Remembering the Walke

Posted on By Tom 6 Comments on Remembering the Walke
Family, History and Genealogy

Both my late father and Laura’s father served in the US Navy in WWII. Dad talked a little about doing MP patrols in Paris and being stationed in Guam, but really didn’t talk about the war. Mr. Wright was also reticent to talk about the way. I guess some experiences are just too hard to discuss. Now they are both gone, and those stories with them. However, there is one story from Mr. Wright that was told to Laura, not about WWII, but his later service in the Korean War. It was the story about how his ship, the USS Walke, was torpedoed in the Sea of Japan.

Cypress Adventures – Part 1, Sparkleberry

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Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Paddling, Photography

The past several days have been a marathon of kayaking trips. I’ve done three paddles in five days for a total of 21 miles. Each of these trips had some similarities, but there were some significant differences. The first trip was on Thursday of last week to Sparkleberry Swamp with the Tri-County Blueway Paddlers.

Drumming at the Duck Derby

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Local, Music

Last Saturday was Derby Day. For Greenville that means it’s time for the annual Reedy River Duck Derby, where thousands of rubber duckies are set loose at the top of Reedy Falls downtown and prizes are awarded for the first ones through. I had never witnessed the event, but this year decided to join my friends Jeff and Lori Holland and Our World Festival to do some drumming as part of the festival.

Lost Communities – Sessions 4, 5 &6

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Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Photography, Rambling

We only have two more sessions left in our Lost Communities course, and I have been remiss in posting the information for the last several sessions. In these past sessions we’ve traveled along the Broad River, looked at what’s under the state’s lakes, examined some railroad towns, and explored some Native American sites. Session 4 … Read More “Lost Communities – Sessions 4, 5 &6” »

Exploring the Broad River with Scott Withrow

Posted on By Tom 1 Comment on Exploring the Broad River with Scott Withrow
History and Genealogy, Local, Photography, Rambling

During our Lost Communities course for OLLI someone said that they wanted to got with Scott Withrow, my co-teacher, and me on one of our adventures. We confessed that we had never actually gone on an adventure together, but independently had been exploring many of the same areas. We decided that it was time for that to change. We had both wanted to explore the Broad River area for the following class, so we decided to do that together.

Paddling to Pompion Hill

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History and Genealogy, Paddling, Photography

I have missed our Second Saturday trips with Lowcountry Unfiltered. For one reason or another we’ve had conflicts with trips, or the weather wasn’t right, or the plans just fell through. It was great to get back together with the guys. This time we ventured into the Land of Unpronounceable Names in the heart of Berkeley County with a kayak trek from Huger Creek to Cooper River, a stop at the historic Pompion Hill Chapel, then back along the Cooper to Quinby Creek.

Lost Communities – Sessions Two and Three

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Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy

I’ve been remiss in my blogging lately. I’ve had a series of technical glitches (to be elaborated upon in a future post) and I’ve gotten completely wrapped up in my new endeavors. That means I’ve also missed one of our Lost Communities classes, so we’re up to Session Three. I’ve promised to post links to the class materials on this website, so here we go…