The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1939-01-19
An Ashe County
Hospital Will Be
Self Supporting
(By Rev. r.. III. StOne)

For several weeks excellent
articles have been appearing IN
your columns about our proposed
hospital for Ashe county. May
answer some rather pessimistic
things that I have heard which
breed spirit of defeatism, which
is always deadly? va
Every now and then someone
says that hospital n Ashe cotlrl-
ty viii not be self disappearing: It
lsisx eontended that those who San
pay there bills will 60 to a better
/ established hospital.
Years ago I wondered if the
first filling station didn't begin
! with fear? Someone probably
suggested that there wern't
enough cars to buy the gas. Now
there are a surplus Of filling sta
tions. They are self-supporting.
But for daring souls there
would not be any antique store
in the county. Someone ,probab-
ly said, "Who wants the old used
JUNK" But people come from
afar for and write f o m
longer distances about antiques
on sale in West Jefferson. They
pay!
johnson City is the home Of
some of the finest and largest
flooring plants in the world. Mr..
Sells is known as the FLOORING
King" In North Carolina there
are great flooring plants. Pulas
XII and other Virginia cities have
great flooring factories. If w. E.
Vannoy had taken a poll of
opinion in the county he would
have heard number say 1T
won't pay" "You can't make a
go of it." There are too many,
too we'll known plants for you
to put in another" you couldn't
sell it outside of Ashe."
The fact remains that he can
sell in New York City more
flooring than he can manufac-
ture. It is an up and going
flooring concern and is an in
dustry of which Ashe should
take pride.
Of course some 60 away to buy
their clothing and cars and lum-
Der. Some go away for various
reasons. When the hospital be-
gins operation some will still go
to Johns Hopkins, Duke, Char
lotte, Winston, Banner Elk, Bris-
tol, Abingdon and North Wilkes
boro; but a great many would
prefer to stay at home. Enough
money is spent for hospitaliza-
ton outside of Ashe to keep a
larger one than is contemplated
in operation.
Surely it will take a few years
to get established and for the
public to have the utmost conf
dence in the surgeon. We do not
have the money to employ staff
of surgeons of the Mayo Broth
ers reputation-nOr can we hope
to get Howard Kelly to leave his
work. We are gong to have to
hori,o ~ +bo hn++OY1o opI GRO SIlo1
ly climb to the top We can be-
gin quite adequately at the bot
tom and serve our sick as finely
IS they need to be served.
AShe county has produced sew
eral eminent surgeons and nurs-
es. One Of. these surgeons is now
ready to begin in an Ashe coun-
ty hospital. Some of the nurses
whose records are superb are
ready to come and work with
him.
1t is my conviction that hos
pital of an adequate size and
modern equipment, with an able
surgeon and a thoroughly compe-
tent nursing staff, under a good
business administrator will PAY
ITS OWN WAY, be a source of
pride and JOY and healing and
health to multitudes. We people
of Ashe ought to rally at once to
this cause and secure what we
have for so long needed-AN
ASHE COUNTY HOSPITAL.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR