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Once In A
Lifetime
Page 1B
Member Of The
North Carolina Press
Association
Vol. 102 No. 80
The big spinning frames are silent this week at
Sadie Mills Inc., the city's oldest locally, family-owned
yarn plant, and President George Houser is sad.
For four weeks now while mill owners have been
negotiating the sale of the plant, founded by D. C.
Mauney and Larkin Kiser in 1919, over 100 employ-
ces have been on temporary lay off from their jobs.
Only about 15-20 employees have been running
polyester and acrylic yarns in the basement of the mill
this week.
Sadie Mill has expanded several times since the
days it provided the chief employment for several hun-
dred employees, many of them who lived on the Sadie
Mill Village nearby.
Experience For
Steve Marlowe
-
Dixie Youth All Stars To
Play For State
Championship
Page 5A & 9A
Since 1889
Thursday, July 26, 1990
Sadie Is Silent
Kings Mountain's Oldest Family-Owned Mill Lays Off Employees, Looks For Buyer
"It's sad but we're facing reality," said Houser, who
married Laura Mauney Houser, daughter of one of the
founders of the company. Houser is president of the
firm and his son-in-law, Lee A. McIntyre, is secretary-
treasurer.
"The textile imports have killed the cotton market,"
said McIntyre. The escalation of raw cotton prices and
cheap imports, we just can't compete with them."
Houser, who has been in the textile business 49
years, agrees. "Yarn plants are just caught in the mid-
dle," he said. "Sixty percent of ladies apparel comes
into this country from foreign markets." Sadie takes
raw cotton and spins it into yarn
"The people who work for us are just tremendous
and we are saddened that we had to give them tempo-
rary layoffs but are optimistic that we can call them
back in a week or two," said Houser, who was a part-
ner in the operation of the plant for many years with
“i the late L. Amold Kiser, who died in 1966. Both the
Mauney and Kiser families have been active in man-
agement of the spinning operation which opened with
5,000 spindles in 1919 and now boosts 25,000.
Tim Beam, manager of the Kings Mountain Office
of the Employment Security Commission, estimates
that about 230 industrial employees from several
Kings Mountain plants are on temporary layoff.
"We've had no industrial employees applying for work
George McClain
Cooper's Again
Retires From
Page 3A
35¢
Kings Mountain, N.C. 28086
and I think that's a good sign that they expect to be
called back as soon as business picks up. Inventory
levels have gotten to the point that retailers don't buy
as much and this trickles down to the manufacturers,
he said. :
Houser said that several industrial prospects are
looking at the Sadie and that hopefully in a week or 10
days he will have good news for his employees.
"It hurts us like the dickens to have to lay-off these
good workers but we have no choice,” said Houser.
Houser says he hopes it won't be long until the spin-
ning frames are humming again,
Seeks $127,500
City
To See
Bids
Bid-opening by city officials on
major improvements to Bridges
Drive will held at 2 p.m. and 3
p.m. Thursday at City Hall, accord-
ing to Community Services
Director Tom Howard.
After the bids are opened, mem-
bers of the Utilities commitiee will
convene at 7:30 p.m. to review the
bids and to make a recommenda-
tion at next Tuesday's city council
meeting when the bids are to be let.
The July meeting of City Council
is at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Council
Chambers.
Phase I of the Bridges Drive
project calls for sanitary sewer re-
placement, waterline relocation on
Gold Street between Phifer Road
and Juniper Street and installation
of a new six-inch water line to tie it
at Phifer Road, includes channel
improvements, street paving and
curb/gutter.
Phase II calls for Beason creek
upstream drainage improvements
between Watterson Street and
Crescent Hill and Woodside Drive
drainage improvements.
Howard said that several
Bridges-Woodside Drive property
owners attended a meeting with
city officials last week to discuss
the project and he called the sparse
attendance "a good sign."
"This portion of the Beason
Creek work will solve the erosion
and alignment problems we've had
for such a long time," said
Howard.
District I Commissioner Al
Moretz, who chairs the committee,
will preside at Thursday's Utilities
committee meeting, to which the
public is invited. The committee
will discuss water line improve-
ments in Colonial Woods
Subdivision, look at a change order
for Pilot Creek expansion, discuss
See City, 2-A
First Carolina Savings Bank
PLANT EXPANSION-Two Phillips DuPont employees are pictured inside the plant on N. C. 29 south.
The nearly four-year-old company announced this week plans for a $25 million expansion which follows
on the heels of a $12 million expansion now underway. The new expansion will add 75-100 employees to
the workforce of 600.
$25 Million Expansion Planned
At Phillips & DuPont KM Plant
Phillips & DuPont Optical, Inc.,
which produced its first compact
disc in November 1986 at the new
plant in Grover, is increasing its
production capacity by 30%, a $25
million expansion which would
add between 75 to 100 new jobs to
the plant's current work force of
600.
Jim Crawley of Shelby, manager
of the plant on N. C. 29 south of
Kings Mountain, said the invest-
ment is being made in new upgrad-
ed machinery and equipment
which are being added within ex-
isting plant space. He said there
will be no new construction under-
taken.
Crawley said that some of the
new equipment is now in place.
First phase of the installation
should be completed during the
first quarter of 1991.
The plant's production capacity
will jump to 75 million discs a year
from current production of 60 mil-
lion. The project is expected to be
completed in early 1992.
"The exploding demand for
compact discs is a growing mar-
ket," said Crawley, native of Forest
City, who worked with DuPont in
Europe before moving to Shelby in
March 1988 and joining the local
company as manager. He has been
with DuPont for 32 years.
