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SECTION B THURSDAY. JANUARY 22, 1981
ions, Joel
Wallace,
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Bennett Home Animal Haven
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KISSING CAT — Puiiy-Buddy, a pet tom cat, U one of the more
affectionate pets that lohnny Bennett, above, and his wife, Lin
da, enjoy at their home on El Bethel Road. The cat likes to kiss
his master on the nose.
Johnny and Linda Bennett
have been adopting stray
anirnals for several years and
have started what may appear to
be an unusual hobby for pet
lovers, the breeding of ferretts.
The Bennett home on El
Bethel Road has become a haven
for dozens of cats, guinea pigs,
flying squirrels, and even a male
African Bush lion cub.
“What we’d really like to pur
sue is the breeding of exotic
cats,” said Bennett, “but we
don’t think our neighbors would
like the idea when the animals
became full grown. So we started
raising ferrets which we highly
recommend as easy to care for
and inexpensive pets.”
Josie, the five-months-old
baby in the Bennett family’s re-
ore
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BENNETTS AND PET — Linda and lohnny Ban-
nett enjoy pets and have raised ferretts as a
hobby for two years. Mrs. Bennett holds the
baby and pet of the litter, Josie. who has not
been climatised to the outdoors and lives in a
cage in the house.
Story And Photos By Lib Stewart
cent litter of ferrets, has become
a house pet while her brothers
and sisters. Hot Lips, Scooter,
l.ester and Casper are housed in
warm cages in the barn. Ferrets
are pole cats in the weasel family
and the two breed pair produce
one or two litters each year, 6-10
babies, most of whom the Ben
netts offer to the public for pets.
Josie was brought into the house
because she was smaller than the
rest of the litter and had to be
bottle fed. She has her own cage
but quite often romps in the liv
ing room with the cats and two
flying squirrels.
Linda continues the story.
“Ferretts eat dry cat food,
fresh, raw meat and vegetables
and some meat and fruit. They
eat less than cats and it takes
very little to feed them. Ferretts
retail from $50 to $100 up,” she
said.
Linda and Johnny keep
records on all their pets and
never breed parent to offspring.
When full grown, a ferrett can
kill a medium size dog but when
he becomes agitated will spray
his attacker, in similar manner to
a skunk. The odor is not as of
fensive and the musky smell re
mains only about 10-15 minutes.
“Spraying is a protective device
and we’ve seen only one of our
ferretts do that,” explained Lin
da who says ferretts weigh from
8 to 10 pounds and are recom
mended for house pels. It has
not been hard for the Bennetts
to domesticate Josie, who loves
to lake a bath, and plays well
with other animals.
Another hobby for the Ben
netts is music and Johnny hopes
to open in a few weeks Kings
Mountain’s first recording studio
and production company in a
new brick building adjacent to
their home. “It will be a 16 tract
State of the Arts studio and will
be on the air in another six
weeks,” said Johnny, who said
his company will be able to pro
vide any type of recording and
audio and video work and will
operate under the name of Ear-
thfall Productions, Inc.
The Kings Mountain studio
grows out of a need for a facility
for musicians to work in at their
convenience and eliminate a
long drive to Charloie or Colum
bia.
Johnny and his brother-
Mil
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tTfi
ftil
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FERRETTS AND SQUIRRELS MAKE GOOD
PETS — Linda Bennett feeds Josie, a p«t ier-
rett, but the two flying squirrels, in bottom
coge, went into hiding as soon os the
photographer appeared. Linda and Johnny
Bennett breed ferretts and recommend them
as inexpeiuive pets.
partner. Tommy Bennett, will be
equipped to record any style of
talent or format, using the latest
in equipment. “We can take a
group or individual and manage
it, handle its entire career and
pul it on the road,” said Johnny.
The local studio will be com
petitive with any 16 tract studio
in the Carolinas, said Bennett.
Bennett quit show business
two years ago after a 17 year
career in which he owned and
managed a singing-playing group
for 12 years. He was the
keyboard player, played trumpet
and did vocal arrangements and
charts throughout the Southeast,
traveling as far north as Boston,
New York and Los Angeles and
as far south as Florida. He
played the concert and college
fraternity circuit. Local people
will remember his talents in the
“Phineas Taylor Band,”
“Scratch,” and “Caravelles.” His
groups played Top 40, hard and
acid rock, disco, rhythm and
blues and whatever was on the
billboard chart.
