Hear ye: U.S. Route 70 deserves some respect

Route 66 shouldn’t get to have all the fun.

“Scenic 70” deserves some love as well, according to Marvin Bullock, who is on a mission to see that U.S. Route 70 gets some recognition as it observes its 100-year anniversary in 2026.

 

Bullock’s “project” was first report by Towndock.net, an online newsletter based in Oriental, N.C.

Bullock is a former resident of this Pamlico County community where the Neuse River becomes the Pamlico Sound. He retired in 2023 as president of the Sparta-White County Chamber of Commerce in Sparta, Tenn.

Sparta is a small city with about 4,975 residents located on Route 70 about midway between the major metropolitan areas of Knoxville and Nashville.

Traveling the full length of Route 70, about 2,385 miles from the village of Atlantic in Carteret County to Globe, Ariz., has been on Bullock’s bucket list for a long time. 

But he’s also taken an interest in serving as an ambassador to promote “the tourism, revitalization and preservation of Route 70” during the highway’s centennial year.

Bullock said he would like to see the “U.S. government recognize the uniqueness of one of the first paved highways” from the East Coast into the Great American Southwest.

U.S. Route 70 was once dubbed “The Hospitality Route to Disneyland” by the Bishop Printing & Litho Co. of Portales, N.M.

In the mid-1950s, the company published and distributed a stylized “coast-to-coast map postcard” that highlighted the highway as a “scenic, all-paved route from North Carolina to California.” Indeed, that was the case early on in the highway’s history.

Bishop Printing & Litho discontinued operation in the late 1980s. Portales is a city of about 11,660 people situated on Route 70, about 30 miles from Texico and the Texas border.

“By getting chambers of commerce along the route together, we can start lobbying to specifically advertise Route 70 as ‘Scenic 70,’” Bullock said. 

“Route 66 almost vanished more than once. Now, it’s a destination for people to go…just to travel on Route 66.”

“Route 70 is already well known amongst motorcycle and bicycle enthusiasts as the preferred transcontinental highway,” Bullock said.

Once travelers arrive in Sparta, Tenn., Bullock suggests they pull off the highway and see the sights.

Sparta claims to be “Bluegrass USA,” as the hometown of several bluegrass music legends. 

The most notable was Lester Raymond Flatt, a vocalist, guitarist and mandolinist. 

He was best known for his collaboration with banjo picker Earl Scruggs of Flint Hill in Cleveland County, N.C.

 

Performing as Flatt and Scruggs, the duo was joined by the Foggy Mountain Boys, resulting in one of the most successful bands in bluegrass music history, spanning approximately 20 years.

Bluegrass fiddler Benny Edward Martin also grew up in Sparta. He performed for a time with Flatt and Scruggs and is credited with inventing the eight-string fiddle. Nicknamed “the Big Tiger,” Martin typified “country stompin’” music, with his enthusiastic fiddling while dancing around on stage.

 

Other members of Sparta’s Bluegrass Hall of Fame are Bill Jones, John Henry Demps, Blake Williams and Josh Swift.

White County offers more caves, waterfalls and scenic overlooks per square mile than anywhere else in the United States. 

The chamber recommends that everyone journey about 12 miles northwest of Sparta to visit the spectacular Burgess Falls on the Falling Water River, named for the first settler in these parts, Tom Burgess. The Burgess family cut lumber and operated a grist mill above the falls.

Burgess Falls is most noted for its scenic value as the Falling Water River drops nearly 250 feet over three waterfalls. The last of these falls is the most spectacular and begins where the water plunges more than 130 feet into a gorge below. Protruding rocks halfway down break the curtain of water and spread a mist around the base of the falls.

 

With more than 100 miles of paddleable river water, including “world-class whitewater and serene flat water,” White County is also an “adventure tourism destination.”

 

“Scenic 70” just may catch on…adding a contemporary twist to the highway’s early marketing thrust. 

The U.S. Highway 70 Association began promoting the road in 1951 as “America’s Treasure Trail.”

 

Masters’ ‘green jacket’ is an iconic sports prize

Golf’s Masters Tournament, played annually in Augusta, Ga., awards its champion one of the most recognizable prizes in sports: the “green jacket.”

 

American golfing legend Bobby Jones got the idea when was competing in 1930 at The Open at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake in Merseyside, on England’s west coast, overlooking the Irish Sea.

 

During one of the ceremonial meals, Jones was seated next to Kenneth Stoker, the immediate past captain of the club.

Hoylake historian Joe Pinnington said: “All the former captains were wearing their formal red coats. 

 

Jones was fascinated by it. Stoker said to him: ‘Mr. Jones, if you win the tournament this week, I’ll give you my coat.’”

