Many miles left to travel in search
for equality, Greenwood man says

February 6, 2006

By JACKIE R. BROACH
Index-Journal staff writer

In honor of Black History Month, the Index-Journal will print a series of four 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 first in the series.

With 70 years of living under his belt, Donald Robinson doesn't just have a story to tell. He has hundreds of them.
The first is one of humble beginnings, that of how he was born on a dairy farm in 1934, then abandoned at two weeks old by his biological mother. He was taken in by, first, his great-grandmother and then his mother's first cousin. Her name was Willie Mae Robinson and he remembers her now as his mama. Her husband, James Henry Robinson, he calls daddy. It was this man who started the business Robinson now owns and operates with the help of daughter Sabrina - Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc.
That in itself is quite a story, but it only covers a small piece of Robinson's life. In the past 70 years, he has seen many things, done many things and affected many changes in Greenwood's society.
"I'd like someone to write a book about my life someday," Robinson said. "It's been an interesting one."
Robinson was active in civil rights, taught school in District 50 during the time of desegregation, was instrumental in establishing a chapter of the NAACP in Greenwood and marched for equal rights with other area leaders. And that's only the tip of the iceburg.
He was also the first black county council member to be elected in Greenwood County. Not only that, but it was an at-large election, meaning the outcome was voted on by the entire county and not one specific precinct. He was elected to two non-consecutive terms and each time dedicated himself to make choices for the good of all people, not just black people or white people, he said.
"I've done some things I'm not proud of," he said. "Haven't we all? But I've always fought for what I felt was right."
During his tenure, Robinson fought for and got the county's first county-run ambulance service going. That happened after a man was left to die because there was no one to pay for the ambulance ride, Robinson said.
He had roads paved in the black community and put ball fields in Ninety Six, Hodges and Promised Land. He fought to get the county to hire more black employees, and he helped get water lines run into Promised Land.
Robinson also has ties to the county's first Head Start program. When there was no place for such a program to be located, he pressured officials at Trinity United Methodist Church to offer space.
His list of public service is long and is rooted in dedication to his community and a strong desire to help others, said daughter Sabrina.
"If I had to say something very short and brief about my father, I would say he is a very caring man who tries to help everybody, no matter what walk of life they're from," she said. "He'll try to reach out to you and help as much as he can."
Robinson said he just wants the next generation to have a better life than he had. Robinson lived a large part of his life regarded as a second-class citizen, being excluded from simple places and things in life to which only white folks had access.
He remembers being refused entry into restaurants, having to pick up food at the side window instead.
He remembers when insurance companies wouldn't sell policies to black men.
He remembers being cursed at, and he remembers having racial slurs flung at him like rotten fruit.
He even remembers having his life threatened in the fight for equality.
He never wanted those things for the next generation. He wanted better for not only his children, but all children, he said.
In getting through those parts of his life, Robinson said his inspiration was baseball great Jackie Robinson, the first black player in the modern major leagues.
"They used to scream all kinds of stuff at him when he was on field," Robinson said. "They called him all kinds of names."
As the second black official in the S.C. High School League, Robinson saw similar treatment when he refereed games, particularly in small towns, he recalls.
"We made a lot of progress in my time," said Robinson, who can trace his family heritage back to the days of slavery. "We just aren't there yet. So many people think we're there, but we still have a mountain to climb."
Robinson has seen a lot of things he's proud to have witnessed, but there are a few more yet that he'd like to see before he dies. It's unlikely they'll happen in his lifetime, however, or even that of the three children he has with wife Jean Lee Robinson, he said.
"I would hope that some day a person will be able to say the color of their skin truly means nothing and that they won't be treated any differently because of it," Robinson said.
He said he would also like to see more integration of races on Sunday mornings. Churches are among the most segregated places in the nation, he said, and he can't understand it.
"How can we live so separate here and expect to live together up there?" he asks.
To the next generation, the one he's worked so hard for, Robinson advises they read the Bible and honor the Ten Commandments and that they learn about their history and the struggles of their ancestors. Until young people are aware of where they came from, he said, they won't understand the importance of where they are.

