There when you need them

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure — if you want to call it that — of calling 911.
Connor had fallen, bumped his head and started crying. Just as suddenly, he passed out. Of course, my husband and I were panicked and I immediately picked up the phone while Corey worked to make sure Connor came to and didn’t go to sleep.
I never expected to really need to call 911. I’ve got the number to the police department dispatch on speed dial, and I figured it would be easier to just call them than to call the emergency number and get transferred around.
Not the case that particular Tuesday evening. 911 was the number to call. I dialed the number and spoke to an operator, explaining that my son, who is 14 months old, had fallen and we thought he had bumped his head and passed out. They were very nice, and said someone would be out shortly.
About the time I hung up the phone, Connor was coming around. Corey had stripped him down to his diaper and put him under the fan to cool him off. At the same time, we heard the sirens, getting closer and closer.
It seriously was not one minute later when an ambulance from Cabarrus County had pulled in front of our house, as well as Engine No. 21 and battalion chief. I got kind of embarrassed, because by this time, Connor was already smiling and anxious to get a look at what was making all that noise.
But I’m still glad I called 911 and I got to experience first-hand exactly how fast our first responders are in Kannapolis. Turns out Connor had simply held his breath and passed out from that. There wasn’t even a bump on the little stinker.
Joanie Morris is editor of the Kannapolis Citizen. She can be reached at 704-932-3336 or at her house, keeping a close eye on her rambunctious son.

C.A. Cannon loyalty ran deep here

By Norris Dearmon
For the Kannapolis Citizen
C.A. Cannon was always loyal to various groups whom he had dealings with. One of his favorites was the Kannapolis Volunteer Fire Department.
He loved to show the new equipment, which the company had bought for the department. Of course, the primary function of the department was to protect all of the properties of the company. They also protected other properties with the help of other local fire departments. Most of the volunteers were employees of the company and were allowed to leave their jobs in case of fires. The company also furnished facilities for the trucks and equipment to be housed. If they needed something, the company would most always approved what they asked for.
The gate guard would always be the one to drive the main truck. Another employee, usually from the shop area, would come out to watch the gate while the truck was on a call. Should another truck be required, one of the other volunteers who had been trained would drive the other truck. Regular training meetings were held and Cannon treated them to a luncheon once a year.
In earlier years, the volunteer fire department consisted of reel teams, which participated in many competitions and set records. J.C. Taylor was a longtime fire chief for the volunteer fire department.
As the company and town grew, better equipment was needed. The first truck purchased was a used 1934 La France truck, which was later traded for a new La France truck. That truck is now in the possession of Atlantic American Properties.
We have a hanging on the wall of the History Room at the library, a large color picture of C.A. Cannon and his grandson, Joe, proudly sitting in the seat of the new truck. Recently, two other pictures of the fire department were donated to the History Room. One shows the personnel of the department standing in front of the fire station with the trucks, and Cannon with Don Holt and Fred Wilson on the front row. The second picture shows the new Ford pumper truck with Cannon, Roy Deaton and Holt standing in front of the truck. These pictures accompany this article.
The YMCA and school system were uppermost in the favorite groups the Cannons were involved in. The YMCA buildings were built and maintained by Cannon Mills Co. They received all of the profits from the “dope wagons” pushed by men through the plants, which sold Cokes and other goodies to the workers. The school system also could expect help from the company.
The Cabarrus Memorial Hospital was a very favorite part of Cannon’s life. It was originally set up as a county endeavor, but no taxes were used to fund the operation. Cannon directed and funded the needs of the hospital not paid for by the patients, through his endowment.
Another of his favorite groups was the local National Guard, which he also treated once a year around Christmas time. In the 1930s, when the strikers were trying to organize the textile industry, the guard helped to protect the mill from any violence. Since the company owned everything in town, they were able to station the guard and police at all streets leading off Main Street, which was a federal highway, to keep the marchers from going anywhere in town.
They came up the highway all the way to North Kannapolis, turned around and came back down through town, never leaving the highway. They saw the National Guard men on the rooftops of the mill with machine guns and rifles, as well as at some of the intersections of Main Street and Lake Drive. There was no violence as there was in some other locations where the strikers were active. There was also no strike.
The employees had recollections of an earlier strike in 1921. At that time, the employees had decided, because of a slight recession caused by World War I, to join the union and strike for higher wages. The mill was shut down. The union was supposed to furnish food for the strikers, since there was no income coming from the mill. The supply was soon exhausted. Instead of the union buying more food from the dues they had collected, they closed the Union Store, took all of the money and left town.
The employees had to negotiate on their own and actually went back to work for less money than they had been making when they went on strike. Those memories lasted for a long time. The union could not organize them again. When the older members and their children were no longer working for the company, the union finally organized the company in the late 1990s, after several tries.
Needless to say, the very favorite group was the employees. J.W. Cannon had brought in workers for his new plants from as far away as Georgia. Many were tenant farmers with no money and experience. Some even had no shoes. They were hired and trained to work in the mill and after getting their first paycheck, were able to buy some shoes.
It was better than being slaves to the tenant farm owners with no prospects of ever being really independent. From that point on, all of their needs were fulfilled. They had parades, were able to buy cars and had some leisure time. When times were hard, such as during the Great Depression, the mill ran part time in order to give the workers enough money to put food on the table. The company warehoused a lot of the production, awaiting a better time.
Beginning in 1936, C.A. Cannon began recognizing loyal employees with a loyalty banquet each year. He gave out pins in increments of five years after 15 years of service. Many workers received 35, 40, 45, 50 and 55 year pins. The banquets, held during the Christmas season, became huge events.
Eventually, the company began giving a Christmas bonus and paid vacation when the mill closed for the Fourth of July vacation week. Medical and retirement benefits were also added to all employees of its many plants. Unfortunately, the retirement benefits did not start soon enough for some of the older workers, causing their checks to be small when they retired. The company over-funded the retirement plan so there would always be enough to pay out upon retirement.
Many people faulted the company for the paternal policy practiced during the years the Cannons had control. The idea began when the textile industry was just beginning. The workers had nothing and the company promised to take care of them if they would work for them. They were helping build and industry and in most cases, were proud to be a part of it.
I, for one, never cease to be amazed at all the Cannon’s were able to accomplish in their lifetime.

