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Population
City Limits .
Trading Area
7.206
15,000
Pages
Kings Mountain's RELIABLE Newspaper
Established 1889
Kings Mountain, N. C? Tuesday, Docember 22, 1953
Sixty-Third Year
PRICE FIVE CENTS
Local News
Bulletins
FRIDAY SERVICE
A special Christmas morning
service will be held at the
First Presbyterian church on
Friday at 10 o'clock. Rev. P.. D.
Patrick will .bring the mes
sage on "The First Christmas
and Christmas 1953." The pub
lic is invited to attend.
PROGRAM SUNDAY
College students will pre
sent a special program on
Sunday, December 27th, at
First Presbyterian church. The
iprogram will be held during
the morning worship hour. The
public is invited to attend.
OFFICE CLOSED
The office of the Selective
Service Board, of Shelby, will
?be closed until January 4th in
order for the clertt of the board
to take earned holiday leave.
I Announcement was made here
Monday.
CURflS WRIGHT
TREASURE ISLAND, Cal. ?
Dental Technician 2/C Curtis R.
Wright, son of Mr. and Mrs. Kos
sie Wright, of route 2, is now at
the U. S. Naval- Receiving Sta
tion, Treasure Island, San Fran
cisco, Calif., awaiting further as
signment to another naval unit.
ON HONOR ROLL
Joyce Blser, Betty June Boyd
and Eugene Sweezy, all of
Kings Mountain, have been
listed on th fall term honor
roll at Appalachian State Tea
cher's College, Boone, accord
ing to announcement by Reg
istrar H. R. Eggers.
ON HONOR ROLL
Miss Vicki Jenkins, daughter
of Mrs. Helen Jenkins of Kings
Mountain, is on the honor roll
for the six weeks Just comple
ted at the Sacred Heart Acade
my in Belmont, where she is a
member of the sophomore
class.
LEDFOBD REGISTRAR
Paul Ledford has been nam
ed registrar for Ward 4 lor the
forthcoming city bond Issue e
lectkm, replacing. C. P. Gofor
th. Mr. Goforth, veteran Ward
4, registrar, is ? patient In
Kings Mountain hospital and
had to relinquish his duties
<due to illness, it was stated.
WHISNANT OUT
R. G. Whisrtant, Kings Moun
tain electric appliance repair
man and owner of Home Ser
vice Company, is confined to
his home with ? case of
mumps. He has been away
from work since last Saturday
and is not expected back on
duty until after January 1.
Treasure Chest
To Total $265
The Treasure Chest of Kings
Mountain Appreciation Day mer
chant* will tota) S265 for Thurs
day's Christmas Eve drawing, to
be conducted at 3:30 on Railroad
Avenue In front of Cooper's, Inc.
In addition to the Treasure
OrfSt fund, several merchants
are adding consolation prizes.
, Last Thursday, Theodore
Bridges, 37 Spruce street, was the
lucky winner on a five percent
tkfeet It was worth fll in trade
r certificates, spendable at the par
ticipating stores.
Winners of consolation gilts 1
""SwrtS wad On
Merchants Ready
For Final Rush
Kings Mountain
Retailers Say
Stocks Are Ample
Kings Mountain merchants, af
ter a busy weekend, were expect
ing record sales totals through
Christmas Eve, as last-minute
shoppers purchase final gifts for
the annual Christmas holiday.
Stories were still well-laden
with Christmas-type merchan
dise and some merchants had re
ceived late shipments of special
ty items to fill into stocks which
had begun to show breaks in size
ranges and other evidence of hba
vy sales inroads.
But most folk could count on
late gilt- shopping with confidence
that they would not be left in the
lurch. If their shopping lists had
any fluidity at all ? whether It
be toys, Jewelry, cosmetics, furai
turte, or other gilt ? then it
could be had in Kings Mountain.
Grocers were expecting usually
heavy traffic on Tuesday, Wed
nesday and .Thursday, and anti
cipating extra heavy purchases
of holiday meats, poultry, can
dies, fruits, nuts, and other treats
of the season.
Toy merchants report that their
business has been good, but that
their stocks are still in shape to
handle a considerable quantity of
buying.
Stores were thronged Monday,
in spite of inclement weather.
