Appalachian State University - Rhododendron Yearbook (Boone, NC)

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CHANGES TURNED TO SCRAP Dismantled into an assortment of parts, gears, and chopped-up blades, Boone ' s largest tourist attraction slipped quietly out of town. ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE HOBBS Like many of the students who come to ASU the windmill that once stood a top Howard ' s Knob proved to be only a transient four year resident. Billed as the world ' s largest wind- driven generator the windmill was more successful at generating a flurry of attention rather than electricity. Televi- sion crews came from all over to report on it. So many tourists travelled up the road to see it that local residents began to feel like traffic cops. Even a cult of sorts was formed by a group who called themselves Wooshies and light- heartedly revered the machine. Born of an idea within the federal government in the early 1970 ' s the windmill became the prized child of the Department of Energy, NASA, General Electric, the Blue Ridge Electrical Membership Co-op, and locals. Construc- tion began in June of 1978 and was completed by July 1979 when dedication services were held. Local residents and students alike kept their eyes attended to the top of the hill overlooking Boone watching for any sign of movement from the 220 foot wingspan. Occasionally the attentive were rewarded. At times the blades moved slowly. Being tested at various angles to the wind, operators rotated the blades. It was a rare day when the windmill was seen in full splendor with nothing but the wind driving it. The project was quickly beset by problems. Howard ' s Knob residents complained of television interference, vibrations, and a mysterious booming sound. Continuing mechanical problems culminated in the breaking of the 22 It met every objective except one, and that was simply that it was never turned over to the electric utility to operate. -Bob Bumgarner bolts that held the windmill ' s blades to the generator shaft. The various agencies and firms involved scrambled for ideas and money in an effort to continue the experiment. However, in a climate of governmental austerity, administrators were hesitant to commit funds to a project that had run up a tab of $30 million and promised more unknown costs. The pride of Boone was scuttled. Persons connected with the project insist that the windmill was not a failure. It met every objective except one, said Bob Bumgarner of BREMCO, and that was simply that it was never turned over to the electric utility to operate. It was the first machine to generate 2000 kilowatts of electricity from the power of the wind and the experience gained has been applied to the building and operation of three similar windmills in the state of Washington. But it ' s all history now. On August 17th, just as students began drifting back into town the week before registration, workmen burned off bolts and the first blade was taken off. The next day the second one was removed. By the time we had memorized our class schedules the windmill was gone. The machine that had known a whirlwind of fanfare slipped out of town on flatbed trucks.

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THE RHODODENDRON APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA FEATURES ACADEMICS SPORTS PEOPLE Changes: Composing our 3 introduction to the Features section, a review of the nnajor happenings of the year, from windmiii departures to King Street condos. Features Introduction 16 Environment: One major 18 draw ' for ASU lives in the beauty and diversity of its locaie. Festivals 28 Supportive Services 38 Medio Wizardry 48 Residence Life 58 Rockin ' and Rollln ' 66 Performance: On Stage 74 Religious Groups 92 Community Service 98 The Body Politic 102 The Greek Experience 112 Photo Gallery 120 Journey Through 134 Academics: Travelling from registration toward the big day of commencement Symposium: Intro 150 Symposium: 152 General College Symposium: Watauga 154 Symposium: 157 Arts and Sciences Symposium: Business Symposium: Fine Applied Arts Symposium: Learning 8c 183 Human Development Symposium: Graduate School ASU Honors 191 196 Action In Academics: 204 ideas, people . programs. Photo Gallery 214 Sports Introduction: Broken stereotypes. 226 Sports Spirit 230 Popular Athletics 238 Intramurals 250 Spring Sports: 262 Combatting mother nature. Fall Sports: 272 Varsity athletes gain pride through achievement. Varsity Teams 296 Player Profiles: 300 The nominees for Player of the Year honors. Players of the Year 306 Photo Gallery: 308 Capturing the action on film. Appalachian People: 324 A small sampling of a very diverse student population. Portraits: Graduate Students 338 Portraits: Seniors 339 Portraits: Juniors 350 Portraits: Sophomores 360 Portraits: Freshmen 372 Photo Gallery: Over 392 two hundred photographs of ASU students, in every conceivable situation. Last Word: Paul Baker 414 speaks for us all of roman candle burn-outs. Index 415

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During the first few days of the 1983 faltj semester, workmen came to Boone to dismantle the windmill. At top, the burning off of bolts to allow crane operators to lower the blade to the ground. Middle, one blade has been removed. Bottom, the first blade comes to rest on the ground.