Wednesday, May 6, 2015
The Kings Mountain Herald | www.kmherald.com
Page 7B
Founding Mothers feature Historical Museum exhibit
by Adria L. Focht
Director/Curator
KM Historical Museum
This is the third in a series
of stories surrounding Kings
Mountain Historical Museum's
current exhibit, Pioneering
Women of Cleveland County.
This exhibit focuses a spotlight
on our “founding mothers” —
the women who helped estab-
lish and maintain our area’s
industries, hospitals, schools,
churches, and civic organiza-
tions. The display also show-
cases local women who were
groundbreakers and pioneers
in their professions, those who
opened doors and paved the
way, for women in following
gengfations, :
The following stories high-
light Kings Mountain women
during the GREAT DEPRES-
SION (1929 — LATE 1930S)
& WORLD WAR II (1939
TO 1945).
Ida was the eldest daughter
of William A. Mauney, the first
Mayor of Kings Mountain and
Ida.Pauline Mauney Neisler
(1870-1964): Ran Neisler
Mills at a loss during the
Great Depression rather
than put people out of work.
one of the founders of the first
cotton mill in the city, Kings
Mountain Manufacturing
Company. She married CE.
Neisler, who founded Neisler:
Mills, Inc., which was at one
time Kings Mountain’s largest
employer. Mrs. Neisler was
a force within the local.
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that it was she who insisted
that Neisler Mills run at a loss
rather than close down in order
for mill workers to earn a living
wage during the Great Depres-
sion. Ida is also remembered as
the mediator of Neisler Mills,
as she took it upon herself to
effectively resolve conflicts
between employees and man-
agement when they arose. She
was also extremely communi-
ty-minded, donating the land
for the construction of the First
Presbyterian Church and for
the Kings Mountain Woman’s
Club house; she was a charter
member of both organizations.
GRACE NEISLER
PAGE (1910 —- 1999):
KINGS MOUNTAIN’S
SPORTS CHAMPION
Grace Neisler Page and
her sister Margaret were two
of the daughters of Neisler
Mill founders Charles E. and
Ida Mauney Neisler, and the
namesakes of the Margrace
Mill in Kings Mountain. En-
couraged by her five older
brothers, Grace Neisler was an
avid sportswoman from early
childhood. At Kings Mountain
High School she played varsity
basketball, and at the two-year
school Ward Belmont (TN) she
was a member of the archery,
bowling, softball, and basket-
ball teams. She graduated from
the George Peabody Teacher’s
College (now part of Vander-
bilt) with a degree in physical
education. It was during her
college years that she was in-
troduced to skeet shooting and
began competing in regional,
state, and national competi-
tions. She became North Car-
olina’s Women’s State Skeet
Champion in 1935 and again
in 1936, to a crowd of some
10,000 people.
In 1936, Grace also won the
Midwinter Target Tournament
in Pinehurst, NC, as the lone
female entrant. The Sandhills
Daily News article about her
win read: “Can women shoot
a gun as well as a man? That
question was answered here
yesterday by Miss Grace Neis-
ler of Kings Mountain when
she held out until her closest
rival, a man, Dr. G. W. Sower
of Jonesboro, could no longer
keep pace with her...”
Throughout her lifetime,
Grace served as a camp coun-
selor and coach, and was a
champion of youth sports.
She was active in church and
civil affairs; she taught young
people at First Presbyterian
Church for over 20 years, was
a Girl Scout Troop Leader,
and was active in the Kings
Mountain Woman's Club.
Grace was elected to the
Kings Mountain Sports Hall
of Fame in 1994.
Several original artifacts
relating to Grace Neisler
Page’s legacy are currently
on display, including photo-
graphs of her hunting, fish-
ing, and practicing archery,
as well as “The Sportsman”
Remington 12-Gauge, the gun
she used to win the North Car-
olina’s Women’s State Skeet
Shooting Championships in
1935 and 1936.
GRACE NEISLER
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HAZEL HERNDON
FRYER (1914-2003):
SERVED IN THE
AMERICAN RED
‘Fryers on wedding day.
