The
'Owokt* County's &??? Bvjr'
Volum* 77- Number 51 NortK Carol In*
July 13, 1967
Scout
and Clay County Progress
8 Pogaa This WmIi
?BCOND U-W KJTTAOK PAID
AT MURPHY. NORTH CAROLINA
?Marble Water System
Keeks Federal Funds
The Marble Community
I Water System Is seeking
* F ederal loan and grant to
Hprovide water service to ap
? proximately 100 families in the
H Marble area.
? The group has applied for
? a 70^ grant o f $135,800 from
? the Economic Development
? Administration and a 30?H>loan
I of $58,200 from the Farmers
? Home Administration. The
? toul cost will be $194,000.
? Charles S. Edwards, North
I Carolina Coordinator for
Bt. EDA, visited the area on June
? 30 to make an inspection and
B* commented favorably on the
B need for the project, accora
[16 Area Teams
| Enter Tournament
' A total of 16 teams drawn
( from thefiveprincipalleagues
in far western North Carolina
i have entered the district Slow
Pitch softball Tournament
to be held in Robbinsville
starting July 21.
Homestanding Robbinsville
leads in the number of entries
with five Including the league
leading Triplets and the
second-place Crisp Contract
ors. Bryson City and Murphy
each contribute four entries
while two teams come from
Andrews and one from Hay
esville.
Bryson City's current lea
gue leader, Jim's Laundry has
been ceded the top spot in the
tournament and Graves Chry
sler-Plymouth,, the top Mur
phy entry is expected to fur
nish the major opposition. All
clubs are given good chances
to make a run at the title as
several lower rated teams
based on seasonal per
formances have taken the op
portunity to add new players.
l The district winner, in addi
\ '.ion to taking home the champ
Itonship trophy, will also earn
the right to represent the
district in the state
1 tournament at Burlington
I starting Friday, August 11.
The Robbinsville Lions Club
is sponsoring the tournament
which will be the first to be
held In the newly created Far
West Districlconsistingof Clay
Cherokee, Graham and Swain
counties.
The sixteen team field will
necessitate a 32 game
schedule in the double
elimination tournament. In
all, ten nights of play will be
required with the eventual
champion being crowned on
the final night, Saturday
August 5th.
ing to Giles F. Bryson, presi
dent of the water system.
Bryson said the group's
application is now in Washing
ton.
He said the group was char
tered on May 15, although work
has been done on an informal
basis for about two years. R.
D. Bruce of the local FHA
Office has worked closely
with the group during that
time.
In addition to water service
to homes, fire hydrants will be
set up. The American Thread
Co. plant at Marble will re
ceive water for additional fire
protection from the system.
The group has been char
tered on a non-profit basis,
to set up a sewer system
after the water system is
established.
The service area will be
within about a one mile radius
of Marble.
In addition to Bryson, other
officers are Kermit R. Kil
patrick, vice-president, and
Wayne J. Edwards, secretary
treasurer.
The members of the board of
directors are FredV. Barton,
William D. Brackett, J. Ver
non Bryson, Donald Cook,
Frank W. Craig, J. Vinson
HaU3rnce R. Lunsford and
J ack B. Palmer.
Tourism Group
Meets Tonight
Chariman Dave Bruce has
announced that the Tourism
and Recreation Work Group
of the Upper Hiwassee Water
shed Development Association
will meet tonight (Thursday)
at 8 p.m. at the Blue Ridge
Mountain EMC office inYoung
Harris, Ga.
Bruce said all officers and
trustees of the Association are
urged to meet with his group.
Rescue Squads,
Jaycees Thanked
Chief of Police Pete Stal
cup has expressed his thanks
and appreciation to the mem
bers of th=. Cherokee County
Rescue Squad, the Andrews
Rescue Squad, and the Mur
phy Jaycees for their vol
unteer services during the
Fourth of July weekend.
Stalcup said the three
groups were very helpful
in assisting the police with
traffic direction durinc the
Wagon Train and Water
Festival.
OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS OF THE MARBLE COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEM include: Front
row-Giles F. Bryson, president and J. Vernon Bryson, Back row-Frank W. Craig, Fred V.
Barton and Kermit R. Kilpatrick, vice-president, Not pictured-Wayne J. Edwards, secretary
treasurer; WilliamD. Brackett, Donald Cook. J. Vinson Hall, Bruce R. Lunsford and Jack B.
