Established 1889 The Kings Monntain Heiald A weekly newspaper devoted to the prconotlon of the general welfare and published for the enllghtment, entertafnment and benefit of the citizens of Kings Mountain and its vicinity, published eveiy Thursday by the Herald Publishing House. Kntcrcd as second class matter at the past office at Kings Mountain, N. C., 28086 under Act of Congress ef March 3, 1873. EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Martin Harmon Editor-Publisher Gary Stewart Sports Editor Miss Elizabeth Stewart Circulation Manager and Society Editor Miss Helen Owens Clerk MECHANICAL DEPARTMENT Jerry Hope Zeb Weathers Allen Myers Paul jackson Mike Camp Rteve Ramsey SUBSCRIPTION RATES PAYABLE IN ADVANCE — BY MAIL ANYWHERE ONE YEjU? .. $3.50 SIX MONTHS .. $2.00 THP,EE MONTHS .. $1.25 PLUS NORlH CAROLINA SALES TAX TELEPHOHE NDIIEER — 739-5441 TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE Brethren, let every man, ivlievein he is called, therein abide with God. I Corinthiann 7.'Si. MARTIN'S MEDICINE Ingredienta; bits of newt wisdom, humor, and comments Directions: Take weekly, i; yussible, but avoid overdotage. Co'incidences An official of the National Urban League, charging on June 20 that Kings Mountain schools had discharged six Negro teachers, proved to be prescient, if premature. Six Negro teachers in the system last year were not re-elected _ for the coming year and had been priorly in formed they would not be recommend ed for re-election. Reasons varied, though "lack of cooperation” with ad ministration, faculty, and patrons was the principal one. One white teacher has not been re elected. Holder of a “B” certificate, she failed to take steps to upgrade her cer tificate to “A”, as the board of educa tion has required for many years. Otherwise, the board of education has re-employed all teachers in the sys tem last year with “A” certificates and higher, as well as holders of "B” certifi cates where the test of certificate up grading is being met — except those who were not candidates for re-election. By coincidence, 189 Negro pupils asked and received assignment to pre viously all-White schools. Since North Carolina’s teacher allotment formula is based on an average of 30 pupils (27 now in grades 1-3), it is easy to understand the conclusion reached by the National Urban League and other Negro groups that Negro teachers were being dis charged or, technically, not being re elected, on basis of numbers of Negro students assigned to formerly all-White schools. It is unbelieveable that President Johnson, or the Congress, in passing the 1964 civil rights act, intended that em ployees of any establishment, unfit by attitude, training, or performance of as signment, were/are to be retained mere ly because of race, creed, color, sex or national origin — the phrase continual ly recurring in the text of the act. Yet another coincidence, it is hoped, will not color the thinking of Mordecai Johnson, a Negro lawyer on the staff of the federal Office of Education, though it is easy to understand it might. Johnson was one of a team of Of fice of Education officials in Raleigh last week to outline to school adminis trators errors in school pupil assignment plans, which errors thus far had pre vented approval by the Office of Edu cation. Thursday’s morning newspapers re lated that Johnson had been refused service by a waitress in a Raleigh rest aurant — an action not designed to im prove this official’s regard of a southern state. Johnson was reported to have said he would file a complaint w’ith the De partment of Justice. The news account did not say whether Johnson were serv ed in another restaurant. Of such coincidental events are de cisions dictated and misimpressions hatched. Rev. Marion DuBose Among the news stories the Herald would rather have not been required to publish last week was the one detailing the upcoming departure of Rev. Marion DuBose, pastor of Kings Mountain Bap tist church. Rev. Mr. DuBose, a six-year veteran of the Kings Mountain Ministerial corps, has been an effective preacher and pas tor to his church, as well as to the whole community, with an ecumenical view of his work not always exhibited by some. Rev. Mr. DuBose came to Kings Mountain to serve as Initial pastor of Kings Mountain Baptist church, follow ing the decision of a sizeable minority of First Baptist church members to form another church. The decision and com promise division of First Baptist proper ties left in their wake much bitterness. Rev. Mr. DuBose proved most adept at calming roiled waters. Best wishes accrue to him as he as sumes next month the pastorate of Newington Baptist church, Gloucester, Va. Congratulations to Miss Margaret RRtterree, da,ugiiter .of Mr. apd Bright D. Ratterree, new Dean of Women at Western Carolina colleg*. New Banking Citizen First Citizens Bank & Trust Com pany, headquartered in Smithfield, is the state’s fourth largest in assets. It operates 97 units in 46 North Carolina cities and towns and soon will become a banking citizen of Kings Mountain. Approval of the operation here, fol lowing approval by the State Banking commission last week, awaits action by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corpora tion, which is regarded as routine, once favorable action by the state commis sion is taken. Vice-President George Broadrick, who made the presentation before the banking commission, credited Kings Mountain with a trading area popula tion of 14,000, noted it is North Caro lina’s largest city with a lone bank (tiny Marshall has two). The commission’s action of approv al was quick. A principal reason, undoubtedly, was the fact First Union National Bank did not oppose the First Citizens’ appli cation to operate here. An official com mented on a question whether First Union would oppose, “I understand we never have.” There have been times in the past when the banking commission, as well as many other state licensing boards, have been accused of making decisions designed to perpetuate monopoly, rath er than for purpose of protecting the public, excuse for being of these regula tory and licensing agencies. Some years ago, Don Elias, then a member of the banking commission said, after the com mission had declined by 6 to 2 vote to approve a new bank for Greensboro, "It’s easier for the camel to pass through the eye of a needle than to get a new bank in North Carolina.” First Union National apparently adopted the attitude, “Come on in, boys, the water’s fine.” There are relative advantages, from the operational standpoint, of being a national or state-chartered bank, as there are relative advantages to bank patrons, the Herald understands. Kings Mountain will now have both represented. Volunteers. Please The “free choice” school pupil as signment plan elected by the board of education could have posed more head aches for the board than it did. There are two major imbalances: 1) Too many parents want their youngsters to attend West school. 2) Too few parents chose Park Grace school. Except for the added dimension of the de-segregation requirement, the sit uation is no different from the past. It is an annual custom for school adminis trators to invite volunteers to attend other schools to correct imbalances in teaching loads. to& , Bhe basic formula of teaching loads “ ------ is 27 pupils in Grades 1 to 3, and 30 pupils otherwise. But babies, some how, are not born annually in equal numbers. West school still has too many ap plicants, though retaining two class rooms carved out of the auditorium. Heaviest overload is in West school first grade. By MARTIN HARMON There is a saying in this area that a newcomer should beware of making derogatory remarks of any kind about anybody, as | the addressee is sum to be the i derogatod’s kinfolk, oven if a second cousin twice lemoved. 1 ik m-ra Tis true, I’m sure, for I con tinue to find new kin (if quite distant I continually. r ■Dr. Sam Robinson, partner of Dr. George Plonk, may be a case in point. Chatting with his wife recently, I found, when the dis cussion somehow turned to gen ealogy, that Tennessean Robin son has McGill kinfolk (did someone say his mother?). That would make him possible kin to members of the William McGill clan CDr. John C. McGill and John L. McGill) and to the Mc Gills of Gaston, which includes his partner. The above (not checked out) is principally a prelude to say ing that 1) the world is small and 2) this area’s citizens values its family relationships and cus- to.naarily expresses the values uith a horde of annual elan re unions m-m And August is the favorite re union month, obviously stem ming from the days when just about all members were farmers, crops were laid by, and there was a comparative surcease from arduous tillage until har vest season. Sometime ago, David Beam, the county commission chairman, gave me a copy of “Sketches of the Life of J. T. Beam and His Fifteen Children", an interesting booklet compiled by A. R. Beam, published in 1897, and, by Act of Congress, entered the following year in the office of the Librar ian of Congress. Just about everyone, if they are indigenous to Cleveland, Gas ton, Lincoln or Rutherford aoun- ties, would likely find on a lit tle digging they are somehow related to John Teeter ’Beam (Baum), born the same year as (Jeorge Washington in 1732, and a migrant to the New World in 1767—just 198 years ago. John Teeter more or less hitchhiked to America, making port at Charleston, S. C., paid his pas sage by indenturing himself to one Christy Eaker, of Lincoln county. According to the sketch folklore, the ^am forebear proved such a good workman that Eaker freed him in six years. J. T. had six children ■when his first