Monday, January 18, 2016

January 18, 2016

Ridge Spring News

Harriet Householder

Friends of Ridge Spring will meet this Thursday January 21^st at the Ridge Spring Library at 5:00 PM. After the meeting several of us will go out to eat. Come join us.

Past Chairmen and Chairwomen of the Ridge Spring Harvest Festival and supporters of the Festival are asked to attend a meeting about the Future of the Festival. It is once again time to think about the future of the Harvest Festival. As most of you realize the committee has been having difficulty getting Chairpersons over the past few years. This year is no exception. There seems to be no one willing to step forward this year. Because of your willingness in the past to take on this big event, we need your input as what to do now. We are proposing a meeting of all past chairpersons and interested committee members to come together on January 31 at 3:00 at the Ridge Spring Library to discuss the festival’s future. Mayor Pat Asbill will chair the meeting. We are trying to make sure we have all the past chairs listed. Help us get your name.

On Wednesday I read an article about winter salads and guess whose recipe was used plus an interview? Brandon Velie... He and his wife Jeanne Velie own and run Juniper Restaurant in Ridge Spring (as we all know). The emphasis on local produce was apparent and so good for all. He used local baby kale, toasted Nut House pecans and Trail Ridge Farm Goat Cheese salad with Cranberry-Ginger Vinaigrette. You can make the salad the main course by adding protein such as chicken, or South Carolina Shrimp. The recipe for the vinaigrette is fabulous too.

Joyce and Preston: Our daughter Roz's youth group won the Community Service Award and the $1000.They also won "Best Overall Performance" among more than 200 groups in Atlanta this weekend! Thank you so much for your vote and your prayers!

A reminder of the story:Rozalynn Fulton is the daughter of Joyce Bell Winkler and Preston Winkler, and the first granddaughter of Mrs. Annie Mae Bell, and is the Education Director of an amazing youth theatre group in Greensboro, NC. Last October when Rozalynn mentioned to her youth group that she once lived in a section of Columbia that was flooded, they wanted to do something to help. They began organizing donations to send to the people in Columbia. When Rozalynn told her sister Jennifer McLeod-Gantt (who lives in Columbia about this, Jennifer began working with her team to put together a give-away initiative. Jennifer is a Social Worker and Manager at Palmetto Health and works with a program to assist families in need. On Nov. 11 with a large U-Haul from Greensboro filled with items, Rozalynn, along with her husband, children and 5 youth from the theatre, delivered the goods for the Midlands families at the give-away location. Because of their community outreach, Rozalynn's theatre group is being recognized as 1 of 5 youth theatre groups nationally (out of more than 200) for a community service award.

Ridge Spring United Methodist Church: The month of January the Big Red Box is hungry for non perishable food items suitable for a back pack. Yep, let’s try and make sure no young person and/or their family go without food over the weekend. RSUMC works with Bethal Baptist Church in their Back Pack Ministry. If you would like to help leave your donations on the FLC porch and a member will make sure they find their way into the BRB. Don’t forget RSUMC has a Face Book page. Please visit and like us.

Teaser Alert: RSUMC is working a project for Spring. Not going to give away too much information, BUT if you are cleaning out closets and plan to take shoes, any wearable shoes, to donate please save them. Services are every Sunday at 11 a.m. RSUMC also has service on Sunday with the months with 5 Sundays. Join us for fellowship and some of the most uplifting and thoughtful messages you’ll ever hear.

Ridge Spring Elementary School Rene Miller

New Reading Program: We are excited to announce that our school is implementing READ 180 Next Generation and System 44 Next Generation, innovative reading intervention programs by Scholastic. READ 180 and System 44 are research-based programs with proven results in raising student reading achievement. These programs use cutting-edge technology to deliver individualized reading instruction, provide valuable skills practice, and motivate students to become confident readers. In our READ 180 and System 44 classes, your child will see that he or she can attain reading success while being challenged to work hard.

