By Liesha Wessinger-Huffstetler
Let’s talk about croquet. This sport involves hitting a baseball-sized wooden ball with a wood mallet through a series of small hoops on the ground. Croquet was the “golf” of the former days. It was mostly older gentleman who played croquet in Chapin. Sonny remembers there being a croquet field where Julia Neal’s clothing store is now. What does a croquet field look like? I give a big thank you to Dr. James Kibler, my cousin, for informing me that a flat red dirt field made the best croquet field. Chapin has lots of red dirt, perfect for croquet fields. Chapin’s library was in a small wooden building, the size of a small shed, located near Mt. Horeb. The first mayor of Chapin was Walt Betcham, and his house was the white house across from Boundary Street on Columbia Ave. Who owned the land under Chapin high school? It was formerly owned by the Haltiwanger and Lindler families. Wilbur Fulmer, who owned a dry goods store in town, lived in the current Mosely’s Jewelry store. In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration built the Mt. Horeb cemetery rock wall. The original grammar school, where Sonny attended, was on Old School Road. The land is now privately owned.
Hack Harold and Daisy Huffstetler operated a liquor store in town, located at the corner of 76 and Old Lexington. It was torn down to make way for Sonic. Where was the old Chapin Hotel? It was where Sonic is now. Where was Martin Chapin’s house? It was located behind Dan Douglas’ real estate office. Worth Goza’s business partner, Rayford Huffstetler, lived at 407 Old Lexington Hwy. As a child, Sonny remembers the adventure of riding a sled, pulled behind a mule, to go work in the fields where the Boykin subdivision is being constructed.
Chapin had its own movie theater, located on the corner of 76 and Lexington Avenue. Movies were ten cents. On Columbia Avenue, near the traffic light, was Derrick’s Lumberyard. Sonny remembers the lumber stacked up on the grounds. Margaret Gates Robinson remembers playing on these lumber piles as a child because they were basically in her backyard. Woody Stoudemire lived in the home, which is currently the Caughman Harmon Funeral Home. I know the Lord smiled on Norris Slice because he hauled bricks for free for the building of the first brick Methodist church in Chapin. I enjoyed my trip around Chapin with Sonny Shealy, I hope you guys enjoyed it also. He is a real Chapin treasure! Who originally owned the land in Chapin in the 1750’s? I have a map to answer those questions! Stay tuned for next week’s history walk around Chapin.
