Blink Book Review #11: A Double Dose – “Enough Already” by Valerie Bertinelli and “Back to the Prairie” by Melissa Gilbert
August 17, 2022
This is the eleventh in a series of summer “Blink Book Reviews” by Reba Hull Campbell My recent beach reading consisted of memoirs by two actresses from my childhood…
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A new toothbrush
August 17, 2022
By Jeff Becraft Back in June, my wife gave me an electric toothbrush for Father’s Day. I am convinced that this toothbrush should be registered with the U.S. Geological…
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Formosan subterranean termites confirmed in Aiken County
August 11, 2022
Local entomologists recently announced the discovery of Formosan termites for the first time in Aiken County. While subterranean termites are common in the Palmetto State, the Formosan subterranean termite species,…
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Gardening in the South: Tips for Success
August 11, 2022By Emma Houston Southern gardeners have to contend with hot summers, humid conditions, and sometimes heavy clay soils. But despite these challenges, gardening in the South can be extremely rewarding.…
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Vintage Enamelware
August 10, 2022
By Tom Poland I was visiting the past at the Lincoln County History Park when I spied a graceful blue enamelware pot sitting among fire logs. Warm memories came…
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Getting others to the top
August 10, 2022
By Jeff Becraft We really do need one another. A few years ago, on our Leadership Weekend, I was attempting to go up the climbing wall. I had tried…
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Blink Book Review #9: “These Precious Days” by Ann Patchett
August 10, 2022
This is the ninth in a series of summer “Blink Book Reviews” by Reba Hull Campbell This summer’s reading list has included books beyond the best-seller fiction I usually…
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Blink Book Review #10: “The Splendid Beauty … A Dog and His People” by Rick Bragg
August 10, 2022
This is the tenth in a series of summer “Blink Book Reviews” by Reba Hull Campbell A young friend recently asked me to choose my favorite dog book. I…
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Thistles, A Prickly Subject
August 4, 2022
By Tom Poland We’d be walking to a farm pond in quest of bream when Grandmom Poland would spot a thistle. “Watch out for that nettle.” She’d hardly break…
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Blink Book Review #8 – “Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR” by Lisa Napoli
August 4, 2022
This is the eighth in a series of summer “Blink Book Reviews” by Reba Hull Campbell This book is the story of four women from vastly different backgrounds who…
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An extraordinary life
August 2, 2022
By Jeff Becraft The more I find out about my Mom, the more impressed I am about who she was as a person. Mom grew up in deep, southwest…
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Boneyards
July 28, 2022
By Tom Poland Their name belies their beauty, though its definition rings true. “Boneyard, | ˈbōnyärd |Noun, informal, a cemetery.” A cemetery they are, the resting places of maritime…
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Saying goodbye to a loved one
July 26, 2022
By Jeff Becraft When Corrie Ten Boom was growing up as a child, she became anxious about death and other things of life. (It has been years since I…
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Blink Book Review #7: “Swimming with the Blowfish: Hootie, Healing and One Hell of a Ride” by Jim Sonefield
July 21, 2022
This is the seventh in a series of summer “Blink Book Reviews” by Reba Hull Campbell Memoirs can often fall into two categories – hugely self-aggrandizing or humbly honest.…
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Pulling weeds
July 21, 2022
By Jeff Becraft A few months ago, I was talking about what a rough start my yard was having and the importance of patience and perseverance in that which…
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A Peach Of A Summer
July 20, 2022
By Tom Poland From my orchard of memories a lonely peach tree stands in the front yard of my youth. The tree looked sickly and produced fruit a tad…
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Blink Book Review #6 – “Confessions of a Southern Beauty Queen” by Julie Hines Mabus
July 14, 2022
This is the sixth in a series of summer “Blink Book Reviews” by Reba Hull Campbell “Confessions of a Southern Beauty Queen” opens in 1968 with Patsy Channing awaiting…
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Porch Sitting
July 14, 2022
By Tom Poland It’s a vanishing art, porch sitting. There was a time, though, when folks retired to the porch just to pass the time. As a boy, I…
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Socks in a drawer
July 13, 2022
By Jeff Becraft I am most certainly hampered with furniture disease – my chest has fallen into my drawers. Recently, I have gained 7 pounds… just like that. I don’t…
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So exactly who is smarter here?
