Population
Greater Kings Mountain 21,914
City Limits 8,256
The Greater Kings Mountain figure is derived from the
special United States Bureau of the Census report of
January 1966, and includes the 14,990 population of
Number 4 Township, and the remaining 6,124 from
Number 5 Township, in Cleveland County and Crowder's
Mountain Township in Gaston County.
Kings Mountain's Reliable Newspaper
Pages
Today
VOL 78 No. 12
Established 1889
Kings Mountain, N. C., Thursday, March 23, 1967
Seventy-Eignth Year
PRICE TEN CENTS
649 Names On Liquor Vote Petition Authenticated
ORMAND HONORED ON BIRTHDAY — B. Meek Ormand was honored by the Kings Mountain
Kiwanis club on his 98th birthday Thursday and his silver anniversary of perfect attendance in
the civic club. Mary Beth Ramsey, left, sang “Happy Birthday", Hugh Ormand stands beside his
father and Kiwanis President Dan Finger is at far right. (Photo by Paul Lemmons).
Kiwanis Honors
Captain Ormand
On Birthday Eve
~rt'
The Kiwanis Club of Kings
Mountain sang “Happy birthday
ntain Meek” at their meeting
ttjch 17, a pretty girl gave the
irthday kiss and the cake was
cut celebrating the 98th birthday
for Kiwanian Batie Meek Or
mand. This wag also in recogni
tion of 25 years perfect attend
ance as a member.
Captain Meek is so called be
cause of his 50 years as conduc
tor on the Southern Railroad. He
was bom March 18, 1869 at Old
Furnace near Bessemer City in
Gaston County. His home place
there is still in the Ormand fam
ily, having been (granted to them
by the King of England. He was
the second child of Robert Dixon
Ormand and Sara Mattilda Go
forth Ormand.
He attended school at Old Fur
nace and then his final two years
at the Kings Mountain Academy.
In 1886 at the age of 17 for
$37 per month he began his ca
reer as a one room country
school teacher. After three years
he took the job as trucker at the
Southern station in Kings Moun
tain. He was on duty day and
night, slept in the depot to meet
the night trains. While on this
job he became an expert tele
grapher and was offered the
agents job at Thickety Station
in South Carolina. Instead he
went with the transportation de
partment beginning as a flagman
on local freight from Charlotte,
JST. C.. to Central, S. C.
In 1891 Mr. Ormand was pro
oted to conductor on the local
’freight and stayed on that job
until 1908 when he became con
ductor on what was then and he
says still is called the “bean
Train” fast freight on the South
ern transporting fruit and veget
ables through the Carolinas from
Florida. At the same time he
began his career as extra con
ductor on passenger trains 35 and
36, the special fast trains north
and south of the Southern.
He tells the story of going
south to Atlanta with a train
full of oyster shuckers. They
were dagoes and could not speak
a word he could understand. A
baby was born on the train. He
stopped the train in Anderson,
S. C., for a doctor to attend but
the shuckers would not permit
him on the train. In Atlanta he
was observed by the train mas
ter , in his spick and span new
uniform for which he had just
paid $60. This he claims gave
him the chance to be conductor
on the President Woodrow Wil
son special train. He was invited
to have dinner with President
Wilson and Mrs. Wilson. The only
train stop for an address was at
Clemson College. However he
says the train went slowly
through each station to give the
^■s'esident the chance to wave
^H-eetings to the crowds which
^gathered along the way.
Captain Meek says he had good
health all his life, “never missed
I a pay day.” He retired in 1939.
K During these years he lived in
i “
Fulton Elected
C Of C President
PRESIDENT—W. S. (Bill) Ful
ton, Jr., has been elected presi
dent of the Kings Mountain
Chamber of Commerce for the
coming year.
Richards Dies
In Mill Accident
Gene Alexander Richards, 32,
of Blacksburg, S. C., was killed
Monday night about 8:30 in an
accident at Margrace Mill where
he had been a loom fixer since
1962.
