South Carolina Living June 2022 by South Carolina Living

At your service

CHANGEOUT

From country ham to paint and plumbing supplies, find it all at Cooper’s Country Store

SC RECIPE

Super summer sammies HUMOR ME

JUNE 2022

Dancers to doughnuts

THE MAGAZINE FOR COOPERATIVE MEMBERS VOLUME 76 • NUMBER 6 (ISSN 0047-486X, USPS 316-240)

2022 |june

Read in more than 600,000 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) 926‑3175 Fax: (803) 796‑6064 Email: letters@scliving.coop EDITOR

Keith Phillips Tel: (803) 739‑3040 Email: Keith.Phillips@ecsc.org FIELD EDITOR

Josh Crotzer

PUBLICATION COORDINATOR

Raphael Ofendo Reyes ART DIRECTOR

14 The tradition continues

Welcome to Cooper’s Country Store near Salters, where they still do business the old‑fashioned way.

Trevor Bauknight PRODUCTION

Andrew Chapman WEB EDITOR

Chase Toler

COPY EDITORS

Jennifer Jas, Jim Poindexter

CO-OP NEWS

CONTRIBUTORS

Updates from your cooperative

Mike Couick, Tim Hanson, Derrill Holly, Jan A. Igoe, L.A. Jackson, Belinda Smith-Sullivan

AGENDA

PUBLISHER

With the growing popularity of electric vehicles, utilities across the nation will be called on to serve a vast network of public charging stations.

Lou Green

DIALOGUE

NATIONAL REPRESENTATION

A taste of summer

Nothing says summer in South Carolina quite like a plate of fried okra. And nobody makes fried okra better than Aunt Jean.

18 19 20

ADVERTISING

Mary Watts Tel: (803) 739‑5074 Email: ads@scliving.coop American MainStreet Publications Tel: (512) 441‑5200 Paid advertisements are not endorsements by any electric cooperative or this publication. If you encounter a difficulty with an advertisement, inform the Editor.

RECIPE

ADDRESS CHANGES: Please send to your

Let Chef Belinda’s delicious recipes for the ultimate in portable food take you to a happy place.

Periodicals postage paid at Columbia, S.C., and additional mailing offices.

Super summer sammies

MARKETPLACE SC GARDENER

Tomato troubles HUMOR ME

Dancers to doughnuts

Jan A. Igoe explores the mysteries of TikTok and why the social media platform is growing faster than kudzu on Red Bull.

Mike Burgess serves up country ham with a friendly smile at Cooper’s Country Store. Photo by Tim Hanson.

From country ham to paint and plumbing supplies, find it all at Cooper’s Country Store

SC RECIPE

Super summer sammies HUMOR ME

JUNE 2022

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | JUNE 2022 | SCLIVING.COOP

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING 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. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS:

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Dancers to doughnuts

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Follow these tips from our gardening columnist to enjoy a successful tomato harvest this summer.

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WITH DOZENS OF NEW E LECTRIC VEHICLE MODELS,

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As of December 2021, there were about 113,000 charging ports nationwide. It is estimated 500,000 will be needed by 2030. highways and in rural areas. The funding comes from the Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress and signed into law last November. The Joint Office for Electric Vehicle Charging and Infrastructure, operated by the Department of Energy and the Department of Transportation, is developing a grant program to help states and local partners, including electric co-ops, develop public charging facilities. The legislation seeks to build public EV charging infrastructure every 50 miles along major travel corridors, and no more than 1 mile from the highway, but also supports building facilities in rural communities, says Brian Sloboda, director of consumer solutions for the National Rural Electric

Cooperative Association. “The focus on local needs will ensure that the college tailgate parties, national parks, highway interchanges, local businesses and county fairs are adequately represented,” he says. “They will place the infrastructure where the people and local businesses are.” To help consumers find charging stations and plan trips, the DOE’s Alternate Fuels Data Center has developed a Station Locator Tool (SLT) mobile app. During the government’s 2021 fiscal year, the SLT website (afdc.energy.gov) attracted 6 million page views, generated 3,900 app downloads and processed more than 1.3 million searches for EV charging stations. —DERRILL HOLLY

