Clingstone Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 1, Winter 1974. Copy 1
- Title
- Clingstone Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 1, Winter 1974. Copy 1
- Accession Number
- 2005.24.1.1
- Accession Date
- 9 October 2024
- Accession Creator
- Robert Martinez
- Format
- Book (Magazine)
- Storage Location
- Clingstone Magazines Box #14
- Text
-
CLINGSTONE
Volume 1 - Winter 1974 - Number 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
3 — In Search of Things Worth Remembering
4 — The Logging Memories of Sam Davis and a Look at Old Time Sawmilling
12 — Chick Springs Hospital as Remembered by Mrs. Dolly Sullivan
23 — How to Make Pin Cushions 28 Recipes and Remedies
31 — Mr. Quellen Lewellyn: An Interview
41 — Excerpts from the January, 1927 Greer Community Annual
45 — Letter from the President of the Piedmont Heritage Fund
48 — Donors
CLINGSTONE is published in Greer, S.C. 29651. Prices are $4.00 for a one-year subscription (three issues) or $1.50 for one issue. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form, with the exception of brief excerpts for review purposes without express consent of CLINGSTONE.
copyright 1974 by CLINGSTONE MAGAZINE.
Clingstone Staff
BOARD OF EDITORS
Tony Ballenger
Wesley Boyd
Frank Caldwell
Jimmy Green
Chris Hayes
Lynn James
Jeni Knight
Toni Leonhardt
Selina Lyman
Connie Shaffer
Denise Smith
Greg Wehunt
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Cornelia Dobson
Sandra Earle
Sherolyn Rector
SPECIAL ADVISORS
Dr. Newton Smith
Nancy Wood
FACULTY ADVISORS
Barbara Benham
Robert Chastain
Marvin Collins
Clarence Daniels
Kathy Johnston
Jim Pearson
Bitz Stubbs
Sana Wallace
Jan Worthington
The front cover is a picture of Gilreath Mill as it was in the 1930's. It was taken by John S. Taylor and given to us by Mrs. Arlene Gilreath White.
Jimmy Greene designed the artwork for the CLINGSTONE title.
3.
In Search of Things Worth Remembering
Clingstone has come to mean a great deal to us, even though this is only our first issue. This community sponsored school program to get students involved with the history and heritage of Greer was started by the Piedmont Heritage Fund. We feel especially fortunate since it is not often that a community designs a course to be taught in the school.
Our work started when we had to choose a name for the magazine—a name which we hoped would express
what we wanted the magazine to be. We chose CLINGSTONE because to most of us peaches are sort of at the heart of Greer—a kind of witness that the seeds of the past are still growing in the present. The flesh of the Clingstone peach clings to the most important part of the fruit: the seed which passes its lasting qualities on to succeeding generations. We want to do the same in this magazine.
We have learned a lot since we began. Putting out a magazine is a bigger task than we imagined, but we are learning as we go. Our most valuable experiences have come from the people of Greer. We want to thank those of you who have taken the time to talk with us or who have given us suggestions—you have taught us a lot about being human.
It is hard for us to believe that what was only an idea and a name for so long is now something in your hand. But already we have started looking forward to the next issue. We are working on a story about grist mills in the Greer area and an interview with a Mr. McCrary, a 102 year old friend. If you have suggestions or information about Greer's past or if you just want to let us know how you feel about CLINGSTONE, please contact us. Talking with you is the best part of it all.
4.
The Logging Memories of Sam Davis and
A Look at Old Time Sawmilling
Sawmilling and logging are two of the oldest industries in South Carolina. In the early days of the state if a man needed lumber to build a house, he hewed it himself. But as more people settled in South Carolina more lumber was needed to build factories and houses. As a result sawmilling and logging became a big business. Most of the logging and sawmilling in the Greer area took place in and around the foothills where most of the trees were.
We wanted to find out how logging and sawmilling were done in the past and began to ask around. One of the people we contacted was Sam Davis, a friend of Frank Caldwell. In talking to Mr. Davis we learned that the basic logging methods haven't changed that much. The main difference is in the equipment.
But the process of dressing logs into building material has changed a lot over the years. In the old days, we understand, timber was squared with an axe and an adze. Later boards were sawed with a two- man saw. One man worked from above, and the other man worked in a pit below the log. Once the gasoline and steam engines were invented, tumber was cut with a rotary saw. We visited Styles' sawmill to find how the earlier, rotary-type sawmills were operated.
