Established 1889
Hie Kings Mountain Herald
A weekly newspaper devoted to the promotion of the general welfare and publ.shed
for the enlightenment, entertainment and benefit of the citizens of Kings Mountain
and its vicinity, published every Thursday by the Herald Publishing House.
Entered as second class matter at the post office at Kings Mountain, N. C., 28086
under Act of Congress of March 3, 1873.
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
Martin Harmon .
Dale Gibson .
Miss Elizabeth Stewart .....
Mary Beth Ramsey .
MECHANICAL DEPARTMENT
Fred Bell Dave Weathers, Supt. 'Alien Myers Paul Jackson
Douglas Houser Richard Blanton Rocky Martin
•On leave with the United States Army
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TELEPHONE NUMBER — 739-5441
. Editor-Publisher
....... Sports Editor
Circulation Manager and Society Editor
....Clerk
TODAY'S BIBLE~ VERSE
Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
I Corinthians 10:14.
Sickening
The troubles of Detroit, not to men
tion the less major ones of Rochester,
Tucson, and other cities are sickening
to the vast majority of American people
who once felt riots, looting and insurrec
tions were sole property of the volatile
Latins and Moslems.
Nor are many Americans much less
sickened by the attitude of officials in
charge, be they governors or President
Johnson and Congressmen who seem to
be apologizing for calling out national
guardsmen and troops to help over-run
police forces quell the trouble.
Civil rights are fine and right and
should be respected.
The Constitution of the United
States, however, guarantees merely the
right of PEACABLE assembly, it does
not provide privilege of inciting to riot,
or insurrection against agencies of gov
ernment, or arson, or stealing.
Apologies fdr curbing such crimes
are superfluous.
When such crimes occur, they must
be quelled with speed. There’s plenty of
time for talking later, as well as imple
menting efforts to determine causes and
alleviating them.
Congress considers new legislation
to deal with these problems.
If legislation is necessary, Congress
should enact it at once.
But there is a feeling, too, that there
obtains now sufficient legislation to deal
forcefully with the malcreants.
Needed
Once upon a time, at least in the
memory of older citizens, it would have
been unthinkable for a board of educa
tion to open a term without piano teach
ers and dramatics teachers, too, who of
fered their services on a fee basis.
These specialists cost the schools
studio space and tools (pianos, sets) and
repaid the schools by superintending
glee clubs, furnishing programs and
plays.
Public school policies seem to
change in cycles and an ever-continuing
search for improved methods. Use of
phonetics went out-of-fashion, and now
with new math memorizing that eight
times twelve makes ninety-six.
So it was in North Carolina w’ith
fee-basis extras like piano and dramat
ics. For better or worse, the state depart
ment of public instruction began frown
ing on these extras several years ago.
Generally, teachers of these specialities
were retained as long as they performed
satisfactorily, but were not replaced on
resignation or retirement.
Consistency has always been diffi
cult to accomplish.
Plaint is sometimes offered that all
children can’t be offered piano and dra
matics, resulting in an unfair policy. Yet
all children don’t toot a horn in the band
nor make the varsity football team.
Meantime, there is a growing dearth
of instruction in these specialities to the
disbenefit of the pupil today and the
community needs of tomorrow.
All the while, North Carolina has
become something of a star with its
school of the performing arts at Wins
ton-Salem.
The Kings Mountain board of edu
cation is considering a possible compro
mise in the situation which holds some
hope for providing students some addi
tional opportunity for piano instruction
There are insufficient non-school
hours for the community’s piano teach
ers to meet current demand for instruc
tion.
Congratulations to Fred Withers,
Bill Bates and Don Parker, veteran fac
ulty members within the Kings Moun
tain school system, on their promotions.
It’s time to hay privilege licenses.
Penalty applies August 2.
Old Davidson Demise
The closing of the Old Davidson
school plant reminds of a news story in
a venerable edition of the Kings Moun
tain Herald datelined 1911.
