Lake Wylie Today - Fall 2022

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Keeping the lake clean

Riversweep

Fresh, fast

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Time to relax at Lake Wylie with cooler temperatures and colorful scenes

FALL COLORS

By Susan Bromfield, President, Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce

The feeling of fall is in the air at Lake Wylie. Crisp nights are a few weeks away and it is time to savor a beautiful season where things slow down on the lake, leaves turn colors, pumpkins appear on porches and the fall weather is perfect for many recreational opportunities. There will be more fishing, sail boating, kayaking and canoeing on the lake and more golfing, pickleball, hiking and picnicking on the shore.

While the lake itself is quieter, the Lake Wylie economy continues to hum along with the addition of new businesses, new homes being built, and growth abounds. Ground has been broken for the new CaroMont Medical facility that will have an assortment of medical services. A new Planet Fitness is preparing to break ground by Latitude Lane. Across the road in the cul-de- sac on Latitude Lane, a new assisted living project is preparing to clear land. In River Hills, River Hills Country Club is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a variety of celebrations and has undergone a summerlong project of creating new greens, new putting practice area and new golf carts. At River Hill Marina, the A dock has been completely rebuilt with new floats, docks and covering. Camp Thunderbird is preparing for a major capital investment to add a new amphitheater and updates to other areas.

The Meld is developing a commercial area next to Walmart that will have retail, service and restaurant space. Investments in new auto repair and service-related businesses have been made

on several properties. Major companies have bought local apartment complexes and there is very little available commercial property from the Buster Boyd Bridge to Three Points. A new hotel/motel is slated to be built behind Taco Bell in 2023. A lot is going on.

The fall issue of Lake Wylie Today is the Green issue. The stories reflect that theme and highlight some local people, places and things in our area. Our Food For Thought feature highlights community-supported agriculture, known as CSA, a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from farmers. This year, fresh local flowers can also be ordered for several weeks.

Another story highlights May Green Properties as a three-generation company that develops neighborhoods that are lush with trees and nature around the lots. The developments feature walking trails, parks and other natural areas. More than 50 businesses collaborate to create these local neighborhoods.

Did you know that the sport of fencing is alive and well at Lake Wylie with classes being taught at the local YMCA and folks finding a fun way to also exercise? We have a story on that program and some of the people who lead and participate in it.

Have you ever thought about updating your bathroom or kitchen countertops and then change your mind when you think about the disruption and mess? We highlight a local business that can do updates easily, efficiently and in

just a few days with high-tech equipment, local fabrication and hands-on local management of the project.

The Shoreline feature highlights Riversweep celebrating its 20th anniversary year. Riversweep was launched at Lake Wylie by the Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce and the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation 20 years ago with local volunteers and marinas working together to clean up Lake Wylie.

How can we have a green issue and not have a story about recycling? The Estate Boys, a locally owned business, is a fabulous place to shop for treasures and scores of unique household items that have been gently loved and are ready to be given a new home. The story also tells of how a retiree who was helping his friends and neighbors downsize turned that service into a much-needed business and a way to give those treasures a new home.

The real estate development update highlights home sales on the lake and in surrounding areas, which continue to be strong.

In this fall’s election cycle, an important school bond referendum for the Clover School District will be on the ballot. As we do not have a local newspaper, we’ve included a brief that will lay out the facts of the referendum and how money raised, if approved, would be spent.

We invite you to sit back with your favorite beverage and enjoy reading the fall issue of Lake Wylie Today. LW

LakeWylie

www.LakeWylieToday.com

Published by SC Biz News

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Steve McDaniel smcdaniel@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3123

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Contributing Editor

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Contributing Writers

Susan Brom eld

Kathy Widenhouse

Contributing Photographers

Susan Brom eld

Lake Wylie Camera Club

Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce

Dana Sipper | Sipper Photography

Jan Todd Kathy Widenhouse

The entire contents of this publication are copyright by NWS Company LLC with all rights reserved.

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Mailbag

Bond referendum on ballot to expand school capacity

The Clover School District Board of Trustees recently ap proved a resolution to place a bond referendum before voters during the Nov. 8 general election.

The bond resolution proposes the construction of a new high school with room for 2,100 students on a parcel of land owned by the school district off Daimler Boulevard. The bond would pro vide $156 million for the construction of the second high school and increase middle school capacity by repurposing the ninthgrade campus to create middle school No. 3.

Projected impact on property taxes if the referendum is ap proved would be around a $300 increase annually for a home as sessed at $300,000.

Clover High School and both middle schools are expected to exceed capacity starting in 2026. If the referendum passes, a new high school could be built in time to open for the 2026-27 school year.

CSD has established a Future Ready information campaign to answer the community’s questions about the referendum. A web site dedicated to bond facts and resources can be found online at www.clover.k12.sc.us/csdbond. Direct mail, social media and in-person events will also be used prior to Nov. 8 to provide in formation.

You can register to vote, check your voter registration status and other voting information at www.scvotes.gov. For details about absentee and early voting in York County, visit the York County Voter Registration and Elections website.

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Allison Love presented Lake Wylie Children’s Charity with a check from York County for their 20th anniversary of supporting local children facing life threatening diseases. Accepting the check is Haven Presley and LWCC Board members Kim Hill and Debbie Murphy.

Lake Wylie Today wins SCPA first place award

The spring 2021 issue of Lake Wylie Today won first place for Magazine or Specialty Publication in the Associate and Individual division at the S.C. Press Association 2022 awards banquet held in the spring.

The issue was edited by SC Biz News associate editor for special publications Jim Tatum and coordinated by Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce President Susan Bromfield. Much of the feature content was provided by writer and photographer Kathy Widenhouse.

Comments provided by the judges said: “Wow. Strong class of entries, with all being enjoyable reads. This one stands out for the quality of writing and photography. Loved the local business feature on the chocolatiers and ‘Queenie Bee.’ Also great spotlights on groups giving back to your community.”

S.C. Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers (center) visited Woodend Farm during the Ag+Art Tour held June 11 throughout York County.

River Hills Women’s Club board named for 2022-23

The River Hills Women’s Club has an nounced its board of directors for 2022-23.

Front Row (l-r): Kay Holleman, President and Mary Williams

Back Row (l-r): Rosellen Dunn, Bever ly Kelly, Margaret Haughton, Carol Sheets, Cheryl Saylor, Suzanne Krause, Faith Har land-White, Meg Landerville

Not pictured: Angie Knight and Cindy

Photo Credit: Jen Webber

York County Sheriff’s Office Mounted Patrol and Destination Home Puppy Rescue volunteers during the Ag +Art Tour at Woodend Farm.

America’s Boating Club of the Catawba rafts up, receives donation

York Council member Allison Love

America’s Boating Club of the Catawba‘s Raft Up was held on a recent Friday summer evening on Lake Wylie. Grilled hot dogs were served by Ray Williams while club mem bers and their families enjoyed the Caro lina Ski Show.

For 59 years, America’s Boating Club has put on an all-day fun event at the lake for underserved children and families. York County Council member Allison Love was so impressed with the event at the Red Fez Club last May that she made a donation to help fund similar future events like the one coming up at Camp Thunderbird on Sept. 24.

Hurst to take over as director of Clover Area Assistance Center

This fall will bring a major change to Clover Area Assistance Center as the longstanding executive director, Karen van Vierssen, prepares for her retirement in December.

During the 11 years that she has led the agency, she has worked to establish strong community partnerships and developed services founded on respect and compassion. She introduced the Full Choice Pantry concept, established the “Keep It Local! Feed the Need in Our Community” campaign, and increased local food donations by over 300%. She expanded grant funding for agency services and will leave CAAC in solid financial standing moving forward.

Local resident Cameron Hurst has been selected to take over as director at the end of the year and will join van Vierssen as assistant director in October. Hurst has volunteered with the organization since 2017 and has served on the board of directors. Prior to volunteering, she worked at Charleston-based Blackbaud, the world’s largest provider of custom tech solutions and software for nonprofits.

