Recreating history in Ninety Six

Re-enactments, 18th-century activities draw crowd to Revolutionary War Days

April 4, 2005

By TASHA STEIMER
Index-Journal staff writer

NINETY SIX – As the blacksmith shapes a rod, traders in a nearby tent try to sell their wares to passersby. Patriots preparing for battle go through a musket drill and a carpenter gives tips on keeping wooden utensils clean as music from a hammer dulcimer drifts the air.
This was the scene Sunday at Ninety Six National Historic Site as the park wrapped up its Revolutionary War Days. Volunteers recreated an authentic encampment of the Revolutionary War era with period dress and activities of the 18th century.
Kate Estes, of Greenwood, said she and her husband have been bringing their children to the encampment for the past 10 years.
“We never miss them,” she said. “Two months after we go to it, the kids are already talking about next year.”
Estes said the children, who are home-schooled, are always excited about seeing people dressed up in clothing and working in various professions from the time period.
“They love to come and actually see and explore what they’ve learned,” she said. “They go right up to them and ask questions. My daughter actually brought a notebook and writes down everything they say.”
Estes said the family enjoys the outings so much that they would like to participate in the encampment next year.
Jim McGaw, of Thomas, Ga., said he has been participating in living histories for 20 years, often playing various percussion and string instruments called dulcimers.
“It’s a lot of fun; the people are just as sweet as can be,” she said. “It’s an event – re-enactment to some extent. These are important to me for their historical significance. I think it’s absolutely essential for people to know about what happened in the past to avoid making the same mistakes.”
McGaw said the hammer dulcimer was popular during the period, but usually among wealthier colonists because they could afford to pay to move the bulky instrument.

From coast to coast

5 baseball players go from west to east to find Lander

April 4, 2005

By BRIAN HOWARD
Assistant sports editor

A journey is measured by distance.
For five Lander University baseball players — Ryan Brisby, James Compo, Radley Raven, Kevin Davis and David Walton — the journey was coast-to-coast to find Greenwood on the map and help make the Bearcats a successful team.
“They’re all good kids,” Lander third-year coach Mike McGuire said. “Four of them came to Lander without looking at the campus.
“Only Compo was the one that visited Lander. For him, it was when he had some free time during his season and when we had a game. That part seemed to take forever.”
Brisby, from Kennewick, Wash., came to Lander as a third baseman and converted to first. Compo is from Oregon City, Ore. and has plays in the outfield. Davis is from Seattle, playing shortstop for the Bearcats.
McGuire said Davis was a good pickup because, during the offseason, Lander was trying to find a shortstop and Davis still hadn’t signed with any school.
Raven, from Tacoma, Wash., recently has been the Bearcats’ designated hitter. In the field, he plays second base and shortstop. Walton, from Oak Harbor, Wash., plays third base, shortstop and second. He also spent some time earlier in the year playing left and right field.
The five players share a similar bond along with making the coast-to-coast trip. Assistant coach Chris Cook also recruited them all.
Cook, a pitching/recruiting coordinator at Lander, began his collegiate baseball career playing two seasons at Lane (Ore.) Community College.
With Cook spending time on the West Coast, that gave him a chance to find players who would want to come to Lander.
Brisby was one of those players.
The junior first baseman spent his first year at Lander off the field. He had shoulder surgery and is finally getting to be an everyday player for Lander.
Brisby’s journey began with a phone call from Cook to his junior college coach at Blue Mountain.
“He’s from that area, so he comes down that area every once and awhile. I knew nothing about the school,” Brisby said. “I just talked with the coaches for awhile and then just drove down here.
“I like it. I think the people are different here. They are more laid back.”
Brisby leads the team in doubles (13), while playing in 33 games.
He is batting .337 with 34 hits, scoring 33 runs, while driving in 29.
Walton, who attended Lower Columbia Community College (Wash.), is the lone senior of the five from the West Coast.
He put himself into the Lander baseball record books in his junior year. Walton was crowned the all-time Lander single-season batting king with a .374 batting average, shattering the previous school-record of .363.
Not only did he break one record, he also broke the single-season record for doubles with 18 and eclipsed the previous hits record with 74 total base hits.
Walton, selected all-region in 2004, is a bit ahead of the single-season record for batting average this season — .376 through 33 games.
He leads the team in hits (47) and runs scored (35). He has seven doubles, second behind Brisby’s 13. Walton has one homer and 23 RBIs and has proven to be a tough out to get at the plate, striking out just five times in 125 at-bats.
Walton didn’t know much about Lander until McGuire was recruiting a friend of Walton’s.
“Coach McGuire was basically recruiting another shortstop at my junior college and he was a buddy of mine,” Walton said. “I was still looking for a college to play at. I didn’t have anyone call and talk with me. He didn’t sign with Lander, but I made a video and sent it out to a bunch of different colleges. Lander was one of the main ones.
“I went with where the offer is good and go where the competition is good. This is the best conference in the nation for Division II.”
Davis and Raven share something different from the three other players.
They come from cities with a population of more than 50,000.
Raven, played at Tacoma Community College, arrived late to Lander.
The junior transferred to the school during the spring semester and had little time to prepare for the upcoming season.
“I had to take one class to finish my associates degree, so I came here in this last semester,” Raven said. “Coach Cook saw me play in an all-star game and started recruiting me from there. This is my first time in South Carolina and I didn’t know anybody, didn’t know who my roommates were, didn’t really know the coaches, only through phone conversations.”
Raven has played in 32 games, batting .304 with 35 hits and 24 runs. He has six doubles, one triple and a home run.
Davis, who played at Bellevue Community College, said that none of the buildings in Greenwood are more than three or four stories here and that is the biggest difference from Seattle.
The shortstop had other offers, including a NAIA school, but he wanted to play for a school that had a good reputation.
“I was looking for a good place to go and talked to a few schools,” Davis said. “I started to get calls from NAIA schools, low-level Division I and some Division II schools, and pretty much I wanted to go to the best place to play.
“I didn’t know much about Lander when I first got the call from coach Cook. I started looking up stuff up. I didn’t come out to visit, I just come out on instinct.”
Davis has played in 32 games, batting .343 with 34 hits and 24 runs. He has five doubles, two home runs and 25 RBIs.
Compo was the hardest player for Cook to recruit. Compo played at Lane Community College and instantly made a connection with Cook.
The assistant coach started talking with Compo in December 2003 and finally had the opportunity to make a trip from the West Coast to the East Coast.
“The fact that I came out here and checked out the school really made a difference, because I was pretty skeptical of how big it was,” Compo said. “Cook told me it was very small and I am not one of those small-town type of guys. I figured I would come out before I make a decision. I came out and I liked the campus.”
Compo has played in 32 games, batting .297, with 33 hits, 23 runs, four doubles and 20 RBIs.
The five will be in action all this month as Lander plays 17 of its next 18 games at Legion Field. The Bearcats’ first game is Tuesday against Belmont Abbey.

