WATAUGA DEMOCRAT
i An Independent Weekly Newspaper
ESTABLISHED IN 1888
IN TOP RANKS OF N. C. NON-DAILY NEWSPAPERS
In 1966 and 1967 the Democrat won ten State Press Association awards for General
Excellence, Local News Coverage, Excellence in Typography, Advertising,
Columns* Photographs. Five of these are first place awards.
Published tor 45 Years by Robert C. Rivers, Sr.
PUBLISHED THURSDAYS BY RIVERS PRINTING COMPANY, INC., OWNER
R. C. RIVERS, JR., Editor and Manager JEAN RIVERS, Associate Editor
RACHEL A. RIVERS, Managing Editor
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Entered at the postoffice at Boone, N. C., as second class matter, under the act of Congress of
March 3. 1879.
MEMBER NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION
NORTH CAROLINA PRESS ASSOCIATION
DrvrvMi? voptu n a pat tm a Tuupcn a \r opDTP»rtn?n ■% a
Good Outweighs Bad
When a daily newspaper can con
duct a survey of its coverage of youth
and youth activities and deduce that
there’s a lot more good than bad be
ing printed about youth, the weekly
newspaper industry can be especially
proud of its young people at the small
community level.
Here, for example, young people are
seen excelling in numerous worthwhile
pursuits, such as music, education and
scholarship competition, Red Cross vol
unteer service, sporting events, church
work, charity work, funds drives, 4-H,
Scouting and the list goes on.
Youth seems constantly to be posi
tive rather than negative, constantly
taking more interest in community af
fairs, and through constructive leader
ship, putting more and more spare
time in on volunteer work.
The survey to which we allude was
conducted by a large Midwest news
paper which analyzed its coverage of
young people’s activities over a four
week period.
The survey showed that for every
column inch of unfavorable youth news,
26 inches of positive news were printed.
For each time a youth’s name was
mentioned unfavorably, 91 names of
young people were mentioned favor
ably. The count for the month was
45 names on the “bad” side against
4,121 on the complimentary side.
There were 638 news items favorable
to teenagers and only 64 unfavorable
items. The score on photographs was
overwhelmingly favorable—302 to 2.
The survey seems to reflect credit on
the efforts of the metropolitan press to
reveal the huge majority of successful
youth activities, even though in many
cases it is impossible to assume that
heart-breaking events do not happen
in the younger generation.
Perhaps, then, the occasional charge
that the press would like to down
grade youngsters is to be discredited,
although the likelihood remains that
an ugly situation lives far longer in
the public’s memory than the thous
and accomplishments which offset it.
Open To The Public
The Artists and Lectures Series will
get underway next week on the campus
of Appalachian State University and
will be open to the public.
The caliber of these programs is
high indeed, providing enlightenment
for everyone in the community and
some valuable “cultural homework” for
our young people.
The first of the Series programs will
be an evening performance by McHenry
Boatwright, bass-baritone who has sung
major operatic roles with nationally
known companies and who has ap
peared on the Ed Sullivan Show and
in other television showcases. A first
place winner of several international
vocal competitions, McHenry will bal
ance long-hair selections and renditions
of spirituals in what may well be the
finest of recent campus events.
Other programs to be presented at
the university will be the Baltimore
Symphony Orchestra, the Yugoslav Na
tional Folk Ensemble, the Danish Gym
Team, a world-renowned violin-piano
duo and a session with John Ciardi,
the poet. And there will Be still
others this school year.
While Appalachian is burgeoning in
material growth, which is an offshoot
of its rapidly enlarging role in North
Carolina’s higher education, it con
tinues to expand its good relations in
the community.
It’s one of our biggest industries,
delivering a huge payroll, and a grow
ing one, to resident faculty and assist
ants; expanding its facilities for the
student body; popularizing the high
country for its educational resources.
Appalachian goes still another step,
building the reputation of the Series
and inviting the public to join the
student body and faculty in profiting
therefrom.
September
Last week it was Summer—or what has
passed for Summer this year. Now it is Sep
tember, a kind of fifth season. Autumn doesn’t
begin officially for another three weeks, and
unofficially till color sweeps the woodland, so
now comes in interim when Summer's left
overs are being disposed of and Autumn’s
finery is being readied.
