Keeper of history

Greenwood woman keeps community’s stories alive

February 13, 2006

By JACKIE R. BROACH
Index-Journal staff writer

In honor of Black History Month, The Index-Journal will print a series of weekly articles, each telling the story of one area resident who played an integral role locally in the civil rights movement. To preserve that history and their place in it, we will share their stories each Monday in February. This is the second in a series.
With a wide smile stretched across her face, Laurie Boyd jokes that she’s probably the oldest thing on Phoenix Street.
She certainly doesn’t look it, though. At 91, her face bears fewer lines and creases than that of many half her age. The creases she does have are mostly around her eyes and mouth, proof that she’s spent most of her 91 years laughing and smiling. It’s her secret to youth, she said.
“I don’t let anybody make me mad,” she said from Boyd’s Tailor Shop, a tiny, aging box of a building in what used to be the heart of town. “They can say whatever they want to, but I won’t let it bother me. I stay happy all the time.” Boyd said she’s always been that way, even as a child when white folks would get mad at her because their children wanted to follow her around. It wasn’t Boyd’s fault she was so much fun to play with, she said. So, she just let their comments roll off her like water off the backs of the ducks she used to take those children to feed.
She attributes much of her viewpoint to the fact that she grew up playing with boys. She was one of 12 siblings, but always chose to follow her brothers around into town or the woods rather than stay at home and play with her sisters. “What girls look at, boys look over,” Boyd said simply.
Boyd joined the NAACP decades ago when a chapter first opened in Greenwood, but she didn’t really know what it was. “I’d just heard it was for advancement and I wanted to advance,” she said.
And she did help in its advancement and the advancement of all black people in Greenwood. She is, however, very modest about her contributions.
Boyd never participated in any of the marches or rallies in town, she said. Her contributions were mostly behind the scenes, but others took note of her efforts. She was a wonderful person to go to for advice, said friend Donald Robinson, who was instrumental in starting a local chapter of the NAACP.
Boyd also contributes by keeping the history alive and sharing it with others.
With nearly 100 years of memories, all but six or seven years worth having taken place in Greenwood, Boyd is the community historian and she knows more about Greenwood and its history than any other living person, Robinson said. Boyd said she doesn’t doubt it’s true.
“All the rest of ’em are young folks,” she said of everybody else in town. Boyd said she considers anyone who’s younger than herself to be “young folks.”
Boyd’s age hasn’t dulled her senses or her memory. She remembers the names of all her old teachers and which businesses were on Phoenix Street during Greenwood’s heyday. She remembers how the street was crowded as people flocked from all over, coming from New York and Boston just to be on Phoenix Street in Greenwood and take part in all the fun. That was in the 1940s and ’50s mostly, she recalls, before Phoenix Street was “cut in half.”
There were doctors’ offices, funeral homes, clothing shops, restaurants, grocery stores, filling stations and, of course, the tailor shop. There were five trains that came into town and 21 buses. The road wasn’t paved and there was no sidewalk. Mostly it was a red, muddy mess.
The shops were mostly owned and frequented by the town’s black population, but white folks came out as well to watch all the fun, Boyd said. People would dance in the streets, she said. She remembers one woman in particular who came to town every Saturday from Lincolnton, Ga. The woman always wore a pleated black skirt and when she would twirl around, it would fan out straight and show off her red underwear.
Boyd and her siblings used to ride uptown on the back of one of the bulls the family owned.
“He had real long horns and we didn’t put no chain around his neck,” she said. “One day we rode him to the grocery store and left him outside by the water trough with some hay. When we came out, three policemen were standing in front of him with their pistols raised.”
Boyd said she and her siblings walked right on by toward the bull as the policemen yelled at them to get back.
“That’s a real dangerous bull, they told us,” she said. “We said ‘no, that’s our bull,’ and we climbed on its back and rode off. They all laughed so hard at us.”
One of Boyd’s favorite memories is of a teacher during the civil rights movement. He was washing clothes and the room was separated with one side labeled for whites and the other for coloreds. He came in and put all his white clothes on one side and all the colored ones on the other side, she said.
“He was a very intelligent man,” Boyd recalled. “He was a professor.”
She said she believes that action went a long way in changing the way things were in Greenwood and in the next year or two, the signs came down as integration took place.
Not only does Boyd keep history alive, she and her family business play a part in it.
Boyd’s Tailor Shop, where she spends her days – and has since her brother opened it in 1937 – is a part of black history and Greenwood history as the oldest “black-owned” business in town. Boyd took it over in 1980 after her brother died and she retired from teaching.
It’s an honor, she said, to be a part of the last remnants of Phoenix Street’s glory days. The shop doesn’t do as much business in a month as it did in a day 50 years ago, and since Boyd never married and had children of her own (though she did raise five children left in her care), the shop will likely die with her.
The history Boyd carries with her, however, she wants preserved and moves toward that goal every day when she shares her memories with those who stop in at her small shop to chat.

