Annette Rourke and Sarita Bethea attended the Antiques Roadshow taping on June 23 at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
Each person could take two items to the show.
Rourke carried with her a dress made from a silk parachute used in World War II. A soldier, Clem Hutchinson, sent a parachute to his mother one month before being killed in action. She made silk dresses for little girls out of the parachute. The parachute was used to send rations to soldiers on the ground.
Hutchinson mailed this to his mother a month before he was killed in action. She received a telegram notifying her of his death before receiving the package. Rourke has her mother (Priscilla Crysta Hutchinson) and her aunt’s dresses. She has a letter from the soldier to his mother.
Rourke also took one of three Japanese swords, which was appraised between $300-$400. The swords were given by her grandfather to his three grandchildren.
Rourke said out of 6,000 people who attended, she ws one of only 52 who were taped. Rourke says she will always keep the dress and pass it down to her daughter, Priscilla. The shows from this visit will air in 2013.