will be completed
in its entire 408-mile length-,
from the Shenandoah National
Park in Viiginla to the Great
Smoky Mountains National
Park in North Carolina and
Tennessee.
The agreement breaks years
of stalemate over the route be
tween private property owners
on the mountain, the National
Park Service and the N. C.
Highway Commission. The park
way was completed to one end
of the six-mile missing link in
1940, and to the other end five
years ago.
Moore’s announcement said
the route will utilize existing
state-owned lands and be sup
plemented by acreage neces
sary to avoid excessive scars
and to maintain the standards
and scenic quality of the com
pleted portions of the park
way.
“This section will connect
with the existing parkway in
Julian Price Memorial Park on
the north and Beacon Heights
on the south where it will over
pass and connect with U. S.
221.
“Construction of the six-mile
link Will be programed by'the
National Park Service as soon
as land acquisition is completed
by the state and construction
plans can be prepared by the
Bureau of Public Roads,” the
announcement said.
Hugh Morton, who owns
most of Grandfather Moun
tain, said he was glad to have
the old controversy settled
and “I congratulate Governor
Moore in reaching this agree
ment.”
Morton said the selected route
is “basically the middle route
with modifications.” He said
the route will run a few hun
dred feet uphill from existing
U. S. 221 on the east side of the
mountain.
Its elevation will be from
4,200 to 4,400 feet. Morton
said the link will be the high
est point on the parkway
north of Mt. Mitchell. He also
said it will be one of the
most scenic portions.
The National Park Service
had long favored a “high route”
over the summit of the moun
tain which would conflict with
private property interests. Hie
original proposal for the mid
dle route was worked out by
A. H. Graham, chairman of the
N. C. Highway Commission in
1955.
This route was approved by
the Bureau of Public Roads
and the Highway Commission,
but not by the Park Service.
During the Sanford adminis
tration, the state acquired the
land for the middle route by
swapping rights the state had
held to a lower route.
:'r RHODODENDRON ENHANCES GRANDFATHER BEAUTY
Voters Will Nominate
Candidates Saturday
Sample Primary Ballots Are
Shown on Page 1, Section B.
Voters of Watauga county
will go to the polls Saturday
to nominate candidates for
county office to climax a cam
paign which is beginning to de
velop a reasonable degree of
interest.
All county offices are to be
filled with the exception of Reg
Co. Candidate
Withdraws From
Primary Race
Howard M. Edmisten, Dem
ocratic candidate for the Wa
tauga Board of County Commis
sioners, gives notice that he
discovered last week a conflict
which would bar him from serv
ing the County, if elected.
Therefore he has withdrawn
from the primary race.
Edmisten states that he re
grets the necessity of dropping
out of the race, but that ac
cording to the General Statutes
of North Carolina, in part: No
payment of any public welfare
or public assistance funds de
rived from any source—Federal,
state or local—shall be made
for the care of any person in
(Continued on page two)
ister of Deeds. In that case the
incumbent holds over for an
other two years.
Of interest is the fact that
for the first time in its history
Watauga County has no candi
date for the General Assembly,
but is grouped with Avery and
Mitchell in one district. Mack
S. Isaacs of Newland and
George M. Harmon, also of Av
ery county, have filed as Re
publican candidates. There are
no Democrat candidates.
In the State Senate race, Wa
tauga is in the district with
Wilkes and Yadkin. T. R.
Bryan, Sr., of North Wilkes
boro and Senator F. D. B.
Harding of Yadkinville are the
Republican candidates. No
Democrat filed.
On the State ticket Demo
cratic Senator Everett Jordan
is being opposed by Hubert E.
Seymour. Local Democratic
sentiment would appear to
heavily favor Senator Jordan.
Clerk of Superior Court Or
ville Foster, Republican, had
no opposition and is the Re
publican candidate to succeed
himself. Robert Thomas and
Robert Hodges are both seek
ing the Democratic nomination.
For Sheriff Republican in
cumbent Dallas Cheek is being
opposed for the nomination by
Ernest Blake and James C.
Lyons; Democrats, Emmit Oliver
and Ward G. Carroll.
For County Commissioner;
Democrats: Glenn Hodges, F.
