I would have boot glad to
bare Hired under my woadaUe.
“> to have ke*. (lock -
■beep, rather than to bare
undertaken thla goyera
ment.—Oliver CroowdL
VOLUME LXXXIII—NO. 8
WATAUGA DEMOCRAT
An Independent Newspaper Serving The Northwest Carolina Mountain Area
■! ‘ ■ ■ _BOONE, WATAUGA COUNTY, N. C. THURSDAY AUGUST 27, 1970 i0 CENTS
Boone Area
Chamber
‘ > : -v*
Needs You
26 PAGES—2 SECTIONS
1938 To The Present
Federal Land Bank Will
Have Open House Event
Thirty-two years ago, Wade
E. Brown made this snapshot
of the brick office building he
was having constructed at 301
West King Street in Boone.
And when he loaned this and
other photographs to the
Federal Land Bank
Association of Boone, he
commented that 1938 was when
labor could be had for a
quarter per hour.
Since 19S8, the property has
belonged to FLBA, according
to its manager John H. Hollar.
And this year, the
organization began its
remodeling program to double
its office space. From 1 to 4
Saturday afternoon, the
association will hold a public
open house and some Federal
Land Bank officials will be on
hand to meet the visitors.
A former Mayor of the Town
of Boone, Brown used the
building as his law office.
Hollar said space also had been
leased to the Highway
Department, and at one time to
photographer Palmer Blair,
who perished some years ago
in a plane crash.
Brown now lives in Raleigh
where he serves as chairman
of the State’s paroles board.
Development Assn. Board
Opposes Rock Festival
The 11-county Northwest
North Carolina Development
Association has adopted a
resolution opposing plans for a
rock festival in Alleghany
County.
The action was taken Aug. 19
when the association was in
session in Duncan Hall on the
university campus here. The
resolution was to be forwarded
to Superior Court Judge Robert
M. Gambill who earlier has
granted petitioners from
Alleghany a temporary
restraining order against the
festival.
The Judge is to hold a
hearing Monday to determine
whether to make the order
permanent.
With West Jefferson in Ashe
County being almost as close to
the proposed festival site as the
town of Sparta in Alleghany,
citizens of Ashe last week
started their own petition. Ira
Johnston, well-known West
Jefferson lawyer, led the drive
for signatures.
The association also ap
proved a resolution asking the
State to remove Junk vehicles
that are on its highway rights
of-way.
And resolutions in memory
of the late Mr. Sloane W. Payne
of Alexander County and Mrs.
Asa L. Reese of Watauga were
passed by the group.
The association represents
the counties of Alexander,
Alleghany, Ashe, Caldwell,
Davie, Forsyth, Stokes, Surry,
Watauga, Wilkes and Yadkin.
Quits Teaching
After 42 Years
Mrs. Gladyce M. Bingham of
Sugar Grove has retired from
teaching after having taught
for 42 years.
She taught in Watauga
County for 30 years, four years
in Miami, Fla. and the last
eight years in the North
Wilkesboro Elementary School
in North Wilkesboro.
‘Horn In The West’
Plays To 31,300
Outdoor drama “Horn in the West” played to a
record-high 31,300 paid customers during the 1970
season which closed last weekend, according to
unofficial attendance figures for the show’s 19th
season.
Kermit Hunter’s famed outdoor drama here
topped 1909’s record total by about 75 persons,
despite two rainy stretches that at various times
during the season saw the show behind the 1969
attendance total by as many as 2400 customers.
The show played to a record high 5,177 during
its last week and to what is believed to be a record
7,958 customers during the last nine performances.
The Horn’s Powderhorn Theater, where the
cast produces one-hour shows on weekends after
reguliu1 performances of the Horn, also drew record
total attendance in its third season of operation.
Watauga System Gains 186
First Day Of School Finds
i.
¥
4,300 Students Enrolled
Only Two
Schools
Have Loss
Enrollment figures released
by Dr. Swanson Richards,
Superintendent of Schools In
Watauga, show an additional
186 students have enrolled in
the county schools this year.
Total enrollment tallied at
the high school and the eight
elementary schools on the first
day of schooh Aug. 20, is 4,34$.
Watauga enrollment in the
elementary schools this year is
3,015, which is 86 more than
enrollment on the first day of
the 1960-70 year.
A reduced student total was
reported by only two schools.
Bethel Elementary reported
177 students, 20 fewer than last
year. And at Green Valley, the
1970-71 total of 292 is 10 fewer
than enrolled last year.
Appalachian Elementary'
now has 933 students, an in
crease of 32.
At Blowing Rock, 14 ad
ditional students put the school
population at 290.
Cove Creek’s 370 include five
extra youngsters.
The increase of 25 pupils at
Mabel Elementary puts their
overall figure up to 254.
Parkway has 36 more, or a
total of 456 and at Valle Crucis
the 1970-71 enrollment is 243,
four more than last year.
The report shows that the
1969-70 total of 4,121 reflected a
countywide increase of only 37
students over the 1968-69 school
year. The high school had 18 of
the new students and the
elementary schools had 19.
| Prisoners
I Aid Blowing
I Rock Citizen g
Dick Brown of the Watauga
Subsidiary reports that five
inmates have signed on to help
Fredric Dunne, a stroke victim
who lives in Blowing Rock, in
the brain-patterning exercises
(Aug. 20 issue).
