The Sweetest Music This Side of Heaven

For a generation of Kingstree residents, one of the dates embedded in their memories was June 10, 1941–the day Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians came to town.

Guy Lombardo with members of the Royal Canadians.

In 1940, the Kingstree Jaycees had introduced a new event to Kingstree called the Pre-Harvest Jubilee. That year, Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra had played to a crowd of approximately 4,500 people. The club decided to go bigger and better in 1941, inviting Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians to bring the "sweetest music this side of heaven" to Kingstree." 

A major part of the jubilee was crowning the Jubilee Queen. Young ladies from throughout South Carolina were asked to participate. Kingstree's entry in this contest was Virginia Gourdin, who would also serve as hostess to the other contestants. Her court was composed of Mary Burgess, Johnnie Sue Brown, Ethelena Vause, Selma Gilland, and Mary Sue Britton.

Three of the Lombardo brothers, Carmen, Victor, and Lebert, judged the contest with Maestro Guy Lombardo to crown the winner. Twenty-seven young ladies participated, coming from Charleston, Columbia, McClellanville, Myrtle Beach, McColl, Dillon, Summerville, Timmonsville, Bishopville, Sumter, Holly Hill, St. Stephens, Orangeburg, Mullins, Marion, Newberry, Georgetown, Cheraw, Conway, Lake City, Florence, Lynchburg and Manning. Girls representing Greeleyville and Lane served as hostesses but did not compete in the contest. Some of the contestants represented their towns; others were sponsored by businesses.

For the first time in Kingstree's history, there would be a big parade with floats from other areas as well as locally sponsored units. The Kingstree High School Band and the grammar school drum and bugle corps would be joined by the Sumter and Lancaster High School Bands in the parade. At 11:30 on the morning of June 10, the Lancaster band gave a concert on the courthouse square, as the beauty contestants arrived at the Hotel Carolina across the street from the courthouse for a chicken dinner with Mayor Pro Tem Guy McIntosh. He was filling in for Mayor Thomas Gilland, who was traveling out of state that day, but who sent a telegram welcoming the visitors to Kingstree. The Sumter Band played at the coronation of the Jubilee Queen, as well as marched in the parade. The Jaycees treated both visiting bands to a BBQ dinner at the American Legion Hut.

Card announcing the Pre-Harvest Jubilee of 1941.

The parade started at 4:30 at the high school athletic field on Third Avenue and proceeded to the courthouse, where first, Virginia Gourdin, was crowned Miss Kingstree before the selection of the Jubilee Queen began. Floats representing the Kingstree Kiwanis Club, the Kingstree Jaycees, Home Furnishings of Sumter, Mello-Krust of Orangeburg, the City of Sumter, the Town of Lynchburg, and Boyle Construction of Sumter all participated in the parade. Local children also decorated their bicycles and rode them in the parade. A $5 prize was given for the best-decorated bike. The parade covered five blocks in length as it moved through Kingstree.

From The State, June 12, 1941

The Columbia Record of June 11, 1941, noted, "Against the historic background of the Williamsburg County Courthouse, Miss Lucy Barringer, representing the Boyle Motor Company of Sumter, was crowned queen of the second annual pre-harvest jubilee here Tuesday by Guy Lombardo, while an estimated crowd of 6,000 packed every available inch of the business block on which the platform was arranged."

Coca Cola of Sumter was awarded first place for its parade float. McBride McFadden was master of ceremonies for the events at the courthouse. Evans Guyton chaired the Queen's committee and was responsible, along with his assistants Carrie Douglass and Myrtle Frierson, for finding lodging at various homes in Kingstree for the contestants. This arrangement freed up hotel and boarding house rooms for visitors who came to town for the ball, which started at 10 p.m. and lasted until 2 the next morning.

Because Lombardo and the Royal Canadians played so infrequently in South Carolina, many people drove for hours to attend the ball. Hotels and boarding houses were filled to capacity the night of the event. An estimated 5,000 were in attendance at the Carolina Warehouse for the performance, although many of them arrived soaking wet as a fierce rainstorm came up just as the ball was beginning. Visibility was bad enough that two car loads of people from Columbia headed to Kingstree were involved in an accident. Leading national publications requested information and photos from the pre-harvest jubilee ball.

Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians left many warm friends and admirers in the Royal Town when they departed the next day. Members of the orchestra had been most obliging in signing autographs during their 24 hours in Kingstree.

Jaycee President Steve Montgomery was pleased with the outcome of the event and promised that 1942's pre-harvest jubilee would be even bigger and better. At that time, he wasn't counting on Japan bombing Pearl Harbor just a few months in the future, and by summer 1942, Kingstree residents were involved in the war effort and, as a result, there was no pre-harvest jubilee in 1942 or thereafter.

The Devil's Own Weed

This summer marks the 110th anniversary of the official founding of the tobacco market in Kingstree. To mark its 20th anniversary, the following newspaper article appeared in The State, on Monday, July 29, 1929. And while there were already ominous signs that economic upheaval lay ahead, one wonders how many were prepared for the Great Depression that would begin with the fall of the stock market later that year. Here is the full-length article as it appeared in The State.

