DeBordieu’s Founder, Wallace Pate, was included in an article in Litchfield Style Magazine entitled: Notable People Who Formed Horry & Georgetown County in the 20th Century, written by Kimberly Duncan. It talked about what a wonderful conservationist and sportsman he was, and said: “… in 1969, he began developing DeBordieu, a community he later sold but that endures as one of the South’s most exclusive residential enclaves.”

Here is the article:

Notable People Who Formed Horry & Georgetown County in the 20th Century

By: Kimberly Duncan ( Litchfield Style Magazine )

There is no better place to live, work and play than here on the Waccamaw Neck. Here’s a short line-up of individuals ( there are certainly many others!) who helped shape this place we love.

1. Foster McKissick

Founded in 1956, The Litchfield Company is nearing its sixtieth anniversary and has remained true to the vision of its founder, A. Foster McKissick.

McKissick had big dreams for Litchfield – the company and the community. He was a consummate business man with a background as a US Marine during the Korean War and professional roots in Greenville, SC. When he became a resident o f the Pawleys Island – Litchfield area, he quickly assumed a position front-and-center as a community leader. He served numerous causes and won distinguished awards while remaining down-to-earth and sincerely interested in every individual he met.

Foster McKissick was tragically killed in a plane crash on October 25,1990. Then Governor Carroll Campbell, praised McKissick as “a civic and business leader whose contributions to his home town and his state was substantial.” Thanks to a 1991 State House Resolution, Highway 17 Business through Litchfield Beach was named the A. Foster McKissick Memorial Highway- and “not for nothing” as we say down south. His vision shaped an exceptionally well-planned resort community that’s loved by longtime residents and keeps visitors returning year after year.  It is a community that continues to evolve, as McKissick dreamed, in a thoughtful and well ordered fashion.

 

“Sister” Genevieve Peterkin   

When Murrells Inlet’s “Sister” Genevieve Peterkin died in 2011, she passed on an impressive legacy as historian, storyteller and environmentalist. Her legacy was woven of relationships that included family, always first, as well as everyday friends, famous colleagues and people from every walk of life.

She was the Georgetown County Public Library’s founding librarian. Long before the Civil Rights movements took root, she lent books to African Americans out the back door of the library. When told to stop, she simply did not.

Of the hundred other roles and tasks she mastered, “Sister” co-edited Coming Through: Voices of SC Gullah Community From WPA Oral Histories, a revealing collection of her mother’s interviews with former slaves and their descendants. She was co-author, with William Baldwin, of Heaven Is a Beautiful Place: A Memoir of The South Carolina Coast. She contributed her passion and knowledge to countless community organizations – form the School Board to Hospice to Brookgreen Gardens and Freewood Farms.

Poet Thomas Johnson described her as ” a vitally engaged and engaging historian and environmental activists.” In 2001, Coastal Carolina University awarded her the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.

Sister Genevieve Peterkin was strong-willed and gentle-spirited. She loved history, nature and people, and the Lowcountry is immeasurably lucky to count her among its own.

The Kaminski Family   

Heiman Kaminski from Prussia arrived in SC a few years before the Civil War, and when that conflict reared its ugly head, he joined the Confederacy and was ultimately imprisoned by Union soldiers. When he returned to Georgetown County, he took the helm of a new chapter in the Lowcountry’s rich Jewish history. By the turn of the twentieth century, he maintained holdings in shipping, rice, timber, dry goods, groceries and hardware, and was one of the city’s most prominent businessmen.

Harold Kaminski, one of Heiman and Charlotte’s three sons, married Julia Pyatt-the daughter of Episcopalian “old Southern aristocracy.” The home they shared, located on the west end of Front Street in Georgetown, is now the Kaminski House museum. Filled with English and American antique furniture and decorative arts, it is one of our port city’s finest treasures.

Kaminskis remain a prominent and involved family, and they continue to contribute- in banking, law, conservation and more – in Georgetown County and beyond.

Doc Lachicotte, Jr. 

Born into a family with deep roots in SC’s Lowcountry, Arthur Herbert (Doc) Lachicotte, Jr. has embraced the region’s history and natural beauty throughout a distinguished career in business and real estate. Doc’s uncle, Captain Josh Ward, fashioned the hammock that made Pawleys famous, and Doc dad established the original Hammock Shop in the 30s. A Recycler well before his time, Doc sought out old lumber and brick from fallen rice plantations, and today’s Hammock Shops wear the charm of his efforts.

A Clemson graduate and WWWII Vet, in business and in community ( more boards than space to share), Doc Lachicotte still seeks way to forge alliances and make decisions that benefit all parties involved.

In 1991 Doc applied his 40-plus years of experience in real estate development and sales by opening The Lachicotte Company. In 2007, Lachicotte was named a SC Economic Development Ambassador for Georgetown County. In 2009, he was presented with an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Public Service by Coastal Carolina University. And in 2010, he received the Georgetown County Chamber’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Wallace F. Pate, Sr.

