History of the Pickens Sentinel

"Once, when the newsprint did not arrive by train for the March 6, 1873 issue, due to heavy shipments of fertilizer," Former owner Jerry Alexander said, "The newspaper was condensed and printed on old timely Blue Horse notebook paper. This issue is unique in the annals of South Carolina Journalism." By 1873, Bradley was Editor and proprietor, and by 1875, J. H. Carlisle was in charge of the editorial department. J. C. Thompson was printer.

The newspaper was sold August 26, 1886 to J. E. Boggs, who told subscribers that "a sheep is just as current at this office to pay subscriptions as greenbacks." Boggs sold the newspaper to J. L. O. Thompson, a newspaperman from Oconee County, and H. A. Richey, Thompson's father-in-law.

A new newspaper, People's Journal, was founded in 1903 by T. C. Robinson, and in 1903, the two newspapers merged to form the Sentinel-Journal. "During this time, the newspaper was printed on a press turned by hand," Alexander said. "A strong man named Bill Brown and his son, Hovey, turned the flywheel on the old-timely press. The first automatic typesetting machines were installed by Mr. Thompson, and the work was speeded up considerably by the Simplex, a forerunner to the modern day Linotype." The Sentinel-Journal suffered a severe setback after the turn of the century, and the owner was forced to sell the paper in 1912. The Editor severely blasted a school teacher for a whipping given a lad which the Editor felt was too severe and for expelling the Editor's son from school. The quarrel developed into such proportions a boycott by local merchants was called, forcing the Editor to get advertising from Greenville and other area towns. Advertising dwindled, and the paper was sold to a stock company headed by J. McD. Bruce. The newspaper resumed its original name, The Pickens Sentinel.

The Rev. D. W. Hiott and his two sons, Gary and Whitsitt, who had learned the printing trade in Greenville and Athens, operated the paper for several years before Gary Hiott went to The Greenville News, and Whitsitt began his own print shop in West Greenville, Hiott Printing Co.

W. Lesley Mattheney operated The Sentinel for a while. Gary Hiott went back to the newspaper, and he sold The Sentinel to F. V. Clayton and continued writing for The Greenville News and the Abbeville Medium. In 1927, Gary Hiott came home again and bought the newspaper from Clayton. During the 1920s and 1930s, Gary Hiott's quips and paragraphs were published in a number of newspapers and magazines, including The Literary Digest. After Gary Hiott died in 1950, The Sentinel was published by his wife and sons, Gary Jr., and David (see middle photo).

During the Depression, Mrs. Gary Hiott almost lost the newspaper, but after she became Pickens postmaster, she used her income to finance the newspaper operations. She accepted eggs or firewood for a year's worth of the four-page newspaper with a payroll of $27 a week: $25 a week to the Linotype operator and $2 for the printer. During the 1940s, Robert Hiott worked on the paper at night.

The newspaper was sold in 1978 to Ben Bagwell (see top photo) who had been an Editor of the Sentinel and had worked for other newspapers including The Greenville News for six years, and Jerry Alexander, a veteran newspaperman with the Anderson Independent, as advertising manager. The Hiott family, which had operated The Sentinel for over 50 years, continued to operate Hiott Printing Company on Johnson Street in Pickens.

After a few years, Bagwell sold his interest to Alexander. Michael Schuver became General Manager in 1987, and Don Hunt served as General Manager from September, 1988 to May, 2002. In January, 2002, Alexander sold The Sentinel to Andrew Babb, owner of Crescent Media Group of Spartanburg, and a third-generation newspaper publisher. Rocky Nimmons became General Manager in June, 2002. He was later named the publisher of The Sentinel, and the Easley Progress and the Powdersville Post, which Babb bought a short-time later.

In June of 2007, Heartland Publications bought the Pickens Sentinel. Todd Rainwater was named publisher of The Sentinel, Progress and Post in July 2008. Sandy Foster was also named General Manager in July 2008.

Editors of The Sentinel since 1988 have included Ann Tankersley, Rod Hutto, Cheryl O’Malley, Todd Callaway, Kayce Shusterman, Brian Garner, Olivia Fowler, Steve Jones, April Morris, Karen Brewer, Sandy Foster and Rita-Sue Seaborn. Currently, Jason Evans is the editor.

The Pickens Sentinel -- Pickens County's Newspaper Since 1871.