Langford-Boney House 
Wilson’s store
The Story of my Model ‘T’
by William (Bill) McLean; Excerpted from the Blythewood Garden Club’s ‘Blythewood Scrapbook’ with permission.
I got a job in the summer of 1936 measuring cotton by using aerial photo maps. I had no automobile, so I used a bicycle to travel to the different farms to outline various cotton fields to see if they were conforming to their allotment.
During one of these trips, I spotted an old Model “T,” belonging to, I believe, a Mr. Ballentine on Cedar Creek Road. It was a 1927 model and he told me he would sell it for $20. It was a four seater with no top, but it was beautiful.
At this time Frank Boney was running the Sinclair Filling Station on the corner of Blythewood Road and Highway 21 and it was the hangout for young boys and girls. We boys decided to take the old body off and to replace it with a “boat” looking body, still with no top. We decided to paint signs on the “Boat” such as “ALL YOU GIRLS WHO SMOKE, PUT YOUR BUTTS INSIDE.” We used this Model “T” to go the pond and swim, or just cruising.
Bozie Palmer, who worked for J.R. Creech, also, had a four seater Model “T”. One time I remember a race was arranged, going toward Columbia on 21. There was very little traffic in those days. I was driving my car with Charner Boney in the back as the look out; Bozie was in his car by himself. Bozie and I were side by side, both vehicles steaming like crazy, going about 25 miles an hour.
Charner hollered to me that a Highway Patrolman was behind us. I threw the spark and gas levers up, Bozie went past me just laughing his head off. Finally, the siren blew and he stopped Bozie. I was going right on past with a “tic, tic, tic,” sure that I wasn’t going to be stopped. Just as I was going to pass Bozie, the Patrolman held up his hand saying, “Where are you going?” He made no charges, but gave a stern warning that if we wanted to race to go into a nearby field.
I made many enjoyable trips into the low country, and drove that old car to Clemson. During my college days a crowd would pile in and away we would go to Anderson Junior College for Women. It never let us down; just a pair of pliers and a screwdriver was all we needed. I might say that when the right pedal (brakes) wore out, I just used the middle pedal (reverse) and it would stop.
Blythewood’s history in a book
by Barbara Ball
BLYTHEWOOD – Most small towns never have their histories recorded, much less published. Blythewood’s history has not only been recorded and published, but it’s practically a best seller in the town.
Compiled and published by the Blythewood Garden Club, there have been three editions published – 1976, 1994 and 2004. The books are sold to raise money for the Club’s civic beautification projects, like the seasonal flowers that grow in planters at the entrance to the post office on McNulty Street.
While all the editions offer a pleasantly written history of the town, the first two editions include more of the town’s early families. The short-essays are written by some of those families’ descendants who still live in the community, including the Boneys, Wilsons, Blumes, Creeches and Levers, and are laced with personal memories and handed-down information.
Some of the early homes pictured in the Scrapbook are still lived in by descendants of the families who built them. Ann Joy Mullins’ children, for example, were the seventh generation to be raised in the Allen House on Mullis Road.
The Scrapbook is full of anecdotes about Indians, Robert Frost, Winthrop Rockefeller and others who spent time in Blythewood. There’s a little romance, some intrigue and fascinating insights into what the town was like in its early days.
The 2004 edition adds newer information including the fine horse farms that came later – Farewell Farm, OneWood Farm and others that are credited with helping to preserve and enhance the rural charm that has long distinguished the Blythewood community.
Whether you’re a scout looking for facts about the town in your quest to earn a badge or a newcomer wanting to learn more about the history of your new community, you’re going to enjoy reading the Blythewood Scrapbook. You’ll gain insight into the town, its landmarks, and even the names of streets.
All three versions of the Scrapbook are available to peruse at the Blythewood branch library and the Blythewood Historical Society (Langford-Nord House.) Reading them will make you feel a closeness to the community you live in and an appreciation of those who so thoughtfully recorded the town’s history.
The 2004 edition of the Scrapbook sells for $10 and is available in paperback at Blythewood Pharmacy, the Langford Nord House, Blythewood Consignment and town hall.
