Lakeside November December January 2018

LAKESIDE L I F E O U T D O O R S F R O M W AT E R E E T O S A N T E E

GIFT IDEAS FOR AREA SPORTSMEN LET'S T A TURKE LK Y

BIRD LOVER IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR FOR FARMER WHO RAISES 'HEAVY TOMS'

REMOTE LOCALE A PERFECT FIT FOR SUMTER WOODWORKER

CHRISTMAS CRACK

AND OTHER HOLIDAY RECIPES FOR YOU TO TRY THIS SEASON

NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018

about us

from the lake Hello from the new guy in town

PUBLISHER Vince Johnson vince@theitem.com COPY EDITORS Jessica Stephens jessica@theitem.com Melanie Smith melanie@theitem.com Rhonda Barrick rhonda@theitem.com COLUMNISTS Dan Geddings CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Adrienne Sarvis adrienne@theitem.com Jim Hilley jim@theitem.com Bruce Mills bruce@theitem.com Ivy Moore Special to Lakeside

Ryan Galloway ryan@theitem.com Jessica Stephens jessica@theitem.com Melanie Smith melanie@theitem.com ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS Mark Pekuri mark@theitem.com Paige Macloskie paige@theitem.com Karen Cave karen@theitem.com

If you have any story ideas for a future edition of Lakeside, email PressRelease@TheItem.com. To have your business included in the magazine, email Marketing@ TheItem.com.

VINCE JOHNSON PUBLISHER OF LAKESIDE

LAKESIDE LIFE OUTD OORS

on the cover

GIFT IDEA S FOR AREA SPORTSM EN LET'S TUR TALK KEY

BIRD LOVER

One of turkey grower Lee Newman's "heavy toms" is seen at Newman Family Farm.

Photo by Bruce Mills

F R O M W AT EREE TO S ANTEE

CHRISTMA

IT'S A FAMI WHO RAISELY AFFAIR FOR FARM ER S 'HEAVY TO MS' REMOTE LO FOR SUM CALE A PERFECT TER WOO FIT DWORKE R

D OTHER HO S CRACK REANCIP LID ES FOR YO AY U TO TRY TH IS SEASON

NOVEMBER

, DECEMBER 2017 — JAN UARY 201 8

All I want for 16 also Christmas

inside 2 NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 | LAKESIDE

Gifts for the sportsmen in your life

8 Christmas traditions

PUBLICATION DESIGNERS Cary Howard cary@theitem.com

this holiday edition of Lakeside, see the great things happening in this area with a fresh perspective.

Explore the region with your friends and family, soaking in the great progress being made in business and industry, while actively enjoying each holiday event. Appreciate the storied history that came before, perhaps by visiting "Christmas at The Ruins" on Dec. 2 (see page 20).

I’m glad to be new to South Carolina, new to Lakeside, and soon enough, new to that Pecan Christmas Crack.

Enjoy your days ahead as well.

Some things will never change

I’ve never spent the holidays in South Carolina.

I’ve never tried Pecan Christmas Crack (see page 42).

I’ve never even seen the lakes Lakeside represents.

Just a few weeks ago, I moved to Sumter from a suburb north of Atlanta. Along with my wife — she’s "new" too, as we’ve just been married for four months — we’re spending our first holiday season as newlyweds in a new area of the world.

Being new, we travel the area with awe and anticipation. We’re eagerly awaiting the holiday events (see pages 4-7), though I’m a little skeptical of this Fat Back Queen.

We’re excited to meet the people, learn the culture and customs, and — most importantly — eat the food that makes this area special.

And whether you're new to the area as well or a life-long resident, I have a challenge for you this holiday season.

Be "new" too.

As you flip through the pages of

Out of the ordinary

Rare Tree Nursery offers something different for your yard

Learn about historic house during holiday tour

Woodworker: Remote location a perfect fit for business

Try some of our favorites at your next family gathering

Yummy holiday recipes

38

what’s inside The best part of this Southern tradition is spending time with your loved ones

Let's make fruitcake

Turkey farmer Lee Newman says there are many misconceptions about the business

Bird lover of a different breed

Christmas at The Ruins

Carving his niche

28

44 20 12 10

FEATURE STORIES

NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 3

Community Calendar CLARENDON COUNTY The 8th Annual Holly Daze Market, hosted by the Clarendon Junior Ambassadors, will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4, at McLeod Health Clarendon, Cypress Center.

Pick up some great Christmas gifts for friends and family at this annual event. Call Shelley at (803) 433-4966.

Grace Christian Fellowship Church will hold its annual fall yard sale / bake sale / soup and cornbread lunch fundraiser from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 2938 Raccoon Road, Manning. Call (803) 478-3487.

The HopeHealth Golf Classic will be held on Thursday, Nov. 16, at Wyboo Golf Club, 2565 Players Course Drive, Manning. Entry fee is $75 per golfer, and team format is Captain’s Choice Four-Person team. This event will feature barbecue lunch from 11 to 11:45 a.m.; shotgun start at 11:45 a.m.; tournament noon to 5 p.m.; and awards social from 5 to 7 p.m. Call (843) 667-9414, extension 1574.

Dance Academy will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14, at Weldon Auditorium, 7 Maple St., Manning. Featuring dancers, gymnasts, twirlers, singers and more, this fun, upbeat event will celebrate the holiday season.

Tickets will go on sale in early November.

SUMTER COUNTY Do you love mobile cuisine and craft beer?

If so, you won’t want to miss out on the Untapped: Food Truck & Craft Beer festival scheduled for 11 a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Sumter County Fairgrounds.

This event will feature a variety of food truck vendors as well as a beer tent with craft and domestic beers. There will be a beer tasting from 3 to 6 p.m.

Visit www.sumtersc.gov/ untapped for more information or to purchase tickets.

Enjoy an evening of fine art, fine food, fine music and a chance to win an original Philip Mullen painting as the Sumter County Gallery of Art holds The HopeHealth “A Winter Garden Golf Classic will Party be held Thursday, and Nov. 16, at Wyboo Philip Golf Club, 2565 MulPlayers Course len Drive, Manning.

Exhibition & Fine Art Raffle” from 7 to 10 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9, at the Sumter

Emmanuel Baptist Church will hold a Thanksgiving Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 18. Call (803) 435-5094 or (803) 478-8353 for details.

The Pilot Club Christmas Bazaar will be held 4-6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 21, at Manning Presbyterian Church, 233 N. Brooks St. Call (803) 478-6062, (803) 473-3677, (803) 435-5402 or (803) 478-4820.

