south carolina living - february 2014

SC SCe n e

Breaking down barriersSC Sto r i e S

Chasing white lightningH u mo r m e

Go easy on the bull

Back to the

LandA new breed of farmer crops up

Febr

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4 CO - O P CO N N E C T I O NCooperative news

6 O N T H E AG E N DALearn how unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., want to raise your power bill by 50 percent—and what you can do to stop them.

P OW E R U S E RDIaLogue

10 Buzz words“Off the grid” has become a trendy concept, but do we as a society really understand what it means?eneRgY Q&a

12 Efficient cookingUse these simple tips to save energy in the kitchen. SMaRt ChoICe

14 Easy does itNeed a hand with household chores? Try these ergonomic devices to make everyday tasks a breeze.

S C L I F EStoRIeS

21 Chasing white lightningRetired lawman Dennis Vess looks back on a career spent in hot pursuit of moonshiners.

SC SCE N E

Breaking down barriersSC STO R I E S

Chasing white lightningH U MO R M E

Go easy on the bull

BACK TO THE

LANDA new breed of farmer crops up

FEBR

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RY 2

014

Edisto Electric Cooperative members Steven and Heather Walters enjoy the simplicity of the farming lifestyle with their son, Rhett. Photo by Mic Smith.

SCene

22 Breaking down barriersThe University of South Carolina celebrates 50 years of desegregation. gaRDeneR

26 Building better blueberry bushesJudicious pruning is the secret to a bumper crop of berries. tRaVeLS

28 Heroism on displayThe Congressional Medal of Honor Museum in Mount Pleasant celebrates the extraordinary courage of U.S. military personnel who have earned the nation’s highest award for valor. CheF’S ChoICe

30 Pizza that steals the showActor-turned-restaurateur Rick Marzan brings authentic Neapolitan pizza to the Midlands.ReCIPe

32 Foods to warm the heartGarlic cheese bread sticksSweetheart sweet potato pocketsThree-generation eggplant meatloavesAlmond-crusted butter cakehuMoR Me

38 Go easy on the bullSee what happens when a 135-pound near-vegetarian rides herd on 180 curious cows.

34 M A R K E T P L AC E 36 S C E V E N T S

F E AT U R E 15 The new face of farming

Young farmers bring fresh ideas and energy to South Carolina agriculture.

Mic

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Member of the NCM network of publications, reaching more than 7 million homes and businesses

Printed on recycled paper

THE MAGAZINE FOR COOPERATIVE MEMBERS Vol. 68 • No. 2

(ISSN 0047-486X, USPS 316-240)

Read in more than 470,000 homes and businesses and published monthly except in December by The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc. 808 Knox Abbott Drive Cayce, SC 29033

Tel: (803) 926-3 1 75 Fax: (803) 796-6064 Email: [email protected]

Keith PhillipsaSSIStant eDItoR

Diane Veto ParhamFIeLD eDItoR

Walter AllreadPuBLICatIon CooRDInatoR

Pam MartinaRt DIReCtoR

Sharri Harris WolfgangDeSIgneR

Susan CollinsPRoDuCtIon

Andrew ChapmanWeB eDItoR

Van O’CainCoPY eDItoR

Susan Scott SoyarsContRIButoRS

Becky Billingsley, Mike Couick, Jim Dulley, Tim Hanson, Carrie B. Hirsch, Jan A. Igoe, Charles Joyner, Susan Hill Smith, S. Cory TannerPuBLISheR

Lou Green aDVeRtISIng ManageRS

Tel: (800) 984-0887 Dan Covell Email: [email protected] Keegan Covell Email: [email protected] RePReSentatIon

National Country Market Tel: (800) NCM-1181

Paid advertisements are not endorsements by any electric cooperative or this publication. If you encounter a difficulty with an advertisement, inform the Editor.

aDDReSS ChangeS: Please send to your local co-op. Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to Address Change, c/o the address above.

Periodicals postage paid at Columbia, S.C., and additional mailing offices.

© CoPYRIght 2014. The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc. No portion of South Carolina Living may be reproduced without permission of the Editor.

South CaRoLIna LIVIng is brought to you by your member-owned, taxpaying, not-for-profit electric cooperative to inform you about your cooperative, wise energy use and the faces and places that identify the Palmetto State. Electric cooperatives are South Carolina’s — and America’s — largest utility network.

FEbRuARy 2014 • VoluME 68, NuMbER 2

On the Agenda

toP PICK FoR KIDSMarch 9–14

Juilliard in AikenAiken plays host to the national debut of a historically accurate production of Bach’s “Saint Matthew Passion” at this year’s music festival. Grammy-nominated conductor Julian Wachner will lead the acclaimed Trinity Wall Street Choir and Juilliard musicians in a performance on March 14. For details, visit juilliardinaiken.com or call (803) 226-0016.

March 10–15

Hilton Head Wine and Food FestivalIndulge your taste for fine wine and food at Historic Honey Horn Plantation, home to the largest outdoor public wine tasting on the East Coast. New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov and Southern cookbook author Christy Jordan are featured guests.For details, visit hiltonheadwineandfood.com or call (843) 686-4944.

March 1–2

Winyah Bay Heritage Festival How to call a duck, paint a decoy and cast a fishing net are just a few of the traditional outdoor skills kids can practice at this celebration of Winyah Bay’s hunting and fishing heritage. The festival moves to Front Street in Georgetown this year and features athletic feats by Palmetto Dock Dogs, a new kayak race and the state duck-calling contest.For details, visit winyahbayfestival.org or call (843) 833-9919.

FeBRuaRY 20

Hilarity for CharityGood, clean family fun takes center stage at this fifth

annual comedy show sponsored by Broad River Electric Cooperative. Enjoy two acclaimed young comics: Joey I.L.O. (left) and Mike Goodwin. A high-energy performer with a

popular stage show in Branson, Mo., I.L.O. has appeared on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.” Goodwin, a native of Camden and a Columbia resident, bills himself as “The Bowtie” and

is known for family-friendly Christian comedy. Proceeds benefit the Jerusalem Project, which aids needy residents of Cherokee, Spartanburg and Union counties. The show

starts at 7 p.m. at the BREC auditorium in Gaffney.For details, visit broadriverelectric.com/h4c

or call (866) 687-2667.

Highlights

For a

complete listing

of Events, see

page 36

6 SOUth cAROLiNA LiViNG | FeBRuaRY 2014 | ScLiViNG.cOOp

EMail cOMMENTS, QUESTiONS aND STOry SUggESTiONS TO [email protected]

energy efficiency tipS.C.RAMBLE!By Charles Joyner, see answer on Page 35

Fill iN tHE blANkSThe pundit says, “Teachers eventually

_ _ _ _ their _ _ _ _ _.” v e d l o v s d d

Use the capital letters in the code key below to fill in the blanks above. AC E LO S spells “solved”

FeBRuaRY 17 7:31 1:16 7:31 1:46 18 8:01 1:46 8:16 2:16 19 2 :01 8:16 9:16 3:01 20 2:31 8:46 10:46 4:01 21 3:16 9:16 — 5:16 22 1:31 10:16 — 6:46 23 3:16 11:46 — 8:01 24 8:46 4:01 1:31 9:16 25 9:46 4:31 2:46 10:01 26 10:31 5:01 3:46 10:46 27 11:16 5:31 4:46 11:31 28 11:46 6:01 — 5:31

MaRCh 1 — 6:31 12 :31 6:31 2 7:01 12:46 7:16 1:01 3 1:16 7:31 8:01 1:46 4 1:46 7:46 9:01 2:31 5 2 :16 8:16 10:01 3:16 6 2 :46 8:31 11:46 4:16 7 3:01 9:01 — 5:31 8 — 9:46 — 7:01 9 11:46 4:16 — 8:16 10 9:31 4:16 1:46 9:16 11 10:01 4:31 3:01 9:46 12 10:31 4:46 3:46 10:31

13 10:46 5:01 4:31 11:01 14 11:16 5:31 5:01 11:31 15 11:46 5:46 — 5:46 16 6:01 12:01 6:16 12:16

gONE FiShiN’The Vektor Fish & Game Forecast provides feeding and migration times. Major periods can bracket the peak by an hour. Minor peaks, ½ hour before and after.

aM PMMinor Major Minor Major

WIRe scholarship helps women earn degreesIn MaY, SeYWaRD JeteR WILL finally get the piece of paper she’s been working toward since 1999—a diploma from Coastal Carolina University.

Jeter was the 2013 winner of the WIRE Jenny Ballard Opportunity Scholarship, a one-time, $2,500 scholarship that goes each year to a woman who is an electric cooperative member, who has been out of school for several years and who is ready to complete her education.

Jeter, an Horry Electric Cooperative member from Murrells Inlet, started crying when she learned she had won the scholar-ship last year. A combination of health issues and the demands of work and raising a family interrupted her previous efforts to complete her degree. Thanks to the scholar-ship, she returned to college last fall and plans to graduate in May with a B.A. in sociology.

Application forms are now available for the 2014 WIRE scholarship, which will be awarded to a woman who may not have been able to attend college after high school but now wants to further her education.

WIRE (Women Involved in Rural Electrification, a community service organiza-tion affiliated with the electric cooperatives in South Carolina) awards the scholarship based on financial need and personal goals.

An applicant for the WIRE scholarship must:

l be a member of a South Carolina electric cooperative

l have graduated from high school or earned her GED at least 10 years ago

l be accepted into an accredited S.C. college or university, and

l demonstrate financial need and personal goals.

Women who have previously obtained a four-year college degree are not eligible. Applicants may have previously earned a two-year degree or some college credits. The scholarship, which can be used for the fall 2014 or spring 2015 semester, will be paid jointly to the winner and her college of choice.

Applications are available at your local electric cooperative or by download from scliving.coop. The deadline to apply is June 2. Mail the application to WIRE Scholarship Committee, Attention: Bobbie Cook, Aiken Electric Cooperative, Inc., P.O. Box 417, Aiken, SC 29802, or fax to (803) 641-8310.

