God Supplies The Materials....
We Have To Figure How To Use Them
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By KATRENA McCALL
Staff Writer
Did you ever wish you could sit
down, come up with a brilliant
Invention and retire on the
royal ties?
That Is exactly what Roy Lee
Holloway of Rt. 8, Kings Mountain
did. Only with Roy It Isn’t one In
vention, but 31.
As a result of his 21 patents, Roy
says, “I haven't really worked for
anyone In 65 years.”
From Madison County, Ga., Roy
has lived from Lowell, N.C. to
Greensville, S.C. to San Francisco,
the latter for 48 years with his wife.
Ihe Holloways settled In Kings
Mountain about six years ago: and
at 69 Roy Is still going strong. "1
tried retirement once.” he said with
a grin, "but It wasn’t much fun.”
Roy admits many of his Inventions
were bom out of necessity. Owning
two body shops and three
automotive manufacturing firms In
Oallfomla, he occasslonally came
upon a job for which his equipment
was simply Inadequate; so, Roy
went to the drawing board to Invent
something that would do the job. He
Is responsible for such useful tools as
self-cleaning rotary files, a butane-
powered underseal and paint
remover, a silent hsunmer for sheet
metal and auto body work, hydraulic
motor, and a flexible head for
grinding machines.
His latest Invention, however. Is
something related to an Important
subject these days - energy.
Roy has come up with a unique,
Inexpensive solar power system
with which he powers his entire
home. Including a ham radio. The
exception Is his well and
refrigerator, but Roy said he Is
working on a system to convert
those Items to solar energy.
The uniqueness of his system lies
In the fact he uses the 108 solar cells
on his roof to charge regular car
batteries that he keeps In a comer in
his house, and then feeds the DC
battery power through a special
converter that he designed (and on
which - the patent Is pehdlng) to
produce the AC current necessary to
power his house.
With this system Roy says he can
provide the power necessary to meet
most of his energy needs with one
regrular car battery (but recom
mends keeping two, "just In case.”)
The solar cells can produce 46
volts and 18 amps which are capable
of keeping four batteries fully
charged per day, with the unit
operating from 7 a.m. to 8:80 p.m.
”To put It simply, one battery will
bum a 160 watt bulb for up to four
days,” he says. The 120 AC con
verter can be hooked directly to the
main power wire feeding the house.
The major advantage of this solar
system, compared to the mere
conventional solar units, lies In its
Initial cost. "You can install this
system for a few hundred doUsu's,”
he said, "and In the four years that
we’ve been using the system, our
power bill has never been more than
$10, and that Is due to the fact that
the refrigerator and well pump are
still on conventional power.” He Is
currently working on a converter
that will produce the 240 AC current
necessary to power these two ap
pliances.
And monetary savings are not the
only advantage of Roy’s system.
Remember the cold, powerless
nights during the snow sind Ice
storms last winter? Well, the
Holloways were warm, cozy and
watching TV while everyone else
was eating cold cheese sandwiches,
wrapped up In blankets In the dark.
Ane once set up the system requires
very little maintenance—another
money-saving advantage.
But what if the sun doesn’t shine,
you ask? He has covered that angle
as well. A 160 watt bulb placed In
front of the solar cells (which are
portable) will charge as many as
eight batteries In 24 hours.
When asked how he managed to
come up with all these Ideas, he
simply replied, ”I learn something
new every day. God has given us all
the materials that we need to solve
our problems—we just have to
figure out what to do with them. I
feel that this solar system is a great
opportunity for those people who
want to heip themselves.”
II W
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56
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Roy Holloway, the inventor.. . .
Photos by Katrena McCall
.an(J his solar energy invention
f,iw rr *irr
Thursday, July 19,1979
Living Today
Going To Switzerland? Take Money
My feet still ache and I
gained four unwanted
pounds from eating rich
pastries but I enjoyed my
first resd vacation, abroad,
last week.
Zurich, Switzerland rolls
out the red ;arpet to
American tourists who are
greeted with hearty
’’Grltsey” (welcome) and
made me feel at home on a
foreign soil where we
spoke neither German,
French, Italian or Raeto-
Romansch.
It was a different story
(xi returning to the U.S.A.
via JFK Airport In New
York CJlty alter flying 11
hours In a jet and where
clearing customs was a
hassle.
If I had been a foreign
visitor coming to America
and could not speak
Elnglish I would have been
terrified.
