Heading For Camden ::

If all goes according to plan I will be heading out for Camden early Tuesday morning. I got the news at 1 am that my mother had passed away a couple of hours earlier. Visitation will be Tuesday evening at Powers Funeral Home with burial Wednesday morning at 11 am in the cemetery of Beulah Methodist Church in the Charlotte-Thompson community.

Here is a photograph I just got a short time ago.

Buster Beckham on the left, Johnny Jaynes in the middle, and Tom Davy on the right. Blogger has changed it's interface so posting here is not very intuitive for me 'til I get used to it, which will happen. Bear with me 'til that happens!

Some More Interesting Facts ::

Received from Buster yesterday:

Which current major university was once located in Winnsboro? Which famous Baptist minister regularly preached in Lugoff, Pine Grove, Winnsboro and the High Hills? William Sikes was the first famous person from this area. What was his claim to fame? How did the Lord Proprietors encourage settlers to move in to the S.C. back country? Which major street in Camden is named in honor of the colonial governor who led the fight against the Indians? In the colonial times, the back country in South Carolina started about fifty to seventy miles from the coast. Orangeburg, Camden and Cheraw were the major back country settlements. In the 1750's to encourage settlement, the owners granted free land to many European Protestants. These settlers kept many names from their origins. Dutch Fork, Saxe Gotha, and Orangeburg reflected the names of German and Swiss settlers. New Bordeaux was settled by French Huguenots while the Welsh Tract is on the Pee Dee. Many Scotch Irish settled Long Canes and one will find Scottish names which began with Mc such as McLean and McCaskill settled also around the Pee Dee and Lynches Rivers. The Irish Quakers were some of the original inhabitants of Pine Tree Hill. In one of the unusual ironies of history, the Quakers evolved in to conscientious objectors to war by embracing the commandment of 'Thou Shall Not Kill.' However there are many noted Hebrew scholars who say that the original commandment is "Thou Shall Not Murder.” Most of the African slaves who were in the back country were cattlemen. It was actually an African slave who told the governor of Massachusetts how Africans used the blood of cows in order to control small pox. After the American Revolution the slave trade became almost eliminated and at one point the importation of slaves to S.C. was prohibited. However, that changed with the development of the cotton gin and the need for a large labor pool to work the cotton fields. The profitability of cotton also had an impact on Camden as the major trading center in the midlands. The Camden to Georgetown water and road trade route was the most economically navigable route. The merchants of Charleston would often send their trade goods by water to Georgetown, then on to the midlands. However, when cotton became grown everywhere, the waterway from Charleston to Georgetown became unnavigable due to silt and the merchants of Charleston found another route which led them to Columbia. After that Columbia exceeded Camden as a trade center and eventually became the capital of the state. The inhabitants of the back country often fought Indians. Patrick Calhoun, the father of John C. Calhoun, was a fortunate survivor of a Cherokee massacre. One of the long standing story/rumors of history is that John C. Calhoun was the biological father of Abraham Lincoln. John C. Calhoun traveled through the Asheville area en route to Washington and Lincoln's mother worked as a bar maid in the travel taverns. She eventually married Tom Lincoln, a very short man, and moved to Kentucky. If you are ever in Washington D.C. compare the profile pictures of Lincoln and Calhoun. Under the administration of Governor Lyttleton, the major Indian threat was subdued. The British Crown was slow in developing efficient law enforcement in the inlands and so lawlessness quickly arose. Court cases were tried in Charleston and it took seven days to travel there by horse. Many of the most notorious leaders grew up in Camden including two sets of brothers. Grovey and George Black sold their land to Joseph Kershaw and became outlaw leaders. Thomas and James Moon, who were descendents of the first Quaker family, also sold their land and like the Black's started stealing cattle, horses, deer skins, and abducting women. There became an intercolonial commerce ring. William Sikes broke out of 28 jails from Boston to Savannah. Finally, the government financed and allowed militia units known as Regulators to attack the outlaw camps. The Regulators were successful and drove out many of the outlaw gangs, or at least got them to move to Georgia or the mountains of N.C. However, another problem arose. South Carolina was the only colony which did not have a vagrancy law so this area became a magnet for many less desirables. As the noted Anglican minister and historian Charles Woodmason wrote about Camden, 'the people lived in logg cabins like hoggs' and that 90 out of 100 back country women he married already were pregnant or already had children out of wedlock. Apparently he was not impressed with the local accommodations or the people. One Sunday Woodmason was holding services when the homes and businesses were robbed. The good people of Camden chased the thieves and fought a gun battle with the culprits on Twenty-five Mile Creek. The powerful regulators became vigilantes and routinely flogged those who they felt needed to be 'kept in line.' More judges and justices of the peace finally restored order. The religious churches were used as marking points for judicial administration. This area was St. Mark Parish, Cheraw was St. David, and Orangeburg was St. Mathew. Court houses were often used for religious meetings while churches were common meeting sites and polling centers. The Church of England, the Episcopalians, had not had much growth in the back country. one important reason was that the people did not favor the Stamp Act. There were orders of Lutherans (Newberry College), Methodist (Wofford), Congregationalist, Dunkers, Quakers, Sabbatarians, and the two most popular were the Presbyterians (Presbyterian College) and the New Light Baptists. Richard Furman, a Baptist minister, vigorously preached in this area and Furman University was named in his honor. Furman was a staunch rebel and ministered to the troops and locals about liberty. Cornwallis placed such a high bounty on Furman that he had to escape to North Carolina. Furman University was once located in Winnsboro, but a deranged student burned part of it down and they eventually moved the campus to Greenville. I would like to thank Dean Jordan and Doug McFie for providing much of the information for this article. Thank you for your attention.

