10 years ago
* The Robbinsville High School junior class went to Washington, D.C. and New York City, for their annual excursion. For five days, they packed as much sightseeing adventure as possible into the trip. Some students enjoyed the monuments in Washington as the highlight of the trip. For others, it was the lights and excitement of New York. From the graphic memorial of the Holocaust, to experiencing the humbleness of Arlington Cemetery and being in the middle of Times Square, the class certainly came back to the small town of Robbinsville exhausted.
* As the Black Knights traveled to Blue Ridge, Hunter Phillips got the call to pitch and the offense provided him with some early run support. Phillips led the game with a walk and after a stolen base, he crossed the plate for the game’s first run. Phillips made short work of Blue Ridge hitters and Knights scored, making it 2-0. They had an offensive explosion in the sixth inning, leaving with a final score of 16-1. Mike Sellers led the Knights with three hits. In addition to a solid pitching performance, Phillips stole three bases.
25 years ago
* The Robbinsville High School Math Team competed in the Wylie Math Tournament at Furman University. The competition consisted of an individually-scored, written round and an oral ciphering team round, which made for an extremely challenging event. The Robbinsville Math team consisted of Kevin Roberts, Chris Cantrell, Chris Hall, Tommy Chekelelee, Rachel Mitchell, Jessica Orr, Andy Williams, Josh Deyton and Bryan Stevens.
* Greenway Karate and Fitness Center sent Scott Lakey to the Biggest Bench in Dixie, held at West Caldwell High School. He competed in the 14-15U 165-pound division, taking second out of 16 competitors. The meet director was Donnie Kiefer, who was the head coach of the Andrews football team. Kiefer was also chairman of the American Drug Free Powerlifting Association.
50 years ago
* This was the month that Graham County celebrated Natural Heritage week. Local artists, musicians and craftsmen demonstrated their crafts and skills. Exhibits of tools, photographs, antiques and collections of all sorts were set up. Local talent Vance Trull, Johnny Hensley, J.C. Garland and many others performed.
* After the Black Knights baseball team traveled to Bryson City to play the Swain County Maroon Devils, they came back with a 10-8 win. Their record was 2-0. This was the best start that any baseball team has ever had at Robbinsville. The winning pitcher was Mark Manuel, getting his second win in as many starts. He struck out 14 batters, walked three, hit one, went the full seven innings and faced 30 batters.
-Diane West