Reflections Of South Carolina, Vol. II
October 18, 2013
By Tom Poland
October 18 2013
A New Book Is Forthcoming
Fourteen years ago the University of South Carolina Press published Reflections of South Carolina, a book photographer Robert Clark and I co-authored. That book is in its third printing and soon a companion volume, Reflections of South Carolina, Volume II, will join it. Thanks to the vision of USC Press Director Jonathan Haupt and the creative experiences Robert and I have accumulated over the years, Volume II provides an even deeper and broader view of South Carolina.
Here’s a bit of the introduction. There’s much to discover in this land of blue streams, sea dreams, and moonbeams. Rich with waterfalls, rivers, lakes, and surf, South Carolina overflows with beauty, flora and fauna, astonishing vistas, and surprising dispositions. In August you can stand atop Sassafras Mountain and feel fall’s chill. You can wade through surf on a wild barrier island and come across loggerhead sea turtle tracks. In February snow blankets peaks even as tender green jonquils break through. Frost glazes leaves as people in shorts walk Charleston’s cobblestone streets. And those are but two months. The magnetism emanating from mountains, plains, and coast seduces year-round. The pull is strong. Tourists vacation here once, only to return again and again. Many settle in this land of whitewater, ancient pottery, lost causes, and plantations.
Here’s an excerpt from the dust cover. From the Appalachians to the Atlantic, South Carolina’s awe-inspiring beauty is revealed in this visually stirring and heart-warming tribute to one of America’s favorite vacation destinations. Rich with more than 250 stunning photographs, this second volume of Reflections of South Carolina uncovers the geological, natural, and cultural grandeur the Palmetto State packs into 32,000 square miles.
New York Time’s best-selling author Mary Alice Monroe writes the foreword for this book, which offers readers photographs, extended captions, and essays. People, places, cultural icons, the expected and unexpected combine to present a startling South Carolina as it has never been seen in one book. The book will be released May-June 2014. And then it will be coming to a bookstore near you.
From the Upcountry through the Heartland to the Lowcountry, here are nine photographs from the book and the text accompanying them. That means 256 more are forthcoming when Reflections Of South Carolina, Volume II is released spring 2014.
Middle Saluda River
Looking like an enchanted forest in a fairy tale the Middle Saluda has a fairy-tale-like story. It was the first river protected under South Carolina’s 1978 Scenic Rivers Program. Roughly five miles of the Middle Saluda and its major tributary, Coldspring Branch, enjoy a 600-foot wide scenic corridor from U.S. Highway 276 to one mile upstream of the defunct Cleveland Fish Hatchery. The river, located in northern Greenville County within Jones Gap State Park, drops nearly 1,000 feet in four miles. Its clear, cold water supports self-sustaining trout populations. Scenic River
Chattooga Belle Vineyard
Up near Longreek, Chattooga Belle Farm sits 1,700 feet above sea level. Groucho Marx once owned this beautiful farmstead, which blesses the northwest corner with grapes, muscadines, scuppernongs, peaches, and blueberries. October light gives its vineyards a golden glow. Here where the Chattooga River runs in the mountainous background, sunlight nurtures a medley of fruits. From here you can see Georgia to the left and North Carolina to the right.
Sit A Spell
There’s no dress code for Mac’s Drive In in Pendleton. Even the Coca-Cola sign seems a bit casual. No frills. That’s how the late Harold Mac McKeown liked it. This iconic eatery satisfies locals’ craving for a good old hamburger and beer-battered onion rings. Simple, good fare has been attracting neighbors and passersby for two generations. More than food was served here: the menu included charitable acts. McKeown died December 30, 2009, on the very day the City of Clemson and Clemson University recognized him for his longstanding contributions to the city and university.
Lake Murray Regatta
Slicing through big water sailing enthusiasts do all they can to maximize speed. Using a language unique to sailing and barking commands, they jockey for position. Looking a bit like thorns, these vessels ride the wind, an eco-friendly method of travel that traces its origins to the fifth millennium BC. Factoid: None other than Robert E. Lee suggested a dam could be built at Dreher Shoals.
An Alien Craft
Evocative of H.G. Wells’s Martian weapons in The War of the Worlds, this center-pivot irrigation system conquers dust and dryness with whirling jets of water. In Wells’s book red weed, a Martian form of vegetation spread with extraordinary rapidity wherever water ran; rich green crops, however, will sprout here. Could the specter of a war over water loom? While one percent of South Carolina’s water exists on the surface 99 percent is underground. Increasingly water is being drawn to the surface for irrigation. Center-pivot irrigation, above, by far is the dominant irrigation system.
Joseph Kershaw Mansion
Built from 1775 to 1780 in Camden, Kershaw House, of Georgian architecture, served as the headquarters for Lord Cornwallis and the occupying British army from 1780 to 1781. Burned in 1865 during the War of Northern Aggression, it was rebuilt from 1974 to 1977. Located in the Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site. National Register of Historic Places
Big Blue Beaufort Sky
Salt cordgrass gleams beneath an early morning autumn sky. When this dominant marsh grass turns lustrous yellow its leaves’ annual dieback begins. Soon all this biomass will break down and anchor an intricate food chain. Few places are as biologically rich as the salt marsh. Sunlight, nutrients, and water combine to produce five to seven times more protein per acre than an acre of Midwest wheat.
The Everett Gene
A Lowcountry still life … steeped in romance the trawler is one of the more photographed scenes along the South Carolina coast. Life on a trawler may seem romantic but it’s never easy. Wind, weather, and water offer challenges and something always needs maintenance.
Workboat At Bowen’s Island
This unassuming workboat won’t turn the heads of yacht owners and boating aficionados. It will, however, sate their appetite for crabs and oysters. With its simple-but-classic lines this blue-collar boat strikes a handsome silhouette. Estuaries without workboats might as well be deserts.
Visit Tom Poland’s website at www.tompoland.net
Email Tom about most anything. [email protected]
Tom Poland is the author of six books and more than 700 magazine features. A Southern writer, his work has appeared in magazines throughout the South. The University of South Carolina Press just released his book on how the blues became the shag, Save The Last Dance For Me. He writes a weekly column for newspapers in Georgia and South Carolina about the South, its people, traditions, lifestyle, and changing culture.
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