If you’re looking to add smart technology to your home, consider smart plugs. Smart plugs are inexpensive and can be used to control lighting, home office equipment, video game consoles and more through a smartphone app. By powering off unused devices when you’re away, you can save energy (and money!). SOURCE: ENERGYSTAR.GOV 6

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | JUNE 2022 | SCLIVING.COOP

If a sandwich sounds good right about now, Chef Belinda Smith-Sullivan has you covered. In addition to the recipes on Page 12, find instructions for her Open-face Chicken Caprese on Toasted Ciabatta and these summer sandwich delights exclusively at SCLiving.coop/ food/chefbelinda. Easy empanadas— Pastry pockets stuffed with your favorite fillings. What’s not to love? Hot Reuben sandwich— Skip the deli and make this traditional hot sandwich at home with corned beef and sauerkraut. Ice cream and cookie sandwich—Cookies, ice cream and maybe some sprinkles combine to make a delicious cold treat you can eat with your hands, no spoon or bowl required.

E M PA N A DA S BY K A R E N H E R M A N N; OTH E RS BY I U LI IA N E DRYGA I LOVA

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| dialogue A taste of summer

MIKE COUICK

President and CEO, The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina

I GET EXCITED WHEN IT GETS TO BE JUNE. The days are longer. The trees and grass are green. And things start coming in from the garden. Fresh vegetables like okra, corn and tomatoes are my favorites because they remind me of how I ate growing up, especially when the calendar turned to June. All of a sudden, we were no longer thawing out last year’s produce from the freezer or opening canned goods from the pantry. On my plate, instead, were vegetables just harvested from out the back door. It wasn’t fancy, but it all tasted like summer and was reliably delicious. Don’t let my going on and on about fresh vegetables lead you to believe my diet then, or now, was entirely health conscious. I plead guilty to liking fried food, particularly fried okra. But for fried okra to be at its best, it has to be made with fresh okra. Okra is a popular vegetable across the globe, but here in the U.S., it doesn’t make it on many plates outside the Southeast, where it’s a staple in the gumbo recipes of the Gulf and Carolina coasts. I certainly won’t claim that the fried form exists only in South Carolina, but you might have a hard time finding it far beyond our borders. And to be honest, most people don’t do a good job cooking okra. These frying failures tend to occur when there is too much to the recipe. Too many ingredients. Too many steps. I like fried okra when it is made straightforward and simple, like my Aunt Jean’s. Aunt Jean lives in the Unity community of Lancaster County. She learned to cook from my grandmother, and one of the secrets she learned was that buttermilk makes everything better. I recently asked my Aunt Jean to share her recipe and tips for making delicious fried okra. Her secret? She soaks the okra in buttermilk before breading it. Her grease is always hot and popping, and the breading is straight to the point. Nothing fancy.

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | JUNE 2022 | SCLIVING.COOP

AUNT JEAN’S DEPENDABLE FRIED OKRA SERVES 4–6

1 cup cornmeal 1 cup flour 1 quart fresh okra Salt

Pepper Buttermilk Canola oil

Put cornmeal and flour in a 1-gallon freezer bag, mix well and set aside. Wash okra and remove the stem end of the pod. Cut pods to about a half-inch thick to make circles, then add salt and pepper. Coat the okra circles with buttermilk before putting them in the bag with cornmeal and flour. Shake the bag, coating the okra so that each piece is separate. Using a deep fryer, heat canola oil to 350 degrees. Oil should be enough to cover the okra. Drop in okra pieces and cook until light brown. Remove okra from oil and put on paper towel to drain.

This recipe, which is also great for green tomatoes, zucchini and squash, is as dependable as the cook who is sharing it with us. My Aunt Jean is called Jean Jean in Unity, where she’s been keeping the nursery during the worship service at Unity ARP Church for 60 years. She recently turned 90, and people who are the grandchildren of the first babies she kept six decades ago were among those who came out to honor her. Her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids are still eating her cooking for Sunday lunch almost every week. And invariably, during the summertime, there’s going to be fried okra. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do.