The county board of education was
most pleased that all its log school
houses had been replaced by frame
buildings. This was considered a real ac
complishment. The one-room school for
six or seven grades was very much ex
tant still and, of course, youngsters fol
lowed rabbit paths to school, minus the
accommodation (and entertainment)
provided by school buses.
With the demise of old Davidson,
the last building in the Kings Mountain
system without central heating is re
moved from use.
Some wonder aloud at times wheth
er modernists place too much emphasis
on plant and equipment. But there is no
question but that central heating con
stitutes a less fire hazard, not to men
tion the danger of youngsters walking
into a hot stove.
Construction techniques have im
proved and requirements of building
codes have demanded much better build
ings since the end of World War II.
Old Davidson gave 42 years of serv
ice and has earned its right to pasture.
Stale Of Mind
Last year, as he was interviewed
on his seventy-eighth birthday, James
E. Farley, architect of Roosevelt’s presi
dential victories in 1932 and 1936 and
former postmaster general, was asked
how he enjoyed his advancing years.
He replied that age is a state of
mind, that a person who thinks young
remains young. He added he meant to
log in at the century mark.
Another of the youth-in-mind pass
ed this week in the person of Carl Sand
burg, poet, Pulitzer prize winner twice,
and North Carolina goat farmer.
He was 89.
During his early life he was very
poor, did a menagerie of jobs, until he
showed expertise with his pen.
A man of many accomplishments,
he was still recently entertaining audi
ences with his guitar, folk songs and
poetry.
DeGaulle. Again
General Charles DeGaulle is on the
American continent and continuing his
make-trouble ways.
This time he encourages the French
speaking people of Quebec to form a sep
arate state.
Then he pays call on Prime Minister
Lester Pearson of Canada, who obvious
ly, as did Mr. Churchill with Britain,
does not want to superintend the liqui
dation of the Dominion of Canada.
DeGaulle has restored France to
solidity in the European community, but
he has been friend to few outside his
own country.
The people of Puerto Rico voted to
retain its commonwealth status with the
United States in a plebiscite where the
alternatives were 1) independence and
2) statehood. The results were 2 to 1 for
the status quo over statehood with in
dependence a very poor third. Common
wealth status is pretty good, considering
the low rate of taxes and the aid still
available from the United States.
• Citizens continue to support the
Buffalo Creek water prefect with offers
of property gifts, latest among them be
ing the proffer of a tract on Whiteoak
by Virgil Mdntyw, Shelby huttding con
tractor.
MARTIN'S
MEDICINE
Ingredients: bits of news,
wisdom, humor, and comments
Directions: Take weekly if
possible, but avoid
overdosage.
By MARTIN HARMON
Pre-marital cooking experience
is helpful but not imperative, as
.many wives skilled with the skil
iet can attest, among them Mabel
McGill, wife of Dr. John Charles.
The ‘‘just married” sign was
Jtlll operative when the McGills
.nvited to dinner Dr. R. c. Grier,
hen president of Erskine college,
Mrs. Grier, the Erskine treasurer
and his wife. Mabel says she
never had done a full-dress din
ter before, but had seen her
mother fry country ham and de
cided to begin use of one of her
■vedding gifts. It was some weeks
.hereafter that Mabel learned
cooking country ham successful
ly is an art.
m-m
Dr. Grier noticing the last!
minute jam-up of the young wife
volunteered his assistance and
proceeded to make the gravy.
m-m
Mostly, the dinner was a suc
cess, but not on balance, Mabel
continues.
m-m
i
There was' a pecan tree in thej
backyard and Mabel made use
of this culinary tool at hand. The
congealed salad was laced with
pecans, the asparagus casserole
was overlaid with pecans, the
dessert was (did you guess it?)
pecan pie.
Another pair of McGills have
been doing some ‘‘cooking” re-!
eently.
m-m
Fuller and Son Norman had a
good cabbage crop and have 1
been making kraut during spare
moments at their service station,
the process being what Norman i
labels the old-fashioned method.
