Population
' . ' ' *
City Limits (1940 Census) 6.574.
Immediate Trading Area lb. 000
(1945 Ration Board Figures)
Kings Mountain, N. C.. Friday. May 12, 1950
16
Pages
Today
?0
Established 1889
PRICE FIVE CENTS
?i. i MMuiiiiiHinffli' 1 1 inmlr "" 1
I Local News I
j Bulletins
%?????? i ?i
SERIES OF MEETINGS
A series of snee tings will begin
at the Second Wesleyan Metho
dist church, East Gold street,
Wednesday, May 17, through
Sunday, May 21. Rev. J. Walden
Tysinger, pastor of the Forest
City Wesleyan Methodist chur
ch, will bring the messages.
The pubMc 1q invited to attend
these services each evening at
7:30 o'clock. Rev. Y. H. Carter
is pastor of the local church.
REVIVAL CAMPAIGN
A revival campaign will be
gin Tuesday night at the First
Church of the Nazarene, and
continue through Sunday, May
21. Rev. C. F. Wright of Boone
will bring the mesages. Rev. Mr.
Wright is a strong Bible preach
er and the public Is Invited to
hear him each evening at 7:30.
Rev. H. E. Crump is pastor of
the church.
STORY HOUR
Three Girl Scouts, Ellen Ba-.
Iter, Anne Elise Stender, and Jo
Anne Smyre, will be the story
tellers at the story hour period
at Jacob. S. Mauney Memorial
Library Friday afternoon at 4
o'clock. For the story-tellers, it
will be a portion of a merit
badge project. Mrs. W. H. Sten
der will serve a# hostess for
the story hour.
BUILDING PERMIT
Building permits have been
issued at City Hall to Mauney
Hosiery Mill, on Wednesday,
for a 32 x 50 extension to the
plant, $5,000; to Warren Rey-,
nolds, on Monday, for construc
tion of a new four-room house
on Cleveland avenue, $2,000;
and to Mrs. R. C. Biddlx on
Monday, tot construction of a
new six-room house on Oriental
avenue, $3,500.
SENIOR PLAY FRIDAY
Members of the Kings Moun
tain high school senior class
will present their annual sen
ior class play, Friday night, at
?8 o'clock at the school auditor
ium. The group is presenting
"Mountain Mumps," a three-act
farce. Admission will be 30 and
<60 cents.
Roland Roark
Rites On Sonday
Funeral services will be held
at Graver First Baptist church
Sunday afternoon at 4 o'clock tor
Private First Class Roland R.
ftoark, 28, who dded in a Japan
ese prisoner of war camp in June,
1943.
' Rev. Smoot Baker, pastor of the
church, will officiate and full
military rites wttl be conducted
at the Graver cemetery by mem
rbers of the Kings Mountain and
Shelby National Guard compa
nies.
Members of the Roland R.
Roark Post, Veteran* at Foreign
Wars, at G rover, will serve as ac
tive pallbearers and \ members
of veterans organizations at Gro
ver. Kings Mountain and Shelby
will serve as honorary pallbear
ers.
Pvt. Roark was a member of
Company E, 3Lst infantry divis
ion, and served under General
Jonathan Wainwright when Cor
rlgedor fell to the Japanese
troops In May, 1942. He died in a
prison camp at Manila on June
16, 1943. He enlisted in the army
in February, 1941, and was one of
six brothers who served In World
W mtB. -.-???trf
A member of Graver Baptist chur
ch, he was employed by Mlnette
Mill at Graver before enlisting in
the army. He was the son of Mrs.
Annie Wilson Roark and the late
WHliam Lee Roark.
Survivors Include his mother,
six -brothers, J. Bruce Roark, Wat
oonville, Calif., Egbert Roartc, of
Washington, D. C , six" ? Harry,
WiHiam, Wilbur and Charles
Roark, of Graver, and two sitters,
Mrs. Mary Houser and Mrs. Itina
Westmoreland, of Graver. , -J
NEW CHTJHCH BUILDING ? Sbown above U the recently built new home of members of First Church
of the Ncaarene. The new church building ha* Just been completed, though first services were held in
the new structure on February 26. Her. H. E. Crump Is pa* tor of the church.
DuCourt Properties
Go On Block Friday
Who will buy DuCourt Mills?
1 Will it be some well-heeled
textile operator who will run
the mill? Or will the mortagors
be faetd with necessity of bid
ding in the plant to protect their
current investment?
These questions may be ans
wered Friday at noon, when the
DuOourt properties are sold at
public auction at the courthouse j
door In Shelby.