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179-214

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184-220

221-293

294+

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189-226

227-301

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6'2"

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233-310

311+

6'3"

200-239

240-318

319+

6'4"

205-245

246-327

328+

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sister, or brother with diabetes? Yes (1 point)

No (0 points)

Haveyou you ever been diagnosed 5.5.Have ever been diagnosed with high blood pressure? No (0 points)

6.6.Are physically active? Areyou you physically active? Yes (0 points)

No (1 point)

7.7.What is is your weight category? What your weight category?

You weigh less than the 1 Point column (0 points)

(See chart at right)

Total score:

Adapted from Bang et al., Ann Intern Med 151:775-783, 2009. Original algorithm was validated without gestational diabetes as part of the model.

If you scored 5 or higher You are at increased risk for having prediabetes and are at high risk for type 2 diabetes. However, only your doctor can tell for sure if you have type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, a condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. Talk to your doctor to see if additional testing is needed. If you2are AfricanisAmerican, Hispanic/Latino American, American Indian/Alaska Native,Indians, Asian American, or Pacific Islander, youIslanders. are at higher risk Type diabetes more common in African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, American Asian Americans, and Pacific Higher for prediabetes and typediabetes 2 diabetes. if you are Asian you areatatincreased increasedrisk risk for for type lower weight 1515 body weight increases riskAlso, for everyone. AsianAmerican, Americans are type 22 diabetes diabetesatata lower weights(about (about pounds lower than weights in the 1 Point column). Talk to your doctor to see if you should have your blood sugar tested. pounds lower than weights in the 1 Point column). CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle change program gives you the steps you need to cut your risk for type 2 diabetes in half.

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| recipe

KAREN HERMANN

What is it about sandwiches that has made them so iconic? Is it their portability—we can eat them on the run? Is it their simplicity—you can make one out of just about an ything you have on hand? Or is it as simple as putting yo ur favorite meat or salad betwee n two pieces of your favori te bread? Whatever the reason, let it take yo u to your happy place.

BY BELINDA SMITH-SULLIVAN

APPLE BACON BRIE PANINI ON RYE MAKES 4 SANDWICHES

8 slices rye (or bread of choice) 8 slices brie cheese 2 small-medium Granny Smith apples, cored and thinly sliced

8 slices thick-cut bacon, cooked crispy 4 tablespoons fig jam 4 leaves green leaf lettuce Unsalted butter

On four slices of bread, divide cheese, apple slices, bacon, jam and lettuce. Top with remaining four slices of bread. Spread butter on top of each sandwich. Preheat a panini grill to medium and place sandwiches on grill, buttered side down. Depending on the size of your panini grill, you may have to cook one or two sandwiches at a time. Spread additional butter on top and close grill lid. If you do not have a panini grill, you can do this in a grill pan or skillet. Cook until cheese is melted, about 3 minutes. Repeat as needed.

What’s cooking at

SCLiving.coop Got a hankering for chicken? Find Chef Belinda’s recipe for Open-face Chicken Caprese on Toasted Ciabatta as well as bonus recipes for homemade Thousand Island dressing and basil pesto at

TURKEY REUBEN ON PUMPERNICKEL MAKE 4 SANDWICHES

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Place two sandwiches, buttered side down, in heated skillet. Press down on sandwiches with a spatula until buttered sides are crusty and cheese is starting to melt, about 3–4 minutes. Spread additional butter on top of sandwiches. Flip sandwiches and cook until crusty on other side. Repeat until all sandwiches are cooked. 12

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | JUNE 2022 | SCLIVING.COOP

I U LI IA N E DRYGA I LOVA

Spread one side of each slice of bread with the dressing. Top four slices with turkey, sauerkraut and cheese. Place remaining slices of bread on top. Spread top of sandwiches with butter.

