North Carolina Newspapers

i Population Greater Kings Mountain 10,320 Cit^ Limits ' 7.206 lb* figure lor Greater Ting* Mountain In derived from me IMS Zlngn Mountain city directory census. The City UMHn figure in from the United Staten cennun of 1950. 1Q Pages Today VOL. 66 NO. 31 Established i 889 Kings Mountain, N. C., Thursday, August 2, 1956 Sixty-Seventh Year PRICE FIVE CENTS Foote Employees To Determine Union Question -4 Local News Bulletins ASSUMES DUTIES Howard B. Jackson left Tues day for Roanoke Rapids where he was to assume his new du ties with J. P. Stevens Com pany,. MOORHEAD CONDITION W. M. Moorhead continues to recuperate at his home in Crescent Hill from a slight stroke suffered several weeks ago. He is reported able to be out of ibed part of the day. CHURCH SUPPER Ladies of Grace Methodist church will sell homemade ice cream and cake on the back lawn of the church‘Saturday beginning at 6 p>. m. Proceeds will go to the fellowship hall building fund. SUNDAY DINNER The American Home Depart ment of the Woman’s cluib will serve Sunday dinner at the clubhouse beginning at 11:30 a. m., it has been announced. Ham and chicken dinners will be offered, department offici als said. LEGION MEETING Regular monthly meeting of Otis D. Green Post 155, Ameri can Legion, will be held at the Legion building Friday night at 8 o'clock, it was announced by M. A. Prince, adjutant. ICE CREAM PARTY The Young People’s Chris tian Union of ARP church will hold a benefit ice Cream party at the church Saturday after noon beginning at 2 o’clock. Homemade ice cream will toe sold. SUPPER Ladies of Patterson Grove Baptist church are sponsoring an ice cream supper and cake sale Saturday night at 7 o’clock at Patterson Grove school for church benefit. ONE PERMIT Building Inspector J. W. Web ster issued a 'building permit Wednesday to Clarence Sprall to erect a house on Henry street, at an estimated cost of $9,000. MOOSE MEETING The regular weekly meeting of Kings Mountain Moose Lod ■ ge 1748 will, toe held Thursday night at 8:15 at the lodge on Bessemer City road, according to an announcement toy Curtis Gaffney, secretary. ATTENDS SCHOOL Thomas W. Meacham, me chanic at Kincaid Pontiac Co., Bessemer City, is attending a three-day tune-up and cartou ration school at General Mo tors Training Center, Charlotte. METER RECEIPTS I City parking meter receipts for the week ending noon, Wednesday totaled $190.12, ac cording to a report from City Clerk’s office. Street meters re turned $162.41, while off-street meters accounted for $27.71, the report indicated. SOCIAL SECURITY A representative of the Gas tonia district social security office will be In Kings Moun tain at City Hall on Monday at 9:30 and again on August 20 at the same hour to handle so cial security inquiries by local area citizens. Peelei Will Is Probated The will of B. S. Peeler was filed for probate Monday at the office of the clerk of Superior Court, with his widow, Mrs. Pearl Drace Peeler, qualifying as exe cutrix per direction of the will. Mr. Peeler bequeathed to each of his two sons, Drace M. Peeler and B. S. Peeler, Jr., 25 shares of common stock in Elmer Lum ber Company, and an additional seven shares to his wife. In ad dition he bequeathed to his wife all his other personal property and a life interest in his real es tate holdings. At Mrs. Peeler’s death, his sons are to share his real estate holdings. The will was executed October 16,1950. -< Flanks Killed In Collision Last Saturday William Lloyd Franks, 20-year old Bessemer City man, became Cleveland County’s 14th traffic fatality of the year Saturday when his car crashed head-on into a 1% ton truck on the Lake Montonia road about three mil es from Kings Mountain. Young Franks was killed in stantly when his 1951 Ford ploughed into the side of the truck, which was operated by Willie Gardner, Negro, of route 1, Kings Mountain. A passenger in the Franks’ ve hicle, Mrs. Ruby Wells Scates, 26, also of Bessemer City was seriously injured in the collis ion. Mrs. Scates was reported to be showing improvement, but was still on the critical list at Kings Mountain Hospital Wed nesday, Or. Paul Nolan reported. Dr. Nolan said Mrs. Scates suf fered a fractured skull, fractured facial