AWARD WINNER
In 1966 and 1967 the Democrat won
10 State Press Assn, awards for
General Excellence, Excellence in
Typography, Local News, Adver
tising, Columns and Photographs.
WATAUGA DEMOCRAT
An Independent Weekly Newspaper . . . Eightieth Year of Continuous Publication
BOONE
1MT HI ho
Aug. 15 75 50
Aug. 1« 74 40
Aug. 17 75 50
Aug. 18 77 55
Aug. 19 78 57
Aug. 20 73 60
Aug. 21 70 61
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XI
76 61
80 61
80 66
77 60
60 68
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VOL. LXXX—NO. 8
BOONE, WATAUGA COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 1967
10 CENTS PER COPY
20 PAGES—2 SECTIONS
Airport
Issue Is
Clarified
The Watauga County Airport
Commission, in an effort to
clear up misconceptions that
have arisen concerning location
of an airport in Watauga County,
offers the following restatement
of its position:
“The Commission is intere
sted in an airport that can handle
commercial traffic. TheDeer
field-Bamboo area of Watauga
County does not offer adequate
approach distance for a com
mercial facility.
“Wherefore, the present air
port at Deerfield Hoad will not be
extended, nor will a new airport
be built in that area.”
The statement was submitted
by Robert Bingham, secretary
treasurer for the Commission.
Counter Checks
To Be Replaced
By Local Banks
The Federal Reverse Bank,
of which Northwestern and First
National of Boone are members,
will refuse to handle checks that
do not have magnetically in
scribed bank transit numbers.
The change-over to the new
system will begin Sept. 1.
Counter checks now supplied
by local businesses will be
removed and replaced with
checks bearing the inscription
of the local banks* transit num
bers.
Each bank will have an identi
fication number which can be
recorded by computer methods.
There will be no universal
checks, nor can a person any
longer change the name of the
bank on a printed check, of
ficials say.
Student Loses Tons—1
In Mower Accident
Bobby Shipley was expected
to return home Monday night,
having been a patient at Wa
tauga County Hospital since a
power mower accident Tuesday,
Aug. 8.
Son of Mr. and Mrs. R. G.
Shipley of Vilas, Bobby lost
four toes from his right foot
while he was mowing the lawn
barefoot. His mother says
doctors think he will be able
to return to State University
Raleigh in September.
PAT MOZINGO of Charlotte, a student at Appalachian State University at Boone and “Miss
Watauga County”, acqaired another title at Grandfather Mountain over the weekend when she
won the “Carolinas Photo Queen” pageant sponsored by the Carolinas Press Photographers
Association as a part of the Grandfather Mountain Camera Clinic.—Morton Photo.
Goes To North Carolina Fund
Eppley Resigns WAMY Post
The executive director of
WAMY Community Action re
signed last week to accept a
position with the North Caro
lina Fund.
New Trustee
Of University
Is Appointed
Dr. Hugh Daniel, Jr. of
Waynesville was named Friday
by Governor Moore as a new
member of the Board of
trustees at Appalachian State
University, and will take of
fice at onec.
He is president of the Way
nesville Area Chamber of Com
merce.
Dr. Daniel, former president
(Continued on page two)
DR. HUGH DANIEL
Ernest D. Eppley will be
leaving WAMY Sept. 10, ac
cording to an announcement
Tuesday by Dr, W. H. Plem
mons, chairman of the WAMY
Board of Directors.
In announcing the resigna
tion, Dr. Plernmons stated the
Board's regret at Eppley's de
cision.
In Durham, N. C. Fund Di
rector George Esser said
Epptey will work with 11 com
munity action agencies receiv
ing financial support from the
North Carolina Fund. WAMY is
one of them.
His work will be evaluation
to the agencies on problems
and special projects.
"Ernest Eppley has as
sembled an outstanding staff
and, supported by a hard-work
ing, sensitive board of direc
tors, has built a strong
program," Esser said. "His
system for coordinating ac
tivities of local agencies ii
especially outstanding. The In
centive Grants program foi
small neighborhood group im
provement projects has attract
ed nationwide attention.’*
44WAMY also has developed
many solutions to problems ol
administering anti-poverty pro
grams over large geographic
areas/’ Esser continued,
“reaching people in out of the
way locations while still main
taining close coordination with
the program’s administration/*
Eppley became executive di
rector of WAMY in September,
1964, and was the first person
employed by the newly-formed
agency.