First in Math: Our students are competing against themselves, students in our school, and all across the nation to boost their math skills. We will update biweekly in the school newsletter to let you know who is in the lead within our school. For the week ending January 8: Our school has completed 433,554 math problems. We have earned 144,518 stickers. The team of the week is Mrs. Wilson’s 5th grade class. The player of the week is Dustin Hutto. He earned 358 stickers. He is in Mrs. Wilson’s 5^th grade class.

The top team for each grade level is: Kindergarten: Mrs. Havird’s class; 1st Grade: Mrs. Kerby’s class; 2nd Grade: Ms. Martin’s class; 3rd Grade: Mrs. Dressel’s class; 4th Grade: Mrs. Byers’ class; and 5th Grade: Mrs. Wilson’s class.

Josie Rodgers:

Happy anniversary to my loving husband! We've been married for 16 years on Jan. 15.

Brenda Crute received a wonderful surprise this Christmas! Her son, PFC Jared Crute, came home to visit her Dec. 20 for her birthday! Mrs. Crute had no idea! He headed back to Germany on Jan. 2. Mrs. Crute is one proud mom!

Baseball and softball registration for these spring sports will take place at the Little Peach League Ballpark every Saturday in Jan from 9 am to 1 pm. Parents must register their own children and pay the fees at registration—no exceptions. Players must bring the child’s birth certificate for proof of age. All parents must also work in the concession stand and provide team snacks at least once during the season. For more information, contact Leslie Long @ 803/687-0857, Ashley Bradley @ 803/645-1433, or Deidra Gillian @ 803/640-3403.

RSM Mid/High: The RS-M Lady Trojan Basketball Team has done it again in 2015! Not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4-peat CHAMPIONS! The Blackville-Hilda Holiday Tournament has been controlled by the Lady Trojans for 4 consecutive years! The RSM Lady Trojans have only been in the tournament 5 years! Seniors Amber Merritt and Porsha Quattlebaum and Junior Mikayla Davis were named to the All- Tournament Team! Sophomore Crystal Preston has been named Most Valuable Player of the Tournament 3 consecutive years! All of the Trojan Ladies played hard every game of the Tournament and earned their Fourth Consecutive Championship Title by beating Bamberg-Erhardt in the first round, Denmark-Olar in the second round, and Estill High School in the final game!

Over the Christmas holidays, teacher Joey Middlebrooks took several CDOC students to the DMV to get their state-issued IDs! Dianna Meade also received special recognition from the district’s SPED dept for her differentiated reading strategies in her Learning Strategies class. Mid school SPED teacher Monica Johnson was also praised for sharing her wonderful teaching ideas at the SPED monthly meetings. RSM is represented well!

The Art Association of Ridge Spring will be offering Beginner Drawing Classes!!
Marilyn Smith, former school art teacher, of Aiken will teach each Saturday morning starting January 16th-February 27th at 11 a.m. for $12.00 per hour. Supplies needed: 12"x 18" drawing pad. Please note: You do not have to sign up for the classes all at one time; you can sign up for the class on any Saturday you choose to attend. If interested, please call Barbara Yon at 685-5386 or Joanne Crouch at 685-5577.

Reminders:

Ridge Spring Library hours: Mon/Tues 8:30 am - 12 pm; Wed., 12:30 – 4:30; Thurs 8:30 am - 12:00 pm; Fri 8:30 pm -4:30 pm

Ridge Spring Library Toddler Time Mondays at 10:30

3^rd Thursday: FORS at Ridge Spring Library 5:00 pm

1^st Tuesday of the Month: AARS meets at 6:30, 685-5783

Wednesday: AA meets at Recovery Works

Monday & Friday: Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings 7 pm at Recovery Works (enter on Ponderosa Drive; park in Visitor Parking Area)

Monday, January 11, 2016

January 11, 2016

Ridge Spring News

Harriet Householder

Friends of Ridge Spring will meet Thursday, January 21 at the Ridge Spring Library at 5:00 PM.

