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VOL 65 NO. 35
Established 1889
Kings Mountain's Reliable Newspaper
Kings Mountain, N. C., Thursday, September I, 1955
Sixty-Fifth Year
PRICE FIVE CENTS
Population
City Limit*. 7.206
Dm population U from the V. S. Government census
report for 1(50. The Census Bureau estimates the nation's
population gain since 1950 at 1.7 percent per year, which
means Kings Mountain's 1954 population should approtd
seate 7609. The trading area population in 194S. based
an ration board registrations at the Kings Mountain
office, was 15.000.
H jj Pages
Iy Today
Population Of Greater Kings Mountain 10,320
Local News
Bulletins
METES RECEIPTS
City parking meter receipts
for the week ending Wednes
day, August 24, totaled $165.
63, Miss Grace Carpenter, of
city clerk’s office, reported.
MOOSE MEETING
The regular meeting of
Moose Lodige No.-4748 will ibe
held Thursday night at the
lodge on Bessemer City road.
HEARING FRIDAY
Preliminary hearing for Pal
mer Huffstptler, charged with
involuntary manslaughter, is
scheduled for county record
er’s court Friday.
SQUARE DANCE.
All adults interested in form
ing a square dance team are
Invited to meet with Recrea
tion Director Doug Salley at
the,Woman’s Cluib Thursday at
7:30 p. m.
THOMSON BETTER
Joe Thomson, well . known
Kings Mountain citizen] has
been confined to his home this
week due to illness. He was
much ibetter Wednesday and
expected to be able to return
to his regular duties within a
few days.
ASSESSMENTS
Payments since July 1 on
public improvements assess
ments, principally for street
paving, reached $8,323.67 throu
gh Tuesday, City Clerk Gene
Mitcham said yesterday.
TO FRANCE
Major and Mrs. L. J. Morris
are visiting here pending re
ceipt of transportation orders
to !La 'Rochelle, France, wHere
Major Morris has been ordered
for duty with the army. Mrs..
Morris is the former Virginia
Plonk.
COURT TUESDAY
City recorder’s court will not
convene Monday afternoon due
to the Labor Day holiday, but
will convene Tuesday after
noon at 2 o’clock.
METER RECEIPTS
City parking meter receipts
for the week ending Wednes
day at noon totaled $176.01,
according to a report from
Miss Grace Carpenter, of the
city clerk’s office.
JAYCEE MEETING
Members of Kings Mountain
Junior Chamber of Commerce
will hold their regular meeting
Tuesday night at 7 o’clock at
Masonic Dining hall. A special
program has been planned for
the evening. Bill Jonas, Presi
dent of the club, urges all
members to attend the meet
ing.
GOSPEL SING
A Gospel Sing, featuring the
Harvesters, of Charlotte, and
the Pantomimers, of Kings
Mountain, will he held at Kings
Mountain high school audito
rium,at 8 o’clock Friday night.
The event is being sponsored
toy the Kings Mountaih Credit
Women’s (Breakfast Club.
LEGION NOTICE
Regular September meeting of
American Legion Post 155, will
be held at the Legion Hall Fri
day at 8 p. m. Change of dates
of regular October and Novem
ber meetings, to avoid conflict
with scheduled football games,
was also announced by Millard
Prince, assistant adjutant. The
October session will be held
on October 5, with November 2
the date of the following meet
ing.
City Notes Record
Tap Fee Payment
The city totaled up a new re
cord this week on a one-tran
saction payment of water and
sewer tap fees, Mayor Glee A.
r v Bridges reported.
w) Gantt & Crawford, Inc.,
home - building firm, purchas
ed 33 water and sewer taps at
a total cost of $1,980. Mayor
Bridges said it was .a cash
transaction.
The tap fetes were paid for
homes in the residential de
velopment the firm has announ
ced it will construct in the Wat
terson street area. City sewer
tap fees arte $35 while water
tap fees are $25.
School Enrollment 1$ 2,337
<•
Recoid Is Set;
First-Day Gain
84 Above 1954
A record first-day enrollment
was reported Tuesday as seven
Kings Mountain area school units
optened the 1955-56 school term
with 2,337 pupils.
