THE YANCEY JOURNAL
VOL. 4, NO 13
Mt. Mitchell Golf Club Gets
Pro; June Opening Set
Richard Gragg, 30-year
old pro at Blowing Rock
Country Club for the past 10
years, is to be the golf pro at
Mount Mitchell Golf Club
which is scheduled to open
June 15, 1975.
The selection of Gragg to
serve v-«s) pro at the new
18-hoJe public) course, located
at the foot of Mt. Mitchell’s
slopes on N.C. 80 was
announced by Verne Floyd,
president of Mt. Mitchell
Lands. The project was begun
three years ago by Floyd and
Harold King of Hickory. Lee
King and Jim Floyd serve as
managers at the 650 acre
development. To date, 130
homesites have been sold
with 4 miles of all-weather
roads and a central water
system completed.
A native of the Blowing
Rock area, Gragg served as
assistant to Bruce Sudderth
until he moved up to head pro
more than three years ago
when Sudderth became head
pro at Gastonia Country Club.
“Gragg was highly re
commended for the position at
Mt. Mitchell by Sudderth and
more than, half a dozen other
pros,” Floyd said. “We
selected him for his ability as
a teaching pro, club manager
and good merchandising abi
lity,’’ ho -
“One of his finest recom
mendations as a teaching pro
came from Robert Kepler,
golf pro at Hound Ears
Young Peoples Theatre To
_____ __ /
Perform In Yancey County
The Theatre for Young
People Professional Touring
Repertory Company is coming
to Yancey County on April 1
with its exciting production of
Rum pel stilts kin. The colorful
adventure-filled adaptation of
the Grimms’ fairy tale will be
performed by a cast of seven
talented young actors. The
appearance at Cane River
High School gym is made
as part of a ten-week tour set
up by the Department of
Drama and Speech at the
University of North Carolina
at Greensboro. The effort is
part of the University’s
College of Arts and Sciences
attempt to bring live quality
theatre to the young people of
the state and provide em
ployment for North Carolina
artists.
The part of Rumpelstik*
skin will be played by
Leak who has played leading
roles at A & T University in
Greensboro in “The King and
I”, “A Raisin in the Sun’’,
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia
Woolf?”, “The Blacks”,
"Slow Dance on the Killing
Ground”, and "In White
America”. Junious was awar
ded the Best Actor award
from A & T in 1973 and 1974
and is dedicated to becoming
a successful actor.
Sybil Rosen will play the
Miller’s Daughter who with
Rumpelstiltskin’s help spins
straw into gold. Sybil gradua
ted from UNC-G in 1972 and
has since played roles in
“Godspell”, “The Fantas
ticks”, "The Killing of Sister
George”, “Two for the
Seesaw”, and “Teahouse of
the August Moon” for theatre
throughout the South. For
UNC-G Theatre she played
leading roles in "Dark of the
Moon”, “Waiting for Godot”
and “The Tempest”, and
many more. This past sum
met* she led an improvisation
al workshop for children at
Lake Lanier, Georgia and has
appeared in several children’s
theatre productions.
*■>’ ' {
Country Club. Kepler, coach
of Jack Nicklaus and Tom
Weiskopf while they were at
Ohio State, had worked with
Gragg in the teaching field to
some extend during the past
few years,” Floyd continued.
In addition to his position
at Blowing Rock during the
spring, summer and fall,
■ i JP
Richard Gragg
Gragg at times Hacf helped at
Cedar Rock Country Club at
Lenoir and Hound Ears.
During the winter months he
was at Pine Lakes Interna
tional Country Club at Myrtle
Beach, S.C.
A Ctes A member of
PGA, Gragg will assume his
duties at the Mt. Mitchell club
May 1.
In addition to announcing
The greedy Kins will be
portrayed by Barry Bell who
has played leading roles in
UNC-G Theatre productions*
of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
“The Balcony”, “That Cham
pionship Season”, and “Luv”
and he has played leading
roles for Dinner Theatres in
Greensboro, Atlanta, Char
lotte and Kingsport, Tennes
see. He is from Charlotte and
was active in high school and
community theatres there.
