For love of the flame

Sauce and meat are hard to beat at barbecue fest

July 15, 2007

By LARRY SINGER
Index-Journal staff writer

Standing next to a table overflowing with colorful trophies attesting to enormous barbecue cooking skill, Sally Baumeister, of Greenwood, took her time looking at the menu of Willy T’s Barbecue while deciding what to order Saturday afternoon.
She said she had planned on coming Friday evening to the Festival of Discovery in Uptown Greenwood, but got discouraged by the long lines of hungry barbecue lovers.
“I came down last night, and there was such a long line, I decided to come down today,” Baumeister said. “Greenwood has become an exciting place, especially down here right now with all the food and all the people.
“I’ve been here most of my life and I’ve been to every Festival of Discovery. This one is great. My daughter was on a plane coming from Dallas to Charlotte last week on business, and she met a man from Phoenix on the plane who was coming to Greenwood to the barbecue judging classes. I thought that was really exciting, so Greenwood must be getting real well-known.”
Dean Goldman, from Greenwood, visited the festival for the first time to indulge in the barbecue.
“I wanted to check out some of these barbecue people since I do some of it myself.” Goldman said. “I just do it at home for my family and friends, but I would never compete in it.”
Looking around at the crowd of people sampling barbecue from small plastic cups, Goldman said he was extremely impressed with what he was experiencing.
“I’m telling you, everything here knocked me off my feet,” Goldman said. “I love barbecue.That’s my favorite, and there’s a lot of barbecue here.”
Carry Tucker is a resident of Greenwood and has been to past Festivals of Discovery. Finding a shady spot under an awning, Tucker temporarily parked herself next to one of the many barbecue stands and was delicately tasting one morsel of meat after another.
“This is pulled pork from NE Smokey,” Tucker said. “It’s really good. The sauces are good and the meat is good. I’ve tried several other vendors and everything I’ve eaten has been very tasty. Each one is unique and each one was wonderful.”
Tucker said she comes to the festivals for a variety of reasons.
“I come for the music, the food, and I had read in the paper that one of the vendors had been on the Food Network,” Tucker said. “I forget his name, but it was exciting to see him in person. It’s really neat to actually see someone right here in Greenwood who’s been on television.”
Walt Lordemann, a vendor from Greenwood, was in the process of taking a large slab of ribs out of his cooker.
“This is my third year at the festival,” Lordemann said. “So far it’s looking a lot better than last year, because it’s not near as hot.”

Man bites dog — lots of dogs

Contestants get a mouthful during eating competition

July 15, 2007

By LARRY SINGER
Index-Journal staff writer

The buns were tough and the hot dogs were cold, but no one seated on the stage Saturday afternoon at the Festival of Discover seemed to care.
As the contestants in the annual Hot Dog Eating Contest took their seats at two long tables, Charlie Barrineau, the assistant city manger of Greenwood, and several assistants placed numerous bottles of water, red plastic cups and plates with small mountains of hot dogs before the nine men and one woman who had signed up for the event.
Although he was slightly reluctant to take full credit, Barrineau admitted he was in charge of the contest.
“We usually get 10 contestants,” said Barrineau, a veteran of seven Hot Dog Eating Contests. “You either have to be 18 years old to enter, or if you’re under 18 you have your parents’ permission to enter.”
Based on past contests he has witnessed, Barrineau estimated each contestant would consume between seven and 10 dogs within the alloted 12 minutes.
“Last year we had somebody eat 14, but the Festival of Discovery record is 16,” he said.
Barrineau said the rules for the contest are fairly simple: “They have to eat everything. They have to eat both the bun and the wiener. They can eat it however they want to.”
Some people choose to soak the bun in water to soften the dough and eat the hot dog separately.
“However they want to get it down is fine with us,” Barrineau said. “But they have to eat it all.”
Some people, Barrineau explained, resort to tricks to force the hot dogs down their throats.
“They can stand up, they can jump up and down or they can just stay seated,” Barrineau said.
“They can do whatever they want to do.”
While some of the contestants in previous contests have suffered serious dietary distress, none have done so in front of the audience.
“We’ve never had anyone get sick on the stage, but they’ve gotten sick afterward,” Barrineau said.
When all 10 contestants were seated, and each had a plate of hot dogs in front of them, the official timer said she was ready and the contest got under way.
It wasn’t pretty, but a lot of hot dogs disappeared in 12 minutes, and when time was up, the winner was announced.
With a stomach stretched several sizes larger than it was 12 minutes earlier, Bryan Crocker, of Greenwood finished, and kept down, 15 hot dogs “During the contest, I didn’t think I was going to win,” Crocker said. “I thought I was going to finish in second.”
Crocker said he used no special training technique and did not starve himself before the competition.
When asked how he felt now that he was the new Festival of Discovery Hot Dog Eating champion, Crocker’s reply was shot but not unexpected.
“I feel like skipping supper,” Crocker said.

Obituaries

Don McGill

ABBEVILLE — Donald E. “Don” McGill, Sr., 72, resident of 3084 Lake Secession Road, widower of Tina McGill, died Saturday July 14, 2007, at Willow Creek Nursing Home in Iva.
Funeral plans are incomplete and will be announced by Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home of Abbeville.

Richard E. ‘Chuck’ Ross Jr.

