Anniversary

Anniversary

$6

The Magazine of South Carolina Autumn 2008

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Let’s Eat!S andlapper Magazine’s pop-

ular dining column, “Stop Where the Parking Lot’s

Full,” has been updated and com-piled into a book! This is the quintessential guide to South Carolina dining. The unique col-lection of Sandlapper Magazine restaurant reviews, spanning almost 20 years, reflects the di-verse cultures and extraordi-nary dining opportunities offered throughout our state. With updates following each column, Aïda Rog-ers and Tim Driggers bring us full circle with restaurants that have withstood the test of time. Order before November 1and pay only $19.95—a 20-per-cent savings off the regular price of $24.95. It’s the gift every sandlap-per will love! We’re taking prepub-lication orders now; the book will ship in early October—just in time for holiday shopping. To order, contact Sandlap-per Society, Inc., P.O. Box 1108, Lexington, SC 29071; (803) 359-9954, fax (803) 359-0629. Please add $2.50 shipping for one book, 50 cents each for ad-ditional books in your order.

No glove compartment should be without it!

Just in time for the perfect Christmas gift . . . .

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Edisto MagicIn the words of one local,

“This place is just enchanted.”

Article by Aïda Rogers v Photos by Jason A. Zwiker

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Autumn 2008 7

Etta Drayton shows off her famous tomato pie at Main’s Market to customers Margaret Barksdale (left) and Elaine Baskin of Columbia. Below: Sonny Carson cruises along the Edisto waterfront.

F or Edisto to cast its spell, you must do your part. That means doing nothing. Turn off your

radio when driving down soft sandy roads cathedraled by sheltering live oaks. Sit on a screened porch and listen to the wind in the trees. Play a mindless game of bingo with gig-gling teens in a crowded cinderblock building staffed by affable Lions Club members. Las Vegas this ain’t. Edisto is old-fashioned. No ho-tels. No waterslide. No traffic light. Just ocean, creek, marsh and sea-food. You can buy great watermelon and corn at weather-worn produce stands, and watch dogs hanging out with their masters at work. They don’t call it “Edislow” for nothing. “It’s something that happens when you come across the bridge,” reflects Charlotte Geraty Main, a realtor who grew up on nearby Yonges Island and lived in vari-ous cities before moving to Edisto permanently in 1998. “You just divorce yourself from what was on the other side. You become one with the land and the Lord.” That sort of reverence is com-mon among Edistonians. Whether they live on Edisto Beach, an incor-porated town in Colleton County, or Edisto Island, part of Charles-ton County, they share an abiding devotion to this seemingly isolated world of big trees and endless wa-ter. They like that it’s seasonal, and don’t mind working two or three jobs in the summer to make ends meet in the winter. But come on. Just one hotel? “No!” The answer erupts imme-diately from a group of colleagues at Prudential Kapp/Lyons Realty. They’re aboard Tom Kapp’s 22-foot Marshall Cat sailboat, enjoying what they call a “cocktail cruise,” and they like the view of Edisto Beach as it is. “It looks the same as it did 25 years ago,” says Kapp, a Columbia native who’s been here since 1981. “There’s development pressure here, but we want to pre-serve the island’s rural integrity.”

Later, on custom homebuilder Sonny Carson’s 27-foot Triton, you wonder if he misses his native Greenwood, from where he uproot-ed himself and his wife. The hous-ing market’s not great anywhere. Regrets? “Not one,” he responds before the question leaves your lips. “I like the seclusion of Edisto. I like that we do have to drive to get sup-

plies. It’s quaint to me. Sometimes it’s a little pain, but that’s what keeps Edisto like we are.” Spend a couple hours playing bingo at the Lions Club hut, and you’ll find perfectly tanned teen-agers enthusiastically describing Edisto’s “really relaxed” and “not commercial” atmosphere. Cousins Kahlan and Brittany Shull from

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8 Sandlapper

Lexington have been coming to Edisto every summer since they were three. Do they plan to come back with their children one day? “Yes, yes!” They’re clamoring, ex-cited someone realizes what they’ve probably talked about for years.

Don’t look here for the neon noise of Myrtle Beach or sculpted sophistication of

Hilton Head. “Someone here coined the phrase ‘Mayberry by the Sea,’ and that’s basically what it is,” says Jimmy King of The Edisto News. King, 54, spends his time working and going to church. As for his job title, it’s “editor-publisher-janitor-delivery boy.” Like many, he does multiple things to be able to stay. “This is a different place,” he muses, “and I don’t know you would ever find anything as unique. Though people come from differ-ent directions, everybody pulls for what’s best for Edisto. Nobody is ever going to do anything to hurt it, because everybody loves the place.”

Still, King is walking proof about Edisto in 2008: It’s grow-ing. His newspaper, established in 2005, began as a one-page black-and-white advertising vehicle. To-day it’s 32 color pages of news, fea-tures and ads. “It should be 40,” King says, adding that he’d like to expand his editorial coverage into Meggett and Hollywood. But like others here, he’s a one-man show. There’s only so much he can do. “If you’re good at what you do, you can find work on Edisto,” affirms Larry Main, owner of the popular Main’s Market, where head cook Etta Drayton serves her famous to-mato pie with an assortment of oth-er Gullah specialties. Main, a retired Gulf Oil employee in Charleston, has been on the island since 1996. Besides cooking and serving barbe-cue, he does landscaping, irrigation, Shellsand driveway and road instal-lation, and backhoe work. “I got ten hats,” he says, not unseriously. Evi-dence: At Main’s Market: You can buy wine, entertaining accessories,

gardening products and homemade eight-layer cakes. Main’s Market is in the old Grant’s Store, where beach-goers once bought “Pepsis and Nabs,” recalls Dan Carter, executive direc-tor of the Edisto Chamber of Com-merce. Carter grew up in Walter-boro, and Edisto Beach was where he came for fun. After 23 years working mostly in Atlanta, he’s happy to be in a relaxed environ-ment. But he’s fast to say you can be as busy as you want. “A common question you get from folks who don’t live here and understand it is, ‘What the heck do you do?’ And it’s infinite,” says Carter, an elder at The Presbyte-rian Church on Edisto Island and a member of the Lions Club, which has sponsored summer bingo since 1959. In the past four years, the club has donated more than $50,000 to local eye-related proj-ects. “There are enough volunteer and social opportunities that being bored is not a problem.”

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Autumn 2008 9

“I love Edisto. It’s laid-back,” says Pink Brown (facing page), who with her father runs George and Pink’s produce stand. Above: Marie Asbill runs Island Tours & T’ings. And yes—dogs feel quite at home at Edisto.

Ask Lula Grant, 71. She “re-tired” to Edisto 10 years ago and is consumed with the Edisto Island Outreach Center. The nonprofit organization has been improving islanders’ lives since 2003, repair-ing homes and providing a summer camp. Grant directs an EIOC respite center for Alzheimer’s sufferers and caregivers and chairs the Eye on the Future Scholarship Committee. Since the scholarship began in 2006, 18 local students have received $11,500 collectively for college. Al-zheimer’s patients can get scholar-ships to attend the EIOC’s thrice-weekly Tender Loving Care Club. While the EIOC focuses on helping people in need, the Edisto Island Community Association pre-serves the island’s cultural and ru-ral character. Founded in 1985, the group has about 500 members, says Pat Neumann, recording secretary. Inappropriate development is one of its main concerns, but it focuses on education, too. Like the EIOC, the EICA gives scholarships to deserv-ing Edisto students. It’s awarded 19 scholarships totaling $207,550 since 1985. (High school students go to Walterboro or Charleston; there is no high school on Edisto.) Meanwhile, a more casual group, The Ten Dollar—or “Dol-

lah”—Club, has been meeting monthly for fun and fellowship for almost a year. Members—women only— bring hors d’oeuvres, wine and $10 each to support a local cause. So far, the “sistahs” have raised $1,300 for local student Bubba Wright to go to Bermuda to learn how to protect sea turtle nests. While Bubba considers a ca-reer in marine biology, his 50-some benefactresses continue their mis-sion of “making a positive impact on the world a few dollars at a time,” says founder Suzi Elledge. Sea turtles are cherished here. Besides the rangers and volunteers who save nests at Edisto Beach State Park, a citizens group, the Edisto Beach Loggerhead Turtle Project, has saved an average of 70 nests per season for more than 15 years. From 40 to 60 people active-ly volunteer, which is 10 percent of the population on Edisto Beach, says coordinator Jamie Gaabo. “Be-cause Edisto is so small, you’re in-volved.” Even Edisto’s lone grocery, Piggly Wiggly, does its part. Lights Out FOr turtLes May-OctOber pro-claims its modest marquee. Edisto’s spirit of caring seems impervious to its residents’ varying income levels. The 15 churches are united by Edisto Ministerial Alli-

ance, which manages a food bank and presents an Easter sunrise service well-attended by all Ed-istonians. Its second multi-night revival is scheduled for February. “I think it’s going to be real neat,” predicts Marie Asbill, owner of Is-land Tours & T’ings. “We’ve got a real good group on Edisto.”

