Get it while it’s fresh

Market’s first day draws hundreds

June 17, 2007

By LARRY SINGER
Index-Journal staff writer

Despite overcast skies and the persistent threat of rain, hundreds of people turned out for the opening of the Greenwood Farmers Market on Saturday morning.
Outside the market, near Greenwood Civic Center on Highway 72/221 E., a handful of growers were selling a variety of fruits, vegetables and plants.
Inside, buyers crowded next to long rows of tables overloaded with produce as sellers weighed out bags of corn, green beans, squash, cantaloupes and tomatoes.
At the far end of the market, long lines of seniors waited to fill out forms for vouchers, which would get them free produce from the market.
After the paperwork was completed, each person received a certificate good for $25 dollars in vouchers to use at the market. To qualify, each recipient had to be at least 60 years old and a Greenwood County resident, and they had to meet income eligibility requirements.
Last year, on the market’s opening day, nearly 700 people signed up. This year, the market had vouchers for 1,400 people.
“I think the turnout is outstanding,” said Steve Odom, who works with Clemson University and the market to advise customers about shrubs and trees.
Near the entrance to the market, Newton O’Dell, the market manager, sat behind a wooden table and watched the throng of customers stream from the parking lot to the tables filled with fresh fruits and vegetables.
“I think the participation has been really good,” O’Dell said. “This is typical for the first day. The biggest crowd here is back there signing up for the senior voucher program, but a lot of folks are here buying fruits and vegetables, too. It’ll be The market began doing business at 7 a.m., and O’Dell said many people showed up when the doors opened.
“Our biggest crowd is usually here early in the morning between 7 and 9,” O’Dell said.
“Especially on Saturday.”
During the middle of week, O’Dell said, the throngs tend to thin out.
“There’s not as many people here on Wednesday because everybody is working, but on Saturday everybody is off and everybody comes to the market, and we’re only open from 7 a.m. until noon.”
Because the growing season has not yet reached its peak, O’Dell said the sales were somewhat limited.
“Today we’ve got 14 people out here selling,” O’Dell said, “So far, however, we have about 30 signed up. There will be even more signing up as we go on through the year.
“Typically, during the year we have about 50 vendors. But over the next month or so, we’ll have about 25 here during the day.”
The market, O’Dell said, will be open to the public for about three months.
“We’ll be closing on Oct. 13,” O’Dell said.
Although he was carrying several bags of squash, tomatoes and green beans back to his car, one patron was a bit disappointed in the number of vendors at the market.
“The supply is good, but I thought there would be more people here selling,” said Andy Hamby, of Greenwood. “I guess it’s because this is the opening day.”
Outside the market, one vendor was busy arranging pots of plants and hanging baskets of flowers on a large metal rack.
“ So far, business has been pretty good,” said Kay Holmes. “I’ve sold zero flowers, (but) my partner and I have sold a lot of produce.”
On the other side of the parking lot, James Hodges was selling day lilies, perennials and black eyed susans behind his truck.
“It’s been a pretty good crowd here today,” Hodges said. “We’re still a little bit early for homegrown tomatoes and local corn. Hopefully, now with the rain, we’re going to have a consistent vegetable crop. Everyone was getting a little worried.”

