Welcome To Les Truands Homepage
Les Truands was a high school social club in Columbia, South Carolina from 1948 until 1973. Membership was made up of young men from Columbia, Dreher, Eau Claire, and University High Schools.
Les Truands was organized on November 15, 1948, with members from Dreher and Columbia High Schools. Membership quickly expanded to Eau Claire High School. The club existed for twenty-five memorable years before fading into history in 1973.
During that quarter century approximately five hundred young Columbians were Les Truands members. An excerpt from a November, 1949 Columbia Record article gives insight into early club intentions:
"The Les Truands, an organization of boys of Dreher and Columbia High Schools, combined, has been organized. The club was formed in November, 1948. The club seeks to promote better understanding between the two high schools. The club will hold two formal dances and a beach party each year. The club members have gone on record as opposed to drinking and intoxication. They have planned a parents’ board for guidance. The club has rings ordered for members. For each officer there is a key chain charm."
2011 Grand Reunion
The February 18, 2011 edition of the Columbia Star newspaper carried an article about the Les Truands. The following link will take you to the article.http://www.thecolumbiastar.com/news/2011-02-18/Society/A_step_back_in_memory_with_the_Les_Truands.html
The Les Truands Shield Was Created In 1948. The motto, a Latin phrase, " Omnes Pro Unum" means "All For One".
Les Truands, Roughly Translated Into French Means Ne'er-Do-Wells, or "The Bums".
How The Club Name Was Chosen
Two brothers, Preston and Tony Walker were the founders of Les Truands. They lived in the Eau Claire setion of Columbia and attended Dreher High School because Eau Claire High School had not yet opened. The brothers had no trouble enlisting members and the club was chartered in Novermber 1948, and in the 1949-50 school year it had over 50 members. The club was founded in part as an alternative to The Dark Horsemen, an stablished club at Dreher. The club name, Les Truands, means 'the bums' in French and was an intentional jab at The Dark Horsemen's perceived elitism and selective membership requirements. The little vagabon on the right was designed to support the club's name send a satirical message to the rival Horsemen. He first appeared on the cover of a dance card for a 1949 formal dance.
2016 Encore Reunion
Please consider this Les Truands web page a work in progress. Limited computer skills, limited time, new contributions to be added, etc., are going to be some of the excuses I will use to cover the errors, missing identification, sketchy descriptions, and all the other amateur mistakes to be found on this site. Please excuse them and then quickly get over it. If you tell me what they are I will attempt to fix them.
