Looking Back

By John Ashton Hester

Did you know that a West Union native served as General Dwight D. Eisenhower's adjutant during World War II? Or that a Walhalla man had a U.S. Navy ship named in his honor after he was killed in action? Or that a Tamassee man flew in a bombing mission over Germany in a plane piloted by famous actor Jimmy Stewart? Looking Back, a Journey Through the Pages of the Keowee Courier for the World War II Years, 1941-1945 is about life on the home front during the war, as reported by a small weekly newspaper located in Walhalla, South Carolina.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9781514490228

John Ashton Hester

Early in his career as a reporter, photographer, and editor for the Keowee Courier, ASHTON HESTER became fascinated by the volumes containing issues from past years of the paper, which was founded in 1849. He began compiling a weekly column containing news highlights from the corresponding dates 10, 20, 30, 40, etc., years ago. He first titled the column From the Past but eventually changed it to Looking Back, which is also the title of this book and six previous books which highlighted different years and contained different stories.

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Copyright © 2016 by John Ashton Hester.

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Rev. date: 11/05/2016

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Contents

Preface

Note of Clarification

DECEMBER 18, 1941

Many Youths from Oconee in War Zone

Other War News Reported

Meanwhile, Life Went On . . .

DECEMBER 24, 1941

Walhalla Theatre Observes Sixteenth Year

DECEMBER 31, 1941

Many Oddities Occurred in Oconee in 1941

1941 a Good Year in Sports for Walhalla High

JANUARY 8, 1942

JANUARY 15, 1942

Aircraft Warning Stations Manned

One of Oconee’s Largest Stills Ever Destroyed

School Buses Cannot Be Used by Community

JANUARY 22, 1942

Walhalla Policemen Ride Bicycles

Four Liquor Stills Destroyed During Week

Work on Making Cheese in Tunnel Continuing

JANUARY 29, 1942

Oconee County Armory To Be Built in Seneca

New Oconee County Jail Building Completed

Take the Bus Instead of Driving on Bad Tires

New Forest Ranger’s Residence Completed

Hatchery Had State’s All-Time Low Temperature

FEBRUARY 5, 1942

Draftees To Be Sent Off in Style

Walhalla Mayor Called to Active Duty

Schools Ready To Register Men for Service

Metal from Destroyed Stills Going to War Effort

Defense Force Members Honored for Attendance

Cannery Reports on Canning of Beeves

FEBRUARY 19, 1942

Col. Jaynes Is State’s Oldest Lawyer

Nine-Year-Old Volunteers for Nave Air Core

Third Selective Service Registration Held

Certificates To Purchase Tires and Tubes Issued

FEBRUARY 26, 1942

Equal School Years for All Schools Advocated

MARCH 5, 1942

War Emergency Medical Unit Organized

Mayor in Army But Continuing His Duties

Snow Forces Adjournment of Court

Walhalla High Seniors Buy Defense Bonds

MARCH 12, 1942

Walhalla Going All Out for Civilian Defense

Boy Scouts Collect Three Tons of Paper

Man Walks 30 Miles in Snow for Draft Exam

Moonshiners Feel Crunch of Sugar Rationing

MARCH 19, 1942

Oconee County Men Going Off to War

Oconee’s 10,000 Democrats To Rally

MARCH 26, 1942

Suspected Enemy Alien Arrested, Released

Moonshiner Can’t Hide from Rural Police

APRIL 2, 1942

The War Effort Felt Close to Home

Westminster Cannery One of State’s Best

APRIL 9, 1942

Mayor Travels 1,000 Miles to Council Meeting

Walhalla School Enrollment At All-Time High

Pocketbook on Sidewalk No April Fool’s Joke

APRIL 16, 1942

Lum and Abner Get Gift from Lum and Abner

APRIL 30, 1942

Older Oconee Men Now Registering

Gasoline Rationing Being Felt

Oconee 4-H’ers Win Corn, Cotton Contests

Walhalla High Pupils In State Contests

Walhalla V.-M. Team Defeats Clemson C.C.C.