In the following story we share the memories of an old time logger, Mr. Sam Davis, and diagram the basic steps of turning a tog into boards. According to Mr. Davis there is not much difference between the way old time sawmills were run and the way Styles' sawmill operates today.
———
LOGGING
The process of logging has changed very little over the years, and except for the equipment used the logger still follows the same steps his ancestors did. First, the loggers have to select and prepare a site for their logging operation. In the old days this might have involved only two men, a crosscut saw, and a team of mules breaking a trail through the woods.
In a modern commercial operation this step can involve cutting roads, moving in heavy equipment, and putting up temporary buildings. After the site has been prepared, the trees to be cut are marked. Here, there is a difference between present-day methods and those of the past. As we learned from Mr. Davis, the old logger cut everything and there was no selection of trees.
Sam Davis: Usually it was clearcut. They didn't leave much of a mess of any kind.
Frank Caldwell: What do you mean by clearcut?
Sam Davis: They cut out all of the trees. You've
seen it, I know. Like that open spot on (Highway) Fourteen.
Frank Caldwell: What did they use to cut the trees— chainsaws or what?
Sam Davis: Crosscut saws and them old two-man chainsaws.
The second main step in logging is cutting doun the trees and trimming the limbs from the trunks. The loggers of thirty or forty years ago had no one-man chain saws. Most used a two-man crosscut saw. The only chainsaws they had were huge and heavy two-man saws which were tiresome to lug around through the woods. These large chainsaws had a motor on one end, and on the other end there was just a handle. The man on the motor end ran the motor, and the man on the other end helped hold up and guide the saw. Once the tree was lying on the ground it had to be "limbed." This meant that the limbs and tops had to be cut off to prepare the trunk for the sawmill. The final step in logging is getting the logs out of the woods and to the sawmill. In present day logging operations this involves a lot of equipment—bulldozers, forklifts, cranes, cables and large trucks are used in the typical operation. Of course, in the past most of this work was done by horses, mules or
oxen. Mr. Davis talked with us about his experience with mules.
Frank Caldwell: How did you get the logs to the sawmill? Did you use tractors or what?
Sam Davis: We used mules. They were just as good as tractors are now but a whole lots slower. They were trained. They led 'em to the sawmill one time with a load on 'em and then turned 'em loose. They went back for another load.
Frank Caldwell: What happened if the mules ran off instead of going to the mill?
Sam Davis: If they did run off they wouldn't do it no more. It would just tire 'em plumb out running around pulling that load of logs.
FrankCaldwell: Did you ever see a log that was too big for the mules to pull?
SamDavis: Yeh, the logs would be so big—why they'd be bigger than the mules put together. They'd be passing between two trees and the log would be so big it'd catch. But them mules was smart. They'd work together to pull the log out. First this way and then that-a-way. If they couldn't get it out, we'd knock 'em a-loose and them mules would go back to get another log. Why if you got two good mules—some mules is real smart—and trained 'em right they'd practically work by themselves.
SAWMILLING
After we learned about logging from Mr. Davis, we wanted to see what happened to the log after it left the woods. We made several trips to Styles' sawmill to see an example of the older-type sawing operation.
After the logs are delivered to the sawmill, they are sorted according to size and tree type. The log is then placed on the carriage, which is like a little railway car on a track. The log is held on the carriage by two pins attached to levers. It is held so that it hangs over the carriage. When the carriage is pulled past the saw blade, the saw catches the log and makes a cut (see Figure 2).
[Figure 1]
[Figure 2]
Next the lever is pulled. Each time this happens the log slides one notch over from left to right, exposing more of the log to the saw.
With each cut a section of the log is sliced away. After the first side is sufficiently squared, it is rotated so that the squared side rests on the carriage. The next cut will produce a right angle.
Successive cuts are made until side A and B form a right angle with a square edge.
[Figure 3]
[Figure 4]
The log is rotated so that side B now rests on the carriage. Again, a series of cuts are made until side C is the same width as A and B.
[Figures 5 and 6]
The log is turned a final time and the process is repeated until a square timber is produced. This piece may be cut into boards.