It’s difficult as a
Southerner to overlook the
rudeness you Incur as a
returning U.S. citizen from
porters amid the hustle
and bustle of other
passengers herded through
the airport lobbies like
’’cattle”, to use a term that
one policeman shouted as
we were waiting for a
promised tour guide who
tailed to show.
But there are always
some unplesantries when
you are among 268 on a
chartered flight to Europe.
Nothing went smoothly
before we left the U.S., as
we learned only a day
before departing that our
flight was returning to
Ralelgh-Durham Airport
last Saturday night at 11
p.m. Cardlyn Rutledge, of
Stanley, and I drove to
Raleigh, parked my car
there and boarded a DC8
which had stopped at
Charlotte’s Douglas
Municipal Airport where
we could not board the
special chartered flight.
We arrived In Switzerland
the next day (Sunday) at
2:30 p.m. Swiss time,
which Is approximately six
hours ahead of our
daylight savings time. We
departed from Zurich last
Saturday at 1:80 p.m.
Swiss time, made an un
scheduled stop In Boston
tor refueling, and from
New York to Ralelg^. By
Ume It was 6 a.m. Swiss
time and we had not slept
in 21 hours. Because of
customs regulations, 80
Boston passengers on the
same flight could not get
off the plane which was In
sight of their parked
automobiles. They flew on
to New York and went
through customs with the
rest of us.
For me, Swltzerlsuid Is a
land of Infinite variety In
weather, scenery, people,
language and food, and so
much more Interesting
because of It.
A comparatively small
country. It has much to
offer both the casual
visitor and the Intending
resident from sun-bathed
lakes and vineyards to
snow-covered mountains,
from delightful little
villages still off the beaten
track of the tourist, to
cosmopolitan cities with
International attractions.
It has four languages and a
cuisine embodying dishes
Inspired by the countries
on Its borders, adapted to
the tastes and needs of the
Swiss people.
Mary Warren of Weldon,
my roommate at the
Zurich HUton and I were
Impressed with the
cleanliness of Zurich and
the friendliness of the
people. When we were not
among the other Tar Heels
on bus tours, we bosu'ded a
city bus which cost two
francs (about $1.26) for a
16 minute ride downtown
where we caught the
subway to the main
shopping districts. We
learned Immediately on
our arrival that the
American dollar la worth
63 cents and that food
would be an expensive
Item. For Instance, Swiss
beer and wine are cheaper
and the favorite drink of
the natives. Tea was one
franc, 50 (about 00 cents)
tor a small glass, no Ice,
and coffee was much more
expensive. We haul already
purchased dlne-arama
tickets for five continental
breakfasts and five din
ners, which saved us a
considerable amount of
money. To compare some
of the prices: in all the
hotel rooms are an
automaUce Captain’s Bar
and drinks can be obtained
by inserting a key in the
bar. The cost Is added to
the room bill. Tomato
juice, small glass, $1.44;
Pepsi Cola, small glass,
$2.16; orange juice, small
glass, $2.16. A cocktail
would run about $6 to $8,
depending on your
selection. In Zurich,
gasoline cost $2.50 per
gallon and the speed limit
on the highways, although
measured by kilometers, is
86 miles per hour. We
didn’t rent a car, preferred
to use the bus, street car,
subway, and train. We also
walked.
Apparently no one but
the very rich own land In
Switzerland. Passing
through farmland after
farmland, we were told
that land Is sold by the
square yard and in the
country Is approximately
six dollars a square
yard. In the city more ex
pensive. Tiny mowers
were being used for cutting
hay and we noticed small
garden “patches” which
our guides told us were
small garden spots rented
by farmers.
If you are a cigarette
smoker, going to Swit
zerland might help you to
quit. The cost of cigarettes
are exorbitant. You
quickly learn where the
fruit and vegetable
markets are, because
sandwiches and
hamburgers are also very
expensive. Some
restaurants charge extra
tor bread and butter and
tor each cup of coffee. A
typical “continental
breakfast” Includes hard
rolls and butter, all the
expresso coffee you can
drink, orange juice and
jelly. A European break
fast could also include cold
meats, cheeses, and the
traditional bread. Some
members of our party, who
are big breakfast eaters,
ordered eggs but they
didn’t like the bacon,
which appeared to be raw.
Swiss desserts are a treat,
and pastry, cheese and
wine shops are scattered
throughout the city of
Zurich, which has a
population of 4(X),000. It
cost $1.63 to mall a post
card from Zurich.
