South Carolina – Page 21 – Random Connections

Little River Blueway

January 19, 2012 Tom No Comments

Local, Paddling

While we were on our photo trek to McCormick Houston and I were scouting paddling locations. We both liked the Clark Hill area, and we were intrigued by the Little River branch, especially where it starts at Calhoun Mill. One of the comments on that post was from Kirk Smith, who pointed me in the … Read More “Little River Blueway” »

More on New Bordeaux

January 19, 2012 Tom 1 Comment

While we were on our McCormick County Photo Trek we had trouble locating the old town of New Bordeaux. I had it on my list as a potential ghost town target, but finding the actual town was elusive. Since we’ve returned from the trip I’ve been able to find out a bit more information, but … Read More “More on New Bordeaux” »

McCormick County Photo Trek

January 17, 2012 Tom 14 Comments

Family, History and Genealogy, Photography

Houston and I had a day off in common, so it was time for one of our mid-winter photo treks. I really like exploring the area south of Abbeville, McCormick, and Edgefield. That part of the state is rather remote and rich in history, including our family history. Even though we’ve been down that way several times, I never seem to cover all of it, so it was ripe as another target.

Our exploration group was larger than usual. In addition to the two of us, Houston’s wife, Lynda, was coming along, as was our sister Glynda. The plan was to meet Houston and Lynda Sunday morning in the parking lot of Calhoun Falls Pentecostal Holiness Church. From there we would head south and see what we would find. Our route would take us past paddling venues, ghost towns, fire towers, and several important genealogy spots. It had the makings of a perfect day.

Same As It Ever Was

January 13, 2012 Tom 1 Comment

History and Genealogy

Same as it ever was, Same as it ever was, Same as it ever was, Same as it ever was, Same as it ever was, Same as it ever was, Same as it ever was, Same as it ever was! —David Byrne, Once in a Lifetime I finally finished reading Walter Edgar’s tome, South Carolina: … Read More “Same As It Ever Was” »

Table 301

January 8, 2012 Tom 1 Comment

Restaurants

…or, “I watch way too much food television…” Laura and I had delayed our anniversary dinner. Our actual anniversary is right after Christmas, and this year we were traveling. So, this year we decided to go out for a nice meal at a more convenient time. We had been to The Lazy Goat several times … Read More “Table 301” »

Spirits of Springwood

October 24, 2011 Tom 3 Comments

History and Genealogy, Local, Photography

This past Sunday Laura and went on the Spirits of Springwood Tour sponsored by the Upcountry History Museum. Springwood Cemetery features many historic graves and lots of interesting headstones and carvings. I’ve visited many times on photo walks, but thought it would be interesting to get an “official” tour.

There were two tours scheduled – one starting at 5:00 pm and one at 6:45 pm. I initially wanted to do the 5:00 pm tour because the lighting would be so much better for photography. However, Laura convinced me that the 6:45 tour with flashlights would be fun, and that this wasn’t really a photography tour.

Photography tour or not, I came prepared. I had my DSLR with a 50mm f/1.8 lens, my trusty Nikon S70 sidearm, and the little infrared point-and-shoot I’d used on our Blue Ghost excursion. I knew a tripod wouldn’t be appropriate for a tour, so I brought cameras that would work well (mostly) in low-light situations.

As usual, we arrived early. I took advantage of the waning afternoon light to take a few photos.

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A Night at the Children’s Museum

October 13, 2011 Tom No Comments

Entertainment, Local

NOTE: It’s been a crazy week, and I’m just now getting around to posting this from last Friday’ nights outing.

Last night [Friday, October 7] the Children’s Museum of the Upstate held an Adult’s Only night. I had been wanting to visit the museum, so Laura and I and some of her colleagues from Furman bought tickets and headed on over.

The museum is located in the former home of the Greenville County Library. It’s an interesting space, with sweeping circular ramps leading from one level to the next, and perfect for some sort of museum or exhibit. I was very pleased that TCMU was able to move into that space with the library moved into its new building. It’s been open since 2009, but we haven’t been able to visit. Apparently they have a strict rule that you can’t visit if you don’t have a child with you. Kind of makes it hard for educators without children to check out what’s going on there.

We arrived right at 7:30 to see a line forming outside of the museum. Most of those in line were young adults in their 20s and early 30s – those without kids. It was very much a younger demographic. As we were in line, several of Laura’ colleagues from Furman (also in their 20s and early 30s) joined us. The line moved quickly, and soon we were wrist-banded and handed two tickets – one for an adult beverage, and one for a wine tasting.

Cedar Falls Park

September 20, 2011 Tom No Comments

Local, Photography

Sunday’s Greenville News had an article about a new park in southern Greenville County. Cedar Falls Park opened to the public recently, and I decided I needed to check it out.

First, a bit of background…

I’d stopped by this location on the Reedy River several times looking longingly at the shoals and the pool below. I also looked askance at the “Keep Out” signs everywhere, and only took photos from the roadside.

In 1993 Colonial Pipeline had a major oil spill on the Reedy. In 1999 they plead guilty to violations of the Clean Water Act, and agreed to a huge fine. Money from the fine, along with grants, paid for creation of the park. And finally, twelve years later, the park is a reality, and the “Keep Out” signs meaningless. (Although, if you look closely in the photo below, you’ll see one lingering Keep Out sign nailed to the tree.)

Jockey Lot Adventures

September 18, 2011January 28, 2024 Tom No Comments

Local, Weirdness

Beautiful cool morning, and Paul W, Brian G, and I decided to squander it with a trip to the Anderson Jockey Lot. Paul and I have made frequent forays into the world of flea markets. While growing up, he and his father would scour the yard sales, then resell their goods at various flea markets. So, Paul brings lots of experience to this endeavor. Brian is fairly new to the game. I’m along as an archivist, equipped with cameras and various sound recording devices to capture a distilled version of Southern culture. Turned out to be a successful trip on all levels.

When we arrived parking was tricky. It looked like there were going to be lots of people there. While there were lots of customers, the outside tables seemed fairly sparse. There were not as many vendors as usual.

One of the first things Paul noticed was that there didn’t seem to be many prices listed on items. I guess you would have to interact with the vendor and haggle a bit.

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Union County Photo Trek

September 11, 2011 Tom 3 Comments

History and Genealogy, Local, Photography

It started with a cryptic e-mail which began as follows:

Hello Tom,
I don’t know you and you don’t know me, but I do know about your fascination with ghost towns.

Mark Elbrecht had contacted me through this website, and he had a proposal. Mark is a fellow Flickr photographer, and it seems that he and I have similar interests as far as subject matter is concerned. He had arranged to meet with a representative of the Union Historical Society and get access to the Pinckneyville site, a ghost town I’ve been wanting to visit for quite some time, and he invited me to come along. There was absolutely no way I was going to pass up this opportunity.

Union

My brother Houston joined me, and this past Saturday we made the trek from Greenville to Union to join up with the group. We arrived a bit early, so we wandered the main street of Union and took a few photos of the architecture, including the spectacular court house…

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