Month: April 2015

Sacred Harp in Greenville

Posted on By Tom 1 Comment on Sacred Harp in Greenville
Local, Music

Shape Note Singing in Greenville

Each month a Sacred Harp singing is held just around the corner from my house at the First Christian Church. The singing takes place on “the Friday before the third Sunday of each month,” using the parlance of singing organizers. This singing has been going on since the 1990s, and as close as it is to where I live, I’d never attended. I decided that needed to change, so this past Friday night I decided to pay them a visit.

It had been a long time since I’d participated in a singing. I think the last one I did was the William Walker Memorial Singing in Spartanburg way back in 2009. I’ve always seemed to have conflicts with the big singing days, usually a paddling trip with my friends. I had planned to do a podcast episode on shape note singing, so I knew I wanted to take part in another one soon.

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The Plantation Islands of Lake Marion

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Paddling, Photography

Minimalist Cypress High Key

The problem with planning a paddling trip in spring in South Carolina is that the weather can be quite fickle. It was a second Saturday, and time for our monthly Lowcountry Unfiltered excursion. Originally, we had planned to do a new section of the Edisto River. However, recent rains and the threat of more rain in the area had us a bit worried about river levels and currents. The stretch under consideration was long with lots of twists and turns. With a strong current it could turn out like our trip on the South Edisto, which was not the most pleasant paddling trip.

Instead, we turned our attention to Lake Marion and the Santee National Wildlife Refuge. An out-and-back trip would give us greater control over the route should bad weather arise. Our group has paddled several sections of this lake, including Sparkleberry, High Falls, Ferguson, and Persanti Island. However, we hadn’t done the wildlife refuge on the north side of the lake. It was time to check it out.

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Killing Time in Hendersonville

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Photography, Rambling

Jump Off Rock-002

We had spent a delightful afternoon at a birthday party for a two year old, the daughter of friends that live in Hendersonville. Glynda was flying into Asheville later that evening, and I wasn’t keen on making two trips up the mountain. Laura caught a ride back to Greenville with some other friends, and I decided to hang out in Hendersonville while I waited for my sister’s plane. It gave me a bit of time to explore.

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Laurens Cemetery Tour

Posted on By Tom 4 Comments on Laurens Cemetery Tour
History and Genealogy, Local, Photography, Rambling

Laurens Cemetery Tour-1

A couple of weeks ago I received notice through Facebook that the Laurens County Museum would be holding tours of the old Laurens City Cemetery.  Glynda and I had visited several weeks ago, and I thought this would be an excellent follow-up, and possibly answer some of the questions we had generated on our trip.  I figured that this might also be a good opportunity to get some audio for my upcoming podcast on cemeteries.

Prior to the tour I contacted Bill Cooper, who is chair of the Laurens City Cemetery Committee.  Bill works at the local library.  He’s  also an organist, and would fill in occasionally for me when my organist at First Presbyterian in Laurens was absent.  Bill would be conducting part of the tour, and was willing to contribute to the podcast.

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