tfUHffiX N C
SAKjPLB
I 10
mr
The Cherokee Scout
- - . , - 10C
Pages and Clay County Proems r" Coey
Volume 79 - Number 26 Murphy, North Carolina ? January 16, 1969 _ Second Class Postage Paid At Murphy, North Carolina
Town Board Discusses Local Problems
The Murphy Town Board
discussed several local
problems and projects at their
Mgular monthly meeting
Monday night
Board members present
were Cloe Moore, Mayor;
Kenneth Godfrey, W. A.
Singleton, Jerry Hatchett, W.
T. Brown and John Carringer.
Charlie Johnson, Town Clerk
and Board Secretary, was also
present during the three hour
long meeting.
To begin the business
meeting Murphy Jaycee
President, Curtiss Hewlett
made a request to the Board
for a lease on a tract of land on
which the Jaycees would
construct a small building to
use in their "Operation
Alternative", a program for
distributing used furniture,
clothing, and other items to
needy families.
According to Hewlett the
Jaycees were ready to begin
construction near the Health
Center that was leased to them
by the County Commissioners,
but a clause was found in an
early statute preventing
additional building from being
built on that land.
The Board generally agreed
that a small tract on the corner
of the Fairgrounds would be
agreeable with them, and a
time was set for the members
to measure the land at the
Fairgrounds. The Board also
needed to discuss this with the
Fair Committee and other
groups involved.
In an effort to find a way
for town traffic violation
warrants to be served outside
the city limits the hiring of
Ralph Rayfield as Town
Constable was discussed by the
Board. Rayfield noted that he
was elected as Murphy
' township Constable in the last
election, and as such he had
the same power as any other
Tri-County To
Receive Charter
Tri-County Technical
Institute will receive a Charter
from the Department of
Community Colleges in
ceremonies to be held at 7:30
p.m. at the Institute January
23.
Presenting the Charter will
be Mr. Charles R. Holloman.
Associate Director and
Business Manager of the
Department of Community
Colleges in Raleigh.
This Charter is being
presented under authorization
by the State Board of
Education.
officer throughout the county.
It was brought out, however,
that the new court system did
away with fee collections and
that there were no funds
available to pay Rayfield if he
were appointed town
Constable. According to the
statute, those paid by the
town, such as the policemen,
are not allowed to serve
warrants outside of the city
limits.
The Board agreed that the
town "needed the service if it's
legal to do it," and directed
Johnson to have town
Attorney Herman Edwards
check into the legality.
After a short discussion the
Board unanimously agreed to
lower the work week of the
city policemen from 48 to 44
hours. Police Chief Pete
Stalcup said that he had
worked out a schedule so that
the policemen will now work
Five days each week with two
ten hour shifts on the
weekends to increase
manpower, instead of eight
hour shifts six days per week.
Statcup said that in the
event a man shortage occured
the entire force would go back
to a 48 hour week without
extra pay until someone could
be found and trained for the
job. This motion for the
Rainfall Low During 1968 In
Tennessee Valley, TVA Reports
In the Tennessee Valley,
1968 brought too little rainfall
more often than it brought too
much, TVA reports.
Valley rainfall for the year
averaged only 43.4 inches - the
lowest since 1943 and the
seventh-lowest in the 79 years
on record. This amount was
more than 8 inches below
normal and nearly 14 inches
less than the generous rainfall
total of the previous year. Low
rainfall was given by the TVA
in July as the reason why the
area lakes were below the
average mid-summer nil.
The recurring dry weather
began in February, when
rainfall in the upper half of the
Valley (east of Chattanooga)
averaged just 0.85 of an inch,
the lowest on record for that
month. This past year also
brought the driest summer of
the 1960's, with rainfall well
below normal in June, July and
August. There were no months
of unusually heavy Valley-wide
rainfall during the year to
offset these dry periods.
Streamflow from the eastern
half of the Valley, where TVA
has its tributary storage
reservoirs, dropped far below
normal during the Feburary
dry spell and never fully
recovered. As a result, flows
from this area continued below
normal for 11 months in a row.
