MEMORIES III

October 6, 2024

Dear Tim:

I am conducting family history research. Do you have any historical information about the Love Heights section of Gaston County? It was located just west of the western Gastonia City limit at the turn of the 20th century—what today is the Dixie Village Shopping Center. It apparently is still considered a section of town as I have observed two real estate listings that reference it.

Thanks.

Randy Whitesides

AHS class of 1965

Gaston College class of 1967

Randy,

October 10, 2024

Thanks for your inquiry.

Since VG.com focuses on the older, more central, parts of town, we don't have much material on the suburbs except a random view provided from time-to-time by site visitors. (We would love to have any random snapshots of that area--even family photos with recognizable backgrounds).

This is something new to me, as I would have thought of the area around Love Memorial Baptist Church, Love Field, North Broad Street and Morehead Street as "Love Heights." I will be alert for information about this area. Thanks.

I am attaching an early aerial view of Dixie Village Shopping Center provided to me by Alan Millican of Millican Pictorial History Museum. {Please acknowledge him if you reuse the picture.)

I will keep you in mind if I run across anything regarding your request. Do you mind if I post this conversation on the "Journal" page of the siter? Others might be able to furnish information and pictures.

Best wishes,

Tim Ellis

AHS Class of1969

Gaston College Class of 1971

October 10, 2024

Thanks Tim. Feel free to post this matter wherever you please. So far, I have found that Mr. R.A. Love owned the land which is the subject of the advertisement I've attached. I am speculating that Love Heights may derive its name from the fact that the site was situated on the high ground between Blackwood Creek and Crowder's Creek.

Sent: June 18, 2024 at 8:07 PM MDT
Subject: Questions about Gastonia

Hi, I just discovered your website and find it so interesting! I was born in Shelby but lived for a time in Gastonia. My dad was Robert Van Sleen and was Utilities Director for a few years before moving back to Shelby.

I am looking for pictures and memories of Van Sleen Jewelers on Main Street. My grandfather was HM Van Sleen. I have one jewelry box with the store name on it.

I wish I had paid more attention to details growing up! I can’t remember when the store closed, although I know it opened in 1910.

Thanks for any help.

Jane Van Sleen MacLeod

On Wed, Jun 19, 2024 at 6:17 AM <trentoncreativeenterprises@charter.net> wrote:

Jane,

Happy you found the site. We are now in our 16th year of exploring the rich history of Gastonia.

I lived in Shelby from 1983-1989 on Leander Street at Dixon Street in West Shelby. The little house is still there although changed considerably.

I don't have any pictures of Van Sleen Jewelers that I can locate, but the store is visible in some Main Avenue scenes throughout the site. It was located on the south side of the 100th block of West Main beside F.W. Woolworth five and dime. It closed around 1979 after the departure of Matthew Belk in 1976, which dealt a fatal blow to old Downtown.

I bought my first wife's engagement ring there. The store was beautiful - like stepping back in time. The showcases stood on curved legs, and appeared to be the originals from the opening of the business.

When the store closed, a piece of the shiny facade material bearing the company name disappeared. I always assumed family removed it. There was a tall round clock in front of the store at the curb. It is visible in several scenes. (Look on the "Spindle City Scenes" pages and other places.

Van Sleen's is mentioned in Robert Ragan's Gastonia History articles on the site. Look in "Gastonia Merchants Build a City, Part One." It is article 12.

I might have it backwards, but when I briefly worked for the Gastonia Gazette back in 1973, I met Mrs. Van Sleen, who was the widow of J. F. Bess, a Gastonia miller (flour and other grain products) at the Van Sleen home on South Chester Street. As I said, I could have this backwards.

I will look for pictures of the store alone.

Again, welcome to the site. We attempt to present the often obscure parts of Gastonia history, free from caricature and over-generalization.

