WU** ^iiAax
lo The Cherokee Scout
and Clay County Progress
Volume 80 ? Number 27 ? Murphy, North Carolina, 28906 ? Second Class Postage Paid At Murphy, North Carolina ? Thursday, January 22, 1970
10C
Per Copy
Artist's Conception of Planned First Union National Bank
Contract To Be Let Soon On New Bank
A new First Union National Bank
building for Murphy will probably be
contracted to a builder early in
February.
That was the word this week from
Frank B. Duncan, First Union vice
president in Franklin, who released an
artist's conception of the new building.
The new building will be located on
Peachtree Street on the Fain Lot
between Murphy Tire Company and the
Regal Hotel.
"Plans for the new building are
progressing on schedule," Duncan said.
"The contract should be let in early
February and actual construction should
begin soon thereafter." The bank's real
estate department in Charlotte will
handle the - building plans and other
details, he added.
Henry Simmons is city executive of
the First Union office in Murphy and
will be manager of the new bank
operations. He and his staff are presently
working under cramped conditions, he
says, in trailer offices on Tennessee
Street but hope to be in the new
building within four or five months after
construction starts.
"We appreciate the fine reception this
community has given us while we are in
these temporary quarters," Simmons
said Tuesday, "and we're looking
forward to the future when we can serve
the people of this area with a full-service
bank."
First Union, the third largest bank in
the state, has home offices in Charlotte
with total resources in excess of one
billion dollars.
First Union merged with the Bank of
Franklin last September. The Franklin
operation, at the time of the merger, had
resources of about $12 million and
about 25 employees. The First Union
banking offices in North Carolina
employ more than 2,000 people.
At the time of the merger, Duncan
said of First Union "both employees and
the local board of directors are pleased
to be associated with this fine banking
system.
"Many services will be available to
our customers that The Bank of Franklin
has been unable to offer in the past," he
continued. "As Murphy and Cherokee
County continue to grow, we feel that
First Union National Bank of North
Carolina, being a full-service banking
system, will play an important role."
Three
Injured
In Wreck
Three people were injured
Tuesday morning in a head-on
elision on the four-lane
Jiway just west of the town
/imits.
Charlie Cearley, 45, of
'Culberson was treated for
facial injuries and released at
Providence Hospital and his
'passenger, Patt Cearley, 57,
also of Culberson, was
admitted to the hospital with a
^broken leg.
, Edna Mae Sherman, 31, of
l Route 1, Copper hill, Tenn.,
^suffered leg injuries in the
?collision. She was taken to
Providence and then
?transferred to a Chattanooga
hospital.
Trooper Don Reavis, who
investigated the accident, said
the woman was driving a 1957
' Ford station wagon, headed
, west, when she skidded on the
snow-covered highway and slid
' across into the opposite traffic
viand, colliding with the 1962
?Cberolet one-ton truck driven
P by ' he younger Cearley.
^ i'he State Highway
Patrolman said no charges were
in the accident.
IV J.* J#
Construction Scene
Workmen are laboring at the new March. Part of the Levi operation will
Levi Strauss plant east of Murphy to move in mid-February with completion
have the building ready for full use in of the structure set for March 9.
New Plant Nears Completion
Levi Strauss & Co., will
jegin some operations in the
new plant about the middle of
February.
That was the word this
week from Horace Cannon,
manager of the local Levi
plant.
"About Feb. 15 well move
the cutting room and
warehouse into the new plant,"
Cannon said. "March 9 is the
date for completion of the new
plant and after that well be
able to move all operations
there."
The one-story, 57,600
square foot plant is being
constructed on a knoll across
the Valley River from US-19
about two miles east of
Murphy. The State Highway
Commission has completed a
bridge across the river, at no
cost to Levi Strauss, and a
quarter-mile of road to serve
the plant.
Cannon explained that
paving of the parking lot at the
plant and landscaping around it
will have to wait for warmer
weather. The area around the
building now is a sea of mud
but the hot mix paving
material, he said, cannot be
applied in cold weather.