Shoppers donnled raincoats, and
Continued On Page Twelve
Open House Set
Foi Nurses Home
TV.e county hospital board of
trustees will hold open house at
the newly constructed Kings
Mountain hospital nurses home
on January 10.
The board of trustees, in meet
ing last week, ?tet January 10, a
Sunday, for the open house and
are urging attendance of county
citizens at the event.
The new adjunct to the hos
pital plant here can accomodate
13 ntirses. Grady Howard, hos
pital manager, said furnishings
for thfe home had arrived recent
ly.
>
Next Herald Appears
Last Day of Year
The next isqpe of the Kings
Mountain Herald will be pub
lished on Thursday. December
31, last day of 1953.
Today's edition, published
two days earlier than the cus
mary Thursday appearance, re
places the issue which would
normally be dated. December
24.
The December 31 edition
will be in the nature of a bo
nus edition to Herald mail
subscribers. Through a freak of
the calendar, there are 53
Thursdays in the year 1953.
The next edition of the Herald
will be the 53rd and final one
for the year.
L A. Harrill
Hurt In Wreck
? ' <
E. A. Harrill, Kings Mountain
attorney who was injured in an
automobile accident late Satur
day afternoon, was reported
"better" late Monday.
Mr. Harrill suffered consider
ably from shock on Sunday. He
sustained a broken left knee cap
and may undtergo an operation on
Tuesday.
The accident occured on North
Cansler street at 5:40 p. m. Sat
urday and was investigated by
Officers P. A. Hawkins and B. P.
Cook. /
Mr. Harrill was driving a Buick
which collided head-on with a
nother vehicle, travelling south
on N. Cansler, driven by John
Adams, Jr., of route 3. Officers
reported that the Adams' vehicle
was off the road at the time of
the collision.
On Sunday morning at 7:30 a.
m., a car driven by Eugene Smith
McGlnnis of Cherryville ran into
the rear of a vehicle operated by
Mrs. C. C. Oates. Mrs. pates, get
ting an early start on a visit to
her parent's home in Boone, had
stopped at a traffic light at the
corner of Gaston and E. King
streets. No Injuries were report
ed.
A collision between cars driven
by E. C. Cooper and Christen
Lynch Perkins, both of Kings
Mountain, at the comer of Moun
tain stiteet and S. Piedmont ave.
on December 16 was also report
ed. No damage was given.
Fireman Brace McDaniel Answers
Alarm To Find Own House Aflame
m - ? !. ?" ? >' -t ? ? ...? ? v .
Volunteer Fireman Bruce Mc
Daniel, visiting at the home of
hi* parents-in-law, heard the wail
of the lire siren for. the second
time Sunday afternoon about 3:30
and rushfed to his car to make his
second three-dollar fee for the
day . /. .
ft 'lowing the truck, Fireman
McDaniel was surprised to find
the big wagon stopping at a fam
iliar location ? 'his East Ridge
street residence.
Needless to say, thte fireman's
primary instruction to be cool in
the face of all situations was put
to a pteni twt -
Mr. MoDaniel, a paint sales
man, entered the house from thfe
backdoor and raahed into the hot,
blazing living room. Finding it
through the burning room to the
front door, grabbed a hot door
handle and found the door lock
ed. 1 kustalnM hand burns and
- intii baton h^ could Rpt
out.
Firemen soon brought the blaze
under control and extinguished
It. Indications were the fire start
ed from a defective wall socket in
thle living room. The living room
and furnishings were badly dam
aged and the rest of the house
suffered some heat and water
damag'. The residence Is owned
by M/S. G. F. ?Lattimore. Both
Mr. McDanfel's furnishings and
the residence were Insured, C. E.
Warlick Insurance Agency re
ported.
The earlier Sunday afternoon
fire was a grass blaze at 12:50
on Dilllng street. Fireman Jim
Lybrand reported no damdge.
On Thursday; firemen were
summoned to SlsW-SSMl**
textile plant on York Road, to ex
tinguish a roof fire, originating
from a defective furnarW Que.
Damage waamlaor,Mr. Lybrand
said.
Bell Officials
Here On Monday
Checking Service
Two Southern Bell Telephone
and Telegraph Company district
officials were in Kings Mountain
Monday, visiting patrons for in
terviews and otherwise checking
on service given to telephone cus
tomers.
B. B. Brown, Gastonia district
manager, and W. B. Wade, dis
trict traffic manager, were
checking on complaints of bad
service as related originally in
letters from Mayor Glee A.
