STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH by Theron Willis
HOMETOWN NEWS

Pam Whitehead looks through the letters that she hasn’t read in over 40 years that were sent to her from a special someone who fought in the Vietnam War.

Sometimes the opening of an old dusty envelope hidden away in a corner can have an effect similar to time travel.
When Pam Whitehead of Lyman recently went through a 41-year-old stack of letters she was transported back to a time long ago. To a time before she was a mother and a grandmother,  back when she was a sixteen-year-old girl in Cowpens and a fragile and fateful love was budding between her and a soldier she hardly knew who was writing to her from the foxholes in Vietnam.
Whitehead, then with the maiden name Bolton, started correspondence with twenty-year-old Army Private First Class Paul Martinez while he was stationed at Fort Lewis in the state of Washington. Martinez was buddies with a guy named Ricky who was from Cowpens and dating Pam’s sister,  Gerri at the time.
Pam says that Martinez was Puerto Rican and worked in the shipyards in San Francisco with his family before joining the Army, but she knows very little else about his life. When Ricky went back home to Cowpens on leave,  Martinez went as well to see the sixteen-year-old young lady who had become his pen pal.
That two-week leave was the first and only time Pam ever saw Martinez in person. A shy and awkward attraction developed over the course of the two weeks and hinted at when he went back to Fort Lewis, but when Martinez was deployed in Vietnam in April 3, 1969,  he began to express feelings to Pam in his letters that might have otherwise lain dormant - feelings of his love for Pam and his hope of reuniting with her once his time was through in the dreaded war.
“We can have so much together when I get out,  I know it. It’s just a matter of time…Before you know it I will be in your arms and telling you I will never let go know (now) that I have you so close to me,” he wrote in one of his letters to Pam.
Martinez was stationed in the Quang Nam Province in South Vietnam with the first squad of the 101st Airborne Division and served as a rifleman.
Pam says Martinez had poor grammar and spelling but despite that his letters brought out a romantic and eloquent side. “Pam the way love moves is the way to (two) persons meet, may it be by thought or touch,” he wrote on the back of a picture he sent to her from Vietnam.
Pam also thinks Martinez could express things in letters that he would find hard to say in person. “He was kind of shy at first (in person) but I think he was more comfortable when he started writing letters,” Pam explains.
The affection and romance that Martinez expressed to Pam made her feel in ways she had never felt before in her young life.
“I dated and had boyfriends before but he made me feel like the most wonderful person in the world, like I was an angel and that I was so precious to him,” Pam says. She was reluctant and shy to reciprocate the same intense romanticism and passion that Martinez communicated to her through his letters.
“I was only sixteen and it was all just so new and strange to read what he was saying to me,” Pam recounts. “I just wasn’t sure how to respond.”
Martinez tried not to be forceful in his letters but also asked her to grant one simple wish. “Guess what Pam, you own part of my heart… I don’t mine you owning part of me at all…it’s not even costing you a thing except a genione I Love You once in a wy’ll in your letters. is it a deal? my heart for an I Love You in your letter’s.”
Pam finally started ending her letters to Martinez with an “I love you” and other affectionate sentiments but a few weeks later she realized it was too late. On May 23, 1969 she came home from school to find an ominous package from the US Army waiting for her. Inside the package was her recent batch of letters to Martinez as well as a note informing her that Martinez was killed on May 7, 1969 while his unit was trying to take Hamburger Hill. He spent only a little more than a month in Vietnam.
The heartbreaking thing with journeys back through time is knowing the outcome of events but being powerless to change it. As Pam read back over letters from Martinez for the first time in 41 years,  she realized that the dates on the letters were a countdown till his untimely death.
“This (letter) is 26th of April,  ‘69 so how long did he have to live?” Pam asked her voice breaking with emotion.
What was also painful was realizing that the promises made by Martinez to Pam of the times they would share once his time was up in Vietnam were fated to never happen.
“We can go driving all over the place with the car windows down and the radio soft and you sitting next to me,” Martinez writes to Pam as he envisioned a peaceful place away from the foxholes and bombs.
Looking back at the letters stirred up a cauldron of mixed emotions in Pam,  making her wonder what would have happened if Martinez would have made it back from Vietnam. Would their love have survived? Would they still be together today? How would her life have been different?
But soon enough it was time to leave the past and return to the present, to carefully put away the old and yellowed letters back in a shadowy corner of her house and likewise put the thoughts of Martinez and the long - gone possibility of a different life away as well. 