The total represented a gain of
84 over the opening day figure
last September when 2,253 pupils
enrolled. Thte gain, however, was
30 short of the 114 additional stu
dents reported last September
over the 1953-54 opening day to
tal.
in tne six city units, a total oi
2,132 pupils registered on Tues
day, a gain of 80 over last year.
Of the total, 1,626 represented stu
dents in grades one through
eight, a gain of 56 elementary
students. The remainder, 506, re
presented high school students —
450 at Central and 56 at David
son high.
Superintendent B. N. Barnes
gave the opening day figures for
the six city units and reported
the school year off to a good
start. “Some transferring of stu
dents to different buildings will
have to be made to balance some
of the grades,” he said.
Mr. Barnes announced that
Gordon Beaver had been elected
to teach piano at East school and
to take overflow pupils at other
units. Mr. Beaver’s acceptance
completed the 79-teacher city
schools faculty, he said. The num
ber of teachers last year was 77,
with two additional elementary
teachers allotted this year pom
pared to the gain'of 90 pupils.
Mrs. J. C. Nickels, principal at
Park Grace Elementary school, a
county unit which operates on
the same schedule as the city
schools, reported an enrollment
of 205 pupils on opening day, a
gain of four over last year. (On
Wednesday, five additional pupils
had reported, she added.)'
Mrs. Nickels said that the
building project at Park Grace is
not yet completed and that first
day registration was accomplish
ed much more smoothly than she
had anticipated. The school is
without a lunchroom at present,
she said, but it will be opened as
soon as the building projtect is
completed. Two new primary
rooms are being constructed at
the plant and two old rooms are
being remodeled to provide lunch
room sapce. The school auditori
um has been used as a lunchroom
for the past several years.
The Park Grace breakdown of
opening day enrollment by grad
es showing the changes over last
year:
First grade 32 Minus 8
Second grade 33 plus 1
Third grade 39 plus 10
Fourth grade 30 plus 13
Fifth grade 18 minus 7
Sixth grade 23 minus 5
Seventh grade 30 0
Totals 205 plus 4
Enrollment at city units Tues
day was:
Central Elementary 724
East Elementary 407
West Elementary 315
Davidson Elementary 180
Central High 450
Davidson High 56
Total Enrollment 2,132
Biggest gain in pupils over last
Continued On Page Eight
Stores To Close
On labor Day
Majority of Kings Mountain re
tail businesses will be closed Mon
day in observance of the annual
Labor Day holiday.
Majority of the firms will also
be closed Wednesday afternoon
for the customary mid-week half
holiday. Directors of the Mer
chants Association met Tuesday
and voted to close both Monday
and Wednesday afternoons. The
decision followed a survey of
mercantile opinion by the asso
ciation secretary, Mrs. Elaine
Queen.
Otherwise, Labor Day will be a
regular working day for the vast
majority of Kings Mountain citi
zens. Schools are in session and
will operate on regular schedule.
Industry, too, will operate on reg
ular schedules.
Drug stores and service sta
tions will be open as will the
Kings Mountain Herald and mo
vie establishments.
CRAIG PROMOTED, CARPENTER SUCCESSOR — W. R. (Bill) Craig,
left, veteran salesman for International Correspondence Schools,
Inc., has been promoted to Atlanta district manager. Charles T. Car
penter, Jr., right. Herald sports editor and circulation manager for
the past nine years, has been named to succeed Mr. Craig. The
changes are effective September 12.
Craig Promoted;
Carpenter Named
Hoffman To Take
Carpenter Post
At Newspaper
William R. Craig, for the past
13 years area salesman here for
International Corresp o n cl e n c e
Schools, Inc., has been promoted
to the district managership of
the Atlanta, Ga., area and will
assume his new duties September
12.
Charles T. Carpenter, Jr., for
the past nine years sports editor
and circulation manager of the
Kings Mountain Herald, will suc
ceed Mr. Craig as area salesman.
Robert L. (Bob) Hoffman, of
Gastonia, will succeed Mr. Car
penter as sports editor and re
porter for the Herald. Miss Eliza
beth Stewart will assume the du
ties of Herald circulation mana
ger.