Crawley said that nationally,
compact discs are taking a growing
share of the music market to the
detriment of the traditional vinyl
record. "CDs are gaining," said
Crawley. "Today, 20% of U.S.
households currently have compact
disc players." He said the market is
expected to grow 10% to 20% a
year over the next year and the lo-
cal plant will be ready. In addition
See Phillips, 2-A
Kings Mountain People
United Fund of Kings Mountain
is setting its sights even higher for
1991 as volunteers hope to raise
$127,500., 5% over last year's suc-
‘cessful campaign which raised in
excess of $121,500.00.
Campaign Chairman Glenn
Anderson named division leaders
for the fall campaign at a kickoff
iuncheon Wednesday at Kings
Mountain Country Club.
Heading up the industrial divi-
sion of this year's campaign will be
Pat Carter of Clevemont Mills.
Other chairmen are J. C. and Edie
Bridges, advanced gifts and corre-
spondence; Charles Webber, City
of Kings Mountain; Tom Tate Sr.,
commercial; Huitt Reep, hospital;
Dr. Eric Faust, ministerial; Scott
Cloninger, professional; Dr. Bob
McRae, schools; and Lib Stewart,
publicity.
The campaign for 1991 will run
from late August until mid-
November with the victory cele-
bration slated before Thanksgiving.
A kick-off banquet will be held in
August.
"Division leaders are the key
participants in this year's campaign
and as preparations for the cam-
paign are well underway, I want to
thank each volunteer for the
tremendous responsibility he or she
has undertaken," said Anderson,
city executive for Branch Bank &
Trust.
United Fund President Ruby
Alexander also praised the high
level of community support the
United Fund has received over the
years.
In addition to funding requests
from 16 agencies, this year's
United Fund will provide several
Venture Grants.
"While our goal of $127,500 is a
stretch goal, I have every confi-
Fund
ins
GLENN ANDERSON
dence that amount will be exceed-
ed," said Anderson. "Clearly, there
are needs in our community such
that if we were to raise $200,000
every penny could be put to good
use."
"I encourage and challenge ev-
ery citizen to seriously consider
giving their Fair Share (one hours'
pay per month). If people fully re-
alized the difference their contribu-
tion would make and the needs that
go unfulfilled, I believe everyone
would gladly reach out to help
their neighbors by supporting the
campaign. Our business and indus-
trial citizens have been very gener-
ous in the past and I am confident
we can continue to count on their
great support. To those individuals
who make the sacrifice to provide
financial support, I salute you and I
thank you on behalf of the United
Way agencies and ultimately to
those whom assistance is provided
as a result of your concern and
generosity. Together we'll be
there," said Anderson.
we think you will like.
Herald.
leaders of today were also the leaders in years past.
Savings Bank.
interesting stories.
the Herald advertising department at 739-7496.
Looks At The Way We Were
The Kings Mountain Herald is beginning a new feature this week that
Entitled "The Way We Were," the feature will be published each week
on page 1-C. It will look back through the years to a front page of a
You may see some of your lifelong friends and neighbors. They may
look different but you'll see that many of the community and business
This week's first feature, sponsored by First Carolina Federal Savings
Bank, is a reprint of the front page of the February 21, 1952 Herald. One
of the lead stories that week was the annual meeting of Kings Mountain
Building and Loan, which today is known as First Carolina Federal
You'll also see stories about local businessmen J.C. Bridges, Norman
McGill, George Houser, Humes Houston, and others; local church and
community news, city hall and Merchants Association news, and other
After you read it and reminisce, tell Gary Whitaker and the staff of
First Carolina Federal Savings Bank how much you enjoyed it.
Advertisers wishing to sponsor a page in the future are urged to call
M. L. CAMPBELL
World Campbell's Parish
Rev. M. L. Campbell, 74, retired teacher and minis-
ter, calls the world his parish.
The well known Kings Mountain resident will cele-
brate two important milestones next year: his 75th
birthday and the 50th anniversary of marriage to re-
tired teacher, Sophronia Patterson Campbell.
Both Campbell and his wife taught at the old
Compact School before integration, Campbell as the
popular agriculture teacher and Mrs. Campbell as an
elementary teacher. With school segregation in 1969,
Campbell moved to Kings Mountain High School,
where he retired in 1976 after 37 years, and Mrs.
Campbell moved to Central School, where she retired
after 26 years.
Being both a teacher and a preacher at the same
time has posed no problem to Campbell, who says he
preaches to himself every day of his life. Two years
ago he retired after 44 years as a pastor of the AME
Zion faith but he's still in the ministry, serving as asso-
ciate pastor of Bynum Chapel AME Zion Church and
filling pulpits of almost every denomination, white and
black congregations. Last weekend, Campbell was
guest speaker at the Patterson family reunion in
Philadelphia, Pa. and filled the pulpit of a Presbyterian
Church his wife's family attends.
Campbell moved to the Compact community of
Kings Mountain 51 years ago last week from Moore
County after graduating A&T University. It wasn't
long after he started work at Compact School that
wedding bells rang for Campbell and Sophronia
Patterson.
Baptized at the age of 11, Campbell said he an-
swered the call to the ministry about the same time he
entered the teaching profession. In the early years he
taught agriculture students how to grow cotton and
corn and on Sunday he taught some of the same stu-
dents from the pulpit about God and the Christian life.
See Campbell, 3-A
AE