He and the men made their
first visit to the Dunne's home
Wednesday night, Aug. 11, and
have agreed to go back weekly
to help in the volunteer
program.
Brown said that if enough
people would sign on to take the
men to Blowing Rock as many
as 10 might eventually get
involved in the rehabilitation
program.
The subsidiary is a minimum
custody unit. Brown explains,
with some 10 per cent of its
occupants being alcohol of
fenders who generally serve
terms Of SO days minimum up
(Continued on page two)
YDC Will Meet
Friday Night
The Watauga Young
Democrats Club will meet
Friday night at 8 o’clock in the
county courthouse. AU
members are urged to attend,
as this will be an important
workshop meeting and plans
for the fall election will be
Boone Buys Loader-Backhoe
A street sweeper and an angle blade for snow removal are two
features of a new Ford tractor with backhoe and frontend
loader the Town of Boone has received. It is the latest in this
type of equipment and was hauled to Boone Friday by Marion
Equipment Company, whose bid of $10,225 was accepted by the
Aldermen Aug. 20 for immediate delivery. Standing beside the
machinery (from left) are Frank Queen of Marion, Boone
Streets Department Superintendent, Howard Winkler and
Alderman Clyde Winebarger. (Staff photo)
REV. BOYCE BROOKS
Brooks New
Head Three
Forks Assn.
The Rev. J. Boyce Brooks,
pastor of the First Bsptist
Church of Boone, this month
was elected as Moderator of
the 8,800-member Three Forks
Baptist Association.
The Association, which is
made up of 46 churches, was in
session Aug. 4 and 5, meeting
with the Three Forks Baptist
Church (Rev. Lynn Powers)
and the Oak Grove Baptist
(Rev. Fritz Hemphill).
Elected to serve under Mr
Brooks as Associate Moderator
was Dr. Jack Lawrence, who is
president of the Baptist Men
and Boys, Baptist State Con
(Continued on page two)
From Moon Eclipses To Payrolls
Boone C Of C Has Been Fruitful
BY RACHEL R. COFFEY
In the early fifties, the Boone
Chamber of Commerce
“Sponsored” an eclipse of the
moon.
Stanley Harris Sr.
remembers it well and
establishes roughly the time at
which this happened. Clyde R.
Greene, former Boone Mayor,
recalls that the viewing point
was on a Blue Ridge Parkway
overlook beyond Deep Gap.
Crowds of people—un
counted numbers of them
photographers—came from
near and far to see perhaps the
world's only “Sponsored”
moon eclipse.
And Twenty-one years ago,
Harris was instrumental in
putting together a centennial
pageant, Echoes of the Blue
Ridge, for Watauga County. In
fact he remembers having
written most of the script.
The next year, plans were
fast underway to begin a
summer outdoor drama in
Boone. Harris recalls that this
held a direct link with the
Chamber of Commerce, many
of whose members put time
and money into developing
Horn in the West, which ended
its 19th season last Saturday
night. The Horn is controlled
by the Southern Appalachian
Historical Association.
The Boone Area Chamber of
Commerce’s industry com
mittees have brought vigorous
employers here.
According to Fred McNeal,
Chamber manager, it was Bob
Bingham, Gwynn Hayes,
Harold Rice and him who
originally worked to start the
winterly Snow Carnival of the
South.
Now he says the respon
sibility for the success and
continuation of the Carnival is
borne by the chambers of
commerce of Blowing Rock
and Avery County as well as
Boone.
500 Soon
All this has to do with "500
Soon for Boone”, the campaign
slogan for the Boone Cham
ber’s drive for 500 mem
berships.—or more.
Watauga Loses On
Sales Tax Levy
The first quarterly report of
one cent sales tax levied in
twenty-five N. C. counties
shows that the smallest
counties generally claimed
more tax money than they
shelled out.
The report, issued by state
Revenue Commissioner Ivie L.
Clayton, indicated that the
remaining big counties
collected more tax money in
most cases than they kept and
the surplus went to their
smaller neighbor.
New Hanover County, for
example, took in $406,758 and
retained only $355,505—a loss
of $53,253. Durham County
forked out »17,2«4 of its $561,
197 collections to the more
sparsely populated counties.
Pamlico gained $7,398. It col
lected $11,605 and received
(Continued on page two)
In seeking to renew old
memberships and attain new
(Continued on page two)
Jane Smith Named
To Radio Board
BANNER ELK— The North
Carolina Associated Press
Broadcasters Association
elected Charles Whitehurst as
its new president Saturday.
Whitehurst, the director of
news and public affairs of
WFMY - TV, Greensboro, will
take office Jan. 1. He succeeds
Jack Brown of WLON, Lin
coln ton.
Also elected Saturday at the
annual meeting of the
broadcasters were vice
president, Robert Ray, WBBB,
Burlington; and two direc
tors—Dick Waters, WSOC,
Charlotte, and Jane Smith,
WATA, Boone.
Boone Weather
1970 HI U> Free. Saaw ’09 Hi Lo
Aug. It <0 57
Aug. 19 78 57 .37
Aug. 20 78 55 .15
Aug. 21 78 58
Aug. 22 78 55
Aug. 23 73 58 .11
Aug. 24 78 50 22
*688888