Month: April 2009

Middle Tyger Connected

Posted on By Tom 3 Comments on Middle Tyger Connected
Local

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Yesterday we got word that Groce Rd, next to our office, would be closed while a new pedestrian bridge was being moved into place across the Middle Tyger River. Later in the afternoon things had slowed down enough that I decided to wander down and see what was going on. I got there just as the bridge was being lifted into place, and decided to stay and watch it happen.

The new pedestrian bridge is part of a grant-funded project called “Middle Tyger Connected.” Funding has been provided by the Mary Black Foundation, with additional funding from the Middle Tyger Chamber of Commerce and District Five Schools of Spartanburg. The project will connect the town of Lyman with the district’s S.C.A.L.E outdoor classroom and the new Stoneledge Park in Duncan.

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Western SC Tower Tour

Posted on By Tom 7 Comments on Western SC Tower Tour
Entertainment, Geocaching and Maps, Local, Photography, Rants, Travel

Westminster/Oakvale Tower

It seems like spring break got away from me without my being about to get out and visit the lookout towers like I wanted. This Friday was one of the best days, as far as weather was concerned, so I was able to visit some of the locations. My target would be those towers located in Northwestern South Carolina, along with any other interested tidbits I might discover along the way. It was a push, but I managed to visit eight tower locations in one day.

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Family Haunts

Posted on By Tom 6 Comments on Family Haunts
History and Genealogy, Photography

Road to the Home Place

I have always enjoyed looking at the photos of Scott West (South Carolina’s Northern Kingdom). Scott and I seem to cover some of the same territory in Laurens County, and I’ve always admired his gutsy trespassing to get great shots of the interiors of old abandoned houses and interesting places.

Recently, Scott posted a couple of pictures of the old Poole Homestead in the Long Branch Community of Laurens County. I immediately recognized the place as being in one of the old photos my Dad has. After a couple of message exchanges it turns out that we do have some distant family connections (don’t ALL Southerners?) and that some of his family had attended Long Branch Pentecostal Holiness, where my father had pastored years ago.

That brings us to this Tuesday. My mother had taken a trip to visit her sisters in North Carolina, so my Dad was on his own for the week. Since I was on spring break, I decided to head down and hang out with him, and see if I could find this photo of the Poole Homestead. I did find it, and we decided to take a tour of some of the old family haunts throughout Newberry and Laurens Counties.

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