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OL. XXXVU MANNING, S, C., WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1917 MUCH PROP CONSUME AT WIL! Col. Thomas W. Wilson Heavy Plantation Thursday-Ne Summerton-Other News fi (Special Correspondent to The Man ning Times.) r Disastrous Conflagration. About 2 o'clock Thursday afternoon smoke was discovered issuing from one of the cotton houses on the plan tation of Col. Thomas W. Wilson, just outside the city limits of Summerton. Vigorous efforts were made by those :n the plantation to subdue the flames, but they had gained such an impetus that it soon became evident that not only the cotton house but other buildings on the place were doomed. The cotton house where the fire originated contained 16 bales of excellent cotton and between ' 1,500 and .2,000 bushels of corn in. the .corn houses, all of whidh were consumed. All .the corn houses, cotton houses and stable were destroyed, notwithstand ing the strenuous efforts of those on the plantation to resist the flames. Unfortunately Col. Wilson carried no insurance and there will be a total loss which will run up into the thou sands as not only the cotton in one of the houses was consumed but prac tically all the contents of the stable and other buildings so rapidly did the flames spread that it. was inpossible to save much of the artieles in the other structures. Fortunately no live stock. was in the stable and it was n saved. The origin of the fire is un known. Col, Wilson has a large amount of fine cotton which is yet unpicked and ii by reason of which condition lie is. .n fortunate in that.this amount did not e meet the same fate as the portion p which was picked. . t The smoke was plainly visible from p the business portion of Summerton J and, being so far remote from town e the fire department of the city could t render no assistance. ti The Colonel had just built a new, and beautiful house on his plantation d which is nearly completed and which t was to be his home. Mrs. Wilson was in Summerton where the Wilsons had been making their home until the new residence was completed. p New M. E. Minister. a At the Methodist conference held ? in Bishqpville last week Rev. C. C. t Derrick, who has held' the pastorate d in this city for the past four years was trr.nsferred to Clio, South Caro- t lina. He is to be succeeded by Rev. Wiggins. It is with keen re gret that the people are to part with the ministerial duties of Rev. Der rick, who has made such a pleasing impression on all the citizens during , his residence here. Were it not an inviolable rule of the M. -E. Confer ence that, at the expiration of a min-I ister's four years' pastorate in onet place he shall be transferred the pee ple would make strenuous efforts to retain him, in Summerton. He willr carry the best wishes of this comnmu nity wherever he goes. Mrs. Scarborough Convalescing. n r Mrs. 0. C. Scarborough, presidlent r of the Red Cross, who la's been qjuite r ill for some time is convalescing. The people of Summerton are very thank.. ful and pleased to learn that this estimable womap is on the read to a recovery. p Commendable Work of Red Cross. The dlelegates of the Red Cross are s busy in collecting and working up t, garments for the soldjers and in p every wvas contributing to the com- t Inendable work in this critical period 'n of the cousntry. j Miss Aleine Rienbourg, secretary o of the Red Cross, is being ably sup portedl. by the majority of the patri- E *otic women of Sumnmerton who are f devoting great patriotic spirit for the a welfare of the boys in the trenches. c holiday at Schools. Pupils and teachers of the schools of the city will be given a holiday p vacation Thursday and Friday of this a week 'and they will be with their t friends at the festal board, when the a roast turkey, all kinds of sauces, pud- n dings and the oth'er trimmings are i dished up for their delectation. t ERTY IS D BY FIRE ON PLACE Loser in Conflagration at His N Pastor for Methodists in om the Hustling City. The majority of the teachers will eturn to their' homes or visit friends a other parts during the vacation. 