Local – Page 22 – Random Connections

An Evening at the Fair

September 10, 2010 Tom 4 Comments

Laura had an American Chemical Society meeting Tuesday evening, so I was free to explore. I decided to take my camera out to the Upper South Carolina State Fair.

When I arrived at the fairgrounds, there were a few people, but it wasn’t too terribly crowded I was able to park fairly close to the entrance. I got another surprise as I got to the entrance. It was “Gate Buster” night, so there was free admission to the fair, and $15 for an armband for unlimited rides.

I got there at the height of the “golden hour”. The setting sun bathed the garish colors of the fair, creating a warm pallet with a darkening blue sky accented with clouds.

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North Carolina Arboretum

September 9, 2010 Tom No Comments

Local, Travel

Monday was an absolutely stunning day. The air was clear, and the temperatures were much cooler than they had been. We decided to take the convertible up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and have a picnic. We knew it would be crowded with other Labor Day travelers, but we couldn’t resist.

Initially, the drive did not disappoint. The views from the overlooks were much more spectacular with the low humidity. There was a steady stream of traffic, but it wasn’t too bad. We stopped at one overlook for our picnic lunch, then continued on up to Mount Pisgah. That’s where things went crazy.

As soon as we pulled into the parking lot for the Mount Pisgah trails, steam started billowing from under the hood. There hadn’t been any other warning. The temperature gauge looked fine. However, something wasn’t right. We opened the hood and let it cool for awhile, then decided to hike along one of the trails for a bit to give it some more time to settle down. We decided that the best thing to do would be to head back down the mountain, since continuing would take us further from civilization.

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Crowded Cunningham

August 30, 2010 Tom No Comments

Local, Paddling

I hadn’t planned to go paddling this weekend. However, someone posted a last-minute trip on the Greenville Canoe and Kayak Meetup group for Lake Cunningham, and I made a last-minute decision to join them.

It turned out to be really last minute, because I overslept, and almost didn’t make it. Fortunately, Lake Cunningham is close, so I tossed the boat and some gear in the back of the truck and headed out. I kept it light – one camera, no GPS, and very little extraneous stuff.

Eventually 20 boaters showed up at the put-in on Lake Cunningham – quite a crowd. Both skill levels and boat types were quite varied. There were a couple of us that had paddled the lake extensively, so I wound up as one of the defacto guides for the trip.

Ebenezer, Shiloh, Moriah, and Beulah

August 25, 2010 Tom No Comments

History and Genealogy, Local

Photo – Mount Carmel Presbyterian Church, Mount Carmel, South Carolina

Saturday afternoon my sister Glynda and I had ridden up toward Saluda, NC, for lunch. She and I both love exploring, so on the way home we were taking several side roads and rambling over the countyside. Our route took us past Ebenezer Church near Tigerville. That led to a discussion about the name Ebenezer, and about Biblical place names in general, and how so many of these have worked their way into our own geography.

A Biblical place name such Ebenezer, Beulah, or Shiloh is often indicative of an older, usually historic congregation. The word “ebenezer” itself is an excellent name for a church – according to 1 Samuel 7:12, it was a stone to commemorate what God had done for Israel – a place to give thanks and dedication. However, in today’s society the word is more likely to conjure up a Dickensian miser, and the word “Beulah” is more likely to bring forth unflattering images of a large woman, rather than a vision of the land of Israel, as Isaiah had intended. (Although, the word did originally refer to a married woman, so the comparison may not be as far-fetched as one might think.)

Modern churches tend to pick names that are more evocative of today’s sensibilities – New Spring, Grace, New Life, etc., etc. – or they are more place specific or pick names of neighborhoods, such as Brookwood. I can’t think of any newer congregation that has selected one of the old Biblical names.

Disc Golf at Furman

August 23, 2010 Tom 3 Comments

Entertainment, Local

Back last spring Furman University put up an official disc golf course. Sunday was a beautiful (albeit, hot) day, so I decided to spend the afternoon playing a round.

Background

As a student here a quarter of a century ago we played quite a lot of Frisbee golf. We used standard-sized Frisbees (there was no other brand) and picked a target for our next hole, be it a tree, bench, or hapless passer-by. Then we would estimate how many throws it would take to get there, and that would be our par. It was informal, but it worked.

Furman took its first steps toward an official course about fifteen years ago. This first venture was wasn’t much more than what we had done when I was a student. A map was drawn up indicating which objects (again, mostly trees) would be used as targets. The course wound around the mall and PAC building, for the most part.