Tim Ellis

Trenton Creative Enterprises

www.vintagegastonia.com

Tim,

Thank you so much for your reply and for the memories of Van Sleen's. I started on this quest because I have two charm bracelets from the store that I have had cleaned and repaired to give to my two granddaughters. I have had them specially wrapped and I wanted to include a short history of the store and of "Pop" Van Sleen, as we called him. His personal story is interesting also except that he only wrote two pages about his life and about moving to the U.S. I remember him as a stern and sometimes gruff person, but I'm sure he had a softer side. He played a pump organ at family dinners.

I don't know if you know this part, but his first wife (from Georgia) died shortly after childbirth and the baby died a few weeks or months later. That was before his move to Gastonia. I can't imagine how he cared for a newborn after his wife's death and of course, this was never discussed. He married my grandmother, Lois Adams, in January 1913. They were married for many years and had four children with my dad, Bob, being the oldest. (His brother Al took over the store when Pop retired.) Lois died of cancer in 1964, which I remember well since I was in high school then. Later in his 70's, Pop married Blanche Bess, who is the Mrs. Van Sleen that you met. Blanche was apparently a family friend who was in Lois and Pop's wedding. I do remember Pop and Blanche living on Chester St.

These are such valuable memories and I love that you bought a ring at the store and remember the interior of the store. My husband, Doug, and I got our wedding bands there in 1968 and Pop engraved the dates and initials in them. We never told him that he put the wrong date in my ring, so it looks like I got married a year before my husband!

I will keep looking at the site and try to capture a pic of the store. I appreciate all the time and effort maintaining this must take.

Thanks again.

Jane M

[BACK TO BULLETIN BOARD]

Oh, how thrilled I was to stumble across all these "Vintage" Memories! I especially was excited when I read about mentions of Victory School, my old elementary school! I remember it well having grown up down from the Victory Mill Village where I lived for 40 years!

Also, the mention of Ballard's News stand on Marietta hit a special chord with me! He, Guy Ballard, was my Daddy's Uncle and I long remember nighttime trips up there on the weekends. While there, Uncle Guy would let my brother and me have a try at the gumball machine. If we were lucky enough to get a "speckle" ball, we got a special treat! Don't remember what it was, but either way, we liked it!

Oh, the memories, how much fun we had and so grateful for those simple times!

Sharon Boughman Lineberger (September 9, 2023)

March 19, 2023

Dear Timothy,

Paul Quinn and I attended your great presentation this past Saturday. We both thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

My name is Mack Wilson Spurrier and I am a descendent of two of Gastonia's prominent families. I am the Grandson of P.H. Spurrier Sr. and the great grandson of William Mack Wilson.

Daddy Spurrier had 5 daughters and 1 son P.H. Spurrier Jr. The 5 daughters were:

1 Elizabeth "Lib" Jacobs. Aunt Lib was married to Joe S. Jacobs Sr. owner of Jacobs Laundry "Wash your duds in Jacobs’s suds"

2 Mary Spurrier Craig. Aunt Mary was married to Lewis Craig of Craig Furniture Co. Aunt Mary inherited the Craig Furniture building across from the post office.

3 Ruth Spurrier Mason. Aunt Ruth was married to Karl Mason. Aunt Ruth and uncle Karl moved to Jacksonville, Fla. and Aunt Ruth inherited the Rustin Furniture building from Daddy Spurrier.

4 Helen Spurrier Falls. Aunt Helen was married to George Falls. I think Uncle George was a son of Dr. Falls one of the early dentists in Gastonia. Aunt Helen inherited the building at the corner of Main and York streets. Now Alliance bank.

5 Louise Spurrier Gray. Aunt Louise was married to Charles Dowd Gray Jr. and he was in the cotton waste business Gray and Daniels Aunt Louise inherited the Henley Paper company build at the corner of Main and Chester streets.

As you can see Daddy Spurrier owned a lot of real estate on Main Street. His main business was Spurrier and Company wholesale grocers locater on Main Street next door to Henley Paper Co.