Of course, Jones won and got the red coat…along with the coveted sterling silver Claret Jug.

 

Bobby Jones’ red jacket is on permanent display at his home club, the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Ga., in the “Hoylake Room.”

When Jones collaborated with Clifford Roberts to form Augusta National Golf Club in 1933, he pitched the idea of members’ jackets. 

The colors red, yellow and “Georgia peach” were floated, but the club eventually settled on the “verdant green displayed by the azalea bushes.”

 

The precise color is known as “Masters Green” (PMS 342) on the Pantone Matching System, a standard used by graphic designers and printers to ensure uniformity in color.

By 1937, every Augusta National member attending the Masters donned a snappy, woolen green jacket.

With his win in 1949, Sam Snead became the first Masters champion to be awarded a green jacket. All past champions dating back to 1934 were retroactively given one as well.

 

Today’s green jackets are made from a tropical-weight woolen fabric woven at the Victor Forstmann Inc. textile mill in Dublin, Ga. The stamped brass buttons are produced by Waterbury Button Company, now based in Chester, Conn. The breast-pocket patch comes from A-B Emblem Company of Weaverville, N.C.

The jackets are custom-made by Hamilton Tailoring Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. Here, the winner’s name is also embroidered on the inside lining. Each jacket costs approximately $250 to make.

The club has jackets of various sizes on standby for winners, and one of these jackets is presented to the tournament winner during the ceremony that occurs at the legendary Butler Cabin. The ceremonial jacket eventually gets swapped out for a customized jacket that is sized specifically for the winner.

When they register, players are requested to include their proper jacket size. The champion gets to wear his green jacket whenever he chooses for a year-long “victory lap.” 

But then, he is supposed to return the jacket to the clubhouse for storage in a “climate-controlled cloakroom,” along with those of all other past champions.

If a player becomes a “repeat champion,” officials pull out his original jacket from the racks and reuse it.

When Tiger Woods won his first green jacket in 1997, he was 21, the youngest champion in tournament history. He purposefully ordered a jacket that was too large. 

He told reporters that he had heard stories from other Masters’ champions that over time, the jackets “shrink” while “resting within the cedar-lined vault.”

South Africa’s Gary Player created a bit of a flap in 1962, when as defending Masters champion, he “forgot” to bring his green jacket back to Augusta. 

Player received a telephone call later from golf club co-founder Clifford Roberts reminding him of “protocol.”

 

Player responded: “Well, Mr. Roberts, if you want it, why don’t you come and fetch it?” Roberts came up with a “compromise” with Player, instructing him: “Don’t wear it in public.”

 

 More Masters’ golf-related stories of interest:

Suppliers are prohibited from discussing their contracts with The Masters Tournament, which is hosted by Augusta (Ga.) National Golf Club.

A-B Emblem Company of Weaverville, N.C., has fully complied.

Kudos to the company, which was selected as a “Small Business of the Year” in 2025 by Business North Carolina magazine. The company’s primary business is manufacturing embroidered patches and insignia, including the Masters’ emblem sewn of the legendary green jackets.

A-B’s largest customers are the U.S. military and NASA. A relatively new client is the United States Space Force (USSF), established in 2019, as the sixth branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, focused on securing national interests in, from and to space.

 Space Force “Guardians” (personnel) manage GPS, missile warning systems and satellite communications, providing essential capabilities to joint military operations. As a unit of the U.S. Air Force, the Space Force motto is “Semper Supra” – “Always Above.”

A-B Emblem is a family-owned business, employing about 100 people.

E. Henry Conrad founded the company in 1941 near the Hudson River in West New York, N.J. He named the company in honor of his children, “Annerose” and “Bernhard” (he went by Bernie).

Conrad relocated the entire operation to Weaverville in Buncombe County, N.C. (north of Asheville), in 1963, which provided a “better business climate for future growth,” removed from the pressures of an urban environment.

Principal owners today are Paul Conrad and Lisbeth Nagle, grandchildren of Henry Conrad. Lisbeth’s husband, Andrew Nagle, and Paul Conrad have been co-CEOs since 2017.

Kevin Ellis, managing editor at Business North Carolina, quoted Lisbeth Nagle: “We want to leave the company stronger for the next generation.”

“She finds inspiration daily as she walks past her grandfather’s photograph in the business office,” Ellis wrote. She says: “Opa (German for grandfather), I hope we make you proud.”

 

Paul Conrad (left) with Lizbeth and Andrew Nagle of A-B Emblem

So, what’s the significance of the Butler Cabin at Augusta National Golf Club?

The facility was constructed in 1964 and named after Thomas Butler, a member at Augusta at the time. He was a regular playing partner of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Eisenhower joined the club in 1948, five years before occupying the White House and remained a member until his death in 1969.

