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ESTABLISHED JULY, 1896
TRENA P. POX, EDITOR ft PUBLISHER )
MSS. ZOE YOUNG, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
THURMAN L. BROWN, SHOP MANAGER
ARCHIE a BALLEW. PHOTOGRAPHER r D RESSMAM
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY BY
YANCEY PUBLISHING COMPANY
SECOND CLASS POSTAGE PAID AT BURNSVILLE, N. CL
THURSDAY. MARCH 28, 1888 NUMBER THIRTY
SUBSCRIPTION RATES $3.00 PER YEAR
OUT OF COUNTY SIOO PER YEAR
Scene From Top 0’ The Hill
By: Jack Kelly
We finally got our stuff moved
into the house cn >;he HH. The
furniture we sh pped down is
crowding the basement a bt
but, all in all, things* are look
ing up. By that, I mean* that I
can sit down wthout Blanche
mentioning a dozen or so things
that she th nks need do ng. She
is finding all sorts of things as
she unpacks. She even located
the t tie to cur car, which ill
lowed us to get our North Caro
lina tag. For the past two weeks
that gal vowed and declared
that. I had lost .the title along
w:ih a bunch of other papers.
Then, she found all the papers
in a safe place where she had
s uck them away, like any go:d
Sony hie wife would have done
"'■‘■'i them. Since I have been
marred to her for twenty-eight
years this ccm ng June, I did
not say. as might ales season
ed veteran “I told you so”
no sir! I just let the matter
side.
The worst thing about th : s
moving and remodeling mess is
the way t cuts ; nto my personal
time for doing things. I scarcely
have time to read my papers,
mags, and pamphlets, let alone
lV.cn to the rad o or lock at t. v.
I have kept up with things to
the extent that I will make a
bet that, if Senator McCarthy
keeps makng tjie showing he
has started, LBJ will make an
official Declaration of War over
in the East because no War Pre
s dent gets turned out of Office.
That probably would account
for Bobby Kennedy delaying his
entrance upon the stage as well
as Governor Rockefeller’s utter
refusal to get involved. Rocky
st 11 has a better chance for the
Republican nom nation than
Bobby does for the Democratic
one. Os course, both of those boy*
have so much money behind
them that you have to wonder
what they are scheming up.
E.ther one of them could put
lany particular Pr'nary in their
hip pocket if they really wanted
to cut loose and spend
Governor Scranton wated too
long to slant against Goldwater
and Bobby knows that so, I
guess he knows what he is do ng.
Doubtless he feels the Republi
can nominal icn would not be
worth much anyhow. Os course,
there s always the chance that
Rocky realizes that Nxon de
serves the nomination. After all,
Nixon has been Mr. Republican
for ti he last few years, sort of
Ike Taft was. Taft deserved it
but the Convention gave it to
Ike so Ihe Party cculd win.
Maybe that is Rocky's strategy.
For sure, the Republicans want
to go wth a wnner this time,
and. from past performances,
Dick Nixon is not’ a winner. At
this pont t seems hopeless that
Nixon would trade for one of the
big Cabinet jobs but, polit'cs
be ng what they are, he might.
Then again, he m glit go off and
sulk if the Convention turns him
down become a forgotten man
like A1 Sm th and J'm Farley.
Everything is not peaches and
cream in the Democratic ranks
ether. There are so many d's
senant voices and dissenting
viewpoints that anyone except
Nixc-n night lead a Republican
sweep. None of the big-shot
Senators or Representatives
seem to want to hitch their
wagon to LBJ’s coattail. Th *
f gures because Johnson will be
our first “lame-duck" in that
Office, when and if he gets
elected. Congress will not have
to care too much his vews
and, conversely, LBJ will not
have to wheedle or wheel and
deal with Congress, he can take
has case to the people and carve
a n che in the Hist cry Book for
hmself. He will not have to
worry about 1972 because the
Constitution bars him from fur
ther service.
If he has another term, all be
has to do is do the best he can
for the good ofall. It will be a
new experence for all of us. No
mere reading of unholy allian
ces formed between various
groups to get something done.
The Pres dent can take the
credit fer all good and let Con
gress have the blame for the
(rest.
We w 11 have to wail until July
before we can guess with any
certitude about the outcor-.e of
the November elect'rn because
not until then will we what
horses are running. S nee the
Republicans tree* first, key, to
a degree, just m'ght control the
makeup of the Democratic tick
et. They m'ght cause LBJ to
give Hubert the gate. As of new-,
the only person profiting ap
pears to be George Wallace.
South Tee
P.T.A.
fleets Officers
The South Toe Elementary
School P.T.A., met Monday
night at 7:30 at the school.