Ray Derrick, Tom R. Jackson,
Len D. Hagaman. (Howard
Edmisten has withdrawn but
his name also appears on the
(Continued on page two)
Zionville Man
Dies In Accident
Thomas Edward Holden,
58, ZionviUe, died late Mon
day afternoon in an indust
rial accident in Charlotte.
The construction company
worker was crushed to death
about 5:20 p. m. when he fell
under the wheels of a truck
at a Seaboard Airline Rail
National Democratic Figure
To Speak At Bingham Dinner
A former Miss North Caro
lina and the Director of Con
gressional Affairs for the
Democratic National Commit
tee will be on hand for a Demo
cratic dinner-rally at 7:30 p. m.
Thursday, May 26, at Watauga
High School.
Miss Melton, instructor of
piano and theory U. N. C.—
Chapel Hill, and Miss North
Carolina in 1957, will entertain
with a program of folk music,
accompanied by folk-guitarist
Barry WinstM. PMDUp Kelley
of Boone will lead the National
Anthem.
John Criswell was named as
sistant to the executive direc
tor in charge of the Congress
ional Support Program of the
Democratic National Committee
in March, 1066. He had been
deputy director of the News
and Information Division since
January, 1965.
During the 1964 campaign, he
worked with the News and In
formation Division of the Demo
cratic National Committee and
at the National Convention in
Atlantic City.
He was administrative assist
ant to Sen. J. Howard Edmond
son of Oklahoma for the two
years before coming to the Na
tional Committee. During the
four years Edmondson was
Governor of Oklahoma, Cris
well served as his press secre
tary.
A native Oklahoman, Cris
well attended the public schools
in Tulsa and Stigler and the
University of Tulsa, where he
(Continued on page two)
road Construction site in the
Hoskins section of Mecklen
burg County.
Mecklenburg County Police
said Holden apparently ran
behind a truck loaded with
asphalt that was backing up
to an asphalt spreader.
Other workers yelled in an
attempt to stop the truck, but
the driver had not seen Hol
den and had already backed
over him. The driver of the
truck was Ralph Carlton
Woodie of Salisbury.
Surviving are the father,
James Holden; the widow, Ma
bie Holden; a daughter, Mrs.
Ted Thomas of Zionville; a
sister, Mrs. Rosa Miller of
New Albany. Ind.; four bro
thers, Stanley Holden of
Louisville, Ky., Arthur Hol
den of Mountain City, Tenn.;
Clyde Holden of Gap Creek,
Tenn.; and Walter Holden of
Butler, Tenn.
Funeral services were con
ducted at i p. m. Wednesday
at Mable Baptist Church. Of
ficiating were the Rev. R. C.
Eggers and the Key. Charles
Young. 1
Spring Commencement
\ " ■ --'v
■ Z:
534To Receive Degrees
At College Next Friday
Dr. Colvard To
Be Speaker At
ASTC Finals
With Dr. Dean W. Colvard,
chancellor of the University of
North Carolina at Charlotte, as
speaker, Appalachian State
Teachers College will hold its
spring commencement program
Friday, May 27.
Graduate exercises are sched
uled for William J. Conrad
Stadium at 10:30 a. m.
A total of 534 students are
candidates for degrees. A total
of 467 undergraduates are cand
idates for the bachelor of arts
degree. From the graduate
school, 61 are candidates for the
master of arts degree.
The college is awarding the
degree of bachelor of arts for
the first time this spring, a lib
eral arts program have been
instituted in addition to the cur
riculums, mainly in teaching,
which already were offered.
Dr. Colvard, who is a native
of Ashe County, was with North
Carolina State College in Ra
leigh for 13 years before be
coming president of Mississippi
State University in 1960. He
served as dean of agriculture at
State College for seven years.
He has been prominent in ac
(continued on page two)
Fire Damage
Is Small At
Local Factory
The alertness of a person
living near Vermont-American
Corporation Sunday brought to
attention a mal-function inside
the plant, which unnoticed,
might have caused extensive
fire damage.