Bridges, and other citizens.
"What we want to know is whe
ther service is really bad, and. if
so, how bad. We have no dial ser
vice in our hip pockets, but we
can improve any bad service," (
thby said.
The city board of commission
ers recently passed, a resolution
asking Southern Bell to install
dial service here, and the Kings
Mountain Merchant's association
board of directors also wrote a
similar request. Both based their
requests oh questionable service.
C. L. Lott, North Carolina
manager, replied that dial-Mr
vice was several years distant for
Kings Mountain, due to adequacy
of current quarters, but he also
promised that an immediate in
vestigation Into the complaints of
poor service would be made.
Mr. Brown and Mr. Wade said
they were following through on
the Lott promise.
Mr. Brown noted that service
on long distance calls to Char
lotte probably was slow Monday,
due to a Wilkinson Bouvelard
fire on Sunday night which level
ed a service station and cut a
long distance telephone cable. Re
pair was scheduled for comple
tion with full service expected to
be restored within 24 hours.
Harmon Property
Up To $11,130
Realtor B. D. Ratterree retain- 1
ed his position as high bidder for |
the T. N. Harmon Estate proper
ty at thte commissioner's re- sale
Saturday. Mr, Ratteiree's $11,
130 bid topped by $5 the bid of
M. D. Phlfer, at $11,125.
M. L. Harmon, Sr., who had
vied with Mr. Ratterree at pre
vious auctions of the property
did not attend the sale.
Mr. Ratterree's high bid, prior
to Saturday's resale, was $10,
727.85, the- bidding increasing the
figure by $402.15.
t ? ? . V ? *?
The property, a corner lot front
ing on Battleground avenue, Falls
street, and Cherokee street, first
wa3 offered for salte last May. It
is occupied by a two-apartment
frame dwelling.
Under legal procedure govern
ing commissioner's sales, the bid
ding remains open through De
cember 29. During that period,
a flvte percent increase of the pre
sent high bid would keep the bid
ding open and require another re
sale. ; . . ? i
Top bid at the first sale last]
May was $6,300.
Temple Baptist
[Play Thursday
The Temple Baptist church will
hold their annual Christmas
play and party at 7:30 Thursday,
December 24.
The play, "The King la Bor
under the direction of Bdb Grlgg,
will be prevented hy the ycrung
people <4 the church.
Af ? the play, gHtm will be en
hanced mud treats will fee fir
life
tiTl rSt Tr*?
the children.
Inaction Of Utilities Body
May Cost City Gas Grant
? ? A ' ?
Citizens Cover
Postal Workers
With Heavy Mail
Kings Mountain postoffice was
a busy place Monday as the regu
lar staff and Christmas extras
handled a peak load of both in
coming and outgoing mail.
? For the doughty carriers, both
city and rural, it vas a rough day,
with the mail accumulation of
both Saturday afternoon and Sun
day. In addition, the messy wfea
ther added heavy rainwear to
their burden.
Inside, the postoffice: gave
every appearance of a continuing
Saturday rush-hour at a depart
ment store. Two windows werte
kept open, in addition to the mail
order window, and stamp sales
were brisk.
Postmaster W. E. Blakely and
Assistant Postmaster George
Hord were guessing that Monday
would be the pfeak of the 1953
Christmas season rush for out
going mail. Whether it would top
the high level of 25.018 cancella
tions recorded on December 19,
1949, they declined to guess.
While mailings by Kings Moun
tain citizens increased noticeably
as early as December 1, the
Christmas rush actually began on
December 14, when 9,308 cancel
lations were recorded. The high
figure through Sunday was 15,431;
for Thursday, December 17. Sun
day's 3,570 was considerably hea
vier than the customary daily
run of 2,500 pieces of mail.
Ten "extras" are helping move
the mass of Christmas mail com
ing in and going out of Kings
Mountain postoffice.
With Christmas, the postoffice
will resume its regular schedule
of hours. It will be closed all day
on Christmas Day, and will be
open a half-day, 'til noon, on Sat
urday, December 26.
Home B. & L.
Pays S20.254
Semi annual dividends of Home
Building & Loan association paid
during the past weekend totaled
$20,254.34, bringing the total pay
ments to shareholders for 1953 to
$38,088.46, according to report of
A. H. Patterson, secretary-trea
surer.
