Sixty-seven years ago tomorrow, a handful of farmers from throughout the Pee Dee gathered on Marion Few's farm near Nesmith for a momentous occasion–the first sale of Turkish, or aromatic, tobacco grown in this part of South Carolina.
W.W. McCullough of Indiantown standing in his barn specially equipped to handle
the smaller leaves of aromatic tobacco.
The "warehouse" for this sale was an outbuilding on the Few farm. Marion Few's brother, Joe, was president of the Southeastern Aromatic Tobacco Company of Anderson. While there had been a fairly active aromatic market near Saluda and in some other parts of the Piedmont, 1955 was the first time Pee Dee farmers had grown the smaller-leaved tobacco. Seven farmers participated in that first sale They were Marion L. Few, Kingstree: K.N. Huggins, Johnsonville; A.D. Lee, Scranton; Alex Kelley, Olanta; T.S. Ragsdale, Jr., Lake City; and W.W. McCullough, Indiantown. It should be noted that Alex Kelley was 16 years old in 1955.
According to an article written by Ann McIntosh, and published in the July 28, 1955, issue of the News & Courier, some 10,000 to 12,000 pounds were sold that day. It had been pressed into bales of 20 to 35 pounds each which sold for as much as $1.35 1/2 a pound, although the average was around $1 a pound. Tobacco specialists from Clemson Extension were also present at the sale.
The leaves of Turkish, or aromatic, tobacco are much smaller
than those of the regular flue-cured tobacco best known in this area.
The aromatic market was still around in 1958, warranting a full page of coverage in the News & Courier on August 3. It was described as a "quick crop" that was a good source of extra income for farmers, although finding labor was enough of a problem to keep many farmers out of the aromatic market. It was considered a quick crop because seedlings were planted usually the last week of March or first week of April, with harvesting completed by mid-June. Some local farmers used their regular flue-cured barns for the earlier aromatic tobacco, but others constructed a special barn with swinging doors at each end. At night, they used a flue-curing method to keep warm air circulating through the drying leaves, but during the day the doors were propped open, allowing the crop to air cure.
The first aromatic tobacco in South Carolina was grown in 1941 at the Pee Dee Experiment Station between Florence and Darlington.
By 1958, South Carolina had become the largest domestic producer of aromatic tobacco, with about 150,000 pounds sold each year. Williamsburg County led the eastern part of the state with five growers. Prices in 1958 had fallen some from 1955, but were averaging 89.5 cents per pound, far above flue-cured's top prices.
1 comment:
Interesting article. Thanks!
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