The following column was taken from the September 4, 1975 edition of The News, written by Mr. Charlie Walker.
Sonnets And Poetry

Most of the poetry I can remember is either by Edgar Guest, Ogden Nash or Robert Lewis Stevenson. Although my favorite is “The Shooting of Dan McGrew” by Robert Service. But Hal Carter, who works for the highway department, donated on his sonnets at Sonny Boy McKenzie’s. Since the poem contains nothing about booze, broads, Henry Kissinger, drugs, sharks or Jimmy Hoffa I decided to include it in this week’s column. The title of it is “What’s Happened To Times Gone By?” “Whatever happened to our streams that ran clean, and the ’36 Ford that was so mean? What’s happened to Carter’s Little Liver Pills and Berkeley County moonshine stills? What’s happened to the good ole time pole Tobacco barns And Bull Durham signs? What happened to the time when men were men, to two-horse wagon and the cotton gin? What’s happened to our music that’s way to fast? What’s happened to Bill Monroe and his famous Blue Grass? Lord, What’s happened to you and me? The moonpie and the old R.C.? Tell me, Lord, why it’s so hard to please when I can’t pay a dime for bologna and cheese? What’s happened to soft people that can’t carry their load, The kerosene lamp and the Model A Ford? Maybe I’m growing old and don’t understand but leave out Rock and Roll and give me a country band. Gad! We haven’t read such earth-moving poetry since the Burma Shave Signs. So kneel, Hal Carter, while we place a straight razor on your shoulder and dub the poet laureate of Kingstree. With this great honor there are also financial rewards. There has been considerable interest expressed in the community about the publication of a volume of Hal Carter’s poetry. Since he is now a famous poet, Sonny Boy McKenzie will probably charge the public to read his earlier works off his restroom walls. Since this week’s thing is poetry, here is our contribution that we cut out of a magazine a long time ago. Author: unknown. The white-haired bride stoops gently over her cane While down the aisle, with wan and toothless grin Comes the hairless groom in wheelchair softly gliding.  And who are these, you ask, so lately wed? The answer comes when you have close explored it. These are the remnants of a race, near dead, who would not marry until they cold afford it. I’ve got news of Santee Electric. If light bills had been in 1959 what they are in 1975, I might still be foot-loose and fancy-free. Man, “JAWS” didn’t scare me half as badly as that light bill. Maybe dining by candlelight was invented by the Jet Set, but power companies seem determined to make us all members of the Debt Set. The fuel adjustment has replaced Watergate as Public Enemy No. One. I wonder if anyone has ever tried to make electricity out of tobacco. Since the chief source of electricity – coal – is sky high and tobacco is one of the few things that is cheaper today than it was a year ago, it might be worth looking into. Talk about your down trodden minority, the tobacco farmer has few equals when it comes to getting the shaft. Never have so many socked it to so few for so long. From Ralph Nader to congress from the media to the environmentalists, only the devil has enjoyed more adverse publicity. Have you ever seen an ad on television saying that the devil may be hazardous to your health? But can you name one thing that the government, both state and federal, collects more taxes from than tobacco products? And while airlines and railroads keep yelling for government subsidies, name one tobacco company that is yelling for federal aid. Everybody makes money off tobacco but the farmer. That’s why I say let’s make electricity out of tobacco. That is the one thing that is cheaper than it was a year ago. NUTS OFF THE KING’S TREE One of our Yankee friends hanging around the Fair Deal Warehouse was asking Wallace Joyce if he had seen “JARS.” When Wallace explained that he didn’t know what he was talking about, the Yankee explained that it was the movie “JARS” about the big ole shark. Wallace says, “Oh, you mean ‘JAWS!’ The only thing we use jars for around here is to put string beans and liquor in.”