The Great Dividing Line

  January 21, 2022
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   Yet another dud weather storm forecast teaches me something. When the next Ice Age arrives, its frozen sheet will grind to a halt where I-20 crosses…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, the-arts

Remembering Smokehouses

  January 20, 2022
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   I wrote about old hand-dug wells not long ago. Many old wells had a companion nearby, smokehouses. I’ve written about these farm icons before, but a…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts

Artist Minute – Aimee Wise, Visual Artist

  January 20, 2022

The Who’s on the Move, UpstateBizSC, Artist Minute is a quick, two-minute interview in support of the undeniable impact that the arts and local artists have on our communities. One…

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Posted in: upstatebizsc   Category: podcast, the-arts

Chapman Cultural Center announces its newest President & CEO

  January 19, 2022

After an extensive search, Chapman Cultural Center is pleased to announce the hiring of Dan Mayer as its next President and CEO. He will lead the organization beginning February 10th,…

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Posted in: upstatebizsc   Category: headlines, non-profit, on-the-move, the-arts

The Old Hand-Dug Well

  January 12, 2022
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   Driving a country road, I passed an old well house. It didn’t look like a wishing well. It looked rustic, more like a shed, a practical…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, the-arts

The Allure of Barbed Wire & Cedar

  January 6, 2022
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   Out in the country skinny metal fence posts rule pasturelands nowadays. I seldom see old cedar-barbed wire fences, but when I do they unleash a flood…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts

No Gas, No Batteries, No Electricity Required

  December 16, 2021
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   All it requires is a steady hand. It doesn’t disturb the peace on Saturday mornings. So quiet is it, I doubt it’d suffer banning in ever-vigilant…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts

S.C. Arts Commission selects five for Emerging Artist Grant

  December 9, 2021

Up to $1,500 grant includes mentorship, more A ceramicist, a dancer, a painter and fiber and installation artists make up the five #SCartists receiving South Carolina Arts Commission Emerging Artist…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: on-the-move, the-arts

A Vanishing Coastal Icon

  December 8, 2021
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   Photographers love to shoot them at sunrise. Riding a glittering golden sea, shrimp boats strike a classic silhouette with that orb of fire rising behind them.…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts

That Legendary Everlasting Plant, Rabbit Tobacco

  November 30, 2021
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   She smoked it as a kid. Said she smoked grapevines too but it was Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium, one of the everlastings, she talked about most. She and…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, the-arts

Erika DeRoberts launches Cherry Lane Art

  November 30, 2021

Former Real Estate Executive Turned Creative Releases First Collection  Erika DeRoberts announced the formal launch of her new fine art business, Cherry Lane Art, in November of 2021. A resident…

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Posted in: upstatebizsc   Category: on-the-move, the-arts

Grandmom’s Fabulous Fried Pies

  November 17, 2021
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   She dried sliced apple, peaches, and pears on a slanted wooden table facing the sun. Nails prevented the fruit from sliding to the ground. Once it…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts

Upcountry History Museum receives SC Humanities Grant

  November 15, 2021

The Upcountry History Museum-Furman University, a Smithsonian Affiliate, announced that it has been awarded a $13,500.00 Growth Grant from South Carolina Humanities. Funding for the Growth Grants has been provided…

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Posted in: upstatebizsc   Category: non-profit, on-the-move, the-arts

Artist Minute – Matt Dingledine, Jazz Guitarist

  November 14, 2021

The Who’s on the Move, UpstateBizSC, Artist Minute is a quick, two-minute interview in support of the undeniable impact that the arts and local artists have on our communities. One…

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Posted in: upstatebizsc   Category: podcast, the-arts

Elusive Butterfly Of Fall

  November 4, 2021
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   December 1965, that’s when a catchy tune debuted. Bob Lind’s “Elusive Butterfly” used a butterfly as a metaphor for love. Some of you survivors of these…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts

Upcountry History Museum ushers in the holidays with Norman Rockwell

  November 4, 2021

Join the Upcountry History Museum-Furman University, a Smithsonian Affiliate, as it ushers in the holiday season with Norman Rockwell’s Home for the Holidays exhibition and four of Rockwell’s full-sized original…

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Posted in: upstatebizsc   Category: chamber, entertainment, on-the-move, the-arts

Star Light, Star Bright

  October 27, 2021

By Tom Poland   Back in the late 1980s and early ’90s, I’d leave on a Friday afternoon and head for the mountains, the Blue Ridge species. My monthly drives…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, the-arts