Th s organization, which has
been rather active, has big
plans for the future, with a goal
of 100% membership of all par
ents and teachers. Off cers for
1968 69 were elected as follow’*:
President, Claude V«as; Vce
President, Mrs. Kore McWhirter;
Treas., Mrs. Edith Laws; Sec
retary, Mrs. Spike Westall; Par
iamentar an, Colonel Bennett;
Teacher-Advisor, Boyd Deyton.
The next meeting will be April
15th, at which tme the parents
w 11 present an “Easter Parade”,
wearing costumes made by
themselves. Mrs. Nell Huskins
will be in charge of the pro
gram.
“RECOLLECTIONS” Conclud
ed by Mrs. Phyllis Downing.
In the 4th. or sth. gdade I was
nether late nor absent all year,
and the stra n was so great
on my mother, because sick or
well, rain or shine, I had to get
to school, that the next year 6he
saw to it that I was both late
and absent in the beginning of
the year.
Many things used to detain me
on my wlay home from school.—
Watching children skate by the
dam where the ice was cleared,
slidng down the big tin roof of-
Brown’s Garage, sliding down
hill, and many snow ball fights.
Often it would be dark before
I’d pass the last house on the
way home, and I’d hear my mo
ther’s loud clear vo ce echoing
back and forth thru the moun
tains,—'“PhylHlllls”. Fina-y in
desperation, because of the oc
casional “Lumber Jack” on h a
way into town or going bade to
work after a few drinks too
many on the road—die told me
about the “SIDE HILL GOUG
ERS” that came out after dark.
They had two left legs, or was it
two right legs? wh ch were lon
ger than the other side from
wa’k ng along the side of the
hills, and they ate up little
grls. Spanking, no Saturday
night movie (only nght there
was a movie in the winter), cas
tor ol (usually a last resort)
never really worked, but those
Sde Hill Gougers did.
One night it was getting dark
and I was afra d to go home on
the road,so decided to go on the
lake which was aganst the
rules, not that the ice wasn’t
thick enough, usually 2 feet or
more, but often where it had
been cut there would be only a
th n layer, and sometimes air
holes. As I walked home it was
so cold the ice started cracking
and it sounded like thunder rac
ing toward me from one end of
the lake to the other. My mo
ther’s call Vt mile away was
mere than welcome, and I don't
remember staying out again af
ter dark, net in mid-winter
anyway.
I was known as a Tom Boy—
and many a boy’s mother called
mine to complan that I had
“Beaten Up” their little boy
even Chief Denm's’ sons, our
only real Indian famly. As I
look back maybe that is why I
never had any dates for the
proms at school, “Poor Ground
Work.”
Br-r-r-r I shiver to remem
ber the yearly race to see who
would be the first one in swim
rr ng. When the dam was open
ed in the spring, and the ic*
started breaking up in April, or
perhaps it was Mtoirch, the river
below the dam had pools in it
My cousin and I would hide our
suits on the way to school, and
often while there was at 11 snow
cn the ground, and ice on the
edges, we’d have the honor of
being f rst in.
Wait ng for the mail to be
sorted in the village poet off ce
after school was fun and
warm and there was lots of
company and of course, Givens
Drug Store—Soda Fountain, lat
er called the Good e Shop—was
the gathering spot of the crowd,
just as Pollard’s Drug Store
and the Drive In are in Burns
ville.
I guess I gave my brother,
who is 8 years older than I,
a had time as he would sort of
have to watch over me a l ttle,
and I wasn’t easy to watch over.
1 remember charging candy at
* RECOLLECTIONS
By: Mrs. Phyllis Downing
one of our local si ores—Barkers
or Hurley and Ryans, and tear
ing the si p into small pieces on
the way home, thinkng that
was the end of that, and he
would come along la f er, gather
all the pieces and show them to
mother.
My children have often said,
“Mother, you must have been
AWFUL when you were little. I
guess I was, in my way, but I’m
glad. People who are brought op
the hard way seem to be able
to take the hard knocks of 1 fe.
I guess that is why I stand up
for my rights now—and always
will.
One night when it was very
cold and clear, with a full moon
and no wnd, my mother was
visiting a frend, Mr*. Scrafford,
further up the road toward Inlet
and Eagle Bay. She .was a wid
ow and lived all alone wth
about 20 data. Later on, I heard
she and her four footed fr’ends
burned ig> in their house. How
ever, on that night mother said
I could walk up and meet her
when she left Mrs. Scraffords.
So around e ght o’clock she call
ed and we both started walking,
she downhll and I up hill, just
Hie the road at Cattail, windng,
steep and wooded, no houses. I
had never done this alone be
fore and because I was alone it
was an exper ence I shall al
ways remember.