Kings Mountain citizens have
a vital interest in the sale, for the
DuCourt plant, out of operation
for nearly 17 months, formerly
employed nearly 300 persons at a
weekly payroll of around $15,000.
Since the DuCourt company en
tered bankruptcy, there has been
a definite soft spot in the person
al and commercial life of the
city. Though many of the former
employees of DuOourt have found
work elsewhere, many have hot.
Friday's actution will include
all the realty of the company,
which Includes the mill plant, 71
houses, and other property, and
virtually all fixtures, machinery
and other personal property,
j Specially exempt from the
sale are the plant sprinkler sys
tem, 62 Draper Model E four
harness cam looms, and one Bar
ber Colman warper, model HC. .
Two previous efforts to sell the
property in New York brought
only one bid, that for the houses
alone. Effort had been made to
satisfy claims cf secured creditors
in the previous sales, resulting In
an upset price of $345,000.
" Pilot Life Insurance Company
holds first mortgage on the pro- <
perty in the amount of $150,000.
? ?
Blood Donations
Sot New Record
Kings Mountain dtiieas re
sponded in great degree to the
Red Cross call for blood on
Tuesday. as a total of 100?
pints wore given for the area
blood bank.
Kings Mountain therefore ex- j
ceeded its quota for the latest
?isit of the Bed Cross Bloodmo
bile by one-half pint and broke
a local seeord for donations of
blood.
The Woman's Club was a
busy place throughout the day
Tuesday as a steady stream of
donors entered the Bloodmobile
station.
Band To Play
Conceit Tuesday
The Kings Mountain school
band vvHi present Its final spring
concert at the Central auditori
um Tuesday night at 8 o'clock, It
was announced toy Joe Hedden
director.
Mr. Hedden said that, the pro?
gram will be In the "spring" sea
son vein, featuring marches, pop
ular numbers, and light classics.
During intermission, a short
business session of the Kings
Mountain Band association will
be conducted.
No admission will be charged,
Mr. Hedden said, and l?e urged
the public to attend the concert.
Primary Registration Books
To Close SatudaY At Sunset
Saturday la the last day to reg
ister for the May 27 Democratic
primary.
Those who have not registered
since the books opened on April
29 will not be eligible to vote in
the primary. ? .*
? The county elections board cal
led a new registration in Kings
Mountain this year, which meant
that the registrar* started their
work with nothing but blank pa
ges. -
While registering' has been
brisk, all registrars reported
Thursday that many persons
have not yet Attended to teh mat
ter, and they urged to visit
the polling places Saturday.
One registrar pointed out that
some citizens are confused by the
Grandfather" <jfause which al
low? persons voting In 1908 to be
excluded {com the voting re
quirement that a person be able <
to read and write. Persons who
have been customarily voting in
elections Under the "Grandfath
er" clause may vote, but they
must register, as would any other
...... . ? *tL. m.,*. , I. nAn 1 1 .1 ????. A I .?
citizen.
Only Democrats will be eligible
to vote in the May 27 primary,
and persona who expect to vote
muit have registered as Demo
crat*.
Mrs. Nell Cranford, East Kings
Mountain registrar, reported total
registration of more than 1,200
Thursday, and Mri. Lamar Hern
don, Beth-Wane registrar, report
ed some 250 names on the Beth
Ware precinct books. Charles B.
Campbell, West Kings Mountain
registrar, could not be reached
Thursday, but his total was ex
pected to be greater than of the'
East Kings Mountain box.
AH registrars in Kings Moun
tain have been, doing extra duiy,
visiting Industrial plants, neigh
borhood stores and other places la
aa effort to insure that everyone
eligible co vote is Hated on the
book*.
The books wttj clow at sunset
Saturday. Saturday, May 90, will
?e Chalenge day, and the voting
will take place on May 27.
For L R. Mitcham
Funeral services for Luther;
Ralph Mitcham, 38, weli known
King* Motmtwn man who died
.suddenly of a heart attack Mon
day afternoon, were held at' St.
Matthews Lutheran church Wed
nesday afternoon at 4 o'clock.
"Rev. W. H. Stender, pastor of I
the church of which he was a j
member, conducted the rites and
interment was in Mountain Rest
Cemetery.
Mr. Mitcham, a former employ
ee of Mauney mills, had been at
tending school at Southeastern
Peoples College, Charlotte, for the
past several months and had ser
ved as manager of the American
Legion building since It was
opened. |
Mr. Mitcham attended his reg
ular classes in Charlotte on Mon
day. He had a sudden heart at
tack shortly after arriving home
and died at around 5:30 p. m. He
suffered a coronary occlusion last
July.
