This column is dedicated to Georgetown County history. The people, places and events I write about are always related to Georgetown County . . . except for this time.
I’m making an exception because I’ve finally had the opportunity to meet Ida Tanner Hanna, mother of Debbie Martin, who sings with me in the choir at First Baptist Church.
Mrs. Hanna lives in Georgetown, but grew up in Nesmith, South Carolina. Nesmith is in Williamsburg County, not far from County Line Road. It is a small community that grew up around the railroad that ran through it on its way from North Carolina to Savannah, Georgia.
Mrs. Hanna was born Ida Mae Shaffer on March 24, 1925, to James William Shaffer and Ida Rodgers Shaffer. She was the baby of the family, with three older brothers. She liked it that way, being the baby and the only girl.
When Ida was growing up in Nesmith, there were five general stores, a post office, the train depot, a sawmill, a cotton gin, and of course, a church.
Nesmith Baptist Church was first built using timbers from the sawmill which was on the other side of a creek running through Nesmith. When the bridge went out, planks were used to bring the lumber to the other side. Ida’s Daddy hauled them to the church site in his mule-drawn wagon.
Ida was baptized in 1934, at the age of nine, in a swimming pool at Burrows Hall Plantation. This was the beginning of her 78 years of membership at Nesmith Baptist.
When Ida was eleven years old and starting the 6th grade, she went blind. Dr. Hemingway sent the family to Roper Hospital in Charleston where the doctor she needed to see “just happened” to still be in his office when they arrived. Ida says God put him there. His name was Dr. Jenkins.
She spent two weeks at Roper, where it was determined that the quinine she had been taking for malarial fever was causing her blindness. She had to return to Roper for treatment over the next year, but regained her sight. She had missed the entire school year, but ended up graduating from Indiantown School as valedictorian.
Ida’s eldest brother, Bill, was a Marine who was with the ground crew at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey when the German airship, the Hindenburg, attempted to dock on May 6, 1937. Bill wrote a letter to his mother describing the fiery aftermath of that disaster.
Ida told me remarkable stories about her youth. One that stands out is a story of sacrifice that her father made for his son, Bill, when he was about to graduate from high school.
The boys were required to wear suits, white shirts and ties to graduation. The only one in his family who owned a suit was his daddy, who was smaller than Bill. Ida’s mother let out the jacket and dropped the hem on the blue serge suit. She ironed out the hem with a wet paper bag and Bill ended up with a suit that fit him perfectly. Bill’s father was unable to attend the graduation because he didn’t have a suit to wear.
Ida had fun growing up and found plenty to do on the farm. One day, she and her best friend decided to take a ride on a mule that was too old to pull a plow.
Ida’s daddy lifted them up and placed them on the mule’s back for a ride around the old schoolhouse that was nearby. Going around the corner of the schoolhouse, Ida reached up, grabbed a limb, and held on.
The mule kept going and Ida and her friend, who was sitting behind her, found themselves on the ground as the old mule kept walking slowly and steadily back to the farm without them.
Because Ida’s daddy valued education, her three older brothers obtained college degrees. Ida, at the age of forty-five, enrolled in college and four years later graduated from USC, cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts in Education.
Oh, there’s so much more to tell about this remarkable woman’s life, but I don’t have anymore space for this column. There may have to be a Part Two.
Ida is proud of her children; Debbie, a schoolteacher and Dale, an ordained Baptist minister. She is also proud of her grandchildren, and her great-grandchild. She sings the praises of Rick Martin, describing him as “… the best son-in-law anyone could have.”
To Ida Tanner Hanna ... thanks for the memories.
I may be reached at 843-446-4777 or email me at djsummey@gmail.com.
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