‘This mill was their life’

Ninety Six residents look forward, keeping plant’s impact in mind

March 14, 2005

By WALLACE McBRIDE
Index-Journal senior staff writer

Faye Turner pauses Sunday morning on the stairs at Cambridge United Methodist Church as the ruins of Ninety Six Plant No. 10 smolder in the background. The church was built in 1930 to accommodate employees of a mill, which burned Thursday night.

NINETY SIX — The fire that raged Thursday night had faded into heaps of restless rubble that smelled of burnt oil and creosote.
It was an otherwise beautiful Sunday morning, a blue-sky reminder that winter was on its last legs. Few at Cambridge United Methodist Church felt the need for jackets, though all turned their heads toward the ruins of the once mighty Ninety Six Plant No. 10 collapsed at the end of their parking lot.
“That’s one way to get rid of it,” one man dryly remarked outside the church before services. The mill had been scheduled for demolition last September, but asbestos concerns in the building postponed those plans.
The fire attracted dozens of people over the weekend to the sleepy mill village. Cars and trucks paced the streets, slowing to let drivers and passengers get a look at what the fire left behind.
“I thought about going out there and inviting all those people to church,” Minister Gayle Summey said. During services, she joked that the village might need a few more red lights to accommodate the traffic.
“This mill was their life,” she said. “Just about everybody in the church said ‘I worked there.’ This was once the livelihood of the town, and they’re grieving a loss.”
“Everybody who lived here worked at the mill,” said Mickey Goodman, whose father worked at the mill for 40 years. “The only time we’d ever go to town was to the picture show.”
The plant’s owner, Jim Self, constructed two churches for his employees, Goodman said. Cambridge United Methodist was one of them, built in 1930 across from the company store.
Neil Lomax, the town’s fire chief, attends Cambridge United Methodist and received a standing ovation from the congregation at the start of Sunday’s services. It was the beginning of a message that Summey stressed throughout her talks that morning — to dwell on the positive aspects of the last few days, and to let go of the past.
“Remember, it’s just a structure,” she said.
Much of the congregation was already ahead of her. “We were worried about the church at first, but luckily the wind was blowing in the right direction,” Kevin Berry as people took their seats at the start of services. “Nobody lost their house and nobody was hurt — that’s the most important thing.”

Wallace McBride covers Greenwood and general assignments in the Lakelands. He can be reached at 223-1812, or: wmcbride@indexjournal.com

Greenwood man helping Red Cross help others

March 14, 2005

By TASHA STEIMER
Index-Journal staff writer

Whether it’s first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation or family care-giving, Jim Morgan wants people to know they can get quality health and safety training through the American Red Cross.
Morgan, health and safety coordinator for the Greenwood Service Center of the Red Cross, said the agency provides the community and local businesses with training.
“We have a wide range of safety courses that we offer,” he said. “We have 74 volunteer instructors throughout Greenwood and Abbeville counties, and we’ll graduate six more (March 5).” Morgan, who has worked at the Greenwood Service Center since April 2003, coordinates and arranges Red Cross safety courses including those in first aid, adult CPR, Automatic External Defibrillator, babysitting and family care-giving.
Morgan said the center offers community classes in Greenwood and Abbeville counties that are open to the public and also have full-service contracts with companies.
“If a company calls and needs to have some of its workers trained in first aid and CPR, we can set up a contract to provide them with the kind of training they want,” he said. “It’s also full service so we provide everything. All they have to do is show up.”
Morgan said many businesses are starting to recognize the necessity of having their employees know some health and safety training.
“Businesses are starting to come in – day-care centers, corporations, manufacturing companies,” he said. “I think we’re making great progress. Word is starting to get out about the courses.”
Morgan credits his certified instructors, who are all volunteers, for their dedication to informing people about health and safety.
“The backbone of my work is actually the volunteers,” he said. “Even though they work full time elsewhere, they donate their time to come here and provide training.”
Morgan said instructors teach at least 150 people each month in the community and corporate courses.
“We taught 3,100 last year in Greenwood and Abbeville counties,” he said. “It was a good year and we were very excited.”
Community courses in first aid and CPR cost about $30 per person and include four hours of training. Participants also receive a card stating the completed the course from a certified instructor.
“Instructors like and believe in what they’re doing. It’s fun for them,” he said. “All of the students take a survey at the end of the course and they’ve all been very positive – even from those who cannot complete the course.”
Right now, Morgan is planning the center’s CPR Saturday scheduled March 19 at five locations around Greenwood and Abbeville counties. Pre-registration is required and participants are asked to donate $10.
“We set the price at exactly what it costs us for the course,” he said. “It really is a community effort, and our goal is to train 100 people this month. We would like to put one CPR-trained person in each household.”

