A 25-mile yard sale that will connect Blythewood, Ridgeway and Winnsboro is planned for Friday, Sept. 7 (noon – 8 p.m.) and Saturday, Sept. 8 (7 a.m. – 2 p.m.)
The event will coincide with Ridgeway’s semi-annual sidewalk sale as well as it’s First Friday in September. The Chamber of Commerce for Blythewood and Fairfield County want to bring traffic to businesses along the Highway 21 and 34 routes.
The merchant groups in the three communities will work closely together in organizing the road-side sale, which will span from Exit 24 (the downtown Blythewood exit off I-77) north on Highway 21 to Ridgeway and then on Highway 34 through downtown Winnsboro and back down Highway 321 via a short section of Highway 200 to connect back to Highway 34.
“The sale will allow local folks who have attics, garages and storage sheds full of items to clean them out and sell things they want to part with,” said Ridgeway merchant Denise Jones.
“A group sale is better than selling alone. More stuff draws more traffic,” Jones said. “We are encouraging sites along the route to have several families together. So mark your calendars and begin talking to your friends and neighbors about finding a location along the route to sell your treasures.”
Blythewood, Ridgeway and Winnsboro will be issuing “Big Grab” yard sale signs for your locations.
“We will also try to help sellers secure some generic locations along the planned routes should they been needed,” Jones said.
Look for more details in future editions of The Voice.
The Independent Voice of Blythewood and Fairfield County has officially opened office space in downtown Winnsboro in the office of local real estate agent Debbie Lewis at 108 S. Congress St.
Nocola Hemphill, the newest member of The Voice, will be in the office from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. daily. To reach her by phone, call 803-542-0537; or email her at Nocola@blythewoodonline.com.
“We are very excited about opening our Winnsboro location,” said Voice publisher Barbara Ball, “and we look forward to serving the Fairfield County community as its only 100 percent local news source.”
Denise Jones: Cotton Yard MarketCharlene Herring: Ridgeway MayorTina Johnson: Over the TopMargaret Kreiling: Just Around the CornerCarol Branham: Deanne’s CreationsCarol Allen: :alura's Tea RoomJudy Miller: Just Around the CornerJenny Price: Cotton Yard Market
If you frequent Laura’s Tea Room in Ridgeway, you know its proprietor, Carol Allen, offers a daily schedule of High Teas, Cream Teas, Wee Teas and other Teas.
She also plans a number of special tea events throughout the year for which reservations are made weeks in advance if one hopes to snag a seat at the tea table.
On Friday, July 13, Allen will offer her customers a delightful summer Bunny Tea.
The guest entertainment at this special tea event will be a fun-loving Ridgeway merchant who, during the 1960s, was a Playboy Bunny – not to be confused with Playboy Playmates, who appear on the pages of Playboy magazine. No, siree. Playboy Bunnies served drinks in Playboy Clubs that were popular, particularly in big cities, around the country in the 1960s and ‘70s.
As the Merchant Bunny will impart to the tea guests, however, aside from skimpy costumes and oversized, black satin bunny ears, Playboy Bunnies, in their heyday, were more than very keen waitresses. They were fairly steeped in good manners and old-fashioned etiquette.
According to the Merchant Bunny, “The Bunny’s job was defined by her training. We were trained by Bunny Mothers, former Bunnies who, at the age of 25, were deemed too old to Bunny.
“Our Bunny Mothers taught us everything about being a Bunny, how to present ourselves, apply makeup, stand, walk, dip, reach and even how to focus intently on serving our tables with every attention to detail, always the hallmark of a good hostess.”
And the Merchant Bunny will pass along these and other helpful hostessing tips to her audience as they sip and smile.
“While those over 50 may recall having a dim view, back then, of the fleshy aspect of Playboy Bunnies,” the Merchant Bunny points out that the Bunnies, “strictly adhered to the role of hostessing sweetly, silently and without sniffing or stumbling.