Opinion

There should be no doubt about power of education

April 4, 2005

Debate continues over Governor Mark Sanford’s “Put Parents in Charge” school proposal for South Carolina. That is only one among many proposals made in recent years aimed at improving education.
A lot of money has been spent, too, and there is debate, also, on whether that has accomplished what spenders said it would accomplish. Chances are, that debate will continue since education has been a continuing issue year after year for decades. Why would anyone think it would stop now?
Despite everything, though, South Carolinians know that without education nothing would be possible. In case anyone needs any reminding, though, some pretty wise people through the ages have helped put it in perspective, even for those of us who sometimes may have wondered why things like diagramming sentences made any sense. Is that even done anymore, anywhere?
Consider some of the good advice:

“Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.” – Herbert George Wells

“The primary concern of American education today is not the development of the appreciation of the ‘good life’ in young gentlemen born to the purple … Our purpose is to cultivate in the largest possible number of our future citizens an appreciation of both the responsibilities and the benefits which come to them because they are Americans and are free.” – James Bryant Conant

“It was in making education not only common to all, but in some sense compulsory on all, that the destiny of the free republics of America was practically settled.” – James Russell Lowell

“The very spring and root of honesty and virtue lie in the felicity of lighting on good education.” - Plutarch

“Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned, and however early a man’s training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly.” – Thomas Henry Huxley

“The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life.” - Plato

The needs are there, to be sure. Wise spending is necessary and will help pave our way into tomorrow ….. unless taxpayers want a bumpy road.

Editorial expression in this feature represents our own views.
Opinions are limited to this page.

Obituaries

George Washington Brownlee Sr.

George Washington Brownlee Sr., 83, widower of Mamie Brownlee, died Wednesday, March 30, 2005. Born in Laurens County, he was a son of Jim and Lucinda Brownlee.
Survivors include three daughters, Audrey D. Bolden of Greenwood, Diane Brownlee of Fair Bluff, N.C., Mamie Ruth Brownlee of Daytona, Fla.; three sons, Jimmy Brownlee and Billy Brownlee, both of Fair Bluff, N.C., Nammon Brownlee of Greenville; several grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
Services are 2 p.m. Tuesday at Blessed Hope Worship Center in Honea Path.
The family is at the home of his daughter, Audrey Bolden in Greenwood and Katie Butler of 108B Shamrock Apt. in Honea Path.
Memorials may be made to the George W. Brownlee Memorial Fund, c/o Johnson Funeral Home, Inc.
Johnson Funeral Home Inc., Anderson, is in charge.