Palmer.
Voters To Elect
School Board
The voters of Cherokee County will begin electing
their school board in 1968 under the provisions of a local
act passed by the General Assembly.
Sen. Mary Faye Brumby said the local bill will provide
for the election of six board members on a partisan basis.
They will serve staggered six-year terms.
She said the elections would begin next year when the
term of Clarence C. Hemphill expires in District 2 and
a vacancy from district 1 will be filled. Further elections
would be held as the other terms are up.
Two board members will be elected from each dis
trict in the county. The districts will be the same as those
from which county Commissioners are elected.
The chairman of the board will be elected by the
members. He will not be allowed to vote except in
case of a tie.
Sen. Brumby said that any vacancies on the board
will be filled by the executive committee of the
politcal party to which the vacating member belongs.
The county board would continue to appoint the board
for the Murphy Schools.
Sen. Brumby said that if Cherokee county had re
mained under the new state-wide law, the elections
would have been non-partisan and all members would
have been elected at one time.
She indicated she felt the staggered-term approach
would be better for the county.
Last winter several hundred Cherokee County residents
signed petitions requesting legislation which would allow the
voters to elect the school board members.
Scout Offers Camp
Trip To 15 Boys
By Red Schuyler
Applications are now being
accepted for boys wanting to
go to Camp Ney-A-Ti. Any boy
Sen. Brumby Answers
On Registration Bill
(Editor s Note: The
following Is the first of
three articles prepared by
Sen. Mary Faye Brumby on
the recently ended session of
the North Carolina General
Assembly.)
By Senator Mary Faye Brumby
In view of the fact that
Charles H. Taylor, Represen
tative of the 48th House
District has seen fit to make
charges against me in state
news media concerning the bill
which he Introduced to provide
loose-leaf, full time regis
tration in Swain County. .1
should like to answer him.
As many of you may know,
we passed a bill at the Sess
ion to provide for a State
wide, loose-leaf, full time
registration which will have
to be Installed In 1969 before
the 1970 elections.
Under the State-wide bill,
the State will furnish all mat
eralls except the binders.
Rep. Taylor singled out
Swain County where he lost
heavily In the last election
and attempted to force them
to Install the new loose-leaf
system and re-register be
for- the primary In 1968 and
"to bear all the expense."
The Swain County Comm
issioners and Board of
Election officials Informed me
that they approved the loose
leaf registration system and
had no objection to re
registering. but that they
would like to come under the
' State-wide bill In order to
have the Sute help bear the
expense.
i hey pointed out mat they
do not receive much in adva
lorem taxes, due to the fact
that much of their land was
taken over by the federal gov
ernment. They said they op
erate on a very tight budget
and just did not know
whe^e they could raise the
money on such short notice.
Representative Taylor, in
his reasons given for intro
ducing this bill, charged that,
and I quote, "There has been
no new re-registration in
Swain County in nearly thirty
years." My answer to that
charge is that the State Board
of Elections In Raleigh shows
that they re-registered in 1950
seventeen years, not thirty,
average throughout the state.
Rep. Taylor further charged
and I quote, "There are
some 8,000 people registered
on the books in Swain County
from the State Board's record
as follows: 1966 population -
8,300. Number of people reg
istered according to State
Board records-6,475. The
number of people voting
3,833.
As you can see both charges
were refuted by records in the
State Board of Elections; yet.
Rep. Taylor continues his
charges.
The only thing my amend
ment did to his bill was to
allow Swain County to comply
with the State-wide Act-a
courtesy accorded the other
ninety nine counties.
I left the re-registrition
feature In his bill, but ex
tended the time to 1969 in
order to allow than to re
register and set up their
loose-leaf re-ragiitration
system at the same time and
get state aid.
I thought this a just and
equitable compromise, es
pecially in view of the fact
that Rep Taylor was in error
in both of his charges. In
fact, Rep. Taylor admitted
to me a few days ago that I
had valid reason to protest
Swain County's bearing all
the expense when the State
would help a few months later.
It is my understanding that
Mr. Aleck BrocK, Chairman
of the State Board of
Elections, made an offer a few
days ago to furnish the
materials in 1968 to any county
which wanted to put in the
loose-leaf system before 1969.
As a result of this recent of
fer I have advised Swain
County that they will have State
aid in 1968. They Indicated
that because of this aid, they
may go ahead, re-register
and set up their loose-leaf
system In 1968.