In addition to Spurrier &Co. he was on the board of Citizens National Bank plus he was majority stock holder of Smith Chevrolet Co. Daddy Spurrier partnered with Governor Greg Cherry to start Smith Chevrolet and got Dave Smith to come run the day-to-day business. On the rear of the Spurrier & Co. building you can still see "Wholesale Grocers" The Spurrier& Company at the top of the building has been painted over so you can't read it any more.

William Mack Wilson was one of the partners of Craig and Wilson which sold horse drawn buggies in the Rayless building. If you go to main street and look at the top of the rayless building you can see Craig and Wilson on top of the building. Mack Wilson had 4 children:

1 Itara Wilson Little, my grandmother, was a school teacher in the Gaston County schools for 51 years.

2 Mary Wilson Jumper. Aunt Mary was the manager of the cotton warehouse on Ozark Ave.

3 Brown Wylie Wilson. Uncle Brown was a cotton broker and was instrumental in the purchase of the City Hospital from Dr. Lucius Glenn it then became Gaston Memorial Hospital. He also gave the American Legion the land where Sims ball park is located.

4 TW Wilson. TW was president of The Bank of Bethune in Bethune S.C. TW once told me he had done everything except jerk soda and get pregnant.

Tim, I hope this information will be helpful in your history of Gastonia.

You can contact me at 704-860-2222.

Sincerely,

Mack Spurrier

[BACK TO BULLETIN BOARD]

We bought Slaw Burgers at R.O.'s and Black's on 321 South. The slaw was so good we would order Slaw Burgers, just a bun and slaw. If I remember right they were 15 cents, but I could be wrong. Someone mentioned The Beacon Drive In at Willow and East Franklin Avenue. It was also named The Rebel at one time. Coletta’s on Willow was run by Alice and Tony Coletta. About every day we would walk from Coletta’s to Lineberger Park to go swimming. After I got my driver's license, I could venture out of my area. I had a friend who lived on West Main Avenue with his Grandmother, Mrs. Eldridge. She ran a boarding house, and I remember some very interesting people there. My Dad worked at Roy's Jewelry on Main Avenue. He was the watch repairman and also did some sales. I later joined the Gaston County Life Saving Crew. It was then located on West Second Avenue. A lot of memories there: Ernest Dow, John Stepp, Red King, Floyd Barrett, and no one can forget Mike Jordan. (Barry Adair)

Gastonia’s Chinese Laundry (Parts of this article originally appeared in the Vintage Gastonia Newsletter #1, June 2010.)

A while back, we learned that there once existed at 298 East Main Avenue a laundry and cleaners operated by Chinese proprietors. The business was housed in a metal building near the Piedmont and Northern Railroad Station. Frank and Loo Laundry and Cleaners was unique in the Spindle City, because there was no sizeable Chinese community in the city, and, according to those who remember, was well-regarded in local business circles. Their advertised slogan was, “Best and Guaranteed Laundry and Cleaning at Lowest Prices.”

Gastonia City Directories of the 1940’s and 1950’s list the owner(s) as:

Loo Sing (1940—when the address was 154 East Main),

Chen Loo (Loo Chen? 1947), and

Frank Yuen and Loo Chew Houng (1953).

If you have pictures or additional information, please contact us.

***

In the 50’s there was a Chinese, hand laundry in Gastonia…on Main Street (about where Broad Street would intersect)…a one-man operation…metal building. I believe the gentleman was born in Chinaas he spoke very little, if any, English. My questions are…What was the name of the operation? and whatever happened to the gentleman who ran it? I assume there was a Chinese community in Charlotte, but how and why did this person wind up, alone, in Gastonia? Is he buried there?...etc.

Doug Owen

***

Don't have any further information or photos of the Frank & Loo Chinese Laundry, but I do remember it very well.

During high school I worked for Reggie Grigg at Grigg's Food Store on the southwest corner of Broad and Franklin, next to the McCoy gas station, across Broad Street from McLean Funeral Home and Mary McLean's dress shop.