Besides giving tours, Asbill waits tables and with her husband is caretaker of a

plantation whose owners live in Charleston. “I feel really lucky to live on Edisto,” she tells a group of visitors from the driver’s seat of her bright pink van. Though she grew up in Charleston, 45 minutes away, she says she can stand only half a day there. “Traffic.” You won’t hear complaints about that on Edisto. But you will hear sounds of worry that develop-ment could dilute the island’s cul-ture and landscape. Already there are four gated communities, and several grand beach homes have been built alongside modest old ones. But zoning is in place to as-sure only one home can be built ev-ery 10 acres, and beach houses are restricted to 40 feet high by 3,800 square feet wide. “You don’t elimi-nate development, you don’t stop

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10 Sandlapper

This article is sponsored by:* Atwood Vacations, Edisto Island* The Plantation Course at Edisto, Edisto Island* Prudential Kapp/Lyons Realty, Edisto Island* SloBoat Construction LLC, Edisto Island* Wyndham Ocean Ridge Realty, Edisto Island* Compliance Centre, Columbia* The Dining Room at the Plantation, Edisto Island* Plantation Grille, Edisto Island* Po Pigs Bo-B-Q, Edisto Island* Southern Affairs Catering, Edisto Island* Julian B. Culvern, Morristown, TN

development, you control develop-ment,” says Tom Kapp, broker-in-charge at Prudential Kapp/Lyons Realty. “Done in a proper way, man can co-exist in this environment.” Kapp’s brother Woody, who commutes to his real estate job

in Charleston, poses the fear that bit by bit some developers will en-croach upon Edisto’s serenity. “Lit-tle tract by little tract, degradation is happening—just very modest forms, as opposed to all of a sud-den you’ve got a high-rise. That kind of proliferation isn’t happen-ing yet, but it will. It’s just a mat-ter of time.” Still, he’s happy that both the North and South Edisto rivers have been protected from storm and sewer water. “Every-thing is based on water quality,” Woody Kapp upholds. “If you can preserve the water quality, you can preserve the wildlife and the sur-rounding area.” Individuals and organizations share a philosophy that compared to other coastal areas, “this is the last chance to get it right,” explains Cart-er, the chamber director. “We want to invite the people who think like we do, people who are environmentally conscious, who want to preserve the family-type atmosphere. So you market to those types of people hop-ing they’ll move here, and help us sustain it.” Unlike many chamber directors, Carter does not include attracting new businesses on his to-do list. “My job is to help the busi-nesses that are here grow and do well,” he says, noting that tourism is Edisto’s biggest industry, followed by agriculture. Several environmental groups are working diligently to protect Edisto’s natural spaces. Of the island’s 41,000 acres, 1,722 have been preserved by the Edisto Is-land Open Land Trust, says its ex-ecutive director Marian Brailsford. Edisto is the most heavily protect-ed populated island in South Caro-lina, she points out, with approxi-mately 16,000 total acres preserved by the EIOLT, South Carolina De-partment of Natural Resources, Charleston County Parks Recre-ation Commission, The Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, the Lowcountry Open Land Trust and Ducks Unlimited. The EIOLT

hopes to have more than 50 percent of the island protected by 2010. The population (625 on Ed-isto Beach, 2,640 on Edisto Island, according to the 2000 census) is too small to support big box stores, but it’s hardly a backwater. Places of businesses multitask as much as the residents. The Edisto Bookstore offers wi-fi and The Wall Street Journal, nautical charts and topo-graphical maps. Fancy coffees, sa-lon treatments and arty boutiques vie for dollars alongside rentals for beach bikes, big-game fishing expeditions, boat rides to islands and historic plantation tours. The island’s solitary golf course, The Plantation Course at Edisto, draws players from across the nation and some from overseas, says Leland Vaughan, general manager. Even during July’s heat, 3,550 people played the course, Vaughan relays, adding that its “uniqueness” has captivated one London golfer who vacations here every year. The Plantation Course is marked by giant live oaks and impressive magnolias. Typical for Edisto, it has proffered artifacts from the island’s past. American Indians, Europeans, wealthy cot-ton planters, slaves and occupy-ing Union troops during the Civil War have called Edisto home over the past six centuries. Locals will show you fossilized mastodon jaws, pieces of Indian pottery and china shards from the plantation fami-lies who summered on the now washed-away Edingsville Beach. “I thought everybody else did that,” says Jane Murray McCol-lum, of finding pottery and running barefoot in pluff mud as a child. At 84, Edisto’s unofficial grande dame is suitably unpretentious. Softspo-ken and given to thrift shop cloth-ing, McCollum spent 28 years away from her beloved island and Jack Daw Hall plantation home. Her Edisto accent befuddled people in Greenville—“they thought I was from a foreign country”—and she

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Fresh seafood, for sure, is to be had on Edisto. Right: the Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island, 300 years old.

Autumn 2008 11

admits she cried a lot. Back since 1986, McCollum, a retired nurse, spends her time reading to chil-dren at Jane B. Edwards School, painting watercolors and stay-ing active with Trinity Episcopal Church, founded in 1774. “Edisto gets into your heart and your soul, and it just can’t get out,” she defends. To her, a perfect day includes a swim, a painting ses-sion, and watching pelicans dive into the creek. While she wishes Edisto had a pharmacy, she’s glad there are a bank, lawyer and dentist on the island. She thinks times are better now than then, because people have more money to take care of their homes and churches. And the influx of newcomers can’t be all bad. “We were all from old families and we were probably all kin, so having new people, I think that helps.” She points to Gretchen Smith, director of the Edisto Island His-toric Preservation Society. A Con-way native who moved here after 30 years in Columbia, Smith says Edisto’s casual atmosphere “spoke to my soul.” Besides managing the Edisto Museum, she’s intent on seeing that local cemeteries and buildings, including structures on Botany Bay Plantation, are pro-tected. Given to the state in 1977,

the 4,630-acre preserve opened July 1. The property includes the remains of two plantations, Bleak Hall and Sea Cloud. It’s a stretch of land that encompasses all that Edisto’s famous for: ocean, trees, farms and history. It’s the history you just can’t escape. “Endlessly fascinating” is how Charles Spencer describes it. His Edisto Island, a two-volume history published in May, docu-ments its past from 1663 to 1860 (“Wild Eden to Cotton Aristoc-racy”) and 1861 to 2006 (“Ruin, Recovery and Rebirth”). The Ed-isto Island Historic Preservation Society sponsored the book, which took Spencer, a retired political science professor and foreign ser-vice officer in the U.S. Information Agency, seven years to write. “I’m so grateful to The History Press for the idea of splitting it into two books,” Spencer says. If the pub-lisher wanted to keep the island’s enormous history contained in one volume, he’d “have to whack it by 50 percent.” An Arlington, Virginia, resi-dent who spent childhood sum-mers on Edisto, Spencer applauds the EIHPS’s work sponsoring his book and organizing a fine mu-seum. Like Smith, he worries that

important historical structures are crumbling and need fast protec-tion. The ruins of the 1725 Brick House, called “America’s first man-or house,” is one example he cites. Another is the 1680s tabby ruins of the first Englishman’s home on Edisto, Paul Grimball. Grants need to be found and plans designed to stabilize these treasures, Spencer believes. Historical markers are another need. They would allow “people moving around the island to be more constantly aware of the history they’re walking on and driving on.” Ask Spencer how he’d de-scribe Edisto, and he borrows a comment from And I’m Glad, a collection of black oral histories by Nick Lindsay, a local poet, teacher and master builder. “ ‘This place is just enchanted. It’s magic,’” Spen-cer quotes. “I know that’s senti-mental and I know it’s romantic, but it expresses my feelings. There is a magic that I haven’t found anywhere else and I have been around the world, from the pyra-mids to Machu Picchu. Nothing is like Edisto.” v

Frequent contributor Jason A. Zwiker is a freelance photographer in Charleston.

