Red Cross celebrating 75th anniversary
The Cleveland County Chapter
of the American Red Cross will
mark the 75th year of service in
this county since its was chartered
on July 9, 1917. The original cer-
tificate was signed by President
Woodrow Wilson.
The chapter invites all volun-
teers, former volunteers, board
members, former board members
and former chapter chairmen to its
75th anniversary celebration, annu-
al meeting and volunteer awards
presentation and covered dish sup-
per on Thursday, July 9, at 6:30
p.m. at the United Way Building,
132 W. Graham Street, Shelby.
The Cleveland Chapter's petition
for organization was signed by
Mrs. O. Max Gardner, whose hus-
band was lieutenant governor at
that time. Also signing were:
Selma C. Webb, Foy Moore, Ora
_Eskridge, Mrs. Lee B. White, Mrs.
Robert L. Ryburn, Mrs. W. B. Nix,
Mrs. C. R. Hoey, C.C. Blanton and
J.F. Roberts. Mrs. Gardner and
Mrs. Hoey served as first chairman
and vice-chairman respectively.
Miss Webb and Miss Moore were
secretary and treasurer.
The Kings Mountain Chapter of
the Red Cross was organized al-
most simultaneously that July.
Signing the petition to form the
Kings Mountain Chapter were:
C.K. Bell, J.E. Berryhill, W. R.
Beach, B. A. Culp, R.M. Hoyle,
G.L. Kerr, Dr. J.E. Anthony, Dr. J.
Sydney Hood, J.R. Davis, E. L.
Campbell, Dr. L. P. Baker, F.E.
Finger, E. W. Barnes, W.R.
McGinnis, A. H. Patterson, W.A.
Mauney, F. Dilling, C.E. Neisler,
M.E. Herndon, FE.W. Orr and
George E. Lovell. Kerr was named
first chapter chairman. Other initial
officers were Mrs. M.L. Plonk,
vice-chairman; P.D. Hemdon, trea-
surer; and Miss Bonnie E. Mauney,
secretary.
The American National Red
Cross was founded in 1881 by
Clara Barton, She previously had
worked with those wounded on the
battlefields during the War
Between the States. Clevelanders
from Kings Mountain to Casar
sprang to follow the Clara Barton
traditions in 1917 when the United
States entered World War I. The
two local chapters were founded to
_help with the war effort. The Kings
“Mountain Chapter covered the No.
4 Township and Grover while the
Cleveland Chapter covered the re-
mainder of the county. The two
chapters merged in October 1964.
The Red Cross in World War I
was charged, through its chapters
with supplying bandages, surgical
dressings, hospital bags and
Christmas gifts to the military
forces. They also gathered clothing
for refugees.
Historical records in the local
Red Cross Chapter contain inter-
esting highlights of the efforts dur-
ing that time and in later years, It
DEL
was noted that in Shelby, Mrs. O.
Max Gardner's father lent (rent
free) two rooms in a downtown
building as Red Cross workrooms.
Others loaned sewing equipment.
"Women throughout the county
were spurred into a rounding cut-
ting, sewing and needlework. They
knitted socks and sweaters against
a deadline, frantically raveling
when the finished product did not
fit the specifications . . . book clubs
met in the workrooms instead of
homes and sewed instead of read-
ing . . . the non-knitters donned
surgical masks and cut out ban-
dages . . . newspapers listed volun-
teers’ names with the postscript, "
These ladies are expected at the
workroom without further notify-
ing."
Another newspaper article stat-
ed, "To raise money, young ladies
were posted at cotton gins across
the county to beg a pound of cotton
from every farmer. The pounds
were put together in bales and sold
for Red Cross to buy supplies."
Even though involved in the war
effort, Cleveland County found it-
self fighting an enemy at home --
the 1918 influenza epidemic. Red
Cross volunteers went into homes
to care for the sick. They helped
establish an emergency hospital in
the Baptist parsonage in Shelby.
Throughout its history, there
have been wars. World War Ii saw
a reopening of the Red Cross
workrooms; the production of
thousands of pounds of clothing
and bandages; and contributions of
up to nearly $50,000 a year.
Nurses, ambulance drivers and vol-
unteers were recruited throughout
the nation to serve overseas as Red
Cross personnel. Red Cross, for
many years following World War
II, worked to clear its name of the
stigma that it charged servicemen
for coffee and donuts. The Red
Cross, which has never accepted
money from the U.S. government
and is supported entirely by volun-
tary giving, was asked to establish
club facilities for U.S. servicemen
overseas where troops for all
Allied forces would be welcome.
The British high command then
made an official request that U.S.
servicemen be required to pay for
whatever they received, just as
Britain and our other allies*had to
be because voluntary contributions
were not the pattern in other coun-
tries. The Red Cross was adamant-
ly opposed to this concept and
protested vehemently. However,
they lost the fight, in a letter dated
March 20, 1942, from Secretary of
War, Henry Stimson, to Norman
Davis, America Red Cross
Chairman, forcing them to go
along with the request from our al-
lies. The Red Cross clubs operated
at a loss and represented a heavy
financial burden.