It was the first fatal accident
at Margrace since the plant was
built in 1919-20, according to
Charlie Moss.
Richards, Coroner J. Ollie Har
ris said, suffered a compound
depressed skull fracture and
added death was apparently in
stant. Richards was caught be
tween the lay and crossbeam of
a Crompton - Knowles C-4 loom
with a jacquard head.
Coroner Harris said Robert Lee
Bowen, a fellow workman, re
ported that Loom 245 was out of
order and that Richards occa
sionally would leave this loom
to make minor repairs on others.
It was thought that Richards ac
cidentally started the loom when
he returned to repair it.
Miss Cora Hull found the body.
Richards was pronounced dead
on arrival at Kings Mountain
hospital about 9 o’clock.
Funeral ritps were held Wed
nesday afternoon at Pleasant
Hill Baptist church, with the Rev
Horace Scruggs officiating. Burial
was in the church cemetery.
Survivors include his parents,
Carl and Callie Scates Richards
of Blacksburg; his wife, Jeannie
Martin Richards; two sons, Rick)
and Eddie Richards, both of the
home; four daughters, Gwendo
lyn, Benita, Gloria and Tammy
all of the home; two brothers
Howard and Gary Richards, both
(Xf8 OBOd HQ pmUftUQQ)
William S. Fulton, Jr., Kings
Mountain merchant, was elected
president of Kings Mountain
Chamber of Commerce at the an
nual membership dinner meeting
Monday night.
He succeeds Jonas Bridges.
Other officers elected were
Gene Timms, first vice-president
and William G. Jonas, second
vice-president.
Elected directors for three-year
terms were Joe R. Smith, Charles
H. Mauney, and W. J. Keeter.
Other directors are: (two-year)
Richard Maxey, Thomas A. Tate,
and J.C. ©ridges; (one-year) John
A. Cheshire, Hubert McGinnis
and B. S. Peeler, Jr.
Retiring-President Bridges said
the organization’s cash balances
totaled $4000.
Members and their wives clap
ped appreciatively as H. F.
(Chub) Seawell, Carthage lawyer
and humorist, spun tale - after
tale with wit and humor.
Mr. Seawell became quite ser
ious for the last five minutes of
his address, delivering a sermon
in which he declared the United
States must return to God if it
is to succeed in national endeav
ors.
Scoring increasing consumption
of alcoholic beverages, he said,
“A nation which spends as much
on booze as we do, is drunk. We
must get sober.”
He reminded of Benjamin
Franklin’s call for a day of pray
er when the Constitutional con
vention convened and labeled the
United States Constitution as ‘‘the
greatest document the world has
ever seert second to the Bible”.
LUTHERAN TOPIC
Rev. Charles Easley’s sermon
topic at the 11 o’clock worship
hour Sunday at St. Matthew’s
Lutheran church will be, “Victory
In The Morning.”
Owens Candidate
For School Post
Candidacy Poses
Second Contest
Foi May Voting
Second contest of tht spring
political season developed Wed
nesday as Alex D. Owens, Route
1 farmer and landscaper, filed
notice of candidacy for the board
of education seat being vacated
by II. O. (Toby) Williams.
Bill Babb, Route 2 garabeman.i
filed for the outside-city school
post last week.
Other contest finds Richard E.
(Dick) Shaney challenging Ward
5 City Commissioner O. O. Wal
ker.
As of noon Wednesday there i
were no other formal filings or
announced candidacies.
There was every indication
that remaining members of the
John Henry Moss Administration
will be candidates to succeed
themselves. They include Com
missioners Ray Cline, Ward 1,
W. S. Biddix, Ward 2, T. J. (Tom
my) Ellison, Ward 3, and Nor
man King, Ward 4.
The Mayor, in fact, when shak
ing hands with constituents
[ sometimes quipped, “This is for
May 9.”
Kelly Bunch was still a pos
sible as a board of education
candidate.
Board of education terms are
for six years, city administration
term? for two years.