July 8, 2022
By Jeff Becraft I am not so sure about the smart in smartphone. I do enjoy the camera, and being able to listen to songs while I mow the…
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The Rocky Shoals Highway
July 7, 2022
By Tom Poland Come May-June I burn the Rocky Shoals Highway up. I drive from Irmo, South Carolina to McCormick County and on into Georgia. My mission? Visiting two…
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Blink Book Review #5: “Bird by Bird” by Anne Lamott
July 7, 2022
This is the fifth in a series of summer “Blink Book Reviews” by Reba Hull Campbell I recently reread Anne Lamott’s “Bird by Bird” for the umpteenth time in…
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Folk Medicine Remedies
June 30, 2022
By Tom Poland Like the Black Crowe’s “Remedy, and its line, I need a remedy”, folks of yesteryear needed remedies and they came up with them. We call their…
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Blink Book Review #4: Going There by Katie Couric
June 30, 2022
Katie Couric’s memoir, “Going There,” gives readers a delightful and amazingly honest narrative about not only her personal life but also many of the national and international news stories from…
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Values
June 30, 2022
By Jeff Becraft Last week, I had the tremendous opportunity to speak at a retreat for a children’s home. I was the one who spoke at the evening sessions.…
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Richland County Recreation Commission announces lineup of summer camps and activities
June 27, 2022The Richland County Recreation Commission (RCRC) is releasing their Game Plan Summer Guide that offers various events such as: family activities, special events and athletic programs for residents of all…
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Aldo’s Bench
June 24, 2022
By Tom Poland The bench you see overlooks an estuarine creek. That creek snakes its way into a wider creek, Pine Creek, I believe, that snakes its way into…
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Grace and golf
June 23, 2022
By Jeff Becraft If there was ever a sport or an activity where one needed grace, golf would be it. Although there is debate as to whether he was…
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Blink Book Review #3: Educated by Tara Westover
June 21, 2022
This is the second in a series of summer “Blink Book Reviews” by Reba Hull Campbell When “Educated” first came out in 2018, I remember seeing the book in…
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Blink Book Review #2: South of Heaven by Patti Frye Meredith
June 16, 2022
This is the second in a series of summer “Blink Book Reviews” by Reba Hull Campbell For anyone who is southern by birth or has moved to the south,…
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Taking care of business
June 16, 2022
By Jeff Becraft About 25 years ago, when we were trying to get a yard started, I had an old-time, used, reel lawnmower. There were parts of it that were…
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Through Broken Glass
June 16, 2022
By Tom Poland The old church just wanted to be left alone, but that didn’t happen. Someone shot out her windows. Some kid’s BBs shattered panes, leaving sharp jagged…
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Gen. ‘Fig’ Newton will tell his impressive story of service in war and peace
June 15, 2022
Gen. Lloyd “Fig” Newton has a lot of fascinating stories to tell, having led a life of adventure and distinction serving his country. He is a retired U.S. Air Force…
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A Creek Runs Through It
June 9, 2022
By Tom Poland Writers title works and often they fail to come up with a good one. Half Asleep In Frog Pajamas comes to mind. Sometimes a gem of…
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Choosing to love
June 8, 2022
By Jeff Becraft When I headed off to college back in the day, I had this imagination in my mind (all kinds of brainy things go on in there)…
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Blink Book Review #1: Only Wanna Be With You by Tim Sommer
June 7, 2022
This is the first in a series of summer “Blink Book Reviews” by Reba Hull Campbell When I first started “Only Wanna Be With You,” I anticipated a bit of…
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The no’s of life
May 25, 2022
By Jeff Becraft As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I had gotten in from speaking at a camp the day before, was hoping to spend Monday morning…
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The Cedars Of Philomath
May 19, 2022
By Tom Poland Long ago it was, in the late 1980s. I was in a hurry to get back to South Carolina. Thus did I take Georgia Highway 22,…
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Revs. Joe & Janis English
May 18, 2022
By Jeff Becraft Many times I will half-jokingly say to someone, “You are one of my mentors.” There is more truth to this statement than not because I am…
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A New Broom Sweeps Clean
May 18, 2022
By Tom Poland “A new broom sweeps clean, but an old broom knows the corners.” Mom pulled out this old saw when a new preacher attempted wholesale change or…
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Relic Room to offer free summer admission to military and their families
May 17, 2022
As it has for several years, this summer the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum will participate in the Blue Star Museums initiative, a national program that provides…
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Decorated officer will tell how the Marines took back Hue during Tet Offensive
May 16, 2022
At the start of the fateful year of 1968, then-Capt. Myron Harrington, USMC, was a supply officer in Da Nang, far from the sharp end of the Vietnam War. In…
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Rediscovering An Old Friend
May 12, 2022
By Tom Poland March 3rd is a day I’ll long remember. A bit earlier I had given a talk to the Kiwanis Club at the Darlington Country Club. Returning home…
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What You Forget About Parenthood
May 12, 2022
By Amy Coward It’s been a while since I had young children at home. Other than the occasional visit from grandchildren (an hour here, two hours there), all my children…
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The beauty of humility
May 12, 2022
By Jeff Becraft A couple of years ago I went to a workshop on experiential learning. It was on a college campus in one of the training rooms in…
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Join in the excitement and be a part of the Lake Murray landscape forever
May 11, 2022
The Capital City/Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board announces the “Welcome to Lake Murray” destination landmark project at the Lake Murray Dam located at Highway 6 and 60. Residents and…
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Registration open for city’s summer camps program
May 11, 2022Art, Sports & Weekly Camps Offered for Children Registration for the Columbia Parks and Recreation Department’s Summer Camps Program, which includes weekly camps and a variety of specialty camps, is…
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An Old Tree, An Old Academy
May 5, 2022
By Tom Poland A Magnolia and a School of Consequence As you top the Edgefield County rise, that fine word “copse” comes to mind. Copse, a small group of…
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The process of growth
May 5, 2022
Our front yard is high-maintenance, high-water, have-to-mow-more-than-usual Bermuda grass. Each year, it is usually a process of transitioning from dormant brown through the winter to green in the spring. This year,…
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Cotton Pickin’ Memories
April 27, 2022
By Tom Poland My jaunts around the South take me past old haunts, a cotton gin now and then. I’ve seen gins in Salters, Bishopville, and other rural places.…
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