The Owls Whist Club

This story is almost 100 years old and a really amazing piece of West Ashley history, but the story begins on the peninsula of Charleston on Feb. 14, 1914.
According to the website, the history of the club does not explain why this romantic date was chosen as the time to gather for the consideration of fellowship and socialization. Yet on this cold evening, when snow was reported in the upstate of South Carolina, 16 African American men gathered at the home of Frank W. Dawson at 195 Smith St. with the idea to form a social club. That evening the Owl’s Whist Club was formed with a “strictly social” purpose and “for the entertainment of our friends.”
These men wanted a safe place to play cards, socialize with each other and have the opportunity to discuss the social issues of the day.  There is no official recording of why the game of Whist was the preferred card game nor why the reference to the Owl was used in the club’s name. The game of Whist was played whenever the Club gathered and since the game requires four players, the membership was initially maintained in multiples of four.
The ability to gather safely was obviously paramount to these original sixteen men. They set up a structure of meeting in each other’s homes with the host providing a “collation” or light meal. One can only wish to have been a fly on the wall during the card game and listen in on the conversations, for these details were not recorded. However, the website details the social horrors of the day-lynchings, a world war was commencing, and legislation was constructed with the intent to isolate the African-American population and make them fearful.
These 16 original members of the Owl’s Whist Club must have had a very unique bond.: A bond important enough to maintain and thus keep the club together for these 100 years. Five were barbers: Frank W. Dawson, the first host, W. Allison Sanford, James A. Stender, Frank Fields, and Harold Bryant. Barbershops have often been seen as the source for community news so maybe a casual conversation among patrons progressed into this social club idea. The other original 11 members were: Dr. William H. Felder, J. Paul Guenveur, Walter Jefferson, Robert O. Harleston,  A. Clifton Hoffman, John H. Schroeder, W. Hubert Drayton, E. Leon Guenveur, Granville W. Hurlong, Sr., Charles F. Pequette, Jr., and Edward L. Schroder.
Annually the Club would hold a lavish ball and banquet. The minutes from the January 16, 1924 meeting record the annual ball planning: Menu — .85 cents/plate, Decorations — $10, Hall Rental —$20, and “Dry Punch”. Each member was assessed $6.50. After 25 years of these lavish affairs consideration was given to buying their own clubhouse for hosting the banquet and ball. In 1939, the decision was made to purchase two plots of land along the Ashley River in Ashleyville from Leola Ezekiel for the sum of $300.
There is no record of a mortgage, a difficult situation for an African-American during this time, so one can assume the members raised the cash for the purchase. A one-story cinder block building was designed by H.A. DeCosta and built by Thomas Pinckney in 1947. Each member was assessed a share of the $20,000 construction cost . Not all the members believed that the purchase of the land and the construction of  “The Roost” was the best plan and thus politely resigned their membership in formal letters to the leadership of the club.
Final note: I discovered the 1947 plat for “The Roost”, The Owls Whist Club’s clubhouse, while doing a random plat search at the Charleston County RMC website. I immediately goggled the club. Lo and behold there was a website: http://owlswhistclub.com/index.php. Their extensive and rich collection of club records, dating from 1924 to 1989, are in the careful hands of the Avery Research Center. This Club and its story is a gem. Once again someone needs to write a book!
 
Donna Jacobs is the author of “Byrnes Downs” and “West Ashley” and is continuing her research on the transition of St. Andrew’s Parish from an agrarian community to the suburbs of today. She loves to listen to stories, contact her at westashleybook@gmail.com