Ahead In Carolina
The Democrat led all N. C. weeklies
in 1965 Press Assn, contests. It
won first place in General Ex
cellence, Excellence in Typography,
Local News Coverage, Want Ads,
and Second in Display Advertising.
An Independent Weekly Newspaper . . . Seventy-Ninth Year of Continuous Publication
r
BOONE WEATHER
MSB HI Lo Snow Prec. as
lly 12 80 66
Jul.
July 13 78 63
July 14 87 66
July 15 75 63
July 16 74 61
July 17 72 60
July 18 81 54
JS8
.64
VOLUME LXXIX— NO. 3
BOONE, WATAUGA COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, JULY 21,1966
10 CENTS PER COPY
26 PAGES—« SECTIONS
88838338
3SSSS82S
Dr. W. H. Plemmons, right, chats with Sen.
Tom White of Lenoir County during visit of
State Advisory Budget Commission to the
campus of ASTC at Boone.
Fewer Watauga Farms,
Smaller Income Shown
R. DALE MORETZ, JR.
Dale Moretz
To Attend Yale
R. Dale Moretz Jr., has been
awarded a National Defense
Foreign Language Scholarship
to Yale University. The sum
mer language institute began
June 27 and will continue until
Aug. 19. Concentrated into
eight weeks is one full year of
Chinese.
(Continued on page 1, Sec. R)
A total of 1,969 farms was
counted in Watauga County
during the 1964 Census of Agri
culture, the U. S. Department
of Commerce’s Bureau of the
Census reports.
In the last previous Census
of Agriculture (1999), the total
counted in the county was 1,940
farms.
The 1964 total is published
in a preliminary report on the
county just issued. The report
also shows that average farm
size in the county was 64.1
acres and that the average value
of the county’s farms (land and
buildings) in 1964 was $13,498.
Other important county sta
tistics in the report are:
—Value of all farm products
sold by farms in the county in
1964, $2,988,661; in 1959, $3,
309,397.
—Value of all crops sold by
county farms in 1964, $1,288,
588; in 1959, $1,508,367.
—Value of all livestock and
livestock products sold by coun
ty farms in 1964, $1,708,373;
in 1959, $1,801,030.
A Census of Agriculture is
taken every five years in years
ending in “4” and "9” to gather
information on the nation’s agri
cultural resources and produc
tion. The data are needed to
make decisions affecting many
(Continued on page 2, Sec. B)
Northwestern Has
Record Growth
Edwin Dunoan, president of
The Northwestern Bank, at a
meeting of the Directors of The
Northwestern Bank held today
(Wednesday) at Hound Ears,
reported on the condition of
the Bank on June 20, 1966.
Resources of the Bank in
creased from $239,000,060 on
Jane 30, 1965 to $300,000,000
Jane 30, I960. This is an in
crease of 25 per cent. De
posits during this same per
iod of time increased from
$203,000,000 to $259,000,000,
an increase of $56,000,000 or
27 per cent since June 30,
1965. Loans increased $45,
000,900.
All of these totals are the
highest in the history of The
Northwestern Bank. The oper
ating profit after income taxes
for the first jdx months of the
year was $1 jgJOfr.fa or $1-34
per share. This additional pro
fit reflects the increased busi
ness volume of The Northwest
ern Bank, Mr. Duncan said.
Wives of the directors and
senior officers were invited to
Hound Ears for the day.
While the directors met, the
ladies visited points of interest
(Continued on page 3, Sec. B)
GEORGE P. HAGAMAN
r ormer Boone
Banker Dies
After Stroke
George Preston Hagaman, 83
years old, member of a promin
ent Watauga County family and
retired Boone banker, died at
Watauga Hospital Sunday. He
had suffered a stroke of par
alysis ten days ago.
Mr. Hagaman was born in
the Forest Grove section, Bea
ver Dam township, September
18, 1883, a son of Jacob Greene
Hagaman and Helen Elizabeth
Hayes Hagaman.
He served as cashier of the
Watauga County Bank from
1907 until its merger with the
Northwestern Bank system in
1938. He was connected with
the Northwestern Bank as an
official until his retirement in
December 1952.