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CHOCOLATE

Autumn 2008 15

For Goodness’ Sake

Article by Mary Jane Howell v Photos by Scott Webster

There are well-known strawberry and peach festivals, and ones for apples and watermelons, too, but hands-down one of the yummiest festivals in South Carolina has to be the annual Chocolate Festival at St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic School in Aiken. This year the festival is marking its 20th anniversary. Held each October on the grounds of St. Mary’s school, the event attracts an average of 4,000 visi-

tors, most of whom arrive that Saturday morning with one thing on their minds—chocolate! Thefirststopforveteranfestivalgoersisthechocolatecarousel.Mannedbyabevyofvolunteers,thecarousel offers chocolate by the slice—or by the piece. Chocolate cake, marbled brownies, Black Forest cake, chocolate-covered strawberries, fudge, chocolate chip cookies—the list goes on. All are homemade by parents, parishioners or people who are just crazy about chocolate. In the highly competitive Chocolate Challenge, bakers compete in various categories—cakes, tortes, pies. . . cookies, brownies, dessert bars . . . candy, mousse, fudge. The judges base their scores on four criteria: visual appeal, taste, texture and chocolate enhancement. “I have to restrain myself and only judge one category, which happily for me is the cakes,” said Bob Pierce, who has judged the event for four years. “I consider myself a supreme chocoholic, so I’m really the right man for this job!” Pierce cleanses his palate between bites with a cold glass of milk. The 2007 winners, all from Aiken, included John Martone with an over-the-top torte combining choco-late pudding, chocolate cake and chocolate chips. Joan LaBone (a frequent winner) took the cookie category with her “Too Much Chocolate-Chip Cookies,” and Elizabeth Tucker recreated Mamie Eisenhower’s “Million Dollar Fudge.” Children also are invited to show off their culinary skills. First-time winner Sara Przywara,

The annual Chocolate

Festival in Aiken raises funds

for St. Mary Help of Christians

Catholic School.

Dlina Breakiron is an exuberant target in the chocolate throw, one of several carnival games at the festival.

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16 Sandlapper

a middle-school student at St. Mary’s, cre-ated a frozen cake with the name “Gimme S’more.” Fortunately for visitors, all the items in the Chocolate Challenge make their way to the chocolate carousel after prizes are awarded. Although there’s no doubt chocolate has the starring role in the festival, other attractions keep every member of the fam-ilysatisfied forhours.Carnivalgames forevery age, plant and book sales, and a wide array of international foods served in the school’s gymnasium can be enjoyed while browsing through more than 100 silent auction items. Besides music and dance performances, the event includes karate exhibits, vendors, a coffee shop, and horse-drawn carriage rides throughout Aiken’s downtown.

Leslie Anaclerio and her colleagues have no difficulty making sales. Below: Stephen Webster zooms past on a carnival ride. Next page: Megan Power (left) and Anna Kaminsky enjoy chocolate bananas.

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Cathy Green, long-time St. Mary’s school secretary, came up with the idea for the chocolate festival during a brain-storming session many years ago. “St. Mary’s wanted to revive the fes-tival idea,” she recalled. “We discussed a fall fes-tival, a western-themed festival, but I suggested a chocolate festival be-cause no one else was do-ing it. Monsignor Ross, who was here for many years, loved it—in fact, he thought it was so successful that he took the idea with him when he relocated to his new church in Myrtle Beach.”

The festival is the school PTO’s primary fundraiser and has become so successful no other sales drives areneeded.Thefirstfestivalnettedlessthan$10,000;the2007festivalclearedmorethan$50,000,Greenreports. People from as far as Greenville and Atlanta attend. “We’re having a great time,” exclaimed Gaston Canedo during last year’s event. His wife Zulema was busy with a slice of peanut butter pie glazed in dark chocolate—but she looked pretty happy, too. “We started with desserts from the chocolate carousel because we didn’t realize this was so big, and that there was real food as well. Next time we’ll have to pace ourselves more.”

It’s interesting to imagine the journey chocolate has taken through the ages. From its beginnings during the Mayan empire, cacao has held important roles in a variety of societies. The Mayans and Aztecs traded cacao seeds like money. They ground the seeds (after roasting) into a thick paste that, when mixed with water, chili pepper and cornmeal, would make a frothy drink. Mayan and Aztec priests would present cacao seeds as offer-ings to the gods. Europe’sfirstcontactwithchocolatecameduringtheconquestofMexicoin1521,whentheSpaniardsobservedtheAzteccustomofdrinkingchocolate.Soon the seeds were shipped back to Europe, where chocolate remained an elite beverage and status symbol for more than 300 years. During the indus-trial revolution, machines were invented to grind the cacao seeds—work that previously was done by hand. Early chocoholics including Henri Nestle and Rodolphe Lindt experimented with blending techniques and various additives to make chocolate smoother and tastier. Fortunately for the St. Mary’s chocolate festival, the average American consumes more than 11 pounds of chocolate each year. The Swiss have us beat—they average 22 pounds per person. v

Writer Mary Jane Howell envisions a future career as a chocolate judge. Pho-tographer Scott Webster keeps his eyes open for Willy Wonka’s golden ticket. Both live in Aiken.

This year’s Chocolate Festival is scheduled October 4. For more information, con-tact St. Mary’s school at (803) 649-2071.

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18 Sandlapper

Top: Fronted by an original English boxwood garden, Camp Hill (circa 1835) is one of many historic homes in Glenn Springs. Below: Keenly interested in preserving the village’s legacy and ambience are (from left) Marian Miller, Nancy Oglesby and Etta Jenkins. The spring house remains intact, although the water has ceased to flow. Facing page: the altar of Calvary Episcopal Church.

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Glenn SpringsOnce, the water was everything. Now, the focus

is on preservation of a very special place.

There was a place where the rail spur stopped, a bucolic, blissful end of the line. Where revelers in a massive hotel ballroom danced the Vir-ginia reel to live band accompaniment, sometimes with the booming

battlefield voice of Gov. Wade Hampton as master of ceremonies. Where the water was good—though bad—and lured well-heeled folks from the Low Country and the high North. Where men at the barbershop opined about Revolutionary episodes. Where struggle and strife were quelled in reverie. The place—Glenn Springs —lingers, a quiet, shaded up-state hamlet. It’s no longer a destination at rail’s end but a highway crossroads, a few blinks and glances to travelers hurrying between Spartanburg and Union, Pa-colet and Cross Anchor. But those who know it with their hearts—residents and dis-tant natives—relish news-paper and diary accounts of the heady resort era. And although it’s a very different place now, they will mourn if it changes significantly.

“The best decision I ever made was to come back here,” says Linda Powell, a Glenn Springs native who returned after years away and is now vice chair of the Glenn Springs Preservation Society. “I hope I never have to leave,” affirms Etta Jenkins, a Union native and longtime Glenn Springs resident who feels as blessed to serve as organist at Calvary Episcopal Church as the worshipers are to hear her music inside the splendid sanctuary. “All my memories are here.” “There isn’t much land for sale here,” notes lifelong resident Marian Miller, “but when people can find land, they build here. We have more residents today than ever.” Nancy Oglesby sums up why: “Glenn Springs is so pure you don’t even get a cell phone signal.” They are just four of the Glenn Springs preservationists who love their haven for its peace, quietness, beauty and history.

The King of England granted the land around present-day Glenn Springs to Henry Storey in 1752. Eng-lish, Welsh and Scots-Irish began to settle. Episcopalians (now Calvary Episcopal Church) organized the first church, followed by Presbyterians (now Glenn Springs Presbyterian Church). There was ample

space for the Europeans to build a new life, but what ultimately would set Glenn Springs apart from similar upstate settlements was its odorous bog. American Indians had used the bog’s spring water as medicine. In the late 1700s, area farmers dubbed the locale Sulphur Swamp because of its smell.

