Do you know anybody who doesn’t have a pullover with a club, a college or town name on it?

What about a tiny, sleeveless blue pullover flashing this: “I’m the good one. My brother’s the brat.” Or: “If you think I’m cute, you should see my Mommie.”

These are printed right here in Orangeburg by the W. and B. Company on Prosperity Drive. Founded by Laverne “Red” Brewington (now retired) and Woody Wofford Sr. in 1987, it has thrived ever since. The shirts, pants, etc., are sold en mass to stores in Florida, Hawaii, Texas, etc., and to organizations – from 200,000 to 400,000 a year.

Can you guess where the big sales are in South Carolina? Right – Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach and Charleston, where beaucoup annual visitors want to take some of those warm waves and pearl-colored sand home with them.

Even a few Santas hanging around

For locals, there’s a special bonus: the W. and B.’s excess stock sales, usually the first Saturday of the month from spring into Christmas. Prices are the “come on” – everything from $2 to $3. These are the few thousand tops and bottoms left over, the two percent of annual production the merchants don’t buy.

The river-bottom price is understandable. They don’t have to be wrapped, hauled far across the country, displayed in a store, or advertised. Nobody who comes to the warehouse ever leaves with just one.

A few buyers arrive before the 8 a.m. opening and park around the green centipede grass. Mary Watford, wife of Jeff, the company’s sales manager, opens the big doors right on time. There’s no rush because the same sale has been going on for 12 years. This is a casual frolic. Racks start right inside the door, long double iron pipes supported by standing pipes. Each holds endless sizes, colors and designs. Recently, a couple hundred pairs of bright plaid flannel pajama pants with elastic waistbands awaited. Two dollars.

A rainbow range of T-shirts bore various greetings from Myrtle Beach, Charleston or Hilton Head. Also the Outer Banks, Malibu Beach, the New Orleans Marti Gras and St. Patricks Day. Many of some are left; others, just a few. Even ole Santa has a handful of himself in his red uniform still hanging.

Pressing on the decals

The first shoppers, 25 or so, wander in with their spouses or friends and start hanging selections over their arms. There’s no rush or competition. Lots of shirts await everybody, even pink to black without any monogramming. All the garments are made by outside firms.

Mary handles the sale with grace and pleasure; a warm greeting as she takes out the coat hangers, then folds and bags them and makes change. Never flustered, she enjoys every conversation.

Anybody a little curious about what goes on during the week can ask permission to take a short walk through the cardboard box alleys to the other end of the warehouse where the presses operate. Looking like 14- by 18-inch cooking grills with the tops hinged up from the bottoms, each has its own separate table and an electric fan to keep the presser cool.

Plant Manager Woody Watford Jr. said, “We use about 40 new decals every month, many special orders from different businesses, organizations, or wholesalers. Occasionally, one of our plant people will come up with a bright idea.”

“Our trucks leave every day to deliver orders to department stores, trains or airports,” he said. “The few hundred pieces left are usually picked up here by Orangeburgers, Bambergers, Norwayites, Holly Hillians, etc., before the season is over.”

As Mary says: “Everybody wants to buy a kid a funny shirt.”

That’s so his/her chest can declare:

TODDLER RULES

1. IT’S MINE if I like it.

2. IT’S MINE if I think it’s mine.

3. IT’S MINE if it looks like mine.

4. IT’S MINE if it’s in my hand.

5. IT’S MINE if I can take it from you.

6. IT’S MINE if I had it for a while.

&. IT’S MINE if it’s yours and I take it.

8. IT’S MINE if it’s left at my house.

9. IT’S MINE and can’t be yours in any way.

10. IT’S MINE! IT’S MINE! IT’S MINE!

Retired editor and public relations executive Thomas Langford’s column is titled “Some Edisto Stories.” Let him know if you have stories to share: 803-534-2097.

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