It was 1954 and after making the deliveries from phoned in orders (on a bicycle with a little front wheel and a large basket) I stocked the shelves, cleaned the floor and waited on walk in customers.

I remember this Chinese gentleman, dressed in all black (including his wide brim hat) coming into the store about once a week. He would buy one or two whole chickens, several bags of rice, and other items I can't remember now.

He was very quiet, seldom speaking and even then in a soft voice, little more than a whisper.

I was told it was Frank and that I should leave him alone and let him browse the store. That he would bring his purchases to the counter and that meant he was ready to pay and leave.

Frank came into the store every week until I left to for other things. Don't remember many of the other customersbut I do, for some reason, remember Frank, the Chinese laundry man.

Don Howe

***

Tim: Thanks for looking into my question. My father was a house painter and he used this laundry because he thought it was the only place that could get his overalls really clean. They were always wrapped in brown paper and tied with white string…and identified with my father’s initials only…no other writing. I remember riding by at night and seeing him sitting in the laundry, reading a newspaper under one of the two bare lights hanging by a cord from the ceiling. I believe he gave me one of his Chinese newspapers once (believe it was printed in San Francisco)…what a treat for a young boy in a small town!

In answer to your question, I was born in Gastonia and lived there until I finished college (East Carolina, ’65). I moved away but my parents continued to live there until their death. Our house was at the corner of East Main and Avon Street…yes, the rail road tracks were right outside our front door!...the tracks were raised in those days and now I understand they are in a “ditch”.

Look forward to hearing what you are able to find out about the laundry. Thanks.

Doug

Forgot one detail about the Chinese laundry. I believe it was in what was called a Quonset hut type building…a metal building like the barracks on “Gomer Pyle”.

Doug

Tim: THANK YOU! You have made my day with this information. There must be more information on the laundry and Mr. Hueng. I just can’t imagine that he wasn’t a topic of conversation in such a small town. In my mind the story of this man and how he came to be in Gastonia and what happened to him would make a great human interest piece for the Gazette. But that’s just me. Thanks again and I look forward to receiving any other information you may find.

Doug

***

And finally, the following information is from the 1973 yearbook of the Gaston Memorial Hospital School of Nursing (its final year of operation), courtesy of Deb Lewis Erwin.

“When the school was founded, there was a limited supply of nursing texts available. In 1955, Mrs. R.S. Clinton contributed her deceased husband’s medical library to the School of Nursing. Thus began the present nursing school library.

“In 1962, the American Legion donated $100.00 to the nursing school library from the estate of Mr. Loo Cheu Hueng, who owned and operated a laundry in Gastonia.” --TCE

Attended the grand opening (1956) of the new National Bank of Commerce on Franklin Ave. I was eleven years old at the time and it seemed as if the crowd, gathered in the open area under the building, was enormous. I was there with my Mom and my younger sister. There were some entertainers on a raised stage. I remember my Mom telling me that Vaughn Monroe was there, but I suspect that it was just someone singing some of his songs, since Monroe was too big a star to be appearing at a small town bank opening. [Actually, it was Vaughn Monroe, and his appearance demonstrates how important such an event as the opening of a new bank was in the 1950's.-ed.] When the performer sang one of VM’s big hits, "When the Saints Come Marching In", some people in the audience began to complain loudly that the song was "sacrilegious", but the protesters were far outnumbered by people who were enjoying the music. This was all very exciting and obviously memorable for an eleven year old. (Martin Smith)

I used to shop at the Diana Shop for my clothes. I would go to Raylass's and get shoes. Then I would shop at Kress' s for all my underclothes. I would go into Sweetland's and eat and play the little juke boxes that sat at each table.......My first date with a guy was there with a boy who worked at Rustin Furniture. I would still have enough money to go see a movie at the Center or Webb Theatres......and make it home on the bus. (Cathy Carpenter)

There was a bakery uptown on Main Street (Pat-A-Cake Bakery). My grandfather's second wife worked there, and she would bring home cakes and pies. We would visit, and she would give them to us. Sometimes we would visit her at work, and she would let us sample something. The bakery was past Miles Restaurant before the traffic light. The A&P was across the street from it and a little farther east. (Cathy Carpenter.)