Cherokee County’s unofficial historian is asking for help in the public library’s Heritage Room.
Dr. Bobby G. Moss of Blacksburg,  author and retired professor, supports the purchase of a microfilm reader-printer for the Cherokee County Public Library in Gaffney. The equipment is needed in the room used for genealogical research.
According to a statement issued by Moss and the Friends of the Library in support of the purchase, three reader-printers are used daily by residents and visitors.
“However, because of budget cuts, we have only one machine which works until it becomes hot. Then it will not respond until it cools. The other two machines are beyond repair,” the letter stated.

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Blacksburg News.

Laura Pate of Blacksburg took first place in the 13-15 year old division of the S.C. Peach Festival pageant held recently in  Blacksburg. Pate, 14, is a 10th grader at Blacksburg High School and daughter of David Jr. and Connie Smack.

BY JANET S. SPENCER
HOMETOWN NEWS  

Photo Submitted
Gaffney Youth Baseball 11 and 12-year-olds won the state championship July 12 and will play in regional finals July 26 in Lakeland, Fla.

 Eleven-year-old Eddie Green needs only one word to describe the Blacksburg Youth Baseball game against Gaffney.
“Awesome,” said Eddie, in spite of the loss July 12 in Aiken when Gaffney took the state title in the 11 and 12-year-old age group.
We wanted to win really bad. We’ve never made it that far before,” the right fielder explained. His grandmother Melissa Green, also of Blacksburg, said the state playoff games were exciting. “And it’s great that two Cherokee County teams finished first and second in the state,” she said.Blacksburg’s elimination came after the team’s return in the loser’s bracket following a shutout.
Then in the game with Gaffney, we were the visitors and led by one until the top of the fifth.  In the bottom of the sixth, Gaffney was able to score with a final of 2 to 1,” Green explained.
Parents and grandparents accompanying their children were into the games.
“For us, it was so exciting. My heart was thumping.  The kids experienced the same thing. We’re very proud of all of them. They played their hearts out. They really came together as a team,” the grandmother said.

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Blacksburg Times.

A swimmer makes her way to the top of a slide at the Cherokee County YMCA’s new facility and water park on Whelchel Road in Gaffney. Photos by Janet S. Spencer.

J.D. Smith, 9, and Amiria Hopper, 7, left the new Cherokee County YMCA in Gaffney on Monday with smiles on their faces and a snack of nachos and cheese.
The children were with their father, Jarvis Hopper, and said they enjoyed the first day of the new Y’s feature, an outdoor water park.
“It’s fun,” said J.D., as his sister nodded, clutching her towel.
Jarvis Hopper said the new facilities are a definite improvement.
“We’re members, and this is nice,” he said, rushing the children to their vehicle so they could head to baseball practice.
Sissy Brock who served as co-chair for the campaign to build the new $4.7 million YMCA on Whelchel Road said the program offers many opportunities for people of all ages in the county.
“I grew up in Blacksburg. My father was the late T.D. Wilkins who worked with Burton-Dixie. We certainly didn’t have facilities like this back then. We would have loved to get in a car and be driven to Gaffney to a Y,” she said.
About four decades ago, the community partnered with Limestone College to first offer YMCA activities.
Brock said the new building completed only recently is more than a gymnasium, and the realization by initial planners of that dream come true.
“The YMCA will be offering many new fitness and wellness programs for youth and adults. We have the silver sneaker program, the water park. We want to reach members from throughout the county,” she said.

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Blacksburg Times.

BY JANET S. SPENCER
HOMETOWN NEWS

Photo Submitted
Children gather at July 1 event with Blood Drop, an American Red Cross mascot.