'rincipal E. Wade Cranford will take a Columbia and other places while he Misses Mobley, instructor in ausic, Riggs and Garvin will likely o to their homes. Miss Cora Canty ontemplates pasing Thanksgiving at er pleasant home in Summerton. Liss Francis Loftin goes to Columbia nd Miss Dora Hartzell to her homo a Cherav. * With Thanksgiving the eason of holidays is just opening nd from now until Spring these occa ions-,will be in order quite frequently. Cotton Still Coming In. The two ginneries, which are well quipped for handling the large busi ess that comes their way, are still rowded with cotton. Many who had een holding their cotton, and the te pickings, are swelling the busi ess late in the season. School Examinations. Last week the examinations for the rst term of the year closed. It is redicted that the pupil's papers will isclose a large amount of erudition bsorbed during the past few weeks. xamining and marking the percent ges of the examination papers is ow in- progress by the teachers. Beginning of Manual -Training. What may ultimately result in the itroduction in the schools of Sum ierton. of that importaht branch of ducation, Manual Training, now a art' of the curriculum of many of le schools of the country, is the roposition to organize a chapter of unior' Red Cross for the purpose of niisting the 'services of the children i Red Cross work and which, with le other duties, will include their ef arts at utilizing their skill in making ifferent articles which will be useful a the soldiers. From this initial ovement it is but a step to the in roduction of the Manual Training ystem which has proven of such alue in other places in giving the upils a preliminary training in the rts and trades and which has been f great service in later years when ie scholars left school and, not being isposed to take up a profession and, many cases not in a position to nter college, have directed their at ention, to learning some trade. .Calhoun Literary Society. One of the interesting side lines of istruction and entertainment in the ummerton High Schools and which akes for valuable training the pu ils in becoming proficient in speak g, writing and extempoianeous de berations are, the regular sessions of lie Calhoun Literary Society. Meet igs are held regularly every two reeks, but owing to the recent exami ations in the schools the last meet ag was deferred until Monday of this reek. At these gatherings of the iembers debates, themes, essays, endlings, recitations andl in instru aental andl vocal music become im ortant features. People Coming and Going. Ex-Representative John 11. Dingle ndl wife drove over from their large lantation near town andl passedl a aw hours Monday in shopping and ieeting their many friends in -this ection who are always glad to ex andl the hand of hospitality to these reminent members of this communi y. Mr. Dingle is a broad minded ian, of excellent qualities and his idgment and counsel in the affairs f the community are Qntertained. H. A. Richbourg, manager of the ummerton Live Stock company, is ull to the rim of business these (lays ndl one must necessarily get a move n if he manages to keep a tab on im. On Monday he had business in unmter. Hustling business conditions still reviail in all lines of commercial ctivity in Summerton. Trade con Inues heavy and large sums 'of money re changing hands. The several iceantile establishments are replen ihing their 'ltocks rapidly to ,meet he demands. INTERESTING LOCAL RED CROSS NEWS At the Red Cross Convention in Columbia, Mr. Walling, of Washing ton, said "I was pleased to hear the big things (lone in the big towns and counties and the small things done in the small towns and small counties, but what pleased me most was the unselfish, patriotic spir'it of tlye little town of Ridge Spring in Saluda county." Ridge Spring has a Chapter but the county seat, Saluda, has not organized, and Ridge Spring is wait ing for Saluda to have a Chapter and then she will be an auxiliary to Saluda. I am so glad that our Chapter is Clarendon County Red Cross, and we are all working together to make our Chapter as good as the best. Man ning has no Red Cross Chapter but is working for the Clarendon County Red Cross. In the parade in Colum bia a delegate from Summerton held one side of the banner, and a delegate held the other side, and the banner was the Clarendon County banner. The Headquarters located in Man ning, belongs to the county, and all the Red Cross Members in the county must consider it theirs. Come in when you wish, the building is open from 10 to 1 in the morning and 3 to 5 in the afternoon. There is always a good fire, and plenty of comfortable rocking chairs, as well as several straight chairs to use at the sewing machines, and some one in charge to meet you and- make you welcome. A lady from Pinewood was in Manning one day last week, and as the gentle man she wished to- see on business was out of town, she spent the time in the Red Cross, sewinig for the boys. Then, on another day, a lady just a few miles out, while waiting for her husband, spent the time sewing. Now wasn't that a nice way for these ladies to spend this waiting time, which would otherwise