|
Our Charter and History:
In 1983 Fred Ducker '63, Terry Hucks '75, Bill Moore '62 and Blakeny Jackson '60 got together at Conway
Feed and Grain. They met upstairs, with the various animals you find in a grain bin, and thus started the HORRY COUNTY
CITADEL CLUB. An official charter was obtained and issued with the then Association of Citadel Men which
is now the Citadel Aumni Association. Shortly afterwards, Fred met with Bubba Kennedy, the Executive Director
of the Association of Citadel Men and Joel Lake, their Treasurer and the Horry County Citadel Club was officially
established. At the first official club meeting it was decided that one of our main functions would be to assist
the Brigadier Club with it's Scholarship Program and the official Horry County Citadel Club Golf Tournament was
established and a scholarship was proposed to assist the Men's Golf Program at The Citadel. The first tournament
was held in 1984 at the Myrtle Beach National Golf Club. Mr. John Monroe Holliday was instrumental in helping us acquire
this course for the tournament and it was held at this location for the next several years before changing to several other
courses due to improvements being made at the Myrtle Beach National Course. One of the highlights of the
golf tournament in the very early years was the presence of John Monroe Holliday making an initial welcome to everyone along
with his counterpart, Mr. Collin Spivey, who would exchange stories of the old corps and remark how "wussey" things
were now. Another alumni of this vintage was Billy Foxworth who could top anyones story if you had the time to listen
and wouldn't fall asleep before he got through because Billy could make a 3 syllable word out of the word "the".
And, of course, the wives of these members, and most of our membership, added the sophistication and legitimacy to our existence.
One of the nicest things about the tournament in addition to bringing alumni together for a wonderful social
activity as well as providing scholarship funds to The Citadel was the participation of sons and daughters of Citadel Grads
that participated in the tournament. One such example was David Jackson (Blakenys son), who went on to receive a golf
scholarship to Wake Forest. Fred's son, Chrishon, played in every tournament from the beginning until he went to
Seminary in St. Louis, MO. After playing with Fred for the first time, Chrishon elected to play on another team and allow
Fred to play with Blakeny Jackson, Bill Moore and Bitsy Johnson. Probably the most memorable one shot in our
history was on the 18th green when Fred, Blakeny, Bill and Bitsy mooned everyone on the balcony. Participation
in the tournaments have been sporadic. It has went from having to cut off the participation at 120 players all
the way to making frantic phone calls the night before to get enough players. However, in spite of some down times, the Club
has managed to fund the Scholarship program on an annual basis and at the present time our Club has in excess of $50,000 in
the Scholarship Fund. Initially, it was decided that the Horry Citadel Club would establish a set calendar
of events to let our members know there were certain functions at various times of the year. Originally we had for an itenerary,
the Golf Tournament (of course), an Oyster Roast and Muster, Football Tailgating and the Christmas Party.
The Oyster Roast and Muster was held in February and was held for several years at Fred Duckers house in
Plantation Point. In 1988 we put up a 27'x18' awning on the side of the Johnson Haygood Stadium beside the Brigadiere
Club and that became the official Tailgate Meeting Place for the Horry County Citadel Club. The funds for the
awning were provided from the defunct Georgetown Citadel Club, which for a few years became part of the Horry County Citadel
Club. The banner on the awning actually read "The Horry County and Georgetown County Citadel Club".
The next function that became a mainstay was the Christmas Party which was held annually at the Dunes Club, compliments
of the Membership of Dr. Cal Cunningham and in the last few years compliments of the membership of Dr. Chip Cox. Again,
we took a sabattical from the Dunes Club during remodeling and attended several other venues but for the last 2 years
have been back at the Dunes Club.
In the original organizational portion of our club it was agreed that Officers
would serve for one year terms and the election of new Officers would be at the Christmas party.
This is a
snapshot of some of the history from the memory of some of the alumni. Anyone having additional information about the
Horry County Citadel Club history is encouraged to share their stories also. Please contact Jonathan Kresken @ jkresken-wcf@sc.rr.com
We welcome any input or recollection and would not like for anyone to be uninintentionally left out.
Our Past Club Officers
Past Club Officers data will be posted at a later date...
El-Cid '87
It's good to be Queen...
 |
The English Bulldog has always been the Mascot of the Citadel Military College.
Originally, the mascot was provided by individuals who happened to be at a Citadel Athletic function and were normally
owned by a graduate, but there was no specific mascot name, except the name that the owner dubbed the dog with.
The
official name "Boo" came into existence in 1984 when Fred Ducker provided the mascot for The Citadel. The
first "Boo" actually started being the mascot at the 2nd game of the season in 1984 because, the week prior, a bulldog
named "Killer" who was owned by Dr. John Bradford was eaten by an alligator behind John's house on the
Ashley River protecting John's 5 year old daughter. Athletic Director, Walt Nadzak, requested that Fred
let "Boo" who was just 14 weeks old at the time, become the mascot for the rest of that year.
The
next football season Fred got a call from Walt and Charlie Taffe requesting "Boo" to be the mascot again and at
this time, Fred took the opportunity to try and establish an official name and lineage for the Citadel Mascot. To digress,
when Fred first got "Boo" he named him after Colonel Thomas Nugent Courvoisie who was known as the "Boo"
at The Citadel. In Freds tenure at The Citadel, "Boo" was his first Tact Officer and was later promoted to
the Assistant Commandent of Cadets in charge of Cadet Discipline. Pat Conroys first book "The Boo" was a take-off
on his life at The Citadel and the influence that "Boo" had on him, as well as all cadets at that time and since.
The "Boo" was definitely a legend in his own time.
When Fred got his first "Boo", he
took a picture of him as a puppy, with a cigar in his mouth and a Citadel hat on his head, sitting in a high chair.
Fred sent Colonel Courvoisie a letter announcing that, once again, he had the pitter-patter of little feet at his house and
since he already had a son named after him and a daughter named after his wife, that he was going to name this one after Colonol
Courvoisie. The pups official name was Thomas Nugent "Boo" Courvoisie Ducker. Pictures followed two
days later and the response from the "Boo" after receiving the pictures was that he was proud for his name to be
a part of the Duckers' and that the newest family member certainly did look like Fred.
The first
"Boo" was the mascot from 1984 to 1990 and "Boo #2" from 1990 to 1997 when he got killed by someone driving
in Murrells Inlet. "Boo #3" took over and was the mascot until 2002. "Boo #4" was the mascot
until 2004 when the first mascot on campus was approved by the President and Board of Visitors of The Citadel College.
The Citadel wanted a puppy for the incoming class but since "Boo #5" was not to be born until September they were
able to get a puppy which was donated by Mike Groshon's mother who purchased the dog in Savannah, GA. He is part
of the "Uga" line with the University of Georgia and is known as "General" and along with "Boo #5"
they are the official mascots at The Citadel.
In August of 2008, the Citadel dedicated a 10' bronze
statue of "Boo" which is placed at the corner of Haygood and Congress St. in Charleston, in front of the Johnson
Haygood Stadium and across from the Holliday Alumni Center. The most recent addition to the "Boo" legacy is the
purchase of a new female english bulldog sired by "General" and whose official name is "Rosa's Girl - Rose
Ducker" (guess where Rosa came from) and she will become the mother of the future mascots of The Citadel which will incorporate both
bloodlines.
|