Autumn 2008 19

Article & Photos by Daniel E. Harmon

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20 Sandlapper

A rash known as the “scabbies” was common on the frontier. The story goes that after a farm boy got smeared to his neck in black mud extricating cows from Sulphur Swamp, his parents noticed that a few days later, he was cured of the scabbies. The whole family took mud baths. All allegedly were healed. When John R. Glenn bought the property, he ap-parently recognized the marketing value of a natural cure. He built an inn atop a prominent hill 300 yards above the spring in 1825. Soon after, a group of entre-preneurs known as the Glenn Springs Company ac-quired it. In time, a three-story hotel and several cot-tages, set amid landscaped acreage, were filled each summer with guests from near and far. The owners improved on what they had. Between the hotel and spring house was a park “traversed by many winding shady paths,” according to hotel literature. “Rustic seats and bridges are to be found on every side.” By the mid-1800s, the Glenn Springs Hotel was flourishing as a summer health resort. A four-horse coach service transported guests between the hotel and the head of the Union and Spartanburg Railroad. An 1847 newspaper article itemized the hotel’s rates: $1.25 per day, $7 per week for adults (discounted to $5 per week for stays longer than a month); children and servants half price; 62 cents a day or $3.50 a week for horse stabling. During the 1800s, the hotel was dubbed the state’s “summer capital” because of extended resi-dencies by the governor and appointed officials. A live band performed in season during the mornings and afternoons and accompanied evening dances. Guests took turns at a billiard table, tennis court, bathing pool, shooting gallery and “ten pin alley.” Rocking chairs were filled on the broad veranda. Whist was a popular card game, though gambling was forbidden. Folks enjoyed the cool highland retreat, but the water—said to cure everything from constipation to liver and kidney diseases to epilepsy—was what brought Glenn Springs international attention. Lo-cals, including doctors, were attesting to its curative and preventative powers into the modern era. Linda Powell’s grandfather, Dr. Clifton Smith, steadfastly believed in its benefits and encouraged patients to partake. He himself dosed regularly. He lived to be 87 and died with all of his teeth, Powell observes. “My Daddy thought the water would cure all ills,” says Etta Jenkins. “He would come up from Union during the 1940s to get the water.” F.W. Ruckstall, who sculpted the equestrian sta-tue of Wade Hampton for the State House grounds, said he was cured of sciatica after drinking 15 to 20 glasses a day for three weeks while staying at the ho-tel. William A. Law of Philadelphia, president of Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, claimed it cured

A sampling of stately homes includes: (this page, from top) Cedar Grove, the Gregory home and the Gilbert home, all on S.C. 150; (facing page) the West home (left) and the Miller home, both on S.C. 215.

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Autumn 2008 21

him of crippling rheumatism in 1886. His prescrip-tion: three glasses before each meal. Throughout the 1930s, tons of it were transported to Washington for use in the water cooler of the U.S. Senate cloakroom. South Carolina Rep. John J. McSwain presented five gallons to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935, and Cole L. Blease, a U.S. senator from South Caro-lina, got the water mentioned in The Congressional Record. Mary Wilson Gee, one-time dean of Converse College, requested and received a bottle of Glenn Springs water at a hotel while visiting Rome. Nell Johnson, 107, of Spartanburg remembers dances and church picnics at Glenn Springs during the resort era. “People from Charleston and the coast, where mosquitoes caused so much malaria, would come up to Glenn Springs and take a course in that water and get their systems cleaned out, then go on to the mountains for the summer.” The irony is that the water was just dreadful to drink. It was so sulfuric you could smell it. Kyle Boyles, development director at Glenn Springs Acad-emy, which now owns the property, never has sampled it but affirms its purgative quality. “I’ve heard it’s the foulest-tasting water you can drink and it has no healing powers. It just cleans you out.” Zan Heyward, a Low Country author and out-doorsman, wrote of his first trip to Glenn Springs as a small boy in 1901. He shunned the spring, he said, but the adults each morning would “stroll leisurely down to the Spring House—drink quantities of the water—then return to the hotel, hurriedly.” “It tasted terrible,” Marian Miller remembers. “A lot of people around here wouldn’t drink it.” Robert Lancaster Smith, Powell’s father, smiles. “You had to get used to it.” Regardless, it sold. By 1890, people were ordering bottled Glenn Springs water by the case ($4). Mean-while, health pilgrims came from afar. In 1894, a nine-mile-long narrow-gauge rail spur was opened between

Glenn Springs and Roebuck. Carriages met incoming trains at the depot, 300 yards from the hotel. The hotel and outlying cottages were expanded in the 1890s to accommodate up to 500 guests. But within 30 years it was in decline, most of its rooms closed or deteriorating. The railroad went out of business during World War I because of fewer passengers. “People lost faith in mineral water as modern medicine evolved,” Powell explains. “That was already occurring by the time of the Depression.” The hotel was still operating with more than 100 guest rooms as of 1939 but was vacant by 1941, when a fire destroyed it. While the hotel thrived, so did Glenn Springs. As late as the mid-20th Century, it had a popular village green, doctor’s office, Post Office, barbershop, four stores and a butcher shop. (Recalls local historian Bob Barnett, “It wasn’t just a butcher shop. You could get some good moonshine there, too.”) Village commerce continued—for awhile. Marian Miller’s father owned one of the general stores at the time of the hotel’s de-mise. “My Daddy would open the store before daylight so the men around here could get food for their lunch before they went to work. That was the gathering place after work, too. The store had a stove, and men sat around on feed bags and played checkers and talked. A lot of people did their weekly grocery shopping there, since they didn’t have cars to drive to Spartanburg. We delivered, too. I was one of the ‘delivery boys.’” And devotees continued to fill their jugs from the spring into the 1980s. But during the early 1990s, a drought stopped the flow, and it never resumed. Hy-drologists suspect corrosion of the iron pipe and the effects of nature conspired to plug Glenn Springs—perhaps forever.

“I t reminds me of the Titanic,” muses Kyle Boyles, scrutinizing enlarged photographs of the old hotel that are displayed at the Glenn

Springs Academy office. It’s true. Anyone who pays

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22 Sandlapper

close attention to the thoughtful detail of its interior need not wonder why the Glenn Springs Hotel was the summer retreat destination for so many patrons, both wealthy and middle-class. The woodwork, the scope and elegance of the lobby and dining room, would not have been disdained by those doomed mil-lionaires who boarded the great liner in 1912. Reg-istry name comparisons between the resort and the ship might be revealing, if they could be made. Although the hotel is gone, many grand homes from the resort period and earlier are maintained in pristine condition, making the village a veritable trea-sury of postcard scenes. Cedar Grove, one of the oldest houses in the area, actually was built in Union Coun-ty around 1800 and later moved to Glenn Springs; its owner, Dr. Maurice Moore, headed the company that began bottling the mineral water. Camp Hill, built about 1835, was the residence and office of fiery Dr. John Winsmith, who survived a shoot-out with the Ku Klux Klan on his front porch. A one-room slave cabin, constructed of logs and mud chinking, still stands behind the main house, and a cemetery dating to the Revolutionary War is across the road on what once was part of the thousand-acre plantation. Other homes, no less impressive, also date back a century or more and signify Glenn Springs’ uncom-mon prosperity for a southern community, even after the Civil War. When, for instance, the Presbyterian congregation built a new church in 1908, they could afford a stone design. The Glenn Springs Preserva-tion Society is determined to restore the church and other dilapidated structures. Already successfully preserved is the one-room Post Office of old. The spring house, old stone church, Cates Store and the property where the hotel stood now are part

of the 48-acre Glenn Springs Academy campus. De-scribed as “a home where boys can find a childhood,” the academy last year was renamed from the Spar-tanburg Boys’ Home, incorporated in 1971 as a stable residence for victims of abuse, neglect and abandon-ment. More than 30 boys age 10 to 19 live there today. When campus development is completed—a three- to five-year projection—the academy will be able to ac-commodate more than 100 boys in need. Three new wooden residential cabins recently were finished; four more are in the works. Future plans call for a gym-nasium, indoor pool, greenhouse, vocational training center and other additions. But beyond that, the academy wants to revive the old spring pavilion to its original state. It wants to build a dormitory that will replicate the hotel design (on a smaller scale, obviously) and occupy approxi-mately the same hilltop site. It plans to construct and operate a general store not unlike Cates Store and other period mercantile establishments. This 4,000-square-foot building will include a Post Office, bank, barbershop and canteen—a multipurpose facility, as was the original Cates Store, which also served as a boarding house and Masonic hall. “We’re doing our best to recreate what was here,” Boyles says. Will they bring back that smelly but promising spring water for public consumption? Hydrologists are being consulted. No promises. v

The Glenn Springs Preservation Society will sponsor a tour of homes and churches December 6, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. For details, inquire by e-mail to ete203@charter.net or write to the Glenn Springs Preservation Society, P.O. Box 571, Pauline, SC 29374. Visit the society’s Web site at www.gspreservation.org.

Restoring the “old stone church,” as locals know it (Glenn Springs Presbyterian) is the primary focus of the Glenn Springs Historical Society. Above: Kyle Boyles points out future build-ing sites in Glenn Springs Academy’s development plan.

