j Population
City Limits i........ ... . . . . . . 7.206
Trading Area 154)00
(1945 Batlon Board Flguzw)
Kings Mountain's RELIABLE Newspaper
14 **9es
Today
VOL. 62 HO. 31
Sixty-Second Year
Kings Mountain. N. C.. Thursday. July 31. 19S2
Established 1889
PRICE FIVE CENTS
Local News
PAGES TO MOVE
Mr.* and Mrs. J. H. Page ex
pect, to move this weekend in
to tneJr new brick home on
Shelby Highway. They have
resided lor the past several
years at 603 W. Mountain street.
BACK FROM CAMP
? Sfc. F. R. MeCurdy and Sgt.
J. C. McKinney returned SUn
[ day from Camp Rucker, Ala.,
and a two-week summer en
campment with the army's or
ganized reserve corps.
UNION SERVICE
" Sunday night's union servi
ce for five city congregations
?will be held at St. Matthew's
Lutheran church at 8 o'clock*
Rev. W.. L. Pressly, pastor of
Boyce Memorial A. R. P. church,
?will conduct the service.
TO AUDIT BOOKS
A three-man staff of auditors
from Ernst & Ernst, Winston
Salem auditing firm, arrived
this week to conduct the annu
al audit of the city's books for
the fiscal year 1951-52. Dave
Robinson is auditor- in -charge.
PASSES EXAM
Dr. James claUde Gantt, son
of Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Gantt, has
been licensed to practice den
tistry by the North Carolina
Board of Dental Examiners, ac
cording to recent announce
ment by Dr. Frank O. Alford, of
Charlotte, secretary of the
Jooard.
STREET RE-SURFACING
Taylor Construction Compa
ny has notifed the city that it
expects to be in Kings Moun
tain about the middle of Au- j
gust to begin street re-surfac
ing work for which the firm
holds contract,. M. K. Fuller,
city administrator, said Wed
nesday.
GINNERS' MEETING
Meeting of the Piedmont dis
trict, Carolinas Ginners asso
ciation, will be held in Shelby
at the Forest Lake club Thurs
day morning at 10 o'clock, ac
cording to announcement by
M. W. Tilghman, president of
the association. All cotton gin
ners are being urged to attend.
GOSPEL CONCERT
The All - American quartet
from Decatur, 111., radio station
WDZ, and the Sisk quartet
from WOHS, Shelby, will pre
sent a gospel concert Friday
night at 8 o'clock at the South
Shelby Grammar school. Ad
mission, adults, $1.00, and
children 50c.
IN WASHINGTON
W. Earle Myers, son of Mr.
and Mrs. O. W. Myers, has ac
cepted a position as physicist
with Reed Research Laborator
ies of Washington, Q. C. Mr.
Myers, who recently received a
Master's degree from the. Uni
versity of Virginia, assumed
his new duties last week.
Lions Club Issues
Call For Cratches
Geroge Houser, president of
the Kings Mountain Lions club,
issued an appeal to persons who
have borrowed Lions club crut
ches to return them, if no longer
needed.
Mr. Houser said 11 pairs of
crutches are listed as "out", and
that other calls are being receiv
ed for them.
Persons who have Lions club
crutches are asked to call C. D.
Ware at 118.
Warning Issued
On Street Work
City street craws were begin
ning Wednesday initial poring
mt ark on a numbe* of city
street*, with a flection of Sims
and Grace streets as the start
ing points.
The beginning of the work
brought ? warning from the
police department to local mo
torists to observe barricades e
rected by tne street crews.
It was pointed out that too
early traffic on the streets
damage* the j base and causes
cracking up. It was stated that
motorists wta > fall to obeerve
the barricades wUl be prosecu
ted.
V/itt Open
fuW ferm
"Split Term' Issue
Is Compromised
By Board Action
The county school board ef
rected a compromise Tuesday in
??ncernIng the "split
'or G rover school, ordering
the school to open for a full con
secutive term on October 1.
