Kurp hy Carnegia Library
Peachtree Straat \
Hurpby. N.C.? 28906
The Cherokee Scout
12 Pages
and Clay County Progress 15^ per Copy
Volume 80 - iJumber 37 - Murphy, North Carolina, 28906 - Second Class Postage Paid At Murphy, North Carolina - July 16, 1970
Letters From Vietnam
Bill Graves
...from a family portrait
Richard Wilson
...on December leave in
Hawaii
Asian War Claims
Men From Cherokee
Richard Wilson didn't like
the food over there and lost 30
pounds.
Bill Craves suffered from
malaria and wrote that most of
all he missed the "cool, clean
clear water" of home.
They both now lie in fresh
graves, duly processed,
Cherokee County's latest
casualties of the war in
Vietnam.
Both young men died
violently in March. First there
was the heart-stopping
appearance of an Army officer
at their family homes and the
dreaded message. Then the
bodies were returned for full
military funerals.
And finally, last week, the
Army sent a colonel from a
school at Dahlonega, Ga. to
present a cluster of medals to
the families.
Bill Graves, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Ralph Graves of Murphy,
had gone through Murphy High
School as a star athlete and
then went on to play football
and graduate at Wake Forest
University in 1968. He was in
the ROTC program at Wake
Forest and received his
commission as an officer on
graduation, a new second
lieutenant.
He went through jump
school, then Ranger and the
tough Pathfinder school. At
Ranger School, he graduated
tops in a class of 230 men, one
of his biggest thrills according
to his family. Willing to speak
up when he felt something was
wrong. Graves was credited
with pointing out faults of the
rifle training at Ft. Polk, La.
and revising some of the
procedures used on the rifle
ranges.
His letters home carried
little indication of the combat
action he was in, his mother
said, to keep the folks back
home from worry. One letter
stressed that "you've got a
better chance of getting hurt
on the highways than I have
here of being hurt."
Graves, 23. was looking
forward to a career in the
Army, his mother added and
wanted to go to Germany.
Letters received by his family
from his friends in Vietnam
after his death said he was very
"proud to be an officer."
On Sunday afternoon.
March 15, 80 miles north of
Saigon near the Cambodian
border. First Lieutenant Graves
and is platoon ran into heavy
enemy fire. The paper that
accompanied his posthumous
Silver Star award reads in part
"With complete disregard for
his safety, he moved through
the barrage of enemy fire to
assess the situation and call in
effective artillery and air
strikes... halted the assault and
led his men as they routed the
enemy." But before the fight
was over, Bill Graves had paid
the price.
Richard Wilson, two years
younger, was the son of Mr.
and Mrs. Johnny Wilson of
Peach tree. He had completed
Murphy High and gone two
years to school at Western
Carolina University when he
was drafted.
Shortly before being
drafted, Wilson married
Charlotte Wright of the
Hiwassee Dam section. Her
father was operating a cafe at
Peachtree and there they met.
They were married in
September of 1968 and he
went into the Army the next
January.
He came home to Peachtree
last summer, there was a baby
due and he knew he was
headed for Vietnam. He said
he'd stay until the baby was
bom. His leave ran out, the
baby had not been bom and he
still stayed. A son, Dewayne,
was bom on June 7 and the
proud father overstayed his
leave by a full week. It was a
wise decision ? it turned out to
be the only time he ever saw
his son.
"He never told us what they
were doing," the 20-year-old
widow says. "He never went
into detail, he didn't want us
to worry." She said he once
told her that he was fighting
part of the time as a sniper and
she didn't like that at all.
I don't really understand
the war," she says sadly. "I
didn't think we belonged over
there. He said we did, said
people here didn't understand.
He was proud of what he was
doing."
Richard Wilson wanted to
go back to WCU and be an
accountant, his widow says. He
planned to serve his time and
then get out.
Spec-alist Four Wilson won
a posthumous Bronze Star with
the V device for his actions on
March 17. His platoon was
returning from a night
operation, according to official
papers, "when an anti-vehicle
land mine detonated, fatally
injuring him. Specialist Wilson
placed himself between the
land mine and the other
platoon members, thus
preventing serious injury to
other members of his platoon."
Mrs. Richard Wilson says
most people "just don't think
about the war much," unless
they have a close relative
involved. Mrs. Ralph Graves
keeps a close watch over her
letters and the postcard sent
from Vietnam last Christmas ?
