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Tommy's great grandfather,
grandfather, father, and uncle
have all been before Burnsville
audiences, so it is only natural
that Tommy should follow in
their footsteps. The part of
Harlan, the youngest member
of the Clarence Day family in
"life With Father", Parkway
Playhouse's fourth play of the
season (July 25-28) will be
played by Tommy Koch, a
Burnsville Elementary School
student. ~~ '•
In the early twenties, Pro
fessor Fred H. Koch brought
his Carolina Playmakers here
horn Chapel Hill. Among his
playwright-actors was Thomas
Wolfe playing in one of his
first "The Return Os
Buck Gavin. " Another mem
ber of the troupe was Fred
Koch, Jr., who recalls that
when they came here it was
dogwood time. Fred, Sr.rode
part of the way on the top of
a bus—so he could see the
beauty of the dogwood-whit ei>
ed mountains.
Fred, Jr. who had come as
a child actor was destined to
make Burnsville an important
part of his life. Before,during
and after the period when the
University of Miami managed
the Playhouse (Fred is a pro -
fessor at the U of M) he direc
ted plays to delight Burnsville
audiences. Among those who
worked with Fred, Jr. as actors
were Lauren K. (Woody)Wbods
and his wife, Ellen (currently
in their 11th season at the
Playhouse) and W.C. "Mutt"
Buxton, veteran actor at the
Playhouse.
Fred Jr's son, Thom spent
childhood summers around the
Playhouse. He became part of
the tradition by acting in Mmmi,
and performing as a pit musi -
clan in Parkway's "Dirty Work
At'The Crossroads." Thom's
brother, Chris, played roles in
a few plays at the Playhouse
and served as an usher.
Thom and his wife, Sue,
and their boys Billy and Tom -
my gladly gave up their city
lot in Miami for a home on
Bolen's Creek. They moved
here last year and have become
active in the community.
To the casual observer who
sees "life With Father" at the
Parkway Playhouse, Tommy
will be playing the child's role
of Harlan, but to the members
of his family, he bears the
Thespian torch for the fourth
generation.
Singing Rambos
Present Show
The Singing Rambos, a
gospel group from Nashville,
Term, will present a show
at the Mt. Mitchell Country
Music Park Sunday, August
sat2s 00 P.M. The show
is being sponsored by the South
Toe Volunteer Fire Department,
and one- half of the profits from
the performance will be donat
ed to the Fire Department.
Tickets for the show will be
$3.00 in advance and $3.50
at the gate.
Mt. Mitchell Country Mu
sic Park is located in the South
Toe River section, 1-1/2 miles
off Highway 80 on White Oak
Creek Road.
THE YANCEY JOURNAL
at^
4 - % HMp'
Jim Fisher, Val Coyne, Tommy Koch Star In Production
Playhouse Crew Excells In
Comedy, 'Life With Father’
By Harry Maussen
The foirth production of the
Parkway Playhouse season is the
classic comedy hit, "life With
Father", and it is warn,happy,
and hilarious. The comedy is
one of the best staged at the
Playhouse in many seasons and
the company is to be credited
for the high quality of the pro -
duction in all areas, from per
formance to sets to costumes to
direction. It is a delightful
evening.
The production is directed
by Parkway veteran Lauren K.
Woods (director of "1776") who
once again does a thoroughly
professional and creative job.
He has brought all the elements
of this detailed comedy into
fine focus and has coached his
actors to marvelous performances
Jim Fisher appears as the
fiery but loveable Father and
gives a performance of depth
and warmth. It is a difficult
role for any young actor and
Fisher is fine. His comedy
work is strong and he carries tte
age with no difficulty. Valerie
Coyne matches Fisher everystep
of the way in a lovely perfor -
mance as Vinnie, die sweet,
but slightly addled wife. This,
too, is a difficult role for a
college actor, but Miss Coyne
is excellent.
