Archief

WE WON - WE WON - WE WON

WELL, the interminable campaign has finally come to an end. The mud-slinging, distortion of the truth (really out-and -out lying), the sordid polities involved in elections - they are over! Finally!

 

I won't have to go into my bedroom and close the door so I don't hear that Palin woman. Her pronouncements made my blood boil, hers strident voice was like fingernails on a blackboard to me, and I got so sick of Joe, the Plumber, I thought I would scream - or throw up!

 

This afternoon I had to go into Brevard to see the doctor, Apparently I am not in critical condition! Then,I stopped by the Democratic Headquarters where I got a very warm welcome. In fact, they have a big picture of me hanging on the wall - it pays to be a medium sized fish in a very tiny pond. Marshall McCallie is the county chairman for the Democratic party. He is a very impressive figure of a man, very capable - in fact, he has been ambassadors to African countries in the past. AND handsome, too - albeit he is one year younger than my son. But, I' not blind yet - and loved getting the big bear hug I got!

 

There was great excitement at the headquarters, as they prepared food for the crowd that would be gathering in the evening to watch the results of the election. McCallie agreed with me that it would be too hard on me to stay at their party and then drive up the mountain late at night.

 

So, I came home, fixed dinner for Russell and me, and settled down to watch CNN television for the evening. It started out rather slow-like; but the analysts were pretty confident of a Democratic Obama win. I watched the Whole thing!

 

When they announced that Obama was the choice for president, I felt vindicated for all the time and phone calls and emails I have sent out on Obama's behalf. McCain gave a very gracious speech accepting the defeat. It was the first time I have been proud of him. Palin didn't open her mouth, thank the good LORD.

 

What a crowd they had at Grant Park in Chicago on Lake Michigan. All the people were checked out, before they were let in. I heard that there were 150,000 people there. I believe it, I could see an enormous crowd of people. And American flags all over the place. There were young and old, black and white and yellow and red people, old ones and young ones, men andwomen. They were all happy and excited, but there was no problem behavior there that I could see.

 

Obama gave a great speech. Very inspiring. It was not: "I< ME< AND MINE. It was about YOU - US the citizens of this country. I felt so proud watching the whole thing. It showed how our people can come together and forget their differences. The faces of those in the crowd were priceless - happy,jubilant, and excited; and, most of all, proud.

 

Obama's wife, Michele and his two girls came on stage -as did Biden and his wife, then his family and his 90 year old mother. I know how she felt, in April I will be at that age, too.

 

I felt like I was a witness to one of the great moment's in the history of this nation; and I felt privileged to be able to watch it. I think we have turned the corner and hope that by working together we can dig ourselves out of this hole that the Bush administration has put us into.

 

As I watched, my thoughts turned to all my good friends who have cheered the cause along the way. I had a lot of supporters, I was not fighting alone.

 

My grandson, Gregory, called me from Maryland to express his joy; and I was so happy that he thought of his grandma at this particular moment.

 

It is now after 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday, and this old lady had better get to bed. I'm all revved up - but happy, happy, happy. YES, WE CAN!

 

Lorraine Miller

 