What's Left ::

Here's what's left of the old old Camden High School and this will be gone pretty soon.

The photograph was swiped from Johnny Deal's Facebook page.

Another Short One ::

From Buster:

Kathy and I went out for supper tonite and Susan Klapman, her mother, and her brother entered the restaurant. I looked at her brother three times before I realized it was her husband Brian and not her brother. He is up several lbs. but more surprising is that he was not wearing glasses. He used to have some thick 'uns. We would have had a hard time picking him out of a lineup. 'C'est la vie.' B.

Dorothy Mobley Hipp ::

Buster passed this on to me just a few minutes ago:

Dorothy (Dot) Mobley Hipp, 91, of Anderson, SC died April 17, 2012, at the Rainey Hospice House surrounded by her loving family. Born in Tampa, Florida on June 14, 1920, she was the daughter of the late Francis Brummett Mobley and Mary Hall Mobley. She was predeceased by her husband; Rawson C. Hipp, her brother; Francis Brummett Mobley, Jr., and her sister, Sara Evelyn Moody.

She graduated from Winthrop College with a degree in education. After serving 34 years aas an accomplished teacher and guidance counselor, she retired from Camden High School being highly respected and admired by her students and peers. After retiring, she and her late husband enjoyed spending time with their family and friends at their lovely mountain house in Little Switzerland. Dot was a longtime member of The First Baptist Church of Camden, SC and was an active member of the Church of the Resurrection in Little Switzerland, NC. She always displayed her faith by devoting her life to serving others. Dot had a passion for taking care of people. She had a huge giving spirit and always will be remembered for her humility. She spent years taking care of her mother and husband who both had prolonged debilitating medical conditions. Dot always provided an unconditional love for her nieces and nephews. We were blessed to have her as our “second mother”. She has left a lasting “footprint” on our hearts and we will miss her smile and generous loving spirit. She is survived by her sister, Billie Mobley Talmadge and brother-in-law, Paul Talmadge, along with six nieces and nephews, 10 grand nieces and nephews, and 3 great-grand nieces and nephews. The family would like to express their gratitude to the staff and residents of Garden House, Anderson, SC, for the love and care given to Dot.

A funeral service to celebrate her life will be held at 11:00 AM, Saturday, April 21, 2012 at Kornegay Funeral Home, 1112 Fair Street, Camden, SC 29020. A private burial will follow the ceremony. Memorials may be made in her memory to the Hospice House of the Upstate, 1835 Rogers Road, Anderson, SC 29621.

I don't remember having any classes with Mrs. Hipp, but I certainly do fondly remember Geometry with Mr. Hipp!

Also, here is the text of Buster's e-mail:

Chuck Sturkie forwarded this info this a.m. about Mrs. Hipp. I always thought she was a kind and dignified lady. Had the pleasure of working with her for a couple of years.

Coach Lynch was kind enough to offer me a job when I finished my military service. The first day I was standing in the office when I heard someone behind me say, "They sure are hiring some dumb teachers these days.'' The speaker was a smiling Mr. Hipp and I did not realize he had such a good memory.

The Hipps left Camden after she retired. 'Good People.' B.

Music From Kathryn Scheldt ::

OK, I finally found an embed link!

More Sad News, I'm Afraid ::

I just got this from Buster a few minutes ago:

I don't know if you remember Roddy Cantey but many of us knew his sister Claudia. Roddy took his own life this week. He has not lived here but they maintained the family home. I'm not sure if he was one or two grades ahead of us. B.

And, on a very personal note, my oldest stepdaughter, Dawnielle, was killed in an auto accident yesterday afternoon.

Attributing The Author ::

I got an e-mail a couple of days from someone who was not in our class, but who had read one of Buster's articles about high school baseball players Bobby Robinson, Jimmy Sutphin, and Buddy Small and he was thanking me for publishing it. I had never thought about it before, but I have never given enough credit and attribution to Buster Beckham for his writing which I simply passed on.

