Sheriff's department became five-man operation in 1966

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 Ago1956The Unicoi County Republocam Party and the Unicoi County Democratic Party both had campaign headquarters on Gay Street. Both were awaiting the Nov. 6 Presidential Election between President Dwight Eisenhower and Vice President Richard Nixon seeking a second term and their Democratic challengers, Adlai Stevenson II and his running mate, Sen. Estes Kefauver of Tennessee.•••Dobyns-Bennett ended the unbeaten streak of the Blue Devils, defeating UCHS by a score of 6-0. The crowd attending the game at Gentry Stadium was estimated between 5,000 and 6,000. •••The Capitol Theater advertised showings of Guy Madison in "On the Threshold of Space" and Gary Cooper and Ruth Roman in "Dallas." The Holiday Drive-in promoted showings of Rhonda Fleming in "The Queen of Babylon" and Sterling Hayden in "Top Gun." Sixty Years Ago1966The Unicoi County Sheriff's Department officially became a five-man department when the Unicoi Couty Court approved a contract with the Sheriff Lawrence Haun calling for four salaried employees, besides the sheriff. Haun said that he needed four men to adequately police the community and protect both the north and south ends of the county.•••The Rev. and Mrs. Darley Downs, missionaries to Japan with United Church of Christ, were scheduled to speak at the Erwin Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Downs began his missionary service in 1919.•••The Blue Devils hoped to get back on the winning track at Tennessee High after a crushing 48-0 defeat to the visiting Dobyns-Bennett Indians. •••Ronnie G. Edwards, a 1965 UCHS graduate, completed basic training at Davisville, Rhode Island, and eight weeks of Marine training in California, prior to reporting for duty in Vietnam with the U.S. Seabees. Fifty Years Ago1976The Unicoi County Health Department scheduled clinics for swine flu vaccinations at local industries for their employees.•••The Unicoi County Ministerial Association elected Tracy R. Miller, pastor at First Christian Church, as president. Elected as vice president was the Rev. Dearing Garner, pastor at Calvary Baptist. Allen Moody, minister of music and youth at Calvary, was elected secretary/treasurer.•••The Capitol Theater promoted Neil Simon's "Murder by Death" and a Disney double feature "Ride a Wild Pony" and "Dumbo." Holiday Drive-in advertised showings of Timothy Bottoms and Susan George "In a Small Town in Texas" and Jim Mitchum in "Trackdown." Forty Years Ago1986The UCHS homecoming court was crowned during a game with Happy Valley. Saundra Slagle was crowned as queen. First runner-up was Joy Wright and second runner-up was Holli Harris.•••Town of Erwin officials announced a three-pronged attack against irresponsible Halloween vandals. The town outlawed all masks in public, as well as the throwing of objects, including eggs, tomatoes and water melons. The age to participate in trick-or-treating was lowered from 14 to 12.•••The Blue Devils beat ninth-ranked Happy Valley, 28-21, in front of about 5,000 fans at Gentry Stadium. The win put the Devils, coached by Louis Thompson, at the top of the Watauga Conference standings. Thirty Years Ago1996Two employees of Superior Home Health Care received awards for their excellence in providing quality patient care. Singled out for the honor were Diana Quillan Brasher and Lisa Howell. •••According to the Unicoi County Chamber of Commerce, the 19th annual Unicoi County Apple Festival was the largest in the history of the event. Based on the number of parking spaces, the town welcomed more than 70,000 visitors for the two-day festival. •••The Blue Devils defeated David Crockett, 20-14, in overtime in a game played at Gentry Stadium. The Crockett team was coached by former Blue Devil Dave Turpin. Larry Howell coached the Blue Devils.•••Erwin National Bank and Erwin Paint and Body Shop selected Shaun Edwards as the Blue Devil offensive player of the week and Jerad Huskins as the defensive player of the week. Twenty Years Ago2006Flag Pond resident Eunice Tweed grew 43 giant gourds, including some pumpkins that were estimated to have weighed between 100 and 150 pounds, that she sold from the parking lot at the Family Dollar. "I just fed them and dug the weeds away from them," Tweed said. •••The UCHS Class of 1951 held a 55-year reunion at The Elms in Erwin. Joe Frazier served as master of ceremonies for the reunion festivities. •••It's never too early to find a great bargain at the Unicoi County Apple Festival. Many visitors arrive as early as 7:30 a.m. to get a good parking spot, including Rebecca Hurst from Mosheim and Tammy Penley of Chuckey. By the festival's opening, Hurst and Penley found bargains, including some homemade Christmas stockings, that made the visit worthwhile. Ten Years Ago2016Members of the Mary Patton Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution joined with the John Carter DAR and Julius Dugger DAR chapters in Elizabethton to provide dinner for 60 reenactors as they gathered to commemorate the September 1780 march of the Overmountain Men from Fort Watauga to Kings Mountain. •••UCHS girls soccer defeated Happy Valley, 4-1, in the district tournament. The win set up a match between UCHS and University High.•••Unicoi's fourth annual Pinnacle Trail Challenge and Hunger Hike set out to raise funds for Second Harvest. "It started off as just a way to attract people to the trail," said Unicoi Alderman Jeff Linville, one of the event's organizers. "All registration fees from the challenge went to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee. – Compiled by Managing Editor Bryan Stevens