Oct. 23, 1997
* The community was stunned by the murder of Ella Mae Holder. According to her autopsy, the 66-year-old Milltown resident had been stabbed multiple times in the neck and throat. Holder was discovered by her brother Bud Collins, who had visited the home to make breakfast as part of a daily ritual for another sibling, William Collins. Both the Graham County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation were on the case, but no charges had been filed.
* Robbinsville Middle School students were spread across the county, in an effort to pickup trash left carelessly along the roadside. The work was supervised by administration and teachers from the school.
Oct. 23, 1986
* The 50th anniversary of the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest was celebrated. On-hand was North Carolina Gov. Jim Martin; Lt. Gov. Bob Jordan; Rep. Bill Hendon; and a host of veterans, including Graham County’s Wayne Carringer. A member of the 165th Infantry, Kilmer penned the poem “Trees” and was killed in action during World War I in France on July 30, 1918. The 3,800-acre forest was dedicated in his memory July 30, 1936.
* Both The Robbinsville Quartet and The Inspirations were set to perform in a benefit gospel concert for the Robbinsville High School Black Knight Band. Tickets were $5.
Oct. 23, 1980
* A film crew was dispatched to document Maggie Wachacha teaching the Cherokee language to students at Robbinsville High School. Born in 1895, Wachacha had been the clerk of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for 42 years at that point. The film was set to be shown as part of educational programming throughout North Carolina.
* The Graham County Jaycees were set to host a week-long haunted house. The fundraiser carried the theme “House of the Living Dead.” Admission was $1.
-Compiled by publisher/editor Kevin Hensley.