North Carolina Newspapers

DEVOTED 100% TO OUR COMMUNITY-THE GROWING SWANNANOA VALLEY SECOND CLASS POSTAGE PAID AX BLACK MOUNTAIN, N. C. 28711 10C Copy It Pays To Advertise 8 PAGES TODAY. Iesbyterian Children’s Home s Open House This Weekend IvUVA MIRACLE lay, November 16th will (pen House at the \terian Home for in. Presbyterian Home for tn is the legal name of stitution formerly, "The am Orphanage Inc.” institution has been tor needy children since v 19. 1904, when six children were accepted, at time the home was id in Crabtree in iod County. inmates kept increasing 4 children were crowded walls of the little house. present “Home" is id between Black am and Swannanoa and has 56 children living Fifteen are in high I, one is in college and 41 the lower grades. "Daddy” of this brood n McKenzie and he is a ither to these children in sense of the word, goes over each report ; with the child, participates in every activity where “his children" are involved while being father to ms own two children. One of the favorite stories is about a group of little boys’ trip to a local barber shop. Mr. Ford, the barber, said “son wliats your name?” And the little fellow promptly replied, “Well, 1 reckon we’re all McKenzies.” And they are! Children are admitted on the basis of need. They arc given a Christian home, with an education - through college if they qualify - after graduation from high school. This year there is a critical need for a generous Thanksgiving offering to offset the decreased gifts from the churches in the first nine months of 1969. As reported in the October issue of “Our Mountain Work" the shortage is $12,000. Although the Home is sponsored by the Presbyterian Church the boys and girls are “ours.” They belong to each one of us in the valley so let’s all, Baptist, Methodists, Episcopalians or whatever, help with this $22,000 that is needed at Thanksgiving in order that the budget may be balanced. The Staff consists of: Donald C. McKenzie, superintendent; Mrs. Mary Hall, House mother for Little Boys (14) and Little Girls (13); Mrs. Georgia Haynes, Housemother for Big Boys (15); Mrs. Carah Basenden, Housemother for Big Girls (14); and Mrs. Mary B. Nesbitt, Dietician. There is a continuing need. The superintendent reports that there are 68 on the waiting list and applications are still coming in. There is an immediate need for prayers for the staff, the boys and girls, the pastor and members of the Black Mountain Presbyterian Church where the family worships. We, here in the valley need to visit the Home and the children, get acquainted with the staff. Invite these youngsters into our homes, for to know them is to love them. S BILLIE HANKS MILLER shows off one ler many paintings of planes in the air when she first began to fly. lying Grandmother, She Built nd Flew Her Own Plane By UVA MIRACLE current popular advertising t says “You’ve gone a long ibaby to get where you got Pday” but back in the late rs and early 1900’s young Hanks Miller didn’t wait I'e got there then. She* ped she was going to do 1 completely unheard of i tor a woman — she was ' to be a pilot. She even I her own airplane. I>s ot course figuratively r>ng caused “the roof to •" w*th her parents. She told to forget such ■shness and nonsense and I lather sent her away to ■nibia University for a ptic science course. This N her to leave home panently and to live with a Pathetic and understanding today, as a spry, |ear-old widow who flew as Jttly as last year, Mrs. Billie Miller of Miami, Fla., Swannanoa has the notion of being the only flx who can claim to have ftructed her own plane in the early day when was pointed at as fl WEATHER le weather since last rsday has been absolutely bright and sunny daytime highs in the mid and nighttime lows in lni‘d thirties. It could not been more perfect for any l00r activity. With the ■ l* covered by leaves, the as been full of the pleasant °f smoke as townspeople burned off the product of rakings. This museum craft which exemplifies early modes of air travel remains a perpetual reminder of the day in Logan, Ohio, the home of Mrs. Miller when a pilot who happened to be a man crashed his airplane into a patch of briars on the hillside. Scornful of the pilot’s ineptitude and failure, Mrs. Miller, who was only a young girl, witnessed the sight and was stirred to remark that “1 could do better than the men do. I’m going to prove it. I’m going to show those men how to fly.” The bi-plane (two wings on each side) that Mrs. Miller built in the early 1900’s now rests in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D. C. Mrs. Miller laughingly said, “I didn’t have a blue print or any plans to go by in building my plane. I used pictures in books, wrote to others for information and made do. I could not afford the regular material used in covering the plant structure so I purchased the fabrics from Wannamakers and used a special glue to cotter it and strengthen it. When I ran out of regulation airplane wire I substituted piano wire in the structure. Getting an engine proved very difficult but I was finally able to secure a Hall-Scott motor from their factory in Toldeo, Ohio.” Neighbors s»on were gaping at the sight of the young aviatrix at the controls as it zoomed over fences and farmers fumed when she put down in their fields but her career as a female pilot was launched. Airplanes and Hying filled her life, squeezing out formal educaton