The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1911-07-26
ANNUAL llFESTIWTlES At OlANTl
TEN THOUSAND GATHER AT RE
UNION OF VETERANS.
senator Truman Not Abe to- Attend
Annual Reunion and Picnic OF 20.
III, 2eth :. &. ", I'm Florence Coun-
~ Town-Messrs. X. I. Manning
4 and II. B. Fraser Speak.

the fact that the vast throng of peo-
pie who gathered at Olanta today for
the annual reunion of Company FL,
26th South Carolina Volunteers. were
!, sorely disappointed at the failure of
ksenator Tillman TO be present. ac-
cording To announcement, there wefe
nevertheless other features OF the
days programme so interesting and so
pleasing that the keenness Of dis
appointment was easily lost in a day
Of good fellowship. Nor were those
rho craved the delights OF oratory
allowed to to go unsatisfied. for two
most excellent addresses. delivered by
most able men and statesmen. were
heard with keen enjoyment and gen.
uine appreciation. The Hon. Rich
ard Manning and the Hon. T. B.
Df'raser. both OF Sumter. spoke very
entertainingly upon appropriate top
les. These speeches. the glorious
dinner. social intercourse and the
royal hospitality OF the Olanta peo-
pie went toward the making of a
most notable day In the history OF
company III and Of olanta.
Far exceeding In attendance and
general interest the reunion OF
last year. todays gathering was one
altogether out OF the ordinary. The
coming together OF some 10000 peo-
pie. halling from Florence. williams
kburg. Darlington. Sumter. Lee Clar-
endon and Marlboro counties Is no
mean matter. And there were fully
: 10000. according to very conserva-
tive estimates. who braved terrific
heat and long and dusty roads TO
join i'm deserved tribute to the sur.
kvivors Of a valiant company who
gave brave and faithful service to
the cause OF the Confederacy.
sems people DO not like .plcnics-
that Is. these all-day. old-time pic
mics. for which father and mother
prepare days beforehand and to
which all the youngsters are bundled
off. If any In this neck OF the woods
entertain such ideas their absence
was not noted. for. in the language
OF the street. everybody and his
brother" were here today. The coun-
tryside turned out en- masse and
rcrowds from the neighborlng cities
were on hand. Every lassie had
her laddie. and there were hundreds
OF the latter to spare. Plcnics such
as today's may we'll be termed "the
lovers delight" and there was more
real. genuine love-making here to-
, day. in the broad daylight. than was
ever jammed together on an equiva-
lent area. The new marriage license
law has certainly not affected the
"preliminaries."
In declaring that II was a day OF
pleasure. IL would be an incomplete
[ and unfair declaration were II not
mentioned that for the enjoyment
and general comfort Of the visitors,
none contributed more than did Mr..
ID. f. Fraser. cashier Of tire Bank
OF Olanta. and Mr.. p. j. Payne. man
ager OF the Olanta Mercantile Com
y pany. IL should be noted also that
Mr.. ID. w. Alderman, OF the Aicolu
Railroad. exerted every efrort to fur
nish ready and comfortable trans
portation to the many who came by
rail.
Mr.. ID. r. Fraser has the honor of
being cashier of the bank that made
IS per cent clear profit on its last
years business. He came to Olanta
when the town was qure young; in
deed. when he set down his grip and
looked about there was nothing here
bat a pump and hopes for the fl-
ture. The woods were rather Lonely
and Mr.. Fraser gave up his bank pc
sition and tried farming for about
ten minutes. but didn't like II even
after so faithful and fair trial So
here he is back i'm his old position
Today his principal business was
providing refreshing comfort for the
visitors Mr. Il. j. Payne Is quite a
young fellow. but his remarkable
business ability keeps him in the
responsible position OF managing the
affairs OF the big John McSwt en
Company. ones first impression OF
Mr.. Payne Is that hes hustler"
Today ne gave each veteran. as souve-
Mrs. fine pocket knife and neat
little cigar ash ray; end all Comers
he served "sure- nuff' lemonade. sans
the pinkncss Mr.. Fraser handed
cut a little trick puzzle that. unless