"That's all I've got".
Tomato-Buying Pack House Opens
'l'hf Murphy Tomato-Packing House
opened for business this week, an event
which will mean more than a quarter of
a million dollars to the local economy
before the tomato season ends at first
frost.
Tomatoes sold here from Cherokee,
Clay and Graham counties will be
shipped as far north as Canada and as far
west as Texas, according to Way J. Abel
of Canton, owner and operator of the
packing house.
"We're at a thriving, growing peak
when much of the nation is enduring a
dry spell," Abel said. The timing of the
Western North Carolina crop is vital to
its marketing success.
Mike Angell, Extension Service
tomato specialist for Clay, Cherokee,
Graham and Swain counties, added that
this region's cool nights and relatively
abundant rainfall also figure in the
firmness and flavor of trellis tomatoes
produced here.
Abel said the quality of Western North
Carolina tomatoes is also a factor.
"We're shipping tomatoes into states
which actually produce more tomatoes
than we do in this state," he said.
He said the reason for this is that
tomatoes grown in this area are
produced largely by family labor units,
taking great care in the crop and
selecting of tomatoes to sell. This shows
up in the final product he said, as
compared to tomatoes grown and then
picked by machines.
Angell and other Extension personnel
have emphasized to farmers in the past
several years the greater cash value of a
crop of tomatoes as compared to the
traditional hurley tobacco. An acre of
hurley they point out, will bring its
owner from $1,500 to $1,800 where an
acre of tomatoes in this area last year
had an average value of well over $4,000.
Abel said the Extension workers, and
especially Angell, were to be
commended for their work in promoting
and teaching the growing of trellis
tomatoes in this area.
He said the packing house will pay
out here more than $250,000 to growers
before the first frost ends the tomato
season. And this, Angell pointed out,
doesn't include the salaries paid to
workers at the packing house. Abel said
he expected to work about 55 people at
the height of the season.
Sold under the brand Pigeon Valley
Tomatoes, the tomatoes are pickedgreen
when the first blush of color is showing.
They are then sorted and graded, packed
individually in paper and then placed in
cases, 20 pounds to the case. They re
shipped out in refrigerated trucks, to
ripen en route to their final destination.
Abel also operates a packing house at
Canton and says the two houses make
for a smooth, constant supply of
tomatoes. The plants mature here earlier
than in Haywood County and by the
time the crop is lagging here, tomatoes
are at full harvest around Canton, he
said.
Wreck Near Fairgrounds
Harry Little, 18, of Route 4, received minor cuts and abrasions;
Murphy, escaped injury when his 1956 town police officers have filed no
Chevrolet wrecked Tuesday night on charges pending completion of the
US-19-129 near the Fairgrounds. Little accident investigation.
Preacher Billy On Second Lap
Of Cherokee Trail Of Tears
Rev. Billy Richardson or
Crawford, Neb. last week
began a 320-mile second lap of
the "Trail of Tears" His trek
began from Murphy July 4th
last year from the site of Fort
Butler and he walked to Cape
Girardeau, Missouri.
His historic route follows
the trail taken by members of
the Cherokee Indian Tribe
when they were forced to
march from their native lands
in the vicinity of Murphy to a
new reservation at Talequah.
Okla. more than 700 miles
from Murphy in 1838.
The Cherokee County
Historical Society and the
Daughters of the American
Revolution have proposed
plans to rebuilt Fort Butler and
make a park and museum on
the Fort Butler site just off
Cherokee Street in Murphy.
They hope to secure federal
funds to acquire some
additional land at the site of
the fort so that the location
itself can be protected from
permanent alienation. Dr. H.G.
Jones. Department of Archies
and History in Raleigh,
suggests that the site of Fort
Butler might be included in the
National Park Service System
as a national historic site.
The Rev. Mr. Richardson,
pastor of the United Methodist
Church of Crawford, Neb., says
he is making the trip by foot as
a form of penance for the
treatment handed the
American Indians in their
dealings with the white man.
Thousands of Cherokees
died en route. Victims included
an Indian princess Otahki. who
is buried at the "Trail of
Tears" State Park north of
Cape Girardeau.
The pastor flew to Cape
Girardeau July 6 from his
home in Crawford, Mo. He is
an ordained minister, a gradute
of a State College in Louisiana,
Ashbury Seminary and
Northwestern University.