CROSS IN WwiI
Hazel Herndon Fryer was
a true Renaissance Woman of
Kings Mountain. After reading
Hazel’s autobiography, A Sense
of Delight, one friend wrote to
her, “Your life story reads like
an adventure novel with a sen-
sitive and courageous heroine.”
Truly, Hazel’s life experiences
could have been torn from the
pages of a novel, as she de-
scribes in a resume for her au-
tobiography:
“I have worn the Duchess of
Windsor’s clothes. I worked as
a private secretary to the famous
Industrial Designer, Norman
bel Geddes, during his heyday
in New York City, and eaves-
dropped on Mr. Geddes and
Frank Loyd Wright. I conspired
with Max Reinhardt in directing
a play on Broadway.”
After Pearl Harbor, the
‘American Red Cross asked for
100,000 nurses’ aides. Hazel
answered that call. She served
with the American Red Cross in
England and Germany through-
out WWII. There she met her
husband, an American soldier,
and married in Germany in
1945.
In addition to the intriguing
international career she enjoyed
in her youth, Hazel’s contribu-
tions to the Kings Mountain
community in her later years
were immeasurable. She be-
came a long-time Librarian at
Mauney Memorial Library, a
founding member and first Pres-
ident of Kings Mountain His-
torical Museum, a prolific and
published poet, and historian.
Several fascinating artifacts
are currently on display to tell
Mrs, Fryer’s story, including her
WWII scrapbook, her service
uniform, and her wedding dress,
which was made of silk para-
chute material and lace curtains.
WOMEN IN THE
TEXTILE INDUSTRY
From the start of the 20th
century, women were integral to
- the workforces of the local tex-
tile industries which dominated
this region. In rural areas like
Kings Mountain, as families
moved off of their farms and
into industrial jobs for the first
time, it was common for the
whole family to go to work in
the mills. This trend is evident
in many of the early photographs
of local textile mill employees,
which have high proportions of
women and children. Women’s
roles in the textile industry and
in other manufacturing jobs
would become even more cen-
tral during World War II.
During WWII, millions
of women across the country
were encouraged to take over
jobs previously done by men
who were now serving over-
seas. Images of women work-
ers became widespread in the
media as government and com-
mercial advertising was heav-
ily used to encourage women
to volunteer for wartime ser-
vice in factories. “Rosie the
Riveter” became a cultural
icon representing American
women who worked in fac-
tories. during WWII, many of
whom produced munitions and
war supplies.
KINGS MOUNTAIN’S
OWN “ROSIE THE
RIVETERS”
‘The Old Mountaineer’
newsletter sent news from
home via the Margrace and
Pauline Mills in Kings Moun-
tain to the men and women
serving in World War II. This
photo, from the June 28, 1943
issue, notes: “Sending along a
photo of some of the girls hold-
ing down your jobs.” Many
Neisler family descendants
recall hearing stories about the
Neisler Mills in Kings Moun-
tain producing fabrics that
were used to cover and cam-
ouflage Allied tanks overseas
during WWIL
Learn more about the Pio-
neering Women of Cleveland
County at Kings Mountain His-
torical Museum now through
May 23 from 10 am. — 4
p-m.Tuesday through Satur-
day. Admission is free and
open to the public. Donations
are appreciated. To find out
more about upcoming exhibits
and events, please visit us at:
www.kingsmountainmuseum.
org or call (704) 739-1019.
KINGS MOUNTAIN'S OWN “ROSIE THE RIVETERS”
Photo courtesy of Jacob S. Mauney Memorial Library
s Rostourant
Stop in & see our selection
of Knock-out Roses, Bedding
Plants & Hanging Baskets!
805 Cleveland Ave., Kings Mountain
704.739.7308
Just for
¢ Hanging Baskets
¢ Flowering
Bedding Plants
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Bedding Plants
¢ Honey
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Mom!
Open: M-F 10-6:30 * Sat 10-5:30
1811 Shelby Rd.
Kings Mountain
704.734.0420