Through her position with Blackbaud, Hurst worked closely with hundreds of nonprofit organizations to improve their operational efficiency. She holds a degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina and an MBA from The Citadel. She is passionate about the services provided by CAAC and has expressed the intention to continue to build upon the accomplishments that exist.

Upon her retirement, van Vierssen is looking forward to spending time with family, travelling and reconnecting with long-ignored hobbies and outside interests. When asked about her upcoming retirement, she said, “CAAC has come a long way since I started in 2011 and I feel we have accomplished some pretty amazing things, not all of which were without challenge. I say ‘we’ because all that CAAC is and does is the result of the efforts of a wonderful community and an incredible group of volunteers that never lose sight of the importance of those we serve. I will miss CAAC and this entire community immensely!”

Cameron Hurst (left) will take over as executive director of the Clover Area Assistance Center when longtime director Karen van Vierssen retires in December. (Photo by Dana Sipper | Sipper Photography)

Winterfest returns to Carowinds in November

Celebrate the holidays this fall and winter with Carowinds’ annual WinterFest.

Festivities begin Nov. 21 with millions of lights, ice skating, family activities, live entertainment, specialty holiday comfort food and select attractions.

Listen to favorite holiday tunes from crooning carolers amid the aromas of freshly baked treats. Find unique holiday gifts at the specialty shops, play holiday-themed games, and catch the season's best live shows. Help children write letters to Santa while enjoying thousands of glimmering lights on the Carowinds Christmas tree, one of the largest in the area.

After an evening of fun, watch the nightly WinterFest Wonderland Parade with lavishly decorated floats, festive music and performers.

Trick or treat at Field Day Park Oct. 29 Put Saturday, Oct. 29 on your calendar to attend Trick Or Treat 2022 at Field Day Park in Lake Wylie.

Join in the Halloween fun with family and friends from 7-9 p.m. for the free event.

Seeking Donations & Hole Sponsors

River Hills Country Club's 2nd Annual Veterans Appreciation Golf Tournament is coming up on November 11th , and we are looking for donations and hole sponsors! The proceeds of the tournament benefit

Veterans Bridge Home, a Carolina’s-based nonprofit organization that assists Veterans and their families in their transition from military to civilian life and beyond.

Consider donating goods, services, or silent auction items. You can also help contribute by sponsoring a hole as an individual, business, or in memoriam.

Please email or call Shirley Morgan, River Hills Board of Directors Golf Chair at snmorgan3@yahoo.com or (864) 346-6362.

Lake Wylie tradition inspires regional effort to protect our waterways

BY Kathy Widenhouse

Images from past Riversweep events. (Images courtesy of Catawba Riverkeeper)

The next time you reach for a single-use water bottle without a thought of recycling, think again. You may be the person who dredges it out of Lake Wylie and places it in a trash bag.

Single-use plastics are among the many items collected by volunteers in and around Lake Wylie during Riversweep – the annual, one-day, community-wide effort to keep the waterways in and around Lake Wylie and the Catawba River Basin beautiful and safe.

This year, thousands of residents, businesses and civic groups from across the Carolinas will gather at Riversweep on Oct. 1 for hard work, fun, action and to raise awareness about our rivers, lakes and steams.

The Riversweep tradition has been around for two decades. And it all began right here in Lake Wylie.

The Riversweep tradition

In 2002, a group of Catawba Riverkeeper volunteers recruited residents and business owners in and around Lake Wylie to join forces to clean up trash along the shores of Lake Wylie closest to the Buster Boyd Bridge.

That simple act began the “Riversweep Tradition.”

Within a year or two, representatives from Lake Wylie Covekeepers, the Lake Wylie Marine Commission and the Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce formalized the arrangement into an annual cleanup day along the lake. The effort was entirely volunteer-led by citizens who wanted Lake Wylie to be litter-free and attractive.

Riversweep continued year after year, as volunteers removed the eyesore of tens of thousands of pounds of debris from the lake and subsequently helped to improve habitats for local wildlife. What started as a casual, 50-person community cleanup to tidy up Lake Wylie’s shores near the Buster Boyd Bridge grew to include the entire lake from the confluence of the South Fork and Cataw-

ba rivers in the north to the lake’s dam in the south.

And then other people in the Carolinas started to notice.

Lake Wylie Riversweep becomes the model

Among them was nonprofit Catawba Riverkeeper, the original initiator, which advocates for the Catawba-Wateree River Basin’s 8,900 miles of waterways. The agency and key partners began hosting cleanup days on several other lakes throughout the basin every fall using the Lake Wylie Riversweep model.

In 2020, organizers decided to streamline efforts into a single-day, basin-wide event to be more efficient and to tell a bigger story about the impact of communities working together to protect on our rivers, lakes, creeks and streams.

Today, Riversweep’s reach extends from Lake James (near Black Mountain in western

Want to help?

Join local neighbors, friends, businesses and groups on Saturday, Oct. 1, for Riversweep, a day when residents from all over the Catawba-Wateree River Basin come together to clean up our waterways. You can sign up as an individual, as a family or register a group.

Catawba Riversweep

North Carolina) and east through Rhodiss Lake, Lookout Shoals, and Lake Norman to Lake Wylie and south through Fishing Creek, all the way to Great Falls and Lake Wateree just north of Columbia.

How Riversweep is organized

As the organizing body for Riversweep, Catawba Riverkeeper does much more than provide cleanup supplies and trash containers, it also hosts an after-party for volunteers at the headquarters in McAdenville.

All year long, the agency recruits and trains site captains to manage their sites on the day of the event. Some of these volunteers have participated in Riversweep since its inception and have seen its value firsthand.

“I was part of those early cleanups, which gives me a unique perspective,” says Lake Wylie resident and Buster Boyd Bridge site captain Ellen Goff. “In a few short years I saw the event grow to include hundreds of volunteers, nearly

Learn more and sign up at catawbariversweep.org

Telephone: 704-679-9494

Lake Wylie cleanup locations: catawbariversweep.org/lake-wylie Buster Boyd Bridge site captain: Ellen Goff, 704-258-5904

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CatawbaRiverkeeper

Twitter: twitter.com/CRFRiverkeeper

Instagram: www.instagram.com/catawbariverkeeper

100 personal watercraft, business sponsors and support from York, Mecklenburg and Gaston counties.”

Ellen’s experience included working with Riversweep co-chair Neil Brennan to expand the event’s reach by initiating partnerships with the cities of Belmont and Mount Holly and obtaining event funding from the R.L. Stowe Foundation.

Catawba Riverkeeper has since taken on the event’s administrative and fundraising responsibilities, which includes soliciting donations and sponsorships from local individuals and businesses to help cover costs associated with Riversweep. The 2022 presenting sponsor Catawba Wateree Management Group is joined by Recover Sustainable Apparel and 19 other nonprofit, business and government partners to underwrite the event.

What happens at Riversweep

Yet Riversweep remains a local tradition.

When volunteers register, they can choose to work at a specific location and with a team of friends or family. They join others on the day of the event to remove trash from shorelines, at boat landings and in parks. Kayakers paddle back into coves to find trash that has piled up and boaters help to shuttle trash and volunteers to lake shorelines and islands.

Other volunteers coordinate a site by checking in workers, getting them their supplies and helping them unload trash from their boats when they return from collecting debris. Each site can accommodate a different capacity of volunteers, ranging from 10-150 people.

What do they collect? Food wrappers, cans, bottles, Styrofoam, tires, clothing, debris, floats, toys – even charcoal grills.

“The most surprising thing we've seen come into the boat launch at the end of the day was a full-size refrigerator,” says Catawba Riverkeeper Executive Director John Searby. “To this day I still don't know how the volunteers dug it out of the mud or how they got it onto the boat.” The fridge was hauled from the lake by a volunteer team from TowBoatUS, which had the necessary equipment and expertise.

Lake Wylie boasts 13 volunteer sites this year. The largest, at Buster Boyd Bridge, will accommodate volunteers in motorized boats, volunteers in kayaks and canoes, and landbased volunteers. The smallest Lake Wylie site, McDowell Nature Preserve, is to be a kayak-only site.

