One Year Ago...
One year ago-on November 6,
1977, flood waters raged through
Yancey County tearing down
bridges, dCvStroying homes,
washing out roads and
devastating farmland. It was a
disaster of major proportions and
Yancey County was officially
declared a Disaster Area by
President Carter.
Many individuals and many
organizations have worked long
and hard to help restore the coun
ty, and in some ways, these effor-
have been successful. But no one
who was here the night of the flood
will ever forget its impact, which
has left its mark on our minds and^
hearts.
Three expectant'mpthers were
flown out from the Big Creek sec
tion of Yancey County by helicop
ter after the flood had left them in
dangerous isolation, and
delivered their babies safe and
sound in Memorial Mission
Hospital, Asheville. The three
babies celebrated their first bir
thdays a few days early with a
birthday party at the home of one,
of the mothers, Mrs. Benny
Phillips, last Saturday. The
babies are Michael Garry Fox,
son of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth G.
Fox, born November 9; Rayrflbiid-
Curtis Phillips,' son of Mr. arid
Mrs. Benny Ray Phillips, born
No^mber 9; and Tara Renee
Briggs, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Darrell Briggs, born November 8,
1977.
- ★
RAYMOND PHILLIPS, TARA BRIGGS, born MICHAEL FOX, born
born November 9,1977 November 8,1977 November 9,1977
Council Explores Needs:
Forum On Women
The former Harris High
School Auditorium in Spruce
Pine, (now Harris Middle
School) will be the gathering
place for people of Western
North Carolina to meet to
discuss “The Southern
Female Myth-Hopefully,
Gone With The Wind.” The
meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Friday night, November 10.
Refreshments will be served
at 7:00 p.m.
The guest speaker will-be
Carey Connell Sutton, a
professional actress who has
studied and performed in
places ranging from San
Francisco to Minneapolis to
New York City.
Sutton will dramatize
several humorous yet
poignant historical profiles of
rural Southern women in their
own words. She will portray
their feelings about them
selves as well as the society
they lived in.
Local people taking part in
the program include a panel of
respondents, Mrs. J.C.
South Toe VFD
Closes FHA Loan
The Board of Directors of
the South Toe Volunteer Fire
Department would like to an
nounce the closing of the
Farmers Home Ad
ministration loan in the
amount of $190,000.00. The
loan is to be used to construct
a firehouse at Busick, pur
chase a new 4-wheel drive
Ward LaFrance Pumper,
upgrade present fire com
munications equipment, and
train and equip an Emergency
Medical Technician Team.
The cL..;ng was completed on
Thursday evening, November
2, at 7:30 p.m. in the cour
troom.
This loan will enable the fire
department to handle fire and
other emergency situations
more effectively.
Plans are being made to
have an open house as soon as
the firehouse has been com
pleted and the pumper
received, so that the public
may see what purchases have
been made.
There is presently a twelve-
member team of technicians
for any medical emergency,
as well as the fire-fighting
team. The telephone number
to call for the South Toe Volun
teer Fire Department is 682-
2421,
THE YANCEY
JOURNAL
^ VOL. 6, NO 45 BURNSVILLE, N.C. 28714 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1978 1 5*^ ]
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Hollifield, Mrs. Norris
Masters and Mrs. James
Johnson. Also, Elizabeth Hun
ter will be moderator for the
program.
This is the third in a series of
public forums on the theme
“Images of Appalachian
Women.” The forums are
sponsored by the Council on
Appalachian Women, Inc. and
local community
organizations. The Council
was established to define the
needs and design programs to
meet the needs of the women
in the thirteen Appalachian
states. The series of forums is
an initial effort in support of
public educational programs.
The programs are funded by
a grant from the N.C.
Humanities Committee.
This program is open to the
public and is being brought to
you by members of the local
planning committee.
Of Trft.
Ceuxty
Attorney
Thomas
Dies
Phillip M. Thomas, 43, a
prominent Burnsville attor
ney, died November 2, 1978 at
Spruce Pine Hospital of an ap
parent heart attack.
Mr. Thomas was a former
district attorney for the 24th
Judicial District, an attorney
for Yancey County and the
Town of Burnsville, past
president of the Yancey Coun
ty Chamber of Commerce and
a member of Vesper Lodge
No. 554 of Spruce Pine.
Phillip Thomas graduated
from Berea College and the
University of North Carolina
School of Law at Chapel Hill
where he received a degree of
Juris Doctor. He was admitted
to the N.C. State Bar
Association the same year of
graduation and later became
a member of the American
Bar Association.
A native of Yancey County,
he was a son of the late Lowe
Thomas, former superior
court clerk of Yancey County,
and Ethel Hughes Thomas.
Mr, Thomas was known for
his love of recreation and
sports activity. He was a for
mer little league coach for
Yancey County and the large
bass on his den wall could
testify to his fishing skills.
Those who had the privilege of
being on the golf course with
Mr. Thomas will remember
the sportsmanship and com
petitive spirit he displayed.
Phillip won several tour
naments at Mt. Mitchell Golf
Course this past year and
recently had a hole in one on
the 11th hole at Mt. Mitchell.
' This past Saturday services
were officiated by Revs. Don
Shuman and Ben I./ee Ray and
were held at Higgins
Memorial United Methodist
Church in Burnsville. The
family and many friends, in
cluding Congressman Lamar
Gudger and Superior Court
Judges William Anglin and
Ronald Howell attended.
Bivouacking
1
Helicopters were a common sight at this
time last year, when the National Guard came
to help Yancey County at a time of great need.
The helicopters seen this week, however, are
not from the National Guard, but belong to the
U.S. Army, Troop C, First Squadron, 1-17
Cavalry, 82nd Airborne from Fort Bragg. The
squadron is bivouacking at Mountain Wilder
ness for maneuvers. The 130 men, who helped
volunteer firemen put out a fire in the Pen
sacola area Saturday, are using three types of
helicopters-the AH-1 Cobra, UH -1 Huey and
OH-58 Bell. The helicopters and army vehicles
with their occupants clothed in khaki
camouflage uniforms, look more like TV news
participants than part of our quiet, rural life.
Photos by Harvey Blatz
ifcS ■ “