Population
Greater Kings Mountain 10,320
City Limits 7,206
j TW figure lor Oraater Kings Mountain Is derived Iron
the 1*55 Kings Mountain city directory census. The city
limits figure Is from toe United States census at 1150.
VOL 71 No. 34
Established 1889
10 Pages
|y Today
Kings Mountain, N. C., Thursday, August 25, I960
Seventy-First Year
PRICE TEN CENTS
Assets Of City
Total $2,362,756
Local News
Bulletins
PRAYER MEETING
The Kings Mountain Baptist
Prayer Band will hold services
at the home of Mr. and Mrs.
Messer on Maple Street in ithe
Bonnie Mill Community at 7:30
Saturday night. Horace Styers
will be speaker.
KIWANIS PICNIC
Kings Mountain Kiwanians
and their families will gather
for the annual picnic Thursday
at 6:45 p. m. at Bethware
school. Women of El Bethel
Methodist church will serve
the meal.
LIONS PICNIC
Members f ifche Kings Moun
tain Lions club, their families
and guests enjoyed picnic din
ner at Bethany ARP church
Tuesday night. A large crowd
attended the dinner, served by
women of the church
REUNION SUNDAY
Annual Dedmom - Weathers
reunion will be held Sunday at
Ross Grove Baptist church near
Shelby on Highway 18. Dinner
will be served on the grounds
following morning church ser
vices.
NO FIRES
CSty Fireman T. C. McKee
said Wednesday afternoon the
department has received no
alarms during the past week.
NO PERMITS
City Building Inspector M.
H, Biser issued no building
permits during (the past week.
METER RECEIPTS
Parking meter receipts for
the week ending Wednesday
at noon totaled $115.80, inclu
ding $102.66 from on-street me
ters and $13.14 from off-street
meters, City Clerk Joe McDan
iel, Jr., reported.
Tax Discount
Rate To Drop
City and county tax collectors
are anitkapating a busy week be
tween now and next Wednesday
as early-bird taxpayers pay 1960
accounts to obtain .the maximum
prepayment discount of two
percent.
The discount irate will drop to
one percent on September 1.
City Collector M. H. Biser said
pre-payments totaled $28,684
through Wednesday against a
levy which will exceed $150,000.
County Collector Robert Gid
ney reported pre-payments of a
bout $300,000. The total levy ap
proximates $1,800,000.
In both instances, the tax col
lectors, basing their guesses on
past year pre payments, think
prepayment during the next
week will equal, if not exceed
pre-payments to date.
Registration
Schedule Listed
Central school Principal Har
ry Jaynes has listed the fol
lowing opening day registra
tion schedule, beginning at
8:20 a m. Tuesday.
1) High school juniors and
seniors will enter at the main
(front) entrance for registra
tion information.
2) High school sophomores
will register at the East wing.
3) High school freshmen will
register ht the West wing.
4) Eighth graders will regis
ter in the basement under the
auditorium.
5) Seventh graders will reg
ister in the vestibule of the
auditorium.
Mr. Jaynes said he amticipa
i tes an increase in high school
I population over the 1959450
Gain Is Shown;
1959-60 Revenue
Above Estimates
Audit of A. M. Pullen & Com
pany, certified public account
ants, shows 'the City of Kings
Mountain had total assets June
30 of $2,362,756 up over $100,000
from the previous year.
Surplus or net assets at year
end totaled $1,713,208 up about
$122,000 over the previous year.
Capital assets are carried at
initial cost value and there is no
provision for depreciation.
Liabilities at year end totaled
$639,547, including $29,547 in cur
rent liabilities, all but $611 in
the form of utility deposits, and
$610,000 in long term bonds.
Results of 1959-60 operations
showed income up ito $645,125, an
increase of $34,337 during the
year, and expenses of $639,679,
less by $22,257 than previous
year expenditures.
During the current fiscal year,
according to the bonded indebt
edness schedule, the city will
discount its bonds by $30,000 and
make $18,367.50 in interest pay
ments.
Revenues
major item in general fund re
venues was utility (water and
power) receipts of $388,541. Oth
er general fund revenue inclu
ded: 1959 taxes of $29,806, Pow
ell bill street funds of $33,208,
court costs of $11,180, and street
assessments of $11,051. The city
sold 1836 automobile licenses far
income of $1836, got $722 from
renting parking spaces, and $422
from sale of permits far fishing
in the city lakes. Sale of ceme
tery lots and digging graves re
turned $2,186.