[Figure 7]
We talked to Mr. Davis about sawmills, too:
Frank Caldwell: How were the sawmills run before the diesel motor came along?
Sam Davis: By steam engines, but they was awfully dangerous. They was all the time blowing up. They
didn't have no safety valves, you know pop off valves to keep 'em from exploding.
Frank Caldwell: Do you mean the boiler on the motor?
Sam Davis: Yeh, you know, like a hot water heater.
Frank Caldwell: I bet it was hard getting people to work in the sawmills.
SamDavis: It was—people was afraid they'd be killed by them old engines.
Frank Caldwell: After the diesel motor came along was help any easier to get?
Sam Davis: No—they's easier money to be made in other places. Sawing logs is hard and nasty but you can make some good money if you can stand it all.
Frank Caldwell conducted the interview of Sam Davis. The drawings of the sawmill operation are by Lynn James and Frank Caldwell. Wesley Boyd took the pictures of Styles' sawmill. Typing was done by Susan Howard.
The PIEDMONT HERITAGE FUND
DECEMBER, 1974
DEAR READER:
ON BEHALF OF THE PIEDMONT HERITAGE FUND;
IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE TO PRESENT THIS FIRST ISSUE OF CLINGSTONE. CLINGSTONE IS THE FIRST
OF THREE MAJOR PROJECTS OF THE FUND:
1 . CLINGSTONE MAGAZINE;
2. GREER'S CENTENIAL – THE NATION'S BI-CENTENIAL 1976 CELEBRATION;
3. A HERITAGE FILM, AS YET UNNAMED.
ALOT HAS HAPPENED SINCE JULY, WHEN THE FIRST EFFORTS STARTED. WE HAVE ACHIEVED TAX EXEMPT STATUS FROM THE IRS. THE SOUTH CAROLINA ARTS COMMISSION HAS ANNOUNCED A $2,500 GRANT TO
THE FUND (THEIR MAXIMUM GRANT), FUND RAISING EFFORTS WHICH WILL CONTINUE THROUGH NEXT YEAR HAVE BEGUN WITH GRATIFYING RESULTS, AND THE FUND HAS BEEN NAMED THE OFFICIAL CENTENIAL-BICENTENIAL ORGANIZATION FOR THE CITY OF GREER.
CLINGSTONE: IT WILL SPEAK FOR ITSELF. I HOPE YOU ALL SUBSCRIBE AND BE ASSURED OF FUTURE ISSUES WHEN WE GO TO THE 72 PAGE FORMAT, SPECIAL NOTE SHOULD BE MADE OF THE EFFORTS OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF GREENVILLE COUNTY, DR. FLOYD HALL, DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT, AND THE PERSONNEL IN THE PIEDMONT SCHOOLS PROJECT WHO HAVE MADE THIS COMMUNITY/SCHOOL INTERACTION POSSIBLE.
THE FILM: AS THE GREENVILLE NEWS EDITORIAL PUT IT, IT WILL TELL THE STORY OF "GREER AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE ROLE OF SMALL COMMUNITIES IN THE PAST AND FUTURE OF AMERICA."
THE CENTENIAL-BICENTENIAL 1976 CELEBRATION: GREER'S CENTENIAL CELEBRATION COINCIDES WITH
THE NATION'S BICENTENIAL CELEBRATION. WE HAVE WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE CITY COUNCIL AND HAVE SUBMITTED THE PIEDMONT HERITAGE FUND PROJECTS TO THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION BICENTENIAL COMMISSION SO THAT GREER WILL BE NAMED A NATIONAL BICENTENIAL COMMUNITY. THE FESTIVALS PORTION OF THE HERITAGE FUND WILL CULMINATE IN MARCH 1976. ARTS AND CRAFT SHOWS, A PHOTOGRAPHIC CONTEST, HOMECOMINGS, A PARADE, AND OLD-TIMERS DAYS ARE A FEW OF THE PROJECTS IN THE PLANNING STAGES.
THERE IS AN ASPECT OF THE PROJECT IN WHICH EVERYONE CAN PARTICIPATE. IT IS OUR HERITAGE.
WILLIAM McB. WOOD, PRESIDENT
PIEDMONT HERITAGE FUND, INC.
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Part of Clingstone Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 1, Winter 1974. Copy 1