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 ""'Mg' ,A; BOONS WEATHEK ■ * - H‘ Loaoow bee. 9 49 24 Dec. 8 94 26 Dee. 7 61 33 Dee. 8 80 43 Dee. 9 49 33 Dee. 10 90 39 .33 Dec. 11 49 39 1.38 10 CENTS PEE COPY 28 PARRS_51 swr»rrmwe assssssa easseessp united STATES fcOONE •ORTH Par PERCHED HIGH ABOVE the sidewalk lamp post, a Christmas star beams brightly. The beacon is part of the city’s decorations, according to Boone Post Office officials. This is the second year the star has been placed there. (Staff photo) New Crafts Cooperative Being Formed In Region Area craftsmen who have been selling through the WAMY Crafts program voted Dec. 4 in Newland to form a new and in dependent crafts cooperative to be known as “Blue Ridge Hearthside Crafts, Inc.” The purpose of the new crafts association will be to assist craftsmen in buying raw ma terials, producing crafts, and selling the finished products. Legally, the group will be a mutual association, which will Elementary Choruses To Give Yule Program a program of L hristmas music will be given by the two Mixed Choruses at Appalachian Elementary School Friday, Dec. 15. Performances will be pre sented in the school auditorium at 10 a. m. and at 2 p. m. Both programs are open to the public, with parents of participating students especially invited to W. H. S. Assists Needy Students at Watauga High School this week are busily en gaged in putting together Oper ation Christmas Spirit. Toys and food are being amassed and Friday will be taken to the Boone Worthwhile Women's Club House where they will become part of the W. W. C.’s annual Empty Stocking Fund. Each of the 39 homerooms is responsible for collecting a box and students are studying for examinations, which this year come before the Dec. 21 recess for Christmas. attend. One hundred sixty students are members of the two choruses, organized this year. Selected from grades five through eight, requirements for membership are good citizenship, musical ability and acceptable classroom work. Student piano accompanists for the program are Kathy Cot trell, grade five; Lowell Fur man, grade six; and Linda Sher rill, Janie Ray, Kathy Bos worth, Geiselle Isley, grade eight. The groups are directed by Mrs. Gaynelle Wilson. The programs will include both sacred and secular music. sell capital stock and operate on a nonprofit basis. The decision to incorporate was made by 25 craftsmen representing Watauga, Avery, Mitchell and Yancey. About 125 craftsmen from the four counties have participated in organizational meetings over the past eight months. It is ex pected that the Articles of In corporation will be filed in Raleigh before the first of the year. Officers elected at the meet ing were Mrs. Carrie Reese of Watauga County, secretary; and Mrs. Dorothy Brewer of Avery county, treasurer. Marketing Specialist Ruffin Tucker, who has been advising the craftsmen in the formation of the association, listed several advantages the organization will offer: 1. It will have enough fin ancing to buy raw materials at bulk prices for all member craftsmen. 2. The establishment of the trade name, “Blue Ridge Hearthside Crafts,” will re sult in better prices and quick er national recognition for the (Continued on page two) First National Bank Wins In Club Christmas Contest The First National Bank took first place in the Worthwhile Woman’s Club’s Keep Christ in Christmas contest. Mrs. Ruby Weston, project chairman, said 22 businesses were entered when judges made the rounds Friday mornir^. Entrants used religious themes, which were considered for their religious significance and artistic effects. Second place winner was Pat's Beauty Salon and Boone Insurance Agency was third. The Reverends C. 0. Vance, Todd Ferneyhough and J. K. Parker Jr. and Mrs. Jerry Coe judged the community contest and awarded honorable mention to five others: The Northwestern Bank, Linzy’s Hobby crafts, McGuire's Beauty Salon, Mayflower Beauty Shoppe and Ruby’s Beauty Salon. Northwest Development Association Watauga Wins Agriculture Division In Area Contests WM w ... -■ Matney Given Community Award Of $75 Watauga County has won the $100 agriculture division of the Northwest N. C. Development Association contest. Matney Community was given $75 and honorable mention in the com munity development category. The County Extension Office submitted the following report in competing with 10 other counties for the prize: The most outstanding