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Linda Bennett Burgess
K]\rg ^Irst Car Saleswoman
iflOS
IS!
We Meet Long
Time Subscriber
We had the opportunity of
meeting one of our long-time
readers here a couple of weeks
back.
We say "long-time” because
we don’t know whether or not he
is the “oldest” Herald reader
still perking along.
The reader is William P. (Mr.
Bill) Saunders.
Mr. Bill is a former Kings
Mountain now residing in
Southern Pines. He is also a
former N.C. Senator and was
formerly head of the old N.C.
Conservation and Development
Department.
“I’m probably the longest
running subscriber of The
Herald you got,” Mr. Bill an
nounced, wl)en he collared
Darrell Austin, our general
manager. "Tve been taking The
Herald continuously since 1923.1
reckon that makes me some
kind of record holder, don’t it?”
As far as we are concerned, all
of our readers are some kind of
record holder, but we do not
know if in fact Mr. Bill has been
on the books continuously longer
than anyone else. Perhaps after
this column is read we will hear'
from someone else who has been
taking the paper continuously
longer than since 1923.
We took it for granted that Mr.
Bill enjoyed The Herald, but
Darrell hedged his bet by
asking.
“Yes sir,” Mr. Bill replied.
“And I read every (expletive
deleted) word of it, too.”
Mr. Bill Saunders is the father
' of Robert (Dottie) Southwell and
he was in Kings Mountain to
attend the wedding of his
granddaughter, Sandra Saun
ders Southwell to John
(Codington Jr.
Chamber Open
House Planned
On Wednesday
Chamber of Commerce members
and the community are invited to
attend open house Wednesday
A (tomorrow) in the new offices of the
^C of C in the Kings Mountain
Community Center.
The newly-furnished quarters are
located in the new adcUtion to the
Center across from the KM
Development offices on Cleveland
{0 Avenue.
Hours of the open house are from 2
until 5 p.m.
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff Writer
The possibility of a gas shortage
and the expense of buying big, gas-
guzzling autos are combining to
bring unprecedented sales of
smaller cars and those using diesel
fuel to local dealerships.
This is the opinion of Kings
Mountain’s newest car dealer - and
probably Kings Mountain’s first
woman car salesman - Linda
Bennett Burgess, who has opened
Linwood Car Sales on Linwood
Road.
Although Mrs. Burgess feels there
is an upsurge in sales of smaller
cars, she al^ is pushing cars with
reduced weight and size that get
better gas mileage.
Auto-trading got into the Kings
Mountain native’s blood 12 years ago
when she went to work for a
Chiysler-Plymouth dealership office
in Panama City, Fla. handling all
the paperwork in the office for five
years before getting into
wholesaling and subsequently into
the retail end of the business for a
Dodge dealership in Atlanta, Ga.
The daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Luther Bennett of Kings Mountain
and mother of two daughters, Lisa
Oine, age 18, and Lashelle Cline, 15,
both of Atlanta, Linda Burgess will
celebrate her first year in business
here this summer, although she
admits what started out to be “just a
weekend job” ballooned into a full
time job involving both her parents
and a staff including Leroy Wood, a
mechanic and retired employe of
Mecklenburg County School System,
and John Sanders, retired grocer on
whose lot the new 8x12 foot sales
office at^ lArg^ car lot is located at
the busy comer of Linwood Road
and Cleveland Ave. Mr. Sanders
operated Sanders Grocery on that
site for many years. He opens up the
sales office each morning for Mrs.
Burgess and relieves her during the
noon hour.
“Selling used cars and trucks is a
different business every day,’’
laughs the attractive blonde who
admits that more than one male
customer at the lot has inquired,
“where’s the boss?” when she asked
if she could assist them. The fact
that she is a woman has not “hurt
my sales,” says Linda, who says the
gentlemen car shopper^ quickly
recover from the shock, Many of
them return with their spouses
before making a selection, which is
also common practice in the trade.
“Very rarely does a salesman sell
a car the first time the customer
looks around,” said Linda, who
affirms that a good car salesman
must be patient and enjoy working
long hours.