Despite the low streamflows
TVA was able to complete the
annual spring filling of
tributary lakes in 1968 by
using water only sparingly for
hydroelectric power generation
at those dams. As usual,
tributary lake levels were
stabilized in the spring when
water temperatures in each
lake reached the spawning level
for the nest-building fish.
As 1969 begins, the lakes are
back down at typical
early-January levels to make
reservoir capac ty available for
regulating winter floods. Blue
Ridge Lake in north Georgia
was lowered earlier and father
than it is in most years, to
permit inspection and repair
work at the powerhouse.
The low stream flows had a
severe effect on hydroelectric
power production. In
December a year ago, hydro
generation from the TVA,
Alcoa, and Cumberland River
Dams on the power system had
set a new one-month record,
and it was nearly as high in
January. Hydro production
suffered during the dry
weather later, however, and the
September hydro output was
the lowest for any month since
TVA's major dam-building
period in World War 11.
Because of the 1968 rainfall
pattern, no major regional
flood control operation was
necessary along the Tennessee
River. The river's flow was shut
off for four days in June at
Kentucky Dam, however, to
help regulate a flood
downstream on the lower Ohio
and Mississippi Rivers.
December rainfall averaged
an even 4 inches across the
Tennessee Valley, only a little
below the normal 4.4 inches
for the month. The highest
December total reported to
TVA was 8.20 inches at
Wallace Gap southwest of
Franklin, N. G, and the lowest
was 1.32 inches at Nolichucky
Dam in east Tennessee.
Stream flows from both the
upper Tennessee Valley and
the whole river basin continued
below normal in December.
Area Directors Are Chosen
For Agricultural Council
C. L. Alverson of Murphy
and the Reverend Harold
McSwain of HayesviUe have
been elected as directors of the
Asheville Agricultural
Development Council for 1969
representing Cherokee and
Clay Counties respectively. The
election took place at the
annual meeting of the 18
county area development
association this week.
The purpose of the
Agricultural Development
Council, which was formed 19
years ago, is to help develop
opportunities for increased
income and to promote rural
progress. A major activity is
sponsoring the Western North
Carolina Community
Development Program in
cooperation with the
agricultural agencies and local
sponsors in each county.
Frank L. Yarb rough of
Marion, manager of Duke
Power Company was elected
president of the organization,
succeeding James F. Davis of
Asheville.
In a progress report for the
past year, Davis stated: "An>
theory that agriculture is
becoming less important and
offers few opportunities for
vigorous area-wide promotion
has long since been completely
rejected in Western North
Carolina. County and area
leaders have continued to
recognize the growing
importance of both agriculture
and the agri-business sector to
the area's economy.
"After 19 years, the leaders
of the Agricultural Council are
still convinced that agriculture
and the rural economy possess
great opportunity, that our
rural heritage in Western North
voiuiuui coil gruw Mtrauiiy
stronger and that we have
benefitted greatly from this
'partnership for progress'
between town and country."
decrease of hours wis m?de by
W. A. Singleton and seconded
by John Carringer.
Town Clerk Charlie Johnson
related that the state auditors
recommended that all releases
be brought before the town
Board for approval. Johnson
explained that when, for
example, someone had a tax
bill charged to them when they
actually did not own property
in the town, the amount had to
be taken ofT or "released"
from the books. Mort of the
releases occured through error
on taxes and water bills,
Johnson said.
The auditors contended that
all releases should be approved
since there was a total of
approximately $6,000 released
last year. The Board voted
unanimously to hear the
releases.
Johnson then read and
explained the list of water and
tax releases caused by error for
the month of December *68,
which was approved by the
Board. He went on to explain
that the town loses less'
$1,000 a year when people
move out and don't pay their
water bill due. The Board
agreed that these accounts
should be recorded and that
they should be collected if
possible at a later date.
Johnson said that cooperation
between the land lords and the
town department would
prevent most of this loss.
In the final action of the
meeting the Board approved
writing and pursuing warrants
on all local unpaid parking
tickets.