Response to a recent blood drive in honor of Gaffney businessman Marion Patton has prompted Red Cross officials to organize another effort.
Shellie Wylie, manager of the Cherokee County Service Center of the Piedmont Chapter of the American Red Cross, said 73 units of blood were collected, and a waiting list of 69 more people was developed.
“Because of the high demand and great outpouring of support in honor of Marion, the Red Cross has decided to have this second Wylie said.
All donors and participants will be given ice cream sandwiches and popsicles provided by Wishes Family Travel, a Red Cross T-shirt and the opportunity to leave an encouraging message for the Patton family.

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Blacksburg Times.

Photo by Janet S. Spencer
Roger Childers, Town of Blacksburg public works director, is shown with his truck displaying a new town decal.

Blacksburg’s fleet of vehicles has new colorful decals incorporating the town’s history with a ray of sunshine.
Roger Childers, public works director, said utility, garbage, service, flatbed and pickup trucks operated by employees now display the new emblem.
“We wanted something that represents the town well,” he explained, noting the Iron City’s heyday as a railroad town.
The decals were designed by Airgrafx FX, a local company which won the bid and completed the work for $1,200.
Childers said the new decal adapted a train and sunshine prominently represented in a 20-year-old seal often used by the town.
Town Clerk Dell Bagwell said the pattern seal was developed in 1988 when the late Joe Hicks Whitener, who was a council member, and Gene McKown headed the Historic Committee for the town’s 100th anniversary.
“That was actually the town’s first seal and the Historic Commission and the town then began to use it to promote Blacksburg,” Bagwell said.
McKown, former owner of The Blacksburg Times, also incorporated the logo in the masthead of his weekly paper, Bagwell said.
The newspaper continues to display the initial logo today.
Childers said the reworked seal took the place of a different seal displayed on the town’s fleet of vehicles.
The new oval decal replaced an emblem representing the three utilities, including a gas flame, faucet and treatment plant once operated  by the town. The graphics were black and white and had become difficult to see over the years.
“With the recent sale of the town’s natural gas system, we thought a new decal would be appropriate, and Mayor David Hogue and the council members agreed,” Childers said.
The decals and an assigned vehicle number are now sported on 11 vehicles.
The markings are also described as a safety tool.
“We did this also to identify our vehicles for people in the community, so when folks see us at work, they will know we’re with the town,” Childers said.
A telephone number listed with the truck number will also be convenient for the public to report any problems.
“This way the community can get real time data regarding whether a vehicle is where it’s supposed to be. It’s for the safety of the community, too,” Childers said.
After a couple of weeks, Childers has received multiple compliments and no complaints about the decals.
“The response has been so favorable that when we upgrade signs at entrances to the town, we plan to use the new emblem in that scheme also,” Childers said.

Photo by Janet S. Spencer
OHHH MAN…
A close-up of Big Will’s Wings and Things barbecue plate with the sauce for dipping.

