Newspapers / The Kings Mountain Herald … / Aug. 9, 2001, edition 1 / Page 5
Part of The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Rr | (RP A er SAA Y.-S ogo AM SR A GH RNA rv ot A A rTP y ay. - — -l we | A . . i oA Page 5A I was in a restaurant the other day and I heard an elderly couple mention a lending library they patronized in their youth. My, my, I didn't think anybody remembered lending libraries. I remember them well. When I lived on the Victory Mill hill in South Gastonia, Stevenson's grocery store had a lending library. I don't remember the cost, but I think you could borrow a book for 10 cents. They had a little bookcase in the store and it was crammed full of excellent books. I think I read everyone they had at one time or another. That was also the first time I ever heard of an honor system. No library card was needed. It was just a matter of choosing a book, paying your dime and going your merry way. The store pro- prietor would jot down your name in a spiral notebook and mark through it when the book was returned. I loved it, and I would like to see the practice return to prominence. Mention of the lending library set me to think- ing about other things. The 12 o'clock whistle, for example. Most of the cotton mills in those days would sound a whistle at 12 noon each day, and it could be heard all over the mill villages. We used to call that bean time. Remember tom-walkers? For those who are too young, tom-walkers were empty vegetable cans that were turned upside down with two holes punched in the bottom. Twine, or cord of some kind, could be threaded through the holes, knots tied on each end so they wouldn't come back through the holes and then used to walk around. The kids on the mill village would use the bands from the mill, because they were so strong. The way it worked was a kid would step up onto the overturned cans and grasp the loops formed by the twine and proceed to walk down the street. There have been many turned ankles among those who venttired out on a pair of tom-walkers. Many of the kids used to buy those little packs of candy called Kits. I think there were four in a package and they cost a penny a pack. As we all know, those days are gone. If you were lucky enough to sit by a radiator in school, you could unwrap a kit and put it on top of the radiator. When it melted a little you stuck it in your mouth and ate it and it was delicious, but it took the rest of the day to work that gummy mess out of your teeth. Nowadays people pay to get rid of their old tires when they buy a new set. In the mill village where I lived as a kid, old tires were treasured. We rolled them all over town as fast as we could. At the end of the day, our hands and clothes were filthy and it took a healthy portion of Grandma's lye soap to get the tire black off, but it was great fun. If I wasn't so old, I'd go out and roll a tire this afternoon. Inner tubes, they don't make many of them anymore. There is no slingshot on the market any better than the ones we used to make using rub- ber from an old inner tube. I liked the red ones best. We also used to cut strips from an old inner tube and shoot them with a rubber gun. Rubber guns were made by sawing a plank in- to the shape of an automatic pistol and strapping a clothes pin the the handle portion of the carved out gun. Then a piece of rubber was doubled, the loose ends placed in the clothes pin and ‘the looped end stretched across the front of the gun. To shoot, you simply squeezed the clothes pin. I took part in many rubber gun battles. Those were the days. I wonder if | could find a good, red inner tube somewhere. Hello school, goodbye TV One of the most trau- matic events in a person’s life comes at an early age. No, it’s not the time when you get your very first gander at the cold, cru- el world and a large; masked being grabs you by your: ‘ankles ‘and gives youabig old slap; but the very first day of first grade. The first day of school means no more lounging about watch- ing cartoons. Gone too are the halcyon days when the greatest worry is trying to decide what toy will occupy your thoughts and hours. Also a thing of the past are luncheons made of whatever strikes your little fan- cy. Even the privacy of trips to the bathroom are shattered by the first day of school. For many young’uns, the first day of school has a double trau- ma in that they are put on a bus with a load of strangers. Who can forget that inaugural bus ride to school, and that fateful trip down the aisle looking for an empty seat. What a shock to a six-year-olds nervous system to have strange and sometimes menacing eyes watch your ev- ery step as you looked for a place to alight. Besides the bus, the first day in the school lunchroom is an- other experience few who have lived through it will likely for- get. Even now, every time I eat a grilled cheese sandwich I am taken back to the cafeteria at Alan Hodge Guest Column East Belmont Elementary and the food we were given there. Besides the weekly grilled cheese so saturated with mar- garine that you could wring it like a sponge, there were other delicacies such as soup made from the weekly left-over beans and corn, as well as ketchup drenched fish sticks (species un- known). Now, the actual classroom of- ten holds its own tremulations for the arriving first grader. Besides the smells and sounds of a whole corral of new peers, there is the new challenge of a strange adult who can pretty much tell you what to do every minute you are there. Again, I