Let’s Celebrate South Carolina

“Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morn……..ning! Al Jolson’s version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoJJcixSfjo (if you’d like to listen).  I really like James Taylor’s “Going to Carolina” in article below on whistling (some guy called me a moran for thinking James Taylor was from SC).  Well, I know he’s from NC–but what’s the difference?  When we started out, we were CAROLINA!  Which is the female name for Charles (Charleston)!  I even have a map that shows we go all the way to the Mississippi River.  We were too BIG to handle.

I’ve found a great website for South Carolina.  You can find out just about anything you need to know.  It’s listed to the right called SC iway.net. I use it alot!  In case you haven’t noticed on our new licensed tag there is a website called trave2sc.com (you’ll see it to the right as well).

Also, if you’ve got a minute and you need a pick me up, check out Awesome Photography and Thoughts to the right.  You won’t regret it.  I’m having trouble with this site……I hope to have it figured out real soon!

I started out this year wanting to celebrate the people and businesses coming to South Carolina to live, work, and play…There are some exciting things happening; however, this 2008 has really been different for me.  Being in the RE business, we keep saying that we are readjusting or getting back to a realistic growth pattern.  I went to hear Donald Schunk of Coastal Carolina University (the Wall Business School is noted INTERNATIONALLY) at the Realtors meeting this past Friday; and, WOW, he had good information on our economy.  His forecast was hope and a view of things returning to the early 2000s before we were hit with so many variables…  I’d like to hear more Don!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with safe travels, big turkey, collard greens, dressing, and plenty of family fun.

You do know that if you hit the rss in the bottom right, you’ll be notified of everytime an article is released from LetsCelebrateSouthCarolina.com.  Also, if you haven’t registered for the Jill Strickland framed print, please do so to the right!  We’ll be giving it away at the end of the year! So just do it!

I can just see Sarah Palin trekking across America in a covered wagon.  A true pioneer and an inspiration to me.

I believe that it all begins with knowing who you are.  Sarah knows who she is.  Could you stand in front of the world and describe yourself as a “hockey mom” with the determination of a pit-bull ?  That really expresses the pioneer woman trekking across the wilderness.  She had a vision and was headed there to make a difference.

It all begins with a vision/commitment of your goals for yourself,  family, etc.  Committing to make a difference wherever you are.   In Today Matters by John Maxwell, he says that commitment is only the beginning of your success–you’ve got to walk it out!

I don’t want to be Governor of South Carolina; but, I would like to walk into an arena and have an 80% Approval Rate.  Is that a pipe dream or is that a decision to make a difference as a woman where you’ve been planted?

I’m a wife, a mother and an owner of a small real estate business.  And, what does this have to do with celebrating South Carolina? It’s all about where you’ve been planted and who planted you there!  I’m planted in Myrtle Beach.

I decided over a year ago to do what I could to make my business, city, state and country a better place to live, work & play.  I’m committed to celebrate the good things that are happening and not focusing on the past or the negatives of our state.  So, I invite you to find the good things to celebrate in your life and celebrate where God has planted you. 

South Carolina is a fine piece of land and we’re celebrating it and its resources!  

As I always say, Come See, Come Live! or maybe now it should be , “Come trek across America with Sarah & me! 

Register to win our South Carolina Jill Strickland print (on the right).

This so inspired me and this man is from Bishopville, SC, Lee County! 

Genuine Labor of Love, you’ve got to see this…… Bishopville’s Pearl Fryar.  WOW, Pearl Fryar an inspiration to us all. Watch the trailer–about 2 minutes–it’s worth it!

Another reason to Celebrate South Carolina.  Register to win a framed Jill Strickland Print.  Click on registration to the right. 

Thank you and may your Labor Day Weekend be inspiring and filled with life, love & laughter!

My daddy used to whistle all the time….  I wish I could remember the songs he whistled…  Probably, “Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina.”   I hear the birds sing every day (almost);  and I know they are whistling  just for me????? 