Mr. Craig handled sales for In
ternational Correspondence
Schools in Cleveland, Gaston, and
Rutherford counties. He and his
family expect to move to Atlanta
as quickly as suitable living ac
commodations can be obtained.
Mrs. Craig recently resigned as
teacher of French a-nd English
at Bethware high school. She is
a former member of the city
schools faculty. They have two
children, Peggy Craig and Nancy
Craig.
Mr. Carpenter joined the
Herald after completing more
than three years service as an
infantry lieutenant in World War
H. He is a graduate of Clemson
college and has performed a va
riety of duties with the Herald,
including general reporting and
advertising. He has been active
in thb work of the American Le
gion, which he serves as adjutant,
and the Junior Chamber of Com
merce. Mr. Carpenter will con
tinue to live in Kings Mountain.
Mr. Hoffman, who will assume
his duties here on September 12,
is a reporter for the Gaston Citi
zen and previously served as a re
Continued On Page Eight
s>
Stores Will Close
Earlier Saturdays
Directors of the Kings Moun
tain Merchants association vot
: ed Tuesday to set 6:30 p. m. as
the regular Saturday closing
hour.
The action primarily effects
department, jewelry and varie
ty stores, which have been ob
serving a 7 p, m. Saturday clos
! ing. Other types of retail
| stores, principally furniture
; and hardware stores, have been
j closing in advance of 7 p. m.
Grocers will probably con
! tinue to remain open 15 to 30
! minutes later than other types
| of retail firms.
Regular weekday schedule re
! mains unchanged.
! The directors also passed a
resolution asking business
firms to use their window lights
until 11:30 p. m. nightly. The
board indicated it felt the use
| of window lights would give the
i business district a better ap
| pearance at night.
Board To Meet
Thursday Night
The city board of commission
ers will meet Thursday night at
8 o’clock in City Hall courtroom
for the regular September meet
ing.
Mayor Glee A. Bridges describ
ed the agenda for the session as
brief and routine.
Among items to be considered
is a request by E. A. Harrill for
cancellation of a grading charge.
Mr. Harrill contends, the Mayor
said, that he deeded the city
right-of-way in lieu of the charge.
. Another item for commission
er decision is request of Casey
Jones for widening of the alley
running behind the North Pied
mont avenue business district.
Otherwise, the Mayor said, the
board would receive regular mon
thly reports and consider other
business that r»ight come before
it.
Heavy Payments On 1955 City Taxes
Bring Total To $67,283 Wednesday
Kings Mountain citizens and [
businesses rushed to pay city tax
es Wednesday, last day to obtain
the full two percent early-pay- j
ment discount on 1955 tax bills,
swelling the pre payment total to
$67,283.71.
The total covers thle period
ending at noon Wednesday, and
Tax Supervisor Clarence E. Car
penter guessed more payments
would be received before the 4:30
p. m. close of business.
While figures on the total pro
perty valuation and tax levy are
yet incomplete, estimates of re
turn from the $1.70 tax rate and
$2 poll tax are that the total levy
will approximate $165,000.
The pre • payments represent
slightly more than 40 percent of
the estimated levy.
The discount rate drops Thurs
day to one percent and the dis
count will be available through
out the month of Sep ember.
This is the fi~r year the full
discount has tool obtainable
through August. Under former
schedules taxes had to be pre
paid in Junte to obtain a two per
cent discount. T.ie schedule was
changed by a.”, of the General
Assembly to inform with the
Cleveland Co i.y discount sche
dule.
Wednesday morning payments
topped $23,000.
Final Rites Held
Foi A. E. Cline,
Former Mayor
Funeral services for A. E.
Cline, 80, retired textile executive
and former mayor of Kings
Mountain, were held Saturday af
ternoon at 3:30 o’clock from St.
Matthews Lutheran church, of
which he was a member. Rites
were conducted by Dr. W. P. Ger
berding. pastor of the church, and
Rev. P. D. Patrick, pastor of First
Presbyterian church. Burial was
in Mountain Rest cemetery.
Mr. Cline, who had been in ill
health for many years, died at his
home last Thursday.
He was a former president of
Kings Mountain Building and
Loan Association and also a for
mer chairman of the Cleveland
County Board of Commissioners.
