South Carolina’s Hammock Coast gears up for festive holiday season
November 17, 2020
The “Most Wonderful Time of Year” is nearly upon us and while Christmas celebrations in 2020 will be different, they will be no less special along South Carolina’s Hammock Coast.…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: hospitality, life, local-industry, on-the-move
When The Apothecary Worked Magic
November 10, 2020
By Tom Poland Remember the old drugstores? Most have faded into the night. They retreated to a place called “Obscurity” but I recall them with fondness and I feel…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
A Page Right Out Of Americana
November 4, 2020
By Tom Poland My excursions along backroads always reveal two nostalgic sights: the rusting tin and decaying wood of crumbling barns and old pickup trucks beneath sheds. They’re going…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Things That Scare Us
October 29, 2020
By Tammy Davis Halloween has always been a stress-free holiday. Until 2020. To trick or treat or not? That is the question. Like most 2020 issues, there is no…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Black Cats, Bad Luck, & Worse Luck
October 29, 2020
By Tom Poland Was it left to right, or right to left? When a black cat crossed the highway in front of Dad, he made a sweeping “X” movement…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
All Kinds of Heroes
October 22, 2020
By Tammy Davis Part Three of a Series on the Life of American Hero Major James Capers, Jr. Part Two here. He finally convinced the girl of his dreams…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
The Epitome Of Elegance
October 12, 2020
By Tom Poland Not that many years ago I wrote about Cape Romain Refuge in Aida Roger’s original trend-setting volume, State of the Heart South Carolina Writers on the…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Down South – Sheltering Along The Back Roads
October 8, 2020
By Tom Poland March 13, 2020 seems an eternity ago. That day my niece, Benton, got an unwelcome big 4-O birthday gift—a national emergency courtesy of COVID-19. “How lucky…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Shelter Rock, Rock of Ages
September 30, 2020
By Tom Poland DATELINE NORTHERN LINCOLN COUNTY—Boulders loom over land, gray and long like sperm whales. One, like some stallion’s back, seems ready for a colossal saddle. Massive rocks…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Trident United Way working to inform Tri-County high cost of living
September 28, 2020Self Sufficiency Standard study highlights our region as one of the highest costs of living areas in S.C., further emphasizing the vital work Trident United Way does to improve…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: economic-development, education, life, non-profit, on-the-move, philanthropy, residential-real-estate
An Atlantis Of Our Own
September 10, 2020
By Tom Poland Atlantis sank into the sea around 380 B.C. So said Plato. Its founders were half god and half human. Its lush islands contained gold and silver…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
A Hero On and Off The Battlefields
September 2, 2020
By Tammy Davis Part Two of a Series About Bishopville, SC Native, Major James Capers, Jr. In the 1970s, he was the face of the Marines. Literally. The…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Highway 79, A Historic Route
September 1, 2020
By Tom Poland Driving north on Highway 79 you see beautiful country in a region rich with history yet a tad poor looking. Don’t let the lack of development…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Home Town Heroes
August 27, 2020
By Tom Poland Ware Shoals, SC Has One I wish every small town had a hero, someone who walks onto the national stage and stays untarnished by changing…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Major James Capers, Jr. – An American Hero, Part One
August 24, 2020
By Tammy Davis He had no birth certificate. When he needed security clearance to join the Marines, the FBI made up a birth date for him – August 25,…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life
Mr. Clifford’s Wild Turkey Heaven
August 19, 2020
By Tom Poland In a place called Childhood, Georgia, I worked for a country store grocer, Clifford M. Goolsby, who loved to hunt turkeys. Each spring the small town…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
The Roadside Stand
August 13, 2020
By Tom Poland Two words say it all. “Delicious simplicity.” No register. Cash and carry. Paper bags to hold jewels polished by the farmer’s hands. A friendly face. Produce…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
The Mystery of Huguenot, Georgia
August 6, 2020
By Tom Poland I grew up unlettered as Huguenots go. That changed much later after I moved to South Carolina. There I drove along Huger and Gervais Street and…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
First-ever, free Drive-Through S.C. State Fair to be held Oct. 20-21, 2020
July 29, 2020
In an effort to give back to the community in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the nonprofit South Carolina State Fair will host its first-ever free, Drive-Through S.C. State Fair…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: agriculture, life, non-profit, on-the-move
Tallulah Point Outlook, Part One
July 23, 2020
By Tom Poland An Enduring Icon Endures No More In that precious time of boyhood summers, our family would drive from Lincoln County, Georgia, to the North Carolina…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Ghost Stories
July 14, 2020
By Tom Poland Great Aunt Annie, long buried in some graveyard up Asheville way, told me ghost stories when I was a boy. I’d sit by a hissing wood…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
A Defense Against Wine Snobbery
July 8, 2020
By Thomas H. George Founder, Bacchus & Books Ah, the wine snob. We all know one (or more!). In my view they give wine a bad name, because wine should…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: life
Saws, Maters, & Men Long Gone
July 8, 2020
By Tom Poland Growing up in eastern Georgia deep in pines, I wakened to the wail of chainsaws six days a week. Yellow McCullochs and red Poulans sliced through…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Fried Green Tomatoes
July 2, 2020
By Tom Poland My back-road explorations take me to little eateries tucked neatly in the middle of nowhere, whistle-stop places. Country folks run these deep-fried, lonely roadside stops so…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
The Outhouse Flower
June 25, 2020
By Tom Poland I remember Mom talked of a flower with a strange name, hollyhocks. She talked flowers a lot mentioning dahlias, Cape jasmines, which go by jasmines, gardenia,…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc, laurenscountybuzz Category: life, the-arts
What Makes a Party Unforgettable? (It takes a village…and plenty of SPF)
