Page 4A
The Kings Mountain Herald
October 6, 2005
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B EDUCATION
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BATES
From 1A
was more deserving of hav-
ing the field house named in
his honor than Coach Bates.
“He is a man we all love
and respect,” Baity said.
“He’s a wonderful man who
puts God first. His positive
winning attitude made
believers out of all of us.
We've often been told that
good guys finish last, but
here’s a good guy that fin-
ished first.”
Punch Parker, the leading
rusher on KM’s ‘60 team
which finished 9-1, said
Bates’ wife, Betty, was his
. English teacher and joked
that the first thing she
taught him was the meaning
of “Oski Oski.” That was
what Coach Bates taught his
defensive players to yell
when a pass was intercept-
ed.
“This is a well-deserved
and long overdue honor,”
Parker said.
Judy Medlin, star basket-
ball player for Bates in his
first year here, said Bates
made an immediate impact
on the team. “We'd run or
do anything he wanted us
to do,” she said.
Jim Medlin, a lineman on
Bates” undefeated 1963
team, said players were
“truly blessed” to have
Bates as a coach and role
model. He said Bates taught
players the meaning of hard
work, discipline, teamwork,
leadership and “to never
lose the moral high ground.
“Everybody knew to play
hard and never use foul lan-
guage,” Medlin said.
Drawing on a quote
attributed to the late Vince
Lombardi, Medlin said
Bates prescribed not to the
theory that “practice makes
perfect” but that “perfect
practice makes perfect.”
“When you went out there
to practice you practiced it
right,” he said. “If you don’t
practice right it’s not going
to happen no matter what
you do. I've tried to factor
that into my life.”
Pat Murphy, quarterback
on Bates’ championship
1964 team, recalled walking
the sidelines of City
Stadium when he was 12
years old and dreaming of
the time he could play high
school sports. He recalled
that in 1959 Bates assisted
Fred Withers with the
American Legion baseball
team and became his
“hero.”
Bates, Murphy pointed
out, followed two legendary
coaches in KM - Shu Carlton
and John Gamble - and con-
tinued the winning tradition
that they started.
“This honor is well-
deserved,” he said. “I know
that up in Heaven there is a
man with a big smile on his
face...and Coach Gamble
says ‘this is the way it ought
to be.”
‘Charles Barnes, who now
teaches and coaches in
Greensboro, gave Bates
credit for easing the transi-
tion for Black athletes into
previously all-white KMHS
in the sixties.
“When I came in 1966-67
it was the first full year of
integration,” he said.
“Coach Bates welcomed us
with open arms and imme-
diately we became part of
that football team. It filtered
right into school and made
(ani Na
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ALE SHOWTIVES INCLUDE PRE-FERTURE CONTENT
IN [of
it easy. A lot of other schools
had problems but we didn’t
have any of that.”
Bates was also responsible
for getting Barnes his first
teaching job as PE coordina-
tor for Kings Mountain
District Schools. “I even had
a truck to drive and got a
full tank of gas every week.
Can I still get that gas?” he
joked.
Geeper Howard, quarter-
back on Bates’ final team in
1970, said when he was
growing up in the late 50s
and early 60s, “football was
the biggest show in town”
and Coach Bates made an
impact on him even before
he got into high school and
began playing sports.
“He saw a lot more in me
as a quarterback than I ever
did in myself,” Howard
said. “The discipline we
learned from him helped us
be more productive in life.”
Bobby Hussey, who began
his coaching career at
KMHS under Bates and
eventually coached on the
college level, said he was
amazed at Bates” winning
percentage when he came
on board in 1964.
“I kept hearing about all
the games this guy's won,”
he said. “I wanted to hang
around him. He did a terrif-
ic job.”
Dr. Larry Allen, Deputy
Assistant Superintendent of
Cleveland County Schools,
credited Bates for his tireless
efforts in seeing to the con-
struction of numerous ath-
letic and academic facilities
in Kings Mountain. In the
case of the football field
house, he pointed out that
funds weren't available to
totally pay for the facility so
Bates spearheaded a fund-
raising effort and enlisted
numerous persons around
town to donate labor.
Dr. George Litton, chair-
man of the Cleveland
County School Board and
former head football coach
at Gardner-Webb, said stu-
dents in the future will reap
the benefits of Bates’ service.