Although much has been written about the heroics of our U.S. Marines, Navy, Army, Coast Guard, and Air Force in World War II, very little has been known about the fighting men of the Merchant Marine. The Merchant Marine played important roles in combat, suffered many casualties, and, even took part in the Normandy Beach landing on D-Day during World War II. Mario "Lou" Guidette, (who is now 99-1/2 years old); lives with his daughter, Diane Tefft, in Connestee Falls and was one of those few Merchant Marine sailors who were part of that historic landing at Utah Beach. His fascinating story bears particular authenticity because he wrote a daily diary, although he was not permitted to do so. He wore it around his neck on a chain and faithfully recorded his daily adventures. To this day, in 2008, he still maintains that daily diary. Working in secret, defense workers were part of a government program in Detroit, Michigan at Hudson Motor Car Company for the U.S. Naval Ordnance Division, and were involved in the Engineering advance work on 20mm. Oerlikon Anti-Aircraft Guns, to be used aboard those Merchant Marine ships. Known as "Liberty Ships," these previously unarmed merchant marine ships were being sunk at an alarming rate on their perilous trips to Europe, carrying needed supplies to the French and British. They were routinely torpedoed by Axis submarines and sunk by airplane attacks. In order to maintain the appearance of neutrality, the U.S. Navy was not escorting Merchant Marine ships; however contracts were signed between the British Admiralty. the French, and the U.S. Government Purchasing Department to manufacture these 20mm's. on July 7th of 1941 at Hudson Motor Car Co. Each Liberty ship had two navy gunmen added to its roster to man these 20mm's after Pearl Harbor, with each gunman working a 12 hour shift. The story of Mario Guidette, always known as "Lou", is an interesting part of the history of the D-Day Invasion. Guidette started his sailing career as a cadet on the barkentine sailing ship USS Nantucket, which was a Massachusetts training ship at the time. The Nantucket was commissioned about 1850 as the admiral flagship of the Asiatic fleet under Commander Perry but was named the USS Ranger at the time. During WWI, the Ranger was armed and used as a patrol squadron of the first Naval District and later renamed the USS Nantucket. It remained a school ship until 1942 when it was recommissioned the Emery Rice. When Rice was in command of the transport Mongolia, it sank the first German submarine in WWI. The Rice was eventually scrapped in Philadelphia in 1950. Guidette's father had emigrated to the United States from Italy, some time in the middle 1800's as Guidetti. However, since there were no translators to aid an immigrant in registering, his name was somehow changed from Guidetti to Guidette. Lou's mother came to the United States some time around 1900. Lou Guidette was born in Springfield, MA. on February 19, 1909; however, he did not become interested in nautical matters until he attended the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and was a cadet on sailing ships. When he was 17 years old, he graduated from that academy in 1928 as a Second Engineer. Lou, who was the baby of five children, wanted to go to New York City to look for a job. So, he took off from Massachusetts with a $20.00 bill in his pocket; money given to him by his brother with the advice that should his money start getting down to $4.00 he should return home, as that would be just enough money to pay for return train fare. So. Guidette stayed at the Hoboken Merchant Marine YMCA, which was close to the Hoboken Pier #3, and looked unsuccessfully for work. Disheartened, because they didn't have a job for him and just about ready to take the train back home, his luck changed. As he was about to leave the Hoboken Marine employment office. they unexpectedly called his name and offered him a job because the Engineer on board a ship had a medical emergency, So, Guidette was hired at $135.00 per month aboard the Merchant Marine Ship "Pan American' to sail the South American seas for a five year hitch. After his five-year term, Guidette decided it was time to settle down, so he returned home and married Irene in 1937. They had a long, happy marriage and she died at age 95 in 2002. Ordinarily, as a 35 year old father of a baby girl, Diane, he would have been deferred from the Selective Service during World War II. However, his maritime service as an engineer made him a valuable property, so the draft board reclassified him 1A. He immediately applied to the Merchant Marine for a job and was assigned to the Freighter "The West Nohno". A little apprehensive about signing up on an old ship that had a name pronounced "no, no", he signed up, anyway. In Lou's own words, he refers to the Nohno as an old Hog Island Ship. and an old rust bucket built in 1919 at a Portland, Oregon shipyard. He soon found himself part of a 40 ship convoy on the Atlantic, ferrying war supplies to Europe. The Nohno got a late start on the trip and Guidette said that trying to catch the convoy was like having an old Model-T Ford try to catch up with a Mustang. However, the convoy was delayed during its trip across the Atlantic when it stopped to pick up survivors of other ships that had been torpedoed, and Guidette's old ship was finally able to take its place with the others. When they reached England, they found the shore littered with wrecks of sunken ships and other debris from the Nazi Air Blitz and the damage was so extensive that even a seasoned sailor like Guidette was taken back. Lou had no clue as to the mission the Nohno was on, as everything was secret hush-hush. When they got to Southampton, England, a crew came aboard and