Fighting winter chills? A crackling fire warms the house, but don’t let it heat up your electric bill. to cool energy costs, keep the fireplace damper closed when not in use. Caulk around the fireplace hearth. Double up on wood-earned warmth by lowering the thermostat setting to between 50 degrees and 55 degrees Fahrenheit. learn more at energysaver.gov. SOURce: U.S. DepARtMeNt OF eNeRGy

GivinG credit Oops. We failed to give proper credit to the images of Old Santee Canal Park in the January S.C. Travels article. Those images were taken by Jim Huff.

Seyward Jeter

ScLiViNG.cOOp | FeBRuaRY 2014 | SOUth cAROLiNA LiViNG 7

Join the campaign to keep your electricity affordable and reliable

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to impose new power plant regulations that rely on costly, unproven technology to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. If adopted, these policies could increase your power bill by 50 percent.

Join your local electric cooperative and tell the EPA you disagree with new rules based on sensationalism and bad policy. It’s free and takes just seconds.

u Go to sc.tellepa.com and join our online petition

u Fill out and mail this postage-paid card

SICK OF D.C. BUREAUCRATS RAISING yOUR POWER BILL?

Take action atsc.tellepa.com

today

What is the EPA up to? EPA bureaucrats have proposed new rules placing strict limits on the amount of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. These regulations rely on the use of expensive and unproven carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology.

“The EPA believes that CCS is a commercial technology, and it is not. It simply has not been proven on a large scale,” says Ron Calcaterra, CEO of Central Electric Power Cooperative, the wholesale supplier of electricity to your local coop.

According to the EPA’s own analysis, these regulations will effectively eliminate construction of new coalfired power plants. When applied nationally to existing power plants, EPA’s new policy could drive up the cost of generating electricity by 75 percent, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office.

How will this affect S.C. co-op members? Almost 60 percent of the electricity distributed by your cooperative comes from coalfired plants. The effect on South Carolina consumers would be devastating.

“It could be less expensive for us to tear down those coal plants and build new plants,” Calcaterra says.

Replacing South Carolina’s existing coalfired plants with a 5050 mix of new natural gas and nuclear facilities would still be costly to electricity consumers, according to his estimates. “The total cost of that would increase bills by about 50 percent, if not more,” he says.

What can co-op members do? Join your local electric cooperative and let EPA bureaucrats know that their plan has serious consequences for South Carolina and our economy. Without input from coop members, Calcaterra says, “the decision will be influenced by people who have other agendas.”

Flawed EPA policies could mean higher bills

Dialogue

MIKe CouICK President and CEO, The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina

Buzz wordsIn noVeMBeR, I ShaReD MY FRuStRatIon aBout Washington political leaders who do far more talking at each other rather than to each other, but politics does not have an exclusive license on imprecise speech. Businesses of all types also have their misdirected buzz words, whether referring to food or alternative energy sources.

‘Farm to table’It seems as though every restaurant menu and grocery produce aisle now touts “farm to table” or “eat local” selections. There is nothing bad (and a lot good) about producing and consum-ing food locally, but this is not farm to table as I knew it growing up. It’s not the same as eating a tomato in July from a vine you set in the garden in late April, hoed and watered through the summer, and picked that very morning. In my experience, farm-to-table green beans are the half-runners you planted in April and picked under a late-June sun while looking down the row to see whether it was getting any shorter. Farm-to-table stew beef was last year’s 4-H project retrieved from the freezer.

In the absence of any sufficient acreage, time or desire to invest in making my family meals truly “farm to table,” I accept these restaurant and grocery store offerings as the next-best thing—a choice that lets me go on with the other commitments I’ve made. I promise myself that one day I’ll get back to real farm-to-table growing, cooking and eating.

‘off the grid’I hear this term applied to our residential energy future. It suggests that we can dodge monthly power bills and surround our homes with a virtual moat of distributed energy resources (DERs) like rooftop solar panels. But, truly living “off the grid” and supplying our own energy comes with very real challenges.

My family experimented with energy inde-pendence in the 1970s. My dad had an addi-tional chimney added to our home and installed a wood-burning Buck stove in the basement. It became a favorite place to gather and share family stories. The heat rose up the stairs to the

upper reaches of the house, and we used less heating oil in the furnace. There was a lot of good in that stove—and a lot of work.

I know, because I spent most of every summer and fall cutting and splitting wood for that stove. In the winter, it had to be fed at all hours, even when ice and snow were on the ground around the woodpile. The ashes routinely had to be removed and dumped. My father’s appreciation for that Buck stove waned in the 1980s just as my brother and I left for college. I wonder if there was any connection.

What finally doomed the stove was the bird. We think it intended to roost in the chimney, only to fall down the flue into the stove. Its constant chirping led my mom to open the door one day, and you can guess what happened next. Over the years, the description of the bird’s wingspan has grown wider—it now spans some-where between condor and pterodactyl. Up the stairs it flew. Using a kitchen broom, Mom even-tually chased the bird out the back door, and before long, the old Buck stove was gone, too.

Today’s efforts to live “off the grid” using resi-dential solar panels are a far cry from that stove. The price of photovoltaic panels has fallen over the years, federal and state tax incentives are available, and we have professional solar instal-lation crews working across South Carolina. As with the Buck stove though, the challenge is not the product itself but the misguided notion that alternatives are an effortless way to energy inde-pendence. That stove needed regular fuel and maintenance. A solar panel needs fuel (sunshine) and maintenance, too.

Until affordable battery-storage systems exist, the lack of a continuous fuel supply (the sun doesn’t always shine) means consumers will still need an electricity supplier to make up the difference. Homeowners with distributed energy resources will also need trusted experts to help them ensure proper sizing, operation and main-tenance. To whom will they turn? Stay tuned. It will likely be your very own electric cooperative.


Q I am a bit of a chef, so I want to update my kitchen with the most efficient appliances. Can you

share some ideas for energy-efficient appliances and cooking tips?

A If you’re a frequent cook, you eat up a lot of energy in the kitchen. By using energy-saving

appliances and simple kitchen tips, you can reduce energy consumption in that part of the house.

The major energy user is the refrig-erator. Odds are, if you prepare a lot of food, you have a large refrigerator and you open it often, letting cool air out and warm air in. Place commonly used items near the front of your fridge to minimize the time the door is open. Keep the fridge fairly full; that helps regulate the temperature. Use water jugs if needed.

Properly located kitchen appliances run more efficiently. Don’t place the refrigerator right next to the cooking range and oven. Their heat makes the refrigerator compressor run longer. Also, don’t put the range or oven under a window; a breeze can carry away heat before it gets into your pots and pans.

For electric ranges, the most efficient heating elements are induc-tion units. These elements produce magnetic energy, which warms magnetic (usually iron and steel) pots and pans. When there is no utensil on an induction element, the element does not get hot.

Induction elements provide heating control almost as precise as gas burners and offer an energy advan-tage: nearly all of the energy goes into the pot or pan to heat food. With a

regular resistance element, heat trans-fers from the range top to the base of the pot. A lot of heat is lost to the air, never reaching the food.

If you don’t always use magnetic cooking vessels, you may want a range with only one or two induc-tion elements; the others should be resistance or halogen. Halogen elements heat up quickly but are not as efficient. Opt for different sizes, then match the size of the pot to the element size for less heat loss.

When it comes to ovens, electric is preferred by most professionals. It holds more even heat than gas for baking. Another advantage, especially during summer, is that electric does not introduce extra moisture to your house, as gas and propane do when they burn. Extra moisture means more work (and energy use) for your air conditioner.

A convection oven saves energy as compared to a standard oven. Its small air-circulation fan uses some

electricity, but the oven cooks much faster, so there is significant overall savings. Not all foods roast and bake well in convection mode, so you can’t use it for all oven cooking.

Want more kitchen energy savings? Use small countertop appliances when possible. A small toaster oven uses significantly less electricity than large oven elements. Countertop electric woks and rice cookers are other good examples.

Keep in mind that, during winter, the heat and humidity from cooking help warm your house and reduce the heating load on your furnace or heat pump. During summer, this same heat makes your air conditioner run more, increasing electric bills. This is a good time to use countertop appliances outdoors to reduce indoor heat.

Microwave ovens are the most efficient way to cook individual food items. They run on lower wattage and offer short cook times. But for cooking larger quantities of food, a large oven remains the best choice. Plan ahead so foods that cook at the same tempera-ture can be baked simultaneously or consecutively, while the oven is hot.

Send questions to Energy Q&A, South Carolina Living, 808 Knox Abbott Drive, Cayce, SC 29033, email [email protected] or fax (803) 739-3041.

EnergyQ&A By Jim Dulley

Efficient cooking

Make the most of your appliances while using the least energy

A microwave oven is the most efficient way to cook smaller amounts of food.

When the air conditioning is cooling the indoors, use smaller cooking appliances, like this slow cooker, outdoors if possible.

AM

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By BeCky BillingsleySmartChoice

Easy does it

OFFICE ERGONOMICSADJUSTABLE HEIGHTThe right desk height is critical for ergonomic balance. The Ergo Depot AD17 Adjustable Desk uses push-button electric adjustment to raise or lower the desktop from 26 to 46.5 inches for a range of sitting or standing work heights. It’s also mobile, with lockable casters. $549. (888) 508-3725; ergodepot.com.

UPRIGHT SURFINGIf you’re uncomfortable using your mouse hand in a flat position, try a more neutral angle with the Anker 2.4G Wireless Vertical Ergonomic Optical Mouse. It’s used upright, as if shaking hands, and is suited for Web surfing, gaming and long stretches at the computer. $24. (800) 988-7973; ianker.com.

Arthritis, carpal tunnel

syndrome and other physical conditions

can make simple tasks difficult, but

these ergonomic and userfriendly

devices lend a helping hand.

WHOLE-HOUSE HELPERPainful joints or aching muscles can make bringing grocery bags in from the car or toting gardening supplies excruciating. The Overland Carts C44-6T 6-Cubic-Foot Electric Wagon will carry almost any load up to 750 pounds, and its rechargeable battery can operate up to 11 hours. $1,875. (877) 447-2648; overlandcarts.com.