For information about CPR Saturday, contact the Greenwood Service Center at 229-3102.

Heading west: Winthrop to play Gonzaga

Former Greenwood High School standout excited to play Bulldogs

March 14, 2005

By BRIAN HOWARD
Assistant sports editor

ROCK HILL — For the second time in school history, the Winthrop University men’s basketball team is seeded 14th and will meet Gonzaga in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
Former Greenwood High School standout Otis Daniels experienced the “Madness.” when the team gathered in Winthrop Coliseum and watched the tournament selection show on a big screen television.
“It’s exciting,” Daniels said. “There was a lot of excitement here about us making the tournament and tonight, we know who we play and where we are going.”
The Eagles, seeded 14th in the Albuquerque bracket, will travel almost 2,000 miles to Tucson, Ariz. and play Thursday against Gonzaga, seeded No. 3, in the opening round of the tournament.
“I think Gonzaga is a quality opponent and have proven to be a tough opponent this time of the year,” Daniels said. “I hope we can go out and there and play the role of Cinderella. Perhaps then we could wear that glass slipper all the way to the Elite Eight or Final Four.”
The Eagles (27-5) own the largest winning streak in the nation — 18.
Daniels has played in 31 games this season. The junior forward transfer from Gardner-Webb is averaging 8.2 point during nonconference games, while in the Big South, where the Eagles won the title, he is averaging 10.6 a game.
He scored 18 points twice this season — a 76-68 loss to Coastal Carolina on Jan. 5, and 78-70 win over UNC Asheville five days later.
“We’ve got a good team,” Daniels said. “If you look at us, there are a number of players that can beat you. For me, I just go out there and play my game.”
This is Winthrop’s fifth trip to the NCAAs in seven seasons under coach Gregg Marshall.
The Eagles won four straight Big South Conference tournaments from 1999-2002, then came up short the last two years before regaining their league crown this season with a 68-46 victory over Charleston Southern on March 5.
Winthrop hasn’t won an NCAA game during Marshall’s run. Then again, Gonzaga was just a simple Catholic college out west before its recent run of NCAA success grew it into a major force in the college game.
The last time Winthrop went to Tucson, things did not go well for the Eagles.
They fell to Oklahoma 74-50 in a first-round game in the West Region.

Opinion

Students show how service can make a big difference

March 14, 2005

“If we do not lay out ourselves in the service of mankind whom should we serve?” – Abigail Adams

Write your own editorial!
There is no more noble cause than service to others. That’s been obvious throughout history. However, in these times of so much “me first” and “me tooism” defining social norms, sometimes it may be difficult to find situations where service to others is a virtue.
We see it in Greenwood, though. Young people volunteer for all sorts of public service. Habit for Humanity is a case in point. Many students hereabouts volunteer their time to Habitat for Humanity and other groups that extend a helping hand of friendship to those who want a hand up and not a handout.

HOWEVER, LOCAL STUDENTS aren’t the only ones who volunteer their services. Several students came to Greenwood from Boston College to help Habitat for Humanity Care-A-Vanners build houses for those who need them.
Meanwhile, during spring break some students from South Carolina colleges and universities are volunteering their time for others. Presidents of those schools hope to get more students involved in service to communities.
Who said young people are not the caliber of their predecessors? In many cases, they are much better. Look around Greenwood, today and everyday. The proof is there for all to see. There are the few, of course, who reflect negatively on the many. There always are.
Why is it that the negative always seems to grab the spotlight? Human nature? Write your own editorial!

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

Obituaries

B.J. Cannon

William T. “B.J.” Cannon, 65, of 412 Marietta Drive, died Saturday, March 12, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Calhoun Falls, he was a son of the late Edgar and Evie Newton Cannon. He was a graduate of Calhoun Falls High School and worked in construction. He was an outstanding football player for Calhoun Falls and was a member of the Moose Lodge in Greenwood in Greenwood and Stanton, Va. and the Eagles in Stanton. He was a member of Rocky River Presbyterian Church.
Survivors include his friend, Rosa Ellen Proctor, of the home; a daughter, Kellie Phibbs of Mount Solon, Va.; a sister, Beatrice Ingram of Greenville; a brother, Eddie Cannon of Greenwood and three grandchildren.
Services are 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Greenwood Memorial Gardens, conducted by the Rev. David Dority.
Visitation is 2-3 p.m. Tuesday at Harley Funeral Home.
The family is at the home.
Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association, Memorials & Tributes Processing Center, P.O. Box 5216, Glen Allen, Va. 24058-5216 or to the American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 10794, Greenville, S.C. 29603.
Harley Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.harleyfuneralhome.com