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The Sumter County Museum’s 20th Annual Carolina Backcountry Oyster Roast, one of Sumter’s most anticipated events, will be held 6-9 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 16, at 122 N. Washington St. Tickets are $40 for members, $50 for non-members and $55 at the door (if available).

Enjoy all-you-can-eat oysters, barbecue, chili, collards, beer, wine and soft drinks.

The 7th Annual Silver Bells Art and Craft Show will be held 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, and noon-4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19, at 30 S. Artillery Drive. Please bring a non-perishable food item to help support United Ministries. Event will also help support Kat’s Special Kneads Small Animal Shelter.

An All Ford Car Show will be held 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18, at Cut Rate Drug Store and Coffee Shop, 32 S. Main St. Take your family, your friends and your pets to the Sumter Family YMCA’s Turkey Trot 5k Run/Walk on Thursday, Nov. 23. Registration begins at 8 a.m. with the race beginning at 9 a.m. Call (803) 773-1404 or email info@ymcasumter.org.

The 8th Annual Town of Pinewood Christmas Parade will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2, departing from Manchester Elementary School and proceeding down Clark Street. This year’s parade will feature a DJ playing festive holiday music at the reviewing stand area in front of Town Hall.

The Sumter Holiday House and Tea Christmas Tour is back this year with “A Very Southern Christmas” from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2. Featured on the tour will be three homes

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The Sumter Opera House will feature some wonderful performers during December and January 2018.

Currently scheduled: Dec. 9, The Celtic Tenors; Dec. 16, Christmas Songs and Stories with John Berry; Jan. 12, Dwayne Johnson and the Soul Food Jazz Band; and Jan. 14, The Lettermen. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. with the exception of The Lettermen, who will perform at 3 p.m.

Sumter Little Theatre will present the Christmas classic "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" Thursday-Sunday, Nov. 30-Dec. 3, and Dec. 7-10, at 14 Mood Ave. Show times are 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students / senior citizens / military. Call (803) 775-2150.

The Carolina Backcountry Christmas, a delightful afternoon filled with sights, smells and tastes of Christmas in the 1800s, will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, at the Sumter County Museum, 122 N. Washington St. Call (803) 775-0908.

KERSHAW COUNTY Historic Camden’s annual signature event, Revolutionary War Field Days will be held Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 4-5, at the Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site, 222 Broad St., Camden. Call (803) 432-9841 or visit www.historiccamden.org.

Enjoy “Chamber Music with Edward Arron, Phillip Bush & Flutist Tara Helen O’Connor,” part one of the Fine Arts Center’s Chamber Music series, on Monday, Nov. 6, at Wood Auditorium. Cocktails will be served at 6 p.m. with the concert beginning at 7 p.m. Call (803) 425-7676 or visit http://fineartscenter.org.

Do you love the sounds of 1940s big band music? If

so, you won’t want to miss Dick Goodwin’s Big Band at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 12, at Wood Auditorium. Call (803) 4257676 or visit http://fineartscenter. org.

The Kershaw County Music Association will present its 11th-annual Choral Showcase at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 21, at Lugoff-Elgin High School.

Free admission.

Find something for everyone on your Christmas list at the 2017 Holiday Sales Show from Dec. 1-13 at the historic Douglas-Reed House.

Browse through wonderful handmade gifts of jewelry, stained glass, pottery, wood items, food items and more from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 1:30-6 p.m. Sunday. Call (803) 425-7676 or visit http://fineartscenter. org.

Enjoy Christmas carols and more at the Cultural Celebration of Trees 5:30-7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County, Bassett Lobby.

Call (803) 425-7676 or visit http://fineartscenter.org.

Do you love the classic holiday movie “It’s A Wonderful Life”? Well, you sure don’t want to miss the Camden Community Theatre’s stage adaptation of “It’s A Wonderful Life” at Wood Auditorium at 7 nightly Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 7-9, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10. Cost: $18 for adults; and $15 for students. Call (803) 425-7676 or visit http:// fineartscenter.org.

The Camden Community Concert Band Christmas Concert will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 10, at the Camden High School Auditorium. Comprised of more than 50 performers, the Camden Community Concert Band is an affiliate of the Fine Arts Center. Call (803) 425-7676 or visit http://fineartscenter.org.

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This year's Boykin Christmas Parade starts at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 17. Hopefully the Fat Back Queen will make another appearance.

The Ballet Story of the Nutcracker will be presented by the Dance Place under the direction of Ari Dickinson with Stephanie Caldwell at 7 nightly Friday-Saturday, Dec. 15-16, at Wood Auditorium. Cost is $15 per person. Call (803) 425-7676 or visit http:// fineartscenter.org.

as well as homemade baked goods for purchase. Call Sylvia Hiers at (803) 258-3764.

If you can only attend one Christmas parade this season, make sure it’s the Boykin Christmas Parade! Beginning at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 17, this parade is touted as one of the world’s most unique Christmas parades, drawing thousands of spectators to Boykin each year. Call (803) 424-4731.

DORA’s Christmas Program and Downtown Tree Lighting will be held on Nov. 19 in Orangeburg. The downtown Christmas lights will be turned on after the program. Call (803) 531-6186.

ORANGEBURG COUNTY Springfield Defends Fruitcake, the annual fruitcake bakers competition, will be held 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Old School House on the S.C. National Historic Corridor, 210 Brodie St. There will be cornbread, soups and desserts available for lunch 6 NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 | LAKESIDE

The Junior Service League Holiday Market will be held Nov. 17-18 at The Cinema, 1225 Orangeburg Mall Circle, Orangeburg. Call Olivia Smith at (803) 837-0964.

The Children’s Garden Christmas and Kid’s Walk offers a drive through a beautiful, animated light display at Edisto Memorial Gardens and a stroll through the kid’s walk featuring interactive light displays. Scheduled for Nov. 20-Jan. 1, 2018. Free admission. Call (803) 533-6020.

The Eutawville Thanksgiving Day Parade will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 23. Call

(803) 492-3374 for details.

The Claflin University Concert Choir will present Handel’s “Messiah” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 28. Call (803) 531-6186 for details.

The Holly Hill Christmas Festival will be held from 3 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 1, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2. Call (803) 496-3330.

The Town of Norway Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting will be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2. Call Linda Childers at (803) 897-3353.

The Orangeburg County Christmas Parade will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 3. Call the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce at (803) 534-6821 for details.

The Springfield Christmas tree lighting and arrival of Santa will be held on Sunday, Dec. 3.

Call Sylvia Hiers at (803) 258-3764 or Springfield Town Hall at (803) 258-3152.