Church offering day of comfort to homeless

June 17, 2007

By JESSICA SMOAKE
Index-Journal intern

“Stand down” is a military term for an off-duty gathering for refreshment and renewal for weary soldiers.
The troops were stationed at secure base camp areas where they could take care of their personal hygiene, get clean uniforms, enjoy warm meals, receive medical and dental care, mail and receive letters, and enjoy their friends in a safe environment.
Immanuel Lutheran Church plans to lend a helping hand Friday by hosting a Stand Down from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in its parking lot. The event is open to the homeless and those at risk for homelessness — not just veterans. During the Stand Down, homeless individuals will get breakfast and lunch, and they can take showers at the church. Getting a haircut might be the most popular activity.
“The line for the barbers is always the longest,” said Margaret Battle, coordinator of the Stand Down. Battle is the program support assistant for Health Care for Homeless Veterans at the WJB Dorn VA Medical Center.
Individuals also will receive information from different agencies and organizations including Immanuel Lutheran Church, Greenwood County Department of Social Services, Employment Security Commission, Self Regional Healthcare, Sexual Trauma & Counseling Center, Vocational Rehab, American Red Cross, Food Bank, Carolina Health Centers, MEG’s House, GAMES Coalition, S.C.
Legal Services, Greenwood Credit Counseling Services, Greenwood Area Habitat for Humanity, Lutheran Family Services, Veterans Service Office and Dorn VA Medical Center.
Not only will the Stand Down fill a homeless individual’s basic needs, but the event will also help identify local homeless people. The Veterans Administration and Lutheran Family Services in the Carolinas will screen participants to identify any who might qualify for the veteran rehabilitation program that will soon open.
The Rev. John Setzler, of Immanuel Lutheran, said the event is just a preview of what is to come.
“The June 22 homeless gathering is a prelude to the reopening of Kinard Manor at 949 S. Main St.,” Setzler said, adding that the program at Kinard Manor was made possible through major fundraising efforts by Immanuel members.
He said that “$167,000 was raised to purchase Kinard Manor and turn it over to Lutheran Family Services in the Carolinas to become a high-management group home for adolescent females.”
In July 2004, state funding for these children ended and the program closed. “Kinard Manor has been empty since then, awaiting a new mission,” Setzler said. Lutheran Family Services in the Carolinas received a grant to repair and renovate Kinard Manor.
“It was a seven-year program grant to establish a therapeutic residential program for homeless veterans of the U.S. armed forces,” Setzler said.
Immanuel Lutheran Church will use its homeless shelter, Elisabeth’s Haus, in this mission, too. According to the Veterans Administration, the Greenwood program will be a model for replication nationwide. All programs will have the goal of a community-based rehabilitation program for combat veterans.
“There will be special attention to Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans, male and female,” he said.
The event has a special meaning for Setzler and Immanuel Lutheran. “Homelessness and veterans in need of special services resonate with our commitment to service ministry in the community,” he said. “We’re creating something here in Greenwood to be duplicated across the country for years to come. Our McLees Avenue parking lot June 22 is just the starting point.”
For information, contact Battle at (803) 776-4000, ext. 7445. For transportation to the event, contact Greenwood Literacy Council at 223-1303.
The first Stand Down was organized in 1988 by a group of Vietnam veterans in San Diego. Stand Downs have been used as an efficient tool in reaching out to homeless veterans, reaching more than 200,000 veterans and their family members between 1994 and 2000.