They employed an S-shaped farm '
tool to dice the cabbage, put it
in large containers, put a lid on
top and pressed it down with a
large rock. The mash was ‘‘'work
ing” well, Norman reported,
speedily during the heat of mid
day, slowing down as the sun
waned.
m-m
A customer was curious as to
what product was being made.
Norman told him, ‘‘Aw, we’re
just making a run.” The fellow
enjoined, “You’re kidding.” Nor
man’s assistant picked up the
pitch, remarking, “We make a
run every now and again.” The
customer was still in doubt.
m-m
Norman invited him to see for
himself: “Go raise the lid and
smell it. Take a taste. It’s good.”
m-m
The customer progressed only
to the smelling stage. He took a
big whiff and backed off in full,
retreat. The odor, he said, “near-!
ly took my head off!”
m-m
My wife is another who had
done little cooking before mar
riage except to make chocolate
fudge and who has developed ac
ceptably. Perhaps her worse
gaffe over the years was serving
salt-laced homemade ice cream to
members of her church circle.
The ladies showed good spirit, ate
it with what appeared to be rel
ish, but which could not have
been.
m-m
Two or three years ago my
wife developed a specialty in the
form of beef-based vegetable
soup. Tuesday after the Milt
Singletary's new Bastile Day son
was born July 14, Anne took over I
some vegetable soup. “You think!
they'll eat it? They may not like
soup,” my wife worried. It fol
lowed that Mrs. Singletary went
to her Mother's shortly there
after.
On Saturday Milt said to me,
Tel] Anne that’s the best soup
I've ever eaten." I mentioned
Anne's concerned conjecture and
Mitt replied. “Like it! One day
alter my wile went to her Moth
er’s I ate that soup lor break
last, lor lunch and for supper.”
Many men enjoy cooking,
‘hough I have never advanced
-ery far past the breakfast -
rooking and shrimp sauce stage.
Gurney Grantham is an exeel
'ent cook, fur instance, as is Wen
dell Phifer. *
Most tastes arc acquired. I am
not partisan to deer, never sam
pled bear, and even have heard
*h*t some Yankees don’t tike
Southern country ham.
Who's for frog legs?
Help Wanted
doctors
wanted
, IN 195
N.C. COMMUNITIES
Viewpoints of Other Editors
This Week
In Tar Heel
HISTORY
By ED H. SMITH
On July 29, 1788, Governor
Samuel Johnston issued a war
rent for the arrest of Colonel
John Sevier, charging him with
‘high treason against the State
3f North Carolina”.
Seven years earlier, the state
legislature had honored Sevier as
a hero of the Battle of Kings
Mountain—in defense of North
Carolina.
The far-western portions of
the state had long been a source
of trouble, and in 1784 North
Carolina had ceded them to the
Federal government. The area
quickly organized itself as the
independent state of Franklin,
elected Sevier governor and
sought admission to the Union.
Then North Carolina changed
its mind, saying it wanted the 1
area back. Congress refused to
recognize the new state’s inde
pendent status, and Sevier found
himself in the embarrassing po
sition of leading a “rebellion”
against the far-distant North
Carolina government.
Eight years later, however, he
would be reelected as first gov
ernor of the new state of Ten
nessee.
• * «
On July 25. 1729, seven of the
eight Lords Proprietors of North
Carolina sold their holdings back
to the Crown, making it a Royal
Colony.
The total price was 17,500
pounds sterling.
The eighth Proprietor, Lord
Granville, chose to retain pos
session of his lands, roughly a
one-eighth portion of the colony
extending west from the Outer
Banks along the Virginia line.
* * *
More than seventy seperate
recorded engagements between
Union and Confederate forces
took place on N. C. soil during
the Civil War. Three occurred
during this week in history.
On July 24, 1861, a four-day
expedition by Union troops be
gan when they marched out of
New Bern to attack Confederate
positions near Trenton and Pol
locksville.
On July 26. 1863, Union forces
trying to reach the strategic
Richmond and Weldon Railroad
fought a skirmish with N. C.
Troops at Poteeasi Creek, near
Murfreesboro in Hertford Coun
ty.
