Interview: Keller, William B. "Judge"
Item
Identifier
Mss-0279, Cassette 10-11
Title
Interview: Keller, William B. "Judge"
Type
Sound
Format
.mp3
Language
English
Source
Town of Calhoun, South Carolina Oral History Collection
Rights
Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives. All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives.
Date
1988-08-15
Description
William B. "Judge" Keller was born on September 8, 1912 in Westminster, SC. He was the son of Isaac L. and Mayette Brown Keller. He was a 1933 honor graduate of Clemson College, with a B.S. in Chemistry. Mr. Keller worked as a soils chemist at Clemson before being called to active duty in World War II. As a member of the United States Army Chemical Corps, he served in Sicily and Italy, finishing out the war at the Huntsville Arsenal in Alabama before retiring from the Army Reserve as a Lt. Colonel. After the war he took over the Judge Keller's store from his father, who had originally established the business in 1899. Mr. Keller was a member of the University Lutheran Church, the Freemason's, and a recipient of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award presented by Clemson University. He was married to the former Lila Vandiver. They had one son: Isaac Leonard Keller II. In 1977, Mr. Keller turned the business over to his son. William B. "Judge" Keller died on May 11, 2004.
Cassette 1
Side 1
00:40: Keller was born in Westminster, SC. His mother went to her parent's house for the delivery. Keller's parents lived in Calhoun, SC.
1:30: The family first lived in a house on the northeast intersection of Calhoun and Clemson Streets. After five years there, the family built a house on Hillcrest Avenue. Keller's father Isaac bought the lot from the Fort Hill Land Company in 1918. Fort Hill Land Company was made up of a group of professors from the college who got together and purchased land from the estate of Aaron Boggs around 1917 or 1918. Ben F. Robertson was president and Joe Hunter was the secretary of the group. Their names appear on the deed for the purchase.
3:52: Isaac Keller (the original "Judge" Keller) started his establishment in 1899. He was in the first class of cadets at Clemson. He attended two years before dropping out and starting his business. While he had still been attending school, he worked part-time with the tailoring operation which was located in his barracks. He was found to be exceptional at tailoring, and was soon offered with the ownership of the operation.
6:35: Megginson asks why a tailoring operation would be so important. Clemson was a military college where cadets wore West-Point style uniforms. Jacob Reed was the name of the uniform company. It was located on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, PA.
10:30: When Keller's father first started tailoring, the operation was still in the barracks. He had been provided two rooms--one living quarters, and one working quarters. In a couple of years, however, enrollment was up and the two rooms were needed. He was asked to move into a separate location near the college. Keller's father bought land from Aaron Boggs, and had the original building built in the summer of 1899. The original wooden building was located on the north side of College Avenue. It was occupied from 1899-1918.
17:00: Megginson asks what other stores were there in the old days. Martin's drugstore was across the street on College Avenue; it is now Tigertown Tavern. There was a community store there, although Mr. Keller cannot recall who ran it. The Sloan store was there as well. The original Sloan building burned in the 1920's.
20:21: In Calhoun itself, there was the Boggs store (Calhoun Corner's), and Megginson's father owned a store. They were both brick. It is believed that Mr. Cochran had them built. Mr. Cochran owned a brickyard in the area. Calhoun was a railway town even before the college was established. Mr. Keller notes that the streets in Calhoun are laid out perpendicular and square to one another like a normal city would, whereas the streets in Clemson are set up like "the cows laid them out." Megginson notes that this statement is true, since the area was originally pastured.
25:00: What did College Avenue look like in the early days? When Mr. Keller was a child, there were only dirt roads. On the southeast side was Martin's drugstore. Clinkscales livery stable was located between the Sloan and Keller establishments. Mr. Fendley owned a blacksmith shop that was located between the livery stable and the Keller store.
27:25: The livery stable was larger in size than the Keller's establishment. For a while, the livery stable carried the name "Clinkscales & Crowther." Crowther was Mr. Clinkscales brother-in-law.
27:53: Isaac Keller and Mr. Clinkscales were both from Abbeville and grew up together.