Mr. Owens is a son of the late
John C. and Rettie Whisnant
Owens. He is a member of the
Farm Bureau, is a Mason, and
a deacon of Kings Mountain Bap
tist church. He is a former mem
ber of the county ASC commit
Mrs. Owens is the former Lyna
Thompson, and an eighth grade
teacher at Central School. They
have four daughters, Ann, grade!
12, Susan, grade 9, Katherine,
grade 7, and Margaret Owens,,
grade 4.
Murray Charged
In Wile's Death
Three persons who were
wounded in separate shootings
last week at a West Marion
street home in Shelby are re
ported in satisfactory condition
at Cleveland Memorial hospital.
Willard Murray, 34, Archdale
community citizen, who is recov
ering from a shotgun wound in
the chest, was listed in fair con
dition. His daughter, Linda, five,
was listed in good condition.
Murray and his daughter were
wounded last Wednesday in a
shooting incident which claimed
the life of Murray’s estranged
wife, Mrs. Mae Tesseneer Mur
ray, 33. Officers served a war
rant Monday morning charging
Murray with first degree murder
in connection with his wife’s
death.
Harold Holland, 27, who sus
tained a .22 caliber rifle wound
in the chest at the same address
Sunday, was listed in fair condi
tion. Holland told officers he ac
cidentally shot himself when he
dropped the rifle to the floor as
he was cleaning the weapon.
Investigations are continuing
in both shooting incidents.
HUD Regional Office Reviewing
Kings Mountain Ruffalo Project
Kings Mountain’s Buffalo wa
ter project federal grant appli
cation has been assigned a pro
ject number, the city is proceed
ing to conform to additional in
formation requirements of the re
gional office of the Department
of Housing and Urban Develop
ment, and the agency has noted
that the project is under review.
One of the requirements—city
commission adoption of a land
acquisition policy resolution—was
met at the May 16 board meet
ing. The resolution pledges the
city to make every effort to ac
quire necessary property by ne
gotion and, if eminent domain
is invoked, that at least 75 per
cent of the property’s appraised
value be placed in escrow.
Other requirements are:
1) Statement of the State
Highway & Public Works com
mission regarding roads in the
area,
2) Filing of an estimate of an
nual operating and maintenance
costs for the completed project.
31 A statement from the Local
Government Commission on fi
nancing of the project.
Mayor John Henry Moss said
he foresaw no difficulty in meet
ing the requirements, which were
pointed out by HUD officials at
an Atlanta conference March 15.
The city authorized the mayor
to arrange a meeting on the wa
ter project, for discussion of land
use and recreation, with repre
sentatives of Grover, El Bethel,
Beth ware, Bethlehem, Oak Grove
and Patterson Grove,
OPPONENTS — O. O. Walker,
above. Ward 5 city commis
sioner, is being challenged for
re - election by Richard E.
(Dick) Shaney.
St. Mark's
Easter Report
And when the saboath was
vast, Mary Magdalene, and Mary
he mother of James, and Salome,
had bought sweet: spices, that
r,hey might come and anoint him.
And very early in the morning
the first day of the week, they
;ame unto the sepulchre at the
rising of the sun.
And they said among them
selves, Who shall roll us away
the stone from the door of the
sepulchre f
And when they looked, they
saw that the stone was rolled
iway; for it was very great.
And entering into the sepul-i
chre, they saw a young man sit
ting on the right side, clothed in
a long white garmefnt; and they
were affrighted.
And he saith unto them, Be
not affrighted: Ye seek^Jesus of
Nazareth, which was crucified:
he is risen; he is not hdte: behold
the place where they laid him.
But go your way, tell his dis
ciples and Peter that he goeth
before you into Galilee: there
shall ye see him, as he said unto
you.
And they went out quickly, and
fled from the sepulchre; for they
trembled and were amazed:
neither said they any thing .to
any man; for they Were afraid.
(St. Mark 16:1-8),
Reporter's Child
Sustains Injury
During Wednesday’s 6 pm.
meeting of the city board of
commissioners, Bert Bowman,
reporter for the Gastonia Ga
zette, received a telephone call.
