The Cherokee mm Scout
? u. CwMty'i b... Buy* f antf C/ay County Progress
Volume 77- Number 44 Muiphy, Mortk CmIIm May, 25, 1967 14 Po|M Hill Wiik at murphy, north Carolina
Andrews Raceway: Only
Closed Track In SWNC
By Red Schuyler
Have you ever given any
thought as to how stock car
racing, the number two
spectator sport, in the nation
was born?'f the answer is yes,
and you art. jtill looking for the
answer, you need to pay a visit
to die only closed track in the
far western pert of western
North Carolina. This is the
only track between Asheville
North Carolina and Cleveland,
Tennessee. The trade is called
the Andrews Motor Raceway
and is located five miles east
of Andrews between Andrews
and Topton.
To begin with, itappearsthat
the owner tried to hide it from
the public because it is loc
ated about an eighth of a mile
off thehlghway up Indie woods.
Back many years ago a few
fellows got together, took
some old beat up cars, incor
porated a few safety features
into them, took a road scraper
and scraped out a small oval
place and called it a racetrack
and decided to have some fun
and take racing off die highway
and put it where it should be.
To begin with it was for fun
and competition. In our good
old USA where you have a
competitive sport going on it
attracts people. The "%oys"
decided that people would pay
to see automobiles race. As it
continued to attract more and
more people, promoters rea
lized that under better con
ditions, with better and faster
cars and more drivers the
spectator potential was unli
mited.
The first Super track was
built at Darlington, S.C. Then
came Charlotte Motor Speed
way to be followed by Atlanta
.Raceway, then the Super
Super track at Daytona Beach
then Rockingham, N.C. These
are all tracks a mile or more
in length. There are other
shorter tracks at Bristol,
Tenn., North Wilkesboro, N.
C., Martinsville Va., and
Weaverville, N.C. plus many
others.
Now we have the Andrews
Motor Speedway. This would
have to be considered an "Out
law" track because it is not
sanctioned by any racing or
ganization. Its not as nice as
the above mentioned tracks
!and neither is it a long track.
As a matter of fact it is just
about the shortest closed track
' on record. But the main thing
'about it is that die competition
J is there, plus lots of action.
- I have never seen a
demolition derby race before
but I came away from Andrews
Motor''Speedway Saturday
night thinking that this is close
to being a demolition derby.
Saturday night, die largest
; crowd ever to witness a Stock
car race between Asheville,
N.C. and Cleveland, Tenn.,
saw Rex Ledfordof Hayesville
win one of the heat races and
the feature event. It was esti
mated that 350 people were on
hand. You say that's not much
of a crowd, but 111 bet you
that when some of the super
stars of NASCAR started
racing, they raced for smaller
crowds than that. Most of these
drivers are now retired
or deceased. Like most any
thing that grows, it has to
icrawl before it begins to walk,
jand in turn walk before it can
run. If you were one of the 350
r'cple there Saturday night,
bet you got your money's
worth.
. I wish it were possible for
me to give you an eye witness
account of what took place
^Saturday night at Andrews
?Motor Speedway. Not being
able to remember all that oc
cur ed, 111 try to give you a
little description of what hap
pened in die following
paragraphs:
After "irrigating" die
(rack (that keeps die dust
down) the track announcer
aaked the drivers to get ready
for time trials. About 8:15
the first of two 12-lap bests
got underway. The winner of
leach heat was to receive $10.
Ifor his services. Six cars
participated in each heat. Be
fore die first heat ooe of the
ears had to pull off the start
ng line and go to the pits for
tape Irs. He re-entered the
heat after about nine laps were
run. He knew he had no chance,
but he came to run, and if
running were possible he
meant to do just that.
The first heat was won by
Rex Ledford of Hayesvllle dri
ving a Chevrolet. The second
heat was won by W.T. "Light
ning" Mauldin of Murphy in a
push button Plymouth. Both
boys were now in the money.
No matter what happened in the
feature they would leave with a
profit. The entrance fee was
$5.00 so now die/ had a profit
Of $5.00.
After about thirty minutes
intermission which was not
planned but necessary for
some of the drivers to patch
up and make necessary
repairs to their cars, the
grueling 50-lap feature got
underway.
"Blue Sue" an off-breed car
had the inside pole and got
off to a fast start and built
up a half lap lead with George
Postell and Rex Ledford in hot
pursuit at the end of four laps.