He served in the U. S. Navy dur
ing World War II and was prom
inent in baseball circles in this
part of the state. Last summer he
was an umpire in the American
Legion junior baseball program
and in 1946 was manager of the i
VFW "Vets," semi -pro baseball
team here.
Mr. Mitcham was born and
raised in Kings Mountain, He
was the son of the la?e Luther
and Rachel Herndon Mitcham
and married the former Miss Ruth
Etters.
Survivors include, hds wife, one
daughter, Linda Ellen Mitcham,
of the home, five brothers, Leo
MiVham, of Ellenboro, Lloyd
Mitcham, of Shelby, and June,
John and Rufus Mitcham, all of
Kings Mountain, and . a sister,
Mrs. Robert Morrison, of Kings
Mountain.
Pallbearers included Ray Cllne,
W. D. (Doc) Byers, Nelson Led- ,
better, Clyde Sanders, T. O.
(Dink) Bennett, Sam Collins, Fred
Halthcock and Paul Mauney.
7 " '? 1 1
Lions Nominate ,
Otto Williams
?' ? i .
Otto (Toby) Williams was nom
inated for president of the Kings
Mountain Lions club for the year
1960-51 at the regular meeting
of the club Tuesday night.
Other nominees named by the
club's nominating committee in
cluded: Tolly Shuford, first vice
president; Gene Patterson, sec
ond vice-president ; Horace Hord,
third vice -president; Dan Huff
stetler, secretary; J. C. McKinney,
treasurer; Sam ftarftogs, tail
twister; Robert Osborne, assist
ant tail twister; and Bruce Mc
Daniel, Lion tamer. Nominated
for two year directorships were
Hilton Ruth, and
Brtie Powers, while Rev. J. H.
BrendaH wa? nominated for a one
year director* Nip. v
OIHe Harr!-, chairman, gartre
the report of the committee. I
' iiiiff irii.fcii (n - ? '
(vont'd on Paieeffht) (
Strike Virtually
Halts Freight, '1
Mail Traffic j
Kings Mountain was the quiet
est. it had been in four years Wed
nesday. It was the first day of the
current rail strike which has the j
Southern and three other lines
of the nation tied up, and- train |
whistle toots were almost as
scarce as hen teeth.
A switch engine was still op
erating here, and two trains went
through the first day of the strike,
Nos. 36 and 35, and they Were
scheduled to operate again
Thursday, but the roars of the
Southern's fast passengers and of
the heavily plodding freights
were missing.
There was no trouble on the j
Charlotte division section, just no
trains.
Southern Railway officials here
were in the dark about the situa
tion and were a waiting *i nstruc -
tions. It was the quietest it had
been in week days at the depot j
here, and Cline Barber, veteran
railman here, was dressed up
like it was Sunday.
To a question in that vein, he
replied, "It is."
Local officials Were trying to
get clearance for some freight I
consigned to disant shipping
points. Some freight for nearby
MAIL SCHEDULE
Outgoing mail schedules by
temporary contract carrier, as
announced by Assistant Post
master Geooge Hord, follow:
Northbound? 4:90 a. ra. and
p. m. and
8:30 p. m.
Mr. Hord emphasised that the
schedules are not likely to be
followed too closely, due to de
lay* along the route and other
tie-ups. However, he added,
mail <? on the move again.
points wag moving, but, in gen
eral, acceptance for far-away
points was hard to get.
The strike was called by the
rail union in an effort to force
the Southern and other railroads i
affected to employ two firemen i
on deisel engines, in spite of the !
faot that the request of the un- j
ions had twice been disapproved !
by presidential fact-finding j
boards.
As usual, plenty of difficulties]
were caused by the cessation of j
regular communication channels.
One department store and one I
bride-to-be were dn a dither. Two ?
bridesmaids dresses had been
shipped by parcel "post from New
York Tuesday. The dresses were
somewhere in between. The wed
ding is scheduled tfor Saturday.
That portion of mall customar- 1
ily dispatched by rail began to j
move out Wednesday night by
temporary contract carriers, north
bound outrot Greenville, S. C. Due
here a* 4:30 p. m. Wednesday af
ternoon, the truck carrier arrived
around 8 o'clock. Assistant Post
master George Hard and Substi
tute Clerk Don Crawford virtual
ly filled Che truck, which was al
(Cont'd on page eight)
McGill Arrests
Auto Thief |
Quick thinking by a Kings
Mountain citizen ? Fuller Mc- j
Gill ? resulted in a quick ar- j
rest of a "AWOL" air force youth
for grand larceny of an automo
bile on Monday. An utmost -empty
gas tank helped. <
Robert Harold Ashe, 17-year
old service man of Murphy, was
arrested Monday shortly after
10:30 a. m. at West Point Service
Station In Shelby road by Mr.
