Thursday, May 27, 1999
“Vol. 111 No. 21
Since 1889
he
Grace Page, 89,
dies Wednesday,
funeral Friday
Kings Mountain lost a legend
Wednesday morning when
Grace Neisler Page died.
The 89-year-old resident of
EdenGardens was a member of
a pioneer Kings Mountain tex-
tile family, a two-time state
skeet shooting champion, a
member of the Kings Mountain
Sports Hall of Fame, and a
champion of youth sports and
young people.
Mrs. Page was the seventh
child of the late Charles Eugene
and Ida Pauline Mauney
Neisler. She was educated in
the Kings Mountain Public
Schools, graduating from Kings
Mountain in 1927. She attended
Ward Belmont Junior College in
Nashville, TN from 1927 to 1929
before entering George Peabody
Teacher’s College, now a part of
Vanderbilt University.
~ She earned a degree in physi-
cal education from Peabody in
1931. In 1937 she married Harry
Ephriam Page of Lincolnton,
and they made their home in
Kings Mountain. Mr. Page died
in 1985.
Mrs. Page was an avid
sportswoman from early child-
hood. She played varsity bas-
ketball for Kings Mountain
High School for five years. At
Ward Belmont she was a mem-
ber of the archery team, the
bowling team, played catcher
for the softball team, and was a
member of the basketball team.
- Asa senior at Peabody, she
coached at Ward Belmont.
After returning to Kings
Mountain she served as coun-
selor at Camp Greystone near
Tuxedo, NC for a number of
years.
During her college years she
was introduced to skeet shoot-
ing and began competing in re-
gional, state and national com-
petition. She was NC Women's
State Skeet Champion in 1935
and 1936. When members of her
family purchased Oakland
Plantation in Columbus and
Bladen Counties, she became an
ardent deer hunter. In 1994 she
was elected to the Kings
Mountain Sports Hall of Fame.
Mrs. Page was active in
church and civic affairs. A
member of First Presbyterian
Church from childhood, she
taught young people there for
over 20 years. For 17 years she
led the Brownie Scouts, and
served on the Piedmont Girl
Scout Council. She was a long-
“time member of the Kings
Mountain Woman's Club.
* She is survived by her daugh-
ters, Pauline Page Moreau and
son-in-law, Dr. David H.
Moreau, of Chapel Hill, and
Laura Jean Page of Atlanta, GA;
sister, Pauline Neisler Brewer of
Cary; granddaughter, Dr.
Catherine Page Moreau Mathis
and her husband, John Paul
Mathis of Dallas, TX; and
grandson, David Stewart
Moreau and wife, Amy Allison
Moreau, of Raleigh.
The funeral will be conducted
by Dr. Richard Newsome at 11
am. Friday at First Presbyterian
‘Church. Interment will be in
Mountain Rest Cemetery.
-. The family will receive
friends Thursday from 7-9 p.m.
at the Patrick House of First
Presbyterian Church.
... Memorials may be made to
First Presbyterian Church, PO.
‘Box 1133, Kings Mountain, NC
28086; Hospice of Cleveland
County, 951 Wendover Heights,
Shelby, NC 28150; and Ronald
McDonald House, 101 Mason
Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC
27514.
. Harris Funeral Home is in
charge of arrangements.
hol issues probably will not said.
become reality this year. “I want to thank all of those
City Councilman Gene persons who signed the peti-
White, one of the leaders of the tion in good faith,” he added.
forces trying to rid Kings “I want to remind the approxi-
Mountain of its ABC Store and
beer and wine sales in other
establishments, reported at
Tuesday night's City Council
meeting that the group has on-
ly 1,400 of the needed 2,150
signatures, with only five days
remaining until the June 1
deadline.
mately 1,400 voters who
your vote.”
“I do not foresee a miracle
within the next five days,” he
signed the petition to express
their opinion at the upcoming
regular election in which no
one will be able to reverse
Council originally voted
unanimously last fall to call
for an election on whether or
not to continue ABC opera-
tions in Kings Mountain, and
also to impose term limits on
members of the ABC Board.
Ten days later Council re-
scinded the action with Rick
Murphrey, Norma Bridges,
Bob Hayes and Jerry Mullinax
voting in favor, and White,
Phil Hager and Clayvon Kelly
voting against, Council also
later reversed its decision on
term limits.
“It was never my intention
to be the chairman of this peti-
tion effort,” White said. “I con-
sidered my role to be that of a
technical advisor and to pro-
vide technical tools necessary
to get the job done. As it
turned out no one individual
came forward to assume the
leadership role.”
