Slinging lead with old island boys
By Ford Walpole
On March 15, 1976, 11 young men from James Island formed the Saltwater Sports Club. Inaugural president Al Oswald recalls the group’s mission: “We were in our 20s and 30s, and most of us had grown up together. We kicked around the idea of starting an outboard club and a fishing club. We wanted to get together for activities on the water: fishing, boating, water sports, and family outings.” Besides Al, charter members included Lindsay Oswald, Hank Lane, Denny Ford, Boze Brewer, Alan Barnes, Paul Decker, John LaRoche, Jimbo Smith, Leo Simonin, and Buddy Watkins.
Within the club’s first year, Dee Oliver, Shealy Pendarvis, Doug Johnson and Mike Spalviero joined the Saltwater Sports Club, known by members as the “Boat Club.” Club membership grew to 25, where it has been capped ever since. “We could have had 200 members in six months,” Oswald says, “but we wanted to keep it a small group of good friends.”
That first year, the club established the annual Alison Oswald, Sr. Memorial Fishing Tournament in honor of Al’s father. It was one of South Carolina’s first inshore tournaments, and for many years, it remained the largest. Early events were held at Hank Lane’s mother’s place at Parrot Creek and then at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) on Fort Johnson Road. Eventually, the tournament, which hosted as many as 500 anglers, found a permanent home at the James Island Yacht Club, until it came to an end in 2011.
In 1983, the Saltwater Sports Club held its first Jenkins Point Skeet Shoot in a 10-acre field on Seabrook Island owned by club member Larry Bradham. The first few shoots were in November, but to avoid conflicts with college football, it was moved to the first Saturday in February. “That first year, we had 35 people,” Oswald recalls. “We charged $15 for food, shells, and plaques. It started at 2 p.m. and we had to run people off at dark!”
Longtime Saltwater Sports Club member Ernie McAllister recalls those early years: “I used to help work the stations, and I can remember having blisters from cocking those old loaders so many times. We really had some good times at the party after the shooting was over!” He laughs, acknowledging that most of the colorful details are not suitable for publication.
The skeet categories include Top Gun, 20-gauge, and Senior class (shooters over 70 years old). The first year, Micah LaRoche crossed the Bohicket Creek in a johnboat to win the shoot, and Richard Dawson, Sr. won the Senior category. Dee Oliver won five of the next seven shoots, with Boze Brewer and Hank Lane taking home awards for the others.
Besides the marksmanship categories, the club distributed entertaining awards. “They never knew if somebody with nice hunting clothes or another fella dressed like a slob would win the Best Dressed award,” he says. “And damn if they didn’t give me the Biggest BS-er prize this year,” Oswald laughs.
At Jenkins Point, 150 was the ideal number of attendees; once it grew to 220 people, wingshooters were required to wait in line too long. To keep the prestigious event running smoothly, the boat club determined that no one would be invited who had not previously attended. Those chosen few wore their commemorative T-shirts around town like a badge of honor.
The year 2005 marked the 22nd annual skeet shoot and the final year at the Jenkins Point location. Sponsors included Gilligan’s Seafood Restaurant, Palmetto Gunite, Crab House, and Dawson General Contractors. That year, Gregg Brown won Top Gun “with an old Remington 870 Express that was still rusty from duck season.” Charles Hills was runner-up, and Glenn Smoak came in third.
Hills recalls: “We went through three rounds of doubles, and we all kept hitting everything. Finally, we looked at one another and said: ‘Who is going to miss, so this thing can end?’”
Throughout the years, the Saltwater Sports Club has supported organizations such as Pet Helpers, Save the Light, My Sister’s House, DNR’s Tag & Release program, and Windwood Farms. For its service to the community and conservation, the Saltwater Sports Club was twice recognized by the South Carolina legislature — thanks to former State Representative Robert Barber and Senator Chip Campsen.
While its leadership has retired from the fishing tournament and the skeet shoot, the boat club remains active. Meetings and events throughout the year are held at Uncle Al’s Party Shed, which overlooks Clark’s Sound. The club still hosts the annual Couples’ Barbecue and Men’s Oyster Roast, both of which include members and guests. “Next March will be our 50th anniversary, and we are already talking about putting on one hell of a party!” Al declares.