He was educated in the
county schools and at Appala
(Continued on page 3, Sec. B)
$10 Million For Building
Budget Group
Visits Campus
Last Wednesday
Requests for capital improve
ments totalling $10,366,000 for
the 1967-69 biennium were sub
mitted to the State Advisory
Budget Commission on its visit
to the campus of Appalachian
State Teachers College last
Wednesday.
Largest request submitted
was one for $2,640,000 with
which to construct an addi
tion to the present Rankin
Science Building.
Two other requests were for
more than $1 million. The col
lege proposes to construct a
classroom building for business,
economics and the social sci
ences which would cost $1,
672,000. Another request was
for a sum of $3,600,000 with
which to construct dormitories
for 1,200 men and women. The
college presently is completing
three dormitories for women
and one for men under a self
liquidating plan and the sum
requested for the next bien
nium would be used in the
same, manner.
The college presently has
a building program totalling
more than $15,000,000 under
way with projects either In
various stages of construc
tion or on the planning board.
Several of the projects, such
as a Student Center and four
dormitories, are being fi
nanced either in a self-liqui
dating manner or through
participating student fees.
Dr. W. H. Plemmons, presi
dent, made Appalachian’s pre
sentation of requests to the
commission. Sen. Thomas White
of Lenoir County is chairman
of the commission.
inner members of the com
| mission are Edward O'Herron
of Charlotte, A. A. Zollicofer
of Vance County, Joe C. Eagles
of Macclesfield, Sen. W. Frank
Forsyth of Cherokee and Clar
ence Leatberman of Lincoln
ton.
Others accompanying the com
mission on the visit which is
part of a four-week tour of the
state were Ed Rankin, director
of administration for the state;
Robert Gatlin, assistant in the
department of administration;
Andrew Jones, budget officer;
Frank Turner, state property
officer; Robert Borne, property
engineer, and E s t o n Brick
house, state purchasing officer.
The college’s board of trustees
also attended the meeting.
Appalachian, with a full
time enrollment of 3,686 for
the 1965-66 year, is project
ing an enrollment of 4,500
for the 1967-68 year and 5,000
full. time students for 1968
69.
The requests were broken
dowD as follows:
Addition to Rankin Science
Building, total of 96,000 square
I (Continued on page 1, Sec. B)
Among Chamber of Commerce officers installed Tuesday of
last week (left to right), are Richard Atkinson, treasurer;
Stanley Harris, Jr., president; Mrs. Constance Stallings, secre
tary; and Col. Clyde Miller, who has been elected president
emeritus. (Staff photo).
JNew Officers Are installed By
Boone Chamber Of Commerce
Democrat Gets National Notice
The Watauga Democrat was one of 200 of the nation’s
newspapers to receive an award at the annual convention
of the National Newspaper Association in Boston, Mass.,
Saturday night.
There were 2,806 contestants, and the Democrat was
one of six winners in North Carolina. Winning entries
were displayed at the Boston convention.
Other winning North Carolina newspapers are the
Chapel Hill Weekly, Spindale Sun, Sanford Herald, Waynes
ville Mountaineer and the Newton Observer-News-Enter
prise.
Fred Michael Is
Tax Supervisor
FRED MICHAEL
%! Effective July 1, Frederick
4 Michael of Route 1, Banner
f Elk, succeeded Ralph G.
% Greene in the position of Tax
| Supervisor of Watauga County.
% Michael said Greene, who had
| been supervisor for one and a
| half years, retired from public
4 service.
j Michael was Greene’s assist
| ant, having started his work at
| the Courthouse in October,
| 1965. Prior to that time, he was
self-employed.
He is married to the former
Faith Townsend of Valle Cru
cis and they have three child
ren, Marsha, 10; Lee, 6; and
Rebecca, one and a half.
(Continued on page 1, Sec. B)
At Chamber of Commerce of
ficer - installation ceremonies
last week, Col. Clyde Miller
stepped down from the presi
dency and passed the gavel to
Stanley Harris Jr.