Both Home Building & Loan
Association and Kings Mountain
Building & Loan association ad
vanced year-end dividend pay
ment dates in order that the mon
ey would be out beforte Christmas.
Kings Mountain Building &
Loan association announced that
checks mailed to holders of full
paid stock totaled $6,000.92, but
said tabulations on totals in other
categories and for the full year
had not been completed.
Mr. Patterson reported semi
annual payments as follows: on
full-paid stock, $10,745.41; on op
tional savings shares. $7,540.84;
on serial stock, $1,968.09.
Home Building A Loan's totals
for the year included: on full
paid stock, $21,048.55; on option
al savings shares. $14,183.07; on
serial stock, $2,856.84.
TAO SALES
A tot* 1, of 247 Kings Moun
tain vehicle owners have pur
chased cKy license decals for
1954, according to report Mon
day afternoon toy City Clerk
Joe Hendrk*.
MASONIC MASTER ? Boyce
' Gault has been elected master oi
Fairriew Lodge 339, A. F. & A. M.,
for the coming year. Mr. Gault
along with other officers for
1954, 1s to be installed at a com
munication of December 28. He
will succeed D. E. Tate.
Masonic Officers
To Be Installed
Fairview Lodge 339, A. F. & A.
M., will install officers for the
coming year at a communication
Monday night. December 28, at
Masonic Lodge Hall at 7:30.
Recently elected officers to he
in. died ar*e Boyce. Gault, mas
ter, Emmett Ross, senior warden,
J. B. Simpson, Junior warden, J.
C. Keller, treasurer, and J, H.
McDaniel, Jr., secretary. Mr. Kel
ler and Mr. McDaniel were re
elected.
Appointive officers as named
by the incoming master, are also
to be installed.
They include L. A. Harmon,
senior deacon, T. D. Tindall, Ju
nior deacon, C. W. Cradle, senior
stewart, Fred Weaver, Junior Ste
wart, J. A. Walkter, tyler, Paul
B. 9ole, chaplain.
TO ATTEND RALLY
Horace Korne-gay, of Greens
boro, state presklent of the
North Carolina Young Demo
cratic Clubs, has informed
Jack 1*. t.it? that he will be
happy to attend an organisa
tional rally of Number 4
Township Young Democrats,
now tentatively set for Janu
ary 8. Mr. Whi'e. Kings Moun
tain attorney, is leading the
organization of a Number 4
Township YDC.
Davis Says City
Needs Certificate
To Win Allotment
Whether the City of Kings
Mountain finally obtains an al
lotment of natural gas depends
greatly on whether the North
Carolina Utilities commission
grants the city a certificate of
convenience and necessity for
operating a gas utility.
This is the opinion of City At
torney J. R. Davis, who has the
responsibility, along with Bar
nard & Burk, engineers, of prov
J. R. Davis, city attorney,
said he was informed by tele
phone Monday afternoon by
George Franklin, of the North
Carolina League of Municipali
ties at Raleigh, that Mr. Frank
lin had conferred with Chair
man Winborne, of the North
Carolina Utilities Commission,
and that Mr. Winborne had
indicated a decision on the
Kings Mountain case would be
given early in January.
ing the economic feasibility and
necessity of the allotment at a
Federal Power Commission hear
ing scheduled for February 8,
The City of Shelby is in exactly
the same position as thp City of
Kings' Mountain, both Cleveland
county cities being faced -with a
reluctance on the part of the
North Carolina Utilities commis
sion to finally dispose of their
request.
Thus, the redent action of the
FPC in granting Kings Mountain
the 1,138,000 cubic feet per day
allotment, had a contingency
clause which could mean the end
of the city's pursuit of the natural
gas addition to its utility system.
Attorney Davis said he was dis
cussing the problem with officials
of the North Carolina IJCague of
Municipalities in Raleigh, and
that all possible effort is being
exerted to obtain a favorable de
cision from the Utilities Commis
sion.
The engineering firm, Barnard
& Burk, has already re-surveyted
the fcity to bring up to-date its
survey on the desire of citizens
^nd business firms for natural
gas service. Working on the sur
vey, which they completed last
Friday, were Charles Barnard, A.
S. Hall, and Bill Edwards.
"Unless we get the certificate
of convenience and necessity,
we'll have a weak case before the ;
FPC," Mr. Davis said Monday. !