The bakery was right beside the tracks near Main Street (Holsum Bakery). I would walk from where Sears was and Plej's Textile Outlet (the old Trenton Mill), and you could smell the bread. It smelled so good. The bakery was right beside the railroad tracks on Airline Avenue before you get to NAPA (Genuine Parts). The train depot was right down below it. I could sit there all day and watch people get on and off the train. Bakery workers would give my friends and me bread sometimes if they were outside smoking. (Cathy Carpenter.)

The Sunrise Dairy dairy bar operated across West Franklin Avenue from the city's original Harris (later Harris-Teeter) Supermarket. Besides wonderful ice cream treats, they served great sandwiches. A life-size (or larger) cow stood in an adjoining room in front of tall windows. (Jeane H. Moore.)

Shoney's stood on the southeast corner of East Franklin and New Hope Road. Their trademark "Big Boy" statue was probably the most stolen piece of outdoor artwork in Gastonia. They made the greatest hot fudge cake in town. (Jeane H. Moore.)

The display windows at Matthews Belk Department Store featured elaborate mechanical displays during the Christmas season. (Blanche Glover Ellis)

Sweetland's Restaurant was one of the most popular after-school gathering places for students from Gastonia High School. (Blanche Glover Ellis)

The Spindle Center Fair came to town annually in the early fall. The fairground was located at the present site of Akers Center on East Franklin Ave. Students in the City Schools received free tickets for "school day," and schools dismissed early on that day. (Blanche Glover Ellis)

The Trenton Mill on West Main Avenue was a thriving community. Everyone knew everyone else, and it felt like one big happy family.(Blanche Glover Ellis) [This sentiment was probably true of all the mill villages in the city. Please send us your memories of others.]

Gastonia was a baseball hotbed. The training ground was on the streets of the mill villages, where the bat was often a broomstick and the ball was a ball of twine from the mill. (Blanche Glover Ellis)

The Beatles arrived in the U.S. and British Rock was readily available here. It was in 1963 that I developed a relationship with our white, plastic clock-a.m. radio. I surfed the channels (age 10 at the time) for anyone playing a Beatle song. In the meantime, I was exposed to all sorts of popular music. At one point in time I had just enough money to finally buy a 45 rpm record ($.99). Since I didn’t drive, I had to rely on my mom to drop me off at the “Music Box” record store (near John’s Toy and Hobby) on Main Avenue while she was running errands in town. Of all the Top-40 songs of that time, it was hard to decide which 45-record to buy. Would it be my favorite Beatle record or “Needles and Pins” by the Searchers. It was narrowed down to those two. Finally, I decided on the Searchers. My logic was that I decided that the Beatles were bound to be popular longer than the Searchers. As a result, I would be able to purchase Beatle records for a longer period of time. If suddenly, the Searchers were no longer popular, then I might loose a chance at having that song.” I was so thrilled since this was the first record I ever bought. I will always remember calling the Music Box and asking if they had the record and how much and being so excited. The man behind the counter didn’t share my enthusiasm. I remember Mom pulling up in front of the Music Box on Main in our station wagon and running in to buy the record. It was such a thrill to sit in the back seat looking at the first record I had purchased as we drove away down Main Avenue. (Submitted by Michelle Bruchon Grossman.)

The Boyce Weavers Knotter pictured on the Carter Traveler Company (located on Linwood Road between West Second Avenue and West Franklin Avenue) neon sign looked like a "rat on a ring." (See a picture on the "Spindle Center Scenes" page.)

