In Gaffney it was School Supe J Paul Beam, member of FBC. My Dad’s church, Bethany was a mission of FBC and the textile mill overlay fascinated me at Furman and many years since.

In the Winter of 1971 a few weeks before Mr. Beam his wife and daughter were all killed in a car crash on the way to Columbia for state school meeting Mrs. Beam came over to me at the pencil sharpener in Advanced Math and said: Stephen, Paul and I think you are a good boy. We are proud of you for being accepted at Furman. We know how much Furman costs and how much your Dad makes. Paul has a lot of friends there. If there is anything we can do along the way to help you afford that great school, don’t hesitate to call on us…..

At Bethany my Dad Baptized a Crawford girl. She married a Dickson and they are still members at Bethany. Their son John was Furman’s top grad 2004 and just finished Harvard Medical School.

Lot of flaws in the SC Baptist experience of mid century as Marshall Frady and others pointed out. But your testimony and this smaller one from me confirms lot was right.

David