March 19, 2018

Ridge Spring News

Harriet Householder

Spring is popping out all over.  Easter is near and Spring Break for all.  There is the Masters that will fill our two Bed and Breakfasts, Gables Inn and Gardens and Magnolia Shadows, and hopefully bring visitors and diners (foodies) to our area.  I bet some will enjoy our  hospitality.  With the support of our Saluda County Council, the Friends of Ridge Spring (FORS) received a part of the ATAX monies.  We will use this money to attract visitors or tourists to our town. THANK YOU, SALUDA COUNTY COUNCIL!!!

The next big event in Ridge Spring is Magnolia Ridge Antique and Art Gathering featuring the Palmetto Tractor club.  This will be held May 19, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.  The Farm is on Mt. Calvary Rd. near the Intersection of Hwy #23 and Hwy #39 in Ridge Spring.  For more information call 803.617.8751 or email magridge12@gmail.com.  Web site is MagnoliaRidgeSC.com

Dotted across the countryside from coast to coast, few symbols represent vintage Americana like a heritage barn. The barn is where farm life is centered from generation to generation and, oftentimes, celebrations held. Each barn has a unique story, much like the Certified Angus Beef brand and its family farmers and ranchers.

In 2018, the brand is celebrating 40 years of bringing the best Angus beef to consumers. The Barn Artist, Scott Hagan, of Jerusalem, Ohio, will paint the brand’s logo on 40 barns across America, an old-school marketing approach that’s a tip of the hat to the farmers and ranchers who created the brand in 1978 and lead it today.

“This effort is a tangible symbol of the valuable, and interconnected, roles our partners play in guiding the Certified Angus Beef brand from farm to table,” says Tracey Erickson, vice president of marketing. “It’s an honor for us to join their efforts in honoring our roots – family farmers and ranchers who have always been at the heart of this brand.”

The first barn was painted the week of Jan. 15 in Ocala, Fla., at Baldwin Angus Ranch, which is located along the well-traveled I-75. Hagan will spend 2-3 days at each barn site to complete his work before moving on to the next barn. Gatherings are also planned onsite with the ranchers, brand partners and community leaders, like in Ocala where Sonny’s BBQ served lunch.

“When I look at a barn, I see it as a canvas and a bit of Americana in days gone by,” Hagan says. That’s why he is so passionate about discovering each barn’s unique story and their intricate, historic structures. Through his own 20 years in business, Hagan has painted hundreds of barns across 19 states, including the Ohio Bicentennial logo on a barn in each of the state’s 88 counties leading up to that anniversary in 2003.Source: Certified Angus Beef

The Ridge Spring Harvest Festival met Tuesday at Town Hall.  New people came  and new committees are forming, new and old ideas abound with excitement in the air.  Keep in mind that  to support this annual endeavor,  we need to increase the flow of  visitors.  Your ideas and willingness to participate are welcomed.  Patrick Arnold is chair and heading up the BBQ Event. 

Juniper: Join us for our annual Easter Brunch on Sunday, April 1st 11:00-2:00 pm. This event requires reservations. Seating times available are 11:00, 11:30, 12:30, 1:00 pm.

I want to make sure you read this information about our town employees and the extras they do.  Picked up off the streets of our town in the year 2017 were the following: Corpses of:

3 armadillos

9 birds,

15 cats,

2 dogs,

1 rabbit

3 snakes,

6 raccoons,

2 deer,

27 squirrels

7 opossums,

  as well as 8 cell phones, 7 hub caps, 3352 aluminum cans and 156 trash cans full of trash.  I say, "THANK YOU!!!!"

RIDGE SPRING UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: Another fine Lenten message from Pastor Ashley and a perfect take away to start a new week. We are at the Gate waiting. Next week we enter. Something to think about.

Josie Rodgers

St. William Catholic Church will hold a Chili Cook-Off on Sun., Mar. 25, at 5:30 pm.  Various chili chefs will compete for the title of Best Chili.  Guest judges will choose the best, but all attendees will be able to taste as many chili dishes as they like and vote on Hottest Chili, Sweetest Chili, and Most Unique Chili.  For more info, contact Candice Miller (CandiceHMiller@eaton.com).

RSM Elem (Rene Miller):  Registration for 4K will end on April 13.  There are limited slots available. 

RSM Elem’s Day of Caring is will be April 14.  If you are good with handiwork and outside projects, we need you!  We are also accepting financial donations to purchase materials and supplies for this project.  Contact the school at 803-685-2000.