KITCHEN COMFORTIMMERSE yOURSELFThe De’Longhi DHB716 tri-blade immersion blender runs with one hand and the push of a button—easier on the wrist than whisking. Another hand-friendly function is its included chopping attachment. $70. (800) 322-3848; delonghi.com.

LOOSEN UPLoosen lids on glass jars in seconds with the Hamilton Beach 76800 Open Ease Automatic Jar Opener. The easy-to-store device has a push button that activates two AA batteries to twist and open lids from 1 to 4 inches in diameter. $6. (800) 851-8900; hamiltonbeach.com.

GRATE EXPECTATIONSCuisinart’s CMG-20 Cordless Rechargeable Multi-Grater shreds soft cheeses and chocolate, slices vegetables and hard cheeses, and grates nuts and spices, all with one button push. The ergonomic handle fits right- or left-handed users. $40. (800) 927-7671; zappos.com.

EASy UNCORKINGReplace the frustration of removing a bottle cork with a fun alternative. The Wine Enthusiast Electric Blue Push-Button Corkscrew has a clear, blue-lighted window that reveals the cork sliding out of the bottle neck; on its recharger, the device doubles as a blue nightlight. $30. (800) 356-8466; wineenthusiast.com.

COMPUTING CUSHIONCompute in comfort with an L5V-0001 Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop from Microsoft. The keyboard has a cushioned palm rest and an arc designed for the way fingertips naturally curve. Compatible with Windows 8, 7 and RT, the kit includes a separate number pad and a mouse, all designed to ease the strain on wrists and arms. $130. (800) 642-7676; microsoft.com.

DOUBLE DUTyHaving a comfortable work space is nice, but being able to work out while earning a salary can be thrifty and wise. The LifeSpan TR-1200-DT5 Treadmill Desk allows for adjustable desk heights, plus it counts your steps as you walk on the 2.25-horsepower treadmill and displays the total on its console. $1,500. (888) 311-0332; ergopro.com.


teven Walters looks out at the fields on his family’s farm in Dorchester County, just outside the town of St. George, and sees what’s not yet there.

It’s a humid, buggy morning at the end of July during one of the wettest summers in memory for the South Carolina Lowcountry. In his short career as a farmer, Walters has never had to deal with too much water, and he’s behind on planting several crops because of the 25 inches of rain that has fallen in the past month and a half. With a boyish smile peeking out from his beard, he proudly points out emerging plants that promise to produce Roma II green beans, Crimson Sweet water-melons and Edisto cantaloupes, which have a loyal following.

Young farmers bring fresh energy

and ideas to S.C. agriculture

By susan hill smiTh

PhoTograPhy By miC smiTh


Fa R M I n g I n S .C . BY t h e n u M B e R S

148,000South carolina farms in 1949

25,867South carolina farms in 2011

$11 billionWhat South carolina residents spend

each year on food

$1 billionWhat South carolina residents spend

on fruits and vegetables

90 percenthow much of South carolinians’ food comes from out of state

$160 millionWholesale value of fruits and vegetables sold by South carolina farmers in 2007,

most of which was exported

$1.2 billionPotential added revenue if each South carolina resident purchased $5 of food

each week from the state’s farmersSOURce: “MAkiNG SMALL FARMS iNtO BiG BUSiNeSS,”

cOMMiSSiONeD By the S.c. DepARtMeNt OF AGRicULtURe

“People are always talking about Edisto cantaloupes,” Walters says. “They say the flavor is better.”

Walters, 30, is a new breed of young farmer drawn to this challenging way of

life not to grow mass quantities of crops for commodity markets but to supply high-quality fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products close to home in a socially responsible and envi-ronmentally sustainable way. Creative forces also drive Walters, who used to cook profession-ally and takes an artisan approach to food that favors growing heirloom and exotic varieties you wouldn’t expect to find at the supermarket.

Consider his selection of beets. “I don’t just grow beets. I grow golden beets, Chioggia beets, white beets, black beets. I grow one that’s called Cylindra—a cylindrical-shaped beet. We try to do a variety, so you don’t just have a round, red beet like everybody else does.” Named for a coastal town in Italy, Chioggia beets are striped like a candy cane. It’s easy for Walters to envision them on plates at top-tier Charleston restaurants, because that’s where much of what he grows winds up.

Supplying selective restaurants in a food-centric tourist destination has played a key role in Walters’ success so far and has helped give him the confidence to give up his part-time land-scaping job in May to focus on farming. Even so, it was a big step for the husband and new father, and Walters will need to hold onto his optimism to get through the challenges ahead.

Walters takes an artisan

approach to food

that favors growing heirloom

and exotic varieties.

Edisto cantaloupes and Chioggia beets are two of the specialty crops Steven Walters grows to sell to restaurants and South Carolina consumers seeking farm-fresh produce. He uses a hand-pushed planter to seed crops.


learning and growingTurning the farm into a viable enterprise has been a bumpy path since Walters tried a crop of tomatoes for fun more than five years ago, when he still worked in the restaurant industry. His mother continues to live in the house that sits at the front of the family’s 200 acres and is letting him use the land and equipment, which has helped him avoid the struggles that many would-be farmers face in securing capital. When he started talking about farming as a way of life, she thought he was crazy, as did most of the people he told, but Walters says his mom sees more possibility in it now.

When Walters was growing up, his father and grandfather worked at the Naval Weapons Station full time and farmed on the side. Both of those men have died, so Walters does not have anyone in the family to go to for farming advice now. Rather, he has learned how to grow crops through horticulture classes at Trident Technical College, advice from the Clemson Extension Service, independent research and his own experiences.

He thinks about how he might have saved a crop of blueberries that he lost to stem rot. “I guess if you grew up with family that was into farming, you would know more things like this and how to handle these problems and have somebody you could go to and say, ‘Hey, what’s wrong with my blueberry plant?’ But I have to do it myself, and it’s all trial and error.”

He has also learned that being a successful farmer is about more than growing crops. It’s about selling them, too. Early on, he cultivated a crop of 2,000 watermelons only to go to market in Columbia and find tractor-trailer loads of melons from large farms with already established contacts, so he could only sell half of his haul and just break even. As a small farmer focused on quality, he would have to find other ways to turn a profit.

the new farming familyHis wife, Heather, has offered her savvy in the business world to help him make that side of the equation click. While she grew up in a rural area of neighboring Berkeley County, her family didn’t farm, and before she met Walters on a blind date, she wouldn’t have expected to be a farmer’s wife. She was the first in her immedi-ate family to go to college and turned an early love for writing into a successful career that currently includes full-time marketing work for a hospice agency plus additional work as a journalist.

She looks back to the start of their relation-ship and admits she had reservations about Walters’ dreams and how it would shape their lives together.

“I knew that I was proud of him, and I knew that I respected what he did, but I also knew that farming is not a 9-to-5 job, and I knew that farming is all-encompassing,” she says.

When Walters started talking about

farming as a way of

life, he says, his mother thought he was crazy.

Family land and farm equipment help keep expenses low as Steven Walters learns the art of farming by

trial and error.


“I knew that I

respected what he did,

but I also knew that

farming is not a

9-to-5 job.” —heAtheR WALteRS

Almost two years into their marriage, her realistic approach balances his romanticism. She also pitches in with communications, business development and branding. With her guidance, Walters Farm has a logo, T-shirts and a website (waltersfarmcsa.com), which a friend helped design. And the arrival of Rhett, the couple’s redheaded baby boy, has inspired them both to dream of a line of natural baby foods they plan to label Ginger Baby.

For the moment, they are busy building the farm’s Consumer Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Through a CSA, consumers purchase a share of the farmer’s crops in advance. This gives the farmer seed money and allows consum-ers to obtain seasonal food directly from the farm, which distributes produce on a regular basis through the harvest season, often using a network of drop-off sites. The CSA concept has been growing in popularity for the past 25 years and has started to take hold in South Carolina in recent years.

“We researched the market,” Heather Walters says, “and we found out that people were hungry for it.”

At the same time, Walters Farm has bene-fited from GrowFood Carolina, an emerging Charleston-based food hub that serves as a go-between for local farmers and potential customers, big and small. While Steven Walters previously tried to line up restaurant orders one at a time and still deals with some directly, he consolidates much of that sales work through GrowFood, which is a huge time-saver for him and the restaurants.

“GrowFood was a way to make it work,” he says.

Small farms, big businessState agricultural leaders see the potential for new farmers like Walters to cultivate the increasing demand for fresh, local food while boosting the state’s economy and the health of its people and communities, especially in rural areas.

In December, the South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA) released the compre-hensive report “Making Small Farms into Big Business,” which urges expanding the state’s local food infrastructure and supporting collab-oration among small farms to increase their overall odds of success. It recommends establish-ing 15 to 20 “food nodes,” or clusters of small farms that share resources, such as irrigation systems, packing facilities and greenhouses that can extend growing seasons. It also advises the addition of three more food hubs like GrowFood Carolina.

Agribusiness in South Carolina is already a big factor in its economy, the study explains.

Together, the state’s top 20 farm commodi-ties accounted for $2.4 billion in sales revenue in 2011. But most of that revolves around top commodities, such as peaches, tomatoes, tobacco and broiler chickens, all of which are mostly sent out of state. At the same time, South Carolina residents spend an estimated $11 billion on food each year, 90 percent of which is imported. With easier access to fresh produce, educa-tion and effective marketing, the report asserts, South Carolina residents and restaurants could be encouraged to purchase more local farm products and keep that money at home. Many consumers are already motivated to buy fresh and local, not only because they believe it can be healthier, safer and better for the l l

S e a RC h I n g F o R F R eS h Lo Ca L F o o D ? See the Certified South Carolina website (certifiedscgrown.com/ certified) to look for roadside markets, community farmers markets, farms that utilize CSas and local restaurants that feature food produced close to home.

Steven and Heather Walters, members of Edisto Electric Cooperative, face the timeless challenge of running a family farm with a mix of optimism and marketing savvy.


Eric McClam left a budding career as an architect to help his father launch Columbia’s only urban farm in 2009, and while City Roots has a romantic appeal that has captured the community’s imagination, McClam admits that farming remains a challenging pursuit.