The Orangeburg Civic Ballet will present “The Nutcracker” at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, and 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 10, at MLK Auditorium, 300 College St. NE, Orangeburg, on the S.C. State University campus. Tickets: $12 for adults; $8 for children 12 and under and senior citizens 55 and up. Call (803) 5330017 or email orangeburgcivicballet@gmail. com.

The Elloree Small Town Christmas Festival and Parade will be held on Saturday, Dec. 9.

Call (803) 897-2821.

The Town of Bowman will hold its Christmas parade at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14. Call (803) 829-2666.

The Branchville Christmas Parade will be held on Saturday, Dec. 16. Call (803) 274-8820 for details.

The 2018 Grand American Coon Hunt is scheduled for Jan. 5-6, 2018. Call the Orangeburg Chamber of Commerce at (803) 5346821 or (800) 545-6153 for details.

BERKELEY COUNTY The Annual Red, White & Blue Festival, held to honor our nation’s veterans, will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11, at the Hanahan Amphitheater, 3100 Mabeline Road, Highland Park. This event will feature

food, jump castles, face painting, balloon artists, craft vendors and more.

900 Stony Landing Road, Moncks Corner.

Call (843) 899-5200.

The Creche Festival will be held Nov. 13-19 and Nov. 24-Dec. 2 at Mepkin Abbey in Moncks Corner. This event will feature a special exhibit of nativity scenes from around the world. Call (843) 761-8509.

The Celebrate the Season Holiday Driving Tour will be held from Nov. 24 through Dec. 30. Enjoy the dozens of spectacular, animated light displays that wind through the Old Santee Canal Park and Santee Cooper’s headquarters. The tour starts at 1 Riverwood Drive and ends at the park. Admission is $5 per vehicle, and proceeds benefit Berkeley County charities. For information, visit www. celebratetheseason.org.

Looking for something fun to do with the family? Pack up some lawn chairs or blankets and take the family to the free “Movies Under the Stars” presentation of “Cars 3” 6-10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17, at the Moncks Corner Regional Recreation Complex, 418 E. Main St. The movie will begin at dark. No coolers or outside food or drinks allowed, but there will be food truck concessions available for purchase.

The 5th-annual Tinsel Trot Holiday Fun Run/Walk, presented by Celebrate the Season, will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18, at Old Santee Canal Park in Moncks Corner. Take an evening run, walk, dash, dance or prance through the two-mile course that offers a “sneaker preview” of the Celebrate the Season Holiday Driving Tour. There will be a special guest appearance by Santa Claus. Registration is $11.25 for ages 7 and older with shirt (S-XXL), $6.25 for ages 6 and under with shirt (YSYL) and free for ages 6 and under without shirt. Register online at www.raceroster. com or onsite at Old Santee Canal Park,

The City of Hanahan will hold a tree lighting and Movie in the Park at 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 1, at the Hanahan Amphitheater, 3100 Mabeline Road, Highland Park.

The Hanahan Christmas Parade will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2. Call (843) 5544221 or email info@cityofhanahan.com.

The Berkeley BBQ Cookoff will be held 6-11 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018, at the Regional Recreation Complex. The MC Lions Club has joined forces with the Town of Moncks Corner to bring the SBN Invitational BBQ Championship back to Moncks Corner. Watch 15 pit masters compete for the Cooker of the Year title. The MC Lions Club will sell pulled pork and hot dogs. There will be live music, jump castles and vendors on site.

Runners take off from the starting line during a past Sumter Family YMCA’s Turkey Trot 5k Run/ Walk on Thanksgiving.

This year's race is Thursday, Nov. 23.

Registration begins at 8 a.m. with the race beginning at 9 a.m. Call (803) 773-1404 or email info@ ymcasumter. org.

NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 7

Christmas traditions

by IVY MOORE Special to Lakeside

M

ama and I didn't make fruitcakes this year. While we both love them, it's hard to make just enough for two.

It seems we're the only ones left who eat the fruit- and nut-filled cakes.

I miss the fruitcakes, and I miss the nutty fingers, those delicious, melt-inyour-mouth cookies my Aunt Alma always made at Christmas; Aunt Eddie's chocolate meringue pie; Aunt Merlene's caramel cake; Uncle Buster's barbecue rabbit; anything Aunt Grace made ... . I could go on. There are a lot of things I miss, now that all my aunts and uncles and some of my cousins are gone. I especially miss them.

Watching the younger members of the family build new traditions, while still honoring some of the old ones, is always a topic of Christmas conversations, even when the kids ask what Santa brought us before toys were invented.

As I recall, we kids basically just had to stay relatively clean and out of the way of the grown-ups as they hummed carols, chatted, laughed, did their own reminiscing and prepared Christmas dinner. By that time, we had our gifts from Santa, so we spent the morning mixing and matching them to create various scenarios for our play.

What did we want to find under the tree way back in the 20th century?

An early feminist, according to my family, in my new cowgirl outfit I promoted Dale Evans to super heroine, routing all the bad guys and saving Roy Rogers and Davy Crockett — raccoon cap and all — from certain death at the hands of black-hatted villains.

Those who got bicycles clothes-pinned playing cards to the spokes to recreate the sound of motorcycles and raced recklessly up and down hills until someone got a scraped knee and started bawling, thereby alerting the mothers.

Among my favorite gifts when I was 6 or 7 were three long-sleeved Buster Brown T-shirts in red, blue and green; I

tried to wear them exclusively to Willow Drive school every day in January, but Mama wouldn't allow it. Otherwise, as today, clothes were not popular gifts for the cousins, except for new sneakers.

Once dinner was on the table, the bikes, T-shirts, BB guns, stick horses and marbles were forgotten. The women — and most of the men — in the family could cook!

Being a family full of ministers, deacons and such meant we had to bow our heads for what seemed like an interminable "Grace." Feigning sibling jealousy, Aunt Eddie always asked, "Why do they have to say 'Grace'? Why can't they say me sometimes?"

The Moore and Hatchell Christmases fit fairly neatly into the lyrics of classic Christmas music, including Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," even without the snow. That didn't stop us kids from dreaming about it. Maybe it's because it snowed in Sumter on Christmas Day the year I was born that I still long for the falling flakes each December.

Mama and her nine siblings and

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Daddy and his eight had no snow wishes; after all, they'd walked miles to school in three feet of snow and sub-freezing temperatures, uphill both ways.

On the rare occasions that we did get snow, Mama would make snow "ice cream" for us with sugar, cream, vanilla and snow.