In honor of the Rev Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s. birthday, Ridge Hill Baptist Church of Ridge Spring announces its third annual MLK Community Awards Luncheon on Saturday, January 16^th 11:30AM at the RHBC Community Life Center, 144 Ridge Hill Drive in Ridge Spring. There will be artistic presentations in singing, dancing, and instrumental music featuring: The Dance Warriors, Steven Galloway, saxophonist, and others. All are invited. For more information contact: Ridge Hill Baptist Church at 803 685 7367 or 803 237 8769.

Ridge Spring United Methodist Church: The Church had a meaningful Christmas season. The tree, advent wreath, decorations and messages by Pastor John helps us to remember the ‘reason for the season’. The Church hosted the refreshments for the Green Thumb Garden Club Christmas Tour of Homes and it was a pleasure. The Church and the Family Life Center (FLC) were decorate and open. 60+ people visited the church and were greeted by church members. Some had grown up in the church while others were from other towns, this being their first visit to Ridge Spring. It was fun talking and meeting new friends. Please come back to visit soon.

The Big Red Box (BRB) was filled to brim AND overflowing with collections for the Helpful Hands Ministry the month of December. Non perishable food items were delivered to their new location. Took two church member several trips to bring all the food into the building. Well done food angels and church members.

The month of January the Big Red Box is hungry for non perishable food items suitable for a back pack. Yep, let’s try and make sure no young person and/or their family go without food over the weekend. RSUMC works with Bethal Baptist Church in their Back Pack Ministry. If you would like to help leave your donations on the FLC porch and a member will make sure they find their way into the BRB. Don’t forget RSUMC has a Face Book page. Please visit and like us.

Teaser Alert: RSUMC is working a project for Spring. Not going to give away too much information, BUT if you are cleaning out closets and plan to take shoes, any wearable shoes, to donate please save them. More information on this community wide outreach effort during the upcoming months… RSUMC is always looking for ways to help our community. If you see a need or know of something that we might help, please contact us. Services are every Sunday at 11 a.m. RSUMC also has service on Sunday with the months with 5 Sundays. Join us for fellowship and some of the most uplifting and thoughtful messages you’ll ever hear.

Denise Boatwright and Cookies for Dabo: I started taking cookies to Coach and his brother, Tracy Swinney, a couple of years ago after Dabo signed the tailgate of my truck. Last summer at Coach Swinney’s annual Ladies Football Clinic, Tracy and I talked about bringing cookies to the coaches Clemson’s home games. I said I would, so the “tradition” began. I have been delivering cookies to the coaches before each of the home games this year. Sometimes they even ask for a gallon of milk as well. Usually before I get out of the parking lot after the game, the coaches have already put their order in for the next game. I started telling them, “I’ll keep bringing cookies as long as we keep winning!” Tracy texted me last week about bringing cookies before they left for Arizona to play in the National Championship Game. I asked him what kind they wanted and I told him I would get back with him about a date.

On Wednesday, January 6^th, Stacy Chambers (wife of Pastor John Chambers, Ridge Spring Baptist Church) and I went to Clemson to deliver cookies to the coaches. We parked at the entrance to gate 13 and went to the back door of the offices where Tracy met us. As we walked in with the cookies, Coach Swinney was going into the conference room for a meeting when he spied the cookies. He noticed the cookies and gave me a hug. Tracy introduced Stacy to Dabo and he shook hands with her and said he was glad to meet her before going into his meeting. Stacy got to go into Dabo’s office and sit in his chair. The pictures have the Orange Bowl Trophy and the ACC Championship Trophy in the background. We had a wonderful day and will probably be making another trip to Clemson very soon with more cookies!

Joyce and Preston Bell: Rozalynn Fulton is the daughter of Joyce Bell Winkler and Preston Winkler, and the first granddaughter of Mrs. Annie Mae Bell, and is the Education Director of an amazing youth theatre group in Greensboro, NC.

Last October when Rozalynn mentioned to her youth group that she once lived in a section of Columbia that was flooded, they wanted to do something to help. They began organizing donations to send to the people in Columbia. When Rozalynn told her sister Jennifer McLeod-Gantt (who lives in Columbia about this, Jennifer began working with her team to put together a give-away initiative. Jennifer is a Social Worker and Manager at Palmetto Health and works with a program to assist families in need.

