South Carolina Living February 2011

HUNGER

FIGHTERS

Food bank volunteers provide a vital lifeline in rural South Carolina

S .C . SC E N E

Casting for red drum

S .C . STO R I E S

Best all-around outdoorsman

HUMOR ME

FEBRUARY 2011

Packing away the security blanket

J.S. Watson has run Bread of Life food pantry in Marlboro County for 20 years.

THE MAGAZINE FOR COOPERATIVE MEMBERS Vol. 65 • No. 2 (ISSN 0047-486X, USPS 316-240) Read in more than 450,000 homes and businesses and published monthly except in December by The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc. 808 Knox Abbott Drive Cayce, SC 29033 Tel: (803) 926-3 1 75 Fax: (803) 796-6064 E-mail: letters@scliving.coop EDITOR

Keith Phillips FIELD EDITOR

Walter Allread

February 2011 • Volume 65, Number 2

16 Fighting Hunger

Many people in rural South Carolina don’t get enough nutritious food to eat, and with the state’s economy in crisis, assistance programs are seeing a dramatic increase in requests for help. See how food banks are meeting the needs—and how you can help.

PUBLICATION COORDINATOR

Sharri Harris Wolfgang DESIGNER

Susan Collins PRODUCTION

Jason Clarke WEB EDITOR

Van O’Cain COPY EDITOR

Susan Scott Soyars CONTRIBUTORS

Becky Billingsley, John Boyanoski, Mike Couick, Jim Dulley, Tim Hanson, Carrie B. Hirsch, Jan A. Igoe, Charles Joyner, Jenny Maxwell, Megan McKoy‑Noe, Bob Polomski, Marc Rapport Publisher

Lou Green ADVERTISING MANAGERS

Tel: (800) 984-0887 Dan Covell E-mail: dan@scliving.coop Keegan Covell E-mail: keegan@scliving.coop National Representation

Paid advertisements are not endorsements by any electric cooperative or this publication.

If you encounter a difficulty with an advertisement, inform the Editor.

Please send to your local co-op. Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to Address Change, c/o the address above.

ADDRESS CHANGES:

Periodicals postage paid at Columbia, S.C., and additional mailing offices. © COPYRIGHT 201 1. The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc. No portion of South Carolina Living may be reproduced without permission of the Editor. is brought to you by your member-owned, taxpaying, not-for-profit electric cooperative to inform you about your cooperative, wise energy use and the faces and places that identify the Palmetto State. Electric cooperatives are South Carolina’s — and America’s — largest utility network.

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING

SC LIFE

6 ON THE AGENDA

21 Chad Weatherford

Cooperative news

Celebrate Gullah culture on Hilton Head Island, relive the life and times of Gen. Francis “the Swamp Fox” Marion in Summerton and compete in the National Shag Dance Championships in Myrtle Beach. Plus: 146 reasons to get rid of your old refrigerator, S.C. Ramble and more!

POWER USER DIALOGUE

10 Keeping a bird’s eye view

The leaders of your local electric cooperative are keeping tabs on a proposed utility merger that could affect South Carolina’s electricity market.

ENERGY Q&A

12 Cleaning ductwork

Cleaner ducts can boost the efficiency of your HVAC system and improve the air quality in your home.

SMART CHOICE

14 Green gadgets

Get one step ahead of the recycling game with smart new electronics made from recycled materials.

HOMERUN

15 Efficiency tax credits

Some popular energy-efficiency tax credits have been extended into 2011, but at reduced rates.

STORIES

The winner of the 2010 Field & Stream Total Outdoorsman Challenge trains to defend his title.

SCENE

22 Stalking Big Red

South Carolina fishermen are flocking to the coast for the excitement of catching red drum on a fly.

SC GARDENER

26 Stop the crapemurder

For healthy blossoms this spring and summer, be gentle when you prune your crapemyrtles.

TRAVELS

28 Exploring Upcountry history

The Upcountry History Museum is just one of the outstanding museums found in downtown Greenville on the Heritage Green.

22 31

RECIPES

31 Welcoming winter dishes

Thyme-roasted chicken Tasty date bars Kramer’s crab ball appetizer CHEF’S CHOICE

32 Bringing Vienna to the beach

Chef Werner Horvath serves up Viennese cuisine at Café Old Vienna, an intimate, 30-seat eatery in the heart of Myrtle Beach.

HUMOR ME

38 The joy of Snuggie

Can’t get enough of your blanket with sleeves? You’re not alone.

34 MARKETPLACE

Hunger

FigHters

Food bank volunteers provide a vital lifeline in rural South Carolina

36 SC EVENTS

8 Member of the NCM network of publications, reaching more than 7 million homes and businesses

S .C . SC e n e

Casting for red drum

S .C . Sto r i e S

Best all-around outdoorsman

Humor me

Packing away the security blanket

February 2011

Printed on recycled paper

Tim Han son

National Country Market Tel: (800) NCM-1181

4 CO-OP CONNECTION

Step han ie Frey

ART DIRECTOR

Milton Morris

Pam Martin

J.S. Watson has run Bread of Life food pantry in Marlboro County for 20 years.

J.S. Watson, a volunteer at Bread of Life food pantry in Marlboro County, serves his neighbors in need with deliveries of nutritious food and a smile. Photography

by Milton Morris

On the Agenda For a listing p m co lete s, see of Event 6 page 3

Highlights FEBRUARY 1–28

Hilton Head Island Gullah Celebration

A month-long celebration of Gullah culture created by the Sea Island slaves and ­continued by their long line of descendants, the annual Hilton Head Island Gullah Celebration features a variety of performances, lectures, films and other presentations at venues around the island. One highlight is the Arts, Crafts and Food Expo, set this year for Saturday–Sunday, Feb. 12–13, on the grounds of Honey Horn Development. Everyone is invited, and remember, “Ef oonah yent hab hawss fuh ride—ride cow.” (If you don’t have a horse to ride, take the cow!)

For details, visit gullahcelebration. com or call (843) 689-9314.

TOP PICK FOR KIDS

Go ahead and touch!

A visit to the new Naturalist Center at the Museum of York County (MYCO) is strictly a hands-on experience. Modeled after the Naturalist Center at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., the MYCO center offers visitors hands-on access to specimens such as taxidermy mounts, animal bones, rocks, minerals and, of course, those preserved critters in bottles of formaldehyde. The museum says it’s a great way to get collections out of storage and into the hands of visitors, and a special section will be devoted to early learners.

The Museum of York County is located at 4621 Mount Gallant Road in Rock Hill.

For details, visit chmuseums.org/myco or call (803) 329-2121.

FEBRUARY 25–26

Living History with the Swamp Fox

Wikimedia Commons

MARCH 4–11

Juilliard in Aiken

A unique partnership between New York City’s internationally renowned The Juilliard School and the town of Aiken brings talented young musicians for a week of performances and outreach to local schools. The second year for the collaboration includes classical and jazz musical and dance performances at venues such as the elegant 60-room Joye Cottage, the Aiken County Historical Museum, The Willcox hotel, local churches and USC-Aiken.

For details, visit Juilliardinaiken.com or call (803) 292-3124.

6

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | February 2011 | scliving.coop

Museum of York County

Celebrate the life and times of one of South Carolina’s great Revolutionary War heroes at the Gen. Francis Marion Memorial Weekend in Summerton.

Festivities honoring the crafty “Swamp Fox” and his ability to outsmart British Redcoats begin with a Friday night lantern walk featuring costumed interpreters acting out scenes from the war. Saturday, you can stroll through a living history encampment where re-enactors will demonstrate what life was like for South Carolinians in the days of our nation’s founding.

The Gen. Francis Marion Memorial Living History Encampment and Lantern Walk will be held at Camp Bob Cooper in Summerton. For details, visit francismarioncountry.com or call (803) 478-2645.

MARCH 8­–10

National Shag Dance Championships

Who’s got the best moves? That’ll be determined at the National Shag Dance Championships finals. Billed as the longest continuously running shag dance contest in the country, the championships are a winter highlight at the home of the Shag and beach music, Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand. Held since 1984, winners have found themselves performing on national television and at professional sports events. This year’s National Shag Dance Championships will be held at 2001 Nightclub in Myrtle Beach.

For details, visit shagnationals.com or call (843) 222-6706.

E-MAIL COMMENTS, QUESTIONS AND GOOD NEIGHBORS TO LETTERS@SCLIVING.COOP

Honor Flights for the Greatest Generation Attention all World War II

combat veterans: Honor Flight of South Carolina wants you.

Applications are being taken now for veterans of the “Greatest Generation” to fly out of Columbia on Wednesday, April 27, for an all-expenses-paid visit to the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Honor Flight program began shortly after the memorial opened in 2004, and nationwide, more than 33,000 veterans have enjoyed trips to our nation’s capital. For its part, Columbiabased Honor Flight of South Carolina has hosted 1,500 men and women, says organizer Bill Dukes, who is

eager to honor even more vets. The average age of participants is 88 and about 1,000 veterans of the conflict die every day. “Our World War II veterans are well into their twilight years, so now’s the time,” he says.

Each excursion, using chartered US Airways jets, costs about $60,000. The veterans, of course, fly free.

Escorts pay $500 for the privilege of accompanying the group. Donations pay the rest. The flights typically leave Columbia saluted by a Fort Jackson honor guard, and while the focus of the trip is the World War II Memorial, it also includes visits to other monuments and Arlington National Cemetery.

Get on board! Apply for April’s Honor Flight

For more information or to apply for the April flight from Columbia, visit honorflightsc.com or call (803) 582-8826.

Other Honor Flight chapters in South Carolina include Charleston-based Honor Flight of the Lowcountry (honorflightlowcountry.com; (843) 906-0399), Greenville-based Honor Flight of the Upstate (honorflightupstatesc.com; (864) 963-5774) and Honor Flight of the The Grand Strand/ Myrtle Beach (843) 957‑8212.

Pull the plug on your old refrigerator

WWII combat veterans on Honor Flight trips pay tribute at sites including the World War II Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, left. The visits are free for vets and begin with a rousing airport send-off.

For participating veterans like Lou Fowler, a Columbia retiree who spent 13 months in brutal captivity after his bomber was shot down over Germany, the trip was a wonderful experience.