28:30: The original path of Main Street--it ran from the college to Keller's store just as it does today. The route is the same until you reach the Baptist Church, where it veered towards the left and ran in front of the Presbyterian Church. From there it would cross over two creeks and climb up a hill towards the depot. The two begin speaking of the Carlton House which no longer stands. Mr. Masters lived in it when Keller was a youth. It was across the street from the movie theater on the southeast side of College Avenue. It was a white, one story house. Megginson states that this is apparently the old Cold Springs plantation which had belonged to someone associated with the Calhoun Family.
31:48: Audio ends.
Cassette 1
Side 2
00:07: Megginson encourages Mr. Keller to talk about his experiences in school as a youth. The schoolhouse was located near where the Hess Station and post office is now. This particular school opened in 1916. He attended with the 1918 class. He remembers Miss Maggie Morrison well: she was the daughter of a Clemson professor--she never married. There were perhaps 20-30 people in a class. Mr. Keller's eleventh grade graduating class had 8 members. He perceived no real social distinctions between Calhoun and Clemson faculty families. Lunch at school was carried from home. Books were bought at the L.C. Martin drugstore. There were no inside toilets, though there was electricity available.
12:07: Mr. Keller names the 7 other individuals besides himself in his 11th grade graduating class: Lila Vandiver (his future wife), Cornelia Newton, Grace Madden, Athelene Munson, Jack Mitchell, Ziffy (?) Moore, and a relative of Coach Josh Cody whom he cannot name.
15:33: Mr. Keller had dated his future wife Lila Vandiver while in high school, and off and on afterwards until they were married in 1940. She was born in Georgia. Her father was involved in the railroad business.
18:43: Mr. Keller thinks back on his childhood and begins to describe how Calhoun looked. Starting at the Boggs store, traveling up the street north towards the Smith house was the Smith store--up the street on the left was the Smith hotel--the Dillard house was close in proximity as well--Cochran Road ran between the Dillard and Vandiver houses--just beyond the Vandiver house was the house of Jane Prince (kept house for Clemson/Calhoun families)--the Hendricks family house was there also (originally Norman Boggs house)--across the street from Boggs store was the Payne house--west onto Calhoun Street lived Dick Pike--across the street from his house lived assistant college post master Mr. King--the Chapman's lived close--further down lived the Fendley's--on the street parallel to the railroad was the Doyle house--down at the river was the John Long residence. Keller also makes note that there was really nothing but pasture between the Presbyterian Church and the schoolhouse.
30:29: Megginson is interested in what type of housing utilities were available in the house Mr. Keller grew up in. They had electricity and water. He states that "everything on this side of the railroad tracks got electricity...and water from the college." There was indoor plumbing but no telephone. The family finally got one after World War II. There was never a telephone in the store until 1977.
31:50: Audio ends.
Cassette 2
Side 1
00:07: Keller's store moved to its present location in 1918. The brick building was built in 1936 on the very same spot.
1:45: How both men came to be known as "Judge"--The students called Isaac Keller "Judge." This stems from an incident where a student complained to the Commandant that his cadet uniform didn't fit properly. The Commandant could find no wrong with the fit, and proclaimed that he should go down to Keller's and let him be the judge. The name stuck, and later William B. Keller inherited it the nickname from his father.
6:35: Mr. Keller finished Clemson with a degree in Chemistry in 1933. He got a job with Clemson testing soil samples at the soil lab. He then worked with the Chemistry Department at the Experiment Station until World War II started. After the war in 1946, he took over the everyday operation of the business. His father Isaac died in 1954.
9:53: The brick store is just over 50 years old in 1988. Mr. Keller describes how the store has always looked on the inside. The ceiling has a stamped metal pattern. The floors are wooden with what he refers to as a rip-saw pine pattern. There have always been display counters and show cases. These were purchased at a show case factory in Statesboro, NC. The carpentry work was done by a Mr. Brown of Pendleton, SC who was in some way associated with the college. The establishment has never used a cash register. Mr. Keller never used a credit system at the store, though his father Isaac did.
14:07: Mr. Keller "officially" retired in 1977, though he still often could be found working in the store. His son Isaac Keller II took over operation in 1977.
