Newspapers / The Yancey Journal (Burnsville, … / Aug. 12, 1965, edition 1 / Page 2
Part of The Yancey Journal (Burnsville, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
THE YANCEY RECORD Established July, 1936 THENA P. FOX, Editor ft Publisher THURMAN L. BROWN, Shop Manager ARCHIE BALLEYV, Photogujaer ft Pressman PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY BY YANCEY PUBLISHING COMPANY Second Class Postage Paid at Burnsville, N. C. NUMBER FIFTY-ONE THURSDAY, AUG. 12, 1965 SUBSCRIP riON RATES $2.50 PER YEAR Letter From Burnsville, 'A /Flighty Good Town’ (Reprinted from the Greens-* boro Daily News, Sunday. August Ist.) BY: W. C. BURTON This is being written from Burnsville, which is in the heart and seat of Yancey County, and the heart and seat ;f much of my affection Burnsville is a real mountain town with real people. It is not one of your quasi-quaint gifte-shoppe mountain towns Some tourists come here, the lucky ones who have learned its charms, the per ceptive ones who have chos en this place above the re sorts that look like a trans planted slice of Coney Is land. A moderate quota of Yankee arteries are harden ing here and very nice people their owners are I must say. A few disconsolate gall bladders and superannuated city livers are re - ting here in the abodes of the summer citizens. In the main, thou gh, this is a healthy, normal, mighty good town, going about its daily cho r es with no fuss and feathers and accomodating the newcom ers into the pattern of life with an easy, off-hand hos pitality and a natural fifendllness. Quality Os Familiarty It is a pattern which has changed as much as need Ibe (which is not so mudi at all) with the yea s. It has a quality of familiarity, a sen se of deep-rooted solidity which is eternally comfort ing. There arc some ways here that haven’t changed since the first hardy settlers moved in through the craggy pass and stood looking in wonderment at Mount Celo and the crest of Mount Mit chell in the distance and the broad, rich, ’oiling Celo Val ley and said ‘•This is far enough. This is where I will cut my logs and build my house for there can be no more beautiful country far ther on. This is a good place to live.” I suppose the automobile and silk-smooth roads, and television and silk-smooth tongues, and other such miraculous evils will homo genize the whole world one day. Then it will be the ghastly experience of all men to look around them and see nothing except the mock ingly monotonous image ot themselves, mi-wired and re mirrored for as far as the eye can see and travel. For a while, however, some places offer a sanctuary from the foolish movements THE YANCEY RECORD and noises of the world and Burnsville is one of them. There have been some changes with the passing of time, of course, and not all changes are bad. As far as modern conveniences, .the pleasant, useful and salu brious aids of 20th century civilizations are concerned Burnsville is as well fixed a3 any place you’ll find. Put Burnsville and a big city—any big city—toe to to toe and add up the score. The big city has more people in less space. The big city has more noise, smoke, dirt, ugliness, violence, greed, hustle, hokum and ulcers. I’ll take Burnsville, a place where you bathe you” eyes in beauty every time you open them. Os changes there are all kinds, some of them inevit able. Some are glad chang es. Some are sad. I have been coming up here every sum mer for almost 20 years and I've seen quite a few take place. The first show I ever ap peared in at Parkway Play house, its very first season and that was 19 seasons ago, was Thornton Wilder's ‘‘Our Town ” Many Burnsville ci tizens took part in it. Among them were Bill and “Ginny” Banks, a good-looking newly married couple. Bill played Doc” Gibbs and Ginny help ed with technical work and was on the book. She Was The Star This season their daugh ter, Sherry Lisa Banks, was a star of the opening show. She played the child Helen •Keller in “The Miracle Worwer” and turned up a remarkably compelling per formance of this exceedingly difficult role. A lovely little girl with flowing blonde hair, Sherry Lisa is definit ely a glad change. (I’m pri vileged to note that Bill and 'Ginny'’ are still a good looking couple.) In some Burnsville friends, Ms. C. R. Hamrick, Dover Fouts, Grady Bailey, Rush Wray, Mrs. Frank Lewis, (the excellent Exum), Bruce Wes tall, (dapper courin of nov elist Tom Wolfe) the Ray Brothers and srme others, I can detect little or no change. Glad And Sad Changes “Bunny” Bennett, the cute gal in the light booth this year, is another glad change. She’s the daughter of Mark Bennett, tho state legislator, aod Lib Bennett, also of that “Our Town” cast. Thg sad changes include f ✓*. ' V^t§tx f >MB • - ./■ Mrs. Grace Banks, Secretary to Chamber of Commerce, Jy shown on the Church wagon at the Cralts Fair here Saturday Exit Union Suit With ail the doings about civil rights, Viet Nam, g.nd Pres. Johnson twisting the arms of Congress, little won der the news out of Need ham Heights, Mass., didn't get the play it rightfully deserved. So let’s try to square things up by calling special attention to the William Carter Cmpany’s announce ment that the 100-year-old outfit is going out of the union suit business. Back in the era before and after the turn of the century, the company was* a leading manufacturer o f union suits.. They made them of silk, wool and cot ton, and every man wore them, especially in the win ter. There were two events a year for a