Bill Snow has attended the skeet shoot from its inception, and through his business, Palmetto Gunite, he has been one of the early sponsors. An Alabama native, Snow moved to James Island in his early 20s. Through the James Island Presbyterian Church, he quickly fell in with the old island families. “Lewis ‘Uncle Lewie’ Godbold made my transition to the Lowcountry seamless. He took me in, and it just seemed like family from the get-go.
“It wasn’t but a few months before this place became home to me, and I never considered going back to Alabama. And I can honestly say it was all because of Lewie. I have a lot of friends, but I never had a friend like Lewie Godbold. He and Richard Dawson taught me so much about the Lowcountry outdoors,” Snow says. Uncle Lewie was married to an Oswald and lived at the family compound on Clark’s Sound.
“The whole skeet shoot was just one big family, and that is the main reason I wanted to keep it going. Plus, when we found out the Saltwater Sports Club was ending it, Uncle Lewie ran straight to me and said, ‘Bill, you have a pasture at your place, and you can do it,’” Bill says.
“We were really happy that Bill was willing to take over the skeet shoot, and he still helps out the Saltwater Sports Club as a sponsor,” Al Oswald says. Diesel Dave Ray and Tommy Hendricks were instrumental in assisting Snow with the transition from Jenkins Point to Abbapoola Creek Outdoor Sports at his homestead on John’s Island. At this year’s recent shoot, Bill began by delivering the safety talk and prayer, which also blessed the food since everybody finishes shooting at different times. He then thanked his many tireless volunteers, such as Bobby Stubenrauch, who prepared the chili. In addition, veterans were honored by an invitation to shoot first.
Abbapoola Creek Outdoor Sports sends proceeds from the skeet shoot to Windwood Farm and Boy Scouts of America. “I am an Eagle Scout, as are both of my boys, and I have always believed that Scouting saved my life. In the 22 years we have held the skeet shoot, we have donated just under $115,000 to charity,” Bill says.
“The best shots rarely win the shoot,” Bill points out. “It’s one thing to be a great shot, but it’s another thing altogether to get in front of your friends and have them watching you, and knowing they are talking about you behind your back while you are shooting,” he says.
“We always have a lot of fun at the skeet shoot,” Snow says. “It’s what old boys from the islands did, and we always do. It’s just good fun. Howard Mixon sent me a picture of me with a deer back when he, Jerry Ashley, and I hunted together at Deer Creek below Jacksonboro. Howard had the photograph blown up and framed with a note that reads, ‘Thanks Bill for keeping us together.’ If the house ever catches fire, that picture will be the one thing I will grab — if I can get to it!”
“These days, we are really missing a lot of the old crowd who are now gone,” Charles Hills reflects, referring to such men as his father Goat Hills, Ed “Catfish” Brown, Howard Mixon, Butch Cooper, Sr., Max Oliver, Denny Ford, Lewie Godbold, Richard Dawson, Johnny Branks, Tommy Hornsby, and many others. Hills is a past Top Gun winner and likewise has accumulated several plaques for the 20-gauge category, one of which he earned while still a teenager.
Throughout the skeet shoot’s history, Dee Oliver and Dee Jenkins won more tournaments than any other contestants. “It was a privilege and an honor to be invited to the Saltwater Sports Club annual skeet shoot — where lies were told, and fond memories were made,” Dee Jenkins says. “One particular year stands out for me. As I was starting to shoot my doubles at Station 2, Lindsay Oswald was the trapper. He turned around to wish me luck and smiled with a set of ‘Deliverance’ hillbilly dentures in his mouth. Well, I missed my doubles and was now a spectator eating soup on the sidelines,” he laughs.
“I went to the third shoot, and I never missed one after that,” he continues. “It was a lasting tradition. When you’ve been doing something for so long, it just becomes part of your life. Thinking about the skeet shoot ending makes me tear up; it really does, so I hope somebody keeps it going.”
And there is hope for the future of this special gathering of outdoorsmen. “We remain hopeful that another group of young men will step up as the rest of us grow older,” Snow says. “And a few of them have already approached me and expressed an interest in continuing the skeet shoot. We shall see.”
Ford Walpole lives and writes on John’s Island and is the author of many articles on the outdoors. He teaches English at James Island Charter High School and the College of Charleston and may be reached at fordwalpole@gmail.com.