“When you lose your freedom you lose every-

—Marc Rapport

The cost of cool food If your fridge dates from the 1980s, you could save more than $100 each year by replacing it with an Energy Star qualified model. Compare the average annual electricity costs for refrigerators manufactured in the following years:

Replacing your old refrigerator with a newer, more efficient model is a smart way to save on your power bill (see chart), but you won’t realize those savings if you park the old fridge in a garage or basement to keep a few drinks or surplus food items cold.

Old refrigerators, especially those made before 1993, use more than twice as much electricity as new Energy Star-rated models, and the older your fridge gets, the harder it runs as the coolant weakens and door seals wear out. Worse yet, if you move an old refrigerator to an uninsulated location, such as a garage, it uses even more energy. A fridge in a 90-degree environment, for example, uses nearly 50 percent more power than in a 70-degree environment. And if the temperature falls below 40 degrees in winter, the refrigerator’s thermostat may not run its cooling and defrost cycles for the appropriate amount of time.

For more tips on how Pulling the plug on that old refrigerator—by donating to save energy, visit it to your favorite charity or recycling it—is a better energysavers.gov and choice, one that can save you as much as $146 a year in togetherwesave.com. cold, hard cash.

thing. I had none until I was liberated after I escaped right after the Battle of Bulge,” he says. “When I went into that beautiful memorial last year, it gave me that same feeling of freedom, of liberation, that I felt back then.”

$ 259 $ 163 $ 97

$ 66

$ 48

1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010 Date manufactured Energy Star

model Source: U.S. Department of Energy

scliving.coop | February 2011 | SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING

7

On the Agenda Reader Connections

Straight from the heart

The Vector Fish & Game Forecast provides feeding and migration times.

Major periods can bracket the peak by an hour. Minor peaks, ½ hour before and after.

AM Major

Minor

PM Major

17 11:46 6:16 18 6:46 12:01 19 7:01 12:46 20 7:31 1:16 21 2:01 8:01 22 2:31 8:16 23 2:46 8:46 24 1:31 9:16 25 — 10:01 26 9:16 4:31 27 10:01 4:46 28 10:31 5:16

— 12:31 7:16 8:16 9:16 10:46 — — — 12:16 2:01 3:16

5:31 6:16 1:16 1:46 2:46 3:31 4:46 6:16 7:46 9:01 9:46 10:31

4:01 4:46 5:31 12:01 6:31 7:16 7:46 8:31 9:31 11:16 — — — 1:16 2:46 3:46

11:01 11:31 11:46 6:01 12:31 1:01 1:31 2:01 2:46 3:31 4:46 6:16 7:46 8:46 9:46 10:31

Minor

February

March

1 10:46 5:31 2 11:16 5:46 3 11:46 6:01 4 — 6:16 5 6:31 12:16 6 6:46 12:46 7 1:01 7:01 8 1:16 7:16 9 1:46 7:31 10 2:01 7:46 11 2:01 8:16 12 — 8:46 13 10:16 4:01 14 9:01 4:01 15 9:46 4:16 16 10:16 4:31

Write SCL Letters to the editor We love hearing from our readers. Tell us what you think about this issue, send us story suggestions or just let us know what’s on your mind by writing to Letters, South Carolina Living, 808 Knox Abbott Drive, Cayce, SC 29033. You can also e-mail us at letters@scliving. coop or send a note by fax to (803) 796-6064. All letters received are subject to editing before publication.

8

Extra! Extra!

Read all about it

Bil la nd Lib Sa nd ers

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we asked you to tell us how you met the love of your life. We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of letters we received. Here are just a few of our favorites.

GONE FISHIN’

In junior high, I was a papergirl delivering the Anderson Daily Mail on a route that included Anderson Memorial Hospital. As part of my rounds, I would go room to room to sell copies to the patients. One summer afternoon, I stopped by the room of an injured high school football player, knocked on the door and asked if anyone wanted a paper.

Recognizing a girlfriend of mine visiting in the room, I stuck my head in and said, “Hi.” A voice in the corner replied, “Hey, she’s cute!

Tell her to come in.” I looked over and into the bright, sparkling eyes of the most handsome guy I’d ever seen! Having a schedule to keep, I chatted for just a few minutes and went on my way, wondering who that cute guy was. I was a student at McCant’s Junior High and he went to Anderson Boys’ High, so I pestered my friend to introduce me. Too young to date, I agreed to meet them at a Yellow Jacket football game at McCant’s Stadium. That was the fall of 1954 and the young man was Bill Sanders. On June 18, 1958, we eloped! On June 18, 2010, we celebrated our 52nd wedding anniversary! I still think my sweetheart is the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen.

his situation and told him I would go with him. We spent a week with a missionary s family and a ent lem primitive tribe deep C Jim nd in the jungles of the ea t t le Philippines. He helped build Pau a dam to keep the river from washing away the airstrip, and I helped with the cooking, children, medical needs, dishes and laundry. It was a highly spiritual trip, but something else happened—we became interested in each other! We were married July 22, 1973, and have two daughters and a grandson. We now joke that our first date was a week long and extremely stressful since we spent it with headhunters!

—Paulette Clements, columbia

Stop in the name of love

My husband and I met at a stop light. We were in traffic in downtown Columbia at the corner of Assembly and Elmwood, and he saw me do a double take in his direction. (He was, and still is, a handsome devil.) I was getting on the interstate, and he proceeded to follow me all the way to Irmo. I was getting pretty apprehensive about him following me, so I went to the mall at Harbison where I knew there would be a lot of people. I was walking into the mall when he hopped out of his truck and asked, “Do you want to go get lunch or

—Elizabeth “Lib” Sanders, Bluffton

On a mission

Jim and I met at Clark Air Force Base, Philippines in 1971. I was the dependent of an Air Force chaplain and he was a sergeant with the 1st MOB. We spent a lot of time doing group activities with the Christian Serviceman’s Center off base. In the spring of 1972, the center was sending teams into the jungle to assist missionary families for a week.

Jim had just returned from Vietnam and was interested in helping, but he had arrived too late to join the most recent trip. I heard about

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | February 2011 | scliving.coop

ily fam der n a x Ale The

something?” No introductions; he just outof-the-blue invited me to lunch. Of course I told him “No,” and continued briskly walking into the mall. I guess he could tell that his bold approach wasn’t working.

He apologized, introduced himself and told me that he didn’t want to ask for my number because he didn’t want me to think that he was some super-crazy interstate stalker. But he did give me his cell phone, beeper, home and work phone numbers, and told me that he would really like it if I called him. After thinking it over and talking to some of my friends about it, I did call him. We have been married for 10 years and have three beautiful children—Adelle, Savannah Lee and Jack Andrew. I love him so much and am so blessed to have him for a husband! And just for the record, his version of events is that I followed him to the mall!

—Lindsay Alexander, Gaston

S.C.RAMBLE!

By Charles Joyner, See Answer ON Page 35

M C O r i K 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Digit Detection

Each letter in MCCORMICK stands for a digit in this puzzle. Repeated letters stand for repeated digits. Given the equations below, can you find the value of MCCORMICK? (MC) 2 = ORIK

The square of the two-digit number created by M and C equals the four-digit number formed by O, R, I and K.

M-C=I C-O=O M+C=R M+I=K C+O=K Use the grid to eliminate impossibilities. For example: The smallest number with a four-digit square is 32, so M must be greater than 2. And no squared number ends in 2, 3, 7 or 8, so K cannot be 2, 3, 7 or 8.

M+C+C+O+R+M+ I +C+K _ + _+_ + _ +_+ _ +_+_+_ = ___

Love grows on you

In 1966, I was 19 and employed in the Agricultural Engineering Department of Clemson University. I must say, that was the perfect place for a young, single girl

Bill and Cheryl Moore, 1970 and today

to be. I worked in the P&A Building and the Forestry Department was just down the hall. One day, an acquaintance came in to ask me out. He brought this shy, tall, dark and handsome friend named Bill with him for support. I did not go out with the acquaintance, but three weeks later, on March 10, 1966, I did go out with Bill.

One year, 5 months and 15 days later, we were married, shortly after his graduation from Clemson. We celebrated our 42nd anniversary in August of 2010. God has given us the faith and strength to weather the storms of life, and we thank Him for our years together. We have three great children and five really grand grandchildren and are so blessed beyond measure.

2011 WIRE scholarship applications Applications are being taken for the 2011 Jenny Ballard Opportunity Scholarship for Women Returning to College. One $2,500 scholarship is awarded annually to a deserving woman who did not attend college after graduating from high school but now wants to further her education.

Awarded by the Women Involved in Rural Electrification (WIRE) service organization, the scholarship may be used to cover tuition for the Fall 2011 or Spring 2012 semester.

Applicants must: l Be a member of a S.C. electric co-op l Have graduated from high school or earned her GED at least 10 years ago

e accepted into an B accredited S.C. college or university, and l Demonstrate financial need.

Women who have previously obtained a four-year college degree are not eligible, though applicants may have previously earned a two-year degree or some college credits.

Applications can be downloaded at ecsc.org. The deadline to apply is June 1.

Mail or fax the application to WIRE Scholarship Committee, Attention: Christy Overstreet, Marlboro Electric Cooperative, Inc., P.O. Box 1057, Bennettsville, SC 29512; fax (843) 479‑8990. l

—Cheryl Moore, Gaffney

scliving.coop | February 2011 | SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING

9

Dialogue

Keeping a bird’s eye view that Duke Energy wants to merge with Progress Energy—creating the country’s largest electric utility in the process—is but one part of an evolving electricity marketplace in South Carolina.

As the number of players in the Palmetto State electricity market goes down, and, in this case, the potential market power of one player goes up, electric cooperative leaders are watching to ensure your interests are protected. The proposed merger of the two for-profit utilities is said to be the most efficient way for the companies to invest in the power grid and, of course, increase shareholder value. Electric cooperatives, by contrast, benefit from being a part of America’s largest utility network and from working together to build efficiency into their operations. Because your local electric cooperative is not structured to make profits, but rather to provide affordable and reliable electric service, our top goal is satisfying our members, not stockholders.

Please don’t misunderstand my sentiment here. We have not taken a position on the proposed merger. However, we continue to monitor the situation and are in touch with state legislators and the appropriate state and federal regulatory personnel who will assess the impact such a merger could have on electricity consumers.