H^VHVGrLg8' county superinten
dent of schools, said the county
board made its decision following
a lengthy discussion participated
j" representatives of both fac
tions of Grover school patrons.
stIr?n8,V supported the
original decision of the Grover
school commute* to abandon the
split term while the other
plan" ?PP?sed the change in
Mr. Grigg said the decision of
the county board is a policy for
this year only and a policy ef
fecting Grover school only. i
uJiekSa1^ thG board's decision
Tf th~ane1, ?n 1} the awareness
of the polio epidemic which hit
Grover recently, and 2) the fact
that the short summer session
woulda,rnafdy late in starlin8 and
rhaUndcus?tfomnaT ^ * S"Crter
?l the GrOVer SChool
were a,so Present for
the Tuesday session. They are: J.
?. ?.llis, chairman, e. F Harrv
Jr ' H- Wright, Conrad Hughes
and Carl McGinnis. nusncs
Gr,Sg said the Bethware
school committee had considered
patter of abandoning the
spilt term earlier, but feared that
a drop in attendance would cause
OSS of faculty members. Beth
KwS,n lu summor "ssk,n
Schools May Open
On September 2
Park Grace school of the countv
system is September 2 SuS
tendent B. N. Barnes said yester.
The tentative opening date is
finn il"8 0fiicial Schoo? board ac
tion, he said. Park Grace usually
opens when Kings Mountain
SCM ST>bcgin their fal1 term. ?
Mr. Barnes also announced ad
r!tl?n Z ?."e new teacher to the I
_ity schools faculty. Miss Ruth
Blggers, of Clover, S. C? signed
a contract last weekend as an
elementary teacher, he said.
Miss Blggers has been teaching
tv ??l in Caston Co?n;
P eight years, Mr.
Barnes reported.
t ? .
Bethware School
Attendance Good
John Rudislll, principal of
Bethware school, reported atten
of "fhn ' ,f0r the flrst 10 days
whirh wi 8 summer session
which began last week;
He said enrollment had been
down slight*, bui that he exp^t
improve by next week.
Faculty members of the Beth
Conttnued On Page Eight
DIES IN KOREA ? Cpl. Harvey
Lawson, above, died from
wounds received in action near
Hadokkom-gal, North Korea, on
July 10. He was the son of Mrs.
Ada L. Lawson of route three.
Haivey Lawson
Korean Victim
Cpl. Harvey Lawson, nineteen
year-old son of Mrs. Ada L. Law
son of route three, and the late
Dellard Lawson, died on July 10
from wounds received in action
near Haddkkon-gal, North Korea.
Mrs. Lawson was notified last
week by telegram from the army
adjutant general, with a confirm
ing letter received this week.
"On the morning of July 10",
the letter stated, "Cpl. Lawson
was participating in a battalion
size sweep of enemy positions.
Contact was made with the ene
my and during the encounter that
followed Lawson was wounded by
fragments from an enemy artil
lery round. He was immediately
evacuated to a nearby medical
installation where he was given
treatment. Despite the employ
ment of every possible medical
l -xpeuient, Cpl. Lawson passed a
way the same morning," the let
ter continued.
He Was serving with Company
F. 29th Infantry Regiment at the
time of his death.
Before entering the service July
18. 1950, Cpl. Law'Son wa& employ
ed by an upholstery plant in
High Point.
Surviving in addition to his mo
ther are six brothers, Philip, Bob
by, Bill, Johnny, Tommy, and
David Lawson, all of the home;
two sisters, Miss Bessie Lawson
and Mrs. Beulah Owens, of Kings
Mountain. Also surviving is his
paternal grandfather, John L.
Eawson, 91, of Converse, S. C.
Mrs. Lawson said she requested
that the body of her son be sent
home for interment.
Lutherans To Hold
Morning Communion
St. Matthew's Lutheran church
will hold & Communion Service
at 9 a. m. Sunday.
There will be no sermon; it will
be finished in time for Sunday
School.
Regular worship at 11: a. m.
pinion Service at 8 p. m. Rev.
W. L. Pressly will preach. Solo
by Frances Summers, accompani
ed by Mrs. Miles Mauney on the
violin. The public is invited.
Early-Citizen F. W. (Sam) Cansler
Recalls Kings Mountain of 1880's
In the year 1882 on a wagon ]
drawij by two - mules, one of
Kings Mountain's first settlers
came here to Hve. Now some sev- i
enty years later, he again returns
here on a visit.