During the second World War
He served on a carrier as a
Navy flier. At one time after
World War II he was a
professional football player.
During the Bi-Centennial of
American Methodism he was
one of those who rode on
horseback to Baltimore as an
old Circuit Rider. Out of this
experience he felt led to
undertake other rides across
the country.
Richardson has been active
in the past few years with
Indian tribes in North Carolina,
Georgia and Montana. His next
goal is to establish a home for
Indian youngsters in Alliance,
Neb.
Tomato Time .. .Way Abel Shirley Jones and Mike Angell examine early crop.
Eric Townson Returning
To Open Office Here
Eric Townson, a native of
Murphy, announced this week
that he will return to open an
office here as an architect.
For the past three years
Townson has been associated
with Foy and Lee Associates of
Waynesville and fulfilled the
state requirements for
architectural registration in
August of last year.
He graduated in 1963 from
Auburn University in Alabama
and was employed for four
years as an architect-in-training
with Six Associates, Inc. of
Asheville.
Eric Townson
Townson said his firm in
Murphy will maintain working
relationships with several
engineering firms in order to
offer complete architectural
services. He also says he
believes Murphy and the
surrounding area is currently
experiencing an economic
growth essential to the success
of an architectural practice.
Townson is married to
former Ida Brumby of Mu^lhy
and they have two children.
They expect to move to
Murphy from Waynesville this
summer and will be living on
Mooreland Heights Drive.
Civic Action Project
The Green Berets, here on
maneuvers, last week constructed two
boxes which will be placed on the
streets in Murphy as drop stations for
the Jaycees' Clothes Closet project,
which provides used clothing and shoes
for needy families. Sgt. Walt Depps,
center, designed and painted the boxes.
Looking on at left is Sp/5 Jim Sinor
and at right are Jaycee President Dick
Davis and Lt. Bruce Lander. (Staff
Photo)
Danny Forrister Doing Well After Kidney Transplant Operation
Danny Forrister got his kidney
transplant operation last week and is
doing well.
That was the word this week from his
family, happy that the year of waiting
has ended. Forrister, 23, received a
kidney from the body of a 12-year-old
giri killed in a traffic accident.
"He's delighted," said Charles
Shrrtster, Danny's brother and principal
6f Murphy High School. "The surgery
ttta a complete success... we just have
our fingers crossed now on the rejection.
That's the problem right now."
Danny is the son of Mr. and Mrs. C.C.
Forrister of Culberson. His kidney
trouble was discovered in an armed
forces physical examination and his
kidneys were removed in July of last
year. Since that time he has lived with
the aid of a machine, an artificial kidney
which cleanses his blood of waste
material.
His blood and tissue type were on file
at the Vanderhilt University Medical
Center in Nashville and he waited
patiently for a donor, the Vanderbilt
surgeons specializing in the transplanting
of organs into a live body from a dead
one.
The long-awaited telephone call came
late Thursday and Forrister was rushed
to the airport at Copperhitl, Tenn. where
his physician. Dr. W.R. Lee of
Ducktown, had arranged a flight. Kim
Campbell of Ducktown flew the young
man to Nashville where the transplant
team, about 12 doctors, was ready and
waiting.
He entered the operating room about
11:30 Eastern Daylight Time, his
brother said, and the complex operation
was finished at 4:30 the next morning.
One of the dead girl's kidneys was
transplanted to Forrister's body, his
brother noted and the other was placed
in the body of a Veterans
Administration Hospital patient in
Nashville. The girl's family had approved
the transplants.
"Danny was conscious and alert the
next day," Charles Forrister said. "He
actually helped the nurse get rigged up
for the kidney machine treatment."
The new kidney is starting to
function, he said, but it will be about
two weeks before Danny can stop the
machine treatments. He is expected to
return home in about four weeks and
may actually be able to return to his
studies at Western Carolina University
this Fall. Majoring in social studies, he
has completed his junior year at WCU.
The big problem now is the rejection
process, his body reacting to an organ
from another body. Doctors say this can
be controlled in most cases by medicine.
"Danny appreciates the
people have taken in his
Murphy principal said Monday,
very grateful for the cont
have been made toward his i
The Scout carried a story
the May 27 issue and
has received about 1