The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1914-12-16
A Friend of Mcc.eadon.
editor TIE Times

I have been gratif:,d to read your
favorable aud commeodable comments,
from time to time, 10 reference to the
evaugeiistic labors OF our mutual friend,
Evangelistich B. F. McLendon. This
"Barber-Evangelistic' is 60 stranger
TO the people of Manning and Claren-
don County, as he has conducted reviv-
al meetings IN your city, at Pinewood.
and Paxvllle. McLenlon prizes very
highly the loyalty anG friendship Of
the Clarendon people, and while be is
at present coniucting meeting in the
city OF Sumter. am quite sure ta;st
many 5sf his larenGon friends will az
tend the Sumter services and enjoy hts
orthordox ao1 convincing
preaching. have known Baker M
Lencoa since his very e;.riy boyhood,
and many OF your readers kn w lne,
aid know full well that I would not
write anything about him or anyone
else, if I did not know i. 70 be abso-
luteiy true I know BAKERS father
and mother, l knew bis yrand parents,
his father, Mr.. Thomas A. McLendoni
is of direct Scotch Ir;sh descent, and
was born and reared ir Montgomery
County, n. c.. and his father was a
true loyal confederate soldier. Soon
after the war Mr.. Thomas a. McLan-
don while a young man came to Mari
boro County, S. c., where ne married
a mosbestimable woman. ard they have
reared splendid family. Baxter was
born and reared in Marlboro county
aud attended the cculplon county
schools, also the graded school in Beu
nettsyille.
J remember him as small boy,
black piercing eyes, raven black hair,
most independent. always true and
loyal to his friends, but exhibited the
greatest contempt fer auYone, who
gave him an affront or the colo shoul-
der. he was very iupaisige and
would fight at the drop CT hat" aod
would drop it himself, he, wnen boy
would never allow a smaller boy i'm
posed on in his presence, and was al
ways the warm friend of the smaller
boy.
In his young manhood, Col. G. S.
Mccall, thai merchant prince, of Ben
nettsville employed Baxter as salesman
10 his store, where he was for years
the trusted and confidential clerk AMI
friend of that successful business man.
Baxter attended a business college in
Augusta, Ga, where he thoroughly
equipped himself for "ffice work, but
be was restless and dissatisfied. be-
cause God had called him when he was
IA years ofage to preach His eternal
and imperishable gospel.
Mac. as / always call him, went TO
New York, where he studied the ton
sorial business, returned 20 Benne;ts-
vile ard opened shop, ard from the be-
ginning senjoyed vast lucrative pat
ronage, but he was res s@iag the plead
ings of the Holy Sririt.
By this time Mac had developed into
a wild hardened sinner, he kept game
chickens and bull pups which he would
fight at night and on Sundays in the
rear rooms of his barber shop. He
even engaged in the blind tiger" bnsi
ness and had the teme: ity to operate a
wide open "blind tiger" for quite a
time on one of the principal streets in
Bennettsville. As poker card PLAYER
Mac had reputation which extended
into other States, expert poker players
often came to Benpettsvile TO get in 4
secret game with Mac, and generally
they had TO borrow money from Mac TO
get out Of town.
I was standing in six feet Oh Mac
when he twice SHOT man. who had
violently cursed and abused him, one
ball struck a rib just near thu heart
and was extracted near the back bone,
as he fred the second time, yelled at
Mac which caused his pistol to waver
and the bullet missed. Since his con.
version, prominent citizen OF Ben
nettsviIle grossly insulted Mac abont
his religion, and Mac smil"d and said,
praise the Lord for sustaining grace.
Had this occurred before Macs COP
version he would have knocked that
man through the plate glass into the
street. =.
Two noted evangelists were holding
a revival meeting in Benpeitsville un-
der a tent near Macs barber shop. but
Mac scarcely ever attended church.
one night just after the meeting start
ed Mac strolled out aOd leaned up
against tent p.fe ana lStenSQ 10 tnf
direct sermon, which ''struck the spot"
and when the call was made Mac rush
ed up the aisle and fell in the straw
aad began to pray-he struggled for
seventeen days-of course bis sins had
been forgiven, but he realized no salts
faction until he promised Col that he
would preach-the very thing he was
endeavoring To avoid He at once be-
gan preparation for preaching, his
friends here aided him, and he attend
ed Asbury Holiness College, at Will
more, KY, for two years, and then at