Tag: coker

Photo found at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12291661/james-lide-coker

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The company he founded is called Sonoco today, a global provider of packaging products and services. (Not to be confused with Sunoco) He also founded Coker University (which was Welsh Neck High School, then the Coker College for Women, now Coker University).

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Wouldn’t he be proud to know that his 5th cousin, 2x removed, Jeanne Wescott (my grandfather’s sister), attended Coker College in 1943? (Jeanne’s grandmother and James were 5th cousins.)

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Just a year after he married his wife, the Civil War began and James fought in the Ninth South Carolina Infantry. He rose to the rank of major before getting hurt at Lookout Mountain, Georgia, shattering his leg in 1863. In that battle, he was captured by Union troops. He was released after 10 months.

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From the fields of Hartsville, SC to the battlefields of Chickamauga, his journey transformed agriculture and education, leaving a legacy that shaped industries and communities alike.

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Watch the video to witness the extraordinary life of James who wore many hats—farmer, soldier, and industrialist—who, despite the scars of war, cultivated a legacy of innovation and education that endures to this day.

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In 2002, he was inducted into South Carolina’s Hall of Fame. CHStoday

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“He was able to hire so many people in desperate straits after the war that he just uplifted the progress of everybody, black and white, urban or rural. He also was a leader in racial and social progress,”

Dr. Will Joslin (his great-grandson) said.

Read more at

https://archives.library.sc.edu/repositories/3/resources/40

https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/coker-james-lide-sr/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lide_Coker

Founded in 1899, Sonoco Products Company is a United States-based international provider of diversified consumer packaging, industrial products, protective packaging, and packaging supply chain services and the world’s largest producer of composite cans, tubes, and cores. Wikipedia
Stock price: SON (NYSE) $60.71 +0.07 (+0.12%)
Dec 30, 4:00 PM EST – Disclaimer
Headquarters: Hartsville, SC
Subsidiaries: Sonoco ThermoSafe, MORE
CEO: R. Howard Coker (Feb 2020–)
Number of employees: 21,000 (2017)
Revenue: 5.237 billion USD (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2020)
Founder: James Lide Coker
Founded: May 10, 1899

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