Taking in the big game with friends

February 6, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

There's nothing like watching a big game with 60 of your closest friends.
That's the philosophy at Main Street United Methodist Church. Main Street UMC's young adult Sunday school class - composed of singles and young families in their 20s and 30s - had it's ninth annual Super Bowl party Sunday at the church. This year's event was attended by about 50-60 people, all angling for a good seat to see the game projected onto a giant screen that was set up.
"We started doing it about eight years ago and its just grown," said Karen Carr, who is the director of the class. "The first year we did it (1998), there was a snow storm and the power went out. It seems to have gotten better every year since."
The party was organized in part by Main Street UMC member and Greenwood High School athletic director and football coach Shell Dula and wife Mary. According to Carr, the Dulas are integral to the class.
"We call it the coach Dula class," Carr said, with a laugh.
Dula said he enjoys teaching the class and helping organize events for it.
"We've been teaching for about seven years," Dula said. "I enjoy events like this because it gives families a chance to come have fellowship and enjoy the game and some good food, while the kids play together."
The event was catered by Stumps Barbeque, with a whole roasted pig served luau style. There was a plethora of food, soft drinks and desserts to satisfy nearly any taste.
In between the first and second quarter, the class had activities for the children in attendance. The first game was a doughnut-on-a-string eating contest, the inspiration for which came from the pages of The Index-Journal.
"I actually saw that idea in The Lowdown section of The Index," Main Street UMC member Greg Dominic said. "The kids seemed to really enjoy it, and we even got coach Dula to give it a try."
The kids next game was attempting to bust a football shaped piņata filled with candy. Dominic said the children had varied success in attempting to crack open the orb, knocking it of its string twice before breaking it.
Perhaps a bit of an after thought with all the food, games and revelry going on was the game itself. Class members Ruple Harley and Eddie Moore set up the projection system for the event.
"We take it to all the college games when we tailgate," Harley said of the system, which was drawing its signal from a DirecTV satellite dish propped up just outside the fellowship hall door. "It's no big deal and people seem to like it."
Moore said the big screen treatment was a hit.
"It's better up on the big screen," Moore said. "People would rather do that than huddle around a regular television set."

Opinion

It's crucial to the future to end political hostility

February 6, 2006

Forget the war in Iraq. Forget the entire campaign against worldwide terrorism. Forget health care. Forget tax cuts.
Forget saving Social Security. Forget the debate over eavesdropping on overseas telephone calls by suspected terrorists. Forget the Middle East. Forget oil. Forget immigration reform and the economy and the Supreme Court and all the other things that President Bush talked about in his State of the Union message.
Focus on one thing, for without that, the wheels of government will turn very slowly.

ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE important to South Carolinians, the same as they are to all Americans. However, consider these words: "In a system of two parties, two chambers and two elected branches, there will always be differences and debate. But even tough debates can be conducted in a civil tone, and our differences cannot be allowed to harden into anger. To confront the great issues before us, we must act in a spirit of goodwill and respect for one another - and I will do my part."
Those were introductory words from the president as he began his delivery to the assembled Congress and guests. Nothing said after that was more significant. It was clear, however, that these bridge-building words fell on deaf ears ….. or closed minds.
Bitter partisanship has become a cancer that eats away at the very foundation of the civility of the nation, civility that once defined the relationships between opposite sides in the national's capitol. Nothing could be more indicative of that than the rude response the president received from his opponents through rowdy and childish interruptions.

IF THERE'S ONE THING THAT has been a source of disappointment and sometimes disgust in the American people, it has been the constant and growing political rancor that has poisoned the air ….. all over a fight for power and a degree of one-upsmanship that has seldom been seen in Washington, Columbia, or any other place. The people have a right to be angry at their elected officials, too. It is, after all, their government that is being hobbled by partisan hostility. Voters have made their unhappiness known from time to time. Unless members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, can get their act in shape and work together with the public interest in mind, it wouldn't be unreasonable for voters to once again push for term limits.
Barring that, a continuous turnover via the ballot may be the answer.