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By Evelyn Beck

Autumn 2008 43

F rom its start with a single technical education center in Greenville in 1962, the South Caro-lina Technical College System has grown to a

network of 16 colleges that educate almost half of our state’s public college or university students. Established by the state legislature, the system’s primary goal was to make suitable training avail-able to any adult South Carolinian who wanted to obtain a marketable skill. Doing so would help pro-vide a trained workforce for the state’s emerging industrial economy. In 1972, the South Carolina General Assem-bly authorized the addition of associate in arts and associate in science degrees within the system in order to provide low-cost college transfer programs within a reasonable commuting distance of most citizens. In 1974, the technical education centers became known as technical colleges.

Tuning In TO Technical Education

South Carolina’s Technical College System Offers Smart CareerOptions & Avocational Pursuits for Students of All Ages

TECH SAVVY!

Today, the state’s Technical College System enrolls nearly 109,000 students in its credit pro-grams and 130,000 students in continuing educa-tion programs. Among students pursuing degrees, about one in three benefit from Lottery Tuition Assistance, in which state lottery proceeds provide financial assistance for technical college tuition. Education within reach of all—that’s what the system offers. Low-cost tuition, financial as-sistance and geographic accessibility are some of the factors that help make this possible. The fo-cus is on opening opportunities for each individual who enrolls in a technical college. There is also a sense of the greater good. The system prides itself on its responsiveness to local and statewide needs. One example is the Allied Healthcare Initiative, designed to address workforce shortages in the health care industry. “By 2020, the projected de-

PHOTO COURTESY AIKENTECHNICAL COLLEGE

A shortage of trained nursesis a critical job need the state’s Technical College System is helping to fulfill.

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Eastman Chemical is just one industry that requires techni-cally trained operators.

44 Sandlapper

TECH SAVVY!

mand in nursing will increase 50 percent, but our supply of nurses will increase by only 11 percent,” says Cheryl Cox, vice president for Academic Affairs for the South Carolina Techni-cal College System. A nursing shortage is only the tip of the iceberg. People who work in many related jobs are also in short supply, includ-ing surgical technologists, ra-diation technologists, physical therapy assistants and medical assistants. “These shortages have the potential to impact the ability of hospitals to provide good care,” Cox says. To address this need, the system has requested and received appropriations from the state legisla-ture for the past three years. The money—$15 mil-lion the first year, $10 million the second year and between $4 million and $14 million the third year—is divided among the 16 technical colleges to increase the number of graduates in those allied health fields experiencing a shortage in their geographic areas. Some colleges have bought equipment such as hu-man simulators for training, or have created more physical space; two colleges began new LPN pro-grams. The result is more opportunity for students to move quickly into these health-related programs, which positively impacts the public well-being. An initiative begun this year is Apprenticeship Carolina. Influenced by the success of registered ap-prenticeship programs in neighboring states and driven by businesses’ needs for a highly skilled work-force, the program lets companies create appren-ticeships in various occupations from construction and manufacturing to energy, information technol-ogy, health care, and hospitality and tourism. Dur-ing apprenticeships, which can last from one to five years, the apprentices are paid a wage that grows as their skills grow. They receive both on-the-job train-

ing and education to help them attain the highest performance level in their occupation. The program offers a chance for earning while learning. “When they finish, they have a nationally recognized cre-dential that tells any employer they’ve met the de-mands of this job,” says Ann Marie Stieritz, director of Apprenticeship Carolina. The benefits for compa-nies are lower turnover and more productive, more loyal employees. A new state tax credit is available to companies that sponsor registered apprenticeships. Eligible businesses can receive a $1,000 credit per registered apprentice per year for up to four years. Another current initiative in the system, a re-sult of the Education and Economic Development Act of 2005, is to increase high school graduation rates and help students move easily from high school to college. These programs include increased dual enrollment opportunities, remediation activities to close skills gaps. They also involve early and middle colleges, which are programs designed to keep at-risk students interested in school by providing more academic challenges. “We are institutions of access, institutions of hope. Our job is to expose South Carolina’s students to the myriad of possibilities that exist for the fu-ture, and then to equip them with the skills they need to follow their chosen path,” says Dr. Barry Russell, president of the South Carolina Technical College System. “Their success is essential to South Carolina—in fact, our future depends on it.”

Evelyn Beck of Anderson regularly contributes articles to Sandlapper.

PHOTO COURTESY EASTMAN CHEMICAL COMPANY

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Autumn 2008 45

A iken Technical College’s motto is “Start Here. Succeed Anywhere.” Be-hind those words is an array of inno-

vative programs that support students. Jason Webber, an Academic All-Amer-ican and graduate of the nursing program, especially valued the opportunity to com-plete a preceptorship in which he worked alongside one nurse throughout her shift each day until he could do all that she did. “The hands-on experience is fantastic,” says Webber, studying to take his national licensure exam in July. “Our school puts you out in the hospital.” Another area of innovation involves the teaching of developmental math in

both traditional and online classrooms. A cornerstone of this effort is a $400,000 Achieving the Dream grant proposal to address learning gaps for economically disadvantaged students and racial minorities. The goal is to focus on improving developmental math education as well as advisory and orientation programs for incoming students. ATC was one of four colleges within the state Technical College System selected as demonstration sites for the Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count initiative, which seeks to improve graduation, certificate completion and transfer rates. A more established program is the Technical Scholars Initia-tive, a partnership with business and industry to recruit and train technicians in high-need areas such as engineering graphics, weld-ing, computer technology, industrial maintenance and electronics engineering technology. Students accepted into the program work 20 hours a week for a company that pays not only their salary but also their tuition. The 13 participating companies, including Bridge-stone, have invested $165,000 in tuition and paid $1.4 million to 90 students since the program began about five years ago. ATC is very responsive to the needs of the area it serves. The latest example is the development of new courses to train techni-cians to install and service hydrogen energy technologies such as fuel cells and hydrogen internal combustion engines. This is part of a team project with the Center for Hydrogen Research, the Sa-vannah River National Laboratory, and readySC. Another new pro-gram is a certificate in Computer Game Design. Unusual among technical colleges, ATC has a growing sports program of men’s basketball and women’s fast-pitch softball. Un-der coach Bruce Capers, a former Harlem Globetrotter, the basket-ball team has won the Region 10 championship three years in a row and was the first state school in Region 10 to make it to the national championship. Says Capers, “The four-year college coaches look to ATC for players.” The softball team in its three years of competition has a record of 87-47. Founded in 1972 in Aiken, the college enrolls more than 3,400 students in credit courses each year and more than 10,000 in noncredit classes. Dr. Susan Winsor, president since 1999, has led campus expan-sions that include the Dale Phelon Information Technology Center; the $3-million, 30,000-square-foot Cen-tral Savannah River Area (CSRA) Manufacturing and Technology Training Center; and the $7.6-million, 52,000-square-foot Health and Science Building.—Evelyn Beck

TECH SAVVY!

AIKEN TECHNICAL COLLEGEPHOTO COURTESY AIKEN TECHNICAL COLLEGE

PHO

TO CO

URTESY AIKEN STANDARD

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46 Sandlapper

C entral Carolina Technical College plays a spe-cial role in the management of South Carolina’s natural resources, offering the state’s only as-

sociate’s degree in natural resources management. Graduates go on to such careers as technicians in forestry, parks and recreation, wildlife management, and soil and water management. They take classes on topics like timber cruising, recreation manage-ment, wildlife techniques, and GPS and mapping, with field trips that range from managing burns to putting out Christmas trees for fish habitats. “We tend to do more hands-on instruction to try to prepare folks to go to work,” says Mike Shealy, de-partment head for natural resources management. The program includes an internship and over the last six years has placed 100 percent of its graduates in jobs or in school to pursue bachelor’s degrees. The college is home to the South Carolina En-vironmental Training Center. The connection be-tween the center and college dates to 1981, when the Department of Health and Environmental Con-trol designated the college as the state training cen-ter for water and wastewater operators. A separate facility was established the following year. The cen-ter specializes in training individuals who work in water treatment or wastewater plants around the state, offering continuing education for licensing and certification and courses for state exam prep-aration. In addition, the college offers an environ-mental engineering technology associate’s degree for those seeking careers as environmental techni-cians, workplace safety technicians and stormwater management operators. Courses include ecology, en-vironmental law, safety and air pollution.

TECH SAVVY!

