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Tag: Grace Tarrant

  • Museum Plans for Busy 2013

    Pelham Lyles, Director of the Fairfield County Museum (left) and museum assistant Shelbia Trotter (right) assist Sylvia Collins of Chester Highway in researching her family history in the second floor archives of the museum.

    WINNSBORO — Following on the heels of last month’s successful Christmas Open House, the Fairfield County Museum has some intriguing events lined up for early 2013.

    First up in 2013 is a second appearance and historical presentation on Native American History by Val Green at 11 a.m. on Jan. 24 in the Christ Central Community Center at 235 S. Congress St., next door to the museum. In February, Kadena Woodard, an African-American researcher and author of an expansive publication on Fairfield County Black cemeteries and funeral records, will be at the museum to assist with African-American research. In March, researcher James Green will present a program on utilizing DNA studies in your family research.

    The Museum is Fairfield County’s gateway to family histories. The family research room of the museum is staffed by enthusiastic volunteers, there to help folks use the resources collected through the years. There are small charges for copies and research by mail, but admission and available files are free. Anyone wanting to take advantage of these resources should call the museum at 803-635-9811 to be sure someone will be present to assist you. An informative quarterly newsletter, stocked with genealogical information and historical articles, can be seen on the website at http://www.scgen.org/. The museum and the Fairfield County Historical Society are collaborating with architectural historian Wade Fairley to produce a searchable online project featuring the old homes of upcountry South Carolina. This is presently under construction for Fairfield County.

    As always, the collection assembled by the local Daughters of the American Revolution is on display at the Museum. This collection includes furniture, clothing and intricate jewelry woven out of strands of hair. Also on display in the Museum’s back lot is a 1780s log barn, as well as a period log cabin.

    The Museum is truly a beautiful resource for Fairfield County and is managed with pride by Director Pelham Lyles. Lyles has been with the Museum since 1997 and is a piece of walking history herself. She is the ninth generation descendant of the first European child born in Fairfield County. She has studied the items and area, traced her roots and can talk on most any subject with authority. While a student of history, however, Lyles is also focused on the future, particularly the future of the Museum and its place in Fairfield County.

    “The museum is an ongoing project that needs resources,” she said. “Pride in our ancestors and pride in ourselves will lead to pride in our community.”

    Museum Calendar

    Jan 24 – Val Green: Part 2 of Searching for your Native American Ancestors.

    Feb. 21 – African-American Records found in the Fairfield Genealogical Reference Room.

    March 21 – James Green: Family Information found in your DNA report.

    April 18 – Beginning the search for your ancestors.

    Meetings to be held at 11 a.m. in the Christ Central Theater next door to the Fairfield Museum located at 231 Congress St., Winnsboro.

    For more information, call Frances Lee O’Neal at 803-635-3027.

  • Happiness is a Warm Blanket

    Harriet Brown, Jan Smith, Lee Howle, Sue Bowers and Marge Whitney with their handiwork.

    During this time of year when people’s generosity abounds with the spirit of giving, the Women of the Church Organization at the Lake Wateree Presbyterian Church have heeded the call. Harriet Brown, a church member of Windemere Road, learned of a need for blankets for the Richland Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital. Brown challenged the church ladies to make a total of 50 blankets by the first of April 2013. The ladies accepted the challenge and began meeting at the lake home of Brown once a week. The church made a monetary donation for purchase of materials to get the project started. Brown had material she has saved over the years and that friends have given to her and the other ladies were soon purchasing materials also. She has an ideal workshop over her garage with shelving for materials, sewing machine, ironing board and very large tables for laying out the materials for cutting. Some of the ladies have never done any sewing, so their task is cutting, ironing and tying knots. The task soon became a day of fellowship, fun and refreshments. Most of the materials have been purchased from Hancock, Joanne’s and Mary Jo’s fabric shops. Some of the blankets are quilts, many are wool and a few have been knitted or crocheted. There are plain ones, some are two-toned tie-togethers, most of them with children’s patterns such as sports figures and super heroes for the boys and female prints for the girls. These blankets are for ages of toddlers through teenagers, so small and large sizes are needed. There is a constant need for blankets for these young people, since they are allowed to take them home after their hospital stay.

