Dec. 12, 1985
* With United Globe Company tangled in bankruptcy proceedings, Stanley Furniture signed a letter of intent to buy the plant off Snowbird Road. The 575,000 square-foot facility was being eyed to produce bedroom furniture.
* An eviction notice was served on Dessie Odom, to move out of a small apartment in the basement of the Graham County Courthouse. Odom and her late husband John had moved into the jail in 1962 to take over maintenance for the facility; in the years since, Dessie had served as jailer, custodian, dispatcher and laundress. The county had voted to close the jail one month prior.
Dec. 12, 1975
* The bodies of four individuals killed in a plane crash had to be removed without overhead assistance, following the discovery of the accident by a U.S. Army helicopter. Donald Lorenzen, 44 of Milwaukee; pilot Kenneth Schuler, 25 of Cleveland, Ohio; and Mr. and Mrs. David Higgins, 27 and 24 of Cincinnati were killed when the single-engine Cherokee 6 crashed en route to Florida from Green Bay, Wis.; and had last been seen refueling at an airport in London, Ky. Bodies had to be carried out to Swan Meadows Road from the crash site due to heavy fog.
* Gavin Colvard was shown with a 44-pound watermelon he grew during an unusually-dry summer off Franks Creek. He was touted for “diligently” watering the plant daily. Also shown in the photo was Jeff Colvard’s (Gavin’s great-grandfather) sweet potatoes grown in the garden, with one weighing 3 ¾ pounds. Update: Today, Gavin is in charge of the Graham County Sanitation Department.
Dec. 12, 1969
* Zola M. Payne retired as cafeteria manager at Fontana Village Resort, a role she had held for 13 years. The resort presented her with a silver tray as a retirement gift. Payne was planning to retire to Lake Worth, Fla.
* Robbinsville Mayor Frank Rogers and Graham County Schools Superintendent Modeal Walsh purchased light bulbs as part of a fundraiser for the school choir. A concert was set to be held at Robbinsville United Methodist Church, with soloist Karen Adams showing off the robes purchased on behalf of the choir.
-Compiled by publisher/editor Kevin Hensley