Sports merchandising big success for chemist
Continued from page 7A
Leagues, the Negro Leagues
faded, and most of the teams
were gone by 1960.
Walker was a chemist at
Hoescht Celanese when he
met his wife’s niece who was
selling Negro League sports
wear in Seattle, Wash.
He asked her about it and
later he got six shirts from
her. He sold them in two days
and ordered a dozen more.
Before long. Walker was regu
larly buying shirts and other
items from her and selling
them in the Carolinas, at fes
tivals or ball games.
Then he read a story in The
Charlotte Post about former
//
In Charlotte, I noticed major retail stores weren't selling
the stuff. I said the brothers and sisters want this stuff. It
is part of their history. They should be able to buy this
stuff other than out of the trunk of my car.
-Richard Walker
//
Dallas Cowboys player Drew
Pearson’s contract to sell
Negro League gear at Major
League ballgames. That led
him to get make direct contact
with a licensed manufacturer.
Black Ball Inc. of St. Louis.
There are 25 licensed manu
facturers of Negro League
items, though some specialize
in t-shirts or caps, rather than
the full line.
“I called around until I foimd
a black company,” Walker
said. “I was ordering so much
stuff and selling so much
stuff, they asked if I wanted to
be a distributor.
“I was still working at
Hoescht Celanese. I was get-
Neighbors remember county agent
Continued frompage 7A
name.
Porter, who still lives in the
subdivision in the same
house she and her husband
built in 1969, said Robinson
; began work on the subdivi-
:: Sion in the mid 1960s when
Lillye Washington contacted
her about bu3dng some land
to build a house.
The 35-acre tract was too
.1 large for one house, so
Robinson began asking other
people around town if they
woixld be interested in buy
ing an acre of the land and
building.
Porter was Robinson's
neighbor and was among the
people who decided to invest.
The deciding factor, she
said, was a forfeited picnic.
“Myself, my husband, his
uncle and his wife were all
going on a picnic on U.S. 61
North one day.
“We pulled over at a picnic
area and a law officer told us
we couldn't stay there. So we
yoimg people decided we were
going to have our own home.
We wanted to raise our family
where they could run and
play. We have that here.
We've had many picnics in the
back yard," Porter said.
Though Porter said she and
her husband wanted a home
of their own, she remembers
not everyone was so enthusi
astic.
“Even then I remember that
one lady said it was too far to
move out," Porter said. “It's
just a hop to town now, but
then you had to make sure
you had transportation to get
back and forth to town."
The whole process of buying
land and building was strange
to many of the new residents,
some of whom had come from
Lum's Quarters, a cluster of
row houses with outdoor toi
lets.
“We didn't know anything
about purchasing land,"-
Porter said. “The wonderful
thing was that we had some
one with the knowledge to
help us."
With some help from the
FHA representative, Robinson
headed up the work on the
proposed subdivision and
arranged for the surveying,
clearing and grading of the
land, and street and utility
construction. The cost of the
work was divided among the
families.
Not much has changed in
the subdivision since then.
Porter said. Some of the hous
es are a little bigger because
of additions through the
years, and some of the subdi
vision's original residents
have either moved away or
died.
But Porter said neighbors
still know each other and
watch out for each other at a
time when neighborhoods are
fast becoming a thing of the
past.
“We're close neighbors as far
as helping one another," she
said.
Robinson moved back to
Natchez in 1968 after retiring
from her position with the
county, lived with a sister at
the old family home and built
another home on Lake St.
Savings important for retirement
Continued frompage 7A
investing in equities now! Not
next year, next month, next
week, or tomorrow.
Today: Sign up for your com
pany's pension plan, 401K;
open a personal IRA and put
money in an investment
account. Time is of the
essence. It is not so much the
dollar amount as it is the
length of time the money has
to work for you.
The magic of compounding,
sometimes referred to as the
"eighth wonder of the world,"
is worth more than a passing
thought. Ned Davis Research,
in Stock Market #303, 7.6.90,
in a concept from Market
Logic, gives an example of two
investors. The first investor
starts at age 19 and invests
only $2,000 for the next eight
years and then stops, putting
no more funds into his IRA.
The second investor waits
eight years not putting a
penny into his IRA until age
27. Investor number two, how
ever, contributes $2,000 into
his IRA each year for the next
39 years.
investor who started earlier
and put in a mere $8,000
ended up with more money
totaling $676,796 in the same
investment! You can start to
solve your personal retirement
crisis now by starting to save
now.
This means the first investor
only put in a total of $16,000,
while investor number two
put in a sum of $78,000 until
age 65 when they both wish to
retire. Investor number two
with his $78,000 of hard
earned cash ended up with
$595,765. But the first
Remember you will need a
lot more than two-thirds of
your present income to retire
in order to maintain your
standard of living by that
time. Even though inflation is
currently low at less than
three percent, it has not gone
away. A 40-year- old with an
annual income of $25,000
today will need a retirement
annual income of $40,000 at
the age of 65 assuming a four
percent rate of inflation.
Investing is often easier by
starting low with an automat
ic monthly deduction from
your checking or savings
account. This is the most pain
less way to provide for a com;
fortable retirement. Unless
you want to work for the rest
of your life.
You can receive free an
"automatic savings accumula
tion plan application" by writ
ing to this column at 1366
Turk Street, San Francisco,
Calif., 94115. Whatever you
do, do it now.
Business in The Black can
now be found on America
Health plans different, pick right one
Continued from page 7A
their employer do need extra
coverage.
