Newspapers / The Kings Mountain Herald … / Dec. 31, 1958, edition 1 / Page 1
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Population Greater Kings Mountain 10,320 City Limits 7,206 The figure for Greater King* Mountain is derived from the 1955 Kings fountain city directory census. The city Limits figure Is from the United States census of 1950. VOL 69 No. 53 Established 1899 Pages Today PRICE TEN CENTS S & L Dividends Again Set Record Local News Bulletins LEGION MEETING Regular meeting of Otis D. Green Post 155, American Le gion, will be held Friday even ing at 8 o’clock at the post building, Commander Ray Cline has announced. BANK TO CLOSE Kings Mountain First Na tional Bank will close Thurs day, January 1 for New Year’s day, B. S. Neill, president of the bank, reported Tuesday. GRASS FIRE City Fire Department dous ed a grass fire on the First Baptist Church lot on West King about 11:30 Tuesday morning. Cause of the fire was not known. City Fireman C. D. Ware said there was no dam age and the fire did not spread to adjoining property. ON DEAN'S LIST Seven Kings Mountain stu dents were among those listed on the Dean’s List of Kings Business College for the Fall Term according to M. O. Kirk patrick, Jr., Dean of the coll ege. They are Carol Jane Bar ber, Brendia Eng, Boyce Gault, Kay McCarter, Norma Osborne, Elizabeth Roberts, and Rebec ca Thornburg. John Smatheis' Fathei Died Masonic funeral rites were held Christmas Day for John Bas combe Smathers, 99, of Canton, father of John C. Smathers, of Kings Mountain. Mr. Smathers died at 10 a. m. Tuesday, December 23, after suf fering a stroke a few days previ ously. He lived at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Fred Trull, in Canton. Mr. Smathers was born in the Dutch Cove community of Hay wood county on October 23, 1859, a son of Manson and Mary Cook Smathers, pioneer Haywood County settlers. He was believed to 'be the old est Mason in Western North Car olina, probably in North Caroli na. He had been a Master Mason of Pigeon River Lodge since De cember 4, 1884. For more than 50 years he served as an active trus tee and a member of the board of stewards of Canton’s Morning Star Methodist church. At the time of his death he was a trus tee emeritus. As recently as last September he was one of 1200 persons attending his church's annual Old Folks day, an event he had never missed. He was married on November 20, 1897, to Louisa Carolina Hen son, who died June 1, 1934. Other surviving children are McClain and Quintin Smathers, both of Canton; Mrs. Horace Cof fey, Houston, Tex., and Mrs. Tay lor Hardin, Canton; 14 grandchil dren, 16 gTeat-grandchildren, and eight great-great-grandchildren. Churches Set Special Rites Two Kings Mountain churches have arranged Waitchnight ser vices on New Year's Eve. At Central Methodist church, the 11 p. m. service will be con cluded at midnight by the Sac rament of Holy Communion fol lowed by afellowship hour. The choir will render special music, the pastor, Rev. James B. Mc Larty, announced. The Methodist service is a tra ditional service used in Meth odist churches throughout the nation. Macedonia Baptist church has also scheduled a Watehnight service, Rev. T. A. Lineberger has announced. Billy Graham’s religious film, “Souls In Con flict” will be shown at 7:30 p. m. and the program, Including songs, scripture, and fellowship will be concluded at 12 o’clock. *58 Payments Up $25,000 Over Last Year Kings Mountain finanoial in stitutions wil pay holders of savings accounts $91,373.96 on Wednesday. Year-end and semi-annual di vidend payments by the city’s two savings and loan associ ations again set record highs. Home Savings & Loan Asso ciation will pay shareholders $46,166.47, and Kings Mountain Savings & Loan association shareholders will receive $41, 207.49. On June 30, Home Savings & Loan paid shareholders $45,676 36, while Kings Mountain Sav ings & Loan savers received 38,028.66. First National Bank will be paying interest ,on savings ac counts totaling $4,000, a com parable figure to the June 30th payment. Home Savings and Loan’s di vidends for the year will be $91,842.83, compared to $79,364 last year, and Kings Mountain Savings & Loan 1958 total of $79,236 compares to the $66,833 paid last year. The aggregate increase for 19 58 approximates $25,000. For both associations, the year-end dividends payable on optional shares and those pay able on full-paid shares were approximately the same. How ever, A. H. Patterson, secretary treasurer of Kings Mountain Savings & Loan association, said payments on optional shar es topped full-paid payments for the first time. Full-paid shares dividends are payable in cash. Optional shares dividends are credited to the ac counts. Former Citizen Writes Book Miles O. Thornburg, former resident now of Gastonia, is the author of "The Thread of My Life", a book published recently. Mr. Thornburg’s book went on sale recently in Gastonia. Born in Kings Mountain in 18 91, Mr. Thornburg is one of 12 children. Now secretary and a director of Groves Thread Com pany, Gastonia, he has been as sociated with that company sin ce 