#40: The Iodine State, Columbia Marionette Theatre, and an archaeological excavation at Walnut Grove Plantation
For South Carolina history lovers far and wide! Enjoy weekly SC history and upcoming SC historical events
Dear reader,
Welcome to Newsletter #40 of The South Carolina History Newsletter! I’m so happy you’re here.
I hope you enjoy today’s newsletter, and as always, please feel free to reply to this email with your ideas and suggestions on South Carolina history you’d like to learn more about. I’m only a click away.
Additionally, please join us & keep the conversation going by becoming a member of our SC History Newsletter Facebook Community here! I can’t wait to meet you.
And now, let’s learn some South Carolina history!
Yours truly,
Kate
(Writing from Greenville, SC)
➳ Featured SC History Event
Please enjoy our featured SC History Event below, and click here to visit my SC History Events Calendar that organizes all the upcoming SC history events I have discovered. Please let me know if you’d like to add an event to the calendar! Reply to this email or send me a note at schistorynewsletter@gmail.com.
Friday, March 22nd at 12:30 pm | “Lunch & Learn: Archaeological Excavation at Walnut Grove” | Chapman Cultural Center | Spartanburg, SC | Admission: $5 for non-members / Free for SCHA
“Presented by: Chief Lamar Nelson. Join us to learn about the archaeological excavation at the Walnut Grove Plantation slave house site, and the recovered artifacts that are found. Lamar Nelson is the Chief of the Eastern Cherokee Southern Iroquois & United Tribes. He is the tribe CEO and tribal archaeologist. Chief Nelson been doing archaeological excavations for 35 years, and was named ASSC’s Archaeologist of the Year in 2012. He was the supervisor on many archaeological excavations, and has been supervisor on the 17,000 year old prehistoric Fisher Site in Barnwell S.C. for the past 13 years. Admission: $5 for non-members / Free for SCHA members. Don’t forget to bring your lunch!”
➳ SC History Fun Facts
I.
Thank you to our new subscriber
, who encouraged me to research our first topic below!Did you know that South Carolina’s nickname used to be “The Iodine State”?
Before South Carolina was the Palmetto State, it might surprise you that there was once a time when we were called “The Iodine State”!
The chemical element iodine is rare, and occurs naturally as a “trace chemical in certain soils, rocks, seawater, plants, and animals.” In humans, iodine is largely found in the thyroid gland, which secretes iodine-bearing hormones responsible for regulating metabolism. A deficiency of iodine causes an unsightly swelling of the neck and jaw known as a goiter.
In the late 1920s, it was discovered that high levels of iodine were found in fruits, vegetables, and milk produced in South Carolina. Armed with this information, the South Carolina Natural Resources Commission took the opportunity to begin a public relations campaign to tout it’s “iodine-rich” products to the rest of the country. Promotional tracts were printed with the goal of “expanding the national market for South Carolina produce” and warned midwestern and west coast residents of the “consequences of iodine deficiency in the young, including enlarged thyroids, mental and physical birth defects, and even sterility.”
The publicity campaign even placed the motto “Iodine” on South Carolina automobile license plates in 1930 and then expanded the phrase in subsequent years to “The Iodine State” and “The Iodine Products State.”
Columbia radio station made its call letters WIS to promote the “Wonderful Iodine State.” Even Lowcountry “moonshiners around Hell Hole Swamp” jumped on the iodine bandwagon, advertising their alcohol with the slogan “Not a Goiter in a Gallon.”
Despite the promotional push, South Carolina agriculture “saw little benefit” from the iodine campaign. With the advent of iodized salt in the 1940s, Americans had a convenient dietary supplement, and demand for foods high in iodine content declined. The “Iodine State” likely remains South Carolina’s most unusual nickname.
II.
Did you know that Columbia has its very own Marionette Theatre?
Founded in 1988 by puppeteer Allie Scollon, the Columbia Marionette Theatre (CMT) has been entertaining children and adults alike for decades in South Carolina. Their mission is to “entertain and educate children and adults through the long-standing tradition and artistry of puppetry.”
Allie Scollon’s love of puppetry started at age 7, when she began turning her dolls into marionettes and performing shows for her family. Allie’s childhood fascination became her passion and life’s work. She researched and taught herself everything she could about “building, costuming, manipulating, and writing for puppets.”
Allie married her husband Bill, and the two of them built a successful puppetry business together. They founded Scollon’s Marionettes, Inc in 1968 and performed at private events, publicly in retail malls, and even hit the road touring across the US with marionette and hand puppet shows.
In the 1970s, Scollon’s Marionettes, Inc also grew to include a costume character business, which continues to create costume mascots and cartoon characters for theme parks, sports teams, and companies around the world.
Here is an amazing video of some of the costume mascots they have made:
In 1982, the company moved to Chapin, South Carolina, just outside Columbia. Originally housed in a turn-of-the-century warehouse in the Vista, the theatre branch of their business moved in 1995 to a building specifically designed and built for its use at its current location near Riverfront Park. The Columbia Marionette Theatre features puppets from “a few inches tall to over five feet appearing on a 30-foot stage.” Many of their productions feature original scripts, as well as original music.
Over the course of her career, Allie personally trained hundreds of people in the art of puppet making and performing, and her family’s company has entertained “tens of thousands of children and families.” To honor her achievements in puppetry, Allie was awarded the 2009 President’s Award from the Puppeteers of America.
Has anyone ever been to the Columbia Marionette Theatre? I would love to go someday soon. Currently playing from January 6 – April 20, 2024, is “Puss in Boots”!
Here is also a fun video on the “behind-the-scenes” of the theatre and its history below:
➳ Quote from an SC historical figure
I.
“This place is so fun. I remember attending shows when I was a kid and recently went to one with my son for his friend's birthday party. We saw Puss in Boots. Such a unique Columbia offering.”
—5-star Google Review from a parent who recently took their children to the Columbia Marionette Theatre
Sources used in today’s newsletter:
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Thanks, Kate - Love the Iodine State license plate! #bringitback! :)