17:07: Megginson encourages Mr. Keller to describe the military atmosphere of Clemson College. Cadets had to wear their uniforms at all times. Drills were held three times per week. Chapel services were held on Tuesday's and Thursday's. Life was very regimented. Casual cloths could be worn in the barracks. Mr. Keller himself was a "day cadet," meaning that he lived at home. Reveille was played every morning and Taps was played at night. Cadets had to be in their rooms at 7:30pm to study until 11:00pm when lights out was called. In the mornings the cadets would march to breakfast at the central dining hall located in the no. 1 barracks. Harcomb and Schilleter were two men in charge of operations at the dining hall.
20:25: By the time Keller was a senior, there were enough "day students" to fill an entire company.
21:20: Cadets had to have a permit from the Commandants office in order to leave campus for the weekend.
22:40: The Commandants that Keller can remember are Colonel Munson, and "Whiskey" John West. The Commandants were not popular among the cadets because of the strict control that they enforced.
25:30: There were social activities such as dances held at the dining hall. The hall would be elaborately decorated for these events.
26:24: The first movie house was at the YMCA. These were silent films in Mr. Keller's youth. He states that a lady would play the piano to accompany the films. Tickets were perhaps $0.10 to $0.15. Mr. Keller believes the current location of the movie theater was built some time after World War II. He remembers Holtzendorff and "Shorty" Schilleter as being very popular individuals.
30:17: Audio ends.
Cassette 2
Side 2
00:07: It seems to Mr. Keller that most people in the area worked in some capacity with the college.
2:05: Megginson is interested in what civic organizations might have been around during Mr. Keller's youth. He states that there were very few unlike today; churches seemed to handle these issues. Social activities such as picnics, suppers, and dances were organized by local churches. The various churches all seemed to cooperate well with each other.
5:36: Mr. Keller was a freemason, joining after World War II.
7:00: The two discuss "pressing clubs" in the days before dry cleaning.
10:00: Cadet uniforms were wool and extremely hot.
10:57: When Mr. Keller was a youth, there were no street lights in Calhoun.
11:10: The two discuss the formation and evolution of the police force in the area.
13:40: Megginson notes several pictures hanging in the Keller's store: Keller's parents and himself when he was a baby; Keller himself with his wife and child; and a certificate from Royal Tailor's of Chicago recognizing Isaac Keller's fine work.
15:00: Mr. Keller is named for William Jennings Bryan. A portrait of Bryan hangs in the store. Isaac Keller greatly admired Bryan. A picture of Napoleon is also displayed. Mr. Keller is not sure, but thinks this may trace to the fact that the French may have settled Abbeville. In addition there are several photographs that depict the current "Judge" Keller while he was in the military in World War II.
16:32: Megginson would like to know how Clemson has changed. Keller states that it has gotten bigger, and more famous. His father wouldn't have minded the fact that female students now attend.
17:55: Megginson thanks Mr. Keller for the interview.
17:59: Audio ends.
Cassette 1
Side 1
00:40: Keller was born in Westminster, SC. His mother went to her parent's house for the delivery. Keller's parents lived in Calhoun, SC.
1:30: The family first lived in a house on the northeast intersection of Calhoun and Clemson Streets. After five years there, the family built a house on Hillcrest Avenue. Keller's father Isaac bought the lot from the Fort Hill Land Company in 1918. Fort Hill Land Company was made up of a group of professors from the college who got together and purchased land from the estate of Aaron Boggs around 1917 or 1918. Ben F. Robertson was president and Joe Hunter was the secretary of the group. Their names appear on the deed for the purchase.
3:52: Isaac Keller (the original "Judge" Keller) started his establishment in 1899. He was in the first class of cadets at Clemson. He attended two years before dropping out and starting his business. While he had still been attending school, he worked part-time with the tailoring operation which was located in his barracks. He was found to be exceptional at tailoring, and was soon offered with the ownership of the operation.
6:35: Megginson asks why a tailoring operation would be so important. Clemson was a military college where cadets wore West-Point style uniforms. Jacob Reed was the name of the uniform company. It was located on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, PA.
10:30: When Keller's father first started tailoring, the operation was still in the barracks. He had been provided two rooms--one living quarters, and one working quarters. In a couple of years, however, enrollment was up and the two rooms were needed. He was asked to move into a separate location near the college. Keller's father bought land from Aaron Boggs, and had the original building built in the summer of 1899. The original wooden building was located on the north side of College Avenue. It was occupied from 1899-1918.