On Nov. 11 with a large U-Haul from Greensboro filled with items, Rozalynn, along with her husband, children and 5 youth from the theatre, delivered the goods for the Midlands families at the give-away location. Because of their community outreach, Rozalynn's theatre group is being recognized as 1 of 5 youth theatre groups nationally (out of more than 200) for a community service award.

Watercolor Classes: Jan. 7 - Feb.11, Thurs.-6 week, $75. Instructor, Judy Adamick at Barn Studio, Ward, SC Call 803 685.5814

Harriet’s Garden: Regular business hours will begin February first just in time for Valentine’s Day. I will also have guest writers for the month of January.

From David James reviews: Note that “Luise” is correct

One year ago this just-past December 30^th, Luise Rainer died, age 104. The news tumbled to the wayside, as she is largely forgotten today, except to film buffs, as she bailed out of her MGM contract in 1938, leaving studio head Louis B. Mayer steaming from the ears.

Almost 80 years later, Rainer remains the only actress to win back-to-back Best Actress Academy Awards, for “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936) and “The Good Earth” (1937). Had she lingered at MGM, she would have had her pick of the roles vacated by Greta Garbo and Norma Shearer, both of whom retired from the screen in 1942, back when being 40 was the old 40, at least for leading ladies who didn’t care to portray matrons with adult children.

Billy Wilder wanted Shearer to take the role of Norma Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard” (1950), with Montgomery Clift in what became the William Holden part. Both passed on what would have been an even-more-must-see classic. Gloria Swanson has always struck me as a middle-aged trick-or-treater, while Holden, a fine actor, seems about ten years too old for his role. The viewer is inclined to think, “He really should know better.” Clift always seems like a lost soul in his early films, particularly “A Place in the Sun” (1951).

Author and University of South Carolina alumnus Sam Staggs recounts the history of “Sunset Boulevard” in his “Close-up on ‘Sunset Boulevard’” (2002). Staggs has written a half-dozen excellent studies of classic films, always dotting his “i’s,” crossing his “t’s,” and tailing his “q’s.”

His most recent book is a captivating biography of one of the 20^th century’s greatest party-givers to the highfaluting, “Inventing Elsa Maxwell” (2012).

Sad to note the passing this year of Bobbie Jo Bradley of “Petticoat Junction.” I’ll always think of Lori Saunders, still living, as Bobbie Jo, so I was flabbergasted to learn that Saunders had been preceded in the role by Pat Woodell, who died in 2015. I knew the late Meredith MacRae (Billie Jo Bradley) had been preceded by Gunilla Hutton, but come to find out, there was a third Billie Jo—Jeannine Riley! Linda Kaye Henning, still living, held the role of Betty Jo Bradley for the run of the series, but star Bea Benaderet succumbed to cancer in 1967, so the producers brought in that ubiquitous TV star of the 1960s, June Lockhart.

Lockhart, now 90, is also an MGM alumna, having appeared in such classics as “Meet Me in St. Louis” (1944, as Lucille Ballard) and “The Yearling” (1946, as Twink Weatherby). It may be a record for a long-running (non-ensemble) TV series, to have lost four major cast members and still barrel on, like The Cannonball Express on a full head of steam. An even greater wonder is that CBS nodded past the naming of “Hooterville.” Eva Gabor, who portrayed Lisa Douglas on the crossover series “Green Acres,” malapropped it into “Hootersville,” as if no one had gotten the point.

Before long, we’ll be noting the passing of “Reality Stars,” a fair number of whom now hail from the South. Todd Chrisley, of Seneca, SC, stars in “Chrisley Knows Best,” which can be viewed on the USA cable channel. He and his family reside Somewhere in Greater Atlanta, and four of his five children have now departed the household, with good reason, given his shrill, overbearing nature. His wife, Julie, is becoming increasingly vituperative herself, although his children are largely pleasant if not vacuous, and Todd’s mother, transplanted as well from Seneca, copes with the requisite family dysfunctions with an assortment of alcoholic beverages.

