North Carolina Newspapers

Population Greater Kings Mountain 10,320 City Limits 7,206 The figure for Greater Kings Mountain Is derived from the 1355 Kings Mountain city directory census. The city Limits figure Is from the United States census of 1950. VOL. 69 No. 30 Established 1889 Kings Mountain, N. C., Thursday, July 24, 1958 Sixty-Ninth Year PRICE TEN CENTS Local News Bulletins HOMECOMING Macedonia Baptist church will hold annual Homecoming Day activities Sunday, it has been announced, ilcv. T. A. Lineberger, pastor, will preach at the morning worship hour. Following a picnic dinner on the church grounds, a song ser vice will be held that afternoon. METER RECEIPTS Parking meter receipts for the week ending Wednesday at noon totaled 5128.79, Acting City Clerk Grace Wolfe report ed. The total included $15.99 from off-street meters and $112.80 from on-street meters. KIWANIS PICNIC Kings Mountain Kiwanis and their families will gather for a 'barbecue picnic Thursday at 6:45 p. m. at Lake Montonia picnic area. Bridges Barbecue will serve the meal. COTTON BLOOM Mearl Seism, Kings Moun tain area farmer, boasts the communitys second reported cotton bloom, a member of the family said Friday. The family has seven acres of cotton planted this season. CAMP REUNION Annual Manson Camp fam ily reunion to be held Sunday at the Byrd Hut near Patterson Springs, a spokesman has an nounced, Friends and relatives are invited to attend and bring picnic baskets. 15 Decembei 74 Opening Date Highway 74 now under con struction will be open to traffic December 15, according to esti »mate of resident engineer, W. A. McNeill. Recent rainy weather caused a slow-up in progress, he added. The unpaved portion east of Buffalo Creek will receive atten tion in approximately six to eight weeks when rock is sche duled to be delivered. Buffalo Creek was the starting point of the paving with work ers currently filling in the gap toward Shelby. Neill explained that Buffalo was starting point so detoured traffic could be re routed. Mountain visible From Grandfather Kings Mountain’s neighbor ing peak of -the same name recently was clearly visible from Grandfather Mountain near Linville, Hugh Morton, owner of the mountain, said last week. Mr. Morton, owner of the scenic attraction and its mile high swinging 'bridge, said the area had been enshrouded in clouds and mist all day July 12, when the atmosphere sud denly cleared. Mr. Morton in vested a dime in one of the | Grandfather Mountain telescop es and, to use his words, saw Kings Mountain quite distinctly It happened that Charlie Jus tice, the former All-America football star, was with Mr. Morton, took a look, and sec onded the sight. Mr. Morton, an expert pho tographer who recently com pleted a new-model “Variety Vacationland” motion picture for the North Carolina Depart ment of Conservation and De velopment, still dreams o f shooting the Charlotte skyline ait night with an infra-red cam era. He said the look-see at Kings Mountain recently as sures he can do his infra-red shot, since the airline distance from Grandfather Mountain to Charlotte approximates the dus ance from Grandfather Moun tain to Kings Mountain. Mr. Morton, incidentally, says visitors to Grandfather Moun tain this year iiiave an easier time manipulating the steep as cent 'by automobile. The road up has been much-improved ^since last season. Educational T-V Still Possibility Barnes Says T-V Lectures May Be Used Kings Mountain high school stu^pnts may get some instruction via television during the forth coming term, Superintendent B. i N. Barnes told members of the board of education Monday night. First ruled out due to some; physical problems of space and; other factors, Mr. Barnes told the board there is a definite pos sibility that Kings Mountain high school may be able to make ar rangements to tie in to the edu cational channel, which is broad-. cast from Greensboro and Chapel Hill. The courses are lecture variety,1 featuring experts in the particu lar fields, and are supervised by local faculty members. The board convening for the regular monthly meeting, accept ed the resignation of Mrs. Lillie B. Thurston, East school teacher,! and elected to fill the vacancy Mrs. William Jonas, a former; East faculty member. Mr. Barnes said Mrs. Thurston had accepted a teaching position in Asheboro. He further reported four va cancies remain on the school fa culty for the coming year, includ ing two first grade teachers and two high school science teachers. In addition, the board seeks to employ a special teacher to teach retarded pupils. In other actions the board: 1) Voted to convey to the city a street right-of-way from North school property to provide an extension for Ramseur street. 