Expenditures
Virtually all departments fin
ished the year with budgets und
erspent, Capital outlay expenses
were $655 over the budget, water
and sewer expenses required
$968 over budget, and recreation
fund expenses were over budget
by $567.
The general fund budget was
underspent by a total of $13,981,
with the largest departmental un
der-budget figure in street work
by $7,065, Light and power de
partment operation required $4,
523 less than had been anticipa
ted.
The audit, which is available
for inspection at the offices of
the mayor and city clerk, lists
the city's insurance coverage
and states and fidelity bonds are
held in the amount of $5,000 each
for City Clerk Joe McDaniel, Jr„
and Tax Collector M. H. Riser,
i with a $10,000 blanket bond cov
ering all other employees respon
sible for receiving city monies.
WARE REUNION
The 10th reunion of descen
dants of James Gtraham and
Eddie Hamrick Ware wall be
held Sunday at the home of
Mr. and Mrs. Jake Hard. Pic
nic lunch will be served at 1
p. m. and all relatives are in
vited to attend.
ELECTED — Cleveland County
Sheriff J. Haywood Allen was e
lected president of the North Car
olina Sheriffs' Association in the
annual meeting at Chapel Hill
recently.
UF Meeting
OnThnrsda;
Annual meeting of members of
Kings Mountain United Fund,
Inc., will be held at City Hall
courtroom Thursday night at 8
o’clock.
President #Sam Stallings nolted
that all persons Who contributed
to Kings Mountain United Fund
during the past year are mem
bers and he urged their attend
ance at the annual meeting.
Principal business of the meet
ing will be election of eight dir
ectors for the coming year and
reports on the past year’s activi
ties
R. S. Lennon, treasurer, said
Wednesday virtually all of the
pledges to the fund, which sup
ports several charitable and civic
functions; have been made. Pled
ges approximated about 75 per
cent of the fund’s goal. Fifty
percent of budgetary allotments
to nine organizations have been
paid, he added, with the remain
ing 25 percent to be paid with
completion of pledge payments.
Last year’s United Fund bud
get was $18,000. , -
The annual meeting will mark
the end of the first year of oper
ation for the organization which
seeks to combine several chari
table fund drives into one.
Beneficiaries of the 1959-60 U
nited Fund are (the Kings Moun
tain school band, Davidson
school band, Boy Scouts, Girl
Scouts, Kings Mountain Red
Cross, city recreation commis
sion, special education fund, Ja
cob S. Mauney Memorial library',
and Cleveland County Life-Sav
ing arew.
Other officers are J. C. Bridges,
vict-president and Wesley Bush,
secretary.
Directors include the officers,
Grady Howard, George H. Maun
ey, J. A. Gibson and W. B Gri
mes.
Partial Block Plan
For Eighth Grades
Some “block-work” — princi
pally in science instruction —
will be done in the eight eighth
grades at Central school this
year.
Supit B N. Barnes said this
week that decision to do “block
work” is predicated on the cur
rent effort to make more concen
trated effort on science instruc
tion and for better utilization of
laboratory facilities.
AH of the eighth grades at
Central will be housed in the
basement of the auditorium.
Former Citizen's Duties Take Her
To Many Major (Sties Of World
By MARTIN HARMON
Though most folk conceive a
secretary as chained to a desk,
with an overdose of routine chor
es, the conception is a mistake in
the instance of Mrs. Jeanette Mc
Swain Rogers, a former Kings
Mountain citizen.
Mrs. Rogers is a veteran of 16
years in the United States De
partment of State, and does her
chores for the two under-secre
taries, Douglas Dillon and Lloyd
Merchant <
What does she do?
Her answer is typical of a sec
retary’s anywhere and is, “Just
about everything.”
Travel bugs would be envious
of Mrs. McSwain’s work. Her
most recent and most f varied
jaunt was as a member of Pres
ident Eisenhower’s entourage of
a few weeks ago, when the Pres
ident visited Alaska the Phillipi
nes and Formosa It will be re
called that the presidential tour
found it propitious to cancel out
on the proposed call at Tokyo.