Mr. Cline was onetime presi
dent of the Cleveland County
Fair association, and held a direc
torship at the time of his death.
Mr. Cline, a native of Iredell
County, and son of the late Mr.
and Mrs. Reuben Cline, was first
married to Miss Sarah Isenhour,
who died in 1949. His second wife,
Mrs. Edith Queen Cline, survives.
Other survivors are two brothers,
Tate Cline, Shawnee, Okla., Eve
rett Cline, Brevard; and two sis
ters, Miss Bertha Cline, Miami,
Fla., and Mrs. L. A. Ervin, States
ville.
Pallbear'ers were W. K. Mau
ney, Sr., Carl Mauney, Arnold Ki
ser, J. E. Herndon, John Lackey,
of Kings Mountain, and Dr. J. S.
Dorton, of Shelby.
Mayor Flays
SHPWC Policy
A new policy of the State High
way and Public Works commis
sion, concerning installation of
utilities across and alongside
state highway rights-of-way, is
expected to prove costly to the
city, Mayor Glee A. Bridges said
Wednesday.
The new policy requires: 1)
That pipe installed across rights
of-way be jacked under the
street; 2) that all pipe installa
tions be encased; and 3) that the
city post a $500 bond for each
crossing and a $1500 bond for
each mile its utility lines parallel
the highway inside the right-of
way.
Mayor Bridges termed the new
policy “troublesome and expen
sive on gas installations and vir
tually impossible on sewer instal
lations”. He said the city cur
rently has a bond posted on gas
lines paralleling highway right
of-way but none for other instal
lations.
“The new policy will be diffi
cult for all cities as well as Kings
Mountain,” he added.
Woman's Club
Sets Book Fair
Thte Kings Mountain Woman’s
Club will sponsor a two-day Book
Fair hpre on September 22 and
23, it was announced yesterday
by Mrs. W. L. Mauney, chairman
of the project.
Mrs. Mauney said 3,500 books,
including fiction and non-fiction,
will be shown at the fair by
Straughan’s Book Sellers, Inc.,
Greensboro.
Citizens will be invited to brow
ze through the books and to buy
any they wish, either for their
personal libraries or for gifts to
the Jacob S. Mauney Memorial
Library. She said the fair will
coincide with the beginning of the
annual fund campaign to provide
books for thte library.
No admission will be charged.
Mrs. J. N. McClure is serving as
co-chairman of the project. Com
mittees include: Exhibits, Mrs. T.
L. Kesler, Mrs. Harry Page, and
Mrs. Luther Cansler; hospitality,
Mrs. W. L. Ramseur, Mrs. W. T.
Weir, Mrs. P. G. Padgett and
Mrs. Paul Mauney; finance, Mrs.
Sam Davis and Mrs. Jacob Mau
ney.
NO FIBES
There were no reported fires
this week according to a re
port from C. D. Ware, city fire
man.
1
No Criminal
Action Suggested
In Moore Death
A six-man coroner’s jury rul
ed after an Inquest Tuesday
night that Arnold Wayne Moore,
11, did as result of a fall from a
truck of Walter B. McLean and
recommended no criminal action
he taken,.”
The youth, son of Mrs. Leroy
Bailey, of Gaston street, was ri
ding on a truck driven by Mc
Lean who lives in Ranlo Station.
Gaston County, when the acci
dent occurred just east of the
Cleveland County Fairgrounds
on Highway 74-A. The lad died
without regaining consciousness.
The inquest, called by Cleve
land County Coroner Ollie Harris,
was held at Cleveland County
Courthouse Shelby.
Serving on the coroner’s jury
were Gene Blanton, Robert Rud
asill, Mrs. Nina Rudasill. Joe
Hendrick, all of Shelby, E. E.
Marlowe and Theodore Gamble,
of Kings Mountain.
Mrs. Rudasill, Coroner Harris
stated, is the first lady ever to
serve on a coroner’s jury in Cle
veland County,.
Rites Conducted
For Wieck Victim j
Funeral service for Miss Helen ■
Saphronia Meacham, 52, who was |
instantly killed when hit by a
train on August 25, were conduct-1
ed from Grace Methodist church
Friday at 4 o’clock.