I heard a whistle this past weekend in Augusta Mountain, Marion, NC.  A beautiful piece of land.     As we were crossing the mountain, I heard the whistle sound of the train… Not once but twice.  (I also learned that part of  “The Last of the Mohicans” was filmed right there on Augusta Mountain…A WOW, place!  I even saw the movie on tv last night.)  Website:  http://augustamountaintop.com/

I heard the whistle last week as I was meeting with my friend “Banana Jack” in Loris SC,  around noon.   He said that he heard the whistle just about everyday.  When his son is there with him, they would run down the street to see the train.  He owns www.wlscradio.com streaming country, gospel & bluegrass online.  Check it out! We’re planning a Bluegrass Saturday real soon!

It’s all about Railroads, transportation and the whistle stops across America?  And, did you hear that Warren Buffett had purchased some railroads? 

“Red” Baldwin loved trains and the color red!  Lannie, his daughter and a good friend of mine, used to take him places to see and hear the sounds of the trains.  Maybe passenger trains will make a comeback?!  I’ve never ridden on a train.

Do you hear the sounds around you? Do you hear the music?  Do you hear the whistling sounds? Next time you hear a whistle, just stop and listen for a minute….Take a WOW break!

This doesn’t have anything to do with a whistle or does it!……….I’m going to Carolina in my mind” (James Taylor–another BIG favorite song writer of mine) Going to Carolina in my Mind  Notice the very beginning….you won’t be surprised what he’s doing!

THE SOUNDS OF CAROLINA  and “Whistles” are another reason to CELEBRATE South Carolina!

Dirt roads in Camden? Those quaint little roads right in the middle of town.  I guess that they still are.  I’ll have to check it out the next time I’m in Camden.  They were used back in my day as a place to go “parking.” (Let me preface that.  I only went once!)

In case, you don’t know, Camden is a horse town (Camden’s link to right).  We’d watch the polo matches on Saturdays and Sundays.  When younger I would try to impress people by telling them about the polo matches and the fox hunts back home.    Now I’m just impressed myself about the town where I was born and raised.

In my last article, I wrote about Saturdays.  Now let me tell you about my Sunday afternoons!  All the kids after church would “borrow” a car from one of the parents.. and hit the road for Springs Park (rollerskating & swimming) in Great Falls.  This was a playground for kids of the Springs Mill of Fort Mill, SC.  The road to Springs Park bordered the Wateree River–It was a beautiful ride.  Which reminds me of another favorite song of mine “Groovin,….on a Sunday afternoon”…. Groovin’  by the Young Rascals. Boy, I’m going to have to get around to these places again real soon!  South Carolina is a great state!  I could go on and on about these places. (Oh, we would always make it back for church that night–training union, you know.)

While watching the Kentucky Derby via television this year brought about the beginning of this article about horses.  Events abound in the South; but, horses were always in abundance around Camden.  ”Spring was officially opened by the Carolina Cup!”  The “first” social event of the year.  You know, I’m going to have to find out the history behind it.  Maybe, it was because Camden was a winter home for all of the northerners (with horses)? and maybe they needed a horse/social event to break open Spring?????

Exciting things are happening in Camden now because of all the northerners.  It’s always been that winter home for them; and, just maybe, they went back and told all their friends.  I can remember when the DuPonts moved to town (the Buckley’s were already there) and built a  nylon plant in Lugoff.  The Wateree River has always brought industry into our little town .   WOW to Camden & the Buckleys http://www.buckleyschool.com  Textiles was our #1 industry for years in SC.   Wonder what it is now—maybe hospitality???  I don’t know that it would have mattered what our founding fathers did–textiles, agriculture, research & development, business, education……..we’ve just got a blessed piece of land!  THE reason we Celebrate South Carolina! 

Which brings me back to the dirt roads–they were for the horses!

This has nothing to do with South Carolina, except that my God-daughter, Lana, is friends with Darley and check out what she’s doing now.  http://www.equitrekking.com/tv/darley_newman.php  I’m sure she’s seen lots of dirt roads! Hey, Darley! Have you ever been to Camden? 

I bet my English teach of the 8th grade, Miss Ayers??? is cringing right now if she’s reading this article.  I got corrected on my spelling from my last article.  Thanks again, Elizabeth!