“1 loved it,” said Bennett, who
decided to get off the road two
years ago and settle down at
Bennett Brick and Tile, where he
is secretary-treasurer.
His wife, the former Linda
Simmons whom he married four
years ago, also enjoys his love of
music and on any given day of
the week the Bennetts are
hosting talented young people at
their home. “One act is in rehear
sal now,” according to Linda,
“and by the first of March will
be recording a first album.”
l.inda Bennett also enjoys her
work at Gilliland Florist owned
by her parents-in-law, Mr. and
Mrs. Henry Gilliland. The Ben
netts are parents of 10-year-old
Tommy Putnam, who attends a
private school in Florida, and
10-year-old Kim Bennett who is
a fifth grader in Bessemer City.
When the children come
home for visits on holidays and
in the summer months the house
is a beehive of activity and they
enjoy the pets as much as their
parents.
“We always have two or three
things going at one time at our
house,” said Johnny, “but we
find that combining a hobby
with business is fun.”
Linda Bennett gets the credit
for their menagerie. Everytime
she goes to a pet store she brings
home another pet and she never
can turn down a stray. She takes
them in and feeds them and soon
they are regular family members.
“Puffy Buddy,” a stray tom
cat, is the pride of the household
and was literally kidnapped
twice. Because the lovable feline
likes to kiss, he scared his catnap-
pers off, according to the doting
owners. The cal was left at a
shopping center during one of
his excursions and was waiting
in the parking lot when his
owners spotted her. Puffy Buddy
has the run of the farm.
Photo by Lib Stewart
VISITING ARTIST—Paul Davis, visiting artist at Cleveland
Tech, is welcomed to the Christian Woman’s Club by Susan
Weiss, special features chairman.
County Women
Enjoy Fellowship
On every third Thursday at
noon Christian women gather at
Shelby Elks Club for a luncheon
meeting of the Cleveland Coun
ty Christian Woman’s Club.
And four topics that are taboo
are: weight, age, church affilia
tion and the latest operation.
What the women do enjoy is
fellowship, interesting program
topics and a religious emphasis
by an out-of-town speaker which
is non-denominational and non
sectarian.
Unlike most clubs, there are
no dues and the club is open to
all interested women. Lunch is
$4 and special events are plann
ed during the year. The
February meeting of the club is
“Valentine Guest Night” on
Thurs., Feb. 12, from 7 until 9
p.m. at the Elks Club. Dinner
will be $4.50 and the program
will feature a fashion show from
Boudoir, Inc. and Loy’s Men
Store of Shelby. Dr. and Mrs.
Blake MeWhirter will entertain
with special music and Max Rice
of Travelers Rest,S.C., author of
“When Can I Say 1 Love You,”
will be featured speaker. The
program is open to husbands of
members and guests.
In addition prayer coffees are
planned, as well as Bible studies,
to w hich members are invited to
attend. A "Be Our Valentine”
prayer coffee is set for Feb. 5th
at 9:30 a.m. at the home of Mrs.
Becky Saine, 201 Countryside
Dr., Shelby. Bible Studies in
Mark and Luke are being held
on Mondays and Wednesdays
and Pat Eckerd, club chairman,
said that visitors are always
welcome to attend.
Jean Hiott, Greenville, S.C.
recording artist, delighted the
group with a sacred concert at
Thursday’s meeting in which she
gave her own Christian
testimony. Prior to the featured
program, Paul Davis, visiting ar
tist and enameling in.structor at
Cleveland Technical Institute,
showed slides of some of his own
work in which the artist brings a
r>ainting like quality to the
enamels.
Mr. Davis got interested in
enameling as a senior student at
Kent State University and went
on to receive his master’s in fine
arts. He showed pictures of a
ring made from stones found in a
ruby mine, a 14 karat gold wed
ding set and other beautiful
pieces he had fashioned,
(Turn To Pag* SB