He returned to pick up his
camera and leave.
Mayor John Henry Moss told
Mr. Bowman he regretted the
bad news.
Mr. Bowman had received a
report his daughter had been
seriously injured.
METER RECEIPTS
Parking meter receipts for
the week ending Wednesday
totaled $219.75, including $21.20
from off-street metera, $129.80
from on-street meters, and
$68.75 in fines.
Boaid Transmits
Referendum Bid
To Legislators
By MARTIN HARMON
The city board of commission
ers Wednesday evening authen
ticated 649 of 1009 signatures on
a petition asking for an election
on the question of legalizing sale
of alcoholic beverages and sub-1
sequently voted to transmit thei
petition, as authenticated, to the |
five state legislators representing
Cleveland County.
The board met in special ses
sion to consider the petition re
quest.
City Clerk Joe McDaniel, Jr.,
in a letter of affirmation, report
ed that, of 1009 signatures, 649
names appear on the city's vot
ing registration books, while 460
proved illegible, duplications or
did not correspond to the city’s
voting books. Aiding Mr. McDan- \
iel in the check-out were other
members of the city office staff,
Mrs. Grace C. Wolfe, Mrs. Mar
garet P. Wilson, and Mrs. Judy
B. Harmon.
In his letter of affirmation,
Mr. McDaniel said the 649 names
authenticated represented 32 per
cent of the votes in the May 11,
1965, municipal election.
The presentation of the peti
tions, circulated through the city
for five weeks, of which there
were 45 copies, was made by
Charles H. Mauney and Richard
Maxey, on behalf of the Commit
tee for the Control of Alcoholic
Beverages.
‘Both actions of the commission
were unanimous.
The petition asks the legisla
tive delegation to obtain passage
of an “all-or-nothing” election,
either for or against “the estab
lishment of an ABC store or
stores and the legal sale of beer
and wine for off-premises con
sumption.”
Text of the petition follows:
To the Governing Body of the
City of Kings Mountain, Cleve
land County, North Carolina;
and,
To the Honorables W. K. Mauney,
Jr., Robert T. Falls and Wil
liam Harrill, members of the
North Carolina House of Rep
resentatives; and,
To the Honorables Jack H. White
and Marshall Rouch, represent
ing the 29th Senatorial District
of North Carolina:
The undersigned, being regis
tered voters of the City of Kings
Mountain, Cleveland County,
North Carolina, have in their
own respective handwriting sign
ed the following petition in which
it is respectfully requested that
the Governing Body of the City
of Kings Mountain, Cleveland
County, North Carolina, and/or
other appropriate bodies, request
the Legislative Delegation of
Cleveland County to prepare and
introduce an enabling Act at the
1967 Session of the North Caro
lina General Assembly which
will provide for the calling of an
election to determine the follow
ing:
The question of whether or
not there shall be set up and
operated in the City of Kings
Mountain, Cleveland County
an ABC store or stores in ac
cordance with the Laws of the
State and whether or not Beer
and Wine shall legally be sold
in said City for off premises
use only.
It is further requested, in event
of the passage of such legisla
tion, authorizing the above elec
tion, that this be considered as
a Petition calling for such an
Election, and further that the
questions be combined into one
question on the ballot to read as
follows:
<Continued On Page Six)
CEMETERY CROSS — Ken Jenkins, left. Mountain Rest ceme
tery superintendent. Willie Hughes and Elmore Owens are pic
tured above at the newly-erected brick cross, platform and po
dium in Memorial Park. The brick for the project was donated
by Bennett Brick and Tile with free architectural services by
Brick & Tile Service of Greensboro and free bricklaying by A. B.
Falls, assisted by Jenkins. Owens and Hughes. A semi-circle of
white masonry benches were provided by the'City of Kings
Mountain. Sunday's Easter Sunrise rites will be held in this
area of the cemetery. (Photo by Paul Lemmons).