We’re keeping tabs on the proposed merger, in part, because South Carolina’s electric cooperatives signed an agreement last year to purchase some of their wholesale power from Duke Energy. The first purchases are scheduled to begin in 2013, and by 2019, the total purchases from Duke could be as much as 1,000 megawatts of capacity, nearly one quarter of our present needs. That agreement is worth nearly $2 billion in savings to the members of South Carolina’s electric cooperatives and must be protected.

We also want to know how the merger could affect the coordinated building of nuclear power plants, wherein utilities work together on these expensive projects rather than building only for themselves. Such an approach could mean that only plants that are needed are built, reducing excess generating capacity, helping the environment and protecting all ratepayers’ pocketbooks.

These long-term issues may not seem urgent, but wise men and women know from life’s experiences that a lack of planning increases the chances of future pain. Keeping a bird’s eye view on all the factors that may ultimately affect co-op members is one of the things your cooperative’s board of trustees and its CEO demand of me and the staff here at the state association of cooperatives.

We’ll stay vigilant and keep you posted.

More than a third of the state’s population depends on electric cooperatives for their electricity, and on behalf of 2,300 co-op employees and board members, let me say that we are humbled by the faith you put in us to do a good job. We intend to meet your expectations. Thanks for the opportunity.

The January announcement

Mike Couick

President and CEO, The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina

10

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | February 2011 | scliving.coop

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scliving.coop | February 2011 | SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING

11

EnergyQ&A

BY Jim Dulley

Cleaning ductwork

Q

When my furnace was serviced, the technician asked if I wanted the ducts cleaned, too. How can I tell if they need it, what’s involved in this process and how much does it cost?

Widmers Cleaners

Abatement Technology

This duct is being cleaned with an air whip and vacuum unit. Joints and protrusions are likely places for dirt to collect in a duct.

A powerful vacuum unit with a HEPA exhaust filter is attached to the duct system.

LearnMore The National Air Duct Cleaning Association (NADCA) is the trade group that certifies HVAC system cleaning contractors. The certification requires extensive training.

For a national listing of certified companies, visit nadca.com.

12

A

Over time, dust and indoor pollutants can accumulate in duct­work, potentially lowering the efficiency of your heating and cooling systems and diminishing the air quality in your home. But according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), much of the dust in heating and air-conditioning ducts tends to adhere to the duct surface, and doesn’t circulate throughout the house. So don’t be alarmed if you see some dust collecting on the grill over an air register.

What should concern homeowners is any buildup in ductworks that contains mold spores, bacteria or the very fine particles from cigarette and fireplace smoke as these can cause respiratory problems. Test kits are available that allow homeowners to take a sample of the dust inside their ducts and have it tested for harmful contaminants.

However, if you suspect a problem, it’s best to have your system inspected by an HVAC technician who is certified

by The National Air Duct Cleaning Association (NADCA). These professionals use mirrors and, in some cases, miniature video cameras to thoroughly explore all the nooks and crannies of your ductwork for potential problems. In addition to NADCAcertification, look for a company that

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | February 2011 | scliving.coop

will deduct the inspection cost from the total project cost should you need to have your ducts cleaned.

Although it is commonly referred to as “duct cleaning,” it is important to have the entire HVAC system cleaned.

This includes the furnace and air-conditioner blower, heat exchanger and coils, and drain pans. The typical cost for a complete cleaning ranges from about $500 to $1,000, depending on the size of your home and the complexity of the duct system.

Before hiring a contractor to clean ducts, ask about the equipment they use. If they employ an indoor vacuum unit, be sure it has a highefficiency particulate arrestance (HEPA) filter on the exhaust to prevent particles from being blown into the open air of your home. Another good option is a truckmounted vacuum unit, but be aware that these systems are very powerful, and during winter they may suck quite a bit of the heated air out of your house during the cleaning process.

In extreme cases, some duct-cleaning companies may suggest spraying a chemical biocide inside the ducts to kill any mold and bacteria present or to prevent future growth. If you opt for this procedure, make sure they use EPA-approved chemicals designated for the type of ducts in your home.

Although it is commonly referred to as “duct cleaning,” it is important to have the entire HVAC system cleaned

Send questions to Energy Q&A, South Carolina Living, 808 Knox Abbott Drive, Cayce, SC 29033, e-mail energyQA@scliving.coop or fax (803) 739-3041.

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scliving.coop | February 2011 | SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING

13

SmartChoice

By Becky BILLINGSLEY

Green gadgets Recycling old electronics will soon become mandatory for South Carolinians. On July 1, a new state law goes into effect that prohibits the disposal of computers, monitors, printers and televisions in landfills—and for good reason, says Reggie Chesson, vice president of Sims Recycling Solutions. Many devices contain elements that can be harmful if released into the environment.

“Monitors and televisions are more hazardous than other types of electronics because the glass has such a high content of lead,” he says, citing just one example of the need to properly dispose of unwanted gadgets. Currently, just 25 percent of discarded products are being recycled, he estimates.

Under the new law, manufacturers and retailers must offer free recycling options for consumers, but you don’t have to wait until summer to make eco-friendly choices. Major chain stores such as Best Buy already offer drop-off bins, and if you really want to do right by the environment, you can invest in products made from recycled materials. Here are some of our favorite eco-friendly items to help you reduce, reuse, recycle and recharge.

TRASHY ELECTRONICS Not Just Talk The Samsung Blue Earth 3G phone isn’t just a pretty faceplate. The exterior is made from recycled water bottles, it has a built-in solar battery charger and comes outfitted with conservation-friendly apps like a pedometer and an energy-conserving eco-mode. Factor in a 3-megapixel camera with 4x zoom and up to 130 MB memory, and you’ve got an eco-party in your pocket. $400. (800) 201-7575; Amazon.com.

Cardboard Computer Buy a Recompute desktop computer and you’re already one step ahead in the recycling game.

Exteriors are made of 100 percent recycled cardboard, and the company will take the entire computer back when you’re ready to upgrade.

A model with the Windows 7 operating system, 4GB of ram and 8 USB ports is $800.

(406) 543‑8287; RecomputePC.com.

Speak(er) Up Designed for use with iPods, mp3 players, laptops or any speaker-­ compatible device, these battery-free 3-inch by 3-inch speakers are housed in pop-up cases made from recycled cardboard. $15. (212) 840‑8550; MerkuryInnovations.com.

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SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | February 2011 | scliving.coop

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES Time in a Water Bottle This clock runs on water. How? Ions in the water interact with metal poles in the clock to create electrical current. Just change the water every 3 months or so to stay timely. $19. (909) 626-0388; BedolWhatsNext.com.

Strolling Power Plant Slip an nPower Peg in a backpack, purse or briefcase, and as you move through the day, kinetic energy from these activities is converted to electricity and stored.

When your mobile phone, iPod or other handheld device needs a charge, the power is in the peg. $160.

(888) 214-3137; nPowerPeg.com.

Recharge Your Batteries USB Cell’s unique line of rechargeable NIMH batteries can be topped off without a bulky recharger. Flip the top open to reveal a USB connector, and plug them into any computer for a convenient recharge, even on the go. $18 for two. USBCell.com.

TAKE UP A COLLECTION In The Can Make it easy for your family or coworkers to recycle CDs, cell phones, cables, printer cartridges and other e-waste with the GreenDisk Technotrash Can. It’s made of recycled cardboard, and when it’s full of yesterday’s gadgets, just go to the company website and print a prepaid FedEx shipping label to send the whole mess in for recycling. Prices start at $30 for a small can holding up to 35 pounds.

(800) 305-3475; GreenDisk.com.

Cash for Trash Terracycle turns empty chip bags, yogurt containers, old electronics and even vinyl records into toys, fencing, insulated coolers and more. Groups that collect the trash and send it to Terracycle earn money for their schools or charities. DwellSmart of Charleston sells many Terracycle products, including this circuit board picture frame perfect for tech-lovers. $13. (843) 805-7055; DwellSmart.com.

BY MEGAN McKOY-NOE

HomeRun

Efficiency tax credits drop, but don’t disappear are great for lowering electric bills. But sometimes the up-front cost can be a drawback.

Since 2005, Congress has enacted a series of tax breaks for consumers who take steps to make their homes more energy efficient. In December, the outgoing 111th Congress extended some popular efficiency tax credits through Dec. 31, 2011, although at greatly reduced levels.

“While we were hopeful that the tax credits would be higher than what was approved, we are encouraged that this valuable incentive for homeowner investment was retained,” says Leigh Faircloth, executive director of the

Energy-efficiency improvements

“ This extension gives you a chance to recoup some of the costs needed to make your home more efficient.”

South Carolina Association of Heating and Air Conditioning Contractors.

The federal Tax Relief, Unemploy­ ment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 reduces the total lifetime credit that can be claimed on energy-efficiency improvements made between 2006 and 2011 (excluding 2008, when no credit was available) from $1,500 to $500. It also lowers the percentage of efficiency upgrade costs consumers can recover, from 30 percent in 2009-2010 to 10 percent in 2011.

“Basically, energy-efficiency tax credits revert to levels approved for 2006 and 2007, before the federal stimulus bill pumped up the program,” explains Zan McKelway, vice president of communications for the

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). “There’s also a lifetime cap of $500 for any work that’s done. But if you haven’t applied for an energy-efficiency tax credit before, this extension gives you a chance to recoup some of the costs needed to make your home more efficient.”

There are also maximum allow­ ances for different upgrades. For installing more efficient windows, the tax credit is limited to $200, and there’s a $300 cap for “any item of energy-efficient building property.”

Other specific restrictions include: LL Furnace

($150): Must have at least 95 percent (up from 90 percent) annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE).

LL Central air conditioner ($300): Must have a seasonal energy-­ efficiency ratio (SEER) of at least 16 and an energy-efficiency rating (EER) of at least 13.

LL Air-source heat pump ($300): Must have at least a heating ­seasonal performance factor (HSPF) of 9, SEER of 16, and EER of 13.

Renewable-energy tax credits created by the federal stimulus bill don’t expire until Dec. 31, 2016. These credits still cover 30 percent of the cost of materials and installation for residential solar panels, solar water heaters, small wind turbines and geothermal heat pumps. Details are available at energystar.gov/taxcredits. writes on consumer and cooperative affairs for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the Arlington, Va.-based service arm of the nation’s 900-plus consumer-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperatives.

