The sun. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-1972, September 10, 1970, Image 9
The Newberry Sen, Newberry, S. C., Thursday, Sept. 10, 1970—PAGE 9
Even a Cowardly Lion has to leave his cave occasion
ally. And his home at the Land of Oz is actually a cave—
part of a setting that was provided by nature.
Land of Oz is
becoming top
attraction
BANNER ELK,N. C. - The
Land of Oz, perched atop Beech
Mountain 15 rugged miles from
any other tourist attraction, ap
pears headed for the top spot
among Tar Heel attractions that
report daily attendance figures.
With 230,000-plus visitors al
ready through the gates, Oz ap
pears assured of going over the
300,000 mark. The themed park
was open daily through Labor
Day and remains open week
ends through October.
“One of the things we thought
about when we built Oz,” said
Carolina Caribbean Corp.
spokesman Kays Gary, “was
that it was off the beaten tou
rist path.
“The question was whether we
could get the summertime tou
rists onto a new path, and we
did it.”
In order to find out a bit
about why people make the trip
and whether they think it’s
worth it, Gary said, Oz manage
ment recently took a survey of
visitors.
Those surveyed were asked
why they made the trip, and
these were some typical re
plies:
“We had heard so much about
it from so many people that we
wanted the children to see it.”—
Jerry L. Newsome, Winston-
Salem.
“Because of favorable com
ments from neighbors.”—J. P.
Scarlata, Fairfax, Va.
“I heard about it from friends
in North Carolina.”—R. M. Mc
Kenzie, Framingham, Mass.
But was the trip worth it?
Replies ranged from “yes” to
“definitely” to longer and more
enthusiastic statements, without
a single “no.”
Asked what they liked best
about Oz, those surveyed named
everything from Dorothy’s house
to the petting zoo to the scenery
to Emerald City to the balloon
ride.
“We were happy with the sur
vey results,” said Gary, “but
we also wanted to know what,
if anything, our visitors thought
should be improved.
“Most of them said nothing
needed improvement, and one
just cautioned us to keep it
as it is and not backslide.
“But we did get some sug
gestions. One person said we
should have additional shops.
Another suggested signs on the
pinnacle of the mountan iden
tifying the scenes you can see
from there. Another said he
thought something was needed
to improve vision along the be
ginning of the Yellow Brick
Road when the crowds get big.
“I’m happy to say that all
these improvements were in the
works even before we took our
furvey,” said Gary. “I think
fliat shows we’re on the right
frack as far as the public is
concerned.”
Gary pointed out that, if Oz
has 300,000 visitors this year,
it will top Tweetsie Railroad’s
state-leading total of 260,000 last
year.
“Tweetsie is still going strong,
though,” he said, “and this sea
son should match last year’s.”
Tweetsie will remain open daily
through October—but Tweetsie
palace shows will be put on
only on weekends.
Some tourist attractions, such
as Grandfather Mountain, do not
report total attendance. Grand
father remains open through
Nov. 15, with Mildred the Bear
shows on weekends at 10 a.m.
and 3 p.m.
Special Tickets
for students
High school and elementary
school students will have an
opportunity to attend the New
berry College football games at
reduced ticket prices if they sit
in a section reserved for them
according to Head Football
Coach Fred Herren.
Students sitting in Section “O”
in the East stands will be able
to purchase individual game
tickets for $1.00 They are re
quested to enter Setzler Field
from the gate on College Street
at the North end of the stadium.
“The reduced ticket price for
students applies only to seating
in Section O, Coach Herren said,
“if they wish to sit in the re
served seats in the West stands,
they must purchase tickets at
the regular price of $3.50.”
License Plates
now on sale
The South Carolina Highway
Department’s 50 Motor Vehicle
Division service centers are now
issuing 1971 vehicle license
plates.
Renewal applications were in
the mail Friday or Saturday
(Sept. 4 and 5) for most vehicle
owners.
Because Labor Day fell so
late this year, on September 7,
there will be four fewer days
at the beginning of the licensing
period than there were last
year. Additionally, October 31
falls on a Saturday, making one
less day at the end of the period.
Emory P. Austin Jr., director
of the motor vehicle division,
urged vehicle owners to obtain
their new license plates without
delay and thus avoid almost
certain long lines at the end of
the period.
He urged them to check their
renewal applications to be sure
they were correctly made out
and to fill out the property tax
and insurance information por
tions on the reverse side of the
form ahead of going for their
licenses.