CENTRAL CAROLINA TECHNICAL COLLEGEPHOTOS COURTESY CENTRAL CAROLINA TECHNICAL COLLEGE

In 1962, the college opened as the Sumter Area Technical Education Center, an industrial training center serving Sumter, Clarendon, Kershaw and Lee counties. The name was changed in 1992. Un-der president Tim Hardee, the college is experienc-ing explosive growth in the double-digit percentages this year. Current enrollment stands at about 3,300 students in curriculum programs. About a third of the students are studying health sciences, and construction begins this fall on a new $12-million, 60,000-square-foot Health Sci-ences Center to be located in a renovated building about three miles from the main campus in down-town Sumter. It should be complete by Fall 2009. Among the programs to be housed there are nurs-ing, surgical technology, phlebotomy and medical record coding. It also will include medical assisting; recently, for the sixth year in a row, 100 percent of the program’s graduates passed the national certifi-cation exam (the national pass rate is 70 percent). Across its four counties, the college has seven locations. One site is at Shaw Air Force Base. An es-pecially attractive option for active-duty personnel and their dependents is online courses. “It’s not un-common for students to begin an online course here and then be deployed in the middle of the semester; we have students finishing courses from the desert,” says Neal Crotts, director of public relations. One student who has taken both online and on-campus classes is Arteresa Hairston, a 37-year-old accounting major who has just completed her first year at Central Carolina Tech. A mother of six, she originally enrolled in a certificate program but has so enjoyed her college experience that she’s planning to complete her associate’s degree and then transfer for a bachelor’s degree.—Evelyn Beck

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Autumn 2008 47

Denmark Technical College has a long and unique his-tory among South Caroli-

na technical colleges. It opened in 1948 as the Denmark Branch of the South Carolina Trade School System with a mission to edu-cate African American citizens in various trades. In 1979, it be-came Denmark Technical College but retains its federal distinction as a historically black college. Denmark Tech serves Barnwell, Bamberg and Allendale counties. The first technical college to offer on-campus housing, Den-mark Tech has three dormitories. Campus social life is quite lively,

and students can get involved in activities including the choir (photo below) and drum squad. There are in-tercollegiate teams in men’s and women’s basketball and women’s softball, as well as a cheerleading squad. “Because we have a residential life area, I find that stu-dents and alumni are uniquely close to the college, much moreso than at most technical college campuses where people might take classes and go home,” says Dr. John Waddell, president of Denmark Technical College. Britnie McDaniel, who recently graduated with an associate in arts degree, enjoyed the opportunity to perform with the choir at area churches and to march in local parades. Denmark Tech gave her a start on her ultimate goal of a bachelor’s degree in sociology or psy-chology. “If you didn’t get the skills you need in high school, you can pick them up here before you go on to a four-year university,” she says. “It’s a stepping stone to help you get where you need to be.” Helping the underprepared has been a focus of Denmark Tech’s STAR (Systematic Teaching and Re-tention) program. Now in its fourth year, STAR targets students who test into three developmental courses, providing them with tutoring, mentoring, counseling and career exploration assistance to ensure their suc-cess. They are embraced by the college through inclusion in trips and student organizations. Each semester, 220 to 270 students are part of this program on a campus of 1,500-plus students, and the results have been spectacular. The retention rate for these students has risen from 55 percent to 83 percent. “Before, they used to withdraw or not come back, or they had exhausted their federal rights for financial aid,” explains Avis Gathers, STAR director. To help prepare students for the workforce, Denmark Tech has established a number of community partnerships. The college works with companies including Festo Learning Systems and Carolina Training Association, as well as industries including Allied Air Enterprises in Blackville, to provide high-tech skills to students. Denmark Tech has revamped and upgraded its technology labs with computerized equipment to teach skills in electronics, robotics, computers, programming and controls. There is also a newly renovated building to house engineering technology programs, as well as a dis-tance education lab in the new library. The college recently launched a program to train licensed practical nurses and has created a new program in gerontology. Other notable programs at the college include early childhood education and culinary arts.—Evelyn Beck

TECH SAVVY!

DENMARK TECHNICAL COLLEGEPHOTOS COURTESY DENMARK TECHNICAL COLLEGE

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48 Sandlapper

F l o r e n c e -Darlington T e c h n i c a l

College has its eye on economic d e v e l o p m e n t . “Some of the poorest counties in South Caroli-na are in the Pee Dee, and they have some of the highest unem-ployment rates in the state,” says college pres-ident Dr. Charles Gould. “We’re doing everything we can to en-hance economic development.” A key to that goal is the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology (SiMT). The first facility, the $35-million, 177,000-square-foot Hugh K. Leatherman Advanced Manu-facturing Center, opened in 2007. Seven smaller buildings, including a manufacturing incubator, are planned in the future. Located on a 146-acre campus in Florence, SiMT is designed to meet the needs of business, industry and manufacturing. The center includes a rapid prototyping lab, a commercial facility that can create prototypes using three-dimensional, computer-aided design (CAD) models. “We can create a part without making the tooling, and the lead time to go from concept to pro-totype is a matter of days, not weeks or months,” says Jack Roach, SiMT director. Another feature is a 3D/Virtual Reality Center, which allows for virtual simulations, training and presentations. A compa-ny might train employees in a virtual environment even before its factory is built. There’s also the Na-tional Robotics Training Center of Excellence, which works with companies to develop new technologies for the military. Another example of how the college benefits the community is the work of criminal justice de-partment head Phil Purpura, who has been recog-nized nationally for a church security project that

TECH SAVVY!

FLORENCE-DARLINGTON TECHNICAL COLLEGEPHOTO COURTESY FLORENCE-DARLINGTON TECHNICAL COLLEGE

conducts church security surveys and provides pa-rishioners with safety and security equipment. Florence-Darlington Tech was the fastest-grow-ing institution of higher education in South Caro-lina in the late 1990s. Today, enrollment is about 4,200. The 100-acre main campus is located between Florence and Darlington; remote sites are in Harts-ville, Lake City and Mullins. The Health Sciences Campus is in downtown Florence, and the Cosme-tology Center operates near the main campus. Stu-dents choose from 75 fields of study; about a third enroll in health-related majors. Among the college’s special programs and services are the Advanced Welding and Cutting Center; the Caterpillar Dealer Academy, which trains students to repair and sell Caterpillar equipment; and a CISCO Systems train-ing lab, which trains and certifies students to config-ure CISCO routers and networking equipment. Florence-Darlington offers students and facul-ty unusual opportunities through its international program. Partnerships with colleges in France, Ger-many and Mexico include visits to those countries as well as real-time communication among students at sites around the world. The college’s athletic program includes men’s baseball and women’s softball, both with winning records.—Evelyn Beck

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Autumn 2008 49

A top student in high school, Sa-rah Tennant sur-

prised teachers and peers by starting herpostsecondary edu-cation at Greenville Technical College. Shehas flourished there through her involve-ment in the honors program and with the individual atten-tion possible through small classes. “My parents wanted me to go to a commu-nity college because that’s what they both did,” Tennant says. “It would save a lot of money and I

would develop good study habits and would mature, and I wouldn’t be thrown into an independent living environment.” Now a Greenville Tech graduate, she’s on her way to pharmacy school at the University of South Carolina. With more than 15,000 students enrolled in curriculum programs, Greenville Tech is the largest col-lege in the South Carolina Technical College System. It is also the third largest postsecondary institution in the state—and growing. Greenville Tech’s president, Dr. Tom Barton, is retiring this year after 46 years at the helm, making him the longest-serving college president in the United States. Under his tenure, Green-ville Tech has established itself as a model of innovation. Perhaps the college’s greatest impact can be seen in the amazing web of community partnerships it has engineered. Located right on Greenville Tech’s four campuses, for example, one can find the McCall Hospice House of Greenville and Greenville County’s DNA lab and forensic automobile processing facility. Greenville Tech was the driving force behind the creation of the University Center in a former mall, bring-ing the college together with seven universities in one convenient location for students, and Greenville Tech has partnerships with many universities to make the transfer process seamless. Collaborations are particularly vital in the area of health care. The Greenville Health Care Simulation Center is a joint venture with the Greenville Hospital System. Simulation technology valued at half a mil-lion dollars helps train students in medical, nursing and allied health professions to practice their skills on lifelike creatures with skin that feels real, chests that rise and fall, pulses, and heart and breath sounds. They can react during an emergency with no danger to a real patient, then learn through the debriefing that follows. Students love this approach to learning, says Barbara Nickles, associate dean of Nursing Spe-cialties and the Simulation Project. “They remember things that happen when they’re really engaged.” Another example of a partnership in the health field involves the college’s dental hygiene program. Give Kids a Smile is a community event wherein area dental professionals and other agencies bring free dental care to the needy. This year, 225 children received dental treatment valued at more than $115,000. In 2006, Greenville Tech made one of its biggest changes when it opened student housing. More than 400 students now live on campus, making it the first in the state technical college system to construct new student apartments only a few steps from class.—Evelyn Beck

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GREENVILLE TECHNICAL COLLEGEPHOTO COURTESY GREENVILLE TECHNICAL COLLEGE

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64 Sandlapper

ART

BY L

AURA

DIC

KSO

N

For me, September 21 is the most wonderful day of the year—the

last day of summer. That’s when I finally bid farewell to all those 134-degree Death Valley temperatures that roast me like a whole hog over a Jackie Hite barbecue pit. So I celebrate by 1) watching my beloved Gamecocks pummel the Jawja Bulldawgs at Willy Brice and 2) hopping in the ol’ VW and meander-ing through the scenic fall countryside to new Sand-lapper dining destinations. This time I traveled to the famed Chat ’n’ Chew Res-taurant in Turbeville and Florence’s dining institu-tion, The Drive-In. Finally, I ambled a few blocks up East Main in Lexington to The Mediterranean Café.

