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Volume 129 • Issue 16
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
At White House Egg Roll
Noah and Wayne King at the White House Easter Egg Roll.
Egg Roll Exciting for KM’s Kings His third time at the 140th White House Easter Monday Egg Roll was exciting for eight-year-old Noah King. The North Elementary second grader and his Dad Wayne King were in the early morning group of about 2,000 who gathered on the South lawn of the White House in the nation’s capital Monday and what a great day in 80-degree weather to be on Spring break. The youngster rolled eggs, participated in an egg hunt, enjoyed other activities like painting and enjoyed refreshments. Young King also listened as First Lady Melania Trump read a story. President Donald Trump also greeted party-goers in a crowd estimated at 20,000. The thousands of people ex-
pected for the traditional event are entertained in groups throughout the day. While Noah enjoyed the activities, Wayne King visited with Steve Bannon, White House strategist, who had issued the invitation to the Kings and with whom King had worked with in the 2012 GOP Presidential campaign, chatted with US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Wayne King is Deputy Chief of Staff for Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC). The Kings also attended both the 2015 and 2016 Easter Monday egg rolls at the White House and young King was looking forward to attending again this year. Since 1878 American Presidents and their See EGGROLL, Page 7A
Magazine features City’s ’38 Fire truck The Kings Mountain Fire Department’s 1938 Ford/ American LaFrance Pumper which served the city for 36 years is featured on the cover, story by Candace Brown and photos by Jack Harrison, in a recent edition of Vintage Fire Truck & Equipment. The fire truck shares space in the Kings Mountain Fire Museum with the first truck the city purchased, a 1931 ALF, as well as other treasured pieces of apparatus, equipment and memorabilia. According to Fire Chief Frank Burns, the 1931 fire engine retired only after the department upgraded again in 1960. The 1938 Ford stayed in service as the newer truck’s working companion for another 14 years. The hours of donated fire
department labor, during a six-year period to restore the Pumper totaled 3,500 or about 600 hours per person. Local businesses contributed to its beautiful exterior – Weaver’s Paint & Body Shop did the painting, and Thunder Valley Sign Shop did the gold leaf lettering and ornamentation. All firemen, including volunteers, worked on it. Firemen apparently feel a deep fondness for the old truck as do Kings Mountain citizens who support the Fire Museum to store special history. A couple of the firemen have used the Ford during their weddings, to ride in it when leaving the church. The American LaFrance Pumper is a conversation piece for visitors at the museum, 106 Spruce Street, close to the city’s walking track. Burns has served 42 years in Kings Mountain’s Fire Department, 27 years as Chief.
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Earth Day Saturday at Gateway Earth Day Saturday at the Gateway Trail gets underway at 11 a.m. with fun events for all the family until 3 p.m. Billed also as a “dog friendly” event, there are plenty of activities on the schedule, including popular crafts and jewelry making conducted by The Scrap Exchange of Durham, a non-profit dedicated to promoting creativity, environmental awareness and community through reuse, the Sonridge Farm Petting Zoo, a favorite of children, and Drum Circle, Upcycle artisans, a children’s author, entertainment by the Log Cabin String Band, concessions and much more. A butterfly release by Duke Energy’s Kings Mountain Generation Support Facility is a highlight of the event. Partnering with the trail to create and maintain a butterfly garden, Duke Energy in Action volunteers will hold their first event at the trail to kick off their 2017 volunteer season on April 20 to enhance the butterfly garden. Some 200 butterflies will be released at Saturday’s Earth Day celebration. Two volunteers from
LOG CABIN STRING BAND – The six-member Log Cabin String Band will play old time fiddle tunes with emphasis on the traditional string music of North Carolina and Southwest Virginia at Earth Day Saturday at Gateway Trail. From left, Tommy Forney, mandolin; Charles Watts, guitar; Brad Herndon, fiddle; John Goldsbury, bass; Lynn Eskridge, fiddle; and Victoria Johansson, banjo. Duke Energy’s Kings Mountain Generation Support Facility, Donna Hartley and Paul Bodette, will host the Save our Pollinators booth and speak about the Duke Energy volunteer project to create and maintain the butterfly garden at the trail and will distribute handouts educating the
importance of pollinators and their risks of endangerment. Seed packets will be distributed to encourage planting pollinator gardens. Earth Day is free to the public, a partnership of the Trail with Kings Mountain’s Main Street program, City of Kings Mountain, Mauney Memorial Library,
Firestone Fibers & Textiles and Plastic Products, Inc. Extra parking is across the street from the trailhead and along Quarry Road. “Come out, celebrate our beautiful earth and enjoy a walk on the trail,’’ says the city’s Special Events Coordinator Christy Conner.
A fun sport
Pickleball exploding in popularity The sport of pickleball is exploding in popularity all over the country and Kings Mountain is no exception. Similar to tennis and played with a wiffle ball and small paddle of wood/fiberglass, the sport is enjoyed by p layers ranging in age from 20 to 70. The game is played on 1/3 size court of a tennis court to a score of 11. A social game run by volunteers at the Kings Mountain Family YMCA, some 20-30 people from Kings Mountain, Gastonia, Charlotte, Boiling Springs and Shelby play five days a week with Beginner classes Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 a.m. “It’s low impact, enjoyable and healthy,’’ says Y See PICKLEBALL, Page 7A
Pickleball is exploding in popularity. These folks enjoy playing the new game at Kings Mountain YMCA. Photo by MARK BLANTON
KMLT next show Crowds attend children’s egg hunt opens May 5 Kings Mountain Little Theatre’s production of “Death of a Salesman” will have performance dates of May 5, 6, 12 and 13 at 7:30 p.m. and May 7 at 3 p.m. Corporate Sponsor is Edward Jones, Jack and Pam Buchanan. The drama is directed by Stan Logan and all performances are at the Joy Performance Center, 202 S. Railroad Avenue, Kings Mountain. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for stu-
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dents and senior citizens. For further information or reservations please call 704-730-9408. Email tickets@kmlt.org or visit www. kmlt.org “Death of a Salesman” is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, See KMLT, Page 7A
The city-sponsored Easter Egg hunt for children attracted crowds to Mayor Rick Murphrey Children’s Park Saturday. They came with Easter baskets ready to fill them up with colorful eggs and prizes. “It was a big crowd,’’ said Mayor Scott Neisler, who took pictures of a number of children enjoying the event. He said, “A little girl gave me her name as Mia but I didn’t understand the last name and snapped her picture. These children had a ball.”
MIA enjoys her Easter egg.
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