“Under his direction, WAMY
and the local school systems
developed and operated one of
the first Head Start programs
in the nation in the summer of
1965. The local Neighborhood
Youth Corps program was also
Horn In West Ends
Season Saturday
•‘Horn in the West*’ ends
its 16th consecutive outdoor
drama season on Saturday
night.
Last week was the best of
the 1967 season in attendance,
as a total of 4,275 viewed the
vivid drama in Daniel Boone
Theatre. 1 he year's largest
crowd of 1,382 attended Sat
urday's performance to hike
the season's total paid ad mis
slons to 25,439.
Officials of the Southern
Appalachian Historical As.
sociation, sponsors of the
‘•Horn*’, were hopeful that good
weather would enable the drama
to draw another 4,000 specta
tors this week. Such an attend
ance In this closing week would
bring he season’s total up to
the average of the past several
years.
one of the first to be operated
in the country, and the two
programs are now ranked among
the best now in operation,**
Esser said.
Other new programs which
have been taken up by other
community action agencies are
the Friendly Home Visitor,
Moutain Crafts, and Incentive
(Continued on page two)
Ralph Greene
Stickley Aide
In Watauga Co.
Ralph G. Greene of Boone has
been named campaign chairman
of the Draft Stickley Governor
Committee in Watauga County.
The appointment was an
nounced Saturday by William E.
Cobb of Morganton, former GOP
State Chairman.
Mr. Greene, whom Mr. Cobb
said was “a life-long active
Republican,*’ is retired from the
postal service where he ended
his career as a postoffice in
spector. He had since served
as Tax Supervisor for Watauga
County.
In accepting the appointment,
Greene said: “Jack Stickley
looks to be the first Republican
Governor of North Carolina in
the twentieth century.**
Fifty other county managers
were named for the Stickley
campaign in the State by Mar
cus T. Hickman of Charlotte,
State Campaign for the Stick
ley organization.
At Appalachian University
Bids To Be Received On
Classroom Building
Structure To
Cost Million And
Half Dollars
Bids will be opened Sept. 21
on a modern, five-story class
room building which will house
the academic departments of
English, foreign languages and
philosophy and religion at Appa
lachian State University.
The building, which is ex
pected to cost $1,656,250, will be
erected on the current site of
Old Lovill Hall, an ancient
dormitory which is to be re
moved from the campus within
a few weeks.
It will be constructed at the
east end of a proposed open mall
which will be bordered on the
west end by the new library
which already is under con
struction.
Ned Trivett, Dorector of Bus
iness Affairs at ASU, said the
construction of the new class
room building will complete
current long-range plans for
the interior of the campus.
The building, to contain about
70,000 square feet of floor
space, will be of brick and stone
design. It is expected to be ready
for occupancy shortly after the
opening of the fall quarter of the
1968-69 academic year.
The State Legislature re
cently appropriated $1,037,500
tor. use in the construction. A
$518,750 Federal grant through
the Higher Education Facilities
Act has been awarded to pro
vide the remainder of funds re
quired for the project
Architects for the structure
are Clemmer-Horton-Bush As
sociates of Hickory.
H. G. Farthing
Is Named To
State Board
GRADY FARTHING
H. Grady Farthing, Boone
savings and loan official, was
named last week by Governor
Moore to membership on the
State Board of Water and Air
Resources.
This board was established
by the last Legislature upon
recommendation of the Gover
nor, who says “this is one of
the most important State
boards.”
The State Stream Sanitation
Commission, of which Mr.Far
thing was vice-president, is
abolished by the new board. Mr.
Farthing was a member of that
body for 16 years and was
appointed by Governors Scott,
Umstead, Hodges and Moore.
Prior to that time he had served
21 years with the Wildlife and
Natural Resources division of
the Department of Conservation
and Development.
Mr. Farthing is President of
the Watauga Savings & Loan
Association and has been a
member of the Board of Di
rectors for over forty years. He
has engaged in many local civic
and church activities.
TRANSPORTATION WAS READYfor the opening of school Monday. During the summer, Wataugn’s
60 school buses were put in tip-top shape. Twenty-four of the buses got new coats of paint. Holding
the stop signal to remind drivers to observe all laws in regard to school buses, Patrolman W. D.
Team completes an inspection tour on the bus lot near the County garage. Drivers, who are high
school students, attended an orientation class conducted Friday by patrolmen and received their
assignments. (Staff photo)
Horn Actors Wind Up Pushing
Plane From R unway A t A tlanta
They sailed through the air
with the greatest of ease . . .
but wound up pushing their plane
off the runway.