Mrs. Rogers, who served as sec
( retary on the tour to the assist
ant secretary of state for far
Eastern affairs, has made other
working trips to Bermuda, and
I Paris, among other places.
A graduate of Kings Mountain
high school in 1937, Mrs. Rogers
attended what is now Gandner
Webto college and Woman’s Col
lege, University, of North Caro
lina.
She has been in Washington
since 1942, when she went to
worlj for the War Production
boarxi. In 1944, she transferred
to the State department and has
been there since.
Mrs. Rogers and her ten-year
old son currently are visiting
Mrs. Rogers’ mother, Mrs. Spur
geon McSwaln. She is a sister of
Eugene McSwain, manager of
Joy Theatre, and Mrs. Juanita
Logan, city schools teacher.
Thrift Is Jailed
On Murder Charge
funeral Hites
For His Wife
On Thursday
Ben Thrift, 55-year-old Pleas
ant Hill community farmer, is
being held in Cleveland County
jail 'without bond following the
Tuesday shotgun slaying of his
wife, Dona Jolley Thrift, 53.
Thrift was charged with mur
der following the incident in
which he allegedly killed his
wife with a shotgun blast in the
left side of the head following
h domestic quarrel.
Mrs. Thrift died instantly. The
shooting was witnessed by the
couple’s 13-year-old daughter,
Katharine. .
The events leading up to the
slaying, as related by the daugh
ter, were reported by Coroner J.
Ollie Harris.
Deputy Sheriff George (Allen
said Thrift had been drinking
and “rowdy” Tuesday morning
and had slapped his wife.
Mirs. Thrift had packed some
clothes and told him she was
going to leave.
She was standing on the front
steps when her husband came
around the corner of the house
and discharged the weapon.
Thrift told arresting officer,
Deputy George Allen, “I was on
the porch . . . and she said she
was leaving. I was begging her
all the time ... do you under
stand? I was begging her not to
leave, saying there wouldn’t be
no more trouble ...”
Allen arrested the farmer as
he lay ill in the kitchen of the
home.
Mrs. Thrift was found lying
face down in the front yard of
the family’s small frame house
in ithe Pleasant Hill Community
about six miles east of Shelby
near Buffalo Greek.
Katherine Thrift after witness
ing the shooting, ran to the
home of a neighbor. Coroner Har
ris rushed to the scene and call
ed the sheriff’s department
The murder weapon, a 12
guage shotgun, was leaning a
gainst the back steps. Officers
found two shells in the back
yard of the home, but said that
Mrs. Thrift had been shot only
once.
Deputy Allen said Thrift was
drunk when he was arrested. He
Stumbled drunkenly down the
jail walk when incarcerated, lift
ing a hand in greeting to the
jailer.
He will appear before a grand
jury in the October-November
session, a spokesman at the
Sheriffs department said Wed
nesday.
'Funeral services for Mrs. Thrift
will be held Thursday at 4:00 p.
m. from Pleasant Hill Baptist
Church.
She is survived by three dau
ghters, Mirs. Blaine Bowen of
Grover, Mirs. Billy Freeman of
Shelby, and Katherine of the
home; one son, W. C. Thrift of
Kings Mountain; one brother, T.
H. Jolly of Kings Mountain; and
one sistdr, Mrs Ray McNeely of
Shelby.
Mrs. Thrift’s death follows the
February death of a son, Ralph
Thrift, 23, who was struck and
killed by a car on N. C. 180.
Don Bettis, 30, of Fallston road,
alleged driver of the car, is a
waiting trial in Superior Court
on charges of murder, hit and
run resulting in death, and dri
ving while intoxicated.
Ballance Tabes
Decatur Post
Oharles Ballance, for the past
three years director of the Kings
Mountain high school band, will
assume the duties of band and
orchestra director of Decatur, Ga.,
high school Thursday.
The Balianoe family were mo
ving to Decatur Wednesday.
Prior to his work here, Mr.
Batilance was director of the Ga
lax, Va., high school band for
three years.
'A graduate of the University of
North Carolina, Mr. Ballance
earned his master of arts degree
at Appalachian State Teachers
college.