Mary Katherine Callaham

PLUM BRANCH — Mary Katherine Callaham, 73, of Route One, Whitetowne Road, widow of John Henry Callaham, died Saturday, April 2, 2005 at her home.
Born in McCormick County, she was a daughter of the late Charlie and Millie Tutt Harrison. She was a member of the New Hope Baptist Church and was a homemaker.
Survivors include three daughters, Shirley Talbert, Mary Denise Callaham and Darlene Callaham, all of McCormick; four sons, Thomas Callaham, of Edgefield, Henry Callaham of Troy, Lorenzo Callaham of the home and Danny Callaham of Plum Branch; two sisters, Viola Franklin of Philadelphia and Lizzie Mae Mims of McCormick; a brother Bobby Harrison of Washington, D.C.; 10 grandchildren and nine great-great-grandchildren.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Walker Funeral Home, McCormick.

Kathy Coleman

CROSS HILL — Kathy Rochester Hazel Coleman, 50, of 158 Forrestor, wife of Ray Coleman, died Sunday, April 3, 2005 at her home.
Born in Greenwood, she was a daughter of Milton Rochester and the late Willene Gilreath Rochester. She was former co-owner of Precision Printing, a member of West Side Baptist Church and the Greenwood Jaycees.
Survivors include her husband of the home; a daughter, Lee Ann Rodgers; a son, David Rodgers; a sister, Bonnie Crowe; and a grandson, reared in the home, Cody Hepler.
Services are 2 p.m. today at Oakbrook Mausoleum, conducted by the Rev. Hal Lane.
Visitation is following the service at the Mausoleum.
Memorials may be made to HospiceCare of the Piedmont Inc., 408 West Alexander Ave., Greenwood, S.C. 29646 or West Side Baptist Church, c/o Building Fund, P.O. Box 216, Greenwood, S.C. 29648.
Harley Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.harleyfuneralhome.com

J.W. Lake

James Willard Lake, 78, of 2406 Dixie Drive, husband of Annie Lee Dalton, died Saturday, April 2, 2005 at his home.
Born in Shamrock, Fla., he was a son of the late Alston F. and Gertrude Ford Lake. He was twice married, first to the late Sarah Ellen Weeks Lake. He was a Navy veteran of WWII, a retired conductor from CSX Railroad after 35 years of service and a member of Providence Pentecostal Holiness Church.
Survivors include his wife of the home; two sons, James W. Lake Jr. of Greenwood and Gary Paul Lake Sr. of Ware Shoals; a daughter, Vickie Lake Byrd of Greenwood; a stepson, William Earl Smith of Ninety Six; four stepdaughters, Joanne Scott and Dianne Parris, both of Greenwood, D’Onne Lake of Hodges and Patricia Cannon of Greenville; four grandchildren, including two grandchildren reared in the home, Tonya Lake Coleman and Gary Paul Lake Jr.; five great-grandchildren, 22 step-grandchildren and 15 step-great-grandchildren.
Services are 2 p.m. today at Blyth Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. John Abrams. Burial is in Greenwood Memorial Gardens with Military Honors.
Pallbearers are James Lake, Glen Jones, Danny Smith, John Wayne Price Sr., Gary Paul Lake Jr. and John Wayne Price Jr.
Honorary escorts are the Men of Providence Pentecostal Holiness Church.
The family is at the home.
Memorials may be made to Providence Pentecostal Holiness Church, 716 Old Abbeville Highway, Greenwood, S.C. 29649.
Blyth Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blythfuneralhome.com

Mitchell Ross

WARE SHOALS — James Mitchell Ross, 47, of 12349 Highway 25 Business, husband of Rita Johnson Ross, died Friday, April 2, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Greenwood County, he was a son of Luther D. “Buck” and Jo Ann Stone Ross. He was a self-employed contractor, a member of Ware Shoals Masonic Lodge No. 306 and of the Baptist faith.
Survivors include his wife of the home; his parents of Ware Shoals; a son, Jason Ross, Ware Shoals; a daughter, Kristy Ross Wood, Ware Shoals; a brother, David Ross, Honea Path; a sister, Barbara Ross, Ware Shoals; maternal grandmother, Grace Hughes Stone, Ware Shoals; five grandchildren.
Services are 11 a.m. Tuesday at Calvary Baptist Church, conducted by the Revs. Tim Bailey and Charles Caldwell. Burial is in Oakbrook Memorial Park.
Pallbearers are Rodney Rogers, Ray Hughes, Steve Wilson, Steve Kerr, Richard Wood, Joe Wood, Benji Wood, Frankie Rogers and Rick Taylor.
Visitation is 6-8 tonight at Parker-White Funeral Home.
The family is at the home of his parents, Buck and Jo Ann Ross, 11859 Highway 25 Business.
Parker-White Funeral Home is in charge.