“You are working with a product that can spoil or go bad easily,” he says. “You are dealing with Mother Nature. You’re dealing with markets and sales, and you’re having to deal with a lot of moving parts. Nothing is static.”

Looking back at the mistakes he has made in the past five years, the 28yearold has to laugh. “It’s a passion of love, not profitability,” he says.

Profit is not specifically referenced in City Roots’ vision state ment, which instead emphasizes the production of clean, healthy and sustainable products as well as educating the community about the benefits of locally grown food and environmentally friendly farming. But City Roots’ success has required community buyin.

McClam’s father, also an architect, initiated City Roots after being inspired by a segment about urban farming on NPR. One of the first steps Robbie McClam took was asking the City of Columbia to rezone land in the Rosewood neighborhood for the 2.75acre farm so it could be used for agricultural purposes.

Eric McClam returned to South Carolina from New Orleans after earning his graduate degree in architecture. He expected to stay a few months to oversee construction for his dad yet wound up staying on as the farm’s manager and, as of

January, became managing partner. He wears many hats for City Roots and draws on his past training to make things happen.

“The role of an architect is to facilitate projects, and that’s kind of the role of a farmer as well,” he says.

City Roots now grows 125 varieties of fruits and vegetables. The farm also keeps bees for honey and pollination, raises freerange chickens for eggs and natural fertilizer, and also produces tilapia in a 3,000gallon tank. In the summer, City Roots received USDA organic certification, which is no small feat. An additional 20 acres of family land that the McClams are developing in Lake City also has been certified as organic.

McClam’s marketing skills have come in handy as he drums up business and support. City Roots has an extensive website with a blog by McClam that covers what’s in season, news, and social events such as onsite, farmtotable dinners and “weedandmeet” gettogethers. The farm benefits from volunteer

help in the fields plus collegeeducated interns, and while there’s more to the bottom line than money, McClam admits that he has to “squeeze a dollar out of every part of the farm” to keep it going. That includes renting City Roots out for events such as fraternity and sorority socials and a new effort to host weddings, which McClam tested out in October as he and his bride, a speech therapist, got married and celebrated afterward at City Roots.

“The farm is somewhat an extension of me, and it was nice for my wife to become a part of that as well.” —SUSAN hiLL SMith

For more information on Columbia’s only urban farm, visit cityroots.org.

Founded in 2009 by Robbie McClam (above), City Roots has also become a popular venue for receptions and farm-to-table dinners.

“ you are working with a product that can spoil or go bad easily. you are dealing with Mother Nature. you’re dealing with markets and sales. Nothing is static.” — eRic MccLAM

Eric McClam, 28, enjoys the day-to-day challenges of running an expanding farm operation in the heart of Columbia.

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GetMoreWalters Farm: waltersfarmcsa.com or facebook.com/WaltersFarmlowcountryCity Roots: cityroots.org or facebook.com/CityRootsFarm growFood Carolina: growfoodcarolina.com or facebook.com/GrowFoodCarolinaSouth Carolina new and Beginning Farmers Program: facebook.com/SCNBFP

environment, but also because it can be tastier and less expensive.

These shifts in food consumption are lead-ing more young men and women to careers as farmers, too, but the newcomers are typically coming to it without the benefit of family back-ground, experience or money to leverage into land, equipment and other start-up costs, accord-ing to the SCDA report. In addition to infrastruc-ture, they need training like that provided by the South Carolina New and Beginning Farmers Program, which Clemson University associate

professor Dave Lamie started in October 2010. Lamie’s program covers principles of land

stewardship as well as marketing plans and other skills to help participants become successful entrepreneurs.

“There’s a real need for this,” says Lamie, who also strives to connect participants with estab-lished mentors. “The average age of farmers in South Carolina is 59 now. Trying to find replace-ments for current farmers is a big issue.”

Carrying onWalters knows firsthand that farming requires fortitude. He has watched over his crops in the dark hours of the night to scare off hungry deer. He has endured Lyme disease that he believes he contracted from the bite of a tick he picked up in the fields, and he suffered a gash in his leg in a freak equipment accident. It’s not unusual for him to change his T-shirt three times a day. That’s how sweaty and dirty he gets in the fields. And now he knows that hard work, planning and investment can quickly be washed away through no fault of his own.

The Lowcountry’s severe rains stretched through the summer, and in mid-August, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley surveyed the damage at another Dorchester County farm less than 20 miles away as the state applied for disaster relief funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. With the deluge keeping him from the fields, Walters wound up taking extra work as a crop insurance adjuster to help make ends meet. Yet, he does what he can when it’s dry enough, and by mid-September, he deliv-ered two boxes of microgreens to a longtime friend’s restaurant on King Street in historic Charleston. It’s lucky for him and the rest of the state’s farmers that South Carolina’s climate, while sometimes fickle, usually allows for a year-round growing season. With the fall, he reaped a large crop of greens in spite of a frost scare and started making regular deliveries to GrowFood again.

“I don’t even see it as work, I enjoy it so much,” he said while standing in the fields, midsummer. “I just see the end product in my mind and think, ‘If I do this, I’m going to have the best tomatoes in Charleston, and we’re going to make some money.’ I don’t know. You just have to love it.”

“I don’t even see

it as work, I enjoy it so much.” —SteVeN WALteRS

Despite intense summer rainfall that

ruined most of his crop, Walters was

able to deliver a few boxes of micro-greens in September to chef Stephen thompson

at Charleston’s Prohibition restaurant.


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Dennis Vessage: 79hoMetoWn: born in Converse, he currently lives in GaffneyCo-oP ConneCtIonS: Vess is a member of broad River Electric Cooperative and laurens Electric Cooperative.CaReeR Path: before becoming an AtF agent, worked as a state trooper for the South Carolina Highway Patrol near AikenLateSt PRoJeCt: Writing a second volume of his adventures as an AtF agent. For details, [email protected] or (864) 487-4512.

Chasing white lightningRetired lawman Dennis Vess can’t help but smile when he recalls his first day on the job as a special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. He had just rigged an illegal moonshine still with dynamite and was crouched behind a pine tree when a bone- jarring explosion launched about 30 55-gallon barrels of corn mash into the air.

For the next decade, the South Carolina native chased moonshiners from Mississippi to Virginia and helped destroy more than 200 other stills. Vess, who joined the ATF after a six-year tour with the South Carolina Highway Patrol, quickly became known for his ability to second-guess what moonshiners were up to.

“For me, that was the perfect job,” he says. “I looked forward to going to work every day. I enjoyed working with my partners.”

To commemorate his rough-and-tumble days in law enforcement, Vess recently built a replica still near his Gaffney home and recorded his memories in the self-published book, The Moon Always Shines. Originally written for his granddaughters, the book brought Vess back into contact with his old life.

Last fall, he was selling copies at the Moonshiners Reunion and Mountain Music Festival in New Prospect when two men—their manner and dress suggesting they knew a thing or two about backwoods distilling—walked up to him and eyed the book real hard.

“Mister, didn’t you ever feel guilty ’bout arresting those moonshiners?” asked one of the men.

Vess smiled his lawman smile and replied, “Well, they were all grown men, and they all knew exactly what they were doing.” —TiM hanson


SCScene By Diane VeTo Parham

a gIRL oF JuSt 16, henRIe MonteIth BRaVeLY

shouldered a state’s hopeful expectations in September 1963.

On the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 11, she climbed the steps to Osborne Administration Building on the University of South Carolina campus, alongside Robert Anderson and James Solomon Jr. Inside, the three of them became the first African-American students to enroll at the Columbia school since Reconstruction.

This dramatic moment was just one of many in that era. Only two weeks earlier, on a different set of steps, Martin Luther King Jr. had delivered his “I have a dream” speech in Washington, D.C., voicing a growing public outcry for civil rights. Across the Deep South, segregation of public universities was collapsing—sometimes amid violent resistance. Battle after battle in the courts and in political arenas had led to the inevitable conclusion that public schools must open to all citizens, regardless of race.

When USC, the last of the South’s flagship public universities to desegregate, acceded to the change, it aimed to do so without the riots, pro-tests or bloodshed that had marred similar tran-sitions in Mississippi and Alabama. The state and the nation were watching.

In that powerful, historic moment, the deter-mined young Monteith—now Dr. Henrie M. Treadwell—was keenly aware of the many eyes watching her, but she was steadfastly focused, she says, on doing “what was morally right.”

“I needed to do well and study and graduate, because it would be a letdown to so many if I did not,” Treadwell recalls. “I felt no pressure. This was just something I needed to do, and I knew I would do it, and I did it.”

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After enrolling at the university of South Carolina in September 1963, students Robert Anderson, Henrie Monteith and James Solomon Jr. (left to right) walked down the steps of osborne Administration building and into Hamilton College (below), where they registered for classes.

The University of South Carolina celebrates 50 years of desegregation


She was reminded recently that she had helped disarm the curious and watchful onlookers by declaring that there would be no violence. The new students’ enrollment took place peace-fully, as she predicted and as South Carolina leaders had hoped.

Similarly, in January of that year, Clemson University had desegregated without incident when Harvey Gantt of Charleston enrolled to study archi-tecture. And on Sept. 12, the day after Monteith, Solomon and Anderson entered USC, an African-American Marine sergeant named James Hollins registered for classes at USC–Beaufort, quietly integrating that campus.

“It was past time for the University of South Carolina to open its doors to all,” USC president Dr. Harris Pastides noted on Sept. 11, 2013, at the kickoff event for the university’s year-long commemoration of the 50th anniver-sary of its desegregation.

StaRtIng LaSt SePteMBeR and continu-ing through April of this year, USC has planned a series of events that offer opportunities for remembrance and reflection about this turning point in South Carolina history,

including a look toward the future. On April 11, USC will dedicate a commemorative garden beside Osborne building and wrap up on April 12 with a closing ceremony.

“We wanted the good, the bad and the ugly” included in the anni-versary observances, says Dr. Valinda Littlefield, a USC history professor and co-chair of the committee planning the commemorative events.