    The children’s hospital features a skilled team of pediatric professionals with the goal of providing compassionate care to South Carolina’s children and their families. It features family centered patient rooms, playrooms and family spaces so parents can stay close to their children during their confinement and for outpatient treatments. The three floors are separated by the patients’ ages. A hospital stay can be a difficult experience for a child and anything we can do to make that time less stressful is time well spent.

    Brown felt this would be a good project for the ladies of the church and they responded so quickly that they have almost reached their goal already. They have decided to make the blanket- making an ongoing project. This hospital also needs stuffed toys for the children. These must be new. The church will now take on the collection of the stuffed animals after the Christmas holidays.

    If other churches in the area would like to help out with the blankets or stuffed toys, please take your gifts directly to the children’s hospital, located at 7 Richland Medical Park, Columbia. You can reach the hospital by calling 803-296-KIDS. Nearly 80,000 children are cared for in a year’s time and that is a lot of blankets and stuffed animals that are needed.

  • Puppy Love: Fundraiser to Benefit Animal Adoption Center

    Volunteer Katherine Hooks & Adoptions Coordinator Janice Emerson show off a few of the newest additions to the Fairfield County Animal Adoption Center.

    There are a number of agencies in Fairfield County to help humans, but not so for our four-legged friends. Fairfield County does have one very well-run organization, however, and the Fairfield County Animal Adoption Center is in urgent need of a new puppy house in order to keep the puppies separated from the larger dogs (Don’t worry: The cats have their own cat cottage, where 25 ready-for-adoption cats are now living).

    In order to raise enough money for the puppy house, a fund raiser is being held Saturday, Dec. 8 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the center, located at 1678 US Highway 321 Business N. behind the new Midlands Tech campus. This is a wonderful opportunity to adopt a rescue pet for Christmas or give a donation to help them reach their goal of $1,000. There will be gifts for sale at great prices for that last minute Christmas shopping for both men and women. There will also be an Angel tree, raffle prizes, bake sale, a lunch of hotdog, chips and soda for only $3 and vendors from Rock Hill and Charlotte. The event is sponsored by Doris Macomson of Blind Dog Bed & Bone Rescue in Rock Hill.

    I recently met with Janice Emerson, who is Adoptions Coordinator at the Adoption Center in Winnsboro. Emerson has been with the facility since its dedication in May of 2009. This is a very caring woman who loves and cares for the animals. There are 10 kennels for housing large dogs and there are 11 dogs currently being housed there. In addition, there was a litter of nine puppies, most of which were leaving this week for their forever homes, some as far away as Kentucky. The cats and dogs are transported by paid drivers who pick up and deliver the animals all up and down the east coast. All the animals are well cared for, have their shots, are spayed and neutered, fed twice a day, exercised and treated for heartworm and parvo disease.

    There are two employees at the Winnsboro center and several volunteers. The volunteers are mostly students who come to work after school. I was very impressed with the pristine condition of this center. The floor was being washed by a young man as I was there and there was no animal odor. A few of the dogs were waiting to be seen by a veterinarian, one to have a tumor removed and another to have his leg set. Emerson praised the work of David Brown (not to be confused with County Councilman Brown) who runs the shelter, for his compassion and there has been less euthanizing since he has been there.

    If you would like to help the puppies get their own place or help with surgery costs for any of the animals, we will look for you at the Save a Shelter Pet event this Saturday. They also accept donations of dog and cat toys, feeding and water bowls and bags of dog food. If you are unable to attend this event but would like to make a monetary donation, please make a check payable to Fairfield County Animal Adoption Center and mail to Post Office box 60, Winnsboro, S.C. 29180.

  • A Familiar Face

    Gloria Ann Morgan

    Anyone who has lived at Lake Wateree or surrounding area for many years has heard the name Gloria Ann Morgan. Morgan is a staple at the lake. This country girl by birth was born and raised in Hartsville to Ella and Carson Douglas. Ella was a homemaker and Carson an electrician at DuPont. Gloria’s dad passed away just a few months ago; her mom lives in Bishopville. Morgan is one in a family of five children. Her sister Sylvia lives in Virginia, brother Mike in Cassatt and brothers Johnny and Mitchell are living in Bishopville.

    Gloria was a graduate of Spring Valley High School in 1973 and then took college courses to become a paralegal. She later went to work at DuPont in the manufacturing department, where she met her future husband, Don Morgan. The Morgans married in 1987 and Gloria went to work at the Windmill Restaurant at Lake Wateree in 1993. For a short time she opened a coffee shop of her own in Camden but it was not meant to be, so she returned to work at the Windmill. The couple has four children, daughters Paula and JoAnne and sons Ryan and Darby. Their eight grandchildren are scattered between Columbia, Camden and McBee.