Props to Buster and I hope he keeps the writing coming! I know that I enjoy it.

A Bit More About Kershaw County's History ::

From Buster:

They put the war dead in the library. The Yankees took all of the livestock, food, and feed. The problem quickly became the hungry rats.
This library had been built by this unincorporated community without the funds of Andrew Carnegie whose generous foundation supplied funds for scores of public libraries such as the one in Camden where the Kershaw County Archive Building is now housed. As we all are aware an excellent library is a cornerstone of a great community.
This rural community not only endured the occupation of Sherman's marauding army and his followers but had most of its businesses, academies, schools, and homes burned. The good folk endured and later built a meeting place for its professionals. They also later built and maintained their own baseball field and for decades operated its own baseball team. The members of this community also built a community center and had lighted tennis courts. All of these notable accomplishments were completed b through the efforts of its citizens who did not ask its county neighbors for help in paying for these structures.
We often forget our history.
Many of the Civil War dead who are buried in the Pine Grove Cemetery went to a local school which was funded by the Camden Orphan Society. Many of the leading citizens of the Kershaw District (from around 1800 to 1860 there were no counties in the state) contributed money to provide schools throughout the district/county. The schools were usually for grades one to six and spread out because the kids usually walked (quite often barefoot) or rode a horse or mule. There is an old wives tale about not letting your kids play barefoot in the dew because they can get worms from the worms which crawled to the end of the grass blade to get moisture.
Citizens who enjoyed an economic advantage usually had tutors or sent their kids to private schools or academies. There is a long history of academies in this county. The schools were usually segregated by sex.
The public school system that exist today found its beginnings with the Freedmen's Bureau after the Civil War and during Reconstruction. The schools were first created to educate the children of ex-slaves and eventually there became schools for whites. Schools have always been the domain of states. Buildings such as the old Camden High School and Mt. Pisgah were WPA buildings. Many of the flat top schools which were constructed in the 1950's had funds provided by the federal government because of the large number of baby boomers. The federal government started contributing money for curriculum when they discovered that Ivan was smarter than Johnny when Sputnik flew thee rotations around the earth.
For many of us who grew up in the south, the term Reconstruction was not a smiley face expression when used by our seniors. There are two entertaining and educational points of interest concerning Reconstruction. One occupying Union officer wrote home that the southerners had a varied diet. They would have corn mush, fish, and treason for breakfast, lunch would consist of fish, treason and corn mush, while supper was treason, corn mush, and fish. One would wonder if this officer ever became familiar with the term grits or hominy.
The second point is that before the 1960's the only Republican (the party of Abe Lincoln) you could find in most towns were the postmasters. Usually when you had the Democratic Primary the election was settled. In the 1950's there was a group mostly residing in Kirkover Hills who were 'Democrats for Eisenhower.' In 1964 William Workman ran as a Republican candidate for the U.S Senate and he was the first most prominent state Republican candidate. Sheriff Hector DeBruhl was the first local Republican party winner and the late Jeff McMahan was a founder of the S.C. Republican Party. The late George Carlton was an early leader of the Republicans in this county.
Savannah Georgia was laid out as a Roman Army encampment which emphasized protecting the livestock. Hence many parks, commons and greens throughout the South were initially designed to increase business and feed horses, cattle, sheep and pigs. In most locales Saturday was always the market day and farmers drove their wagons to town. In front of the Camden Post Office there was a water trough for horses. The popularity and availability of the car and paved roads are relatively new. Mrs. Louise Boykin who taught the fifth grade at Camden Grammar School in the 1950's rode in the first car in Kershaw County. Billy Ammons grandfather operated the ferry on the Wateree River before the bridge was built between Lugoff and Camden.
Mt. Pisgah, Blaney, Bethune and other locales had their own superintendents. In the Camden School District the Superintendent appointed the board. Bob Branham grew up in Blaney and the Wildcats played basketball against other schools on an outdoor court. The original basketball court for Camden High is the current parking lot at LSUMC and only the girls had teams. Recreation basketball was played in school gyms until the Rhame Arena became operational in 1964. In the 1940's and 50's youth teams played for 'the city.'
Emergency health care before the Kershaw County Hospital was built was as fast as your horse could get you to the doctor. The hospital, which used to be located on the corner of Fair and Union, is approaching its 100th birthday The kindness and generosity of the Bernard Baruch foundation and family built this hospital. Dr. Baruch was a Civil War surgeon who operated in a house where the First Baptist Church is now located.
Liberty Hill is the community which built its own library, ball field, tennis courts and public buildings. All were constructed in the era from before the War between the States and 1939.

