The Greenville News from Greenville, South Carolina • Page 67

I Nil! Jimmy helm mi i 1 1 Eli Li Pastor at Eastlan Baptist felt his father's ministry, Page 6 TREK THRIVE INDOORS Mildred Baty goes against convention with her foyer Page 3 TEhe (0reent)illeNeu5 i Wilson and Millie "l.l!',N. wzu. I I i I A 1 r'ai -MX tr- I Jf I i- I Arts, 4 Schools, 12 ing to Greenville in 1953 to aid a group of local businessmen who were applying for an FCC license for a new television station called WFBC, now WYFF. He continued to do that through The man from Newberry started in local TV and wound up heading a media giant; along the way, he helped the Upstate grow Jimmy Cornelison City People Writer Bn brilliant color, a travelogue of photographs fills a wall in the den of Wilson and Millie Wearn's home. These National Geographic-quality photographs, taken by Wearn, have captured the couple's world travels.

The display is one of the first things Wearn likes to show his guests. Entering the den, he adjusts the lighting, then offers anecdotes about each photo and speaks of special memories or IHMIi'W-" emotions that it stirs. Mrs. Wearn, with a smile, says that in her Some facts about the Wearns, Page 10 husband's quest for the perfect shot, she and travel companions often spent a great deal of time waiting on him and on occasion, considered him lost for the day. The photographs reveal an artist's eye, not usually associated with a man trained as an engineer, a man who earned his living as a corporate executive and devoted much of his adult life to being a community leader.

In a way, Wearn's approach to photography reflects his life. It's never been enough for him to simply learn the basics. "You can tell he's a perfectionist to some extent," says longtime friend and travel companion John Pellett. "He doesn't just take something up, he learns all about it, including things he did in business. He pulled by Wednesday, February 16, 2000 ALAN DEV0RSEY Staff the broadcasting company's merger with the Greenville News-Piedmont in 1968 to create Multimedia and on through his time as the See WEARNS on page 10 We all have some memo- ries of those sweet potatoes (we did have some) and I other great dishes that can make us smile just to think about them.

Carolina Ballet Theatre: Now Carolina Ballet The- atre hopes to make some new ones by inviting us to the second annual Kitchen Performances on Feb. 27. Good food in fabulous kitch- ens. What's not to remem- ber? On Feb. 27, Carolina Bal- 'l let Theatre will once again present its annual fund- raiser, Kitchen Perform- ances.

The unique event is a I tour of homes with a twist. The emphasis is on the kitchen, and more importantly, the culinary delights prepared by local and re- gional chefs. From 1 to 4 p.m., guests 1 See CBTow page 10, Clearing the record A headline in the Feb. 9 edition of City People indicated that the American Red Cross wine auction will be held at Soby's. In fact, the Feb.

26 auction is scheduled for the Greenville Hilton. 1- 4. II I Wearn If TOWN The Handlebar needs a home. I'd offer mine, but my wife, child, dogs and, particularly my cat with an attitude, might object. Besides, there is limited parking in my driveway.

Still, I like this music club enough to offer temporary use of my home if it would help. I say music club because that's what I consider it, not a bar, nor restaurant, though food and drink are served, but a place to hear good music. Such venues are as rare in Greenville as drivers who stop on yellow. Unfortunately, that's always been the case. Yes, there was Greenville Memorial Auditorium, and now we have the Peace Center for the Performing Arts and Bi-Lo Center, but they bring in the big dogs, headlin-ers.

For those performers that fall somewhere between headliners and porch pickers, Greenville offers little. When I moved here in the early '80s, there were a couple of places that could best be called honky-tonks where you could hear a decent band. In the mid '80s, Al Crisp opened Al's Pumphouse, a cross between a listening club and honky-tonk. Al ran into the noise ordinance, tired of battles with neighbors, and closed. By the time the Pumphouse closed, the Handlebar had opened, ready to fill the musical void.

The Handlebar is a venue for what I call the WNCW performers. They are musicians aired on the North Carolina public radio station who can't get the time of day from commercial radio. Often, they have more musical talent in their afterthoughts than performers charting Top 10 records in Billboard. The Handlebar opened a few years ago at Mills Centre on Mills Avenue, which is what Church Street is called after it crosses Augusta, going toward 1-185. At the time, it was not a commercial hot property.

It was not easy going for the club. I remember once going to hear Phil and Gaye Johnson shortly after the club opened. There was me, the owners and about five other people. At evening's end, Phil and Gaye refused to take their fee. They believed that much in the club and what it was trying to do.

