ELGIN – An estimated 7,000 persons crammed into the small Kershaw County town of Elgin Saturday for the 2nd annual Elgin Catfish Stomp.

The crowd lined U. S. 1, four and five deep, to view a morning Christmas parade of 75 units.

At noontime, they shifted over to the Blaney School cafeteria to spoon away at some 600 gallons of catfish stew, the main attraction of the stomp. By nightfall, only a few gallons remained.

Parade trophies were won by Winnsboro High School for Best Performing Band; Salem Methodist Youth Fellowship for Best Religious Float and Dave Jeffers for Best Amateur Float.

Governmental officials participating in the parade included Rep. Ken Holland, D- S. C., S. C. Agriculture Commissioner G. Bryan Patrick Jr., and Sen. Horace Smith, D-Spartanburg.

Music and dancing entertainment captivated the crowd during the afternoon, featuring the Camden High Steppers square dance group, Carroll Brown with folk songs, Pete Ray with country and western singing, Jacob’s Ladder gospel music and the Bluegrass Express of Columbia.

Pete James, Catfish Stomp coordinator, praised the day as a “marked improvement over our first effort.

“Today will go a long way toward establishing our reputation as a festival attraction. We drew spectators from all points of South Carolina and we feel like they enjoyed themselves here in a most orderly fashion.”

Charles Powell Serves Up A Batch of Catfish Stew As Victor Marthers, Left, Looks On and Claudia Ross, Center, Passes Out the Tableware.