bones, and internal head injuries. The driver of the truck, and his younger 'brother, Eddie Leb Gardner, were apparently the only witnesses to the accident other than Mrs. Scates. Both men told investigating officers that the truck met the Franks’ vehi cle traveling on the wrong side of the road at a high rate of speed. Neither of the truck’s oc cupants was injured. The Franks’ car was almost demolished. It appeared that the vehicle jammed into the truck at the corner of the steel-floored bed. The only damage to the truck seemed to be a broken drive shaft and out-of-line wheels. Funeral services were held for the accident victim Sunday at 4 p. m. at First Baptist church, Bes semer City. Franks, a Threads - Incorpor ated textile worker, was the son of the Rev. and Mrs. R. C. Franks of Bessemer City. Mr. Franks is pastor of Second Baptist church there, and is a former resident of Kings Mountain. Other survivors include three sisters, Mrs. Lois Gallant of Kings Mountain, Mrs. Evelyn Flowers and Mrs. Edith 'Flowers, both of Bessemer City; and two brothers, Lewis and Clarence Franks, both of the home. The Rev. A. A. Bailey, the Rev. Howard Schrum, the Rev. E. R. Seism, and the Rev. A. B. Falls officiated. Burial was in Moun tain Rest cemetery. Coroner Ollie Harris has im paneled a coroner’s jury to inves tigate the accident. Date for the inquest has not been set pending the condition of Mrs,. Scates. Wil lie Gardner, the truck drivler, is free, not under bond. Members of the coroner’s jury are B. T. Wright, Sr., Richard Barnette, J.C . Bridges, T. W. Grayson, William (Bill) McGin nis, and Henderson Herndon. COMMUNION St. Matthew’s Lutheran chur ch will hold a Communron ser vice Sunday morning at nine o’clock. It will be the regular monthly Sacrament, though the first held in two months, Dr. W. P. Gerberding said. Reg ular morning services will be held at 11 a. m. VICE-CHAIRMAN —Lewis Hovis, of Kings Mountain, was named vice-chairman of the county hos pital board of trustees at the July 25 meeting at Brackett's Cedar park. It was the board's annual organization meeting. Lowery Austell, of Shelby, was elected chairman. Mr. Hovis succeeds W. L. Plonk, of Kings Mountain. Audit Shows City In Black Thle City of Kings Mountain showed total assets of $1,980,009. 94 at June 30, and net assets (or surplus) of $1,£16,932.60. These figures were shown a long with othier results in the an nual audit conducted by A. M. Pullen & Company, Charlotte ac counting firm. Major Items: 1) The city’s gross revenue for the year was $545,328.70, somle $23,941 oyer revenue of the pre vious year. 2) The city’s gross fexpense to taled only $499.520.58,, or $88,637 less than in the previous year. 3) At June 30, the city had lia bilities of $763,077.34, including $730,000 in bonded dtebt, and an additional $33,077 in accounts payable, amounts due to other funds, and in consumer deposits for utilities. nual budgtet by $557.25. Depart ments overspending included ad ministrative, police, light and po wer and general. Underspfending departments were street, sanita tion, firte, water and sewer, re corder’s court, cemetery, capital outlay and debt service. The city’s assets were listed by the auditors at $94,684.89 in ope rating funds (including $40,851.24 in cash), $20,962.84 in the ceme tery pferpetual care fund (also cash), and $1,864,362.21 in physi cal properties. The auditors noted that these physical assets were listed at book or cost-of-acquisi tion value. No depreciation sched ules were applied. Largest value of city property was placed on water and sewer lines at $590,451, while the water plant and Equipment was valued at $522,731 Streets and sidewalks are listed at $338,110 and city parks at $157,983. City automotive equipment was valued at $51,665. the powter plant and equipment (the city’s largest revenue pro ducer) at $44,755.. City hall and the property it occupies was list fed at $46,235, and the city’s park (Continued on page 12) Committee Approves Consolidation Of Patterson Grove With Bethware Patterson Grove school, a sev. en-grade three-teacher school, will be consolidated with Bethware school in the fall, according to action taken last week by the Bethware district school commit tee. The consolidation