1923. In “The Thread Of My Life”, Mr. Thornburg recounts in unaf fected style his life as a farm boy, student, soldier, lay leader in the Baptist church, traveling salesman, and business execu tive. Reviewers say “Here is a book that will appeal to all who like honest humor and com ment.” Southern Bell Petition Would Up Some Phone Bills, And Cut Others Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company has tiled a revised petition with the Utili ties commission to reclassify certain exchanges and to extend some base rate areas. If approved, Kings Mountain’s base rate area would be more than doubled and the Kings Mountain exchange would be I classified as Group IV, rather ! than Group III. Grover’s base rate area would also be extend ed considerably and it would be classified as a Group IV exchan ge when the Grover patrons had a imanimum of 10,001 toll-free stations available for calling. Floyd Farris, manager of the Kings Mountain exchange, said the proposals would raise the telephone bills of some custo mers and would lower the bills ol some others. Majority of Bell residential subscribers not now in the base rate area (Kings Mountain’s city limits) would get lower charges. While their base rate would in crease slightly by $2.40 annual ly for one-party residence ser vice, they woiAi no longer be assessed a mileage charge. In turn, mileage charges to non base area subscribers would be pared by the extension. The increase to present base area business phone subscribers would be $6 per year. Business service, subscribers not now in the base area would also bene fit by elimination of the mileage charge. Kings Mountain subscribers now have 10,214 toll-free sta tions available for call. HEADS STAFF — Dr. Kenneth H. McGill was elected December 22 president of the Kings Moun. tain hospital medical staff. He succeeeds Dr. Paul E. Hendricks. McGill Hospital Stall President Dr. Kenneth H. McGill has been elected president of the medical staff of Kings Mountain Hospital. He succeeds Dr. Paul E. Hend ricks. Other new officers elected for the coming year are Dr. George W. Plonk, vice-president, who succeeds Dr. John C. McGill; and Dr. Paul V. Nolan, secretary treasurer, who succeeds Dr.! Plonk. The new officers will assume] their duties Thursday. Anderson Youth Is Polio Victim Coleman Anderson, seven-year old son of Mrs. Fanny Anderson of route two, is Kings Mountain’s , and the county’s first paralytic polio patient. Young Anderson was admitted to Asheville Orthopedic Hospital on Saturday alter being hospital I ized here since December 16 with I muscular weakness of the back ! and shoulder and some stiffness j of neck muscles. Dr. John C. McGill, the attend I ing physician, said the illness had j passed the acute stage and could t now be classified as “sub acute.” The degree of permanent impair ment of muscles in the affected area, he said, could not be deter mined at this time. Cleveland County Chapter of the National Polio Foundation reported there had been several 1958 cases of non-paralytic polio reported in the county but none other where there was paralysis involved. POSTPONED The duplicate bridge game at Kings Mountain Country club has been postponed until the evening of January 15th., a spokesman for the group has announced. Shelby would be in the same group, with 13,460 toll-free sta tions. The group IV classification would include exchanges of 10, 001 to 17,500 main stations. Hearing by the Utilities com mission has been set for January 14 at the commission courtroom, State Library building, Raleigh. Southern Bell sought a base rate extension and exchange re classification last year, but the commission delayed action for further investigation. Mr. Far ris said the commission wanted Bell’s revenues to balance on the change and the new petition for tariffs attempts to make increa sed rentals and decreased rent als balance. Should the petition be approv ed, the following monthly rental rates will prevail in the Kings Mountain exchange base area: Residential—one-party, $4.20; two-party, $3.65; four party, $3.10; rural, $3.10. Business—one-party, $10; two party, $8.75; four party, $7.75; rural, $4.65. Following are the extreme points to which Southern Bell | seeks to expand its base area: ; Intersection of Linwood road | with U. S. Highway 74, along U. j S. 29 south to Kings Creek cross ing, thence to Mt. Olive school, i thence along Bethlehem church ! road to old Grover road, thence to Royster road and U. S. 74 near Cash Grocery, then to Waco road and Bessemer City Cherryivlle road intersection (near Summers residence), thence to Cleveland Gaston county line, thence to the beginning point. ’59 Business Outlook Optimistic Lithium Firm Raising Wages Hourly-Rated Employees To Get Boost Lithium Corporation of Ameri- 1 ca, Inc., announced this week that it has increased wages ap- j proximately six percent, effective December 28. For most employees the in crease will be reflected in first i paychecks received after the plant resumes operation on Jan-; uary 3. The plant has been clos ed for Christmas vacations. W. Bruce Thorburn, personnel manager, made the