July 26,  2019

Ridge Spring News

Harriet Householder

The Ridge Spring Farmers' Market continues.  Do come and get some of those fresh fruits and vegetables. Peaches here are the best.

The calendars are getting full with fall or near fall events.  Summer is ending, school shopping is beginning, and the circle of life continues.  Yes, I did go see the new Lion King Movie and the cinematography was brilliant.  I enjoyed the music and renewing acquaintances  with those characters, too.

August 3, Dixie Bell sponsoring a Summer Time Social from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm on the Ridge Spring Town Plaza. This family fun day will include a “taste-n-see” of Dixie’s products, face painting, and the Truly Scrumptious Creamy ice cream truck. They will also hold a book drive for the Ridge Spring Library; bring a book and be entered in a raffle to win a huge basket of Dixie Belle Products

Laura Walker: Community Cat Clean-up Coming Soon!!!!  The Town of Ridge Spring will be hosting a mobile unit from the Humane Society of Columbia on August 5. Due to the threat of rabies and the overpopulation Mayor Pat Asbill and many community-minded animal-loving individuals have made it possible to get your feral cat/barn cat spayed or neutered plus vaccinated for RABIES for a mere $19....right here in town!!!. Benefactors have provided the hardware for humane trapping and then carrying your post-operative patient home in a clean cat carrier in addition to that great deal of a reduced cost. Let's stop inviting the coyotes into town to feed on kittens, let's stop flirting with RABIES, let's show how we really want the best for our furry friends, let's start reducing our homeless pet populations and the spread of disease from wandering cats. It's $19 in 2019, August 5, if you want to reserve your cat's appointment call or write me Laura Walker at (803) 685-6189 tandwalker@comporium.net!  And don't worry if you are disabled or elderly, someone will help you with the traps and animals.

August 31Town-wide Sidewalk Sale.  Main Street will be lined with deals.  Check it out on facebook.  All the shops are participating.  If you would like to set upon the sidewalk or in town Square, let us know.  Information is located on facebook townwide sidewalk sale or town of ridge spring

Saturday August 31 there will also be a Fall Gathering at Ridge Antiques and Dry Goods. There will be fall decorations including hand crafted scarecrows, gourd garlands, pumpkins, sparkleberry and grapevine wreaths, handcrafted log cabins, and candles tot fill your home with the wonderful scent of fall. and  a great selection of quality primitive antiques with Ann Myers, High  Grove Farm, Marie Widener, Primitive Pickens. Stay tune. For more information you may contact Koonm0655@att.net or 202lillybell@gmail.com

Then on September 21st, we have the Magnolia Ridge Antique And Art Gathering. All the same vendors will be there and even a couple more.  The model T Fords and the tractor club will be there.

Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church Homecoming & Revival with Evangelist Bobby Earls

Sunday, August 11th @ 11:00 am with Homecoming Dinner served immediately following the service.  Revival services continueSunday evening @ 6:00 pm; Monday - Wednesday services held at 7:00 pm.  Come join us and prepare your hearts to receive a blessing.

Josie Rodgers

A couple of my favorite girls participated in the SC Distinguished Young Woman competition last weekend. Morgan Berry is a rising senior at RSM High and is North Aiken’s DYW. She is family and one of my Teacher Cadets this year as well as my Beta Club president. Reagan Creasy is a rising senior at Wardlaw Academy and is North Edgefield’s DYW.  Reagan is part of the Wardlaw cheer team that I coached. The young ladies spent a week with a host family in the Columbia area and attended various activities and rehearsals each day. Morgan’s host family was Harrison and Maggie Gray, and Reagan’s host family was DJ and Anna Mills Cox (Annalee’s host family from last year!). Some of the highlights included a luau, western dance night, Blowfish game, trip to the zoo, visits to state buildings, and a tea. On Fri evening and Sat afternoon, the ladies competed in the various categories including fitness, self-expression, and talent. Reagan performed a lyrical dance to the song “Held” by Natalie Grant in honor of people suffering from Lupus. Morgan performed a tap/clog routine to “Twelfth Street Rag.” On Sat evening, the 8 finalists competed once again for the winning title. Though our girls did not make the finals, their performances and experiences made memories for a lifetime. Morgan says she enjoyed the zoo and ropes course and going to the Supreme Court and State House. She also learned a lot about interviewing and met so many girls from across the state. Reagan says she had so much fun that she forgot there was a competition at the end of the week. She thanks her family, friends, Wardlaw Academy, and Chef Bob’s Café for the love and support throughout the experience. Both young ladies advise junior girls to find out more about the DYW program in their county so that they can participate next year.

