Dear Boo and Bubble,
As you’ve probably heard but may not yet be old enough
to fully care, your second cousin once removed Ed Smith and his wife Kim have
now become residents in the mountains near us. Ed is the grandson of my great uncle
Gene (for whom yours is named) — the baby of eight siblings, recalled affectionately
by all in the family recitation as Mittie, Mattie, Ressie, Jessie, Annie Mae,
Wade, Jamie and Gene. (There was also “Little Frank who died” who didn’t live
long enough to get recognition.) My grandmother was Mattie. Ed and I are in the
same generation, thus the second cousin part of it.
Great Uncle Gene had three children—Edith (Ed’s
mother), Gena and Wade. Wade is no longer alive, but the two sisters are very
much present and last night we had a wonderful pre-Christmas visit with them at
Ed and Kim’s new place located a little way up Beech Mountain from Banner Elk,
just far enough to capture a panoramic 180-degree view starting with
Grandfather Mountain to the east and ending with Roan Mountain in Tennessee to
the west.
After our initial greetings and hugs, we settled into
a delightful chat for a bit before dinner. I was sitting next to Edith and in a
few minutes, she leaned over towards me to say she had brought something with
her specifically for me. My response was the typical “Oh, you didn’t have to do
that” and I sincerely meant it. But upon learning what it was, I became extremely
grateful…it was a wonderful early, unexpected Christmas gift.
Over these last few years, many of my posts to the
Bridge Project have been shares of your great granddaddy Schaefer’s columns
from the editorial pages of The Greenville News. I’ve had a compiled
copy of them all that I keep tucked in my desk for safekeeping and pull out
from time to time in search of inspiration or advice to pass along to you. Edith’s
gift was a red folder filled with original clippings of his writing from the
newspaper…all of which I had…but there were several additional nuggets that had
escaped me over the 25 years since he’s been gone.
Among them were several not-so-flattering letters to
the editor penned by some aggravated readers in response to his columns. Granddaddy had a routine. His columns came out
on Sunday. With the delivery of the Wednesday editions, he eagerly began
searching the letters to the editor to see if his words had inspired some sort
of reaction from the community at large. Since most of the columns included
jovial, reminiscent content, most comments were positive. But every now and
then, he delved into deeper thought-provoking material that inevitably hit
somebody’s nerve. He took great delight when it did…especially when the protest
came from the fundamentalist Bob Jones crowd.
Also, I found in this unexpected treasure trove two
articles that were written about him when he died. One was from the editorial staff at large for
the paper and the other by a fellow columnist Bryan Crenshaw. I want you to
read them here because they convey in such thoughtful ways the essence of Granddaddy.
Schaefer
Kendrick Leaves Empty Place Against Sky
Bryan
Crenshaw – retired Methodist minister
A giant is fallen, and an empty place is
left against the sky.
I was at Lake Junaluska when the call came
regarding the death of Schaefer Bryant Kendrick. He had been ill, but had not
shared with many the full extent of his illness. Of course, that was characteristic of Schaefer.
We have been fellow columnists for The
Greenville News for the past two years, our columns sharing the Sunday
editorial pages. I was delighted we were placed in such close proximity. I was
sure everyone would read Schaefer and hoped they would go back a page and read
my column also.
Schaefer was of the old school in
courtliness, courtesy and humor; but he was also on the cutting edge of social
equality and fairness. He had respect for all people, regardless of age, color,
race, economic strata or social status. He was among the top leaders in
bringing full equality to all citizens in the Greenville area in education,
housing, accommodations and other aspects of community. He was respected by
all.
His keen sense of humor was ever present,
and although he was a dedicated Christian and firm Baptist, some of his stories
had a cutting edge which might have embarrassed some of his deacons.
As a lawyer he was top of the class. He
possessed not only a deep love for the law but was always more than adequate in
his counsel and guidance. He believed in his profession, and never did anything
of careless or shoddy nature. I once accused him of disrupting his profession. “Whoever
heard of a completely honest lawyer?” I asked.
In addition to his practice of law, Dr.
Kendrick was also a teacher. He taught law part-time at Furman for 43 years,
setting a record in longevity for a professor at that institution. In his
teaching he dealt not only with his subject matter, but also the deeper meaning
of life by his insights, precepts and personal examples.
He was a faithful servant of the church,
reaching church school classes for decades, and (though sometimes not totally
orthodox) was always a person of deep Christian faith.
His middle name was Bryant—mine is Bryan.
I teased him that he was a “T-Model” and I was an “A-Model.” Only those who are
much older will remember the “T-Model” ford had a separate pedal for reverse,
which Schaefer seldom used.
Mr. Kendrick was recognized by his Alma
Mater of Furman in conferring of an honorary degree. Such degrees honor the
recipient. In this case the institution was also honored.
My last visit with him was on May 15. I
knew of his illness but did not wish to intrude. He called saying he would like
a visit and asked if it would be convenient for me to drop by. We did not
discuss his illness, though we talked about many other things. Before leaving,
we shared a passage of Scripture and prayer.
He would not approve my writing about him.
May we can contest this at a later date. At that time, knowing Schaefer, the
only way I can win my case is by having the Angel Gabriel as my counsel.
We will miss him and his columns. Sunday
reading will not be the same. A giant has fallen, and there is an empty place
against the sky.
~~~~~
Schaefer
B. Kendrick
The
editorial staff of the Greenville News
Schaefer Kendrick, dead at 78, was
remarkable for being a long-lived native with endearing values, a mischievous
sense of humor and easy command of our language.
It was practically impossible not to like
him, as so many thousands of readers of this newspaper did for his Sunday
column of reminiscence and with. Though he strained to continue during recent
weeks of chemotherapy, his writing was always a delight, and sometimes profound.
He elevated both sense and sentiment, and poked fun at himself in the process.
People who knew him well also loved him.
They loved him because of his empathy and compassion. He validated them by
being himself. He read widely without outgrowing his roots. He had an authentic
sense of place and time, and he delighted in his part of the struggle everyone
has to make sense of the world. Those close to him were doubly blessed by his
example and his counsel.
He was a good member of this community. He
practiced law and taught at Furman for 43 years. It was an example of his
citizenship that during the difficult period of racial tensions of the 1960s he
asserted his standing as an idealist and civic leader to help diffuse the fear
and ill will of the time. Without being partisan about it, he was close to
Thomas Jefferson’s ideal of a small-d democrat.
He counted his own good fortune the result
of family nurture of the right values, Southern Baptist provocation of his
conscience, and Furman University’s influence on his life of learning. Appropriately,
members of his family have established the Schaefer Bryant Kendrick Academic
Scholarship Fund at Furman, to which contributions are encouraged in his
memory.
~~~~~
Cousin Edith, I can’t thank you enough for this most
amazing gift. I hope you have a most Merry Christmas!
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