Local – Page 20 – Random Connections

The Sad Fate of Chappells

June 1, 2011 Tom 64 Comments

After our Saluda River kayaking trip and post-paddling excursion to Chappells, I became somewhat obsessed with the ghost town and its history. Several left comments on that last post also expressing interest in what happened to the town.

Ghost towns fascinate me. At one time this street was bustling with traffic and activity, and now it’s completely overgrown and deserted. The how and why towns die out are varied, but in this case there are some straightforward reasons why Chappells didn’t survive. It appears that weather and bad luck dealt the worst blows.

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Exploring Chappells

May 31, 2011 Tom 14 Comments

One my posts that seems to get the most hits and generates the most discussion is the one on the Ghost Towns of South Carolina. In that post I mentioned that probably weren’t many true ghost towns, but only near-ghost towns — towns with a dying city center, but a thriving community around it. Monday … Read More “Exploring Chappells” »

Balloon Chasing

May 29, 2011 Tom 1 Comment

Local

Memorial Day means Freedom Weekend Aloft is in town. This is the 29th year of the festival, and it’s hard to believe that it’s been around that long. We decided we would head down this evening and see if we could spot some of the balloons.

FWA started out as a July 4th holiday, and was held at Donaldson Center. It kept that venue and time slot for many, many years. Either because of expenses at Donaldson, declining attendance, or whatever, it was moved to Anderson for awhile. Then its date was moved from Independence Day to Memorial Day, and the venue moved to Heritage Park in Simpsonville. It seems to be doing very well on this date and location.

There was to be a mass ascension between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm, so we headed on down after an early dinner. We didn’t want to get mixed up in the crowds, nor did we want to pay a park entrance fee just to watch the balloons. After a bit of driving we found lots of folks in the parking lot of Bryson Middle School, and that’s were we set up shop, too.

It wasn’t long before the balloons started to appear above the trees. Some went up very quickly, others, just sort of skimmed the tree line at a leisurely pace.

Brood 19

May 12, 2011January 28, 2024 Tom No Comments

Local, Science

Our outings lately have sounded like something from a season of the X-File. A couple of weeks ago we went in search of Blue Ghosts, and last night we went in search of Brood XIX of the thirteen-year cicadas.

I had heard these insects last Saturday on my kayaking trip on Lake Greenwood. The noise was amazing and was constant. It sounded more like the phasers from the original Star Trek series.

Hearing me talk about them, and hearing and reading about them on the news, both Laura and her mother wanted to find these things. So, late yesterday afternoon before it got dark we went in search of them.

In Search of Blue Ghosts

April 28, 2011 Tom 8 Comments

Local, Science

Wednesday evening is normally our night to watch Ghost Hunters. This evening, however, we decided to hunt for our own ghosts. Specifically, we were after the elusive Blue Ghost Firefly, Phausis reticulata.

Blue ghost fireflies only glow during mating season, and are only found in isolated areas in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Both the males and females give off a constant bluish glow, unlike the fireflies in our area, which pulse on a regular basis. The males hover about head-height off of the forest floor, while the pale, wingless females glow along the bottom of the forest. The effect is mesmerizing, as these bluish orbs float through the woods.

The fireflies have a very limited range. They are found in undisturbed forested areas, often in the Smokey Mountains and in Dupont State Forest in North Carolina.

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Bad Creek Views

April 18, 2011 Tom 2 Comments

Local

The weather Sunday was beautiful, albeit a bit brisk. We decided that we needed to get out of the house for a bit, so Laura, her mother, and I hopped in the car for a drive and a picnic. We started by driving up scenic Highway 11 past Table Rock, then on up toward Lake … Read More “Bad Creek Views” »

Greenville Historical Aerial Imagery

April 5, 2011 Tom 3 Comments

History and Genealogy, Internet, Local

Sometime last week the Greenville Cageliner had an article about a new website from the Greenville County GIS Office (http://gis.greenvillesc.gov/historicalimagery/). The website features historical aerial photography imagery as a map, similar to Google Earth. Images are available for 1955, 1965, 1979, 1989, 1997, and 2009, and cover the downtown area, along with a bit of the county. Also included is the Sanford Insurance Map of the city from 1920.

I could spend a HUGE amount of time exploring the site. Looking at how the city has changed over the decades has been fascinating, and somewhat depressing. The patterns of urban sprawl are quite clear at a distance, and it can be sad to look back on landmarks that are no longer there. On the other hand, there have been some marked improvements in areas such as along the banks of the Reedy River, and these images show that very clearly.

I started with the area around the old Furman campus. I had never really understood the location of the old bell tower in relation to the rest of the campus, but this imagery makes it very clear. (Click on the images for a larger view.)

Prosperity, Pomaria, Peak

January 24, 2011 Tom 1 Comment

Family, Local

…and other towns that don’t start with “P”

Saturday morning my sister Glynda and I headed down to Prosperity to visit the parents. Mom and dad were in the mood to get out and explore. We decided to hit some of our favorite places – the communities just to the east of Prosperity. Even though I had visited these places with the parents, Glynda had never been out this way.

First stop, Pomaria. The central business district of this little place is pretty much a ghost town, although there is still a lively community surrounding it. We stopped on Main Street to take some shots.

Interestingly enough, most of the businesses had the name “Wilson.”

From Pomaria we headed south to Peak. This has always been an intersting, somewhat isolated little community on the banks of the Broad River. I had always thought that the town got its name because of the hilly terrain, sort of like the nearby Little Mountain. However, it was named for the railroad superintendent of the time, Mr. H. T. Peake.

The main draw for Peak (apart from its quaintness) is access to the Palmetto Trail and the spectacular bridge that spans the Broad River. The town’s people initially rejected the plan, fearing strangers wandering through their town. I can only see this as a good thing for the community, as more people come to visit to see the bridge and the other railroad trestles that they are converting into footbridges.

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Snow Days

January 12, 2011 Tom No Comments

Local, Miscellaneous

All the weather forecasters were predicting it – a whole bunch of snow late Sunday night into Monday with significant accumulations. It was certainly cold enough. Laura and I did our regular trek to the grocery store on Sunday, and, of course, certain sections were seriously depleted in anticipation of the storm.

It stayed sunny for most of Sunday. I was a bit surprised when our district called off school so early, but I guess they were taking the forecasts seriously. They turned out to be correct. Monday morning we awoke to a blanket of snow covering everything.

Rescuing Rose

January 10, 2011 Tom 2 Comments

Family, Local

We had quite the neighborhood adventure Sunday afternoon. Our lake levels have been lowered so that we can do some annual maintenance, and Laura had spotted a new, very elaborate beaverdam just upstream from us. I had walked down to take a couple of photos when I spotted some blonde fur in the mud in … Read More “Rescuing Rose” »

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