McGili, who tunieu ii*e boy over
to Kings Mountain police.
The est, property of Clyde D.
Hardin, an employe at McGill
Ess? Service, was noted as miss
ing and Mr. McGiH traced it ouj
the Shelby road. He spotted the
car parked at the West Point sta
tion, "gassing up." Ashe had
picked up three youthful "hitch
hikers" from Rutherfordton at the
rati underpass but police set
them free as having no connec
tion With the theft.
Judge W. Faison Barnes, of
Rings Mountain Recorder's court,
found probable cause against
Ashe Hi the ease la oourt Monday
afternoon am) the youth was
bouad over to Superior cow* un
to The onto w*n *1>
so referred to the Federal Bureau
of Investigation and the air
toree. t ' ? ?. :
CANDIDATES FOR RECORDER? Shown above are L. T. Hamrick, Jr.
left, and Reuben Elam, right, twcr of three candidates seeking the
Democratic nomination for Judge of county recorder's court. Mr. Ham
rick is the incumbent, having been appointed to the post following
the death of W. L. Angel. Mr. Elam is a former judge pro tempore'of
the court. '
Candidates Expected
To Speed Vote Drives
CONSTABLE CANDIDATE ?John'
D. Jodm, former city policeman
both In Kings Mountain and
Cherryrllls, li on* of llv* candi
dates seeking the Democratic
nomination lor constable of Num
ber Four Township* -
Cancer Quota
Over-Subscribed
Kings Mountain has over ? sub
scribed its quota in the fund cam
paign to fight cancer, as has Cle
veland county, it was announced
this week by Mrs. J. H. Arthur,
Kirtgs Mountain chairman.
Incomplete check-up here shows
total contributions of $781.75,
Mrs. Arthur reported, with some
additional contributions yet to
be received.
Kings Mountain quota- was
$750.
"Kings Mountain citizens have
responded most liberally to this
appeal," Mrs. Arthur aaid, "and
I wish to express my sincere ap
preciation, both to the campaign
workers who did such an excel
lent job, and to each business
firm and Individual wnn contri
buted."
The Cancer fund drive is an
annual project of the Women's
Club.
TO HEAR CANDIDATE
Wood row Jones, 11th dis
district Congressional candi
date, wfll address members of
the' Kings Mountain Junior
Chamber of Commerce at the
regular meeting of the organi
zation Tuesday night at 7:00
o'clock, it was announced this
week.
State Schedules
Area Roads For
Three Kings Mountain rural
roads, totaling 14.2 mites, are!
scheduled for hard -surfacing in
the second phase of North Caro
lina's $200 million rural road- {
paving program.
Announcement was made Wed
nesriay by Joseph Craharn, ninth
dWMon highway commissioner,
a* he Mated 4933 mites scheduled
far road-paving in the ninth dir !
vision. I
The three Kings Mountain pro
jects are:
(1) Midway toad, from Route
After a comparatively quiet
two weeks, Kings Mountain citi
zens were expecting politcking to
get warmer in the approaching
fortnight, a^ candidates make ,
their last minute rounds in an ef- j
fort to corral votes.
Some three weeks ago, Kings
Mountain vyas flooded with via- |
itlng candidates of every de- j
scription, It appeared that each
felt he could not win without the
Kings Mountain vote. Then It
cooled off, indicating that most
candidates felt as if they had at
least captured a majority here.
Interest of Kings Mountain
Democrats continued to center on
the sheriff's race between Hay- 1
wood Allen, Raymond Cline and
Hugh A. Logan, Jr. All had their j
t partisans, and most observers are j
| predicting a neck-and-neck race'
! in the local boxes, as welt as
^throughout the county.
Running close in interest was ;
( the "hig Senate" contest, be
i tween Dr. Frank P. Graham and
Willis Smith. In this race, feelings
are pretty strong. The Graham
? supporters are very definitely
pro-Graham, and the Smith sup
I porters are very definitely pro
j Smith.
I Though their races were over-,
shadowed, other candidates were
j moving too.
i County commissioner tcandi-|
dates and coun'y school board
candidates were making the j
rounds, as well as those for other
offices.
Woodrow Jones, Rutherfordton
candidate for 11th district Con
gressman, has two visits to Kings
Mountain scheduled for next
I week. He speak* to the Jaycees
on Tuesday night, and returns
I Wednesday to address the West
school P-TA. The latter address
[is to be of the non-political va
riety, P-TA officials announced.