will take place on completion of the build ing program currently underway at Bethware, where a sevfen-class room addition is underway. The three-member faculty and 62 students will continue at Pat terson Grove through the summer split term. School officials say the Bethware school addition will be ready for students with re sumption of classes after the fall harvest season suspension. The school committee had an nounced, prior to opening of the summer term July 23, that Pat terson Grove would lose one of its three teachers unless enroll ment increased to a minimum of 85. On opening day, and subse quently, enrollment at Patterson ; Grove has been 62. Definite decision to effect the consolidation came with Infor mation last weekend that the ' Bethware school heating plant I would be quite adequate to han die the addition now under con struction. John Rudisiil, principal of Bethware school and secretary to the five-man district commit tee, reported the decision and added that the action has the approval of J. Horace Grigg, county superintendent of schools. He said the action of the school committee was unanimous. Mem bers of the district committee are Claude Harmon, chairman, Eu gene Patterson, H. A. Goforth, Hill Lowery and Stokes Wright. Patterson Grove’s three teach ers, Mrs. J. L. Hallman, Mrs. W. W. Souther, and Mrs. W. K. Crook, will join the Bethware school faculty when the consoli dation is effected Mr. Rudisiil said the consoli dation is expected to prove bene ficial to all concerned, both teach ers and pupils. It will enable Bethwarb to spread teaching loads, and it will eliminate the problem of three teachers hand ling seven grades. Abandonment of Patterson Grove school will mean, accord ing to past county school policy, that the building will be offered for sale at public auction. Auditorium Classrooms Eliminated City school trustees voted ir. a special session last Thursday to eliminate all make-shift audito rium-classrooms from the school system. The board met at the of fice of Dr. P. G. Padgett, trustee. Auditorium - classrooms have Ween used in all of the city schools due to crowded conditions, but board members felt that the con struction of the new North school would eliminate the need for these temporary rooms. West school is the only plant where grade scheme will be changed by this move. Tentative plans call for West to have grades 1-6 only, with nine teachers re quired for these grades. During the last term. West had grades 1-8. Pupil enrollment figures in dicate that two classes in the second, third and fourth grades will be required this year. Seventh and eighth graders at West will be assigned to either the new North plant or Central. North, Central and East will still have grades 1-8 in their plants Supt B. N. Barnes announced. The board also elected six new teachers during this special ses sion. These newly appointed teachers include Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Powell of Grover, Mrs. William George, Mrs. T. W. Grayson, Mrs. Carl Finger, and Mrs. Dan Fin eer Mr. Powell, a former principal of Grovter high school, will teach high school math, replacing I. Ben Goforth, Jr., who will be principal of West school. Mrs. Powell, a second grade teacher, will be assigned to one of the four elemntary schools. Mrs. George, Mrs. Grayson, and Mrs. Dan Finger are also ele mentary tteachers, and will be as signed to various schools. Mrs. Carl Finger will teach high school commercial courses, as will Mrs. Grady Howard, who is being transferred from an ele mentary teaching position. Resignations of four city teach ers were also received by the board. These included Mr. and Mrs. j. A. Kiser, fifth and seventh grade teachers at East school; Mrs. Sam Hughes, East school second grade teacher; and Miss Dorothy Hodges, who taught the fourth grade at Central school. In other actions, the board vot ed to allow Mrs. John H. Gamble to obtain a temporary replace ment to assume her duties as home economics teacher for an anticipated absence during the coming school term.' Mrs. Gapi ble informed the board that Mrs. Oliver Anthony, of Shelby, had indicated that she would assume the duties on a temporary basis. The board authorized Supt. Barries to continue