announce ment and said the increase was j made possible through improved ; operating efficiencies effected during the past 12 months. Mr. Thorburn said the increase will include an across-thejboard raise plus adjustments* in some job classifications. Lithium Corporation employs more than 100 hourly-rated work ers. New Year's Eve Parties Planned Kings Mountain citizens were preparing this week to bid a-! dieu to rapidly expiring 1958 and j to welcome 1959 at precisely midnight Wednesday. In addition to numerous pri vate parties and other social e vents, at least two organizations I have scheduled New Year’s Eve fetes. The Kings Mountain Country Club will hold its traditional | New Year’s Eve party, with din ner to be served members and; guests at 8:30 p. m. and with dancing to follow. Another dance will be held by Otis D. Green Post 155, American Legion, this one beginning at 9 p. m., at the post building. Retail personnel, meantime, were anticipating a New Year’s Day holiday, as majority of j firms have indicated they will close for the day. Financial in stitutaons will also be closed, as will the Kings Mountain post office and Kings Mountain Her ald. City offices will be open. City school children are still in the midst of the Christmas holi day. They and Park Grace stu dents will return to classwork Monday. Bethware, Grover and | Compact schools resumed their studies Monday. Housewives were preparing traditional New Year’s Day j menus, accenting black-eyed peas for pot luck, and football fans were anticipating a big day before the television sets, with a full diet of bowl fare. 1 Funds In Escrow Eam City Cash The city has earned $2396.44 in I dividends on invested escrow ac- j ! counts during the past six mon , ths, City Clerk Joe McDaniel said Tuesday. The dividends accrue from1 $136,000 invested equally in the | city’s two savings and loan as soeiations. Bulk of the money belongs to' the natural gas system and are earmarked for various gas de-; partment funds, per the revenue i bond sales prospectus usuable on ! ly for reserves against future1 bond payments. Gas department! dividend income will total $1610. Added to the city’s cemetery | fund win be $367.50, dividend from $21,000 of cemetery funds j spendable only for perpetual care ; of the Mountain Rest cemetery | property. Another beneficiary will be a special fund set up as an electri cal system repair account. The city is collecting $418.94 for this account from investment of $24,- | 000 in water and power consumer deposit fees. Current total in the | electrical system repair account j at December 31 will be $1358.74. Herald To Resume Regular Schedule After two consecutive off j date editions, the Herald will resume its regular publishing schedule with the January 8 edition. The January 8th edition will appear on local newsstands Wednesday night, January 7. Today’s Herald is published a day early due to the New Year’s Day holiday. Ex-Postmastei Ware Succumbs Funeral rites for James Sloan Ware, 66, prominent farmed of the Oak Grove community and a former Kings Mountain post master, were held Friday at 3:30 p. m. from Oak Grove Baptist church. Mr. Ware succumbed last I Wednesday morning of a heart attack. a Mngs Mountain native, Mr. Ware was a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. William G. H. Ware. Active in Oak G rove Baptist church, he was a deacon, choir director and treasurer. He was a World War I veteran. Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Mae Greene Ware; four brothers, Dr. J. O. Ware, of Fayetteville, Ark., J. B. Ware, of St. Peters burg, Fla., W. G. Ware, of Bur lington, and Frank C. Ware, of Kings Mountain, and a sister, Mrs. Leo Beattie, of Waco. The final rites wer conducted by Rev. James Holder, Rev. J. J. Thornburg, and Rev. C. C. Crowe. Interment was in the church cemetery. City License Tags On Sale Oity auto license plates for 19 59 are now on sale. The new tags, with yellow let tering on a black background, are similar in design to those used in 1958. They sell for $1. and conform in color to the nett’ North Carolina license tag which goes on sale this week end. Mayor Glee A. Bridges said he would have a supply of tags on hand in the City Hall courtroom when tax listing gets underway Friday and he plans to invite in city residents who list autos for taxes to purchase their tags then. Otherwise, they will be avail able at the City Hall office dur ing regular hours, and at all other times at the police depart ment office — which never clos es. This year’s tag was manufac [ tured by the State Prison De partment, at a saving of nine ! cents per tag, Oiity Clerk Joe Mc Daniel said. Utility Bills Out Day Early City utility department bills . appeared in customers’ Tuesday mail, partially due to the fact New Year’s Day is a postal holi day, partially because the bills i were posted a day ahead of j schedule. • The totals weren’t in the “Christmas present” class, as the city’s consumption of utilities jumped to $28,622 for water and , power service anl $16,511 for j natural gas service. City Clerk Joe McDaniel ac ' knowledges he had some com ! plaints