PopnlatioB
Greater Kings Mountain 21.914
City Limits 9 256
s£:'
VOL 80 No. 25
Kingi MountaIn*s Bailable Newspaper
Today
Csfablishad 1889
Kings Mountain, N. C., Thursday, June 20, 1968
>
Seventy-Eighth Year
PRICE TEN CENTf
a.
li
Ml
Bids Exceed Estimates By $284,254
Recreation
*' •■
INVESTIGATION CONTINUING — Southern Railway officicds #ere continuing their investigation
this week to determine what caused last Thursday's spectacular derailment of 21 freight cars
of o northbound Southern Roilwenr's freight 'train which heaped wreckage—a wide variety of mer
chandise—ripe watermelons, new rental cars, "Her Mojesty" women's yellow bath robes—along
both sides of the tracks which run parallel to Battleground and Railroad Avenues. Damages were
estimated to total in the thousands of dollars. Nearly 300 feet of the track was chewed to splinters
when the middle section of the northbound freight-traveling from Atlanta to Washington. D. C
deroUed about 2 a.m. Workmen hove cleared Southern's two main lines ond a large portion of the
wreckage has been removed from the scene. (Photo by Isaac Alexander)
Arrested Looters Of Wreck
Won't Be Prosecuted: FBI
^P9
21 Can Deiail
In Wee Hous
Last Thunday
No awsts have been made for
'wtini; in the derailm^t last
nrsday of a Southem'^ilwi ,
ireight train in Kingii.Jdountain.
Rob<*rt M. Murphy, special
agent in charge of the Charlotte
office of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, said Wednesday
that the FBI will make no arrests
for hu tiiig in the incident.
“Wc presented the information
to tlu' U.S. Attorney for the W’es-
torn District,-William Medford, in
Asheville'’, said Mr. MurpJiy,”
and it was decided there not to
pro.secute.” According to Mr. Mur
phy the facts did not lend them-
solves to a successful investiga
tion. Theft from interstate ship
ment is more involved that what
occurred in Kings Mountain, he
explained, noting that the goods
wore scattered out into the open.
The spectacular derailment of
21 cars and merchandise of Sou
thern’s northbound 42'Car train
from Atlanta to Washington
early Thursday morning scatter
ed wreckage over a five-block
area. One car carrying cookies
struck the Mauney Mill about 2
a.m. and an employee reported
the wreck to police.
Minutes after the crash looters
already had piled up stacks of
goods beside the twisted cars.
They scurried into the night when
police arrived. City police said
that four carloads of shoes, gir
dles. stretch pants, and other
^tiling were seized when cars
It the i)arking lots of textile
thills next to the tracks.
Mrs. J. V. Pressley, who was
sleeping in a house just 50 yards
(Continued On Page Eight)
SPEAKER — Rev. T. A. Line-
berger of Connelly Springs will
deliver the dedic^ory sermon
Sunday os the Macedonia Bap
tist church congregotion formal
ly dedicotes its new personage.
Dedication
01 Manse Set
The new parsonage of Mace
donia Baptist diurch will be for
mally dedicated at morning wor
ship services Sunday at 11 a.m.
at the church.
A former pastor, Rev. T. A.
Lineberger, now of Connelly
; Springs, will deliver the dedica-
* tory sermon.
I The new parsonage, a hand
some four-bedroom residence of
yellow brick. Was completed re
cently at cost of J22,000. It ad
joins the church plant on Grover
road.
(Continued on Page 8)
Educating Feds Want Integration
Of Compact And Park Grace Pnpils
Tlio city board of education
discerned but gave no answer
Thursday to formal advisement
by letter from the Department of
Iloallh. Education and Welfare
"to make certain revision in its
school desegregation plan or face
possible cutoff of federal assis
tance.”
The letter was written under
(late of June 11th and was signe^d
by Dl Eloise Severinson. regional
civil rights director, in HEW's
Charlottesville. Va. office.
School olficials were given
until July 15th to advise HEW
"whether or not your board will
be able to adopt an effective ter
minal de.segregation plan.”
Staff members of HEW’s re
gional office visited the Kings
Mountain plants on March 20 for
a period review o the system's
deosegregation plan and at that
time suggested the required re
visions which were confirmed in
'^e letter from Miss Severinson.