Wallace Fennell Pate, a business man with great foresight and a knack for leadership, earned his first entrepreneurial stripes by developing a unique weaving technique and launching Wunda Weve Carpets in Greenville, SC – a brand that continues to thrive. In the late 1950’s, he founded Wallace Pate Real Estate and helped his father develop Litchfield Beach. In Georgetown in the mid-60’s, he built what was then a bustling Holiday Inn many old timers remember for its fantastic Sunday brunch. And in 1969, he began developing DeBordieu, a community he later sold but that endures as one of the South’s most exclusive residential enclaves.

For all his fame, Wallace Pate is arguably best known as a conservationist concerned for the game fish he loved to pursue. He launched the Georgetown Blue Marlin Tournament in 1967, and around the same time founded Nautica Marine Center. The Blue Marlin Tournament the state’s oldest billfish tourney celebrates its 48th year in 2015. In recognition of Pate’s marine conservation efforts, the SC Governor’s Cup established a special marine conservation fund in his memory.

Francis P. Bunnelle

While she was alive, few people knew the extent of Frances Bunnelle’s generosity, She gave to numerous local charities and usually asked her contributions remain anonymous. When she passed away in 2000 she had bequeathed $34 million to aid the residents of the county she’d called home for thirty years.

The disenfranchised and disadvantaged had a firm hold on her heart, and the passion is still evident in all the Francis P. Bunnelle Foundation does for our Lowcountry. The Foundation’s focus areas are addressing the root causes of poverty, meeting basic human needs, promoting economic vitality, preserving the environment and encouraging positive youth development.  Since its founding, roughly $20 million has been distributed to Georgetown County’s most worthy causes.

Burroughs & Chapin   

For more than a century Burroughs & Chapin Company, INC has been a leading source of economic growth and development in areas in and around Myrtle Beach. As one of the state’s leading investment firms and largest real estate owners, the company works with divergent strategic partners to acquire and manage premier real estate holdings and business throughout the Southeast.

In the late 1800’s, F.G. Burroughs purchased a majority of real estate that is now Myrtle Beach and earned a living selling tar, pitch and turpentine from the area’s rich timber. Instinct and smarts told him the beaches of the Grand Strand would grow to rival more famous destinations further north.

In 1912, Simeon B. Chapin, son of prominent Chicago merchant, joined with the Burroughs family to form Myrtle Beach Farms Company. Known for his philanthropy and keen business sense, Chapin shared the conviction that the Grand Strand offered unlimited potential for growth. His financial resources and business acumen, coupled with the Burroughs ‘ real estate holdings, provided for success that continues to this day.

Craig Wall, Jr.

Craig Wall, Jr. was born in Conway in August of 1937, one of four children of E. Craig and May Howard Wall. His father founded Canal Industries and was prosperous by every measure, but his son did not rest on those laurels.  In his own right, Craig Wall, Jr. came to be respected as a remarkably effective leader and a very good man.

For more than three decades. he had a hand in nearly every significant business venture along SC’s coast. With a Master’s Degree from Harvard, his professional success was well-deserved. Additionally, though, he made many significant contributions to the place he felt lucky enough to call “home.” He devoted countless hours to local and regional organizations and institutions.

When he died unexpectedly in March of 1997m he was chairman of the Board of Trustees of Brookgreen Gardens. Following his death his wife Judith Wall and their three children donated $1 million to Brookgreen Gardens. The gift was a lead contribution toward a $3 million project that renovated one of Brookgreen’s original buildings to create the E. Craig Wall Lowcountry Center, now a priceless cornerstone to Brookgreen’s many worthwhile programs.

Wall was inducted into the SC Business Hall of Fame in 1998.

Charles Franklin Cooper

Charles Franklin Cooper was born Dec. 27, 1941 in Kingstree, SC. He began his career as a pharmacist. By the time of his death in August of 2001, he had become one of Country’s and the state’s – leading  business figures.   

Mr. Cooper had widespread interests in healthcare and community affairs.  With interests in pharmacies, home healthcare and nursing homes, he was directly responsible for creating countless jobs.  At the time of his passing, more than 800 people were employed by Winyah entities statewide. Cooper’s success was based in large part on personal relationships. He liked people and liked to do business with them. Smart and selfless, he was quick to help others and had a dynamic talent for developing leadership and management skills in others.

Among many other honors and positions of influence on business and civic boards, he was named Entrepreneur of the Year of health care by Ernst & Young in 1993. He was a dynamic leader and consummate family man. And he was a great resource for economic development. Not only did he change the face of the Lowcountry, his children continue to follow the lead of a mighty fine Southern gentleman.

Article Courtesy of  Litchfield Style Magazine