MediterraneanCafé, Lexington

A zmi Jebali was born to own a restaurant. His friends had already

decided he should take the plunge. They enjoyed his eastern Mediterranean dishes and came in droves when he prepared meals at Zion Lutheran Church functions. Whenever Azmi cooked, he was perpetu-ally peppered with “When are you opening a restau-rant?” That question was finally answered in 2003, when Azmi launched the

By Tim Driggers

Stop where the parking lot’S full

Dogs & T-Bones, Hummus & KabobsTry Lexington’s Mediterranean Café for lovingly prepared specialties by owner Azmi Jebali.For incomparable short-order and full dinner fare, check out two Pee Dee institutions.

Mediterranean Café in Lexington. Home for Azmi is the small town of Tybey, 30 miles northeast of the Israeli capital of Tel Aviv. His largefamily rarely left home to eat because his mother was a great cook. Oqalia Jebali made sure the abundant vegetables of her homeland, the centuries-old cooking traditions of her people, and warm hospitality were engendered in each meal. Azmi brought these influences to America when he enrolled at the Univer-sity of South Carolina. He delighted in sharing with college friends the robust flavors of his native land, using the requisite garlic, onions, tomato and egg-plant, with heavy emphasis on olive oil. His kitchen ex-pertise also helped him land a wife. “When we were dat-ing, he would cook me din-ner at least twice a week,” said Beth Hendrix Jebali. “He is such a wonderful guy and it didn’t hurt that he is also a wonderful cook.” After graduating, Azmi opened a landscap-ing company in Lexington. Though successful, he always felt the lure of open-ing a restaurant. It helped that his father-in-law, Charlie Hendrix, was quite a cook himself. Once owner of Charlie’s Quic-Pic near Lexington, Charlie was famous for hot dogs and chili. Also, Azmi’s brother

Ahmad had opened the Mediterranean Tea Room in Columbia and was enjoy-ing great success. After 20 years of planting trees and cutting grass, Azmi traded his lawn mower for a kitchen stove. “People supported me from the very beginning. My family and friends all seemed to want a quality neighborhood restaurant.” He has answered the chal-lenge. “Azmi makes every-one very welcome,” said Susan Shumpert. “It’s like everyone is going to Azmi and Beth’s home for dinner.” My sister Dale Drig-gers is another groupie. “My three friends and I meet at Azmi’s often,” she said, rat-tling off their favorites. For Dale, it’s the Greek chicken salad ($8.99). Jan Corley makes a meal of the hum-mus appetizer and warm pita bread ($5.99). Linda Corley loves the chicken kabobs ($10.29). Carol Sandusky prefers the pork chops ($10.99) and “sucks them to the bone.” The menu features the food stuffs Azmi knew growing up, some new cre-ations and a few modified versions of old favorites. “Most of our food—the hummus, baba ghannouj, falafel, tabbouleh, gyros and mijadarah, are all strictly authentic,” Azmi said. “We change around some things, like our shrimp din-ners, but not too much.”

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Autumn 2008 65

Stop where the parking lot’S full

Signature dishes are the hummus and filet mi-gnon steak, which is mari-nated in a special sauce and grilled. Also popular are the gyro ($6.99), lamb and beef kofta burger ($7.29), salmon ($15.59) and tuna ($14.99) entrées served over yellow rice, and a veg-etarian plate of tabbouleh, humus, falafel, olives and feta cheese served with pita bread ($10.99). “The secret to Medi-terranean cooking is using the right ingredients, mak-ing sure they’re fresh and keeping quality consistent,” Azmi said. “I use lots of olive oil and garlic, but not too many spices.” Exten-sive wine selections and periodic wine tastings keep the menu interesting. Beth said her husband learned everything from hismother. “Nothing at the res-taurant is prefab. Every-thing is completely fresh. The café is a Cheers restau-rant where everyone knows your name.” Indeed, it’s an oasis in the desert of fast food restaurants that have come to dominate the Lexington landscape. Azmi has com-bined ethnicity and great food with his outgoing per-sonality for a memorable dining experience.

MEDITERRANEAN CAFE, 327 E. Main St., Lexington; (803) 356-6294. Open Monday–Saturday for lunch, 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.; Monday–Thursday for dinner, 5:30–9 p.m., for dinner Friday–Saturday, 5:30–9:30 p.m. No reserva-tions. Credit cards, checks accepted. No smoking.

Chat ’n’ Chew,Turbeville

I f there was ever a con-test to name the most well-known restaurant

in South Carolina, my mon-ey would be on the Chat ’n’ Chew in Turbeville. Lo-cated on U.S. 378, midway between Columbia and Myrtle Beach, the Chat ’n’ Chew is a familiar beacon for travelers to and from the beach. Mention it and you can almost bet a smile and memory will ensue. Everybody knows the Chat ’n’ Chew. As radio personal-ity Beach Billy would say: “Who don’t know dat!” Dalma Gibbons found-ed it in 1952. Ed Green of Turbeville remembers when it opened. “I had a paper route for the Flor-ence Morning News and passed by it each morning,” he recalled. Those early mornings turned into 47 years of Monday through Saturday stops for an egg sandwich and cup of coffee on his commutes to Columbia to work at the State Board of Technical Education. “The Chat ’n’ Chew is the very life of Turbeville,” he said. “You can catch more news there than you could ever get on Channel 10 in Columbia or 13 in Florence. It’s a source of pride to all of us in town and it doesn’t hurt that the food is also excellent.” That almost ended a couple of years ago. As Elvin Gibbons, the fourth owner of the restaurant, neared retirement, folks in Turbeville worried the restaurant would nail shutits doors. “What were we

going to do?” Ed said. “That’swhen Jeff stepped forward.” That’s Jeffrey Os-borne. “A lot of people begged me to keep it going,” he said. Not that he had a background in running restaurants. Other than stopping in for coffee afterwork at his business, Os-borne Pavement Services Company, Jeff was a novice in the restaurant world. Still, he acquired the Chat ’n’ Chew last September. “I didn’t want to change a lot,” he said. “The staff had been here a long time and I wanted to keep them on board.” Joyce White, the restaurant man-ager for 18 years, agreed to stay on. So did Mattie Ev-ans, who had cooked at the Chat ’n’ Chew for 25 years. “I had a simple goal,” Jeff said. “I wanted to keep theChat ’n’ Chew an old-time,hometown café, maintain the good family environ-ment and continue servingthe best southern home-style cooking in the county.” He’s more than succeeded. Dolly Patton, executive director of the Saluda Shoals Foundation near Irmo, grew up in the Evergreen farming com-munity between Florence and Pamplico. She recalls stops at the restaurant on drives with her parents to Santee. “It’s an institution. They have really good food and everybody knows each other. Everybody chats back and forth as they eat.” Dolly enthusiastically endorses the buffet. “Every item on the menu is home-cooked and delicious.” Mike Carlton of Cayce accompanied me there one

Thursday night. The res-taurant featured a break-fast buffet of grits, kielbasa, sausage links and patties, bacon, country ham, hash browns, French toast and red chicken stew. “The red chicken stew was especially tasty,” Mike noted. “It was not quite barbecue and not quite chicken stew, either. It had a nice, spicy red gravy that was really good with grits. A meal at the Chat ’n’ Chew reminds me of eating at my mother’s table.” A ’50s-style diner with a take-out window, the Chat ’n’ Chew boasts Jeff’s collection of Eisen-hower-era signs. Cracker Jack, RC and Saturday Evening Post signs deco-rate the walls above the booths and tables. A lunch buffet ($8) is always featured. For dinner there are special buffets nightly. The fried chicken is a big favorite. “If I didn’t have chicken, I’d lose every customer in the place,” Jeff said. On occasional Thurs-days, a breakfast buffet is offered ($7). Customers can also order from menu selections of chicken and seafood dishes, as well as hamburger, rib eye, T-Bone and ham steaks and pork chops, ranging from $6.95 to $13.95. There also are a variety of sandwiches, burgers and hot dogs. Don’t forget to ask for Jeff’s mother’s homemade cakes. The morning breakfast is by menu. “We’re just an old-fashioned diner,” Jeff reminded me as I left to return to Lexington. That’s fine with me. I’m an old-fashioned eater, and the

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66 Sandlapper

Stop where the parking lot’S full

Chat ’n’ Chew is just my kind of place.