Artist Minute – Adam Schrimmer, Muralist

  October 25, 2021

The Who’s on the Move, UpstateBizSC, Artist Minute is a quick, two-minute interview in support of the undeniable impact that the arts and local artists have on our communities. One…

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Posted in: upstatebizsc   Category: podcast, the-arts

Magic In Some Alien World

  October 21, 2021
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   On a hot, windless Sunday, I found a place where wind swept up and over a cliff to pour through pines. The cooling torrent felt like…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, the-arts

Proud Mary Theatre Company

  October 12, 2021

The mission of the Proud Mary Theatre Company, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit and non-professional theatre, is to advocate for the LGBTQ+ community through the Arts by presenting LGBTQ+ voices…

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Posted in: upstatebizsc   Category: the-arts

Tall Tales—Truth Can Be Elusive

  October 6, 2021

By Tom Poland   The last time I wrote about the nightlife, my late mom gave me a reading. She upbraided me about the evils of alcohol and told me…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, the-arts

You’ve Got To Feel the Food

  September 29, 2021

By Tom Poland   A few years back on a fall day I attended a wild game dinner on the grounds of Hobcaw Barony’s Bellefield Stables. I sat among folks…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts

The Good Old Days Are Gone

  September 22, 2021
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   Last Friday night some grandparents went to watch their grandson play in a high school football game. They were in for a shock. Paying for the…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts

Acclaimed 30 Americans headed to the Columbia Museum of Art

  September 22, 2021

Hugely popular and historically important exhibition opens October 9 The Columbia Museum of Art announces its major fall exhibition 30 Americans, a dynamic showcase of contemporary art featuring many of the…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: on-the-move, the-arts

Freeway Music School celebrates 10-year anniversary

  September 20, 2021

South Carolina’s fastest growing music school continues its commitment of delivering high-quality music lessons and giving back to the community Freeway Music —Columbia, South Carolina’s locally owned, premier music school…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: education, music, on-the-move, the-arts

Peace Center announces partnership with Fine Arts Center

  September 16, 2021

To deepen the partnership between the two organizations, four weeklong artist residencies for Fine Arts students have been announced. Each week will serve the shared goal of the two organizations…

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Posted in: upstatebizsc   Category: on-the-move, the-arts

Who’s The Queen Of Flowers?

  September 15, 2021
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   Orchids. There were days I wore them in my lapel for formal events, but those days are gone. I’ve not seen many in the wild, but…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts

Where They Sleep, While They Sleep

  September 8, 2021
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   I visit old cemeteries quite a bit. Lest you think death thoughts consume me, understand that readers tell me of near-forgotten cemeteries. It’s my duty to…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, the-arts

The Rose Ball announces new safety requirements for attendance

  September 2, 2021

The Rose Ball, Greenville’s longest-running charitable event, will continue as scheduled this year as an in-person evening gala on Friday, September 24 with new requirements for attendance. Guests of the…

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Posted in: upstatebizsc   Category: non-profit, on-the-move, philanthropy, the-arts

A Southern Writer

  September 2, 2021
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   Mississippi’s Willie Morris Several years back, I attended Edgefield’s Camellia Tea. As I was leaving, a lady in a red blazer walked up. “You’re that fellow…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, the-arts

Long Lost Treasures, Heirloom Seeds

  August 26, 2021
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   Metal detectives seek old coins and treasure, and many folks look for arrowheads. A rare breed seeks long-lost seeds. Old coins and arrowheads won’t make you…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: food, life, the-arts

A Haunting Postscript

  August 19, 2021
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   Missing Caskets Recently I wrote about finding my great granddad’s old farmhouse, but I left out an eerie aspect that would be suitable for a Halloween…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts

For The Birds

  August 5, 2021
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   This makes the second time I’ve used “For The Birds” as a title. “Contacting the dead through a Ouija board? That’s for the birds.” No flippancy…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, the-arts

What’s The Big Rush?

  July 28, 2021

By Tom Poland   My back-road trips of late have been good but not as pleasant they usually are. Too many people. They drive like madmen. They pass on hills.…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, the-arts

The Parking Lot Of The Dead

  July 21, 2021
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   Even in death they cling to dignity. Left to rust, they bless the rare visitor with awe and mystery. Just how did old trucks and cars…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, the-arts

My Mother’s Bible

  July 15, 2021
Tom Poland

By Tom Poland   After Mom died, my sisters and I began to go through her and Dad’s belongings. Quite a task that surprised, amused, and puzzled us. Lots of…

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Posted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc   Category: life, the-arts