SCTravels
BY HASTINGS HENSEL | Photos by Milton morris
Way back on the farm
Horry County’s L.W. Paul Living History Farm grows interest in S.C. agriculture It’s hot, it’s humid and the donated
Wayne Skipper, director of the L.W. Paul Living History Farm, isn’t afraid to get his hands (and boots) dirty on the job.
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SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | November/December 2015 | scliving.coop
5-year-old plow mule is stubborn. Every time Wayne Skipper pulls back on the reins and yells, “Ha, back!”— commanding the animal to turn left and start again down a furrow—she takes too wide of an arc. “A mule’s like a child,” Skipper says, resting for a moment and pulling a handkerchief from his overalls pocket to wipe his brow. “They’ll try to outsmart you, so they don’t have to work.” “It ain’t no different than trying to get a young’un up for school in the morning,” agrees farm assistant Dennis Ward, as he cuts open a bag of fertilizer and empties it into a pail. A tractor, of course, would make things a lot easier. A tractor would mean less sweat, less time needed to fertilize the field, no frustration at things like the chain coming off the wooden distributor or the mule’s leg getting caught under the reins. But Skipper’s not about comfort and ease. Here at the L.W. Paul Living History Farm—a working replica of an Horry County family farm, circa 1930—he’s about authenticity and understanding the past. As the farm’s director and chief living historian, he’s about staying true to the mission of the Horry County Museum and the vision of Larry W. Paul, a private citizen and businessman who grew up on such a farm. When the county agreed to pay for the land, Paul agreed to build a replica one-horse farm so that current and future generations wouldn’t forget their local agricultural heritage. “At least three-fourths of this population back then would have lived on a farm like this right here,” Skipper says. “That’s why it’s so important to the history of Horry County. Unless things