Sunrise Services
Sunday At 6 a.m.
Iordan To Give
Annual Easter
Sunrise Sermon
Rev. Howard Jordan, pastor of
Central Methodist church and
president of the Greater Kings
Mountain Ministerial Association,
will deliver the sermon Sunday
morning at the annual commu
nity-wide Easter Sunrise service
at Memorial Park of Mountain
Rest cemetery.
The annual rite will begin at 6
a.m. In event of rain the service
will be cancelled.
It is sponsored by the Greater
Kings Mountain Ministerial As
sociation.
TRAFFIC NOTICE
Citizens attending the Sunday
morning Easter Sunrise Service
are asked to use the Suber Gate
on Gold street. All gates will be
open to walking traffic but only
the Gold street entrance will be
open for vehicles to enter. Ceme
tery Supt. Ken Jenkins said Boy
Scouts will aid city policemen in
directing traffic. Boy Scouts will
distribute programs.
Prior to the service the Kings
Mountain high school choir and
brass ensemble, under direction
of Joe Hedden and Mrs. J. N. Mc
Clure, will present a prelude of
: Easter music.
Rev. H. G. Clayton, pastor of
j Mary’s Grove Methodist church,
I will lead the call to worship and
! responsive reading. Rev. Robert
1 (Continued On Page Six)
Sgl Buford Wright, 41, Wounded
When Shell Bursts Prematurely
{ 3/1C Buford Wright, veteran
of 18 years in the Army, was
wounded in action in Vietnam
March 11th.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Wright,
parents of the 41-year-old service
man, received two telegrams
from Major General Kenneth G.
Wichham within the past 10 days.
In the first telegram March
11th the parents were notified
that their son was seriously ill
as the result of "fragment;
wounds to both buttocks and frac-'
tures of the right femur and
colostomy.1’ The telegram stated'
that the sergeant was manning1
a 105 m.m. howitzer when “hit
by a fragment from a premature
burst.” In the judgment of the
attending physicians, the telc-j
gram continued, “his condition is
of such seriousness that there is
cause for concern but no immi
nent danger of life.”
A second telegram was receiv
ed by the Wrights this week, stat
ing that Sgt. Wright is improv
ing from his wounds and is hos
pitalized in 249th General Hos
pital in Japan, awaiting transfer
to the states in six to eight
weeks.
The Negro sergeant is one of
12 children of Mr. and Mrs. Bu
ford Wright. The family numbers
six boys and six girls.
Wright has been stationed in,!
Vietnam since September 1966.
His wife, Magalene, lives in Ta-j
coma, Washington.
SPEAKER — H. Pat Taylor. Jr.
of Wadesboro will address
Kings Mountain Lions and
their farmer guests at Tuesday
night's annual Farmer's Night
banquet at the Woman's club.
Taylor Speaker
For Lions Party
Hoyt Patrick Taylor, Jr., Speak
er of the N. C. House of Repre
sentatives in 1965-66 who served
five terms (1955-66) in the Gen
eral Assembly as the Democratic
Representative from Anson coun
ty, will be the speaker at Tues
day’s Lions club’s Farmer’s Night.
The annual banquet honoring
farmers of the area will be held
at 7 o’clock at the Woman’s
club.
Lion Bill Plonk heads the ar
rangements committee for the af
fair.
Mr. Taylor, a practicing attor
ney in Wadesboro, holds a B. S.
in commerce (class of 1945) and
an IL.L.B. (class of 1948) from
UNC at Chapel Hill. He is a
Wadesboro native, attended the
Wadesboro schools and McCallie
School for Boys.
He saw duty as a lieutenant
in the U.S. Marine Corps during
World War II and the Korean
War. In Wadesboro he is active
in the.Civitan and Optimist clubs,
is a Legionnaire, and is active
in Young Democrats. He is a
Methodist.
A member of the North Caro
lina Courts Commission, Mr.
Taylor is chairman of the North
Carolina Board of Mental Health.
He is married to the former
(Continued, On Page Six)