To determine if you need to
supplement your employee
health plan, ask yourself
whether your policy covers
only hospitalization. If so, it
makes sense to buy an HMO
or PPO to cover other costs.
accept arly willing physician
who meets their licensing,
training and other standards.
So your physician may be in
the network soon. It makes
sense to wait instead of spend
ing money for supplementary
coverage.
ered by Medicare, you need a
Medigap policy. This is a type
of supplemental policy which
pays retirees for any expense
that Medicare fails to reim
burse.
CHARLES ROSS is host of
the nationally syndicated
radio program, 'Your Personal
Finance, and author of Your
CommonSense Guide to
Personal Financial Planning.
If your employee health plan
does offer complete coverage,
why do you need more? If it is
because you are unhappy with
the doctors in the network,
don't give up.
Many states are passing
laws that reqxiire networks to
Health coverage for retirees
Retirees often wonder
whether it makes sense to
supplement their Medicare
coverage with an HMO or
PPO plan.
The answer is no. Medicare
covers most of the cost of your
basic medical and hospital
services.
For any expenses not cov-
A new trend to watch: Some
HMOs provide care to retirees
through their network. Here's
how it works. You Sign up and
commit yourself to using only
in-network doctors, then pay
only $10 per doctor visit.
Medicare continues to cover
other expenses. If this option
is available to you, it can save
you bu3dng a Medigap policy.
ting close to retirement, so I
took early retirement and
became a distributor. They
gave me exclusive rights to
Charlotte, because I stuck
with them. I began wholesal
ing to six or seven stores in
Charlotte, Salisbury,
Lexington.
“In small towns they knew
about the stuff, but they
didn’t know where to get it. A
lot of them were white stores.
“In Charlotte, I noticed
major retail stores weren’t
selling the stuff. I said the
brother and sisters want this
stuff. It is part of their histo
ry. They should be able to buy
this stuff other than out of the
trunk of my car.
“I have had great success.
There’s little competiion. I
plan to expand. I like the mnll
concept because the traffic
comes to me. The state of
North Carolina is wide-open
for this stuff.”
INTER DOMESTIC SALES
(Imports and U.S. Made Wholesale)
• Handbags
• Watches / Clocks
• Human Hair / Braid etc.
• Telephones / Answering Machines
• Fashion Clothes
Name Brand Shoes
■ Toys
Jewelry
Incense / Perfumes
Radio Alarm Clock
African Clothes
(Original Materials)
Dollar Items
General
Merchandise
^^i^PtarthTryoaSt.
dliariotte, NC 28213
{*bone; (704)59^1472
(704)399-5114
UPS Nationwide
MACKINS
BONDING COMPANY
• FAST 24 HOUR
SERVICE
• LOCAL-STATE-
FEDERAL
VISA&
MASTERCARD
ACCEPTED
Gwen & Larry Mackins
Oumers
205 N. Myers Street
Charlotte, NC
(704) 334-9600
Fax (704)334-3781
M-S-M
Financial Services
(Computerized Services For Businesses,
Orgaiiizatloiis And Individuals)
TAX PREPARATION
• Set Up and Maintain Accounting Systems •
Prepare Financial Statements, Payrolls And Tax Reports
• Training Accounting Office Personnel •
• Secre^fiaf Service • Copy Service • Electronic Tax Piling •
• PRE-TAX PLANNING FOR 1997 •
1021 B Beatties FUrd Road » Cbariotte, NC
(704)377-4288
157 East Main Street, Suite 401 • Rock Hill, SC
(803)324-2107
Income Tax
Continued from page 7A
with about 100 different busi
nesses, particularly ones which
have a high number of self-
employed individuals. These
guides, which are available to
the general pubhc, can help
you pinpoint what auditors are
looking for and how best to
protect yourself To learn if a
guide is available for your busi
ness, call the IRS Freedom of
Information Act Reading Room
at (202) 622-5164, or write Box
795, Ben Franklin Station,
Washington, DC 20044. Home
Offices
Home office expenses also
have been targeted by the IRS.
Since the rules for deducting
home office expenses are com
plicated, you might want to
consult a tax expert, such as a
CPA, to determine whether
you qualify.
Unreported Alimony
Over the years, the IRS has
found that not all taxpayers
report alimony receipts as
income. As a result, IRS offices
now match deductions for
alimony payments by one for
mer spouse with the alimony
income reported by the other.
Self-Defense Pays Off
CPAs say the best way to
avoid an audit is to file a com
plete and accurate tax return.
Double-check your math and
make sure you have used the
correct forms and schedules.
And if you think the IRS may
question a large deduction or
credit, attach an explanation to
your return when you file it.
MONEY MANAGEMENT is
a weekly column on personal
finance prepared and distrib-
uted by the North Carolina
Association of Certified Public
Accountants.
/N
MWBE Outreach Fair
Charlote ^Mecklenburg
Housing Rrtnership
Thursday, March 14,1996
1:00 - 7:00 p.m.
1201 Greenwood Cliff, 3rd Floor
Charlotte Regional Realtors Association Building
Approximately $3 million in contracts available over the next 18 months.
Housing Partnership staff will be available to answer questions and discuss
qualifying procedures.
Contracts to be offered for hid;
•Residential Construction Trades
•Copy & Printing Services
•Computer Services
•Lawn Maintanance
•Insurance
•Office Supplies
and many, many, more !
For More Information, Call 342-0933
Equal Employment Opportunity And Affirmative Action Agency
mm