These days, we spend Christmas day wherever the baby of the family lives. My great-nephew is 3; his 8-yearold brother still gets excited when he comes downstairs to see what Santa has brought.

Chances are he'll get DVDs of Disney and Pixar films, LEGO, action figures and more. He'll also get books. Thank goodness, he's a reader.

There will be Christmas music playing in the background as we unwrap gifts and eat dinner, featuring Maple's barbecue and probably a ham. New traditions have been established, but still, many of the old ones endure, including some menu

As a young girl, Ivy Moore, in her new cowgirl outfit, promoted Dale Evans, left, to super heroine, routing all the bad guys and saving Roy Rogers and Davy Crockett.

items. Cindy will make red velvet cake, and Mama will make her famous ambrosia; I'll make something dairy and gluten free for my nephew-inlaw, and we'll have numerous casseroles.

As long as families and friends get together for Christmas, some traditions will never change: Kids still love hot cocoa with marshmallows, candy canes, visiting Santa Claus, riding around to see all the colorful lights, listening to Christmas songs, seeing presents under the tree and playing until they fall asleep from exhaustion.

I still dream of a "White Christmas," but perhaps it's a 1950s carol by Meredith Willson that expresses the best part of the holidays: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas; Soon the bells will start, And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing Right within your heart.

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Let's make fruitcake ed to make fruitcake. Mama agreed to supervise, so I arrived with all the ingredients and unloaded them onto her kitchen table. When she got out two aprons, I knew she'd do more than instruct.

A pre-heating oven warmed the kitchen, and memories flowed across the table as we chopped candied fruits and pecans. I can't remember if we'd ever cooked together before.

Mama used to make fruitcakes every year, and she'd give one each to my sister and me. Her fruitcake baking ended when she accidental-

by IVY MOORE Special to Lakeside

I

t was fruitcake weather — raining, windy and cold that autumn day. I'd asked Mama to dig out her old fruitcake recipe, and she'd finally found it, typed on yellowing onionskin paper. It was just a list of ingredients with no directions except how long and at what temperature to cook the cakes.

No way could I have done it by myself. Nor would I have wanted to. I'd never attempt-

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ly came across a couple of years' worth of the cakes, still wrapped and uncut, in the crisper of my sister's refrigerator. The ingredients are very expensive, too.

Among them is candied citron, although Clemson Extension agent Amanda McNulty likes to use pickled watermelon rind in its place.

Now citron is something everybody has seen in fruitcakes; straight out of the package, the small cubes are yellow-green and translucent, Vaseline-like, almost fluorescent. I remember as a child

seeing them growing in the fields on my Aunt Grace and Uncle Alfred's farm in Lynchburg; nobody planted them, yet there they were, the kudzu of fruits. I thought maybe they were watermelons that failed to ripen. I don't think you can eat them any way other than in a fruitcake. Mama remembers them growing in the cornfields on her family's farm near Effingham.

My grandmother was born in 1882, so baking fruitcakes was pretty labor intensive for her. As we chopped sticky, candied fruit, Mama recalled

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that her "Mama used to pick them and candy them to make fruitcakes. She had to candy all the fruit. You couldn't buy candied fruits back then."

Since my grandmother also milked her own cows and made butter, gathered eggs from her hens and used flour ground from wheat grown by my grandfather, then baked her cakes in a wood stove, she was probably too tired to write out all the directions. Fruitcakes used to be treasured gifts, and those who made them were very protective of their recipes.

It took Mama and me a total of three hours to make our four loaf-size fruitcakes, one hour for preparing the ingredients and mixing them into the batter, two for baking.

She had me cream the butter with the sugar by hand, with a wooden spoon; I had to stop and rest my wrist several times. Mama tossed the fruit with part of the flour to keep it all from sinking to the bottom as the cakes baked.

I added the golden raisins (which had soaked up half a cup of rye whiskey — I had to buy the rye, as Mama would not enter the store that sold

the demon alcohol) and the eggs, spices and flour to the creamed butter, then Mama dumped the fruit and nuts into the batter and mixed everything thoroughly by hand.

"That's the best way to do it," she said, turning the batter over and over until everything was uniformly combined.

Meanwhile, I cut out brown paper to fit the bottom of the baking pans, sprayed them with Pam, and then Mama filled them evenly. Into the oven at 250 degrees, and we sat down with sodas, watched some game shows and talked.

The cakes came out perfect two hours later.

The Southern tradition of making Christmas fruitcakes seems to be fading, just as home cooking has over the last couple of generations.

I didn't think I'd miss my mother's fruitcakes, but I do.

Homemade fruitcakes are a whole different animal from the store-bought ones. You'd never use one of Mama's as a doorstop. They're delicious and not too sweet, perfect with coffee, milk or eggnog, or just by themselves.

But the sweetest part was baking them with Mama.

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THE JOKES So ... fruitcake. Are you laughing yet?

It's been said there is only one fruitcake in the entire world and that it has been re-gifted millions of times. There's the old doorstop joke and the ones that ask "Why is history like a fruitcake?" and "Why do fruitcakes make ideal gifts?" (Because it's full of dates.

Because the postal service can't find a way to damage them.)

Regardless of its popularity as a subject for humor, the legend of the fruitcake survives; some might have to be carbon-dated.

The fruitcake itself survives because it tastes good, and it's nostalgic. To some people, it wouldn't be Christmas without one.

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NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 11

12 NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 | LAKESIDE

Bird lover of a different breed story and photos by BRUCE MILLS bruce@theitem.com

NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 13

Turkey grower Lee Newman, seated at left, is seen on the family farm in Sumter with his wife, Tina, seated at right.

Standing in back, from left, are Newman’s daughters’ Ashlee and Lauren and Lauren’s fiance, Jacob Brown.

Turkey grower says there are many misconceptions about the business

keys. They grow to about 40 pounds and are the commercial breed of turkeys.

His family works with him on the “family farm,” as Newman describes it. The turkey operation has three separate poultry farms.

His wife, Tina, manages the day-to-day operations of one, and two of his daughters — Ashlee and Lauren — and Lauren’s fiance, Jacob Brown, manage the other two farms. Newman oversees all three farms and a crop-farming business that grows tobacco, corn, soybeans and cotton, among other ee Newman loves his turkeys. items. There are eight employees on the Born and raised in Sumter County, family farm.

Newman originally started out as a Newman says there are a lot of misconceprow crop farmer 36 years ago, right tions today about the poultry business. out of high school, on the family farm in the Many not in the business think, he says, Concord community of the county. that growers fill the turkeys with hormones In 2000, he decided to expand his operation Newman adjusts a feeder in his and steroids and raise them outside in eight and become a turkey grower for Prestage grow-out farm recently. weeks on “factory farms.”