An estimated 40 percent of Americans annually choose barbecuing as a leisure activity, especially for the Fourth of July,  according to a survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Willie “Big Will” Anthony says he’s pleased to be among the crowd, adding the secret to success is in the sauce.
Big Will,  who makes, bottles and sells his sauce by the same name also owns Big Will’s Wings ‘n Things at 202 W. Cherokee St. in Blacksburg.
The Shelby, N.C., resident recalled last year was his most memorable Independence Day holiday.
“I bought an 85-pound pig. Got home, dressed it up. A neighbor said he had never seen it done and wanted to watch. I put the pig on about 9 p.m., and in a couple of hours, a police officer stopped. He said he could smell the aroma of the pig cooking down the road a ways and wanted to know when it would be ready,” he said.
By 6 a.m.,  Big Will said the officer pulled back into his driveway.
“I made him a couple of sandwiches. During the night he rode by and would blow his car horn, making sure I was all right and stayed safe. He told his friends and other officers came by. That was one of the best 4th’s I can remember. I was home. My family came over. I got to do everything I wanted to do. It was a good 4th,” he said.
But last July was not Big Will’s first experience with barbecue. He developed his special sauce 26 years ago.
A native of Sumter,  he said his expertise developed more from a hobby than a means of making a living.
“I’ve been into barbecue all my life. My mom always cooked barbecue and made her sauce,” Big Will said.
His sauce is a variation of hers, but he keeps its ingredients secret.
Patrice Anthony,  who leaves the cooking to her husband,  said his sauce is an enhancement.
“His sauce will leave you licking your fingers, so you can eat more,” she said.
Big Will said the difference is how it adheres to the meat.
“You can put it on any meat, and it creates a different taste. Children also love it. It’s sweet with a vinegary taste,” he said.
The couple agreed the trick is the sauce sticks to the meat and does not drip.
Big Will first received requests for his sauce after a challenge by co-workers with the city of Sumter to cook and make deer meat tender.
“They said what I served them tasted like pulled pork, and from then on, they started asking for my sauce,” he explained.
Cooking since he was a child,  Big Will has worked as a supervisor making bagels and has been employed by Jack’s Cookie Company and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.
He chose to locate his barbecue business in Blacksburg at the suggestion of a friend,  Dean Littlejohn,  who owns a barbershop down the street.
“Blacksburg is a beautiful town and is ready for some changes,” Big Will said.
He plans to develop his menu as he offers residents more choices. In addition to barbecue,  he serves chicken leg quarters and fried chicken and fish.
He’s open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
“I’ve added mac and cheese on Sundays. We’re adding as we go. Gotta keep it growing. Potatoes and gravy and then dessert. As we grow, we’ll keep adding what we find the town needs,” he said.
A surprise request from his customers so far has been peppered catfish.
“Now, I do know we need that on the menu,” he said, smiling. “I will accommodate any requests that I can.”
Big Will’s favorite is ribs.
“Preparation for any  meat has to be just right – for pig or chicken. I buy the right seasonings for the meat. Get it at Brown’s Market in Gaffney. Keep that on overnight and then by the time you put the sauce on…. it’s on then. The Colonel had a saying, ‘It’s finger licking good,’ but maybe if he had tasted my sauce, he might have said something else,” he said.
The only complaint he recalled receiving was from a customer who was unable to eat all he wanted.
“I try to keep it affordable. I take my time. Use the right seasoning. Put love into it. I cook with love. I try to give everything I give with love,” Big Will said. After opening his business in May, he said the town has offered its support.
“I believe there’s a season for everything, and I believe my season is now because of the town’s support,” he explained.
Customers of Big Will’s are eager to explain their menu selections.
Jacob Mullinax who works for EMS even helped name a dish.  “It’s chicken tenders with hot, hot, hot sauce,” Mullinax said.
Brenda Hardy of Shelby likes the hot wings. “They melt in your mouth, and any that don’t burn your mouth are not good,” she explained. Carolyn Howell, also from Shelby, orders the fried tilapia. “It’s so good, it’ll make you smack your grandma,” she said.

For more local news and events, see this week’s Blacksburg Times.

BY JANET S. SPENCER
HOMETOWN NEWS

Photo by Janet S. Spencer
PRETTY AS A PEACH
Leigha Mabry, 2 1/2 months old, dons her peachy dress for competition in the S.C. Peach Festival events held Saturday in Blacksburg. She is the daughter of Candice, shown in the photo, and Jody Mabry of Cowpens.

