Page 14A-KINGS MOUNTAIN HERALD-Wednesday, July 16, 1986
OBITURRIES
H.C. HINSON SR.
Houston Clyde Hinson Sr.,
74, of 604 West Mountain
Street, Kings Mountain, died
Monday at Cleveland
Memorial Hospital.
A Gaston County native, he
was the son of the late Vernon
and Forence Allen Hinson.
He was a retired textile
employee and a member of
First Baptist Church in
Bessemer City.
Survivors include his wife,
Wilma Butler Hinson; two
sons, Clyde Hinson Jr. of
Matthews and Frank Hinson
of Greenwood, S.C.; one step-
son, Don Poteat of Albequer-
. que, N.M.; three brothers,
Fred Hinson, Boyce Hinson
Oates
Several familiar faces are
missing downtown now since
many folks are announcing
retirement.
Blackie Oates, who has
been a familiar figure at
Oates Shell Station for many
years, is one of those folks.
Blackie’s station, now
located at a busy intersection
of service stations and eating
places in East Kings Moun-
tain, used to be the only sta-
tion on that corner during the
war years.
‘‘Blackie’’ recalls that
when he started his business
back in the 30’s that most of
his customers stopped by the *
station, not only to purchase
gasoline and cigarettes, but
and Curtis. Hinson, all of
Kings Mountain; two sisters,
Ethel Hinson and Eunice
Meservey of Kings Moun-
tain; and six grandchildren.
Funeral services were con-
ducted Wednesday at 11 a.m.
at Harris Funeral Home
Chapel by Dr. Joel Jenkins.
Burial was in Bessemer City
Memorial Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to
the building fund of First
Baptist Church, Kings Moun-
tain.
MARGARET THOMAS
Margaret Ware Thomas,
61, of 104 East King Street,
Kings Mountain, died Mon-
day at Kings Mountain
Hospital.
Retires
BLACKIE OATES
to pick up wine and beer, which was legal in those days in
Kings Mountain. Beer and wine sales were voted in, he recall-
ed, in 1932 and then voted out again by citizens at end of World
War II.
Oates sold his station a year ago to Danny Shockley. But
most everyday Blackie returns to Oates Shell to chat with
customers and friends who drop by. Oates admits that Kings
Mountain has changed “lots’’ since his early days in the ser-
Yice station business. He says he still wouldn’t live any place
else.
Syndicated columnist Paul Harvey devoted his popular col-
umn several days ago to the subject of small town
newspapers.
We appreciated what he had to say and are reprinting his
comments for readers: :
“Frequently you read that ‘‘another big-city newspaper
bites the dust.”
“There remain only 131 cities in the United States with
more than one daily paper. :
“Meanwhile, the number of smaller town and suburban
newspapers is record high -- 7,711. Circulation of the smaller
(weekly) newspapers has doubled since 1960; presently 50
million.
“How do they do it? i
“I remember how William Allen White did it. He was able
to make his compartively tiny Emporia (Kansas) Gazette na-
tionall significant by meeting its readers where they lived.
“If There is a secret to the success of today’s smaller
newspapers, it is that same ‘‘close to homeness’’ which White
demanded.
“On my desk is a weekly newspaper from somewhere.
Where is less significant than what it has to say.
“Prominent are pictures of a local school’s graduates;
joven, five young ladies and two young men in their motar-
ards.
“On page four I read that Nora Lee and Andy have had
weekend company and that Kayla, on her way to Dell City,
stopped in with her darling new baby.
“There is a sound editorial discussion about whether the
county really wants to be a nuclear waste dump.
‘‘But there is also a recipe for green chili enchiladas.
‘On page 10, the graduates from another school -- 15 from
this one.
“And many of the advertisers in this issue gave their space
to graduation congratulations. Even the County Land and
Cattle Company -- and you know they can ill afford it.
“The article about the state fair is the next best thing to be-
ing there.
“Local Chamber of Commerce doings are covered ade-
quately and interestingly.
‘And the horseshoe tournament over at Jay’s Shell Station.
“It’s registration time for kindergarten and pre-
kindergarten. The back-page trading post column includes
Bob Carpenter’s ‘81 Opety:
“If this implies that the 20 pages are all trivia and no
substance, it wasn’t meant to.
“They include a highly relative treatment of the subject of
drugs, delineates the problem as succinctly as anything I
have read on the subject -- and quotes local lawmen on how
parents can help deal with it.
“I AM properly respectful of the world’s major news wire
services which feed newspapers what they consider newswor-
thy, but I would consider myself poorly informed on the facts
of life and living if I were unable, every day, to peruse an
assortment of smaller town newspapers. ;
“They mirror America the Beautiful as nothing impersonal
can.”
A native of Cleveland Coun-
ty, she was the daughter of
Mrs. Della George Ware and
the late Boyce Ware.
In addition to her mother,
she is survived by two sons,
Tony Stone and Barry
Thomas, both of Baltimore,
Md.; and two grandchildren.
She was a member of First
Baptist Church, Kings Moun-
tain, where memorial ser-
vices were conducted Tues-
day at 3 p.m. by Dr. Joel
Jenkins and the Rev. Allen
Jolley.
C.K. WATTERSON
CHARLOTTE - Charles
Kilgo Watterson, 78, of 1312
Bevis Drive, died Sunday at
Charlotte Memorial Hospital.
A native of Kings Moun-
tain, he was the son of the late
Frank and Emma Goforth
Watterson and the widower of
the late Jessie Voltz Watter-
son.
He was a retired accoun-
tant, having worked 43 years
for the Exxon Corporation.