Farms, which has its headquarters in North Newman said that might have been the Carolina and an operation in nearby Cassatt case 50 years ago, but it’s not the truth at all today. He does believe in Kershaw County. in the use of antibiotics though, if some turkeys are sick.

He said he decided to raise turkeys to diversify his farm opera“I care about the birds,” Newman said. “We want healthy birds, tion and be more sustainable. just like someone wants their children to be in a healthy environ“It’s kind of like the old saying — ‘You don’t want all your eggs ment.” in one basket’ — I did it for long-term sustainability,” Newman He describes the use of antibiotics with sick turkeys as like said. (Even though Newman never sees the turkey eggs … more children in a sick nursery. on that later.)

“If you don’t take those kids to the doctor, then somebody is He raises “heavy toms,” which are white-feathered male tur-

L

14 NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 | LAKESIDE

going to get really sick with a high fever,” Newman said.

“Turkeys, chickens and livestock are the same way. When they get an infection, like a human being — if you don’t treat it — they will die.”

Even with turkeys that receive antibiotics when sick to nurse them back to health, there’s a withdrawal period in which their bodies are cleansed from any medicines before they go to market, according to Newman and Prestage Farms Production Manager Tommy Smith.

IT’S A YEAR-ROUND BUSINESS Contrary to what some may think, growing turkeys isn’t a seasonal business but yearround, Newman said.

With his operation in affiliation with Prestage Farms, Prestage owns the birds, he said. The turkeys are hatched in a hatchery in North Carolina, and then about 50,000 male birds – toms – are boxed up and transported at oneday old to Newman Family

NEW HOMES

by the numbers 150,000

Number of heavy toms grown in a typical year at Newman Family Farm

100

Pounds of feed necessary, over a 20-week period, for a tom to reach full size, at 40 pounds

2

Number of brooders for baby turkeys at Newman Family Farm

1

Number of grow-out farms at Newman’s farm. The grow-out farm has eight barns, which house a little more than 5,000 toms each.

Farm in Sumter.

After arriving on the farm, the baby turkeys are kept in climate-controlled brooders for five weeks, Newman said. In

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those initial weeks, the birds grow to about 3½ or 4 pounds in four heated houses.

After five weeks, the toms are transported to a grow-out farm for about 15 weeks until they reach their full size of about 40 pounds, according to Newman.

His grow-out farm consists of eight barns, which house a little more than 5,000 toms each.

At all times, the turkeys have access to water and feed and are inside in a climate-controlled environment, protected from predators, weather and disease, Newman said.

A Prestage truck returns to the farm when the birds reach full size at 20 weeks old and transports the 50,000 turkeys about 100 miles to Newberry and the Kraft Foods’ turkey processing plant. There, the turkeys are fully cooked and sliced into sandwich meats, turkey bacon and other products that are then distributed to grocery stores throughout the U.S. None of his toms become “bagged turkeys,” which are generally more popular seasonally.

According to Smith from Prestage, Kraft buys the turkeys from Prestage, and then Prestage pays Newman Family Farm.

Newman said in a typical year his farm has three rotations — or “flocks” — of turkeys. That’s 150,000 heavy toms grown a year.

In the turkey industry, toms are processed into sandwich meat, while female turkeys — or hens — become bagged turkeys, generally reaching 14 to 20 pounds in size. Like toms, hens are also raised year-round, but they are placed in cold storage so there will be plenty to sell seasonally this time of year for Thanksgiving, Christmas and the holidays, Newman said.

He says he loves his work with Prestage Farms for the last 17 years, and it fills him and his family with a sense of pride.

“We are working for a company that’s providing a healthy food for the public,” Newman said. “That’s something to be proud of.”

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Great gifts for the sportsmen in your life story and photos by JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com

16 NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 | LAKESIDE

NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 17

A view of Poinsett State Park

PHOTOS BY JIM HILLEY / THE SUMTER ITEM

A boy and a man try their luck fishing at Poinsett State Park.

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NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 19

Christmas at The Ruins

by IVY MOORE Special to Lakeside

I

t's been 32 years since Col. and Mrs. Rett (Pat) Summerville bought The Ruins, a 1784 home in Stateburg that has connections to Gen. Thomas Sumter. They've spent much of that time restoring the 9,000-square-foot home to its state in the mid-19th century.

In 2014, when the Summervilles discovered that the Historic Kensington Mansion was closed for WHEN: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., repairs and Saturday, Dec. 2 WHERE: 1257 Barnwell Drive, would not host its Stateburg popular ChristCOST: Free mas tour, they stepped in to sponsor a free tour of The Ruins. With the help of the Historic Columbia Foundation and Kensington Mansion staff, they decorated in 19th-century style, with all-natural materials, served refreshments of the period and had docent-led tours of the house and grounds.

The tour was so successful, the couple has continued it each year, and the event has attracted more and more visitors each Christmas season, most interested in The Ruins' history. This year's Christmas at The Ruins will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2.

The Ruins was built on land that belonged to Gen. Thomas Sumter, who never actually lived there. The house was built in 1784 by war hero

Want to go?

This year's Christmas at The Ruins will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2.

Docents will be dressed in period costume, and local volunteers will also be in 1700s military dress.

John Mayrant, who served under Capt.

John Paul Jones during the American Revolution. It is now on the National

Register of Historic Homes, which notes that "from 1835-1837, (the home) served as Hawthorne Dean Seminary for Young Ladies. Original locks and keys, window panes, plaster moldings, marble baseboards, large double sliding doors, fan-shaped skylight, many antiques and collectors' items (remain)."

Summerville said the original house is only two stories, measuring 40 by 45 feet. The wealthy Robert DeVeaux bought it in 1838 and enlarged it to its present size. It was his wife, Videau, whose offhand remark gave the home its name, when she said " ... the men are going to work on the ruins today ... ."

Summerville said each of the first three Christmas at The Ruins programs "focus(ed) on a specific period.

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This year there will be something from every century The Ruins has touched: 1700s, 1800s, 1900s and the present day."

The 19th century, she said, will be represented by an art fair, curated by local potter Laura Cardello. A dozen or more artists working in many different genres will be showing their art and working on the grounds.

Christmas at The Ruins will also celebrate the 90th birthday of Amelia DeSaussure Barnwell Harper, a previous owner and resident of The Ruins.

"There will be birthday cake outside," Summerville said, "and Mrs. Harper will be in the library telling stories from The Ruins' history. ... The outside of The Ruins looks as it did when her family remodeled it in 1838."