On the 28th. at Boon’s Mill,
in Northampton County, the
Southerners repulsed Federal
troops trying to cut the Wilm
ington and Weldon Railroad.
• • •
On May 26. 1879, John Charles
McNeill, the state’s most famous
poet, was born on a farm near
Wagram. in Scotland County.
Most of his verses delt with
rural life in this state, and to
day, sixty years after bk death,
are stiU published and sold by
the U. N. C. Press. / i
WATCHING THE
NEIGHBORS
Our out-of-county but near and
good neighbors in Kings Moun
tain went to the polls. Their at
tention was focused on the ques
tion of liquor, specifically whe
ther or not to permit its legal
sale.
While they were about their
serious business of voting, others
were about their business, too.
The neighbors’ concern had to
be quiet and polite, but it .was
real enough.
The Kings Mountain liquor elec
tion was the first of four elec
tions presently in view. The peo
ple of Gastonia, of Dallas, and
of Lincolnton will soon take
their turns. Likely they wanted
to know what would happen in
Kings Mountain.
Well, Kings Mountain voted to
remain legally dry.
But possibly also the result of
the election in the Cleveland
Coiunty city will have a tangible
effect on some of the other elec- J
tions.
It just could have been that,
considering the matter of dis
tance, there was some hope that
ABC stores could be had close at
hand—but not too close.
True enough, liquor sales rev
enue in one town wouldn’t bene
fit another, and revenue was
perhaps the biggest pro argu
ment. But Kings Mountain is
closer to several places than eith
er Charlotte or Clover.
On the other hand, there is a
bauge of feeling on the subject
now visible to all. Is the Kings
Mountain decision based on atti
tude which is prevalent, and
which will produce the same re
sult in the other towns?
It does seem to be a matter of
opposite guesses, with as much
probability for one as for the
other and 10 times as many ar
guments as there are points to
prove.
Only one thing was made cer
tain by the Kings Mountain elec
tion:
Kings Mountain remains dry
regardless of what the other
towns may decide.
—Gastonia Gazette
KITTY AT THE TV
We had a suspicion all along
that cats who watch television
have strong preferences about
programs. Now comes a British
research psychologist to confirm
our belief.
Neil Raekham, a lecturer at
Sheffield University, watched cats
watching the screen over a period
of four years. He knows where
of he speaks.
What does pussy like best?
Cartoons, naturally. Heroes and
heroines of the animated stories
are often animals. And animals
(in the cartoons, at least) are
simple and gay, not complicated
and terribly serious like people.
If the TV program raters includ
ed cats along with people in their
polls, the rating of cartoons
would surely gc up.
Next in cat-audience preferen
ces. according to the nsychologist,
come commercials. These too are
simple and lively and apparently
geared to feline taste.
Discussion programs? Lowest
on pussy's list, says the British
researcher.
If the learned TV speakers
who drone pronouncements on
weighty matters knew how manv
family cats simply curl uo on
♦heir nillows and go to sleep
when thev come on. thev micht
be surprised. Maybe someone
ought to tell them. If thev knew
bow their speeches affect their
Mine »utPnoce«. thev would sure
ly out more /in? and sdo into
their delivery. And we should #11
benefit
—The Christian Science Monitor
YEARS AGO
THIS WEEK
Items of news about Kings
Mountain area people and
events taken from the 1957
files of the Kings Mountain
Herald.
Kings Mountain’s employment
situation held steady during the
month of July, Franklin Ware,
branch manager of the Employ-.;
ment Security Commission, is re
porting to the state commission.
Bethlehem Baptist church will
observe its 115th anniversary at
Homecoming Day services plan
ned on Sunday.
National Guard, Rebels and
Jaycees will .fill the bill as th?
league leaders in Friday night’js
Lions sponsored triple header
ball game at City Stadium.
Social and Personal
Miss Louise PatterSon and
Steve Harris were married Sun- j
day afternoon at 5 o’clock in j
Boyce Memorial ARP chifrch.