Mount Willing’s hidden history

June 17, 2007

By KENNY MAPLE
Index-Journal staff writer

INSIDE SALUDA COUNTY — Five miles west of the town of Saluda, along a still and peaceful Mount Willing Road, a community used to dwell, bustling with activity and holding a place of importance in the events of the surrounding area.
The Mount Willing community, however, can only be found on paper today.
Like many of the communities established in the pre-Revolutionary War days, it disappeared, leaving the only proof of its existence in the articles of yellowed newspapers and the stories of generations.
Fortunately, Saluda Historical Society Museum volunteer Bela Herlong knows the stories well and is willing to tell them.
“Mount Willing was settled in the 1760s by settlers from Virginia,” Herlong said. “Their descendants are still around.”
Herlong, who has joined Carol Bryan and Charlie Andrews in a collaborative effort to produce a book about Mount Willing, said the descendants helped shape Saluda County to what it is today. Actually, the descendants made Saluda County.
The area used to be part of Edgefield County until 1895. Herlong said the residents were weary of traveling great distances to the nearest courthouse. So they started a petition in September of that year and obtained 1,700 signatures to name Saluda as its own county.
That, combined with the already existing activity of Mount Willing, made the community a social center.
An article written by Benjamin West Crouch — also known as the “Father of Saluda County” — published in the Saluda County Sentinel documents a time when the writer, at the tender age of 8, got his first taste of Mount Willing.
“When I was a boy long years ago and heard people speak of ‘Mt. Willing,’ I had the idea it was a town of some importance located somewhere unknown to me.
“What was my surprise when about 8 years of age on a trip to Batesburg with my father we came to a crossroad where stood an old store building on one side of the road, and old fashioned gin house on the other and a short distance away a large two-story ante-bellum dwelling in a beautiful grove and was told ‘Here is Mt. Willing.’”
Crouch, born in 1868, would have initially seen the busy community in 1876, though his article, along with many others in a series called “Scraps of Interesting History,” was not written until 1946 or 1947.
Though Crouch speaks of only a store and a gin, Meade Hendricks, president of the Saluda Historical Society, said the community also had a post office and an inn where fatigued travelers could spend the night.
Another article, written Aug. 10, 1876, by an unknown author who, according to Herlong, probably wrote for the Edgefield Advertiser, shows the notoriety of the now-extinct community.
“And now we cross Richland Creek, and are at the ‘Mount.’ This is old Mt. Willing — almost historic — where Col. Jacob Smith lived in old times, and dispensed an elegant hospitality; and where battalion musters were conducted annually — at which men fought and bled, and died for mere pastime.”
The lattermost portion of that quotation delivers the second important feature of the community — a place of defense and national pride.
Crouch writes: “Mt. Willing has for generations been the common meeting ground where companies were raised to defend the rights of the country. I have no doubt but that in times of The Revolutionary War our great-grandfathers met here to organize companies to fight the British.”
But what would you expect from the area that bred Alamo heroes James Butler Bonham and William Barrett Travis?
Mount Willing is rich in history, but a passerby wouldn’t be able to tell nowadays.
When Bryan, one of the writers of the book about Mount Willing, was asked what is around Mount Willing to show its history, her answer was concise.
“Absolutely nothing.”
The Mount Willing house, built by Jacob and Sarah Smith, was dismantled in 1994, and 60 years before that the second story was removed. The only lasting impressions of the house are the old photos and drawings, as well as a hand-carved arch from the house that is kept in the museum.
Likewise, the gin and the store disappeared quite a while ago: The store or tavern burned no later than 1917, leaving the center of Mount Willing barely a memory.
Why did it the community disappear? By making Saluda a county, did the population hatch a new center, dooming Mount Willing’s existence?
“No, that’s not true,” Bryan said. “It had already diminished before 1895 (when Saluda became a county).”
Herlong and Bryan have their theories.
“So many people moved to Saluda to take advantage of the opportunities in town,” Herlong said.
“Also, the little community was doomed anyway because of the coming of the automobile.”
Wagons seemed less effective compared to a motorized vehicle, and people were able to travel farther, quicker. Soon, the logic for moving closer to the up-and-coming towns outweighed the reasons for staying in a small community.
Bryan had another reason for the demise of the community.
“I think part of it would have to do with farming interest diminishing in the area,” she said.
“The families went on to do other things. You’ll find the same thing happened in other places.”