Barry appeared in "The
Emperor’s New Cloths” and
“Good Grief, A Griffin” for"
TYP. In January he was
chosen to auditipn for the .
University Resident Theatre
Association. V
The Prince will be played
by Michael Lilly. Michael
Project Will Bring Back Deer Scenes Like This
®" ' " s>
*: , i - . *
BURNSVILLE, N.C. 28714
Gragg as the club pro, Floyd
revealed that work on the club
house at the rolling golf
course has started. “We hope
to have the club house in
operation for the opening of
the course in mid-June,”
Floyd said.
The new Mt. Mitchell
18-hole layout will conform
with gentle slopes of the land,
6600 yards in length. Built
around the South Toe River 1
that sidewinds through it like
a lazy snake, the course will
have small, well contoured
greens in keeping with most
recent trends in greens
construction. Fifty-five white
feldspar sandtraps and three
fast moving streams add to
the beauty and challenge of
the course which was laid out
so it can be traversed easily
on foot or by cart; Sand will be
added to the traps in May.
Penncross bent grass will
cover the greens and tees;
fairways will be a mixture of
highland bent, fine bladed
fescues, and Kentucky blue
grass. Irrigation has been
installed on fairways and
greens; seeding is now
complete.
The club has announced
that a number of season
passes are available lasting
for a 1-year period from the
opening date. Persons inter
ested sncuio can u/j'uu ui
come by the sales office on
South Toe River Road for
more information.
most recently played the lead
in “Barefoot in the Park” at
the Dinner Theatre of the Sir
Walter Hotel in Raleigh. A
recent graduate from UNCSG,
Michael appeared in “The
Oriestia” which was chosen to
perform in the American
College Theatre Festival at
the Kennedy Center in
Washington. No stranger to
* -i * luuimg, raiuuaci pjayea
several roles the
Devil in 4he 1973 show,
“Punch and Judy”.
The part of the Miller will
be played by Bill Raulerson
who'has performed in Dinner
Theatres in Greensboro and
Charlotte, Atlanta, and in
Kingsport in leading roles in
“The Lion in Winter”, “One
[Cont’d on page 2]
r,.
'
rafHRI 'I l i -j rVtf iw
Mt Mitchell Golf Course Is Nearing Completion
.. — ........ ..
Vacatioi Homes Are Pan Os Ml. Mitchell Lands Pr^jeci
Wildlife Alien:
i * --■» 1 ' ' I -
Deerßestoration Underwar
BY JIM DEAN
There are more whitetail
deer in North Carolina than at
any time in recorded history.
biological estimates run as
ligh as half a million deer,
ind there are parts of the
itate-particularly in the east
I -which are so overrun that
leer are considered a nui
iance to gardens and crops.
But despite this popula
ion explosion, there are still*
mckets in the state where
j leer are scarce. Some parts of
• he piedmont and mountains
j till have few deer.
However, the N.C. Wild
ife Resources Commission is
1 nthe process of conducting a
I estoration program which
I /ill increase deer populations
I n more than a dozen areas of
1 he stats. The projects are
laid for entirely by hunters
||nd fishermen (no general tax
llunds are involved).
STOCKING DEER
“We’re already at work
Rocking three areas and *
ye’re about 20 percent
Inished,” said Larry Warlick,
Issistant chief of the Division
If Game. Warlick is in charge
f the overall deer restoration
rogram.
“Game management field
rews have already put about ,
THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 1975
i 30 deer in the New Hope area
in Chatham County,” said
Warlick. “We’re planning to
stock about 75 there. As of the
middle of February, we have
.also released about 15 deer in
the Bluff Mountain section of
Madison County, and about
15 in the Cowee Mountain
section of Swain, Jackson and
Macon counties. The reason
we’re ahead in Chatham
County is because we already
had some deer penned near
by which we used for
stocking. *—
“We’re planning to put
about oO deer in Bluff
Mountain and 50 in Cowee,
added Warlick. “All these
stocked deer will be wild,
live-trapped deer.”