Norris Dearmon is a local historian and member of the Kannapolis History Associates.
He is also a volunteer in the Hinson History Room at the Kannapolis Branch Library.

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race doesn’t disappoint

By John Watson
Kannapolis Citizen
The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star Race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway was a mixed bag of strategy as Kasey Kahne lead the way to victory on Saturday night.
For winner Kahne, it was his first win since the October 2006 race at the speedway. But this race was not for points, just a $1 million purse and bragging rights in one of the NASCAR’s top series’ crown jewel events.
Kahne was also the driver of the first Dodge to ever win the All-Star event and it was Kahne’s first-ever All-Star win in five tries. This was also Kahne’s first trip to Victory Lane since sweeping the 2006 points races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Kahne came into Saturday’s All-Star show tied for 13th in points with Ryan Newman, and only two points out of the crucial 12th spot, the last eligible points position for the “Race to the Chase.”
Kahne started the season off strong with a seventh place finish in the Daytona 500 and followed with a ninth place finish in the Auto Club 500 at Fontana. He finished sixth best in the UAW-Dodge 400 in Las Vegas, but momentum started to shift and a series of mishaps led Kahne to fall out of the top 10 in points.
Kahne was noticeably disappointed entering this weekend’s events when the car didn’t run well at any of the practice sessions for the All-Star Shoot-out, which is the qualifying race for those who don’t have any wins in the last 36 races or wins in 10 previous All-Star events. Kahne started the Showdown in the 15th spot and was only able to work himself up to the fifth position, where he finished. Only the top two drivers from the Showdown transfer to the All-Star race, and those two positions went to A.J. Allmendinger and Sam Hornish Jr.
The stars aligned and Kahne narrowly edged out Robby Gordon and teammate Elliot Sadler to win the fans’ vote and earn the right to start dead last in the All-Star Challenge.
“That’s awesome,” said Kahne. “I’d love to race my way in and get in that race by winning a race, but we have great fans and it’s pretty cool that they got us in the race. We need all the fan support we can have, and they stuck behind us. …
“I was gonna head home, drink a couple Budweisers and watch the All-Star Race, but thanks to the fans I get to race,” he added.
It was a tall order heading into the reformatted All-Star event, but Kahne didn’t disappoint. With four 25-lap segments and a mandatory pit-stop, Kahne would not only have to be fast, but count on strategy and pit performance to go in his favor — and it did.
Pole-sitter and early race leader Kyle Busch ran away from the field in the first segment, at one time holding an almost 2-second lead over Greg Biffle and nearly a 6-second lead on the rest of the field. Busch’s fortunes changed for the worst as an engine problem knocked him off the pace. Busch was able to keep his car in the race until the end of the second segment when they hoped to repair the issues, but after fighting to maintain a fifth-place position, Busch’s day was over.
Carl Edwards, wrongly predicted by H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler to be the overall race winner, passed Busch while experiencing the problems and went on to claim victory in the second segment. Kahne, who started last in the 24th position had worked his way inside the top 10 and went into the halftime break in eighth position.
The third segment was the most exciting as fans got to watch local favorite and Kannapolis-native Dale Earnhardt Jr. pull around Roush Racing rival Edwards and lead for 15 laps. Edwards was dominant after stealing the lead from Busch, but halftime pit adjustments didn’t work in his favor, opening the door for Earnhardt and others to follow. Edwards slipped to eighth position as teammate Biffle took the lead and held on to win the third segment. Kahne didn’t make much progress in the third segment, only moving up one spot to finish in seventh.
The final segment featured a mandatory pit stop and many different strategies came into play. Most drivers and pit crews elected to take fuel and two tires. Earnhardt gambled with good track position and took four tires. According to crew chief and cousin Tony Eury Jr., there were no other options.
“Our car was getting extremely loose right there at the end of every run,” said Eury. “So, we had to take tires; there were no ifs, ands, or buts. We learned a lot for next week and that’s the biggest thing we came over here for.”
Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus went the other direction in an attempt to gain track position and took fuel only. The risk was rewarded with the lead position coming out of the final break.
“It just seems for us the stickier tires at the end of the run,” said Johnson. “We start off too loose. Actually tonight, we stayed loose the whole time. The balance from the stickier tires to old tires has been the hard part for us, but we made a lot of gains on it tonight.”
Kahne was also in a gambling mood and decided against taking tires during the mandatory stop. Kahne started the final segment on the outside of Row 1 for the double file restart. The gamble paid off as Kahne seized the opportunity and moved to the front when Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was added to the list of cars with engine failures at lap 83.
Kahne took the lead and never looked back as he led the final 17 laps. Johnson would slip from first to fourth with Roush teammates Biffle and Matt Kenseth sandwiched in between for second and third, respectively. Tony Stewart, another Joe Gibbs Racing star, who started 21st due to an engine change, rounded out the top five.
Kahne was critical of himself and his team as he entered the race. Team momentum seemed to fizzle after a fast start at the beginning of the season and despite being voted in by the fans, they didn’t feel like they had a real chance of winning because of some issues with the handling of the car.
“I guess it wasn’t as far off as I thought,” he said with a smile after his win Saturday. “As a driver I was down. I was frustrated. I was upset after practice (Friday). This gives me a ton of confidence, both for the Nationwide race next week and the Cup race. As far as coming out and winning the 600, we have some work to do.”

