the editor talks with you

In the fall of 1982, a few caring people wanted to do something for the poor. What could they do to help them at this most blessed time of the year? It’s no secret that Lexington County is one of the most prosperous counties in our state. But we have our poor as well.’ Unlike today’s sanctuary cities, we have no homeless camping in our streets. Our poor are all but invisible unless you work with Mission Lexington, God’s Helping Hands or one of our other local charities. If you have volunteered to help a charity, you know what a blessing it is to be able to help those less fortunate than you are.

Among those concerned for the poor were Pastor Tom Corbell of St. Stephens Lutheran, attorney Tim Driggers, social worker Rebecca Cook and Dispatch-News editor and owner Mark Ethridge. Their plan was to appeal to the community to help poor families at Christmas by adopting a few. Mark published articles about their needs. Tom appealed to his flock. Rebecca created a form to help volunteers interview poor families to learn about their needs. And Tim made sure that what ever they did was legal. That first year, local families, church congregations, business people and others who cared brought lot of clothing, toys and nonperishable food to the Dispatch-News office on East Main Street. The week before Christmas volunteers picked up and distributed the gifts to the families who had been adopted. The second Christmas, the community’s good will filled up the Dispatch-News office and Tim Diggers’ law practice next door.

By 1984, when we acquired the newspaper from Mark Ethridge, we realized we had to find a larger distribution center. Dwight Amick graciously loaned us, rent free, his large warehouse on US 1 near Lexington High School. That year, the temperature dipped near freezing. Our volunteers suffered in the cold. The Lexington 1 school board and administration opened the heated Lexington High gym for us to use as a staging area. Over the years, Adopt a Family continued to grow and we continued to move to larger quarters including the Lexington County Recreation Commission’s Leisure Center. The National Guard volunteered with trucks to help with deliveries. Bob Waddle at the airport even loaned us a bus and personally drove it himself.

Most revealing to me were the in-home interviews with the poor. They lived in the poor neighborhoods of Cayce and West Columbia and down dirt roads in Batesburg-Leesville, Gaston and Swansea. More poor people lived hidden lives in our county that you might imagine. After we left the Dispatch-News in 1991 and started the Lexington County Chronicle, Adopt a Family came with us. Fire Chief Eddie Turner, South Congaree Mayor Rebecca Kelly, Pastor Herb Bailey and many others continued the effort. Whatever happened to Adopt a Family? We closed it after 15 years. Many other Christmas programs for the poor had been organized. We felt Adopt a Family had blazed a trail but was no longer needed. It had been a great experience and we had done some good in those 15 years. That was a blessing in itself.

Next: The best day of your life.

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