CAMP SPRINGS, MD — Richard E. “Chuck” Ross, Jr., 34, of Camp Springs, Md. died July 5, 2007 at his home. He was born in Washington, D.C. December 10, 1972, a son of Richard Ross, Sr. and Jeanetter Thomas Ross. He was a graduate of Crosslend High School and was employed as a Day Care Director.
Survivng are his parents of the home; two brothers, Melvin Ross of Woodbridge, Va. and Rishawn Ross of Camp Springs, Md.; a Goddaughter, Jamia Cloud of Fort Washington, Md.; a special friend, Lynn Harley of Maryland; his Grandmother, Eula Mae Thomas of Greenwood; eight aunts, eight uncles, one great-aunt and a host of other relatives and friends.
Funeral services will be held Sunday at 3 p.m. from Grace Community Church with Pastor Rod Schultz officiating. Burial will be in Oakbrook Memorial Park.
Pallbearers will be uncles. Flower bearers will be friends of the family.
Online condolences may be sent to pertompfh1@earthlink.net.
The family is at the home of his Grandmother, Eula Mae Thomas 1305 Henderson Street, Greenwood.
The Ross family has graciously allowed Percival-Tompkins to serve them.

Annie B. Townsend

WATERLOO — Annie Bell Stribling Townsend, 63, of 6 S. Ruth Walker Road, wife of Melvin “Gene” Townsend, passed away Friday, July 13, 2007 at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center.
Born in Spartanburg, SC, she was a daughter of the late Marion T. and Estelle Nelson Stribling. Mrs. Townsend was retired from Ceramtec, and was a member of First Baptist Church in Ninety Six, where she was a member of Miss Ebby’s Sunday School Class. She was also a member of Red Hat Society and Hillbilly Clan No. 2 Hejaz Shrine Club.
Surviving in addition to her husband are one son, Lee Terry and wife Donna of Greenwood; one brother, John Stribling of Woodruff; and three grandchildren, Kurstin, Ashley, and Adam Terry. Mrs. Townsend was predeceased by her first husband, Jack L. Terry, Jr. and her sister Bertha Ann Hipp.
Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Monday, July 16, 2007 at The Kennedy Mortuary Chapel conducted by the Rev. Chuck Sprouse with burial following in Forest Lawn Cemetery.
The family will be at the home of her son, 1004 Calhoun Road East, Greenwood, and will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the mortuary.
Memorials may be made to American Diabetes Association, Greenville-Spartanburg NC-SC Office, 16-A Brozzini Court, Greenville, SC 29615.
The Kennedy Mortuary in Laurens is in charge.

Mary Louise Williams

Mrs. Mary Louise Williams, 77, of 106 Locksley Drive, wife of Rudolph Williams Sr., departed this life July 11, 2007. She was born in Lancaster, SC, a daughter of the late Charlie Hammond and Ada Porter Hammond.
She made her home in New York City for many years. While residing in New York she was employed with Laid Low Bus Co and Boces Bus Company for twenty years. She joined Mount Sinai Baptist Church where she was a member for over 30 years. After moving to Greenwood five years ago, she joined Grace Community Church. She was also a member of Vesti Chapter of O.E.S.
Surviving is her devoted husband, Rudolph Williams Sr., of the home, one son, Rudolph Williams Jr., a stepson, Jay Porter Jr., a stepdaughter, Jacqueline Battle of Rocky Mountain, NC; two brothers, Jay Porter Sr. of Chicago, Ill., Wesley Butler of Tennessee, one sister, Vanessa Butler, two sisters in-law, Peggy Porter and Pat Butler, one aunt, Ethel D. Berry and a host of other cousins, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends to cherish her memory.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Grace Community Church with Pastor Rod Schultz officiating.
Burial will be in Evening Star Cemetery.
Pallbearers and flowerbearers will be friends of the family.
The body will be placed in the church at 12 noon at which time the family will receive friends.
The family is at the home, 106 Locksley Drive.
Online condolences may be sent to pertompfh@earthlink.net.
The Williams family has graciously allowed Percival-Tompkins to serve them.

Opinion

Graham, DeMint support our form of government

July 15, 2007

Don’t look now, but there’s an anti-Lindsey Graham campaign budding in the Palmetto State ..... a grassroots campaign. It may or may not eventually prove to be anything to concern the state’s senior U. S. senator, but stranger things have happened. It’s the kind of thing that smart politicians can’t afford to ignore. And no one ever said Graham was not a smart politician.
There appears to be growing unrest among conservative Republicans, a group that by and large has supported the senator. However, from their standpoint, they see Senator Graham as breaking with their beliefs on such things as the controversial immigration bill that recently went down to defeat. Graham, of course, was a primary supporter of that bill so its defeat can’t be seen as anything positive for him.

THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER ISSUES on which conservative South Carolinians have publicly disagreed with Senator Graham’s position and, taken all together, it could be something for him to address sooner rather than later. Evidence of the disgruntlement can be seen around Greenwood and from all indications,it’s not all local, either.
We have a republican form of government, of course. That means that those we elect to represent us are commissioned to vote their own minds. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that those elected should not listen to their constituents and gather as much information possible to help them make an informed decision on important issues.
Graham, and every other elected official, is obligated to talk with constituents and hear what they have to say. Cutting off such contact is conducive to political suicide. In the final analysis, though, it’s the officials who have to make the decisions based on their judgment.
Voters who disagree can speak at the ballot box.

THAT IS WHAT OUR SYSTEM is all about, although some people may not view it that way.
Edmund Burke, the learned and influential British statesman who had a positive influence on many governments, explained it best. “Your representative owes you,” Burke said, “not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion.”
Nothing could be clearer ..... and right. Both Graham and U. S. Senator Jim DeMint adhere to the system, as they should. Still, smart politicians will walk - carefully -a tight line while exercising that judgment. Therefore, nothing should be spared in making sure constituents understand the process and the reasoning behind decisions. At the same time, constituents have obligations, too: Voting and making every effort to understand ..... the process and the reasoning.