A few years ago there was an attempt to create a true course on campus, but for whatever reason, that didn’t go through. Finally, in February of this year it was announced that the course would be built.

Old School Charm

July 18, 2010 Tom 9 Comments

Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Local

Perhaps it’s that I’m the son of a school principal, and had run of the various schools that I attended growing up. Perhaps it was the many reunions and covered dish suppers our family attended in various country community centers. Perhaps it was even because I spent college summers working maintenance – painting and waxing all of the schools in our district. It might, in some small part, have something to do with my own long career as an educator. Whatever the reason, I’ve always had a fascination with school architecture. Just about any school can be interesting, but what catches my attention most are the old wooden framed country schools.

Driving through the country these are easy to spot. The architecture is distinctive. The buildings tend to be squarish with hipped roofs. If it’s got an old bell tower, all the better.

Well, OK, they don’t all have to be white frame. There are some cool old brick schools, too.

Recently I was doing some research on the South Carolina State Archives website. There is a marvelous collection of photographs of old schools taken between 1935-1950 for insurance purposes.

Browsing this collection got me thinking about these old schools. They are great subjects for photography, and an excellent symbol of a bygone time. I wanted to see if I could find more of these old schools, and that meant making a list of potential targets using Google Earth.

Loss of a Landmark

July 12, 2010 Tom 2 Comments

Local

Someone who reads this website recently sent me a message via Facebook that was a bit disheartening. It seems that the South Carolina Forestry Commission is selling several of its lookout towers to the highest bidder. These include the Kelly Tower in Union County, the Silverton Tower near Jackson, SC, the Edgefield Tower, the Riverside … Read More “Loss of a Landmark” »

Laurens County Photo Trek

July 7, 2010 Tom 2 Comments

Local, Photography

I had Monday off as part of the 4th of July weekend. My brother, Houston, and my sister, Glynda, also had the day available, so we decided to go on another photo exploration. This time our target was our old stomping grounds around Laurens, South Carolina.

Houston had some specific locations he wanted to see if we could find. Most of these were in the old Long Branch area, but we knew we would get sidetracked in route. I picked up Glynda and Houston at the family home in Gray Court. Armed with GPS, maps, and more cameras than we had passengers, we set out.

We actually didn’t get very far. At the south end of Gray Court is the historic farm area that the Gray Court-Owings Historical Society has put together. Glynda and Houston weren’t aware of this place, so we spent a good bit of time looking at the old cabins and farm implements and taking pictures of these.

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Saluda Lake, Take Two

July 4, 2010 Tom 1 Comment

Local, Paddling, Photography

When Alan and I came out to Lake Saluda last week, I wasn’t feeling so hot. Well, actually, I was too hot – heat exhaustion plus a fever of over 100. Couple that with the fact that we missed the channel we were supposed to be taking, and it wasn’t an ideal trip. So, when Dave Freeland called and wanted a close paddling venue that would be good for his 13 year old son, Zach, I suggest heading back to Saluda.

We made our way back down Motor Boat Club Road to Saluda Landing. Personally, I would love to find some other access point. These guys charge per boat, so to launch our three kayaks was $15. I don’t mind paying a parking fee, but the per boat fee is a bit steep. However, they have a monopoly on lake access, and they know it.

We paddled out, then southward to avoid the silted spit, then turned upstream. This time we hugged the right channel toward the river, rather than being tempted by the more open water of the west arm of the lake.

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Chasing the Swamp Rabbit – Illegally

July 4, 2010 Tom 8 Comments

Local, Photography

It’s pretty bad with 85 degrees feels like a cooling trend. However, the humidity was down, and it didn’t feel as sweltering as the past several weeks have been. Laura and I had taken advantage of the nice weather to do some yard work in the morning, and in the afternoon we decided to take the bikes up to Furman and ride part of the Swamp Rabbit Trail.

We parked at the south end of the Furman section of the trail and headed north. This was the first time Laura had ridden the trail since it had been paved. However, the combination of earlier yard work and lack of recent cycling got to her. We made it about 2.5 miles before she decided it was time to head back.

I wasn’t done, though. I wanted to continue on down the trail toward Greenville. I particularly wanted to see parts of the trail I hadn’t traveled yet. I knew that the trail had been closed at the CSX railroad crossing, so I couldn’t make it all the way into town. My intent was to ride down to the barricades, turn around, and head back. Turns out I did two things I hadn’t intended – I made it all the way to Greenville, and I did it illegally.