Dot Craft

Doris Adams “Dot” Craft, 77, resident of 434 Sagewood Road, widow of Robert Gorden Craft died March 13, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Elbert County, GA, December 5, 1927, she was a daughter of the late Irvin John Henry and Jessie Mae Booth Adams. She was a graduate of Bowman High School, Bowman, GA and was retired from Monsanto of Greenwood.
A charter member of Rice Memorial Baptist Church, she was also a member and president of the Lydia Sunday School Class. She also served as chairman of the Benevolence and Flower Committees of the church. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, Chapter 252.
Surviving are a son, R. Wayne and wife Joy B. Craft of Greenwood. Three granddaughters, Jennifer Craft, Ashley Craft and Mary Fran Craft.
Mrs. Craft was predeceased by three brothers, Kyle Adams, Horace Adams and J.D. Adams.
Funeral services will be conducted at 3:00 PM Tuesday at Rice Memorial Baptist Church with Rev. Alvin Hodges and Rev. Jimmy Tucker officiating.
Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be Randy Duncan, Tim Dixon, Mike Bridges, Doug Crawford, Gil Katron, Robby Lybrand, Chuck Seymour and Dan Wideman.
Honorary escort will be members of the Lydia Sunday School Class along with Richard and Mary Kidd, James and Linda Bowers, Rudy and Carolyn Adams, Carl and Alberta Sullivan, Willie and Jeanette Vaughn, Arnold Human, Dr. Julius Leary, Dr. George Cone, Dr. Rick Hobson and Dr. Mark Robirds.
The body is at Blyth Funeral Home and will be placed in the church at 2:00 PM Tuesday.
The family is at the home on Sagewood Road and will receive friends at the funeral home from 7:00 to 9:00 Monday evening.
In lieu of flowers memorials are to be made to Rice Memorial Baptist Church, 1975 Highway 72 West, Greenwood, SC 29649 or to Hospice Care of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Avenue, Greenwood, SC 29646.
PAID OBITUARY

Richard Parrish

James Richard Parrish, 74, of 156 Cherokee Drive, husband of Madge Palmer Parrish, died Saturday, March 12, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Gaffney, S.C., he was a son of the late Charles Thomas and Edna Cook Parrish. He was a graduate of Gaffney High School and attended the University of South Carolina. He retired as rank of Captain from the South Carolina National Guard after 40 years. He was a member of South Main Street Baptist Church, the Richard Carter Sunday School Class and the Golden K Kiwanis Club.
Survivors include his wife of the home; two daughters, Charlcie P. Byrd of Greenwood and Lynn P. Tomlinson of Spartanburg; three sons, James Robert Parrish and Jeffrey Todd Parrish, both of Greenwood and John Samuel Parrish of Columbia; 11 grandchildren.
Services are 11 a.m. Tuesday from Blyth Funeral Home, conducted by the Revs. Richard McWhite and David Corbitt. Burial is in the Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers are Ed Ferguson, Lawrence Breazeale, Jack Huskey, Ralph Bozard, Mack Baltzegar, Lloyd Quarles, Jim Hull and Richard Carter.
Honorary escorts are members of the Richard Carter Sunday School Class along with A.W. Hampton, A.P. “Sonny” Meadors, Walter Roark, Thomas Britt and Dale Lawson.
Visitation is 6-8 tonight at Blyth Funeral Home.
The family is at the home in Spring Valley.
Memorials may be made to South Main Street Baptist Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 1093, Greenwood, S.C. 29648.
Blyth Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blythfuneralhome.com

John Rose

John Frederic Rose, 82, of 113 Hagood Road, widower of Pearl Price Rose, died Wednesday, March 12, 2005 at his home.
Born in Wheeling, W.Va., he was a son of the late Fred Rose and Lyda Holbert. He was a retired independent trucker, a Navy veteran of World War II, a member of the American Legion and the VFW.
Survivors include two daughters, Mrs. Charles (Karen) Zeitler of Westminster, Md. and Jerri Lynn Rowe of Greenwood; a stepson, Jack Veal of Irmo; three stepdaughters, Sheila Blakley of Gray Court, Becky Veal Petty of Clinton and Diane Massengale of Woodruff; a half sister, Judy Richardson of Wheeling, W.Va.; 16 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
Services are 10 Wednesday at Harley Funeral Home, conducted by James Lee. Burial is in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Visitation is 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at Harley Funeral Home.
The family is at the home.
Harley Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.harleyfuneralhome.com