More photos unveiled

By BOB HIGH

The photographic bonanza that Mable Maultsby Prevatte left to the people of Columbus County continues to provide detailed life here in the early 20th century as another group of photo albums have been released.

Another group of 20 albums are being copied by The News Reporter for eventual release to the public due to the generosity of Mrs. Prevatte’s daughter Sarah Prevatte van Dooren and her son David van Dooren.

Mrs. van Dooren’s late son by her first marriage – William Gordon Britt – was the owner of the second group of photo albums and preserved them in excellent condition, plus a treasure trove of hundreds of color slides taken by his grandmother.

The latest albums include one with many photos from her three years of teaching school in Boardman in the 1916-1918 period when Boardman was the largest town in the county, complete with board sidewalks and a theater.

The color slides, most of them taken in the late 1950s, document in startling clarity the daily business life in Whiteville, plus provide glimpses of buildings, fashion and people 50 years ago.

Mrs. Prevatte, armed with her trusty camera, made deliberate trips to most of the downtown businesses in 1956 and produced a series of color slides showing the owners and/or managers and other employees of local businesses, including this newspaper.

Joe Mann, Izzy and Hyman Kramer, Lloyd Collier, Garland Weaver, Gerald Hege, Thurman Simmons, Ross Davis, Leslie Thompson, Don Moore and Jimmy King, Martin Schulken and many others are shown in the slides.

A second feature page of Mrs. Prevatte’s black-and-white photos – most of them taken at least 90 years ago -- is in today’s edition. Fuller Royal, who copied and produced the photos, points out an error in the photo showing a group of school children.

The 1915 photo is not of children attending school in Boardman, but is of students at the Collier school located in the Collier Crossing community along the Old Lumberton Road northwest of Whiteville.

Mable Maultsby Prevatte’s legacy has been multiplied many times by the newest group of albums and other photos released by her family.