Goldenrod beings tofade and asters, purple,
white and all the shades between, now will make
fencerow and roadside gleam. Bittersweet’s
bangle-berries begin to open their tan husks
and reveal rich Autumn orange. Virginia
creeper is a scarlet flame creeping up dead
poppies. Wild grapes begin to turn from green
to frosty purple. Sumac berries are red as
burgundy and the feathery fronds are lemon
yellow and orange and fiery red.
Pond and stream are wrapped in smoky
mist at dawn, and at dusk the misty smoke has
a tang of hearthfire. The midday sun is hot as
August or mild as October; the sky is blue as
June or gray as November. The breeze shim
mers with thistledown and milkweed floss. On a
gusty night the trees sigh and the leaves chatter,
through with the whispery gossip of Summer.
The owl hoots.
September is a kind of summation, a ripe
ness and a readying for the puase of Autumn
and the sleep erf Winter. Now we should savor
the harvest, in every sense, and celebrate Sep
tember.—New York Times
Inklings In Ink
BY RACHEL RIVEKS
u was a disappointment when the* irst Wa
tauga Horse Show had to be cancelled because
of rain.
But, on the other hand, a raindate (this
Saturday) had been publicized and so there
still is a big show to look forward to. And
we bet plenty of people are wondering if
they'll win the black pony that's to be given
away; youngsters six and under are excited
about the lead-line class, and some of them will
be in the pony classes as well; that at least
three folks we know still have their eyes
on the same trophy; that there'll be a lot of
barrel-racing practice going on this week
there’ll just plain be a lot of excitement.
A lot has been happening in the County’s
horse industry since the Cove Creek Horse
Show got started and helped local horse people
to pool their interests. And one of the finest
things that has come out of it all, in our
opinion, Is the high level of sportsmanship
folks have developed roundabouts. This is
rubbing off on young riders, who are increasing
In number regularly.
Is the basis of horse
showing, it seems, l he same people don’t
win all the time, for after all, if there were
only one combination that suited every judge
who came along, horse show sponsors would
buy blue ribbons and trophies for everyone,
and riders would pay a dollar or two to ride
around the ring before picking up their prize.
The Watauga Horse Show, which promises
to be a regular event each fall, should be a
further assist to the interests of riders.
Someone wanted to know yesterday what would
happen if it should rain again this weekend
and we said we guessed they’d use the third
raindate, which is Sept. 23. And that would be
all right, as showing in mud and rain isn't
much fun.
But we overheard the best solution last
week, when a young lady who intends to be
in the show announced that it isn't going to
rain this Saturday, no matter what. And we
wanted to know how she could be so sure.
“Well, if every one concentrates on sun
shine,*’ she beamed, “everyone will breathe
easier and blow more rain clouds awayt**
I
A Nudge That Hurts
LET’S you AN* ME SEE
WHO’S GIVING TH’ ORDERS—HUH?
FROM THE EARLY FILES OF THE DEMOCRAT
Dougherty Attends Meeting
School Superintendents
Sixty Years Ago
September 12, 1907
Prof. B. B. Dougherty
returned Sunday from the meet
ing of county superintendents
held in Montreat last week. He
reports a most pleasant trip
and a very interesting meeting
of the great educational body.
Anson Critcher and family,
of Mortimer, will move baek to
their old home at Blowing Rock
this week.
Harley, son of Rev. and Mrs.
J. H. Brendall, who completed
his course at the D. & D.
School at Morganton this sum
mer, left yesterday for
Washington, D.C., where he will
enter college.
T. F. Coffey and family, who
have spent some weeks in the
village, left for their home in
Manning, S. C., on Thursday
of last week.
Miss Harriet Greer, of Cald
well, is the guest of the Misses
Rlarkburn.
Rev. J. H. Brendall asks us
to say that he will not be able to
fill any of his appointments on
next Sunday as he will be out of
the state at that time.
The Confederate Reunion in
Boone on Wednesday and Thurs
day, Sept. 25 and 26.
