1 M
J i,T "J :'l ,j 1
Blazing the trail
After a ceremony at the Franklin Street Post
Office Thursday morning, a runner carries
Chapel Hill's Olympic store scores high profits
By JOANNE GORDON
ArtsFeatures Editor
There's even an Olympic store.
Chapel Hill's Olympic Store,
located at 206 W. Franklin St., is
the "official" outlet of Olympic
Festival merchandise. During the
Festival, the previously vacant
Southern Bell building will be the
busy headquarters for Olympic T
shirts and souvenirs.
Since the store opened last
Olympic
lb
Tuesday, July
week, the business has been over
whelming, according to Susan
Wilson, North Carolina represen
tative for the liscencee. "We have
done real well. There has been
fluid traffic through the store," she
said.
Sponsored by the USOF, the
store features not only retail
merchanise but items not found on
retail level, according to Wilson.
Merchandise includes T-shirts,
Festival Special Issue
Serving the students and the University community
21, 1987
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Tar HeelAva Long
the Olympic torch across campus. See page
4 for more torch run photos.
clothing items, cups, mugs, water
bottles and pins.
T-shirts represent 80 percent of
sales, and the store features sports
specific designs which are designed
for each individual sport. The T
shirts, like the flags along Franklin
St., are printed with "environmen
tal graphic" designs in the Alex
ander Julian colors blue, pur
ple, fushia and green. The store
also carries T-shirts in generic
since 1893
Opening ceremonies
kick off the Festival
By STEPHEN GILES
Staff Writer
With a touch of flair and down
home Tar Heel hospitality, the
U.S. Olympic Festival presented
its opening ceremonies at Carter
Finley Stadium at N.C. State
University. Governor Jim Martin
was on hand to officially proclaim
the Festival open.
Numerous entertainers played
their part by getting the 52,700
person capacity crowd and the
near-3,000 athletes into the excite
ment. The Embers, a beach band
from Raleigh, helped to start the
festivities with their brand of .
Carolinian beach music.
A patriotic treat for the crowd
came in the appearance of six of
the original Mercury Seven Astro
nauts Col. Gordo Cooper,
Scott Carpenter, John Glenn,
Maj. Don Slocum, Captain Wally
Sherar and Admiral Alan
Shepard.
With Robert Helmick, presi
dent of the U.S. Olympic Com
mittee, and Leroy Walker, chair
man of the Local Organizing
Committee, looking on, the ath
letes, representing all 50 states,
entered the stadium.
The North caught the crowd's
attention displaying a sign which
read "Ollie's North." At that point
a woman in the stands stood up
and yelled, "He's from my home
town," and sat back down trium
phantly. However, the host South
athletes received an arousing
standing ovation.
The entertainment continued
with some crowd participation, as
each side held up cards which
turned the stadium into a beautiful
mixture of red, white, and blue.
Under the direction of UNC-CH
Band Director John Yesulaitis, a
combination of military bands
played "Stars and Stripes
Forever."
Before the official proclamation
by Governor Martin, the mayors
designs.
Pins are also popular items at
the Store. "Pin trading is popular
among athletes, sports fans and
spectators," Wilson said. Athletes
purchase pins which represent
their participation in the sporting
events. The store carries pins for
each individual sport and grand
patron pins representing compan-
See STORE page 9
NewsSportsArts 962-0245
Business Advertising 962-1163
of the five host cities were intro
duced: Avery Upchurch of
Raleigh; James Wallace of Chapel
Hill; Webb Gulley of Durham;
Harold Ritter of Cary; and John
Forbis of Greensboro.
Richard Adler, a UNC alumnus
who has received two Tony awards
for his contributions to Broadway,
provided a symphonic fanfare and
overture commemorating the
100th anniversary of the Statue of
Liberty.
One of the most inspiring
moments of the night ensued when
the Olympic flame entered the
stadium in the hands of another
UNC alumnus, Steve Streater. A
punter and defensive back for the
Tar Heels, Streater was paralyzed
in an automobile accident after
signing a professional football
contract in 1981.
The names of the athletes who
would cany the flame into the
stadium and light the torch were
then revealed: J.R. Reid, from
Virginia Beach, Va., and April
Heinrichs, from Littleton, Colo.,
both of UNC.
Reid, a rising sophomore at
UNC, was ACC basketball Roo
kie of the Year last year. Heinrichs,
a South soccer player, was a 4
time Ail-American at UNC. She
was named the USOC's female
soccer player of the year in 1986
by the U.S. Soccer Federation.
Reid seemed somewhat
humbled by the whole experience.
"It's a great honor, especially since
I was selected by the other athletes.
I remember watching it being lit
last year and thinking what a thrill
it would be to do that. I never
thought I would get the chance."
Heinrichs said, "It's truly an
honor to represent my country,
team and school in this way. IVe
been very fortunate in my athletic
career and in playing on three
national championship teams at
the University of North Carolina
See CEREMONIES page 10
In This Issue
Lefty's
return.... page 3
Festival
hoops. ...... .page 8 j
Arts
celebration . . . page 1 0 !