MEGAN McKOY-NOE

LearnMore For a list of federal, state and local energy-efficiency rebates and tax credits, visit the Database for State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency, a project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, at dsireusa.org.

For details on renewable energy tax credits, visit energystar.gov/taxcredits.

For instructions on claiming tax credits, consult IRS Form 5695, available at irs. gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5695.pdf.

scliving.coop | February 2011 | SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING

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Fighting Large food banks like Golden Harvest operate warehouses and provide bulk quantities of food to local distribution points. At the organization’s warehouse in Aiken, employees (pictured from left) Sara Dennis, Kevin Barnes, Keith Langley, Grace Renken and volunteer Sebastian Dennis, join Associate Director Barry J. Forde in the effort to ship nutritious food to the hungry in 11 South Carolina counties.

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SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | February 2011 | scliving.coop

hunger in rural South Carolina

Tough economic times strain the resources of food banks and relief groups

BY JENNY MAXWELL

Muriel Carter

and Shirley Watson are about to face a hungry crowd. Will there be fresh fruit? Milk for every family? Enough food to fill 250 boxes? The Watsons can tell you this for sure: the line will be long and the need will be great. They run the Bread of Life food pantry in Marlboro County. The stories they hear are the stories of hunger in rural South Carolina.

J.S. Watson has volunteered to operate this pantry for 20 years, his wife helping him for the last 15. It’s a lot of work and responsibility, picking up donations and having food ready to give away. “I have a lot of running to do,” J.S. Watson says, “but I don’t mind.” Shirley Watson registers the people who show up for help. “We have quite a few families where both the husband and wife were working.

The wife was laid off, then the husband. These families have three to five children, no income, and unemployment has run out. What we’re giving them is not enough, but it’s all we can offer,” she says.

You don’t have to be poor with an empty cupboard to feel how hunger hurts. All of South Carolina has been particularly hard-hit by unemployment in the so-called “Great Recession,” but poverty is higher in the rural counties than in urban areas. With poverty comes food insecurity, defined as not having dependable access to enough nutritional food to meet basic needs. South Carolina has one of the highest rates of food insecurity in the nation and the need for assistance has never been greater. “There’s record demand, On Friday mornings, J.S. and Shirley Watson are busy distributing food boxes at Bread of Life food pantry in Marlboro County. Shirley laments that “what we’re giving them is not enough, but it’s all we can offer.”

Milton Morris

It’s a Friday morning in Bennettsville, and J.S.

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no doubt,” says Barry Forde, associate director of Golden Harvest Food Bank. “We’ve seen almost a 50 percent increase.”

Stories of rural poverty and hunger are easy to overlook, Forde says. “You don’t see street people. That doesn’t exist.

So it’s not on the minds of people as much.”

A different set of challenges

Forde has worked for two food banks in South Carolina, Low Country which serves South Carolina’s coastal counties, and now Golden Harvest, which supports programs in the western part of the state. Twenty or 30 years ago, he says, people in South Carolina’s rural counties looked out for their neighbors more, helped each other directly.

But with people moving frequently and younger generations relocating to cities, there’s less of a connection now.

“People don’t know the people who live three doors away,” Forde says.

Not only are people’s struggles less likely to be known in rural areas, but the journey to find help is longer and more complicated too. Rural counties, where farmlands are growing acres upon acres of food, often wind up being food deserts for the poor who live there. Along with a lack of grocery stores, services are fewer. Food pantries and soup kitchens may operate miles away and are open less often.

Families living on small incomes may not have transportation—or may be spending a high proportion of their incomes to commute to jobs.

What can do Barry Forde of Golden Harvest says when you’re looking to address rural hunger, you need to know “there’s no silver bullet.” But he quickly adds there is plenty that people can do. “Everybody has to believe in their value to their fellow human being.”

Forde says there are so many ways to help, that there’s no reason you can’t do something if you have the desire. “If you can’t find any work to do,” he says, “call me.”

Here are some ways you can help:

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Milton Morris

Stories of rural poverty and hunger are easy to overlook The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—what most people know as food stamps—can help but doesn’t solve these problems. People in rural areas who get SNAP may not have a grocery store nearby. Funds are usually sufficient to cover food needs for only part of the month; SNAP cards are spent out by most people in about two-and-a-half weeks.

Finding creative solutions

At a parking lot in Clarendon County, the wheels stop, the side panels roll up, and a truck transforms into a mobile pantry in an area where there’s no permanent place to distribute food. On this day, 125 families have pre-­ registered for boxes. Another 40 or 50 will walk up. The truck, owned by Harvest Hope, makes 30 stops like this every month.

Jay Parler manages the mobile pantry. “We pick spots where there’s no service and fill in to help families lost in the shuffle. If they can’t get to us, we have to do our best to get to them,” he says. Parler’s program is lucky to have a new vehicle donated by Kraft, designed specifically to meet a pantry’s needs. Part of the truck is refrigerated, giving Harvest Hope the ability to bring a wider variety of foods— including fresh produce.

Talk about it. Just by reading this article,

Donate food or money. A few canned

Round up. If it’s an option offered by

Volunteer. At the local level, your volunteer

learning a little more about hunger, then bringing it up in conversation, Forde says you can make people aware of an often overlooked problem. “There needs to be that realization that hunger exists, really exists, in South Carolina.” your local co-op, consider participating in Operation Round Up. Your monthly power bill can be rounded up to the next dollar and the difference goes to support local community programs including Meals on Wheels, food banks, local food pantries and soup kitchens.

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | February 2011 | scliving.coop

items help feed a family; a few dollars can do even more. Food banks welcome both— though they point out that with their buying power, they can make your money stretch seven times farther than you can when you purchase food items on your own. hours can make a huge impact on rural communities. Your efforts might help your local pantry open that extra day, Forde says.

Food banks, with their large inventories and multiple programs, can also use volunteers.

Last year, Golden Harvest relied on 70,000 volunteer hours to provide services.

“Studies have shown that if people have to drive more than three miles, they’ll go without food,” says Parler, in many cases because they can’t afford to travel farther.

Mobile pantries are just one creative solution organizations are bringing to South Carolina’s rural areas. In some areas, Meals on Wheels may deliver a week’s worth of frozen meals to a rural senior citizen. In other places, backpack programs in schools make sure children head home for the weekend with a two-day supply of food.

Some programs are managed by large food banks with multiple resources. Others are grassroots efforts, supported by churches, local civic groups, companies and electric cooperatives. While the state’s large food banks tend to have the highest profiles, food is given out in large part by people at the local level.

This distribution system, in some ways, mirrors that of a grocery store chain, with large food banks acting as collection and distribution centers supplying items to a variety of programs at the local level. There are four food banks

Sponsor a mobile pantry. It costs $500 for a mobile pantry stop, says Jay Parler of Harvest Hope. You, your office, your church or your community organization can make more of these stops possible through sponsorship.

Organize a drive. Food banks tend to get a lot of donations around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Demand for food, however, remains steady year-round, so food drives organized in non-peak months are especially appreciated.

Milton Morris

“If they can’t get to us, we have to do our best to get to them,” says Jay Parler, right, of Harvest Hope Food Bank. Mobile food pantries like this one bring assistance to the most rural parts of the state. Stops are sponsored by local churches and food banks, which pre-order a certain number of food boxes and manage the distribution process.

Gardeners

Share your bounty

One of the cruel ironies of rural hunger is that families go without food in the middle of some of the state’s most fertile agricultural areas. If you grow a garden at your home, you may be able to donate extra produce to your local food pantry.

Shirley Watson works with two gardeners in Bennettsville who bring fresh-picked produce to Bread of Life pantry during the summer months, an arrangement she and the growers have worked out directly. Ample Harvest is a national nonprofit that offers a place for growers and local pantries to connect. Even if you can’t find your local pantry on their website—ampleharvest.org—you can find helpful tips there for how to set up a donation arrangement near you. scliving.coop | February 2011 | SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING

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More bang for the food buck:

Photo s: Walte r Allrea d

Ministries

Edisto Electric’s Frank Furtick, left, and Charles Smoak of Grace Pointe Church in Reevesville with a Bit O’ Blessing box from Angel Food Ministries.

One non-profit is taking a different approach, helping families stretch their food dollars and delivering that food close to home. Angel Food Ministries is a purchasing program that buys in bulk to get discounts. Thirty dollars gets a box of food that will feed a family of four for approximately one week. The contents of the box are determined

by Angel Food: you place an order and your box is delivered to the participating church or community center nearest you. Anyone is eligible to participate, and SNAP (food stamps) are accepted for payment. Learn more, view box menus, or find a local host site at angelfoodministries.com.

serving South Carolina—Low Country, Golden Harvest, Harvest Hope and Second Harvest. These banks collect from major corporations such as Walmart and through food drives. They also use donations to purchase supplies in bulk. They’re staffed and equipped to find, pick up, warehouse and distribute food.

Pantries are primary local outlets. “That’s where the rubber meets the road,” says Forde. “The advantage of that system is that they know their people.” While their local connections are invaluable, rural food pantries as points of distribution aren’t always ideal. Many are open only one day a month. “If you’re hungry on Tuesday and

Learn more

Want to learn more about hunger and what you can do to help? Need help for yourself or someone you know?

Start here:

Golden Harvest Food Bank

Serves Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Edgefield, Greenwood, McCormick, Oconee and Pickens counties. goldenharvest.org; (706) 736-1199

Harvest Hope Food Bank

Serves Calhoun, Chester, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Fairfield, Florence, Greenville, Kershaw, Laurens, Lee, Lexington, Marion, Marlboro, Newberry, Orangeburg, Richland, Saluda and Sumter counties. harvesthope.org; (803) 254-4432

Low Country Food Bank

Serves Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry, Jasper and Williamsburg counties. lowcountryfoodbank.org; (843) 747-8146

Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina Serves Cherokee, Lancaster, Spartanburg, Union and York counties.

Secondharvestmetrolina.org; (704) 376-1785

South Carolina Food Bank Association

scfoodbankassociation.org

Feeding America

feedingamerica.org

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SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | February 2011 | scliving.coop

Mary Simmons-Robinson, center, picks up boxes at Springdale Baptist Church in West Columbia, an Angel Food Ministries distribution point. She takes the food back to Bamberg for people who sign up for Angel Food at her church, School of Deliverance International Ministries.

the pantry opens a week and a half from then, what do you do?” asks Forde.

