As the old idiom says, they are worth a thousand words
Sometimes it takes a while to learn the full story that the photograph tells, unless one is very lucky and the photographer inscribed it on the back. The lack of dates, names or details is the norm for many pictures that have been shared during the years of exploring the modern history of St. Andrew’s Parish. Yet, perseverance, coincidence or just luck sometimes produces a glimmer or maybe the full picture.
The photographs left by Luther Bootle in the caring hands of his cousin, Ina, tell a detailed story of life in St. Andrew’s Parish during the early 1940s into the 1950s.
If anything was happening, he grabbed his camera and captured the event on film usually with his Mom and/or sister in the photograph. In addition, Luther was the school photographer for St. Andrew’s Parish High School and many of his photographs are preserved in The Pelican, the school’s annual. Yet, even in this extensive collection there are photographs that create curiosity, questions or a bit of a mystery.
For example, a photograph of a pile of trash. Why would someone waste film on this subject matter? The photographer is looking down on the pile, so where is he standing to create such a vantage point? Curious mystery this is.
But … an article published in the Oct. 15, 1942 edition of The News & Courier may give the clue that solves this mystery. The headline reads: “Scrap Heaps Still Mounting as Campaign Nears an End.” The reader learns that there was a campaign for colleting scrap metal within four zones of the greater Charleston area. “Proceeds from the sale of public scrap will be devoted to civilian defense purposes.” The students at St. Andrew’s Parish High School “have amassed a pile estimated at sixteen tons and have located so much additional scrap that an emergency call was sent out for more trucks to haul it in.”
Now if we only knew exactly where this pile was, possibly behind the stadium bleachers on the school grounds? This location would have created the height vantage seen in the photograph.
Luther Bootle and Sophie Grech share a soda, but where? Who is the other girl in the photograph? Any ideas? Fun Fact: Grech Street off of Wappoo Road is named for Sophie’s family.
This photograph above is an action one. St. Andrew’s Parish High School football team playing a game on the school grounds as the fans watch from the bleachers. Notice two water towers in the background. Where were they located? A few people have placed the larger water tower near the intersection of Wappoo Road and Ashley River Road.
Now the photo above is a real curiosity. One’s initial reaction is that these students are hanging out at Avondale Pharmacy. Further investigation discovered that the inside of Avondale Pharmacy was not laid out in this manner.
So here are clues discovered during a 2013 interview with Doris Hagan (Doris lived with her maternal grandfather John Butehorn during the 1940s in a house by his store on Savannah Highway.): Milton Almeida is in the hat and holding a basketball; Trudy Higdon is next to him on the right; Mary Ann Cotten is seated next to Trudy; and the man in the uniform suggests a downtown location.
Doris mentioned Aimar Drug Store during the interview. Aimar’s was an established and popular drug store, but there is no indication that Aimar’s housed a soda fountain. Hunley’s at 286 King Street has also been suggested. What do you think? Solving this 12-year-old mystery would be awesome.
Any help with these or other curiosities, questions or mysteries? Contact Donna Jacobs at westashleybook@gmail.com.