“We wanted to commemorate, we wanted to celebrate. We wanted people to understand the historical sig-nificance but also to understand what happened at the time and to under-stand what’s happening now,” she says.

South Carolina’s path to desegre-gation was impacted, like the rest of the nation, by the pivotal 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared that separate schools for different races was unconstitutional.

Here in South Carolina, promi-nent civil rights attorney Matthew J. Perry was fighting on the home front, successfully representing Harvey Gantt in the legal battle to secure admission to Clemson. In the summer of 1963, Perry also took up the fight in U.S. District Court to get Monteith,

Dr. Henrie Monteith treadwell returned to uSC last September for the kickoff events commemorating the school’s 50th anniversary of desegregation.

Harvey Gantt speaks to the media after becoming the first African-American student at Clemson university in January 1963.

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JaMes h. hollins sr. was an 18-year-old African-American Marine stationed at Parris Island when he accepted an invitation, issued to all Marines at the facility, to attend classes at USC’s Beaufort campus. He enrolled on Sept. 12, 1963, the first African-American student on the extension campus. He was also among the first African-Americans to integrate the U.S. Marine Corps.

Hollins died Jan. 5 in Joliet, Ill., where he had worked as a tax accountant for 30 years before retiring in 2006. He was 85.

The USC Museum of Education has created an extensive exhibition, “1963-2013: Desegregation—Integration,” that commemorates the desegregation of the USC system. It is on display both on site at Wardlaw Hall on the Columbia campus and online at ed.sc.edu/museum/1963.html. The website exhibition includes a page devoted to Hollins’ story, as well as pages for each of the three students who desegregated the main campus.

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Civil rights attorney Matthew J. Perry represented Harvey Gantt, as well as Robert Anderson, Henrie Monteith and James Solomon Jr., in their quests to desegregate public universities in South Carolina.

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The number three figures prominently in the garden space that the University of South Carolina has set aside as a permanent tribute to its historic desegregation. The new 6,000squarefoot garden, designed by university architect Derek Gruner, will be dedicated on April 11.

“We’ve got a really nice design that will transform the space into something that’s both present and, I think, poignant all at the same time,” says USC history professor Dr. Lacy Ford.

Located beside Osborne Administration Building, the garden will honor the three AfricanAmerican students who were the first to desegregate USC—Robert G. Anderson, Henrie Monteith (now Treadwell) and James L. Solomon Jr.

A threestepped monument, symbolizing the steps the students climbed to register on Sept. 11, 1963, will be the focal point.

Poetry from USC professor Nikky Finney will be inscribed on the steps. They will lead up to three topiary sculptures designed by South Carolina topiary artist Pearl Fryar and will be linked together to represent unity.

Circling a seating area at the base of the monument will be three stone benches, encouraging contemplation.

“There needs to be not only some celebration and some hard reckoning, but also some reflection about what’s happening now and what we need to do in the future,” Ford says. “So we wanted to create a place of reflection, and we feel like this will be that place of reflection.” —DiANe VetO pARhAM

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Anderson and Solomon into USC.“South Carolina was the last state to

actually desegregate,” says USC history professor Dr. Lacy Ford, Littlefield’s co-chair on the planning committee.

“Fritz Hollings gave a speech when he was in the governor’s office, in part of which he said that we’re out of courts and we’re out of time, so we have to do this lawfully,” Ford says. Having seen the handwriting on the wall, state and university leaders orchestrated a peaceable transition into the era of desegregation.

Within a decade of the universi-ties’ desegregation, Southern public primary and secondary schools would also drop their resistance to integra-tion, in some cases under pressure from the federal government and not always without incident.

Certainly racial tensions did not disappear in the wake of school desegregation, in South Carolina or elsewhere. In 1968, the state witnessed the tragedy of the Orangeburg Massacre, when three students were killed and many more injured in a conflict with police during a racially focused protest on the South Carolina State University campus.

Although USC’s 1963 enrollment of its first three African-American

n FeB. 11, 6 P.M. RuSSeLL houSe BaLLRooM “Building the Future,” networking social and panel discussion of the black experience at USC

n FeB. 19, 6 P.M. RuSSeLL houSe BaLLRooM Benjamin Todd Jealous, former president and CEO of the NAACP

n FeB. 25, 7 P.M. LaW SChooL auDItoRIuM President’s Leadership Dialogue with Diane Nash, founding leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

n FeBRuaRY anD MaRCh Essay contest in public schools for grades 3, 5, 8 and 11

n MaRCh 27, 6 P.M. SPIgneR houSe I. DeQuincey Newman Lecture with Dr. Henrie Monteith Treadwell

n aPRIL 11 Desegregation Commemoration Garden dedication, adjacent to Osborne Administration Building

n aPRIL 12, 7 P.M. KogeR CenteR FoR the aRtS Closing ceremony and arts performances

n thRough aPRIL 14 “1963–2013: Desegregation–Integration” exhibit, USC Museum of Education, Wardlaw Hall

Desegregation anniversary events at uSC

uSC’s Desegregation Commemoration garden

Henrie Monteith treadwell and James l. Solomon Jr. broke ground for uSC’s new garden space during a ceremony on Sept. 11, 2013. the garden is located beside osborne, the building where uSC’s first three African-American students enrolled in 1963.


students had occurred smoothly, life on campus “was not all sunshine and roses,” Littlefield says.

Of the first African-American stu-dents, Anderson may have been most vulnerable to acts of hate and discrim-ination, she says. Solomon was a grad-uate student, a military veteran, older than the others and married, living off campus. Monteith was a Columbia resident with family nearby. But Anderson was from Greenville, the only black male living on campus, and he was targeted by students shouting obscenities and venting their anger.

“People bounced balls at his door all during the night, then they’d take off when he opened the door,” Littlefield says. “They threw things out the windows. They banged on the door. They gave him no rest. They called him names. All sorts of things happened, nasty things happened to him.”

Henrie Monteith Treadwell recalls those days as a lonely time, but she found her own strength and leader-ship abilities grew through that trial.

“I don’t know that I felt welcome, but I didn’t feel not safe or that people were out to get me,” Treadwell says.

She does remember Dr. H. Willard Davis of USC’s chemistry department handing her a packet of registration materials, wearing “such a warm and friendly smile, I could not believe it—but it was genuine,” she says. “I will always remember him as someone who broke the barrier right there.”

tReaDWeLL gRaDuateD FRoM uSC In 1965

with a B.S. in biology and went on to earn a master’s degree and Ph.D. in biochemistry from Boston University and Atlanta University, respectively, with postgraduate work at Harvard School of Public Health. She has had a distinguished career in public health and now teaches at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. Her professional areas of focus—helping underserved people find “health care homes” for primary care instead of emergency rooms, and helping men successfully reenter community life

after prison—are closely tied to the lessons she learned from her own desegregation experiences.

Solomon’s pursuit of his Ph.D. was interrupted by an opportunity to establish, in partnership with a USC math professor, a fellowship program for training elementary school teach-ers. He devoted four years to that proj-ect, followed by a successful career in educational administration and state government, retiring in 1992 as the commissioner of the S.C. Department of Social Services. In his retirement, he serves as interim CEO of the Palmetto Development Group, a nonprofit that promotes economic development in the I-95 corridor counties.

“I wasn’t that concerned about not being liked or being treated badly” at USC, Solomon recalls. “I had a couple of professors I knew were obviously prejudiced and racist, but I expected that, and it didn’t bother me.”

After graduating from USC, Robert Anderson served in combat in Vietnam and later was a social worker in New York City and worked for the Veterans Administration. He died in 2009.

Thousands of African-Americans have graduated from USC since Treadwell, Solomon and Anderson opened the door—a fact driven home to Treadwell as she has participated in the anniversary events. Current stu-dents have tearfully approached her on campus to thank her for helping to broaden access to a college education.

Columbia attorney Tommy Preston, who in 2006–07 served as USC’s most recent African-American student body president, says Treadwell and her trailblazing peers made it possible for today’s students to attend college in a drastically different educational environment.

“Never once was there a time at USC that I felt like I had any differ-ent experiences as a student because of the color of my skin,” says Preston, now the chairman of USC’s Board of Visitors, the first person of color to serve in that role.

Harvey Gantt, now a Charlotte architect and former Charlotte mayor, participated in Clemson’s 50th anni-versary observances during the 2012–13 academic year. His greatest satisfaction from the role he played in Clemson’s 1963 integration is the knowledge that “the opportunity to go to school there or anywhere in South Carolina is much better than it was in my day.”

“The fact that one has access now,” Gantt says, “means that a larger part of the responsibility for getting there lies with the students and the quality of the public school systems.”

Among the spring events planned for USC’s ongoing commemoration of its desegregation will be opportunities for alumni and others from different generations to gather and compare notes on how far the state has come in its efforts to provide educational access for all students, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or other factors, and what needs to happen next.

“There are still inequities,” Littlefield says. “You cannot ignore that although you’ve made progress, you have a long, long way to go.”

GetMoreLearn more about the historic desegregation of the University of South Carolina system and its anniversary observances at these websites:sc.edu/desegregation/ed.sc.edu/museum/1963.html

Now retired, James Solomon Jr. was an honored guest, along with treadwell, at uSC’s kickoff events.

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SCGardener By s. Cory Tanner

BLueBeRRIeS aRe PoPuLaR BaCKYaRD

bushes for good reasons: They are easy to grow, bear nutritious fruit, have few pest problems and make attractive landscape plants.

Give them proper conditions at planting, and your blueberry bushes will produce well for many years with relatively little care. In fact, an early spring fertil-ization every year and light pruning once or

twice a year are the biggest chores. Understanding how blueberry

bushes produce fruit will help you master their fertilization and pruning needs. They fruit on 1-year-old shoots—stems that were produced the previous spring and summer. Sturdy shoots that grow 6 to 12 inches in the spring will produce the best fruit the following year, so you want to manage your plants to produce vigorous shoots each year while not pushing excessive growth.

Fertilizing your plants is a double-edged sword. It encourages new growth, which is good, but over fertili-za tion will result in excessive growth

and decreased fruit production. If you haven’t done so in several years, take a soil sample from around your blueberry planting and submit it to a Clemson Extension office. This is your best way to determine how much fertilizer is needed.

