COLUMN: A Look Back

Jimmy Ballard
Published: July 25, 2008

50 years ago

July 24, 1958

Merchants back plan
Hartsville Merchants have thrown their weight behind plans for a reorganized Chamber of Commerce by endorsing a move for merger of the Hartsville Merchants Association with the Chamber.
In a special called meeting held Wednesday at the Manhattan Steak House, merchants voted unanimously in favor of making their association a division of the Chamber. There were 27 merchants present and voting.
Merchants Association President Charlie Williams presided over the session. The motion for merger was put by H.B. Barbee, manager of Rose’s 5c, 10c, and 25c Store.
He said that Hartsville is the only town of his knowledge where the two organizations are separate.
Charlie Denny, 2nd vice president of the Chamber, appeared on behalf of the Chamber and discussed the advantage of the merger. He said that finance drives of the two organizations would be joined together, but that Merchants’ Division funds would remain in a separate account. Merchants would be asked to pay dues to both their division and to the Chamber.
President Williams said that merchants not present at the meeting will be asked for their endorsements by mail.

Postage rates go up
Postmaster Chalmers Butler of Hartsville said today he expects plenty of stamps and postal cards to be on hand for sale Aug. 1, to meet new postage rates which become effective then.
Large additional supplies of the regular 4 cent stamp, bearing the likeness of Abraham Lincoln, are being received here to meet the new first-class letter rate of 4 cents an ounce. In addition, issues of special stamps and commemorative stamps will be available at the local post office in 4-cent denominations.

McBee FFA cops honors
The McBee F.F.A. Chapter received several honors at the State F.F.A. Convention held at Clemson College recently.  These awards included Superior Chapter certification, district Farm and Home Electrification award, and School Forest award.
The Superior Chapter Certificate is based on outstanding accomplishments in the field of agriculture and agriculture leadership carried on throughout the year.
Richard McCoy, along with E.B.Earle, vocational agriculture teacher of McBee School, received a check for $250 to defray expenses to attend the national F.F.A. convention in Kansas City. The Farm and Home Electrification Contest is sponsored by Carolina Power and Light Company, Duke Power Company, and S.C. Electric and Gas Company.
The McBee chapter received $60 as first-place winner in district 5 in the school forestry program. This contest is sponsored by the S.C. Commission of Forestry.

The Hartsville Scene
By Rudy Leon
Rumor has it that Ray Petty is scheduled to walk down the aisle with a member of the opposite sex…anything to it, Ray?
Back to that Sunday School roster, I will say that they’re all males…and here’s the entirety, and all that sorta stuff: Billy Boyd, James Cannon, William Cannon, Jimmy Outlaw, Jimmy Mullis, Billy Gainey, Jimmy Warren, Joe Gibson, Al Mixon, Jerry Mixon, Lyndal Gibson, Richard Jordan, Joe McCullough, Tommy Timmons, Joseph R. Moore, H.J. Winburn, Raymond Suggs, Ralph Stevens, Jay Hicks, Al Timmerman, Billy Driggers, Dexter Vaughn, Jimmy Coker, Ansel Hughes, and Ronnie Winburn. Some right now, are many miles away…but they’re still on our list…and we heartlily enjoy working with them…(and just sorry they have such a poor teacher)…

Some food prices
From IGA ad: Frying chicken, whole lb. 29c; rib steak, lb. 79c; fresh pork pickins lb. 39c; margarine 1b. pkg. 27c; pepsi cola, 24 bottle case, $1.39 plus deposit; shortening, 3 lb. Can, 69c; corn on the cob, 6 large ears, 24c; flour, 25 lb. Bag, $1.49; Sunkist lemons, dozen 29c; large flavorful yellow onions, 3 lbs. 20c; Minute Maid Frozen orange juice, 6 oz. Can 19c; IGA brand ice tea, 1 lb. Pkg. 69c; chunk tuna, can 29c; IGA brand grape juice, 24 oz., 29c.

