June 14,  2019

Ridge Spring News

Harriet Householder

Ridge Spring Farmers' Market is in full swing.  The produce is perfect because it is fresh and local.  Check out tomatoes, squash, and more.  Some of the vendors are Sherald Rodgers, Leonard, Bell and Titan Farms. David Day has Honey ready and will be at the market this coming Saturday. Also, for the first time he will have chunk honey (honey comb in a jar surrounded by honey) This past Saturday there were boiled peanuts.  Going on a short trip this coming weekend but will have more the following Saturday I hope.

Josie Rodgers: It’s a great time to remind everyone that we have our very own drive-in theater right here in Monetta. The Big Mo has 3 movie screens and show 3 double features each weekend. They also have a super concession stand. Gates open at 7 pm with movies beginning around 8:45; it is best to arrive early to get a good spot. The cost is $5 for ages 4-11 and $9 for ages 12 and up (kids 3 and under get in free). For more info, check out their Facebook page or call 685-7949.

This Thurs night, the Big Mo is showing a special premiere of Toy Story 4 on the Main Field and Screen 2 at 9 pm (gates and concessions open at 7:30 pm). The Facebook page says that “the showing on Screen 2 will be an inclusive event for families with special needs children and everyone who knows and loves a child who is differently abled. The regular rules will apply, but we will all be extra patient and non-judgmental of kids who can’t sit still or be as quiet as some other children.”

RSM High Summer Hours: If you should need anything this summer, please note that our school will be open all summer, Monday through Thursday, with the exception of July 2-5.  Stop by any time from 7:15 am-5:45 pm for support with registration or for a tour of our school.

Broadus Johnson interview continued: Since the projectors had fire burning, we asked Broadus if it got too hot in the room.  He said that it actually didn't and that much of the heat went out through pipes.  He said he could also open the window if need be.  He never had any trouble with anything catching fire, though he did comment that the early film was very flammable.  He was often the only person in charge in the theater during a movie.  Hs once had a fight to break out in the balcony which he quickly put a stop to.  He said the funniest thing that ever happened was the time the night watchman saw him and asked why he locked a fellow up in the theater after the movie.  Broadus said the man was asleep when the movie ended and in the dark he didn't realize he was there over in a corner.  The man woke up and saw he was alone.  He went to a window and called out to the watchman who had a key and unlocked the door to let the man out.

Broadus thought he would like to be the projectionist at the theater.  A man working there got let go for some reason.  Broadus said he applied for the job .  The trouble was he was not old enough to be hired.  You had to be eighteen and  he lacked three months being eighteen.  Apparently  he persisted.  He said Mrs. Thelma Herlong told him they couldn't hire him until he was eighteen, but after she thought about it, she said they would train him for three months and then they could hire him. (More next week)

Ridge Spring Baptist Church: June 24 - 28 2019,  Monday through Friday from 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM. This year's VBS is open to children who have completed K-4 and older. If you have any questions, please contact Ashley Fulmer at 803-640-1502 or Becky Wannamaker at 803-413-8885. We look forward to going "IN THE WILD" with you as we learn about Amazing Encounters with Jesus!

“Farm Fresh Faith” Come one, come all to grow a Farm Fresh Faith through a study of God’s work in Joseph’s life during Vacation Bible School here at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church.    We began Sunday, June 2 and hav continued on the following Wednesday  nights, 19th and 26th.     The time is 6:00 - 8:30 pm nightly with suppers served in the Fellowship Hall. There is a place for everyone at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church

Vacation Bible School.

Camp Gravatt Connection to Ridge Spring: The Big Delicious Event will be  held on June 30 at Camp Gravatt. Our own Brandon Velie of Juniper Restaurant will be preparing a delicious meal.  This dinner is the perfect friend outing or way to make new friends.  Camp Gravatt will provide the delicious food and you can bring the wine or spirits of your choice.  Tickets are $50.00 a person.

Josie Rodgers: RSM High: Graduation was held last Friday at the USC-A Convocation Center, and it was, as always, a memorable day. Valedictorian Arturo Contreras and Salutatorian Austin Scott gave speeches focused on moving forward with pride and determination while never forgetting one’s roots.  Congratulations to the new student body officers: President Morgan Berry, Vice-President Nancy Lopez-Reyes, and Secretary Ali Gilliam. New Beta Club officers include President Morgan Berry, Vice-President Johnathan Cumbee, Secretary Joanna Kaiser, and Historian Symia Wilson. New NEHS officers are President Symia Wilson, Vice-President Morgan Berry, and Secretary Joanna Kaiser.