SCLiving.coop/food/ chefbelinda

GWÉ N A Ë L LE VOT

8 slices pumpernickel Thousand Island dressing, homemade or store-bought 1 pound sliced deli turkey breast 1 cup sauerkraut 8 slices Swiss cheese Unsalted butter

M IC H A E L PH I LLI PS

Super summer sammies

CHEESESTEAK WITH SAUTEED VEGETABLES ON HOAGIE MAKES 4 SANDWICHES

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 large yellow onion, peeled, halved and sliced 1 red bell pepper, cored and sliced 1 orange bell pepper, cored and sliced 1½–2 pounds sirloin, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce All-purpose seasoning 7 ounces sliced provolone cheese 4 hoagie rolls, split but not separated

Into a large skillet over medium heat, add two tablespoons olive oil. Saute onions and peppers until soft. Transfer mixture to a bowl and keep warm. Add remaining two tablespoons oil to skillet and increase heat to medium-high. Add sliced steak and cook, stirring frequently, until no pink remains, about 4–5 minutes. Add Worcestershire and seasoning and stir well. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking and stirring until all juices in the pan are gone. Add onion/ pepper mixture back to the pan. Place all slices of cheese over the meat in a circle. Cover with a lid and cook until cheese melts. Using a cast-iron skillet or griddle, sprayed very lightly with cooking spray (or in a 350 F oven for 5 minutes), toast hoagie rolls until lightly browned. Use large tongs to transfer equal portions of beef mixture to rolls. Make the cut. To make beef easier to slice, first place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Then on a cutting board, using a sharp knife, slice as thinly as possible across the grain. CHEF’S TIP

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TRADITION

CONTINUES

Cooper’s Country Store still does business the old‑fashioned way TEXT AND PHOTOS BY TIM HANSON

MEETING PLACE Herbert Hammond, who lives close by, routinely visits the store for his morning coffee and to catch up with friends. Top: William Cooper (left) and brother Russell Cooper Jr. help keep their dad’s store, which has been in the family since 1937, running smoothly.

introduced face masks and social distancing to the American scene, retired farmer Herbert Hammond’s daily ritual involved a mandatory stop at Cooper’s Country Store for a cup of coffee. Hammond, 86, a native of nearby Kingstree, lives only a few hundred yards from the store, and he looked forward to meeting with his friends to catch up on community gossip and maybe spar over some prevailing political issue of the day. The virus put Hammond’s routine on hold, and only recently has the one-time sharecropper begun to return to his preepidemic custom. Such gatherings have been common ever since the store was built by Theron Burrows back in 1937. He operated the business until his death in 1974, and then his son-in-law, George Cooper, took over and ran the place for the next three decades. Finally, in 2003, Cooper sold the store to his nephew, Russell Cooper, the current owner. Cooper’s Country Store sits at the BEFORE THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | JUNE 2022 | SCLIVING.COOP

intersection of state Hwy. 521 and Martin Luther King Jr. Road in Salters, the unincorporated community of less than 4,000 people in Williamsburg County. It is a two-story affair, the upstairs portion being an apartment where Burrows and his wife lived until 1954. A balcony extends forward from the apartment and covers a modest two-hose gas pump in front of the store. Downstairs, in the store’s narrow aisles, customers will find a dizzying array of items—groceries and farm equipment, plumbing supplies, buckets of paint, knee-high snake-proof boots, machetes, fishing poles, animal traps, live crickets, cold beer, and a deli counter that keeps employees hopping to serve hungry customers six days a week. Near the front door, a rocking chair and two pants-polished stools await those customers, like Herbert Hammond, who just want to sit a spell and talk with their neighbors. “We have a very diverse customer base,” says William Cooper, one of Russell