have been wasted. The "Priscilla Club" instead of meeting in the home of -oie of the members and having % :east, as had been their custom, met at the Red Cross and sewed all the afternoon and (lid not have even a drink of water. Quite a number of finished garments for the soldiers was the re sult of this unique style of entertain ing. Cone again Prrscilla, you are always welcome! Can't some other club follow suit? The Red Cross wishes to acknowl edge the following donations: $90.00 as a result of the.lHallowe'en Carnival, gotten up by. Miss Vallye Appelt and Miss Ehrich. We can al most touch bottom in the money drawer, so hope other communities will get up entertainments and turn the proceeds into the Red Cross treasury. Mr. and- Mrs. Judd White gave a stove. As for Mr. White and Mr. Clarke, next door, the Red Cross simply could not run without them! The ladies from all over the county have been sewing ana knitting, and finished work is coming in steadily, if somewhat slowly, there has been an improvement both in the quantity and quality of the ,work (lone, but a great many more must get busy, and work faster, if our sici soldier boys are to be promptly supplied and Clar endon County is to rank as "good as the best." Miss Jessie R. McLean, Secretary. 0 FIRE D)EPARTMENT BOYS BANQ(JETI The Manning fire dlepartment had their annual feast last Friday night, and it wvas an occasion long to be remembered. Mr. C. R. Sprott gave the company $150.00 for the good work they did at the Oil Mill fire, andl Chief S. L. Hluggins placedl $50.00 of this aniount in the hands of Mack Rich to get up the supper. Mack is always on the job when it comes to eats, and this time he surpqssed all other occasions. The supper was a swell affair and prepared to a Queen's taste. When all of the boys assembl ced around the well ladened table of turkey, barbecue, chicken and every thing that goes to make up a feast, Chief Hiuggins arose andI in a few wvords of appreciation to the members of the- company in wvhich they wvorked for him during his five years as chi'ef, he tendered his resignation. But as he gave no reaso'n for quiting the boys, his resignatioii was not accept ed until he was asked why he did so, and with a blush, though happiness ~parkled in his eyes he said: "I am .to be married next Monday." O( course, he was then excused from his position, and after wishing him great joys and nmuchi prosperity on the matrimonial sea,...Mr. Bertram Wein bor'g was 'elected to succeed him as chief. Everybody enjoyed the occa sion, and sufflee It to say that Mack in rome cook1/ MRS. SPROlT'S FORMER SCHOLARS ENTERTAIN A novel, but highly enjoyable oc casion, was that of last Wednesday evening when a number of Mrs. Joseph,Sprott's (Miss Josie McLean) former scholars met at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Gerald, and, in a measure, re-enacted some of the school performances of nearly thirty years ago. It was in the nature of a surprise to Mrs. Sprott, the guest of honor, .and for an hour or two, she and her old scholars vied with-each other in recounting school-room hap penings of those good days. The guests began to assamble at 8 o'clock and by 8:30 the parlor of Mrs. Gerald's elegant home was well fill ed with strictly a Jordan bunch of folks. The following program was render ed, it being some part of the per formances held at the Jordan school house during "Miss Josie's adminis tration:" 1. Medley-By all the old pupils. 2. Address of Welcome-Mrs. C. R. Sprott. 3. Song, Robin Red Breast-Joe Wells. 4. Song, The Wood-pecker-Joe Davis. 5. Recitation, Charge of the Light Brigade-Connor Wells. 6. I am Only Sixteen-Mrs. Felix Dingle. 7. The Swallow and I-Mrs. C. N. Sprott and Mrs. J. W. Heriot. 8. Tableau, Coming Through the Rye-Mrs. Jos. E. Davis and Joseph Sprott, Jr. 9. Valedictory-Clarence Sprott. At the conclusion of these exercises Mrs. Jeaeph Sprott- addressed her old pupils, much to their delight; the temper of the crowd seemed to be for speeches so we had short addresses from Mrs. S. M. Sprott, Mr. C. R. Sprott, Dr. T. J. Davis and Mr. Jos eph Sprott. The latter's speech was in defense of himself for having broken up the Jordan school and your correspondent thinks he vindicated himself. A good part of his speech was reminiscent. He told of the opening of the first store at what is now Jordan, his father being the proprietor. le and Mr. C. W. Wells, father of Mr. T. M. Wells, Mrs. T. F. Coffey and Mrs. A. J. White, our worthy townsfolk, were the clerks and were sent to Charleston to do the buying; at this time the only name the cross roads bore was "Jordan Old Field." When they placed an order for printing, he