Miss Margaret Sherrill has
opened school in the new build
ing at Valle Crucis. The good
people of the community are to
be congratulated upon pro
curing the services of this es
timable lady and most excel
lent teacher.
Capt. Jones, of Lenoir, who
did not arrive until Monday
night tells us that the town of
Lenoir voted $100,000 bonds
on Monday for water works and
street improvements.
Thirty-Nine Years Ago
September 13, 1929
Captain Roby Brown of
Shouns, was a weekend visitor
in town but his stay was entirely
too short as many were disap
pointed who did not have the
opportunity of seeing much less
entertaining the “grand old
man.”
Mrs. A. W. Beach of the Rich
Mountain section, who has been
in rather poor health for several
weeks is now the guest of rela
tives in Boone, taking treat
ment under Dr. J. B. Hagaman.
The condition of the good lady la
reported to be improving right
along.
John F. Cook pitched a two
hit game of baseball for the
Bamboo second team against
Oak Grove laat Saturday after
noon, the score being 11 to 6
in favor of Bamboo. In the laat
half of the ninth inning, Bamboo
sent in three pinchhitters, three
Hodge girls, and they did fine
work.
Mr. and Mrs. Albert Taylor
of Chapin, S. C. spent Thurs
day with Mr. and Mrs. C. M.
Bingham at Vilas. They are
visiting the mountains on their
Honeymoon. Mrs. Taylor is a
cousin of Mrs. Bingham.
Mr. Charles Farthing and
sister, Miss Elsie, are again
off for Carson and Newman
College Jefferson City, Tenn.
Where they enter as second year
students.
Fifteen Years Ago
Sept. U, 1952
Mr. and Mrs. William Broad
hurst and Mrs. Howard A Don
ald of Lexington, spent several
days with Mr. and Mrs. N. G.
Erneston.
Mr. and Mrs. Wallace L. Hill
and sons, Wallace Jr. and Ste
phen, of Jacksonville, Florida
are spending their vacation at
the home of Mrs. Hill's parents,
Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Kelsey on
Oak Street
Dr. and Mrs. J.B. Hagaman,
Sr., left Saturday for a week’s
vacation in the Smokey Mountain
National Park area.
Mrs. B. W. Stallings and Mrs.
Miriam Rabb attended the Bean
Festival in Mountain City, Tenn.
Friday.
Miss Catherine Smith of
Grand Blvd. is attending a con
ference of the college art teach
ers of North Carolina at
Women’s College in Qpeens
boro.
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth B.
Linney are visiting Mr. and
Mrs. P.O. Brewer in Raleigh
and Mr. and Mrs. W.L. Math
eson in Mooresville.
Mrs. Alonzo Payne of Marion,
Va. and Mrs. Fred Allen of
Miami Beach, Fla. visited last
week with their sister, Mrs.W.
G. Todd, and Mr. and Mrs. Joe
Todd.
The great Wilkes fair is on
at North Wilkesboro this week,
and Many Wataugans are in
attendance.
Edwin Hahn, Jr. was among
those entering Oak Ridge insti
tute at the recent fall opening.
Just One Thing
BT CARL GOERCH
In 1760, near the close of
the French and Indian War, the
General Assembly of North
Carolina put aside two thous
and pounds for the purchase
of Indian scalps.
Any person not in the
actual pay of the province who
presented to the Assembly the
scalp of an Indian, proving that
he had killed the enemy Ind
ian or had been present at
the killing, was to receive ten
pounds. The person in pay of
the province was to receive
only five pounds for each scalp
he produced.
We have a fellow feeling for
Mrs. Fred Campbell of Waynes
ville and sympathize fully with
the position she takes in con
nection with books that her
friends have borrowed.
In a recent issue of The
Mountaineer, Waynesville’s
progressive newspaper, we
came across the following
advertisement in the classified
columns:
IF THE PEOPLE having books
belonging to me will please
phone, I will be glad to pick
them up. Mrs. Fred Campbell.
Sign on the side of the Wake
County Courthouse:
JAILOR’S OFFICE
We thought an error had been
made in spelling so we looked
it up in the dictionary as soon
as we got back to the office.