started stripping the ship. When Guidette asked where they would be able to retrieve the parts upon their return from wherever they were going, the foreman answered with a puzzled expression: "When you return?" This was not very encouraging news to Lou and his buddies. Meanwhile, fuel was pumped out of the ship to a barge, leaving only enough fuel, (according to Lou's estimate,) to take them to the coast of France; but no fuel to return. He had his suspicions, but still did not have definite information as to what their mission would be. On the 11th of April, 1944 shore crews cut four foot square holes through the bulkheads of the Nohno. The holes were cut so the ship would settle to the bottom with the engine and boiler rooms being the last to flood. Another crew installed three charges of dynamite on each of the interior sides of the ship. The fate of the Nohno was now absolutely clear. Much has been written about the Normandy Invasion, but Guidette's daily diary entries are priceless for their detail and authenticity. After receiving all kinds of survival gear and instructions, the ship departed to queue up with a convoy, but got lost in the heavy channel fog. They finally settled in place and arrived at anchorage in Oban, Scotland. Security was tight and everyone was restricted aboard from April 19th until May 31st. In Lou's own words, as taken from his daily diary: "Ships were arriving five to six per day. This built up to over 200 in the bay. when they were boarded by a Navy Commander who told them they were now under orders from the U.S. Navy. On May 31st, the convoy steamed up and departed Northern Scotland. Ships had difficulty maneuvering at different speeds, as all types of ships were in the convoy; but it finally came to anchorage at noon June 5th off the shore of Bournemouth, England. Since the holes had been cut into the lower part of the Nohno the wardroom would be free of flooding since it was the top-most room off the bridge, so it was loaded with food and medical supplies. Since the water tanks of the ship would be underwater and inaccessible, Lou personally rigged them up in typical "Merchy" fashion. He ingeniously had the crew waterproof the tanks and put in vents extending 12 feet above the deck. He had the hand billy from the chain locker mounted on deck and suction piping installed with shut off and connection valves. Later, when the Nohno was scuttled, the ten ton water tanks from the Nohno would become an oasis for water during the heat of the battle for those who needed fresh water. Lou Guidette later received a special commendation for his ingenuity in rigging up this source of fresh water for the invading troops. "On the 27th, a Navy commander came aboard to tell us we were now part of the U.S. Navy. We were also joined by four U.S. Army personnel who were to man the Army guns that were installed on the forepeak of the vessel," according to Lou's written account of the mission. In Lou's words: "D-Day began at 2 AM on June 6th, as American paratroopers began to land just behind the German coastal defenses in Northern Normandy. An hour later, allied planes began an intense aerial bombardment of the beach formations. At sunrise, the big guns of American and British naval vessels began to smash the German forts. Less than an hour later at 6:40 AM, the first wave of assault infantry and tanks were landed on the beach; right behind them came another wave, and another and another. "While at anchor, a British tender came within shouting distance and asked if we had any spare good American coffee. I told them to stand by while I went below and made up a box of coffee, sugar and goodies. I lashed a line around the box so it could be breeched aboard the tender. When I reached the deck, the captain told me the tender had hit a mine and sank within minutes. I looked over the side and all that was afloat were a couple of old drums and an empty life boat that was drifting out to sea. That tender, The HMS Minister, had a compliment of 80 men who all perished. It gave me the shivers to think that we could have hit that mine ourselves, with six charges of dynamite planted in our hull," recorded Guidette in his diary. Quoting from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy Alumni Association Magazine of September/October, 2004, in Lou's own words: "Operation Gooseberry entailed the scuttling of nine old cargo ships to form a breakwater. This would calm the seas and make cargo unloading faster and easier. Each ship was to be signaled to go to position and be warped into line. The SS Nohno was the last ship to be scuttled. On June 11th. we got orders to prepare to secure the ship and engine room and also received orders to depart with our engineering crews. After reporting all was complete, we went down the ladder to an Army tug that took us to a Lykes Bros. Liberty ship bound for England. Looking back from the Lykes ship, I observed the dynamiting of the Nohno as the Navy demolition crew performed the "Coup de Grace.' and the Nohno was scuttled. What had started out as a one month assignment, turned into the five month "Saga of the Demise of the Nohno." and Guidette returned to the United States aboard the Queen Mary. Lou breathed a sign of relief when he finally saw the Statue of Liberty upon his return to the United States and was soon reunited with his wife and baby daughter. Lou Guidette retired with a Merchant Marine ranking of Commander. Mario Lou Guidette received a commendation from President Harry S. Truman, extending the heartfelt thanks of the nation and commending him for undertaking a severe task with courage and fortitude. Thus ends the saga of a little known part of history during the invasion of Normandy on D-Day of World War II. Lorraine Miller Brevard

