Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1927-09-15
Kiwanis Club Holds
Meeting at Vale Crucis
Discuss Plans for Goodwill Tour Into
Piedmont Carolina in Interest of
Boone Trail Highway


Civitan Club was held Thursday
evening at Vale Crucis. Club mem
bers, their wives and daughters
were guests of the Vale Crucis
School for Girls at an elegantly pre-
pared dinner.
Cooperation was the theme of the
meeting introduced by Civitan
j. P. Burke, head of the school. Mr..
Burke brought before the club the
idea of visits to different sections
of the county, holding these meetings
a different community centers,
thereby bringing about greater CO.
operation between the various sec
tions. This idea received further
emphasis from Civitan w. H. Gragg,
who had charge of the skits in the
program, which were scream from
start to finish. The program was
further enlivened by stunts and skits
by the students of the school.
J. Hampton Rich of Winston-Sa-
lem, director of the Boone Trail
Highway Association, was present
and made an interesting talk,
stressing the idea of cooperation,
declaring that in his opinion it would
be a great aid to the northwestern
section of the state if the proposed
tours were extended beyond the
bounds of Watauga county. He sug-
gested a goodwill tour in co-opera
tion with the towns of Blowing Rock,
Linville and Wilkesboro, the tour to
go down the Boone Trail highway
into the Piedmont section of the
state, reaching Winston-Salem for
the Forsyth county fair, which will
be held the second week in October;
meet with the state highway officials
in that city and tell them about the
meetings of citizens in the northwest
in the interest of better roads, and
laying before them the absolute need
of immediate action in surfacing the
Boone trail, which is the main artery
of travel in this section-the road
which actually reclaimed the Lost
Provinces to the state.
MIR. Rich said this highway had
been> routed into the west through
Kentucky, so as to catch travellers
going south. He stated that as soon
as the Boone Trail is completed, it
would be mapped and in his opinion,
would bring thousands Of tourists
as we'll as commercial travellers
through the mountains of North
Carolina into the state. This con-
tinuous stream of traffic is now
entering the south through Tennes-
see. The taxes from these travellers
on gas and oil would more than sur
face this highway, he speaker said.
Another matter of interest
brought to the attention of the club
was that of the unveiling of the
mother tablet tf the Boone Trail
highway, containing a map OF the
road and a relief map of the counties
in western North Carolina, which Is
to be mounted on huge monollth,
shaped like an Indian arrowhead of
Mt. Airy granite. The tablet will
be located on the western border of
Winston Salem and will be unveiled
at the time of the visit of the motor
cade, if the tour is made, and will
furnish an interesting occasion for
a get-together meeting of the differ
ent sections of the state interested
in this great thoroughfare.
1t was further suggested that the
goodwill tour continue through High
Point, Lexington, Charlotte and re-
turn by way of Lenoir, thus making
a complete circle into the heart of
the Piedmont section.
The idea of the goodwill tour re-
.ceived enthusiastic approval and will
be taken up at once by the cooper
ative committee composed Of the
following: Boone, w. H. Gragg, R.
R. Johnson and Leo Vaughn; North
Wilkesboro, S. V. Tomlinson, j. R.
Finley; Bristol, Henry Roberts; Mt.
City, Mrs. Eugene L. McDade; f;
Blowing Rock, Thomas H. Coffey, D.
j. Boyden; Linville City, Nelson Nc
Rae and J. F. Hampton.