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17—THE CHRONICLE, Clinton, S. C. Dr. Whitten Pioneered S.C. Work In Mental Retardation The Whitten Village Train ing School for the mentally retarded was started by Dr. B. O. Whitten in 1920. In the early days, Dr. Whitten had little but his own determination and an appropriation of only $87,500 from the state of South Carolina to build the institu tion. Today, some fifty years after the school was established, things have changed slightly. The campus is now ovsr ^800 acres in size, and many new buildings have been construct ed for the care of the retarded. A staff of 1000 highly trained personnel is employed to care for the children. The growth of Whitten Vil lage has been slow, often agon izing for those involve I wi.hthe training and rare of the retarded. However, Dr. Whitten's untiring efforts and the work of some enlight ened legislators have develop ed Whitten Villago into the lar gest if i 1 state’s institutb>ns for the mentally retarded. When the Village was started in 1920, the first patients were six boys. This first group vas soon followed by a small number of girls, one f whom is still at the village. There are now some three thousand rhildren at the Vill age, and the numter is increas ing every year. Dr. RoySuber is the present superintendant >f the school. He tecame super- intendant when Dr. Whitten re tired in 1965. Tttere are two major div isions of the children at Whit ten Village, the Circle area and the campus area. The children in the Campus area usually have an I. Q. of 50 or above and can be trained. Most of these children attend a non- graded academic school andean go as far as they are able. There is also some vocational training available for them. Many of these students tried to attend puolic schools but were unable to remain because of their problems. Many of them need a sheltered environment and the non-competitive atmos phere of the non-graded schools. There are many acti vities open to these children, including clubs, choirs, all types of recreation and many other activities. About 250 of these students are released from the Village every year. There are also many day stu dents wh i attend the school and take part in the activities of the Campus area students but who do not live at the Village. The Circle area of Whitten Village provides care and training for children that have an L Q. ofless than 50. The Circle is composed of six se parate groups <f patients, and each group is assigned to a general area f their own. There are approximately 230 children in the non-ambulant (helpless) section of tlie Cir cle. Ttiese children are com pletely dependant on others and confined to a ted at all timos. S 'me f them have to be tube- fed while one group d >es get some physical therapy. The semi-ambulant com prise the next group living on the circle. These children often wear braces and may be con fined to a wheelchair. These children are also in constant need of care. Their activities include watching television, country. The third group is composed of the generally trainable child ren. Most of these children are between six and fourteen and are not capable of taking care of themselves. However, they can be trained to take care ofbasic personal needs. Two dorms house the fourth group on the Circle. These children are ifflicted with cerebal palsy or some other crippling disease and, through special training, physical ther apy, and other means, are trained to t>e as self-sufficient as possible. Webb Center, a therapy hospital is modern and well-equipped. Group five is composed of severely retarded and dis- turt'ed children who must tie kept under constant surveil lance and maximum security. Most of the.^e range m age from 16 - TO. The Sixtti croup is composed of the adults that live at ttie Village, many if wh m have iieen there all ■ f their lives. They spend their time w itch ing television, working in var ious arts and crufts, tnlki ic, helping with the youncer child ren, and working on the larce farm >wue1 by Whitten Village. There is als > a modern, well equipped hospital available to take care of the medical needs J.C. Thomas Is 24th Mayor Of Clinton J. C. Thomas, ttie current Mayor of Clinton, is the 21th mayor in Clinton’s history, ac cording to City Council minutes dating back to 1890. Clinton was chartered in 1899 and was incorporated in March, 1906, according to the minutes. From the time Clinton was chartered until it was incor porated the chief "fficer of the town was called “intendant.* W. B. Owens, father of cur rent City Clerk Brooks Owens, was the first intendant or mayor, serving in 1891. Mr. Brooks Owens says he doesn’t know exactly how many months his father served as intendant but believes it was one year or a little over a year. W. A. Shands was his suc cessor, serving 1891-1893. Shands served the mostnum- ber f years (13) but his terms were interrupted. He served in 1891-1893 and later served from 1897-1908. P. S. (Si) Bailey had the longest continuous term in of fice, serving a 12-year period from 1931 to 1916. James R. Copeland served for nine con secutive years (1913-1922) and Terry served for eight years but his terms were broken into two periods of service (1950- 54 and 1956-60). The mayors or intendants of Clinton and their terms of ser vice are as follows: W. B. Ojvens, 1891, (retired) W. A. Shands, 1891-1893 W. J. Leake, 1893-1895 A. M. Copeland, 1895-1897 W. A. Shands, 1897-1908 