Benefits beyond a clean lake

Since Riversweep is an outdoor event, its efforts were not halted or even curtailed by

the pandemic, according to John Searby. In fact, the opposite occurred. Organizers credit outdoor recreation’s increasing popularity to the steady Riversweep participation increase over the last two years. In 2021, nearly 1,700 volunteers collected about 53,585 pounds of trash from 55 different sites up and down the Catawba-Wateree River Basin, up from 1,300 volunteers at 41 sites in 2020.

As more residents began spending time on waterways during the pandemic, they see the need to clean up litter. “Public awareness of debris on our lakes and rivers is at a new high,” says Searby. Organizers expect 40 social, nonprofit, corporate and municipal groups to register together and participate in Riversweep – and a total of 2,000 volunteers across the basin.

The benefits of Riversweep to communities, municipalities, counties and the region are significant. A river basin that has a healthy ecosystem, one that is free of trash, debris and hazards to navigation, is essential to building and maintaining a sustainable environment, one that can positively impact the regional economy.

And those benefits go further to impact individual participants. “Riversweep transcends a simple community cleanup project,” says Ellen Goff. “Volunteers experience hands-on stewardship, pride of place and a personal commitment to their community. Their work becomes part of a greater movement throughout the entire Catawba-Wateree River Basin to protect the health of this vital resource.”

It’s that individual impact that has been so positive. “New volunteers often have a real ‘awakening’ experience when they participate in Riversweep,” says Searby. “They routinely come back and say, ‘I'm going to make sure I recycle all my plastics from now on.’”

Maybe this year, that will be you. LW

BY Kathy Widenhouse

Online shopping was surging before the pandemic. Now, we order nearly ev erything online.

Amazon delivery trucks pull into your drive way to deliver golf clubs and lounge chairs and toddler’s sweatsuits – even laundry detergent. It’s not unusual for Wal-Mart pickup slots to be filled days in advance. You may even have a standing order for pet food that arrives faithful ly on your doorstep every month.

But if you’re among the one in 10 Americans that hesitates to order fresh produce in your on line excursions, you now can confidently add veggies, fruits, and honey to your virtual shop ping mix – thanks to our local growers in and around Lake Wylie.

Farmers right here have made it possible for you to order their fresh goodness with a click. They will deliver their fresh-picked crops to you, often just hours after harvesting. You get convenience, plus the assurance that the locally sourced food is healthy.

The arrangement is a win for local growers, too. They get the benefit of consistent sales and the opportunity to get to know the people who eat the food they grow.

Bush-N-Vine: Order a short-term produce subscription

And the name fits. Community members purchase a subscription for a specific duration. Each week, subscribers get a box of fresh pro duce just off the vine. The farm gets a steady stream of reliable customers.

Bush-N-Vine offers six delivery cycles each year, spring through summer, fall and winter – each ranging from four to seven weeks. Cus tomers choose extra-small, small, medium and large deliveries which feed from one to six peo ple. Once a subscriber makes the purchase and chooses a delivery location, all that’s left is to stop by each week, pick up their basket, take it home and use it.

Bush-N-Vine’s CSA arm has grown to over 500 subscribers who collect their weekly pro duce at about 18 locations scattered across York, Gaston and Mecklenburg counties. In Lake Wylie alone, 48 members picked up their fresh goodies each week at the farm’s stand next to the Bagel Boat. Dozens of others stop by Mc Lean Conservancy Clubhouse in Belmont or the Clover School District YMCA in Lake Wylie for their weekly fresh produce fix.

“CSA has taught people to eat more locally,” says Hall. “But also, they’ve come to appreciate different foods they’ve never tried before and might not see in the grocery store.” Members’

The granddaddy of local farms, Bush-NVine, has been in the Hall family for 150 years and subsequently opened its doors as a produce market in 1979. When Sam Hall joined his fa ther, Bob, in the family business in 2010, they found an additional revenue stream: CSA box es, short for Community Supported Agriculture (sometimes called Community Sponsored Ag riculture).

J&J Family Farm chestnut mushrooms.

(Image courtesy of J&J Family Farm)

Food for Thought

boxes may be sprinkled with kohlrabi, kale and bok choy along with the expected toma toes, peaches, green beans and bell peppers.

And they love it. “Customers tell us that collecting their produce is like Christmas in a box – each week,” says Hall.

Fields of Revery Micro Farm: Order year-round greens

Dan and Michelle Appleyard moved to their 15-acre home in Lake Wylie in 2014. A kitchen garden provided fresh, organic pro duce for them and their two daughters. But it was the pandemic that motivated Dan to leave the corporate world and launch Fields of Revery in 2021. The small family farm specializes in vertical farming, organic notill market gardening, and their signature product, certified S.C.-grown microgreens.

Micro greens are edible plants that are harvested between the sprouting and baby growth stage, reaching their ideal size and flavor in about 7-21 days. “That means we can grow a lot really fast,” says Dan.

Long popular among chefs as a garnish, micro greens are surging in popularity as a crop in their own right. Consumers have discovered nutrient benefits to micro greens – up to 40% more than their mature coun terparts. And micro green flavors go beyond spinach to include broccoli, mustard, radish, sunflower – even popcorn micro greens. When incorporated into salads, sandwich es, wraps, smoothies and other fresh dishes, micro greens add savory, sweet and spicy flavors.

Fields of Revery has mastered micro green production to the point where local connoisseurs have taken notice. The farm has started supplying upscale restaurants with micro greens, including Fern, Flavors from the Garden, one of Charlotte’s signa ture vegetarian restaurants, located in Dil worth. And the Appleyards also sell micro greens seasonally at the Fort Mill Farmers Market.

But they’re on a bigger mission to give local residents access to fresh, healthy food year-round.

Enter Field of Revery’s Farm-To-Door service. Consumers can have micro greens delivered to their homes each week in Meck lenburg, Gaston, Lincoln, Catawba, Iredell, Rowan, Cabarrus, Union and York counties through Market Wagon and Farm Stand Online – both online fulfillment services. Within Lake Wylie, delivery is free to resi dents with a minimum order of $10.

Stalford family at J&J Family Farm. (Image courtesy of J&J Family Farm)

Looking ahead, the farm plans expansion to in clude specialty produce, flowers and retail gifts – a tribute to the micro farm’s name. Revery is a play on “reverie,” another word for “dreams.”

“Our farm is our own ‘Field of Dreams,’” says Dan. “We see ourselves as a small farm with big dreams.”

J&J Family Farm: Order through a virtual farmer’s market

In 2011, Jim and Jennifer Stalford purchased 100 acres of wooded land in Clover. But lots of trees mean lots of shade. Stalfords started a sunny kitch en garden to help feed their four growing children but found they couldn’t grow sun-loving crops in bulk.

Meanwhile, over the last decade, the farm’s un managed forest has become a Certified Tree Farm with loblolly pines and mixed hardwoods. There are even walking trails, a fishing pond, geocaching, disc golf, educational classes and event rental.

And Jennifer, a Master Gardener, began growing mushrooms. The tree farm is a natural environment for shade-loving fungi – 15 varieties at last count. The Stalfords have since added fruiting rooms to their home. The enclosed indoor spaces mimic a

CSA program at Bush-N-Vine Image courtesy of Bush-N-Vine

mushroom’s favorite growing conditions.

Once Jennifer became successful with her mushroom crop, she joined forces with other local producers in 2015 to create Catawba Farm and Food Coalition. The virtual farmers market connects re gional consumers with local farmers and farm products. Jennifer was able to sell mushrooms, edible flowers, herbs, veggies, fruit and honey online before it spoiled.

These days, the Stalfords sell the farm’s products through two virtu al markets – The Country Carrot (Catawba Farm and Food Coalition’s successor) and Market Wagon. J&J products are also available through Tega Hills Farm in Fort Mill. And area chefs often request J&J‘s mush rooms, fresh herbs and edible flowers through local food brokers.

“Our products are highly perishable,” says Jennifer. “They can quickly go bad at a traditional farmer’s market, but the virtual option allows customers to cherry pick what they want.” Plus, she adds, online virtual markets don’t require a minimum purchase.

