Weldon Auditorium will host the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit from Nov. 3 through mid-December, but history buffs can also view an attraction dedicated to local athletes who have shaped the Clarendon County sports world.
Clarendon County will officially welcome Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America with a tailgating party from 5-7 p.m. Nov. 3 at Weldon Auditorium.
The exhibit is provided by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, which brings exhibits curated by the institution to small towns. Manning is one of six communities in South Carolina to host the exhibit, and is the last one to have such an honor.
The grand opening Nov. 3 will feature a documentary that highlights local sports figures as well.
“Students from various Clarendon County schools have been working on a documentary of sports in Clarendon County,” said Hometown Teams Committee Chairwoman Dr. Sylvia Clark.
Hailing from Manning High School, Laurence Manning Academy and Harvest Community School, the students used a Youth Access Grant provided by the Smithsonian Institute through funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Clarendon County Archives and History Center Director Nancy Cave said a $5,000 grant from the institution allowed the students to purchase video equipment for the documentary process.
Of the six communities chosen to host the national traveling exhibit, Manning was one of only two chosen for the Youth Access Grant.
“The full committee planning for Hometown Teams had decided on our own that we were going to do a video,” Cave said. “But when this opportunity for this grant came along, we decided to include our high school students.”
The only catch of the grant was the students do all the work themselves. Holladay House Publishing owner and publisher Holly Holladay served as the group’s advisor. Mark Roberts served as a videography and photography consultant.
“This was a massive project,” Holladay said. “We had a great group of students and they were excited about the project.”
Starting out in February, the students included, from Manning High School, Quadri Bell, Leigh Fleming, Jake Pack and Trevon Andrews; from Laurence Manning Academy, Brianna Bradham, Kaela Johnson, Cora Downer, Cale Gamble, Laura Drose and Amy Reynolds; and from Harvest Community School, Abbie Bruner.
Clemson Extension 4H Director Mary Margaret McCaskill and Manning Tourism and Main Street Manning Director Carrie Trebil also assisted, along with local businesswomen Shelley Knott Jones and Jennie Lee.
Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition Services Youth Access Grant Project Coordinator Elizabeth Kay visited with the kids in the spring, saying she was impressed with the students’ progress.
“I’ve been so very impressed,” she said in early April. “The projects must all be completed by the students, but I love how the students are driving every aspect of the project, including making decisions about the topics and themes. It is completely student-driven, and you’re going to see their voices in this project.”
Holladay said the students’ documentary will focus on local sports figures, winning teams and other events which rallied the Clarendon County community together.
She reiterated that it will supplement the traveling exhibit, not be influenced by it.
“The exhibit itself comes from the Smithsonian,” Holladay said. “It is a fixed exhibit that doesn’t change, but it focuses on sports and the impact that sports has on communities, how it brings them together and how sports can even change a community.”
The traveling exhibit requires that local hosts prepare their own exhibit, one which caters to local sports figures, teams and communities.
“The documentary is a part of that local effort,” Cave said. “In the national exhibit, sports is a unifying force. In the documentary, they will talk about what that means.”
If folks can’t make the first showing Nov. 3, the Hometown Teams traveling exhibit will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday through Saturday from Nov. 5 through Dec. 12. Appointments are also available for viewings. Call the Clarendon County Archives and History Center at (803) 435-0328 to schedule a visit.
The county’s complimentary exhibit will “feature local sports legends, school sports, support teams and other sports-related memorabilia,” Clark said.
That exhibit will open 2-5 p.m. Nov. 1, and will then be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday through Saturday from Nov. 5 through Dec. 12. Appointments for viewing the local exhibit during closed hours can be made by calling the museum at (803) 433-0328 and leaving a message.
For more information about Hometown Teams, visit www.cchometownteams.com or call (803) 435-0328.
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