08/06/2026
On the Rise – by Laura J. McKenzie
August 5, 2026
“Guardian Angel”
There comes a moment when there is a pivotal moment in your life, but you never realize it until much, much later.
Early in my career I was the editor of the Hampton County Guardian (Hampton, SC). It was a 12-page newspaper that had been around for 100 years but was aching to be more than its history.
My staff was small… like three people including me and one of them, the advertising manager, had given me their notice. Of course, we put together a “help wanted” ad and waited.
One morning a woman came into my office and applied for the job. She was older than me but then I was in my 20’s and just about every business proprietor was older than me. She told me that she was a widow with children to provide for and her last job had just downsized. She needed a job and told me that if I gave her a chance, I wouldn’t regret it.
She was right.
Lettie Ginn became the backbone of the Hampton County Guardian.
I came to realize that Lettie knew just about everybody in the county. She knew who was married to whom, who were first, second or third cousins (once or twice removed), and who needed help.
She listened. Lettie got to know every business in the county and figured out what they needed to advertise. Then she created those ads that would bring in customers.
Many people think editors and reporters are what newspapers are all about. Wrong. Advertising pays the bills. It pays the salaries – hers and mine. It creates credibility that allows the journalists to do their job.
Lettie could sell ice to Eskimos in the middle of a blizzard. The toughest advertiser always knew she would overcome. I’m not quite sure how she did it, but she never failed to meet the goals of both those business owners, but also the Guardian.
Advertising once was a delicate balance. If you sold too much, too often, a newspaper could lose its second-class postal permit as it was then deemed a “shopper”. Lettie knew how to keep those percentages perfectly in line.
Finally came the day when we both agreed that the Guardian shouldn’t be a 12-page newspaper anymore. It needed to be a 14-page newspaper. She took it as her personal mission to raise the bar, sell to that bar and maintain it. Over time she took it to a 16, then 20, then a 24-page standard with special editions approaching 36 to 40 pages.
For my 40th birthday she sold a half-page “share page”, selling “over the hill” ads to friends, family, businesses and others. I didn’t know anything about it until the press rolled. She made sure all the staff was “in” on the scheme, including the press operators who made a last-second page exchange to include the ad. The South Carolina Press Association awarded her first place that year for Best Share Page.
Lettie was not just an employee. She was a friend.
She entertained my two young sons when they came to the office and watched them grow. She gave them a dancing and singing turkey one year that still makes an appearance annually for Thanksgiving. “Turkey in the Straw” is heard over…and over…and over….
She gave me a half-grown puppy that turned out to be one of the best canine companions a family could want.
Lettie cheered when we shared accomplishments. She shared hugs when I was down. She listened when I needed an ear.
She was a better friend to me than I was ever to her.
She fiercely supported and protected her family. They were her rock and her passion in life.
And through it all Lettie vested herself in deep faith, relying on the God she knew would carry her through any storm. She supported her beloved Steep Bottom Baptist Church where her celebration of life will be held.
Former editor Martha Bee Anderson said the Hampton County Guardian’s staff were “Guardian Angels”. We lovingly carried on the theme whenever we could.
Now, Lettie is truly a “Guardian Angel”.
And I shall miss her.