Going into the fifth lap on the
back straightaway Robert Cut
shaw was either crowded
out or lost control and went
outside the track and half way
down the embankment. But be
fore doing so, he took down
about three light poles and
lights. The race was stopped
and his car was pulledbackon
the track by the wrecker. After
checking over his car he re
entered the race but had to
fall in to the rear.
On about the 15th lap with
"Blue Sue" almost a lap ahead
ot everyone else, "Sue" broKe
a drag link or tie rod and
instead of negotiating the first
turn kept going straight ahead
Instead of turning. She bounced
apout three feet in die air and
went halfway out of the track.
That was the death kiss for
"Blue Sue". Had she stayed
in the race, she might
have won. Again after a short
delay, the race was resumed
under the green flag. On the
24th lap the race was again
stopped. This time
"Lightning" Mauldin ran off
the track on the back side
at just about the same place
that Cutshaw took off. He too
took out four more light poles
and lights. At this stage of the
race, the third and fourth turns
were almost dark. You could
see the cars going into the
third turn and barely see diem
coming off the fourth onto
the front straight-away.
Lightning" got his car
back on the track and resumed
raciqg after falling into the
rear of the pack.
After the race resumed once
again, Ledford was in the lead
and on the 30th lap Postell
overtook Ledford and led for
about five laps (With Ledford
right on his bumper. On the
36th lap, Postell failed to make
the fourth turn and headed for
the ticket office and stopped
just short of it. The race
was stopped for Postell to
m ake a tire change. This would
have given Ledford the lead,
but he too decided to change
his right front tire. This
forced both boys to resume
the race at die rear end,
giving "Lightning" Mauldin
the lead with about seven of
the starting twelve cars still
running. Mauldin was soon
passed by Postell and Led
ford with Ledford the win
ner, Postell second and
Mauldin third. Ledford rec
eived $100.00 for his efforts.
It was quite a race and the
spectators really got their
money's worth.
The A.M.R. takes you back
about 18 years if you have been
following stock car racing. If
you are not a racing fan and
you would like to see just how
stock car racing was born and
to see it given birth here in
the western part of western
N.C., then you need to see the
next race at die only closed
circuit between Asheville,
N.C. and Cleveland, Tenn.
"Mousey" Conley. Owner,
promoter, part-time flagman,
and sometimes driver informs
us that inspite of the beating
the track took plus the light
poles and lights have to be
replaced pi us improvements
to die track, that a race will
be held this Saturday night
He also announced that on
Wednesday night May 31st at
8:00 p.m. a meeting will be
held for the drivers, car ow
ners and interested persons
at the track. All owners,dri
vers and prospective owners
and drivers are requested to
be present.
So fellows get ready, they'll
be off and running again Satur
day night. Remember, at the
A.M.R. you can run what you
bring as long as it meets
safety specifications.
Federal Funds Improve
County School Libraries
^ Ru fta us Rrnrp
By Dave Bruce
Libraries in the schools of
the Cherokee County unit have
shown atremenduousincrease
in the number of books avail
able and die total circulation
and a great improvement in
library facilities in die past
year.
Figures released this week
by Library Supervisor, Mrs.
Nancy Helms, show a total ex
penditure of $23,825.38 in the
school libraries. Federal
funds account for over $21,000
of the total while the State pro
vided $1,327 and local funds
used were $1,246.80.
Mrs. Helms said the Fed
eral funds were provided un
der the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act. The
program under this act has
been in operation since March
1966.
Seven full-time library
aides are now employed,one
for each school library. Prior
to the beginning of this pro
gram, teachers worked in the
library in their spare timd and
much of the time, the libraries
were unattended, Mrs. Helms
pointed out.
The library aides are: Mrs.
Virginia Burgess, Ranger;
Mrs. Harry Bagley, Hiwassee
Dam High School; Mrs. Vesta
Stiles, Hiwassee Dam Ele
mentary School; Mrs. Helen
Mason, Unaka; Mrs. Boyd
Rogers, White Church; Mrs.
Emalene Clontz, Peachtree;
and Mrs. AliceChastaln,Mar
tlns Creek.
Before the library aides
were hired, "many of the li
braries were nothing more
than junk and storage rooms"
and most schools did not have
a card catalog, Mrs. Helms
said.
A total of 3,437 books have
been added to the shelves of
the libraries under the cur
rent program.
In addition to books, 94 film
strips and 269 records have
been added to the libraries.
The most impressive gain
in circulation is at Ranger
School. Circulation was about
3,000 there last year. This
year's figure is 21,482.