J Schools Supt. Donald Jones is
out-of-town this week on vaca
tion.
yu 4 ’'ficecloffi of choka" fika
for next year school assignments
have already been made. Only
194 of the system's 933 Negro stu
dents will attend the single all-
Negro school, Compact
Specifically, the required revi
sions, to be implemented in the
coming school year, would include
the following changes:
1) Assignment of Davidson
school students to formerly white
schools since the Davidson facili
ty is to be used next year for
special education purposes, rather
than as a regular elementary
school as In the past
2) Reorganization of the grade
structures of Park Grace and
Compact elementary schools so
that each school would serve all
pupils in certain grades. Park
Grace, under HEW's suggestion,
would be used for a primary
school (grades 1-3) and Compact
school, now an all-Negro school,
established for grades 4-6. All stu
dents would be assigned to all
grades and sections on a non-
rnclal basis. "This reorganization
appears feasible for the school
(Contiiuu4 81
Dick Mitchell
Is Bnilding
Honse Boats
By MARTIN HARMON ’
When passers-by saw the big
hou.se boat a-building on the lot
adjacent to X City Service Station
on West King street, they didn't
know what was happening.
Since, many have str>ppe(l to
see to the point that Dick Mit
chell spends as much time sliow-
ing as he docs building.
Mitchell Enterprises, godchild
of Richard L. Mitchell, a 41-ycar-
old air force veteran of the Ko
rean War, stemmed from the big
deluxe, near-complete house boat
initially planted on the Fred
Plonk lot. Now the boat has com
pany, with several campers of
varying size on hand and three
more house boats in the former
Southwell Motor building which
Mitchell has leased.
Mitchell, a California native,
says he started building the de
luxe model for himself a year
ago, got the idea to get into the
house boat building business as
a wholesale builder, selling to dis
tributors.
He was already atxiuainted
with the trailer building business
as a partner in a Lake City, f la.,
enterprise.
The big trailer is deluxe: sleeps
eight, carpeted floor, butane gas|
stove, bathroom with shower, I
sundeck, kitchen and clothes cab- j
inets, liquor cabinet. Yet to come: |
the steering gear, with wheel inj
the enclosed cabinet, the usual!
finishing touches. Cost: $7500.
Mitchell obtains his pre-fabri-
cated aluminum needs from Al
can on Childers street, his pre
fabricated interior paneling from
Florida, his pre-fabricated steel
pontoons from a firm in Green
ville, S. C.
Mitchell, formerly a restaurant
management consultant, has a
particular connection with Kings
Mountain. His wife is the former
Betty Cash McCarter, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. David Cash.
$150,000 linou£h?{
- - ^ «_ I Total $608,577
IVIauii.^
Hospital Coal
Most Minimal,
.jays President
By MARTIN HARMON
Kings Mountain Hospital olii-
cials hope the $150,000 goal for
public donations to augment the
building of an addition to the
hospital will be (?xcccded.
Principal tear, President Geoige
W. Mauney said WWednesday, is
continued escalation of construe-1
tion costs. j
"Building co.sls keep going up,
"President Mauney said,” and
our plans are minimal at the
present projection with an abso
lute minimum of $150,000 neces
sary to augment county borrow
ing authority, funds now in hand,
and funds inciicated by charitable
foundations.'’
Architects Freeman & White,
of Charlotte, estimate the cost of
the projected two-story cast wing,
wliich will provide? 32 more beds,
a now operating roomand oiher
ancillary laciJilies, at $850,000.
Borrowing authority of ihej
county for the projci't is .$500.n0ti,
the hospital has some funds
MM:
PRINCIPAL — Joe Hedden, vet
eran Kings Mountoin high
school band director is moving
into administration as princi-
pol of West school. Donald J.
Deal, Bessemer City high school
band director, will succeed Mr.
Kedden.
Hedden Named;
Deal Successor
Donald J. Deal, for nine yeai-s
By MARTIN HARMON
The dollar gap between low
base bids of $608,577 for th(» pro
posed neighborhood facilities
building and the federal grant of
$302,680 is $305,897.
Bids on the project, for which I
I. L. Williams & Associates of
Charlotte, is architect, were open
ed Wednesday afternoon at City i
Hall.
Low base bid of three on the
general contract was $4G7..'500.)
nested by Twin City Builders.
Inc., of \Vinston-Salem. '
Low base bid of ten on Ihoi
electrical contract was $.37.493..
posted by Modern Electric Com-!
pan>, of Stat(»svillr. '
Low base bid of four on the
heating - V(*ntilating contract was
$64,622. posted by Hickory Plumb
ing & Heating (Company, of Hic
kory.