    The couple has lived off Rockbridge Road on Smooth Rock Point for the past 27 years, enjoying their pontoon boat, John boat and deep sea fishing. Don is retired and likes to tinker with boats, doing repairs on the side. The family are members of the Lutheran Church in Camden. When Gloria retires, she said she wants to visit Martha’s Vineyard, the only place she is interested in seeing. She would also like to return to her writing. In the past she has written several short stories and poems. She enjoys cooking, but her greatest joy is being a grandmother and spending time with her grandchildren every chance she gets.

    Gloria serves the Lake Wateree Hat Club ladies every Thursday and what a joy she is, so pleasant always and with a big smile and a hug when she knows you need it. She is a very caring person who takes an interest in the problems of her patrons and how family members are. If you have not met Gloria Morgan yet, visit the Windmill Restaurant at Lake Wateree and see for yourself. You are in for a huge treat.

  • Native American Heritage Month Observed with Local Lecture

    What started at the turn of the century as an effort to gain a day of recognition for the contributions made by the first Americans to this country and its growth has resulted in a whole month being designated for that purpose. The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum all pay tribute to the rich ancestry and traditions of the Native Americans. Dr. Arthur Parker, a Seneca Indian, persuaded the Boy Scouts of America to set aside a day for the first Americans. In 1915 the plan was formally approved but there is no record of the day being proclaimed. But in 1990 President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution making November Native American Heritage Month.

    In keeping with this tradition, on Nov. 15 the Fairfield Chapter of the S.C. Genealogical Society presented a program with Mr. Val Green. The program was held at the Christ Central Community Center in Winnsboro, where Green presented a slideshow and spoke of the many changes that have taken place over the years and the ways of the early Americans who lived in this area.

    “Many of the arrowheads found here,” Green said, “are not from the bow-and-arrow that came along much later, but rather from the throwing-stick. When the throwing-stick pierced the deer, it did not always die right away and often had to be tracked for several days before it could be found and brought home.”

    Fairfield County many years ago was not wall-to-wall pine trees but was more a grazing land. Green got it in his mind that he wanted buffalo, so he bought two from a man in Charleston and began raising them. His main herd buffalo was named Bill Buffalo.

    When Green is not researching and studying Southern history he is farming at his home at Salem Crossroads. He lives on land that has been in his family for generations and learned his heritage from his maternal grandmother through her family ancestry. He has researched his lineage to a great grandmother, five times removed, who was of the Catawba Indians. Deerskin trading was a well-known practice of those times and Green has documented two of his ancestors back to this trade in the Carolinas. Over the years Green has studied the deerskin trading figures and the trading posts and routes back to 1716. Much of his research has taken him back to the study of the Mississippian people and the Conquistador Hernando de Soto, in his search for gold in 1540.

    Twenty-five people attended this presentation and all went to lunch at The Barn afterwards where the discussion of the Indian way of life continued. Green has been active in SCETV and UNCTV film projects about Indian culture. If you missed this wonderful presentation hosted by the S.C. Genealogical Society, watch for Mr. Green to return with a future program in which he will introduce practical approaches to researching native ancestry.

  • A ‘Corny’ History of Little Candies

    Eaten a lot of these lately? Don’t feel bad: they’re fat-free!

    Well, we have one of the fall holidays behind us, Halloween. Are you wondering how many calories you ate with those little candy corns? It is hard to keep track when you grab them by the handfuls. Put your mind at rest: each tiny candy has only 3.57 calories per kernel. Even though it tastes rich, it is fat free.

    We eat these sugary little spikes known as candy corn year around, but they are most popular and mainly associated with Halloween. Actually Oct. 30 was National Candy Corn Day. They have been around for a very long time, invented in the year 1880 by George Renninger of the Wunderle Candy Company. This company in Philadelphia was the first to go into commercial production. It was later introduced to the mass market around 1898 by the Gustav Goelitz Confectionary Company in Cincinnati (which would later make the jelly bean) and quickly became popular thanks to its innovative multicolored look.