The family as a whole is
fine. The four sons are all
standouts and are played .by
Skip Lawiug (who is charming
in several love scenes with Pegi
Dick who appears as Mary Skin
ner), Larry Treu (who is very
funny throughout), and Kenny
Woods and Tommy Koch who
are adorable as the smaller
children.
Lending fine support are
Mary Sakalaris as giddy ; Cou
sin Cora, Miss Dick as Mary
Skinner, Gloria Shott as the
cook, John Tuck as the overly
pious minister, Rick Rawitz
and Bill Langbein as two doc
tors, and Mara Sage, Susan
Spink, Vicki Wade, and Mo
Newton as a long line of maids
I i
fired by Father.
The sets are by Michael
Voss and they are outstanding
in capturing the 1880’s Victor
ian period and the costumes by
Lynn Emmert are great aids to
the actors in the pioductionpot
only because they are attrac -
tive, but they help set the char
acterizations. The lights are
by Michael Castania with a
difficult properties assignment
well handled by Rob Jarvis.
This is the kind of produc -
tion that the Parkway Playhoise
excells in and they once agpin
prove it with this lovely pro
duction. This is one for the
whole family. Don't miss it!
Next week the Playhouse
will present the comedy hit
. "My Three Angels". Tickets
are available by calling 682-
6151 or at the booc office. Cur
tain time is 8:30.
Resne Squad
Meeting Held
The newly-formed Yancey
County Rescue Squad met this
week to elect officers and dis
cuss fund-raising activities.
Earlier this year the Rescue
Squad had filed articles of in
corporation with the North Ca
rolina Secretary of State and
has now been chartered as a
non-profit corporation.
The stated purpose of the
Squad is to protect lives and
assist other agencies in the pro
tection of property in Yancey
County. In addition, the Squad
will endeavor to assist agencies
in neighboring counties as the
need arises.
Newly-elected officers in
clude Arnold Higgins,president;
Jerry Laws and Wade Styles,
directors; Charles Crowder,cap
tain; Don McGalliard, first
lieutenant; Clarence Buchan
second lieutenant; William B.
Higgins, first sergeant; Kermit
Banks, sergeant-at-arms; and
John Humphrey, secretary-trea
surer.
Yancey School Board Buys
Property For New School
The purchase of the T. K.
Riddle property, one half mile
east of Riverside on Highway
19E was completed by the Yan
cey Comity Board of Education
an Monday, July 23. The one
hundred and twenty-four acre
tract is to be the site of a new
central high school. Voters
approved one and one-half mil
lion dollais in bonds for con
struction of the school in a
county wide referendum on
May 22.
The school site is located in
almost the exact geographic
center of the county and will
require only additional minutes
of transportation for students liv
ing in the most remote areas of
the county. The property in
cludes extensive frontage on
Highway 19E and will provide
excellent access and parking
areas. It ii bounded on the back
side by Cane River and includes
wooded acreage which is a na
tural setting for studies in sci
ence, agricultural and farming
methods. The main building
of the central school will pro
1 —BY JIM DEAN
The heavy rains that fell Memorial Day weekend caused
the most destructive flooding in recent years in many areas
of western North Carolina. Bridges were washed out, creeks
were scoured, and some folks saw their property and homes
damaged.
Particularly hard hit were several areas in the northeast -
em section of the mountains.
Recently, I visited the Daniel Boone Game Lands north
west of Lenoir in part of the Pisgah National Forest. I knew
the flooding had been rather extensive, but I was hardly pre
pared for what I found.
I was interested in seeing how the trout streams had fared.
Not very well, as it turns out.
Only the smaller streams escaped without rather severe
damage. Damage on the larger streams was so extensive
in some places that I did not even recognize areas that had
previously been very familiar.
Most of the large pools are heavily silted. In some pools
where once you could not see the bottoms, the water is now
shallow and flowing over sand and silt. True, the floods
gouged out some new pools, but more were lost than gained.