Reminders:

Ridge Spring Library hours: Mon/Tues 8:30 am - 12 pm; Wed., 12:30 – 4:30; Thurs 8:30 am - 12:00 pm; Fri 8:30 pm -4:30 pm

Ridge Spring Library Toddler Time Mondays at 10:30

3^rd Thursday: FORS at Ridge Spring Library 5:00 pm

1^st Tuesday of the Month: AARS meets at 6:30, 685-5783

Wednesday: AA meets at Recovery Works

Monday & Friday: Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings 7 pm at Recovery Works (enter on Ponderosa Drive; park in Visitor Parking Area)

Monday, January 4, 2016

January 4, 2016

Ridge Spring News

Harriet Householder

Sometimes the Ridge Spring News seems to be a repeat of what was in the column the week before. That does happen for I want to make sure you heard about the event. It is really amazing what all is going on in our small town.

I also take the month of January off and have a guest columnist. Thanks to David James for this help.

Friends of Ridge Spring will have their first of the year meeting January 21^st at 5:00 PM at the Ridge Spring Library.

The Art Association of Ridge Spring will be offering a beginning drawing class starting January 16th at the Art Center. Marilyn Smith, a former school art teacher, of Aiken will teach each Saturday morning at 11 o'clock for $12.00 per hour. She will have the class each Saturday starting January 16 -February 27. 2016. for ages 16 and up. All the supplies you will need is 12x18 drawing pad. If interested, please call Barbara Yon at 685-5386 or Joanne Crouch at 685 5577. The Ridge Spring Art Gallery sponsored by AARS will be closed for the month of January except for classes.

I took our grandchildren to Juniper Restaurant for lunch on Saturday. As we left I saw some friends and stopped to speak. As we left my grandson Carter said “Mammie, you always know someone in Juniper and stop to talk.” I could not help but smile for it was true. It is the small town atmosphere where the old and the new people are welcomed.

Did you know that you can get breakfast at Watsonia’s Peaches and Such each morning at 7:00 AM? It is a nice start for the day.

On Saturday, January 9Th 10:00 am – 1:00 pm The Social Ministry Committee is hosting A PAINT AND PACK PARTY FOR ICARE : “I CARE Ministries” is a local ministry that is helping to transform the lives of young women and children who have fallen victim to human/sex trafficking through rescue, rehabilitation, and God’s love. We will be “painting and packing” canvas bags to give to the rescued women and children.

The bags are packed with personal care items, clothing, stuffed animals, age appropriate devotional material, and personal notes from the individual packing the bag. The cost of each bag is $15 or 2 bags for $25 (The second bag may be kept or donated)

Watercolor Classes: Jan. 7 - Feb.11, Thurs.-6 week, $75. Instructor, Judy Adamick at Barn Studio, Ward, SC Call 803 685.5814

Harriet’s Garden will not have regular hours for the rest of December and January. This is a semi vacation. Plants and seeds do not take a vacation so I will be around and can be reached by my business phone or cell phone. Regular business hours will begin February first just in time for Valentine’s Day. I will also have guest writers for the month of January.

Subbing for Harriet Householder, from David Marshall James: Two literary milestones—one from this past September, one upcoming in February 2016—to note: The first was the 50^th anniversary of the publication of Truman Capote’s “nonfiction novel,” “In Cold Blood,” in which he recounted the murders of four members of a rural Kansas household, through to the execution, by hanging, of the two perpetrators.

Capote’s images seep into “the pit of your fears,” as Rod Serling would put it, and the six years he spent on the book extracted a death-knelling toll on his future literary career, as well as on his sense of well-being. The story behind the rise of Capote’s masterwork vis a vis his personal disintegration has been captured in two films, including “Capote” (2005), for which the late Philip Seymour Hoffman received a Best Actor Oscar.