While tobacco is not as prevalent as it once was, a number of local farmers still grow it.

With two full sets of buyers ready to bid in Williamsburg's crop of fragrant tobacco, the preparations for the opening of the market Tuesday are complete, and the town is set for the welcoming and making comfortable of the tobacco market men. The stores are stocked with everything that will be needed for householders, who will be ready to buy more at this season than any other when they have their tobacco money.

Though it was only in 1909 that a market was established at Kingstree, tobacco has been raised in this county for more than 150 years, dating back to soon after the Revolution, when a few men in this section began to plant what was then known as "the devil's own weed." Only enough for the use of the planter's family and his slaves was raised at first, but later the crop, of heavy burley type, cured outdoors was packed in hogsheads and shipped down the Black River to Georgetown, where in 1823 the price went up from the seven cents that had been customary to 40 cents a pound. The usual result followed. The market was glutted with tobacco from northern Virginia to southern Georgia, and the price went down to very little so that tobacco as a money crop was given up for a time.

Cattle continue to be a part of the agricultural mix in Williamsburg County today.

However, tobacco became more and more the chief source of income in Williamsburg. Deer, fish, rice, garden truck, and cattle raising took care of the people, and tobacco gave them the extra money they needed for their other simple wants. It was not until some years later that cotton became the chief crop, as it was between the years of 1830 and 1900, in spite of the fact that British wool manufacturers had a law passed that no cotton should be grown in America during colonial days.

When the planters had overstocked the market with tobacco so that it brought almost nothing, they began to turn more and more to cotton. Cotton production increased each year after the beginning of this century, when it was borne to the minds of the inhabitants that they could no longer live off the land, killing off cattle to keep them going until harvest time. In 1919, this county produced 27,000 bales of cotton, as against the usual 10,000 bales produced in the former century. In the spring of 1920, farmers were refusing 44 cents a pound for their 1919 cotton, which had brought the highest prices ever recorded. There is a current theory that some farmers in this county are still holding some of the enormous crop of 37,000 bales produced in 1920, when the acreage was increased, and everybody was doing his best to get in on the golden harvest of cotton and was disappointed to be offered only ten cents a pound for the crop.

A cotton boll from a field in Williamsburg County.

It was after this tragic year, when the boll weevil assisted in the overthrow of King Cotton that tobacco became again the chief money crop in this section.

Dr. R.F. Maurice won a prize for the prize-winning sample of tobacco on his plantation south of the Black River on the Kingstree-Andrews road, when The News and Courier offered that prize soon after the close of the Confederate war. Tobacco in other states was bringing good money, and the prize was offered in the hope of inspiring South Carolina planters to grow the weed. It was not until after 1900 that much of it was grown commercially, however.

In 1909, W.K. McIntosh and D.J. Epps, well-known Kingstree citizens, operated a tobacco sales warehouse at what is now the Kingstree High School yard, selling about 1,759,000 pounds in the season. The next year Captain Kennedy's old store at the corner of Hampton and Mill streets was transformed into a tobacco warehouse, and later, Nelson Warehouse was built, followed by Wilkins and later the Farmers' Warehouse. Mr. McIntosh is still with the Kingstree tobacco market, the only son of the town still in the warehouse business.

W.K. McIntosh

Courtesy of W.K. "Bill" McIntosh, III

He has had charge of Nelson's Warehouse since its construction and has been assisted in the management of it from almost all that time by E.J. Hester, who will again be associated with him this year. During the season of 1918, McIntosh and Hester sold 3,750,000 pounds of tobacco for $37.80 per 100 pounds at Nelson's Warehouse, by far the highest average ever made by a warehouse in South Carolina selling anything like as many pounds. The old warehouse has had 5,000 square feet added to is floor this season and has been improved in other ways.

Nelson's Warehouse about 1913

R.E. Holland and A.J. Tilley have charge of Wilkins' Warehouse this year. That has also been renovated and is in shape for a big business.

Paul Taylor and E.D. Matthews will again operate the Farmers' Warehouse this season, both of them being well-known on this market, where they have been for a number of years. They have added 12,500 square feet to their warehouse floor space, making it one of the largest in the state.

A great tobacco crop has been gathered and cured this year and will be brought into the local warehouses when the market opens Tuesday. Good prices are predicted and an era of prosperity looked forward to. Let the boll weevil rage, the devil and his weed will yet feed plenty.

Tobacco again became the major crop in Williamsburg County after the boll weevil cut cotton yields.

There are still a number of conscientious planters in Williamsburg County who cannot square the planting of tobacco with their consciences and not a leaf is grown on their lands. But they are in the minority.

Could the early settlers of 1732 who sailed up Black River from Georgetown and settled on the river bluff on which grew the white pine reserved in the grant by the king for his majesty's ship's masts come back now and see the settlement of the King's Tree with its crowded warehouses and eager throngs of happy people with their automobiles, their radios, to say nothing of their short skirts–what would be their reaction?

