The Bygone Era Of Refinement
January 27, 2023
By Tom Poland Previous eras impress me. When I tour historic homes, for instance, the refined lifestyle their owners enjoyed stands in marked contrast to lifestyles today. The presence…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
See what the Tet Offensive was like for South Carolinians, 55 years ago
January 26, 2023
These next few days on the calendar are fateful ones for anyone who contemplates the history of America’s involvement in Southeast Asia. At the end of January, 55 years ago,…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, military, on-the-move
The person next door
January 26, 2023
By Jeff Becraft As I have probably mentioned before, my Dad now has to live at a skilled nursing facility that gives more acute care. It is in a…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
Identifying and Managing Common Household Insects
January 24, 2023
Tired of those pesky insects invading your home? Want to learn how to win the battle? Laurens County Master Gardeners in conjunction with Clemson Extension Service is offering a webinar…
Read MorePosted in: laurenscountybuzz Category: education, life, on-the-move
Outnumbered 20-to1: A Vietnam War Biography by Col. William P. Collier Jr.
January 23, 2023
BOOK REVIEW by W. Thomas Smith Jr. THERE ARE MEN WHO ARE SAID TO BE GREAT, though most of those “said to be great” are only penultimately exceptional. Then there…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
St. Pat’s in Five Points announces band line up
January 19, 2023
St. Pat’s in Five Points, one the Southeast’s largest St. Patrick’s Day festivals, announces its 2023 band lineup for the 41st annual event, which returns on Saturday, March 18 in…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: conversations, entertainment, life, music, on-the-move, social-scene
Fear Of Flying
January 19, 2023
By Tom Poland It’s a good thing titles cannot be copyrighted. With apologies to Erica Jong, I title this self-confessional column, “Far of Flying.” I cannot say I fear…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Two old dogs in the dark
January 19, 2023
By Jeff Becraft Last Friday, I got home from work and my wife, Brenda, was packing and getting ready to head out of town to go to a conference…
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A dozen ideas to get reading more in 2023
January 17, 2023
By Reba Hull Campbell Reading has always been a delight for me. I loved the library’s summer reading clubs when I was a kid. Browsing bookstores is a favorite pastime…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move
Connecting Across the Miles
January 16, 2023
By Amy Coward Every morning, right after breakfast, my mother goes for a walk. She is 97 years of age, but you would never know it by looking at…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life
Greatness comes from a great foundation
January 12, 2023
By Jeff Becraft During the summers of my college years, I worked as a laborer for Glen Construction company. Glen was a commercial general contractor. For two summers, I was…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, the-arts
The Dignified Mule
January 12, 2023
By Tom Poland Like Halley’s Comet, I’m predictable. I come around to the same subject matter every so often. When I do, it’s because something triggered memories. A few…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Lecture to confront the myths and realities concerning Banastre Tarleton
January 9, 2023
There’s an important principle to remember when considering historical figures: People are complicated. So it helps to avoid, when possible, thinking of anyone as a pure hero, or a complete…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, military, on-the-move
Green Bay couple opens Wisconsin Meat & Cheese store in Charleston
January 9, 2023A Wisconsin couple is spreading the culinary joys of the Badger State one stick of summer sausage and package of cheese curds at a time. Casey Diedrich and Taylor Ambrosius…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: entertainment, food, hospitality, life, on-the-move, retail
The Lost Art Of Making Do
January 5, 2023
By Tom Poland He was twenty-six when the Great Depression arrived, thirty-six when it ended. A decade of doing without taught him something about survival. “Keep something seven years…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Black Food Truck Festival presents Battle of the Bands