I am now 89 years old, also. How the years fly by. I still drive my car, night and day, in these mountains of North Carolina, write a column for the newspaper, go up and down stairs, read without glasses, do not need a hearing aid, and still have all my teeth. My father, Jules Lievrouw, died at age 79 with all his teeth in his head, too.

Dad always has a sense of humor. When he was in the hospital, the nurse brought him a glass of water and told him to put his teeth in it. He said: "Lady, that would be a tough job!" = because he still had all his teeth. A funny story about that: My dad never went to a dentist in all his life - and used to crack nuts and open beer bottle caps with his teeth. So, he did not practice good dental health.

I have one son, two grandchildren and four great grandchildren. The grandchildren live in the state of Maryland which is about 700 miles away from where I live in North Carolina.

so far, we have been very lucky. There has been a lot of wild weather in the United States, but we have not had any. I certainly am grateful for that. We may get some soon, as the weather station is predicting thunderstorms for almost every day next week. I hate that - because the thunder really booms around here in the mountains, although so far we have had only one wind storm in 7 years.

"I'm 100 years and five months old," said Stanley Ulewicz, extremely articulate and physically active as he pushed his walker on wheels down the hall at the Brian Center in Brevard. Practically running, and weaving his way through the human traffic in his path, he led the way to the room he shared with his wife, Virginia. Keeping up with him was a matter of walking at top speed! Ulewicz was in a hurry to show the many family photos on his walls that told the story of the most memorable moments in his life. It has been an extremely interesting life which exemplifies the American dream that you can succeed in life through a strong work ethic and careful planning, no matter what your start in life may have been. Born in March of 1908 to a Polish and Ukrainian immigrant family in New Bedford, Massachusetts, which is near the base of Cape Cod, he came from humble beginnings. Ulewicz proudly showed a picture of himself at age one in 1909, sitting on the porch in an antique chair. He explained how a passing photographer, driving a horse and cart, asked his mother for permission to take that memorable shot. The Ulewicz family worked in the weaving mills in New Bedford, which were the primary source for production work at the time in Massachusetts. His wedding picture, taken over 70 years ago, and another photo that showed a young Ulewicz, his wife Virginia and his daughter, plus his mother and dad and aunt were other prize possessions. According to Sue Robinson, Director of the Brian Center, members of the staff had brought these pictures from is home to decorate his room and make it more home-like for Ulewicz and his wife. Proudly displayed was a picture of his eight grade graduation class in New Bedford, Massachusetts; for that was the end of Stanley's public education at that time. However, he went on to higher education later in his life, as he had been blessed with a sharp mind which could easily comprehend more advanced learning. After his eight grade graduation, his family moved to the Detroit area of Michigan, along with many other hard-working Polish immigrants, where the industrial automotive complex was just starting to expand. "They didn't fuss much about your age at that time; and although I was only 14 years old, I was hired as a machinist when I told them I was 17. I was thrilled because I was making 13 cents an hour, It was during that time that I met my wife to be, Virginia. At first, I was friends with her younger sister, but when I met Virginia there was a spark that we both felt She was working as a housekeeper for a family; and we felt that we could get married on the amount of pay I was receiving by living frugally" said Ulewicz. So, they got married! But, then came the stock market crash of 1929 and the start of the Great Depression, which lasted for ten years. At that time, he was working on production as a machinist in a little plant and one entire line was laid off. Ulewicz happened to be part of that line; and, unfortunately, during that depressed period there were just no jobs to be had. So, he started working as a golf caddy at the Oakland Hills Country Club north of Detroit, one of the most prestigious golf courses in the region; often carrying both bags for a twosome. On Mondays, it is traditional for the caddies to play free golf at most of the courses around Detroit and Ulewicz loved the game, so he played. He became quite proficient at it, and gained great personal knowledge of the course. There was one customer he caddied for who appreciated his knowledge of the course and always requested that he caddy for him. A friendship developed and the man helped him get a job on the production line at the Dodge Truck Plant of Chrysler Corporation. During that period, Chrysler Corporation had a technical school called The Chrysler Institute and Ulewicz took advantage of their courses to improve his education and his automotive technical skills. Always having been proficient in math, he readily took to Drafting Engineering. Studying the parts of the trucks he was drawing, he became knowledgeable of how the various parts of the trucks were related to each other and how they were put together to become the finished automobile. His frequent requests to be taken off hourly work and put on salary, however, kept falling on deaf ears; but he persisted in his efforts to win that goal. It was probably lucky that he wasn't put on salary, because later being an hourly worker paid off handsomely for extra hours of labor. One of the problems at that time was that all the trucks came off the production line in the same form and it was necessary to later put the extra components on the truck that the customer had ordered to customize it to his needs. One time, Ulewicz noticed that twenty trucks were completed, which then had to be changed in order to meet the specifications of one buyer. He felt that the customized features should have been put on the trucks as they were originally being produced, and said so to higher authorities. The management gave him the job of altering the assembly so needed changes could be incorporated during original production, and Ulewicz moved up the ladder in the company. He kept getting small raises as he diligently worked as many hours as he could. Meanwhile, he and his wife were living on the income he was bringing home and saving as much money as possible. When the UAW (United Auto Workers)came along, with its drive for unionization of the automotive industry in Detroit, Ulewicz was part of the first "sit-down" strike (where the workers just camped night and day inside the plant instead of picketing outside of the plant.) The strikers won the day, and Ulewicz was soon being paid time-and-a-half for overtime and double-time for Sundays and Holiday work. With his strong work ethic and his desire to get ahead, he kept putting in as much overtime and double-time work as possible; saving and getting Chrysler stock whenever he could. "When I retired, I had quite a bit of Chrysler stock, which I immediately sold at $65.00 dollars a share. I think that was in 1965. That was lucky for me, as the stock dropped to $3.00 per share after I sold it!" said Ulewicz. "At that time, Virginia and I had a house in Detroit and another summer place in the country, between two lakes north of Detroit. It was just a little shack when we bought it, but it was on 30 acres of land which became quite valuable. One of the lakes was 60 ft. deep and had good fishing. We worked hard to enlarge and improve the house, enlarging it and putting redwood siding on it and it got to be worth more by quite a bit. "Then, we bought a small winter get-away in Texas, close to the Mexican border, where we would go in the winter. We also bought a travel trailer and we would take trips, going about 100 miles northward at a time, following better weather. When it got too hot in Texas or Arizona, we would just drive northward as we made our way back to Michigan." said Ulewicz. They traveled over much of the United States this way, went on bus tours and cruises and generally enjoyed life. When he was about eighty years old, they figured that having several places was too much upkeep and they decided to sell them and look for one retirement place to settle down. They felt that Florida was too hot in the summer time for them to consider long-term. So, they started reading a lot of information about retiring and the different areas that were most suitable. It was at that time they came upon material about the mountains of Southwestern North Carolina. They first visited Hendersonville, which at that time had a lot of empty property in the downtown area but no senior communities with golf courses and lots of activities. They then tried out Asheville, but found about the same situation there. They had a real estate broker show them some places in Brevard. The city had about 6,000 people at the time and they both enjoyed the area, the climate, and the friendliness of the people. They looked at Connestee Falls and Sherwood Forest, but felt they were too far from town. They looked at Deerfield and were impressed, but still not convinced. When they visited Waterford Place they immediately knew that they had, at last, found the exact location they had been searching to find. "One time, we went to Bermuda and I took my first airplane ride, leaving from the Charlotte airport. The flight back from Bermuda was only about one hour long, but we had to fly through a terrible storm. Twice, the pilot had to make steep downward falls in order to get away from the bad weather and I didn't enjoy the trip on the airplane, at all," remarked Ulewicz. Unfortunately, Virginia has been incapacitated with Alzheimer's and is in declining health. They share a room at the Brian Center and spend their time there together. Ulewicz is still interested in current affairs and political goings on and is very well informed. He is especially interested in golf, of course, and the professional golf tournaments. He was following the current golf tournament carefully because it was being played at the Oakland Hills course in Michigan, which he knows so well. He showed a keen interest in the golfing abilities of Tiger Woods and could describe in great detail many of the miraculous shots that Tiger had pulled off in various tournaments, recalling the circumstances of each shot, the distance to the hole, and the results. His memory is remarkable in someone over 100 years and he is in exceptional good health for his age. The Brian Center helped him celebrate his 100th birthday last March with a party and a big cake. He remains spry with an active mind and is very articulate. "People are always asking me what the secret is to my living to be 100 years old. I tell them it was from having lived an active life, working hard, and keeping interested in many different things. I was always on the go, always involved, and kept active over all those years," concluded Stanley Ulewicz at 100 years and five months. Lorraine Miller