Paul Edmisten, superinten
dent of the newly established
plant, said controls on a heat
treat furnace — in which saw
blades are tempered—evidently
jammed, allowing the tempera
ture to exceed the normal
limit. Added heat in the build
ing caused exhaust fans to kick
open, allowing smoke to go out
of the building.
A neighbor spotted the
smoke and alerted the Boone
Fire Department about 1 p. m.
The normal stand-by tempera
ture of the furnace, Edmisten
said, is 1,400 degrees. No dam
age was recorded, other than to
some control mechanisms.
Democrats Go
To Convention
Wade G. Brown and Mrs. R.
C. Rivers, incumbent, both of
Boone, were elected to mem
bership on the State Demo
cratic Executive Committee at
the district caucus held Thurs
day prior to the State Conven
tion.
Mr. Brown was also named to
the committee on permanent or
ganization.
D. Grady Moretz, Sr. and
Charles Taylor were named as
Watauga members of the ninth
district executive committee.
Among those who went to
Raleigh for the caucus and con
vention are: Mrs. Rachel Hart
ley, Mrs. R. C. Rivers, Wade E.
Brown, George Thomas, Tom
Winkler, Grady Moretz, Jr.,
Mack Brown, J. C. Goodnight,
Rotert Bingham.
i
Gowns of metallic bine with gold trim will
.. . distinguish Watauga -High School's honor *
graduates at exercises on June 3. These
seniors rank scholastically in the top ten
per cent of the graduating class: Men—back
row, left to right—Frank Hayes, Ottie
Vance, David. Hy^y^ George Hylerand
Clarence Wilson; front row (1-r) Mike Sink,
Larry Cline, Randy Hart and Gregory Mast.
232 To Get Diplomas
At Watauga High School
Watauga High School offici
als will confer graduate de
grees upon 232 seniors at 8 p.
m. on June 3. The Baccalaure
ate service will take place at 8
p. m. on May 29 in the High
School Gymnasium.
The Rev. J. K. Parker will
deliver the invocation at the
Baccalaureate, and the Rev.
Richard Crowder will deliver
the sermon. Benediction will be
by the Revc. C. O. Vance. The
Watauga High School Band, di
rected by Otis F. Strother, and
the Watauga High School Con
cert Chorus, directed by James
Eugene Wilson Jr., will present
the musical program.
At the June 3 graduation ex- j
ercise, the band will be in
charge of the musical program.
Mike Sink will preside, and
Barbara Perry will lead the de
votional and Pledge to the Flag.
Senior speakers have been
selected on the basis of highest
scholastic achievement in their
class.
Diane Hagaman, Linda Rain
ey and Randy Hart will speak
on the theme, “Nothing Old
Under the Sun”.
Dr. N. A. Miller, principal,
will present the diplomas; W.
Guy Angell, superintendent of
the county school system, will
recognize the senior class and
Dr. Charles Davant, Watauga
County School ®oard, will con
fer the official declaration of
graduation.
Sponsors for the first senior
class to graduate from the new
Watauga High School are Mrs.
Mary McConnell, Miss Elizabeth
Elliott, William Ross, Walter
Broyhill, Fred Poplin, Mrs.
Janet Auten, Joel Tester and
Dale Walser.
Senior class officers are:
President, Ted Allen Brown;
vice-president, Ronald Alexand
er McCreary; secretary, Connie
Suzette Holtsclaw; and treasur
er, Jack Dean Lawrence Jr.
The senior class of 1966 com
prises:
Charles Edward Adams, Tho
mas Paul Adams, Norma Eg
gers Adisey, Lewis Hal Ander
son, Janice Melba Ayers, Velma
Pauline Baird, Larkin Edward
Beach, John Harvey Bentley,
Delmas Harrydewan Blalock,
Nancy Sue Bodenhamer, Rich
ard Wilson Bolling.
Kathleen Broadbent, Don
(Continued on page two)
Women honor graduates are (standing, lr)
Diane Hagaman, Charlene Greene, Betty
Hodges, Linda Rainey, Elaine Clawson, Mary
Glenn end Barbara Parry. Kneeling (Vr) era
Carolyn Davis, Nina Clawson, Rebecca
Rhodes, Geraldine Dishman, Linda Edmtaten
and Velma Campbell. (Staff photoe)