NEW YORK PLAN
.
New York City has come up
with a plan whereby welfare re
cipients would be allowed to go
to work and continue receiving
public assistance payments. The
idea is to stir recipients to get
out and find work and perhaps,
eventually, to get off the welfare
rolls completely. At present, if a
recipient funds work, his month
ly assistance check is reduced by
precisely the amount he earns.
Under the proposed plan, he
would be able to earn up to $85
a morr*h with no reduction what
soever. Anything above that
would mean a 70 per cent cut in
his allotment, and if he e'ver got
to making as much as $4,900 a
year all public assistance would
stop.
Those who think the wh*ole wel
fare system should be halted and
nothing put in its place are in
creasingly in the minority. But
almost everybody agrees that
the system badly needs restruc
turing.
—The Baltimore Sun
SO THIS IS
NEW YORK
By NORTH CALLAHAJf \
— " ■
With all the to-do and after
math in connection with the re
cent visit of Russian Premier
Kosygin, it is interesting to note
the impressions of a recent Am
erican visitor to Russia, a man
who saw some things which are
not ordinarily reported. He is J.
Polk Smartt, business executive
and farmer on the side, and he
is just what his name suggests,
smart. He and others were in
vited by an unofficial group of
Russians who wanted Americans
representing business, science and
culture and who were concerned
with cooperation between our two
peoples. “Russia is an old coun
try,' Mr. Smartt points out.
“They have had millions of peo
ple for thousands of years. The
common people of Russia have
never owned land. They were
serfs under the czars and the
orthodox church. They are still
serfs under the Soyiet Union.”
The visitors stayed in an im
pressive Moscow hotel in
first stage of their visit, 01
found that its exterior exceeded
the inside. They found they
could not enter the dining room
from the lobby but had to climb
the stairs to the second floor
which was covered by a gaudy
green carpet, then walk down a
long corridor and descend the
steps to the first floor location
of the dining room. The corri
dors and bedrooms had been
floored with green oak wood
which, when dried, left gaping
cracks that soon filled with
trash. The bathrooms were of
the poorest construction Mr.
Smarrt had ever seen, he said,
virtually every piece of the tile
being either chipped or split.
“Our shower was like the head
of a sprinkler can,” he added,
“loose at the top, and some one
had tied a rag around it. Since
there was no shower curtain, we
did not use it.”
Out in Red Square, Polk
Smartt had an uneasy feeling
among the huge crowds. It ap
peared to him, “an ominous sight
. . . flow long would f last if I
had a loaf of bread. The crowd
seemed to be hungry and once
it sort of stampeded in my direc
tion. Moscow’s .eight million ped
ple live in government-owned
apartments, exactly alike, .jMk
upon row, like so many ral^W
in hutches. The apartments
too small for comfort. There
are no lawns to cut, no gardens,
no. basement workshops for leis
ure hours. Each family has just
enough money for the bare es
sentials of food and clothing.
There are practically no private
ly owned automobiles. The poo
pie have nothing to do but walk
the streets on Sunday. This is
literally true,” he assured me.
“for the sidewalks will not hold
them. They are all over Red
Square, they crowd the Kremlin,
they form a line a mile long to
file through Lenin’s tomb, con
tent to stand four hours in line.
Lenin once stated, ‘Religion is
the opiate of the people.’ Now in
my opinion,” he added,. “Lenin
is the opiate of the people
Wherever we .went in Russia,
there was his statue, and .every
movie performance began with
his picture thrown on the screen.
Whenever we took a picture of
a Russian, he wanted it taken in
front of a statue Of Lenin or
some achievement of the Sov'ct
Union. I’m sure he felt this was
evidence of his loyalty. Nowhere
in Moscow did we see a happy,
carefree group of people. They
appeared grim, unsmiling and
deeply worried. The people own
nothing but the clothes on their
back and these clothes are a
sight. The fabrics, the colors, ate
styles are less than medii^B
One man said they looked as~o
they had been cut out with ai
axe.”
KEEP YOUR RADIO MAI 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