This feature mines our archives for what was going on this week in local history.
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During the week of Feb. 24, 2001, many McDowell residents were mourning the untimely death of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Sr., who was killed in a racing accident on Feb. 18, 2001 during the Daytona 500. The father and son team of chainsaw carvers Skip Roth (left) and Christopher Roth (right) carved this bust of Earnhardt with a chainsaw. It was made from buckeye wood. The bust was on display at Jim Cook Chevrolet in Marion, where raffle tickets were sold until a drawing on May 1. All proceeds from the raffle would benefit the Dale Earnhardt Memorial Fund and the raffle winner could take home the carving.
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Twenty-five years ago this week, 10-year-old Caleb Roland showed off a catfish he caught at Woody’s Lake on Sugar Hill Road before releasing it back into the water. Roland joined others in testing out the new carp and catfish ponds, which opened that weekend.
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The McDowell News ran an article about the uncertain future of the furniture industry in North Carolina. The Universal Bedroom Furniture plant in Marion was one of the latest casualties in the decline of the state’s furniture industry.
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Holly Johnson, a sixth-grade student at Pleasant Gardens Elementary, was the subject of The McDowell News’ Student in the News. She began taking piano lessons the previous year.
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Dean Walker (right), chairman of the McPALS Foundation board, and Glenda Dean (left), vice chair and board member of McPALS, presented Jed Rankin, campaign chair for the planned Corpening YMCA, with a check for $4,000 from the McPALS Sally Rodier Memorial Fund. Sally Rodier was a “swim mom” who proved to be indispensable to the McDowell Mariners. Her three sons, Rob, Topher and Tyler, took home numerous ribbons, trophies and medals as members of the swim team. Sally Rodier was a great advocate for the young swimmers and was always concerned about the long distances McDowell County swim team members had to travel for practice. Sally Rodier was killed in an automobile accident in 1988. The swimmers, their families and friends made memorial donations to McPALS in hopes that the money would help build an indoor swimming pool.
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McDowell High catcher Sterling Parker dug out a low pitch during a game. Parker had two hits in the McDowell Titans’ loss to R-S Central that week.
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Alvin Searcy was honored for his ‘hobby’ of raising cattle. He kept about 15 head of Angus cattle on his farm in Montford Cove. He was named Beef Producer of the Year by the McDowell Cattleman’s Association.
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West Marion Elementary School Students pointed out their bricks on the “wall of kindness” in the school cafeteria. Each student contributed a brick. Students at the school honored and learned from the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by performing 13,136 acts of kindness as part of the Do Something Kindness and Justice Challenge created by Martin Luther King III.
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Teacher Leah Jordan posed for a photograph with her second- and third-grade combination class in front of the “wall of kindness” in the cafeteria at West Marion Elementary School. Students at the school honored and learned from the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by performing 13,136 acts of kindness as part of the Do Something Kindness and Justice Challenge created by Martin Luther King III.
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Cast members of the Foothills Community Theatre production of the Neil Simon play “Barefoot in the Park” gather in costume for a rehearsal. Anjanette Eckenrod (right) gives her “mother” Nan Isaacs some words of advice in a scene from the play, which would be presented at MACA.
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Robin Reynolds sold flowers near the intersection of U.S. 70 East and N.C. 80 to passersby. Reynolds and her fiancé Steven Reeves came to Marion in October 2000 from San Antonio, Texas, as part of their job cleaning out repossessed houses. The couple was renovating a building near the flower stand where they planned to sell antiques, flowers and clothes.
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Jim Holtsclaw, the owner of Skywatch Satellites on Baldwin Avenue in Marion, sat in his office with his collection of Dale Earnhardt memorabilia, which he had collected for the past seven years. Holtsclaw, who felt as if he had lost a member of his family with Earnhardt’s death, believed that the NASCAR legend’s No. 3 black Chevrolet should be retired.
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This feature mines our archives for what was going on this week in local history.
This feature mines our archives for what was going on this week in local history.
This feature mines our archives for what was going on this week in local history.
This feature mines our archives for what was going on this week in local history.