Granting of the certificate hasl
Continued On Page Twelve |
Funeral Rites Conducted On Monday
For Grover Merchant T. S. Keeter
*'t;iera1 services for Thomas
Simpson Keeter, 79-yeaf old Gro
-ver merchant who died sudden
ly at his home Sunday morning,
were held Monday afternoon at
3 o'clock from First Baptist
church at Grover.
Hev. Smoot Baker, Rev. Park
Moore and Dr. Zeno Wall officl
ated and interment followed in
Grover cemetery.
Mr. Keeter, an uncle of J. Bi
Keeter ol Kings Mountain, suc
cumbed suddenly at 7:50 a. m.
Sunday after suffering a cerebral
hemorrhages He had been ill for
one week.
Son of the late Mr. and Mrs.
John CiWn Keeter, he was a na
tlve of Rutherfordton bounty
and had Hved in Grover for the
last 55 years. He was the owner
of T. S. Keeter Dry Goods store.
He was a member of the First
Baptist church where he served
as a deacon and Sunday school-su
perintendent for many years. A
Mason, Mr. Keeter was very ac
tive in the religious and civic
life of the community.
Surviving Mr. Keeter are his
wife, Mrs. Georgia Florence
Roark Keeter; four sons, Hoyt
and K. K. of Shelby and R. Bur*
rls and Tyree of Graver; one dau
ghter, Mrs. J. L. Shirley of Gro
ver; ahd one ?is#er, Mrc. Ida
Sherrill of Splndala.
Holiday Period
Varies From Day
To Two Weeks
Industrial Kings Mountain was
slowing its gears Monday toward
a virtual complete shutdown for
the rapidly approaching Christ
mas holiday.
Some textile firms were al.
rfcady through with work until
after Christmas, while others
were planning to continue opera
tioifs through Wednesday. For
some the holiday was going to be
a little more extended than usual,
indicating the softness in the in
dustry that has found orders for
textile products being placed on
a hand-to-mouth basis.
As one textile firm manager
said, "We usually like to stay
booked ahead at least a quarter,
but wc'are not ami are not likely
to be." At the same time, lie ex
pressed optimism over 1934 pros
pects.
"We can forget wartime pro
fits and schedules," he noted, add
ing, "business should still be pret
ty good."
Though 1953 was not considered
a banner year for tfxtiles gener
ally, many Kings Mountain tex
tile employees were receiving
Christmas checks in varying a
mounts, while other firms were
giving Christmas gifts to all their
employees.
Following art reports on
Christmas plans for Kings Moun
tain industrial firms:
Maiiney Mills, Inc., Bonnie Cot
ton Mills, and Mauney Hosiery
Company, Inc., paid bonuses ag
gregating $15,000, W. K. Mauney
Continued On Page Twelve
St. Matthew's
Christmas Story
Now when Jest ts was born in
Bethlehem of Judaea in the days
of Herod the king, behold, there
came unse men from the east to
Jerusalem.
Saying, Where is he that is
born King of the Jev>s? For we
have seen his star in the east,
and are come to worship him.
When Herod the king had
heard these things, he ivas troubl
ed, and ail Jerusalem with him.
And when he had gathered, all
the chief priests and scribea of
the people together, he demanded
of them where Christ should be
born.
And they said unto him, In
Bethlehem of Judaea : for thus
it is written by the prophet,
And thou Bethlehem, in the
land of Juda, art not the least
among the princes of Juda: for
out of thee shall come a Gover
nor, that shall 'rule my people
Israel.
Then Herod, when he had priiH
ly railed the wise men, enquired
of them diligently what time the
star appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem,
and said, Go and search dilige^Uly
for the young child; and when ye
have found him, bring me word
again, that I may come and wor
ship him also.
When they had heard ' the king,
they departed; and, lo, the star,
which they saw in the east, went
before them, till it came and
stood over where the young child
was.
When they saw the star, they
rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
And when they were come into
the house , they saw the young
child u>ith Mary his mother, and
I feU doum, and worshipped him:
and when they had opened their
treasures, they presented unto
him gifts; gold, and frankincense,
and myrrh.
And being warned of God in a
dream that they should not re
turn to Herod, they departed into
their own country another way.
St. Matthew $: 1-lt.
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