In addition, she said, "Hayrides will be offered, with hot chocolate and cookies afterward."

Docents will be dressed in period costume, and local volunteers will also be in 1700s military dress. Tours of the main floor and a self-guided tour of the grounds will be available, and The Ruins museum and "Curiosity Shop" will be open. Several history exhibits will be found around the grounds, some on story boards, and volunteer Mel Welch will demonstrate spinning.

Admission is free to Christmas at The Ruins, and donation boxes will be located across the grounds. All proceeds will go toward continuing restoration projects on the house.

For updates on Christmas at The Ruins, visit the website www.ChristmasatTheRuins.wordpress.com.

To get to The Ruins, 1257 Barnwell Drive, take U.S. 76-378 west toward Columbia, turn right on S.C. 261, take the third road (DeVeaux) to the right, and follow it until it meets Barnwell Drive. Turn left, and The Ruins will be on your right.

ABOVE: This is what a typical Christmas centerpiece would have looked like in the 1800s.

Expect to see decorations like this during Christmas at the Ruins.

LEFT: A wreath by well-known Peggy Culler-Hair is seen at a previous Christmas at the Ruins.

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3217 Sumter Hwy. Manning, SC 29102

Photo by: Konstantin Vengerowsky, The Sumter Item

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NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 29

Woodworker: Remote location a perfect fit for business

T

Dick Dabbs sands the legs to a chair at Crossroads Workshop recently. Dabbs constructs and sells mostly swings, rockers and Adirondack chairs at his Mayesville-area business.

ucked in a little crossroads area on Myrtle Beach Highway near Interstate 95 in eastern Sumter County, is a small woodworking shop that can be easily missed by the naked eye. But the woodworker and his business inside is hard to forget, even after just a brief conversation.

Dick Dabbs is owner, operator and oneman shop at Crossroads Workshop, 6015 Myrtle Beach Highway, in the “greater Mayesville area.”

Born and raised right there, Dabbs is quick to note that to many the little area is better known as Dabbs’ Crossroads – named after his great-grandfather. The crossroads is where U.S. 378 and S.C. 527 intersect.

He says his family was a big farming family in the area, dating back 150 years or so. He graduated from the former Mayewood High School in Sumter County.

Growing up in an old house on the family farm, Dabbs said he learned about construction from an early age and has always been familiar with wood.

He took over the shop, formerly known as C and T Woodworking, in the early 2000s when the owner at the time had to retire because of his ailing wife.

He renamed the business Crossroads Workshop and started out using existing patterns to make rocking chairs and advanced from there.

Today, he constructs and sells mostly swings, rockers and Adirondack chairs — both regular and tall sizes — in addition to doing repairs and restoration to rockers, broken antiques and “other odds and ends.”

He says he stays busy and sells roughly 100 swings a year. He makes swings and rockers in batches. He builds swings four at a time over two days. One day for cutting lumber, planing, sanding, among

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other tasks, and one day for assembly.

He says he almost exclusively uses cypress wood, which is a big selling point since the softwood has a longstanding reputation for being both insect and rot resistant. According to Dabbs, cypress isn’t popular in woodworking because it’s often too expensive for many, but he still likes it since it’s considered a top-of-the-line wood, along with cedar and redwood.

Regarding his location, Dabbs said he actually likes being on Myrtle Beach Highway near I-95, and it’s good for business. He says the highway is still a major thoroughfare for beach traffic from Columbia and the Upstate to the coast. It’s also the shortest route from Sumter to Kingstree in Williamsburg County.

He says most of his customers are within a 15-mile radius of the shop’s location, but he does get customers from the state’s beaches as well. His only advertising these days is word of

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He tells the story of a couple years ago when an island beach owner came to the shop and ordered 16 rocking chairs from him. He figured the man was going to buy them and then resell, but he said he was going to put them on his porch.

“I told him, ‘That’s an awful lot of rockers for a porch,’” Dabbs said. “He said, ‘Well, I got 6,000 square feet of porch.’

“I said, ‘Well, if you got 6,000 square feet of porch, 16 rockers will fit just fine.’”

During the busy season from April through September, Dabbs said he’s generally backed up four to six weeks with orders.

He said he also has several different churches in the area as customers.

Dabbs hasn’t always been a woodworker and farmer, however.

A self-described “man of varied interests,” Dabbs earned a Master’s degree in Sociology from Emory University in Atlanta and served in the Army

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Dabbs shakes hands with customer Dennis Davis recently at his shop. for three years before coming back to take over the family farm in 1975. With his master’s, he also taught sociology for about 25 years as an adjunct professor at Central Carolina Technical College.

He says he loved running the farm, but the work was “brutal,” and since 1990

he has rented it out. He then earned an Associate’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Central Carolina and worked for about a decade in the construction and manufacturing industries.

After a Timmonsville filtration plant that he worked for shut down in the early

2000s, he needed work and took up the woodworking business.

At 72, Dabbs says he doesn’t have to work now, but he still tries to put in a 40hour work week. He says he just can’t sit at home and watch TV. “Initially, when I started it, I did it

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because I needed the money,” Dabbs said. “But since then, I have gone beyond retirement age; so, I am desperate for money, but it still helps a whole lot.”

He still teaches a Sunday School class at Concord Presbyterian Church in Sumter County on Sunday mornings.

The shop is open Tuesdays through Saturdays with normal business hours, 8 a.m. to noon, and then 1 to 5 p.m. He indicated since he’s a oneman operation he may have to run out and isn’t always at the shop. He says if he’s not there, just leave a message on the work phone number and he’ll get back in touch.

Dabbs still lives on the family farm, which is just a half mile away on the “Gable side of the road.” He could walk to work, but he doesn’t.

“I’ve found, if my truck is not parked under the shed, people don’t stop,” Dabbs said.

“They look for the truck. If the truck is not there, they’re not going to stop.”

This glider built by Dick Dabbs — owner, operator and one-man shop at Crossroads Workshop, 6015 Myrtle Beach Highway — provides the perfect spot to sit a spell.

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Quail hunt gone bad

I

by DAN GEDDINGS Outdoor Columnist

don’t remember going down. Face down — in the grass. I knew that I had been hit in the head, but I was surprised to see bright red drops of blood — my blood, in the grass. I could hear shouting and was aware that my companions were helping me up.

Someone asked me if I could see, but by now the blood was streaming down my face into my eyes, and I could see nothing. I asked for something to wipe my face, and someone put my hunting cap in my hand.