man; when he put them on in the fall and in ther spring when he took them off. “ , But now, the company says, boxer shorts, t-shirts and briefs are the thing and you can hardly pay a man to wear union suits unless he’s going hunting, and then he doesn’t want an ordinary kind. He wants ' the special thermal Jobs. the passing of Ed Whetstine, the me~ry elf of a man who was a primitive artist with many materials from gourds to root carvings. Ed, who poured his love for these hills into sentimental but sincere verse, died last sum mer. This summer there were two more missing. Malcolm (“Mike”) Ross died suddenly last sp lng. once the direc tor of the University of Miami pres bureau. Mike was a summer resident of Burnsville. Unwittingly and unwillingly he once injured som<; lecal feelings by writ ing a some-what too folksy quaint piece about Burns ville for the National Geo graphic. He had just com pleted a book on North Car olina’s Cape Fear River so“ the distinguished Rivers of America series. Virgil Lusk Edwards, Prin ter and legend mak&\ died last March 18 at the age of 86. Author, editor .philosoph er and individualist as well as a master craftsman at the p Inting press. Lusk Edwards was a man about whom I shall have more here later. THURSDAY, AUG. 12, 1965 A •Be there a man in his up per years who doesn’t re member when the weather turned cold how he reluct antly put on a pair of long handles? And be there a man In his later years who equally doesn’t remember with what great joy when spring came around so he could get out of them. Something else went along with the union suits, too, and that was a pair of high top, lace-up shoes; some had eyes, others had hooks. The ones with the hooks could be laced up faster than the bat of an eye. They, too, have all but disappeared from the scene. And there was something of an art in the way a man folded the bottom leg of the long drawers so that It would fit into the top of the shoe. And who can possibly for get the Saturday night baths during the winter months? A fellow had worn, believe it or not, his union suit for several days, and Saturday night was the time to pull ojftth/ wash tub, lock ev eryone out of the kitchen, and crawl into the tub after it had been filled with warm water from the tea kettle on the old wood stove over in the comer of the kitchen. The bath finished, a fel low stepped out on the cold, cold floor to shiver and wipe, and wipe and shiver until he was dry. Then from a nearby chair, he grabbed a fresh, clean pair of long, handles and Jerked It on as fast as possible. A fifth suit felt good. The cotton knap warmed the body and stimulated a fel low to dash out of the kit chen, through the long, cold hallway to the bedroom there to crawl into a fea therbed on a cold night to snooze away. Pajamas? Man, no! The old union suit was abom the only pajamas a fellow had, unless It was a night gown, which wasn’t near as warm as a union suit. We think things are streamlined today. Huh, nothing was as streamlined as a pair of long handles after they had been worn for a while. Regret the passing of the union suit? Are you kidding? \ jL;: '» > Gordon Bennett, director of the Parkway Playhouse Mrs. Arney Fox, Editor The Yancey Record Burnsville, N. C. Dear Mrs. Fox: Tonight the Parkway Play house will close its curtain on the 1965 summer season —-its nineteenth consecutive schedule of “straw-hat” en tertainment in Burnsville and by this weekend the theatre group will have dis persed to their homes, north and south. Each of us, living within his individual world of ex perience, has many treasur ed memories of the past summer in Burnsville and its many cordial friendships. We want to tell you and all the people of Burnsville how grateful we are for your friendship and cooperation in all our problems, year af ter year. Without your help we would not be —able to ca -ry on our summer pro grams, including the Arts and Crafts Festival which is increasingly successful with each annual repetition. Dr. Harry Greene, our Playhouse sculptor and craftsman who has taken on the hard task of managing the fair, asked me to express to you and all the other persons who were such a big help to him this year his heart-felt gratitude. He noted especially the contin uous and varied entertain ment provided by Mrs. Er nest (Eloise) Briggs, chair man of the fair’s entertain ment committee. This was the best entertainment pro gram we have ever had. In addition to all the en tertainers and craftsmen who participated in the fair, Dr. Greene wants to register a great big “Thank you! ’ to Charles Weston, retired per former, who announced the events with such profession al skill and humor and sin cerity. Also, his wife who worked at his side, handling the microphones and record ers, from morning until late afternoon. Finally, we want to thank The Yancey Record for its splendid coverage of all the productions and events at the Playhouse, including the children’s play and the special concert we staged fov the youngsters in the ‘ Head Start” p ogram. Your valuable aid let all Burns-® yille and the neighboring counties know what we were trying to accomplish at the Playhouse. Thank you. Sincerely, Gordon R. Bennett Executive Director ANNUAL DECORATION * The annual decoration at the Bailey Cemetarles will be held Sunday evening, August 15 at Uper Jacks Creek. * I i
The Yancey Journal (Burnsville, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 12, 1965, edition 1
2
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75