2) Authorized the superinten dent to make alterations to Cen tral school cafeteria. Campaign Dance Is Friday Night Cleveland County’s Kings Mountain Life Saving Crew will ! hold a fund campaign dance Friday, July 25 at the American i Legion Hall at 8:00 p. m. and will feature music from a Forest City dance band. The dance is to follow a supper which starts at 4:30 p. m. and which features chief cook Ray Sisk's specialty, barbequed chic ken. Corbett Nicholson, captain of the crew, says supper will be served until the food runs out. Mr. Nicholson also reported the fund campaign is going very well and the goal is in sight. A large donation of $1250 from Cleveland county and $500 from the city of Kings Mountain has put the crew near its goal of a $2500 minimum. Contributions are still needed if the crew is to be a success. All contributions should be sent to Mr. Nicholson. CHURCH SUPPER The Ladies class of Westover Baptist church will serve a fried chicken supper Saturday i beginning at 4 p. m. at the church recreation building. Chicken plates are one dollar for adults, 50 cents for child ren. French fries will sell for 25 cents per plate, a spokes man said. SPEAKER — Dr. R. C. Grier, of Greenville, S. C., will deliver the message at Sunday night's union service at 8 p. m. at Boyce Mem orial ARP church. Grier To Speak At Union Service Dr. R. C. Grier, of Greenville, S. C., a former president of Er skine College at Due West, S. C., will deliver the message Sunday night at union services at Boyce Memorial ARP church. The community-wide service will begin at 8 o’clock. In addition to serving as pres ident of the South Carolina insti tution for many years, Dr. Grier has served his denomination in many ways, Dr. W. .L. Pressly, Boyce Memorial pastor, said. Dr. Grier was recently one of the speakers in the Charlotte ‘•Preaching Mission.” He has spo ken here on numerous occasions. Miss Congeniality Speaks To Lions Phyllis Dean, North Carolina’s Miss Congeniality, related her ex periences as Kings Mountain’s en try in the North Carolina Beaut> contest to the Kings Mountair Lions club Tuesday night. Miss Dean detailed the various events in a busy three-day sched ule and said that the hardest job seemed to be arising in the mornings on a 6 o’clock call. “One morning we got to sleef until 6:30,” she remembered. Miss Dean told the Dions she hadn’t exhibited her Charlestor dance routine “even for my par ents” and was pleasantly sur prised to be among the ten final ists in the competition for the title of Miss Norh Carolina. Previously, J. W. Webster, clut delegate to the recent convenior of Lions International in Chicago had related convention events. He said he found the Australian del egates “most friendly”, and nighi club cover charges quite high. He said Lions International affiliates now dot 91 nations and territori es. ORMAND REUNION Annual Ormand family re union will be held Saturday, July 26, at Long Creek Pres byterian church. Relatives are being asked to note the change in meeting places. Previously, the dan gathered at nearby Old Furnace for the reunion. Tuesday Morning Blaze Damages Mitchem Home In Linwood Section “There’s not much of a state ment one can make at a time like this. All we can say is, ‘it’s gone’,” Mr. and Mrs. Dan Mitehem said Wednesday concerning the loss by fire of their ultra-modem, newly built home at the comer of Rhodes Avenue and Groves street in Kings Mountain’s Lin wood residential development. The blaze, reported to Kings Mountain Fire Department Tues day morning at 7:25, may have started from a built-in television set the Mitchems said, but no damage report could be given. Fire Chief Pat Tignor said the den and kitchen were total loss es and all rooms in the home were heavily damaged by smoke and water. Neighbors close by noticed the fire about 7:20 they reported. A. B. Mikeal and Houston Wolfe went to the house to see if any one was trapped inside while their wives tried to call the fire department. Mrs. Mikeal said Mrs. Wood Grayson discovered the fire about the same time as the Wolfes did and came ‘run ning down to my house to tell me to report it’. The fire was one of Kings Mountain’s worse in many mon ■ ths, but city firemen reported il was under control within 30 min utes. Mrs. Mitchem and children lefi j early Tuesday morning for a visil in Georgia. Mr. Mitchem was at work in Gastonia, where he ope rates a construction business, Mrs Edith Floyd, mother of Mrs Mitchem, was also at work at the time of the fire. Mrs. Mitchem and her childrer j returned Wednesday, having beer notified of the fire. A loss statement can be made when the insurance adjustei j makes hfis report, Mrs. Mitchen said. Gifts Continue To Be Received For Rev. Gregory Additional gifts to Rev. John ! Gregory totaled $186 this week, j i Frank Rippy, promoting the fund | to aid the minister, has reported. ; Interested friends and citizens i have already contributed gifts of i $286.93 to Mr. Gregory, Kings ] Mountain minister who faces a I delicate heart operation and who ! has been under much emotional j tension due to his financial con- j dition. Mr. Gregory’s condition diag- j nosed by doctors as a “heart I leakage or hole in the