Samuel W. Cansler, 75, came to
Kings Mountain with his par
ents,- Richard Thomas Cansler
and Sally Abernathy Cansler, two
brothers and one slater. The pur
pose of their sojourn was to es
tablish the older boys at Captain
Bell's Military Academy here,
once located at the Kings Moun
tain high sdhool site.
Mr. Cansler recalls that when
he first moved here in 1880 there
was o'nly one store, Crowe's,
which was located near the First
ilies, not a single church, and the
National Bank, perhaps 25 fam
old Kings Mountain gold mine.
The old Mountain View Irotel was
built after he moved here. He
continued that the hotel was
built probably to accommodate
the workers in the gold mine and
those who attended f-he Bell Mil
itary Academy.
He remembered that Cansler
Springs was located where the
Country Club is now located and
that he used to take oxen (down
to the springs to carry water.
"A sawmill was once located
where the Kings Mountain Man
ufacturing Company now is," lie
said. "My friends and I used to
go there and play In the sawdust
Continued On Page Eight
Home B. & L
Firm Outgrows
Charter Limit
Stockholders of Home Building
& Loan association will meet on
August 14 to consider amending
the charter of the organization,
according to announcement this
week by A. H. Patterson, secre
tary-treasurer of the institution.
Mr. Patterson said the original
charter limits stock shares to
$1,000,000 and that ? the associa
tion has now exceeded that figure,
requiring that the charter be a
mended.
The stockholders will be asked
to approve an amendment to
make the amount of shares "un
limited", Mr. Patterson said.
"The founders of the associa
tion did not foresee the day ".'hen
the association would grow to its
present size," Mr. Patterson re
marked.
The meeting wih be held in the
association offices at 5:30 p. m.
on August 14.
Bills To Reflect
New Power Rates
First-of-the-month statements
to Kings Mcuntain utilities cus
tomers go in the mail Friday,
the first statements reflecting
the newly revised power rates re
cently adopted by the city board
of commissioners.
How the new rates will effect
individual customers will vary,
but the difference is not great as
far as the city is concerned.
Joe Hendrick, city clerk, said
gross utility billings for the mon
th total $21,852.84, reflecting an
increase in power billings (both
residential and commercial) of
$356.87 over July 1st billings. Wa
ter billings dropped from the pre
vious month by $159.93.
"It will require a six-month
period, at least; te determine fi
nal effect of the rate changes on
gross billings for power," Mr.
llendrick Eild, adding that hot
weather and resultant use of fans
might well account for the slight
increase in power billings over
J une.
Under the <iew rates, only two
schedules are followed, one a res
idential schedule, the other a com
mercial schedule. Under former
policy, four schedules were used.
The board adopted rate schedules
recortimended by Max Miller,
Greensboro engineer, after he had
made a study of the former sche
dules.
Gas Reservation
Recommended
The staff council of the Feder
al Power Commission has recom
mended reservation for use by
Kings Mountain of 1,397 million
cubic feet of natural gas per day,
i R. Davis said Tuesday.
Mr. Davis, city attorney, had
received the Information from
the Federal Power Commission
and said he fell the recommen
dation would help Kings Moun
tain considerably in obtaining a
certificate of convenience and
necessity from the North Caroli
na Public Utilities commission.
The latter application is toeing
opposed b> Public Service, Inc.,
a private utility seeking to dis
tribute natural gas in the Kings
Mountain area.
Mr. Davis said the reservation
recommendation calls for more
gas than the c ity thought it
would require for the first two
years of operaion of a natural
gas system, but less than the 1,
700 million cubic feet per day the
engineers estimated the city
would heed in the third year of
operation.
MOSS BEUWIOtf
The annual Moss Reunion
will be held Sunday at Mt. Zion
dhurch, located three miles
from ICherryville on the North
Brook road. Dinner will toe ser
ved at 1 p. m. and special sing
ing will feature the progriim.
Merchants Vote
New Year's Day
Retail Holiday
Directors of the Kings Moun
tain Merchants association, in
accordance with a poll of mem
bers, have set New Year's Day
as an official holiday for retail
stores. *
Vote in the poll was 25-10 in
favor of adding the holiday.
The merchants also voted to
pontinue present policy of closing
on Wednesday afternoons wheth
er or not full . holidays fall in the
same week,. This vote was 21 to
14. according to report of Mrs.
John Le'*"is, association secre
tary.
Action on the New Year's mat
ter' was taken Monday at the
regular monthly directors meet
ing.
