Our trip to the very relaxed southern town of Hemingway, SC was to celebrate Momma Washington's 90th birthday. There were numerous friends and relatives from all over to help her enjoy her 3 day affair. That's right THREE DAYS and she hung in there the whole time. There was a huge tent in her backyard with fans to cool you during the day and lights to see at night. Momma Washington was surrounded by her sons and daughters, grand-children and great-grand children, as well as the guys who grew up on Walnut Street in Jersey with her sons.
On Friday, it was a get together at the house to re-acquaint with old friends and family and for some, make new friends, but most of all to kick off the birthday girl's three day party. Saturday, there was a formal gathering at the JJ Mitchum Center with speeches, singing, presentations, food and a 'thank you' from the guest of honor to all who came to celebrate her 90th birthday. She also received a plaque from President Obama & First Lady Michele Obama full of birthday wishes. Sunday, some went to church with Momma Washington and then everyone met back at the house for the final party.
Now let's talk about the food. There was a little of this and a little of that to go with the other and then some. We had fish, bbq from a whole pig, fried chicken, rice, ham, string beans, salad, corn on the cob, yellow rice, bbq chicken, pies, cakes, watermelon and fruit. Hungry yet? Nothing was catered, it was all cooked by her children. One of her chefs (not related) came from Charleston, SC for the event and he had everything in his trailer to make the party exceptional, from deep fryers to the fans and lights surrounding the tent. Not to mention the humongous grill, speakers and music. Although he is not known for being a chef, he is very well known at the ballpark for the best boiled peanuts in SC.
Momma Washington also has a huge soy bean field on the side and back of her home.
Hemingway is a very relaxed southern town which has a heritage of cotton and tobacco farming. We all use Tupperware and it is a leader for industry in South Carolina. Their global distribution headquarters is located here. They have multiple agricultural-based industries such as House of Raeford (poultry products), W. B. Roddenberry (pickle cucumbers), Hemingway Locker Plant (meat processing), and various cotton gins.
Had any honey lately? Little did we know that the Hemingway area is known as the honeybee capital of South Carolina. A number of beekeepers supply honeybees for pollination of watermelons, cucumbers, cantaloupes, squash, kiwi fruit, apples, peaches and other crops that need bees.
Our Adventures
Hemingway, SC
Hemingway is a town in Williamsburg County, South Carolina. The population was 483 at the 2009 census.
Hemingway was created from a crossroads community named Lamberts in 1911 by Dr. W. C. Hemingway, in an effort to secure a depot for the proposed Seaboard Air Line Railroad, which was to run from Mullins to Andrews. Land owned by Dr. Hemingway was surveyed and the lots auctioned off. Subsequently the railroad established a Hemingway depot, and the post office name was changed to Hemingway.
With rail access, Hemingway grew into a market town for local agricultural products. Cotton declined after 1921, when the boll weevil arrived, but was already being replaced by flue cured tobacco as the primary money crop for farmers. Other local products were naval stores from the pine forests (later replaced by timbering), corn, soybeans, wheat, and vegetables.
Hemingway is near the Pee Dee River, which was the main commercial route for the area until the coming of the railroad. Snows Lake is a lake near Hemingway. This is also a site in the Revolutionary War camp of US war hero, General Francis Marion. The river was named by early explorers after the Pee Dee tribe. A major tributary is the Waccamaw River likewise named.
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