Each owner must swear that
he has paid all property taxes
on the vehicle; if he falsely
states that he has paid the taxes,
he is in jeopardy of losing his
driver’s license for six months.
He must list the insurance
company not the agent—along
with the policy number and ex
piration date of his coverage.
Hours at the service centers
are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday
through Friday.
The plates this year are
brown-maroon.
Jersey Cow gets
milk award
A registered Jersey cow own
ed by W. E. Senn, Newberry,
has recently received a 100,000
Lb. Milk Award from The Ame
rican Jersey Cattle Club, Co
lumbus, Ohio.
The award went to the cow,
Upland Commando Katherine,
which produced 105,170 lbs.
milk—more than 50 tons-
containing 5,514 lbs. butterfat.
The production of Upland
Commando Katherine to date
far exceeds that of the “ave
rage” dairy cow in the United
States. All tests were checked
by Clemson University and The
American Jersey Cattle Club.
The 100,000 Lb. Milk Award
aids Jersey breeders in select
ing cows with consistently high
production over a long period.
City Building
Permits
Margaret Burton, addition, 712
Morgan St.; Frank Ellisor, re
pairs, 1610 Floyd St.; Roland
Bobb, repairs, 1401 Drayton St.;
R. E. Morris, utility building,
1209 Third St.; Jessie Fuller,
repairs, 414 Wright St.; H. W.
Brown, repairs, 521 Floyd St.;
Also E. O. Cannon, erect a-
partments, Shelley St.; Gerald
Westmoreland, repairs, 721 Cald
well St.; Paul Duncan, repairs,
1414 Bachman St.; E. O. Can
non, addition, 2020 McDowell St.;
Robert C. Shealy, erect garage,
2118 Adelaide St.
Total value of construction
permits: $131,415.
ADULT CLASSES
TO BE HELD
Classes to prepare adults to
earn a high school diploma will
be held in Newberry again this
year.
Registration will be tonight
(Thursday) at 7 p.m. in Mid-
Carolina, Newberry and Whit
mire High Schools.
Thomas E. Leitzsey, who is in
charge of the adult education
program, said that by attending
the night classes, adults 16
years add over can “qualify for
a better job, or increase earn
ings and get promotions on your
present job by bettering your
education with commercial, vo
cation and refresher courses”.
Mr. Leitzsey said that Driver
Education will be taught in the
idult classes this fall.
Don Ricky Richardson of Pros
perity and Nancy Dianne Wise
of Newberry were married in
Newberry on August 9.
Robert K.. Dowd and Donna
Ann Lathrop of Newberry were
married here on August 14.
CHEVY'S NEW
lIlfLECARISOPBM
FORBUSNESS.
We call it Vega.
We also call it “the little car that
does everything well.”
Because it does.
Everything? Everything.
Vega moves well, stops well,
steers well, rides well, handles well,
responds well, passes well, travels
well, parks well, wears well, and is
priced well under what you'd expect
to pay for such a talented little car.
In our highway tests, Vega has
been getting gas mileage in the
neighborhood of the little imports,
which isn't a bad neighborhood.
Yet unlike your average little car,
ours steps right out when you step on
the gas.
The engine is a specially designed
overhead cam four with a lightweight
aluminum alloy block. It turns slowly
and quietly at turnpike speeds, with
power to spare.
Disc brakes are standard in the
front. So are bucket seats, except on
the truck.
How we doing so far?
Numbers speak louder than words.
The wheelbase is 97 inches.
Total length is just under 170
inches, or nearly four feet shorter than
a full-size Chevrolet.
Height of the coupe is just 50
inches, nine inches lower than the
leading import.
Width: a nice stable SVi feet.
Weight: 2,190 lbs. for the sedan.
Engine displacement: 140 cubic
inches.
Fuel economy: about 25 mpg, with
the standard engine and transmission,
in our highway tests.
Horsepower: 90. You can order
110. (80 and 93 hp, SAE Net.)
Seating capacity: 4 adults.
What it all adds up to is a lot of
little car.
Three cars and a truck.
Vega turned out so well that we
couldn't turn out just one.
So we're turning out four: the
sporty little hatchback coupe shown
open and closed in the foreground
below; the sedan, on the right; the
Kammback wagon, on the left; and the
little panel truck, in the rear.
Oh, and n. special GT version of
the coupe and wagon which we'll
show you later on.
September lOth is Opening Day.
All 6,300 Chevrolet dealers are
handling Vega, so you shouldn't have
to go very far to see and drive one.
Chevy's new little car is open for
business. Look into it.