June 23, 2020
By Mitchell Crosby Founder, JMC Charleston When it comes to event design and production, I have always been passionate about creating “a one in a lifetime event.” Designing an experience…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: life
The Language of Wine
June 17, 2020
By Thomas H. George Founder, Bacchus & Books Wine, like many subjects, has its own terminology, vernacular, and technical jargon. To wit, terms such as: “batonnage, foudre, lees, and Geneva…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: life
Grace Will Lead Us Home: A Compelling Guide to Understanding the Emanuel Church shootings
June 17, 2020
By Reba Hull Campbell Rarely does a book appeal to all my “reading” senses – well written, important message, compelling story and human connections. “Grace Will Lead Us Home”…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
A Childhood, The Biography of a Place
June 17, 2020
By Tom Poland The book is 9.25 inches long, 6.5 inches wide, and less than an inch thick. Its 182 pages present a world well-fed folks can only guess…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Charleston Equity initiative announces guest speakers for Charleston Equity Concert
June 15, 2020Charleston Equity Initiative announced the guest speakers for the Charleston Equity Concert, a virtual benefit concert featuring local black artists and local black community guest speakers. The concert will be…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: life, on-the-move
Fun Run and Race scheduled in Summerville to benefit Alzheimer’s family support services – August 22
June 15, 2020The ARK, Alzheimer’s family support services, announces that early bird registration for its 21st Annual McElveen Race For The ARK is now open through August 20. The race is planned for August…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: life, non-profit, on-the-move
Just One Great Adventure
June 11, 2020
By Tom Poland On my way back I crossed Clarks Hill Lake twice. In soft early evening light, the water lay like a mirror. Smooth as glass as we…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Woods, Waters, and Flowers
June 3, 2020
By Tom Poland A botanical superstar lives in the South. It’s exquisite, ephemeral, and periled, in that much of its habitat lies beneath lakes. I’m writing about the rocky…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Quarantine Heartbreak
May 25, 2020
By Tammy Davis Part Ten of The Corona Chronicles Part Nine here Part Eight here Part Seven here Part Six here Part Five here Part Four here Part Three here Part Two here Part One here After…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
If At First You Don’t Succeed
May 25, 2020
By Tom Poland Among my father’s passions were birds and woodworking. He made bluebird boxes in his workshop and mounted them around home. He loved hummingbirds and looked for…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Junkyard Beauty
May 18, 2020
By Tom Poland One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. It’s true. We live in a throwaway society and junkyard junkies seek bargains. Making use of discards is frugal.…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
The Pull Of Beauty
May 13, 2020
By Tom Poland Over the last five years, I’ve developed two traditions I plan to never break. Come March and come May, I drop everything and head to three…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Buzzard Luck
May 6, 2020
By Tom Poland A searing, sweaty summer day … just as my friend leaned over to pick up his dropped keys, his glasses slid onto the asphalt and cracked.…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Had Harry Sat Here
April 30, 2020
By Tom Poland Rain, rain, and more rain. It hasn’t been a biblical forty days and forty nights but sure seems like it. A record sopping-wet winter has creeks…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Buddy bear.
April 30, 2020By Cathy Rigg Monetti There are a thousand reasons, I suppose, we are obsessed with the bear. He’s beautiful, for one. Big, and healthy, with a full shiny coat…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
High As A Georgia Pine
April 16, 2020
By Tom Poland The South and its vernacular, love it and never lose it. Seems to me, we have the finest, most colorful expressions. Yes, Southerners have a flair…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Be well.
April 16, 2020By Cathy Rigg Monetti YESTERDAY WE AWOKE to a strange and beautiful scene. It was 5:55 a.m., and through our east window we saw that slight but gorgeous glow…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
House Arrest Haircuts
April 8, 2020
By Tom Poland Nancy’s eyes betrayed frustration and fear. “I can’t cut your hair right now. I’ve got to close.” Early April 2020, the year of perfect vision, what…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
When a House Became a Home Fifty Years Ago Today
April 8, 2020
By Reba Hull Campbell Fifty years ago today, a young family moved into a house they had just built. Nothing spectacular about this. It’s an event as American as apple…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move
Duke Endowment announces $1.25 million gift to One SC Fund: COVID-19 Response
April 3, 2020
First round of grants distributed to five local nonprofits The Duke Endowment approved $2.5 million to support Carolinians impacted by the coronavirus crisis. In South Carolina, $1.25 million of the…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: health-care, life, non-profit, on-the-move
Ways to Cope During Social Distancing
April 2, 2020By Cathy Rigg Monetti THERE IS SO MUCH TO SAY, and also nothing to say, about the feels we’re all experiencing during this scary, awful pandemic. It reminds me of…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move
This Silent Strange Spring
April 1, 2020
By Tom Poland Spring’s springing. I put my hummingbird feeders up for soon the feathered jets will arrive. My azaleas burst into living color as Disney phrased it, and…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Hauling Up Water
March 26, 2020
By Tom Poland The cold water hurt my teeth, and it didn’t come from a cooler. Nor a faucet. There was no faucet. My grandparents cranked a windlass, lowering…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
The Wonder Of Woods And Waters
March 19, 2020
By Tom Poland Remembering & Thanking Harry Hampton Fall 1980, a St. Andrews Columbia office park known as Dutch Plaza teems with activity. We’re packing up files, desks, cameras,…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: environmental, life, the-arts
A Genuine Barber Shop
March 11, 2020
By Tom Poland My great uncle cut my hair when I was growing up in Lincolnton, Georgia. That would be Waymon Walker, Granddad’s brother. Walker’s Barbershop of white concrete…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
