Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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F i • * < « 4 1 THE CHRONICLE Strives To Be A Clean Newspaper, Complete Newsy and Reliable 0bf Clinton ChronirU If You Don't Read THE CHRONIdE You Don't Get the News # Volume LI I Clinton, S. C, Thursday, April 26, 1951 Number IB to • 1 mt l mm4 ! p m. *m4 S aW It p.m.. to wtotok Um pahUr 'Open House’ Announced For Afternoon And Evening Reception Planned at New Hotel Between Hours of 2 and 5 P M. and 8 and 12 P. M. Stockholders and All Interested Residents of Community Invited To Inspect the Building. Hotel Mery Mu**rov«. nemed for • heroine of the Revolutionary pe riod, which he* et lest become e reality, will hold its formal openinf Friday afternoon and nishl. The board of directors and a spe cial. committee planning the event, has announced "open house" tomor row between the hour* of S and 5 p. m.. and from 8 to 12 p. m Special invitations have mailed to the 300 stockholder* to call either in the rfterooon or evening and get a chance to *ee the building and it* equipment and furnishing* from "item to ftern”. The same invita tion is extended the general public and all interested citizen* of the community to attend the reception. Mr and Mrs. McCall join in extend ing a similar invitation to the com munity. The hotel will open for the regis tering of guests Saturday, and the coffee shop will open on Monday morning, serving brealcfast, dinner and supper without interruption. In connection with the Reception Friday evening the committee in charge has announced that Luke Chaney’s orchestra of Laurens will furnish music for those desiring to dance in the lovely banquet-ball hall. Through a solicitation all 41 rooms in the hotel have been reserved locally for Friday night at an advanced rate by directors and other business men, the revenue from same to be used in helping defray the expanses of “open house” and for beautifying the front grounds of the property. The hotel is ideally located on North Broad street at the comer of Academy street. It is three stories high, 150 feet wide and 100 feet long, of fireproof construction, reinforced concrete and steel, brick an sne trimmed. It contains 41 with tub , and shower comto^ation baths with floor and wali tile, a coffee shop, kitchen and banquet and hall room and servant rest rooms off from the kitchen rear. It has fire escape facilities and is steam heated. There are two front entrances to the building from Broad ktreet with a large lobby located on the left ap proximately 30 by 25 feet. The man ager’s office is located on the corner of the lobby while the registration desk is between the lobby and coffee shop. The manager’s , living apart ment is located directly behind the office and contain* a hying room, bedroom, ctoeets and private bath. Rest rooms for women and men are New Hotel Mary Muagrove *4* 1 — f. - on the first floor to the right of the manager * office The banquet hall has a capacity at 200 guest* and will be used toy the | civic club* and Chamber of Com merce or the city for their regular meetings in addition to being used | by other organization* for big.quets, meeting* and social functions. The coffee shop is the same me as the lobby and will have a seating capacity of 7S, being equipped wita small tables and chairs. The kitchen is 20 by 40 feet, with red-quarry tile floor, splendid ven tilation and is furnished throughout with stainless equipment, modem in every detail. The hotel plans to specialize on its food. Twenty bedrooms are located on the second floor and 21 on the third floor. They are furnished with Simmons all-metal furniture in four color designs — amber mahogany, dusty-rose, terra-cotta and grey, and dove green. The furniture in each room includes double or twin beds, dresser, desk and desk chair, bedside table and table lamp, desk lamp and grip stand, and an easy armchair. Each bed is equipped with Simmons hotel-built box springs and a Beauty Rest mattress. Rooms on the two up stairs floors are reached with a self- operated Otis elevator, in addition to stairways. Linen closets are on the second floor. Large 48-inch exhaust fans are in stalled on the roof to make the rooms cool in the summer. All rooms have copper screening. The boiler rooms and fuel room are in the left end of the building. Flourescent, • sunken and Neon lights are provided in the lobby, cof fee shop, kitchen and banquet hall, the latter having a hardwood floor with three offsets containing mirrors. Each room is furnished with the newest model phone, the Southern Bell Telephone company having just completed the installation of the lat est switchboard equipment. Acousti cal overhead ceiling is provided in the coffee shop, lobby and ball room. Colorful draperies are provided in the lobby, guest rooms, coffee shop and ball room, also Venetian blinds on all windows throughout the building. A Patio is provided in front at the building with concrete floor and iron railing, and this is expected to be popular for guests In the hot summer season. A large Neon sign 5x13 feet is erected in front of the building to (Continued on page eight) V New Hotel Here Result Of Community-Wide Effort Campaign Sponsored by Chamber of Commerce Made In 1947 in Which $132,000 in Stock Subscriptions Were Sold. Loan of $125,000 Made by Reconstruc tion Finance Corporation. History of Effort Cited. tS A. A. McC ALL. JR. MRS. McC ALL The lovely Hotel Mary Muagrove, holding its formal opening Friday afternoon and evening, will be under the management of Mr. and Mrs. A. A. McCall, Jr., shown above, who have moved here from Commerce, Ga., where they have been the managers-lessees of Hotel Andrew Jackeon Mr. McCall is a native of Hendersonville, N. C., Mrs. McCall off Con cord. N. C. Before marriage she was Miss Virginia Catherine Lentz. Mr. McCall is an able young manager in the hotel business, with sev eral years experience. He was associated with the Skyland hotel in Hen dersonville in 1908, and went with the Asheville Bihmore in 1941 He entered military service in 1942 and spent three years in the Southwest Pacific theatre connected with the army ordnance department. Upon his release from the service he accepted the management off Hotel