July 17, 2017

Ridge Spring News

Harriet Householder

Kristy Cheshire: *EMERGENCY*One of my biggest fears has come true: I'm in Kansas for Army training, and 2 of my dogs are missing from Ridge Spring. Ryan came home from night shift this morning to find a hole dug and Tryton and Zura gone. If ANYONE sees them, PLEASE take them in. They are FRIENDLY!! Call me 803 307 1708

Monster Trucks is coming to the lawn at Town Hall on the 21st of July beginning at about 8:45 or just at dark. The movie is free to everyone. Just bring your chairs, blankets, and the kids. The movie is being sponsored by the Art Association, the Friends of Ridge Spring, Cone's Meats, Edwards Heating and Cooling , the Saluda County Chamber of Commerce,  and Rowland Kitchen and Associates. Refreshments may be purchased. Can't wait to see you and Monster Trucks on the lawn by Town Hall. 

The Ridge Spring Farmers' Market is still going strong.  We had 11 vendors selling fantastically fresh produce: peaches, tomatoes, corn, zipper peas, squash, okra, peppers, watermelons, cantaloupe, cabbage, fresh bread, pies, rolls, cinnamon buns and breads, peanuts, plants, and more.  Sherald had baskets of tomatoes that were ripe for canning.  CPT Catering and Concessions should be there this Saturday as well as honey, cast iron pots.

 Ridge Spring Harvest Festival Update:  We are up to 8 of South Carolina’s top BBQ cooking teams! We are capping it off at 15, but if anyone local would like to throw their hat in with the BIG boys of SC BBQ they are welcome to go to our website, www.ridgespringharvestfestival.com and fill out the Cook Team Application and follow the payment instructions and send it on in!   1^st place prize = $750, a custom trophy and their BBQ team flag flown over Ridge Spring for 1 year!

Watson Family Reunion: Save the date for the Watson Family Reunion on August 5 at 11:00 a.m. at the old packing shed behind the Watson House on Main Street in Ridge Spring. The annual reunion is an opportunity for descendants of John or William Watson and other friends to visit with cousins, learn more about ancestors, and visit cemeteries and other sites associated with the family. The cost for lunch will be $20.00 per person. We need your payment by July 21 so that we can make arrangements with the caterer. Checks should be made to Joe Watson. You can carry your check to Joe or mail it to him at 450 Pecan Grove Road. If you have questions, contact Joe Watson at 803-685-7815 or Mary Watson Edmonds at marywedmonds@gmail.com or 803-790-7780.

Saluda County Library Summer Reading Program 2017:  Our Summer Reading Program It is for all ages (even adults).   Questions? Call 864-445-4500 x226.  Thursday, July 20th, 10AM – The Story Ship – Construction Junction Show!

RIDGE SPRING UNITED METHODIST CHURCH:

In June 50 health bags were made and taken to the Christian Ministry Center located in Batesburg. This Ministry services 11 zip codes including Ridge Spring, Monetta and Johnston. Both the bags included: bath towel, wash cloth, soap, tooth brush and paste, bandages, combs and emery boards. We were glad to be able to provide these items but sadden that some of our neighbors lack basic needs.

The Big Red Box (BRB) is on vacation the month of July. Look for information in this column for items to be collected in August. The prayer box is located on the front porch of the Family Life Center (FLC). A church member checks the box prior to Sunday services and prayers requests are added to our list. Located next to the prayer box, are business cards with our new minister’s information and service times. Please take one. Sunday service is at 11 a.m. every Sunday unless otherwise noted.

Our new minister Ashley Buchanan delivered another fine message this Sunday. This is Ashley’s first appointment and she will minister to congregations at RSUMC and Spann United Methodist Church in Ward. We once again made a joyful noise as Ashley led us in worship. Join us next Sunday to worship and fellowship as we begin this joyous journey with Ashley. We will save a seat just for you!

Josie Rodgers

RSM Middle:   I hope everyone who visited Walmart last Sat purchased World’s Finest Chocolate from the cheerleaders; I got a few bars.  They are working so hard to raise money for camp, uniforms, and other expenses.  You can help by purchasing from Pelican’s SnoBalls every Friday night (6-8 pm) until July 28.  Just tell them you are there for RSM, and they will donate a portion of your purchase to the middle school cheerleaders!  Contact Monica Johnson for more information. 

            RSM High:  Several faculty members will head to various places this week for training.  Principal Kyle Blankenship, English teacher Kerry Jackson, and I (also an English teacher) are heading to Nashville for a High Schools that Work conference.  Sarah Hudson (math) and Kelly Bedenbaugh (English) head to the University of Georgia for intense AP training.  The following Monday, I will be attending a training workshop at Columbia College for our updated Teacher Cadet curriculum; I am really looking forward to visiting my Alma Mater and meeting with other Cadet teachers, some of the best teachers in the state!  Other teachers have or will be attending other trainings and workshops.  Our education never stops because we want to do the best for our students. 

The first day for RSM teachers is Wed., Aug 16, and the students will start the following Wed., Aug. 23.  The school calendar and daily schedule have changed a bit, so be aware of times and dates!

The following was written by Nadine Stair, age 87, Courtesy of the Venerable Fredrick Colclough Byrd.

If I had my life to live over, I'd dare to make more mistakes next time. I would limber up.  I would be sillier than I have been this trip.  I would take fewer things seriously.  I would take more chances.  I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers.  I would eat more ice cream and less beans.  I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones.