Somewhere in Bavaria, Germany there are musicians that speak English with a Carolinian mountain drawl, a dialect they picked up from our own Joe Byers when he was guitar pickin' in Germany. Folks who have lived in these North Carolina Appalachian mountains for generations have a deep love of bluegrass music. The lively beat and happy sounds brightened the old days when times were tough, money for entertainment was scarce, and communities came together to celebrate with their own brand of music. Most families made their own entertainment by playing instruments that were readily available: fiddles, banjos, and guitars. Without formal musical training, they strummed on stringed instruments and taught each other how to play. And the beat goes on today, as local musicians provide entertainment for all who wish to hear their happy tunes. They play mostly for the sheer enjoyment of making music, with very little pay for their performances. Joe Byers, of Lake Toxaway, is a well-known talented guitar picker with a great singing voice and is one of these local musicians. He was born in 1937 during the Great Depression which hit all of the United States very hard, especially the folks who lived in this area. Local folks who lived through those rough times will tell you about hard work and scratching out a living. But they will also tell you that they had plenty to eat from the food they grew for themselves and they led happy lives. They made their own fun with dancing, singing, and foot-stomping to good old mountain music. Byers claims eight generations of his family in these parts. His great grandparents lived around East Fork in crude log cabins, going back to the 1800's. "They lived about like the Indians used to do, in log cabins with dirt floors that had holes in the middle of the floors for cooking. They built log cabin schools and ground their meal at grist mills. Early settlers names that I can remember in the E. Fork area were: Hubbard, Bagwell, Galloway, along with the Byers," according to Joe Byers. When Joe was five years old he started picking the banjo, with his mother teaching him. It was a family affair with aunts, and all, involved. Joe had two brothers, Roy and Orville, who are both deceased. Joe's father had come from South Carolina to work at the Silversteen Tannery. Joe was born and raised in Rosman and graduated from Rosman High School. His wife, of over fifty years, Mary Lou, grew up in Gloucester, which is between Lake Toxaway and Balsam Grove. Byers is a talented musician, singer and songwriter. He has played with the P.C.'s Blue Grass Band, the Lamplighters, The Country Men, The Blue Ridge Band, The Pine Valley Boys, the True Blue Grass with Roy Chapman, and the Pioneers. He became a pro in 1964 and played with the Stanley Brothers with such stars as Bill Monroe, and traveled most of the Southeast: Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, North and South Carolina. He even appeared on a TV show in Portsmouth, Virginia. He has been part of several recordings and two albums, which enjoyed some success. He also has been a prolific songwriter. Byers married Mary Lou in 1956, over 50 years ago. They have three children: Gregory, Rosetta and Marina. His son, Greg, has one daughter and four grandchildren. Daughter Rosetta has three children and his youngest daughter, Marina has two children. She and her husband were both air traffic controllers in the air force in Iraq for 12 months. Byers says he is grateful she is home. Byers went to work for Bendix at the Tracking Station near US-215. The station was part of the U.S. Department of Defense where they tracked space ships and the weather. It was in a rather secret location for quite some time. The location was good, as there was no static and very few airplanes going by. It was later taken over by Raytheon, and is being used for research and studying stars at present by a different owner. Byers spent 30 years with the station as a Facilities Engineer until his retirement. One of the great adventures of his life came when Bendix sent him to Bad Appling, Germany. All in all, he spent over seven years in Germany and loved it. While there, he formed a small country band with his wife, Mary Lou, and son Gregory. His son played bass and managed the business. Members of a local Bavarian Folk Band had a tuba and bass and asked him to join them and play the acoustic guitar. So, Joe thought: Sure, why not? "I found that the people around there were mostly farmers and very friendly to me. We played every Tuesday night and after listening to them for a short while, I was able to play along with them. I never could read music, but I was able to join them with no trouble. "We wore Lederhosen and Bavarian outfits. One time, they asked me to come along for a concert in Munich. When we got there, I found that we would be playing in a big concert hall where the Munich Symphony Orchestra played. Our group was playing songs from World War II and well-known music like 'The Beer Barrel Polka' and 'Over the Waves', so I was able to join right in. I remember walking across the stage behind the curtain; but there was a little gap in the curtain and the audience could see me. They recognized me from my red guitar and started hollering: 'Guitar Joe. Guitar Joe.' "The local people were very friendly and accepted us right away. They wanted to learn English, so they talked to me a lot. I couldn't teach them the King's English, but they learned my southern dialect and were happy with that!" Joe related in his soft southern accent. His company, Bendix, felt it was showing good relations with Germany and often let him get off work to mingle with the Germans. "I had a good thing going there. It was great for me, as I had a chance to go on with my music," said Byers. Bendix sold the tracking station to another company and Byers came back to Rosman; but he 1-upped, signing with Lochheed-Martin to go back to Germany. He wanted to return to Germany because it was a good job and he had many German friends. He and Mary Lou also traveled to different places. A History teacher took him to visit Munich and also took him to the place where Hitler signed the papers to organize the Third Reich. Byers and his wife did a lot of traveling by tour bus to places like Czechoslovakia and Poland. Byers talked about an old 90-year-old gray-haired German who was very friendly and grateful to the Americans. He had owned a big guest house which Hitler took over and made the old man work hard for nearby farmers. When the Americans came they gave him back his place. Since then, he has felt that the Americans could do no wrong. Byers played the guitar at his guest house for dinners, weddings and fests; and the place was packed every Friday. All of Byers' children are musical. He told of having a trailer near his N.C. home which they used for practice. Their piano player with the band had quit and he badly needed another one. Suddenly, he heard piano music coming from the trailer. It was his twelve year old daughter, Marina, playing by ear and doing a good job of it. That was on a Tuesday and he told her to keep on practicing because she should get ready, since she was going to be playing with the band on Saturday. Byers now plays at The Toxaway Community Center on Fridays, Cathey's Creek on Saturdays, and at the gazebo in Brevard for the Tuesday night street dances. His friends are lavish in their praise for Joe Byers. Jean McCall Hooper, who used to sing with his group, says the he is a self-made musician and a terrific songwriter. In fact, Hooper has some sheet music of a song that he has written: "Home, Where We'll Never Say Goodbye." Joe Byers is a man of integrity who has devoted his life to music and has helped so many young people get into the business," said Jean Hooper. Hooper's grandmother had a log cabin, in the same Gloucester community as Mary Lou Byers, which dates back to 1870 and it is still there. Another one of Joe's many friends is Randall Waldrop. Waldrop was most sincere in his praise for Byers. "Joe is a very giving person who has always contributed his time to helping others. He is one person I really admire. "Joe's wife had an Aneurism and has been seriously ill for four years. Byers has been most dedicated to her, taking daily care of her at home. There have been many expenses and there will be a lot more as the doctors will be pursuing some advanced tests on her at Chapel Hill". said Waldrop. It had long been accepted that Mary Lou had Alzheimer's. However, Joe took her to Greenville recently to have a team of doctors examine her. "Lately, I got some good news from the Greenville doctors who thoroughly examined Mary Lou. They said she does not have Alzheimer's, but is suffering the effects of the Aneurism she had four years ago. For the first time, it gave me some hope," Byers said. They are going to take Mary Lou to Chapel Hill, N.C. for more advanced medical studies. This will all be very expensive, but Byers is determined to do all he can for his beloved wife of over fifty years. So, there will be a benefit for Joe and Mary Byers on September 6th, 2008 at the Toxaway Community Center from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. A hot dog luncheon will be available at 11:00 a.m. and music will be provided by Devon McCall until 6:30. p,m. There will also be cake auctions and other baked goods for sale. Bingo will be played in the evening, offering prizes donated by friends and local merchants. Call Ann Webb at 966-4427 for further information, or if you wish to contribute or donate prizes for the bingo. Byers has played at benefits for others for many years and his many friends will be there to show their appreciation for Joe and Mary at the benefit they will be holding for them. By the way, if you should happen to travel in Bavaria and Germans speak to you in English with an Appalachian mountain accent, you will know that "Guitar Joe" was there ahead of you. Lorraine Miller

