South Carolina General Assembly
124th Session, 2021-2022

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Bill 955


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(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

TO REQUEST THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION NAME THE JUNCTION OF ROSS CANNON STREET AND EAST MADISON STREET IN THE CITY OF YORK IN YORK COUNTY "JOHN HENRY HARDIN INTERSECTION" AND ERECT APPROPRIATE MARKERS OR SIGNS AT THIS INTERSECTION CONTAINING THESE WORDS.

Whereas, John Henry Hardin, Jr., was born January 5, 1911, in McConnellsville, South Carolina, to Hattie Ross Taylor and John Henry Hardin, Sr.; and

Whereas, armed with only a sixth-grade education, Hardin was an excellent reader, skilled at math, and a hard worker, often holding down two jobs. In the 1940s he opened Hardin's Lunch in then Yorkville, in a building that housed not only a grill, but a beauty and barber shop, and a pool room. He was said to make the best chili hot dogs, cheeseburgers, and bologna sandwiches around, with lines of patrons extending out the door. In addition to being a business, from the late 1940s to the late 1980s, the site also became the social hub for blacks to eat, drink, and dance in the segregated South; and

Whereas, Hardin married an elementary school teacher, Janet Archie, and had a family that in time numbered five children. A man of deep faith, he worked six days a week and attended church every Sunday. Through his hard work and business acumen, Hardin was able to send all of his children to college to provide them a better life and opportunities; and

Whereas, John Henry Hardin, Jr., passed away December 17, 1990. The small building that once housed Hardin's Lunch now stands empty. However, Hardin's legacy as one of York's first black entrepreneurs, who not only survived but thrived in the Jim Crow South, lives on; and

Whereas, it is only fitting and proper that members of the South Carolina General Assembly pay homage to John Henry Hardin, Jr., a native son whose contributions left an indelible imprint on York County's African American heritage, by naming an intersection in the City of York in his memory. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:

That the members of the General Assembly request the Department of Transportation name the junction of Ross Cannon Street and East Madison Street in the City of York in York County "John Henry Hardin Intersection" and erect appropriate markers or signs at this intersection containing these words.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Department of Transportation.

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