Generally, blueberry plants more than 3 years old will

need about one-half cup of a complete fertil-izer, such as 10-10-10, each year. Spread this dose within a 3-foot circle around each plant in March, just as

new growth begins to emerge. Your plants should

produce 6 to 12 inches of new stem growth by June, but if they don’t, side-dress the plants with one-half cup of calcium nitrate or similar fertilizer. Do not fertilize after July 1.

Pruning seems like a daunting task, but it really isn’t. If your blueberry plants are less than 5 years old, they will require very little pruning. In late winter, just remove any broken or dead stems and weak, lower growth. Stems in the lower half of the shrubs

may be shaded by the foliage above, leading them to become twiggy and less productive.

It can also be helpful to selec-tively remove one or two of the oldest stems in the center of the plant. This allows more light into the center and encourages production of new shoots. Finally, cut back any excessively long and limber shoots during the early summer and right after harvest. This will encourage branching and multiply the productivity of those shoots the following year.

Older blueberry bushes can grow larger than you might like and become less productive. For rabbiteye variet-ies (the most common type grown in South Carolina), this happens after the plants are about 5 years old. Judicious pruning is just what these plants need.

It’s easy to spot the oldest stems on your overgrown blueberry plants—they are the least productive and the tallest. These are the stems you want to remove. You can remove up to one-third of these in any one year without damaging your plants. If you’ve kept up with pruning each year or have plants that are only 5 or 6 years old, you may need to remove only one or two stems. Sturdy loppers will remove these stems all the way back to the ground or to a side stem that emerges a few inches from the soil line. Late January to early March is your best window for this work.

Keep up with these simple tasks, and you’ll have a bounty of blue-berries for summer pies and breakfast cereals.

S. CoRY tanneR is an area horticulture agent and Master Gardener coordina-tor for Clemson Extension based in Greenville County. Contact him at [email protected].

Building better blueberry bushes

blueberry flowers and fruit form on stems that grew the previous summer.

left: Pruning the oldest and tallest stems from a blueberry bush makes room for young fruiting stems. Cut old stems close to the soil surface to allow new fruiting stems—identified by their reddish-brown bark—to grow. Right: Cutting back strong vertical shoots encourages branching and increased fruit production.

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the CenteRPIeCe oF PatRIotS PoInt

Naval and Maritime Museum is the USS Yorktown, a historic aircraft carrier dubbed “The Fighting Lady” during World War II. Visitors can tour much of the ship, long docked on the Charleston Harbor, to explore what life was like for her sailors. Yet the heart of Patriots Point is arguably the Congressional Medal of Honor Museum housed on board.

Located just inside the Yorktown’s main entrance, the museum honors the heroism and sacrifice of nearly 3,500 recipients of the nation’s highest award for military valor.

“None of these recipients planned on being heroes,” says programs coordina-tor Cindy Clark, who leads large tour groups at Patriots Point and has met several of the 77 living recipients of the medal. “They would tell you that ‘I was just doing my duty.’ ”

While it has been a part of Patriots Point for several decades, the Medal of Honor Museum reopened in 2007 after an extensive overhaul and expansion. Using interactive audiovisual technology, exhibits seek to honor all the medal’s recipients, while zeroing in on some of the most compelling stories.

Visitors enter the main exhibit space through a tunnel that envelops guests with gritty photo-graphs and blasting sounds of bombs and gunfire. The sequence moves from Civil War

SCTravels

Heroism on display

By susan hill smiTh

The Congressional Medal of Honor Museum is located on board the USS Yorktown at Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant. houRS: Open 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily with limited hours on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Closed Christmas Day.aDMISSIon: Access to the Medal of Honor Museum is included with admission to Patriots Point. Tickets are $18 for adults; $15 for seniors (62 and older) and activeduty military with ID; $11 for children (ages 6–11). Admission is free for activeduty military in uniform and children under 6. Parking is $5 per vehicle. DetaILS: See patriotspoint.org or call (843) 8842727.

GetThere

battlefields to a World War II blitzkrieg to buzzing helicopters in Vietnam and is realistic enough that combat veterans sometimes bypass the tunnel and avoid its potential emotional triggers.

Individual displays in the heart of the museum profile the heroism of select Medal of Honor recipients, including the youngest, Willie Johnston. A drummer boy from Vermont, Johnston received the medal in 1863, at the age of 13, for refusing to abandon his drum during a disastrous retreat the previous summer in Virginia.

With the touch of a button, visitors can call up presentations on 18 more representative heroes, including the only woman to receive the medal, Dr. Mary E. Walker, who cared for sick and wounded Civil War soldiers, and Pfc. Ralph H. Johnson, a South Carolina native who threw himself on a grenade in Vietnam to protect two fellow Marines.

The museum includes a special display that shows the three most recent Medal of Honor recipients, as well as a remembrance board for those who have recently died. Visitors can use touchscreen stations to explore a recipient database by name, conflict, branch of service, birthplace or special milestones.

“They are all amazing in different ways,” Clark says of those who are honored here.

While it’s impossible to tell the complete stories of all 3,463 recipients, many yearn to do more. The Medal of Honor Museum Foundation recently launched an effort to raise $100 million to build a new, freestanding museum on seven acres of land leased from Patriots Point.

“We’re all working on this together to get this (new) Medal of Honor Museum built in five to seven years,” says Patriots Point executive director Mac Burdette. “It’s such a great honor to have it here in South Carolina.”

the Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest award for military valor and is presented in three versions—Army, Navy and Air Force. Coast Guard and Marine Corps recipients are presented the Navy medal.

the Congressional Medal of Honor Museum is located in the hangar deck of the uSS Yorktown at Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum. Visitors enter the museum’s main exhibit area through a tunnel depicting the sights and sounds of combat.

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MY FIRSt tIMe In noah’S antICa PIzzeRIa, I admit to being a little starstruck.

Having watched Bull Durham dozens of times, I was more than curious to see one of the film’s stars running a pizza joint. On an average day, you don’t run into Holly wood expa-triates in Irmo.

He greeted us at the front counter, dusted in pizza flour and wearing a few more years and pounds than when he played Jose, the Durham Bulls’ first baseman, in the movie. Then Rick Marzan quickly diverted my attention from movie stars to real Neapolitan pizza.

“First timers?” he asked. We’d barely nodded yes when he rattled off his spiel: Only genuine Caputo flour in his pizza crust, direct from Naples, Italy. San Marzano tomatoes, grown in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. A

900-degree, wood-burning Pompeii oven that cooks a pizza in 90 seconds, so

the crust comes out soft in the middle, crispy and charred around the edges. Perfect, authentic Neapolitan crust.

“You’ve never had pizza like this,” Marzan states boldly, “unless you’ve been to Naples.”

Marzan’s modest little restaurant has taken some flak for being short on atmosphere, but he knows the real star of his show is his pizza, not his décor.

“Everybody that comes in here is comfortable here. They know this is a hole in the wall,” he says with a chuckle. “You don’t come here for ambience or atmosphere. You come here to eat good food.”

And don’t come looking for pepper-oni or the routine chain pizzeria pies. Be bold—try the signature Pizza Noah, or “Blue,” as it’s known in house—blueberries, pancetta (Italian bacon), mozzarella and tomato sauce. Or the astonishing Pizza Emma—whipped cream, spicy sausage, mozzarella and

Pizza that steals the show

PizzA MARGHERitAMAkeS 9 12-iNch piZZAS

4½ cups warm water 3 teaspoons salt 10 cups caputo flour ½ teaspoon dry yeast,

dissolved in warm water 1 28-ounce can san Marzano

tomatoes (marked “D.o.P.” or “certified”)

sea salt to taste Fresh mozzarella cheese

(buffalo mozzarella, if available) Fresh basil leaves Garlic powder Grated pecorino cheese Grated Parmesan cheese extra virgin olive oil

By Diane VeTo ParhamSCChefÕs Choice

Pour warm water into a 5-quart stand mixer with dough hook. Add 3 teaspoons salt; mix to dissolve salt.Add 1 cup flour; mix for 5 minutes. Add remaining flour and dissolved yeast, and mix well.Knead the dough by hand for a few minutes and divide it into nine 9-ounce dough balls. Wrap each ball well in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. (Dough will keep for 72 hours in refrigerator, or it can be frozen.)To make the sauce, pour tomatoes in a large bowl and squeeze them by hand until they are soupy (do not use a blender). Add sea salt to taste, and mix well.To make a pizza, preheat the oven to 550; heat pizza stone for 10 minutes. Bring a dough ball to room temperature. Shape the dough by hand into a 12-inch pizza round. Do not use a rolling pin, as this will take the air out of the dough and prevent it from rising. Top the dough with tomato sauce, hand-torn chunks of mozzarella and several basil leaves. Transfer to pizza stone.Reduce oven heat to 500. Bake in oven for about 7 minutes. Crust should be burnt and crispy at the edges, soft and wet in the middle. When the pizza comes out of the oven, sprinkle it with garlic powder and grated cheeses and drizzle with a little olive oil to enhance the flavor.

Noah’s Antica Pizzeria7719 St. Andrews Rd. Irmo, SC 29063(803) 445-1376 noahspizzeria.com

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Rick Marzan’s wood-burning pizza oven is based on a traditional design that is thousands of years old.


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Register below, or online at SCliving.coopYES! Enter me in the drawing for a two-night escape to Clear Creek Guest Ranch in Burnsville, N.C., nestled in the Great Smoky Mountains.

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black pepper. There are pizzas here for more traditional tastes, but the adven-turous can enjoy toppings like smoked salmon, peaches, walnuts, gorgonzola, pistachio puree or chili apricot sauce.

What path takes a man from acting in TV and movie roles in Los Angeles to crafting creative pizza combos in Irmo? For Marzan, it was a little bit about coming home, a little about chasing dreams.

Marzan graduated from Spring Valley High School in Columbia in 1978, then left to play college football, followed by a little profes-sional baseball. When that ended, he took up acting. Bull Durham was a big break, and multiple TV roles followed. But none of that made him happy. Cooking made him happy.

