The Kings Mountain Herald
®
Telling the story
of a legend...
John Henry Moss
By Lib Stewasrt
The man who shaped the South At-
lantic Baseball
League - Kings
Mountain’s John
Henry Moss, former
mayor for 24 years
and a baseball legend
in his own right after
spending a half cen-
tury living baseball, is |
the subject of his part §
biography, part South
Atlantic League his-
tory, in the new book just off the press
by retired sports writer Bob Terrell, “John
Henry Moss-Baseball’s Miracle Man.”
Moss presented three copies of the
174-page easy-to-read book to Jacob S.
Mauney Memorial Library this week. Li-
brarian Sharon Stack is planning a book-
signing prior to the holidays.
Kings Mountain folk have long known
the accomplishments of Moss in and for
the Kings Mountain community, his
forethought and leadership in the planning
and construction of city-owned Moss
Lake as a much needed water source, and
now a much touted recreation/residential
area, his legacy.
To recognize his 50 year contribution’
to baseball the SAL will retire No. 50
throughout the league, an honor afforded
to only one other man, Jackie Robinson.
Ridgetop Books, 206 Riva Ridge Dr.,
Fairview, NC 28730 published the book
available at $16. Copies will also be made
~ compiled by
. available at the Kings Mountain Historical
Museum or log onto www.brightmoun-
tainbooks.com.
Baseball stadiums across the Southeast
are putting up bronze plaques to honor
John Henry Moss’s successful effort to
keep the stands full and to provide quality,
wholesome, family entertainment at an af-
fordable price.
Terrell, the author of over 70 books, .
has written for over 40 years about the
Asheville Tourists and other teams in the
South Atlantic, Tri-State, Southern and
Western Carolina Leagues, and millions
of words about baseball, according to
Moss. The two have been friends since
1948 when John Henry met Bob at an All-
Star game in Asheville when Terrell was
on the sports
staff of The
Asheville
Citizen-
Times.
They got
their heads
together for
this book
and lots of
research ma-
terials came
from Moss
collections
his Lote wits. John Henry Moss
Elaine.
This book is a celebration of the South
Atlantic League as well as the man who
shaped it.
Mauney Library opens
+ door to new friends
Mauney Memorial Library is looking for new friends to join in support
of its activities and role in the KM community. Friends can join now for a
small $2 membership fee.
Friends of the Mauney Memorial Library are a group of concerned citi-
zens that recognize the importance of the library to the citizens of Kings
Mountain. Their purpose is to support the mission, goals and objectives of
the library and the Board of Trustees. Their efforts support the library's
book and materials collection as well as the Summer Reading Program.
Becoming a Friend entitles members to be invited to special events and
early admission to book sales. In 1989, the Friends of the Library was an ac-
tive group of volunteers. The group ceased existence in 1994.
The lifetime memberships that were purchased through the 1989 Friends
will be honored by the current organization. For more information, contact
any Board member or Library Director Sharon Stack at 704-739-2371.
Notice
®
1
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Merry Pre-Christmas all y’all!
Most of you who have read this col-
umn for the last year and a half know by
now that I am a sucker for this time of
year. Fall is way up on the Powell’s list as
quite possibly our most favorite time of
the year, with the exception of Christmas.
However, old fogies that we are, we
still get a bit leery when we turn on our
television to watch our favorite shows and
we get inundated with more pre-Christmas
advertisements and commercials then you
can shake a stick at. I get that advertisers
have to start early in order to make sure
their products are seen by all the tots out
there, many of whom haven’t even gotten
started on their Santa letters yet, but give
us all a break! Some of these businesses
began their Christmas ad blast way back
in July and August. No doubt many wish
it could be Christmas all year ‘round.
However, buyers have to have a breather
every now and then.
My wife and I, once we get over the
shock of the aforementioned inundation’s
usually try to make the best of it, fantasiz-
ing about buying our new grandson some-
thing truly grandiose for his first
Christmas. By grandiose, I mean some-
thing on the order of one of those battery-
powered Cadillac Escalades or a
battery-powered Harley-Davidson. When
we call our daughter to tell her about what
we want to do, her usual answer is
“Daddy He’s only a few months old! He
won’t be able to ride it until he’s at least
one!” Sheesh! She acts like he’s going to
fall off it or something. I mean, for crying
out loud, his dad races cars and motorcy-
cles, right? He can teach him how to hang
on and when to give it the gas in a curve!
Once we hear her argument, my wife
elbows me and says, “Honey, she’s right.
He’s just a baby. He’s so little and we both
know his tiny toes can’t quite reach the
floor even when he’s in his walker. Now,
just imagine him trying to reach the pedal
on one of those kinds of toys.” I hate their
girl logic sometimes. It makes me mad
that they're always right! Both of them!
And at the same time! I tell you, it’s a
conspiracy and they surely must’ve
formed it when “Killa” was born. Poor
“Killa” and “Killa’s” father. They’re
doomed.