Rev. W. C. Sides. Rev. A. J. Ar-:
go and Rev. Flay Payne officiat-!
ed and burial was in Mountain
Rest cemetery.
Two young boys playing foot
ball near the scene of the acci
dent told Coroner Harris they
saw the woman run in front of
the train. Several other persons
were also near the crossing when
the accident occurred. Mrs. La
faye Meacham, Herald staffer,
was at the Piedmont avenule
crossing when the train stopped.
She heard the engineer report to !
the conductor that the train had
hit someone and notified police.
Winslow Spurling, of 212 Parker
street, was one of the first to ar
rive upon the scene but reports
he did not witness the tragedy.
Miss Meacham was instantly
killed about 6:55 p. m. August 25
when hit by a freight train at the :
Baker street crossing near Phe-'
nix Plant, Burlington Mills, Inc.
The victim, who lived with her
invalid mother, Mrs. Ardie Mea
cham, at 320 Chestnut street, had
apparently attempted to run a
cross the tracks after witnesses
told seeing the oncoming train,
Coroner J. Ollie Harris and other
investigating officers.
The impact knocked the victim
some 42 steps down the track, I
Continued On Page Eight
City Directory
Supplies Census
TO HOLD REVIVAL—Dr. J. O. La
nipe, of Hendersonville, secretary
of the department of evangelism
of the Baptist State convention,
will conduct a revival at Second
Baptist church. The revival will
begin Sunday and will continue
through September 11.
Baptist Revival
Dr. J. C. Canipe, of Hender
sonville. secretary of the depart
ment of evangelism of the Bap
tist State convention, will conduct
a series of revival services at
Second Baptist church, Rev. Ho
ward Cook, pastor of the church,
announced.
The revival is scheduled to be
gin Sunday and will continue
through September 11, he said.
Mr. Cook said services will be
conducted twice daily, in the mor
ning at 10 o’clock and in the
evening at 7:30.
RlSes Thursday
Foi Mrs. Reynolds
Funeral services for Mrs. Lil
lie Mode Reynolds, 55, will be
held Thursday afternoon at four
o'clock from St. Matthew’s Lu
theran church of which she was
a member. Rites will be conduc
ted by Dr. \V„ P. Gerberding, pas
tor of the church. Interment will
be in Mountain Rest Cemetery.
Mrs. Reynolds died Tuesday
night at 11:30 at a Lumberton
hospital after an extended ill
ness. Her husband was the late
Clarence Reynolds. She was a
daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs,.
Samuel Mode,.
Surviving are three sons, Jack
Reynolds, Jake Reynolds, of Ra
leigh, Dan Reynolds, of Char
lotte; two daughters, Mrs. Nell
Short, and Mrs. Ray Conrad, of
Columbia, S. C.; and one brother,
H. O. Mode, of Carolina Beach.
Foster Under Bond For Larceny
In Oates Theft; Loot Recovered
A 26-year-old textile worker
waived preliminary hearing be
fore Judge Jack White in City
Recorder’s court Monday after
noon on a charge of larceny of
$2,904.
Jerrial Grady Foster, of E. King
street, was charged last Thurs
day afternoon with Thursday
morning's robbery of $2,904 from
Blackie Oates Shell Service. Fos
ter was arrested by Kings Moun
tain and Gaston authorities in
Belmont at a Belmont textile
plant, but did not confess to the
theft until the money was found
some two hours later in a house
trailer in West Cramerton.
All but $9 of the stolen money
was found by officers hidden in
a fuel saver of an oil heater in
the trailer. Officers had made a
thorough but fruitless search of
the trailer and were outside
ready to leave when Officer Paul
Sanders glanced back inside the
trailer looked into the fuel saver
and spotted the edges of several
dollar bills. Officer Sanders re
entered thetrailer pulled at the
wading, and the top of the trail
er’s oil heater was immediately
flooded with bills falling from
the heat saver.
The young man was traced to
Belmont by Kings Mountain Po
lice department through a pay
roll check he had cashed earlier
in the day at the Oates establish
ment.
Chief Hugh A. Logan, Jr., said
Foster, admitted taking the bill
fold containing the money from
a drawer of a desk inside the
station.