on the bills from a few individuals but said the Decern | ber cold weather and short hours of daylight combined to raise the totals. Water and power billings were j up around $$2200 from December i 1957 and natural gas billings in i creased about $1900. “However, we have more cus ; tomers than we did a year ago,” | Mr. McDaniel notes. i “No," he commented,” the ! city made no charge for power j used in lighting the business district Christmas lights. Textile Picture Better; Retail Sales Are High Business and manufacturing firms, busy Tuesday putting the finishing touches on 1958 opera tions, looked forward to the dawn of a New Year Thursday with quiet optimism over economic prospeats for the coming months. While there were a few excep tions, most industrial firms felt that 1959 should be a solid year. Retailers, meantime, still tired from the banner Christmas busi ness, were encouraged by the heavy gift buying surge and ex pected the momentum to continue George H. Mauney, of Mauney Mills, Inc., said “prospects are belter than they have been.” VV. K. Mauney, Jr., of Mauney Hosiery Mills, Inc., said that 1958 was a "hard year”, but he ex pressed optimism for 1959, point ing to the fact the men’s hosiery manufacturer recently was suc cessful bidder on a $750,000 con tract to manufacture socks for the armed services. The firm has ten months to complete deliveries. Another firm much more opti mistic than a year ago is Massa chusetts Mohair Plush Company, which took an abbreviated two day Christmas holiday and is em ploying over time work schedules in much of its operations. Meantime, employment figures here continued at a static level, an employment service spokes man said. Ben H. Bridges, secretary-treas urer of Kings Mountain Ravings & Loan association, said that compilation of final figures on 1958 will reveal the association enjoyed a “good year” and he an ticipated that the coming 12 mon ths will see a continuance. He pointed to the upswing national ly as indication that local condi tions also will be favorable. Special Service Set By Chruch “Souls In Conflict”, Billy Gra ham’s religious film, will be shown at 7:30 p. m. at Mace donia Baptist church as a special feature of Watch Night Services to be held Wednesday night, New Year’s Eve. Rev. T. A. Lineberger, pastor of the church, said Tuesday the public is invited to attend the film or any part of this service, which will last until 12:00 o’ clock. The program will include songs and praise, scripture, prayer, fun and fellowship, and testimony and dedication. Watch Night services are sche duled for thousands of Baptist churches in the United States in preparation for an all out simul taneous revival crusade during the spring of 1959, Rev. Dineber ger reported. He further stated a special series for the television show "This Is The Answer” has been prepared to promote the revival, the first to be telecast January 4. March 0! Dimes Campaign To Start Friday; Local Area Goal Is $3,000 The March of Dimes opens its 1959 campaign Friday, with var ious fund-raising projects al ready planned in the Kings Mountain campaign. Wesley Bush, chairman in the community drive, has already announced that numerous civic and other organizations plan to aid volunteer workers in helping the city and its surrounding area reach its goal of $3,000. Goal in the Cleveland County campaign is $17,000. In the industrial division of the '59 campaign, J. Ollie Har ris is chairman of the committee in charge of fund-raising efforts. Kings Mountain Jaycees and Le gionnaires will conduct special events including solicitations and a roadblock. The Junior Woman’s club will again be in charge of the Mo ther's March and will canvass the city sometime prior to the January 31 closing date of the drive. Kings Mountain Jaycees are in charge of retail solicitations, and Frank Hamrick will handle Bethware community gifts. Charlie Harry is chairman of the Grover division of the drive. Money used in this annual drive is used by the National Foundation for Infantile Para lysis, of which J. Ollie Harris and Charlie Harry are co-chair men of the county chapter. Unicn Is Active At Lithium Firm Mayor Says Place Trees Near Curb Christmas trees and other Christmas - season greenery will be hauled away by the city garbage collecting crews, but should not bo placed with the regular run of garbage, Mayor Glee A. Bridges said Tuesday. Christmas trees should lie plaoeed at the front of the house near the curb, he added. There’s a reason. Trees and shrub cuttings are not hauled with the same trucks and sepa rate trucks and crews will do this chore. laycees Invite DSA Nominees The search is on to find Kings Mountain’s outstanding young man for 1958, it was announced today by George Thomasson, President of -the Junior Chamber of Commerce. Each year, in cooperation with the State and National Junioi Chamber of Commerce program, the Kings Mountain Junior Chamber of Commerce presents the Distinguished Service Award to an outstanding young man of the community between the ages of 21 through 35 for leadership and service to the community during the calendar year. The