January 5, 2023
Tickets are on sale now for Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend at The Music Farm The Black Food Truck Festival presents The Battle of the Bands at The Music Farm,…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: life, on-the-move
Looking forward
January 4, 2023
By Jeff Becraft I was talking to a friend the other day and I commented, “There were so many things I wanted to accomplish in 2022 and here it…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
Father knows best
December 19, 2022
By W. Thomas Smith Jr. This is not a story of “I told you so.” Rather, it is a stirring – or so I think – tale of a man’s…
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Lincoln Street
December 19, 2022
By Tom Poland One word. That’s all it takes, and the brain’s mystifying chemistry swirls past and present into an amalgam we call life. Phases pass before us in…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move
The Gift of Christmas “Presence”
December 19, 2022
By Reba Campbell We’ve just returned from a glorious two-week adventure in Germany, Austria and Hungary – most of it spent traveling with friends we’ve known since our young…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
Things I Have Left Undone
December 12, 2022
By Tom Poland Each Christmas my mind goes back to a June day in Valdosta, Georgia. I was driving through slash pines to interview Robert “Bob” Clyatt. A defense…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, the-arts
An Effigy Of Rock
December 8, 2022
By Tom Poland Something like sixty years had passed since I saw it. This time, however, I saw it from above. The WPA built a beautiful tower of stone…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Tell your story
December 8, 2022
By Jeff Becraft Back when I was in my early 20’s, I heard a guy speak at a camp and he gave a message that he called “The 7…
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Lecture to relate the largely untold story of the men lost on HMT Rohna in 1943
December 6, 2022
On Nov. 26, 1943, HMT Rohna – HMT for His Majesty’s Transport – was attacked by German aircraft in the Mediterranean off North Africa. She was hit by a Henschel…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, military, on-the-move
Museum to remember Pearl Harbor on Saturday, Dec. 10
December 5, 2022
It was, as usual, a beautiful Sunday morning in Hawaii. But it didn’t last long. At 7:55 a.m., the first wave of Japanese warplanes came flying over the Waianae mountains.…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, military, non-profit, on-the-move, veterans
Time
December 1, 2022
By Tom Poland You know the song. “Time Is On My Side.” The Rolling Stones released it in 1964. Time was on my side back then, yes it was. It’s…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move
Luke entering Jerusalem
November 29, 2022A Biblically themed watercolor and the work of artist Paul Turnbaugh By W. Thomas Smith Jr. I love art; always have. No, I’m not an artist in terms of design…
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Our attitude is ours
November 22, 2022
By Jeff Becraft On Thursday of last week, we took our other Texan grandson, two-year-old Levi, to the Aquarium in Dallas. This was quite an adventure… in more ways…
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The Truth Behind Thanksgiving
November 21, 2022
By Christophe Boucher Associate professor of Native American History College of Charleston Just about everyone can get behind the themes of Thanksgiving – gratitude and sharing. But those weren’t…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: education, life, on-the-move
Pancho Villa’s Fighting South Carolina Gamecocks
November 21, 2022
By Tom Poland I’ll file this column under the category, Fowl History. Did Mexican Revolutionary War General, Pancho Villa, ride a train to Calhoun Falls, South Carolina to buy fighting…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
The Relentless Grind
November 17, 2022
By Tom Poland Football’s Hidden Injuries Winter Haven Florida, February 1996—I covered Cypress Gardens’ 60th anniversary for Ski World magazine. It was Florida’s oldest theme park, one where Southern…
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What is your definition of a champion?