    Making candy in those days was much more difficult than it is today with all the machinery available now. In those early days, large kettles were used to cook the basic ingredients of sugar, water and corn syrup. Marshmallow was later whipped in to make it softer. The hot candy mixture was then poured into hand-held buckets called ‘runners.’ Each runner held 45 pounds of the hot mixture. Men called ‘stringers’ walked backwards pouring the steaming candy into trays of cornstarch in kernel-shaped molds. A pass was made with the white, then orange and then the yellow. The last process is a glaze applied to make it shine. This was one of the few candies made in different colors and people were fascinated, adding to its popularity. The candy was so popular that other companies tried other vegetable shapes, such as turnips. Did not think that would go over and I notice there are none around. The candy was originally sold in bulk containers, packed in wooden buckets, tubs and cartons and delivered by wagon and train. Distribution of any distance was limited because of being perishable.

    During World War I, Herman Goelitz, son of Gustav, moved to California and started his own company. Sales went down considerably during the recession and war times. In the 1970s when the price of raw sugar was so high, the company had to borrow money to keep afloat. While many other companies went out of business, the demand for candy corn kept the Goelitz Company from bankruptcy. You might better recognize the name that the Goelitz Company in later years changed to. It is now known as the Jelly Belly Candy Company. This little candy has remained unchanged for more than 100 years, although today machines do most of the work. Halloween accounts for 75 percent of the candy production and over the years the company has come out with reindeer corn (red, green and white), Indian corn (chocolate and vanilla flavored), Cupid corn for Valentine’s day (red, pink and white) and bunny corn for Easter (pastel colored).

    Candy corn produced this year will amount to close to 35 million pounds. That is about nine billion individual kernels of corn. It is very popular in the United States and Canada. Brach’s is the main retailer of candy corn and sells enough candy each year to circle the earth 4.25 times if the kernels were laid end to end.

    So if your trick-or-treater brought home many of the candy corns, just remember the 3.57 calories and enjoy them.

  • Things Get Creepy at State Park

    Visitors to Lake Wateree State Park show off their costumes during Saturday’s Creepy Campout.

    More than 260,000 people visit Wateree State Park each year. Campers come from as far away as Canada and California and even countries in Europe to picnic, fish, play on the play equipment and hike the nature trails. But on Saturday, this lovely area became a “Creepy Campout.”

    “The campers have dressed in costumes and decorated their golf carts and campsites for the past seven years,” Park Superintendent Adin Fell said, “but this is only the second year that the park sponsored the event.”

    The activities began at noon with a scavenger hunt that ended at the tackle shop at 5 p.m. During this same time, a pumpkin roll and pumpkin toss was also being held. From noon to 4 p.m. there was a children’s pumpkin painting and a pumpkin seed-spitting contest. At 3 the costume contest began and for scariest costume, ages 1 to 9, the first, second and third place winners were: Will Rape, Ethan Barr and Rylan Deaton. For cutest costume: Olevia Clary, Noah Strawn and Skylar Collins. Most original category: Aubree Rape, Nicholas Jackson and Gracie Lance. For ages 1 to 15, winners were: Kent Barnett (scariest) Hannah Baker (cutest) and Dalton Putnam (most original). Winners for the age 16 and over were: scariest, Linda Strawn, Karen Strawn and Darrell Blackwell. Cutest: Brianna Deller, Jessica Legrand and Dawn Blackwell. Most original: David Legrand, Kevin Blackwell and Brady and Beverly Krimminger. Costume group winners were the Krimminger family. In the category of pumpkin carving, winners were: Mike Edmonds (scariest), Katy Maltese (cutest) and Madison Edmonds (most original). Best overall carving award went to Renee Bourdeau.

    Following the costume contest, a golf cart decorating contest was judged and the winners were Kathy Laney, first place and Scott Barrett, second place. The campsites were unbelievable. Some of the folks spent days getting ready, spreading spiders and webs from tree to tree, as well as displaying coffins, pumpkins, scary monsters, witches and all the things that go with Halloween. One yard was set up like a small cemetery with a lot of small headstones. The prizes for campsite decorations went to: Linda and Karen Strawn (first place), David, Linda and Jessica Legrand (second place) and Charles Walden and Brianna Dell (third place). The judges for the contests were Rebecca Beer from Richburg and Jan and Heather Kuhn. The children closed out the day’s fun with their trick-or-treating from 6 to 9 p.m. All the prizes were articles from the park’s gift shop.