Either JAILOR or JAILER is
correct.
Mrs. Will S. Fox of Hender
son sends in this little item:
“The late Mr. and Mrs.
AFTER ANOTHER
George M. Stainback of the
Gillburg community, Vance
County, raised seven children,
the youngestof whom has passed
her sixtieth birthday. One son,
who has been married twice, is
a widower. Every one of the
daughters are widows.”
Lacy T. Edens of Rowland re
cently went on his vacation.
When he returned home he felt
inspired to write this little piece
of poetry.
VACATION
Little bank roll, here we part;
Let me hug you to my heart,
In all the year I’ve clung to you;
I've been faithful, you've been
true.
Little bank roll in a day,
You and I will start away
To a good vacation spot—
I'll come back, but you will
not.
We stopped by the other day
to visit Mr. O. L. Boyette, who
lives near Princeton in John
ston County.
Mr. Boyette has a big china
ball tree in his back yard. Some
time ago, a branch broke off
and left a slightly decayed place
in the trunk.
Well, one day a bird came
along and dropped a seed in this
place. The seed started sprout
ing and guess what it turned out
to be?
A blueberry bush.
So now Mr. Boyette has s
blueberry bush growing out of
his china ball tree. He got
enough blueberries off it a
couple of weeks ago to make
a pie, and there still are plenty
of berries left on it.
KING STREET
BY ROB RIVERS
Color Seaton . . . Will Help Out
There's no getting around the fact, says the Waynesville
Mountaineer, that tourism in North Carolina and other East
ern States has been hard hit by rains during the past 60 days
. . . The Mountaineer adds: “The estimates which the travel
business Is down range widely—some say seven per cent others
nine and still others much higher . . . Smoky Mountains Na
tional Park officials believe the season will end with a nose
count of visitors higher than last year ... Of course the
mountains have one thing in their favor over the coast—the
color season can help to a large extent make iq> any deficit
which might not be wiped out as of September first . . ,
There are some long range predictions that we are in for a
beautiful fall and one that is ideal for travel. With so much
moisture in the ground it would appear from the specialists
that a beautiful color season is in store.” . . Cold weather is
always bad for the tourist business in this section . . .When
Boone residents wake up a-shiverin’ and turn up the heat
before At^ust is gone, the folks down in the hot country are
cooler too, and that makes for a slowdown in the travel to the
hills.
BITT SEPTEMBER often
brings some hot days to fetch
us some late refugees from Old
Sol’s torrid beams, and with
October in the wings, her fiery
garments all fitted for her
colorful journey through the
hills the roads will again be jam
packed for the brightness of her
journey over the high mountains
and down the little ridges and
into the quiet valleys . . . Au
tumn with her warm and flam
bo uyant colors, and winter with
her winds and her ice and her
snow are times of economic
benefit to the hill country .
. . We too believe the time of
nature’s colorama will easily
wipe out the travel deficit of
the rainy, chilly summer.
Visitors . . Some
Are Unwelcome
Folks who come to see us—
all sorts and ages and conditions
of people, are always welcomed
. . . Once in a while we have
visitors over on the hill,
however, who don't suit us at
all . , . Like Thursday night
when some one made two trips
into our little private drive
way with some sort of truck,
and couldn't abide the pavement
but felt impelled to run down the
steep part of our, lawn, di
agonally to the comer of Rivers
and Moretz streets . . . The
sod showed two sets of tracks,
and unhappily the driver of the
machine managed to negotiate
th6 considerable ditch at th^ bot
tom of his ihad drive Without
cracking up or breaking his neck
. . . Why the visitor would
have made two tries at our little
dead-end nook we don’t know .
. . Presuming that he's sobered
up before now, if he’ll come back
some day we'll give him a hub
cap he lost when he scraped a low
retaining wall near our house
which we had no craving to have
scratched up . . . And we'd
respectfully ask that he use the
drive way next time ... It
was, after all, developed at con
siderable expense for vehicular
traffic and for friends who
sometimes walk up the hill.