I wiped the blood from my eyes, and yes — I could see. Then blood again obscured my vision. It was GEDDINGS surreal — almost like a dream.

At the same time, my mouth was filling with blood. I spit it out, but it filled again — instantly. I asked about my gun.

It was my son Clayton’s little 20-gauge. Someone answered that they had it. I was aware that a truck was pulling up and realized that it was for me.

I wondered how the truck got there. We were out in the field away from any road. Someone helped me into the front seat.

I spit a mouthful of blood into the floorboard.

I asked the driver where we were going, and he answered “to the hospital in Cheraw.”

“How long will that take?” I asked. “Fifteen, 20 minutes maybe” was his answer. It might have been the longest 15 minutes of my life.

The day had started out like any other. It was early December and was delightfully cool. I left from work at our 34 NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 | LAKESIDE

construction company around mid-morning and headed to Darlington to meet up with my friend David. His new boss, whom I’ll call LC, was hosting a group of contractors to a quail hunt at a preserve near Society Hill. I had grown up hunting wild quail but had never been on a preserve hunt. I knew that it would be a little different.

I left my truck in a shopping mall parking lot and rode with David to the preserve, where we met up with LC and five other hunters.

The first thing we had to do was to sign paperwork holding the preserve harmless in case of an accident. There was a nice lodge there, but we were handed a box lunch and whisked off to a sporting clay range. I have little patience for shooting at pretend targets and was glad when it was done.

Now, on to the hunt. LC had paid for a certain number of quail, and they had been placed out in the field while we were shooting clays. Back at the lodge we met our guide and his dog, a German shorthaired pointer, then headed out into the large open field that stretched out across the gently rolling hills to a lake.

We had been divided into two parties of four hunters each, each with a guide and bird dog. Our party was made up of my friend David, his boss LC, another invited contractor and

myself. David was the only person that I knew.

No one gave any safety speech, but we instinctively lined up abreast with the guide and dog in the center. I was on the far end of the line with David and the others to my left.

We went out about a hundred yards and turned toward the woodline to the north. The lodge was to my right. The first few quail that got up flew straight back toward the lodge and beyond. I supposed that they were returning to their flight pen. I didn’t shoot at any of the birds that flew toward the lodge, which was only about a hundred yards away.

Actually, every quail that we got up flew straight back toward the lodge. Finally, the guide just seemed to lose his patience and admonished us for not shooting at the quail.

He reminded us that they were our birds and that we had paid for them. I answered that I would not shoot toward the lodge under any condition, even though it was probably beyond the range of my little gun.

LC was not so inclined to let those birds go that he had paid for, and he made every effort to shoot at any bird that we put up after the guide had fussed at us. I saw then that he was behaving unsafely and was probably dangerous. I should have excused myself, or made up some excuse to leave, but I didn’t want to offend my host or embarrass my friend.

I stayed with the hunt and made every effort to keep our line straight and to stay out of his line of sight. I should have trusted my instincts.

Now, here I was being driven to the hospital by a stranger, and I didn’t even know how bad my injury really was.

There was a lot of blood but no pain. I was probably suffering from shock. When we rolled up to the emergency room entrance the driver let me out and drove off. Someone must have called the hospital to let them know we were coming because a group of nurses and a doctor met me com-

ing through the door. They whisked me into an examination room and started cleaning me up. They kept asking me if I could see, and I assured them that I could. Finally, the doctor told me that I had a shot very close to my eye, and they were concerned that it might affect my vision. That was the first indication to me that I had been hit in the face. I thought that I had only been hit on the left side of my head, up in the scalp.

A nurse asked if I had any pain and I told her no, but I asked her to look at my finger; it was hurting. I thought I might have injured it when I fell to the ground. They took me to x-ray and took images of my head and right hand.

When they moved me back to the examination room my friend David and his boss LC were waiting. Strangely, I felt no animosity toward LC and accepted his apology with ease. By now the bleeding had stopped, and my head was a little sore.

The doctor came back into the room and told me that I had a good many pellets in my scalp, face, shoulder and side.

I also had a shot pellet in my right index finger near the tip.

They did not intend to remove any of the shot, but the one in my finger would cause problems and would need to be removed by a surgeon. The doctor asked David and LC to leave the room and informed me that a deputy needed to speak with me.

The county deputy wanted to know if I thought the incident had been accidental or if there was any conflict between us. I assured him that it was accidental, but I also felt that is was due to carelessness on LC’s part. I assumed at the time that the preserve would notify DNR law enforcement of the incident and that they too would investigate. No such investigation ever occurred.

The doctor told me that I could be released after a short period of observation but that I had been given medication that would prevent me from

driving and wanted to know if they could call someone to pick me up or if my friends could take me home. I asked the doctor to let me use the phone to call my wife. It was not an easy call to make, but I didn’t want her to hear from someone else that I had been shot.

When Ginger picked up the phone I spoke as softly and calmly as I could, with no strain or alarm in my voice.

“Hey, we had a little accident, and I got a couple of shot stuck in my hide. I’m OK, but they wanted me to get checked out at the hospital. I’ve been given some medication as a precaution, and they don’t want me to drive. Can you come pick me up?” I told her that I was at the hospital in Cheraw, and she told me that she was on the way. My calm reassurance didn’t fool her.

I told David and LC to go home, that I would be OK. But they insisted on staying until Ginger got there. She had never been to Cheraw, so she got her Dad on the phone, and he talked her through the drive.

I think it helped her to have a friendly voice on the line so that she wouldn’t worry so much about me. It would take her more than an hour to drive to Cheraw, so I had more than enough time to re-live the events of the afternoon.

Thinking back, I remembered that after we had moved farther from the lodge the quail that we put up flew in every direction. We all shot some birds. The afternoon wore on, and we found ourselves back at the lodge toward the evening with a good bag of quail.

No one had gotten hurt, and I was relieved. Then the guide asked if we wanted to shoot a few pheasants.

My instincts told me to go home; I had survived the afternoon with a careless hunter, but I had never shot a pheasant, and I elected to stay. It would prove to be a big mistake.

LC went to the trunk of his car and made a big show out of bringing out his three-inch

magnum Benelli automatic.

He wanted the extra firepower for the bigger birds.

Somebody from the preserve put out the pheasants and some Hungarian partridge and soon we were headed back into the field. The dogs had no trouble finding the pheasants and the partridge. I shot a pheasant and a partridge.

David had also collected two of the pheasants. LC hadn’t shot anything.

Without me realizing it, our line had gotten a little bend or arc in it with me on one end and LC on the other end, about 30 or 40 yards apart. I was wearing a solid orange cap, and my hunting vest was orange. A bird got up ahead of the dogs and flew back over the hunters in the middle of the line and sailed right by me.

