Volume 6, Issue 1- Spring Edition | 2022 |
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If you want to understand a life well-lived, walk out to the Anne Springs Close Greenway and look around. Anne Springs Close, affectionately called "Bags” by her friends and family, lived a life too big to capture on paper. All of the glowing tributes to her fell short because there was not enough space to contain her spirit.
With her passing in August of 2021, Fort Mill lost its most dedicated guardian. Her life was exceptional from the moment she crossed the Atlantic on the Hindenburg until she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in her eighties…three times. Anne Close experienced life from the tourist class, refusing to travel any other way. Her love of nature led her to see much of the world, hike the Alps, and ride horses through the roughest wilderness even when hindered by blindness and advanced age. She was tough and curious and caring.
Those feats and that is the shortlist, although remarkable, pale beside the lasting legacy of service and support she gave her community, her state, her nation, and the world. Anne Close followed her father’s example of providing medical, recreational, and cultural support for the communities where Springs Mills was located.
When Anne took over the Springs Close Foundation, she used it to provide grants for teachers to further their education, provide cultural experiences such as community theater, help establish the Fort Mill History Museum and build a state-of-the-art Recreation Complex that has become the Fort Mill YMCA. When the Recreation Complex in Fort Mill was in its infancy, it was visited by Princess Grace of Monaco whom legend says, told Anne, “We don’t have anything like this in Monaco.”
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Anne always faced forward to create a hopeful future for her community and state. She was dedicated to the preservation of natural woodlands and worked to make the Palmetto Hiking Trail a reality. The most visible manifestation of her devotion to preserving nature is the Anne Springs Close Greenway, an enduring legacy of which she was justifiably proud. Anne and her children dedicated 2,100 acres to the preservation and development of the Greenway. With miles of trails for walking, biking, and horseback riding plus opportunities for kayaking and fishing, the Greenway provides opportunities for all ages to immerse themselves in outdoor experiences.
Anne Close was also special to the heart of the Fort Mill History Museum. She not only helped the museum get on its feet financially, but her dedication also showed through as she sponsored exhibits, provided time and talent, and even led visitors through the White Homestead for our “Tour of Homes” fundraiser.
While Anne Springs Close left us last year, her memory lives on in the many ways she made Fort Mill a better place to live. To honor her, let’s take a hike (I know a great place for that) and if you love history as she did, come by the Museum. Her family plays a big part in the stories we have to tell.
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Mike & Cheryl Hill
Fort Mill History Museum Research Team
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February is Black History Month
Visit the Museum to learn about the Paradise Community and watch the H. Lee Waters
film from 1942. Also, stop by the
George Fish School Monument &
historical marker at 401 Steele St in Fort Mill.
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Thank you to our volunteers
for a great day of yard work!
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Thanks to everyone who came out and helped with the yard clean-up day on 1/15/22. It was a great success! |
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FMHM Welcomes Winthrop Intern, Sarah Loyd |
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Fort Mill History Museum welcomes a new Intern, Sarah Loyd, currently attending school at Winthrop University. She is majoring in History and getting a minor in Criminal Justice.
Sarah joined the museum in January and will be here for the spring semester. She is from Columbia, SC, and works part time at Plato’s Closet in Rock Hill. In her spare time, she enjoys shopping, exercising and TV binging. She will graduate in May and has plans to go to grad school.
We have been fortunate to have her work with the museum by doing social media, email blasts, the newsletter and other administrative projects that are very helpful for the museum. Please introduce yourself and share a little Fort Mill history with Sarah, she loves hearing about this great town.
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Riddle me this: Where can you find a talented ballroom dancing couple who also loves NASCAR? If you guessed the Fort Mill History Museum, you are correct! It gives me great pleasure to shine the Volunteer Spotlight on Joe and Flora Doraski.
The museum is richly blessed to have such a dedicated, remarkable, and exciting couple giving endless amounts of time by welcoming guests, providing tours, and leading kid’s activities. The Doraskis are stalwart champions of the museum and are originally from Buffalo, New York. They have jumped right in to represent the museum with numerous events such as spearheading the colonial day's kid’s activities and coordinating the museum Christmas float. The Doraskis made sure Textile Terry and Textile Tammy were a sharped-dressed couple this past October for the town’s Scarecrow Crawl which resulted in the museum winning the Spirit Award.
Joe and Flora were married in April 1972 with it even snowing on their wedding day. Joe was a Mechanical Engineer with LTV Steel and Flora was a Naturalist at Mill Creek Park in Youngstown, Ohio. Their adventure together has included living in multiple locations in Ohio before finally retiring in 2012 to South Carolina. In 1984, the Doraskis opened their heart and home by adopting a sibling group of three girls – Lisa, Lori, and Christina. They have been blessed with three fabulous grandchildren, Andrea and Elliot who live in Conway, Arkansas, and Jaime who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. As already noted, they enjoy ballroom dancing and NASCAR (favorite driver is Ryan Blaney) along with tennis, antiquing, and volunteering at the Anne Springs Close Greenway.