was asked for the address -he gave it as "Jordan Old Field." Mr. Wells replied "let's call it .Jor dan," which was agreed to, so the 'old Field" was dropped then and there, and ".Jordan" it has been ever since. At the conclusion of these exercises a delicious salad course was served, followed by ice-cream, cakes and coffee. The guests were served by Misses Fannie James Davis, Maude Sprott and Leila Margaret Dickson. TI'he following enjoyed the hospi tality of. Mr. and1 Mrs. Gerald's home: Mr. andl Mrs. Joseph Sprott, Mr. and Mrs. C. R. Sprott, Mr. and Mrs. ,Jos. E. Davis, Mr. and Mrs. C. N. Sprott, Mrs. S. M. Sprott, Miss .Jessie Me Lean, Mrs. J. W. Hleriot. Mrs. Alma Bradley, Mrs. S. A. Hunter, Mrs. Felix Dingle, Mrs. G. L. D)ickson, Miss May Lesiesne, Mr. ,Jose'ph Sprott, -Jr., Mr. Jos. L,. WVells, Dr. T1. J1. Davis, Mr. Jno. W. Lesesne, Mr. R. C. Wells. - --o -- Gasoline F'amine. Several of the traveling men were held up in Manning Tuesday by rea son of the scarcity of gasoline. Many were comp~elled to make the surround ing towns by rail. There is a short age of gasol ine at Summerton, Sum ter, Florence, Bishopville andl other places. Another argument for cut ting out joy ridling andl assist in con serving one staple that has become an important factor in commercial activities. --0O Miss Wilson Entertains. Miss Pauline Wilson gave a Rool5 Party in honor of her friends, the Misses Lachicotte, on Monday after noon. Lovely Chrysanthemums wvere used for (decorations, and (delicious re freshments served after the game. Those present wvere: Mesdames W. C. Davis, ,J. A. Weinberg, English Plow dlen, E. C. Horton, I. I. Appelt, A. C. Bradham, G. W. Williams, Misses Vallye Appelt, Edna Brockington and Jeanie Mc Lean. PINEWOOD CLARET COT: Little Over One Half Million This Year-People Instru grestive City to the Front (Special Correspondence The Times.) "This was all a swamp and water," said a gentleman, when pointing to some of the principal portions of the present site of the large and pros perous city of Pinewood. "I have had many a good swim out there," said he pointing to a spot not far from the present station. Now all is changed and one can hardly realize the situation when the pioneers first settled here and began the transfor mation that has been wrought in the plhce. But Pinewood's experience is only that of history repdating itself in the case of many of the largest cities of the land today. Pioneer of 1744. In' 1744 DLmsey Griffin was born within the present precincts of Pine wood. When a young man he, not unlike many other young fellows who become imbued with the idea that ther are more congenial places with better advantages for them to hit the goal, moved over into the state of Alabama. But after residing there about a year he decided that the ok( home site in South Carolina was good enough place for him to cast his lot in life's gamble, and moved back to Pinewood where he acquired about 700 acres of the virgin soil in this section and resided contentedly here until his demise in 1866. First Mercantile Establishment. In 1888 the Manchester and Augus .ta railroad was built into the place and with the advent of the steel rails and the locomotive with its ears this harbinger of progress for the place gave a business impulse to the local ity which resulted in the business activities which have characterized the town from that time until the present. 1)r. H. A. McClern estab lished the first sawmill in 1889 and opened a commisary becoming in fact, Pinewood's first merchant. C. L. Griffin opened a mercantile house in the same year and was followed by Manning Welch, the Stack Broth ers and others of the present day. I' irst School House. Early attention was given the cause of education and the first school house was built in 1890 with Miss Rydia Keels, now Mrs. E. B. Felder, as the pioneer instructor for a class of pupils of an enrollment of 20 chil dren of the community. Modern $10,000 Structure. Such has been the interest taken by the intelligence of this community that today Pinewood has a large brick school house with all the nyodern at tachments and accessories for suc cessful instruction of the youth, built andl designedl for the special purposes to which it is to be dlevotedl, with an enrollment of 1:30 pupils. In secur ing II. G. Gibson as plrincipal to supervise the instruction andl disci pline to be dlealt out the people are to be congratulated upon their choice of a person wvho, wvith his able as s istants, the Misses Eubanks, Burk ner, Mrs. A. P. Toomer and Miss IBes sie Geddings, wvill intelligently (is pense knowledge. M. E. Log Church. Prior to the advent of the rail road