ac complishment in the agricul tural program in Watauga County in 1967 was the organ izational work and actual con struction of the Watauga Coun ty Livestock Market, Inc.This modern livestock auction barn, complete with heated sale ring and auction space, covers an area 310 feet long and 120 feet wide with 66 large live stock pens complete with wa tering troughs and hay feeding racks. The facilities will han dle approximately 2,000 cal ves under r 'of and lot space outside is available for dou ble this number and could be expanded even more. This is a home owned en terprize as approximately 130 livestock producers of Wa tauga County and few from out side the county, purchased stock and helped plan and build the physical plant. This was all accomplished between January 1, 1967 and Septem ber 1, 1967 when the first sale was held in the new facilities. me weetuy aucuon sales held on Friday of each week has handled more than 6000 cattle or an average of over 500 per week. Three special sales have been held to date, in which 3940 cattle were sold and one purebred Hereford sale was held in October. One section of the sale barn is especially designed for the use of registered cattle breed ers to display and parade their cattle at halter. During 1967 the North State Canning Company enlarged their kraut plant by construct ing a new building 100 by 200 (Continued on page two) DR. JOHN G. BARDEN Dr. John Barden Gets Emeritus Status At ASU The Board of Trustees of Appalachian State University lias granted emeritus status to Dr. John G. Barden, who re tired last spring after 23 years of service to the institution. Dr. Barden, a native of Golds boro, came to Appalachian in 1944 from Presbyterian Col lege where he had been chair man of the department of edu cation. Previously he had taught in various North Carolinia cities in addition to serving for 10 years as director of education for the Methodist Mission in the Belgian Congo. The new Professor Emeritus cf Education at ASU received his A. B. degree from the Uni versity of North Carolina and earned his A. M. and Ph. D. degrees at Columbia University. Dr. Barden resides in Boone. ‘The Altar Of Christmas9 ihe Cherub, Primary and Junior Choirs of the First Baptist Church Sunday will sing “The Altar of Christmas,” music of which was composed by Mrs. Esther Mary Fuller, summer resident of Boone. The choirs will be directed by Mrs. Johnny Barnett in the program scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Dec. 17. Mrs. R. D. Hodges will lead the narration, to be pre sented by members Diane Greer and Nancy Greene of the youth choral group. Through song and narration, "The Altar of Christ mas” will demonstrate some of the gifts even a child may lay upon the altar in honor of the Greatest Gift ever given to man. Mrs. Fuller is well-known for her books of children’s songs and many of her anthems have been sur« by First Baptist adult choir. Singers in the Cherub Choir (front row from left) are David Denton, Johnny Barnett, Timmy Timmons, Sandy Snead, Susan Trivett, Janie Younce, Carol Lea Hodges, Daphne Strickland and Julia Trivett. In the primary choir (second row); Paula Hagaman, Anna Lynn Hodges, Elaine Denton, Karen Younce, Barbee Furman, Pamela Barnett, Johnny Greene and Kathy Ann High. Third row (Primary Choir) Bobby Haas, Mary Lee Denton, Judy Owen, Carol Carpenter, Mark Tri vett, Jimmy Graham and Mike Teem. Junior Choir (fourth row): Libby Greer, Susan Furman, Valerie Barnett, Debbie Minton, Randy Farthing, Fred Wilson, Benjie Strickland, Ronnie Marsh and Mrs. Johnny Barnett, director; (fifth row) Angie Strick land, Cherri Strickland, Shelly Wilson, Robin Robinson, Gerald Hodges, Stephen Poe, Lesley Marsh and Ted Hagaman. (Weston photo) Watauga County Does Part In Boosting Record Gross Product With economic activity in the local area at a high level in the past year, Watauga County did its proportionate share in carrying the gross national pro duct to a new record. The local rise was due, chiefly, to a substantial in crease in consumer spending for goods and services. The facts and figures on the year's performance are con tained in reports from the U. S. Department of Commerce, Knouse Named Service Head For BREMCO Cecil Viverette, general manager of the Blue Ridge Elec tric Membership Corporation, announced today that Ronald J. Knouse has been appointed manager of the Member and Community Services Depart ment of the