For those who may not know, I live just outside Huntsville, Alabama, and there is a local monthly publication titled "Historic Huntsville" which has some wonderful stories about the local history coupled with stories about those who populated the city and county in the past decades and, often, past centuries. I enjoy reading this, usually over a Chinese dinner in a local restaurant. A lot of the stories are drawn from stories published in the local newspapers over many decades. I have no idea just what sort of archive the Camden Chronicle Independent has, but it would be very interesting if what they do have could be converted to a PDF form and shared with those who care about the past of Camden and Kershaw County!

More Thoughts From Buster ::

The exotic snakes were released where Historic Camden now sits. The traveling carnival had gone broke and the owner of the snakes could no longer afford to feed them so several large and non native snakes were set free to fend for themselves in Pine Tree Creek. Jim Thornton said this incident happened during the Great Depression.
This traveling carnival had set up at the old fairgrounds where Rhame Arena is now located. Most old timers, those in their 80's and 90's, remember this site being continuously used for the annual county fair every fall and many can recall the excitement that the Kershaw County Fair brought to this area. The fair would usually last for a week and on Wednesday there would be kid's day and school would be dismissed early. Many a local youngster was separated from his money trying to win a stuffed animal. It was a place where a good time was had by all.
The midway separated the games and rides and as you neared the the American Legion Stadium the larger and more thrilling rides were found. As darkness came, this was also the area where the risque shows performed. There was a wooden building where farm exhibits were displayed and there was a site for animal display complete with the requisite smells. The fairgrounds were bracketed by Broad St. on the west and Zemp Stadium on the east.
Fair grounds and stadiums have a long history. Because fairs can trace their history to the middle ages most communities had set aside land for fairs. Camden's fair ground actually has a charter from the King of England. As team sports became popular after the War Between the States many ball fields were built on the fair grounds. The fairgrounds in Sumter housed their football stadium and the county fair in Orangeburg for a number of years hosted the Wofford vs, Citadel football game. The Big Thursday game between Clemson and South Carolina was part of the state fair. The annual Texas vs. Oklahoma game in Dallas is part of the Texas State Fair. If you travel to many communities in the American west you will find many common sites which houses fairs, athletic fields, and rodeo arenas.
Zemp Stadium is now the oldest continuously used football stadium in the state. Prior to 1958 the home side was a covered wooden structure and the visitors side had a tunnel in the middle of the grandstands. In the 50's the yard markers were large tires painted white with the numerals 10, 20, 30 or 40 painted on four sides. The Kershaw County School District only owns Zemp Stadium, not the surrounding area. It came somewhat as a mild surprise that in the mid 90's in order to enlarge the seating capacity the home side was moved to the east. As the school board sought clearance to expand the eastern side, the actual boundary was determined to be at the end of the playing field. The old visitors side was part of Market St. The Camden City Council granted this old road area to the school.
In the late 40's and early 50's there became a national movement to organize youth sports. The City of Camden created youth leagues. If you played youth sports you played for or in 'the city.' In the early 50's one of the the ball fields was located where city hall now sits and soon the Linwood area became home to three ball fields. There was a minor, little, and pony league field. For many a youngster making a pony league team was a really big deal. There were cuts and the pony league field had lights, which allowed the players to reach into a tail pipe and get eye liner, plus you got to wear steel spikes. Oh what a cool sound they made when you walked on concrete.
In 1963 the city built Rhame Arena, which named in honor of Clarkston Rhame, the mayor who spearheaded this effort. In the winter of 1964 Camden High played Bishopville High in a basketball game which was the first public unveiling of the new arena. Both the Rockettes and the Bulldogs won. Eventually in the late 60's and early 70's the city moved out of the youth recreation program as the county encompassed the youth programs. The Kershaw County Recreation Department now headed by James Davis is a model for other counties who are studying our program as a model to duplicate.
Obviously there is controversy concerning Rhame Arena. One alternative being discussed is for a new and larger city arena to be built. There is also discussion for the recreation department taking over the Camden Middle School property, as well as talk concerning the school district obtaining and enclosing the county pool on Battleship Road One point that everyone needs to remember is that the good citizens of this county paid for all the public facilities, the city's, the schools', and the county's. You and I may not hold the deed but it is the citizens money which bought the properties and built the facilities.
Thank you for your attention

Checking In ::

Here's hoping that everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I've been following the saga of the city of Camden's quest to get a YMCA located in town and there apparently is much turmoil around trying to bring the Y to town and how it's planned to be financed. It's hard to follow this from 400 miles away, but I think that I'm beginning to piece together some of the parts that are creating all of the controversy and both sides seem to be extremely passionate.

If anyone from Camden happens to be reading this, I would love to hear some pros and cons.

And, by the way, when did the old Y on Polo Lane go away? I don't remember it being particularly well utilized when we were youngsters.