Humphreys finishes first in race

June 17, 2007

From staff reports


Trent Humphreys, of Greenwood, posted the fastest time Saturday morning in the Festival of Flowers 5K Fun Run at Connie Maxwell Children’s Home.
Humphreys bested a field of more than 80 runners in the 8 a.m. race with a time of 17:16. He was first by more than a minute.
Alex Thomas, 15, was the top female finisher with a time of 22:17.
In the under-10 category, Griffin Sponenberg covered the 3.1-mile course in 26:27 to win the boys’ division. Bonnie Bryan was the top finisher for the girls with a time of 38.42.
In the 10-14 division, Emmeline Wheeler, of Troy, was the top finisher for the girls with a time of 29:08. Adam Thomas posted a 21:30 for the boys to finish first in the age group.
In the 15-19 group, Matthew Menard, of Greenwood, was the top male finisher with a time of 18:35, while Leslie Bledsoe, of Greenwood, was the top female finisher with a time of 24:05.
David Payne, of Greenwood, posted a time of 18:37 to win the 20-24-year-old men’s division, while Allison Daniel was the top female at 24:48.
Josh Hadd was the top male finisher for the 25-29 group and posted a 25:57 time. Debra Robinson, of Ninety Six, was the top female finisher at 23:10.
\In the 30-34 division, Don Turner, of Greenwood, posted the top time for men with a mark of 27:23. Katie Eisenreich, of Greenwood, was the top female finisher at 24:29.
Travis Moore, of Greenwood, won the 35-39 division for men with a time of 25:12. The top female finisher in that grouping was Ruthie Graham, of Greenwood, at 26:26.
In the 40-45 group, Johnny McAlhany, of Greenwood, posted a time of 21:45, while Sherry Atkinson led the women’s group with a time of 29:52.
In the 45-49 division, Mason Menard, of Greenwood, was the top male finisher with a time of 33:18.
Danny Senn, of Newberry, was the top male finisher in the 50-54 category with a time of 24:23, while Vicki Knott, of Greenwood, was the top female at 32:31.
Donnie Babb, of Hodges, was the top male finisher with a time of 23:40 in the 55-59 category.
Welden Humphreys, of Saluda, was the top male finisher in the 60-64-year-old division with a time of 23:33.
In the 65-69 division, David McCall was first with a time of 33:08, while John Nelson, of Greenwood, posted a 39:12 time and finished first in the 70-plus division.

Obituaries

Abbie Benton

Funeral services for Abbie Jane Mote Benton will be held 11 a.m. Monday, June 18, 2007, at Augusta Highway Baptist Church with the Reverend Kenny Griffin and the Reverend Ralph Hager officiating. Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be Rusty B. Benton, Victor Benton Jr., Chris Wardell, T.C. Melton, Rusty W. Mote, Jerald J. James and Adrian W. James.
Honorary pallbearers will be the members of the Senior Mother’s Sunday School Class.
The family will receive friends on Sunday at the church from 7-9 p.m. The family is at the home.
Abbie, 79, of 110 Young Street, widow of John B. Benton, died Saturday, June 16, 2007 at her home.
Born in Phenix City, AL, she was a daughter of the late Wade Hampton and Pearl Newsome Mote. She retired from Cannon Mills and was a member of Augusta Highway Baptist Church, where she was a member of the Senior Mother’s Sunday School Class.
Surviving are two daughters, Mahlon Benton and Karen Smith, both of Greenwood; two sons, Wade Gilliam Benton of Ware Shoals and Victor Wayne Benton of Greenwood; a sister, Rebecca Jordan of Alabama; a brother Robert Mote; thirteen grandchildren, sixteen great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to HospiceCare of the Piedmont 408 West Alexander Avenue, Greenwood, SC 29646.
Harley Funeral Home & Crematory is in charge of arrangements.
Online condolences may be sent to the Benton family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com.