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

Obituaries

Mary Free Chandler

GREENWOOD - Mary Elizabeth Free Chandler, of Orcutt, California died Wednesday, February 1, 2006 at her home.
Born in Greenwood, S.C. She was the daughter of the late James C. and Dorothy McLees Free. Mary was twice married first to Tom Colham of Spartanburg, S.C. and secondly to the late Jack Demand Chandler, retired Lt. Co. in the United States Air Force.
Surviving are two daughters, Crisanne Baken of California and Lynne Lewis of Florida; a son, Craig Chandler of Georgia; and a brother George J. Free of Greenwood, SC.; her step mother Ester Willard of Greenwood two step sisters Rita Shutran of Detroit MI and Lisa Emily of Greenwood, SC; two step brothers Mark Willard III and Dr. Oliver T. Willard both of Greenwood, SC.
Mary was the grandmother to Amanda, Brooke, and Brittany Baken of California, Sienna Chandler of Georgia, Ashleigh Vetsch of Florida and great grandmother of Zori London of Florida. She was aunt to Dana Kaltz of Edgefield and Wiley Free of Greenwood.
Mary's humor, acceptance of others, her love of animals, her style and her ability to retell stories of her life growing up in Greenwood and traveling abroad will be remembered and dearly missed by all those who knew and loved her.
Services will be 4:00 p.m. Wednesday at Edgewood Cemetery Mausoleum, where the family will receive friends following the service.
The body is at Harley Funeral Home.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com
PAID OBITUARY

Joseph Lavey

Joseph F. Lavey, 80, of 130 Sylvan Road, husband of Pauline Martin Lavey, died Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Louisville, Ky., he was a son of the late Robert and Susie Coy Lavey. He was the superintendent of the garage for the Greyhound Corp and an Army WWII veteran. He was an active member of Harris Baptist Church and the Co-ed 4 Sunday School Class.
Survivors include his wife of the home; three sons, Joseph Michael Lavey of Shelbyville, Ky., Harry Robert Lavey of Milltown, Ind. and David Wayne Lavey of Cordon, Ind.; two daughters, Linda Sue Oldson of Clarksville, Ind. and Anita Louis Mifsud of San Ramon, Calif.; a brother, John Benjamin Lavey of Louisville, Ky.; and eight grandchildren.
No services are planned.
The family is at the home.
Harley Funeral Home & Crematory is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.harleyfuneralhome.com

Bob Owens

James Robert "Bob" Owens, 74, of 118 Crescent Drive, husband of Iona M. Owens, died Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Visitation is 7-9 Tuesday at Blyth Funeral Home.
The family is at the home in Brookside, off Hwy. 10.
Services will be announced by Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services.

Betty Parsons

Betty Mister Parsons, 72, resident of The Ashley House and formerly of 1108 E. Laurel Ave., widow of James Garland Parsons Sr., died Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Visitation is 6-8 Tuesday at Blyth Funeral Home.
The family is at the home of her son, James Parsons, 1222 Gary Road, Hodges.
Services will be announced by Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services.

Mary Wynn

SIMPSONVILLE - Mary Elizabeth Smith Wynn, 71, of 119 Circle Drive, wife of the Rev. Robert "Bobby" Wynn, died Saturday, Feb. 4, 2006 at her home.
Born in Edgefield County, she was a daughter of the late Sam Goodman Smith and Tempie Ouzts Smith. She was a homemaker and a member of Cedar Lane Church of God, where she was a YWEA missions coordinator. She was a member of the State Sr. Adult Choir, past member of the State Board of Women Ministries and served as a counselor for 35 years for the South Carolina Youth Camps.
Survivors include her husband of the home; a daughter, Barbara Wooten of Simpsonville; a son, Ronnie Wynn of Conway; a sister, Essie Francis of Ninety Six; a brother, Sam Smith Jr. of Ninety Six; five grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
Services are 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Ninety Six Church of God, conducted by the Revs. Michael Wooten and Stewart Jacobs. The body will be placed in the church at 1. Burial is in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers are Roger Gilmer, Roy Pollard, Van Wooten, Chris Lewis, Frankie Williams and Larry Coleman.
Visitation is 6-8 tonight at Harley Funeral Home.
The family is at the home of her brother, 219 Eddy Road, Ninety Six.
Harley Funeral Home & Crematory is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.harleyfuneralhome.com