MAY 14, 1942

Moonshine Selling for Record Prices

Champ Legionnaire Pictured on Page One

MAY 21, 1942

Gas Rationing Reduces Sunday Drives

MAY 28, 1942

War Emergency Reduces Campaign Meetings

Largest WHS Class in History Graduates

Interesting Rationing Incidents Occur

JUNE 4, 1942

JUNE 11, 1942

Midwife Institute To Be Held At Tamassee

School Bus Transportation Cost Rises

Walhalla Man Ships Scrap Metal

A Fifth Draft Registration Scheduled

Walhalla Chamber To Hold Banquet

Walhalla School Cannery and Shop Open

Moonshiners Carrying On Without Sugar

Seneca High School Graduates 57

Waitress Gets Defense Stamp As Tip

JUNE 18, 1942

School Trustee Elections Scheduled

Gas Ration Coupon Books Issued

JUNE 25, 1942

Bus Service to Oconee State Park Begun

Four First Aid Stations Established

South Union Man Fathered 23 Children

Another Illegal Distillery Destroyed

Lumber Company Now 39 Years Old

JULY 30, 1942

Revival Season In Full Progress

Candidates’ Speaking Campaign To Begin

AUGUST 6, 1942

Camp Keowee Built for J.H.A. Girls

House Candidates Dominate First Stump Meeting

Walhalla and Newry Split First Two Games

AUGUST 13, 1942

Quiet Send-Off for Most-Ever Inductees

Oconee Boy Scout Court of Honor Held

Crowds Small at Westminster, Long Creek

AUGUST 20, 1942

Junk Collection Week Set in Walhalla

Walhalla Loses Series to Newry

Youth Heroically Prevents Chattooga Drowning

AUGUST 26, 1942

Walhalla Students Continue Forest Work

Zion School Honor Roll Listed

SEPTEMBER 3, 1942

First Bale of Cotton Ginned

County Agent Forecasts Cotton Crop

Town Schools Opening, Rural Schools Closing

U.S. Must Aid China, Missionary Says

SEPTEMBER 10, 1942

Representatives Cannot Win Reelection

SEPTEMBER 24, 1942

Walhalla School Preparing Youths for War

Walhalla Fire Department’s Mascot Dog Dies

Schools To Adjust Hours for Cotton Picking

Shuttle Block Mill Undergoes Change

NOVEMBER 5, 1942

Walhalla 20-Year Water System Report Given

Walhalla, Westminster Outlaw Loafing

Walhalla-Seneca Football Teams To Meet

NOVEMBER 12, 1942

West Union Native Is Eisenhower’s Adjutant

Former Oconee Sheriff W.M. Kay Dies

End of World War I Anniversary Celebrated

Walhalla and Seneca Football Teams Tie 6-6

Public Welfare Department Gives Annual Report

DECEMBER 3, 1942

Allison P. Rhodes Killed in Action

Fire Occurs Behind Walhalla Fire Station

Seneca Defeats Walhalla 19 to 12

FEBRUARY 4, 1943

Adger College’s Bell Goes to War

Sheriff Sets Example in Horse-Drawn Buggy

Canned Goods Rationing About To Begin

FEBRUARY 25, 1943

Have Your Tires Recapped at Super Service

Gleanings Column a War Casualty

MARCH 4, 1943

Officers Stay Busy Destroying Illegal Liquor

APRIL 29, 1943

Navy Ship Named in Honor of Allison Rhodes

Lieut. Gravely Safe; Was Reported Missing

Pfc. Todd Wounded in Action in Africa

Oconee Teachers Receive Bonus Payment

Walhalla School Might Buy Three Jeeps

JULY 22, 1943