beyond the first year of higli school for which she much later substituted night classes in aviation in Miami to learn operation of the complicated controls and instruments of modern airplanes. It was not until about 1914 that she was required to obtain a license and she chose to try for a private pilot’s license which she used for over 40 years, her flying excursions being interrupted briefly for a few years to meet responsibilities as a mother to her four children. Flying causes an esthetic sense to swell up in Mrs. Miller so that she feels as a “second cousin to the angels.” She believes that being up in the air helps her blood pressure and she says that flying has always made her “feel good,” even in those early days when airplanes were unable to attain high altitudes. Mrs. Miller holds a pilot’s license from Opo-looka Airport, Fla., and would fly today - if she could find someone with a plane. She says she would fit it with water-landing gear and land it on the small lake near her summer home in the Swannanoa Valley — an arrangement which would eliminate $5 taxi fares to Asheville Airport when she travels to gatherings of her old flying cronies. They converge periodically at major cities across the country to honor one another, to reminisce about old times and to wonder at modern air travel. Mrs. Miller is a member of the Early Birds (pilots who flew before 1912) and of the 0X5 Club of America Aviation YOUNG MICHAEL FLETCHER is shown gazing at the portraits of Mr. and Mrs. R. P. Smith, founders of the Presbyterian Home for Children. Michael is the newest member of the home family. Son Of Blk.Mtn. Couple Gets PO Executive Post The son of a Black Mountain couple has been promoted to Executive Assistant for Postal Affairs, announced Postmaster General Winton M. Blount last week. He is Holman Head, son of Mr. and Mrs. M. E. Head of 200 Montreat Road. Head had served in his new capacity on a temporary basis last January and February, assisting in making the transition from the past Administration to the present one. The new Executive Assistant comes to the Post Office Department from Blount Brothers Corporation, in Montgomery, Alabama, where he has served consecutively as Director of Personnel and Administration, Executive Assistant to the President, and To Be In Stage Production Jim Hughes of Black Mountain has a prominent role in the Brandywine Players’ production of “Halfway Up The Tree,” opening this week in Asheville. Each performance will be held at The Brandywine Theatre, on the grounds of The Manor Retirement Home, 265 Charlotte Street, Asheville. Admission is $2.00 for adults, and $1.00 for students. Curtain time is 8:30 p.m. for each performance. Pioneers (composed of pilots) who flew with an 0X5 engine put on the market in 1918). She holds membership in the Women’s International Association of Aeronautics and is a charter member of the Greater Miami Aviation Association, the oldest aviation club in Florida organized in 1927. Mrs. Miller is listed in Who’s Who in World Aviation, Who’s Who of American Women, and Who’s Who of Southern Women. Mrs. Miller exemplifies a touch of this pioneering spirit even today when she explains that “I don’t ever feel afraid. If I failed, I don’t feel it is anything to worry about.” Mrs. Miller has one child of her own, Theodore Hanks Miller of Merriman, Fla., and two grandchildren. She also reared three foster children, two boys and a girl. The joy and zest of living is still there. The merriment in her sparkling eyes show a great deal of the spirit of the girl who dared to be different. Last Friday she was given a life membership in th^> Western Carolina Pilot’s Club in Asheville. Vice President for Administration. A Navy veteran of World War II, Head is married to the former Hallie Fuller of Mobile, Alabama. They have three children: Hallie Cochran, 15; Robert Holman, 13; and Martin Edward, 5. City Moves To Zone Only In The Corporate City Limits In an emotion filled meeting last Wednesday night the Black Mountain Board of Aldermen chose to consider for zoning only the corporate city limits. Temporarily at least this removes from imminent zoning that area within one mile from the town. There is a possibility, however, that either the county or town of Black Mountain will zone it at a later time. The corporate city limits are AARP To Meet Friday Night The Swannanoa Valley Chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons will hold its regular meeting at the Asheville Savings & Loan Association Community Room on Friday, November 14, 1969 at 10 a.m. Donald H. DeFoe will be the guest speaker. DeFoe has a vast knowledge of our natural resources, having been with the National Park Service for 10 years. He is now District Naturalist for the North Carolina Section of Blue Ridge Parkway. All interested persons are cordially invited. Meeting On Zoning Will Be Iteld Monday Night ZONING WILL BE THE SUBJECT of a meeting to be held Monday night at the city hall, presided over by James Donnelly of the Department of Local Affairs. Donnelly, author of Black Mountain’s proposed ordinances, says this meeting is unofficial, not a city council or planning board meeting, and is being done by him solely in the interest of answering questions before the city aldermen meet Wednesday night, Nov. 19 in official action. The meeting will open at 7:30 p.m. Rotary Foundation Week Observed By Local Club The Black