; utib — jajce tlora, jr
received his master's degree last
Thursday from Appalachian
State Teacher's college.
Hord Receives
Master's Degree
Jake Hord, Jr., son of Mr. and
Mrs. Jake Hord, Sr., received hii
master’s degree in education Iasi
Thursday from Appalachiar
State Teacher’s College, Boone.
Mr. Hord, memJber of the Gas
tonia schools faculty the past five
I years, will teach the sixth grade
i at East Elementary School ir
Gastonia in the fall. He also re
ceived his bachelor’s degree ir
education from ASTC.
Mr. Hord is married to the for
mer Mary Lou Patrick of Blacks
burg, S. C. The Hords have one
daughter, Jamie Elise Hord.
Three Named
To City Faculty
Three additions to the city
schools faculty, completing the
faculty for the term opening next
| week, were announced Wednes
| day by Superintendent B. N
Barnes.
The new members are:
W. Z. (Bill) Cash ion, of Kings
Mountain, graduate of Newberry
college and teacher at Taylors
ville high school ithe past five
yeans, who will teach driver ed
ucaition.
Mrs. Phyllis Maithesom, oi
Shelby, graduate of Woman’s
college, and a faculty member a
part of last year art: Piedmont
high school, who will teach an
eighth grade.
Mirs. Matheson replaces Mrs
Carolyn Bennett of Shelby, re
cently resigned in the West
school position.
No Deadline
On Applications
School students released from
;the county system to attend
Ring's Mountain schools must
: make formal aplioation flor ad
mittance to ithe city system, Supt.
B. N. Barnes said Wednesday.
However, he added, no dead
line for applying has been set.
By state law, the board of edu
cation must act formally on the
applications.
Mr. Barnes said nine applica
tions of 25 students released to
Kings Mountain from the county
system have been received.
He said he anticipated the
board of education would meet
prior to opening erf school next
Tuesday.
May 19 Herald
Is Worth 25c
The Herald sells for a dime,
1 but a few of the May 19, 1960,
| are worth a quarter—to the
| Herald.
The Herald will pay 25 cents
J for five copies of this particu
: lar issue.
A Check of file copies shows
! a vacant spot for the May 19
1 issue. Two are needed for per
I manent records. The Herald
| attempts to retain three to four
i of each issue to accommodate
i persons requiring extra copies
| for club and other records.
Please bring the copies to the
1 Herald.
Wednesday
First Day
For County
Grover, Compact, and Beth
ware Schools in the county sys
tem will begin operation for the
1960-61 term on Wednesday
morning.
Principals at the three No. 4
Township schools reported facul
ties complete yesterday, with the
employment of two elementary
teachers at Bethware completing
the faculty list.
First-day for teachers of the
j three schools will be on Tuesday,
August 30th, when they meet at
j the various school for teachers
: meetings.
Students will begin work on
I Wednesday, although it will be
[ an abbreviated schedule. Book
fees will be received, textbooks
distributed and other school sup
plies distributed. Students will
begin a full day schedule on
Thursday.
School bells will ring at 8:30
a. m.
City Board Sets
Zoning Hearing
The city board of commission
ers in a brief session Wednesday
morning, called a public hearing
tor September 8 on a petition to
rezone a portion of East King
street from neighborhood trading
area to business zone.
Warren Reynolds and D. C.
Mauney heirs are asking the re
; zoning of an area fronting 275
i feet on the north side of E. King
street from Cleveland avenue
west Depth of the property is 310
feet.
In other actions Wednesday
and at a brief Monday session,
the board approved the following
street improvement petitions:
Par paving — Bridges drive,
from S. Watterson street to Land
ing street extension: Sims and
Marion streets from Landing
street to Hawthorne Road; Juni
per street, from W. Gold to Land
ing streets.
Far cu/rb-and-gutter — both
sides of Monroe Avenue from
Henry street to Woodside drive.
The mayor and public works
supeirintendenit were authorized
to contract with Neal Hawkins
Company for the paving and
Spangler & Sons for the curb-and
gutter installations
Crawford Buys
Goforth Interest
J. Pat Tignor has moved chairs
at Central 'Barber Shop, now says
he’s using the “retirement" chair.