Coming up with a better life today in South Carolina!  Featuring the Roadside Fresh Markets in SC

 (This article came to mind while I was visiting with my neighbors recently out in the front yard.  We were all coming and going; but we always manage to stop and say, “hello”)  Saturday mornings bring back fond memories of when I lived in Camden, SC; Columbia, SC, and now Myrtle Beach.In Camden, SC–Mamma would always head to the country to see family and gather vegetables from the garden, pick wild grapes and blackberries along side the road.  It was really fun but work!  We’d sit out under the tree and shell beans and peas, peel tomatoes and peaches—whatever was in season.  We’d do cooking, canning and eating a vegetable lunch with cornbread that was made on the top of the stove.  A lot of times, we’d go fishing and then come home and cook fish and hushpuppies.  

Columbia, SC—I’d head to the country and look for roadside open-air markets and go looking for antiques.  We’d always look for the round oak tables, oak iceboxes and just good old furniture.  I still have one of those old hatboxes bureaus (?).  It was definitely a rare find.  It seemed like the song I’d hear on the radio, with the windows down in the car heading home, was Rod Stewart’s, “Maggie Mae.”  I loved that song…….”Wake up Maggie I think I got something to say to you…”listen for yourself http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T5hYlUsQ0s.   My favorite part is 4 minutes into the song.  It’s the mandolin which reminds me of the country and heading “back home”).

Myrtle Beach, SC—I’d cook a good breakfast, always having grits and biscuits (which were always on the table while growing up).  We’d head for Caledonia to go fishing (crappie and bream were in abundance). My father-in-law at that time, Captain Frank, would always cook up something on the grill and we’d have something from the garden.  “Great times!”  Today, in Myrtle Beach, I love the feeling of getting things done around the house; but, I can’t get away from going to the roadside stands, getting vegetables and coming home and cooking all those vegetables and some cornbread!  Check out our South Carolina Roadside Market Link: Roadside Markets in SC .  “Wonder what Paula Dean does on her Saturday mornings?” Paula Deen’s Website  

I sure hope that you have fond memories of Saturday mornings and that you are still living them out.  If not, try a new thing and make your life a little better in South Carolina!  Just another way to Celebrate South Carolina!  Tell me of some good things or ideas of how to make a better life today!  Post your comments! or respond back to Nina c21cl@sc.rr.com.

Please register to win the Jill Strickland framed print (to the right)!

Local radio station WLSC 1240 AM is a connection to the past.  Owner “Banana Jack” and his self acclaimed “Mayberry” town and radio station has made it just that.  We celebrate going back to roots that remind us babyboomers of home……  And, I sure remember Andy of Mayberry, Mt. Pilot and Goober (my favorite, besides Opie).  And, “What it was, was football.”  Do you remember?

You can connect to the nostolsgia at www.WLSCradio.com (streaming online) Country, Bluegrass & Southern Gospel.  You can also connect to the Loris Chamber of Commerce at www.lorischambersc.com.  

We’ve just introduced a “Quiet” Nice Neighborhood called Myrtle Lakes North.  It’s just 10 minutes from Loris and 15 minutes from North Myrtle Beach.  Connect to our Coastal Real Estate Connection to see it:  1800ToRelax Coastal Connection 

Small towns are all about South Carolina and this is just another reason to Let’s Celebrate South Carolina.  Ya’ll come visit Loris!  In the fall they always have the Loris Bog Off???!!!

WOW quotes!

“Stopping hoeing “KC” you’re gonna kill that garden!”  That was a quote that a neighbor said to Mr. Nash.  He had decided to help in the garden to get Mrs. Nash in the kitchen to cook his supper!   

Some old familiar sayings have a sweet sound to the ear.  I had never ever heard that one before……..  It got a laugh this weekend as we sat around the den visiting with Mrs. Nash—now 95 years old, still living alone in her home in Bishopville, SC.  I still keep asking her to come live with us—but she can’t leave her neighbor.

Family quotes and memories are so important and getting these old sayings or quotes out in the open and passing them on is just what I want to preserve now and years to come! 