Ten percent of the Swiss
people farm and we were
given some of the history
of the people by our guides,
Anna and Bernhard
Maeder of Trans National
Tours, who are excellent.
They pointed out the high
piles of compost In front of
the beautiful homes and
told us that when a man
goes looking for a wife that
he Inspects very closely
the tidiness of the farm and
how the compost is stacked
in front of the house. If
untidy, this means the lady
is a bad housekeeper.
Zurich Is a beautiful
vacation spot and
traveling “on your own”
would not be a problem.
Trans-National of Zurich
provides optional tours smd
English-speaking guides,
as well as guides who
speak other languages for
most any place you would
want to visit. I would
recommend you stay at the
International Hotel, in
downtown Zurich,
although the Zurich Hilton
at the Airport Is an ex
cellent hotel but you have
to take a bus to get to the
shopping areas. Credit
cards are honored In all the
areas we visited and If we
did not have Swiss francs,
traveler’s checks and
American currency was
accepted. Going abroad
requires a passport and
our passport was stamped
in three countries. Our bus
driver took our passports
and had them stamped In
Germany and a customs
offeial came on board our
Italy-bound ship. We
zipped through customs at
the Swiss Airport and our
baggage was at the hotel
by the time we arrived.
It was Interesting to
team that a man Is in
ducted In the service at age
20 for 13 weeks training
and keeps his own carbine
and uniform until he
reaches age 50 when he
takes them back for final
Inspection. His time in
service decreases after the
first two years and his last
day In the Army Is like
Father’s Day In this
country.
Two unforgettable ex
periences; On the flight
from New York C?ity to
Switzerland we finished
the evening meal at
daylight, U.S.A. time, and
saw the sunrise over
Switzerland at 2:30 a.m.,
our time. We Americans
were Joined by Germans
and Swiss In singing “God
Bless America” on our last
evening In Zurich at a
Yodelfest.
Nobody takes a trip to
Switzerland without
viewing the monumental
Swiss alps and the glacier
village of Grindelwald,
nestled high up in the
alpine mountains, was on
our Itinerary as was a trip
to historical Lucerne.
Michelangelo never lived
there but you’d never
believe It after seeing the
colorful paintings on the
fresco-adorned houses of
charming Stein am Rhein.
In the Black Forest of
Germany we saw a 17th
century wine press which
the monks used to produce
hearty red and light white
wines during the Dark
Ages. The trees grow so
closely together In the
Black Forest that daylight
becomes night and enroute
we visited Tltlsee, one of
the most popular health
resorts in Baden-
Wurttemberg. This part of
Germany is cuckoo cloth
country.
Folk dancing, yodellng,
and alpine horn blowing
featured the traditional
Swiss Yodelfest, a farewell
to Switzerland party amd
typical food. Including
Swiss Bundner Ger-
stemsuppe (barley soup)
and a fabulous country
buffet, assorted Flelsch us
um Znnunlchratte,
Quiche Lorraine, six
different kinds of green
and mixed salads, hot
roasted veal, bratwurst.
roasted chicken from the
spit and ice cream dessert.
We rode the Lugano
Express, through the
mountains of Switzerland
and then took a boat for a
short excursion In Italy
and the Swiss Riviera. Our
modern, express train took
us through some of the
most magnlflclent scenery
in all the world and
through the Gotthard
Tunnel to the heart of
Europe. This famous nine
mile tunnel, which took
over seven years to build,
is one of the great
engineering marvels of the
19th century. Lugano is a
resort city with subtropical
climate and palms trees, a
blend of Swiss and Italian
cultures.
Zurich, at the
geographical center of
Europe, Is a lakeside
garden city surrounded by
green hills and snow
capped peaks. The
countryside is full of Swiss
chalet-type homes adorned
with window boxes of red
geraniums. We were told
that the geraniums keep
insects away sis there were
no screens on the windows
and doors.
Shopping on Zurich's
Fifth Avenue, the elegant
Bahnhofstrasse, is an
experience. We window
shopped. CiOlng Into the
stores, we found that sizes
In dresses and shoes are
quite different. In Europe I
would wear a size 40-42 in a
dress, 46 In a blouse or
sweater, and I gave up on
shoes.
The working woman
must work until age 68 and
males must belong to some
branch of service until age
50 in Switzerland. There is
a very low crime rate and
few accidents. American
housewives wouldn't like
television, no soap operas.
The set isn't turned on until
about 6 p.m. and the news
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