Oconee Home Guard Attended Maneuvers

Governor’s Visit To Highlight Timber

Local Lawyer Denounces Cotton Ed Smith

Boy Scouts Spending Week at Tamassee

Schedule of Busses That Leave Walhalla

AUGUST 19, 1943

Oconee Students Returning to Classrooms

Sweet Potato Curing House Suggested

OCTOBER 21, 1943

Donations To Purchase Student Lunches Asked

Singing Convention Draws Large Crowd

No Murder Cases on Fall Court Docket

Load of Furniture and Illegal Booze Seized

Oconee County Gets State Tax Allotments

Seneca Oil Mill Has New Model Gins

Registration for War Ration Book No. 4 Set

NOVEMBER 4, 1943

Grand Jury Investigates County Stockade

Health Official Inspects Stockade

Women Confront Supervisor on Chain Gang

Armistice Day To Be Celebrated

October Was Busy Month for Canning

NOVEMBER 18, 1943

Volunteer Fire Fighting Crews Enlisted

Families Have Four or More Sons in Service

Razorbacks Defeat Bobcats 19-0

NOVEMBER 25, 1943

Farms Do Well Despite Labor Shortage

DECEMBER 2, 1943

Service To Honor Clemson’s War Dead

DECEMBER 9, 1943

County Treasurer Volunteers for Army

Father of Seven Inducted into Army

Four Homes Have Four Sons in Service

Westminster Cannery Stays Busy

DECEMBER 16, 1943

Piano Recital By Mrs. Poore’s Pupils Set

Santa Claus Arrives in Walhalla

DECEMBER 23, 1943

Walhalla Post Office Sets Record

DECEMBER 30, 1943

Oconee in Best Financial Condition Ever

Rayon Tire Cord Mill Coming to Oconee

JANUARY 6, 1944

West Union Native Is Eisenhower’s Adjutant

Oconee County Hospital Reports 1943 Activity

Son of Revolutionary War Soldier Dies

JANUARY 13, 1944

Farmers Told To Produce More with Less

Hospital Seeking Girls To Become Nurses

JANUARY 20, 1944

JANUARY 27, 1944

Stumphouse Cheese Project Head Resigns

FEBRUARY 3, 1944

Oconeean on Plane Piloted by Jimmy Stewart

Chamber Community House Very Popular

County Agent Predicts Cotton Production

Fire Destroys Brown Building Top Floor

FEBRUARY 10, 1944

Only Two Physicians Left in Upper Oconee

More Schools Approved for School Lunches

Mica Mines To Be Opened in Oconee County

FEBRUARY 24, 1944

Many Farmers May Lose Draft Deferments

MARCH 2, 1944

Supply of 1-A Draftees Being Exhausted

MARCH 9, 1944

Beaverdam Association Spring Meeting Set

Walhalla Stores Closing Wednesday Afternoons

MARCH 16, 1944

Teacher Shortage Threatens Oconee Schools

MARCH 23, 1944

Belk-Gallant To Open Bargain Basement

MARCH 30, 1944

Father of 10 Children Enters Army

Walhalla’s April Draft Call Largest Ever

Sheriff’s Automobile Struck by Train

APRIL 6, 1944

Neville Hall Opens at Oconee State Park

D.A.R. Regent May Be Nation’s Youngest

Walhallan Is Chief Freshman Counselor

APRIL 13, 1944

Cyclone Hits Oconee County; One Killed

APRIL 20, 1944

Another Mayor To Enter Service

Red Cross Aids Tornado Victims

Grand Ole Opry Coming to West Union

Oconee State Guard Unit Has Smallest Number

Oconee Master in Equity Inducted into Army