Red Cross has worked to over-
come that 50-year-old PR. by still
helping people to avoid, prepare
for, and cope with emergencies
when and where they occur. We are
known throughout the world as
nonsectarian and nonpolitical with
our mission remaining to help pre-
vent and re}. _ numan suffering.
Cleveland County was a charter
participant when the Charlotte
Regional Blood Center was inau-
gurated on Tuesday, Sept. 28,
1948. Approval from the local Red
Cross Board of Directors-was se-
cured by Hal Houpe, chapter chair-
man, from Dr. Z.P. Mitchell,
Cleveland County Health
Department; the Cleveland County
Medical Society; Hospital
Directors through Joe Hamrick, ad-
ministrator; and Dr. Phil Elliott,
president of Gardner-Webb
College. Endorsements came from
many other sources: The Chamber
of Commerce, schools, civic orga-
nizations, the Ministerial
Association, etc. Mr. Larry Moore
was appointed to serve as the first
Cleveland County Blood Program
Chairman.
The first bloodmobile came to
Shelby on Oct. 8, 1948, and was
sponsored by the Elks Club. Sixty
pints of blood were collected.
During the following year all visits
were held in Shelby with the Elks
Club and Junior Chamber of
Commerce as sponsors. The first
rural visit was held in Lawndale.
The earliest bloodmobile schedule
found in the records was for 1950-
51 and shows the county was given
a quota of 800 pints with 11 visits
scheduled. Our projections show
that by the end of this fiscal year
(June 30, 1992) we will collect an
estimated 6,110 units of blood with
over 100 visits scheduled.
This chapter has a long and rich
history of providing not only the
two services mandated by
Congressional Charter, Disaster
and SErvice to the Military, but
many others dictated by communi-
ty need. The work in this chapter
touches many lives: disaster vic-
tims are cared for; service mem-
bers and their families are helped
through many crises; people are
taught and are applying the self-re-
liance skills of Red Cross CPR,
First Aid, Water Safety, etc.; blood
is collected to meet an evergrowing
use by hospital patients and is sep-
arated into a wide range of compo-*
nents and derivatives to meet spe-
cific patient medical needs.
Seventy five years ago we would
not have dreamed of replacing
hearts, lungs, kidneys and other
transplants nor that blood could be
spun down to provide platelets for
cancer patients or white cells, red
cells, plasma or cryoprecipitates
would be used for other medical
needs.
We have had to respond to new
times and conditions all through
the years. Community needs have
been met with new programs:
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WE ARE EXCITED TO BE A PART OF THE KINGS MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY
105 YORK ROAD, KINGS MOUNTAIN
-program,
Emergency Transportation
(Inclement Weather); Autologous
Blood Donation program (self do-
nation for non-emergency surgery);
Recruitment of Bone, Tissue,
Marrow donors; and our newest
Emergency Blood
Transportation. This program was
added this year at the request of the
Charlotte Regional Blood Center
for emergency delivery of blood
products to regional hospitals after
hours and on weekends.
Our Red Cross continues to face
challenges for the future. We are
unsure of what tomorrow may
bring as a provider of emergency
services nor can we -imagine what
medical breakthroughs may occur,
whether there will be war here or
"in other parts of the world, how the
AIDS epidemic will affect millions
throughout all civilization and oth-
er problems we cannot even envi-
sion. We now have four AIDS in-
structors trained to teach classes,
have provided thousands of pam-
phlets to schools, doctor's offices,
the Health Department, etc., but
this situation today may only be
the tip of the iceberg. Sadam
Hussein could cause Operation
Desert Storm II and heavy Red
Cross involvement once again.
We must find ways to recruit ad-
ditional volunteers and resources
for sufficient funding necessary to
provide for the continually increas-
ing demands of Red Cross services
and programs. The unstable econo-
my, recession, cutbacks in federal
funding of many program has in-
creased the responsibility for agen-
cies to assist in human needs.
National Red Cross has expended
the disaster budget and asked in-
dustry, individuals and chapters to
fund raise to meet the deficit. The
United Way problems will increase
the possibility of cutbacks in allo-
cations such as we had this year.
Large capital fund drives by other
local groups such as the library,
Cleveland Memorial Hospital,
Senior Center and YMCA all lower
the available dollars to be raised.
We are fortunate that our capital
fund drive in 1981 allowed us to
build the new building as we had
rented since the early days. The
mortgage was paid off in 1984 and
we grew and expanded until in
1989 when we once again had to
raise funds to build an addition.
Please R.S.V.P. for the celebra-
tion next Thursday by July 6 to the
Red Cross at 487-8594.
VARAT SPORTSWEAR FACTORY OUTLET
Thursday, July 2, 1992-THE KINGS MOUNTAIN HERALD-Page 11A
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