Low base bid of three on the
plumbing ccntract wa.s $38,962,
posted by Rink Plumbing & Heat
ing Company, of Hickory.
The base bids do not include
any figuring of alternate's, most
of which were “add" alternates.
In the general contract all but
tw'o alternates bid were additions
to cost and wore for equipment
for the facility. Largest "add"
item was for bleachers, for which
Twin City will contrac t for $23,000
Kitchen equipment would cost an
other $10,975.
There were two "minus" alter
nates in the geiu'ral contract spe
cifications: 1) Should the city do
the grading for the huilrling.
Twin City would dedued $4.000;;
V.
City Tj Sc !
More HUD Cash
Foi Facility
Mayor John ITenr>’, *
nembers
commissioners express a
.4.L'
iii.'iLai .e. ..*j
estimates in base blast tor C
neighborhood (scUUt«fr bUil<|ir*K*
J. L. Williams A As!iQCia;tes beef
estimated the project to cost $42'^
t23. The base bid total y/nn f”'*'
577. .
Williams associates said co;
struction costs had inereaacd i
siderably since the initliir
mates.
MAJOR CHARLES E. PAINTER
M
available from memorial eifts
and sizeable aid has been indi-1 for nine yeai-s 2) substitution of a multi-purpose
calcd from charitable founda-' school band rubber floor (de.scribod as a re-
tions. The can is $1500(X) ■ director, will succeed Kings Moun-; cent development in public build-
’ * tain high school veteran director ing flooring by the architect) for
WAYNE FRANKLIN LAUGHTER
which meanf.
75'bed hospital [
constant over-
Mr.
terminates after five i
Hedden holds a master’s Plumbing & IHmting would in-
j crowding and temporary housing in school administration crease its bid by $31,202. while
i cf patients, including the very from Peabody University. Modern Electric would add .$3292
! ill, in passageways: and 2) fact* Deal is a 1950 graduate of! to its base bid for the attendant
I that the half-million borrowing! ^‘'^^“'•Rhyne College, with dc- wiring costs.
: authority, voted in February 1964, Srecs in business administration, The board of commissioners set
■ will expire in February 1969. By music education, and attain- the regular meeting of July 9 for
.state law, unused borrowing au- ^^ a master’s degree at Appali- decision on whether to accept or
Chian State University in 1957. reject bids.
Before going to Bessemer City! The projected building would
had had been band director at be two-story, have a multi-pur-
Lincolnton high school and had, pose basketball court, numeiou.'s
been a teacher at Granite Quarry office.s. and day care tacilitios. It
and Dallas. is designed to bo located on the
Announcjemcnt was also made east side of the Deal Street rec-
that R. H. Biyant, during the reation area and would face
recent school year principal of i Cleveland avenue.
both W'est and Park Grace* - ■ - i
schools, will return to North as
thority
years.
Original addition plans, Presi
dent Mauney pointed out, were
much more expansive, estimated
to cost $1.2 million in anticipa
tion cf a federal fund grants un
der the Hill-Burton act. Last foil,
hospital officials were told by
the State Medical Care commis
sion no Hill-Burton unds were
available for Kings Mountain Principal. No announcement has
Hospital nor would be in the near
future. Cleveland County, the
commission executive director
yet been made concerning the
Park Grace principalship.
Contracting of four elementary
said, had received more than its ^ teachers was also announced by
share of Hill-Burton funds, after
the appropriation for Cleveland
Memorial hospital at Shelby.
Thursday is report day for citi
zens assisting in the $150,000 fund
drive. lA luncheon will be held at
noon at the Woman’s Club.
On the initial report day June
6, campaign workers reported
cash and pledges of $53,205.
George H. Houser is campaign
chairman.
Mrs. Plonk's
Aunt Passes
Funeral rites for Miss Martha
Torrence, 84, of Bessemer City,
aunt of Mrs. Fred W. Plonk of
Kings Mountain, will be held
Thursday at 4 p.m. from Long
Creek Presbyterian church of
which she was a member.
Interment will be in the family
plot.
Miss Torrence, who had been a
patient at Turner’s Rest Home in
Shelby the past four years, died
Wednesday morning at 4:30 in
Cleveland Memorial hospital. She
retired several years ago as
bookkeeper at Textiles, Inc. of
Gastonia.
She is survived by 10 nieces
and nephews.