The plant's operations in
Murphy are presently being
carried on in four different
locations, Cannon said. The
main plant is in a building
leased from C. L. (Bud)
Alverson on Regal Street. The
cutting room, however, is
housed in a tarpaper-covered
building beside the Rock Gym.
The warehouse, he added, is
located on school property at
the Murphy Elementary School
and the parts department it
functioning in the same
building with Smoky Mountain
Heating and Air Conditioning.
The local Levi payroll ir
Murphy now is 330, Cannon
said, but it will expand at the
new plant eventually to 60(
employes. "We plan to be
working about 515 to 525 b>
the first of 1971." Cannor
said. "The climb from there t<
600 will be a slower process.'
Walls Come Tumbling Down
, A landmark on the square in
Murphy, the Davis Esso station, was
f torn down last week to make room for
|r? larger station which will be built on
[ the present lot and also on the site of
f the old bus station behind it. Sam
Davidson and Boyd Davis, partners in
the operation, say construction of the
new station will take about three
months and they will continue to pump
KM at the site during construction.
(8taff Photo)
Elderly Woman
Robbed At Home
Robbers broke into an old
woman's house in the Grape
Creek section last Friday night,
seized her and robbed of her
more than $100.
Cherokee Deputy Sheriff
Dude Radford and SBI agent
James Maxey of Bryson City,
the investigating officers, said
they expect to make arrests in
the case soon.
Th officers said Molly
Whitner, described as in her
80's, was sitting in her living
room at the time of the
robbery. The thieves, they said,
apparently knocked the latch
off the back door of the house
and the woman, who is hard of
hearing, did not know they
were in the house.
The officers said the robbers
then pulled several fuses out of
the electrical switch-box,
plunging the house into
darkness. One of them then
grabbed the woman around the
neck while the other took the
money, which was hidden
inside her clothing.
The robbers apparently
replaced the fuses before they
left, officers said.
Chamber Of Commerce Elects
Officers At Annual Meeting
Horraee Cannon, manager
of the Levi Strauss plant here,
was elected president of the
Cherokee County Chamber of
Commerce in the annual
meeting Saturday night.
The Chamber's board of
directors elected the officers in
the session at Odell's
Restaurant. Gene Farmer,
manager of the Collins-Crain
Department Store was chosen
as vice president, Henry
Simmons, city executive in
charge of the First Union
National Bank office here was
voted in as treasurer and Don
Hughes of Hughes Electric was
selected as secretary.
The members of the
Chamber attending the event
voted to accept the choices of
the nominating committee and
Simmons and Bill McDaniels,
local Chevrolet dealer, were
elected to the board of
directors to serve three-year
terms.
In accepting the gavel from
the outgoing president, Tom
Gentry, Cannon said, "I've
been here four years and I
wouldn't want to be anywhere
else." He said a Chamber of
Commerce is a necessity for
this county and expressed hope
for a good year in 1970,
challenging members that "the
Chamber can only be as good
as we make it."
Gentry, who has served as
president for two years,
credited the Chamber with
much progress in the county in
his address but also pointed
out shortcomings.
"There are only 74
members and we should have
at least 150 in the Chamber,"
Gentry said. He also mentioned
that the Chamber ended the
year with a $54 loss in its
budget.
Gentry mentioned the
increase in mobile homes in
this country as an evidence of
growing prosperity, "kids
staying home to work and
2,900 jobs in 20 industries,
primarily through the efforts
of the Chamber."
He said if the pace
continues the county could
well have 40 industries with
6,000 workecs by 1990 but the
rate of growth could be
quickened and this growth
would be possible in the next
10 years.
"But industry is just part of
the Chamber program," Gentry
added. "Homes and recreation
and schools and better roads
and better medical facilities are
things we have to work for."
The Chamber organized a
credit bureau several years ago,
he said, and "out of the Chaber
grew the recognition, of the
need for a savings and loan and
the roots of the United Fund."