Many are the concerns which have not been strong enough to weather the storms of the past ten years, the drop in the price of cotton, the inroads of the boll weevil, the deflation in the price of real estate, and the consequent closing of the banks. But in the quiet old settlement, nearing its bicentennial celebration, there are a number that have gone calmly on doing business safely and sanely, with the characteristic grit of the early colonists who were battling against the hardships in their settling at the township of Williamsburg on the Black River in 1732.

(One also wonders what the settlers of 1732 would think today, 90 years after this article was written, of our televisions and computers and cell phones. What would be their reaction indeed?)

Rep. Kellahan's Gift Continues to "Bless Town"

One of the main reasons the ladies of Kingstree formed a Civic League in 1908 was to make their vision of a playground for the town's children a reality. While their first acts as a group had little to do with a children's playground, that vision was always in the back of their minds. Two years after the group formed, State Representative R.H. Kellahan donated property in "New Town" to be used as a park/playground during his lifetime.

A gate to Kellahan Park today.

This property was apparently originally part of the Singleton Plantation and at one time in the distant past, a house belonging to some member of the Singleton family had occupied it. However, by 1910, it was vacant of any structure but covered in trees and thick underbrush. The Civic League decided to clear the area of underbrush and put in "comfortable benches and swings" so that the public, particularly the children, could enjoy it. An editorial in The County Record hoped that Mr. Kellahan would permanently donate the property to the town as it would be "a blessing to the town and an ever-living monument to its donor." Eva Lee chaired the committee of the Civic League charged with moving the work along as quickly as possible.

In March, 1913, The County Record's wish came true when Kellahan deeded the lot bounded by P.H. Stoll, Epps Street, Kelley Street, and Academy Realty Company to the town for use as a children's playground and park. The deed also stated that if, at any time, the property was used for any purpose other than a playground, the deed would be void. The County Record noted: With its location and abundance of shade trees and shrubs, the plot, which is about an acre in size, is admirably suited for the purpose for which it is given, and we feel safe in saying that in making the donation to the town, Mr. Kellahan will have won the thanks of every citizen of Kingstree.

For the next two years the Civic League worked to clear the undergrowth and to raise money for benches, playground equipment, and a fountain as a centerpiece for the park. The ladies planned to plant extensive flowerbeds around the fountain. In March, 1915, the League sponsored an old-fashioned spelling bee at the Thomas Opera House to raise funds for the park. Both adults and children participated in the spelling bees. All of the 10-cent admission price was to go to the park, as expenses for the spelling bee were covered by local residents.

The frozen fountain at Kellahan Park during the cold winter of 1917.

Source: A Pictorial History of Williamsburg County

One hundred and one years later, in January 1918, the park was again under a blanket of snow.

The park officially opened on May 28, 1915. It would be known as the Kellahan Playground. For the three days leading up to the opening, workmen were busy from early morning until late evening, assembling and placing the swings, see-saws, and benches. Eager children were already playing on the equipment almost as soon as it was assembled. On the day of the grand opening, the Civic League served free cake and lemonade from 5-6 p.m. There was plenty of room in the park for more playground equipment, but the ladies had exhausted their treasury and were now appealing to public-spirited citizens to donate more swings, a buckboard, a merry-go-round or anything else to "assist in the amusement of Kingstree's little folk."

The park became a place for individual families to go for fun and recreation, as well as a spot for organized activities, such as Easter Egg hunts. However, the ladies of the Civil League continued to face challenges involving the playground. In June, 1916, a fierce storm swept through the area. Although none of the trees in Kellahan Park fell during the storm, by September, 15 to 20 of the live oaks had died. This was puzzling to the town's inhabitants; however, the Civic League decided to replace the live oaks with five pecan trees, hoping that whatever killed the live oaks would not damage the pecans.

The gazebo at Kellahan Park decked out for Christmas.

The park continued to attract local children to various activities. In 1921, it became the site for a monthly Children's Story Hour. When roller skating became the rage, the town decided to pave the four walkways radiating from the fountain in an attempt to get children to skate in the park rather than on the streets. The Civic League, which had by then become the Civic League and Library Association, donated $50 toward the paving. The Association also installed two more benches and an ocean wave in the park in 1923. In addition, the ladies requested that the town put lighting in the park so that the children would be able to roller skate at night.

The park served as a stage for the re-enactment of the Battle of Kingstree several years ago.

Kellahan Park has continued through the years to provide a grassy place for local children to play, and has been the site for several community events, including the King's Tea, an annual event put on for several years a number of years ago by the Friends of Kellahan Park, and more recently was the stage for a re-enactment of the Battle of Kingstree, sponsored by the Williamsburgh Historical Society, the Francis Marion Trail Commission and the Williamsburg Tourism Board. The Francis Marion Trail Commission also installed a kiosk in the park which provides information about that battle. 

Today, Kingstree residents still use the park regularly, whether it's office workers enjoying the fresh air and a picnic lunch in the middle of the day, neighbors giving their pet dogs an opportunity to run, or children swinging as their laughter mingles with the songs of birds. The park, as The County Record predicted, continues to "be a blessing to the town and an ever-living monument to its donor."

The kiosk installed by the Francis Marion Trail Commission explains the Battle of Kingstree.