Go fresh with a click

The pandemic opened the door for more online ordering. And when it comes to fresh fruits, vegetables and other produce, our local growers took advantage of virtual tools that can more easily put their products into the hands of Lake Wylie and Clover residents.

So the next time your produce dwindles, set aside the car keys. Reach for the mouse instead. LW

CUT TO ORDER

Palmetto works high-tech in and

BY Kathy Widenhouse

Outdoor space at the Zotter home. (Photo courtesy of Heather Zotter)

Rough edges before polishing. (Photo by Kathy Widenhouse)

Kitchen remodel: the words conjure up dread and images of chaos. Dishes and cookware are scattered around your home. Your water is turned off and there’s nowhere to prepare meals.

That was the scenario for Millcreek Falls resident Carly Pembleton.

“We’d made arrangements with another contractor, and they had already removed our countertops,” explained Carly. “But the company made us wait six weeks for a call back to tell us when they would install our new ones.” Fed up with the upheaval, Carly called Palmetto Marble & Granite.

Within a day, a Palmetto team member came to measure her kitchen surfaces, guide her through choosing granite and schedule her installation.

“They were an absolute lifesaver,” says Carly. “We are so happy with our countertops.”

It’s a scenario that’s been happening over and over for Lake Wylie area builders and homeowners who team up with Daryl Bridges and Palmetto Marble & Granite.

Bridges credits new technology with helping him operate more efficiently. And he is the first to admit that he had a steep learning curve to get to this point.

Cabinets to countertops

Decades ago, at its inception, Palmetto Marble & Granite was a cabinet business. It served as an arm of the Marsh Furniture Company in High Point, N.C., and developed good working relationships with York County contractors. When builders installed Marsh cabinets, they often asked if the company could provide the bathroom vanity top and the kitchen counters, too, so the company expanded its product line to offer that service.

Laminate was the countertop surface of choice in the 1960s, and granite began to make an appearance in local homes in the 1970s. By the time the 1995 rolled around and Bridges took over the company, composites like quartz were part of the selection mix, too. In fact, upgraded countertop choices were part and parcel in kitchen remodels.

Palmetto’s previous owner had focused on cabinets and not kept up with the countertop trends. One of Bridges’ first tasks was to provide those surfaces to customers.

And since he had a background in recruiting and financial management sales, he had a lot to learn. “It’s been quite a ride,” he said, laughing.

Marble, granite and quartz

Marble was once the favorite countertops in luxury homes. And while Palmetto still occasionally installs marble surfaces, the bulk of their work orders are divided nearly equally into two less porous surfaces: granite and quartz.

Granite is one of the hardest materials in the world, which means it resists chips, heat and scratching. And since it is a natural stone, each slab of granite is unique in its grain and coloring.

Quartz, too, is hard and durable. As an engineered surface, it can be tinted and textured with a wide variety of finishes. It’s a favorite among those who want to use recycled materials. And because it is manufactured, large slabs of quartz can often be installed in one piece. In Palmetto Marble & Granite’s early days, customers had just half of a dozen

quartz colors to choose from and the shop could manage only a couple of types of beveled edge finishes.

Bridges had to learn how to cut, polish, and install those options, limited though they were.

He did so at a small workshop in Mount Pleasant, N.C., just east of Charlotte, that had a small saw, cables and the water supply needed to cut granite. After nine months of practice, Bridges was ready to outfit the shop in Clover with the infrastructure needed install high-grade marble, granite and quartz countertops. That meant equipping the site with a showroom as well as a workshop with space to operate heavy machinery, three-phase electricity and a steady water supply.

And it meant acquiring the tools to do the job as efficiently as possible.

Owner Daryl Bridges (left) and salesman Joel Hager. (Photo by Kathy Widenhouse)

Hand fabbing transformed by tech

Initially, the team fabricated each countertop piece by hand, which includes measuring, cutting and polishing. But hand fabbing (fabricating), as Bridges calls it, has its frightening moments. “It wasn’t unusual – just before installation – to zing or crack or scratch a surface when cutting the final faucet holes,” he said.

Technology has helped change that frustration. Specifically, it’s a laser templator and its associated cutting system that make the difference.

And while it sounds high-tech, the process starts right in your kitchen. The Palmetto team has discarded the familiar tape measure in favor of a laser, mounted on a tripod, to digitally measure your surfaces and cabinet areas. Once angles are configured, the data is sent to the computers at the Palmetto workshop on Cross Road.

There, fabricators add overhands, edge styles, sink dop-ins and back-

Palmetto Marble & Granite sign at Highway 557 and Cross Road in Lake Wylie. (Photo by Kathy Widenhouse)

splashes to the design to create a custom digital template according to your specifications. It’s ready for cutting — all without the need to learn AutoCAD (computer-aided design), the conventional digital design program embraced by engineers, designers and architects. “Anyone can learn to use the laser templator,” said Bridges.

The process became even more streamlined and accurate in 2017, when the Palmetto team added a Kuka robotic arm to its technological mix. The robot’s combined conventional saw and waterjet saw, used with the laser templator software and computer-controlled cutting machine, allows fabricators to cut faucet holes and oval sinks without the cracks and nicks they encountered with hand-fabbing.

When your chosen granite, marble or quartz slabs are delivered to the workshop, Palmetto fabricators load up your specs into the computer and use the robotic arm and

The end of October signals the beginning of the “giving season”. As we enter this time of year, let’s all work together to keep our resources local to help those in need who live right here in our own community! This fall and moving forward, it is predicted that our entire nation will be facing food supply issues, predominantly as a result of the wheat shortage. If you think about it, wheat is in almost everything, and this shortage will continue to drive up the cost of in general. We will all feel the cost increase, but think about those who are already struggling to make ends meet…those of low-income (unemployed or under employed) or who are on a fixed income (seniors). a among the staples Full Choice Pantry on in order to provide adequate food Please consider a little so that we can continue to help neighbors in 521) Clover, SC 29710

Slabs of marble and granite on site. (Photo by Kathy Widenhouse)

A worker positions a slab to be cut. (Photo by Kathy Widenhouse)

computer-controlled cutting machine to carve the countertop surface. Afterward, it’s on to polishing.

And then your countertop is ready to be delivered and installed.

More eff iciency, more business

The Palmetto team installs countertops in bathrooms, offices, outdoor spaces and laundry rooms, but “kitchens drive our business,” said salesman Joel Hager. And they continue to offer cabinets along with countertops.

Did the pandemic slow business? Not at all — in fact, quite the opposite. Palmetto’s traffic is up about 30% in the last two years. “More people were home and decided to update their kitchens during the lockdown,” said Bridges. About 60% of Palmetto’s work is with builders and 40% is with homeowners.

These days, as the size and scope of Palmetto’s projects have increased, so have the sizes of the slabs they use. With an eye that’s always looking to become more efficient, Bridges has ordered cranes to lift and move large pieces of granite that are too large for a team of men to manipulate onto the machines.

And while Palmetto operates its business with just 10 employees, gone are the days when local kitchens are torn up for weeks on end while new counters are installed.

Instead, you simply spend an hour or two

Configuring

(Photo by Kathy Widenhouse)

a few hours or more, depending on what needs to be removed, adjusted, rewired

But not days. And certainly not

Visit the showroom

Palmetto Marble & Granite Daryl Bridges, owner 119 Cross Road, Clover

Telephone: 803-656-5300

Email: palmettomg@gmail.com

Web: www.palmettomg.net

Hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4 p.m. www.palmettomg.net

May Green’s three generations steward land and local businesses

BY Kathy Widenhouse

Entrance to Patrick Place, a May Green community. (Image courtesy of May Green Properties)

Tim Smith, 84, goes to the office twice a week.

But when it’s time to review a stack of paperwork, Tim bypasses his son, Tom, and heads over to his grandson, Quinn.

“He used to go through his to-do list with me,” says Tom Smith with a grin. “But now he is doing it with Quinn.”

Quinn, 27, is the third generation of Smiths that staff May Green Properties, a Lake Wylie-based residential development firm that has operated in York County for more than three decades.

It’s a family business that has carved out a special niche. Over the years, May Green has developed more than 15 York County communities that become a refuge for their homeowners while leaving intact much of their natural surroundings.

