Newspapers / The Kings Mountain Herald … / Oct. 20, 2010, edition 1 / Page 4
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
Front Porch Music By Ron Isbell Publisher Livestock, brain sandwiches and pie A pickup truck was parked in front of Food Lion last week. Not unusual at all, but this one had stock racks on it. In the year 2010 that’s pretty unusual. It did, however, take me back to the mid 1950s in Rusty Springs, the town where I grew up, conjuring up some im- ages, tastes and pretty strong smells buried deep in my 5 ‘memory. biel 2 ‘| Dad had a blue 1950 Chevrolet pickup that took us | nearly everywhere we needed to go back then. It was a mul- tiple-use vehicle long before SUVs and extended cab pick- ups took over heavier transportation duties for Americans. ‘Like many people around Rusty Springs we farmed a lit- tle, but “cash money” came from a job off the farm. In dad’s case it was construction. When the winter days got too cold to pour concrete he turned his attention to our livestock, an enterprise that put food on our table and supplemented his paychecks. Our herd was small, ten to fifteen cows maybe, but it fed us and provided some income. Thus, the pickup and a set of stock racks. And the SALE BARN! Boy what a place for a six-year-old! Rusty Springs had had a small sale barn (for the uniniti- ated, that’s a place where livestock is bought and sold by auction), but regular auctions weren’t held there anymore by the time I was deemed old enough to go along with Dad and Grandpa. Our destination was 15 miles up the road where they had not one, but two, auction barns. One held an auction every Tuesday; the other every Thursday. This presented some- CLE “South” barn because they held a tool and miscellaneous auction before the livestock auction. He could always find a bargain there or at least have a good time trying. Grandpa, however, preferred the “North” barn. He loved the fish/sand- wiches in the restaurant there, but the real treat was the brain sandwiches they sometimes offered. Didn’t have brains every week. one: I never tried one but Grandpa loved them. For me it was my first step toward manhood. We dipped away from the “women and children” for the day. My brother John wasn’t old enough to come along yet, so it was just the three of us and sometimes just Dad and me. There was even conspiracy involved. I was sworn to secrecy every trip when Grandpa would follow up his fish or brain sand- wich with a three-inch thick piece of banana cream pie. Then again when we'd slip back to the restaurant for a sec- ond slice later in the afternoon. “Don’t you be tellin’ Grandma we ate this pie, now,” he’d say with a conspirator- ial wink. Dad couldn’t hide the stuff he’d buy at the tool auctions, but Mom never seemed to mind. She knew he’d paid a whole lot less for it that it was worth. And, it was just as often a new set of knives or stainless steel bowls as it was hay hooks and shovels. And, of course, none of that was why we came to the sale barn. Supposedly. And I was Spied by the hols process. vi In addition to the “ring” whe!d the action took plats, j there were dozens and dozens of small pensup and down : HG Caimi livestock to be sold it was unloaded and putina pen with a lot number posted on the gate. 3 After parking the truck, our first “job” was to walk the! aisles and look over the day’s offering. Dad would make. notes about which lots he’d be interested in bidding on. Then we’d return to the ring and take our seats on the wooden bleachers that surrounded it. It was almost always | cold, and the seats were always, always hard. There was an order to the auction that started with sheep, then moved to hogs before the first of the cattle ever appeared. That could make for a long, boring day. for a six-year-old. Grandpa’s trip for a second piece of pie always came at just the right time. Revived, I'd be ready to pay attention when the first lot of calves Dad was interested in was trotted into the ring. “Ten, ten, ten. Who'll start the bidding at ten?” the auc- tioneer would chant. “Alright, then, who’ll give me five to 20?” A head would nod or a finger raise and the ring man of excited when Dad would nod and for a brief moment’ those calves were ours. It was hectic; the bidding was fast; then it was over. We bought or didn’t buy and moved on to the next lot. At the end of the day we’d load up the calves we’d bought in the back of that blue 1950 Chevrolet with home- made stock racks, crowd into the cab and head home chilled to the bone. And one more admonition from Grandpa: “Remember. Not a word about that pie to your Grandma.” 