Albert ‘Pamey’ Freeman

Albert Ray “Pamey” Freeman, 77, resident of 128 Old Abbeville Highway, husband of Maxine Prather Freeman, died Friday, June 15, 2007, at the Self Regional Medical Center.
Born August 10, 1929 in Carthage, NC, a son of the late Charlie Merril and Ruby Yow Freeman, he was a U.S. Army Veteran having served in the Korean War and was stationed in Germany. While in the military he was a sharpshooter in the artillery and served in the motor pool as a mechanic.
Mr. Freeman had worked with Daniel Construction Company for over 20 years where he was the superintendent, and retired from Yeargen Construction Company after 23 years of service as the general superintendent. Since retirement he was a self-employed paint contractor. A Charter member of Emerald Baptist Church, Mr. Freeman had formerly served as a deacon and taught the Men’s Sunday School Class for many years. He was a former member of the choir and had served on many other various committees of the church.
Surviving in addition to his wife of 55 years of the home is a daughter, Pamela Freeman Fagan and her husband, Chip; son, Patrick Curtis Freeman and his wife, Kimberly Smith Freeman; adopted daughter, Mary Elizabeth Moss and her husband, Gary, all of Greenwood; grandchildren, Pamela Nicole Freeman of the home, Kristina Maxine Freeman of Greenwood, and Nancy, Tony, Julie and Scott Moss, all of Greenwood; several great-grandchildren; sisters, Lettie Pearl McNeil of Carthage, NC, Bertha Smith Burgess of Robbins, NC; brothers, Charlie Bascom Freeman and Vernon “Jim” Freeman, both of Carthage, NC.
Funeral services will be conducted Monday at 2 p.m. at the Emerald Baptist Church with Reverend Curtis Eidison officiating.
Entombment will follow in Greenwood Memorial Gardens Mausoleum.
The body is at Blyth Funeral Home and will be placed in the church at 1 p.m. on Monday.
Pallbearers will be Jimmy Butler, Robert Westmoreland, Joe Davis, Steve Brogan, Tunny Blackman, and Henry Hall.
Honorary escort will be members of the Men’s Sunday School Class and Deacons of Emerald Baptist Church.
The family is at the home, 128 Old Abbeville Highway and will receive friends Sunday from 7-9 p.m. at the funeral home.
Those desiring may make memorials to Emerald Baptist Church Building Fund, 110 East Laurel Avenue, Greenwood, SC 29649 in memory of Mr. Freeman.
For additional information and online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Freeman family.

Elsie Smith

Elsie Horne Smith, 83, resident of 111 Devon Park in Greenwood, SC, widow of Emory Angelo Smith, died at Hospice House on June 15, 2007.
Born in Greenup, KY, March 4, 1924, she was a daughter of the late Joseph Smith and Sabra Elizabeth Potter Horne. She was a graduate of Portsmouth General Hospital School of Nursing in Portsmouth, OH, which included an affiliate program of extra studies at the Cleveland City Hospital in Cleveland, OH. After a diverse career and years of dedication to the nursing profession, she retired in 1990 as nurse manager on the Medical Surgical Floor at Southern Ohio Medical Center in Portsmouth. She was a member of the Ohio District and National Nurses Association and volunteered as a Registered Nurse at the Portsmouth Blood Bank. She and her husband Emory A. Smith, a retired scientist, relocated to Greenwood, South Carolina.
Being a Presbyterian for over 52 years, Mrs. Smith was a member of Second Presbyterian Church in Portsmouth, OH and attended the First Presbyterian Church of Greenwood in South Carolina.
She served as a Sunday School teacher and Girl Scout leader for several years.
She was a member of the Greenwood Woman’s Club and an avid supporter of the Portsmouth Community Musical Association, the Lander music and athletics programs, the Lander/Greenwood Fine Arts Series and the Sunday at Four musical programs at the First Presbyterian Church.
Surviving are a daughter, Cathy Elaine Smith Bauer and husband, Karl-Heinz of Salzburg, Austria; a grandson, Karl Emory Bauer of Austria; two sisters, Dixie Crosno of San Luis Obispo, CA and Delsie Horne of Greenwood, SC; two brothers, Earl S. Horne of Amarillo, TX and Finis Horne of Greenwood, SC.
Mrs. Smith is predeceased by three sisters and five brothers.
Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 24, 2007, at Second Presbyterian Church in Portsmouth, OH with burial in Siloam Cemetery, Siloam, KY.
A memorial service will be held in Greenwood, SC at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to HospiceCare of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Greenwood, SC and Morton Funeral Home of South Shore, KY are assisting the Smith family.