In confessing, Chief Logan
said, Foster stated he went to the
station to cash a payroll check
and Rufus Oates, operator of the
station, cashed the check with
money kept in the desk drawer.
After the check was cashed, Chief
Logan said, Foster related, he
was left alone in the station,
opened the desk drawer, took the
billfold with the money and left
the station with the billfold in
his hand. Officer Logan reported
Foster said he left Kings Moun
tain to return to Cramerton via
Bessemer City shortly after the
robbery. Near Bessemer City
Foster said he removed the mon
ey from the billfold, throwing the
billfold in bushes alongside the
road. Foster also confessed he
made a $134 purchase of jewelry 1
and invested several dollars in
groceries, the officer added.
Chief Logan reported that the j
jewelry had been returned to the
store for credit and that the bill- j
fold had been recovered.
Foster, who was represented j
by Attorney B. T. Falls, Jr., of
Shelby, made bond of $730 Mon-!
day. lie will be tried in Cleveland ;
County Superior court.
The money was locked inside
the desk drawer while no atten
dant was in the station, Mr. Oat
es reports, and he also said that
the keys to the desk drawer have
not been found. When asked how
it felt to have the money in hand
again, Mr. Oates stated “it feels
pretty good”.
Community's
Fiist Directory
Distributed
The population of Greater
Kings Mountain is 10,320.
Source for the figure is Kings
Mountain’s first city directory,
delivered to directory advertisers
and subscribers this week by
Miller Directory Company, of
Asheville.
Charles W. Miller, of Asheville,
head of the directory publishing
firm, defined Greater Kings
Mountain as including the Mar
grace and Park Yarn Mill com
munities and an area adjacent
directories Available
Copies of the new Kings
Mountain city directory are a
vailable at $25 to persons and
'business firms requiring them,.
A limited supply is on hand at
P. & N. Appliance Company, E.
C. Nicholson, a member of the
Kings Mountain Optimist Club
said. The Optimist ciuib spon
sored the city directory project.
to the city of approximately the
same distance as these two com
munities from all points of the
city limits.
The 10,320 names were obtain
ed in the directory census. Mr..
Miller said effort was made to
list in the directory all persons,
age 16 and over, who live in
Kings Mountain and the imme
diately adjacent areas.
The directory is book-bound,
with heavy cover, and is weil
laden with advertisements of
Kings Mountain business firms,
which, in turn, made publication
of the directory possible.
The directory was published
under sponsorship of the Kings
Mountain Optimist club and co
pies are available for any who
wish them at $25 each. In addi
tion to local subscribers, all li
braries and Chambers of Com
merce throughout the United
States will receive copies of the
directory, Mr. Miller said.
Other sections in the directory
include 1 a numerical telephone
directory, 2) a classified business
directory, 3) a street directory,
and 4) a general preface.
The street directory is an al
phabetical listing of streets, with
names of residents listed by
house numbers and with number
of residents of the house shown
in parenthesis.
The preface contains specific
information concerning Kings
Mountain, its city government,
climate, location, and 'brief sum
mations of its service, business,
and industrial facilities, also in
cluded are summations of school,
church, recreational, hospital,
and other facilities.
Cherokee Meters
Due In Fortnight
Parking meters for the Chero
kee street off-street parking lot
are expected to be received in
two weeks, Mayor Glee A. Brid
ges said Wednesday.
The city is purchasing 55 me
ters at $56 each for the off-street
area and will pay for the misters
from receipts, with 40 percent of
the meter take to go to the Park
O-Meter Company, Oklahoma
City, Okla., until the total is paid.
Half of the receipts will go to
the property owners, per lease
contract recently concluded be
tween Bridges Hardware and
Bonnie Cotton Mills, who own
the property, and the city.
Citizens Contribute
$130 For Flood Aid
Donations totaling $130 were
made at Sunday night's union
service held at Central Metho
dist church to the Red Cross
chapter's current disaster fund
drive, Ben H. Goforth, Jr., fund
chairman, has announced.
Goal of the campaign in
Kings Mountain is $450.
Funds have been used, Mr.
Goforth said, in emergency
housing and feeding of thou
sands in flood - devasted areas
of the Northeast.
Contributions may be mail
ed to Mr. Goforth or to the Red
Cross office here.