Mrs. Burgess asks her father’s
help in selecting “the right cars to
try to sell” and calls on her mother
(Please turn to page 10)
SALESMAN, ER...PERSON—Linda Bennett Burgess, KM’s newest
used car sales operator, has actually been in the transportation sales
business for 12 years. The fact she is a woman hasn’t hurt business, she
says.
Weldon Rougeau Tells Group
Race, Sex Discriniination Still Problem
Ba8s-2
Tourney
April 14
)
✓
A crowd of more than 400 people
attended Thursday night’s first
annual Equal Opportunity Day
dinner co-sponsored by the
Cleveland' i^ounty - Vateis
Registration Association and City of
Kings Mountain.
The dinner meeting was held at
the KM Community Center and
featured an address by Weldon J.
Rogeau, director of Federal Con
tract Compliance Programs of the
U.S. Department of Labor.
According to Rogeau, the fact that
more women and minorities are
competing for jobs and people are
retiring later have led to reverse
institutionalized discrimination.
“The more jobs, the less com-
idaints”, he added.
“Employment discrimination still
exists”, he told the large number of
industry representatives on hand,
“Southerners know what the
problems are because of the
problems they have faced in earlier
times and need to work together to
ratify the problems.”
“We are still vexed with problems
because many people in this country
stilV bfVevc .'Svial and
discrimination and equal em
ployment o^iortunity is no longer a
problem”, continued Rogeau.
He pointed out that the average
earnings of black families is still 60
percent less than white families as it
was a; out 20 years ago.
Otlter problems such as illiteracy,
hunger, disease infant mortality
and poverty are still rampant in this
country, said Rogeau, who
challenged the group that
“Economic equality is the key to
attainment to achieving all rights
and overcoming all problems.” He
added that the country has a long
way to go but reminded that “those
who do business with the federal
government will not discriminate.
Dr. Joseph Roberts, president of
the association, presided.
JXE
L-<.
Calling all bass fishermen!
The second annual Bass Fishing
Tournament on Moss Lake is
scheduled for Sat., April 14 from 7
a.m. until 4 p.m.
Again sponsored by the Kings
# Mountain Fire Department Toys
For Tots project, “Bass-2” is open to
team fishermen only.
The entry fee is ^0 per boat and
registration will be cutoff after the
first 30 teams and boats are signed
A up. Registration fees are in advance
* and entry forms are available
Wednesday through Sunday from 8
a.m. • 5 p.m. at the lake office.
Anglers will go after black and
large mouth bass only from their
boats and official weigh-in time is 4
0p.m. One pound per minute will be
deducted from the total catch up to
4:06 p.m. Any teams checking in
after 4:05 will be disqualified.
A total of 60 percent of the purse
will be awarded in prizes (first
through lOth place) and a special
41 prize of one percent of the purse goes
for the largest black or large mouth
base cau^t during “Bass-2.” All
prizes will be awarded winners
following the final team weigh-in.
Deadline for entering the tourney
l^is 5 p.m., Fri., April 13.
Proceeds above the purse prizes
go into the fire department’s annual
toys for tots program for Christmas
1979. Last year the first tourney
raised over $300 for the project.
. .CONDUCT MEETING—Bill Hager, vice chairman of Rougeau, director of Office of Federal Contract
the Cleveland County Voters Registration Association Compliance Programs, U.S. Labor Department. The
board, and Elwood M. Roberts, chairman of the Equal program was held at the Kings Mountain Community
Opportunity Day Dinner, flank guest of honor. Weidon J. Center last Thursday.
Woman Oubbers
Win 18 Ribbons
Kings Mountain Woman's Club
bers copped 18 ribbons, including 10
first place awards and a state
^Spring^ Events Underway
“Spring in Shelby” Saturday is a
Potpourri, beginning with an art
dismay on the Courtsquare at 9:30
a.m. with varied entertainment
throughout the day and culminating
with an 8 p.m. pn^ram at Malcolm
Brown Auditorium featuring drama,
music and dance presentations.
! Local students from Kings
Mountain Senior High will enter art
in the show which will feature
Primary (K-3); Elementary, 4-6;
Junior High; Senior High; College;
Adult, two and three dimensional
art; poetry; photography; ceramics
and needlework.
