Nan Herring Shape Note Singing 2015

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Local, Music

Herring Shape Note Singing

Saturday was one of those busy days where I needed to be about five people. Between potential paddling trips, Artisphere, Furman graduation, and other local festivals, there were lots of choices. I decided to head over to Furman for the 2015 Nan Herring Shape Note Singing.

The Nan Herring Singing is held each year on “the Saturday before the Second Sunday,” using the parlance of the singing community. This year and last year the date conflicts with Furman Graduation. This was not the case before Furman went on a semester system and graduation was in early June. The last time I came to this singing was in 2008, before the change, and we were able to use Herring Hall, where we rehearse for Chorale. This time, due to conflicts with the Furman Singers needing their home space, we held the singing on the stage of Daniel Recital Hall.

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From Pickens to Oolenoy

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History and Genealogy, Local, Miscellaneous, Photography, Rambling

Oolenoy Baptist Church and Cemetery-012

It was a spectacular Wednesday morning. I’d been doing yard work all week, and needed to escape. That seemed like the perfect time for a trip to the Pickens Flea Market. This time, rather than carry cameras, I had a backpack loaded with audio recording gear.

Apparently everyone in Pickens County had the same idea as me. I had planned to get there around 8:00, but Highway 183 from Greenville to Pickens was a zoo, and traffic was clogged headed through the town and out to the flea market. Eventually, though, I did get a nice, shaded parking space, and set out to explore.

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Blue Ghosts 2015

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Local

Blue Ghost Fireflies-6

Note: Once again life is happening faster than the blogging thereof. I’m still trying to play catch up from the last couple of weeks before I do anything else interesting.

As we were getting ready to leave Florida I got an e-mail from our friend Joyce McCarrell saying that it was once again time for the Blue Ghost fireflies. These elusive insects are only active for a limited time in the spring, and only appear in very limited areas. Of course we were going to try to make it back in time.

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Quick Trip to Florida

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Family, Paddling, Photography

Indian River Paddling

We’ve been making more trips than usual down to Florida. Laura’s been trying to help out with her elderly mom, so we’ve been heading down as often as we can. Amy had to give a talk in California, so Laura flew down before the weekend, and I drove down and joined her after my Chorale concert.

Since we’ve been making so many trips down this way I decided to bring a kayak down and leave it so that I wouldn’t be hauling one back and forth. I decided to take the Wilderness Systems Pamlico 145 tandem that I have. We can use it as a tandem boat, but if I push the front seat back it works well as a solo boat.

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The Mystery of Shiloh School

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History and Genealogy, Photography, Rambling

Shiloh-Queendale School-002

Back last fall we were presented with a mystery. Fellow photographer Hank Myers had contributed a photograph of an old brick school to the SCIWAY.net South Carolina Picture Project. The project editor, Tara Bailey, had initially labeled the school as Shiloh Rosenwald School. After a bit of research, the three of us decided that it wasn’t a Rosenwald school, so Tara edited the photo entry to reflect that new information.

Shiloh School

When Ken and I visited the location we had a couple of potential sites for the Rosenwald School. We checked those out, but couldn’t find any existing schools at those locations. Based on that information, the SCIWAY entry now says that the school is no longer extant.

…or is it?

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Sacred Harp in Greenville

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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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