Three years ago, Marzan packed up his belongings in a Toyota Tundra, left L.A. and drove east, back to South Carolina, where his parents still live. On the way, he hatched his plan to open Noah’s, named for his young son and based on the techniques for crafting authentic Neapolitan pizza taught to him by his friend Peppe Miele, a Naples native and L.A. restaurateur.

Noah’s opened for business in August 2012 and serves pizza seven days a week, from 4 p.m. “until we run out of dough.” Traffic and satisfac-tion are high enough to have Marzan looking into a second location in downtown Columbia, plus several more around the state in years to come.

“Since I’ve been back, I’ll be honest with you, I’ve been extremely happy. I’m the happiest I have been in over 20 years,” Marzan says. “I have passion, and I respect my art. That’s what it’s all about.”

He boxes up our leftovers and predicts we’ll eat the rest of our “Blue” before bedtime. If not, then maybe breakfast—the fruit is already on there.


Recipe eDiTeD By Carrie hirsCh

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GARliC CHEESE bREAD StiCkSMAkeS 20 BReAD StickS

2 cups all-purpose flour 2½ teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons granulated garlic* ¼ cup cheddar or Mexican-style cheese,

shredded ¾ cup milk N cup vegetable oil 2 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, granulated garlic and cheese. Stir in milk and vegetable oil and incorporate well until soft dough forms. The dough will be tacky, so sprinkle with flour before kneading to avoid dough sticking to your hands. Turn out onto a lightly floured cutting board and knead at least 10 times. Shape dough into a 12-inch-by-3-inch log. Cut log in half horizontally, then cut each half vertically (4 sections total, each 6 inches long). Cut each section horizontally

into 5 small pieces, creating 20 total pieces. Roll each piece on a lightly floured board until it is 4–5 inches long. Twist each piece 3–4 times and place on a greased cookie sheet. Melt butter, stir in Italian seasoning and brush each piece with butter mixture. Bake 8–10 minutes.*Granulated garlic is a dried garlic product. The same amount of garlic powder can be substituted, but garlic salt and fresh garlic are not recommended.BARBARA phiLLipS, LAke LURe, N.c.

Foods to warm the heart

W h AT Õ S C o o k i n g i n SCRecipeturn your recipes into cash!For each one of your original recipes we publish, we’ll send you a $10 bi-lo gift card. Send us your recipes—appetizers, salads, main courses, side dishes, desserts and beverages—almost anything goes. Be sure to specify ingredient measurements. Instead of “one can” or “two packages,” specify “one 12-ounce can” or “two 8-ounce packages.” Note the number of servings or yield. Entries must be original and must include your name, mailing address and phone number. Entries without a phone number will not be considered. Recipes may be edited for clarity and editorial style.

SuBMIt • online at SCliving.coop • email to [email protected] • mail to Recipe, 808 knox Abbott Drive, Cayce, SC 29033

June: On the grillGrill masters know there is an art to this cooking form, be it the marinade, the seasonings or that flick of the wrist. Share your creative secrets for beef, poultry, fish or vegetable dishes that come off the grill in a blaze of glory. DeaDLIne: MaRCh 1

JuLY: A taste of the coastFresh from S.C. waterways, crab is popular across the state, not just on Lowcountry tables. Traditionalists steam, boil or devil them, while creative types serve crab atop nachos or in Asian-style roll-ups. Show us how you dress up crab in dips, soups, salads, entrees or more. DeaDLIne: aPRIL 1


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AlMoND-CRuStED buttER CAkE SeRVeS 10–12

1½ cups plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

½ cup slivered almonds 1 16-ounce package confectioners’

sugar

6 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon almond extract ½ teaspoon salt 2¾ cups sifted cake flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread 3 tablespoons softened butter over bottom and sides of Bundt pan. Sprinkle sides of pan with slivered almonds and set aside. In a large bowl, beat 1½ cups butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts and salt. Gradually beat in flour until combined. Spoon batter into prepared pan and bake 50–60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then carefully invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. MARy SUe GeiGeR, SWANSeA

SWEEtHEARt SWEEt PotAto PoCkEtSSeRVeS 4

2 medium sweet potatoes 4 medium red bell peppers ¾ cup orange juice Zest of 1 orange

2 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoons salted butter 4 fresh sage leaves (optional) salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pierce sweet potatoes with fork, then roast for 45–55 minutes or until done. Allow sweet potatoes to cool slightly, then remove skins. Cut away any excess fibers or bruised spots. Reduce oven temperature to 350. Cut off the top of each red pepper and set aside. Use a spoon to scrape out seeds from inside the red pepper bottoms and tops. Place peppers together in a loaf pan to keep them upright while roasting. Cut each sweet potato in half and insert each half inside a pepper, mashing down with the back of a fork. In a small saucepan, combine orange juice, orange zest, honey and butter. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, stirring frequently, for 2–3 minutes. Divide the orange sauce among the peppers, spooning it on top of the mashed sweet potatoes, making small grooves so the sauce seeps down inside. Place a sage leaf inside each pepper; replace the tops. Bake for 45 minutes or until red peppers are roasted. Salt and pepper to taste.MARthA BRADeN, hiLtON heAD iSLAND

tHREE-GENERAtioN EGGPlANt MEAtloAVESSeRVeS 4

2 medium eggplants, skin on 8 slices bread

(should be left out to dry) ¾ cup water ¾ pound raw ground beef 2 eggs

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese salt to taste 1 teaspoon dried oregano,

or to taste 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut eggplants into 1-inch cubes. Fill a large pot halfway full with water and bring to a boil. Boil eggplant for 10–15 minutes or until done, then drain well. Allow to cool slightly in a colander, then squeeze out excess water using the bottom of a measuring cup or by pressing with your hands. Place bread slices in a bowl and sprinkle with water. Break up the slices, squeezing out any excess water. In a bowl, combine eggplant, bread, ground beef, eggs, cheese, salt, oregano and half the can of tomato sauce. Shape into 8 small loaves. Place loaves into a lightly oiled 9-inch-by-12-inch-by-2-inch baking dish. Spoon the rest of tomato sauce on top. Bake for 35–40 minutes or until nicely browned and bubbly.LiNDA De MiNNO, BLUFFtON


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Calendar of Events

UPSTATEFeBRuaRY7–16 • “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Easley Foothills Playhouse, Easley. (864) 855-1817.12–16 and 20–22 • “These Shining Lives,” Furman University, Greenville. (864) 294-2125.15 • Soar with STeM, Spartanburg Science Center, Spartanburg. (864) 583-2777.17 • President’s Day camp, Children’s Museum of the Upstate, Spartanburg. (864) 233-7755.20–23 • “Working: A Musical,” Brooks Center Theatre at Clemson University, Clemson. (864) 656-3043.21 • State of Oconee Luncheon, Blue Ridge Elementary School, Seneca. (864) 638-2727.28 and March 1 • TD Bank Reedy River Run, Main Street north of Poinsett Hotel, Greenville. (864) 599-4619.

MaRCh7–8 and 14–15 • “Belles on Their Toes,” Abbeville Opera House, Abbeville. (864) 366-2157.7–16 • “9 to 5: The Musical,” Spartanburg Little Theatre at Chapman Cultural Center, Spartanburg. (864) 585-8278.8 • Junior first LeGO League Upstate Robotics expo, Spartanburg Science Center, Spartanburg. (864) 583-2777.12 • “Seussical,” Furman University, Greenville. (864) 294-2125.13 • “Driving Miss Daisy,” Brooks Center Theatre at Clemson University, Clemson. (864) 656-3043.15 • St. Paddy’s Day Dash and Bash 5K and 10K, Fluor Field, Greenville. (864) 879-6977.

ongoIng

Daily • Art Gallery at the fran Hanson Discovery center, South Carolina Botanical Garden, Clemson. (864) 656-3405. Tuesdays, March 11–April 15 • Sowing and Growing: fundamentals of Gardening, Greenville County Extension Office, Greenville. Register by Feb. 25. (864) 232-4431.Tuesdays through Sundays, through March 29 • Abstract invitation, Spartanburg Art Museum at Chapman Cultural Center, Spartanburg. (864) 582-7616.

Tuesdays through Sundays, through June 15 • “Protests, Prayers and Progress: Greenville’s civil Rights Movement,” Upcountry History Museum, Greenville. (864) 467-3100.Wednesdays and Saturdays • Hub city Railroad Museum, 298 Magnolia St., Spartanburg. (864) 316-6924.first Saturdays • Oconee Appalachian Kids, Oconee Heritage Center, Walhalla. (864) 638-2224.Third Saturdays • Milling Day, Hagood Mill Historic Site & Folklife Center, 138 Hagood Mill Rd., Pickens. (864) 898-2936. Saturdays and Sundays • Historic Building Tour, Oconee Station State Historic Site, Walhalla. (864) 638-0079.Sundays • Sundays Unplugged Musician, Chapman Cultural Center, Spartanburg. (864) 542-2787.

MIDLANDSFeBRuaRY7–16 • “Puss in Boots,” Columbia Children’s Theatre, Columbia. (803) 691-4548.15 • One-Stop Shop Hop, USC–Lancaster at Starr Hall and Carol Ray Dowling Center, Lancaster. (803) 273-9818.15 • Winter challenge Off-Road Triathlon, Dome Farms, Springfield. (765) 481-0938.15 • The Lettermen, USC–Lancaster Bundy Auditorium, Lancaster. (803) 289-1486.16 • “Valentines from france” by the Lake Murray Symphony Orchestra, Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College, Irmo. (803) 400-3540.17 • Woodrow Wilson Boyhood Home Tours, 419 Seventh St., Augusta, Ga. (706) 722-9828.21 • Darius Rucker: True Believers Tour, Colonial Life Arena, Columbia. (803) 576-9200.21–March 1 • “The 39 Steps,” USC Longstreet Theatre, Columbia. (803) 777-2551.21–22 • francis Marion Living History encampment, RM Cooper 4H Leadership Center, Summerton. (803) 478-2645.22 • Tim O’Brien & Darrell Scott, McCelvey Center, York. (803) 909-7313.22 • nature Photography Workshop, Visitor Center at Santee National Wildlife Refuge, Summerton. (803) 478-2217.