The ban Is of the streams are barren of trees in many arts
now. The waters pushed them over and also carried away
the grass, mosses and topsoil. In some places, nothing re
mains but bare, sun-baked rock where once there were
birches and other trees shading the stream, keeping it cool.
The sun on the rocks has warmed the waters, and even in
what was once the highest quality trout water, temperature
checks showed that the water was 70 degrees in the larger
streams of the area.
When water temperatures in a trout stream climb above
70 degrees, the streams begin to "die" as quality trout habi
tat. Doubtless, before the summer is over, the temperature
in many of the streams will top 75 degrees. That doesn't
mean necessarily that the trout will die, but fishing will
probably be poorer for the next few years.
In some cases, the streams have abandoned their old
channels for hundreds of yards and are scattered across the
white rocks in smail runs and riffles. Debris hangs in some
of the remaining trees 20 feet above normal water level. .
But it could have been a lot worse. The Daniel Boone
area has suffered two disasterous floods during this century,
one in 1916 and another in 1940. The 1940 flood wiped out
whole villages. The trout survived, but it took years forthe
watershed to recover.
I have an old photograph taken prior to 1940 of one of
the logging, resort, and industrial towns in this area. The
town is gone now, washed away by the flood, By looking at
the photograph, it is not difficult to see why the 1940 flood
(Cont'd on page 3)
THURSDAY, JULY 26,1973
bably be situated on the high
est elevation of the property
providing a panoramic view
including Bald Mountain and
Mt. Mitchell. Included in
the overall plan are footb all
stadium, lighted softball Helds
and band- practice fields. The
school is being planned by the
Asheville architectural firm of
Padgett spnd Freeman. ft is
expected that site preparation
will begin this fall with actual
construction to start in the
spring or early summer of 1974.
The referendum on May 22
included funds for the renova -
tion and reconstruction of exis
ting buildings. Workers have
been busy at several schools in
stalling carpet in libraries and
kindergarten rooms. Board of
Education plans call for tiling
of floors where there is now
only a concrete base. Plans
also include lowering of ceil
ings and installation of modem
ftourescent lighting where it is
needed. Painting and other
general repairs are being made
during the summer.
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Madame Liii Kraus
Madame Lili Kraus Views
Worid, Music Contribution
By Carmela Woodruff
World-famous pianist Ma -
dame Lili Kraus, whose annual
benefit concert Sunday at 3:30
p. m. in the Burnsville Baptist
Church will again enthrall her
audiencp, is "totally open to
life". Many celebrated musi
cians live music-centered lives
to Jhe extent that world prob -
lems are not allowed to intrude.
Madame Kraus, who has appear
ed with great orchestras and in
music festivals on all continents
and is a lecturer in residence at
Texas Christian University, is a
rare exception. Her concern
includes today’s most grievous
problems. Qreed and lack of
forethought, in her opinion, are
at the basis of many current
world ills.
At times she views the major
crises in the world with despair.
She abhors the devastation and
waste that brought about the de
secration of the earth's environ
ment. Deploring the havoc
wrought by war, she is convinc
ed that the vast sums spent on
destruction could be used to
reclaim the earth. She express
ed anguish at the spread of nar
cotics addiction, which she has
learned has claimed even six
year-old children as its victims.
Pornographic shows she ccnsitfcrs
degrading to actor and viewer
alike.
The present plight of man
kind, she feels, will not endure.
Man will resolve pressing prob
lems, she is firmly convinced,
because in the eternal conflict
between good and evil, good
will triumph. Drawing upon
her contacts with students at
the many universities where she
is a lecturer, Madame Kraus
affirms her faith in today's
young people, insisting "the
majority of today's youth is
serious, pure and with high
aspirations".
Commenting on "pop" mu
sic, she felt it has its place but
that the much-heralded "Jesus
, * s. -'h '
Christ Super Star" fails to con
vey a religious message and in
her opinion is merely enter -
tainment.
