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A violent wind storm damaged trailers at Cole’s Mobile Home Park off Enola Road in Morganton 50 years ago.
Deputies with the Burke County Sheriff’s Office examine approximately eight gallons of white liquor seized in a raid 50 years ago.
Photos from the Monday, July 24, 1972 edition of The News Herald document damage caused by an electrical storm that hit Morganton 50 years ago.
The Valdese High School Cheerleaders won two awards at the International Cheerleading Foundation cheerleading camp held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 50 years ago. The group also won the Spirit Impact award for being the most spirited team.
LOOK: Take another trip back in time to 2001 with the most recent Throwback Thursday photo gallery. Just point your smartphone camera at the QR code, then tap the link.
Burke County firefighters responded to 10 fire calls between 5:35 p.m. Friday and 8:28 a.m. Monday, with six of the fires reported in an hour and a half period late Friday during a brief, but violent electrical storm.
A total of five homes incurred significant damage. One Oak Hill fireman, Larry Lail, was overcome by smoke during a fire Saturday night and was taken to Grace Hospital for treatment.
One of the houses that caught fire, located on East Parker Road, belonged to Jack Clark and his wife, who were home at the time. Clark described witnessing his home “lit up” by the lightning strike. His wife called for help when she saw lightning come through an electrical switch box in the couple’s bedroom closet and start a fire. Clark attempted to douse the flames with a fire extinguisher, but was forced to flee the home after his efforts failed. Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the bedroom.
Local fire departments who responded to the fires include Oak Hill, Salem, Triple Community and Drexel.
On the heels of a recent electrical storm, a tornado-like wind roared through Cole’s Mobile Home Park just off Enola Road in Morganton at approximately 6 p.m. Tuesday, lasting between 10 and 15 minutes and leaving a wake of wreckage. The force of the wind was estimated at 100 miles per hour.
The owner of the park, Sherrill Cole, said two trailers were blown from their supports and one fell on a water line, cutting it in half. He said it was the worst storm to hit the park in his memory.
W.F. Gregory, owner of another trailer, said his family was in the trailer during the storm.
“It picked my trailer right up and down,” Gregory said. “It was just bouncing on the blocks.”
In addition to damage to numerous mobile homes, the wind storm, described by one man as “definitely a twister,” also felled trees, one of which struck an electrical line, cutting power in the area. Several homes near the park incurred minor damage.
The Flynn Christian Fellowship Home of Burke County, a halfway house for recovering homeless alcoholics located at 408 S. Green St. in Morganton, held its grand opening celebration Friday.
William C. Parton, president of the home’s board of directors, called it a “dream come true.” Already, the 11-room facility has four residents and a staff of three, including a cook and the manager and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Whetstine.
The home is now in full operation after a massive effort by “some very determined men and women” pushed the project ahead of schedule, fueled by “a real desire to help men find their way back to a normal way of living without alcohol.”
Any male alcoholic, regardless of race, creed or color, is welcome to stay in the home as long as he arrives sober and has an honest desire to stay sober, complies with simple rules and regulations, continues his rehabilitation, gets a job and contributes to the support of the home.
Two Morganton students are enrolled in the Western Carolina University summer demonstration school for gifted children. The program, one of the most unusual in the US for the exceptionally gifted child, has received national acclaim from American educators.
Elbert Davis Wortman, son of Mr. and Mrs. E.D. Wortman of 408 Valdese Ave., is enrolled in the fifth-grade group in the program, which is studying local cultures, such as Scots-Irish, Cherokee Indian and Black. Field trips and individual and small-group research projects are being used as study mediums.
Mark Edward Blakley, son of Mr. and Mrs. James A. Blakley of 311 Wilson St., is enrolled in the sixth-grade group, which is studying the ecology of the mountain region and how it is affected by the local geography. Students will take field trips to Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests.
Both students attend Hillcrest Elementary School.
The Rev. and Mrs. John R. Cantrell have just returned from their all-expense paid trip to Florida. Mrs. Cantrell won the weeklong vacation for two through National Travel Inc. Most of their time was spent in Miami Beach. The summertime fiesta included free parking, private lake facilities, recreational games and visits to historic sites, including the winter home of Thomas Edison.
The Rev. John R. Cantrell is pastor of Chambers Chapel Baptist Church in Glen Alpine.
This article is sponsored by the History Museum of Burke County, where the archives of The News Herald are stored.
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Did you know that Morganton once celebrated its mimosa trees with a special festival?
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A violent wind storm damaged trailers at Cole’s Mobile Home Park off Enola Road in Morganton 50 years ago.
Deputies with the Burke County Sheriff’s Office examine approximately eight gallons of white liquor seized in a raid 50 years ago.
Photos from the Monday, July 24, 1972 edition of The News Herald document damage caused by an electrical storm that hit Morganton 50 years ago.
The Valdese High School Cheerleaders won two awards at the International Cheerleading Foundation cheerleading camp held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 50 years ago. The group also won the Spirit Impact award for being the most spirited team.
LOOK: Take another trip back in time to 2001 with the most recent Throwback Thursday photo gallery. Just point your smartphone camera at the QR code, then tap the link.
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