Sometimes those – whose actions are beneficial to the most people – often go under-appreciated or forgotten as time passes.
Vicki Teem and Shirley Crisp – who provided much information for this article – were recently discussing the current reconstruction of the Sweetwater Road section of N.C. 143. Mentioned in the discussion was how narrow and crooked the portion of the road across the mountain was before it was reconstructed in the 1970s. Many felt that it compared with U.S. Highway 129 in Tennessee (the Tail of the Dragon).
Much credit for this project goes to Boyd Crisp, who was appointed as a state highway commissioner by Gov. Bob Scott in July of 1969. Crisp wasted no time in getting a number of road improvement projects underway. High on Crisp’s list was the improvement of Sweetwater Road from N.C. Highway 28 at Johnson Gap to U.S. 129 in Robbinsville. No improvements had been made to this road since it had been constructed in the 1940s.
Crisp was pursuing several road improvements in Graham County – some that were not completed until after his untimely death. Other local road projects that Crisp desired to see built included:
* Improvement of the road between Robbinsville and Santeetlah Gap to connect with what is now the Cherohala Skyway;
* Improvement of U.S. 129 from Robbinsville to Tapoco, including the construction of two bridges across Santeetlah Lake;
* The repaving of several secondary roads in Graham County and the paving of gravel roads maintained by the state of North Carolina.
Crisp was active in several other areas for the public good:
* World War II veteran, having served in the U.S. Navy;
* Graham County Sheriff, from 1958-62;
* Member of Rural Renewal Authority for Graham County, which brought about the Fort Hill Homesite subdivision;
* Employed several people in his land-clearing operations.
On the morning of Oct. 15, 1969, Crisp left the Andrews Airport in his Cessna 182 en-route to Raleigh to attend a meeting. With him was Mrs. Tony Ayers of the N.C. Extension Homemakers Association, who was to attend a meeting in Reidsville.
The plane never arrived and after search efforts had not located it, two men found the wreckage of the plane in the mountains above their home in Polk County. Both Crisp and Ayers were killed on impact in the crash.
One can only wonder what else Crisp might have accomplished, had his life not been cut short so suddenly.
Marshall McClung is the historical columnist for The Graham Star. He can be reached via email, mcclungs@email.com