Patricia McNeely

South Carolina Dances with Isabel Whaley Sloan Patricia McNeely

Rachel Haynie dreamed of writing this book about Isabel Whaley Sloan but died in July 2018 before it was finished so her friends joined together to finish the book. Born in Columbia, South Carolina in 1897, Isabel started teaching ballroom dancing and social etiquette when she was 17 years old in 1914. Generations of children, which included Governor Henry McMaster, flocked to her classes all over the state, and she organized dances and social events for thousands of servicemen who were stationed at Fort Jackson during World War II. Her students remember her as a tall, elegant, graciously tough teacher with a silver whistle that she blew vigorously to tame the sometimes-unruly boys and to encourage the girls to sit with their ankles crossed. After teaching dancing and manners in Columbia and around the state for almost three-fourths of a century, she died in 1991 at the age of 93. Her long-time dancing partner Simpson Zimmerman said she never retired.