GEORGETOWN, S.C. — The woman who was known by longtime Georgetown residents as the Town Crier has died.
Mamie Delzell died Tuesday morning at the age of 96, according to Coroner Kenny Johnson.
She died of “age related illnesses” while in the care of Hospice, Johnson said.
WGTN Radio
Delzell and her husband Joe started WGTN Radio, AM 1400, in 1946 in Georgetown. They owned it until 1971.
It was on that station Delzell spent a quarter-of-a-century telling residents what was going on in Georgetown. Whether it was birthdays, weddings, church events or something happening in schools, Delzell would talk about it on the Town Crier, which was usually broadcast from Belk’s Department Store when it was located on Front Street.
She also hosted a program called “Hello Ladies.” Delzell would open the program each day with “Hello-o-o-o, La-a-a-dies,” her voice ringing out in the store and over the airwaves.
Tommy Pope worked at Belk and was its manager for years.
“One of my favorite memories was of Mamie showing up in a hurry to get on the third floor balcony of Belk’s,” Pope said.
“It was live every morning.
“She and her husband Joe were a great asset to Georgetown, bringing WGTN to us.”
“We all stopped to listen for her. I would sometimes catch myself stopping and listening to her, pretending I had to do something in the storeroom.”
Pope said her strong voice could be heard all over the store when she would call out her “Hello-o-o-o, La-a-a-dies.”
“She was a great lady.”
Hear the news
At a birthday party held for Delzell in 2007, Christine Walker recalled listening to Delzell on the radio.
“When I was a little girl, we did not have electricity. The battery radio came on at 9 o’clock in the morning. This lady (Delzell) delivered everything so well. The news of the day. Obituaries. The family came and sat because Miss Mamie Delzell was on the radio. You did not talk. It was important to everyone to be quiet so you could hear the news from Miss Mamie.”
Jim Pollock is now the office manager for WGTN having recently returned to the field of radio. He worked for Delzell in the early 1970s.
“I will always remember her voice. She had a rich Georgetown voice,” Pollock said. “(She and her husband) placed a big emphasis on local oriented radio.”
Wide-ranging impact
Mayor Jack Scoville said Delzell is not only remembered for her radio work but also her job as the head of the County Election Commission which, he said, she “ran single-handedly for many years.”
Her husband served on the commission until he died in 1975. She took his place and held the post until 1981.
She also helped start the Social Security office in Georgetown. Nobody had a Social Security card in those early years, and she would issue the cards and help people complete the necessary paperwork for their cards and benefits.
She also worked for a period of time at the Coca-Cola bottling plant when it was on Orange Street in Georgetown.
In 1954, the Georgetown Business and Professional Women’s Club honored Delzell as Woman of the Year.
In 2006, Delzell was one of the people recognized as “stars” of a movie shot in the early twentieth century in Georgetown, “Pied Piper Malone.” The movie had its premiere at the Strand Theater, about 80 years after it was originally filmed.
One of smartest people
Pat Doyle said Mamie Delzell “worked for my daddy at the Post Office.
“Daddy said she was one of the smartest people he ever knew.”
“He would say, ‘She was quick with figures and good with people’,” Doyle recalled.
“She was always a happy person,” she said, mentioning the “Hello Ladies” radio program.
“She and her husband started the radio station and promoted Georgetown every chance they got.”
Her father John Assey had a store on Front Street for 60 years, and her brothers John Assey and Philip Assey were doctors in Georgetown.
“They made wonderful contributions in the community.”
Active in church
“She was an extraordinary part of St. Mary’s and the whole of the Georgetown community for 96 years,” Father Ron Farrell said. “There was nobody who was more high-profile, in a good sense of the word, than she was.”
“She set a wonderful example with her generosity and kindness to everyone. She will be missed.”
Delzell was a lector (lay reader) at St. Mary’s well into her 90s, he said.
She delivered the Scripture message without eyeglasses and walked without a cane “well into her 90s, reading loud and clear.”
“She was great company. Sometimes we would go out to lunch with her niece Jane Assey.”
Also, another niece Susan Parker would come along. She took care of her aunt for a number of years.
Services
Family members will receive friends in the Parish Hall at St. Mary Catholic Church on Broad Street in Georgetown from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, March 19, 2010.
There will be a Wake Service at 7 p.m. in the church.
A Funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 20, 2010 at St. Mary Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Church.
Burial will follow at Elmwood Cemetery, under the direction of Mayer Funeral Home.
By Tommy Howard
and Scott Harper
Staff Writers