In other actions, the directors I
1 ) Sot December 4 as the date I
for the annual Christmas open- '
ing parade.
2> Voted to suspend Wednes
day closings, effective the first
Wednesday after Thanksgiving,
the suspension to continue
through. Christmas.
3) Received with commendation
a financial report showing the
association "in the black" for the
first time In several months, witn
all bills paid and with opefaUri"
funds on hand.
4) Heard reports on upcoming
promotions of the association
Regular holiday schedule of
the association by-laws now pro
vide seven full holidays during
the year. They are Eoster Mon
day, Independence Day, I.abor
Day, Thanksgiving Day, two days
at Christmas, and New Year's
Day.
Nazarene Church
Sets Homecoming
First Church of the Nazarene
will observe its annual Home
coming Day on Sunday, with din
ner at the church at 1 o'clock, and
with an afternoon service begin
ning at 2:30, according to an
nouncement by the pastor, Rev.
C. E. McKenzie.
Guest minister for the after
noon service will, be Rev. Perry
Montgomery, now pastor of the
Charlotte Tomasboro Church of
the Nazarene, and a former mem
ber of the Kings Mountain,
church.
Special singing will also fea
ture the service.
Rev. Mr. McKenzie said th<>
church is inviting all former
members and friends to attend
the Homecoming Day services.
Tax Advertising
Starts Next Week
A number of tax matters at
crty and county levels, are being
called to the attention of citizens
this week by the respective of
ficials.
City Tax Supervisor Clarence
tarpenter and County Tax Su
pervisor -R. M. Gidney said that
they would begin advertising pro
^ 'or sa'c f?r non-payment
of 1951 tax bills next week.
City Clerk Joe Hendrick re
minded business f'rms that penal
ty of five percent per month ap
plies to delinquent, privilege li
cense purchases made after the
dose of business Thursday at 5
P. m.
Mr. Hendrick also reminded
that Thursday is the final day for
obtaining a one and one-half per
cent discount on 1952 city tax
bills. The discbunt rate drops to
one percent after Thursday.
Under a special act "of the
North Carolina General Assemb
ly, citizens may obtain the full
two percent discount on 1952
county tax bills by paying them
during the month o? August.
Presbytery Body
Elected McGill
John L. McGill, elder of-Boyee
Memorial ARP church, was elec
ted chairman of elders of First
Presbytery at annual meeting of
the group at Bbenezer ARP chur
ch near Charlotte, last Thursday.
'First Presbytery Includes some
32 Charlotte area ARP churches.
Kings Mountain merrVbefs at
tending the meeting were Rev
W. I>. Pressly, W. S- Fulton. Sr.',
and W. E Blakely.
Taxable
Gain Is
$292,000
DROWNING VICTIM ? Denver
Edward Gladden, 21. son of Mr.
and Mrs. J. W. Gladden of Parker
street, drowned in the Catawba
River Monday night. Funeral
services were held Wednesday
aiternoon.
Denver Gladden
Drowning Victim
Funeral services for Denver
Edward Gladden. 21, son of . Mr.
and Mrs. John \V. Gladden, of
Parker .street, who was drowned
in the Catawba River Monday
night, were conducted Wednes
day afternoon at 4 o'clock from
Second Baptist churc h.
The pastor,- Rev. B. F. Austin
officiated, assisted by the Rev. W.
H. Redmond. Interment was in
Memorial Park of Mountain Rest
cemetery.
Gladden, who was employed by
the Charlotte News as motor dis
tributor, graduated from Central
high school in the class- of 1.949.
He was a member of the Ameri
can Legion, and served in the U,
S. Navy.
The young Kings Mountain
man was drowned near Buster
Boyd bridge at around 8 -.40 p. m.
Monday.
. Surviving in addition to his pa
rents are: four brothers, J. W.
Gladden. Jr., Timothy, Carl, and
Paul, ail of Kings Mountain; six
sitters, Mrs. Sam McAbee, Mrs!
M. C. Falls. Jr., Misses I^ouise
Gladden, Joyce, and Janice all of
Kings Mountain, and Mrs. R. M.
Dixon of Charlotte.
Witnesses said t'jat Gladden,
Karline Jacobs, 23, and Jean Love.