wife Rebecca Ranyalds died in 1779. His .sec ond, Elizabeth Rudolph, was to bear him nine more. Says the au thor, Miss Rudolph was a de- Cendant of a 14th century Ger man Emperor. The problem of Park Grace school is quite the opposite. Minus more pupils. Park Grace apparently will be a four- grade school, operationally sub-margi nal from many standpoints, per capita cost of operation a principal sub-margi nal area. Since consoliation of schools of the area into the Kings Mountain district the premium has been on space. In the first year of the merger, the administra tors showed almost magictil wizardry in squeezing eight extra classrooms out of the already crowded Central plant. Now it appears that extra space will be available for a few terms, though some of it is undesirable space. The board of education asks volun- m-m m-m liail (IWII not our stew Ci'MccKc ta.v folks in several i Middle Allaiuie .Stales are now asking Noilh Oaridina (» ; (hem"eid of “ makin,!:. ; I’ranUly, we Lord Egremont “that speeches in this House should oe shorter.” It would do many public speakers — and writers — good to read what the noble lords had to say. Each peer who rose was deter mined to show that he was not long-winded. Indeed, 23 spoke, and the whole debate took only 99 minutes. Lord Casey, an Australian — with a touch of that bluffness that henceforward it w^ould be enough to shout “Egremont!” when a peer rambled on for too long. Lord Egremont’s own view of long-winded lords was that long ' ‘‘Ues , , , Now the inevitable has hap- i iiened. Forced upward by zoom- I ing taxes, tlie price of cigarettes , in the .Middle Atlantic States has ' gone so far above the North Car^ I oliiia price that some folks have^ I ':een unable to resist the oppor- ! tunity I.T make a quick dollar. ! They can buy cigarettes here at i retail, sell them at a nice profit up north, and still beat the I northern price which is so bloat- ! ed by exet'ssive taxes. ; Every time a “liootleg’’ pack of ' North Carolina cigarettes is sold ; in one of those northern areas, i the slate and local governments , are deprived of the revenue which would have derived from a legitiimate sale of eigai'ettes. So how do wo help? The CItief of the Cigarette Tax Division of the Delaware State Tax Depart ment suggest that North Caro lina should now tax cigarettes to narrow the price gap. That suggestion, we submit, represents the very essence of gall. And it is difficult to improvement in actualit.v. Thus we are dubious about , Alabama Rep. William Dickin son's reported proposal to build i up the reputation of the South through the efforts of a high- ^ powered public-relations firm. A lot of public-relations work i jiffu-ult to dis can be undone by a performance | such as Mr. Dickinsons when he ; unprovenly charged the selma marchers with all manner of im morality. A PR firm might ad vise against such outbursts. But to report them, once they have happened, can hardly be called a distortion. What does make for distortion is to forget the achievements of the South, the decent people, all I prices more nearly in line. Taxes ! can be brought down too, you know. I full context, however much many of them may seek to do so. ; Public-relations people can be I of enormous help in obtaining I information. But, by and largo, I in seeking the whole story on the attractive Southern qualities, i today’s South, papers would as well as the tortured history i rather have the cooperation of that helps explain present atti , primary sources of fact than the tudes. I ministrations of PR conveyers o^ Northern headlines on strife in | image. — Christian -Scicnci- Mon^ the South should not lead South- i itor. ^ erners to assume that their fel- lowcountrymen are unaware of the South’s progress as well as any fool can make a speech." Lord Carrington was no I the South’s progress as well as less sharp. It was often a sign | problems. But daily newspapers of laziness, he argued, to make 1 do not operate for image-making a long speech. (And the saime i purposes. In the press of events, point is valid, of course, about aixi government in its non-defense more modern vintage was the j g“nal^^l|vel^ 1 iwliticians — particularly of poli- ticians at the regional level. But m-u 1 we also know that too much fragmentation of government re- author Thomas Dixon, of a Nation”, etc.) ("Birth John Teeter Beam was a loyal Colonialist but, typical of Kings Mountain, Ramsour’s Mill, and virtually all of the Revolution ary War. neighbor was against neighbor, and some fo his ex- friends ftecame his bitter ene mies. sponsibility often can be waste ful and expensive. So when you want to talk a- bout the government it might be well if you specified which government you're gunning for— the federal government or one of the 91,235 others. — The Hunts ville, Ala., Times. If I recall correctly, Commis sion David Beam told me he is a fifth generation descendant of old John Teeter, which would make him David’s great-great grandfather. According to the book, I’m a sixth generation des cendant. 