New Grower
Allotments
Are Available
Cherokee County fanners
may be eligible for a new
grower burley tobacco
allotment if they pass the
following requirements,
according to an announcement
made by Bass U. Hyatt Jr.,
ASCS office manager.
1 You must make fifty per
cent of your living from the
farm on which the allotment
will be produced.
2 You must have produced
tobacco in at least two out of
the past five years.
3 You must own the farm
on which the allotment will be
produced.
If you pass the above
.vMu..v.u?um, uy me
Cherokee County ASCS office
no later than February 15th.
and we will help you fill out an
application form, Hyatt said.
Upper Hiwassee Watershed
Meeting Is Scheduled
The first 1969 meeting of
the Upper Hiwassee Watershed
Development Association will
be held Tuesday, January 21 at
7:00 p.m. at the Blue Ridge
Electric building at Young
Harris, Georgia.
All residences of Cherokee
and Clay counties and in North
Carolina, Towns, Union and
Fannin counties in Georgia
may participate in this
association which seeks to
promote a better way of life in
this area, John Ramsey,
Chairman of the Human
Resources group, said this
week.
There are work groups in
business and industry, human
resources, agriculture, tourism '
and recreation, Ramsey said,
"Plant employees, managers,
clerks, teacher, parents,
farmers, retired people and all
other citizens will find they
can express their views
concerning the future of these
counties and where they can
assume responsibility for its
development," he added.
A meeting is being planned
for the human resource i group
Wednesday, January 29 at 7:30
p.m. at the Folk School in
Braaatown. The two summer
interns will gWe the results of
their study of job
opportunities and the labor
force in the Upper Hiwassee
Watershed area.
Present members of the
association are anxious for
more citizens to take an active
part in development and
encourage them to attend these
two meetings, Ramsey said.
P.O. Positions
Open For Area
Applications are now being
accepted to establish registers
for Tilling vacancies at the
following post offices:
Andrews, Bryson City, Canton,
Cherokee, Clyde, Cullowhee,
Fontana Dam, Franklin,
Hayesville, Hazelwood,
Highlands. Lake Junluska,
Murphy, Robbinsville, Sylva,
and Waynesville.
Starting salaries will be
SZ95 per hour. Anyone
interested can get an
application from any of the
above named offices or J. C.
Fisher, Examiner in charge,
Post Office, Sylva, N. C.
Those who file an
application will be examined in
Syhra at a later date.
County's Newest Addition For 1969
Cherokee County's newest addition
in 1969 was born to Mrs. Joann
Moffitt at 1:30 a.m. January 3 at the
Providence Hospital in Murphy. The
six pound, nine ounce girl, named
Stacy Suzanne, is the second child
bom to the Moffitts, who live at
Route 2, Culberson. (Scout photo by
Bill Gray)
Mr. Way Abel, far right, the new
owner of the Murphy Tomato Packing
Shed, talks about the future of
tomato growers in Western North
Carolina with Mike Angell and Mr.
Lochaby. Angell is the Associate
Agricultural Extension Agent for
Cherokee County and Lochaby is
vice-president of the Upper Hiwassee
area Vegetable Growers Association.
Tomato Market Changes Hands
The transferring of
ownership and management of
the Murphy Tomato Packing
Shed to the Pigeon Valley
Tomato Packing Company
according to Mike Angell,
Associate Agricultural
Extension Agent to Cherokee
County, has now been
completed, The Haywood
County Packing Company
purchased all interest in the
facilities from the Horton
Produce Company of
Lexington, Kentucky.
Mr, Way Abel,
owner-manager of the Pigeon
Valley Tomato Company, says
that he and his company are
"Proud to become a part of
Cherokee County's expanding
business and agricultural
economy."
"I feel that the Murphy (
Tomato Market can be
developed into a market
second to none. Growers must
have a good market for their
tomatoes if they are to be
successful," Abel said. He
insisted that "Cherokee
County has more potential for
expansion in trellised tomato
production than any other
county in Western North
Carolina."
