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VOLUME 94, NUMBER 9
KINGS MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA
TUESDA Y, FEBR UARY 3, 1980
Fighting ‘Unfair Surcharges*
Ingram Wants Fair Insurance
North Carolina Insurance
Commissioner John Ingram
reiterated his pledge “not to give
up my fight for fair insurance for
everyone” in an address before
the Kings Mountain Kiwanis
Club Thursday night.
I have asked the Governor
and Attorney General to help us
get legislation to stop these un
fair surcharges because our ef
forts in the courts thus far have
not saved automobile
policyholders one penny,
declared Ingram who encourag
ed Kiwanians and other citizens
to “get behind your senators and
representatives in Cleveland
County and support House Bill
Seven which will eliminate sur
charges on every safe driver in
North Carolina.”
“My staff tells me,” continued
Ingram, “that both insurance
committees are not balanced for
the people. Legislators who feel
the same as I do cannot make
their voices heard for the people
if a bill is bottled up in commit
tee and never reaches the floor.”
Ingram said that local people can
make their voices heard by con
tacting local legislators about
this important piece of legisla
tion involving all safe drivers.
House Bill 7 has been in
troduced in this session of the
N.C. General Assembly by Rep.
Dick Barnes of Harnett County.
“Insurance tax on safe drivers
must be stopped,” said Ingram,
who sees the issue as one of the
: A**
t-mm (-
Photo by Lib Stowart
KIWANIANS HEAR INGRAM - N.C. Commis
sioner ol Insurance John Ingram, center, ad
dressed a ladies night meeting oi the KM
Kiwanis club Thursday night. Kiwanis Presi
dent lerry Lediord, left, looks on as Program
Chairman Kyle Smith welcomes Ingram to
Kings Mountain.
“most burning” issues coming
before the General Assembly
this session.
Kiwanian Kyle Smith was
program chairman and
presented Mr. Ingram. President
Jerry Ledford welcomed visitors,
including Clyde Nolan of
Shelby, long lauded as “Mr.
Democrat” in Cleveland County
and Mrs. Joyce Falls Cashion,
chairman of the Cleveland
County Democratic Pany.
Miss Lynch
Wins Award
Beverly Ann Lynch of Kings
Mountain, a student at Ap
palachian State University, is
among 47 students selected for
the honor teaching award.
The award is given each
semester to approximately 10
percent of ASU students who
demonstrate exceptional in
itiative, scholarship, and ex
cellence in student teaaching.
Lynch, a senior elementary
education major, is the daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Dwain Lynch of
608 Sipes St., Kings Mountain.
During fall seme.ster she
taught 4th-Sth grades at Fallston
Elementary School under the
supervision of Beverly Ledford.
SYMPHONY
The Kings Mountain chapter
of the North Carolina Sym
phony Orchestra will make plans
for concerts which are scheduled
for May 12th at a planning
meeting which is scheduled for
Thursday, February 12, at 3:30
p.m. The meeting is to be in the
Library at Kings Mountain
Senior High School.
WINS AWARD — Gory Stewart, right, co-editor of the Herald, is
presented on oward from Governor lim Hunt for winning se
cond place in the feature writing division of the 1980 North
Carolina Press Association competition.
Stewart Wins
Writing Award
Gary Stewart, co-editor of the Herald, won a second place award for
feature writing at the North Carolina Press Association 1980 Awards
Banquet Thursday night at Chapel Hill.
Stewart was presented the award by Governor Jim Hunt.
It was his second NCPA award and the veteran writer has also won
a number of awards from other organizations. His other NCPA award
came in 1974 and was a second place for the best local sports coverage.
Stewart won the award this year for a story titled “They Laughed It
Off.” It was a comical piece on Sam Leonard and Florence Holmes,
who had to be married twice after it was discovered they secured their
marriage license in Gaston County and were married in Kings Moun
tain Church of God. After Rev. Jerry Smith made the discovery, he
drove the couple across the Gaston County line and they re-spoke
their vows and made their marriage legal.
Over 1,200 writers across North Carolina entered the competition in
the semi-weekly division, and over 1,800 more entered the daily’s divi
sion, accounting for a record of over 3,000 entries.
The judges made the following observations of the Stewart entry:
“Go^ lead catches reader’s attention in this light feature. Writer
has taken what might have been a two paragraph news brief and turn
ed it into a delightful and humorous feature that surely got the atten
tion and tickled the funny bones of a lot of readers.”
Stewart is a 17-year newspaper veteran, having begun his career in
1964 following graduation from Kings Mountain High School. He has
worked at the Herald, Mirror-Herald and Gastonia Gazette in sports,
news and photography.
He has been co-editor of the Herald since September of 1979.
Benefit
Planned
For Kelli
Concerned Citizens of the
Grover area will sponsor a
Valentine Day bluegrass and
gospel benefit show Sat., Feb.
14th, at 7 p.m. at Grover School
for benefit of Kelli Harry.
The Grover youngster re
mains in a coma at Charlotte
Memorial Hospital where she
was hospitalized Dec. 18th after
she was struck by a pickup truck
in front of the school and a day
before the Christmas holidays
began for school children.
Kelli, daughter of Phil and
Maria Harry of Grover, darted
from behind a large van type
truck and was struck by a pickup
truck coming in the opposite
direction, according to police
reports. She has multiple brain
damage, a partially collapsed
lung, which has become in
fected, and a dislocated elbow.