Student art should be submitted on
niursday from 3:30 until 5 p.m. at
the loading dock of Cleveland Tech
Annex (the old postoffice next to
Central Methodist Church on
Washington St. in Shelby). All other
art should be submitted on Thursday
evening from 6 until 9 p.m. and on
Friday evening from 6 until 9 p.m.,
according to Mrs. Michael Goforth,
publicity chairman
In event of rain, the art show will
be held in the Tech Annex and the
entertainment will be moved to the
Courtroom of the Cleveland County
Historical Museum.
Included in the entertainment
events will be an Architectural
Treasure Hunt, a slide show in the
Museum, and numerous per
formances including: 10 a m.,
Ponderosa Square Dance Group;
10:30 a.m.-Shelby Schools Or
chestra; 11 a.m.-Greater Shelby
Community Theatre; 11:30, Mon
tage by a Contemporary Music
Group; 12 noon-Meet the People
gathering with opportunity for
citizens to talk wi^ local govern
ment representatives on the
Courtsquare; 1 p.m., Frances Welch
School of Dance; 1:30 p.m.-Crest
High School Drama Group; 2 p.m -
Cloggers; 2:30 p.m.-Puppet Show; 3
p.m.-Senior Citizens Kitchen Band.
The art show and entertainment
will continue until 4 p.m.
“Evening of Spring in Shelby”
opening at 8 p.m. in Brown
Auditorium at Shelby High School
will feature “Shelby Potpourri”
including Richard Dedmon and
Ginny Holdemess in a song-dance
routine from Cole Porter’s “You’re
the Top”; Aleeta Walker in “The
Audition”; from Neil Simon’s “The
Good Doctor”; The Gospel Train, a
Shelby High group Herb Gale and
Jim Huff (The Anchormen) har
monizing on a medley of tunes;
Shelby Senior Citizens Kitchen
Band; Francis Welch and Robin
Franklin in a disco number; a
poetry recitation by Mary Holland;
Herb Gale, Ginny Holdemess and
Dottie Dickson in “Too Late for
Happiness”; “City Lights” from
THE ACT-tap dance number
featuring Robin Franklin, Mae Beth
Boggs, Libby Reynolds, Michael
Prazniak, Melanie Shaffer, Kirby
Phifer, Laura Williams and Lisa
Skinner; Franklin Shell in “Disco”;
a scene from “The Prisoner of
Second Avenue” by Upper
Cleveland County Community
llieatre; and scenes by the Greater
Shelby Community Theater featur
ing a special song and dance num
ber, “Shelby Potpourri”, by Dottie
Dickson and Stan Hardin, master of
ceremonies, and featuring dances
by Frances Welch, June Peacock,
Bobbie Beam, Dottie McIntyre,
Patty Queen, Janet Berry. Mary Jo
Bracken and Kathy Holbrook
Judges for the art show will in
clude Boyce Kendrick, of the faculty
of Central Piedmont Community
College; Carol Parker, of the faculty
of Western Piedmont ommunity
College; Jean Kohl, owner of “Land
of the Sky Ceramics” in Asheville;
Jean Morgan, on the English faculty
of UNC-Charlotte: and Dennis
Nodine, graduate of NC State who
has photographed for ABC Sports,
New York Times, and works for
John Russell Photography in High
Point
winner, in the recent District Four
Arts Festival.
Mrs. Hugh Smith of Kings
Mountain was the top winner,
receiving three first place awards in
the crafts division, a second place
award for a quilted (xllow, and two
second place awards in state
competition during the weekend for
her cloth flowers and combination
needlework which had won first
prizes in the district contests. All
entries of first place winners were
submitted in state competition.
(Please turn to page 9)
West Talent
Show Thursday
Twelve groups of students will
perform in the annual West School
Talent Show Thursday, April 5, at 7
p.m. in B.N. Barnes Auditorium.
Admission is one dollar for adults
and 50 cents for students and the
public is invited to attend.
Winners in the competition ad
vance in the city-wide Kiwanis
Schools Talent Show to be held this
spring.
The l a lent Show is sponsored by
West School Parent-Teacher
Association.