Rev. Thomas Ruff of Charlotte
wiii At fiOAl likSj
Superintendent Donald D. Jones.
They are Mi's. Carol Porter,
Morrison Nephew
Dies In Accident
Funeral rites for Gary Black- i
stone, were held Saturday in
Clearwater, Fla.
The youngster was nephew of;
Mr. and Mrs. Scarr Morrison of ;
now of Stanley but soon to be- Kings Mountain. H(? was killed in
come a Shelby resident; James an automobile accident in Glen
Owens and Mrs. James Page, of Alpine.
Kings Mountain; and Miss Louise! The Blackstones are well known
Strange of Kannapolis. ' here.
Gibson Named
To DTH Post
Dale Gibson, during the sum-
nun* of 1967 sports editor of the
Kings Mountain Herald and a
rising senior at the University of
North Carolina at Chapoi Hill,
has been appointed managing edi
tor of the school newspaper, the
Daily Tar Heel, for the year
1968-69.
Gibson is majoring in journal
ism. I'ho managing editor is one
LL-Co1. 0. T. Hayes, Jr., Ends
28 Years 01 AF Service Inly I
Lt. Col. O. T. Hayes, Jr., who
flew 132 combat missions as a
senior pilot in two wars, will re
tire July 1. I
The Air Force careerman of 28
years is moving from Shaw AFB
in Sumter, S. C. to the home of
his mother, Mrs. O. T. Hayes, Sr.,
211 Fulton street. ;
The Hayes' family's future'
plans are indefinite. ^
Lt. Col. Hayes, who flew a total!
of 586 combat hours in a B-26
of the two principal editors of during World War 11 and the Ko-
the Daily Tar Heel
rean Conflict, is holder of the
Ho joined tho sports staff of. °i*‘|"e“iahod Flying Cross, the
- - Air Modal, and the Oak Loaf with
the Daily Tar Heel last fall.
sports staff of the Shelby Daily
Star.
II(' is sdii of Mr. and Mrs. Ray
Gibson, of Patterson Springs.
June 30 Deadline
For Registrations
June 30th is the deadline for
high school students to change
llu'ir registrations for next
school term, Principal .lake .At
kinson said this wc^’k.
Some students pre-regislererl
prior to the closing of sihool,
Atkinson said, adding that
prospective ninth gnders
through 12th graders should
note the d(?adHno for register
ing 'for classes for tlie term be-
ginniug Ui Suptembei'j
This summer Gibson is on the Oak Leaf clusters. A 1933 grad-
uate of Kings Mountain high
school, he entered the .service in
October 1941 and in June 1943
earned his pilot’s wings. Then
Captain Hayes was a combat
pilot, cn duty in tho European
Theatre of Operations in 1944. Re
turning to the states in 1945, he
was assigned to Boca Raton. Fla.
where ho served as a radar figh
ter instructor until 1947 when he
was transferred to Keesler AFB.
Miss., as squad commander. He
shipped out to Korea in the latter
part of 1950 and served as a
combat pilot, againing flying a
B-26. He returned to the U.S. in
late December of 1951 and in Jan
uary of 1952 was assigned to
Langley AFB. In 1952 he was
transferred to Shaw AFB at Sum
ter as an officer and senior pilot.
^ Mra. in Hxe former Gisria
RETIRING—Lt. Col. O. T. Hayes,
Jr., Kings Mountain native and
son of Mrs. O. T. Hoyes, Sr. and
the late City Commissioner
Hayes, is retiring from the
United States Air Force after
28 years service July 1. The
Hayea family now resides at
Show AFB in Sumter, S. C.
Brown of Shreveport, La. Tlu'yl
are parents of two children: Tom-;
my, a AFROTC college gradiudts
and Diane Hayes, 18, a secretary. ■
Lt. Col. Hay(»s is son of th(*
late City Commissioner Oliver T. I
STi .. .. I
BARBARA ANN MARABLE
Three Receive
College Diplomas
Three Kings Mountain students
are recent college graduates.
Miss Barbara Ann Marable,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joel C.
Marabh', is a 1968 graduate of
North Carolina Colh'ge, Durham,
j where she earned an AB degree.
I Miss Marable was top student
I in her graduating class, gradual-
j ing Magna Cum Laude, majoring
' in sociology and minoring in his-j
j tory. i
She was .selected the most out-
^ standing student in the Sociology
Department during her junior and
' senior years. She was elected
president of Alpha Kappa Mu
Honor Society and president of.