The principals in the drama
of Sunday, Aug. 13, were “Horn
in the West” players Cherie
Elledge, Martin Bright, Karen
Shaffer, Jane Von Boskirt,
Phyllis MacBryde and Jack
Prescott.
Prescott, piloting a single
engine Cessna 185, said he
started from the Deerfield Road
Air Strip that afternoon, head
ing for Atlanta, Ga., where the
group was to see a performance
of “Guys and Dolls” in At
lanta's Municipal Auditorium.
As the plane approached the
Municipal Airport in Atlanta,
the pilot said he asked one of
his companions to time him,
counting two minutes before
the plane would pull in behind
a landing jet.
And there occur red the error.
Prescott said Bright called out
“one minute’* in the countdown,
but Prescott misunderstood and
prepared to land.
Caught in rotating airstreams
thrown off by the jet, the plane
began to gyrate wildly, he said,
nearly overturning as the craft
was about to touch down.
On the ground, the Cessna was
battered from side to side, com
ing to a stop in the middle of
the runway with a bent right
wing tip, and jets were landing
every two minutes. Uninjured,
Crafts Exhibit Set
For Blowing Rock
The First Mountain Folks
Craft Exhibition will be held
Labor Day weekend in the Blow
ing Rock Municipal Park.
Mr. and Mrs. Steve Wiland,
VISTA Volunteers sent from
Washington to work with crafts
Brown Is Named
By Governor To
Paroles Board
Gov. Dan Moore announces the
appointment of W ade E. Brown of
Boone to the Board of Paroles.
Brown, who succeeds William
H. Gibson, who resigned to be
come director of the N. C. Pro
bation Commission, will serve
a term expiring July 1, 1970.
An attorney, Brown has been
engaged in the general practice
of law in Boone for 36 years
and was mayor of Boone from
1960 to 1967.
He served in the N. C. General
Assembly as a member of the
Senate in 1947 and in the House
in 1951, representing Watauga.
A Democrat, he has served as a
member of the N. C. Democratic
Executive Committee.
Brown graduated from Mars
Hills College in 1928 and re
ceived the LLB degree from
Wake Forest in 1931. He is a
Baptist and has served as chair
man of the First Baptist Board
of Deacons, Sunday School
Superintendent, Trustee of Wake
Forest College, president of the
Boone Lions Club, president of
the Boone Chamber of Com
merce and member of the Board
(Continued on page two)
men and the WAMY crafts pro
gram, will be in charge of the
Sept. 2 event.
The day-long exhibition is
being sponsored by the Blowing
Rock Chamber of Commerce in
co-operation with VISTA and
WAMY, the Wilands say.
Mountain crafts will be on
display and craftsmen will
demonstrate such arts as spin
ning, whittling, burlap rug hook
ing, mountain music and making
corn shuck dolls. Among them
will be craftsmen who last month
were part of the Smithsonian
Exhibition in Washington.
Plans are being made to move
the Exhibition indoors in case
it rains.
The Wilands say the purpose
of the Exhibition is to create
and maintain a local crafts
market.
$107 Taken From
Bus Terminal
Boone police are running an
investigation on the breaking
and entering of the local bus
station Saturday night.
The culprit chose a unique
way of entering—hy wading the
creek between the buildings,
Chief Red Lyons reports.
Painters had worked in the
station restroom that afternoon
and had left the window, which
had iron bars, open for the
night.
The robber pried open the
bars and entered the main of
fice of the station. He escaped
with $107, but no equipment
was taken or damaged.
(Continued on page two)
the pilot and passengers de
planed and with the help of men
from a nearby hangar, pushed
the light craft out of the way.
The Boone people were able
to attend “Guys and Dolls” and
met several of the cast. Return
trip was by rented car.
Prescott said Monday that
the Cessna, which he had bor
rowed from Boone businessman
Paul Brown, still is in Atlanta
and may be trucked back to
North Carolina. An official es
timate of damage to the craft
was not available.
1
MICHAEL AHERN
Michael Ahern
Promoted At
Blue Ridge Shoe
The Board of Directors of the
Melville Shoe Corporation has
ratified the appointment of
Michael C. Ahern of Boone as
a vice-president of the Blue
Ridge Shoe Company.
Connected with the shoe in
dustry for 32 years, Ahern’s
experience with Melville Shoe
dates back to 1935 when he
joined the J. F. Me El wain Com
pany, a northern division ct the
Melville Corporation.
He was transferred to Wilkee
boro, the site of the first plant
established in the southern di
vision, in 1961, and became
the first plant manager, a
position which he held until
1962.
Ahern returned to
Shoe Company in
the position of
tendent. He has
position with the
i
cost