W. M. McMillian, 1908-1913 (resigned) COLONY OPENED IN DECEMBER, 1922 DR. WHITTEN . . Honored On Retirement James R. Copeland, 1913-1922 W. H. Simpson, 1922-1924 J. F. Jacobs, Sr., 1924-1926 W. M. McMillian, 1926-1928 F. B. Sloan, 1928 (died after several m ouths in office) Jack H. Young, 1928-1932 H. Y. Abrams, 19 3 2-1934(died during term) F. M. Boland, mayor pro- tern served May 1934-July, 1934. P. S. Bailey, 1934-1946 Dr. L. E. Bishop, 1946-1950 Joe Terry, 1950-1954 Hugh L. Eichelberger, 1954- 1956 Joe Terry, 1956-1960 J. J. Cornwall, 1961-1966 B. Noland Suddeth, 1966-1968 Harry C. Layton, 1968-1969 (died during term) B. Noland Suddeth, March, 1970-August, 1970 J. C. Thomas, 1970 CITY CLERKS W. Brooks Owens is the 15th of the children at Whitten Vil lage. TIk- ti 'Updal is stiffed by six phv 2 11 : v : . v i-k full time at the Village. Docotors from the surrounding area in private pr ictice also offer their services when needed. Ttie Parent’s Club atWhitten has d ine a meat deal to im- pr ve ttie quality "f cure, and ttie facilities available for the children. A Parents’Clubhouse was built in 1957 and provides a pi i"" fir visiting parents to have picnics and visit together who i they are visiting Whitten Villaire. In '>rder Li pi ivide some of ttie tremendous amou it of food ind dairy products needed to supply ttie children, Whitten Villa re iwns and maintains a iuirv farm aid a poultry farm that provides ale up 90b of all eggs used in the Village.There is als" a hog farm that provides additional money. These farms are w rked by Whitten Village children wh i receive compen sation f T their work. City Clerk to serve Clinton. Janios W. Wright is listed as the first city clerk, serving one year, in 1891. Others listed: 1891-93, C. K Hale 1891-98, M. T. Vance 1898- 99, M. C. Nash 1899- 1903, H. D. Henry 1904 (Jan. i Feb.), W. S. Riser 1904-1935, G. W. Moore 1906-1908, W. L. Ferguson 1908 (April-Aug.), T. D. Leake 1908-1910, H. D. Henry 1910-1919, S. W. Sumeral 1919-1924, Dorcas Mason (Mrs. Dorcas Nance) 1924-1928, Mary Chalmers (Mrs. David Holland) 1928-1945, D. C. Houstess 1945-present, W B. Owens The operating budget for 1971 will be over $6,300,000, a slight improvement over the $87,000 originally appr ipriit- ed for the establishment of a state training school for the mentally retarded. There are currently 3000 children en rolled at the Village and a constant waiting list of approxi mately 1200. Parents provide some help i i caring for their children at Whitten Village. However, the maximum cost of maintaining a child at the Vil lage is only $100. The mentally retarded were once considered outcasts of society. They were viewed with fear, superstition, and some times contempt. However, the administration and staff at Whitten Village realize that the mentally retarded can lie helped, and some can become productive members of society with proper training and work. P is to this purpose and ideal that the employees of Whitten Village are dedicated. DINING HALL—The new dining hall and cafe teria was completed in 1964. FIRST BOARD—First Board of Trustees shown above, seated, left to right: Superintendent Whit ten ; Chairman R. L. Plaxico; Dr. Edwin Wallace; standing: W. B. Perrin, Dr. J. P. Price and Dr. William H. Lacey. AERIAL VIEW — Shown above is only part of the Whitten Village campus. Cerebral Palsy and Pre-Vo cation area Ls in center; at right, dorms for C.P. children; left, dorms for mixed groups in ages and handi caps ; toward rear, center, is the modern hospital. Shop and new laun dry are to right. Mf. Moriah Baptist Church Started On Robert Adair Plantation CLINTON COUNCIL (1896-97)—Shown above are members of Clinton’s Town Council in 1896- 97. Seated, left to right, are: J. A. Bailey, A. M. Copeland (Intendent), and D. E. Tribble; standing are: Clerk R. G. Wallace, C. C. Bailey, A. B. Blakely and Marshall G. O. Smith. A very small group of active Christians living on Mr. Ro bert Adair’s plantation started a choir under the leadership of Davie Johnson. Each Sunday afternoon the choir would sing from house to house. One Sun day Mr. Adair rode hy to hear the choir sing. He was so well pleased with the singing that he told the group he would give them one half acre of land provided they promised to build a Baptist church on it. The following Monday they began cutting brush and dragg ing brush from the arbor for a place to worship. Messers Essix Byrd. Evans Martin, David Johnson, Austin Hill, Bennie Gist, lola Gary, Robert Marshall, and their families became members and grew up in Mt. Moriah Baptist Church-these families be longing to the Adairs, Pitts and Copelands. By 1911, they had a church building in which to worship. The first minister was the Rev. Wash Boyd Followed by the Rev. C. H. Worthy, and deacons from Bethlehem Grove Baptist Church who helped them until they had some deacons of their own. The members of the Mt. Moriah Baptist Church appreciate and are grateful for the past help given them by Bethlehem Grove Baptist Church. The first church building was located on land which now be longs to Whitten Village. Dur ing the summer of 1920, the Mt. Moriah Baptist Church was moved to land belonging to Mr. G. A. Copeland. This brief history was given by Mrs. lolaSpencer, formerly, lola Gary, one of the charter members still living. The present minister is the Rev. Alex Jones with eighty four active members, which shows over fifty percent growth since the early days of the church.