AWARD WINNER
In last 3 years Democrat has won
14 State Press Assn, awards. Eight
of them are first place awards.
WATAUGA DEMOCRAT
An Independent Weekly Newspaper . . . Eighty-First Year of Continuous Publication
July 2
July 3
July 4
July 5
July 6
July 7
July 8
BOONE WEATHER
Hi Lo Snow Prec ’87 HI Lo
86 62
78 60
72 54
74 54
80 51
79 55
76 58
.19
74 62
74 59
69 53
73 44
65 57
63 57
71 61
VOL. LXXXI— NO. 2
BOONE, WATAUGA COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, JULY 11, 1968
10 CENTS PER COPY
24 PAGES—2 SECTIONS
Capital Improvements Program Mapped
Appalachian State University Asks For $16,039,000
The Advisory Budget Com
f mission of North Carolina Tues
1 day received requests for capi
tal improvements totality $16,
039,000 for the 1969-71 bien
nium from Appalachian State
University.
The requests were submitted
by ASU President Dr. W. H.
Plemmons as the Commission
met that afternoon on the Appa
lachian campus.
The specific requests, in or
der of priority, in the capital
improvements category were
as follows:
—$700,000 for land pur
chases, deemed as one of the
most critical needs of the uni
versity at the present time.
Funds are needed to purchase
the Dougherty property west of
Duncan Hall, two lots and other
property on Appalachian Street,
Andrews and Town of Boone
property adjoining AS U property
west of the campus, property
east of faculty row on Faculty
Street, and property adjoining
campus on Howard Street.
—$3,625,000 for a fine arts
building to accommodate the
departments of art, dramatic
arts, speech and related fields.
This structure to include, in
addition to teaching and work
spaces, at least two small audi
toriums (seating 200 or 300
each) and a larger auditorium
(to seat 1,500).
—$2,000,000 for expansion
of the campus water system,
a project which will encompass
the construction of a large
storage facility, the proper
chlorinating of all water, im
proving and expanding distri
bution lines and finding a major
source for the system.
—$1,400,000 for expansion
of steam generating and dis
tributing system to the new
residence halls, the infirmary,
the administration buildir^ an
nex, and west of Duncan Hall.
—$1,250,000 for an elemen
tary school project, with the
funds being used to assist Wa
tauga County to purchase prop
erty and build an elementary
school of adequate size on it.
This request includes the con
dition that when it is vacated,
the present Appalachian Ele
mentary School will be con
verted to university use.
—$75,000 for air conditioning
of the new B. B. Dougherty
Administration Building (this
request previously cut from
the tentative budget by the 1967
General Assembly).
—$50,000 to air condition
office space in Duncan Hall
(also removed from tentative
budget by 1967 General As
sembly).
—$210,000 for building re
pairs, including essential re
pairs such as replacing roofs
on Chapell Wilson Hall, the
Warehouse, the Service Build
ing and the Power Plant; in
stalling “truck-point” walls,
improving lighting and repair
ing band room in I. G. Greer
Music Hall; creating additional
office space in various class
room buildings; ventilating
space beneath Smith-Wright
Hall, repairing President’s
Home; and razing the Old Edu
cation Building.
—$300,000 for Army ROTC
facility on ASU’s farm prop
erty in accordance with speci
fications for the Army training
(Continued on page six)
SCOTTISH GAMES HIGHLIGHT—Henry Kuykendall of Lafayette
Hill, Pa., will trade his cowboy outfit for a Highland kilt when
he and his Scottish sheep dogs round up a flock of sheep in
a featured Sunday afternoon performance during the Grand
father Mountain Highland Games July 13 and 14.
Colorful Grandfather Spectacle
Grandfather Games Begin Sat.
Houston M. McBain of Hub
bard Woods, Ql., a distinguished
Scottish-American who is World
Chief of Clan McBain, will be
honored as special guest at the
DR. ANDREW WILEY
Dr. Wiley Goes
To Peace Corps
The family of Dr. Andrew
Wiley left Boone Wednesday,
July 10, to join the surgeon in
Washington, D. C., where he is
receiving Peace Corps indoc
trination.