Bread of Life is typical of these pantries doing their best to meet rural needs. Supported by the United Way, local churches, civic groups and Marlboro Electric Cooperative, Bread of Life is staffed entirely by volunteers. In this tough economy, Shirley Watson says they may see as many as 230 families come through each time. “We served close to 6,000 families in 2010,” she says, with the pantry open just two mornings a month. With more volunteers, Bread of Life is now open every Friday morning.

Parler says mobile pantries also have limitations. “When we do a mobile pantry, it’s emergency assistance. Everybody needs to eat. We can cover that for a few days, but we’re not the long-term fix. What’s needed most is consistency.”

Everyone can help

Where that consistency will come from is hard to say.

“This is not simplistic. It’s not ‘put a stamp on it and we fix it,’ ” Forde says. “You look at the long-term impact on our country, on health, on education. It really is a lose-lose.”

Being part of the solution, however, is not complicated, Forde tells us. You merely need to take action, any action, and you can lessen the impact of hunger for someone this week. You can find a way to help within a few miles of your front door. “I always tell people to go see your local pantry in action, see what they do. Look at the people getting help. Look at the work the volunteers do,” Forde says. “That’ll get you going.”

Shirley Watson wants to make sure the work of volunteers is emphasized, saying “without them, there’s no way we could do it.” And helping people who come to the pantry can be surprisingly uplifting, at times when you least expect it. “Yes, it’s kind of sad,” she says, to see families facing hard times, “but people are hopeful. They’ll tell me they’re looking for work and say, ‘God willing, I won’t be back next month.’ ”

SCStories

SC Life

Chad Weatherford OWNER: Accurate Air, Traditions Archery HOME: Loris CLAIM TO FAME: Winner of the

milton morris

2010 Field & Stream Total Outdoorsman Challenge LITTLE-KNOWN FACT: Bagged his first deer at age 7 with a shotgun.

South Carolina has another national champion to brag about— the best all-around outdoorsman in America.

Chad Weatherford, a 31-year-old married father of two from Loris, is already practicing to defend the title he won last fall after four days of rigorous competition at the 2010 Field & Stream Total Outdoorsman Challenge. A kind of decathlon for hunting and fishing, the event tests competitors in archery, rifle and shotgun shooting, ATV riding, bass fishing, fly fishing and an endurance segment that includes kayaking. The top prize included $25,000 in cash, a new Yamaha ATV and a trip to the Country Music Association awards in Nashville, Tenn.

“My worst event was probably fly fishing, so I’m going to work on that and maybe do some more shooting before I go back this year,” Weatherford says. “I get an automatic bid this time around and I want to win it again, but so do the other 15 people in the finals.”

Weatherford’s love of the outdoors comes naturally. He grew up on a farm near Loris and credits his grandfather for introducing him to hunting and fishing. One day, he hopes to pass his knowledge to the next generation of sportsmen. “We have two little boys and my wife likes to hunt and fish with me when she can. The older one, he’s 2 now, he already loves the outdoors and I think we’re going to have a good chance of getting them both into it when they’re ready.” —MARC RAPPORT

scliving.coop | February 2011 | SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING

21

SCScene

Story andRapport Photography BY Tim Hanson

By Marc

Stalking Big Red Casting for red drum in South Carolina’s saltwater marshes is an exciting new way to catch a favorite game fish is leaning hard to his right, bending at the waist and canting his nine-and-a-half-foot fly rod in a brave attempt to throw the big fish—a hefty red drum—off balance and thus rob it of some measure of its vast reservoir of stamina.

It’s a smart technique, one that the distinguished, silver-haired fly-fishing doyen has used scores of times in other battles with this formidable game fish.

But the red, at least for now, isn’t ready to give up. The fish calls on some secret cache of energy and makes a run for the tall spartina grass maybe 75 yards off, and Thomas watches his line steadily strip away from its reel until the bright orange backing appears and begins to play out.

Thomas is starting to wonder if he’s going to be able to actually land this fish or lose him to a broken line or maybe a hard-won escape in the shallow waters of the tidal flats.

“Hey, guys, I’m starting to get a little tired here,” Thomas says, only half-joking, to his two fishing companions—James Yates and Paul Sasser— who have, for the moment, more or less abandoned interest in their own fishing to watch Thomas battle it out with the big red.

The men are knee-deep in a tidal marshland near Saw Mill Creek just north of Winyah Bay, on the sprawling 17,500-acre Hobcaw Barony nature preserve near Georgetown. It is here, on the one-time playground of Wall Street investor Bernard Baruch, that Thomas guides scores of fishermen in pursuit of red drum, the state’s most popular game fish.

It’s now maybe 10 minutes into the Fishing guide Steve Thomas

22

fight and the red’s sprint for freedom has failed—a victim of aquatic battle fatigue. Thomas gathers line back onto his reel, the fly rod bent with the weight of the fish. Moments later, he has the red out of the water and discovers to his great satisfaction that it’s a 10-pounder just about 3 feet long.

“This,” says Thomas, with a look of supreme exhilaration and complete happiness on his face, “is absolutely the biggest red I’ve ever caught on a fly.”

In general, fly fishing in South Carolina is practiced in the northwest corner of the state, where anglers cast for rainbow, brook and brown trout in cold mountain rivers and lakes. But word is slowly getting around about the red treasure that awaits anglers in the saltwater flats along the coast.

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | February 2011 | scliving.coop

Steve Thomas—shown casting, above, and posing with a 10-pound red drum at left—is the only guide allowed to lead fly-fishing expeditions in the salt marshes of the Hobcaw Barony Nature Preserve.

Red drum are powerful, coppercolored animals with deep chests and strong tails that often display one or more black spots. They can weigh in at close to 100 pounds and live as long as 50 years—and they put up one heck of a fight when hooked.

Anglers love catching these fish, also known as reds, redfish, spottails and channel bass, for the thrill of the fight. But the fish is also pretty good to eat—so delicious, in fact, that

blackened redfish, popularized in the mid-1980s by New Orleans Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme, led to a classic case of overfishing. Red drum populations, especially in the Gulf region, plummeted and by the close of the decade, Louisiana was compelled to ban commercial fishing of the fish and to impose catch limits on recreational anglers.

“Back then, people on this coast were really nervous that after they put regulations in place in the Gulf that those fishermen were going to come over to our coast and start fishing down our stocks,” says Mike

Dennison, a marine scientist with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

In 1987, South Carolina awarded red drum the protective status of game fish and implemented a daily catch limit of 20 fish. Four years later, the daily catch limit was reduced to five fish per day. In 2007, after red drum populations had failed to sufficiently recover, the federal government stepped in and President George W. Bush signed an executive order banning the sale of red drum caught in federal waters. The order also directed local, state and federal

scliving.coop | February 2011 | SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING

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SCScene governments to collaborate on programs that would restore healthy populations of the fish.

Today, in South Carolina, recreational anglers are limited to three fish per day—length must be between 15 and 23 inches—but many, if not most, sport fishermen release their catch in the collective spirit of conservation.

Red drum are most often caught by anglers parked at the end of a fishing pier, casting into the surf or trolling from a boat. But taking a red on a fly is more like the thrill of hunting. Thomas, the Hobcaw fishing guide, had that feeling the first time he caught one two decades ago while fishing with a guide near McClellanville.

“It was a great experience to be wading around out there looking for a fish before you cast to it,” says Thomas, recalling that first encounter with “Big Red.” “Instead of just throwing a line out there and hoping that something would come by, you are actually stalking the fish, and waiting until you get close enough to make a good cast on it.”

Fly fishing for red drum usually begins in late April or early May. That’s when tiny fiddler crabs start to appear in the shallow waters and mud flats along the coast. Red drum spend their winters in deeper waters and are only lured into the shallows by the fiddlers, which for the next several months will make up about 80 percent of their diet.

GetThere Interested in joining Steve Thomas on a red drum fly-fishing adventure? Visit hobcawbarony.org or call (843) 397-0592.

Guided trips are $250 per person and include fishing tackle. Although Thomas is the only fly-fishing guide at Hobcaw, numerous other guides are available to lead anglers to red drum in other parts of the South Carolina coast. A list of those guides and their contact information can be found at gofishsc.com. To learn more about red drum, visit the Department of Natural Resources online at dnr.sc.gov/marine/species/reddrum.

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It may not be a big one, but Paul Sasser is pleased with his catch.

A sparkling fly from Steve’s collection tends to attract a red drum’s attention.

Anglers time their forays into the field with the rise and fall of the tide.

Unusually high tides that occur on either side of a full moon or a new moon by two or three days are best, although fishing trips are normally timed around the twice-daily high tides. This rise in water level allows reds to move out of the now-flooded coastal streams and into the shallows over the mud flats where the crabs are busy munching on dead plants and digging labyrinths of tunnels deep in the soft earth.

Anglers wade through the water, trying to be quiet while at the same time keeping an eye out for a telltale red drum fin cutting the water’s surface or the wagging of a tail out of water—called tailing—as the red

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | February 2011 | scliving.coop

burrows its nose in the mud in search of fiddler crabs. “Once you see that fin or tail, you try to be as quiet as you can and get as close as possible so you can make a decent cast,” says Thomas. “Some people can cast a little further than other people, but it is the accuracy of the cast that counts rather than distance.”

On the day that Thomas caught his 10-pounder, he used a fly that he had tied himself just a few days before: an assembly of gold Mylar, thin gold tinsel called Flashabou, and a tiny rattle, all skillfully shaped to resemble a shrimp. It is, he says, one of his most successful patterns.

“What you’re trying to do with a fly is imitate a crab or a shrimp that might be up on the flats at the same

time as the fish,” says Thomas. “But I don’t think it makes a lot of difference. I think anything that moves and catches their eye will make them think that it is something to eat and they will run over and grab it.”

By the end of November, as temperatures drop, fiddler crabs begin a months-long period of dormancy. With their abundant food supply now gone, the older sexually mature reds leave the estuaries and move offshore while younger ones seek out food in deeper creeks. And Thomas, hanging up his waders for the season, uses kayaks to pursue the reds in shallow water at low tide until the highly anticipated return of the fiddlers and the red drum in the spring.