18, his two companions, stepped
from four-foot depth into rieen
waiter off a shelf in the river.
Their cries brough other mem
ber^ of their. party and swimmers
to the scene. Both girls sank mo
mentarily from view bul were
found and dragged to the surface
where the rescue team with the
aid of a resusv'itator revived
them. They were then sent to
Charlotte Memorial Hospital for
emergency treatment.
Life saving crews dragglngthe
river found the body at 11 p. m.
after swimmers and the Charlotte
Life Saving and Rescue Crew had
succeeded in saving the two girls
from drowning.
Active and honorary pallbear
ers were- members of Otis D.
Green Post 155, American legion.
HAS OPERATION
J. C. Clary, Kings Mountain
business man, underwent an
operation at Gaston Memorial
hospital Wednesday morning
Tax Supervisor ' j
Reports Total
At S6.454.953
The- city's taxable" valuation for
the year 1952, as reported by
Clarence E. Carpenter, tax su
pervisor. is $6,454,953.24, up al
most $300,000 over the taxable
valuation, for the year 1951.
Mr. Carpenter completed bal
ancing hts tax books last week.
Actual gain In listed worth of
taxable property is $292,820.24.
At the city's adopted tax rate
(if $1.70. per $100 valuation, the
tax levy for the year is $109,734.
21. In addition, poll taxes on
males age 21 through 50 at $2.70
each are scheduled to return to
city coffers $3,307.40.
Mr. Carpenter said the tax
scrolls are complete with one ex
ception. Current figure for West
ern Union has not been received
from the st;:?e agency which re
ports utility va....?tioris. The total
furnished by Mr. Carpenter in
cludes Western Union at its .1951
listing.
Funeral Held
For Mrs. Styers
Funeral rites for. Mrs. Ida Falls
?Styers, 63, Kings Mountain native
and citizen for many years, were
held Tuesday afternoon at I lanes
Chapel In Greensboro, with in
terment following In Forest Lawn .
cemetery there.
Mrs. Styers. widow of T. V.
Styers who died several years
ago, was pronounced dead on ar
rival at St. Leo's hospital In
Greensboro at 10:20 Sunday
night. Death was attributed to a
heart attack. She. had been in de
clining health for several months.
Mrs. Styers resided at 2412
Laurel Drive, Greensboro,
The funeral rites. were conduct
ed by Dr. James C. Stokes, pastor
of College Park Methodist church,
G rcensboro.
Surviving are four sons and
four daughters,. Thomas Styers.
Eddie Si.yers, and Fran lor Styers,
all of Greensboro, and Harold
Styers. of Durham, Mrs. I. C.
Shelley and Mrs. Jack W. Bryan,
both at Greensboro, Mrs. C. L.
Wright, of Winston-Salem, and
Mrs. .Joseph L. Perkins, of Bur
lington.
Brother and sisters surviving
are Oliver FalK Mrs. Ellen Pe
trosino, and Mrs. Paul Beam, all
of Kings Mountain, Mrs. Jessie It.
Whittimore Ind Roland Falls,
both of Greenw>? and Mrs. I <eo.
la Whitworth, of Lowell. Eight
grandchildren also survive.
Amontf local people attending
the final rites were Miss Nancy
Dickey, of Concord, and Mr. and
Mrs. James Dickey, Mis.s Margie
Lou Dickey, Mrs. Paul Beam, Mr.
and Mrs. Dickie Tate, Mrs. Danic
Oates, Mrs. Robert Hord and Hen
ry Thorn burg, all of Kings Moun
tain.
METER RECEIPTS
Parking meter receipts for
t lie week ending Wednesday at
noon totaled $143.04. according
to report of Joe Hendrick. city
clerk.
City's Filter Plant "Running Hot";
No Shortage Difficulties Expected
I :
The recent hot weather h?;s
caused Kings Mountain citizens
to increase their consumption of
water to what might be record
consumption,
George Moss, manager of thr
city's water plant, said the plant
operated at capacity on July
21 -22-23, pumping 3,240.000 gal
lons of filtered water duririg the
three-day period, or 240,000 gal
lons more than the plant's rated
capacity of a million gallons per
day.
Through Monday, the plant
had pumped 20,565,000 gallons
for the month of July, and Mr.
Moss thought the total for July
might be a monthly record for
the city
There Is no danger of a water
shortage, Mr. Moss added.