‘He attended Cleveland Coun-
ty schools and Rutherford
College in Valdese. He was a
charter member of
Westminister Presbyterian
Church in Charlotte.
He is survived by his wife,
Mildred Watterson; two step-
sons, William Archer of Myr-
tle Beach, S.C., and Richard
Archer of Charlotte; two
daughters, Patricia
Treadaway of Charlotte and
Ramalle Morrison of Monu-
ment, Colo.; one step-
daughter, Susan Stewart of
Royal Palm Beach, Fla.; five
grandchildren; and five step-
grandchildren.
Funeral services were con-
ducted Tuesday at 11 a.m. at
Westminister Presbyterian
Church by Dr. I. Howard
Chadwick. Burial was in
Sharon Memorial Park.
Memorials may be made to
Westminister Presbyterian
Church, P.O. Box 220654,
Charlotte, N.C. 28222.
HAROLD UPTON
BELMONT - R. Harold Up-
ton, 77, of 106 Davidson
Street, died Monday at
Presbyterian "Hospital ‘in
‘Charlotte.
"A native of Mitchell Coun-
ty, he was the son of the late
Thaddeus and Ella Webb Up-
ton and a retired dye house
overseer of Piedmont Pro-
cessing Company. He was a
charter member of Unity
Baptist Church.
He is survived by hiw wife,
Moriszella Sherrill Upton;
one son, Rev. Harold Boyd
Upton Sr. of Kings Mountain;
one daughter, Mrs. Joyce Up-
ton Young of Charlotte; one
brother, Claude Upton of
Bakersville; seven grand-
children; and seven great-
grandchildren.
Funeral services were held
Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Uni-
ty Baptist Church, conducted
by the Rev. Melvin Greene.
Burial was in Greenwood
Cemetery. :
Memorials may be made to
Unity Baptist Church
Building Fund, 1005 East
Catawba Street, Belmont,
N.C. 28012.
Sgt. Payne
Gets Medal
Sgt. Robert H. Payne, son
. of Betty C. Payne of Route 2,
Bessemer City has been
decorated with the second
award of the Army Achieve-
ment Medal at Fort Bragg,
The Achievement Medal is
awarded to soldiers for
meritorious service, acts of -
courage, or other ac-
complishments.
Payne is an infantryman
Yih the 508th Airborne Infan-
ry.
FAMILY REUNION
The families of James and
Martha Crawford and John
and Isabella Whitesides will
gather for their annual reu-
nion Sunday at First ARP
Church, 317 Chester St.,
Gastonia. The meal will be at
1p.m.
McGILL REUNION
The descendants of
Thomas Porter McGill will
have their annual reunion
Sun., July 27, at 1 p.m. in the
fellowship hall of First Bap-
tist Church in Kings Moun-
tain. Family members are in-'
vited to bring a picnic lunch.
TREE FARM - Connie Bell looks over some of the White Pine Christmas trees which she and
her family grows on their farm between Kings Mountain and Grover.
Bells Are
Thinking
Christmas In July
When Kings Mountain school teacher Con-
nie Bell wants to beat the summer heat, she |
thinks of Christmas.
Mrs. Bell, her husband Mickey, and sons
Matt and Michael, have spent most of this
month shearing about four acres of White
Pine and Virginia Pine Christmas trees on
their farm between Kings Mountain and
Grover.
Mrs. Bell, a city resident all of her life, will
be moving to the country in about two weeks
when construction is completed on the fami-
ly’s new home on a large farm once owned by
her grandfather, Curt Dixon.
“After 10 months in the classroom, you
need to get outside in the summer time,”
says the North Elementary School teacher.
The Bells decided to get into the Christmas
tree business in 1980. They planted 500 White
Pines that year and about 115 of them will be
ready for market this Christmas. They will
sell them on a “cut your own” basis.
Since ’80, they’ve planted 1,000 each March,
but lost all of their 1983 planting because of
dry weather. ::<! ‘0 aio un
This year’s drought has not produced any
disasters yet. ‘‘We see some brown limbs on a
few trees,” Mrs. Bell said, ‘but we really
won’t know until the fall whether or not the
crop will be hurt.”
The Bells planted several hundred
Austrian and Scotch Pines in 1980 but found
they didn’t adapt well to the climate here. ‘It
was an experiment for us, and we found that
they really need cooler weather,’’ Mrs. Dixon
said. Those trees will be used for garland.
The Bells planted all of their trees manual-
ly with a spade. They're planted seven feet
apart. Bell bush hogs between them while
Stewart’s
Slants”
. By
Gary Stewart
they’re small but after much growth, the
family keeps grass trimmed by using a self-
propelled lawn mower.
When Mrs. Bell isn’t tending to the
Christmas trees, she’s growing Silver Queen
corn and crowder peas on an approximate
two-acre field of sandy, white soil near a win-
ding creek. Her first picking of corn this week |
resulted in 859 full ears which she sells local-
ly. The crop was helped along by a motorized
pumping system ‘invented’ by Mr. Bell.
“We’ve been able to sell the corn rather
rapidly at $1.50 per dozen ears,” Mrs. Bell
said. “The crowder peas are coming in now.”
The first year the Bells grew peas, Mrs.
Bell recalled, her younger son Michael
threatened to leave home after seeing the
long, winding rows of peas which he would
have to help pick. But, like his mother, young
Michael has learned to love the farm, too, as
well as the reward he gets at the end of a
long, hard day in the field. He and his brother
go swimming in a six-feet deep swimming
hole in the creek, where the temperature is
always much cooler.
rr
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