And while stewarding the land, May Green stewards other local family-owned businesses, too.

Stewarding the land

Tim grew up working in a family business — a Dutch Boy paint store operated by his mother, remembered affectionally as Grandma Bea, at the corner of May and Green in the Cleveland suburb of South Euclid, Ohio. The store was aptly named “May Green Paint.”

As an adult, Tim moved across the country as a marketing executive for land developments in Lake Tahoe, Steamboat Springs, Colo., Whispering Pines, and Calabash, N.C. His family moved with him. “My siblings and I lived in eight states while growing up,” joked Tom.

Tim’s work with Canal Wood, a timber management company, led them permanently to the Carolinas — and to land acquisition.

Tom joined his dad in the business after college, along with Tim’s brother, Walter, and family friend John Sarrouh, to form May Green Properties. The name is a tribute to Grandma Bea’s store and the values she instilled in her family.

One of May Green’s first projects helped chart the firm’s course. People need homes to live in. In the process, why not allow them to enjoy natural beauty while remaining sensitive to the environment? A land tract filled with birdsong, breezes, hardwoods, plenty of space and a 60-acre lake became Shiloh Farms in York, developed by May Green. As with all ensuing May Green communities, its homesites are one to five acres or more.

While finding aesthetically pleasing York County parcels is never easy, it was less of a

challenge during those early years than it is today. In the late 1990s, Tom Smith spent plenty of time at the York County courthouse studying aerial photos and pulling cards to analyze a property’s availability. The Smiths look for acreage with absentee owners. Occasionally, landowners come to them with property to sell.

Beyond that, May Green identifies parcels that are large enough for roomy homesites. The low-density approach allows natural surroundings to be left intact for walking trails, green space corridors and parks that require low maintenance.

Those values extended further into the community when Tom helped draft a unified development ordinance and adequate public facilities proposal during his 2007-2010 tenure on the York County Council. But the 2008

recession slowed development and those requirements were put on the back burner for builders.

Until now. York County’s recent zoning changes require developments to have more green space — a philosophy May Green had adopted decades earlier. “To be honest, the new zoning laws haven’t changed things much for May Green,” says Tom Smith. “Fewer parcels are available, but our low-density approach has remained the same for a couple of decades.”

That makes the properties that May Green discovers even more unique and valuable.

For instance, May Green recently acquired 123 acres of open space with a farm pond and shade oaks near Clover. The community will be home to 58 families, allowing plenty of nature in between sites to preserve its serenity.

From left: Tom Smith, Tim Smith, Quinn Smith. (Photo by Kathy Widenhouse)

And is May Green’s custom, it will be named Edmunds Farm in tribute to the original owner, Adele Edmunds, and her children. Patrick Place, Vander Lakes, Campbell's Crossing and The Hylands, all May Green developments, are likewise named to preserve the legacy of original area families.

Stewarding the process

The process of creating a May Green neighborhood’s infrastructure is purposeful and takes three to four years, always with an eye to preserving natural surroundings and building a community.

At any time, there are two to four parcels in different phases of development. Once the May Green team identifies a prospective property, they spend time walking and hiking to get familiar with it. Then it’s on to working with engineers to create a preliminary sketch plat plan to submit to the county for approval. Along the way, May Green purchases the property, working with longtime lender South State Bank and Trust.

And they sell the lots. “We don’t list on MLS (Multiple Listing Service)” said Quinn Smith. “We sell by word of mouth. People find out about our available property most often through a builder and occasionally a realtor.”

“We work from the point of finding the property until we help form a homeowner’s association,” said Tom Smith. “Then, we hand over the reins to the residents.”

Stewarding local family businesses

That long-term approach has allowed the Smith family and their staff to impact many lives and develop lasting relationships with other local vendors in the building industry.

“About 50 local businesses are involved in the construction of just one May Green property,” said Tom Smith. The list includes general contractors, plumbers, electricians, engineers, surveyors and landscapers — about 90% which are local. All told, May Green generates an average of $15 million a year in business. Since a majority of their providers are locally based, revenue stays right here in York County.

And most of those vendors are family-owned and operated.

Alexander Realty and Construction in York, for instance, often works side-by-by-side with May Green Properties to build homes. Owner Mike Alexander started his firm in 1980. Now his children, Chelsea and Tanner, work with him, too.

And the family ties extend even further to Tom’s brother, Tim, Jr., who provides architec-

Private tract offered by May Green Properties. (Image courtesy of May Green Properties)

tural review for May Green community plans and additional support through his company, Stormwater Management.

The Smiths consider their vendor partners to be their own extended family. “The local homegrown builder doesn’t have many places to go to these days for parcel inventory,” said Tom Smith. “We’ve become their inventory. We rely on each other.”

Stewarding the family

What is it like working with your flesh and blood? It feels natural to Quinn Smith, who grew up riding a tractor on May Green properties with his dad. After earning a degree at Clemson University and working in construction sales logistics for corporate America, he purposely made the choice to return to his roots and to the family business.

Hard work and family values have clearly passed on through the family. “I hear myself speaking through Quinn,” said Tom Smith. “But more importantly, I hear my father speaking through him.”

That mutual respect runs through all three generations. “I taught my son a little bit about how to run things, but he taught me a lot, too,” said Tim Smith, the family patriarch, referring to Tom. Then, he nods to his grandson. “And now I’m learning from this young squirt, too.”

In fact, Quinn Smith works directly with his grandfather every day. “He is pretty sharp,” said Quinn with a laugh. It was Tim who joined Quinn to put up signs for May Green’s recent grand opening of Shepherds Trace in Clover.

“I’m getting the chance to spend time with my grandfather — time that I otherwise may not have had,” said Quinn Smith. “That experience will stick with me for years.”

Just like the timeless communities the family business builds. LW

6121 York, SC 29745

Phone: 803-631-4136

Web: maygreenllc.com www.facebook.com/ maygreenproperties

BY Kathy Widenhouse

Treasures in The (Photo

Stacey set a gorgeous Waterford vase on the checkout counter and beamed. “This is perfect,” she said. “It’s just what I’m looking for.”

She needed a birthday gift for a friend who frequently entertained and in her words, “has impeccable taste.” The vase was ideal … and so was the purchase price.

It was just one of hundreds of items offered on consignment at The Estate Boys, experts in residential estate sales.

For more than 25 years, the boys have been helping local residents find new homes for their furniture, accessories, art and trappings when they downsize or inherit beautiful things.

And one owner’s goodbyes to personal items mean good buys for those who frequent The Estate Boys’ showroom in Lake Wylie.

Goodbye to boredom

About four months into his 1995 retirement, Ron Hunter got bored. The former hospital executive and River Hills resident had spent every day on his boat, but summer was ending. He and a friend, Paul Bayer, helped a neighbor downsize his home’s contents for a retirement move and arranged storage for the leftovers.

The same scenario repeated itself as more friends moved into retirement communities, so Ron and Paul rented 1,000 square feet of space in The Market on Wylie, just adjacent to the Buster Boyd Bridge. Once a month, they threw open the doors, pulled out their stockpile onto the covered porch and into the parking lot, and sold the home furnishing finds to customers – always at consignment for the original owners.

Their inventory grew and the boys needed a showroom. When Lake Wylie Hardware closed, The Estate Boys moved into their space. Another friend, Steve Scoggins, retired and joined forces with the Ron and Paul. When Paul relocated to Indiana to be near his parents, Ron and Steve bought his part of the business.

Now, boredom is a thing of the past for Ron and Steve. They’re up to their ears in matching treasures between one owner and the next.

Good quality buys

It’s not only retirees moving to smaller homes that need help liquidating their personal property. The Estate Boys get calls from families who are moving hundreds or thousands of miles away and don’t want the expense of transporting their home’s contents, too.

“My husband keeps getting promoted and we keep having to move from one area of the country to another,” explained one client. “I don’t want to keep dragging my furniture with us.” She placed an armoire on consignment with The Estate Boys. The custom-designed piece from Karges, a handcrafter furniture maker known for their classic designs supplied to The White House and similar venues, retails for $20,000. Its price tag in the Lake Wylie store is $2,000.