heart” will j require a delicate operation. His i | assets have been depleted due to his long illness which has re- | quired much medical attention. | He is a former pastor of Park j Grace Church of the Nazarene } here and of First Nazarene chur- ; ch, Gastonia. Doctors at Winston Salem last j week told Mr. Gregory his blood i “had cleared up”. He is to under go further checkups and treat- I ment before the operation, Mr. i Rippy said. Individuals or firms who wish 1 to contribute to the Gregory Fund \ should forward cash or check to | Rippy's Jewelry or in care of this j newspaper. All gifts will be ac- j knowledeed in the Herald Contributions reported this week: Brevard Church of the Nazarene . $ 10. Grace Methodist Church .. $101. Mr. and Mrs. Clyde M. Jolly .. $ 5. A friend.$ 5. | Adams’ Super Market .... $ 25. C. T. Byrd Auto Sale Co. .. $ 10. Charlotte, N. C. B. N. Barnes Bible Class First Baptist Church .... $ 25. Mail Rates Hike Date Neat Post Office humor in anticipa tion of the rising postal rates is the story of the lady who rushed to the window requesting a large number of stamps because she’d heard of the rising rates effective August 1, and wanted the “bar gain priced” ones. Postal authorities announced that addition of a penny stamp to a communique will suffice to get the more costly information to its destination. Some rates will go up on Au gust 1, and some others advance effective January 1. Here are the rates as they will be the morning of August 1: First-class mail, four cents per ounce. Single postal and post cards, three cents each. Double post cards and post cards (reply portion of double post card does not have to bear postage when originally mailed) three cents each portion, total of six cents for the postoffice vend ed double postal card. Business reply cards, five cents each, payable on delivery. Mail enclosed in business reply envelopes, four cents per ounce, plus two cents per piece, collect ible on delivery. Airmail (letters not over eight ounces) seven cents per ounce. Air mail postal and post cards, five cents each. Twenty Complete First Aid Study First aid courses have been com pleted by 20 members of the Cle veland County Life Saving Crew. Both standard and advanoed courses were completed by 17 men while three members, Char- j les Boheler, Arthur Sanders, and i Frank Blanton completed the standard course of instruction conducted by Bill McDaniel, Don Crawford, and Joe Hedden. Mr. McDaniel listed the follow ing members who com leted suc cessfully the advar 1 Red Cross course in first aid: Delbert Dixon, ; Corbet Nichols >n, Bud Ware, Lloyd Putnam, E. L. Putnam, Martin L. Wilscn, Jr., Wilson Led ford, Jack Wells, Clyde Huffstet ! ler, Dewey Styers, Gail McDaniel, Earl Stroupe, Jr., Ken Jenkins, Meart Valentine, Bill Putnam, Fred Gossett, and Ken Morrison. 7 APPOINTED—Mrs. Aubrey Mau ney was recently appo nted to a national post in the General Federation of Women's Clubs or ganization. She is immediate past president of the State Fed eration of Women's Clubs. Mrs. Mauney In Club Post Mrs. Aubrey Mauney, of Kings Mountain, has been appointed di rector of the monthly news bulle tin in the Council of International Women’s Clubs by Miss Ohloe Gif ford, president of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs. Mrs. Mauney is past president of the North Carolina Federation of Women’s Clubs, having just completed a two-year term of of fice. Miss Gifford also announced appointment of two other North Carolinians to national posts in the clubwomen’s organization. They include Mrs. Ed M. Ander son, of West Jefferson, chairman of the communications depart ment, and Miss Marjorie Yokley, of Mount Airy, junior chairman of community affairs depart ment. Burdette Loses Hickory Post H. L. Burdette, onetime city manager of Kings Mountain, fail ed to obtain reappointment as Hickory city manager last week by a vote of 4 to 3. Mr. Burdette resigned from the Kings Mountain post in the sum mer of 1947 to take the Hickory post, which he had held for 11 years. Emmett C. Willis was named Hickory city manager to succeed Burdette, who had received a sal ary of $10,000 annually, plus an automobile expense allowance. Mr. Burdette spent six years in Kings Mountain, assuming his position here in 1941. He had been a former Works Progress Administration official. Jaycees Planning Kleenex Sale Here Kings Mountain Jaycees will conduct their annual sale of Kleenex on two days, July 31 and August 1, club officials have announced. House-to-house canvasses of the community will lx? made by members of the civic organi zation both evenings during the hours of 6 p. m. and 9 p. m. Sale price of the Kleenex is five boxes for one dollar, and proceeds will aid the various charitable and civic projects of the Junior Chamber of Com merce in this community. John Warlick is chairman of the project. Tentative County Tax Rate Is $139 school District Residents Here Will Pay S1.59 The Cleveland County boaTd of