Alpha Kaj)pa Della National So-
■ ciology Honor Society. She was
I nominated to Who's Who among
i American Colleges and Universi- i
; ties. I
j In addition to tlie other organi-
zatiens, she was a member of the
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Al
pha Chi Chapter.
Miss Marable is a 1964 graduate
of Lincoln high schotjl. Bt'ssomcri
, City. E. D. Wilson is principal. i
Wayne Franklin Laughter re-
((‘ived his B.S. degree from Mars
I Hill college at the recent .May
' commoncemt'nt exercises. Son of
, Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Laughter, he|
! was active in Pi Sigma Phi tra*.
! ternity, the Monogram club and^
Hie varsity track team. He waS|
a physical education major. \
Laughter will be employed byj
tb(' Charlotle-M(K‘klenburg school!
system as a teacher-coac’h. I
Major Charles E. Painter, sonj
(if Mi-, and Mrs. L. W. Painter ofl
Kings Mountain, recently receiv
ed his B.S. in aeiospace engin-1
coring from the Air Force Insti-(
tute of 'Pechnology.
The Kings Mountain man was
one of three "distinguished" grad
uates in his class in exereis4's at
Wright Patterson Air Force Base
in Dayton, Ohio. He was a mcm*
(Continued Page 8), '
Mayor Moss said hr? w6ul4
an appointment in the
future with regional officials I
the Departnjent of, HoiUlng' and
Urban D(*velopment qiid WotlRI
investigate possibiliiies of. an
I crease in the $392,^
I grant.
I He said he would point <nit thllt
I the federal government's’ t«^*
! thirds share was based on
mates and he would thfU
the grant be increased to
thirds of the actual
The Mayor said that the pitjr,
based on archite^ . estimates,
"could see our way elear^ to ri*
nance the city share-of the ptp*
ject. from surplus, from an Indl?
cated $42,500 contribution from
the Kings Mountain Public HotsB*
ing Authority, and a prior
tribution of $3,000 from the Wil
liam Kemp and Mary Simpson
Mauney Foundation. . '
Here for the bid opening Wafe
Everett Scott, of Raleigh, area
engineer for the D^artment of
Housing and Urban Dewlopment.
Mayor Moss conferred with Mr.
Scott following the bid opening.
‘it Ik the htt^ion and de
sire of the cMy (foriun^ion to siSe
« im,
and we expM to Jeavg no Mogc
unturned m puriHiit ^ pro
ject. "Mayor Mbps 4e^ri^‘.
‘’No stone
the Mayor AddeC '‘d. egm-
paign for fbnds to tttir
differenaes between
I and the cos^ of the’facHily/'-i.^
Haas Family
Moved Tneiday
Mr. and Mrs. Amo F. Haas
moved Tuesday to Jslesfooro, Ma.
In Kings Mountain Mr. Haas
has served as dyeing superinten
dent for a number of years at
K Mills and Neiscx> Sales. He
announced his plans to retire
several weeks ago.
Mr. and Mrs. Haas said, "We
should like to extend our thanks
and gratefulness to all our
friends, acquaintances and busi
ness associates for their hospitali
ty, fellowship and courtesy dur
ing our ten years in Kings Mdim-
tain.”
Hearing Held
On PHA Begmil
Utilities Commissioner Clatirai
L. Williams conducted hekrit^
in Raleigh Wednesday afternoon
on petition by Kings Mountain
Public Housing Authority, tnc.,
for a state certificate of conve
nience and public necessity.
lAppearing in support of the pe-
tition were Thomas W. Harper,
director, and Bob Bradley, attor
ney for the authority.
Comm. Williams exlalned that,
in the absence of objection to
granting of the certificate, he
alone of the five commissioners
was conducting the hearing. He
said he would study the petition,
consider answers to his questions
by Harper and Bradley and would
make recommendation for action
to the full commission.
New Steel Poles
Grace Battlegioiiad
The dty electrical depart
ment this week installed two
more of the new steel poles,
those accommodating the traf
fic signals At Battleground ave
nue and West Gold street and
the traffic signal on S. Battle
ground at the rail crossing.
Better street lighting is also
provided with modern lamps
atop.
Several wood utility poles
will be removed in this area.
Momentarily renK>ved, the
sign dtrecthig southbound traf
fic at Battleground-Gold to
stop on red, then proceed. Will
be attached to tho traffic jflg-
nal as quickly a,k it it re-pahR-