recall my first day at East Belmont and the kindly way our teacher Mrs. Page brought us orange drink in Dixie cups and graham crackers as treats. Even though this stopped after a couple of weeks, I knew in my little heart that our class had been slud into the real world in as gentle a way as possible. New rules quickly thrust up- on you is another trying aspect of the first day at school. Two of the hardest as I recall involved having to refrain from chatter- ing with classmates, and paying attention to what was being written on the black board. Oh, how silly and cruel it seemed to me to sit there like a knot on a log when there were so many rumors to start or such lovely clouds to watch drifting across the azure sky outside. Of course the hardest part of the first day of first grade is leaving mom behind. As most of you know, more than one tear has been shed at this rite of passage. Many too, are the kids WOMEN’S RETREAT CHRISTIAN FREEDOM BAPTIST CHURCH “THE HAND OF GOD” (BIBLE STUDY) SPEAKER: ASHLEY HARTLEY SPECIAL MUSIC: RHONDA FREEMAN SATURDAY, AUGUST 18, 2001 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM COST $10.00 PER PERSON LUNCH PROVIDED FOR TICKETS: CALL MARY BOWEN 704-739-0648, ASHLEY SULLENS 704-734-0964 OR CHURCH OFFICE: 704-739-4152 TICKET DEADLINE: AUGUST 10, 2001 DRESS: CASUAL Sponsored by: Christian Freedom Baptist Young Women Women living ordinary lives 5 Open to an extraordinary God Willing to do as God commands who have taken their seat in class with red eyes, sniffling noses, and quivering chins. For me, the hardest part of this or- deal was knowing I would no longer have my mom fetch me a cup of coffee around 9 a.m. Well, by the time this hits the stands, most kids will be over . their first day of school. Most will even go back for a fuil 12 years of the public school sys- tem. For all, that very first day of first grade will be with them for the rest of their born days. Pos iE Cleveland Co. Commissioners: Willie B. McIntosh Jr., Chm. 219 New Bethel Church Road Lawndale, NC 28090 538-3768 Tom Bridges, Vice-Chm. 129 Candlewood Dr. Kings Mountain, NC 28086 482-2747 Ronnie Hawkins 316 Countryside Rd. Kings Mountain, NC 28086 739-7078 Charlie Harry P.O. Box 79 Grover, NC 28073 937-7434 Mary S. Accor 944 Dixon School Road Kings Mountain, NC 28086 937-7508 Cleveland Co. Sheriff: Dan Crawford Cleveland County Courthouse 100 Justice Place Shelby, NC 28150 484-4817 Clerk of Superior Court: Linda B. Thrift Cleveland County Courthouse 100 Justice Place Shelby, NC 28150 484-4852 -Register of Deeds: -- Bonnie Reece Cleveland Co. Administrative Bldg. 311 E. Marion St. Shelby, NC 28150 484-4834 County Coroner: Ralph Mitchem 708 N. Washington St. Shelby, NC 28150 482-1938 Kings Mountain City Council: E.O. “Rick” Murphrey, Mayor 402 Garrison Dr. Kings Mountain, NC 28086 739-7401 Bob Hayes 807 Rhodes Avenue Kings Mountain, NC 28086 739-3704 Jim Guyton 707 Groves Street Kings Mountain, NC 208s 739- 2480 Carl B. DeVane 1308 Wales Road Kings Mountain, NC 28086 739-4882 Clavon Kelly 701 Woodside Drive Kings Mountain, NC 28086 739-2184 Dean Spears 301 Maner Road Kings Mountain, NC 28086 739-5192 Howard B. Shipp 507 Mitchell Street Kings Mountain, NC 28086 Gene White 315 Fulton Drive Kings Mountain, NC 28086 739-1574 Grover Town Council W.D. “Bill” Favell, Mayor 113 Lakeside Dr. Grover, NC 28073 937-9240 John Higginbotham P.O. Box 513 Grover, NC 28073 937-3145 Jack Herndon P.O. Box 77 Grover, NC 28073 937-7739 Robert L. Hunt P.O. Box 777 Grover, NC 28073 937-9371 ? © (202) 225-1 "Fax: (704) 864-2445 Max D. Rollins 316 Cleveland Ave. Grover, NC 28073 937-7352 Kings Mountain School Board Shearra Miller, Chm. 403 West Mountain St. Kings Mountain, NC 28086 739-0806 Jerry Z. Blanton 115 Brook Rd. Kings Mountain, NC 28086 739-8367 Terry B. McClain 109 Country Meadow Ln. Kings Mountain, NC 28086 734-1091 Stella N. Putnam 413 Phifer Rd. Kings Mountain, NC 28086 739-9080 United States Government: 3 hay 14958: 3G Te Nar 3 Sue Myrick, Representative; 230 Cannon House Office Bldgs Of Washing! on: De 20515 ss Fax: (202) 3389 e-mail: mytick@mail, house: i b website! Wwiv.house. gov /in Ji Gastonia ‘office: ABs 318 South St, Suite B iW Gastonia, NC 28052 aaa (704) 861-1976, 1 ol { 9219] Teens Driving? Aiki Z FY RSENS 16 d onl You're Covered. To find out more about our auto insurance Lov orl Call me... Stop by... Log on - Kings Mountain, NC ¢ 739-3953 ~ johncaveny @nationwide.com Life insurance underwritten by Nationwide Life Insurance Company. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, and Affiliated Companies, Home Office: Columbus, OH 43215-2220 Al 11/00 | ; OVE] if it’s your choice! The Caveny Agency 0 306 E. King Street ie | Nationwide’ Insurance & Financial Services Nationwide Is On Your Side’ BAD CREDIT « NO CREDIT » REPOS *0 Down Pro Now Available gram Traneportation? Come see Don Fontenot at Shelby Motors! Don Fontenot, Jr. Special Finance Manager “5 Years Experience.in Special Finance®. = Driver's ens “Copy of current phone bill | +Auto insurance | information £3 Repos © Liens * Slow Pays * Collections * Bankruptcies I Had Some Past Credit Problems?? Call Our Confidential Credit Hotline , A -800-265-8256 Experts On (Staff Dedicated to rane You A a Loan Approval : SHELBY MON.-FRI. 9-8pm ¢ SAT. 9-6pm Closed SUNDAY HO IAA HLE Lule l] S305 W. Dixon Blv., ~ 484- 0049 ‘Shelby, NC ° Jone {5
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 9, 2001, edition 1
5
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75