Another source of The Estate Boys’ stock: outof-town family members lose a loved one in the Charlotte area and need expert guidance in going through belongings long-distance. As are the artwork and furnishing that a local resident inherits from Great Aunt Sophie – pieces that are gorgeous or unusual, but the beneficiary cannot use.

Even those simply relocating nearby take advantage of the boys and their services. One couple needed to liquidate its beachfront condominium. Among the items they placed on consignment with Ron and Steve: a Howard Miller Coastal Collection grandfather clock (retail $5,000; price tag $1,500), unique for its contemporary look.

“Estate sales are the ultimate repurposing,” says Ron. “People who are downsizing get cash for items they are no longer using. And shoppers find unique and high-quality pieces for their homes.”

Custom club chairs and ottoman by Bentley Churchill. (Image courtesy of The Estate Boys)

Estate Boys showroom. by Kathy Widenhouse)

How to say goodbye

Owners often stop by the showroom or send photos electronically for estimates on items they wish to sell. The Estate Boys also work with clients to clean out entire homes and storage units.

Such was the case when an elderly artist, descended from Polish aristocracy, needed to relocate to California to be near her children after her husband had passed away. Her ancestral home had been confiscated by Nazis in the early days of World War II. Now, a lifetime later, she had five storage units and an apartment of accumulated memories.

“We met her at the storage units and went through items piece by piece,” explained Ron. The process took three days. One group of items went to The Estate Boys to be sold. One

set of items she reserved to take with her. The remainder were donated to charity. Ron and Steve work closely with Sweet Repeat and the Habitat Re-Store when items cannot be consigned through their showroom.

“We turn away 80% of consignments that we review,” says Steve. “Just because it belonged to your parents or grandparents doesn’t mean we can sell it.” That includes pump organs, pool tables, appliances, knick knacks, china teacups, collectibles and clothes.

The exception: specialty items. Peruse the showroom on a given day and you can choose from a handful of fur coats. One fulllength lynx sold the first day it was placed on the floor. Another full-length mink had two potential buyers. One woman saw a mink coat on Friday and emailed Ron on Saturday morning, asking to reserve it – just as another

shopper lifted off the hanger to try it on.

Yet the boys continually find themselves surprised at what they sell. A customer mentioned a niece in Columbia was furnishing a large home. “She wouldn’t happen to need a grand piano, would she?” asked Ron. At the time, he was working with a Lake Norman couple to empty the contents of their three-story mansion, which included an eight-foot Steinway.

She did. The boys sold the piano without seeing it.

Who buys good buys

Who buys all the furniture, rugs, lamps, chandeliers, artwork, mirrors, outdoor furniture and statuary that fill the showroom?

“At least once a week, a new resident comes in,” says Ron. “Many of them say, ‘I

Vintage china and carpets. (Image courtesy of The Estate Boys)

A personal butler end table. (Image courtesy of The Estate Boys)

sold everything before I moved.’” Homeowners are furnishing their homes and are looking for good furniture and good prices.

It helps, too, that the boys offer pickup and delivery even beyond the local area. They’ve arranged for delivery of special items to locations as far away as Boston and northern Wisconsin.

Meanwhile, many pieces never make it to the showroom floor. Ron and Steve keep a “Wish List” of items that customers are looking for: a vanity bench, dining room table with eight chairs, a 72-inch credenza, a cherry desk for the family room – one buyer even requested an unopened bottle of vintage American whiskey. When a Wish List item appears in an estate, there’s a ready buyer waiting for it.

Goodbyes give life

The Estate Boys have been in business so long that they’ve seen some items come through their store twice. They can remember those pieces because their stock is unique, often one-of-a-kind, from a doll’s miniature Queen Anne armchair to a coffee table fashioned from a piano to an alligator leather chair that more than one customer wanted to purchase.

Those unique items pull in customers who merely want to browse. And others who want to find a vintage, custom-design or high-quality item for a gift – or for a special place in the home.

“Everybody’s got stuff,” says Steve. “When they need to get rid of it, we help them.” Which means good buys for you. LW

Want a good buy?

The Estate Boys

Ron Hunter and Steve Scoggins

4110 Charlotte Highway, Lake Wylie

Web: www.TheEstateBoys.com

Ron Hunter: 704-458-4834

Email: ronvhunter@bellsouth.net

Steve Scoggins: 803-981-2592

Email: fstephenson2@comporium.net

Showroom hours:

Thursday-Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday by appointment Sunday-Monday closed

EN GARDE

Anyone can be a swashbuckling hero at On Point Fencing Club

BY Kathy Widenhouse

At right and above on next page, Com petitors at On Point Fencing Club.

(Images courtesy of On Point Fencing) Club

As you step onto the second floor of the Clover School District Community YMCA on a Monday or Wednesday evening, you may hear a clash and clank.

Peek around the corner and you’ll see ath letes of all ages and sizes clad in bright white jackets. Steel mesh masks cover their faces and elbow-length gloves cover their arms as two swordsmen face off. A lunge here … a parry back … five touches later, the bout ends.

No, you’re not in 15th-century Spain or France. You’re watching the On Point Fenc ing Club in action, right here in 21st-century Lake Wylie, South Carolina.

Fencing comes to Lake Wylie

On Point Fencing Club is the brainchild of

Oscar Viveros, who grew up in Jamaica, New York. Because he was the first teenager in his extended family to earn a driver’s license, he was assigned the task of chauffeuring his younger cousins to their fencing lessons. One evening, he joined them.

The foil in hand intrigued Viveros, who subsequently joined the fencing club when he entered Miami Dade College. Over those four years as the team crisscrossed the Southeast to compete in matches, his passion for the sport grew. “Some of my best memories of college are traveling to tournaments and events with the team,” says Viveros, who was state cham pion during his senior year.

But unlike many collegiate athletes in other sports, he didn’t hang up his gear upon

graduation. He became a fierce competitor in the Florida fencing circuit during the late 1980s and early 1990s and dreamed of start ing his own fencing club.

Life got in the way for a while – career, marriage, raising four children – yet Viveros was determined to pursue his passion. He had the chance when he and his family moved to Clover in 2016 to be closer to his in-laws, cousins and other family members. Soon, Viveros and two of his sons were driving to uptown a couple times a week so they could thrust and parry with fencers at the Charlotte Fencing Academy.

But the drive was long after a day at work and school. When the Clover School District Community YMCA opened, Viveros ap

proached its leaders and pitched the idea of fencing classes.

“The YMCA welcomed us with open arms,” said Viveros. The Y provided the space. He provided the equipment, insurance (through USA Fencing), and know-how.

Fencing’s double-edged sword

Fencing is among five sports that have been fixtures at the Olympic Games since the event’s inception in 1896. And although fencing is widespread in Europe and Russia, it is just starting to grow in popularity in the United States. On Point Fencing is one of only 15 fencing clubs in South Carolina – a total that includes collegiate teams.

The scarcity has been a double-edged sword for Viveros as he builds the club.

On one hand, fencing is a niche sport. To the general public, it’s associated with swashbuckling heroes like Robin Hood and knights in shining armor.

Yet that very uniqueness – and the club’s accessibility – is appealing to locals who want to try it. Just ask Lake Wylie resident Samuel, 13, who has taken boxing lessons but has long wanted to pick up a foil. “We never could find somewhere nearby that offered fencing,” says Samuel’s dad. Until they saw On Point Fencing’s sign outside the CSD YMCA.

A tip, a slash and a touché

There are three forms of modern fencing: foil, epée, and sabre. Each uses a different weapon and follows different rules. Epée fencing allows touches from head to toe while sabre fencing includes slashing.

But foil fencers target the opponent’s upper body only and score solely with the tip of the blade. Points are tracked electronically through the competitors’ jackets, body cords and retractable reels connected to a scoring machine that emits an audible “beep” with a hit in place of the traditional “touché.”

Of the three forms, foil fencing is the most popular. It’s the type of fencing embraced at On Point Fencing Club.