Abel, a native of Haywood
County, grows about 15 acres
of tomatoes each year on his
farm near Canton. Before
entering into the packaging of
tomatoes for retail market
eight years ago, he was a
full-time farmer.
Many local tomato growers
and their growers association
have worked hard, particularly
during the last several months,
to bring about changes in the
local tomato market, Angell
said. They believe these
changes and the transfer of
ownership and management
will strengthen the Murphy
market and make it
comparable to the Haywood
County Markets, both in prices
and grading systems
Angell went on to explain
that the reasons the local
growers wished to have this
market linked to the Haywood
Markets can best be explained
by economics. The combining
will give the two markets more
total volume -- a long
recognized requirement and
advantage for selling to large
chain stores. Transportation
arrangements can be better
arranged for moving the
finished tomatoes to distant
retail markets. Some tomatoes
are shipped as far as New York
City. The Packing Shed will
have more flexibility in the
handling of "ripe" tomatoes,
thus, returning more money to
the growers pockets.
Angell added that "the
Murphy Area growers have
proven their ability to have
tomatoes in production about
two weeks earlier than growers
in Counties like Madison and
Buncombe. Historically,
tomatoes have sold for the
highest prices early in the
season. This sometimes gives
Continued On Page 3
Mayor Proclaims Jaycee
Week January 19?25
Whereas, the civic bodies and service organizations of our
community and the departments of the local government
recognize the great service rendered to this community by the
Murphy Jaycees, and
WHEREAS, The United States Jaycees and it affiliated
state and local organizations have set aside the week of
January 19-25, 1969 to observe the founding of the Jaycees,
and
WHEREAS, this organization of young men has
contributed materially to the betterment of this community
throughout the year.
THEREFORE, I, Cloe Moore, Mayor of the Town of
Murphy, do hereby proclaim the week of January 19-25,
1969, as JAYCEE WEEK and urge all citizens of our
community to give full consideration to the future services of
the Jaycees.
DATE:January 13, 1969
SIGNED Cloe Moore
Mayor
Summer Homes Are Broken
Into At Hiwassee Village
Person nal belongings valued
at over $1,000 were stolen
from two summer homes last
Friday at Hiwassee Dam
Village, according to Cherokee
County Sheriff Claude
Anderson.
The houses, one belonging
to a Dr. Headrick from Georgia
and the other owned by John
A. Jones from Chattanooga,
4 A ? I
Tenn., were entered when
thieves broke sliding glass
doors, Anderson said.
Stolen from the houses were
linens, silverware, records
hunting trophies and a high
powered rifle.
Anderson said that an
investigation is continuing by
his department and the State
Bureau of Investigation.
? I
Welding And
Wood C arving
Classes Set
Tri-County Technical
Institute will provide a 60 hour
c o u rse in Arc and
Oxygen- Acetylene Welding
beginning Tuesday, January
21. The class will be held at
Tri-County Tech. and will meet
on Tuesday and Thursday
nights from 6:30 to 9:30.
The course is designed for
individuals who are presently
employed and are only
interested inweldingasa hobby
or for personal benefit. It is
not intended to enable a
person to seek employment as
a welder.
There will be a small charge
for materials used.
The class will be limited to
16 students. Therefore, anyone
interested in enrolling in the
class should contact Joe
Morrow, Extension Director at
Tri-County Tech. as soon as
possible. Phone - 837-3810.
Tri-County Tech. will offer
a wood carving class at John C.
Campbell Folk School
beginning January 23. The
class will be held for a period
of ten weeks, meeting three
hours each Thursday night
from 6:30 to 9:30.
All interested persons are
urged to be present next
Thursday night (January 23) at
6: 30 for registration.
Roy Taylor Is
Opposed To
Restrictions
WASHINGTON
Congressman Roy A. Taylor
Monday introduced a bill to
repeal restrictions placed on
ammunition sales and
purchases by the Firearms
Control Act of 1968.
The 11th District
Congressman said he has
received numerous complaints
from ammunition purchasers
and sellers alike who fee! that
the ammunition record keeping
provisions are "unwise,
unnecessary and burdensome."