CHAT ’N’ CHEW RES-TAURANT, 112 Main St., Turbeville; (843) 659-2843. Open Monday–Saturday, 6 a.m.–2 p.m., 5–9 p.m; Sunday, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. No reservations. Cash, credit cards and checks accepted. No smoking.

The Drive-In,Florence

W hen Eileen Barry first visited The Drive-In her

freshman year at Francis Marion College in 1974, she was astounded. Cars were parked under a roof with some strange contraption attached to the driver’s window that looked like a tin refugee from a Flash Gordon serial. The driver would lean out the win-dow, mumble something in the box and, like magic, minutes later a girl would walk from the restaurant delivering burgers and fries to the car. She had never seen anything like this in her hometown of Norwood, Massachusetts. But during her years at Francis Mari-on, the curb at the Drive-In (then known as the 301 Drive-In) and its carhops, fried chicken and cheese-burgers would become a frequent destination. “In those days, FrancisMarion was stuck smack dab in the middle of bean and tobacco fields on the outskirts of Florence,” Eileen said. “Coming into Florence on Highway 301, there were only a couple of restaurants and if we

wanted a hot dog, the 301 was the place to go.” Dolly Patton, whose observations are a staple of this column, also at-tended Francis Marion and remembers The Drive-In. “The cheeseburgers were really big, messy and juicy, just like you’d want them, and the onion rings were the absolute best. The Drive-In was always busy and we thought it was cool to sit in the car and eat. I remember Daddy would sometimes stop at the 301 on the way home from work on Friday nights and bring us a bag of hot dogs in the blanket” (hot dogs wrapped in bacon) “and that was a real treat.” That was then and things have changed on East Palmetto Street. Last September, the 301 was re-christened The Drive-In to celebrate the completion of its sparkling new building in the revitalized 301 Plat-aea (Greek for “central pla-za and meeting place”). So different is the restaurant that I drove by and missed it completely. But what a place! The outside curb service remains with 16 car spaces, but the restau-rant itself is totally mod-ern. A huge counter and menu board dominate the interior. Two large high-def TVs bracket the counter in the large red, black and cream interior dining room beneath a black industrial ceiling of vents and piping. Stylish pendant lights are suspended over the tables, with whirling fans above. Onthe walls are a neon sign proclaiming “The Drive-In Since 1957” and numerous

photos of the original res-taurant, a menu from 1957 (hot dogs—20 cents, Big G Boy Burger with fries—48 cents) and newspaper sto-ries recounting the history. And what a history it has. Founded in 1957 by George Poulos, The Drive-In was purchased 10 years ago by George and Paulene Kremydas, along with father Nicholas, who oversaw the restaurant’s transformation. “Florence was undergoing a revital-ization and we were the first new building to open on this stretch of East Palmetto,” manager Helen Nikolakakos explained. “We still have the same food and concept, only now with a modern retro look.” Jimmy McLaughlin,a Florence insurance adjust-er, has been coming here since his days at Southside High in the mid-1960s. “We would do a lot of cruising around,” he remembered. “We’d make a loop from the 301 to the Skyview and Beacon, looking at the cars and girls, seeing who was dating whom that night.” Those cruising sessions proved a success; it’s how he met his wife Joanne. “Muscle cars were popular in those days and many a drag race had its origin in the 301 parking lot.” Jimmy’s favorite is the fried chicken ($5 and up). “Nobody in Florence can touch it,” he said. “If the Colonel could cook chicken like this he would be a general.” Eileen agreed. “It’s as good as I remember from my college days. It’s moist, not heavily breaded, with a light crust. Not

greasy at all. I kept pinch-ing the bones to find a few more bites.” They’re right; it was the best piece of chicken I’ve ever had. Dolly also recom-mends the handmade onion rings ($3.05). “They have just the right amount of breading. They’re cooked right there and never fro-zen.” Dolly loves the sweet tea—“the flavors are so strong.” I concur. I made so many trips for refills that I considered just pulling my chair to the tea station and dining alongside. The large menu has a tremendous variety. “Our best sellers are the Poor Boy sandwich ($4.20), double cheeseburger ($4.20) and our chicken,” Helen said. Don’t over-look the selection of gyros ($5.05 to $6.30), the cala-bash shrimp plate ($8.85), liver and gizzards mix ($7.15) and the many spe-cialty sandwiches. There’s also a clarinet-cherry lemonade (lemonade with cherry juice) that’s very popular. “We’re here every day, making sure everything is all right, and that our food is consistently good,” Helen said. Fifty years of satisfied customers tells me that everything is more than just all right.

THE DRIVE-IN, 135 E. Palmetto St., Florence; (843) 669-5141, www.the-bestdrivein.com. Open Monday–Saturday, 10:30 a.m.–11 p.m. No reserva-tions needed (even at the curb). Debit cards accepted, but no credit cards or checks. No smoking.

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80 Sandlapper

PHOTO BY ROSE T. WILKINS

On the spur of the moment, Hugh and I decided to get away for the weekend. We wanted to try to follow the “Buzzing” plan set by Bob and Rose Wilkins. It was

very enjoyable and a leisurely little get-a-way. With some ideas in mind, we headed toward Spar-tanburg, traveling on Highway 378 west from Lexington toward Prosperity. We tried to travel as much as possible on less traveled roads, but we did take Interstate 26 at a certain point. Since we had been to a brunch party earlier, we had no need to stop for lunch. We got off the interstate highway and traveled a short distance to Landrum, a quaint little town. We parked there and took a walking tour of the historic Main Street, stop-ping in some of the antique stores—and there were many of them. As the afternoon got hot, we decided it was time for an ice cream break. In one of the small antique malls was an ice cream parlor. We got our ice cream and sat at the mall’s entrance. We became acquainted with the mall

manager and found out he was originally from Lexington and his last name was Wessinger—a name that’s part of our own broader family. South Carolina is still a small state! Leaving Landrum, we drove up to Lake Lanier—a beautiful ride, so mountainous. We returned southward and spent the night in downtown Spartanburg. We had a delicious dinner at Abby’s Grill on the restored downtown gathering point, Morgan Square—named after Brig. Gen. Daniel Morgan, the Revolutionary War hero. His statue

Motoring Into the Carolina Up CountryBy Maro & Hugh Rogers

Buzzing Around South CArolinA

PHOTO BY DANIEL E. HARMONatop a tall column, pictured at right, is very impressive at the lower end of the sloping square. Next morning, after a leisurely breakfast, we traveled to Cowpens Battlefield National Park. Since we both love history, we couldn’t have found a better place to spend a few hours. The park encompasses some 800 acres. A modern visitors center provided us with a wealth of history on the Revolutionary War in South Carolina. After viewing a short introductory film, we took the 45-minute walk around the field where the fighting took place be-tween the Colonial Army, augmented by the South Carolina Mi-litia, and the British. The American victory was masterminded by Morgan. By some accounts, it turned the Revolutionary War in favor of the Colonials. The park ranger, Mr. Robertson, was a walking-talking Revolutionary history book—and here again, his son lives in Lexington, our hometown! It was time for lunch. We drove back to Spartanburg and had a delicious lunch on the veranda of the Wild Wing Cafe. It, too, is on Morgan Square. We drove home taking the pleasant back roads, enjoying scenic small South Carolina towns, fields and forests. (We were very lucky to find some delicious Spartanburg County peaches along the way; see the above photo.) Thanks to Sandlapper for giving us this idea of enjoying back roads travel in our state. We are already planning our next adventure! v

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