“ A customer might come in here to get a propane tank filled or buy a pound of bacon or get a two-by-four to fix his fence.” —WILLIAM COOPER Cooper’s two sons. “We see people with every level of income, every age—every segment you can divide people into. A customer might come in here to get a propane tank filled or buy a pound of bacon or get a two-by-four to fix his fence.” William’s brother, Russell Cooper Jr., says the store does not sell as many groceries as it used to but makes up for it by selling other items. “We still have a full line of hardware and building, plumbing and electrical supplies,” he says. “We have a wide variety of things to choose from.” At one time, country stores like this one were common in rural South Carolina. They served a population of working people who could not always easily travel to one of the larger towns to make their purchases. These days, however, such stores are rare, and the few that do remain, like Cooper’s, sometimes become repositories of period memorabilia and aging documents that show how business was once conducted. Owner Russell Cooper, for example, still has several oversized accounting ledgers that were once used to keep track of the store’s business transactions. In days long gone, he says, customers would buy groceries on credit and then make payments on their accounts at the end of the month. He pulls one of the big books from a storeroom shelf, blows a layer of dust from its cover and opens it to a random page. “This ledger here is from 1960 to 1961,” Cooper says, pointing to the neat handwriting of the store’s original owner. “This customer bought some pancake mix for 27 cents, five pounds of flour for 62 cents, $1.80 worth of gas and a pack of cigarettes for 75 cents.”

p GET IT HERE Cashier Kelley Cooper has been greeting customers and ringing up their purchases for decades. t FOR THE RECORD Owner

Russell Cooper dusts off one of the ledgers used to keep track of transactions before the digital age.

q VARIETY STORES National brands share shelf space with local products such as raw honey from Jamestown and stoneground meal from Irmo.

Other tokens of a bygone era are s cattered throughout the store: a couple of old-time cash registers perched on a top shelf; a decades-old, razor-sharp, crosscut saw hanging high and safely out of reach of customers; a mule-powered, farmer-guided Boy Dixie plow; an ancient, well-worn Dixie Cups dispenser; and a 12-drawer cabinet filled with Old Hickory shoelaces that once sold for 10 cents a pair. “Things have changed, of course,” says Russell Cooper. “When I was a kid and first started working here, I remember seeing an older gentleman bring a mule

and a wagon to get his groceries. And years before that, there would be maybe 10 mules and wagons tied up out there in front of the store.” Cooper isn’t the only one to witness the decades of change. Jay Woodard, for instance, began working at Cooper’s as a 17-year-old back in 1976. “We once had a service station here,” he says. “I used to do all the car oil changes and tire fixing. We don’t do that anymore. Probably the biggest change I’ve seen is the way people do business now. Everything is credit cards. Hardly anyone uses cash anymore.” uu

SCLIVING.COOP | JUNE 2022 | SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING

These days, as might be expected, inevitable concessions to changing times have been incorporated into the business. The store maintains an active presence on Facebook. Its page has more than 4,000 followers. “Got a new assortment of straw brooms in,” reads one recent post that included a photo showing a dozen or so brooms with gray, red or black handles. And then there is the food. During the week, Cooper’s sells as much as 300 pounds of barbecued pork and around 300 barbecued chicken halves, says pitmaster Laverne Darby, who has worked at the store since 1975. And when Thanksgiving and Christmas roll around, he says, the store adds barbecued turkeys to their list of offerings. All of the barbecuing is done using seven pits—at least one of which can hold up to 23 turkeys or 50 chickens at a time—located in a shed behind the store.

TENDING THE FLOCK Jay Woodard, an employee since he was 17, keeps a watchful eye on the pit that can barbecue 50 chickens at once.

GET THERE Cooper’s Country Store is located at 6945 Hwy. 521 in Salters. Hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday–Saturday. Barbecued pork and chicken are available Thursday through Saturday. For the latest updates on what’s in stock or cooking on the pits, visit the store’s Facebook page or call (843) 387‑5772.

Back inside at the deli counter, Darby says he keeps busy slicing meat and cheese and making sandwiches for workers in the area who find Cooper’s a convenient spot to pick up lunch. Right next to the deli counter is a walk-in, wire ham cage where whole, salt‑cured country hams are hung and which sell, especially during the holidays, by the hundreds. Unlike other now-shuttered country stores, Cooper’s enjoys a favorable location on a state highway that brings a steady flow of summertime vacationers headed for the coast. “The beach traffic has always come from Columbia, Spartanburg and Tennessee,” says the senior Cooper. “Some families have been coming year after year, and we have gotten to know them by name. We’ve watched their children grow up and get married and watched them have children.”