Her parents commute from
Grover to Charlotte each day
and one of them has remained
by her side throughout the long
ordeal, while trying to maintain
their jobs at Minette Mills and
care for three other daughters,
Elizabeth, Bettina and Nancy.
All proceeds from the benefit
will go to the Harrys to help with
transportation to and from the
hospital.
A number of bands will per
form free for the benefit and in
clude Nelson Young and Sandy
Valley Boys, Lincoln County
Partners, The Roustabouts and
Leonard MeSwain Band. Dona
tions, which are tax deductible,
are also invited from, the public
and can be forwarded to Kelli
Harry, c/b You-Nel Christian
Foundation, PO Box 366,
Blacksburg, S.C. 29702.
Tickets for the show are $3 for
adults and $1.30 for students.
James Ludlam, 96 Years Old
Granddaddy Likes To See ‘Old People’
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Co-Editor
James Nelson Ludlam, 96 on
Tuesday, has been issued a
driver’s license until he’s 99 but
has parked his 1965 Ford out
side his daughter’s home on
North Goforth Street and
started walking.
“Granddaddy,” as Ludlam is
affectionately called by kin and
neighbors, has been a regular
member of the Senior Citizens
program at the Depot since he
moved to Kings Mountain from
Darlington, S.C. last year to live
with Rev. and Mrs. ^b Austin.
A Senior Citizens van picks up
Mr. Ludlam for his daily visit to
the Depot Center, but after that
“Granddaddy” takes several
walks around the neighborhood
with friends and goes to see “the
old folks at Kings Mountain
Convalescent Center.”
Mr. Ludlam’s keen sense of
humor and good health belies his
years. He prepares his own
breakfast, is the official “leaf
raker” at the Austin home and
stays busy while his daughter
and son-in-law are at work and
while his grandchildren, Lisa, 14,
and Edward, 16, are in school.
Washing the dishes is definite
ly “out of his line,” he tells his
daughter, and he’s retired from
all household chores except leaf
raking which he enjoys about as
much as his vintage auto, which
has only 52,000 actual miles ac
counted for by his grand
children.
Born in 1885 in Oree County,
S.C. Mr. Ludlam used to raise
cotton, tobacco, corn, sweet
potatoes and hay on a 70 acre
farm where he and his wife of 54
years reared six children. His
father was a Baptist preacher
who never received a regular
salary but was paid with
whatever his parishioners could
afford, sometimes with a dollar
but most of the time in potatoes
and a slab of meat.
“It’s a whole different world
now,” Mr. Ludlam says of the
modern times in which we live.
Educated in a one room school
house, Mr. Ludlam rememers
the horse and buggy days with
much fondness. He courted his
wife in a horse and buggy, never
had much time to read by the
lamplight because of the field
work that needed attention, but
always went to church. He
recalled how his mother used to
knit his socks and how different
the early churches and homes
were constructed in “the good
old days.” Now, Mr. Ludlam has
time to read and enjoys it, has
read the Bible through four or
five times and shares stories with
the family. He also likes to sing
and joins his son-in-law at the
piano and organ for songfests
when his 14 grandchildren and
to great-grandchildren come to
visit.
Mr. Ludlam learned to drive
at the age of 72 when he retired
from the farm. ‘The boys had all
moved away and made homes of
their own and it became a
necessity,” he said. He bought a
new car in 1965 and 15 years
later the car “drives as go^ as
new,” he boasts. Since he is un
familiar with Kings Mountain
roads, he leaves most of the driv
ing to his son-in-law and his
grandchildren.
“I married one of the finest
girls in America and a Christian
and church-goer who had a great
influence on my life," Mr.
Ludlam said of his late wife who
died nine years ago. He recalled
going to see his sweetheart dur
ing the pouring rain in a brand
new buggy. “1 told her Pa that I
didn’t want to return home in all
that rain and thought I’d best
stay the night,” said Mr.
Ludlam. His future father-in-law
replied, “You came here in the
rain, didn’t you boy?”
Mr. Ludlam credits his good
health to never smoking and
never drinking a drop of
alcoholic beverages. And, living
a Christian life. His faith in God
has given him the strength he
has needed to work hard all his
life, he said, and in recent years
he has only lost through death
one member of his large family, a
27-year-old grandson who was
killed in an automobile accident
recently in South Carolina.
Tuesday’s birthday celebra
tion for “Granddaddy” was the
31st annual big birthday celebra
tion of the large family. A small
party was held at the Austin
home here and a yellow and
white birthday cake was cut and
served. A large family reunion is
scheduled this weekend in
Charlotte and in Hartsville, S.C.
Mr. Ludlam is active in the
Sunday School of First Baptist
Church and walks with his fami
ly to church every Sunday morn
ing.
When “Granddaddy” first
came to live with the Austins,
Mrs. Austin invited him to use a
first floor bedroom in the tri
level house. Mr. Ludlam declin
ed. He can navigate the stairs as
well as the rest of the family.
As Mr. Ludlam blew out one
candle on his cake Tuesday he
said he was “going to do my best
to live to be 99 and after that I’m
going to be very careful so that I
can make it to 100.” And he’ll
probably be around much
longer.
LUDLAM AND VINTAGE AUTO-IamM Nelson Ludlam warn
96 on Tuosday. Ho hos boon Issued o driver's license until he's
99. But the active senior cltliens plans to be around until he's
100 or longer.