Spencer Mountain's ballot a blank slate

SPENCER MOUNTAIN -- In a tiny Gaston County mill village, voters don't always find local candidates on the ballot come Election Day.

This year, nobody filed for mayor or the three town council seats.

That's OK, say the incumbents. They'll all show up at the polls, write in their names and probably get re-elected.

"The filing period sort of snuck up on us," said two-term council member Henry Graham. "I didn't do any politicking. There ain't enough people around here to politick to."

Two years ago, Graham, 55, was one of four people who voted in the town election; all four were elected.

In 2005, when there was a slate of candidates on the ballot, 10 people came to the polls, earning the precinct the distinction of having the highest percentage of voter turnout in Gaston County.

This year, 29 voters are registered.

Frances Pinion, Gaston County's elections director, said it's not unusual in small communities like this for no candidates to file. Usually, write-ins solve the problem. If not, under Spencer Mountain's charter, current office holders stay until new ones are elected.

Nestled along the South Fork River and 1,304-foot Spencer Mountain, the once-thriving community is down to seven occupied houses.

The mill closed in 1999, and the only business is Spencer Mountain Grocery.

"You bat an eye and you're through town," said grocery owner Jim Shaw.

Much of his business is the drive-by variety. When folks stick around for a while, they like to talk. But Shaw said the conversation usually centers on the national economy, not local politics.

'We had it all'

Near the grocery is Spencer Mountain Baptist Church, where the town council meets monthly in the fellowship hall. On the river is a recently opened canoe-kayak launch, the Catawba Lands Conservancy's first on the South Fork.

Most of the property, including the houses, is owned by McAdenville-based Pharr Yarns, which provides water, sewer and electrical service along with maintenance.

The town has a $12,500 budget and last year cut the property tax rate from 26 cents to 13 cents per $100 valuation. The only employee is Town Clerk Judy Hinson, who works for Pharr Yarns and receives no pay from Spencer Mountain.

Graham said council meetings last half an hour to an hour and focus on such issues as flood insurance and painting town signs. He's on the board with Steven Braswell and Mayor Janice Abernathy, whose husband, Joe, is also a member.

A 15-year resident of Spencer Mountain, Graham doesn't remember the town's boom days. But old times linger in the memories of many folks who no longer live there.

Mollie High, who grew up in Spencer Mountain, keeps a scrapbook from her childhood. "It was a beautiful place," said High, 79, of Gastonia. "And there were so many wonderful people."

Her father worked in the mill, built in 1874, and she went to a two-room school in the heart of town.

"I was baptized in the South Fork River," High said. "We had Easter egg hunts on the mountain. Sometimes on a clear day you could see Charlotte from up there. The mountain and the river -- we had it all. We thought we were rich."

Conley Matlock, pastor of Spencer Mountain Baptist and a former town council member, said the community is near urban populations but still has a country feel.

"I've seen as many as nine deer in my backyard," said Matlock, 65.

Many of the church's 120 active members have strong ties to the community.

"You may leave Spencer Mountain," Matlock said. "But Spencer Mountain never leaves you."

No redevelopment plans

The town's old mill building was torn down in 2005.

There was talk of revamping the village, something along the lines of what Pharr Yarns did in McAdenville. But Bob Clay, with Clay Realty Advisors LLC and a development consultant for Pharr Yarns, said the company has no immediate redevelopment plans for Spencer Mountain.

Meanwhile, as another Election Day rolls around, political fever is running typically low.

Graham knows another write-in candidate could win his seat, but he's not losing sleep. If someone wants the job, he said, "Let 'em have it."