In closing. Gentry spoke
about the need for developing
tourism as another source of
income for Cherokee County, a
major Chamber project.
New Chamber Of Commerce Officers
Tom Gentry, left, immediate past president of the Simmons, treasurer; Don Hughes, secretary; Gene
Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce, is shown Farmer, vice President. Simmons and Bill McDaniels
passing the gavel to Horace Cannon, the new were also elected to the board of directors for
president. Other new officers, L-R, are Henry three-year terms. (Staff Photo)
Townlift Project Plans Presented
TVA community planners
presented a plan for renewing
the appearance of downtown
Murphy in a meeting Monday
night at the Power Board
Building here.
After viewing the
presentation, Peyton Ivie,
chairman of the Townlift
Peacbtree Street Project, said
"By this summer, we should
have most of the work on
Peachtree completed.
"All the property owners I
have contacted are in
agreement that something
should be done," Ivie added,
"and they've all already agreed
Bloodmobile Coming
The Red Cross Bloodmobile will be in Murphy at the Power
Board Building from 1 until 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 26.
"The recent bad weather has canceled stops in other
communities, affecting the blood supply at the Regional Blood
Center in Asheville," says Mrs. Edgar Harshaw, chairman of the
blood program for the Cherokee Chapter of the Red Cross. "Well
need all the donors we can get that afternoon."
She noted that the quota for the year here is 320 pints and the
Blodmobile makes only four visits here a year. "Well be trying
to get 80 pints here next Monday," Mrs. Harshaw says.
to put up canopies."
Ivie said the next step in the
process will probably be a
meeting of all interested
merchants and community
groups within two weeks to
discuss the plans in detail. He
also indicated that a delegation
will probably appear before the
Town Board to discuss the
plans and ask that the town
check to see if the State
Highway Commission will
approve the plans.
The SHC has responsibility
for major streets in Murphy,
including Peachtree, and the
most striking section of the
TVA plan calls for trees in
concrete planters which would
jut out into the street.
The planters, 10 feet wide
and 20 feet long, would take
up six to 10 parking spaces, the
planners say, in the target
section of Peachtree Street,
from the square to the Power
Board Building. Each planter
would accomodate a tree and
perhaps a concrete bench and
garbage container.
Ivie expressed admiration
for the plan but said he was
afraid some merchants would
oppose the planters' taking up
space which could be used for
parking. The planters' pointed
out that trees on each corner
and three in the middle of the
block would break up the long,
straight curbline into four
inviting parking bays.
The greenery, they say, will
also serve the soften the harsh
concrete and asphalt character
of the present downtown
section and will continue the
treeline now existing on the
northern section of Peachtree.
The TVA group
recommended that sycamore
trees, four to six inches in
diameter, be planted. They said
this type of shade tree grows
fast and can stand repeated
pruning.
Other sections of the
Townlift plan call for trees in
the town parking lots and
formalized walkways in the
existing alleys which connect
the lots with Peachtree Street.
The plan also indicates a
general facelifting, complete
with repainting and canopies,
of the buildings along the
street.
The planners, furnished by
TVA's Regional Planning
Department, emphasized
several times during the
presentation that their plan is
not binding in any way and
that TVA will not finance it.
The services of the planners are
provided at no cost to the
town, they said, but it is left
up to the town and the
individual businessmen and
merchants as to whether any or
all of the plan is implemented.
The planners said it is now
up to the town as to what will
be done and they consider
Peachtree Street to be a guide.
If the Peachtree project is
carried out and improvements
are made as planned, the TVA
group will return in the
summer to lay out plans for a
Townlift project which will
upgrade the appearance of all
major business streets in town.
If nothing is done, the TVA
planners will not return.
The drawings made by the
planners and presented
Monday night are on display In
the town office daily at the
Power Board Building.
Planners View Of Peachtree Street
A TVA planner's sketch shows what Peachtree Street could look sketches by the planners can be seen in a<
like with a general facelifting and planting of trees. This and other