with the cafe teria work at Davidson school, and set up a committee including Mr. Barnes, Trustees Fred Plonk and J- W. Webster to supervise the cafeteria improvements. Dave Wells, Shelby contractor, was glv ten the cafeteria contract on a cost plus 10 percent basis. The project is expected to require ap proximately $4,000. Local Jaycees Get District Offices Mr. Stover Dunegan, President of the 2nd. District of North Car olina Jaycees appointed three Kings Mountain men chairmen of District Committees at a meet ing held in Morganton July 25th. Ed Smith was appointed to head the Public Affairs Committee, K E. Morrison as chairman of Leadership and Training, and D. D. Saunders to lead the Christ mas Activities Program. The Kings Mountain delega tion to this district meeting in cluded President J. T. McGinnis, Ed Smith, ILouis Sabettie, Gordon Williams, Don Hambright, and Bill Eldon. It was announced that 109 ac tive Jaycee Clubs are at work in North Carolina helping in civic, community, educational, and re ligious activities. RECEIVES SAFETY AWARD — Mafor Glee A. Bridges and Chief Hugh A. Logan, Jr., are shown accepting the American Automobile Association pedestrian safety award for 1955 for the city. Warren L. Downie, district sales manager of Carolina Motor Club, is making the presentation. Also present for the presentation ceremonies are Sgt. Tom Gladden and "Buck" Bridges, local police officers. (Photo by Pennington Studio.) <•>>—.. City Awarded Safety Honors The City of Kings Mountain received a pair of safety awards during the ipast week in recogni tion of its pedestrian and traf fic safety record for 1955. Last Thursday, the American Automobile Association’s “Spec ial Citation for Pedestrian Pro tection" was presented to Mayor Glee A. Bridges and Chief Hugh A. Logan, Jr., 'by Warren L. Downie, divisional manager of the Carolina Motor Club. “The residents of the city — both pedestrians and drivers — deserve considerable credit for making this award possible," Mr. Downie told the mayor during the presentation. He added that Kings Mountain had been selected from 1,611 competing communities to re ceive this .citation. Monday, Capt. D. G. Lewis, commander of Hightvay Patrol, Troop E, presented the mayor and Chief Logan with the Na tional Safety Council’s 1955 Hon or Roll citation in recognition of the city’s achievement in com pleting the year 1955 without a traffic fatality. This marked the fifth consecu tive year that Kings Mountain had received this national cita tion. The city now has completed 1689 days without a traffic fa tality. Sgt. J. iB. Kuykendall was also on hand for the award presenta tion. Both Kuykendall and Capt,. Lewis lauded the local police de partment for its cooperation with the highway patrol in its safety campaigns. W/0 Proctor Will Get Medal Today W Army Warrant Officer Howard L. Proctor, formerly of Kings Mountain, will receive the Soldier’s Medal, highest peace time military award, today at the White House for the part he play ed in removing bodies of the Grand Canyon airliner disaster victims. W/O Proctor was one of two dozen helicopter and airline pi lots who took part In the wreck age removal. The pilots are mem bers of the 14th Fixed Wing Tac tical Transport Co., and the 93rd Cargo Helicopter Squadron, both based at Ft. Huachucha, Arizonia. The award ceremonies will be held in the Rose Garden of the White House at 11 a. m. today, according to Murray Snyder, White House press secretary. Herald Still Needs Four March Editions The Herald still needs extra copies of four March 1956 is sues for file copies and will pay ten cents each for a limited number of them. Particularly needed are Her ald editions of March 8, 15, 22 and 29. Persons having these editions and willing to sell them should call the Herald, phone 167, Tax Prepayments Near $6,000 Mark Pre payments on 1956 city taxes totaled $5,832.36, Tax Col lecton J. W. Webster reported Wednesday. While Wednesday was tech nically the first day for pay ments in the discount period. Mr. Webster said several citi zens had paid their 1956 ac counts during July,. Both city and county taxes are now payable at the top allow able two percent discount. The discount rate will drop to one percent in