commissioners has adopted ten tatively a general county tax rate of $1.39 per $100 valuation and a budget totaling $1,536,261. Residents of Kings Mountain school district will pay a total county tax of $1.59, including the special 20-cent per $100 school district tax. Shelby school district residents, with a 35-cent special school tax, will pay $1.74. Of the total $1.39 general tax rate, more than 72 cents is ap propriated for the schools. The school appropriation includes $411„762 for current expense, $149,569 for capital outlay, and $264,440 for debt service. Big county function, other than schools, is welfare service which appropriations include: poor fund, $51,265; old age assistance, $51,932; aid to dependent chil dren, $37,368; aid to partially and totally disabled, $19,550; aid to the blind, $6,784; hospital care for indigents, $51,361; and wel fare administration, $48,985. General fund appropriations are $269,400. County Auditor Max Hamrick said two cents of the $1.39 total, which represents a seven-cent raise over last year’s general county tax rate, will be a one time tax. It is designed to raise $15,570 for a special building fund for courthouse renovation. Mr. Hamrick reported the county’s bonded indebtedness at June 30 at $4,080,000, only five percent of the county’s $86,500,000 property valuation. He said the total includes $400,000 in water and sewer bonds issued during the year, as well as $110,000 in bond anticipation notes. The $110,000 issue was voted by the commissioners for school build ings. During the current fiscal year, the county will pay $210,000 on bonds outstanding, in addition to current bond interest require ments. The Kings Mountain school dis trict tax is expected to return $20,000 for Kings Mountain dis rict schools. According to the budget esti mate, the county, at June 30, show ed $93,133 in unencumbered bal ances and surpluse revenues, with $53,374 in regular county funds and $40,000 in the several school funds. Majority of the county’s bond ed indebtedness requirements are for schools, this figure totaling $264,440. Other county long-term debt obligations will require $59, 502. COURTS AVAILABLE The tennis courts at Deal Street Pool are available to any club or organization wishing to sponsor an outdoors dance, Recreation Director Jake Early announces. Anyone wishing to reserve the courts for dances is asked to call Early at the Recreation Center Office, phone 574. Dr. Plonk Reaches Decision, Says Offices Will Be Maintained Here Dr. George W. Plonk will con tinue the practice of surgery in ■ Kings Mountain. Dr. Plonk told the Herald, “My ! offices will be here permanently." For the past several weeks, Dr, : Plonk had considered resuming a surgical partnership with Dr | Gordon Sinclair, of Raleigh, from i which be came to Kings Moun tain to practice surgery last No j vember 15. Dr. Plonk said he made a final decision over the weekend to re main in Kings Mountain. Some 300 Kings Mountain citizens had petitioned him to remain here. A native of Kings Mountain, Dr. Plonk is a member of the medical society of Cleveland Coun ty and a staff member of Kings Mountain hospital. A service vet eran, Dr. Plonk served in the army medical corps in Italy, sub sequently practiced surgery at Murphy and Raleigh before re turning here in November. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons Privilege License Deadline Nearing Deadline for purchase of priv ilege license without penalty neared this week, with total purchases through Tuesday at $3823. Mrs. Grace C. Wolfe, acting city clerk, said the total com pares with budget estimate of $6,000 from this revenue item. Mrs. Wolfe reminded that all firms doing business in Kings Mountain are required to pur chase the licenses. Penalty of five percent per month applies effective August 1. The license purchases were due July 1. Gerbeiding, Jr., Wins Fellowship William P. Gerberding, Jr., 28, son of Dr. W. P. Gerberding, of Kings Mountain, is among 15 journalists and political scientists named winners of the 1958-59 Congressional Fellowships spon sored by the American Political Science association. Mr. Gerberding, a graduate student in political science at the University of Chicago, holds a bachelor’s degree from Macales ter college, 1951, and a master's degree from the University of Chicago, 1956. The Fellowships, awarded an nually, give promising young journalists and college and uni versity teachers of political sci ence the opportunity to learn a bout legislative process first-hand by enabling them to work on the staffs of Senators, Representa fives, and Congressional commit tees in Washington. The program is designed to con tribute to an understanding and appreciation of Congress by the whole citizen-body of the nation: Members of the Fellowship group go back to their home communi ties—perhaps to teach, write for newspapers, or enter local politics and they take*with them a better insight into Congressional ope rations. i