“We had to be perfect all the time,” she recalled. “Perfect ears, perfect posture, perfect service. Everything had to be perfect. Our cotton tails were not attached to the costume until AFTER we got dressed, because the tails had to be attached just so-so, not too high, not too low. Perfecting the attachment of the cotton tail was stressful!”
It was after visiting a Playboy Club on Lindell Avenue in St. Louis with a friend that the Ridgeway Merchant Bunny, at the age of 24, decided to apply for the high-paying, glam job. Much to her surprise, she was hired a week later.
She soon learned that being a Bunny was hard work with many rules. And there were strict standards for customers as well.
“Undercover agents in tuxedoes kept an eye out that no one touched or bothered us in any way,” she said. “We were treated like princesses.”
She also recalls the fun of meeting many of the celebrities who visited the Club including Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Carol Channing, Dean Martin and others.
But at the ripe old age of 26 (“I actually worked one extra year before they realized how old I was”), before the passage of age-descrimination laws in this country, the Merchant Bunny had to turn in her ears and fluffy white cotton tail…too old to continue her Bunny duties.
Then she became a Bunny Mother.
“But being a Bunny Mother was hard work and NO fun, plus it didn’t pay as well,” she said, laughing about some aspects of her second-fiddle role.
“The Bunnies had to have help just getting those costumes on,” she said. “They had so much boning in them that they stood up perfectly even when they were not being worn – not to mention how much work it was attaching the bunny tails!”
“Besides teaching Bunnies how to apply make up, stand, serve, etc., we also mended fishnet stockings and handled other mundane emergencies.
“We taught them every thing about being a Bunny, just as we had learned from our Bunny Mothers.”
For more tips on Bunny etiquette and hostessing and to learn the identity of the Ridgeway Merchant Bunny, reserve a seat now for the summer Bunny Tea at Laura’s Tea Room in Ridgeway, Friday, July 13. There will be only one seating for the three-course High Tea. There will be take-homes, handouts and giveaways as always. And don’t forget – seating will limited for this event, so reservations are a must. Call 803-337-8594.
A member of the Shives family, former owners of Shives Funeral Home, has bought the business back from Service Corporation International (SCI), a national owner and operator of funeral homes that bought the local business in 1999.
Randolph Shives III returns Shives Funeral Home to being one of the few family-owned, family-operated funeral homes among its competitors in Richland and Lexington counties.
The decision to buy back the business from SCI comes on the heels of Shives’ most successful year in business to date.
“I am excited to be given the opportunity to return our family-named business back to being a family-owned business,” said Shives, the company’s new owner and president.
“In an age when all we hear about is corporate buy-outs and the demise of small businesses in our city, I am proud to be in a position to bring a small business back home,” Shives said.
In late 1900s Shives Funeral Home, like most of the area’s other larger family-owned funeral homes, followed industry trends of corporate consolidation.
“When the opportunity arose to purchase the company back, it was perfect timing,” Shives said. “I realized that the best way to offer the highest level of personalized services to our customers could only be achieved by making decisions on the local level.”
Randolph Shives and his uncle, Bill Shives, of Blythewood, bring a combined 75-plus years of experience to serve their growing customer base.
“We have always been here for the folks in the Blythewood community and our goal is to give them service that can’t be matched by anyone else,” said Bill Shives.
For more information on Shives Funeral Home, visit www.shivesfuneralhome.com.
Ridgeway merchants will celebrate America on July 6, from 4 – 9 p.m., with an explosive First Friday night of sales, live music, fun and surprises.
The shops will feature an Americana theme: “Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet,” with each shop offering some aspect of America at its best.
The Thomas Company will offer hot dogs at a great price. Over the Top Boutique and Deanne’s Creations will be serving up free apple pie. The Cotton Yard Market will offer all manner of free baseball paraphernalia and over in The Cotton Yard, in front of the Just Around the Corner consignment shop, shoppers will find a display of Chevrolets from the past.
Live music will be provided throughout the evening by E. C. Harrelson.
If you and your family are looking for a fun Friday evening, Ridgeway is where the fun will be.