The Gastonia telephone exchange was "UN," (86), which was pronounced "University." It was only necessary to dial the next five numbers when calling anyone in the city

Dollar Days packed Uptown Gastonia with shoppers;

Christmas decorations stretched across Main Avenue and adjoining streets and shined brightly from Thanksgiving night until New Years;

Shoppers dressed to go Uptown;

Ice cream was served in Dixie Cup bowls atop stainless steel pedestals at Sweetland's on Main Avenue;

You could get vanilla Cokes at the Moss Drugs soda fountain;

Santa Claus and His reindeer rode on a conveyor at Nolen Concrete on East Main Avenue;

Stars shined from the Firestone Mill tower at Christmas until 1992 (They are back!);

The bright sunlight was welcomed after a Saturday matinée horror movie at the Temple (later the Center) Theater on Main Avenue;

The Leon Schneider Department Store radio jingle was "Let's go to Schneider's; buy the family clothes at Schneider's; 233 West Main Avenue, in the middle of the block...."

Three "dime stores" (Eagle's, Woolworth's, and Kress) were located on the south side of the 100th block of West Main Avenue, across the street from Matthews-Belk Department Store. That was indeed a "super block."

You could buy ducklings and brightly-colored chicks in front of Eagle's dime store before Easter;

One dollar would buy ten comic books at the Marietta Newsstand;

Everyone went to Matthews Belk;

A four-sided clock stood in front of Citizens National Bank and chimed each passing hour;

John's Toy and Hobby Shop opened in the LPT Building on the northwest corner of West Main Avenue and South Street;

There was a miniature water tower on the ledge over the entrance to the Realty Building advertising that McLean Tank Company had offices inside;

Tom Holland operated a barbecue drive-in on the west side of Bessemer City Road (Tom's Barbecue) just above that road's intersection with West Franklin Avenue;

At that intersection once stood a restaurant topped with a large marquee advertising movies playing at the Monte Vista Drive-in on Myrtle School Road.

Gastonia's Beacon Drive-In (never affiliated with the one in Spartanburg, South Carolina) stood at East Franklin Avenue at Willow Street. The kitchen was incorporated into the main office of Carolina State Bank, which later merged into Southern National Bank. Southern National Bank later merged with BB&T and more recently vacated the building when the current BB&T was built at West Franklin and York Street. The building, along with the Beacon kitchen, now houses attorneys' offices.

The crosswalks at the busy intersection of West Main Avenue and South Street were outlined with brass oval plates embedded in the asphalt and bearing an advertisement for Pepsi Cola.

The Piedmont and Northern Railway (P&N) streetcar ran down the center of Franklin Avenue from Webb Street on the west end of the line to the Groves Mill on the east. The fare to ride was a nickel.

Milkshakes at Kennedy's Drug Store were seventeen cents. While talking to my future wife on a very busy day, I filled an order for seven shakes with seventeen of the frozen treats. (From Jake Keller, who was once a Kennedy's "soda jerk.")

There was a small mechanical Santa Claus in the window of Morris Jewelers during the Christmas season.

The Christmas parade kicked off the Christmas shopping season uptown. Many businesses and organizations sponsored beautiful floats.

Coke floats and milkshakes were among the favorite soda fountain treats at Sweetland's.

"Three Centas" and "Spindle City Colas" were bottled in Gastonia: the "Three Centa" at the northwestern corner of Gaston Avenue and North Firestone Street, and "Spindle City" on the east side of Linwood Road near the Fifth Avenue intersection.The Spindle City building still stands.

Among the notable newsstands were the ones at South Street and Main Avenue, Marietta Street at Main, and in the lobby of the Main Post Office.

Cowboy movies played every Saturday at all the uptown theaters.

Tony's Ice Cream operated a West Side location. (The building still stands!)

Long Avenue (only two lanes before the railroad trench) was an "avenue of churches." It was the original home of First Presbyterian Church, First Baptist Church, Saint Mark's Episcopal Church, and Saint Michael's Catholic Church.

You could get into the Webb movie theater on South Street for a dime.

Beautiful homes lined West Main Avenue.

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