“His legacy willbe
remembered and honored
by all,” Litton said.
. Friday's night's halftime
festivities at KMHS includ-
ed a brief ceremony in
which Gary Stewart,
President of the Kings
Mountain Sports Hall of
Fame, presented Bates a
plaque. A permanent plaque
has also been attached to the
front entrance to the field
house under the letters “Bill
Bates Field House.”
All profits from the
Thursday dinner will go to
the Billy G. Bates
Scholarship Fund at
Gardner-Webb. Persons
interested in supporting the
project may call John
Bridges at Gardner-Webb.
Authors speak to Grover PTO
Authors and reading spe-
cialists Laura Beaver and Jill
P. Nolen spoke to parents
and teachers last week dur-
ing Grover Elementary’s
PTO meeting and open
house.
The picture book the two
created for 2- to 5-year olds,
“Into the Tub,” is being
praised by literacy special-
ists, early childhood educa-
tion experts, teachers and
parents for its simple
message and not just the one
for tots about obeying
Mommy at bath time.
Catch-phrases like “it’s
never too early to start
learning to read” and “par-
ents make great teachers”
are followed by instructions
on how to make every story
count on the road to a
child’s reading readiness.
“Parents are told to read
to their babies before they're
even born, which is wonder-
ful,” Beaver said. “But what
they haven't been told is
that how they read a book
aloud can make a profound
impact on how easily their
children learn to read. “Into
the Tub” gives them this
direction in a simple, pre-
cise, step-by-step format.
An 18-year teaching veter-
an, from kindergarten, sec-
ond grade and third grade
to remediation studies
for at-risk students, Jill
Nolen had seen her share of
students struggling with
reading. After watching her
son, as well as the children
of fellow teachers, grasp
reading more easily upon
entering kindergarten,
Nolen came to a realization.
The children of parents who
had received instruction on
how to properly read to
them were at a clear advan-
tage.
“Aside from sharing a
favorite book with your
child, there’s no better
reward than seeing that
child become an expert read-
er,” Nolen said. “Perhaps
the best thing about “Into
the Tub,” is that
its teacher-tested and gov-
ernment-certified reading
tactics and strategies can be
applied to any of the chil-
dren’s books on the book-
shelf or in the toy box.
“Learning to read doesn’t
begin in kindergarten. It
begins the first time a child
Educators’ group
meets in Bessemer
The Beta Epsilon
Chapter of the Delta
Kappa Gamma Education
Society met last week in
Bessemer City at the First
Baptist Church. Some 49
members from Kings
' Mountain, Bessemer City,
Lincolnton and Cherryville
attended.
The meeting began with
a service in memory of
Patricia Allen Rhyne who
died in August and
Genevieve W. Matthews
who died in September.
Celeste Weaver wel-
comed members and Leigh
Herman delivered the
invocation. Following the
meal, President Wanda
Lutz of Lincolnton brought
the meeting to order. Dr.
Lisa Cantrell introduced a
DVD which was provided
by the Delta Kappa
Gamma Society
International. The DVD
“From the Sparkle of the
Past to the Brilliance of the
Future” highlighted the
growth and work of the
organization since its
beginning in 1929 to the
present.
The Personal Growth
and Services Committee
Former KMHS and Appalachian State basketball star
Charles Barnes, left, chats with his former coach Bobby
Hussey at Thursday’s dinner honoring Bill Bates at the
Patrick Center.
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reported that 16 care bags
had been assembled in
response to the “Friends
Respond and Nurture”
project which is part of the
“Acts of Kindness” state
project.
Kings Mountain mem-
bers attending the meeting
were Connie Bell, Leigh
Bell, Mary Ann Gibson,
Paula Goforth, Julienne
Hambright, Hilda
Leonard, Margaret
McGinnis, Kaye Putnam
and Connie Phifer Savell.
The next meeting will be
Nov. 3 at Boyce Memorial
Presbyterian Church.
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CONTRIBUTED
Authors Laura Beaver, left, and Jill P. Nolen talk during
Grover Elementary School’s open house last week. The
authors shared with parents how they can better assist
their children with reading at home.
hears a story or holds a
book. Every child should
have the benefit of proper
reading instruction before
they start school, and it is
our hope that “Into the Tub”
gives them the edge they
need.”
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