I regret that Represen
tative Taylor charged favor
tlsm in Lieutenant Governor
Scott's appointment of the
Conference Committee
selected to decide die matter.
For the record, I want It
understood that Bob Scott did
not consult with me on the ap
pointments. Neither did he
appoint me to the Committee.
ThU Committee Is always a
joint Committee from the
House and Senate. You will
notice that he did not mention
the House Committee, for
Taylor, himself, was a mem
ber of this Committee.
1 hope this clears up any
misunderstanding anyone has
gotten from news media re
ports.
in Cherokee and Clay counties
from the age of 10 and who has
not reached his 14th birthday
by July 23 is eligible to attend.
Each year The Cherokee
Scout and Clay County Pro
gress sponsors 15boys. There
is no charge to the boys. The
only money they need is the
money that they might want to
spend for chewing gum, soft
drinks and stamps and other
"goodies" at thecampcomm
issary.
The boys will leave Murphy
Sunday morning, July 23rd,
and return on Saturday after
noon, August 5th.
Camp Ney-A-Ti is an Ind
ian name meaning "Camp by
the Lake" and is nestled on
the side of a mountain in a
forest with many winding
trails. The camp, naturally,
leads the youngsters to nature.
During the two week's en
campment, each camper has
an opportunity to try his hand
at handicrafts. Boys are
singled out for their
excellence In crafts. The boys
also play all kinds of sports
under the supervision of the
counselors or camp director
Clemon K. Gant. Gant is head
basketball coach at Rlngold
High school in Georgia.
All boys in the Andrews area
that would like to place an
application to attend this
year's camp should get in
touch with Mrs. F.E. (Dora)
Blalock. Boys in the Hayes -
vllle and Murphy area should
contact The Scout office.
If more than IS boys make
application to go, some method
to be determined later, will be
used to decide which 15 will
attend. No applications will be
accepted after midnight July
18th.
Brumby Mills
Gets Contract
Brumby Textile Mills,
Inc. plans to resume produc
tion In a few d?ys.
The firm has received a
Defense Department contract
;o produce 872,400 shirts.
Bops Bills
Found Here
Two bogus $20 bills were
deposited at Citizens Bank
and Trust Co. in Murphy last
Friday and Saturday.
Vice-President John T.
Gill said the money was dis
covered by tellers at the bank
when the bills were deposited
by two local business places.
He said the Secret Service
office in Charlotte has been
notified and is working on the
case.
Gill said the bogus bills
were "real good, the best
we've seen in some time."
He said most people would only
be able to tell they were
counterfeit by feeling the
paper.
The serial numbers on the
bills were F4810193TB and
F48101339B.
Rainfall Tops
Five Inches
Over five inches of rain
fell in Cherokee and Clay
Counties from last Wednes
day through Monday morn
ing.
The TVA rain gauge at Mur
phy recorded 5.80 inches
during that period with 2.59
inches being reported in the
24-hour period ending Satur
day morning.
At Myers Chapel in Clay
recorded by TVA during tV
five-day period. The heavic
rainfall during the period
2.56 inches In the 24-hour
period ending Friday morn
ing. Another 2.01 inches fell
in the period ending Satur
day morning.
Minor crop damage was
reported In isolated areas.
Mike Angel, Assistant
County Agent, said the rains
have hampered the regular
spray schedules for tomato
growers. Damp and cool
weather provide ideal
conditions for the blights to
grow, he said.
7 County Roads
To Be Improved
Six Cherokee County roads
will be paved and one road will
be resurfaced under the terms
of a contract let by the State
Highway Commission to War
ren Brothers of Knoxville.
The roads to be paved are:
SR 1158, Liberty Road, from
SR 1150 to SR 1156, 1.4 miles.
SR 1350, Carter Road, from
SR 1326 to SR 1351, 1 mile.
SR 1558, Ghringallle Road,
from SR 1564 northwest,
1 mile.
SR 1345, Lower Owl Creek
Road from SR 1331 to SR 1342
1.4 miles.
SR 1616, Kent St. from US
19-129 to SR 1515, 0.4 mile.
SR 1141, Pack Gap Road,
from SR 1150 to SR 1147, 1.7
miles.
The resurfacing will be on
0.3 mile of SR 1618, Whl
taker Lane, from US 19-129
to SR 1616.