Besides the flat-out, heart-pounding physical challenge of fishing for red drum, there also is a sensory component to the process that goes largely

There also is a sensory component to fly fishing which registers in some special part of the psyche unspoken among anglers, but which nonetheless registers in some special part of their psyche: It is the swishing sound of spartina grass brushing against neoprene waders and the gentle skittering of tens of thousands of fiddler crabs as they move through the marsh. And there is the pungent smell of decomposing vegetation and the sight of tiny periwinkle snails clinging to slender stalks of grass.

Overhead, red-tailed hawks, brown pelicans, eagles and ospreys ride the wind, on the lookout for an easy meal

far below. And, of course, there are the sounds of fish tails slapping the water and the whipping of fly lines slicing through the air.

Finally, there is the weather—​​ almost always hot and humid during the summer and often wonderfully unpredictable. Less than an hour after Thomas landed and then released his fish, a powerful northbound thunder­ storm rolled through the area, darkening the sky and bringing with it lightning and heavy rain that banged down on the top of Thomas’s pickup. Inside, Thomas and his friends traded fishing stories and waited for the storm to dissipate. Later, as they parted and nosed their vehicles homeward through the rain, each would carry with them the memory of Steve Thomas wrestling the big red that he caught on a homemade fly. And each would be looking forward to his next hunt for Big Red.

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SCGardener

By Bob Polomski

Stop the crapemurder on Clemson University’s “Your Day” radio program, a listener delighted me with this question: “I’ve been pruning my crapemyrtles the way everyone else does, but I want to do something different.

I want them to grow tall. Can you advise me?” After years of butchering his Natchez crapemyrtles into 6-foot-high hat racks, the caller wanted his trees to attain their full height potential (20 to 25 feet) with big, flowering canopies.

Crapemyrtles produce flowers only on the current season’s growth, so this is the time of year to prune them to ensure colorful, healthy canopies in the spring and summer. Unfortunately, many well-­meaning people take a hatchet-job approach to pruning, making their trees look like fence posts. Horticulturists call this “crapemurder” because it disfigures the trees and exposes them to disease. Of course, the other extreme is to do nothing and end up with a witches’ brew of tangled shoots and stems that bear few, if any, flowers.

I thanked the caller for his refreshing “let ’em grow” attitude and outlined these steps to prune crapemyrtles into natural-looking trees. l First, remove any broken, dead and diseased limbs.

Then step back and look at the tree. Imagine a vase-shaped canopy of upward-arching branches growing from its center. Visualize the long, thick limbs bearing 6- to 12-inchlong clusters of flowers in the summer.

During a recent call-in segment

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | February 2011 | scliving.coop

123rf.com

26

Clemson extension

Clemson extension

A crapemyrtle before and after a proper pruning.

Well-pruned crapemyrtles, above, reward the grower with a glorious canopy of blossoms. Extreme pruning, left, disfigures the trees and makes them vulnerable to diseases. l With a sharp pair of loppers or pruning shears, start at the bottom and work up.

Remove any suckers sprouting from the base of your crapemyrtle, and thin out any side branches from the lower third of the trunk. Thinning refers to the removal of entire shoots or limbs back to their branch points—the point of attachment to the trunk or limb. l Now work your way to the top. Keep that image of a healthy canopy in mind as you prune, and think about building a framework to support it. If you’ve committed crapemurder in the past, you removed the tree’s structure and created bunches of spindly shoots emerging from nooks and crannies around and below the cuts. Keep a few of the thick, well-attached, outward-growing shoots and remove the rest. l Finally, head-back or tip-prune any wayward or unbranched limbs.

At the end of the process, your pruned crapemyrtle should appear treelike instead of like a sawed-off broom handle. When the tree starts leafing out in the spring and early summer, come back a few times to fine-tune its framework. Pinch out any green shoots growing in the wrong direction and thin out any shoots you missed earlier.

By midsummer, your crapemyrtle should be in fine form.

For even more detailed instructions on proper crape­ myrtle pruning, visit the Clemson Extension Home & Garden Information Center website hgic.clemson.edu.

You—and your crapemyrtles—will be glad you did.

is a horticulturist and ISA-certified arborist with Clemson University, and a frequent host on “Your Day,” a radio magazine produced as a public service of Clemson University Radio Productions. The program airs Monday through Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. on the South Carolina ETV Radio Network. For details, visit yourday.clemson.edu.

Bob Polomski, Ph.D.,

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27

SCTravels

BY JOHN BOYANOSKI

Exploring Upcountry history Pepsi in his family’s front yard for a nickel a pop in 1920. If the name sounds familiar, it is because that young entrepreneur went on to create Frito-Lay, the nation’s largest snack food company. Lay later became the president of PepsiCo when his company merged with the soda giant in 1965.

Lay’s exhibit is just one of many showcasing the colorful history and

Strolling the Heritage Green

The Upcountry History Museum is just one of the cultural i­nstitutions found in downtown Greenville’s Heritage Green, which itself is a historical treasure. The land was once owned by Vardry McBee, the businessman and benefactor often called “the father of Greenville.”

(Hint: Pronounce it MAC-bee or Greenvillians will know you are not a local.) McBee donated the property with just one catch—it could only

be used for educational and cultural purposes. When the Greenville Women’s College moved from the site in the early 1960s to merge with Furman University, the idea of a public art and history park was born. The 11-acre campus takes up an entire city block and is home to the main county library, the Greenville Little Theatre and three more notable museums.

Greenville County Museum of Art 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday Admission: Free The gallery is best known for its large collection of paintings by Jasper Johns and Andrew Wyeth, two of the 20th century’s most famous artists, but there are works dating to the 1700s. “Our collecting philosophy is to provide a historical context of American art,” says program manager Anne Barr. A new exhibit of more than 50 watercolors by Charleston artist Mary Whyte opens March 9. Titled “Working South,” it depicts jobs such as cotton picker, wooden boat builder and textile mill worker that are fading away. The ­gallery’s collection of Wyeth water­colors is the largest in America and will be on display beginning April 6. If you go, don’t miss the watercolor titled “Apron,” says Barr. The wrinkles on the woman’s face are Wyeth’s fingerprints.

Details: Visit greenvillemuseum.org or call (864) 271-7570.

© Andrew Wyeth / Collection of the Greenville County Museum of Art

Hours:

Andrew Wyeth’s “Cranberries,” 1966 watercolor

28

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | February 2011 | scliving.coop

diverse culture of our state’s 15-county Upcountry region, but this is no stuffy, everything-behind-glass museum.

Curators have included a variety of artifacts and demonstrations into the exhibits and designed them to give guests a hands-on, multimedia experience, says Courtney Tollison, the museum’s historian.

That is why you can slide a pair of headphones over your ears and listen

Museum and Gallery at Heritage Green 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday Admission: $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for students. Children 12 and under admitted free.

The Museum and Gallery at Heritage Green features selections from Bob Jones University’s massive collection of European art, says Amy Basinger, the museum’s events coordinator. The most famous work is Rembrandt’s “Head of Christ,” (See it while you can—in April it will be loaned out to the Louvre) but the gallery also features the work of many other Old Masters. The museum’s second floor includes interRembrandt’s “Head of Christ” active displays where guests can duplicate classic paintings using modeling clays, see how fashion has evolved since the 1600s and use green-screen technology to add themselves to famous paintings.

Hours:

Museum and Gallery at Heritage Green

with the fluffy cotton in the textile mill, climbed the steps of the Greenville County Records Building replica and heard the stories of the struggle to desegregate Clemson University, check out the snack area at the Upcountry History Museum.

There you will learn the story of Greenville’s Herman Lay, the 11-yearold who started hawking bottles of

After you have played

Visit bjumg.org/heritage_green or call (864) 770-1331.

Details:

Upcountry History Museum

The “courtyard” in front of the 35-foot-high replica of the Greenville County Records Building at the Upcountry History Museum is the setting for everything from demonstrations to musical performances.

The Children’s Museum of the Upstate

Museum and Gallery at Heritage Green

Th e ch ild ren ’s mu seum of th e up state

Hours: Extended hours this month are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Regular hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tuesday–Saturday; 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The museum is closed Mondays.

Admission: Discounted prices this month are $10 for adults, $9 for children ages 2 and older, $9.50 for military and seniors.

Regular prices are $12 for everyone ages 2 and older.

Sure, it’s designed for kids, but the Children’s Museum of the Upstate will delight adults, too. Among the highlights: A replica farm where children of all ages can milk a cow, pick eggs from a chicken coop and slop the pigs; a mock construction site where you don a safety vest and plastic hard hat to load bricks and rocks; and the infrared light display where you can take a picture of yourself—in pitch dark. This month, the museum is celebrating its second year with expanded hours, discounted admission and special programs.

Details: Visit tcmupstate.org or call (864) 233-7755.

A climbing wall is one of the interactive activities at The Children’s Museum of the Upstate.

The history of fashion is explored at the Museum and Gallery at Heritage Green.

to Harvey Gantt, Clemson University’s first black student, narrate the struggles of the Civil Rights Era, run your fingers across a weaver in the cotton mill display and step inside a World War II era tent used by Upcountry soldiers. The first thing you see upon entering the museum is a 35-foot-high replica of the Robert Mills-designed Greenville County Records Building, circa 1820. Yes, it’s a display, but guests can walk right up the double stairway to reach the second floor.

The museum earned a 2010 Rand McNally “Best of the Road” award and its temporary exhibit on the Upstate’s involvement in World War II earned the Southeastern Museum Conference Award of Excellence. The current temporary exhibit, “The Language of Clay,” is a rare exception to the hands-on policy found throughout the museum. It explores the culture and oral histories of the Catawba people and features rare (not to mention fragile) pottery on loan from USC-Lancaster, says Meg Pierson, program director.