Velocipede Been
Here Long Time
The youngsters used to recite
a tongue-twister which went:
“When the vimminof the vaude
ville ride velocipes round the
vestibule." . . But we
wouldn't have known without
the Statesville Record that this
year is the sequicentennial of
the velocipede ... A German
forester named Freiherr Drais
assembled the two-wheeled con
traption and named it in the sum
mer of 1817 . . . Velocipede
means fleet foot, and since the
first one had no pedals, one more
or less walked sitting down,
which in effect, he still does, but
faster ... A heap of shoe
leather was left on the gravel
and clay during the next 35 years
at the end of which Moritz Fis
cher developed the pedals, chain
and sprockets ... In 1888
and Irish veterinarian named
Dunlop introduced inflatable
tires ... In the nineties,
dad said bicycling became ex
tremely popular in Boone and
perhaps elsewhere, a man's
economic status being reflected
by the quality of “wheel" he
rode . . .25 million bicy
cles are produced in the world
every year, erf which the United
States builds 5 million . . .
Germany leads in one statistic.
There are 70 bicycles for every
100 families in that country—
which makes the invention still
as popular as the television set.
Milk Of Human
Kindness
James Greer of Vilas comes
by in his pickup truck hauling
a lost of roasting ears, which we
always called “rossen ears”,
and gives us an armload of them,
right fresh from his dewy gar
dens ... He has our thanks
for his kindness . . . Emmet
Oliver, who keeps some bees,
brings us a quart jar of pure
aourwood honey, which he got
in the Virginia mountains , .
. Emmett says the bees made
plenty of “red honey*’this year,
but that the sour wood bloom in
this immediate area didn't bring
forth much honey , . . But we
appreciate the generous gift of
some of “the real thing,*’
Uncle
Pinkney
HIS PAL AVERIN’S
DEAR MISTER EDITOR
I didn’t git to the session at
the country store Saturday night
on account of some of my old
lady’s kinfolks dropped in on us
fer the week end. They didn’t
seem to know nothing about the
bad shape things was in around
Washington and the country in
general and all they talked about
was how much money they was
making and how fur ahead of
the Joneses they was gitting. I
couldn't squeeze in a word
in edgewise and all I could do
was set and listen.
After they took off Monday
morning I was thinking about
having a word with my old lady
about roaming kinfolks but I
changed my mind. I was like
the feller when the Judge ask
him if he'd ever been mad
enough to bop his wife one and
he said he’d been mad enough
but he didn't never have the
If you don’t git to the session
at the store Saturday night you
ain’t got what them Washington
column writers calls a “con
sensus” on the situation, and
all you know is what you read
in the papers. The fellers at
the store usual diagnozes the
news and you git to the real
bottom of things.
But I've clipped several
pieces out of the papers that I
aim to take to the store Satur
day night and git diagnozed.
First off, I see where the Con
gress is fixing to make the
third Monday in February legal
fer Washington’s Birthday, the
last Monday in May fer Me
morial Day, the first Monday
in July fer Independence Day,
the last Monday in October fer
Veterans, Day, and the fourth
Monday in November fer
Thanksgiving Day.
I don’t know how the fellers
will vote on them new birth
days but fer my personal, Mis
ter Editor, having Thanksgiving
on a Monday instead of Thurs
day was desicrating the graves
of our Pilgrim forefathers.
Them Coungressmen had ought
to be ashamed of theirselves.
But it looks like we was slow
but shore doing away with all
our old American traditions. I
can recollect, fer instant, when
you'd go to church on Sunday
and they would be a half dozen
sweet, little old white-haired
grandmothers setting in the
front pews. Today nobody but
the wimmen at the beauty par
lors knows which ones was
grandmothers and which ones
was gitting ready fer their first
wedding.
And here’s one I clipped fer
the fellers Saturday night. The
Civil Service Commission has
give a new order fer all work
ers: “In the event of attack on
the United States and until fur
ther notice A. Section 831.107of
Subpart A Subsections 831.502
(B) and (2) and (C) (a) and (2)
Subpart E are suspended andB,
Part M-831 is added to the Com
mission regulations." I want
to see Clem Webster erf the Great
Society diagnoze that one, Mis
ter Editor.
Yours truly,
, UNCLE PINK