The anniversary is of note not only because of Capote’s exceptional reportage, crafted into

the stylistic form of a novel, but also because of his being ahead of the curve with his topic. That is, he focused on a tragic event—multiple murders—that has become pandemic in our society, with no “cure” in sight. One understands, on a certain level, crimes of passion and/or avarice. But what of en-masse murders, which are utterly senseless?

His immersion in this case turned Capote into an active spokesman for capital punishment.

To read more of Capote’s fascinating life-- from his birth in New Orleans to his early years in Monroeville, Alabama, to his landing in New York City at age 10 with his increasingly abusive mother and her second husband—look no further than Gerald Clarke’s superlatively researched and written biography, “Capote” (1988).

This February marks another anniversary, the 50^th year since Jacqueline Susann’s “Valley of the Dolls” was first published. “Valley” held the no. 1 spot on The New York Times Bestsellers list for a phenomenal 29 weeks, but Susann’s success scarcely ends there. Moreover, she became the first writer to have three successive novels—“Valley,” “The Love Machine,” and “Once Is Not Enough”—attain that no. 1 place on The Times Bestsellers list.

Barbara Seaman’s excellent biography of the author, “Lovely Me”(1987), pulls the reader in much deeper than any of Susann’s novels. For all Susann’s unorthodox paths to glory, her veritable “knock-up” of the literary milieu of the late 1960s and early 1970s, her ultimate success—following lukewarm careers as a Broadway actress and a TV spokeswoman—proved short-lived, as she knew it would be, as she was diagnosed with cancer before “Valley” was published.

Susann also received cinematic treatment, although not in as serious a vein as the Capote accounts, in 2000’s “Isn’t She Great?” with Bette Midler as the novelist and Nathan Lane as her producer/agent husband, Irving Mansfield. Beyond her impact on popular culture, many would dismiss Susann, although she, too, was writing ahead of the curve. That is, her pill-popping career women fit in rather snugly in today’s America, which has embraced pharmaceuticals far more ardently than firearms.

It’s not surprising that two figures who rocked 1960s pop culture as rollickingly as Capote and Susann did would eventually collide, particularly given their carte-blanche access to TV talk shows in an era that had yet to see the medium carved up by cable offerings. Truman, who became increasingly mean-spirited as he lapsed into his own alcohol- and pill-induced (there ya go, Jackie!) wonderland, announced on Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show” that Susann looked like “a truck driver in drag,” which prompted her to prompt her attorney to fire off threats of reprisal to Capote.

Capote had a saying: “When you start messing with a f-g, you’re in trouble. But, when you start messing with a Southern f-g, you’ve had it.” Thus, it’s fascinating to read his responses to

the numerous attorneys who were compelled to compose such letters for their various and sundry clients, as detailed in the Clarke biography. Susann’s lawyer successfully urged her to back down from the not-to-be-intimidated Capote.

Capote’s brushes with the law included an outstanding warrant, issued by a California judge,

for the writer’s refusal to reveal a source from Capote’s interviews for a murder case. Capote, who was somewhat unlikely friends with Ronald and Nancy Reagan, phoned up then-governor Reagan, seeking help with removal of the warrant. Gov. Reagan replied, “No problem,” until he heard the Orange County judge’s name: “He’s a Democrat, and he hates me!”

How does the story conclude? With Truman dressed as a chorus boy, obscured in Pearl Bailey’s mink coat, on a plane bound from Los Angeles to New York City. You can read about it in his story, “Derring-Do,” in the realization that truth, often stranger than fiction, can serve double-duty as the latter.

Reminders:

Ridge Spring Library hours: Mon/Tues 8:30 am - 12 pm; Wed., 12:30 – 4:30; Thurs 8:30 am - 12:00 pm; Fri 8:30 pm -4:30 pm

Ridge Spring Library Toddler Time Mondays at 10:30

3^rd Thursday: FORS at Ridge Spring Library 5:00 pm

1^st Tuesday of the Month: AARS meets at 6:30, 685-5783

Wednesday: AA meets at Recovery Works

Monday & Friday: Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings 7 pm at Recovery Works (enter on Ponderosa Drive; park in Visitor Parking Area)