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Volume 82 • Issue 35
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• Belmont • Cramerton • Lowell • McAdenville • Mount Holly • Stanley
New Stanley recreation center almost done By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
Since groundbreaking last February, crews in Stanley have made tremendous progress on the new recreation center being built at Harper Park on Blacksnake Rd. Walls are up, the roof is on, insulation and HVAC ducts in place, framing done for the concession stand, restrooms, and office, and concrete poured for the 8,800 sq. ft. metal structure. According to Stanley parks and recreation director Tug Deason, the next steps for the project will be finishing up the electrical wiring and sheet rocking the walls. Basketball goals and a scoreboard are also due to be installed. “We hope to be finished in December and ready to play games by January,” Deason said. One unique feature of the rec center will be its floor. “The floor is being done by Foster Flooring from Durham,” said Deason. “They are one of the top flooring companies in the nation and have done gym floors for Duke University and the University of Michigan.” The floor will have a special synthetic epoxy applied over a foam pad. “The epoxy will be rock hard but the pad will give the floor some cushion,” said Deason. “It's actually cheaper than a wood floor and will last forever.” Work on the new rec center has stirred interest in Stanley. “Every day some people come by to see how it's going,” Deason said. The gym that's being replaced is over 60 years old. It's called the Kiser Center and is located on East Church St. According to NC State Rep. John Torbett, who was on hand at the groundbreaking for the new facility, that structure was a “New Deal” project from WWII days. Scott Parker (right) and James Hammond saw concrete forms at the new Stanley recreation center construction See STANLEY page 2 site. Photo by Alan Hodge
A behemoth sleeps Li’l Bit Crafty group warming hearts and bodies in Catawba Heights By Alan Hodge
alan.bannernews@gmail.com
By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
There's a huge creature that's been sleeping for years under a shed in Catawba Heights and maybe even dreaming of days running through fields of golden wheat and hay and and churning up acres and acres of red clay soil. The “monster” in question weighs over 5,000 pounds and used to roar like a lion. Now, its voice is silent, but the memories it made for two area families lives on. The behemoth is actually a mid-1930s Farmall F30 tractor. It was originally purchased new by Walter V. Smith for use on his family's ancestral farm in Catawba Heights. Cost of the machine from the dealer was around $2,000- a huge sum of cash during the Great Depression when a new Ford sedan was going for $500. The tractor wasn't a toy. It was used for years on the Smith farm doing all kinds of work, everything from powering a sawmill to tilling fields, to pulling a combine. Emily Smith Helton, 78, grew up on the farm and recalled her father Sinclair teaching her how to drive the F30. “I was just 14-years-old,” she said. “I could not push in the clutch so daddy would get the tractor See TRACTOR page 5
Knit one purl two. Knit one purl two. Knit one purl two. That crocheting rhythm and a whole lot more like it is second nature to a group of ladies known as the Li'l Bit Crafty club who can be found sitting in the lobby at Stowe Family YMCA in Mt. Holly creating a wide variety of knit items that they then distribute to area agencies. The group started about six years ago and is currently made up of knitters Lois Zeeman, Linda Shetler, Joyce Antley, and Marian Zanni. They make brightly colored and cozy crocheted and knitted scarves, hats, hand warmers, afghans, and shawls. The items are donated to places such as Crisis Pregnancy Center, Hospice, Battered Women's Shelter, Alexandria Place, the prayer shawl ministry at CaroMont Regional Medical Center, and more. Not only do the ladies make the items they donate, they even deliver them. The Li'l Bit Crafty ladies churn out the work. For the period April-June of this year they made 50 afghans, 45 pillowcase dresses to send to Guatemala, 24 heart-shaped pillows, 11 prayer shawls, 10 hats and scarves, and eight face clothes. The ladies estimate they've produced literally thousands of items over the span that the Li'l Bit Crafty thing has been in existence. It takes about two hours to make a hat and around ten hours to produce an afghan. They supply much of the yarn that's used, but donations of yarn, which can be dropped off at the Y are always appreciated. The group is self-supporting and the YMCA lets them use the lobby where they sit and knit.
The Li'l Bit Crafty group is seen with some of their creations. From left- Lois Zeeman, Joyce Antley, Linda Shetler, Marian Vanni. Photo by Alan Hodge “We are glad to give them the space so they can make the items they in turn give to the community,” said YMCA spokeswoman Molly D'Avria. When D'Avira had her daughter nine months ago, the Li'l Bit Crafty ladies knitted a blanket for her. So, what drives the Li'l Bit Crafty ladies to spend hours and hours wrapping yarn around knitting needles and creating beautiful objects from a repetitious movement? “Crocheting is an outlet for me,” said Antley. For Vanni, camaraderie plays a role. “We are friends but this is not a closed group, anyone can come and join us,” she said. See LI’L BIT CRAFTY page 2
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