Letter
To The
Editor
Dear Editor,
I would like to take this
opportunity to compliment
you for printing recently so
many letters to the editor
a dandy forum for communi
ty ideas, I think, and some
thing which does not hurt the
sale of papers either. Perhaps
you've heard about the ' New
Town Bee 1 , a small New Eng
land paper which has built
up a large circulation far
from the New Town area just
by creating such a forum. It's
refreshing to many to see re
flected in this way the grass
roots exercise of democracy,
problems discussed openly and
honestly thrashed out an
exercise not all unrelated to
less regional issues.
Although I often find the
views expressed in the Ameri
can Way Features you carry
somewhat overstated and al
though I would like to see you
publish a more moderately
toned commentary to bal
ance at least some things said
there, I have very much ap
preciated your getting bra\dy
involved in many local issues
—in particular the issue of
what might be called the pol
lution of Burnsville's aesthetic
environment. Burnsville is
right now just at that crucial
stage of development when
it can lose much of its un -
usual appeal to tourists and
others by overlooking or be
coming careless in protecting
itself against all sorts of prob
lems concomitant with its
inevitable growth. For exam
ple, the highway bypassing
the town square seems already
a threat to the beauty of the
town. There is little there
to suggest to those passing by,
unacquainted with Burnsville,
the beauty of the square or
the general charm of the town
itself. At the crest of the
hill where 19E intersects witfi
the street leading past the
NuWray garage, a kind of
gateway to the town could be
created with landscaping and
shrubbery. Aesthetic sensiti
vity in a populace is neither
socially nor economically ir
revelant, it seems to me, in
the long run. The quality of
life is equal in importance to
the quantity of goods and ser
vices. ......"
Burnsville, situated in a
unique and stimulating geo -
graphical setting, participates
in a unique cultural heritage
which offers it a trulyunusual
opportunity to serve itself
and others. Hopefully your
articles and various reminfers
can help it retain its unusual
qualities. It has a singular
chance to keep balanced a
great many factors social,
cultural, and environmental
a balance difficult and almost
prohibitively expensive to
attain in other places now.
Keep up the good work.
Everett Kivette
DEAR MR. PUBLISHER,
by PARSON JONES
Dear Mr. Publishers
I reckon most folks are getting ready for Christ
mas right now. We've already started at our house.
Like the federal government our younguns have a
budget demand that far exceeds our income. And,
the only way we can meet the kids' demands is to
follow the government again and go in the h01e....
Only trouble is we ain't got no taxes to get it back
It seems like the more money I get the less it!s worth.
I read where one fellow had $50.00 worth of gro -
ceries stolen from his car last week because he for
-to lock his glove compartment. I reckon this is
what experts mean when they say we've devalmd the
face of the dollar. That's where a dollar still looks
like a dollar, but it ain't worth a dollar.
I reckon this move had to come sooner or later.
It's kinda like the second stage of a rocket. Our
first stage was to devalue the face of man. I don%
know whether Darwin's theory that man ain't nothing
but an over-sized bull- frog had anything to do with
it or not. Or maybe Henry Ford started it when he
made man an assessory to an automobile. (He?s the
nut that holds the wheel). Or, maybe industry start
ed it when man became the gimmic that pushes the
buttons.
I doubt if we'll ever be able to capture the real
culprit, but if somebody don't soon come up with
the answer everything is gonna be devalued. Our
cities are cluttered, our air is polluted, and cur food
is infected.
I reckon Albert Schweitzer was right when he said
we should have "reverence for all life". That means
looking at everything like it was holy. And the first
place to begin is with man. We gotta get over this
idea that man is a coat-hanger for the latest fashions,
a garbage can for food-fads, and a large eye-ball
for TV viewing.
Maybe we done a bad job when we took the Bible
outa public schools, cause it was the one book that
says man is created in the image of God. If a fella
believes he's the first cousin to a billy goat, chances
is he's gonna act like a billy goat. Or, if he's from
the same line as a skunk, there aiift no wonder he
goes around polluting everything. Well, so much for
inflation. I gotta run along now and get ready for
the "crash". So long.
Parson Jones
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THE YANCEY RECORD
Yancey Craftsmen Excell
(Cont'd from Page 1)
worthy undertaking. O f
the many interested visitors
who come especially for this
event, many see for the first
time the skills and tools of
their ancestors. And they
notice the pride in workman
ship which is too often lost
in this age of chrome and
neon. Some fair visitors be
come interested enough to
learn a craft for themselves*
as an avocation, or a new
vocation, finding a creative
enjoyment that enriches their
lives.
Our Yancey craftsmen take
a back seat to no one in the
variety and excellence of
their "arts and crafts". We
have pottery experts, skill -
ful weavers and needlework
m WMiiw—pk
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Order Her A
MOTHERS RING for CHRISTMAS
a gift she will treasure forever
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- JEWELBV
N.C.HHHK
DECEMBER 11, 1969
ers, painters, woodcarvers
a master ironworker and any
number of other craftsmen ;
most of them work in their
homes and enjoy local recog
nition for their fine work.
Burnsville's Daniel Boone
VI is mentioned in the Cheat -
ham's magazine story as
"another genius of the forge,
direct descendant of the famed
trail blazer."
"If one wants to learn a
craft, there's no better place
than these Blue Ridge Moun
tains," write the Cheatham*
We agree! - And we
would like to thank Everett
Kivette, co-director and in
structor of the summer art
classes here in Burnsville,for
calling our attention to this
article.
PAGE 3