Blanche Banes

COLUMBIA — Blanche Esco Banes, 86, formerly of 417 Stevens St., Greenwood, widow of Willie Raymond Banes, died Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006 at Agape Senior Nursing Facility in Columbia.
Services will be announced by Blyth Funeral Home.

Carrie Pearl Wideman Brown

AUGUSTA, Ga.— Services for Carrie Pearl Wideman Brown are 1 p.m. Tuesday at Shiloh AME Church in McCormick, conducted by the Rev. James Louden III, assisted by the Revs. Myron D. Hill and Annie R. Robinson. The body will be placed in the church at noon. Burial is in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers are John C. Dale, James T. Wideman Jr., George T. Singletary Jr., Kelvin Singletary, DeJohn Drennon and Cornelius Leverett III.
Flower bearers are Thelma W. Smith, Maxine W. Jennings, Carolyn Wideman, Sigrid L. Smith, Leneica Leverett and Marie W. Murphy.
Viewing is 1-8 p.m. today at Parks Funeral Home.
The family is at the home, 2411 Harwick Court, Augusta, at the home of a sister, the Rev. Amanda E. Drennon, 208 McKellar Drive, Greenwood and a brother, James T. Wideman Sr., 1016 Kelly St., McCormick.
Parks Funeral Home, Greenwood, is in charge.

Mary Browne

JASPER, Ga. – Mary Eliza Edwards Browne, 95, formerly of Bradley, widow of Lewis Evins Browne, died Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006 at Grandview Healthcare Center in Jasper, Ga.
Born in McCormick, she was a daughter of the late John Wesley and Bessie Abigail Edwards. She was a graduate of McCormick High School, Valedictorian of her class and a member of Troy United Methodist Church.
Survivors include two sons, Charles Browne of LaGrange, Ga. and Melvin Browne of Columbia; a daughter, Nell B. Huston of Jasper, Ga; a sister, Edna Young of Bradley; seven grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Services are 2 p.m. Tuesday at Troy United Methodist Church, conducted by the Revs. George Boyd, Henry Schwartzman and Jay Vineyard. The body will be placed in the church at 1. Burial is in the Troy Cemetery.
Visitation is 6-8 tonight at Blyth Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to the Troy Cemetery Fund, PO Box 23 Troy, S.C. 29848 or to Troy United Methodist Church, PO Box 158, Troy, S.C.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Greenwood, is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blythfuneralhome.com

Amber Davis

GREENWOOD, SC — Amber Viola Francis Davis, 86, of 306 Grove Street Apt. 3-K, widow of Delver R. Davis, died Saturday, February 11, 2006 at Hospice House.
Born in Somerset, PA.; a daughter of the late Fredrick D. and Grace Mae Bowers Francis. She was a homemaker.
Surviving are two daughters and son in laws, Edith and David Shroup of Pawleys Island and Lynette and Dennis Makowski of Greenwood; a son and daughter in law Steven R. and Nancy Davis of Pittsburg, PA.; a sister Jean Means of Ohio; eight grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
Services will be 2:00 p.m. Tuesday at Harley Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
The body is at Harley Funeral Home & Crematory where the family will receive friends Tuesday from 1:00 until 2:00 p.m.
The family request that flower be omitted and memorials made to Hospice of the Piedmont, 408 West Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC, 29646.
The family is at the home of her daughter, Lyn Makowski, 221 Greenway Dr., Greenwood, SC 29649.
Online condolences may be made to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com
PAID OBITUARY