Bishopville has a link to the right……I will mention that Graham and Tom Drayton have a big garden growing lots of wholesale plants, trees, etc. in Bishopville and I see he is building an outlet for his products.  I’m sure he wouldn’t have told Mr. Nash to stop hoeing!  He is only listed under the following link of wholesalers in SC…… http://www.scnla.com/Members_C.html  BUY SOUTH CAROLINA GROWN!

Okay, Johnny Reames, here’s your debut to the world!  Visit Lee County Natives.(a blog)….. you might see yourself Lee County! http://natives-of-lee-county-south-carolina.blogspot.com/  I just visited the blog myself and so enjoyed the JUKEBOX.  Although, it was just a little before my time.   I’d like to see the 60s Jukebox…..late 60s!

If you are receiving this or have the same interest in passing on a legacy….stay tuned or herald in your comments!  All of this is to “Celebrate South Carolina.” 

Let’s Celebrate South Carolina, Let’s Celebrate Lee County…….Come see, Come Live!

“While visiting Seabrook Island just recently, my husband and I stumbled upon this beautiful old tree…..The Angel Oak Tree at John’s Island.  God truly is amazing when you look at nature like this and can say…..”He made all things beautiful…..he made you, and you, and you, and me, too!  (I did get some good pictures but I don’t know how to put them on the blog yet.)

Reportedly the oldest thing — living or man-made — east of the Rockies, Angel Oak is a live oak tree aged approximately 1,500 years.  Read the full story….    http://www.angeloaktree.org/history.htm   (You’ll be in WOW when you look at the gallery pictures.)

I did pick up six of the acorns.  I hope that was okay.  I also met a young family from Florence who just had a baby. Thomas, Alana and Moira.  Alana is from Camden, Thomas from WVA.  Glad you kept the family in SC, Alana.  I’m from Camden, too!  Another reason to celebrate South Carolina……we continue to live here and raise families here!  I’ve added a Link to Florence to the side! 

1500 years old..how amazing is that!  Studying South Carolina history I’ve found that the earliest recordings of white-man coming to North American was in the 1500s.  South Carolina’s actual natives were the Native Americans  or the Indians.  There were over 28 tribes in South Carolina and names of tribes were generally named by the rivers which they lived by.  I wonder how many South Carolinians sat in the Angel Oak Tree before they put up the signs and fences keeping them off!

I’m learning some very interesting facts about my state and I hope you’ll catch the excitement and celebrate SC with me, too.  Don’t forget to register for the Jill Strickland framed print. 

I attended the first ever “State of the City Address” by Mayor John Rhodes (personal friend) and Myrtle Beach’s 70^th Birthday Celebration 1938-2008!         

The theme was “It’s Time Again.”  Can you believe that we have addressed some 518 issues concerning our city’s growth and improvement out of about 589 issues—that’s over 500……  We are something Special!  You can get the full story on Myrtle Beach and its achievements at www.cityofmyrtlebeach.com.  

Can you believe that one of our accomplishments was to host the republican debate and the democrat debate in January 2008!  “First in the South”  All of our municipalities and the Myrtle Beach Chamber produced a world-class event!  Sand Sculptures of the Candidates!!! WOW!    It was great seeing “old” friends (I say that lovingly).  John Rhodes, our Mayor, and friend since the opening of the Myrtle Beach Hilton days; Dr. Sal Rini (delivered my son in 1985);  Ellen Benik Thompson (the first person I ever met in Myrtle Beach), Terry Springs (the daughter of Jack and Sarah Springs—Tony’s Restaurant on NMB) and Gary Loftus (from my hotel days) were in attendance.  I moved here in 1972 and started work at the Hilton (Yes, the Myrtle Beach HILTON) in 1974!  I love Myrtle Beach!  And I believe I saw John get a little choked up last night when he said he loved Myrtle Beach, too!  There’s just something about Myrtle Beach that captures your heart! You can get the full story on Myrtle Beach and its achievements at www.cityofmyrtlebeach.com or you can check out the chamber website to the right.  They’re always looking for civic-minded volunteers to help–get connected! 

All of this is reason to Celebrate South Carolina!  Come See, Come Live!  Myrtle Beach! 

If you haven’t registered for the framed print give-away, click http://www.coastallifestylesofsc.com/print_signup.php

Published by Nina