You see, I'm one of those people who lived sensibly and sanely, hour after hour, day after day.  Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had to do it over again, I'd have more of them.  In fact I'd try to have nothing else.  Just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day. I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat and a parachute.  If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter than I have.

If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall.  I would go to more dances.  I would ride more merry-go-rounds.  I would pick more daisies.

Review from David Marshall James"He's Got Rhythm:  The Life and Career of Gene Kelly" by Cynthia Brideson and Sara Brideson

   If Fred Astaire seems to have been born into top hat and tails, Gene Kelly seems to have arisen from the cinematic seas in a sailor suit.

   Or, in khakis, loafers, and a polo-style shirt:  His preferred everyday garb, which he sometimes carried over into the MGM musicals he made from 1942 to 1957.

   A number of male screen dancers have come and gone (many on to directing, with bum knees, ankles, and arches, though Kelly costar George Murphy even went as far as the U.S. Senate), including such other Kelly costars as Dan Dailey, Michael Kidd, and Donald O'Connor.

   Then there were Gower Champion, Bob Fosse, and Bobby Van, all briefly at MGM during the early 1950s.

   However, Kelly just clicked with audiences, all-American and athletic, handsome and exuberant, and abundant with Irish charm.

   Or, maybe it was his "Pirate Ballet" from "The Pirate" (1948), the most erotic dance from any MGM musical.  Daisy Duke don't have nothin' on Gene's ripped shorty-shorts.  His "Nina" from the same film-- probably his best screen number aside from puddle-splashing and ballets-- even includes pole-dancing.

   During the late 1930s, Kelly became a big Broadway star.  Before that, he practically grew up taking lessons in dancing schools in his native Pittsburgh, where he developed a regional reputation as an instructor, director, choreographer, and performer.

   He tried law school, but had much more success studying dance in Chicago, where he performed at the World's Fair in 1934.

   As his biographers here relate, Kelly arrived at MGM, age 30 and newly married to actress Betsy Blair, at a golden moment in time.  Musical producer Arthur Freed was in full swing, and Gene would also join forces with director Vincente Minnelli.    Ultimately, the trio's "An American in Paris" won the Best Picture Oscar in 1952, up against "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "The African Queen."

   Later in 1952, "Singin' in the Rain," directed by Kelly and Columbia native Stanley Donen, displayed the "MusicalLeo" at its apex.  As the authors note, Kelly's films have been even more popular in Europe, which is largely fascinated by this unique American art form.

   Although he continued working into his seventies, the authors detail how Kelly lost his footing at MGM after the ousting of studio chief Louis B. Mayer.  Kelly longed to appear in the film version of the Broadway show that he originated, "Pal Joey," but that went to Frank Sinatra in 1957.  Nor would the studio loan him out to play Sky Masterson in "Guys and Dolls" (1955).  What could Metro have been thinking?  They could have made tidy sums on both loan-out's.

   Post-Metro, Kelly returned to Broadway to direct Richard Rodgers's and Oscar Hammerstein's "Flower Drum Song" (1958).  Later, however, he turned down the opportunity to direct the film version of R&H's "The Sound of Music" (1965).

   He did direct "Hello, Dolly!" (1969) yet wound up referee-ing Walter Matthau and Barbra Streisand, who were at each other's throats throughout the production.

   Along with Kelly's career achievements and disappointments, the authors cover his well-documented anger-management issues, manifested in a taskmaster's drive and a lightning-hot competitive streak, which drove him to fits in party games and on the volleyball court.

   Were his issues, recalled by many coworkers, the result of a perfectionist personality or of a brooding Irish temperament, or both?  Or of something more?

   In this solidly written and researched biography from the University Press of Kentucky, the authors recount Kelly's happy, sometimes idyllic, childhood in Pittsburgh.  He held great affection for his parents, his wives, and his three children. Thus, the root of Kelly's dark side remains a mystery, especially since he often spoke of his great good fortune.

   Whatever the source of this worst part of his nature, he and Astaire stand unchallenged as the greatest cinema dancer/actor/singers of all time.

   Postscript:  Some of the "Dancing with the Stars" regulars often seem barely able to contain their blazing tempers.  Derek Hough demonstrates a competitive edge as sharp as a freshly honed scimitar; he obviously possesses a visceral aversion to losing. Indeed, if anyone could portray Kelly in a biopic, it would be Hough.

Harriet's Garden Tips:  Friday was the  hottest day so far this year.  So how does your garden grow?  Mine wants to hang in there for each time I try to water thoroughly the garden does come back.  A good rule of thumb is check your plants in the mornings.  If they look wilted then they are really in need of lots of water.  Weeds do not seem to wilt though.  Keep pulling them up.  Many weeds are producing seeds, so now throw them in the trash, not on the flower bed somewhere.  They will be  happy to reseed themselves.  Keep deadheading and taking note of what survives the heat, the sun, the shade, and your soil.  Some folks are planning their fall gardens.  More about that next week.

REMINDERS

All Summer Saturdays: Ridge Spring Farmers' Market

July 21: Free outdoor movie at Town Hall

August 21: Total Solar Eclipse

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

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

Saluda County Library Hours:  Mon/Wed 8:30 am-5 pm; Tues/Thurs 8:30 am – 6 pm; Fri 8:30 am – 5 pm; Sat closed

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

Third Thursday of the Month: FORS at Library at 5:00; no meetings in July and August