Art Association of Ridge Spring (AARS) News: If you have always wanted one of these beautiful quilt blocks, watch this column for dates of the next class. We are glad to have all visitors to the Art Center but remember the public restrooms are across at the Civic Center (where the playground is located).

 We would like to invite all to visit the art center and please consider becoming a member. We have many jobs to keep the center open and room for you to enjoy your passion in art and help the center at the same time. More members will help us to be open more. And, let members know what you want from the Art Center. We want to make the Art Center a place you’d like to go to! This is the first summer for us to have air conditioning! Thanks to the town!

Tracy Bedenbaugh: We need volunteers to deliver Meals on Wheels in Saluda and a person or two to deliver once a week in Ridge Spring. We can always use people to volunteer at our site too calling bingo, helping serve food, etc.  It would be great to build up support from the Ridge Spring area. Janice Coleman is the new site manager and the office phone in Saluda is 864-554-5499.

Review from David Marshall James:  "Judy Garland on Judy Garland," edited by Randy L. Schmidt

[Note:  In the early morning hours of June 22, 1969—50 years ago this week—Judy Garland awoke and took a second dose of Seconal, according to pathology reports.  A more robust Garland could have withstood the overdose, but she had dropped to less than 80 pounds, 95 pounds being her harsh “camera-ready” weight.  This September, Renee Zellweger stars in the theatrical release “Judy,” focusing on the star’s final major engagement, at The Talk of the Town in London, and the last six months of her life.  Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber has stated that Garland’s performance there inspired “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina,” from his “Evita.”]

This is the eighth book in the Musicians in Their Own Words series-- the first to feature a woman-- published by Chicago Review Press in 2014.

   Judy Garland fully intended to produce an autobiography, notes editor Randy L. Schmidt, yet this is the closest to a full-length memoir "in her own words" that we have to-date.  Subtitled "Interviews and Encounters," the beginning selections are heavy on studio (MGM)-influenced fan magazine copy.  The "fannies" were quick to dwell on teenaged Judy's likes and dislikes, her views on boys and dating, her family interactions (and the untimely death of her father, onetime vaudevillian and theater owner Frank Gumm), and her career hopes.

   Here is Judy at one of the happiest times of her life, desirous of making movies and marrying, but not until age 24 (she first wed, at age 19, musician David Rose, whose latter-day credits include scoring the TV programs "Little House on the Prairie" and "Bonanza," which ironically brought about the demise of Judy's 1963-1964 CBS-TV show), and having a large family, then perhaps walking away from Hollywood at age 30.  Judy was ultimately gifted with the children she so longed for, but marital stability eluded her.  Over the span of this book, we find Judy-- ever hopeful-- starting married life with each of her five husbands.

   This collection contains transcribed TV and radio interviews, conducted by the likes of Barbara Walters, Mike Wallace, Gypsy Rose Lee (who hosted a syndicated talk show during the mid 1960s), and, most famously, onetime "Tonight Show" host Jack Paar.  He brought out the imp in Judy, and her three interviews with him showcase The Legend at her funniest, spilling showbiz anecdotes and opinions on fellow celebrities.

   Other journalistic pieces are fascinating for their details and descriptions, including two Adela Rogers St. Johns articles for Photoplay magazine, done on the eve of Judy's marriage to Vincente Minnelli, representing another happy, supremely hopeful time for Judy.

   The piece de resistance in this irresistible volume is James Goode's three-part feature for Hugh Hefner's short-lived publication (obviously ahead of its time), Show Business Illustrated, which honors her as "Show Business Personality of the Year."

And what a year 1961 was for Judy, encompassing a 42-city tour including a sellout of the Hollywood Bowl, as well as the Carnegie Hall concert, the live recording of which earned four Grammy awards.  Goode parts the curtains on two of those 1961 concerts:  A 14,000-plus stadium crowd at Forest Hills, Long Island, and later at the Newport Jazz Festival, before some 6,500 attendees. 

   The concert descriptions take the reader's breath.  The special quality of this volume is its contemporaneous view of Judy Garland:  Looking straight on at her, not looking back.  In that sense, it's much better than a biography told from the hindsight vantage.

Harriet's Garden Tips: Our weather has gone from drought conditions to overwatering conditions.  See which annuals are surviving and keep a list so you can replant those hardy annuals next year. Same thing for those bulbs and perennials. From SC Midlands Master Gardeners Assoc.:  Last month to plant centipede, zoysia, carpet, and/or Bermuda grass.  If possible water between 5:00AM and 8:00AM.  During drought raise mower blade ½ ".  Root cuttings for fall garden.  Lightly prune evergreens to maintain shape.  Deadhead spent flowers to encourage reblooming. 

REMINDERS

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

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

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

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

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