lie r eimwftmps uegiu 111 j.'mj vember with an orientation pro gram. Fellows tlten choose posit ions as working staff members in Congressional offices. Services of the Fellows are made available free of charge to Congressional committees and the Members of Congress for Whom they work. The 1958-59 program will be the sixth year of operation. Funds for the 1958-59 program have been provided by the Ford Found ation, the Poynter Fund, the New York Times Foundation, the Shin ner Foundation, the Johii Ran dolph and Dora Haynes Found ation, the Revlon Foundation, and Cyrus Eaton. Foote Building Railway Spur Foote Mineral Company is cur rently installing a railway spur track into its plant area, via Ellis Lumber Company on the Grove; Road. YV. A. Eldon, plant engineer, said t'he spur track will better serve the film in its shipments of spodumene, the lithium-bearing ore, and other plant shipments. Currently, Foote Mineral Com pany uses a loading site on the Grover Road. The new spur track, to link with the Southern Railway main line, is approximately one and one-half miles in length and is expected to be completed about January 1, CUILDING PERMIT City Inspector J. W. Webster issued a perm'd last W d^es day to J. Wilson Crawf rd to build a one-story briok ve~eer hou e on Cleveland Avenue be tween Woo 'side Dri e and Stone St "Oft at the e.t n-ted cost of $10,000. waipjOjTise Offers Fail Oi Acceptance The First Baptist church joint conference committee reached an impasse last Thursday night and does not anticipate a further meeting, Yates Harbison, the non voting chairman, said this week. The majority and dissident rep resentatives swapped compromise offers last Thursday night, with none of them proving acceptable, Mr. Harbison reported, at'..I the committee a d j ourned without plans for re-convening. According to the report, the minority group offered these two proposals: 1) The minority group would accept as its share of First Bap tist property rhe present church building, the former Herald build ing, and the 22.5-foot lot adjacent to the former Herald building, or 2) The present church build ing, its contents, and the name : of First Baptist church. The counter offer by the ma jority group was: 1) Granting to the minority j or dissident group the present church building and its contents, : excepting certain personal me morial gifts, in return for $20,000. Representatives of both wings, Mr. Harbison said, expressed themselves as having gone “the last mile” in an effort to com promise. Mr. Harbison said the principal [area of difference appeared to be in assessing a value on the present church structure, with both majority an<l dissident wings attempting to use figures attrib uted to the opposition. Both groups attempted to set a cash value on all church prop ; erties, with the minority wing saying the present church building is worth $60,000, and the majority wing contending the worth of the structure is $200,000. The minority contends their value is an offer for the prop erty made toy W. A. Williams, a majority member of the confer ence committee. The majority contends the $200,000 figure is the value used by the dissidents in the legal ac tion concerning validity of the church vote on a new site, which action now awaits trial in Cleve land Superior Court. Attempt in each compromise of fer was to divide the properties on a basis of the 235-163 vote last October to accept a new church site, on round-figure di : vision of 60 percent to the ma jority and 40 percent to the mi ; nority. Mr. Harbison said the six com mittee members were in general agreement on the value of other church properties and recalled the figures as follows: church parking lot on Cherokee street, $25,000; former Herald building and adjacent Piedmont avenue lot, $17,500; church parsonage on i Gaston street, $15,000; cash build ing fund, $88,000. Using the 5200,000 tigure tor j the church plant, the church pro perties would have a value of $345,500. Using the $60,000 figure, the church properties would have a value of $205,500. Members of the joint conferen ce committee include, on the ma jority side, W. A. Williams, Dr. Paul Nolan and James E. White, and, representing the dissidents, W. T. Weir. Harold Crawford, a:.d Glee A. Bridges. Mr. Harbison said he presumed it would be within his prerogative, as chairman, to summon the com mittee to another session, should any reason for a meeting become apparent. Civil litigation following the October vote found 216 dissidents asking the courts to declare the vote invalid, and, meantime, seek ing an injunction against church officers i to prevent disposal of real estate and building fund as sets. A temporary injunction was granted and subsequently was sustained by Judge Dan K. Moore, of Sylva. This decision is currently appealed by the rr.ajo ity and a waits ruling by the North Caro lina Supreme Cou; t. The church is without a regular pastor, Rev. A. T. Quakenbush having resigned in May.