The weather was sticky and hot. The peaches were ripe and sweet. And a beauty pageant was the place to be during Blacksburg’s events held last weekend as part of the upcoming 34th annual South Carolina Peach Festival.
A sizeable crowd of family and friends gathered in the auditorium of Iron City Place for the pageant on Saturday where the air conditioning was appreciated almost as much as the program.
The strain of competition appeared to affect 20-month-old Eden Suarez of Greer as she left the auditorium and waited outside in the shade, taking a break with her grandparents.
Monk Snyder of Gaffney tried to lift his granddaughter’s spirits, as she sipped some Sprite, following her elimination.
“Oh, she’ll be OK. And next year, she’ll want to do dance and then cheerleading,” Snyder said, anticipating her expected interests in additional little girl activities.
But the morning competition and heat of the day began to take its toll on little Eden, as she turned up her nose and began to cry. A nap seemed to be her next adventure.
Several yard sale vendors also braved the heat after an early morning appearance, staying on the grounds until after lunchtime. A dunk-a-cop booth sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Police was popular even for the cops. Blacksburg police Sgt. Pete McBride and officer Dennis Scoggins were eager to take turns for a cool off splash into the vat.
“Oh, this is just a little cloudy from Broad River,” Scoggins said, reacting to comments about a definite tinge to the water. “This is clearing up. You should have seen it when we started.”
Dennis Stroupe, vice chairman of the festival’s board of directors, said dozens of vendors committed but did not show for Saturday’s events. Nobody signed up either for the chicken wing cook-off, and no participants registered for the corn hole tournament scheduled for the toss of miniature beanbags through small circles carved in wood.
“I’m thinking about going up the street and buying some chicken wings and just giving ‘em out,” Stroupe said about lunchtime. “But how many do you buy?”
Later in the day, the festival offered a magic show and a movie in the park followed in the evening. Inflatables were also available for children.
This year, the festival set Blacksburg events three weeks prior to the opening of the annual salute to the peach. More activities will be held July 15-17 in Gaffney with most scheduled for the grounds of the former Big Mill property.
The new talent night competition sponsored by the Blacksburg Rotary Club for years will be July 15 in Fullerton Auditorium on the campus of Limestone College. The popular Peach Beach concert and dance is returning this year to the grounds of Lake Whelchel with music by the Fantastic Shakers.
Tickets for the upcoming events are available at festival headquarters located at the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce on South Limestone Street in Gaffney.
    
Janet Spencer can be reached at 839-2621 and blacksburgtimes@yahoo.com.

For more local news and events, see this week’s Blackburg Times.

By Theron Willis
HOMETOWN NEWS

Terry Glenn Lanford was scheduled to appear in federal court on Wednesday, June 23 in Greenville to answer for a drug charge stemming from a narcotics conspiracy with former Spartanburg Clerk of Court Marcus Kitchens  but was not present due to his current medical state. His attorney Johnny Gasser informed U.S. District Judge Henry Herlong Jr. that Lanford suffered a heart attack and stroke during a medical procedure on May 27 and that his physician Dr. Robert E. Jackson believes that Lanford is fit neither mentally nor physically to appear in court.
Gasser submitted a letter from Dr. Jackson stating he does not believe that Lanford would be able to undergo any court proceedings for at least six months or until he is released medically. It was also stated that Lanford is now under home medical care.
The continuance was granted but Herlong requested to receive monthly updates about Lanford’s condition.
In an unrelated case, Lanford was arrested two weeks ago on June 17 by Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office due to a fraudulent check written to the City of Woodruff and was released on bond after spending about eight hours in jail.
Lanford is facing the charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail and a $1 million fine.
The charge stems from a conspiracy with former Spartanburg County Clerk of Court Marcus Woodrow Kitchens in which Lanford sold drugs provided by Kitchens from the Spartanburg County Courthouse evidence room to a dealer in Florida.
Kitchens was present at the Wednesday hearing and pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine and another count of theft from a federally funded organization by an agent of said organization.
The plea was accepted and Herlong will pass down sentencing after reviewing the pre-sentence report.
The drug conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine, and a three-year term of supervised release. The maximum sentence for the second charge is a 10-year imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and a three-year term of supervised release. 
Evidence presented at the hearing stated that in mid-2009 an individual was apprehended by the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) in Orlando, Florida and agreed to become a confidential source (CS). He informed investigators that the cocaine he  in his possession when  he was arrested  was bought from Terry Glenn Lanford of Woodruff, SC.   He also told investigators that he learned from Lanford that the narcotics were taken directly from the evidence locker of the Spartanburg County Courthouse.
Lanford was then interviewed by the DEA and confirmed this information saying that the DEA informant agreed to pay $8,000 for the drugs that Lanford obtained from then Clerk of Court Marcus Kitchens.
Lanford then agreed to wear an electronic recording device during his next meeting with Kitchens.
Kitchens and Lanford met on the morning of February 2, 2010 at a Spartanburg restaurant in which money from a past drug deal was exchanged and discussion followed about removing and selling more drugs from the evidence room. 
Kitchens was arrested as he left the restaurant.

For more local news and events, see this week’s Local Hometown News.

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