The contract Includes five
projects in Clay County and
Is for *148.448.
Half Million Released
For Recreation Complex
;And Rural Homesites
A half million dollars in
F ederal funds have been made
available to construct a
recreation complex near Mur
phy and eight rural homes ites
on an adjacent tract of land.
Mack B. Ray, Cherokee
County Rural Renewal
Program Leader, and Melvin
H. Hearn, North Carolina Dir
ector of the F arraers Home
Administration, announced the
approval of the two $260,000
loans.
The loan for the recreation
project will finance the pur
chase of 400 acres of land and
pay the costs of constructing
57 Wrecks, 6 Deaths
In First Half Of 67
The Highway i Patrol has
released figures showing
there were 57 traffic
accidents, two of which re
sulted in six deaths, and
206 preventive arrests made
in Cherokee County during the
first six months of 1967. The
period covered is from Jan
uary 1 to June 30.
Driving on the wrong side
of the road was the most fre
quent cause of accidents.
Patrolman Don Reavis said 12
of the accidents were blamed
on that, including the twofatal
wrecks.
Other causes were: other
dangerous moving violations,
9 j speeding, 7; driving drunk,
6; improper passing, 5; failure
to yield the right-of-way, 5;
unsafe equipment, 3: weather
conditions, 3; mechanical fail
ure, 3; reckless driving, 2;
and following too close, 2.
Reavis, while listing the
preventive arrests, pointed
out that the total does not in
clude charges filed after an
accident has occurred. The
preventive arrests, he said.
are those made for violations
that could cause an accident.
The arrests were for the
following violations: speed
ing, 114; driving drunk, 31;
other dangerous moving vio
lations, 18; unsafe equipment,
12; improper passing, 10; stop
sign violations, 19; reckless
driving, 4; failure to yield
the right-of-way, 4; and dri
ving on the wrong side of the
road,3.
The arrest totals include
only those made by the High
way Patrol. Sheriff's depart
ment and police arrests are
not included.
Reavis said the other
dangerous moving violations
listed include passing a
stopped school bus, racing,
failure to give a proper signal;
and improper turn.
He said the figures do not
include non-moving violations
such as littering, no
operator's license, larceny
of an automobile, possession
and transportation of alcoholic
beverages , public drunk
enness and no insurance.
Nantahala District
To Host Camporee
The Nantahala District will
host the Annual Fall Boy
Scout Camporee, September
29-30 and October 1 at Apple
tree Branch Campground at
Nantahala.
"Approximately 1,500 Boy
Scouts from 14 Western North
Carolina Counties which made
up the Daniel Boone Council
will attend the three day Scout
ing expedition," said Dan
Angel, District Scout
Executive for the Nantahala
District. "We have asked for
this scouting event to be
held in our area for one
-?ason," said Angel, "this
:s to let the people of Clay,
Cherokee, Graham and Swain
counties, which make up the
Nantahala District, see what
scouting is doing for their
young people. We urge them to
come by and visit with us on
this event. Let these young
men show you what Scouting
is all about, and what it has
done for the boys as indivi
duals."
"This is the biggest
Scouting event ever to be held
in this area and I personally
want to thank all the volun
teers who have given their
time to make this event
possible," Angel said. He
was informed of this camp
oree by Clayton Doty, Scout
Executive for the Daniel Boone
Council, at a staff meeting
last week in Asheville.
"To make this camporee
a success we in the Nantahala
District will have to give a
helping hand. First we will
have to ask each Rescue
Squad in our area to have
units at Apple Tree in case
of an emergency, which we
hope never happens, but just
in case," said Angel. "These
are the unsung heroes who
make events like this possible.
I have already got a Protest
ant minister lined up for the
Sunday morning worship
services and have a
Catholic Father for Catholic
Mass. Scouting is built around
the church and the young
people will have the oppor
tunity to worship while they
are at the camporee," he
noted.
At the present time appli
cations are being taken at the
Council Office for troups who
will attend this event.
Arrangements for Scouting
skills are being finalized by
the Camporee committee and
will be released by August 15.
Each Scoutmaster in the
Nantahala District will be Con
tacted by the District Scout
Executive prior to September
1st tor a list of all Scouts
1 who will attend the camporee.
an 18 -hole golf course, a small
lake, a picnic area and future
sites for tennis courts and a
skeet shooting range. Hiking
and riding trails will also be
provided. It is the first Rural
Renewal loan for a recreation
project approved in North
Carolina.