Newcomers needn’t pony up to buy their own gear, which can run $500-$2,000 per per son. The club provides jackets, underarm pro tectors, gloves, helmets, scoring equipment, and yes – swords (technically, “foils”) – for a small equipment fee.

The club opened in 2018 and operates year-round at the CSD Community YMCA, working in four-week-long cycles. Beginners are welcome at any point. The first couple of sessions are dedicated to understanding the basics, but after that, fencers face different op ponents in the class during each session. The final week culminates in an in-house tourna ment for all participants, including coaches.

A sweaty – and elegant – workout

Fencing is a sport that appeals to all ages. Lake Wylie resident Susan, an account manager for a chemical company, always wanted to learn to fence, but frequent travel for work prevented it. When the pandemic kept her home for a year and a half, she had the opportunity. “It’s exhila rating,” said Susan, now in her second year with the club. “There’s no way to fence ‘calmly.’ You’re in combat.” Plus, she adds, fencing offers an aer obic workout. When Susan leaves the Y after a fencing session, her clothes are soaked.

Reflexes and strategy make fencing a men tal game, too – one with a surprising impact for Eva, 13. “I was in cheerleading, but I got bullied,” she says. She needed an activity that would allow her to work out that accumulated anger. Eva has been fencing for six months. “It’s not as aggres sive as it looks,” she says of fencing. “The sport

is elegant.”

And Viveros has seen how the sport has im pacted his students beyond speed, agility and fitness by helping them to develop discipline. Fifteen-year-old Harrison, for instance, has an abundance of energy along with experience with martial arts. “He knew when to attack, but his blade work was all over the place and he didn’t like drilling,” said Viveros. After a few months, Harrison’s skills plateaued. That’s when he start ed working on drills, said Viveros. The discipline has improved Harrison’s game dramatically.

Be a hero

Viveros’ sons, Antonio and Evan, have been fencing since their dad placed foam swords in their hands when they began to walk. Both have assisted with the club from the start. Evan is a registered coach and Anto nio is an assistant coach.

Together, the Viveros’ goal is to build the club into a competitive national team.

And while it took nearly two decades for Evan to get serious about the sport, today he shares his father’s passion for fencing. When he’s not helping people find their dream home as a licensed realtor, Evan competes in tour naments across the Southeast.

“Fencing is not an easy sport,” says Evan. “But once you fall in love with it, you’re in love for life.”

Meanwhile, Oscar Viveros continues to fence at tournaments on the veteran circuit, recently racking up a second-place finish.

And the club? It is Viveros’ dream come true. Especially as locals join him in their quest to become a hero or heroine. With a foil in their hands. LW

Want to Parry and Thrust?

On Point Fencing Club

Classes at Clover School District Community YMCA Mondays and Wednesdays, 6:30-8 p.m. 5485 Charlotte Highway Clover, SC 29710

YMCA members: $130 per cycle

Non-YMCA members: $200 per cycle

Equipment rental: $25 per month

Fall cycles: Sept. 12-Oct. 5 and Oct. 10-Nov. 2

For more information: Coach Oscar Viveros

On Point Fencing Club

Web: www.OnPointFencingClub.com

Email: oscar@onpointfencingclub.com

Phone: 754-422-2795

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ opfencingclub

Oscar Viveros providing orientation for a new class. (Photo by Kathy Widenhouse)

Up, up and away

By Drew Choate

In Lake Wylie, summertime traditionally means fun on the lake and by the pool, va cations at the beach, weekends cooling off in the mountains nearby, and moving vans in driveways as folks move in and out while schools take their summer breaks.

This year was no exception, though the mov ing vans were a little less busy. Home sales in York County through the end of July fell 6% in comparison to last year’s robust market, and about 3% in comparison to pre-pandemic levels.

The economy and rising interest rates affect ed summer sales, which historically represent the strongest selling season of the year. Lack of inventory — the number of homes available for sale — also limited sales. During the pandem ic, many people moved to our area, where they could enjoy outdoor recreation opportunities and a more affordable cost of living than some urban areas.

As demand for homes went up, up, up — prices followed suit. The average home sold in York County this year closed at $445,000, up 38% from the pre-pandemic average of $321,000 in 2019. Cost per square foot in York County is almost $200, up 53% from three years ago.

On the lake, the average price for a water front home is now $1.2 million — almost double what it was five years ago. It is a new era for real

estate on Lake Wylie.

Million-dollar sales, both on and off the lake, are now common in our area. Through the end of July this year on Lake Wylie, nine waterfront homes carried prices over $2 million, which was a rarity until this year.

In the climate of rising prices and tighten ing inventory, homeowners in mid-level priced houses are tending to stay put instead of moving up or downsizing. As a result, inventory levels in lower and mid-priced homes is squeezed more so than in the higher priced categories.

Though national headlines tout a softening in real estate sales, our area continues to out perform national numbers. Demand is still very strong for homes in and around Lake Wylie, and it is still a “seller’s market.” New listings receive immediate attention from buyers, and when priced correctly, the properties sell quickly. LW

A sampling of prices in top-selling neighborhoods in our area include:

Boshamer Farms in Clover, aver age price $354k, $175/square foot.

Paddlers Cove in Lake Wylie, aver age price $581k, $190/square foot.

The Palisades in Charlotte, aver age price $644k, $189/square foot.

McLean developments in Belmont, average price $599k, $230/square foot.

Cypress Point in Lake Wylie, aver age price $596k, $179/square foot.

Riverwalk in Rock Hill, average price $542k, $209/square foot.

McCullough in Fort Mill, average price $654k, $202/square foot.

This waterfront home on Concord Road closed for $1.2 million, almost double the sale price from six years ago. Below, a waterfront home on the Allison Creek peninsula on Lake Wylie, listed at just under $1.6 million, was under contract within two days of hitting the market. (Photos/Provided)

Spotlight

Business After Hours

Thursday, June 16, 2022

Photos by Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce

Sponsored by Fred Caldwell Chevrolet Held at Fred Caldwell Chevrolet

Hemingway Bromfield (from left), Dianne Kehler, Mayor Greg Holmes and Melanie McClure enjoy catching up.

Mike Robbe (from left) with Rhonda and Tim Millman, of Staging Magic, and April Robbe of Sea and Sun Travel Agency.

Robert Willis, of The Wet Vet, with Jeff Ledford of River Hills Country Club and chamber chairman.

John Sheedy, of River Hills Country Club, and Yesim Bozoklu of YB Design.

Zack Webster, of Long Consulting Group,with car collector Bill McCleave and McCleave’s 1923 Packard.

Christopher Earle, of Christopher’s, and Allan Gregory, of KA Gregory Wealth Management.

Business After Hours

Thursday, August 18, 2022

Photos by Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce

Bryan Dillon (from left), of Clover School District, with Dana and Livia Jeffries, of Innoviant Consulting Group.

Patsy and Rick Zioncheck (from left), of Lee’s Hoagie House, with Kent Van Slambrook.

Bryan Dillon (from left), of Clover School District, John Sheedy, of River Hills Country Club, and Dr. Sheila Quinn, Clover School District Superintendent.

Chamber volunteers Charlie Bromfield, Hemingway Bromfield and Dianne Kehler greet members.

Allan Gregory, of KA Gregory Wealth Management, with Jeff Ledford, chamber chairman.

Charlie Bromfield with Danielle Jenkins of Elite Echo Clean.

Jessica and Andrew Miller of Thrive Mortgage, co-sponsors of the event.

Save The Date!

Lake Wylie Chamber Annual Holiday Gala

Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce Holiday Gala

Thursday, Dec. 8 at River Hills Country Club, Lake Wylie

Photos by Dana Sipper | Sipper Photography

Renewing Members 12 Aug.