Exciting news! Palmetto Dance Academy is introducing a new program in development. This class is for special needs children. My granddaughter Leagrace was the first student to participate in this type of class, and she LOVED dance! Miss Heather and her assistants spent hours working with LG and were touched by LG’s incredible love of movement and infectious laughter. PDA says, “She taught everyone that God uses us to show HIS love, no matter our age or abilities. Our newest program will help to bring LG’s light and love to other students with special needs all through our community.” Visit PDA’s Facebook page and find the post about this program. Click on the link to tell your story and help provide insight as they develop this class set to begin in the spring of 2020.

PDA will hold Open House Aug. 5. You can pre-register online! The fee for registration is $35 and is paid through the parent portal created when you complete the online form. If you have any questions, please email director@palmettodanceacademy.com.

Last week Wendy Arndt brought some free pears to the market.  Here is a recipe for Pear Preserves from Thelma Coleman that I found  in the Ridge Recipes Cookbook.  10 pounds of pears, 10 cups of sugar, 2 tbsp of cloves and 2 lemons.  Slice lemon thinly. Peal pears, slice in medium slices.  Place layer of pears, layer of sugar and lemons alternately in enameled saucepan.  Let set overnight.  Heat to boiling point, add cloves, reduce heat and simmer slowly, stirring occasionally until juice is of thick syrup consistence.  Put in hot sterilized jars and seal.  Yields about 10 half pints.

Review from David Marshall James:  "The Escape Room" by Megan Goldin

Four Wall Street high fliers-- coworkers at a prestigious, pedigreed financial firm-- are dropping everything on a Friday evening to participate in a mandatory team-building exercise.

   It's only supposed to last an hour, or so they're told.  There's a moral here about blindly following electronic messages.  In utter words, you're bigger than your phone, your tablet, and anything else with a touch screen.

   All of these corporate sheep have hefty plans for the weekend.  Being big shots, those involve jetting off to foreign shores.  Isn't anyone going to pipe up, "Sorry, I have to get to the airport-- on a Friday, yet"?

   Well, they're all in tenuous positions.  Several major deals of late have fallen through for this foursome.  On the flip side, there's a huge opening at the firm.  Could one of them possibly land this lolly, if they star-play on the team-building exercise?

   No one in this hyper-competitive quartet wants to be the one to miss out on a promotion, or to set themselves up for redundancy.

   So, team-building it is; specifically, in an escape room.  In an "ordinary" escape room, the participants seek clues, working together to find a way out before a prescribed time elapses.

   However, these four don't realize that their escape room is a stalled (read: dangling) high-rise elevator.  Talk about getting shafted.

   First-time novelist Megan Goldin weaves the escape-room narrative (hint:  rather "Lord of the Flies"-ish) with the back story of the foursome, as viewed through the eyes of Sara Hall, an up-and-comer at the firm.

   Sara-- as well as a savant-ish number-cruncher named Lucy-- exists on the perimeter of the team that includes the elevator quartet.  Lucy is leagues too smart for the group, while Sara is fathoms too ethical.  Sooner or later, someone's going to summon their inner Darwin; probably the one person who realizes they're bigger than their electronics.

   Goldin rolls out her story in a clear, direct style often reminiscent of John Grisham's.  The final third of the novel is particularly suspenseful, rife with plot revelations, while the ending is particularly Grisham-esque.

Harriet's Garden Tips: From my "SC Gardener's Journal" purchasing the best tools usually results in long- term savings.  Normally constructed of wood and metal, neither component is impervious to damp and dirt, so the golden rule is to KEEP TOOLS CLEAN. A useful idea for the oft-used spades and shovels it to fill a large pail with sand and pour in about a quart of motor oil;  the spade can then be plunged in and out after use, cleaning and oiling it in one fell swoop. The second rule is LEAVE IT DRY. Wood rots and metal rusts over time.  This includes the handles of the wheelbarrow.  This is experience talking to you. An aid to locating tools laid down and forgotten is to paint the handles a bright color.  This not only makes them easier to find but also protects wooden handles form the ravages of time.

REMINDERS

June 8 - Labor Day in September: Ridge Spring Farmers' Market

August 3: Watson Reunion

            Summer Time Social

August 31: Town Wide Sidewalk Sale

August 31 Fall Gathering

Jeannette Carr Memorial: 864.656.5896, www.clemson.edu/isupportcu, Jeannette        Carr Memorial, Annual Giving Office, 110 Daniel Drive, Clemson, SC 29631

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

Fridays & Saturdays:  AARS hours 10:00-2:00 or by appt, free admission

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

Third Thursday: FORS at Town Hall at 5:30 PM

Every 1^st Thursday:  Audibel Hearing Center in the back room of Bank

Security Bank Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 9-12  1-5, Wed. 9-12

Ridge Spring Town Hall: Monday - Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm, Sat. 8:30am - 11:30pm