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Native Wataugan reflects on small town life in Boone |
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Tuesday, 22 April 2008 |
by LINDSAY DIEDRICH
Intern Lifestyles Reporter
“We used to go ‘parking’ at Howard’s Knob, but I guess that really hasn’t changed,” Marilyn Farthing said.
Farthing is a Watauga native born at Banner Elk Hospital in 1954 and has worked for Boone Drug Co. for the past 20 years.
Although many of Watauga-youth’s favorite pastimes haven’t changed, Farthing has witnessed the town’s substantial growth over the past 54 years.
“Boone has changed a lot. All Boone was when I was growing up was King Street,” she said. “All of the dentist’s and doctor’s offices [were] there.”
The first sign of growth came when Farthing attended high school.
“When I was in high school we got a Roses. It stood about where the Golden Corral stands now,” she said.
Many restaurants and different businesses have migrated to Boone throughout her lifetime.
“All these things that were here when I started to work here aren’t
here. Smithy’s and us [were] the only two restaurants on King Street,”
Farthing said.
Farthing has also seen Appalachian State University progress gradually.
“I think that’s one of the things that’s grown the most is the college,” she said.
As the town grew with the college, life changed for Boone residents as well.
“Smithy’s Department Store was where we bought clothes,” she said. “We were mostly self- sufficient.”
Farthing came from a large family and helped on her family’s farm.
“I was raised on a farm, one of 11 children - nine girls and two boys,” she said.
“We grew everything we [needed] - tobacco, strawberries, potatoes.”
While students may be growing tired of cold weather, Farthing said snowfall now doesn’t compare to snowfall in yesteryears.
“We don’t have as much snow as [we] used to,” she said. “[In 1960] we
had so much snow helicopters had to drop food down. We didn’t go to
school for the entire month of February.”
Typical home appliances and amenities now available in all student
apartments or residence halls were scarce when Farthing was growing up.
“We had a cook stove and a wood stove for heat,” she said. “We had
running water but it wasn’t hot so we would have to keep it in the side
boiler on the stove so we could take baths…I used an outhouse until I
was about 14 years old.”
Farthing also remembers when Watauga High School was established during the time of the Civil Rights Movement.
“Watauga High was built in 1966. Before that we had small town
schools,” Farthing said. “If a black person lived in a white school
area they were bussed to the black school.”
“The small high schools were segregated but when Watauga High was built it wasn’t segregated,” she said.
Although Farthing experienced segregation, she didn’t notice much disparity.
“We didn’t have any problems,” she said. “Most people were equally as poor as the next person… My parent’s weren’t prejudice.”
Overall, Farthing reminisces on days long past.
“Boone was a more laid back place,” Farthing said. “Everything was closed by 6 p.m. and nothing was open on Sundays.”
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