3 what of a dilemma for Dad and Grandpa. Dad preferred the four aisles that led to the ring. As farmers brought i in their would yell, “Yes!” and the bidding had started. I’d get kind Bl tar te Yor Avi Sot trl Smt at "Face Painting + Revolutionary Re-enactment + Music Golf Cart Rides on the Trall ¢ More Barbecue tickets: $8/adults * $5/children : b Tipkets available at: Kings Mountain Chamber Office, Alliance Bank J Oliver's, Dellinger's Jewel Shop, First National Bank 807 S. Battleground Ave ’ Kings Mountain : call 708.739.8755 Rd for more informatie The Kings Mousitain Herald RENDEZVOUS: for scouts this weekend at fairgrounds FROM Page 1 Music from live bands, appearances of local celebri- ties, rock-climbing walls, equestrian = exhibits . and SWAT team demonstrations will be held. A pioneer “Mountain Man Village” and a Native American Village will be set up for the scouts to explore, along with a model railroad. “Cub World” will feature car, space and boat derbies. Boy Scouts will also be showing off their own pio- neering projects of a merry- go-round, monkey bridges, catapults, and a signal tower they made with their own hands. “There will be a lot of hands-on exhibits, 2 King said. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol plans to have a driving simulator set up in one of the patrol’s trail- ers. Myra’s Catering, out of Valdese, will -be serving meals in two. large tents on the fairgrounds. An American Red Cross blood mobile will be set up, collecting donations. The Cleveland Commu- nity College’s Fire Rescue . Trainers will host a special program for selected scouts who will learn rappelling, extrication and GPS rescue techniques and how to fight fires. Some scouts will also be taking part in swift water - rescue training at the Y. Late afternoon on Satur- day, the scouts will exit the fairgrounds and march across the street to the am- phitheatre at Cleveland Community College for a live stage show with special host: Jennifer Marion, of Marion Chevrolet. The show ‘will be followed by a fire- works display. King estimates that the last time Cleveland Couty Wednesday, October 20, 2010 Local scouts participate in a fun teamwork exercise, each pulling a rope to move a triangu- lar platform which carries another boy in the Scout Show held in May. Red Cross blood drive Saturday The American Red Cross will be hosting a blood drive at the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts celebration at this weekend’s Rendezvous on the Cleveland County fair- grounds. Blood donations will be collected from 10 a.m.- 2:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 23. Participants who donate blood will be entered to win a pair of Delta Air Lines tickets. All donors will receive an American Red Cross Stadium cush- ion. All donors must pres- ent a photo ID or an American Red Cross blood donor card at registration. hosted the Rendezvous, about seven years . ago, nearly 15,000 people at- Motorcycle Spirit Run benefit Nov. 6 Earthen Vessel’s Motorcycle Ministry will hold its sec- ond annual il Spirit Run Nov. 6 to benefit the Merry Christ- a s Mountain Toy Distribution. ‘Registration begins at 9 a.m. at Family Worship Cen- ter, 118 Shelby Rd., with first bike out at 11 a.m. Regis- unwrapped; toy. | tration fee is $15 (single) and $25 (double) and includes lunch at the church. Those fending are asked to take an ‘Call Doug Allen, 704- 750-4430, or Rocky Smith, 704- ' 813- 1098, Jot more information iy annua] | NNER Ribbor y Sponsored by SEVER] So SE ‘tended. The council looks Rescue Squad will provide ambulance services and medical attention along with other volunteers. The Shelby Police Department will han- dle traffic concerns. ~ “The main goal is for kids to have a real once in a life- time experience,” King said. forward to another big crowd this year. “This event is second largest to the National Jam- . boree (for Scouts) in the Southeast,” King said. The council started plan- ning the event about two years ago. Rendezvous 2010 is The Boy Scouts will be hosted by the Piedmont ‘building their own city of Council of the Boy Scouts of sorts for Rendezvous 2010. This city of learning, explo- ration and bonding with America program. The coun- cil oversees scouts in 11 counties, including Cleve- “brotherly love” will be for- land, Gaston, Lincoln, tified by local law enforce- = Rutherford, Polk, McDow- ment, rescue and| fire ‘ell, Caldwell, Iredell, agencies. Catawba, Alexander and The Cleveland County Burke. Sheriff’s Department will be The Rendezvous i is open to all who wish to attend. A fee will be ehiarged Be the gates. More than 100 voliniesrs will be helping out with the Rendezvous this year, : providing security at the event. The Cleveland Volun- teer Fire Department will man the fire station on the fairgrounds. The Kings Mountain Tree Dedication Ceremony in memory and honor of those flied with cancer {ase Saturday fh October 2% ~~ Walking Track © (nextto YMCA) Senior Project - Erica Hicks Neleor eda vi hr >) 1x Ny PRR ny Tro Blue oe EI BTCHeTs NTT oi ii Carolina will fe Are hi The =O Chair, chair, we aking n Jee ROR ears a button to the Pink Tea. Please register by calling 980-487-3724. Seating is lin od,
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 20, 2010, edition 1
4
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75