The club built the Eisenhower Cabin in 1953, a seven-room cabin for him and his wife, Mamie, near the 10th tee. He frequently used the property as a retreat.

 

The Butler Cabin is much smaller. Each year, the Butler Cabin is transformed into a TV studio during the Masters. At other times, the Butler and Eisenhower cabins and 10 others on the grounds are available as rentals to members and their guests.

One of the cherished landmarks on the course was a century-old, giant loblolly pine that stood on the 17th hole, approximately 210 yards from the tee on the left side of the fairway.

While playing the course, Eisenhower hit the tree so many times that, at a 1956 club meeting, he proposed that it be cut down. 

(Eisenhower served as U.S. president from 1953-61). Club chair Clifford Roberts adjourned the meeting rather than reject the president’s request. From that point forward, the tree was known as “Eisenhower’s Tree.”

Shortly thereafter, bumper stickers began to appear: “Ben Hogan for President. If We’re Going to Have a Golfer – Let’s Have a Good One!”

Eisenhower wasn’t terrible at golf; his handicap hovered between 14 and 18 his entire life.

In 2014, the Eisenhower Tree was removed from Augusta National after suffering extensive damage during a major ice storm. 

Club chair Billy Payne reported: We obtained opinions from the best arborists available and…were advised that no recovery was possible.”

Larry Mize’s 1987 Masters’ golf title: ‘Incredibly unexpected’

Larry Hogan Mize of Augusta, Ga., was a talented youth golfer. He attended Georgia Tech in Atlanta on a golf scholarship and turned pro in 1980. 

The first of his four PGA Tour wins came in 1983, when Mize, at age 24, won the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic.

But Mize’s second win is the one that “golf people” remember. The victory continues to resonate…nearly 40 years later.

Competing as the hometown hero in the 1987 Masters Tournament, Mize found himself tied for the lead with golfing heavyweights Seve Ballesteros of Spain and Greg Norman of Australia at the end of four rounds.

 

The threesome began a sudden-death playoff on the 10th hole (par 4). Ballesteros was eliminated with a bogey.

Moving on to the 11th hole (par 4), Mize’s second shot leaked well to the right of the green, coming to rest about 140 feet from the hole. “Impossible lie,” the commentators said. Norman’s second shot landed on the edge of the green, about 50 feet from the cup.

With a sand wedge, Mize chipped in for an incredibly amazing birdie.

 

Norman commented: “From there, I didn’t think Larry would get down in two, and I was right. He got down in one.”

Norman missed his birdie putt, and Mize was crowned the champion. Sportswriters have ranked Mize’s phenomenal chip-in as one of the most miraculous shots (and endings) in the history of Majors Championships.

 

 

The “most valuable member” of Augusta National Golf Club for nearly 20 years was Jeff Knox, the “official marker” between 2002-21. 

Standing in the wings…always willing, ready and able to fill in…Knox would play alongside one of the competing professionals whenever the Masters Tournament field “was a man down.”

 

Golf writer David Westin said: “A marker plays when there is an uneven number of players after the 36-hole cut. He goes off in the first group of the day in a twosome to keep that participant’s scorecard and provide company and pace for the round. He does not post a score.”

 

Knox holds the course record of 61 from the members’ tees. A native of Thomson, Ga., Knox now lives in Augusta and is a member of the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame.

Westin reported that pro Paul Casey played with Knox in the 2018 Masters. “Jeff’s golf was stellar,” Casey said. “We were early on a Saturday morning first out. We played in about 3 hours, 10 minutes. It was just a joy. There is nothing better than quick, good golf.”

 

Over the years, Knox played with at least seven former or future Masters champions (Bubba Watson twice, Larry Mize, Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh, Sandy Lyle and Craig Stadler). 

Jeff Knox and Bubba Watson.

Other partners have included Ernie Els, Jason Day, Steve Stricker, Keegan Bradley and Miguel Angel Jimenez.

“Most famously, Knox beat Rory McIlroy by a stroke when they were paired together in the third round in 2014,” Westin wrote. “Knox then beat Augusta native Larry Mize by two strokes the next day.”

“Jeff obviously knows this place so well,” McIlroy said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone putt the greens as well as he does. He was really impressive. He should be playing in the Masters.”

 

Westin said: “After beating McIlroy and Mize, Knox never kept a ‘real’ score again, picking up on at least one hole during his round.”

Knox was 59 when Michael McDermott, 48, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., succeeded him as the official marker.

 

Knox was there in 2023, sitting inside the ropes behind the first tee. He filmed McDermott’s first tee shot as marker. McDermott’s drive flew well past that of his playing partner Mike Weir, the 2003 Masters champion.

 

All is well in Augusta.