with its pirogressive features the peo ple had displayed their interest in spiritual affairs by the erect ion of a log church by the Methodists wvhere, in their primitive days they couldl as semblle for wvorshiip. ILewis llenry D~esChamps, one oIf the sturdly men of the pioneer (lays, who was instru mental in'many ways in promoting the best intere'sts of P'inewoodl and community, was chairman of the building committee of. the Methodist congregation which built the first frame church in Pinewood. This structure was later moved to another lot and became the first schoolt house in PinewoodI. When the frame build ing was moved away the present beautiful structure of the Methodlists was erected. At the present time the Presbyte rian andl the Baptist congregations are rep~resentedl by beautiful struc turep, the Presbyterians being suc caned~e by the Baputiss ONE OF DON'S BIG. [ON MARTS Dollars Goes for . the Product mental in Bringing This Pro. -Pioneers of the Place. I'lourishing Knights of Pythias. In the fraternal orders the Knights of Pythias have a large membership, and are in a prosperous condition with new members being afliliated with the order.' City Government Management. With the present management of the, affairs of the city the best inter ests of the citizens are in a way to be best conserved. Such men of good business acumen were selected at the last election from among those' of the community as represented by the following personnel: Mayor, B. D. Griflin; wardens, Dr. K. O. Rinehart, J. S. Richardson, W. D. Epperson; health officer, Dr. K. 0. Rinehart. Suffice it to say that the orderly tenure of the community is, in a large degree, due to the vigilance of Chief of Police Rufus Thames. A. *L. Burkett served first term of mayor in Pinewood's entrance into the field of municipalities of this state. Many Ginneries Established. Within the city of Pinewood are located two ginneries which will aver age about 1,500 bales of cotton each per year. They are owned and ope rated by J. M. Hicks and J. R. Grif fin. In the small adjacent commu nities are five other ginneries which contribute to the large shipping busi ness of Pinewood by making their shipments from this place which has such excellent shipping facilities. Cotton Buyers. . Pinewood being the large cotton market many of the large buyers of this staple product are located here among them being Richardson & Ep person, R. Lide, P. B. Lawrence and R. A. Ridgill. Over Half Million for Cotton. Some conception of the prominent place that Pinewood holds in the cot ton shipping market and its import ance as a commercial center and the amount of money paid to producers for this one product of the plantations may be readily conceived when it is stated that the shipments will aggre gate 4,000 bales of long staple and other varieties when this year's busi ness will have closed. In round num bers the shipments of seed will ag gregate 200,000 tons and at the pre vailing price' of $75.00 per ton will amount to the large sum of $50,000 saying nothing of the cotton which would probably reach an additional sum at the average of 28e per pound of about $500,000. This would bring the collosal transactions in cotton and its by-products in Pinewood for the year up to a total of more than one half million dollars. It will be readily seen that there is a reason and a good one forj the great prosperit y p~revab .nt in all lines of tradle within the p~re cinets of this thriv'ing community, andl that such a large amount of commer cia! transactions in any one line of prodluction would be an important factor in placing any cit~y to the front ando give it a prominent place on the' map. Weigher Lawrence Busy Alan. Sonme busy scene is presented at. the railroad stat ion and on the plat forms ' where cotton is being received and weights checked -out by 01li cial Weigher, R. A. Lawvrence, and his assistants who are on the .ioh early and late (luring the hostling season of this year. ('lever Gentlemuen. Messrs. C. B. Kotb aund A. F. Ragin, station agents at. Piuewood, are con genial gentlemen, olig ing in their dluties wvith the public and faithful employes forj the comnpany in the transactions of thle large a mount oif business which is a featuore of Pine wbod. ('ity' of Heautiful Homes. WVithbout some aollus ions t~o the taste fully arrenged streets andl homes of the city of Pinewood would he doing an injustice to the place. Most favor able impressions are formed as the stranger drives up Mjiin street, a broad thoroughfare, with its line of beautiful oaks through the (center of the business portion of the street. Good substantial business houses (Continued on Page r.)