UCHS FFA hosts Ham Show in spring of 1956

A trip through the archives of The Erwin Record can reveal what made the pages of Unicoi County's weekly newspaper in past decades. Seventy Years Ago1956All old-fashioned sugar cured hams were exhibited and on sale at the Unicoi County Ham Show on April 18-21 at the Huff Grocery building on Gay Street. The Unicoi County High School FFA sponsored the event, which featured an auction of hams, bacons and shoulders.•••Capitol Theater advertised showings of Robert Mitchum in "Man with the Gun" and James Arness as "The Thing from Another World." The Holiday Drive-in promoted Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable in "How to Marry a Millionaire" and Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh in "Houdini."•••The King Brothers Enormous Circus advertised an appearance in Erwin that was promoted as featuring 150 circus artists, 250 wild animals, including a giraffe, a hippopotamus and 15 elephants. The entire show was to be housed beneath 12 acres of waterproof tents. The Erwin Civitans sponsored the event. Sixty Years Ago1966A total of 33 young women were schedule to vie for the crown of Miss Erwin in a contest sponsored by the Erwin Business and Professional Women's Club. The winner's prizes included a cash award, trophy and a bouquet of red roses. The pageant was slated to be held in the Unicoi County High School auditorium. Admission was 50 cents.•••Roger Bowman, a member of the Blue Devil golf team, fired an 86 while teammate John Bannister scored an 88 to lead the UCHS golf team to a 373 to 391 victory over Elizabethton High School. •••The UCHS Marching Band took part in the third annual Dogwood Arts Festival Band Competition in Knoxville. Band members competed against 40 bands from three states and performed in a parade and concert event. C.M. Chandler served as director of the band. Fifty Years Ago1976Many politicians speculated in a front page article that East Tennessee, strongly Republican since the Civil War, was gradually becoming more of a two-party battleground. Democratic enthusiasm had been generated by candidacies of Knoxville banker Jake Butcher and Chattanooga developer Franklin Haney.•••First Baptist Church in Erwin promoted an upcoming revival. Elmer D. Piper of Chattanooga was scheduled as the guest speaker. The revival was primed to offer exciting preaching and uplifting music. Forty Years Ago1986Penny Keesecker and her son, Kurt, won a new car during the third annual Unicoi County Family YMCA Benefit Dinner. The winning ticket allowed the Keeseckers to choose either a Ford or Chevrolet as their prize. •••Unicoi County High School students took part in the Scholar Bowl on WSJK TV in Knoxville. The students reached the final 12 during competition against 42 schools. The episodes featuring the team also aired on the station. Thirty Years Ago1996With more than 100 people in attendance at a meeting of the Unicoi County Board of Education, members rehired football coach Zane Vance by a vote of 5-2 in favor of Vance's retention. County School Superintendent Ron Wilcox also recommended Vance be rehired.•••The Blue Devil baseball team took second place in the Hannahan Invitational Tournament in Charleston, South Carolina. The team lost the championship game 12-11 to Summerville, the largest high school in South Carolina with an enrollment of more than 4,000 students. Twenty Years Ago2006Unicoi County battled two wildfires that broke out due to reckless burning on the part of an Erwin resident. The fires burned woodlands in Sandy Bottom and also near the Interstate 26 Exit 15 in the Clear Branch community.•••The UCHS track and field team continued its winning ways during a Mountain Lakes Conference meet at Tennessee High. The boys team finished fourth overall while the girls team ranked third overall. Ten Years Ago2016The town of Erwin and downtown merchant jointly hosted the debut of the Erwin Great Outdoors Festival. The event featured vendors, a children's area, live music, food and craft beers from the Johnson City Brewing Company. •••The UCHS softball team won the NFS Softball Classic Championship by beating Cherokee, 3-2. Grady Lingerfelt, who served as the team's coach, said, "We were hitting the ball better during this tournament." – Compiled by Managing Editor Bryan Stevens