I'm not too worried though, because I
know the Christmas commercials will
continue, increasing as the day of all days
draws closer. Fortunately, I can sit in front
of the television and have my senses
blasted by toy after toy paraded before my
eyes, begging me to buy it. I'm so into
watching it, I'm too weak to reach for the
remote and do the manly thing, like turn-
ing off the “tellie”. :
I finally get around to turning off the
infernal machine and we get ready for
bed. My wife, seeing I have a crazed look
in my eye, tells me to get the mail. Oh,
yeah! That’ll calm my nerves! Like a
lamb being led to the slaughter, I step out-
side, reach into our mailbox and pull back
what appears to be thousands; if not mil-
lions, of brightly colored mailers, resplen-
dent with every toy imaginable. Before I
can chuck them into the waste bin, she
snatches them from me and runs upstairs
with them, laughing maniacally. She
thinks this is a game. It is. A cruel one!
To make matters worse, my compatri-
POWELL’S
NOTEBOOK
By MICHAEL E. POWELL
Editor@mycherryville.com
ots in the journalism and advertising
world I know so well have let me down
too by jamming the local papers already
with what look like larger, more garish
versions of the smaller fliers I retrieved
from my mailbox. Is there no escape from
all this?
I plop myself down on our bed as my
wife is humming to herself and smiling
like a child, rifling through the Christmas
ads like an old veteran. “Grab a stack and
help me look,” she says.
“Look for what,” I dully mumble.
“Why silly, for ‘Killa’s’ first Christmas
present, of course,” she replies. “I just
know it’s here somewhere!”
Looking at the inserts and fliers piled
high on our bed, I know I have my work
cut out for me. I’m beside myself with the
fear I know she must surely see. As a man,
my shopping know-how amounts to, like
all of my gender, entering a store after
seeing what I want on TV (sometimes),
then heading to the mall or a big box store
and purchasing same.
Seeing my dejected look, my wife asks,
“What’s wrong? I thought this was your
favorite time of the year? Help me out
here, O.K.? We’ve got to find something
for our grandson. It’s his first Christmas!”
“Yes, I know,” says I. “And it may very
well be my last if I don’t find some way to
. de-Grinchify myself!”
After what seems like hours wading
through insert after insert, I finally fall .
back on my pillow, too exhausted to look
at another advertisement. I turn on the tel-
evision, hoping against hope that my fa-
vorite channel, the History Channel, will
have something totally escapist on to dis-
tract me from the reality of pre-Christmas
shopping.
I can see I've just missed the “Search
for the Real Sasquatch,” so I wait for the
next program, hoping it will be about
great battles or something equally cool
and manly. Suddenly I see it. Brand new
to the History Channel, shown for the
very first time: “The History of Black Fri-
day - Shopping on the day after Thanks-
giving!” I ¢an’t win. I throw down the
remote and roll over and try to get some
sleep. All I can see after I shut my eyes is
me sinking in a sea of multi-colored fliers
while “Killa” rides a wee battery-powered
Harley-Davidson motorcycle around my
head. I just can’t win, even in my dreams.
Oh, well... Merry pre-Christmas!
New Classes at YMCA
Kings Mountain Family YMCA has
added two new classes, the nationally ac-
‘claimed Hip Hop Hustle & Turbokick. No
experience is required to take the classes
which are taking reservations.
Thanks for protecting our neighborhood
Letter to the Editor:
The residents of the
West End Neighborhood
along with many citizens
42¢ Forum...
If you have left a photo at
The Herald and wish to
reclaim it, please do so
THIS WEEK!
We will be moving into our new
building at 700 E. Gold St. next week.
Unclaimed photographs
will be destroyed
at that time.
of Kings Mountain were
so relieved, when, last
Thursday, Walgreens with-
drew plans to build one of
its combination drug and
convenience stores in the
West End neighborhood.
Walgreens says they
pulled out because of the
economy, but this is un-
likely because of the tim-
ing of their announcement.
They withdrew just hours
before the Planning &
Zoning Board was to vote
on the rezoning they
needed to build the store.
Do you really believe
that Walgreens just real-
ized last Thursday that the
economy would not sup-
Letters to the Editor
port a new store here? I
doubt that. If the economy
was the reason, they
would have pulled out a
long time ago.
The real reason they
pulled out is that they real-
ized that the citizens of
Kings Mountain did not
want a combination drug
and convenience store de-
stroying one of our beauti-
ful, traditional residential
neighborhoods.
Our public officials and
the citizens serving on the
Planning and Zoning
Board understand the im-
portance of protecting our
residential areas. This de-
velopment would have
eventually destroyed a
large part of our neighbor-
hood.
Walgreens finally saw
the handwriting on the
wall, and made a face sav-
ing retreat.
Thanks to everyone
who supported the West
End Neighborhood on this
issue! I hope Walgreens
will now find a better lo-
cation for their Kings
Mountain store.
Helen Hatch
Kings Mountain
Kings Mountain Hera
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Bill Parsons - Publisher
(bparsons @kingsmountainherald.com)
Emily Weaver - Editor
(eweaver @kingsmountainherald.com)
Gary Stewart - Sports Editor
Lib Stewart - Staff Reporter
Nancy Miller - Advertising Coordinator
Lisa Zyble - Composing Manager
Wendy Isbell - Office Manager
Kathy Reynolds - Circulation/Classified
Betty Johnson - Mailroom Supervisor
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