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The herald and news. [volume], December 03, 1915, SEMI-CENTENIAL EDITION, Section One Pages 1 to 8, Page SIX, Image 6
About The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937
Image provided by: University of South Carolina; Columbia, SC
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! Literature an* I In Histo (By W. P. h <Iime makes no alteration lor the truth of things. So when one begins a record of impressions and incidents j connected with experience or observation, things are still the same they are no allowance whatever being made whtiLer things be past, present or to come. One is supposed to have due l reverence for things of the past, so that things present or things to come may always receive unbiased judgment. The celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of a newspaper which is the successor of several journals which had previous existence in Newberry furnishes an occasion for some reminiscences of times when men and things were true in Newberry. The living, moving factors of former days have made the history of N^jy berry inJ teresring and attractive to one wno would review the past, and in no spheres more truly than in the field of literature and the fine arts. The work of the artisan precedes in the progress of civilization the profession of the artist. Each of these faclors in Newberry have performed well in their spheres. So it is the purpose of these reminiscences to deal with the culture and literary features of j life in Newberry as it existed in the \ period of the writer's boyhood and in j tno days when Newberry's pioneers loi/3 tViri r r>n 11H o tirvn c cn ffAArl an /I ICi 1U IUV/ iVUiiUUWiVii.; QWW strong that a more intelligent and cul- j tivated community has not been de- i veloped elsewhere in the Palmetto j commonwealth. The writer's introduction to one of these periods?this article will not observe the rules of chronology?in the development of cultured community is coincident with the founding of The Herald and News, and he can not speak 1 from personal knowledge beyond that! time. it was aunng me commencement exercises of the college con-1 ducted by the Rev. Mr. Zealy that hei first received the impression that New-1 'berry deserved to be known as a com- i munity of culture and refinement. This j was in June, 1866. He remembers that! the orchestra, in part, was composed j x>f three leading citizens?one a professional musician. F. Werber, Sr.; a physician (also a writer of high order), Dr. 0. B. Mayer, Sr.; *he third a prom inent merchant, John B. Carwile. The Newberry Female college was coilducted in the residence now owned by Dr. J. K. Gilder, and its commence- , ment exercises were most interesting occasions. The old court house was the place of assembly for all similar occasions, including the final commencement of Newberry college in June. 186S, before it removal to Walhalla. That commencement was re V G&W'G *5? <?>>< >><?>><? ! m SFlOl I the histoi t "V <$> $ nr^w I in <e> I | QESTi lJ of Mi * f Overcoat i & I Ladies' I WAr'/p r*fhiP>rs t . v W f v I V I L f cc nrn c I l he a i ^w f i d Art ric Newberry louseal.) ! 1 i j markab!e for the separation of the i members of the junior class to finish their education elsewhere?0. L. | Sc-humpert at Copenhagen, William; | Hayne l.eavell at Oxford, Miss, and j James Elon Houseal at Walhalla. The court room was always graced -3? ? - ...UirtU nr\ f A/? I O ^ ' D3' an auuience wnnju rcpicacuicu uu*-, intelligence of Newberry, when the; collage came backfi from 1S78 to 1881, and the nee forward the opera house; became the center of the display of ;he culture and literary talent of the; town. Only one of the participants j who were officially connected with the j building and dedication of the opera ' house are now living, and a brief ref-, erence to that occasion, which took. ulace on February 24, 18S2, will doubt- | lessly be interesting. Music formed a prominent feature of the order of dedication. A great man has said that music is the art of of the prophets?the only art that can calm the agitations of the soul. It is also one of the most wonderful gifts of providence. Some of the present day X(-wberrians remember the beautiful music rendered at the dedication i\f thp. nnf>ra house under the direction of .Mrs. F. 0. Bailey, the talented instructor of this beautiful art in the Xewberry Female academy. Mrs. Bailey was assisted by Mrs. Warren Davis of Charleston. Judge Y. J. Pope wai master of ceremonies. One of the most , brilliant men of the town wrote the' dedicatory ode. Charles Gustav Jaeg-! cr, author of the ode. He was a native of Germany, but had come to Xewberry from Laurens. He was also a musician, and as linquist wrote fifteen laneuases and spoke many of those he could write. Others on the stage of action included Dr. Geo. W. Holland, representing the college; Capt. A. P. Pifer, representing the Newberry Female academy; Capt. 0. L. Sch^mpert, the Newberry Thespian club; the mayor of the town, Jordan P. Pool, and the aldermen, Jami>s Y. McFall, D. W. T. Kibler, Geo. A. Langford, D. M. Ward (the only survivor).