It was a donation, a show of support. I remember well when the Handlebar began to click. It booked Mickey Newberry, the famed '60s troubadour, backed by regional artist Jack Williams. The owners didn't really know what to expect, but one thing they didn't count on was a sellout, standing room only. From that night, the Handlebar was on the musical map.

The Handlebar is now looking for a new location. When this was first announced, there was speculation about the city's WestEnd. But it was, indeed, speculation. It was finally announced that the music club was interested in a downtown building at the corner of East Washington and Church streets. Opposition from neighbors prevented a special permit being granted for this site.

But there are other sites. It seems everyone agrees the Handlebar should be downtown; it's simply a matter of finding the right location. By the way, has anyone thought of One Main Place? I have. If not there, there are a host of other possibilities, but for the time being, the Handlebar is still searching for a home. It could go to any number of areas of the county, but like City Hall, it belongs downtown.

It is a perfect fit. Greenville is not what you call a late-night town. I suspect one reason for this is that there isn't much to do in the city late at night. We need such places. We need the Handlebar and more clubs like it.

If push comes to shove, I think I can convince my wife and dogs to relent on using our house. The cat's another story. Jimmy Cornelison may be reached at 298-4279. pictures that Wilson has taken on their travels. versity's Distinguished Service Award in 1972.

"The salvation of the local broadcaster is becoming involved in the community," he told the audience. He has done just that since mov Ballet group prepares its 'Kitchen Performances' i Wilson and Millie Wearn, in front of the is a very astute man." The thoroughness is but one of a number of components to this genteel man. Wearn himself explained another of his most important beliefs when he received Clemson Uni i I saw I I KEN 1 rri 1. 1 KIM HS50LD mils HE Sttlii 0 fv 1 0SBURN Staff A couple of weeks ago I was driving on the interstate alone headed toward what I have always called "home." The familiar trip would take about three hours, and I was listening to a book on tape to pass the time or at least that's what I said. The truth is that I didn't really want the time to pass, because I didn't really want to arrive where the road would take me this time.

Never thought I'd be on my way there again. My destination was what we had called a "nursing home" growing up. I had worked there myself one summer a crisp little candy striper without a care in the world except how I looked in the uniform. Suddenly, that seemed like a lifetime ago. I was going to visit a very new resident, and one not very happy to be there, as I'd been tearfully told.

And so, it was with a heavy heart that I listened to that mystery read by a stranger, turned just loud enough to keep me from hearing the questions in my head. Who would she be in this strange place? Confused and frightened? I had only known her fully in charge and in the same house for all of my years. Surely, no good waited for us here. Right away I saw her, her In one capacity or another, Dwight Odom has worked at Pickwick Pharmacy for the last 36 years. At Pickwick Pharmacy, loyalty is everything to Dwight Odom hair twisted and piled up just like always.

She was sitting in her wheelchair, sweater buttoned all the way up to the top, waiting for a perky visitor to finish her apparently too long stay. "Oh, and I remember how your husband always brought us sweet potatoes in the fall," the well-meaning visitor said loudly, patting her hand with a vengeance. Without missing a beat, my grandmother repossessed her own hand, turned to me and said matter-of-factly, "And that is why we never had any sweet potatoes." I would swear she winked when she said it. It was then that I knew who she would be there. With all of the hardships and indignities that old age can bring, she would be who she had always been the person it had taken her a whole life to become.

And the mystery wasn't on the tape after all. The tery was why I had doubted who she would be. Abe Hardesty City People Writer the 1930s when it served as a soda shop and social gathering place for Furman University students whose attendance had much to do with the name, which was a play on the Pickwick Papers. It was converted to a pharmacy in 1947. Odom is a fixture in a timeless corner of Augusta Street that welcomes families who are third-generation Pickwick customers.

With an exceptional memory, he has been See CUSTOMERS! 16 pression. Odom has been married to the same wife for 36 years, worked the same job for 36 years, and has lived in the same house 28 years. "If I find something I like, I stick with it," says Odom, 58, whose employment at the Pickwick Pharmacy actually dates back to age 12. "I admire loyalty." The customers share the feeling at the pharmacy, which Odom believes to be the oldest family operation of its kind in Greenville County. The store ha, its roots in Dwight Odom's late grandfather, a Baptist minister, was big on loyalty.

Odom remembers a conversation about President Harry Truman, who was accused of being overly loyal to his friends. The Rev. Archibald Clinch Odom responded, "I hope that's the worst thing people will be able to say about me." The legions made an im.