Population
Greater Kings Mountain 10,320
City Limits 8,008
Thl» figure for Greater Kings Mountain is derived from
the 1955 Kings Mountain city directory census. The city
Units figure Is from the United States census of 1990.
VOL 72 No. 17
Seventy-Second Year
SECTION B
Established 1889
Kings Mountain, N. C., Thursday, May 4, 1961
PRICE TEN CENTS
FOR MAYOR
FOR WARD 1 COMMISSIONER
Glee A. Bridges
Garland E, Still
David 1. Saunders
mm
Kelly Dixon
Brooks McAbee
Ross F. Alexander
■
Roy W. Cline
C. H. Houser
Record Number Of Candidates Vying
For Kings Mountain Elective Offices
Boyce H. Gault
Eugene Goforth
John W. Gladden
Politics Fast 40 Years Ago
But Ground Rules Different
City politics in 1921 Was fast
and furious, as today, but the
ground rules were different.
Forty years ago there was no
filing deadline and each "ticket”
ordered the printing of its own
ballots. It was customary for a
ticket to enter the race on elec
tion day.
Eugene Matthews, veteran Her
ald printer, remembers on one
particular occasion being awak
ened before dawn to print a bal
lot for a last-minute "ticket.”
Today, the city manages the
election within rules prescribed
by state statute. Wodld-foe can
didates must pay a filing fee and
Me 15 days preceding the elect
ion. The city prints the ballots
with the names of all candidates
on the same single sheet The
ballots are scrupulously counted
and must be accounted for. Even
the names are alternated so that
one candidate is sometimes the
first listed and sometimes the
last listed—aM in the interest of
fairness to all candidates.
| .(Here is the Herald report of
April 28, 1921: < t
“Two tickets are out. Below we
' publish two tickets for mayor and
aldermen. They were handed us
by representative citizens. Look
them over and vote as you please
or go fishing, if you like—but
vote before going.
“Capt. F. Dilling asks to say
[that he is not a candidate for
jtown alderman and will not be.
“Esquire W. A. Mauney told
us Tuesday to strike his name
from the list. We have under
stood that Mr. H. T. Fulton Stat
ed before leaving for Raleigh
Tuesday that he was "out of it’
but did not ask us to take his
name off the list. So we publish
the tickets as they stand as we
go to press. Candidates for elec
tion May 3:
“FOR MAYOR _ Wiley H. Mc
Ginnis. FOR ALDERMEN — E.
W. IBarnes, H. C. Dwelle, R. C.
Gantt, J. C. Mason, M. A. Ware
“FOR MAYOR — H. T. Fulton.
FOR ALDERMEN — G. D. Ham
bright, J. B. Thomasson, Harry
Falls.
And here is the somewhat uni
que result under t)he headline
‘McGinnis Elected Mayor:”
“In the town election Wiley
McGinnis was elected mayor ov
er C. E. Neisler by a vote of 322
to 182. The entire McGinnis tic
ket was elected as follows:
“Mayor, Wiley H. McGinnis
322; aldermen, E. W. Barnes 329,
J. C. Mason 347, Moffatt A. Ware
336, H. C. Dwelle 333 and R. Co
lumbus Gantt 324.
“Following is the vote on the
Neisler ticket: Miayor C. E. Neis
ler 182. Aldermen, G. D. Ham
bright 198; M. L. Harmon 182;
G. T. King 169, W. K. Mauney
169, L. A. Kiser 142.
“Out of a registration of 619,
504 votes were cast. 175 women
were registered and all voted but
five or six.”
23 Candidates
Aie Seeking
Six Positions
Kings Mountain citizens will go
to the polls next Tuesday to casl
ballots for city officials.
The citizens will choose frorr
' a record number of candidates, as
23 are vying for the six elective
city positions.
It’s the biggest candidate list
since 1951 and, some think, will
attract a record number of vo
ters.