September. R. M. Gidney, county tax col lector, said notices will be mailed 'by August 10 to coun ty taxpayers who prepaid their taxes last year. Mr. Webster said he doesn’t plan to mail notices to prepayers. Glass Grocery Entered Saturday Glass Grocery on Grover road was entered early Saturday morn ing by a person or persons, who carried away approximately $125 worth of merchandise, according to a report by the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department. Officers said that 50 cartons of cigarettes, four cartons of chewing gum, six pocket knives, and $25 in pennies were among the items taken in the early morn, ing break-in. The break-in was reported to have occurred after 1 a. m., after store personnel had closed the establishment. Officers said the thieves obtained entry by prizing the lock off a back door. McDowell Man Will Succeed Rowell Lane Ernest Lawson Brown, 33-year old veteran Nebo School princi pal, will succeed Rowell Lane as principal of Central School. Mr. Brown's appointment to the elementary -high school was a dopted by the City School Board of Trustees in a special meeting held Tuesday morning. The newly appointed principal is a native of Chadbourn, N. C., where he attended the city schools. Later he attended Ed wards Military Institute, N. C., State College in 1949. He obtained an M. A. degree at Peabody col lege in Nashville, Tenn., the fol lowing year. Mr. Brown has served as prin cipal of Nebo School for the past six years. He is married and the father of three children. Mrs. Brown is employed by the Mc Dowell County News in Marion. He is a past president of the now defunct Tar Heel Baseball League, a past president of the McDowell County unit of the North Carolina Educational As sociation, and past president of the McDowell County School mas ters’ club. In college, Mr. Brown played all three major sports at Western Carolina. He also played profes sional baseball for five years, ac cording to hi6 application infor mation. Postal Change Due August 24 Acting Postmaster W. T,. Weir said Wednesday he had .been in formed he will turn over the du ties of postmaster to Charles L. Alexander on August 24. Mr. Weir said he had conferred in the past week with F. R. Hay es, postal inspector, and that Mr. Hayes had suggested the changeover date, which coincid es with the end of the postal op erating month. (The postoffice recently adopted a 13-month year of four weeks each.) Mr. Alexander was nominated permanent postmaster here in February. He was confirmed iby the Senate in June. Mr.. Weir has served as acting postmaster since January 15, 1955. REVIVAL Rev. Hoyle Alexander, form er pastor of Oak Grove Baptist church, will conduct revival services at Allen Memorial Baptist church 'beginning Sun day and continuing through August 11. Services will be held each evening at 7:30, it was announced iby Rev. Wray Barrett, pastor. Manei Blood Chairman; Red Cross Donor Credit Plan Is Outlined Kings Mountain Red Cross chapter has joined other chap ters in the Charlotte Regional Blood Center in adopting a donor credit plan in its blood program. B. F. Maner, Kings Mountain insuranceman, was recently nam ed 1956 blood program chairman for the local chapter. He succeeds Dr. Paul Nolan, Kings Mountain physician. Miss Antionette Beastey, Red Cross field representative who was in Kings Mountain Tuesday, said that the plan had been deli berated for more than a year by some 31 representatives of Red Cross chapters and medical so cieties before it became “official” and adopted by all the chapters in July. Members of the committee dis covered, Miss Beasley pointed out, that those blood centers which had the Individual credit plan "were collecting blood when our region was short” and "less than 5 percent of the people in the Charlotte Regional blood cen ter area had given blood since the center was set up in 1948." Kings Mountain citizens who donated a pint of blood at the last visit of the bloodmobile here have been mailed donor credit cards which insure the donor and his family’s blood needs for six months in any cooperating hospi tal in the United States. Local people who have donated a gallon of blood are insured, a long with their familiest which includes the donor, his