John T. Gill, chairman of
the Cherokee County Rural
Development Authority, said
the recreation complex will
be the equivalent of a new
industry employing 200
people.
Over 300 inital users have
agreed in writing to use and
support the project. They
will pay $10 per month or an
annual fee of $120 totatling
$36,000 a year. A daily
user's fee will be charged
for other persons using the
complex.
The planned four-lane
Appalachian highway will
pass within 2.5 miles of the
site and it is expected that
the number of users will
double when the highway is
completed.
A minimum7 5,000 man days
of labor will be provided in
the construction of the site.
Over 100 acres of land will
be removed from crop land
and pasture. Present esti
m ates show that 30 people will
be employed during the
development of the facilities
and ten new jobs will be pro
vided for its operation.
"These facilities help
develop the type of rural co
mmunity that encourages
young people to remain in their
home communities, attracts
new industry, promotes
tourism and gives that little
push that is often needed in
our rural economy," Hearn
said.
ine recreation loan will De
repaid over a 30-year period.
The homesite loan will also
be repaid over a 30-year per
iod.
It will provide for the pur
chase of 156 acres of land,
the construction of eight rural
homesites and the devlop
ment of 60 homesite lots.
The houses will be brick
veneer, three bedroom units,
with water, sewer, electric
heat, and landscaping. Each
will be on a lot in excess of
one acre.
Long term credit will be
available for purchase of the
homesites by low and medium
income families.
An estimated 6,000 man
days of labor will be reeded on
the homesite construction and
25 people are expected to be
employed.
Smith & Jones
Gets Contract
Smith and Jones of Murphy
has been awarded a contract
to construct an 8,400 square
foot addition to Rimco plant
here.
Rimco manager Peter J.
McKeon said construction is
expected to begin imm
ediately. He said it is hoped
that the addition will be com
pleted this summer.
Early Days In Murphy Exhibit:
An Interesting Backward Glance
By Dave Bruce
Did you know the wagon train
promotion for a new road
wasn't original?
Did you know Ft. Butler was
one of 17 stockades into which
the Cherokee Indians were
collected prior to their re
moval to the west?
Did you know the Town of
Murphy was named for Judge
Archibald E. Murphey?
These are some of the int
eresting facts that can be
learned by visiting the Early
Days In Murphy Exhibit that is
on display at the Murphy Car
negie Library this month.
Pictures taken on the Town
Square show that sometime in
the early part of this century a
motorcade travelled from
Murphy to Blairsville to
promote construction of US
19-139. In later years, we
switched back to the wagons to
emphasise the need for a Mur
phy-Telllco Plains road.
Ft. Butler, incidentally, 1*
believed to have been named
for B.F. Butler, a member of
President Andrew Jackson's
cabinet. He was a law partner
of Jackson's vice-president,
Martin Van Buren and Is not to
be confused with the notorious
"Beast" Butler of New Or
leans fame in the Civil War.
Judge Murphey's portrait
donated to the Library by Mr.
and Mrs. Joe Ray and Becky J o
and his papers are among the
highlights of the display.
There Is a stark reminder of
the past in the exhibit-two
deed recording the sale of
slaves here.
A portion of Naturalist John
Mulr's writing was re
produced. He had the misfor
tunes of being mistaken for a
carpetbagger upon his arrival
here.
A hand-made sausage mill
is on display. It belonged to
the gramfcnotfier of baseball
great Ty Cobb. Site lived in
the Bell view are*.
Hunter's Trading Pott was
established on the present site
of Murphy and a ledger from
the year 18M gives you an
idea of prices in the days be
fore inflation. A quarter would
buy a pound of coffee. Fifty
cents was the going price for a
pint of brandy, and according
to Hunter's ledger, brandy was
in strong demand by the early
settlers here. Fishermen
could stock up on 100 fish
hooks for a dollar.
The newspapers displayed
date back to 1875 and there Is
interesting reading In sev
eral old scrapbooks that are
included In the exhibit.
Pictures include those of
early stores here, a school
class and prominent local
people of bygone years.
It Is incredible but so ob
vious when one reads In mi
early history that Cherokee
County was founded in 1839
and named in honor of the
Cherokee Indians. In honor of
those who ware hereded like
cattle into Ft. Butler tad It
similar stockades ?? be re
moved from dMir homes
?gainst their wQL