17:00: Megginson asks what other stores were there in the old days. Martin's drugstore was across the street on College Avenue; it is now Tigertown Tavern. There was a community store there, although Mr. Keller cannot recall who ran it. The Sloan store was there as well. The original Sloan building burned in the 1920's.
20:21: In Calhoun itself, there was the Boggs store (Calhoun Corner's), and Megginson's father owned a store. They were both brick. It is believed that Mr. Cochran had them built. Mr. Cochran owned a brickyard in the area. Calhoun was a railway town even before the college was established. Mr. Keller notes that the streets in Calhoun are laid out perpendicular and square to one another like a normal city would, whereas the streets in Clemson are set up like "the cows laid them out." Megginson notes that this statement is true, since the area was originally pastured.
25:00: What did College Avenue look like in the early days? When Mr. Keller was a child, there were only dirt roads. On the southeast side was Martin's drugstore. Clinkscales livery stable was located between the Sloan and Keller establishments. Mr. Fendley owned a blacksmith shop that was located between the livery stable and the Keller store.
27:25: The livery stable was larger in size than the Keller's establishment. For a while, the livery stable carried the name "Clinkscales & Crowther." Crowther was Mr. Clinkscales brother-in-law.
27:53: Isaac Keller and Mr. Clinkscales were both from Abbeville and grew up together.
28:30: The original path of Main Street--it ran from the college to Keller's store just as it does today. The route is the same until you reach the Baptist Church, where it veered towards the left and ran in front of the Presbyterian Church. From there it would cross over two creeks and climb up a hill towards the depot. The two begin speaking of the Carlton House which no longer stands. Mr. Masters lived in it when Keller was a youth. It was across the street from the movie theater on the southeast side of College Avenue. It was a white, one story house. Megginson states that this is apparently the old Cold Springs plantation which had belonged to someone associated with the Calhoun Family.
31:48: Audio ends.
Cassette 1
Side 2
00:07: Megginson encourages Mr. Keller to talk about his experiences in school as a youth. The schoolhouse was located near where the Hess Station and post office is now. This particular school opened in 1916. He attended with the 1918 class. He remembers Miss Maggie Morrison well: she was the daughter of a Clemson professor--she never married. There were perhaps 20-30 people in a class. Mr. Keller's eleventh grade graduating class had 8 members. He perceived no real social distinctions between Calhoun and Clemson faculty families. Lunch at school was carried from home. Books were bought at the L.C. Martin drugstore. There were no inside toilets, though there was electricity available.
12:07: Mr. Keller names the 7 other individuals besides himself in his 11th grade graduating class: Lila Vandiver (his future wife), Cornelia Newton, Grace Madden, Athelene Munson, Jack Mitchell, Ziffy (?) Moore, and a relative of Coach Josh Cody whom he cannot name.
15:33: Mr. Keller had dated his future wife Lila Vandiver while in high school, and off and on afterwards until they were married in 1940. She was born in Georgia. Her father was involved in the railroad business.
18:43: Mr. Keller thinks back on his childhood and begins to describe how Calhoun looked. Starting at the Boggs store, traveling up the street north towards the Smith house was the Smith store--up the street on the left was the Smith hotel--the Dillard house was close in proximity as well--Cochran Road ran between the Dillard and Vandiver houses--just beyond the Vandiver house was the house of Jane Prince (kept house for Clemson/Calhoun families)--the Hendricks family house was there also (originally Norman Boggs house)--across the street from Boggs store was the Payne house--west onto Calhoun Street lived Dick Pike--across the street from his house lived assistant college post master Mr. King--the Chapman's lived close--further down lived the Fendley's--on the street parallel to the railroad was the Doyle house--down at the river was the John Long residence. Keller also makes note that there was really nothing but pasture between the Presbyterian Church and the schoolhouse.
30:29: Megginson is interested in what type of housing utilities were available in the house Mr. Keller grew up in. They had electricity and water. He states that "everything on this side of the railroad tracks got electricity...and water from the college." There was indoor plumbing but no telephone. The family finally got one after World War II. There was never a telephone in the store until 1977.
31:50: Audio ends.
Cassette 2
Side 1
00:07: Keller's store moved to its present location in 1918. The brick building was built in 1936 on the very same spot.