AD: Save Gas Buy Rambler – Guarantee Motors Inc. 1622 S. Fifth Street

Births: Frank Levelle McElveen, 7/19; Lewis Arthur Moore Jr., 7/17; Teresa Elizabeth Atkinson, 7/19; Betty Sue Jones, 7/16; Deborah Faye Jones, 7/17; Mildred Rachel Byrd, 7/15; Barbara Ann Hopkins, 7/17; Steve Monroe O’Neal, 7/19; and William Carl Ellis Jr., 7/15.
Engaged: Sara Jo Grantham to Fred E. Wint

Wed: Betty Joyce Elmore to David C. Dudley; and Christine Gandy to David S. Culp, 7/19.

Golden anniversary: Mr. and Mrs. H.W. Griggs, 7/12.

25 years ago

(July 25, 27, 1983)

Storm, winds hit Hartsville
By Laura Reynolds
Severe wind and heavy rain ripped through the Hartsville area shortly after 5 p.m. Monday, leaving a trail of debris along the way.
According to one eyewitness, the storm came up “all of a sudden. The five o’clock sky looked ferocious, almost evil. All at once the wind was blowing so hard that it was difficult to walk into its force.”
Another person walking to her car at the time the storm blew up said that she decided she better not leave just then. “It was unreal. I’m sure my hair was in a vertical position. I moved my car from under a tree and within five minutes a huge limb dropped in the exact spot where it was previously parked.”
The wind was blowing dirt and sand everywhere, another said. “I bet I couldn’t see more than two feet in front of me at one point,” he said.
Lt. Tom Gainey of the Hartsville Police Department said that several trees fell in the streets during the storm, blocking traffic. A few wires were down also,” he said.
According to Marvin Parnell, County Extension Agent, many tobacco plants were blown over during the storm. “One person told me that his tobacco plants had been blown flat by the wind and that he was having to prop them up.
“Another said that this year his tobacco has been through a freeze, has been beaten by hail and now has been knocked down by heavy winds,” he continued.
Tobacco is the only crop that the weather has really damaged lately, Parnell said.
Several houses were damaged in various degrees by tree limbs which fell on them. “What gets me is that there wasn’t any thundering or lightning or anything. I heard a tingling in the bedroom and when I looked, I saw water dripping from the overhead light. A pine tree had fallen on the roof,” Buzzy Polson said. “Screens were also blown off the windows.”
“My next door neighbor’s metal building and boat were picked up by the wind and dropped in a field behind their house.”
This isn’t the first “bad” wind and rainstorm Hartsville has experienced this summer. One good result was that the temperature dropped to 69 degrees following the storm.

Runner to stop
in Hartsville
Lansing Brewer, a long distance runner from Camden, has made some long runs before for various causes.
His project this summer is the Ronald McDonald House in Columbia, and his 500-mile run around the state will include a trip through Hartsville.
Brewer will leave the Ronald McDonald House in Columbia at 10 a.m. next Monday, Aug. 1, and he should arrive at Hartsville’s McDonald’s location of South Fifth Street around 2 p.m. Aug. 3.
The public is invited to come out and meet Brewer and greet him upon his arrival.

Weinburg to appear on TV
Buffy Weinburg, seven-year-old daughter of Debbie and Joey Weinburg of Darlington, will make her third appearance on the daytime game show, “Child’s Play” on CBS.
The Weinburgs received a call from Child’s Play in ate March asking Buffy to come audition for the show. Only about five percent of the children who are asked to audition after submitting their photos to the show are actually filmed, said Mrs. Weinburg.
Buffy Weinburg has a personal manager and is represented by agencies in Columbia, New York and Atlanta. She is a dance student with the Brenda Cranford School of Dance in Hartsville. Recently, she was one of five children selected as background singers for the album “Walking in the Winners Circle.” The album will be released shortly by Strawberry Jam Recording Studio.
Weinburg will also appear in the Florence Little Theatre production of “Annie” Sept. 23-October 2. She will play Molly, the tiniest orphan.

Engaged: Earthalyn Gail Rodgers to Harold Sellers.

Wed: Sondra Louise Johnson to Alonzo Toney, 7/9; Wilma Claudette Seymour to Mark Stephen Sanders, 7/24; Constance Lucinder Wilson to Rev. Collins Anthony Days, 7/2; Donna Elaine Sansbury to William Inman Benton, 7/23; and Vicky Darlene Nash to Joel Creighton Segars Jr., 7/1.