APRIL 27, 1944

Representative Predicts Time of Invasion

Oconee Residents Meet in Italian Hospital

Salem, Cleveland Schedule Graduations

MAY 4, 1944

Eisenhower Appoints Davis As Press Chief

Local National Forest Timber Report Given

MAY 11, 1944

Walhallan Elected As College President

MAY 18, 1944

Diplomas Going to 251 Oconee Seniors

Bets Made On Invasion, John Ansel Shaving

WHS Boys To Work Out West This Summer

MAY 25, 1944

Col. Jaynes Admitted to Bar 60 Years Ago

JUNE 1, 1944

Post Office Reconstructed Following Fire

JUNE 8, 1944

No Celebration of Invasion of Europe

General Davis Overseeing News of Invasion

JUNE 15, 1944

JUNE 22, 1944

Chamber Asks What Walhalla Needs

Bridge Collapses Under Weight of Truck

JUNE 29, 1944

JULY 6, 1944

Political Campaign Opens in Salem

Trustees Elected in School Districts

JULY 20, 1944

Local Residents Purchase Army Jeep

JULY 26, 1944

Local Soldier in 7,000-Mile Battle Flight

Election Returns Broadcast to Crowd

Some 5,600 Voted in Democratic Primary

Harry Hughs’ Father and Daughter Vote

No Polio Cases in Oconee County So Far

AUGUST 10, 1944

Goat Dines on Billfold and Greenbacks

AUGUST 17, 1944

AUGUST 24, 1944

West Union School Faculty Announced

Only 18 Votes Separate Sheriff Candidates

City-wide Sewerage System Seen For Walhalla

Brothers and Brother-in-Law Reunite in Italy

Even War Fails To Separate Twins

Centennial Celebration Being Planned

Brown Swiss Heifers Arrive from Wisconsin

Items from Keowee Courier’s Chatter Column

AUGUST 31, 1944

First Polio Case of Year Strikes Walhalla

Oconee County Tax Revenue Reported

NOVEMBER 2, 1944

Preparedness for Peace Committee Meets

WHS Teacher First Officer To Enter Paris

NOVEMBER 16, 1944

Coin Toss Decides Who Gets New Truck

DECEMBER 7, 1944

Handy Cash Grocery Store Burglary Solved

DECEMBER 21, 1944

Chatter Pays Tribute to Local People

DECEMBER 28, 1944

Mayor Ninestein To Be Inducted Tuesday

Fire and Police Departments Report Activities

Sale of Piedmont Garage Announced

Children Injured by Firecracker Explosion

Oconee Hospital Reports More Babies

JANUARY 4, 1945

Former Mayor, William M. Brown, Dies

Walhalla Man Co-Invents Sawdust Blower

JANUARY 11, 1945

Former WHS Teacher Rescued from Sea

JANUARY 25, 1945

Lieut. Ted Ninestein Killed in Action

Biggest-Ever Tree To Become Aircraft

Dr. Wickliffe Keeps a Busy Schedule

Farmer Has Amazing Writing Abilities

FEBRUARY 1, 1945

Temporary Barracks for Chain Gang Underway

WHS Boys Basketball Team Undefeated

FEBRUARY 15, 1945

Anderson Paper Comments on Steel Cages

FEBRUARY 22, 1945

Fire Destroys West Union Lumber Plant

WHS Basketball Teams Lose in Tournament

MARCH 1, 1945

Arrests Made in Axe-Murder of Elderly Man

County Singing Convention To Meet at Lonsdale

Chase Ends with Illegal Liquor Seized

Modern Hotel Urgently Needed in Walhalla

MARCH 8, 1945

Victor Monaghan Is Sold to Chicopee Co.