Start your adventure • SanteeTourism.com 16

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SIMPLY HISTORIC. SIMPLY CONNECTED. SIMPLY HOME.

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| calendar

Upstate

JUNE 9–JULY 15

15–16 South Carolina Peach Festival, downtown, Gaffney. southcarolinapeachfestival.weebly.com. 15–24 We Will Rock You, Spartanburg Little Theatre, Spartanburg. spartanburglittletheatre.com.

JU NE

9–19 Chautauqua History

Festival, multiple venues, Greenville. historycomesalive.org. 18 Americana Folk Festival, Hagood Mill Historic Site, Pickens. hagoodmillhistoricsite.com. 25 Freedom Blast, Greer City Park, Greer. freedomblast.org.

Midlands J UNE

13–17 Special Needs Art & Music

Camp, Aiken Center for the Arts, Aiken. aikencenterforthearts.org. 2 America’s 5K and 1 Mile Fun 15–30 Maycie Moore Art Exhibit, Run, 100 South Main St., Anderson. Aiken County Visitors Center, Aiken. runsignup.com/race/sc/anderson/ discoveraikencounty.com. americas5K. 16 The Voice presented by Lake 2 Ranger Guided Battlefield Hike, Murray Symphony Orchestra, Musgrove Mill State Historic Site, Harbison Theatre, Irmo. Clinton. (864) 938‑0100. (803) 400‑3540 or lmso.org. 4 Hillbilly Day, Mountain Rest 17 Aiken Master Gardener Lunch Community Club, Mountain Rest. Box Series “Growing Citrus and mountainrestcommunityclub.com. Palms,” Millbrook Baptist Church, 4 Red, White and Boom, Barnet Park, Aiken. aikenmastergardeners.org. Spartanburg. cityofspartanburg.org. 18 Juneteenth Mega Festival, The 7–9 SC Festival of Discovery, Landings on Bogus Hill, North Augusta. Main Street, Greenwood. vision2020andbeyond.com. festivalofdiscovery.com. 18 Rock Hill Theatre in 7–24 Clue, Centre Stage, Greenville. Concert: Mary Poppins, Tom (864) 233‑6733 or centrestage.org. S. Gettys Courtroom, Rock Hill. rockhilltheatre.org. 14–31 Upstate Shakespeare Festival presents Othello, Falls Park, Greenville. warehousetheatre.com. JU LY

18–19 The SC Juneteenth Freedom

Fest, South Carolina State Fairgrounds, Columbia. juneteenthfreedomfest.com. 19 Ridge Peach Festival, downtown, Trenton. ridgepeachfestival@gmail.com. 20–Aug. 1 Summer Art Camp, Aiken Center for the Arts, Aiken. aikencenterforthearts.org. 25 Lizard Man Stomp, downtown, Bishopville. (803) 486‑5093 or facebook.com/lizardmanstomp. 26 Carolina Celebration of Liberty, First Baptist Church, Columbia. firstbaptistcolumbia.com. 27 Parris Island Marine Band, Hopelands Gardens, Aiken. (803) 643‑2161 or cityofaikensc.gov. JULY

2 4th of July Celebration on Lake

Murray, Lake Murray, Columbia. lakemurraycountry.com. 4 Lexington County Peach Festival, Gilbert Community Park, Gilbert. lexingtoncountypeachfestival.com. 15–16 Pageland Watermelon Festival, downtown, Pageland. pagelandchamber.org. 15–23 A Doublewide, Texas Christmas, Aiken Community Theatre, Aiken. aikencommunitytheatre.org.

SCLiving.coop/calendar

Our mobile-friendly site lists even more festivals, shows and events. You’ll also find instructions on submitting your event. Please confirm information with the hosting event before attending.