Mountain-Swanna noa Rotary Club met for their regular session Tuesday, November 18 at the Travel Eze Restaurant. Dr. Ozmer Henry presided. Sam Millar presented the program. He announced the week of November 9-15 in Rotary Foundation Week and showed slides, with narration showing the work of this foundation. Millar pointed out “Our country and the world needs understanding. The main problem confronting us is a lacking in personal relationship.” The Rotary Foundation was founded for this purpose “To promote Understanding” and its format is “Foundation for Understanding”. This is done through three major steps: 1) Graduate Fellowships, 2) Undergraduate scholarships 3) Technical Training. Graduate Fellowships - the first of the Foundation programs — offer graduate university students a chance to study abroad for a year. The Undergraduate Scholarships are similar to the F e 1 lowships on the undergraduate level. Technical Training awards present an opportunity for young men and women in various trades to go abroad to learn new and improved techniques in their area. Group Study Exchange permits districts in different countries to exchange groups of young business and professional men for a period of time to observe and study. Finally, the Foundation allows a grant for educational or charitable activities planned by clubs or districts. Note that all of these programs have a common factor: They all involve people crossing oceans and borders to seek new understanding. That is because all of these awards carry one important qualifying phrase: for International Understanding. In a world of nations armed with weapons capable of global destruction and seething with old hatreds and new misconceptions, international understanding becomes of paramount importance. Rotary has seen the recipients fulfill the four fold goal: To Learn — To Understand — To Communicate - To Share. Rehab Ctr. Chaplain Givis Talk The Black Mountain-Swanna noa Kiwanis Club met Thursday noon, November 6, at the Monte Vista Hotel. Chaplain L. B. Laye of the Western Carolina Sanatorium and the Alcoholic Rehabilitation Center spoke on his work at these two centers. He reported primarily on the work at the Alcoholic Center. The center has 108 beds, as of November 10th. Fifty of these were occupied. There are 42 men patients and eight women. Chaplain Laye said the two problems of the patients are psychiatric, physical and spiritual. He reported they are successful in rehabilitating between 32-38 per cent of those admitted and each patient usually spends between 21 and 28 days there. M. E. Head introduced a new member, John A. Brothers. now one mile in all directions from the railroad depot on Sutton Street. In a meeting charged with tension, townspeople attacked zoning itself or else the town’s areas of zoning. It seemed everyone present wanted no zoning at all or to be zoned differently from the planned way. The board of aldermen and James Donnelly of the state’s Department of Local Affairs came under sharp and bitter criticism from residents fearing loss of property values. In various forms accusations were heard from the audience that certain people were being protected from zoning or by zoning, that Black Mountain’s charm would be destroyed by industry, that residents would suffer severe depreciation in property values because of zoning, and even that maps and copies of the ordinance were We No Longer Have A Planning Board The Black Mountain Planning and Zoning Boards no longer exist, reports W. W. White, chairman of the Planning Board. The final meeting of the board was Thursday, Nov. 6 at the city hall, at which time the groups were dissolved permanently. Contrary to rumor, the planning board did not quit in disgust because of resistance to zoning. The planning board was scheduled to be dissolved when zoning plans were complete and the ordinances prepared. That has been done, leaving the planning board with no functions to carry out, White told the Black Mountain News. If the city of Black Mountain enacts zoning ordinances a new planning board will be created, as well as a board of adjustments. All members named will be new. Since the town now is considering zoning only within the city limits (see story this page) the new planning board would have only five members, all named by the city aldermen from residents of the Town. The same would be true of the board of adjustments. Five men would be added to each board by the county commissioners only if zoning were extended beyond the city limits. James Donnelly, with the state’s Department of Local Affairs and the man who prepared the proposed ordinances, told the people at the meeting that Buncombe County would zone the area immediately around the town if Black Mountain did not do it. However, Gordon Greenwood, chairman of the county commissioners, told the Black Mountain News on Friday that the county is not committed to zoning, only to a study of it. The study is in progress, Greenwood said, and no action is planned or guaranteed, even after the study is over, unless th, study indicates a need for it. At Wednesday night’s meeting of the city council an irate crowd of zoning opponents became almost abusive in their criticism. Donnelly preceded his remarks Thursday evening at the planning board meeting with comments about crowd reaction. being kept from public view. A patient Mayor Dick Stone explained in detail conditions j>ertaining to