The change came about recent
ly with the semi-retirement of
Charles A. Goforth, veteran Mas
ter Barber, who has sold his 50
percent interest in the barber
shop to Alfred G. Crawford.
The transaction was effective
August 1. i
“I'll be next on the retiring
list,” Mir. Tignor laughed.
(Mr. Goforth will continue to
work at the shop on weekends,
(Mr. Tignor added.
IN STATE POST — J. Ollie
Harris has been appointed a
member of the advisory com
mittee to the State Burial As
sociation commission.
Governor Names
J. Ollie Harris
Governor Luther H. Hodges an
nounced (Monday the appoint
ment of J. Ollie Harris, Kings
Mountain mortician, as a mem
ber of the advisory committee to
the state Burial association com
mission.
The appointment is for an in
definite term and members serve
at the pleasure of the Governor.
Mr. Harris succeeds Patrick
Greeley, of Canton, who had re
signed.
Mr. Harris, veteran county cor
oner, is a past president of the
'North Carolina Funeral Direc
tors and Emlbalmers association.
Dial Directory
Due Out Monday
Kings Mountain telephono
renters should be able to start
memorizing their own — 'and
other — new telephone numbers
Mionday.
New directories, containing
new numbers which will be in
manadatory vogue at. 12:01 a. m.
the morning of September 11, are
to be mailed from Atlanta, Ga.,
Friday, Postmen should deliver
most of them Monday, Southern
Bell Telephone Manager Floyd
Farris said yesterday.
Meantime, Southern Bell mail
ed Wednesday to all Kings
Mountain subscribers an infor
mational booklet entitled “How
to Use the Dial Telephone."
For the majority of rustomers,
telephoning will be merely a
maitter of dialing seven digits to
get Kings Mountain friends on
the wire, including the standard
initial three digits 739.
The chore will be a bit more
complicated for calls from a par
ty line phone to another on the
same line.
Here are the instructions for a
two-party subscriber who wants
to call the other person on his
line: “Dial 1191 and hang up.”
The result will be that both
phones on the party line will
ring. When the caller’s phone
stops ringing it means the other
party has answered. The caller
(Continued On Page Eight)
Kirsten, Pronounced Kiss'ten,
Is Student Oi Six Languages
BY ELIZABETH STEWART
Kirsten (pronounced Kissten)
Zacho, who arrived Monday mor
ning from Hammerum, Den
mark, says she feels "quite at
home" in Kings Mountain.
The 18-year-old Danish stu
dent, here to live with the T.
Lewis Hovis family while she at
tends high school as an exchan
ge student, sat in the living
room of the Hovis home on Mea
dowhrook road and listening for
a telephone message from Nancy
Hovis, expected to arrive in New
York Wednesday from the Neth
erlands.
Miss Hovis, other member of
the Hovis family, will also be a
high school,senior this year. As
a recipient this summer of an
AFS scholarship she spent two
months in the Netherlands.
“1 hope Nancy will be able to
help me with selection of my
subjects this year”, Miss Zacho
said. In Denmark, as a language
student, Danish pupils study
French, German, Latin, Swedish,
and Danish, in addition to En
glish. "We can’t choose our sub
jects”, Miss Zacho pointed out.
Danish students begin school
at age seven. (After her gradu
ation here, Miss Zacho plans to
enter a university in Denmark,
“I especially want (to learn ty
ping", Miss Zacho says.
What does she like about this
country?
Besides people, the young Dan
ish giirl says she loves iced tea,
peaches, and ace cream. She
misses her family, the black soil
of her home country, the salty
water, and the long nights She
hasn’t quite adapted herself to
Kings Mountain’s August hot,
weather. She’s accustomed toj
Denmark’s rainy climate. She
has never seen a cotton field,!
knows more about growing com.
The five-foot-five brunette,!
who displays a healthy tan after
a boat trip to America, speaks'
flawless English. Her father is a
‘hosiery” (knitwear) manufac-!
turer in Denmark and she has a
14-year-old brother Anders. They
are Lutherans.
Miss Zacho’s father calls her
“Gisse” and her mother's pet
name for her is Caroline (pro
nounced Cowaline).
The visitor from Denmark
thinks Kings Mountain ‘‘as quiet
as Hamm arum”. She says she
has found Kings Mountain peo
ple very friendly.