Those of us who were in the United States and remember the traumatic days of World War II during the horrendous firebombing of London, England, can recall how touched we were when we saw the burned out, totally destroyed buildings. At that time, there were frightening images on American newsreels and in newspapers that stirred our emotions and sympathy. Individual Americans were sending packages to the victims, "Bundles for Britain", to show support. However, the Americans never felt the horror of personally experiencing those threatening times. Brenda Maund, of Transylvania, was in London then and can vividly recall those times. How enlightening to hear the personal account of someone who lived though those ordeals. Brenda Vennell-Simpkin was born in 1932. So she was eight years old and has strong memories. When asked if the people, especially the children, were terrified, Maund replied :"The British have a 'stiff upper lip' and could weather such catastrophes pretty well and children can adapt remarkably.. "My recollections of the Battle of Britain include a dog fight I witnessed between English Spitfires and German planes when I was quite young. My brother and I were walking home from a movie and we heard and saw the planes overhead. Since he was 11 years older than I, he was very protective. So he threw me to the ground and lay on top of me to act as a shield. "I also remember, later during the war after my brother had gone into the army, that we had an air raid shelter built in our back garden. We would go there whenever we heard the sirens go off to warn us of approaching air raid danger. The 'Buzz Bombs', as we called them, with the red lights on them would come overhead with a droning/buzzing sound. However, when the sound stopped the bombs would drop down anywhere, indiscriminately. "Later, the V2 rockets came and were like projected missiles. I can remember coming out of the bomb shelter and hearing my mother say that the house must have been hit. But, luckily for us, the bomb made a direct hit on a nearby house and just damaged our house, blowing out the windows, So my mother, father, and I survived that one," recalled Maund. "I was born in East Dulwich in South East London, but was evacuated along with many other children to the countryside when the Battle for Britain began. I was eight years old at the time and was very unhappy with the move and wanted to return to London and my family. After much petitioning by my mother, I was permitted to return home, despite the air raid danger," Maund reminisced. "In Britain, we had been lulled into a false sense of security by the assurances of Prime Minister Chamberlain, who felt that we would not be involved in war after his appeasement conferences in Europe with Hitler. Therefore, we were not really as prepared for war as we should have been. "It was the involvement of the United States, through President Franklin Roosevelt, that saved Britain .When the G.I.'s came to our aid from the United States with all the armament and supplies, England was saved from being conquered by the Nazis. "We never realized how close we had come to being defeated until our family went on a vacation to Jersey in the English Channel after the war. There we learned that Hitler had built underground tunnels on Jersey Island to use as hospitals for his wounded when he invaded England. The tunnels had been built by war prisoners who had been marched across Germany and France to complete the work, The British public never knew how close we had been to being over-run." Maund recalled. Meanwhile, the general American public did not realize that starting in 1939, large industrial plants were making plans to build facilities which would produce war armament (and setting up the necessary administrative staffs to run them) throughout the United States. In Detroit, alone, which was later called "The Arsenal of Democracy", Chrysler was laying the nucleus for their Tank Arsenal, Ford and American Motors for building planes, Hudson Motor for producing 20mm. guns, and General Motors was working on the Manhattan Project for Atomic Bombs. These plans and the people who worked on them were all done in secret, away from public scrutiny and very few people knew in that metropolitan area that such work was being conducted prior to Pearl Harbor and the involvement of the United States in the World War II against the Axis (Germany, Italy and Japan). Maund's mother was a frustrated stage mother, and started her daughter's career at age three. Brenda had lessons in ballet, tap and other dancing, as well as piano, accordion, and other musical instruments. During her young years, Maund appeared in pantomime performances for children, such as "Cinderella", "Prince Charming", "Babes in the Woods", and "Aladdin & His Lamp" where she played the title roles. and in many stage performances as a dancer. In fact, she had her first performance for pay when she was eleven years old under the stage-name of Brenda Vennell. "I also appeared as an extra in many movies that were made in Britain, including: 'The House on Hanover Square' with Tyrone Power and Ann Blythe. A big thrill was getting to sit next to the extraordinarily handsome Tyrone Power! "I also was in "Moulin Rouge" with Jose Ferrar & Zaa Zaa Gabor; as well as "Moby Dick" with Gregory Peck. and in"Anastasia" starring Ingrid Bergman," recalled Maund. The various movie lots are not all in one place in England, as they are in Hollywood. Space for building such studios in London is much more limited. So, the studios were scattered all over town. However, they had underground public transportation all over London, and since she had no car of her own, Maund would travel by train to the various locations. Maund explains that being an extra in films consisted of long hours of sitting quietly, waiting, So, most of the females spent long hours knitting while hopefully awaiting a call. The hours were long, from early morning to late at night, and appearing at the various studios meant riding all over the town in the subways. "I performed in my stage solo acts as a 'Soubrette' (singer and dancer) in Variety Shows. However, I made my living mostly by teaching dancing to children. For many years, I owned my own studio in the London area and was able to save enough money to eventually emigrate to the United States," Maund explained. Maund made the trip from England on the Queen Elizabeth I in 1957 and was sponsored by her mother's brother and his wife who lived in Chatham, New Jersey. "When I first expressed my interest in working as a dance teacher in New York City, my uncle wondered how I would get there without a car I told him I was accustomed to such travel arrangements, and if he could get me to the station, I would ride by train or subways," said Maund. Maund later moved into Newark and lived at the only combined YM & YWCA in the United States at that time She discontinued her stage career and later opened up her own Dance Studio in Jamaica Queens, "Queens School of Theatrical Arts" which she ran from 1962 through 1982. In 1957 a friend made a blind date in Queens for Brenda and it was Tom Maund. "What a date! We went into Manhattan and had dinner at the 'Press Box' and later to the 'Copacabana', followed by a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. It was very romantic, in fact we were married the next year, in 1958. Tom and Brenda then were both employed in Civil Service jobs for the U.S. government until their retirement. They moved to Connestee Falls in May of 1958. Tom is enjoying his golfing and Brenda taught tap dancing for various Connestee theatrical performances until just recently. She has always had an interest in painting, but never pursued that field before. Now, she is actively involved in creative painting and has a studio in her basement for her work. Her paintings have been exhibited at the Connestee clubhouse and she says: "I am running out off wall space to hang them in my house." Tom managed to pull a big surprise party for Brenda at the Atagahi Pavilion to celebrate her 75th birthday. She says she doesn't know how he was able to work for months on the planning and arrangements without her suspecting what was going on. Tom had a huge birthday cake made for her which read:" BUNDLE FROM BRITAIN and underneath was a copy of a picture from her passport when she emigrated to this country in 1957 on the Queen Elizabeth. The message below that spelled out his enduring love: "How much do I love thee - let me count the ways, beloved." After that, they embarked on a 75th birthday celebration, flying to New York for a stay in Manhattan for five days. Then, off they went to London for five nights, and flew to Paris for five days, then back to London for two more days, and then took the train down to Southampton where they boarded the Queen Mary II for the trip back to New York. Aboard ship, the couple won a Lindy dance contest and a bottle of Champagne. They found visiting in London and Paris was extremely expensive as the dollar does not go far in those cities.. They both still love to dance and are currently taking lessons in Argentine Tango, hoping to make a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina in the future. Lorraine Miller