# One of the most notable occasions in which the people assembled in the | 1 *"? " rrtftnnAroKln j opera nouse wcis mc lucmuiuvc *?w j ice to the president of the Southern | ries in a manner befitting their im- > appropriate tributes were spoken by j Jas. F. J. Caldwell, Esq., Rev. E. P. I McClintock and Rev. J. S. Cozby. These occasions are typical of similar assemblages in which the people > were accustomed to observe anniversa- | ries in a manner befiitting their im- \ portance. In this respect the town and county has a written history that is unexcelled in detail by any of her : i Fall sales up v the largest ry of this hous e Reasc values on earth i m's and Boys' S s, Shoes, Undei ?na<*'ldErf Shoes, t* ire talking quality Mom MORR 'tore of Satis r neighboring comnmnLii i Interest in the drama in the '."Os enlisted a number of the 'eading citizens, who formed a society ior the entertainment of the town, which then had scarc-t 1 y more t-ian 700 or 800 inhabitants The organization was called txie Thespian club, and it presented the Shakespearian drama in its own hall which .hen occupied the sit? of the office on the corner of 'College (or Adams) and I Joyce streets. Thespian hall was burned in the, fire of June 6, 1S66. This fire also destroyed the office of The II. ra'd. The Thespian club maintained a high reputation in the character of its rendition of the drama. Prominent citizens again formed the Thespian club and revived intoroct in thp drama, with their hail over iV'ayes & Martin's (now .T. T. Mayes & Co.) store. As in the old Thespians, son'e of tie best histrionic talent was included in its renditions of legitimate drama. li was in January, 1875. that the town was first visited by a theatrical company, with three consecutive per Bt i formances. and six performances on a return visit the following week.: Thespian hall could not accommodate all who sought admittance. It is a remarkable facr that a play, "Sam'l! of Posen, or- the Commercial Trav which mace its autnor a millionaire. was first produced in Thes- j pian hall, in Newberry. When M. B.! Curtis, its author, arrived in town I billed for another plav, his leading! supporter was taken sick, and he sub- j stituted "Sam'l of Posen" for the regu- j lar bill. It was a success, so a New- ; berry audience though', and a New- j berry audience has always been capa-. ble of judging in such matters. Mr. i Curtis went to New York with his, newly discovered success and it had ! a continuous "four hundred nights" j in the metropolis. . The remark is pertinent that present j day theaters must either be placed j upon a higher plane or succumb to its | p-arasite, the moving picture film, j I <e>v-? -v | j. j f I t | ! to now t I . 'I * f gain in s o & t e i $> V f V m? | ; n the way | uits, Hats | f -wear f V /fiv <e> ; Coats, I < > V I is guarantees it | ! 'IS faction" 1 f . V v?v* j . . .r~ - i wnicn is atiecnng \ita^ y its very existence. It is a pity that such a vehicle for the development of a high degree ol intellectual attainment should have degenerated with such rapidity in a g n oration. Time can not make things more true | {ban tho;. wore at tho beginning. It is true that time and thought extended j themselves more in the periods em-1 './raced so far in these random notes j than is bestowed in similar instances at tho present clay. We live in an elec-: tru'-impel'ed aso and intellectuality' is forced into the same groove as the' commodity called modern progress. I >'he mirrored past is a form of useful! retrospect. The writer hones th^*?Tpw- j borrians of today will maintain their i reputation as a cultured community by , training the rising Generation in fhe ! r of the pioneers in intellectual j achievements. Xewberry must bp praised for her noble efforts in always keeping the torch of knowledge after the town had i?opti incorporated until fhe Xewberr? . Male academv was founded in 1806 by j the liberal subscriptions of nor citi-I ^ns This school was always famous , for the men whom it introduced i"to the public life of thp state and the nation. It was merged with Xewberry college in 1 S.r?S. Its las? site (Halcyon j rrove, in the rear of the residence of j James M. Bowers) was the scene of1 thte martyrdom of tip ?a,lar?t Texan. Calvin Crozier. in May, 1865, whose memory Xewberry ha'.