22 • Lexington’s Race Against Hunger, Saxe Gotha Presbyterian Church, Lexington. (803) 359-7770, ext. 20.22 • Harambee festival, Benjamin E. Mays Human Resources Center Arena at Benedict College, Columbia. (803) 705-4409.22–23 • Battle of Aiken, 1210 Powell Rd., Aiken. (803) 642-7557.28 • “Sleeping Beauty,” Koger Center for the Arts at USC, Columbia. (803) 777-7500.

MaRCh1 • Party Animals Mardi Gras festival, City Roots, Columbia. (803) 254-2302.1 • “carmen” by the Palmetto Opera, Koger Center for the Arts, Columbia. (803) 777-7500.1 • Joy of Gardening Symposium, Baxter Hood Center at York Technical College, Rock Hill. (803) 324-8296.2 • celtic Woman: The emerald Tour, Richland Township Auditorium, Columbia. (803) 576-2350.7 • carolina chocolate Drops, McCelvey Center, York. (803) 909-7313.7–9 • craftsmen’s Spring classic Art & craft festival, 1200 Rosewood Dr., Columbia. (336) 282-5550.8 • Armageddon Ambush—The extreme Mud Run, Carolina Adventure World, Winnsboro. (954) 552-6256. 13–16 • “Alice in Wonderland,” Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County, Camden. (803) 425-7676.

15 • clarendon christian Music festival, Wheldon Auditorium, Manning. (803) 433-7469.15 • Old friends Barbecue cook-off, Jim Thomas 4-H Horse Club Arena, Bamberg. (803) 682-5805.15 • Southern comedy Show, USC–Lancaster Bundy Auditorium, Lancaster. (803) 289-1486.

ongoIngTuesdays through Sundays, through feb. 23 • Snowville! edventure children’s Museum, Columbia. (803) 779-3100. Tuesdays through Sundays, through March 23 • “Tutankhamun: Return of the King,” South Carolina State Museum, Columbia. (803) 898-4921.Tuesdays through fridays, through March 31 • Submissions accepted for Santee national Wildlife Refuge Photo contest, Santee NWR Visitor Center, Summerton. (803) 478-2217.Tuesdays through Sundays, through April 20 • “Japan and the Jazz Age: Unique exhibition of Japanese Art Deco,” Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia. (803) 799-2810.first Thursdays • Art crawl and Streetfest, Main Street, Columbia. (803) 988-1065.fridays • Bluegrass Open Stage, Silver Dollar Music Hall, Long Creek. (864) 647-0188.Saturdays in february • “By Way of the Back Door,” Historic Brattonsville, McConnells. (803) 684-2327.

Saturdays • Behind-the-Scenes Adventure Tours, Riverbanks Zoo and Garden, Columbia. (803) 978-1113.Saturdays • Historic Trolley Tour, Augusta Museum of History, Augusta, Ga. (706) 724-4067.first Saturdays • South carolina State House Tours, 1100 Gervais St., Columbia. (803) 734-2430.Second Saturdays • children’s Art Program, Sumter County Gallery of Art, Sumter. (803) 775-0543. Second Saturdays • experience edgefield: Living History Saturdays, Town Square, Edgefield. (803) 637-4010.

LOWCOUNTRyFeBRuaRY12–16 • Beaufort international film festival, USC–Beaufort, Beaufort. (843) 522-3196.13–15 • Bi-LO Myrtle Beach Marathon, multiple venues, Myrtle Beach. (843) 293-7223.

14–16 • Southeastern Wildlife exposition, multiple venues, Charleston. (843) 723-1748.15 • cODA 5K Race 4 Love, Sanctuary Golf Course on Cat Island, Beaufort. (843) 593-4871. 15 • “Asian fusion: Japanese Printmaking and the culinary Arts,” Southern Season, Mount Pleasant. (866) 253-5317.21–22 • Horry county Museum Quilt Gala, Ocean Lakes Family Campground, Myrtle Beach. (843) 238-5636.21–22 • Bands, Brews & BBQ, Paris Avenue, Port Royal. (843) 525-6257.22 • Brewvival, Coast Brewing Company, North Charleston. (843) 343-4727.22 • LifePoint Race for Life, James Island County Park, Charleston. (800) 462-0755.22 • Dancing and Romancing Broadway Spectacular with the Long Bay Symphony, Myrtle Beach High School Music and Arts Center, Myrtle Beach. (843) 448-8379.27 • “The evolution of the American Art Market: A Personal Journey with Peter Rathbon,” Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston. (843) 722-2706.28 • “George Washington carver and friends,” Sterett Hall Auditorium, North Charleston. (843) 740-5854.28–March 1 • cobblestone Quilters Guild celebration of Quilts, Omar Shrine Temple Convention Center, Mount Pleasant. (843) 971-0131.

28–March 2 • challenge Walk MS, Wild Dunes Resort, Isle of Palms. (704) 731-1430.MaRCh1–2 • Winyah Bay Heritage festival, Front Street, Georgetown. (843) 546-4500.6–8 • national Shag Dance finals, Spanish Galleon, North Myrtle Beach. (843) 222-6706.6–9 • BB&T charleston Wine + food festival, multiple locations, Charleston. (843) 727-9998.9 • An evening at the Opera, Myrtle Beach High School Music and Arts Center, Myrtle Beach. (843) 448-8379.10–15 • Hilton Head Wine & food festival, multiple locations, Hilton Head Island. (843) 686-4944.14–15 • Palmetto Women’s Show, Florence Civic Center, Florence. (843) 679-9417.15 • St. Patrick’s Day Parade and festival, Main Street, North Myrtle Beach. (843) 280-5570.15 • Artfest, Mount Pleasant Towne Centre, Mount Pleasant. (843) 884-8517.15 • Palmetto Swamp fox Adventure Race, Francis Marion Forest, McClellanville. (803) 292-1900.15 • Shamrock 5K Run, Pope Avenue to Coligny Plaza, Hilton Head Island. (843) 757-8520.ongoIngDaily • colonial-era Building Tour, Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon, Charleston. (888) 763-0448.Daily • Hiking on Beaver Pond nature Trail, Little Pee Dee State Park, Dillon. (843) 774-8872.Daily through feb. 28 • north charleston city Gallery exhibit, Charleston Area Convention Center, North Charleston. (843) 740-5854.Daily through December 2014 • “finding freedom’s Home: Archaeology at Mitchelville,” Coastal Discovery Museum, Hilton Head Island. (843) 689-6767.Mondays, March through October • coastal Kayaking, Huntington Beach State Park, Murrells Inlet. (843) 235-8755.Tuesdays through Saturdays • Horry county Museum, new location at 805 Main St., Conway. (843) 915-5320.Wednesdays • Organic farmers Market, 714 8th Ave. N., Myrtle Beach. (843) 429-0018, ext. 302.

Please confirm information before attending events. For entry guidelines, go to SCLiving.coop.

this poster by Hisamaro is part of “Japan and the Jazz Age: unique Exhibition of Japanese Art Deco” at the Columbia Museum of Art through April 20.


oF aLL the FRIenDS I haVe, RaCheL IS the onLY one Who haS to move cattle before I visit. Other friends might lock a barking dog or two in the laundry room, but Rachel relocates 180 head of standing rib roast.

Once a diehard indoor girl, Rachel has been my best bud since eighth grade, when she didn’t even own a goldfish. The closest she came to wildlife was babysitting six feral siblings. Throughout high school, Rachel never emptied a litter box, let alone mucked a stable. We voted her Most Likely to Stay Indoors.

Then one day, she decided to buy a ranch in Florida and magically morphed into Dale Evans.

When Rachel sets her mind to some-thing, no matter how harebrained, it’s a done deal. One time, she decided to move to Vermont to run a ski lodge, despite a deeply held belief that people who voluntarily careen down snow-covered mountains with their feet nailed to boards are nuts. The downhill crowd swarmed her place. When she found work in New York as an accountant—her only experience being a second cousin who married a book-keeper—Rachel rose to management. So, when she started collecting trophies for horse breeding about three minutes after she bought the ranch, it didn’t surprise me. That’s my Rachel.

Every time I visit, we take a four-wheeler tour of her 250 cattle-covered acres. She proudly points out every calf, foal, mule, cow patty and hay bale on the landscape.

Cattle don’t lead very interesting lives. They may stampede in movies, but in real life, they mostly eat grass and stare at everything that isn’t a cow. It’s all graze and gaze; graze and gaze, day after day.

Rachel immediately put me to work opening every

gate in our path. Since ranches have lots of gates, I felt important.

Like a pro, I swung the gate to the south pasture wide open. That’s when she advised me not to scare the bull. Monitoring my every move were 360 curious eyes—all belonging to enormous, identical animals.

Me: “Which one’s the bull?”

Her: “The 1,600-pound one closest to you.”

About eight feet away, a mountain-ous beast was staring straight at me. He wasn’t dialing 911, but he still might have been nervous. Maybe he just misplaced his phone. Every muscle in my body and most of my cellulite hardened to steel, so if the fright-ened fellow charged, at least I wouldn’t crumple. I could go straight into rigor mortis the moment my heart stopped and save time.

Me: “What exactly does a 135-pound near-vegetarian do to scare a bull?”

Her: “He doesn’t know you.” Me: “Tell him I’ll mail my resume.”Her: “Just don’t move too fast.”Me: “I can’t move at all.”Then Rachel tells me not to fret, because her bulls aren’t

usually aggressive.Me: “Not usually?”Her: “Well, he’s new. We’re not sure about him.” That’s another Rachel trait. She has lots of friends, so

she doesn’t lose sleep over one or two getting stomped to paste by an animal that might need anger-management classes. That’s my Rachel.

And that’s no bull.

Jan a. Igoe writes from her Little River home when she’s not bringing in the herd. Write Jan at [email protected].

SChumorMe By Jan a. igoe

Go easy on the bull


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south carolina living - february 2014

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