November 17, 2022
By Jeff Becraft I once asked our son’s baseball coach to speak to a group of guys I was working with through Fairway Outreach. We had taken them out…
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Mud, Crushed Granite, And Memories
November 10, 2022
By Tom Poland Nostalgia pulled at me hard. On the second Sunday in September, I decided to see three things that were no more. And so I drove up…
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Epic Moments
November 9, 2022
By Jeff Becraft A couple of weeks ago, I talked about an epic moment in a grocery store. This week I want to talk about another epic moment that…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life
The Rock It! Co. names Katherine Underwood Director of Marketing
November 9, 2022
The Rock It! Co., an immersive marketing and event production company for tech and software organizations, is pleased to announce and welcome Katherine K. Underwood as Director of Marketing. Underwood…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, upstatebizsc Category: business-services, entrepreneurship, life, local-industry, marketing-and-communications, media, on-the-move
Aluminum, Glass, Rum, War, & Hemingway
November 3, 2022
By Tom Poland When Timelines Cross The vessels resemble, cousins of a sort, my worn canteen and its shiny glass companion. The two came to me by dissimilar routes.…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
For combat veterans, the differences are outweighed by their common experience
November 2, 2022
The “troubled Vietnam veteran” became a trope of television in the late 1970s. These guys had been through the wringer, and many came home with something called “post-traumatic stress disorder.”…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, military, on-the-move
The importance of community
November 1, 2022
By Jeff Becraft In the last month, we have had 3 different family members get covid… in Maryland, South Carolina, and New Jersey. And if you throw in a…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
AAF Midlands is hosting its annual Oyster Roast & Auction – Nov 17
November 1, 2022
The American Advertising Federation of the Midlands is hosting its annual Oyster Roast & Auction on Thursday, November 17th from 6-9pm at Swamp Cabbage Brewing Company. The Oyster Roast &…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, marketing-and-communications, media, non-profit, on-the-move, philanthropy, social-scene
Drowning The Past
October 27, 2022
By Tom Poland What We’ve Lost I spent a lot of time on Clarks Hill Lake (Strom Thurmond Lake), during my teenage and college years. I camped, boated, and…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Teamwork – effective and fun!
October 27, 2022
By Jeff Becraft One of the most epic moments in my life happened in a grocery store. It was on an alumni trip back in the Youth Corps days. There…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, op-ed, the-arts
When we go through life and we try not to lose
October 20, 2022
By Jeff Becraft In Super Bowl XXXII, the Green Bay Packers played the Denver Broncos. The Packers were the defending Super Bowl champions. This was during the Brett Favre…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move
Old Island Haunts
October 20, 2022
By Tom Poland Add Hazel’s Café to the List Old island haunts. The fever to develop islands didn’t destroy all of them. In a few instances, someone decided, “Not…
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For soldier Glen Inabinet, Vietnam was full of surprises – Lunch and Learn Friday, Oct. 21
October 18, 2022
For Glen Inabinet, serving as a soldier in Vietnam, 1969-70, was just one new experience after another – experiences for which he had not been trained. He had trained as…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, military, on-the-move
The Feared Invader
October 13, 2022
By Tom Poland Let’s talk invasive species. One will bite you. You can bite the other. You can eat it, but given time it will entomb all you possess. Fire…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
First Female Real Estate Agent in Spartanburg – a Tribute
October 12, 2022
A Tribute to my Grandmother, First Female Real Estate Agent in Spartanburg, SC: Diecy Gray Brennemann 1918-2022 By Taylor Vick, CFA / Grandson of Diecy / Blue Ridge Asset Management…
Read MorePosted in: upstatebizsc Category: commercial-real-estate, life, local-industry, on-the-move, residential-real-estate
The CCC
October 6, 2022
By Tom Poland FDR’s Tree Army If my mother didn’t like something, she’d tell you. If she liked something, you knew that too, and she liked the Civilian Conservation…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Today is the day
October 6, 2022
By Jeff Becraft One of the biggest causes of stress in my life is time. Which is kind of odd… because every single person has the exact same amount…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
Relic Room lecture to explain how soldiers were trained for the war in Vietnam
October 3, 2022
One of the things America has done particularly well through its history is turn civilians into soldiers. In World War II, for instance, the U.S. Army went from fewer than…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, military, on-the-move
Museum to host 31st annual SCMMS Toy Soldier Show on Saturday, Oct. 8
October 3, 2022
If you think a “toy soldier” is just one of those rubbery little green guys you bought from the dime store when you were a kid, you’ve got a lot…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