PAUSE DURING SEASON -
Warlick said that trap
ping and stocking will con
tinue until sometime in April
and hopes are high that the
first three areas will be
essentially stocked by then.
Trapping and stocking will
resume following the’ next
hunting season, and Raven
Rock State Park is slated to be
one of the next areas to be
4
•stocked. In fact, stocking at
Raven Rock may begin this
year if enough deer are
trannpH fn An U
trapped to do it.
“If we get a good deer
population established on
Raven Rock, they’lf expand
into the surrounding area,”
said Warlick.
AREAS STUDIED
Warlick show v ’me a list
of the areas being studied for
possible deer restoration.
Among those being evaluated
are4he Broad River section of
Cleveland County, the Snow
bird Mountain area of Swain,
Graham and Cherokee coun
ties, and Elk Knob in Ashe
and Watauga counties; how
ever, these are only tentative
at this point.
“We’re not just stocking
deer, oi course, * said War
lick. “We’re also going to do
habitat improvement in these
areas and we're already
working on this in the areas
we’re now stocking. Habitat
improvement is important and
is a continuing prograip on aH
deer restoration areas.”
Warlick explained that in
[Coat’d on page 21
Land
Needed For
Recreation
The Yancey County Rec
! reation Commission has been
formally approved by the
| Board of County Commissio
ers. The newly appointed
commission held its first
meeting at the courthouse lart
I week. At this meeting by-laws
I were adopted, standing com-
I mittee appointed, officers
were elected and overall
I program goals were formulat-
I ed.
I Commission members
f have been selected from all
areas of the county. Current
petitions are being circulated
throughout the county in an
effort to demenstrate citizen
support for a county recreat
ion program. The support and
cooperation of the entire
county is requested by the
commission. Ideas and prop
osals from groups and for
individual are welcomed.
Land acquisition is the
first Ipriority- of the commiss
j ion. It is hoped that a central
recreation facility can be built
along with several mini parks
in outlying areas of the
county. Other counties that
have undertaken programs of
this nature have relied heavly
on land donations (which are
tax deductable( from individ
uals and groups.
The appraised value of the
donated land will be matched
dollar for dollar by the
approch permits the county to
obtain Federal funds for
construction. Persons wishing
to donate lands (any acreage
will be considered) should
contact: Chairman Yancey
Recreation Commission P.O.
Box 728, Burnsville, N.C.
28714 Phone 682-6773 Or
Chairman Acqusition and
Development Committee Ya
ncey County Recreation Co
mmission Box 97 Rt. 6
Burnsville, N.C. 28714
Monthly
Billing Is
Slated
French Broad Electric
Membership Corporation Off
ices will be closed on E»ter
Monday, March 31, 1975, for
Holiday.
» French Broad Electric
menbership Corporation Ann
ounces a 30-Day billing Cycle
for all consumers. Commenc
ing with tjhe bills rendered on
Aprill, 1975, all consumers
served by French RmaH
* IV.UUI oroaa
Electric Membership Corpor
ation will be placed on
monthly billing.
For many years, the
rural residential consumers
(farm and home) of French
Broad EMC have been billed
bi-monthly.
Members will continue to
receive meter reading cards
bi-monthly as in the past. On
the interim month, and
estimated bill will be render
ed and an adjustmen made on
the bill when a true reading is
received the following month.
Graduation
Dance To
Be Held
Mt. Mitchell Swingers
Western Square Dance Club
wiU have it’s 2nd? graduation
dance on Friday, March 28, at
8:00 p.m. in the East Yancev
High School gym.
People who are interested
in the new class are invited to
come and watch. The new
class will begin May 17th.
. u Com u e J nd en i°y the
fellowship of square dancing.
&ncing are no drinking and
i
10 c