Two years ago 2176 persons vo
ted in the city election.
Principal outward campaigning
has been the province of the ma
yoral candidates. Four citizens
are challenging veteran Mayoi
Glee A. Bridges, completing his
fourth consecutive term and seek
ing a fifth.
Seeking to oust Mayor Bridges
are Garland E. Still, an upset
mayoral victor in 1951, David L.
Saunders, onetime commissioner
by appointment, Kelly Dixon, last
fall a Republican candidate for
United States Congressman, and
Brooks McA'bee, a last-minute en
trant into the race.
In the Mayor’s race, and in
most of the others run-offs are in
prospect. No less than three can
didates seek each position and,
as in the mayoral race, Ben H.
Bridges, incumbent Ward 4 com
missioner and mayor pro tempore
the past four years, faces four
Challengers, Norman Kings, Paul
W. Ledford, Willis (Bagwell and
Clinton Wood.
All incumbents are seeking re
election.
In Ward 1, Ross Alexander
seeks re-election over two chal
lengers, Ray W. Cline, a newcom
er to city office-seeking, and C.
H. (Cat) Houser, 'bowling center
! owner.
j In Ward 2, Boyce Gault, ano
j ther two term veteran, is being
I challenged by Eugene Goforth
! and John W. Gladden.
| In Ward 3, Luther T. Bennett
faces three opponents, T. J.
(Tommy) Ellison, former com
missioner and veteran of many
city political campaigns, Clavon
Kelly and Corbet Nicholson, both
newcomers to the political scene.
In Ward 5, R. Coleman Stroupe,
first elected in 1957 seeks to
I withstand the challenge of J., E.
I (Zip) .Rhea and Hazel Lee Gill.
FOR WARD 3 COMMISSIONER
Luther Bennett
Corbett Nicholson
Clavon Kelly
Tommy f. Ellison
School Board Voting Totals
Will Decide Length Of Terms
Williams, Harry j
Only Candidates
For Two Posts
Kings Mountain school c|istrict
citizens will elect two new trus
tees to the board of education
next Tuesday — the first to re
present new citizens of the ex
panded district which now in
cludes all schools in Number 4
Township.
H. O. (Toiby) Williams and
Holmes Harry are the lone can
didates and their election is vir
tually assured, as opposition to
their candidacies did not occur.
This fact came as a surprise to
some, as both were leaders in the
movement to consolidate area
schools, an issue fought with bit
BOARD OF EDUCATION
H. O. "Toby" Williams
Holmes Harry
temess and heat (both before and
siince the May 1960 consolidation
election. , •
There is a semblance of a con
test between the two candidates,
though not involving a seat on
the board.
Under the statute recently e- '
nacted by the General Assembly
which amended election rules to
enfranchize the new citizens of
the district, the candidate receiv
ing the most votes will be elect
ed to a six-year term and the
candidate placing second will be
elected to a four-year term- <
The two new members will re
place Trustees Arnold W. Kincaid
and J. W. Webster, legislated
from chance of re-election by the
recent election law amendment
and on their expressed desires.
Both had planned to resign from
the education board last year af
ter the voters approved the con
solidation to provide representa
tion to the incoming citizens. Mr.
Kincaid did, then was re-appoint
ed when court action by the los
ers delayed operational consoli
dation of the systems, now sched
uled for July 1, 1961.
(Mr. Williams is a graduate of
Kings Mountain high school and
Wake Forest college. He is a
farmer and sports enthusiast,
handling the public address sys
tem ai. high school football gam
es.
Mr. Harry, a textile executive
of Mtinette Mills, is chairman of
the Grover district school com
mittee.
FOR WARD 5 COMMISSIONER
FOR WARD 4 COMMISSIONER
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Ben H. Bridges
Paul W. Ledford
Willis B. Bagwell
Norman King
Clinton Wood
R. Coleman S troupe
J. E. "Zip" Rhea
Hazel Lee G1U