Lumber Company To Reopen Following Fire

Salem Route Two Gets New Mail Carrier

MARCH 15, 1945

Convicts Move from Cages into Barracks

MARCH 29, 1945

Walhallans Attend Ted Ninestein Services

Man Helped Build Plant, Works There 50 Years

New Twelve-Year School Program Explained

Rainy Winter Left Roads in Bad Condition

Arrested for Fighting, Man Pays Both Fines

APRIL 5, 1945

Oconee’s Largest Haul of Moonshine Nabbed

APRIL 12, 1945

APRIL 19, 1945

APRIL 26, 1945

Upper-Oconee War Casualty Count Given

MAY 3, 1945

Local Boys Prematurely Celebrate V-E Day

County To Occupy Old Tobacco Warehouse

Full-Time Service Officer Appointed

MAY 17, 1945

Veterans Service Officer To Assume Duties

Seized Trucks Sold at Unusual Auction

New Champion Birth Certificate Purchaser Declared

MAY 24, 1945

Soldiers Being Discharged on Basis of Points

Oconee’s 11 High Schools To Graduate 221 Students

Singing Convention Concerts Draw Large Crowds

MAY 31, 1945

JUNE 7, 1945

Two Former Prisoners of War Visiting

Fire Department Names Honorary Member

JUNE 14, 1945

Summer Weather Arrives; Beard Shaved

JUNE 21, 1945

Moonshine Still Destroyed; Operators Flee

JUNE 28, 1945

Former Local Man Dies When Prisoner Boat Sunk

Another Former P.O.W. Home for a Visit

Local Firemen Thanked by Lumber Company

Record-Breaking Crowd Visits State Park

JULY 5, 1945

Moonshiners Beware! All-Out War Declared

Mule Pays Unwelcome Visit to Department Store

New 24-Hour Marriage Wait Law Causes Dilemma

JULY 19, 1945

Lions Club Organized in Walhalla

Walhalla Boy Scouts at Annual Camp in Tamassee

JULY 26, 1945

Oconee Leads State in Exceeding War Bond Quota

Oconee’s Boll Weevil Menace Growing Worse

AUGUST 2, 1945

AUGUST 9, 1945

Oconee Canneries Had Record-Breaking Week

Third Lookout Tower To Be Added in Oconee

AUGUST 16, 1945

That Other War Is Continuing, However

AUGUST 23, 1945

AUGUST 30, 1945

Big Crowd Gathers To Watch Repair Shop Burn

SEPTEMBER 6, 1945

Two War Veterans Return to Walhalla High

SEPTEMBER 13, 1945

Oconee’s First Bale of Cotton Ginned

Office Will Place Tenants and Share-Croppers

SEPTEMBER 20, 1945

Record 105,847 Cans of Food Processed in August

Blue Ridge Engineer Retires After 42 Years

SEPTEMBER 26, 1945

Service Office Busiest Office on Courthouse Square

Two Corn Mills Now Enriching Their Products

OCTOBER 3, 1945

Walhalla Teeming with Post-War Expansion

Walhalla Beats Honea Path; Coach Gives Hat

OCTOBER 10, 1945

Eight More Moonshine Stills Destroyed

OCTOBER 17, 1945

Army War Hero from Walhalla Discharged

One of First Three Local Draftees Discharged

OCTOBER 24, 1945

Memorial Walhalla Football Stadium Proposed

NOVEMBER 7, 1945

Friend of Fallen Soldier Visits His Parents

NOVEMBER 14, 1945

NOVEMBER 21, 1945

Three Notorious Roadhouses Closed Down

Moonshine Stills in Salem Area Destroyed

Temperance Meeting Held in Westminster

NOVEMBER 28, 1945

New Youth Canteen Holds Second Meeting

DECEMBER 5, 1945

Seven Army Airmen Rescued Following Crash

A.C. Phillips Completes 2⁰th Year at Strand Theatre

DECEMBER 12, 1945

Local Sailor, Missing Since 1942, Declared Dead

DECEMBER 12, 1945

Boy Scout Troop Organized in Keowee

DECEMBER 19, 1945

More Moonshine Stills Put Out of Business

The Aftermath of the War

Oconee County’s Army War Dead Listed

Navy Names

Native West Union Army General Visits

Memorial Field Honors Fallen WHS Alumni

A Footnote

Preface

This is the third volume in the Looking Back—A Journey Through the Pages of the Keowee Courier series. This volume covers the World War II years, 1941-1945. The first volume covered the years 1888, 1907, 1911 and 1914. The second volume covered the years 1915, 1918, 1924 and 1935.

Note of Clarification

When a week is skipped, it is because that week’s issue is missing from the present-day Keowee Courier files.

DECEMBER 18, 1941

The publisher of the Keowee Courier was Lewis F. Brabham, then a young man, who went on to have a long and distinguished career with the Greenville News.

Many Youths from Oconee in War Zone

Many people in Oconee county were tense this week as Japan was at war with the United States and other nations. Dozens of young men from Oconee are serving in the U.S. army, navy and marine corps in the western Pacific, where the Japanese struck suddenly Sunday to start the war, and families of these youths anxiously await news from that region.

At least two Walhalla boys are at Pearl Harbor, Hawaiian Islands, where U.S. ships have been attacked. They are Clarence K. Busch, son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Busch, and E.D. Rochester, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Rochester. Both of these Walhalla youths are at Pearl Harbor’s naval air station.

James F. Smith, of near Walhalla, is located at Hickman Field, Honolulu, which was bombed. A large number of people were killed there Sunday.

Rudolph O. Brandt, of Walhalla, son of Mr. and Mrs. J.L.K. Brandt, is stationed at Manila, capital of the Philippine Islands. He has been in the navy for five years and is now on the U.S.S. Pillsbury.

J.P. Green, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jimmie Green, of Walhalla, is stationed on the U.S.S. Detroit at present somewhere in the Pacific.

Lloyd Sullivan, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Sullivan, of Walhalla, is in the army stationed in Honolulu.

Two Mountain Rest young men are in Hawaii. Mart Phillips, son of Mr. and Mrs. Elliott Phillips, is in the army there, and Homer Bonner, son of Mr. and Mrs. A.C. Bonner, is in the navy.

Carl Dorr, who operated the machine at the Strand Theatre in Walhalla a few years ago, was aboard the U.S.S. Oklahoma, which was damaged by the Japanese.

In Sitka, Alaska, Lt. W.J. Stribling, son of the late William J. and Mrs. Elizabeth N. Stribling, of Walhalla, is stationed at the naval air station.

Far