Mrs. Wiley said Tuesday that
after his study program, in
which emphasis is on family
planning, the surgeon will be
assigned to the Kingdom of
Tonga in the South Pacific. This
is about four hours north of
New Zealand by plane.
Having lived in Boone two
years, Dr, and Mrs. Wiley and
Mark, 15; Kim, 13; Geoffrey,
12; and Peter, who is 10, re
sided on Keystone Drive. They
were associated with Calo
Friends Meeting, a Quaker re
ligious affiliation.
The surgeon had received Ms
diploma from the national Sur
gical : Board, the highest ac
complishment attainable in his
field.
Boone’s resident surgeon. Dr.
Lowell B. Furman, also is
board-certified.
13th annual Grandfather Mount
ain Highland Games and Gather
ing of Scottish Clans on July
13-14.
In this unique celebration held
at MacRae Meadows on the slope
erf Grandfather Mountain, re
presentatives and families at
hundreds of Scottish clans part
icipate in traditional games,
activities and customs of Scot
land.
Scottish bagpipe bands in
colorful kilts and bonnets, high
land dancing, and track and field
events provide a festive atmos
phere, not unlike a wee bit of
heather from the highlands of
the old home.
The designation of Houston
M. McBain as honored guest
repeats a role he filled in 1959
during his first year as World
Chief of Clan McBain, and his
appearance this year at the
Games is regarded by officials
at the Games as one of the high
lights of the two-day program.
Mrs. McBain will accompany
nun.
The honored guest is re
cognized by Lord Lyon. His
matriculation in the court of
the Lord Lyon was the cul
mination of nearly nine years
of research in the Unites States,
Canada and Scotland on McBain
family history.
He is one of only three or
four Scottish clan chiefs living
in North America. Mr. McBain
built McBain Memorial Park in
1961 near Inverness, Scotland.
It includes a stone cairn with
bronze plaque, giving the his
tory of Clan McBain's chiefs
for the past 400 years.
He brings to the 1968 Games
and Gathering a noteworthly
career, and the president of the
Games, N. J. McDonald who is
also president of Saint Andrew's
Society of the State of New York,
points out his contributions in
Scottish American activities. He
has been president of the Ill
inois Saint Andrew's Society for
three terms, and is now an hon
orary governor of that society.
He was a governor of the Scot
tish American Foundation in.
1966, and has written several
articles : on current Scottish
chiefs. The Games will offer
competition in highland dancing,
piping, track and field events,
and a mountain marathon In
Continued on page six)
AT THE AGE OF 86, Clyde Reece of the Beaver Dam Com
munity still makes his own garden and grows and picks rasp
berries for sale. Since attending Appalachian Normal Academy
in 1903, Mr. Reece has been a farmer, had had some of his
poems published and sings songs he has composed. In the old
home in which he was born, Mr. Reece enjoys sitting in front
of the big fireplace in the kitchen to read. One of his daughters
says, “Everyone loves Dad very much. He is so kind and easy
going and loves people.” Mr. Reece still tends the rosebushes
that grew in the yard when he was a boy.
Fiddlers ’Convention
Gay WeekEndEvent
An old-time fiddlers conven
tion will be held Saturday night
in the gymnasium of Watauga
High School.
The sponsoring organization,
Spainhour Is
Named Optimist
Of The Year
At the Monday night meet
ing of the Boone Optimist Club,
David N. Spainhour was named
Optimist of the Year.
The businessman received the
award after several attendance
pins were awarded by H. B.
Stroup of Asheville, who la
Governor of the North Caro
lina District of Optimist In
ternational.
In the ladies night program
at the Town House Restaurant,
(Continued on page seven)
the Boone Jaycees, will award
$100 first prize, $35 second
prize and $ 15 third prize among
the blue grass and country music
entries.
Grady Cole, famed radio an
nouncer, will be master of cere
monies when the convention gets
underway at 8 p.m. Bought at
the door, tickets are $1.50 with
children under 12 admitted free.
No advanced tickets will be sold,
however door prizes will be dis
tributed during the evening.
Entry deadline was Tuesday,
at which time the Blue River
Boys, the Linville River Boys,
Tab Ward, Buena Hicks, the
Grandfather Mountain Boys and
the Vilas Mountain Boys were
listed among the entries.