mother and father and parents-in-law if over 60 years of age, husband or wife, and minor children and minor brothers and sisters if re siding in the household* for a year. Persons w’ho have donated two gallons of blood will be entitled to permanent credit cards for the duration of the program. Officials pointed out that the Red Cross will continue to meet the blood needs in emergencies without regard to the recipient’s ligibility under this plan. Those persons without credit cards will be asked to furnish signed pledge cards for replacement of each pint of blood received. The Red Cross will continue to meet the blood needs of all hardship cases when the person has no relatives (Continued on page 12) NLRB Election Is Scheduled Foi Wednesday Foote Mineral Company main, tenance and production employ, ees will vote in a National Labor Relations board election next Wednesday to determine whether an American Federation of Labor union will become the employee bargaining agent. Company officials announced last weekend they had received notice of the election. Th voting will be conducted at the plant on August 8 during the following hours: 6:30 to 8:30 a. m., and 2:30 to 4:30 p m. Ben H. Goforth, Jr., Foote per sonnel manager, said approxima tely 190 employees will be eligible to vote In the election. Not eligi ble to participate are guards, cle rical employees, administrative and executive personnel. Setting of the election follows petition several months ago by the Brotherhood of Operating Engineers, an AFL affiliate, and claim by the union that it had sufficient membership to repre sent the employees as bargain ing agent. At the preliminary hearing, Foote officials challeng ed the claim. Foote Mineral’s Kings Moun tain plant is currently non-union. The election of next Wednesday will be the second attempt by a union to organize the Foote plant. In 1954, the CIO Steelworkers sought to organize the plant, but the election results of October 6 resulted in a vote of 131 to 21 against choosing the Steelwork, ers as bargaining agent. Board To Meet Thursday Night A new city recreation commis sion is expected to toe appointed Thursday night, at the regular August meeting of the board of city commissioners. Per July 19 board action, civic clubs have recommended mem bers for appointment including W. L. Plonk, American Legion, Mrs. J. N. McClure, Woman’s Club, Gene Timms, Lions Club, and Dean Payne, Junior Cham ber of Commerce. A Kiwanis club appointee had not 'been named early Wednesday afternoon. The board is expected to ap point the recommended new members, wtoo have been invit ed to attend the Thursday night session by Mayor Glee A. Brid ges. Following is text of the reso lution concerning reorganization of the commission which the board adopted July 19 on motion of T. J. Ellison and Sam Col lins’ second: . “It appearing that the Recrea tion Commission has resigned or offered to resign and are not pro perly functioning as a commis sion, it is, therefore, suggested that the Kiwanis Club, Lions Club, Woman’s Club, American Legion and Jaycees each select from their membership one member to be approved by the Board at its regular meeting Au gust 2, 1956, and that the said five persons shall thereafter meet and organize and have full char ge of the recreation activities in cluding the ballpark for the City of Kings Mountain and it is fur (Continued on page 12) Cline Property Sale Confirmed Six properties of the estate of A. E. Cline, sold at public auc tion, brought a total of $15,484. 50. J. 'R. Davis, trustee, said the fi nal three properties, all houses, have been confirmed to Warren E. Reynolds, his high 'bids not having been raised within the ten-day time limit. The properties included four houses and two business build ings. laycees Purchase Play Equipment Jaycee President J. T. McGin. nis announced Tuesday night that the new climbing structure and merry-go-round purchased by the Kings Mountain Jaycees should be ready for use at the Recrea ! tion Center by August 15th. These units will be added to the bleachers, swings and sliding board already in use. The Jaycees have purchased this equipment for the city’s children with the proceeds from the many projects carried on by the club.