Federal funds have been
ysed to pay the total cost of
tape recorders, audio-visual
aids, maps, globes, and furni
ture. The Federal aid also
pays the total salaries of the
library aides.
The Story Hour for the
younger students has become a
regular feature at the librar
ies under this program. The
children are shown film strips
and play folk games with the
records. The record supply
includes story records.
Another improvement has
been die addition of new maga
zine subscriptions for the li
braries. Ranger, for instance,
was getting no magazines a
year ago and now has 21 mag
azine subscriptions.
The number of books added
during the past year in each
library is: Ranger, 873; Hi
wassee Dam High School, 668;
Martins Creek, 514; Peach
tree, 490; Hiwassee Dam Ele
mentary scnool, as/; wnite
Church, 281; and Unaka, 224.
New filmstrips include 22 at
Peachtree, 20 at Hiwassee
Dam High School, 19 at Mar
tins Creek, 17 at Ranger, 15
at Unaka and one at White
Church.
Ranger received 126 new re
cords. There were 37 added
at Peachtree. Unaka and Mar
tins Creek received 34 each.
White Church added 24 and Hi
wassee Dam Elementary
School got 14.
The total circulation of
books in the county schools
was 78,505. Fllmstrip cir
culation was 1,409 and 2,052
records were checked out.
It has long been my con
tention that libraries should
be Inviting and young people
should be encouraged to use
these facilities as much as
possible.
The improvements made in
the county schools under this
program indicate the Federal
funds Invested in libraries in
Cherokee County were well
spent and have gone a long way
toward realizing a worthy ob
jective.
Draft Board To
Close Next Week
The Cherokee County Draft
Board Office will be closed
next Monday, Tuesday, and
Wednesday, May 29-31, in ob
servance of the Memorial Day
holiday.
JOEL MASHBURN (third from left) is this month's winner in Clifton Precision's ZeroDefects
Award program. Mashburn , a rotor grinder, suggested a method of improving the accuracy
of die job he performs. Pictured with him are (1 to r) Group leader Roger Ford, stator grinder
Robert Hollon and supervisor Carl Conner.
Town Board Holds
Special Session
The Murphy Town Board
met in a special session
Monday night to dispose of
business pending from the
regular May meeting. No
action was taken at the regular
meeting on May 8 because of a
lack of a quorum.
Mayor Cloe Moore and
Board members W.T. Brown,
Jerry Hatchett, W.A. Single
ton, Francis Bourne, Jr. and
Kenneth Godfrey were present
Monday night.
The Board accepted the low
bid ofBurch Motors for a truck
on which the town's newly pur
chased garbage disposal unit
70 Adults To
Graduate Sunday
Seventy adults who have
completed their high school
education will receive their
GED certificates from the
Tri County Industrial Edu
cation Center in a special
program Sunday at 3:30 at the
Marble Elementary School
Auditorium.
The featured speaker will
be Edward H. Wilson, super
visor of extension programs
for the North Carolina Depart
ment of Community Colleges.
The public is invited.
will be mounted. Bids were
also received from E.C.
Moore and Ed Townson Auto
Co.
A budget request for $2,813
for the summer recreation
program was considered. One
thousand dollars of this
amount had already been allo
cated.
The Board accepted
Godfrey's motion that another
$1,000 be paid in two $500
installments on June 1 and
July L
Dr. Paul Hill notified the
Board by letter that he is re
signing as a member of the
Murphy Housing Authority
effective June 1.
An ordinance was adopted
which would make the owner
responsible for payment of
the water bill in a dwelling
in which two or more tenants
are on the same water meter.
Town Clerk C.E. Johnson
had advised the Board that
in some instances where two
or more tenants are on the
same meter, there has been
difficulty in collecting the bill
from one user and he felt some
action was needed that would
enable the Town to collect
delinquent bills without penal
izing other families on the
same meter.
The Board refused to adopt
a newly drawn ordinance which
would have regulated U-turns
in die business district.
Singleton made a motion that
the ordinance be voted on, but
there was no second to his
Senior Citizens
From 4 Counties
Attend Meeting
Members of Senior Citizen
clubs from throughout Cher
okee, Clay, Graham and Swain
Counties met at the Andrews
Community Center last Wed
nesday afternoon.
The theme of the joint meet
ing was "Meeting The Chal
lenge Of The Later Years"
by "proving that ability has
no age," according to Mrs.
Lucy Laughter, Coordinator
for Cherokee County Senior
Citizens.