    Thanks to Park Superintendent Adin Fell, Karla Brown, the judges and all who helped make this such a nice family event. If you missed it this year, mark your calendar for next year. It is worth the trip to see the decorated campsites and the elaborate costumes.

  • Fairfield County Residents Take to the Streets to Stop Violence

    Fairfield County marchers show their signs during the Oct. 13 march.

    October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and not just domestic violence should be acknowledged, but violence of all kinds. The 2012 Mayor’s walk was held in Finlay Park this month and a group from Winnsboro in Fairfield County held a similar march of their own at the same time. Violence in the home or gang-related violence leads to the same results, someone in many cases loses their life.

    The Winnsboro march, their third, was organized by local pastors such as the Rev. Eddie Woods, Columbia pastors, community leaders and citizens of Fairfield County. They met in a parking lot across from the Fairfield Memorial Hospital at 8 a.m. when the temperature was barely 50 degrees and a strong wind was blowing. Bundled in sweat shirts against the wind, they marched with a two-car police escort to the County Courthouse where Carolyn Bates was the guest speaker. Bates lives in Augusta, Ga. but her son Larry Sanders Jr. was killed in Winnsboro, her reason for driving to Fairfield County for the march. Larry was killed in his home and no arrests have been made.

    Like ripples in water, violence continues to spread in our community. Three out of four Americans personally know someone who has been affected in this way. That is 74 percent. It is happening to teens in our community, in the neighborhood and in school. Not all of it is gang related; some is the accidental killing of a person who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is not just teens but also young adults and older citizens. This serious issue can lead to psychological trauma, injury and death. This month was a time set aside for mourning those who have died, a celebration of those who have survived and connecting with those who work to end the violence like the Rev. Woods and others like him. We must raise awareness and remember all who lost their lives. Most of the deaths due to violence occur when the perpetrators are the victims themselves or people close to them, such as parents, partners, siblings and friends.

    Violence takes the lives of more than 1.5 million people annually, of which 35 percent is due to homicide, the rest being due to war or conflict of some kind and suicides. The reasons for many of these homicides are poverty, gender inequality and harmful use of alcohol.

    While at the march I spoke with Cheryl Weldon, one of the speakers on the steps of the courthouse. She is a sister of the Rev. Woods. Her eldest son Jamie Robertson went missing in the year 2006 and after weeks of searching for him, his remains, the results of violence, were found and the family was able to put him to rest. She often sees young men around town that resemble Jamie and it brings the pain back each time. This was not the last tragedy in this woman’s life; she also lost a second son in the year 2011. Weldon’s youngest son, 18-year-old Rodrickous Woods, was shot in the chest and killed as he was leaving a parking lot after a party with friends. He died in the hospital. The accused was locked up for only one day and then released. “This case is still open,” Weldon said.

    She and her brother, the Rev. Woods, also lost a brother to a violent act. He was killed in his yard following an argument with someone he knew, when he was asked to leave his property.

    Violence is preventable, and on Oct. 13 Fairfield County took to the street to let us know.

  • Residents at Laurel Baye Give their Dancing Shoes a Workout

    The dance group from the Palmetto Dance Center in Elgin entertained residents at Laurel Baye during Family Day.

    For the seventh year, the Fairfield Healthcare Center of Laurel Baye, located on Bellfield Road in Ridgeway, held a family day for the residents and members of their families. This event is a special time for all the residents and one they look forward to each year. It is a time when families get together for fun and fellowship and the opportunity to meet and make new friends.

    Although it was a little cool and overcast, the rain held off for the best part of the day. When it did start to sprinkle, it was not enough to dampen the spirits of those in attendance. The grounds were decorated with scarecrows, pumpkins and fall foliage. Music for shag dancing, line dancing and many other tunes were furnished by ‘Party Doctor’ Donald Prioleau and Dee Jay Pete Martin. Earlier in the morning the party revelers were entertained by a dance group of young people ages 8 to 18, from the Palmetto Dance Center in Elgin. This dance center has 300 dancers, but those performing this day were the Competition Team who will also be entertaining in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla. in December.

    For the young family members, there was face painting and games. The barbecue pork was cooked by Dwight Robertson of the Ridge Riders of Ridgeway and his assistants Alizina Wilson and Donetta Gripper. The Ridge Riders is a non-profit group that raises money for toys for underprivileged children. Accompanying the pork sandwiches was baked beans, coleslaw, a pickle spear and soft drink. In a nearby shelter, a long line of hungry folks stood waiting for the famous funnel cakes that were being made.