Concessions will be available
and all proceeds will be used in
the sponsor’s community pro
jects. This will be the first
year a fiddlers convention has
been held in Boone.
Many Expected Higher Rate
Tax Rate For Boone To
Remain At $1.10 Level
New Emphasis
To Be Placed
On Street Work
The present rate of $1 JO per
one-hundred-dollars valuation
will remain in effect for the
1968-69 fiscal year in Boone.
Presented to Mayor Clyde
Greene and the Town Board of
Aldermen last week, thetJOdget
includes substantial funds for
street improvements, recre
ation and expansion in die police
department.
According to city attorney
Jimmy Holshouser, the recrea
tion program received almost
all of the funds requested by
the Boone Parks and Recrea
tion Commission. Mayor Greene
said the city administration has
received an increasing number
of compliments on the effective
job Jim Hastings has done in
oiganizing Boone’s first year
around recreation program.
Holshouser said the increase
in funds for street improve
ments got special note. Point
ing out that the last budget handi
capped street work because of
the drastic reduction in street
funds, the Mayor said that he and
the Adlermen have put special
emphasis on streets in the new
budget.
An allocation also is included
for a city manager the admin
istrators hope to employ in the
current year. They have search
ed for several months for a man
to fill this first-time opening.
Because initial payments
must be made on the water and
sewer bond issues this year,
Holshouser said many citizens
were expecting a substantia1
increase in the tax rate here
Bond payments erf $100,000 wil
be made, he said, although the
$1.10 rate will hold for the next
fiscal year.
However, while water rates
were increased soon after the
new water-sewer project began,
Holshouser points out that the
sewer increase never was
adopted. And there is a pro
vison in the contract between
the Town of Boone and the
federal government that the
town would have to increase its
water and sewer rates sub
sequent to the appropriation of
the grant.
Mayor Greene said “It was
a shock to learn that we would
be required to raise the sewer
rate. The agreement with the
government was apparently
reached in early 1965 and very
few people were aware of the
town’s specific obligation.
“The town has no choice in
the matter,” he added, “and
undoubtedly the rate will have
to go up within the next few
months.
“We hope to at least be able
to wait until the sewer plant is
completed and the new system
is in operation before the
government demands that we put
the new rate into effect,”
(Continued on page seven)
“LAWMAN" ON DUTY—When the crowds at Tweetsie Rail
road got movie star John Russel pinned down, they found oirt
what a fine fellow he is and in the course of it all, he met hund
reds and hundreds of folks and signed his name untold times for
autograph hounds of all ages. According to Spencer Robbins,
l Russel has returned to his California home and effective Tues
day, television cowboy Peter Brown was back in the saddle as
| Tweetsie’s official marshal. Russel relieved Brown, who last
week flew to Hollywood to meet a film commitment. But as
Robbins points out, Brown seems to be a big attraction for
the teenage group and will be meeting them and other visitors
Tuesday through Friday until Aug. 23. Incidentally, Russel re
cently finished a stock-car racing movie in which he plays head
of a gambling syndicate. At the local attraction, however, he was
strickly the king of the cowtown marshals. (Staff photo)
JOHN B. ROBINSON
John Robinson
To End Tenure
At Crest Store
The Crest Store chain Morw
day will transfer John B. Robin
son, manager of Crest in Boone,
to its Lincolnton (N.C.) facility
in the new Town and Country
Shopping Center.
Having established a leading
role in several church and civic
ventures, Robinson was pre
sented a special gift Tuesday
(Continued on page seven)
Horn In West Notes
47% Increase In ’68
The paid attendance figures
for Horn in the West outdoor
drama totaled 4,419 through the
first eight performances, re
presenting a 47 per cent In
crease over the first eight
shows of last summer.
After the Sunday night per
formance, the 1968 nightly aver
age was 552, compared to only
314 per night for the identical
period in 1967.
The drama, scheduled for 49
productions tms year as com
pared to 56 a year ago.acUatily
played before some 7,500 per
sons during the opening week
since approximately 3,000 Wat
auga County residents have at
tended on free passes.
At the current rate, the drama
will draw 27,046 paid admis
sions this summer, 56 less than
the number which attended in
1967 when the drama was pro
duced on several additional
evenings.