White said he and others
continued to work hard to se-
cure the needed signatures.
Meanwhile, leaders of the
petition drive to seek a mixed
drink referendum in the city
also report that they probably
won't secure the required
»
0 Happy Day!
Graduation from high school is a tremen-
dous accomplishment an a time for celebra-
tion. Kings Mountain High graduates
Constance Simmons (left) and Linda
Phannareth (top photo) have been friends for a
long time and wanted to share a smile and a
big hug prior to walking across the stage of
John Gamble Stadium to receive their degrees.
_ In bottom photo, members of the senior class
leave the KMHS gym for the long-awaited
walk into John Gamble Stadium.
Photos by Alan Hodge
i: programs.
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A decorated veteran of World War Il, Burgan Wilson of Kings Mountain saw plenty of action
in the Pacific. Still full of energy at age eighty, Wilson shows how he once used a round-
house punch to knock out a guy.
Kings Mountain
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‘Memorial Day Memories of
Alcohol petition drive fils
Both proposed votes con-
cerning Kings Mountain alco-
number of signatures either.
They have done slightly better
than the dry forces (with ap-
proximately 1700 signatures).
White said he, for one,
hopes the wet forces get the re-
quired number of signatures.
“I know the 1,400 people
who signed our petition are
ready to vote,” he said. “There
will be a lot of missing faces at
the next city election.”
Despite the failure to receive
the necessary signatures to call
for a referendum, White said
See ABC, 3A
City approves
. rec arrangement
with YMCA
: Final action contingent
i on June lease agreement
i Ona b5-2 vote, City Council Tuesday night
i authorized Mayor Scott Neisler to enter into
i an agreement with the Cleveland County
i YMCA to manage Kings Mountain recreation
i The action is contingent upon approval of a
: June agreement for the YMCA to lease the
i Kings Mountain Community Center and all
: of its Davidson and Deal Street Park athletic
i facilities, excluding the Walking Track.
i Council approved a resolution of intent to en-
{ ter into a lease agreement, but according to
i North Carolina law the notice of intent must
i be advertised 10 days prior to the next
i Council meeting.
i, (lammniissioners Bob Hayes and Jerry
i Mullinax voted against both proposals.
i Several members of the community appeared
: before the board to speak for and against the
i Assuming the lease agreement is approved
{ next month, the YMCA would probably take
i over Kings Mountain recreation programs on
: July 1, the beginning of the city’s 1999-2000
: fiscal year. The lease calls for an original
: three-year term with the option of either par-
i ty to renew for seven additional one-year
i terms. There are stipulations for either party
: to end the lease with proper notice.
i The city will pay the Y $300,000 a year
i ($25,000 per month) to run its recreation pro-
i gram. The city currently pumps over $400,000
i ayear into recreation, including maintenance
i and repairs, and would reserve over $100,000
_ i ina contingency fund for repairs and renova-
i tions and special community activities such
i as Fourth of July and Christmas celebrations,
i spring and fall festivals, which will continue
: to be promoted by the city.
See YMCA, 3A
Kings Mountain’s Burgan Wilson
proud of his service in U.S. Army
BY ALAN HODGE
Staff Writer
Eighty year-old Burgan
Wilson is a big man with a big
laugh who had plenty of big ad-
ventures in World War II. A na-
tive of Flat Rock, Wilson lives in
the Ebenezer community near
Kings Mountain where he often
. recalls his days in the U.S.
Army.
"I was born in 1919 and en-
listed in the army in 1941 at the
age of twenty two," Wilson re-
called. "First I went to Fort
Bragg, then to California. The
next thing I know, I was head-
ing for New Caledonia in the
Pacific to fight the Japanese."
After a spell in New
Caledonia, Wilson's outfit, the
351st Field Artillery/Tank
Destroyers, was sent to
Guadalcanal where he spent
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Shelby
over one year. Some of the
worst fighting in World War II
took place on that jungle island.
"There was nothing but
snakes, mosquitoes, jungles and
monkeys on Guadalcanal,"
Wilson remembered. "There
was every kind of monkey you
could think of. It was rough be-
cause all we had to sleep in was
pup tents and all we had to eat .
was hardtack.”
During the Guadalcanal cam-
paign, Wilson lost several
friends. Even today when he re-
calls their names he also re-
members the pain of their loss.
Wilson also remembers the ene-
my. On many occasions he saw
Japanese soldiers in combat.
"Those Japanese were some-
thing else,” Wilson said. "They
would hide in the hills,
swamps, and trees. Sometimes
L065. Lalayetie SM
Ind-6200