Lowcountry JUNE

16–18 Charleston Carifest 2022,

downtown, Charleston. (843) 557‑6258 or charlestoncarifest.com. 16–19 Lake City Juneteenth Festival, downtown, Lake City. juneteenth@cityoflakecity.org. 18 Charleston Rotary Club Charity Duck Race, Guggenheim Terrace, Daniel Island. charlestonduckrace.com. 20–25 Hampton County Watermelon Festival, various locations, Hampton. hcmelonfest.org. 23 Sweetgrass Festival, Mt. Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park, Mt. Pleasant. (843) 884‑8517 or experiencemountpleasant.com. 25 DragonBoat Race Day, downtown, Beaufort. (843) 473‑4477 or raceday@dragonboatbeaufort.org.

Introduces

25, 26, July 1–3 The Sound of

Music, Main Stage Community Theatre, Hilton Head Island. (843) 689‑6246 or mainstagecommunitytheatre.org.

JULY

1–Aug. 3 Muzika! The Grand Strand

Music Festival, multiple venues, Myrtle Beach. (803) 545‑4166 or varnainternational.com/muzika. 4 13th Annual Independence Day 5K, Grand Park Lake at Market Common, Myrtle Beach. nspromos.com. 4 Hilton Head Firecracker 5K, Jarvis Creek Park, Hilton Head Island. firecracker-5k.com. 4 Salute from the Shore, Cherry Grove to Bluffton. salutefromtheshore.org. 14 Sea to Shining Sea: A New Muse Concert, Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston. gibbesmuseum.org. 15–24 Beaufort Water Festival, various locations, Beaufort. bftwaterfestival.com.

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| gardener JUNE IN THE GARDEN

n If you have holes to fill in the veggie garden, there is still time this month to plant such delectable edibles as squash, Southern peas, Swiss chard, okra, sweet potatoes, leeks, collards and mustard greens.

L . A . JAC KSO N

TIP OF THE MONTH For better success with planters and hanging baskets this summer, keep these tips in mind: (1) Unglazed clay pots leach moisture through their sides, meaning plants in these types of containers normally have to be watered more often; (2) the smaller the pot, the quicker it will dry out; (3) trailing plants such as million bells, vinca, petunias, CONTAINMENT AREA A few basic tips can help creeping maintain pretty planters Jenny and through the summer ornamental growing season. sweet potatoes can shade the pots’ sides to help keep plant roots cooler; and (4) the more you irrigate, the more plant nutrients are washed away, so water with a diluted liquid fertilizer at least once a month through the growing season.

Tomato troubles BY L.A. JACKSON

Sunscald. Appearing Recognize the first as a yellowish, growers who begin to calamities that can discolored spot on the harvest healthy fruits, top of a tomato, it then because it means they beset tomatoes turns about as ugly as a have managed to avoid the calamities often and learn how to case of blossom end rot. True to its name, the wrought by diseases and avoid them cause of this blemish is bad bugs. However, Ol’ Sol—too much sun. there are also physiologiSunscald usually happens to tomatoes cal problems that can really mess up a that ripen on the upper parts of plants, patch of ’maters, and here are the top which, with less shade from the foliage, four nasties to watch for: can become overexposed to relentless sunrays. Conservative pruning (espeBlossom End Rot. This yucky, dusky spot on the bottom of an otherwise cially in the top branches) and using a pretty tomato is usually due to the light covering such as cheesecloth or a plant’s lack of calcium uptake from the horticultural fabric like Reemay over soil because of extended dry conditions. the plants will help prevent the sun A three- to four-inch layer of mulch and from doing such damage to ripening regular waterings will help stabilize the ’maters. ground moisture and prevent such ugliness from occurring. Occasionally spray- Catfacing. I also call this problem “early-itis” because it is the result ing the leaves with a diluted solution of of eager gardeners wanting to get calcium chloride (available at most gartheir tomatoes growing in the very den shops) will also aid in stopping this early spring when the weather is still nastiness from besmirching tomatoes. relatively cool. Young fruits that start to develop in low temperatures are Cracking. Another disorder associated sometimes distorted into odd shapes, with uneven soil moisture. This condiincluding—with some imagination on tion creates concentric, unappetizing rings circling the stems or vertical splits your part—cat faces. This disorder is along the sides of the fruits. Dry spells only temporary because, as simmering broken by frog-strangler rains can cause summer temperatures take over in the rehydrated tomatoes to grow too fast veggie patch, any following fruit should too soon and literally burst out of their be free of such weirdness. skins. Like with blossom end rot, mulching the plants will help steady ground L.A. JACKSON is the former editor of moisture availability, as will regular Carolina Gardener magazine. Contact waterings when the rains don’t come. him at lajackson1@gmail.com. HAPPY ARE TOMATO