The Spring Musical will take place in the gym on March 29, at 8:30 a.m. The theme for the musical is the music of Disney.

The RSME Miss and Master Pageant will be March 22 at 6:30 in the gym.  Admission is $5 at the door.

RSM Mid:  We welcomed a new baby Trojan to the family on March 8.  Iris Alexandrea entered the world weighing in at 7 lbs 11 oz.  Proud parents are teacher Mrs. Cayce Spire and her husband Steven.  We are still awaiting the arrival of Mrs. Lindsey Jones’s baby girl!

RSM High: Congratulations to Lacy Pou for winning 1^st place in the Low State FFA Region Prepared Public Speaking.  Lacy researched and wrote her speech and recite in front of judges and then answer questions after her speech.  Also, Zoey Bryant won 3^rd place in the Creed recitation and question session.  The students’ FFA advisor is Michael Crim, agriculture teacher at RSM High.  The competition took place at Branchville High.

Several members of the RS-M High School Band visited RS-M Elem on Thurs., Mar., 15.  Band Director Mr. Clamp spoke with the 5th grade students about joining the band in 6^th grade, and several of the high school students played their instruments for the students so they could hear what the different instruments sound like.  The high school group then played "The Tempest" and several football short cheers for the students.

Last Friday, sophomores spent the day at Aiken Tech learning about the school’s programs and options.

Review from David Marshall James:  "The Secret Adversary" by Agatha Christie

 Nearing its centennial, Agatha Christie's first Tommy & Tuppence mystery is as authentic a venue as any to experience the glam of the 1920s, London style.

   She takes the reader to The Ritz, The Metropole, The Savoy, and Claridge's.  One of the characters-- a multimillionaire American-- purchases a new Rolls Royce, a mere twenty grand back in '22.

   Then, there's the flip side of the glittering gold sovereign-- bolshevism.  The U.K., wracked by four years of "the war to end all wars," is suffering a severe economic downturn.  Housing is scarce.  Jobs, just so.  Even army officer Tommy Beresford and his childhood bud, Prudence "Tuppence" Cowley, who's been doing the army-nurse thing in a London hospital, are hard by and at it for employment.

   Tuppence has gone through scut and scullery at the hospital, but she's keen to be in the big city, where she can shorten her skirts and smoke her ciggies away from her dad, who's an archdeacon out in the boonies, her mum, and her four sisters.

   Over a count-your-farthings tea, Tommy and Tuppence hatch a plan to advertise for "adventure"-- for hire.  And adventure they find, whirling down a White Rabbit's hole into a plot to overthrow the Crown.

   Christie lays on the cream (indeed, fresh cream was one of her favorite comestibles), with twists and turns done up in a breathless pace.  Her plot rolls like the aforementioned Rolls.  Oh, yes:  That vehicle goes tearing off in a bullet-ridden chase. Bolsheviks pursuing a Rolls-- gotta love that!

   The slang is yummers, yet it's fairly astounding how fresh Christie's work remains. She doesn't loiter in cloisters as Dorothy L. Sayers is prone to do; rather, Christie's kinetic energy keeps her novel in hand, not under the bed lamp.  It's a jolly good show.

Harriet's Garden Tips:  My tomato seedlings are up 3 inches.  I have started Celebrity, Better Boy, and Whopper.  I remember seeing on one of the early Martha Stewart Shows what she did and it still holds true.  She started the tomatoes early.  Then she would repot them and cover them up until only the tops showed.  Then she would do it again and again.  When time to plant outside came she had a tomato with a root system equal to the top of the plant.  My tomato plants look great.  I also have pepper plants. I did get these from the Farmers' Market, but I am repotting them to sell at a later date.  Isn't spring fun.  I will also grow from seed, too. 

REMINDERS

March 30: American Legion Boston Butt Sale

May 19:  The Magnolia Ridge Antique and Art Festival

Ridge Spring Library hours: Mon. Tues. 9:00 - 12:00; Wed. Thurs. Closed;

            Fri. 10:00 - 4:00; Sat. 10:00 - 1:00.

Ridge Spring Post Office hours:  Mon-Fri. 7:30 am – 11:30 am; Sat 9 – 10 am

Recycling Center Hours: Mon/Wed/Fri 1-7; Sat 7-7; Sun 3-7; Tues/Thurs closed

First Thursday of the Month:  AARS meets at 6:30, 685-5783

Every Friday & Saturday:  AARS hours 10 – 4 or by appt, free admission