The Thalian Club of Orangeburg presented five daughters and four sons at its 2008 Thalian Debutante Ball, held Monday, Dec. 29, 2008.
Stephen Eason Tyson IV, president of the Thalian Club, which was founded in 1929, and Mrs. Tyson greeted guests in the ballroom of the Country Club of Orangeburg along with mothers and sponsors of the debutantes.
The debutantes for 2008 were Rebecca Ann Covington, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Herbert Covington, granddaughter of Mrs. Herbert Sinclair Covington and the late Mr. Covington, great-granddaughter of charter members Mr. and Mrs. William Crook Crum, escorted by Joel Peter Dixon; Louise Ross Wannamaker, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Braxton Bryant Wannamaker, granddaughter of the late Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Elliott Wannamaker, escorted by Dustin Ray Huffman; Susan Warren Shirer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Howard Shirer Jr., escorted by Austin Tindal Rhodes; Charlotte Katherine Perrow, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ansel Drake Perrow, granddaughter of Dr. Henry Franklin Frierson and the late Mrs. Frierson, escorted by John Joseph Corella; Walton Harvin Nash, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Dennis Nash and the late Mrs. Cynthia Salley Nash, granddaughter of former members Donald Decatur Salley III and the late Mrs. Salley, escorted by Travis Andrew Tourville.
Sons attending their first ball were Robert Lee Utsey III, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lee Utsey Jr., grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. William Capers Wannamaker Jr., great-grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. William Capers Wannamaker, charter members, escorting Virginia Carlton Lewis; William Decatur Sonenberg, son of Mrs. Matthew Kenneth Kizer and the late William Harry Sonenberg, former member, and grandson of former members Donald Decatur Salley and the late Mrs. Salley, escorting Ashley Nola Montano; Andrew Dean Shuler, son of Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Lamar Shuler III, escorting Lauren Alexandra Odom; and Robert Mitchell Phillips, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ivan Phillips, escorting Georgia DuPree Carlton.
Debutante daughters of the 2007 Thalian Debutante Ball attending this year's event as invited guests were Estah Ann Blanchard, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Russell Allen Blanchard III; English Kinsey Davidson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Kenneth Davidson; Laura Callaway Patterson, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Steven Griffin Patterson; and Rebecca Lasley Shirer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Howard Shirer Jr.
Newly elected members for 2009 invited to the ball as guests were Mr. and Mrs. John Stafford Bryant, Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Thomas Coggins, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hastine Jennings IV, Mr. and Mrs. Harry McCullough Mims III, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Lagare Delaney, Mr. and Mrs. Martin Curtis Karpie, and Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Asbury Williamson Jr.
A large number of family and friends joined the debutantes as invited guests in celebration of this year's presentation sponsored by the 79-year-old Thalian Club of Orangeburg. Debutantes' non-member grandparents attending were Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Gilmore Haigler, Mrs. James Otto Warren, Mr. and Mrs. Moss Holman Perrow, Mr. and Mrs. John David Wilson, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Markiewicz, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Earl Phillips. Other guests were Katherine Louise Ford, Evelyn Frances Patrick, Dennis Gilmore Haigler Jr., Katherine Covington Jeffords, Elizabeth Colclough Jeffords, Hilton Lee Smith, Dr. Romila Mushtaq, Drs. Lynda Lytle Holstrom and Frank Ross Holstrom, Kendall Blair Salley, Megan Elizabeth Summers, Dr. and Mrs. Paul Baker Pritchard III, Misti Roshto Wannamaker, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Gordon Odette, Alexander James Matheson Wannamaker II, Mr. and Mrs. Kendall Whitfield Wannamaker, Kendall Whitfield Wannamaker Jr., Dr. and Mrs. Dawes Lellan Edwards, Mr. and Mrs. Keitt Hane Fair, Kinsley Rogers Mincey, Scott Bradley Wasserman Jr., Sarah Elizabeth Collins, James Alexander Joyner, Mr. and Mrs. Francis Baxter Culler, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Parker Dempsey, Adrienne Ann Dempsey, Jenna Montgomery Smith, Cornelia Salley Nash, Ronald Parker Dempsey Jr., Mimi Emily Wannamaker, Alexandra Elizabeth Utsey, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Tourville, Harriett Ashley Sonenberg, Camden Bentley Kittrell, Markie Kelly Littlejohn, Lauren Parker Horowitz, Benjamin Ford, Audie Miles Cooper, Travis Joel Reed, Allison Marie Phillips, Carlisle Marshall Edens, Asley Elizabeth Shuler, James Philip Wilcox Howle, Hubert Lamar Shuler IV, Nancy Elizabeth Bethea, Michael Auld Wolfe Jr., Laura Patricia Oliphant, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Walker Ayers, Mr. and Mrs. James Henning Brunson III, Mr. and Mrs. James Legree Oswald Jr., Joseph Ronald Williamson, Virginia Elizabeth Holly.
Mrs. William Herbert Covington and Mrs. Braxton Bryant Wannamaker acted as co-chairmen of the 2008 Thalian Debutante Ball, and Mrs. James Henning Brunson Jr. served as debutante secretary. Committee chairmen were Mrs. Ansel Drake Perrow, Mrs.Tilden Frederick Riley IV, Mrs. Robert Lee Utsey Jr., Mrs. Steven Griffin Patterson, Mrs. Robert Ivan Phillips, Mrs. Dwight Welborn Frierson and John Robson Hibbits. Mrs. James Chesley Hunter Jr. serves as club secretary and Mrs. Stuart Hyman Marcus is treasurer.
Special to The T&D