Heaviest days for water usage
are Mohdays. Tuesdays and
Wednesdays, with Thursdays and
Fridayjf not far behind. Consump
tion falls off heavily on Satur
days and Sundays, Mr. Moss re
ports, giving the plant a chance
to "get ahead" for the forthcom
ing week's peak days.
"It would he nice," Mr. Moss
added, "to have at least twice
the storage capacity the city now
has. since it Is desirable to have
at least a day's water supply al
ready filtered, stored and ready
for use."
The city's storage capacity on
Cherryville Road is a half-mil
lion gallons.
1952-53 Budget
Shaved, Shifted
To Provide Cnt
In a surprise action on the at
lernoon of July '23, the city .board
if commissioners, meeting in
special session, voted unanimous*
ly to pare the city tax rate for
1952-53 to $1.70 per $100 valita
lion, it) cents off the tentative
rate, and lowest city rate since
UMNft
The hoard also adopted finally
[I19 budget for the fiscal year,
leaving it virtually unchanged in
total, but-amending it in several
details tp provide for the tax cut.
~ TAX REFUNDS '
Refund checks on previously
paid 1952 city tax bills will be
mailed as quickly as possible
after the tax bills are refigured
at the new rate. City Clerk Joe
Hendrick said Wednesday. He
estimated that it would proba
bly be ten days to two weeks
before the refund checks are
put in the mails.
Again the vote Was Unanimous.
The budget estimate anticipated
expenditure of $180,517 for the
year ending June 30, 1953.
Commissioner James Layton
made the motion to cut the rate,
with Commissioner Lloyd Davis
seconding. Commissioner Baxter
Wright moved final adoption of
the budget, with Commissioner
C. I'. Barry seconding.
In other actions, the board:
1) Considered the report of the
Cleveland County grand Jury re
commending the condemnation of
the city jail as unfit. It did not
add to the $3,000 appropriation
for Jail 'mprovements; .
2> Voted to employ Fred
Wright, Jr., for the immediate
construction of an additional sec
tion of concrete bleachers at City
Stadium, on motion of Commis
sioner Layton, seconded by Com
missioncr Davis and passed unan
imously.
3) Adopted a resolution to hold '
a sewage bond election in Sep*
tombor.
4) Adopted a resolution to re
examine the city's fiscal position
iy December 1, with intent of
providing fluoridation of the
?ity'g water supply, if possible.
Resolution on the sewage bond
election was unanimous on mo
tion of Commissioner Olland
Pearson, seconded by Mr. Layton.
Action on the bond election has
been delayed due to necessity of
i certificate of convenience and
necessity from the -State Board
>f Health, the certificate required
before the city can obtain local
Government commission permis
-iion to exceed the customary
bonded debt limit of e'ght per
rent of the city's taxable valua
tion. Sense of the resolution as
advanced by Mr. Pearson, was to
hold a bond election for what
ever legal amount is issuable. Ac
cording to engineering reports,
>00000 is required to build art
adequate sewage disposal sys
tem City At torney J. B. Davis 'in
formed the board that the State
Hoard of Health meets quarterly
and that the. next meeting is
scheduled for August.
Budgetary, shifts included: de*
letion of a $l,r>00 item for pur.
chase of a car for the police de
partment; a $2fw) saving on the
original estimate of cost of a
street roller, a $500 saving on
fust estimate of cost on a dump
truck, deduction of $2,101.95 from
the original estimate of expenso
in street-building materials, and
Conttr ^ l On Page Eiijht'
Portrait Fund
Tops S300-Mark
Total contributions through
Wednesday noon to the Lottie
Goforth Portrait Fund topped
5300.
6 Contributions during the week
totaled $30, according to report
of Dr. O. P. Lewis, treasurer of
the fund to honor the late Miss
Goforth, who is credited with
founding Kings Mountain Hos
pital.
Plans of the hospital board
of trustees call tor painting of
a portrait for hanging at thft
hospital. Miss Goforth willed
her entire estate for the build
ing of a hospital here,
Contributions should be hand
ed or posted to Dr. Lewis.
The report to date:
Previously
acknowledged $278
A. H. Patterson 20
Mr. and Mrs. I. B.
Goforth, Sr. 10
Total to date $306