Welcome New Members

June 6 – Aug. 22, 2022

Anchor Self Storage

Anytime Fitness Lake Wylie Bethel Commons

BNA SPA Advisors

Carolina Family Dentistry at Lake Wylie Carolina Homes Connection, LLC

Clover School District

Trash Can Sanitizing and Cleaning

Jeff Greene

3103 Foggy Hollow Lane

Clover, SC 29710 803-675-2575

jeff@carolinacanman.com www.carolinacanman.com

Tax Professional

Community Tax Service, LLC Mary Ogino Lake Wylie, SC 29710 704-849-0115 commtax@aol.com www.communitytaxservicellc.com

Ice Cream Parlor

Dreamery Creamery

Gentle Sticks Mobile

Phlebotomy, LLC

Kanneshe Coleman

4371 Charlotte Highway, #22 Lake Wylie, SC 29710 info@gentlesticks.com www.gentlesticks.com

Business Consulting

Innoviant Consulting Group, LLC

Livia Jefferies and Dana Jefferies

264 Latitude Lane, Suite 102 Lake Wylie, SC 29710 708-205-0382 livia@innoviantconsulting.com www.innoviantconsulting.com

Jewelry and watch repair

On Time Watch Repair

Robert Calderon

Lori & Cameron Lee 4543 Charlotte Hwy #8 Lake Wylie, SC 29710 803-810-6093 dreamerycreamerylw @gmail.com www.dreamerycreamerylw.com Medical

13310 South Ridge Drive Charlotte, NC 28273 980-216-0336

ontimewatchrepair@outlook.com www.ontimewatchrepair.com

Comfort Systems of York County

Duke Energy

Fast Frog Bakery

Fort Mill Ford

Fred Caldwell Chevrolet Home Companions

Keller Williams Realty – Andy Reynolds

Keller Williams Realty – Janeece Swainey

Lake Wylie Assisted Living Lake Wylie Clover May Day Lake Wyle Italian And Pizza Lake Wylie Liquors

Lake Wylie Pet Resort

Lee’s Hoagie House

M. L. Ford & Sons, Inc. Mr. Crawl Space

New River Church

Palisades Episcopal School

Quik Trip

Redwood Lake Wylie R.P. Boggs Company

Rotary Club of Lake Wylie River Hills Marina Club Scholarship Gold Sea Tow State Farm – Seth Neely Steele Creek Animal Hospital

United Bank Watson Insurance York Electric Cooperative York Technical College

Individuals

Dianne Kehler

Jeff Ledford

Jim Lane

Nancy Snyder

Sandy Wilkerson

Tally Roberts

Lights on the Lake

Photos by Dana Sipper | Sipper Photography

Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce 2022 Board of Directors

Jeff Ledford - Chairman

Charles Wood – Past Chairman

Susan Bromfield - President

Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce

Matthew Mugavero – Vice Chairman

Lake Wylie Liquors

Donna Bordeaux - Secretary, Calculated Moves, PA

Michaelyn Sherrill - Treasurer, Home Companions

Fred Caldwell, Fred Caldwell Chevrolet

Jane DuBois, Little Woods Marketing

Kim Conroy, YMCA Camp Thunderbird

Allan Gregory, K.A. Gregory Wealth Management

Ed Lindsey, Rotary Club of Lake Wylie

Angel Neelands, United Bank

Stephen Nishimuta, Carolina Family Dentistry

Sheila Quinn, Clover School District

Quinn Smith, May Green Properties

Ed Stewart

P.O. Box 5233

264 Latitude Lane, Suite 101 Lake Wylie, SC 29710 803-831-2827 Fax: 803-831-2460 lakewyliechamber@yahoo.com www.lakewyliesc.com

2022 Chamber Champion Gold Member

Business Suite Now Available For Rent

Everything A Small Business Needs At Reasonable Rates!

Fu lly a nd Be a u ti fu lly Fu rni she d R e nta l Offi ce Ne w Pro fe ssi o na l Bu si ne ss Ce nte r I nclu d e s Hi g h Sp e e d I nte rne t a nd Wi Fi I nclu d e s All Uti li ti e s Exce p t Te le p ho ne I nclu d e s R e ce p ti o n Are a & Ma i l Se rvi ce La rg e Offi ce Amp le Pa rk i ng

Pri me La k e Wyli e Bu si ne ss Lo ca ti o n Co nve ni e nt Lo ca ti o n Ea sy Acce ss Sa ve Fu e l a nd Wo rk Clo se to Ho me I nclu d e s Ho sp i ta li ty Are a

Located at Lake Wylie Business Center

264 Latitude Lane Lake Wylie, SC

For in form ation or tou r, cal l Lake W yl ie Ch am be r of Com m e rce ( 8 0 3 ) 8 3 1 28 27.

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Nominations are now being accepted for 2022 Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce Business Person and Citizen of the Year

CANDIDATES SHOULD HAVE THE FOLLOWING:

A history of long-time involvement in the community

• A positive impact on the Lake Wylie community

• Business person must be a chamber member with a history of being supportive of community and chamber activities. Citizen should be a person who makes a positive difference in the community as a whole.

CANDIDATES SHOULD HAVE THE FOLLOWING:

2018 Special Legacy Award: Don Long

Business Person Citizen

2019 Matthew Mugavero Ed Lindsey

2017 Gwen Thompson Perry Johnston

2016 Tom Smith Melanie Wilson

2015 Kitty Muccigrosso Dick Mann

2014 Haven Presley Norma Wood

2013 Leonard Jackson Lisa McCarthy

2012 Q2U BBQ, Chad Bordeaux

Business of the Year

2011 Doug McSpadden Rep. Ralph Norman

2010 Fred Caldwell Tom Smith

2009 Rob Watson Elizabeth Hartley and Fred Nason of Watson Insurance, Business of the Year

2008 Al Powell Vince Mugavero

Nominee for Business Person:

2007 Ed Stewart Susan Bromfield (Milestone Award)

2006 Diana Grubenhoff Dr. Steve Miszkiewicz

2005 Mark DeChant Stacy Waddell -Blackmon

2004 Andy Kane Fred Wetherell

2003 Rod Hall Roberta Spampinato

2002 Leslie Hall Don Long

2001 Paige McCarter Charles Wood

2000 David Mathein S.C. Rep. Becky Meacham

1999 Myron Boloyan S.C. Rep. Herb Kirsh

1998 Tally Roberts Ruth Sheets

1997 Jong and Po Liu Diane Roberts

1996 Jack Allen Senator Harvey Peeler

1995 MaMa “C” Nick and Joanne Jones

1994 Mark Erwin Peggy Upchurch

1993 John Wilkerson “Duck” Alexander

1992 Fire chief Bill Johnston

Nominee for Citizen: Please tell us about your nominee and his/or her contributions to the community

Deadline for nominees - 10/18/22 – 5 p.m. – email: lakewyliechamber@yahoo.com

Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce

2022 Upcoming Activities Looking Forward

Lunch and Learn

Tuesday, Oct. 4

Noon-1:30 p.m.

Guest Speaker – U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman Held at Family Trust Federal Credit Union 1219 S.C. Highway 55 E., Clover

Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce Annual Golf Classic

Thursday, Oct. 6

1 p.m. Shotgun Start, Captain’s Choice Golf, prizes, hospitality and fun for all!

Held at River Hills Country Club Lake Wylie

Fall Business After Hours

Thursday, Oct. 20

5-7 p.m.

sponsored by and held at The Blake at Baxter Village 522 6th Baxter Crossing – Fort Mill

Halloween Business After Hours

Thursday, Oct. 27

5:30-7:30 p.m.

Sponsored by and held at United Bank – Clover Branch 124 N. Main St., Clover

Annual Holiday Gala

Thursday, Dec. 8 6:30-11 p.m.

Cocktails, Dinner and Music Seating Limited, Festive Attire

Held at River Hills Country Club Lake Wylie

Holiday Boat Parade

Saturday, Dec. 10 6:30 p.m.

Held at Papa Doc’s Shore Club Lake Wylie

River Hills Country Club ribbon-cutting

River Hills Country Club celebrated its 50th anniversary this year with a major renovation of the golf course that included new greens and golf carts and a new clock tower (pictured at left). Above, a group of club officials, members and others gathered recently for a grand reopening of the club.

Thank you all enjoy the fireworks each year. Since the Lake Wylie Community Fireworks Display is funded solely through donations, your support of this wonderful event is really for it to In order to ensure the Lake Wylie Fireworks be scheduled, your Thunderbird Wylie,