each issue raised, often in the face of severe criticism and constant interruptions. It was pointed out that Buncombe County now has a zoning study in progress that could eventually result in zoning of the entire county. Donnelly explained that the local residents would probably come out better having zoning done by their town instead of the county. Stone discussed several laws affecting the local zoning situation: — The N. C. General Assembly has provided that cities may zone at the will of the city council. -A city may zone outside its corporate limits, but it if does it must zone one mile outside, no more and no less. —The Black Mountain aldermen do not have authority to change corporate limits. This requires action of the General Assembly. City Hall Has Maps On Display Zoning maps and copies of the proposed ordinances pertaining to subdivisions and ■oning are on display* at the Black Mountain City Hall daily from 9.00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Also included is a legend to the maps explaining its layout. Persons interested in seeing these items are urged to come by the city hall to examine them. They will remain on display at least until the meeting of the city aldermen on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m. Statement By Jim Donnelly, Author Of Ordinances Below is a statement written for the Black Mountain News by James Donnelly of the Dept, of Local Affairs, Div. of Community Planning. Donnelly is working under contract with Black Mountain in preparation of proposed zoning ordinances. By JAMES DONNELLY For the past 17 months the Town of Black Mountain has been involved in a comprehensive town planning program. The original contracting agency was the Western No^th Carolina Regional Planning Commission. However, since July the newly formed N. C. Department of Local Affairs, Division of Community Planning has performed the duties of the WNCRPC. Included in this planning study has been a Population and Economic Study of the Town (copies are available free at the Town Hall), a Land Use Survey and Analysis, a Soil Study done by the Soil Conservation Service, a flood study by TV A, the preparation of a Land Development Plan for the year 1990, a Thoroughfare Plan prepared by the N. C. State Highway Commission, a Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations. All of this work was done for the protection of the people of the Black Mountain area. The purpose was to protect and enhance property values as well as guiding future growth in the direction best suited for the town. However, because of a lack of information and understanding considerable opposition has been encountered, specifically opposition to the zoning ordinance. Zoning is not the ultimate purpose of the planning program, it is merely one of the legal devices for the implementation of the Land Development Plan. Other implementation tools include, subdivision regulations, building codes, housing codes, capital improvement programming, and above all, the desire of the people of Black Mountain to create an attractive and desirable community in which to reside. To accomplish this requires understanding of the program. If you don’t understand it — find out about it. Zoning provides regulation by districts based on the developed community plan, for the use of land, the density of population, and the height, bulk and use of buildings. This police power is vested in the legislature of the community, for the purpose of maintaining the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community. Its function is to protect public and private property. Legally, it is important to note that the police power of zoning has not been supported in courts without its districts having been based on a developed community plan which supports these zoning decisions. Black Mountain has such a plan. Zoning ensures proper development of the community and provides for: the optimum and efficient use ot land in the community by districts (residential, business, industry, etc), the maintenance of the quality of community life and standards, dhie prevention of potential hands to life and property, tihe conservation and protection off property values by encouraging appropriate land use and preventing the intrusion off incompatible iand uses. Public support is required for effective zoning. Tihe importance of the stability which zoning provides in terns of the citizen’s best interests and responsibilities must be impressed through a proper citizen education program. Zoning is a means of promoting the welfare of the community by guiding its growth along orderly lines; iit should not be primarily considered as a means of controlling nuisances. Zoning does not affect existing land uses or buildings and must be reasonable, rant arbitrary nor confiscatory, sfar support in any legal appeal which is provided for any eases of extreme practical hardihip to property. The adoption of the zoning ordinance must follow appropriate legal procedures*s prescribed by state enabling legislation; and provides procedure for administration, amendment, and appeal of the zoning measures. On Monday, November 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the Town Hall, a meeting will be held to discuss any questions pertaining to the proposed zoning ordinance. This will not be an official town meeting but rather one aimed at public infonuation and support of the ordinance.