Slow but steady wins downtown Sumter race

By GRAHAM OSTEEN
Editor-At-Large
graham@theitem.com

Sometimes we're slow to recognize and appreciate change, hence the expression “can't see the forest for the trees.”

Downtown Sumter is a forest situation.

It is nothing short of mesmerizing to see archival photos of downtown Sumter through the years when people packed the streets for various events.

We'll be publishing many of these in coming editions of The Item and our new Reflections magazine.

Like most small-town downtowns, ours has been through many different phases of use and neglect.

Right now, we're in a good place thanks to the efforts, vision and investment of many people on many levels.

People who don't work or visit downtown much might not fully appreciate the progress of the past decade, but it is substantial.

Those of us who work downtown and spend time walking around and eating in the various restaurants that have taken hold recognize this daily, and there's no reason to think it won't continue to happen as the economy improves.

On any given day in downtown Sumter, you'll find such diverse local legends as Willie Singleton and Roy Flynn, or one of many generations of regular working folks, including doctors, lawyers, cops, plumbers, carpenters, politicians, financial managers, bankers, a variety of business owners, the young and old, the rich and poor, black and white.

It's a great mix of humanity, and just one of the reasons Sumter is unique.

There has been a slow but steady transformation happening, and the nursing school coming to the south end of Main Street will only accelerate the process by putting some 800 students, faculty and support staff on the ground daily.

It takes people using a downtown to make it vital, and downtown Sumter is in use on many levels.

On this page today, please take note of Sam Hunter's thoughtful essay on what makes Sumter special. It's the people.



The Hugo anniversary this week prompted correspondence from several former Item staffers, including photographer Andy Lavalley.

Andy did some great work here in the late 1980s working under the guidance of Bruz Crowson, and he's now the photo editor of The Post-Tribune in Merrillville, Indiana.

Andy writes:

A quick note to let you know The Item, Sumter and the good folks at both are in my thoughts today.

I will never forget driving along Broad Street in my VW Beetle as the winds really started to howl. My roommate, Jimmy Blease, and I decided to see what we could see. That is, until a cartwheeling roof nearly took us out for good.

It was not long after that that I wished our storm preparation consisted of more than buying two loaves of bread, some peanut butter and a 12-pack of Miller Lite.

Or, sometime well after midnight walking to find the winds calm, thinking the storm had passed. Then within minutes realizing the winds were picking up – only in the opposite direction – and realizing the eye had just passed over.

Time to get back under the desk!

There are so many memories and stories.

Put plainly, surviving that night and covering the subsequent months of recovery remain one of the highlights of my career in this business.

The fact that I was working alongside good newspaper people like you, your father and countless other Item staffers made the experience even more memorable.

So, Happy Anniversary, I guess. Best wishes and get some rest. You never know when the next big one will hit.

Andy and his wife, Amy, have a son, Joseph, and a daughter, Anna Lee.

His favorite part of living in Sumter, aside from producing great photographs, was playing golf at Pocalla Springs Country Club with Billy Johnson.



Also in the mailbag this week was a note from Kay Krumpotich Bullard regarding last week's column on the Sunset Country Club.

Thank you for your kind remembrance of my lifeguard days at Sunset. I never thought I would ever be in a sentence that included the words “Baywatch,” beautiful and Shawn.

The Iris Magazine article on Shawn was wonderful. If I remember correctly, the summer we were lifeguards together she entered and won the Miss Iris Festival contest. She borrowed a one-piece suit I had recently purchased for the contest. Needless to say after seeing her victory in the suit I retired it from my bathing suit wardrobe. I really enjoyed getting to know Shawn. She truly was and remains beautiful inside and out.

My two girls really got a kick out of the article. Autumn, my youngest, posted in Facebook. She loved the shout to her Dad, her Papa Joe and “Sansabelt” pants!

Graham Osteen is co-president of Osteen Publishing Co. and Editor-At-Large of The Item. Contact him at The Item, 20 North Magnolia St., Sumter, S.C., 29150; graham@theitem.com