08/29/2026
“Waitresses, Housekeepers, and a Dumb Waiter”
Allison Houchins, historical documentarian
In the last installment of Lucas Mansion stories, we talked about two sisters and their adventures as wait and housekeeping staff of Diamond Jim. In this story, I thought it might be entertaining to talk about a particularly “dumb” waiter on his extensive list of employees. This waiter was known to simply travel up and down the three floors of the Lucas Mansion and became the most active when Diamond Jim was in town and entertaining guests. As he traversed the three floors, he would carry the most luxurious silver trays with steaming pots of
fragrant tea or coffee, covered dishes of eggs from Diamond Jim’s chicken coops, cream, milk, and butter from his Jersey cows, and local vegetables and meats from his neighbors, prepared by local women seasoned in their own right. These cooks worked for many years in that capacity, grateful for the extra income doing what they were known for!
At one point, Lucas’ niece from their hometown of Blacksburg, SC, was needed to come on the staff as well. Ethel Pedings, widowed at an early age, agreed to come and help care for the aging Captain Lucas, Jim’s father. She also managed the household, the staff, and Diamond Jim’s general affairs. Many folks spoke of her easy endearment to the community; a connection that was difficult for the sometimes-aloof Lucas! She joined the Hiddenite Baptist Church and
enjoyed the fellowship of the women’s group there. After Diamond Jim’s passing in the summer of 1952, Ethel stayed for about another year, untangling the kinks of settling the estate.
Ultimately, she would return to South Carolina.
Back to the dumb waiter. He was slow and required coaxing from staff below him. You always had to shut the door behind him, not to mention, open it in the first place. Spills from the silver service trays had to be dealt with daily. However, the other staff members were patient and seemed to understand his inconsistencies and somewhat erratic behavior.
Since I only have one more paragraph to tie up this story, I suppose I should tell you that the dumb waiter was simply a term for a 3x3 ½ foot box that was accessed from the same sized door that opened in a wall column in the mansion kitchen. Inside the tongue-and-grooved wall, the box and two pulley ropes carried meals up to guest rooms at their request. This dumb waiter would stop at every floor and could be unloaded in small closets that it traveled through. In the
process of restoring the mansion, the open shaft had to be claimed for a series of 6x6 inch supports to further buttress the weighty floors. I could not resist and climbed in the box just one time before it was permanently closed. I wonder if the sisters ever took a ride when no one was looking…