Jack Frauson, Executive
Director of Four-Square
Community Action, Inc., and
Donald Gregory, Director of
the Outreach Program, spoke
to the group briefly.
Frauson expressed pleas
ure at die progress the Sen
ior Citizens Groups are mak
ing. He told The Scout after
the meeting that he is parti
cularly impressed by die fact
that a majority of the mem
bers of clubs in the four
county area had never belong
ed to any organisation before.
This indicates that die Out
reach Program is reaching
one of its objectives by get
ting people to actively parti
cipate in a group, he said.
May is being observed as
Senior Citizen Month.
Forty persons attended the
meeting in Andrews.
motion and no vote was taken.
A taxi permit was granted
to R.V. Dockery.
The Board discussed reco
mmendations of the State
Highway Department to im
prove traffic control in down
town area.
State Highway officials met
with some Board members
this week and made
recommendations for a new
traffic light arrangement at
the square. The arrangement
would include a left-turn
arrow.
No formal action was taken
on the traffic light proposal
Monday night.
injured In WrecK,
Needs 40 Stitches
Herman Hayden Jones, 45,
of Murphy, suffered severe
head cuts last Thursday when
a pick-up truck he was driving
collided with a car four miles
east of Murphy on US 64.
Highway Patrolman Patt
Miller said Jones, travelling
east, was attempting to make
a left turn off the highway
when his truck was hit by a
car driven by Cline Hicks,
27, of Hayesvilie, travelling
west.
Hicks was not injured. A
passenger in his car, Samuel
Roach of Hayesvilie, sustained
cuts and bruises.
Forty stitches were
required to treat Jones' cuts.
Miller said Hicks'car was a
total loss and damagetojones'
truck was estimated at $600.
Jones was charged with fail
ure to yield the right of way,
according to Miller.
269 To Graduate From
County High Schools
Graduation exercises were
held last Friday at Hiwassee
Dam High School and pro
grams are scheduled this Fri
day at Andrews High School
and Murphy High School.
Fifty-one graduates
received their diplomas at
Hiwassee Dam. The awards
were made by Principal
Harest King.
Salutatorian Judy Morrow
issued "A Welcome To Our
Friends" and Valedictorian
Jeanette Farmer spoke on
"The Challenge of Youth".
Rev. Exum Baker preached
the Baccalaureate Sermon to
the Hiwassee-Dam Seniors on
May 14.
A class of 73 will receive
diplomas at Andrews High
School on Friday at 8 p.m.
from Superintendent C.O.
Frazier.
The address will be made
by Dr. Douglas Reid Sasser,
of Young Harris College.
Seven honor students will
speak to the class. They are
Cathy Van Gorder, Jim Sur
savage, Gerald Bryson, Susan
Ulm, Boyd Rogers, Howard
McMahan and Joy Bristol.
The Rev. Or. R.E. McClure
Executive Secretary of the
Asheville Presbytery
(Retired), preached the And
rews Baccalaureate Sermon
last Sunday.
The Murphy High School
graduating class of 145 will
receive their diplomas from
Superintendent John Jordan
Friday night at 8 p.m.
Salutatorian Larry Gene
Hunsucker will discuss
"Apathy and Education" and
Valedictorian Kathryn
Elizabeth Ressel will speak
on "Innovations InEducation"
Judy Marie Quim, president
of the student body, will speak
on "Looking Ahead to Res
ponsibility."
The Baccalaureate Sermon
was preached Sunday by Rev.
W. Thornton Hawkins.
Golf Course Meeting
Scheduled Tonight
W. Frank Forsyth, chair
man of the Membership Com
mittee for the proposed re
creation complex near Mur
phy, said a special meeting
will be held tonight (Thurs
day) at 8 o'clock at the Mur
phy. Power Board in an effort
to put the membership drive
over the top.
The Cherokee County Rural
Renewal Authority will apply
to the F armers Home Admini
stration for a $250,000 loan
to construct the complex.
"If we can get 300 poten
tial members signed up, I
believe the loan will be ap
proved," Forsyth told the
Scout.
The Membership Commit
tee is accepting a $10 initial
fee from potential users and
the money is being put into an
escrow account until the loan
is closed.
If the complex is built, the
user fee will be $10 per month
or $120 per year.
Forsyth urges all persons
who are interested in the pro
ject to attend tonight's meet
ing. He said it is hoped that
the application can be submit
ted before the end of the cur
rent fiscal year, June 30.
He said tonight's meeting,
in addition to giving interest
ed persons an opportunity to
express their support, will be
used to bring the public up to
date on the status of the app
lication.