GetThere The Upcountry History Museum is located at 540 Buncombe Street on Greenville’s Heritage Green. If you take I-385 into downtown, it is two blocks past Main Street.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

Admission: $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $3 for children Details: Visit upcountryhistory.org or call (864) 467-3100

scliving.coop | February 2011 | SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING

29

Coming in April our big annual

Spring-Summer Travel Guide Tap into South Carolina Living’s $2 Billion Travel-Tourism market

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800-984-0887 or email

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SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | February 2011 | scliving.coop

SCRecipe

Edited by Carrie Hirsch

Welcoming winter dishes Kramer’s Crab Ball Appetizer

©Micah Young, DVM

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened 1 ⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder 1 ⁄2 teaspoon onion power 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 heaping cup crab or imitation crab meat, in small chunks 1 bottle of your favorite cocktail sauce, chilled

Using an electric mixer, mix cream cheese. Add garlic and onion powders and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well. Slowly stir in crab meat. Don’t over-mix—crab should stay chunky. Scrape bowl and form a solid ball. Cover and refrigerate for 3 or more hours (overnight is best). Just before serving, frost with a thick layer of cocktail sauce. Serve with assorted crackers.

Rick Kramer, Walterboro

Tasty Date Bars Serves 12

1 1⁄2 cups uncooked oatmeal 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted 1 cup dark or light brown sugar 3 ⁄4 cup butter 1 ⁄2 teaspoon baking soda 1 ⁄8 teaspoon salt

Serves 6

Rub

1 tablespoon fennel seeds 1 tablespoon fresh thyme sprigs, chopped 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 teaspoon coarse salt 1 ⁄4 teaspoon black pepper 1 3-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces Handful of thyme sprigs, whole 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided 1 1-pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, chopped into 3⁄4-inch cubes (yields about 3 cups) Salt & black pepper to taste 1 ⁄2 cup cracked green olives

Stephanie Frey

1

Crumb crust

Thyme Roasted Chicken with Butternut Squash & Cracked Green Olives

Main dish

Filling

⁄2 cup pitted dates, chopped 1 ⁄2 cup water 1 ⁄2 cup sugar Dash of salt Juice of 1 lemon

Jean Gill

Serves 8

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together dates, water, sugar, salt and lemon juice. Set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, butter, baking soda and salt. Place two thirds of crumb mixture in greased 9 " x 9 " x 1 1⁄2" pan. Press over the bottom and up the sides of pan. Cover with the date mixture and sprinkle remaining crumbs over top, pressing lightly. Bake for 25–30 minutes.

When cool, cut into squares. Store in an air-tight container with a sheet of wax paper between each layer of cookies.

Ruth Polk, Hartsville

Send us recipes! We welcome recipes for all seasons: appetizers, salads, main

courses, side dishes, desserts and beverages. Selected original recipes win a $10 Bi-Lo gift card.

About submitting recipes Entries must include your name, mailing address and

phone number. When writing recipes, please specify ingredient measurements. Instead of “one can” or “two packages,” specify “one 12-ounce can” or “two 8-ounce packages.” Note the number of servings or yield. Recipes are not tested.

Send recipes to South Carolina Living, 808 Knox Abbott Drive, Cayce, SC 29033, by e-mail to recipe@scliving.coop, or by fax to (803) 739‑3041.

Toast fennel seeds in dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant and light brown. Grind in spice grinder or with mortar and pestle. Combine ground fennel, chopped thyme sprigs, cumin, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle over chicken pieces, rubbing to coat both sides. Place chicken in glass baking dish. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread whole thyme sprigs on a large, oiled, rimmed baking sheet. Set the chicken pieces on top, and brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil. In a large bowl, toss squash cubes with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and black pepper to taste. Arrange in single layer around chicken pieces. Bake 25 minutes, brushing chicken with pan juices or additional olive oil as needed. Remove from oven and nestle olives among squash pieces around chicken.

Bake an additional 20 minutes or until chicken is golden brown (no longer pink in the center) and squash is tender.

Remove and discard thyme sprigs, and place chicken pieces on serving platter. Gently toss squash and olives with pan juices and arrange around chicken pieces.

Katherine Putnam, Effingham

scliving.coop | February 2011 | SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING

31

SCChef’sChoice

BY BECKY BILLINGSLEY

Bringing Vienna to the beach at his family’s hotel near Graz, Austria, Werner Horvath seemed destined to run his own kitchen—he just never imagined that it would be located in South Carolina.

He and his wife, Martina, both attended culinary school and built their resumes by working at resorts such as The Steigenberger Hotel and the Trofana Royal near the Tyrolean Alps. It was at the Trofana where the couple met guests Michael and Petra Jerabek, fellow Austrians who had introduced The Grand Strand to Viennese cooking when they founded Café Old Vienna in the heart of Myrtle Beach. The Jerabeks were looking to trim their work hours, and before their vacation was over they had invited the Horvaths to lease and manage the restaurant.

Werner replaced Petra in the kitchen, and Martina took over Michael’s hosting and managerial duties. The transition was seamless,

Hühner-Schnitzel in Parmesan Kruste Serves 1

1 chicken breast, lightly pounded Salt Flour Eggwash Mixture of equal parts breadcrumbs and finely grated Parmesan cheese Light cooking oil

Lightly salt the pounded chicken breast. Dip the breast in flour, then in eggwash, then in the Parmesan/ breadcrumb mixture. Place a little oil on a grill or in a sauté pan and cook, covered, on both sides until golden brown. Serve with cranberry sauce, German potato salad and fresh steamed vegetables.

32

Photos: Matthew Silfer

Raised in the hospitality industry

Martina Horvath oversees the front of the house, while the kitchen is husband Werner’s domain.

nights. In order to and the restaurant’s satisfy their growing reputation grew. The Café Old Vienna customer base, they chef has shown grate3901 N Kings Hwy #5 have added dishes ful diners he is adept Myrtle Beach, SC 29577-2736 from beyond Austrian at making flavorful (843) 946-6252 borders such as panini, Hungarian goulash (in cafeoldvienna.com grilled fish and crusty a traditional candleOpen for lunch from 11 a.m.

French bread piled warmed kettle, no less), to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through with thinly sliced ham delicately crispy wiener Saturday and for dinner from and tomatoes and schnitzel and juicy brat5 p.m. to close Wednesday topped with melted wurst. On Dec. 1, 2010, through Saturday.

Swiss and brie cheeses the Horvaths purchased and herbs de Provence.

Café Old Vienna.

But it’s traditional Viennese fare, Located off Kings Highway, the reslike knackwurst and pork cordon taurant is convenient for visitors and bleu, that keep regulars coming locals alike, and invites diners with a comfortable decor of blonde back for more at Café Old Vienna. woods burnt with Germanic Some people swear by the simple juicy chopped steak; others crave heart and leaf designs, almond- or Parmesan-crusted Austrian travel posters and pretty blue accents in fabric ­schnitzels. Austrian side dishes complete the ­culinary package, such as and wallpaper. Classical ­spaetzle (short rustic noodles) served piano music is usually with gravy, German potato salad, playing, and lovely Martina fresh tomato and cucumber salad, greets customers dressed in delectably crispy home fries and traditional Austrian dresses ­mellow-yet‑flavorful sauerkraut. To and neckerchiefs. Walk-ins accompany their meal, guests can can usually snag tables at choose from a variety of German lunch, but reservations for dinner are beers and wines as well as strong a good idea at this tiny, 30-seat eatery.

European coffees, and the dessert The Horvaths keep things intercase always contains fine Austrian and esting with seasonal specials and German pastries, ­including multi‑layer entertainment, and there is always candlelight and live music on Saturday tortes.

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | February 2011 | scliving.coop

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M+C+C+O+R+M+I+C+K 5 + 4 + 4 + 2 +9+ 5 +1+ 4+6= 40 (MC) 2 = ORIK ( 5 4 ) 2 = 2916 Here is one solution: Given C+O=K then K is greater than C. The square of C is or ends in K. So C=2,3,4 or 7 and K=4,9,6 or 9.

Given C-O=O then C is even and is 2 or 4. If C=2 then K=4. If C=4 then K=6. C-O=O. If C=2 then O=1. If C=4 then O=2. If C=2 then O=1 and K=3, given C+O=K. No! So C=4, O=2, and K=6. Given M+I=K(6), then neither M nor I=3. Given M-C=I then M is greater than I. So M can only = 5 and I=1. Now MC=54. M(5)+C(4)=R(9). And all equations check.

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35

Calendar of Events Please call ahead before attending events.

For entry guidelines, access SCliving.coop.

UPSTATE

FEBRUARY

15 • Mixed Shrub Borders, South Carolina Botanical Garden, Clemson. (864) 656-3405.

15 • Signs of Spring: Worms, South Carolina Botanical Garden, Clemson. (864) 656-3405.

16 • Home Gardening Fundamentals: Successful Home Landscape Design, South Carolina Botanical Garden, Clemson. (864) 656-3405.

19 • Winter Bird Count, Table Rock State Park, Pickens. (864) 878-9813.

19 • Bridesmaid’s Ball, Greenville Marriott, Greenville. (864) 241-0462.

19 • Camellia Discovery Walk, South Carolina Botanical Garden, Clemson. (864) 656-3405.

19 • Deep Winter Blues Concert, Hagood Mill Historic Site and Folklife Center, Pickens. (864) 898-2936.

19–20 • 36th Annual Fireside Arts & Crafts Show, Unicoi State Park, Helen, Ga. (800) 573-9659, ext. 305.

19–20 • Bob Prim & The Propers Variety Show, Sautee Nacoochee Center, Helen, Ga. (706) 878-3300.

22 • Who’s here? Tracks and Traces of Winter Animals, South Carolina Botanical Garden, Clemson. (864) 656-3405.

23 • Home Gardening Fundamentals: Plant Selection for the Upstate, South Carolina Botanical Garden, Clemson. (864) 656-3405.

24 • Volunteer Workshop, South Carolina Botanical Garden, Clemson. (864) 656-3405.

24 • Not Just Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, South Carolina Botanical Garden, Clemson. (864) 656-3405.

26 • Contra Dance, Sautee Nacoochee Center, Helen, Ga. (706) 878-3300.

26 • How Paris Mountain’s Water Helped Greenville Grow, Paris Mountain State Park, Greenville. (864) 244-5565.

26–March 24 • Pickens County Youth Arts 2011 Exhibition, Pickens County Museum of Art & History, Pickens. (864) 898-5963.

36

MARCH

1–27 • Gallery Exhibit “Mountain High”, Helen Arts & Heritage Center, Helen, Ga. (706) 878-3933.

2 • Home Gardening Fundamentals: Fundamentals of Soil Sustainability, South Carolina Botanical Garden, Clemson. (864) 656-3405.