organization. Knouse is a native of Win ston-Salem and comes to Blue Ridge Electric from the Wilkes County Chamber of Commerce where he has served as Execu tive Manager for the past four years. During this period the budget for the Chamber of Com merce more than doubled and the industrial growth in Wilkes County was substantial. The in ternal structure of the organi zation was strengthened by re organization which included the establishing of a public affairs department. While serving as Executive Manager erf the Cham ber of Commerce, Knouse was selected by the U. S. Chamber oi Commerce to serve as class advisor to students studying the principles of organization management at the University at Georgia, Athens, Georgia, where Knouse received a degree in the principles of organization management, U. S. Chamber of Commerce. (Continued on page two) from the National Industrial Conference Board and from other sources. They show that the gross national product (GNP), which is the dollar value of all goods and services produced in the country, hit a new high of $743 billion in the year, which was 8.7 percent more than the year before. The great bulk of it, $465 billion, or 63 percent of the total, represented personal con RONALD J. KNOUSE Gifts Asked For Orphans’ Home A small group of Boone busi ness men annually promote a fund to provide a special Christ mas treat for the little chil dren at Grandfather Home, Ban ner Elk. A considerable number of others have joined in this effort to bring added cheer to those who are being reared in the orphans* home. Those willing to contribute to the fund this year are asked to do so at once. Gifts may be left with Guy Hunt, Wiilys Chester, James Marsh or Rob Rivers. sumer expenditures, accordir* to the reports. The other 3 percent covered capital invest ments for industrial expan sion and the money spent b Federal, state and local govern ments, including the outlay foi the war in Vietnam. Watauga County’s share ol the amount spent nationally for goods and services by consum ers came to $30,664,000. Of that total, $2 2,712,000 went for food, furniture, housewares, Rotary Club Is Making Plans For Ladies Night Dr. Nicholas Erneston will give a violin solo program at the Christmas Ladies Night Program of the Boone Rotary Club, Thursday evening, Dec. 14, at Holiday Inn. He will be accompanied at the piano by Mrs. Reba Moretz. Christmas Carol singing by Ro tarians and the wives and friends will conclude the pro gram. The Rev. C. 0. Vance of the Greenway Baptist Church gave inspirational and original talk on the Christian ideals sug gested by the circumstances of the travel of the Three Wise Men to the birth of Jesus at the meeting Thursday night. f Assignments were made by Chairman, Dr. James Graham, for the Christmas visitation to crippled children, to be pro vided Christmas gifts of cloth ing and toys from the Rotary Crippled Children Fund. Fifteen handi npped young sters will be tahwn care of in this way this Christmas. Three members of the club will go to gether to the home of each child and bring him or her to Boone to be outfitted though the sub stantial sum available for each child. apparel and other purchases in local retail stores. The rest of it, approximately $7,952,000 was spent for car maintenance, repair work of various kinds, laundry, per sonal grooming, travel, enter tainment and the many other items that come under the head of “services.*' Included in this category is the amount paid for rent, or, in the case of home owners, the rental value of their homes. Local spending for goods and services has reached a point well above what it was three years ago, when a similar study was made. At that time, the total outlay was $24, 971,000. The increase was attributed to greater consumption, on the one hand, and on the other, to the higher cost of living. Preliminary figures indicate that a further rise in the GNP is in the making this year,des pite the fact that people are saving more than usual. WHS Band Plans Yule Concert The annual Christmas concert of the Watauga High School Bud will begin at 3 p. m. Sunday in the school gymnasium. Director will be Otis Stroth er. The public is Invited to attend. Mrs. Watson Named Stickley Chairman Mrs. Hobart Watson of Vilas has been named Chairmu of the Women (or Stickley Committee hi Watauga County. Ralph Greene of Boons had previously been named county chairman tor the Stickley lor 1 Governor Cnmmtttso. |