Intimidators keep shuffling roster

By Bill Kiser
Kannapolis Citizen
The Kannapolis Intimidators’ roster underwent a major reshuffling for the second consecutive week, with one player moving on, four others coming in and three more going on the disabled list.
Pitcher Levi Maxwell became the third Intimidators player to move up the Chicago White Sox’s minor league system when he was promoted to Winston-Salem of the Advanced-A level Carolina League.
Maxwell joins infielder Joe Persichina and pitcher Steve Spurgeon to be called up from Kannapolis this season. Persichina was sent to Birmingham (Ala.), the White Sox’s Double-A Southern League team, on April 25 (although he was eventually reassigned to the Intimidators two weeks later), while Spurgeon was sent to Winston-Salem on May 9.
Added to Kannapolis’ roster were three pitchers — Adam Bowling, Kevin Skogley and Gregory Infante — and outfielder Lyndon Estill from the White Sox’s extended spring training program.
The additions come as the Intimidators lost three players to injuries. Pitcher Jason Rice went on the disabled list on May 13, outfielder Ronnie Gaines joined him on May 16, and outfielder Jose Martinez went on the DL the following day.
Maxwell had become one of Kannapolis’ most effective pitchers, both as a reliever and spot starter. He was 4-1 with one save and a 1.23 ERA in 11 appearances (two starts). He also had 29 strikeouts in 291⁄3 innings.
Bowling, a free agent signee by the White Sox in 2007, went 3-2 with a 6.41 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 17 relief appearances last season at Great Falls (Mont.), Chicago’s Advanced Rookie team in the Pioneer League. Skogley, a 12th-round draft pick by the White Sox in 2007, went 2-5 with a 4.72 ERA in 18 games (including nine starts) last season with Great Falls. He struggled as a starter, with a 6.02 ERA in 401⁄3 innings, but proved himself as a reliever, giving up just two earned runs in 15 innings.
Infante, a 2006 free agent signee by the White Sox, was 2-3 last season with a 4.01 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 10 games (eight of those starts) with Bristol (Tenn.), Chicago’s Advanced Rookie team in the Appalachian League. He also held opposing batters to a .207 average.
Estill, an eight-round pick by the White Sox in the 2007 draft, hit .247 last season at Great Falls, and finished tied for second in the Pioneer League in triples with seven. He was named the best athlete in the White Sox organization by Baseball America magazine this season.

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