I don’t think I’ve mentioned it here yet, but when Rusty and I were in Augusta for Christmas, I hit something of a jackpot in my quest for information about the fabled McMaster home in Columbia. Full credit goes to my mom, who for the hell of it decided to get out a box of stuff that was in the hall closet; and among the interesting artifacts in the box was a full page newspaper article about Gin-Gin’s 100th birthday in 1967 (which my mom and Gran went to). This is fascinating enough on its own, but the article also contains a photo of the house at 1429 Laurel St. (!) and some information about its origins.
(Can you believe it was torn down for a parking lot? Shades of Joni Mitchell…)
On Flickr, I’ve posted a photo of the entire article (it was too long/wide to scan). I’ve decided to post the text of the article in a series of blog posts, each one following the section breaks that are in the article itself. The article was written by “Social Whirl Writer” Christie Fant and appeared in The State and The Columbia Record on September 17, 1967. Here’s the first part:
—
A century is a long time — an unbelievably long time — for one life to last.
But when the life has been as bouyant and brimful as that of Columbian Virginia Lee McMaster (Mrs. Joseph R.) Foard, the abundance of years granted is cause for thankfulness and rejoicing.
And so, there was rejoicing on Saturday, the day that rounded out a full century of living for Mrs. Foard, a milestone passed, a capstone attained, in the very place where it had all begun — same city, same house, same room.
From many places came the members of the McMaster clan for the 100th birthday of this McMaster daughter. And they gathered for the birthday merrymaking in the old family home where Mrs. Foard lives, a house which has merrymaking and hospitality as part of its history.
The tall yellow residence stands at the northwest corner of Bull and Laurel Streets, built in 1853 by Virginia Lee’s father, Fitz William McMaster (later to become Col. McMaster of the 17th S.C. Volunteers, CSA) and his wife, Mary Jane Macfie.
Virginia Lee was born in the upstairs room where she now spends most of her days.
—
Stay tuned for the next installment! And in the meantime, I’m still on a mission to find out exactly what happened with the house in the 1970s. Thanks to Gran, I now have the address of a relative in Columbia who will probably have lots of information. So stay tuned for that, too.
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5 Responses to "“A Century of Living” - part 1"
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[...] my grandmother found an old photo of the family home at 1429 Laurel St., hiding in a random dresser drawer! There’s no date on it and it’s damaged in two [...]
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