winner need not be a member of the Jaycees. The public is asked to nomi nate young men for the award. Nominations should be madte in writing, giving nominee’s full name, date of birth, address, signature of person making no mination and a list of the nomi nee's accomplishments. Selection of the winner will be made by a secret panel of jud ges. Judges will be distinguish ed community citizens—all over 36 years of age. Nominations should be mail ed at once to Bill Jonas, Chair man, 716 Jackson Street, Kings Mountain, N. C. Contest closes January 16, and the winner will be announced January 20, at the annual Jaycee DSA and Bosses night banquet. Previous winners of the award are B. S. Peeler, Jr., Grady How ard, Everette Carlton, and Char les Dixon. Funds are derived to fight polio throughout the nation. "In 1959", Mr. Bush declared, “the March of Dimes must meet the big challenge of the three faces of crippling—polio, arthri. tis, and birth defects. Just as the National Foundation came up with the Salk vaccine, so too we hope to move ahead toward greater victories in arthritis and I birth defects." “Polio remains", he continued, | “one of our targets because there ' are many victims of that disease ! stall needing help." He added, | “polio patients in our county who need assistance will con tinue to receive it through the March of Dimes. In addition, j new programs provide assistance to young arthritis patients and [ to children born with defects of the central nervous system. Di I rect financial assistance to such children through the age of 18 i plus aid to all polio patients Who need it will bring new hope to many youngsters in our com : munity", he added. ! It was mainly through the use of March of Dimes money that the Salk polio vaccine was per fected and put into use. This vaccine has cut the number of new cases radically, but there are thousands of victims already affected by the disease that still require treatment and care. Steelworkers Launch Effort To Organize The CIO-AFL Steelworkers un ion, apparently, is making ano ther effort to become bargaining representative for employees of the Lithium Corporation of A merica plant near here. Cards have been mailed to some employees, at least, by Joe Kirk, Jr., Steelworker represen tative, which read, “You’re invit ed to a union meeting December 30. Time 7:30 p. m. Place B & B Restaurant, Kings Mountain. Hope you can attend.” R. J. Forrest, owner of the res taurant, said tie imagined the gathering would be held in the Masonic Dining hall as he keeps a key for the hall and “someone is supposed to pick it up.” He said no arrangements have been made to meet in his establish ment. The Steelworkers have conduc ted 'two organizing efforts at Li thium Corporation previously. In March 1957, Lithium employees, in an NLRB election, voted a gainst the Steelworkers as bar gaining representatives. In a No vember 1955 election, the employ ees declined to name either the Steelworkers or the then-AFL Teamsters union as bargaining representative. The 1957 vote against the Steelworkers was 75 to 42. The vote in 1955 was 70 to S3, with SI favoring the Steelworkers and two favoring the Teamsters. Mr. Kirk was the Steelworker representative in charge of the 1957 organizing effort. Tax Listing Starts Friday Annual city and county tax list ing will get underway here Fri day. Conrad Hughes, Number 4 township lister, and J. W. Web ster, oity tax lister, wil be at City Hall courtroom daily, ex cept Saturdays, throughout the month of January. On Saturdays, Mr. Hughes will be at R. E. Hambright’s Store in Grover to accommodate Grover area citizens. The lasting officials reminded all citizens that they are requir ed to list their personal proper ties for ad valorem taxes. Realty is automatically listed, except in instances where there have been recent exchanges or real proper ty. Citizens who have recently purchased or sold real estate should note the changes when listing their taxes. Personal property includes household furnishings, mercan tile and industrial inventories, guns, jewelry, dogs, automobiles and television «ets. Men between the ages of 21 and 50 are required to list for poll taxes. Both Mr. Hughes and Mr. Webster urged citizens to attend to the listing chore early. “Past experience shows that many people wait until the last minute and thereby have to wait in line to manage the listing job,” the listing officials com mented. Penalties for late listing, or failure to list for taxes, are pro vided by law. Miss Thomson's Last Rites Held Funeral rites for Miss Eunice Thomson, of Union, S. C., sister of two Kings Mountain citizens, were held Monday at 3 p. m. from Union Baptist church. Miss Thomson died early Sun day morning at the Wallace ] Thompson hospital after a brief illness. She was the sister of Joe H. Thomson and Mrs. B. R. Wille ford, both of Kings Mountain. Other survivors include two oth er brothers and four other sisters.
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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Dec. 31, 1958, edition 1
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