C.W. Horne December 09, 2018 Share this obituary Send Flowers View/Sign Guest Book| Send Sympathy Card The Life and Times of C. W. Horne “The Land and Timber Man” C.W. Horne (July 20, 1932 – December 9, 2018) was born Cresful William Horne to the late William and Glennie Austin Horne in the community of Taxihaw, SC. He was primarily an American business man, philanthropist, and entrepreneur known to the business world as C.W. As the business world fiercely and sadly remembers, November 29th, 1929 will be forever remembered as “Black Friday”, probably the worst depression ever known began. During this time, many people were without work, food or money for many years.
C. W.’s father, who was known as “Big William”, was an excellent Sawmill Man. He was offered a job in South Carolina for double his current salary; that being one dollar a day versus the 50 cents a day he was earning. The family moved to an area known by many tourist and college kids as Forty Acre Rock.
A few years later, a lady working in the tobacco fields realized the pain and agony of C.W.’s mother, Mrs. Glennie during childbirth, came in the house and delivered C.W. on July 20, 1932. As the economy slowly began to recover from the Great Depression, C. W.’s father was offered an opportunity to run his own sawmill in an area known as “Free Woods” near the then village of Socastee just west of Myrtle Beach. So with a crew of “hands”, as they then did refer to their help, they headed out for the track of timber to be cut, along with three tents and a cook.
C.W. had not yet started school so he was allowed to go and stay there until the job was complete. Upon completion, they returned to Peachland, NC and once again set up residence; however, prior to leaving the Free Woods area, C.W. established a friendship with a young boy about his age whom he would not see again for nearly forty years. C.W.’s education was well advanced in the ways of the world by experiencing lessons not normally learned in the classroom.
He had been following his father around since he was old enough to do so. Big William, his teacher, mentor, and father was not a highly educated man by formal and conventional standards, given he had to drop out of school at an early age after the death of his father to work in the cotton fields in order to help support the family. He was however, a very reful, innovative, and productive man.
C.W.’s formal education began at Deep Springs Community School which burned down about half-way during his first grade year. He also completed his first grade as well as graduated from high school at Peachland School, which still stands to this day, but is now a warehouse. Immediately after graduating high school, C.W. went directly to work driving a Coca-Cola truck, a job his father had landed him.
Realizing this was not his calling, that job lasted about two weeks. After talking his father into helping him get his own sawmill, he began a career that would span over six and a half decades, until his untimely death over sixty-five years later. He soon recognized the critical importance of a constant supply of timber being provided to the sawmill.
His skills for “cruising” tracks of timber became equivalent to his skills for running a sawmill, if not exceeded them. He developed his own portable sawmill to move in the middle of each of these large tracks, mainly what would be considered the Sandhill’s of South Carolina. The sand laden turf of S.C. allowed for year around extraction of timber as opposed to the more clay landscape of North Carolina.
He also developed a log truck whereby the beds of the truck that housed the trailer carrying the logs could be switched out and thus only had the expense of one truck. This was an innovative maneuver that quickly became a standard in the industry at that time. After approximately six years of struggle, it appeared that the business had finally smoothed out and in addition, he had perfected a wonderful hard working crew that he enjoyed working with.
C.W. had married his high school sweetheart, Billie Jo Williams, when he was twenty, and after her just graduating from high school. It appeared that things could not be much better until at the age of twenty-four, he received a letter drafting him into the Army. C.W. was shipped off to boot camp shortly thereafter, and then was transferred to Germany where he was stationed for two years and would not be able to afford to come home and see his wife during this entire time.
Two years later, he would return home to a sawmill business that was shut down and appeared to be permanently closed. Even though leaving his sawmill in very capable hands, there was no one there to provide a constant supply of timber that the sawmill needed to survive. His help had been recruited by other lumber plants, and most of his equipment was either broken, rusty or stolen.
His wife Billie, however, had paid off their forty-five hundred dollar home by working as a secretary at a lumber plant in Polkton. After being totally exhausted with moving a portable sawmill from location to location, C.W. developed a stationary sawmill and decided to bring the timber to him as opposed to taking the sawmill to the timber. Thus C. W. Horne Sawmill and Chip Co., Inc. was born.
In 1967, C.W. moved his family, being himself, his wife Billie and his seven year old son, Cress Horne to Marshville, NC. Even though there were struggles in restarting his company after having spent two years in the military away in another country, he often said that “God laid His hand on his Sawmill and never took it off”. For many years, things couldn’t have gone better.
It was then that he reunited with a high school friend Bobby Huntley, at a cabin in the White Store area, who had been working with a gentleman at Garden City Beach, SC on a three story motel. Bobby was eager to take the same plan along with his current partner whom he had met at the beach and build another hotel over three times the size on some land in the very middle in the township of Garden City. That would forever change the face of Garden City Beach.
Upon arriving at Garden City, C.W. realized that the gentleman he was to meet was his childhood friend from Free Woods named Paul Patrick. The trio was the perfect fit, and on a handshake, the Kingfisher Inn days began. This relationship lasted between the three until Bobby and Paul passed away at which time, C.W. felt he no longer wanted to be a part of that establishment without his friends.
They had been together over a decade during the days of the Kingfisher Inn without as much as a cross word. C.W. then returned back to Marshville and sought the help and partnership of his best friend Carroll Edwards. From Surfside Beach all the way through Myrtle Beach and extending up to the North Carolina state line, C.W. and Carroll embarked on many business adventures that gave them a lot of time together and hopefully some fun.
These business adventures would continue from the coastal area throughout the Carolinas until his friend went to his heavenly home in August, 2008. Even though he was no longer a part of the sawmill, he was eager to continue in other business ventures. He then changed the name of C. W. Horne Sawmill and Chip Company to C. W. Horne Land and Timber as he continued to purchase and sell timber right up until the day before the end of his earthly life on an early Sunday afternoon.
He needed a place to work from so he helped his son construct a heliport in 1982 for a helicopter company he was still starting up and was running while he also was a full time student at Wingate University just two miles away. This office still stands in U. S. Heliport at an industrial park between Wingate and Marshville, NC. The business ventures and family adventures are far too many to mention as the list seemingly goes on for infinity.
Even though the opportunities continued to knock on his door daily, he was never too busy to stop and help someone along the way. He established many companies, and then once they appeared self-sustaining, would exit and leave it to the partner that knew the most about the operational aspect of that particular company. Two of those companies have spanned a four decade career.
One with his nephew, Lynn Raye, CEO of Commercial Piping. The other with his son, Cress Horne, of U. S. Helicopters, Inc. Only heaven knows, but many things in this writing cannot be told as he helped numerous churches, schools, and people anonymously. C.W. had many adventures on his journey, but always stopped to help someone along the way, listen to his heart and took calculated risk carefully.
He believed that where there is no vision, the people perish. C.W. was blessed to have a devoted family. He was the beloved husband of Billie Jo for over 60 years.
Establishing their home in Marshville, they had one son, Cress Horne. C.W. was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather. He will forever be remembered as “Pa Pa” by his two grandchildren, Wil and Skylar.
Services will be held on Saturday, December 29th at 3pm. in the Chapel of Morgan & Son Funeral Home, 218 E. Main St., Marshville, NC. The family will have an informal visitation immediately following the service.
The Reverend Rocky Carpenter will officiate. In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials be made to Deep Springs Baptist Church, 1908 Deep Springs Church Road, Peachland, NC 28133. Online condolences may be made at www.
morganandsonfuneralhome.com Morgan & Son Funeral Home of Marshville is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be made at morganandsonfuneralhome.com. Morgan & Son Funeral Home of Marshville is in charge of arrangements.
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