Dr. George R. Lewis

EUPORA — Dr. George R. Lewis, 76, died Friday, Feb. 10, 2006, at his home. He was born July 16, 1929, in Webster County to John Terry and Martha Shaffer Lewis, who preceded him in death. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Starkville. He was a member of the Starkville Rotary Club where he was a Paul Harris Fellow, the Oktibbeha County Historical Society, Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Delta Kappa.
Services will be 11:00 am Monday at the Oliver Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Willlie Weddle officiating. The eulogy will be given by Rev. James A. Lewis. Burial will be in the Greensboro Cemetery.
Dr. Lewis, Professor and Director of Library Services Emeritus at Mississippi State University, was a leader and a visionary of all libraries during his tenure as Director from 1963 until his retirement in 1991. He was a member of the American Library Association and the MS Library Association. He received the Peggy May Award which is the highest award for services to libraries and librarianship. He was a member of the Board of Commissioners of the MS library Commission. He founded the University Libraries Directors Council which he chaired for 5 years. During his tenure the collections in the library tripled in size. He was instrumental in the establishing and receiving of collections of US Senator John C. Stennis and US Congressman G.V. Sonny Montgomery and laid the foundation for other prestigious and notable collections. He was a charter member of the Regional Computer Network which introduced services for the visually impaired and handicapped at MS State. Dr. Lewis received his training in Library Science at Clarke Memorial College, Mississippi College, Louisiana State University and completed his PhD at Florida State University. Before coming to MS State he served on staff at Baylor University, Auburn University and Kentucky Southern College.
He is survived by his wife, Sarah Pittman Lewis of Eupora; one daughter, Denise Lewis Waldrep and husband, Brian of Greenwood, SC; one son, Dr. Michael K. Lewis and wife, Rena of Hoover, AL and their mother, Bobbie Gore of Starkville; four grandchildren, Carey Smith, Todd Waldrep, Andrew Waldrep and Austin Lewis. Other survivors are Sarah’s children; three daughters, Sarah E. Pittman, Lisa Odom and husband, Kurt of Eupora, and Mary Pittinos of Mobil, AL; three sons, Buster Pittman, Donald Pittman and wife, Cathy and Danny Pittman and wife, Joyce all of Eupora; 15 grandchildren, Brandie Freed, Lindsey Jenkins, Micha Terquerst, Joshua Terquerst, Magan Pittman, Justin Pittman, Stephanie Pittman, Lynn Sims, Melvin Russell and wife Crystal, Jenny Whittigon, Lynn Miller, Teresa Blakely, Daniel Ross Odom, Kurtis Luke Odom, and Hannah Lillian Belle Odom; seven great grandchildren, Banks Whittigon, Dusty Miller, Devin Jones, Lakin Pittman, Kara Blakely, Sicily Sims and Alison Russell. He is also survived by two sisters; Florence Boyd and husband, Buford of Jayess, MS and Martha Knudsen of Spring, TX; three brothers, Clatie F. Lewis and wife, Maxine of Chamblee, GA. Dr. Raymond Lewis and wife, Helen of La Grange, TX and the Rev. James A. Lewis and wife, Melba of Pontotoc, MS.
He was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Vera Lewis and Vera Lewis and Sarah Holland; two brothers, Guy Lewis, and Dr. J. Thurman Lewis; one brother-in-law, Jim Knudsen.
Family members will serve as pallbearers.
Memorials may be made to: George R. Lewis Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 6149, MS State, MS 39762.
Oliver Funeral Home in Eupora, MS is in charge of all arrangements.
PAID OBITUARY

E. L. Williams

E.L. Williams, 72, of 336 Sullivan St., died Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006 at his home.
Born in Greenwood County, he was a son of the late Willie and Katherine Williams. He attended Greenwood Public Schools, was an Army veteran and retired from the maintenance dept. of the Greenwood County School System. He was a member of Good Hope Baptist Church, Waterloo, where he served as a Trustee and was a member of Masonic Lodge No. 411. Survivors include a sister, Josie V. Gaddy of Pinehurst, N.C. and a brother, Willie Williams Jr. of Greenwood.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home.

The Smoaks enjoy their sibling rivalry

February 13, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

It is common for siblings to argue about certain things.
Disputes over the remote control. Debates over who gets to use the family car.
Arguments about which one plays for the better college basketball team.
Well, maybe not every arguement is common.
However, it might be a point of contention for sisters and Greenwood Christian School graduates Garreth and Jo Ellen Smoak.
Garreth is a senior forward for Erskine College, while Jo Ellen is a freshman guard at Anderson University. The Smoaks, who were teammates for one year at GCS, are preparing for their second game against each other tonight at Erskine.
The first game between the two went to the Lady Trojans, who downed the Lady Fleet, 88-60, Jan.16.
Garreth said her first college game against her sister was not unlike any other one.
“It felt like a normal basketball game to me,” Garreth said. “If anything, it made me more competitive. It is different, having my sister on the other team. But once I’m out there playing, I forget about that and concentrate like normal.”
Jo Ellen said the experience was a bit more fun for her.
“It was fine, but it did feel a little weird,” Jo Ellen said.
“Every game is important, but it was fun to play against my sister. More fun for me maybe, because our team won.” Each player has had relative success this season.
Though Garreth is a senior for the Lady Fleet, she has already graduated with a degree in science and athletic training, and is taking graduate courses. She sat out last season with a torn ACL in her left knee, but said she has been feeling great this year.
“My knee is doing great,” said Garreth, who is averaging 5.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game this year. “I’m capable of doing the things I’ve always done. It hasn’t been a hindrance at all.”
For Jo Ellen, her first season at the collegiate level has been an eye-opening experience, albeit a positive one. The Lady Trojans are 18-3 overall and 14-1 in Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference play.