A sunny day made for a great day for people attending the third annual Olympia Community Festival. Tents were set up offering food, kid print I.D. from the police department, and a glimpse of the past.

Southside Baptist Church was one of the vendors with a tent at the festival. At its tent were memories of Olympia School, including a football from the 1953 football team that went 12- 0.

It wasn't just the displays that brought back memories from the past, but the people as well. Friends and new acquaintances were able to share stories of the past.

Jim Jaco offered the story of how Olympia got its name. "Olympia is named after Commodore William Perry's flag ship, the USS Olympia. William B. Whaley was building a mill in the Olympia area that was the biggest mill in the world at that time. Whaley became fascinated with engines and engineering while attending Cornell University in New York. He was so impressed when he learned about Commodore Perry's battle against the Spanish in the Spanish- American War that he named the mill Olympia. Commodore Perry battled the Spanish fleet, which had 12 ships, while his fleet only commanded six ships. Commodore Perry fought off the Spanish's 12 ships without losing a single one of his," Jaco recalled.

There was also music from Rip Tide, a band from Orangeburg, and tours to 701 Main Street, the mill that is now the Granby Apartments, and also the Rock Quarry. Tourists who decided to take the quarry tour went as far down as 400 feet below sea level.

"The festival brings with it a family atmosphere. It started with the churches in the community organization. Even today some of the turn out is people who have left the Olympia Community but come back for the festival. It is a good turn out," Jaco said.