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | JUNE 2022 | SCLIVING.COOP

L . A . JAC KSO N

n A dollar doesn’t buy much these days, but in the garden, having a buck in your pocket is still worth something. The dollar bill is a shade over two-and-a-half inches wide and six inches long, so if you need to roughly measure row widths, pot diameters or planting distances and depths—and your tape measure is lost in the garage—a single note can come in handy.

SALAD DAYS For healthier, better-looking fruits, prevent common physiological problems from invading your tomato patch.

| humor me

Dancers to doughnuts BY JAN A. IGOE

TikTok was that red-headed social media stepchild shunned by everyone over age 12. Just a bunch of silly Gen Xers videoing themselves lip-synching cringe-worthy songs with a passing resemblance to music. Nothing to see here. Move along. Our former president tried to ban it, but TikTok started spreading faster than kudzu on Red Bull. What was once the sole province of the pimple-prone now regularly attracts 1.5 billion monthly users who might include your grandma. Hungry marketers can’t resist a feast like that, so household names like Gucci, NatGeo, Disney and Target jumped on board. Now, prepubescent airheads have to compete with adult airheads battling for the exalted rank of social media influencer. Influencers are like the popular kids everybody tried to emulate in fifth grade, but they’re paid better. Take Charli D’Amelio, for example. At 17, she has collected more than 130 million followers with her dancing videos. Last year, she was the most popular person on TikTok and put $17.5 million in her pocket, per Forbes. (If your tap shoes still fit, stop reading and start dancing.) Besides her own nail polish and jewelry lines, Charli also has a book in the works, a movie role and a sweet deal with Dunkin’ Donuts. When people see a cold brew with a caramel swirl in Charli’s hand, they know that eating a dozen doughnuts is sure to make them better dancers. The other fun side of TikTok is the challenges. You remember Tide Pods, NOT LONG AGO,

Another challenge keeping first responders busy is the young geniuses who keep squeezing their butts into bucket swings sized for toddlers. Surprise! They get stuck. right? Now think of the fun folks could have with Gorilla Glue. (Some people have expressed concern online that the glue might be made from mashed gorillas, but it’s more likely just ferrets.) The challenge is finding new, off-label ways to use the glue, like adhering false eyelashes. When you apply them with Gorilla Glue, your eyelids will fall off long before the lashes do. Unless they are surgically removed, you’ll end up with the longest lashes in assisted living. Tessica Brown tried using Gorilla Glue

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | JUNE 2022 | SCLIVING.COOP

to hold her long hair in place, possibly forever. She conceded that it was a bad idea when her hairdo solidified, and doctors had to remove the mess surgically. But you can’t fault the glue. It works. Her hair was unfazed by shampoo, conditioner and F5 tornadoes. (My dad got the same results from Brylcreem, minus the surgery.) Here’s another one doctors love: the Blackout Challenge. You simply hold your breath until you lose consciousness, which I honestly didn’t know was possible until now. When my body tells me it’s time to inhale, I never argue. But some TikTok fans have yet to grasp the benefits that breathing on a consistent basis offers. Another challenge keeping first responders busy is the young geniuses who keep squeezing their butts into bucket swings sized for toddlers. Surprise! They get stuck. Stuck enough that angry firefighters have to come pry them out. Apparently, professional firefighters would rather be pulling people out of burning buildings than swings. I’d hesitate to say that to anyone on TikTok, though. They might fix the problem by gluing themselves in the swing and lighting their butts on fire. Future influencers, for sure. is almost as worried about kids trying these challenges as she is the adults who think that glue might be made from gorillas. Use your influence and join us at HumorMe@SCLiving.coop.

JAN A. IGOE

South Carolina Living June 2022

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