It was so cold the trees snap
ped and cracked Ike guns, the
moon was beautiful and there
was a loud squeak in the snow
with each step. It was very ex
citing and sort of "ear e”, and
remember ng the bears I was
very happy about 15 minutes
later to see mother in the dis
tance, and to learn it was she
and not a four legged creature.
It was also a great event when
we were privileged to see the
Northern Lghte glowing and
moving in the far north whch
was not too often. It was la little
frightening and I am tfrad I
st : ll do not understand them,
but like the Southern Cross we
used to watch in the Virg'n Is
lands, “Breathtaking” and thrill
ing to behold.
Children are often afra d of
thunder and lightening, but as
you all know here in the Blue
Ridge—if you haven’t heard
thunder in the Mountains—you
don’t know what it can be like.
Mother and Daddy would of
ten get us up in the m'ddle of
the night and we’d stand on
the front porch and watch the
lighten ng. The whole sky would
come to life—turning night into
day, and the thunder echoed
back land forth through the
mountains. The world seemed to
be com ng to an end.
Well, this lovely memorable
day is also com ng to an end,
the sun is going down, and al
though it is now 62 degrees
there is a ch'll in the air and
the silly lttle bugs flying
around will have a short llife,
as it is supposed to go down to
freezing agan tonight.
It is time to go in, stoke my
f res and wait for George who
has gone to the Doctors, and
then we can resume our nun ng
Rummy game. At home there is
never any time for each other,
or such sillly relaxing things as
a game of rummy by the f re. $
wonder if I will ever bring a
T. V. up here to camp? I doubt
it. The radio works well and we
‘have music all day.
It is also nearly time to face
a problem What shall 1 do with
the t ny field mice living in my
desk drawer in our bedroom.
My dog d'seovered them last **
night. They have a cozy little
nest, all wooly, someone’s sweat
er, no doubt and they just sat
there and looked at me when I ’
opened the drlawer. I put some
rice, cheese and raisens and ap
ples in for them this morn'ng. 1
It’s sad to think of the poison
which will be put around later,
but I suppose it is necessary.
I am thankful to be here, and
thankful to Dr. Mack who chose
tfi's remote difficult spot, in
which to build so many years
ago. I understand he dd not even
allow a bridge to be put over
the big creek, and that every
thing, even the pano, was
brought over on stopping stones
and a high Fne and pulley.
On days like this, or s tting by
the Are, I often fed he is pleas
ed we love his cabin so much.
As I am pleased and grateful I
bad the advantage of be ng
bam in equally beautiful sur
round ngs. We who have known
the severe winters and pro!>-
lems of “back country living”,
should be and can be the back
bone and strength of the nat on.
POSTSCRIPT: February 1968.
As I sit here in our n'ce old
heme in Coconut Grove with the *
Southeasterly breezes blowing .
off the bay, temperature 75, I
rejo ce at hav'ng finally finished «
copying my notes over from la;t
fall. Speaking of temperatures
we were talking to our Burns
ville friend, Brocks Hensley,
bade in January, the 12th, and
he ♦•aid it was snowing an.) be
low freezing. The next night I
culled my brother, Ray, in Old
Purge to wsh him a )- j.y
birthday and he reported there
vris -,»c or tkee fee, sn< w .>u
the level, and the temperaturc—
“ch it’s around 48 degrees below
zero” ! ! ! !
I have decided to send one
copy of my “RECOLLECTIONS”
to Hie Yancey Record* and one
copy to the Adirondack Echo at
Old Forge, thinking some of my
old frends might enjoy read
ing it.
It also gives me great pleas
ure to pass the word to oar
friends in North Carolina, al- ,
though I th nk most of them
know by now, that since wrt
ing this last fall, we have de- t
cided to make Burnsville and
Catta'l Creek our permanent,
home. We wll be, God willing,
at the Bailey house on the square
during the winter months and
Catta 1 summers. Our old house,
very much like our new one on
the square, as much as we love
it, is for sale. Plbns are being
made, I have about 45 cartons
already packed and when we
arrive next time it is for good.
Paddy, our 15-year-old, has a
new horse. Burkie w 11 be at the
Parkway Playhouse again next
summer and at a North Carolina
College next fall.
We are filed with antic'pation
and enthusiasm and look for
ward to the day, around May
first at the latest, when we
head for Yancey County and
Home.
Phyllis B. Down ng
(Mrs. George Albro Downing)
3
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The cardiovascular toll a
mong adults aged below 65 has
decreased about 15 per cent
since the first Heart Fund Cam
paign in with your Heart
Fum! tollar', spe-dingvirtually
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