    A motorcycle club from Ridgeway was in attendance with their motorcycles on display. The club, known as Go Hard Riders, has 30 members, of which 14 were in attendance. This event also draws antique car owners, giving them a chance to show off their pride and joys. Thane Humphreys had his 1962 Ford Fairlane on display along with William Stephens’ 1955 Chevrolet, Sylvester Tucker’s 1955 Chevrolet, Jerome Mincey’s 1984 Corvette, Tommy Proctor’s 1962 Ford Falcon and Sam Edenfield with his 1971 GMC truck. Those of us who have seen Edenfield’s cars at Rock Around the Clock and the antique car exhibit at the Air Show each year will be saddened to hear that he sold his famous Chicken Coupe to a man in Charleston who is putting it in a museum. The museum is an old service station and the Chicken Coupe will be displayed among the old timey gas pumps. Sam said, “If I want to see my old coupe anymore, it is going to cost me money.”

    The staff is grateful for the day’s sponsors: Regional Ambulance Service, Laurel Baye Healthcare, Water Systems Inc. of West Columbia, Healthcare Services Group, Palmetto Home Medical Inc. and United Pharmacy. Thanks also to the Fairfield County Sheriff’s deputies who are always ready to help Director of Activities Frances Maddox and the staff when putting on events such as this. Just carrying supplies and helping to move the residents around is a great help. Thanks to Corporal D.J. Wilson, Corporal Ron Mull and Sergeant Steve McDonald. It is with the help of many volunteers and community support that such an event can take place. The center now looks forward to such upcoming events as a trip to the State Fair, a costume contest at their Halloween party, the Christmas lights at Saluda Shoals Park, the Angel tree and their annual Christmas party.

  • VFW Chief Aids Storm Victims

    Lake Wateree Post Commander Bob Levangie back from duty in Louisiana.

    While the Lake Wateree VFW Post #8346 has been busy with turkey shoots, which continue through Dec. 1, and with preparing for this Saturday’s Fall Fun Day, Post Commander Bob Levangie has been busy in Louisiana where he was deployed by the Red Cross to assist with hurricane damage. No stranger to this type of work, Levangie, in his six years with the Red Cross Disaster Team, has been out of state to help three other times – to Richmond, Va., Wilksburg, Penn. and the flooding in Georgia.

    Levangie worked at the Navy Exchange as a Senior Manager for 25 years and after a short retirement, went to work for the Virginia Beach Police Department before retiring for good. He is a member of the Lion’s Club, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, where he is serving his second term as Commander, and the Loyal Order of Moose. Levangie recently left South Carolina and flew to Houston, where he met up with other Red Cross team members, and they drove to Orange, Texas, staying at the Red Cross office overnight. The next day they were shuttled in vans to Madisonville, La. through areas sometimes covered with 10 inches of water.

    After moving into an old school gym, much preparation had to be made such as sanitizing the cots and all things being used. There was no power at that time except with the use of generators. A total of eight people were at this center but the next day a tour bus took the team to a Methodist church in Slidell, La., where more than 60 people, victims of the flooding of the Pearl River, were housed. The Red Cross brought in food and Southern Baptists set up a kitchen and served 7,000 hot meals. The ages of the homeless at the shelter ranged from 3-month-old babies to seniors and handicapped persons, cancer patients, homeless persons and families who had doubled up and were living with other family members. The church held a barbecue for those at the shelter, showed a movie, told stories that got the folks involved and the church members took their clothing home to launder for them. The children painted, played games, made things with Play-Doh and had such fun that when it was all over some of them came back to the church.

    Levangie was in Louisiana for three weeks. Before returning home all the equipment had to be sanitized, buildings cleaned up, cleanup kits disbursed to those returning to their homes, giving them rakes and tarps. The Red Cross does all this with money from the United Way and donations. Commander Levangie is very proud of the Lake Wateree VFW. Due to a Home Depot grant that has been approved, improvements to both the main building and the activity building have been made possible. This post won all-state for having a 100 percent membership, participating in all sponsored programs and for their work in community services they placed second in the state. The VFW is also proud of Levangie and others like him who put themselves in harm’s way and being away from home to help those less fortunate.

    God bless them all.