'VYhether I'm sufficient mathematician to figure our tuavid and my kinship, I doubt. Re-reading the "Life of Beam”. I found 1 can claim kin to a couple of families—the Long family and Graham family out of Lincoln county. 10 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK long-winded writing.) Earl Attlee, the former Prime Minister—speaking with the ex perience of an octogenarian — said he believed in the old song “Shorter in wind and in mem ory long." Mixing matter and art in about the right propor tions, Lord Rea was reported at saying that modesty was the soul of brevity and brevity was the soul of compassion. Whereup on he announced that it was with compassion, if not with modesty, that he would resume his seat. (But somehow or other we had most fellow-feeling for Lord Raglan, who was making a maid en speech in the chamber. He apologized for arriving in a flus tered state and covered with oil as he had had trouble with his car. Some speeches, he said, had by their very length defeated the purpose of the speakers, which was to get themselves listened to. Then he paused—presumably fumbling in his pockets with his oily hands. He had suddenly found he had lost his notes—and so he sat down. ■We are taking to heart the ad vice of thenoble lords to them selves. What they said about the effectiveness of overwordiness applies to all ways of expression. But we shall do our best not to get too oily or flustered. The Christum Science Monitor wherever they are, papers can not always add to the news the Those attending the inaugura tion of President James Garfield paid five dollars for tickets and for another dollar were served a meal. The Amazon river is navigable for thousands of mile.s. A RI6HTAWAY Local Finance Co. 121 N, LaFoyette St. SHELBY PHONE 482-2434 (Across Street From First Baptist Church) HOURS: 9-5:30 Mods., Tues., Thurs., & Fris.; 9-1 Weds. & Sats. My great - grandmother was Jane Beam, grand-daughter of John Teeter. She wed John Har mon, bom 1811, and both are in terred at New Prospect -hurch cemetery- teers for Park .Grace find, if past per- if 9 slifgripff, get them. m-m Afrparently there was inaro jjtgii flcjiqn ,t^ "i^m’ idn” iMsinees, Items of news about King Mountain area people am events taken from the 19S files of the Kings Mountain Herald. Grady Yelton, the city’s new superintendent of public works, assumed his duties Monday, j The Kings Mountain Mer chants Association will hold Its annual employer-employee sum mer outing next W^nesday af ternoon at LsUte ^ontonia. Receipts at Kings Mountain Postoffice declined in July, ac cording fo figures reported by W. T. Weir, acting postmaster. SOCIAL AND PERSONAL Miss Anne Dilltng entertained Tuesday at her home at a des sert-bridge party honoring Miss Cornelia Ware, bride-elect. Mr. and Mrs. George Thomas- oon liAxe returned from a vieit w(tl) Mia. Tboraesson's sigter, Mrs. W. J). >fitfer And fMtdiy in Burlington. 4 NEWS AND IMAGES Some Northern newspapers may be unintentionally distort ing the image of the American ^uth. We doubt that many are trying to do so. It is easy to believe the report that Alabama newsmen found naivete about the South among some of the 48 out-of-state news men who accepted the invitation Governor Wallace had sent to 1,700 editors. But the way to en lighten the outsiders was not to bring up the well-known short comings of the North. This was too much like what the Governor had already done on national television. “We would rather have an answer than have parallels drawn,” a Pennsylvania editor Is reported to have said. It was dur ing one of the embarrassing mo ments at what turned out to be the Governor’s final news con ference with the group. Mr. Wal lace canceled a further one that was to have been held the next day. Clearly, despite some visitors’ praise of the tour, there ftre plt- fallf Lp ol^cial efforts at imAge- Jmprovement. jifptWPK IFW im prove an image so much as an KEEP YOUB RADIO DIAL SET AT 1220 WKMT Kings Mountain, N. C. News & Weather every hour on the hour. Weather every hour on the half hour. Fine entertainment in between Thursda FIFTH E Rogers. James H Circle. V birthday LEAF Someh like a St served 111 cent anni Cured Tt btiization 'Missinj pall of hung ovc in recent frantic a wiltlermt meeting in fact, s That’s Stabiliza being sta about th( and dem 00 stock The mi prevailer cause Ih back in thct-e’.s n forecast happy ti The la ventory history t 65 booki (xl sales rand J in i smeratic the acre Over 50 sales, ir months April. There’ head foi ing fortw Cigarett keeping report f smokers baeco’s trying ti market. Thing! to help pearanct liave air We SUSP meeting, as caln That’s II IE FI On