4–5 • Reedy River Run, Greenville. (864) 271-0092.

5 • Diane Durrett Concert, Sautee Nacoochee Center, Helen, Ga. (706) 878-3300.

5 • Basics of Birding, South Carolina Botanical Garden, Clemson. (864) 656-3405.

9 • Home Gardening Fundamentals: Understanding Plants, South Carolina Botanical Garden, Clemson.

(864) 656-3405.

Daily • Arts Council, Union. (864) 429-2817.

Daily • Museum of Art, Greenville. (864) 271-7570.

Daily • Museum of Art, Arts Center, Spartanburg.

(864) 583-2776.

Daily • Senior Activities, Easley. (864) 295-2136.

Daily • Trail Rides, Easley. (864) 898-0043.

Daily • Volunteer, Botanical Garden, Clemson.

(864) 656-3405.

MIDLANDS FEBRUARY

25–26 • Victory along the Santee River with Francis Marion Living History, Camp Bob Cooper, Summerton. (803) 478-2645.

25–27 • Battle of Aiken, Confederate Memorial Park, Aiken. (803) 642-2500.

26 • Lexington’s Race Against Hunger, Saxe Gotha Presbyterian Church, (803) 359-7770.

MARCH

10 • Growing Herbs: A Primer, South Carolina Botanical Garden, Clemson. (864) 656-3405.

12 • Music on the Mountain, Table Rock State Park, Pickens. (864) 878-9813.

ONGOING

Wednesdays in February and March • Storytelling in the Garden, South Carolina Botanical Garden, Clemson. (864) 656-3405.

Daily • Trail Riding, Croft State Natural Area, Spartanburg. (864) 585-1283.

Daily • Art Gallery at the Fran Hanson Discovery Center, South Carolina Botanical Garden, Clemson. (864) 656-3405.

Daily • Horseback Riding, Forrest Trails, Enoree. (864) 918-3469.

By Appointment • Museum, Abbeville. (864) 459-4600.

Daily • Artist Co-op, Laurens. (864) 575-3020.

Daily • Arts Council, Greenville. (864) 467-3132.

4 • Arts and Draughts, Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia. (803) 799-2810.

4–6 • Craftsmen’s Spring Classic Arts & Crafts Festival, State Fairgrounds, Columbia. (336) 282-5550.

4–6 • Battle for Broxton Bridge, Broxton Bridge Plantation, Ehrhardt.

(803) 625-3585.

5 • Trash to Treasures, Elloree. (803) 897-2821.

11–12 • Salkehatchie Stew: Living, Loving and Dying, USC Salkehatchie Conference Center, Allendale.

(803) 584-3446, ext. 188.

12 • Irish Ceili, Knights of Columbus Hall, Columbia.

(803) 414-1076.

ONGOING

Daily • Trail Riding, Kings Mountain State Park, Blacksburg. (803) 222-3209.

Daily • Trail Riding, Lee State Park, Bishopville. (803) 428-5307.

Daily • Trail Riding, Poinsett State Park, Wedgefield. (803) 494-8177.

Daily until July 11 • Conservation Quest, Museum of York County, Rock Hill. (803) 329-2121.

Daily, except Sundays • Living History Days, Historic Brattonsville, McConnells.

(803) 684-2327.

Sundays • Docent-led Gallery Tour, Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia. (803) 779-4005.

Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays • About Face Weekly Drawing Sessions, Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia. (803) 343-2215.

Fridays • Fridays at the Terrace Concert Series, downtown Sumter.

(803) 436-2640.

Fridays • Big Screen Fridays at the House, Sumter Opera House, Sumter. (803) 436-2640.

Fridays • Main Street Marketplace, Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia. (803) 779-4005.

Saturdays • Gallery Tour: Imperial Splendor and Innovation and Change, Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia. (803) 343-2215.

LOWCOUNTRY FEBRUARY

5 • Hands-on Nature: Pine Needle Basket Workshop, Lee State Park, Bishopville. (803) 428-5307.

5–11 • Juilliard in Aiken Festival, Aiken. (803) 292-3124.

9–11 • South Carolina Federation of Museums Annual Conference, South Carolina State Museum, Columbia. (803) 898-4921.

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | February 2011 | scliving.coop

1–28 • Hilton Head Island Gullah Celebration, Hilton Head Island. (843) 689-9314.

16–20 • Beaufort International Film Festival, Beaufort. (843) 522-3196.

18–20 • Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, Charleston. (843) 723-1748.

A scene from the North Myrtle Beach 2010 St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

20 • Literacy Volunteers of the Lowcountry’s 5th Annual Cooks & Books, Westin Hilton Head Island Resort and Spa, Hilton Head. (843) 815-6616.

24–25 • AfricanAmerican Heritage Days, Wannamaker County Park, Charleston. (843) 572-7275.

25–26 • 17th Annual Quilt Gala, Horry County Museum. (843) 238-5636.

26 • Joy of Gardening Symposium, Baxter Hood Continuing Education Center, Rock Hill. (803) 324-9777.

26 • Charleston Brewvival, Coast Brewing Company, North Charleston. (843) 343-4727.

26 • Lifepoint Gift of Life 5K/2K Run/Walk, James Island County Park, Charleston. (800) 462-0755.

27 • Chef’s Fest, Embassy Suites Charleston Area Convention Center, North Charleston. (843) 747-8146.

MARCH

1–31 • The Meeting Place Window Exhibit: Works

by Keller Lee, The Meeting Place, North Charleston.

(843) 740-5854.

3–6 • BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival, Marion Square, Charleston. (843) 727-9998.

3–6 • Friendship Cup, Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Kiawah Island. (843) 452-1486.

3–13 • Hilton Head Islands Wine and Food Festival, Hilton Head Island. (843) 686-4944.

5 • Reptiles of the Lowcountry, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island. (843) 838-2011.

5–6 • The Skirmish at Gamble’s Hotel Civil War Reenactment, The Harwell House at Rankin Plantation, Florence. (843) 667-1705.

10-12 • National Shag Dance Championships, 2001 Nightclub, Myrtle Beach. (843) 222-6706.

11–13 • Charleston Garden Festival, Middleton Place, Charleston. (843) 556-6020.

12 • St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival, North Myrtle Beach. (843) 280-5570.

12 • Shuckin’ in the Park Festival, Old Santee Canal Park, Moncks Corner. (843) 899-5200.

12 • Too Tough to Tame 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race, Darlington Raceway, Darlington. (843) 395-8499.

12 • Summerville Family YMCA Flowertown Festival 10K and 5K Run/Walk, Summerville. (843) 871-9622.

12 • Hilton Head Shamrock 5K Run, Hilton Head Island. (843) 757-8520.

12 • Piecing Together the Past with Archaeology, Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site, Charleston. (843) 852-4200.

12 • Charleston Road Rally, Citadel Holliday Alumni Center, Charleston. (843) 852-5705.

12–20 • Canadian-American Days Festival, Myrtle Beach. (843) 626-7444.

ONGOING

Daily • Trail Riding, Cheraw State Park, Cheraw. (843) 537-9656.

Daily until Feb. 28 • Equestrian Beach Riding Access, Myrtle Beach State Park, Myrtle Beach. (843) 238-5325.

Daily except Mondays • Feeding Frenzy, Huntington Beach State Park, Murrells Inlet. (843) 651-1003.

Tuesdays and Thursdays • Bingo, Lions Club, Edisto Island. (843) 296-4092.

SCHumorMe

By Jan A. Igoe

The joy of Snuggie For some folks, bidding farewell

to another chilly winter is no reason to celebrate. Red robins and budding daffodils are small consolation for anyone packing up their Snuggie until the next frost.

Therapists, please start your couches.

There’s a whole lot of separation anxiety headed your way.

Yes, the world has gone bonkers for Snuggie, the beloved blanket with sleeves. We were hooked the moment infomercials revealed a defenseless housewife pinned to her sofa by a violent, sociopathic blanket.

As she fought bravely to free her arms while simultaneously covering her knees, we realized that any one of us could be the next victim of a deadly duvet or homicidal quilt intent on separating us from our TV remotes.

How the human race managed to survive before blankets grew sleeves remains a mystery.

But now, it’s uncivilized not to own one. At any moment, you might be recruited to dance the Snug-A-Rena at a pubcrawl with other fuzzy trendsetters. You can’t do that in just any old blanket.

Although Snuggies are not waterproof, they have been used in place of traditional raincoats in California, where many unusual people live. According to redding.com, some guy who appeared to be dressed in a Snuggie was arrested for, shall we say, giving unsolicited anatomy lessons to complete strangers. Turns out he wasn’t actually wearing the garment. He was holding it in front of his body to fool everybody into thinking he was just a harmless idiot wandering around in a Snuggie.

Properly worn, the garment isn’t constructed for flashing innocent bystanders. As everyone knows, the Snuggie is basically a beltless 38

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | February 2011 | scliving.coop

bathrobe that’s worn like a hospital gown, so it’s really better suited for mooning.

Still, the news had to come as a blow to London Fog. While normal people dread backless medical gowns, Snuggie-wearers don’t seem to mind looking like hospitalized wizards.

The garment has somehow achieved cult status with an entire population of sofa spuds who probably didn’t buy theirs for the free book light.

Writer Lex Friedman and artist Megan Morrison weren’t willing to settle for reading or knitting in their fleece ensembles. They teamed up to bring us The Snuggie Sutra: Erotic Fun in Your Blanket with Sleeves! If you plan to surprise someone with a Snuggie for Valentine’s Day, don’t forget to include this handy illustrated reference manual so they can cancel their gym membership.

Although I love the way Snuggies flatter fluffy figures, I can’t take anyone marching around in a sleeved blanket too seriously. Would Clint Eastwood be a Hollywood icon now if he’d pulled his .44 Magnum out of a Snuggie? Somehow, “Fuzzy Harry” doesn’t have a menacing ring.

But there could be a legitimate business opportunity here. Eventually, somebody in those infomercials has to fall off the bleachers at a football game or set their sleeves on fire while roasting marshmallows around the campfire. A good personal injury attorney could probably build a thriving practice around it.

Just ask your psychotherapist.

Jan A. Igoe is a humorist and illustrator from Horry County who prefers her blankets without appendages. Share your thoughts with her by writing to HumorMe@SCLiving.coop.

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