Watauga County
One of Ihe “cleanesl” counties in ftorlli
C'nrolinn. And if you rend on you'll set»
just exactly what we mean by the use of
that word.
Beautiful farming and grazing country; typical of many other such scenes to be found in Watauga.
О Г К
trip to Watauga County
was decidedly incomplete, and
the responsibility for the in¬
completeness lies with I >r. II. 11.
Dougherty, president of the Appn-
luehinn State Teachers College at
Boone.
Dr. Dougherty has a nanny-goat,
lie milks the goat daily and, so far
us we know, is the only college presi¬
dent in the I’nited State- who enjoys
such an interesting distinction. So
when we arrived at Boone, we imme¬
diately headed for the college. We
wanted to see Dr. Dougherty but even
more we wanted to see him milk that
gnat so that we could take a picture
of tin* process.
But what happened? We were in¬
formed that the Doctor was out of
town for the day and wouldn't bn
hack until late that night.
So doctor; no goat ; no milking; no
picture.
.\r the office of the Watauga Demo¬
crat, however, we were more fortu¬
nate, for Publisher It. C. Hi vers, dr.,
introduced us to Mr. W. H. Lovell,
one of the old-timers up iu that sec¬
tion and unusually well informed
about the interesting places in the
county.
“You may think you've seen some
trettv mountain country," said Mr.
ovell ns we loft Boone and headed
westward, “but wait a few minutes
and you’ll see something that is really
unusual. I don't mean high mountain
peaks, although we’ve got them, too;
but fine farming and stock-raising
country in as beautiful a setting as
anyone can imagine."
At Vilas wo turned to the right and
proceeded to the Tennessee line. We
paused to take a picture of the Cove
Creek High School, a handsome new
structure, built of native stone. One
of the prettiest country schools we’ve
seen anywhere. In close proximity to
the school is the settlement of Sher¬
wood, and about two miles beyond is
Amantlm.
We soon discovered that Mr. Lovell
had told the truth. Fertile farmlands
rolled back from either side of the
highway. Iu the distance, on the
mountainsides, Mr. Lovell |>oiutcd out
grazing land for cattle. 11c was cor¬
rect, too, about the scenic effect, for
it is indeed unusually pretty coun-
try.
Wo passed through the village of
Mabel and then on to Ziouville, which
is almost on the Tennessee line.
When wo reached Vilas on the re¬
turn trip, we swung to the right and
drove over to Valle Orucis (Valley
of the cross) which is about two mile»
from tlie highway junction. Here we
found Mrs. Kin ily Hopkins, manager
of the school, who showed us over the
place.
Valle Orucis School is an institu¬
tion for girl», outgrowth of a mis¬
sion founded by the Episcopal
Church in 1812 and reorganized in
1805. The main buildings are of
cement blocks, dominated by the lit¬
tle Church of the Holy Cross, fash¬
ioned of local gray stone. When the
mission was founded, using the In¬
dian expression, there was only "one
smoke” in the valley. The school own»
about 500 acres of laud and operate-
its own farm, apple orchard ami
dairy.
When in 103! the trustees of Valle
Cruei- School for Girls, headed by
the lit. Kev.
К.
E. Gribbiu. bishop
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