An opponent of the 1968
gun law, Taylor wants the 91st
Congress to delete all
references to ammunition for
shotguns and rifles from the
new control law.
As it now stands, licensed
dealers for each sale must
record the following
information: date, ammunition
manufacturer, calibre or gauge,
quantity, purchaser's name,
address, date of birth and
mode of identification (such as
driver's license. Social Security
card, etc.)
Taylor observed that in
some mountain areas hunters
sometimes purchase only three
or four shotgun shells, rather
than a full box.
''Obviously, the
bookkeeping and time involved
for ammunition sales, large or
small, is a burden and hardship
on both dealers and
purchasers," declared Taylor.
"It is causing some rural
store operators to cease selling
ammunition entirely, thereby
inconveniencing hunters and
sportsmen," Taylor said.
i lesto nes r a r t II ??????????^???????^^
|
Turn Of Century Finds Productive County
(Editor's note: This is the
second article in a series of six
on the history of Cherokee
County as written by Mrs.
Louise A. Bayless of Murphy)
1877-1911
-1877- Professor Lycurgis E.
Mauney, Lawyer and Teacher,
taught in the old Presbyterian
Church one year. Mrs. Virginia
Mauney Stewart was his
assistant.
? 1878- Miss Grecia Shelton
came to this section to teach
Subscription Schools. She
taught one public term at
Happy top (Andrews) after
which Elisha Conley, William
Carteel and S. C. Hood, taught
a successive term each.
-1879- John Marchall Cobb,
after finishing Junior College at
the Hiawasaee, Ga. school
under the administration of Dr.
George W. Truett, taught the
Happy Top free school for two
terms prior to its removal to
BeMview near Murphy. The
Muonk Lodge helped the
citizenry to erect a building a
portion of which served as
Lodge Quarters the remainder
for the housing of the school.
The attendance grew until the
Bellview School matriculation
reached 308 pupils. Patronage
comprised W.N.C., North Ga.
and East Tennessee. Cobb
Grandfather of baseball's great
Tye Cobb and father of Mrs.
Nora Cobb White Spencer of
Murphy.
-1881- President Garfield
assassinated by a disappointed
office-seeker, proved to be
insane.
-1882- Mount Pleasant
Academy built on the acre of
land in Murphy, Cherokee
County was conveyed to the
County for educational
purposes. This Academy was
operated many yean. Professor
Rolan, Lawyer and Teacher,
was in charge for a lime. Mr.
William Beal assisted him. At a
later date Prof. J. C. Hicks had
charge of the school. The first
session opened the first
Monday in August. J. D. Abbot
wax Sirn-Uty of Board of
Trustees, Murphy.
?1884- Prof. Wilcox taught
one and a half terms. He was
considered an excellent
disciplinarian.
The "Drummer's Home"
Nee the Dickey House - This
hostelry at Murphy, presided
over by Mrs. Nettie Burkett
Dickey, a native of Tennessee,
for many years has made a
name for itself that will endure
for generations. She and
husband, Thomas C. Dickey,
son of George W. Dickey, were
popular with the Lawyers and
their clients, judges, drummers
and many travelers. In 1932 it
was written up in Scribner's
Magazine as a famous resort
hotel. "Lady Dickey" as she
was called, operated the
Dickey Hotel from 1884 until
1937.
-1886- The Great Charleston
Earthquake ? This tremor,
which occuted on the night of
Aug. 31, 1886, Approx. 360
miles away, many rasMaaU
rwall as one of the stronfsat in
thh section.
George Whery Dickey died
at his residence in Cherokee
County, March 16, 1886. He
was bom in Rutherford
County, N. C. April 3, 1811
and moved to Macon County,
at eleven yean of age, thence
to Cherokee County. He was a
farmer, though he
merchandized, dealt in stock,
and led in many internal
improvements in his county. ?
He married Jane A. Kilpatrick
of Rutherford County, and *?*
a member of the
Convention of North
after
Dickey
died at his
County June
43 yea
Macon
He ww
Master
(Masonic Fraternity)
A memorial of G I