Evening star., 1934-03-19
AIKEN ATTRACTS
COL0RFU I'll CROWD
Many Entertain at First
Brush and Timber
Race Meet.
BY GRACE HENDRICK EUSTIS,
STAFF Correspondent of The Star

BY GRACE HENDRICk EUSTIS,
STAFF Correspondent of The Star.
AIKEN, S. c., March 19.-For-
getting codes and imitation night
mares, the sportsmen of America met
at Aiken over the week end for the
first brush and timber race meet that
has ever been held here. Smoothly
muscled thoroughbreds, four IN hands,
brakes, buggies, shiny cars, busses,
bookies, judges, riders in colors and
the elegants of the sporting world
milled around under a hot Carolina
sun while some of the best timber
horses in the country raced through
the gray sand.
In Camden the early racing, be-
fore the Virginia courses open in
April, started few years ago. An
Aiken meet has been talked of for
some time, but never before this year
would Thomas Hitchcock, on whose
place the race is run, consent to a
timber race. He believes that the
pace plus the size of the timber jumps
today and their construction are sui
cidal for rider and horse. This Win
ter he capitulated, with the under
standing that the timber race end
over brush. This is in accordance
with European custom, where some
of the best races contain a variety of
obstacles. Then he spent large part
of the Winter personally superintend-
ing the planning and making of the
track.
"BOrroWed" Enfertaipipo
The races were on Saturday, but on
Friday the influx of visitors began.
Houses were filled to bursting. Spring
was in the air and the folks couldn't
be stopped from entertaining. On
Friday night three enterprising young
bloods decided to return a Winters
hospitality by giving a dance. Their
spirit was expansive, but their pocket
DOCKS slim, SO they borrowed a house
which was not being used this season.
1t was rambling, charming house,
but short on furniture, so they called
on Tommy Letter. the blond and
friendly, who straightway emptied his
own house for their benefit. They
set to work and with borrowed
flowers, borrowed plates and glass
ware, borrowed buffers and an or
cheStra borrowed from a hotel in ALL
gusta they produced a party which
broke with the dawn.
On Saturday, the race day, the sun
poured down on the mauve Judas
trees and the dark pines. In the
morning were the fat races and in
the afternoon, cavalcade of thou
sands of cars moved out through the
sw1rling red dust to the steeple chase
grounds. Big buSSes. bringing people
from Charleston, model T Fords. with
tires floating in streamers, came
spluttering up from the mill towns,
top-heavy horse vans and the feet
cars of the wealthy, followed slowly
on each others heels. One hundred
and fifty motorcycle police were COM
mandeered to regulate the traffic.
Probably the sleepy town has never
seen so many people.
Another Party.
Saturday night there was another
dance. If parties are going to be
coded this would not have come un-
der the wire. Lucky Roberts and his
orchestra we're summoned from New
York. Nothing to eat or drink was
too good for the guests. The party
was given in an open pavilion in the
woods. 1t was lighted from the out
side by flares of fat pine, burning on
tall stanchions, with colored men
throwing on fresh logs. One race
rider, happy and relaxed, looked
=
it's Africa!"
Lucky Roberts, launching his great
hulk over the keys played as though
Rome were burning. George Widener
came over and watched him for a
minute. Play for them, Lucky" he
said.
There was an engaging little story
circulating around which, when veri-
fed. proved to be true. Mrs. Hitch
cock, who has been critically i'll since
her hunting accident last Fall, re-
ceived a letter the other day from a
Chinese who had cooked for their sta
BILE boys 25 years ago. Writing to her
from California. he said he had heard
she was i'll and wanted to know how
she was doing. One of Mrs. Hitch
cocks daughters replied to the letter,
telling him of her mothers condition.
The Chinese wrote again. this time
to the daughter, saying if she were a
good girl and took care of her mother,
he would send her a pair of pajamas.
Shortly afterward a package arrived,
containing a pair of jade green. silk
pajamas. with an extra coat of deli
cate golden gauze. He had decided,
without waiting, that she would be a
dutiful daughter and for the sake Of
once beloved employer. he would
thus reward filial devotion.