Mayor Wade E. Brown con
ducted the installation, recogni
zing each officer and director
during the program meeting.
His comments were followed
by a brief talk by Clyde R.
Greene, chairman of the execu
tive committee, who, on behalf
of the Chamber, presented the
retiring president a gift.
Col. Miller not only has been
elected president emeritus of
the organization, but has been
asked to serve as chairman of
the Roads Committee. His pre
sentation to the Highway Com
mission in Asheville last month
was a well-studied report on the
needs of the area, and the
Board of Directors asked him to
continue his work on the pro
ject.
New President
Stanley A. Harris Jr., a na
tive Wataugan, was elected
president by the Board of Di
rectors at the June meeting.
He is married to the former
Sarah Baynes of Winston
Salem. She is the daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Baynes of
Port Charlotte, Fla. Harris is
the son of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley
A. Harris Sr., Boone. '
A graduate of Cove Creek
High School, Harris received
his B. S. degree from ASTC.
He holds his M. B. A. degree
from New York University. He
also received his C. P. A. certi
ficate from the State of New
York. He is currently a profes
sor of accounting at ASTC and
a practicing accountant in
Boone.
Fred McNeal, manager of the
Boone Chamber of Commerce,
stated: “Mr. Harris is eminently
qualified for the position of
president, and we are looking
forward to a year of unparallel
ed accomplishments in the
Chamber of Commerce.
“We need the whole-hearted
support of every member if we
are to achieve what we must in
1966-67. There is much to be
done, but working together,
there is no doubt that the
Chamber will accomplish its
objectives.”
(Continued on page 1, Sec. B)
Land Bank Loans
Farmers 12 Billion
For some 3,500 people who
make their living from agricul
ture in Alleghany, Ashe, Avery,
Caldwell, Mitchell, Watauga
and Wilkes counties, July will
be a month-long testimony to
$100,000 Mental Health Center Being Sought
In Watauga, Alleghany and
Ashe counties, an estimated 25
per cent of persons being treat
ed for mental illness are child
ren, anS another 10 per cent
are teenagers. And, says Dr.
Brooke R. Johnson, administra
tor of the New River Mental
Health Center, more youngsters
should be receiving treatment
A planning program for a
comprehensive community men
tal health center will begin at
8 p. m„ Friday, July 22, in
Luncan Hall on the ASTC cam
pus. “The whole intent of the
proposed program,” the psy
chologist said, “is to treat the
majority (of those requiring
treatment) in their own cma
munitles, rather than in
Broughton Hoapital or another
state institution.”
On hand for the Watauga
County meeting Friday will be
the County Commissioners and
Glenn Andrews, Clyde Greene
and J. E. Holshouser Jr., who
comprise the local advisory
board. Dr. Johnson says "Bif
fore we start construction, we
have to have a program to
build around . . and the Fri
day evening session will give
interested individuals an oppor
tunity to contribute ideas at the
planning stage.
Money
If a $100,000 structure were
to m built in Watauga County,
4
only $15,000 would have to be
collected locally.
' Dr. Johnson: "In our area,
we're eligible for 85 per' cent
of the construction funds from
Federal and State sources to
build a comprehensive mental
health center.” The New River
Mental Health Center ia bow
applying for such funds.
“We have been trying tor
quite some time — in Ashe,
Alleghany and Watauga — to
develop a plan of treatment for
emotionally disturbed people
in the area . . . that will not on
ly treat patients now, but, in so
far as possible, will prevent re
currency.”
(Continued on page S, Sen B)
the fact that they—and most
other fanners—have turned out
to be pretty good businessmen,
after ail.
It will be the 50th Anniver
sary of the Farm Loan Act
which put farming on a busi
ness basis in the U. S. for the
first time in history. Farmers
at last were able to barrow
money on reasonable terms and
put it to wort as a production ,
tool. ■' :*i
John H. Hollar, manager of .*(
the Federal Land Bank Associa
tion of Boone, said that farm
ers at the turn of the century
were regarded as about the
poorest business risks imagin
able. “No one would tend them
money to operate the way a
(Continued <m page «, hAl)
*