Celebrating his 90th birthday, friends and relatives threw a well-deserved party for Brevard native, (James) Earl Gravely (whom every one calls Earl) this past weekend. The Gravely name is well known among Brevardians, as he owned the Gravely Plumbing Company in this city for over 50 years. Earl was born April 16, 1918 and raised at his grandmother's house on Caldwell street. The house was on the property that now houses the Arts Center Building, where his grandmother, Delia Ann, had a garden, put up as much food each year as she could for her family, and kept two cows. Caldwell street was an unpaved dirt road at the time, as were many other streets in Brevard. His grandmother had originally owned some land which she sold to Silversteen where he built his tannery. "I used to farm a lot as a youngster. I was eight years old when I went to work farming for Wallace Galloway who had a cornfield and a garden toward the end of Caldwell street at that time. My grandmother, she kept me working all the time," Gravely reminisced Most every one in Brevard had a little garden near their home then, where they grew food for their own family and the animals they kept on their property. One time when Gravely was at Moore's Furniture Store, Donald Lee Moore nicknamed him "Bean Beetle" and told him he was such a skinny little boy and was so little that he was no bigger than a bean beetle. Some people call him that to this da., So the nickname stuck. Gravely recalls knowing the Cooper Brothers, Tom and Joe, who used to live near where Brevard College is now. Earl met and married his wife, Thelma Morris, in Buncombe County. They were married 56 years and had 4 children. Earl Gravely, Jr.,(who died when he was five months old), Fran,Terry and Eddie. Earl also worked for The Bromfield Laundry for a while, delivering laundry. Gravely was drafted into the navy IN 1944 during World War II, but never saw any fighting. "Truman ended that fighting when he dropped the atom bombs before I could get into any action. I was at Cape Cod in Massachusetts at the time at a Carrier Aircraft Service transferring material to air force ships. I was glad that I could come home when I was honorably discharged November 18, 1945. ." Gravely commented with a laugh in his voice. The people of Brevard will probably remember Gravely best due to his plumbing company."I did not know much about plumbing, but learned by doing. I first worked for a local plumber, Mark Osborne. In 1949 I went into business for myself, partnering with my uncle, Dock Gravely, for several years. Then I bought him out and was owner-operator for many years.I just put me up a shop on the Rosman Highway near Brevard. When business got real good, I had plenty of work. My two sons, Eddie and Terry worked for me. I worked five or six men and they worked for me for years while things kind of boomed up, Ecusta started up, and every body started working. I owned and ran the Gravely Plumbing Company for over 50 years and had three other shops in Brevard: two on Caldwell Street and one on King Street before I built my last one on the Rosman Highway in Brevard.. This last one stood in front of our house which was built on the hill behind the shop" Gravely talked about his long-standing plumbing business. "When I retired I sold the business to my eldest son, Terry, who still owns it," explained Gravely. "After I left the plumbing business, I went to buying old houses and remodeling them. It was a good deal and good experience after I retired. I really did enjoy that type of work, even though I had to learn on the job. I quit the day I found out that my wife was diagnosed with cancer," Gravely related. Gravely broke his hip in 2004, and had pneumonia and a stroke, all within a period of three years and is now confined to a wheel chair. He has several caring sitters who drive him around which he enjoys and also take him to lunch at the Fish Camp. His daughter, Fran Johnson, lives in a house next to his, spends a lot of time looking after her father, and coordinates the work of the sitters who are his caregivers. The Gravely name is well-known in the Southeastern United States and has a long genealogical history behind it. Records can be traced back to Robert Gravely, who married in 1589 in Hertfordshire, England and was knighted, probably by King Edward III. Joseph Gravely, the ancestor of the (Patrick) Henry Virginia County family, was born in England in 1744. He settled in Henry County before the Revolutionary War and lived to the ripe old age of 100 years. In the 1760's three Gravely brothers appeared In Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Their names were Joseph, John, and James. In the latter part pf the 1700's, John moved his family from Virginia to Greensville and Pickens, South Carolina. They came over the Virginia and North Carolina mountains in wagons and on foot, driving gaggles of geese ahead of them while bringing all of their belongings. In the early 1800's, they moved to across the North Carolina line. They were well known as growers of some of the finest tobacco in the area as well as owners of the Crow Telephone Company above Pickens. The family was also involved in furniture companies and were famous as builders of Grandfather clocks. So, (James) Earl Gravely inherited his carpentry skills from long-standing genes in his family tree. Earl will be featured in the Heritage of Transylvania, N.C., 2nd edition, which will be coming out soon When asked if he was looking forward to the 90th birthday party, Earl replied: I haven't thought much about it. I tried to talk them out of it, but I guess it will be all right." When asked if they were going to put 90 candles on the cake, Earl replied: "I don't know, it would probably melt the cake. But, I'll try to blow them out since they probably will light up all of Brevard. His daughter, Fran, said they solved the multi-candle problem by having two candles - a nine and an 0 - to decorate both of the two cakes. There were 3 Children, 20 Grandchildren, 9 Great Grandchildren and 3 Great-Great Grandsons around him along with his other family members and friends to help him celebrate having reached 90 years of age. Lorraine Miller