Dale West

DONALDS — Dale West, 57 of Donalds, husband of Allene West, died Thursday, June 14, 2007 at Hospice of the Upstate in Anderson.
Born in Algonac, MI, he was a son of Bruce Dale West of FL and Theodora Randolph Conklin and stepfather, Leroy, of MI. He was a U.S. Army veteran of Vietnam, a member of the American Legion of Durham, NC Post 7 and helped start the Homeless VA Program. Dale was formerly employed with Ingles and of the Lutheran faith.
He was preceded in death by a nephew, David B. West, a brother-in-law, Henry F. Smith, and a father-in-law, Watson F. Smith.
Surviving in addition to his wife of the home and his parents are a daughter, LeAnne West and son-in-law Joseph Praylow of Prosperity; a sister Diana Polly of MI; four brothers, David West of OH, Mike West of FL, Darrell West of MI, and Daniel Conklin of MI; two grandchildren, Courtney Theodora West and Jayden West; and many nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at a later date in Michigan.
The family is at the home.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of the Upstate, 1835 Rogers Road Anderson, SC 29621.
Harley Funeral Home & Crematory is in charge of arrangements.
Online Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com.

James E. Worsley

Services for James E. Worsley, of 336 East Creswell Avenue, are 2 p.m. Sunday, June 17, 2007, at the Chapel of Robinson & Son Mortuary, conducted by Rev. Wilbert Simpson. Pallbearers will be brothers-in-law and flowerbearers will be nieces. Burial will be at Calvary Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, Callison Highway.
The family is at the home of his daughter, 109 Barley Drive, Wheatfield Subdivision.
Online condolences may be sent to robson@nctv.com.
Robinson & Son Mortuary, Inc. is in charge of arrangements.

Opinion

Today may be for fathers, still ... it’s all about heroes

June 17, 2007

Today is the day for reverence. So, what is reverence? The dictionary defines it as honor or respect felt or shown. That’s important, particularly today when we honor the fathers of this nation. Some fathers, after all, are the real heroes of our world. Some, that is, but not all by any means. That’s a consideration especially in an era when those looked up to by many youngsters in South Carolina have faulty credentials.
The late Ayn Rand, Russian-American author and social critic, had her share of critics, and her values left much to be desired. Still, one thing she said deserves noting. “Kill reverence,” she said, “and you kill the hero in man.”
So, what is a hero? Is it the good guy in the movies or on TV? No! They often represent that which is good, but they are make-believe.

IS IT THE OUTSTANDING athlete placed high on a pedestal, not only by youngsters but also by many - too many - supposedly mature men? No! Some are indeed good role models, but there are others who violate rules and laws that tell more about their character than the number of homeruns they hit, touchdowns they make or goals they score.
Is it the Soldier, the Sailor, the Marine, the Airman or other defenders of our country, our values and our way of life? Absolutely! They put their lives on the line to keep all of us safe, and they often have to do it in the face of detractors.
It’s definitely not the so-called entertainers who make a mockery of everything virtuous, moral, or faith-based. They should be labeled the anti-hero.

NEVERTHELESS, TOO MANY of our young people, regardless of color, not only imitate their destructive actions and attitudes, they look at them with eyes of envy.
So, today, look at the father who works hard every day, whether in a factory, a store, on the farm or at other honorable pursuits. Look at the father who loves his family ..... and shows it. Look at the father who goes to church and tries every day to live by the Golden Rule.
Fathers - good fathers - have their doubts and fears, to be sure. But they do what has to be done as a father, even while having to overcome those doubts and fears. In the final analysis, that’s what makes a hero. He overcomes the obstacles, even dangerous ones, and does his duty.
A lot of fathers do that ..... not all, of course, but most face the odds, the trials and tribulations and live up to the responsibilities expected of them. They are the real heroes.
Remember that, today and every day.