So be sure to stop by the museum where you might be lucky and get to meet the Doraskis. You’ll enjoy getting to know them and sharing some stories. The Fort Mill History Museum is extremely fortunate by having this multi-talented and cross-cultural couple as volunteers. Thanks Joe and Flora for all you do for the Fort Mill History Museum!
David Ward, Jr.
Fort Mill History Museum Board of Directors
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Giving to your local museum ensures that your dollars stay in your community along with supporting programs for you, our children and our neighbors. Please consider giving to help us enjoy more programs and activities and improve our quality of life. |
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Fort Mill History Museum
Needs Volunteers!
If you would like to be a museum docent, a team lead or work at our special events,
the museum has a place for you! You can jump on board at the museum to
help by volunteering for one of these vital positions.
Exhibits/Presentations Team Lead
Volunteer Coordination Team Lead
Front Desk Volunteers
Please contact the museum today!
info@fmhm.org
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Great news! We have reached the $20,000 mark toward our goal of
“Let’s Make the Mortgage History” Campaign!
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We are only ten months away from our goal of paying off the Fort Mill History Museum Mortgage and every gift amount is important and welcomed!
Don’t wait, go ahead and “jump-in” with your donation to the “Let’s Make the Mortgage History” Campaign!
Thank you, for all the folks who have already stepped up! Click below to be part of this initiative.
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Do you have any unique items significant to Fort Mill’s History you would like to donate to the museum? If so, please send an email to Carson Cope– Collections Manager at carson@fmhm.org with a description of the item(s) and picture if possible. Thanks for
helping to preserve Fort Mill’s past.
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Fort Mill History Museum Research Team
Completes Cemetery Directory Project
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In November 2020, the Fort Mill History Museum Research Team formed a sub-team to identify, research, and produce a comprehensive directory of the cemeteries and grave sites in the Fort Mill area. The newly formed Cemetery Research Team worked diligently over a one-year period and throughout the COVID pandemic, and in December 2021 produced a comprehensive cemetery directory. The research and analysis identified twenty-two cemeteries and grave sites in the Fort Mill township. Cemetery descriptions have been populated on the museum’s website which includes the name, location, founding date, number of graves, oldest grave, and any prominent person burials. The Cemetery Research Team members were Wayne Archie, Gwen Catalone, Angela Payne, Rudy Sanders, and Kevin Toevs. The team lead was Kevin Toevs and came under the overall direction of the Museum’s Research Team Leader Megan Brinton.
The sub-team engaged in actual exploratory field work and countless hours were spent navigating through thick and dense wooded areas to find and identify both established and previously unknown cemeteries and grave sites. Of particular satisfaction was the discovery of a previously undocumented slave cemetery thought to date back to the late 1700’s, and the “re-discovery” and documentation of a cemetery gravesite dating back to 1788. Several cemeteries pre-date the 1873 founding of Fort Mill.
The Fort Mill History Museum Cemetery Directory will be the standard for cemetery and gravesite research in this area. This research effort was a unique opportunity to capture and document Fort Mill’s rich history and has led to other research and exploration possibilities. Anyone wishing to volunteer and assist in future research projects and endeavors should contact the Fort Mill History Museum at 803-802-3646 or email Christia Humburg at christia@fmhm.org.
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Megan Brinton
Fort Mill History Museum Research Team
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Did You Know - Although the Fort Mill Telephone exchange has been in operation for 38 years, its first transatlantic message was handled at 9 o’clock Sunday morning (8/23/1936), when Captain E.W. Springs talked with Mrs. Springs and their two children, Leroy and Ann, at Lucerne, Switzerland. Captain Springs said he could hear Mrs. Springs and the children distinctly. Incidentally, the three-minute conversation cost Captain Springs $18.20. – Fort Mill Times August 27, 1936 |
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Meet Danny Funderburk, Business Development Manager at G&G Landscape in Charlotte, NC.. Danny has been an advocate of the Fort Mill History Museum from the beginning and is currently serving on the Board of Directors. Danny says, "Becoming a member of The Museum has been a highlight on my resume of public service. As a native Fort Millian, I greatly value The Museum’s efforts to preserve and promote the history of the people, places and events that make Fort Mill such a special place. We must do what we can to save our history and preserve it for future generations. It’s a great group and I'm so thankful for all of the people I've met because of my involvement."
Over the years, Danny has served on many boards, commissions and task teams. He is the former Mayor of the Town of Fort Mill, past Chair of the Fort Mill Chamber of Commerce and has been twice awarded as Fort Mill’s Citizen of the Year.
He sees joining The Museum as a wonderful opportunity to learn more about Fort Mill and be around other service-minded people. He feels history comes alive when you are around people passionate about it and in a museum that preserves it. He’s grateful for the opportunity to continue giving back to the community. He encourages all members to become more involved with The Museum. He promises you will enjoy every minute and get much more back in return than you give.
Danny Funderburk
Fort Mill History Museum Board of Directors
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107 Clebourne Street, Fort Mill, SC 29715 | phone: 803-802-3646
Located in the Fort Mill Historic District
FMHM.ORG
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The Fort Mill History Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
Support for this project is provided by the SCPRT TAG,
Town of Fort Mill & York County Accommodations Tax, FMHM members and donors.
For visitors information including lodging, contact Visit York County at 803-329-5200.
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