The wonders of the internet have been amazing to me. Not only can it bring people together who have lost contact; but to me it represents the inherent goodness of so many people nation-wide - and, even, worldwide.

I have been greatly touched by the responses to my writings - from so many strangers who have become friends. I really never thought that I had any writing talent; but their reactions have caused me to have confidence in my writing and to try to keep me going. I hope I have something to contribute.

How wonderful that you are going on that cruise. Feb. 7th should be a
good time to go.. Did you say you were going northward to Newfoundland?

I went on a week's cruise to Alaska one August and it was delightful.

Although I will admit that the ship we were on was not one of the
world's top ones, it still was luxurious and lots of fum. We went with a
big group from the printing company. The top 10 salesmen nationwide for
the previous year (I was the only woman winner) were awarded the trips,
for them and their spouses. That, plus, the big brass and their spouses,
who were on board made up quite a group.

There were so many activities - and, of course, the food was out of this
world. The beverage on this French ship was Champagne, and the waiter
would fill up your glass every time you took a couple sips so, you ha
no idea how much Champagne you consumed! It made for very lively table
conversation

The ship had nine decks and I was determined not to gain weight, so I
always took the stairs and did not use the elevators. We did encounter
quite a storm on the Bay of Alaska. I was going into our shower, when
the swaying of he ship caused the shower door to close on my ankle. I
limped around - but would not let it spoil my trip - so I was on the
disco floor with the rest of therm, trotting away. (This was about 20
years ago - when I was still good at trotting. After all, I was only in
my mid 60's at that time!)..

It was a French ship, and I thought I would be the star of the outfit
with my knowledge of French. However, it turned out that none of the
crew- including the Captain, were French.!!!!

We flew from Detroit to Chicago - and from Chicago to Anchorage. Having
always bee a white knuckle flier, I had made two trips to the Univ. of
Michigan to see a psychiatrist who hypnotized me to supposedly cure my
fear of flying.

Well, I didn't disgrace myself on the plane; but it didn't cure the
fear.. I was petrified. I never left my seat to go to the bathroom on
that long trip. My husband kept urging me to look out the window and see
the beautiful mountains below. I took one anxious little peak; but was
not amused. The whole trip took us about 11 hours; and by the time we
got to Anchorage it was 11:00 at night - but still daylight..

I was exhausted; probably the oldest person on the trip, because the
other 9 top salesmen were young and full of it.

We left Anchorage for a trip by a local train to Seward, Alaska. This
was fun, although a primitive train. We went through many tunnels- and,
a we would go through the darkness, some of the young bucks on the trip
would proclaim loudly, "not now, wait until we get on the ship!".
Amongst much laughter.

Seward was a US World War II Navy embarking point on an inlet that led
to he Bay of Alaska this area had recently suffered a huge earthquake,
and we could see evidence of the damage to the area..

To my horror, I discovered that I had to climb up a big high ladder to
reach the ship's deck from he ground. Being afraid of heights - and
tired to death, did not help me at all. There were people ahead of me
and people behind me, so I kept on climbing. Then, I made a big mistake,
I looked down between the rungs of the ladder - WAY DOWN - to the water
below. I simply froze and could not take another step.

Luckily, I was near the top of the ladder. The ship's personnel saw my
plight, and stepped down a few steps, reached for my hand, and guided me
up to the deck! (Otherwise, I presume I would still be there, frozen to
the ladder,with a big line of people behind me).

When we got on the ship, a steward took us to the room that our free
ticket had bought - . way down in he bowels of the ship, down big long
narrow claustrophobic aisleways, to a little cabin room that was no
bigger than our bathroom at home
Did I say free tickets? Ha - curses, foiled again - I found out later
that I had to pay 50% of the ticket's worth in Income Taxes!)

Room for a bid, barely any room left to get out of that bed and a poor
excuse for a privvy. AND, no window! I took one look at that place and
said: "Oh, no - no way. I am not going to be cooped up in this room for
a week!"

So, we trotted up stairs to the Captain's quarters. When we got there I
found most of the company's big brass - and some of the older big
shooters, already there. Asking for a change in accommodations. We got
them.

It cost us some additional money, but it certainly was worth it. W got
great big cabins, with big picture windows to balconies. Fruit &
champagne awaiting us. A sitting room, dressing room, nice bathroom
(with a metal shower door that closed on people's ankles. Anyway, that
saved the day - and the week - and the rest of the trip - as far as I
was concerned.

I kept a diary on my Alaskan Inter-Coastal Trip and would be happy to
send you my account of the rest of the trip. If you are interested, let
me know - and I will write it up and send it to you.

Lorraine- The Intrepid Traveller