- preserved in I purity and valor on a marble shaft. Thp academy wa? nracticallv reopened in December. 1868, and conducted one vear bv Cart. A. P Pifer in the Baptist church annex. Xexf in j its own building, in 1870. on west Harrington street, with J. 0. Hardin of p^^ter. Willinm M Brooks of iChapel Hill. N. C? and R. H. Clarkson of Columbia. as principals, who were folbv .Tame? P. Kinard fnow president of Anderson college), John P. Glasgow of Texas and Miss "Willie fw.bv (now Mrs. S. C. Ryrd) of Co l?mbia. The separate existence of I Newberry Male academy ceased with the establishment of 'he graded schools in 1890 This da'e brings the educa- j tional period whi'in the memory of! fho larcr >r portion of the present gen- | AT.Qfion in Newbenry. How the years n"c?! Six-vear-o'as who were the first pupils of the grrded schools have takcr r>n thp rpvrrnsibilities of mature thought and life's experience fome time j ae;o?in the case of some of his friends j among the fairer sex he could scarce- : ly be expected to tell the exact lapse-j of ypars! While in the graded school system j Newberry has provided for the educa- I tional training of both the boys and j girls, it must not be supposed, in the | absence of any exact historical record j to the contrary, in the establishment nf thp Male academv early in the his tory of the town that means for the j education of her ?irls had not also j been provided. The Newberry. Female ' academy must have been founded , about 1S30. It occupied buildings once j variously located?at one time in Halcyon Grove, when the Male academy had been removed elsewhere. The r=? T( The F \\rANT V V seed ( of 75 bales Mill, an Ice ROi II TEwa VV and i (floury graha ground grits you cannot I Male academy again occupied the Hay- \ c.yon Grove building, and the Female I academy, removed from place to place, j ci-ased its existence, with the estab- j lishments of the graded schools, in \ Lhe building wnicn .wr. .Josepn Mann ; bought and converted into his resi- j dence. j One of the buildings first used to ' accommodate a portion of the pupils ' of the hewly organized graded schools j in 1890 will always be remembered i with peculiar interest by the writer, j Hp first saw it standing out against} the horizon on the morning after the J fire of .Tune 18, 1866. It was the only j building left, with the exception of \ Jones' Hvery stables, on the block bounded by Thompson, Adams (College), Harrington and Main streets, I TL.M D~ i ne new on Christmas Ai We now have on hanc I Clothing, Dry Goods, and line Skirts and Waists and We urge you to make y stock is fresh and complete last moment to do your sh< Our motto is quick sales DAUCI \ Bargair 1006 Main St. ^ rrtr nj rnr w J I tit, rUBL.1 armers a S to buy your cotto - TI/_ L COIWn. rre ?ui/c < ; capacity, an up-i Plant as good as LLER MILL OF Ti latest make nt to sell you cotton hulls; your ice and im flour, corn meal . Try our product te pleased. Respectfully J. H. Wick fronting cn the latter after the destruction of Dr. Thompson's residence. This building was Dr. Thompson's kitchen. It survived two other fires, but was burned in the fire of March 30, 1907. As a boy it thrust itself upon my sight every time I looKea toward town from the eminence of College hill. Now it no doubt entwines its associations in the memories of many more Newberrians. It was a modi-st building, but would now be considered very pretentious for a kitchen. It. was one of the old South ' In HtnVionc Ti-Vi nn it CArVA/1 trx ii iVl t? xxv?ii aw uv* - savory food for the guests of the big "white house" in ante-bellum days. This purveyor of sustenance of the (Continued to Page 7) irgain Store inouncement 1 a large stock of Shoes, .Notions. Ana also a on Children's Dresses. our selections while this i. Do not wait until the >pping. and small profits. ' I BROS, i Store I \ , Newberry. I c ' J tlJM /' i * n seed and j 2 gin plant j i - r\*i zo-date uti the best; a HE A i seed, meal coal; your ! and home s and see if / ' i '^v; 1 flyf/v?t ct?r, ivMgi* i ?? , 2 /