1:45: How both men came to be known as "Judge"--The students called Isaac Keller "Judge." This stems from an incident where a student complained to the Commandant that his cadet uniform didn't fit properly. The Commandant could find no wrong with the fit, and proclaimed that he should go down to Keller's and let him be the judge. The name stuck, and later William B. Keller inherited it the nickname from his father.
6:35: Mr. Keller finished Clemson with a degree in Chemistry in 1933. He got a job with Clemson testing soil samples at the soil lab. He then worked with the Chemistry Department at the Experiment Station until World War II started. After the war in 1946, he took over the everyday operation of the business. His father Isaac died in 1954.
9:53: The brick store is just over 50 years old in 1988. Mr. Keller describes how the store has always looked on the inside. The ceiling has a stamped metal pattern. The floors are wooden with what he refers to as a rip-saw pine pattern. There have always been display counters and show cases. These were purchased at a show case factory in Statesboro, NC. The carpentry work was done by a Mr. Brown of Pendleton, SC who was in some way associated with the college. The establishment has never used a cash register. Mr. Keller never used a credit system at the store, though his father Isaac did.
14:07: Mr. Keller "officially" retired in 1977, though he still often could be found working in the store. His son Isaac Keller II took over operation in 1977.
17:07: Megginson encourages Mr. Keller to describe the military atmosphere of Clemson College. Cadets had to wear their uniforms at all times. Drills were held three times per week. Chapel services were held on Tuesday's and Thursday's. Life was very regimented. Casual cloths could be worn in the barracks. Mr. Keller himself was a "day cadet," meaning that he lived at home. Reveille was played every morning and Taps was played at night. Cadets had to be in their rooms at 7:30pm to study until 11:00pm when lights out was called. In the mornings the cadets would march to breakfast at the central dining hall located in the no. 1 barracks. Harcomb and Schilleter were two men in charge of operations at the dining hall.
20:25: By the time Keller was a senior, there were enough "day students" to fill an entire company.
21:20: Cadets had to have a permit from the Commandants office in order to leave campus for the weekend.
22:40: The Commandants that Keller can remember are Colonel Munson, and "Whiskey" John West. The Commandants were not popular among the cadets because of the strict control that they enforced.
25:30: There were social activities such as dances held at the dining hall. The hall would be elaborately decorated for these events.
26:24: The first movie house was at the YMCA. These were silent films in Mr. Keller's youth. He states that a lady would play the piano to accompany the films. Tickets were perhaps $0.10 to $0.15. Mr. Keller believes the current location of the movie theater was built some time after World War II. He remembers Holtzendorff and "Shorty" Schilleter as being very popular individuals.
30:17: Audio ends.
Cassette 2
Side 2
00:07: It seems to Mr. Keller that most people in the area worked in some capacity with the college.
2:05: Megginson is interested in what civic organizations might have been around during Mr. Keller's youth. He states that there were very few unlike today; churches seemed to handle these issues. Social activities such as picnics, suppers, and dances were organized by local churches. The various churches all seemed to cooperate well with each other.
5:36: Mr. Keller was a freemason, joining after World War II.
7:00: The two discuss "pressing clubs" in the days before dry cleaning.
10:00: Cadet uniforms were wool and extremely hot.
10:57: When Mr. Keller was a youth, there were no street lights in Calhoun.
11:10: The two discuss the formation and evolution of the police force in the area.
13:40: Megginson notes several pictures hanging in the Keller's store: Keller's parents and himself when he was a baby; Keller himself with his wife and child; and a certificate from Royal Tailor's of Chicago recognizing Isaac Keller's fine work.
15:00: Mr. Keller is named for William Jennings Bryan. A portrait of Bryan hangs in the store. Isaac Keller greatly admired Bryan. A picture of Napoleon is also displayed. Mr. Keller is not sure, but thinks this may trace to the fact that the French may have settled Abbeville. In addition there are several photographs that depict the current "Judge" Keller while he was in the military in World War II.
16:32: Megginson would like to know how Clemson has changed. Keller states that it has gotten bigger, and more famous. His father wouldn't have minded the fact that female students now attend.
17:55: Megginson thanks Mr. Keller for the interview.
17:59: Audio ends.
Subject
South Carolina -- Pickens County
Interviewer
Megginson, W. J.
Interviewee
Keller, William B. "Judge"
Publisher
Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Repository
