Document text
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SOUTH CA OLIN1 WR1TTRS' PROJTCT
Life History
TITLE: How Vt, W. S. vOLUM8 CA VT TO B7 IN
MAUL 74;STAV
Date of First writing
Van, of kerson Interviewed
Street Address
Place
Occupation
rame of writer
Name of 'deviser
February 16, 1939.
Mr. W.3. YoLure
West rain Street
Union, S.C.
Real qlstato Van
Caldwell size
Union, S.C.
Yr. J. Ye urn, my father woe to Unionville from
Chestns, 0.-.$ when he was only 18 yeFirs old. ris uncle,
John Velar" ran a mercantile business on rain str-)nt at the
site row occupied by Wright -Baker. Pn took father in with him
and this was father's first business enterprise.
four
When I was a small boy there were only Alvon buildings
on rain tre-to that are till starding row. A:hey are the POO.
ftestaurant, Wright-3sker's end the .qynn hone, and further
down the Etreet the building which now houses V,0. Arthur stores.
.2.
An A youth,' felt within me a desire to be som thing
ard had an idea of owning a home and real estate, some future
day. I anted to be what people would call a good cittzen, a
builder and one whom my associates would look on with admira-
tion.
To.day Yr. Yoeeire lives in a beautiful home on ''outh
Welt, which he owns. It has at attractive yard and the house
is well kept and commodious in its appointments. 74, has an
easy smooth rurrirg ear. rls other property which is dotted
all over Union is also well kept and his rental houses are at-
tractive to the eye of the beholder. In his developing and
blying of land ir thn city limits he has always had a terleroy
to improve ard beautify the landscape ard to also see that
his renters keep up the premises.
'CLure has developed North Church Street by buildirg
a group of four room houses ov.r there. he lawns are planted
and kept attractiv-ly all th year round. re always protects
the trees th%t nature has implanted on his property all over
the town, otter adding shrubs or more trees v.hnre Fbade and
beauty are needed. re haE his houem well l'ghted and ade,uate
plumbing installed.
On historic "Tose" Brarch is a well kept valley, krown
as "cLure bottoms. The near& and faarda or the branch thrugh
the voLure property has been protected and remains undisturbed.
This is a spot of beauty the entire year round and her the
brerch is traverse;! by fashiorable Sout" tre.t. The bottoms
are planted in a forage crop mixed with vetch and lesp-diza,
thus flrriehirg a picture of b-auty and pros-rity to the eye
throueout .111 seasons.
.3.
Illy first work was with ry father, Yr. J.W. MCLure, ir
his ceneral merchardis- store known as the fir'' f *Rio, and
VeLere". It was an old frame building which stood on vain
street at the site our pres,,rt rarble yard. I began to work
here when I stopped school And 1 was'Setween 14 and 15 years
old. Father paid re ?100.00 a year and I saved some morey from
this salary. Of course I lived at hore with him and had no
room and botud to pay. I had ambition to eve gore and I have
had a desire to have sorethinr ever since. I enjoyed this
work ard received valuabls besiress traiqirg irder rather.
I desired mor- edusatior. o the next year lather
sent me to Charleston to the Poly Comrunior Church Institute,
now Porter vilitary Academy. I studied here during 1882 end
1683. jome of -y clas_ates have hecome distirguish,di They
are General Charles F. Summerall, of the Citadel, Charleston;
F. Gadsden of Philadelphia and others who well krLwn
in this country to -day. At the end of the year I left Charleston
and returned to lnion, agair working for Rice and vcLure. I
Stayed with the fir r until they wart out t business in 1889.
Father then went into basirm!ws as J.W. ucLure, Agent,
far w.r. Roseborugh of Chester, SIC. Fe ran a general mercan-
tile busiress wher, the Rialto theatre now is. Fe reraired
here until 1891. Here I made 1.50.00 a moth, which is ths rost
that ever made as a salesman. By this tire i had a le.ifn and
two children. 411 of ry earrings wert for the upkeep of ry
family. Iry wife became ill and lived only thr-e years. I h,d
heavy doctors' bills ard other -x:,.rses, which i did not get
oleal-ed ad for several years afterwrds.
Yy brother J. Fred r'cLure studied law in Chester, under
his Colair, Joe "cLure, ard was adritted to the bar in Columbia.
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When he returned from Chester he and I bought ;440erts
business arid we re r it torether until 1920. When my brother and
I went into business; 1 began making ry first dabbles in real
estate. I also sold coal; bought cotton seed; sold cocton seed
meal and hulls, on the side. Ard brother did some law practise
on the side. During this tire: we bought and paid for the build-
ing in which we were doirg business. we also built another
building, which is now known as the TRob rob liestaurant". After
we built the store back of the "Mb VW.
1914 found me enterirg into the real estate business,
as a main objective, by the organization of "The Voture Realty
CanAny• a corporation, of which I am -ow the president and
treasurer. Since 1914 I have dealt regularly in real est,..te.
But when broth -r and i entered bisiness together, I took my
meagre ovvings ard bought our srall stook of goods, from the
creditors of J.W. TrcLare, our father. Ne brothers made some
-oney eaoh year and increased our stook of goods some at the
beginning of the new year. ry brother paid me baak what he owed
re in the beginning and we antra o- a fifty...fifty proposition.
Then we made worf7 on our side liras, tl,at I hay- mentioned.
1920 found our firm a failure; so we sent into bankruptcy,
Brother Fred re -opened under a corporation known as 3. F. voLure,
when we were together we were known as 3.7, and W.S. vaLare.
•c)v) Fred had oorplete ownership ON the tore. I went actively
into the real estate business, arid opened ap nv office caption.
ed "t 11P roLure Realty Company."
Since then have gone in an even tenure of r7
slowly buildir;7 houses, prircipally on a cash basis, with very
-5.
little crediStat any time. I have found ir my ex„erieroe that
the four room house is the most practical house to rent in
Union. I own a good many in a nice section of town that I rent
by the mon0.
During the period that my brother and I were in the
mercantile business and I in the Realty business, I was a
Director in the Citizens Bank from the time of its organiza-
tion. For 18 years I was a ,nember of th- Commission of the
Licht and Ater 21ant of Union. uring this period the building
ard the settling basin or wighway Jl76 was built ard also the
storage plant located on F. Church street, just across from
the standoipe.
row the °right Baker building which mentioned was
partly burned in the fire of 1872, but it was built over.
And when I 01010 to Union as a boy of six the Union Times Office
ad the Tinsley Jewelry Store were the only two firma that
have beer in continuous operation in Union. They are the two
oldest firms here and have been in continuous operation since
their organization. fhe Tino1,y Jewelry Store has never changed
its name or gone out of the family.