Miss Zacho has her driver’s li
cense (Danish girls begin driv
ing at age 18).
Park Grace.
City Pupils
Report Tuesday
Pupils of all city schools and
Park Grace school in the county
system will report for first-day
work Tuesday, morning at 8:30 a.
m.
Their teachers will begin work
a day earlier, on Monday.
B. N. Barnes, superin ten dent of
city schools, and Mrs. J. €. Nic
kels, principal of Park Grace
school reported faculties com
plete and work for the opening
of the 1960-61 term on schedule
City and Park Grace schedules
are identical.
Tuesday schedules for stu
dents will be limited to a half
day or slightly less, as students
report to their respective schools,
pay fees, receive books and get
initial assignments.
Wednesday will be a full
schedule regular class day, with
cafeterias in operation for the
first time.
Supt. Bames said faculty
members of city schools will re
port Monday at 8:30 a. m. Tea
chers at Central, North, East and
West schools will convene at
Central school for a general
meeting before going to the
schools to which they are assign
ed. Davidson faculty members
will convene at the Davidson
auditorium.
At 12:30, local members of the
North Carolina Education as
sociation will be hosts at a cov
ered dish luncheon to members
of the city board of education
and faculty members from other
cities.
Supt. Barnes reported improve
ments and changes in buildings
would be complete by opening
day. A vinyl-asbestos floor is
being installed in the hallway
of Central basement, alterations
being made to the Central lib
rary, and a temporary classroom
is being carved out of the East
school auditorium.
Teacher Roll
Listed Today
Teacher assignments in the
city schools system were listed
Wednesday by Supt. B. N. Barn
es. They include:
CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
Harry E. Jaynes, principal;
Mrs. Betty W. Bates, English;
Mrs. Nancy W. Hartsoe, girls’
physical education and civics;
John R. Lutz, Jr., science; Mrs.
Betty R. Gamble, home econo
mics; W. F. Powell, mathematics;
J. Fred Withers, history and gen
eral business; Miss Odessa Black,
biology; John H. Gamible, Jr.,
boys’ physical education and hist
ory; Donald L. Parker, guidance,
geography, economics and soci
ology; Carl O. MdWhirter, Eng
lish; Mrs. Helen B. Ausley, chem
istry, physics and counseling;
Miss Kittie Lou Sutton, geometry
and algebra; Fenton L. Larson,
mathematics and English; Mrs.
Sue H. Moss, English; Miss Hel
en L. Logan, English and coun
seling; Mrs. Laura W. Gentry,
Latin and French; Mrs. Carolyn
N. Finger, shorthand and book
keeping; Mrs. Mary Sue M. Ho
ward, typing; William Z. Cashion,
driver’s education and history;
Mrs. Josephine E. Weir, librari
an; J. C. Hedden, band and hist
ory; Mrs. Myrle H. McClure,
public school music and high
school chorus; and Miss Jeanine
Easterling, Bible.
CENTRAL ELEMENTARY
Seventh grade: Mrs. Willie P.
Patterson, Richard C. Culyer, HI,
ami Mrs. Iva Jean Beason.
Eighth grades: Billy G. Bates,
Mrs. Alice ML Lennon, Mrs. Doro
thy M. Finger, Mrs. Juanita 'M.
Logan, Mrs. Harriet VanDyke,
Mrs. Johnnie M. Queen, and Mrs.
Jacqueline A. McFarland.
NORTH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
First grades: Miss Ruth Beam
and Mrs. Ruth Parker Beam.
Second grades: Miss Mary No
lan and Mrs. Margaret M. Spratt.
Third grades: Miss Ruth Rig
gers and Mrs. Willie McGill.
Fourth grades: Miss Annie Ro
berts and Mrs. Sara B. Bolin.
Fifth grades: Mrs. Margaret
G. McCarter and Miss Gussie R.
Huffstetler.
Sixth grades: Miss Janet Falls
and Mrs. Maud W. McGill.
Seventh grades: Robert H.
Bryant, principal, and Mrs. Mar
tha P. Bridges.
EAST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
First grades: Mrs. Victoria L.
Logan and Mrs. Maeie L. Coving
ton.
Second grades: Mrs. Lettie S. "
Lackey and Miss Louise Ken
f Continued on Page Eight)