. Madame Kraus attributes her
continuing acclaim as one of
the great contemporary pianists
to "my deep desire to do jus -
tice to the Lord who gave me
my talent, to the composer, to
the work and to myself". Her
willingness to adhere to a grid
ing schedule is motivated, she
explains, by "my wish to lift
people into the realm of eter
nal beauty".
Her lengthy career received
a cruel jolt when she was in
terned in a Japanese prison
camp during World War n. She
dismisses the hardship and hor
ror of that period with the phi
losophical observation that it
enabled her to identify with
suffering humanity.
Beauty, charm, warmth
and graciousness are facets of
the vibrant personality of this
spectacularly gifted musician.
When Madame Kraus performs
on a concert stage or enters a
room she projects a radiance.
Her choice for the opening num
ber in Sunday's recital is
Haydn's "Fantasie in C Major'}
which she claims shows the
"versatility and infinite rich
ness of Haydn's mastery". This
will be followed by Mozart's
’'Quintet in E Flat Major" for
piano, clarinet, oboe, horn
and bassoon. The next selec
tion, Mozart's "Fantasie in C
Minor" is in contrast to the
first two pieces, Madame Knus
pointed out, and is "as tragic
as the quintet is gay". "Vaises
Nobles" by Schubert will close
the program.
Because of her passionate in
terest in Musk: in the Moun
tains, she has assumed the role
of its guiding spirit as well as
honorary director. She stresses
d.««unc re d*rtoddb. B lva,
to Eve Lynne Reeve, whose
(Cant'd on page 3)
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Farmers Are
Tour Hosts
Two Yancey County farmers
will be host osi Tuesday, July
31, to a group of agricultural
administrators from North Caro
lina State University and the
T eaneasee Valley Authority.
County Extension Chairman
W. C. Bledsoe said the adminis
trators will be visiting the farms
of Grover and James Warren
West all and Wayne Me Curry.
They will also observe a 4-H
project of Johnny Harris.
"The administrators are visi
ting with farmers in several wes
tern North Carolina counties,"
Bledsoe explained. "They want
to take a first hand look at
problems associated with the
production of farm enterprises,
and to discuss opportunities to
increase farm income. They
will also discuss resources need
ed to meet the needs of farm
people in this area."
Representing NCSU on the
tour will, be Dr. J. E. Legates,
dean of the School of Agricul
ture and life Sciences; Dxs.
George Hyatt, Jr. of the N.C,
Agricultural Extension Service;
Ed Foil, assistant extension dir
ector; and Denver Robinson,
district extension chairman.
They will be accompanied by
several department heads and
commodity specialists at NCSU.
Representing TV A on the
tour will be William I. Jenkins,
a director; Dr. Porter Russ,
chief of the Resource Develop
ment Branch; and Hobart N.
Stroud, assistant gen. manager.
Bledsoe said the visitors vdll
observe new research on curing
hurley tobacco on the Westall
farm, a commercial Straw
berry demonstration on the Mc-
Curry farm, and a vine-ripen
ed tomato on the demonstratkn
by Johnny Harris.
Debaters At
ASU lasthete
Iris Gail Gouge and Sherry
Dale Bennett of Relief are at
tending the High School De
bate Institute on the Appala -
chian State University campus
July 16-27.
Iris is the daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Dallas Gouge of Tip
ton Hill Road, and Shexry is
the daughter of Mr. and Mo.
Clarence Bennett of Relief.
They are among 17 students
from North Carolina, South
Carolina and T ennessee at the
two-week institute to prepare
the 1973-74 high school debate
topic and learn debate princi
ples. ASU speech professors
Dr. Howard Dorgan and Terry
Cole are directing the institute.
Students will participle la
a practice debate tournament
July 26-27. They will debate
whether the federal governmevt
should provide a guaranteed
minimum income for families.
Next week's edition of the I