Monsor, | “on the bay front’’ in St. Augustine, Fla, a unit of the William Farr chain. He was transferred to the Dixie Hunt hotel in Gainesville, Ga., in 1948, a member of the same chain. They leased the new Andrew Jackson in Commerce, a community hotel, in 1948, and had managed this popular hostelry until they recently resigned to come to Clinton to take over the Mary Musgrove. The board of directors has expressed great satisfaction over the McCalls’ acceptance of the lease here. New Community Hotel Named For Revolutionary Heroine Lived at Time of the Battle of Musgrove's Mill In 1780 Near the City on Enoree River. Writer Claims There Were Two Mary Musgroves In War Period. Pub. Note: The DAR chapter organized in Cilnton in 1925 was named for Marv Musgrove, a Rev olutionary heroine. A paper was written by the late MISS CLAiRA DUCKETT olf this city who passed away in 1937, and was pii>lished in September, 1926, in The Laurens Ad vertiser. At the time Miss Duckett was auditor of South Carolina DA.R. and past regent of the local chapter which has since disbanded. Since the city’s new hotel has beer, na for Mary Musgrove, we are re-p^l ducirvg the article because of its timel> interest. Miss Duckett at the time she pre- f£ared the historical paper said she had been informed by one of the oldest and most reliable citizens of Laurens county, that there were two Mary Musxroves who lived about the time of the Revolutionary war, in Laurens county. One was Mary, wife of John, brother of Edward Mus grove of Musgrove’s Mill on Enoree river; the other was Mary, daughter off Edward Musgrove. It is about the latter that she wrote as follows: History of the Period In order properly to understand the spirit of the times in which our heroine lived, it is necessary to re call to mind the history of this pe riod. At the time off the Battle of Musgrove’s Mill, August !7, 1760, the War of the Revolution was in its (Continued on page eight) For many years there has been agitat.on in Clinton for a new, modern hotel to suoolement pres ent facilities, but no definite action was taken until in May, 1947, when the board of directors of the Cham ber of Commerce decided to spon sor a campaign to finance a Com munity Hotel owned by business men and women of the city. The decision came as a result of a survey conducted by the Hock- enburg System, of Harrisburg, Pa. specialists in hotel development in all parts of the United States. The survey made here by request rec ommended a 40-room modem hotel involving a total cost of about $214,000 Following the detailed report, R. L. Plaxico, president of the Chamber of Commerce, was au thorized to get a financial cam paign underway as soon as prac tical. A week later things began mov ing in connection with the proposed project. A. L. Esplin of the Hock- enburg System arrived in the city and outlined the plan of procedure to the board. President Plaxico was named general chairman for the campaign, committees named for a site and building and stock campaign, with offices opened at the Baldwin Motor company. C. W. Anderson was named chairman of the executive committee. At a subsequent meeting the 1 plan for raising at least 60 per cent 1 of the needed money by selling at least $128,000 of preferred stock (par value $100) and common stock (par value $20) was explained, the[ balance not to exceed more than 40% to be covered by a mort gage on the property or sale of bonds. It was announced that the work of securing preliminary sub scriptions would begin immediate ly with T. E. Addison, general sales manager, P. S. Bailey, C. C. Giles, H. L. Eichelberger, and R. W. Bo land as division managers for the organizations. The drive was set for the period June 16-24 with daily reports at luncheon meetings at noon in the Masonic Temple. The campaign went forward with a large number of business men as sisting in the stock subscription sales. The campaign after much hard work resulted in a success, $132,000 in stock being sold in a! high pressure drive. In July the first stockholders meeting of the Clinton Community Hotel Corporation was held with 368 units of the 495 units of stock represented. A motion was adopt ed that the corporation elect a board of directors to consist of 15 members. Forty-one nominations were made by stockholders with the names written on a blackboard as the nominations were made. The following were declared elected: R L. Plaxico, C. W. Anderson. T. E. Addison, J. Leland Young. H. L. Eichelberger, P & Bailey. W C. Baldwin. W W Harris, R. P. Ham er, D. O. Rhame, Roy Casque, D A. Yarborough, C. C. Giles, Robert M. Vance, R. E. Wysor, III. At a subsequent meeting Mr. Plaxico was elected president of the corporation, Mr. Hamer vice- president, Mr. Wysor secretary. Mr Baldwin, treasurer. At Subse quent stockholders meetings held annually since then the same board has been re-elected. On July 22, 1949. the board of directors advertised for bids for the erection of the hotel. The low bid was submitted by Crosland Con struction company of Columbia, and the contract was awarded this firm. Ground was broken Aug. 12. 1949. T. C. Johnson company of this city was low bidder on the heating, plumbing and electrical work and was awarded the con tract. The construction period for various reasons extended over a long period, the hotel having only recently been completed and ac cepted by the board. It is a three- story brick building, lovely in de sign, modem in every detail and fireproof. R. E. Hitchcock of Athens, Ga.. with offices here also, was archi tect for the building. The building, equipment and fur nishings cost approximately $250.- 000.00. After the financial campaign was completed the board of direc tors purchased the Mrs. Nina Vance* Bailey block of property just above the postoffice as the site for the new hotel at a cost of $29,500. A portion of the property including the Bailey residence was sold to Dr. Geo. R. Blalock by the direc tors for $30,000, retaining ample space and parking facilities for the building. The property has a front age of 190 feet on North Broad street and a depth of 255 feet on Academy street. BIG CROWD EXPECTED A big crowd of visitors from here and elsewhere is expected for “open house” at the new hotel Friday.