The Kings Mountain Candida -
J tea were also busy. Ha/el Bum
' gardner, county Commissioner
candidate, Wayne Ware and.
j Whitney Wells, school board can- i
didates, were visiting other parts
of the county, and reported "en- ,
couragement" in several sections. |
All candidates, meantime, were
urging their friends to get regis- .
-,?red. The books close Saturday.)
and the voting potential will1
then be set.
LEGION SUPPER .. j
Members of Otis D. Green !
Post 155, American Legion, will
hold a hamburger supper at the
Legion building Saturday i
night from 6:30 to 9 o'clock, ac- |
cording to announcement by '
Commander Paul Mauney.
Three Local
Hard-Surfacing
74 at Midway via Bethlehem
church to Kings Mountain, 7:3
mllej.
- (2) Blalock Road, from R6ute
26 m Grover to Bethlehem chur
ch, 4.3 miles.
(3) Dixon school road, from
Route 29 at Tttmm'a Store u> Dix
on school.
Currently being prepared for
hardsurfadhg, is the road from
Oak Grove to Kings ^fountain,
the road from Oak Grove church
to Highway 74 at Beth -Ware
school I
Board To Ask
Bids On Two
Sewer Projects
I he city board of commission
ers tentatively sot the tax rate for
the fiscal year 1950 51 at $180
per $100 valuation, at the regular
May meeting Wednesday after
noon.
The tentative rat<? is tlie same
as the rate for the eurrent year.
Though it did not plan to in
crease taxes for the forthcoming
year, the board nevertheless
made plans to mak0 some laree
capital expenditures in ;he near
future as follows:
<1) Installation of sewer line.*
on North Sims street and Watter
f?n street, at an estimated cost
in excess of $7,500.
(2) Hard-surfacing of Wells
street, DHIing street and Oeme.
lery Drive.
The board voted, to aslt for bids
?n fhe -sewer installations, and It
anticipates doing the sireet suf
lacing work voted with regular
city crews, following purchase of
a tar-spreading machine. Ex
pense ?f the street work planned
will be included in next year's
budget^ and property owners are
o be assessed pro-rata shares of
the cost. Petitions signed by a
majority of the property owners
of V/ells stret and Diling streets
?h?V<?/^?n filed wi,h ,he hoard,
the We, Is street petition having
been presented at th Wednesday
meeting by D. E. Tate and John
ny Beam.
The Watterson street sewer ex
JLnsion Fred J. Wri
gnt and Son to tie in their 32*
house negro housing develop
ment with the city system, while
the Sims street installation is
designed to relieve a currently
bad sanitation problem.
The board also passed a resoiu
Ion to install a six-inch water
ine and fire hydrants in the Bur
ington Mill village and to meter
houses in that village. This work,
too, is scheduled for the near fu
ture.
Portion of the funds for the
sewer projects comes from the
remainder of $18,000 in water and
sewer bonds sold by the city re
cently, and will otherwise be pla
ced in next year's budget.
The board anticipates closing
the current fiscal year with a sur
plus, which will make possible
the additional capital outlay
without tax rate increase.
City Clerk S. A. Crouse had re
ported to the board that tax pay
ments for the current fiscal year
already equalled the amount
budgeted and further reported
(Cont'd on page eight)
Girl Scout
Awards Listed
Brownie Troop No. I I and Girl
Scout Troop No. 19 have been cho
sen campership award winner*
by the Girls Scout camping com
mittee, It was announced thle
week.
Awards of $25 to each troop
will be made at a special meet
ing of Girl Scouts and leaders to
be held at First Presbyterian
church Friday night at 7 o'clock.
The program will also feature
showing of the Camp Rotary mo
vie.
Announcement was made by
Mrs. Paul Hendricks, Girl Scout
publicity director.
!i'
Brownie Troop No. 14 is spon
sored by St. Matthew's Lutheran
church, with Mrs. Jamo3 B. Simp
son leader, and Girl Scout Troop
No. 19 is sponsored by F rst Bap
tist church, with Mrs. W F. Hou
se r, leader. I
Basis for the awards included
miroimum ,of 50 percent Iroop at
tendance at camp, attendance at
troojj meetings, thrift, achieve
ment in outdoor projects, attitude
and spirit of the troop.
$13,053 DuCourt
Tax Bill Paid City
The position of the City
Kinfi Mountain's treasury was
considerably enhanced last
?Hk whan taut for 1948 and
IMS on DuCourt Mills. Inc.
propssttss Wei* paid by N?l
Life Insurance Company.
Tlx* total of tho tax bills,
plus penalties, was S13.0SMS.
Pilot holds first mortgage M
the properties of ths bankrupt
I concern.