The Authority has an option
to purchase a 400-acre tract
of the J. B. Mulkey property
three miles east of Murphy.
Present plans call for an
18-hole golf course and a
small lake at the site. A
children's recreation area,
hiking and riding trails, and
a tennis court are also
planned, according to Mack
Ray, Rural Renewal Leader.
Forsyth's statement on the
need for potential members
follows Ray's remark last
week that "approval (of the
loan) will depend on the
acceptance and attitude of the
local people."
11 From Area
Graduate At WCC
CULLOWHEE?Eleven Stu
dents from the Cherokee and
Clay counties area were
among 320 who received de
grees Sunday at WesternCar
olina College.
Gary Ronald Chambers, Rt.
5, Murphy: William Henry
Haney, Rt. 4, Murphy: Wiley
Dan McGlamery, Rt. 2, Hay
esville; Carol Jean Smith, Rt.
1, Brasstown; Gay Lynn Smith
Rt. 1, Murphy and Lester Lee
Stowe, Rt. 1, Murphy received
Bachelor of Science degrees.
Mitchell Benton Blrchfield,
Rt. 1, Marble; Karen JoGallo
way, Hiawassee, Ga.; Carolyn
Mae Graves. Murphy; Judy
Ann Nichols, Andrews and
Linda SchuylerSheppard, Sky
land, formerly of Murphy,
received Bachelor of Science
in Education degrees.
10 th Anniversary Train
To Retrace 58-61 Route
By Capt. Frank W.Swan(Ret.)
ANDREWS, NjC.? North
Carolina's oldest and original
wagon train will celebrate its
10th Anniversary trip July 2-4
by retracing the route of 195^
61 trains from Tellico Plains,
Tenn. to Murphy, NjC. in a
final a tempt to gain approval
and construction of a road
connecting the two towns.
Pointing out the need for a
paved road between the two
mountain towns was the pri
mary purpose for the
organization of the first wagon
train at Tellico Plains a
decade ago. Wagon trains with
upward of 100 covered wagons
and 500 horseback riders
made the 40 mile trek ending
in Murphy on July 4 for four
years, but a road was never
completed over the wagon
trail.
Tennessee eventually built
a paved road from Tellico
Plains to the North Carolina
line, but the road dead-ends
there.
In 1962 the wagon train
followed a new route from
Tellico Plains to Robbinsvllle,
NjC. and on to Andrews, NjC.
This route ran through
National Forest land and the
resulting publicity prompted
the Federal government to
agree to build a paved road
from the Tennessee town to
Robbinsvtlle. This road Is now
nearlng completion, but there
is still no direct route from
North Carolina's western
most town of Murphy across
the mountain to Telllco
Plains.
In addition to turning the
publicity spotlight on the need
for more paved roads through
North Carolina's mountains,
the wagon train has grown into
a major event of the summer
for the Western tip of the
state, attracting hundreds of
horsemen from throughout the
Southeast to Join the train and
thousands of vacationers who
come to view the spectacle.
Following this example, a
number of other wagon trains
have been formed in Western
North Carolina, North Geor
gia, and Tennessee and these
events also enjoy much popu
larity.
The Western Carolina
Riding Club and The Amer
ican Legion of Andrews have
been the guiding hand in the
organization of wagon train
trips for the past five years.
In 1963 and 1964 the train
made roind trips between
Andrews and Hayesville, N.C.
and for the past two years
the train rolled from Andrews
to Franklin, NjC. Bach year
the trains have been planned
to reach trail's end on July
4.
The organizers point out
that all the wagon train trips
are non-profit and each one
on the train pay their own ex
penses and have been
dedicated to showing die need
for better roads in the moun
tain area, as well as to
continue the fun and spec
tacle of the authentic event.
For the 10th anniversary
trip, everyone agreed that it
was fitting to make one more
effort to secure approval of the
road that prompted the train's
organization. This year's
main trip will require three
days of riding thru the rugged
Bast Tennessee and Western
North Carolina mountains, and
the train will camp two nights
along the trail. Those who
would like to join the trains
can get complete details from
W.C. Riding Club in Andrews
or the Tellico Plains, Tetm.
Kiwanis Club.
The Andrews section of (he
wagon train will
at the Ball Park on the i
noon of June 27, leave And
rews morning, J uie 28, camp
Murphy first night, near NjC.
Term, line second night, into
Tellico Plains June 30 to jets
main train to
train are