LC fired at the bird and hit me instead. The blow knocked me right to the ground.

Nobody from the preserve checked on me at the hospital or afterward. My friend David kept in touch, but LC was transferred to another state.

It took me a little while to be able to pick up a gun and go hunting again.

The hospital made a referral for me to have the pellet removed from my finger by Dr. Capers Hiott, of Sumter, who is now retired. Dr. Hiott removed the pellet in his office during an outpatient visit.

When he was done with the procedure he asked me if I had seen the x-rays taken at the hospital in Cheraw. I had not, so he put them up for me to see. I was stunned by the images. I counted 17 shotgun pellets scattered about my head. None had hit my eyes, my nose, ears or teeth. They are still there to this day, years later. I also had pellets in my shoulder and side. I’ve picked some out with a pocket knife, and I keep them in a clear plastic turkey mouth call box, as a reminder.

I learned a valuable lesson that day in December — to trust your instincts. And, I believe that the Lord had spared me for things yet to come.

NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 35

on the lake

SUBMITTED BY MICHELE BARR

SUBMITTED BY TERESA LOGAN

Picture yourself in Lakeside? Please submit photos to cary@theitem.com 36 NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 | LAKESIDE

SUBMITTED BY TERESA LOGAN

SUBMITTED BY DEBRA RILES

SUBMITTED BY TERESA LOGAN

SUBMITTED BY TERESA LOGAN

m.com or jessica@theitem.com. Deadline for submissions for the next edition is January 12.

NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 37

Delicious HOLIDAY recipes Feel free to try some of our favorite dishes this holiday season. All recipes have our stamp of scrumptiousness. compiled and tested by RHONDA BARRICK and MELANIE SMITH rhonda@theitem.com, melanie@theitem.com

38 NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 | LAKESIDE

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NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 39

Sweet Potato Casserole Adapted from allrecipes.com • 4 cups sweet potato • 1/2 cup white sugar • 2 eggs, beaten • 4 tablespoons butter, softened • 1/2 cup milk • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • 1/2 cup packaged brown sugar • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour • 3 tablespoons butter, softened • 1/2 cup chopped pecans • Package of miniature marshmallows Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Poke holes in sweet potatoes with a fork, and place potatoes on a cookie sheet. Bake in oven for one hour or until potatoes are tender all the way through. Remove from

oven and cool.

Remove skins, slice into small pieces and place in large mixing bowl. Add white sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.

Transfer to a lightly sprayed 9- by-13inch baking dish.

In a medium bowl, mix the brown sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in the pecans.

Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potato mixture. Place in preheated 325 degree oven for 30 minutes or until topping is lightly brown.

Remove from oven and top with marshmallows. Return to oven until marshmallows are light brown.

Perfect Potatoes au Gratin • 4 whole Russet Potatoes, Scrubbed Clean • 2 Tablespoons Butter, Softened • 1-1/2 cup Heavy Cream • 1/2 cup Whole Milk • 2 Tablespoons Flour • 4 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced • 1 teaspoon Salt • Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste • 1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Freshly Grated

from Pioneer Woman

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Smear softened butter all over the bottom of a baking dish.

Slice potatoes, then cut slices into fourths.

In a separate bowl, whisk together cream, milk, flour, minced garlic, salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Place 1/3 of the potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish. Pour

1/3 of the cream mixture over the potatoes.

Repeat this two more times, ending with the cream mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are golden brown and really bubbling. Add grated cheese to the top of the potatoes and bake for 3 to 5 more minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

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Buck Travis (Owner), Scott Clark (B.I.C.) Eletha Travis (Office Coordinator) 40 NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 | LAKESIDE

One-Pot Spiced Apple Cake From Annabel Langbein • 250g / 8 oz butter • 3-4 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced • 2 cups sugar • 2 eggs, beaten • 2½ cups flour • 1 tsp baking powder • 2 tsp baking soda • 3 tsp cinnamon • 1 cup sultanas, raisins or golden raisins • ½ cup walnut pieces (optional) To garnish (optional) • ¼ cup walnut pieces • icing / confectioner's sugar, to dust Preheat oven to 150°C / 300˚F. Grease the sides of a 26cm / 10 inch diameter cake tin and line the base with baking paper.

Melt butter in a large pot. Remove from heat and mix in apples and sugar then eggs. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, sultanas or raisins, and walnuts, if using, stirring just enough to blend evenly. Spread into prepared tin and bake until it is risen and golden and the top bounces back when pressed (about 1 hour 20 minutes).

Allow to cool for 15 minutes before turning out of the tin.

If desired, top with extra walnut pieces and dust with icing / confectioner's sugar before serving. One-Pot Spiced Apple Cake keeps well in the fridge for 3-4 days and is also delicious heated and served with cream or custard.

®

Summit

1439 Quackenbush Road Move-in ready Lake Marion waterfront 3 bedroom home with private dock. All offers will be considered!

$294,000

Mary serving Lake Marion, Clarendon County and Sumter for your Real Estate needs.

852 Bentwood Circle

Beautiful lake area home with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. Open floor plan with many quality features.

1770 Camden Hwy. • Sumter, SC 29153 • www.remaxsummit.com EACH OFFICE INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED

$249,900

Mary Wilson Broker Associate mrwilson1@ftc-i.net NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 41

Pecan Christmas Crack (Ritz Cracker Toffee) Adapted from Spend With Pennies via Pinterest • 1 cup dark brown sugar • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips • 1 cup chopped pecans • 54 Ritz crackers • 1 cup butter Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line an 11- by-17 pan with aluminum foil and grease well.

Line with Ritz crackers.

In medium saucepan, combine butter and brown sugar and stir to mix. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and let come to a rolling boil for three minutes. Once the mixture comes to a boil, DO NOT STIR. (If using a candy thermometer, toffee should reach 270-290 degrees).

Pour brown sugar mixture over the crackers. Bake for 4 minutes.

Turn the oven off.

Remove from the oven, and wait 1 minute. Pour chocolate chips over the top, and let sit 4 minutes or until chocolate is soft (or place for 1 minute in the warm oven). Spread chocolate evenly with a spatula sprayed lightly with non-stick spray. Sprinkle pecans on top.

Cool on the counter slightly, and then place into freezer to cool completely. (If you don’t have space in the freezer, place pan in the refrigerator; it takes longer, but still works). Remove from refrigerator or freezer and break or cut into pieces with sharp knife.

Triple R RV Repair Dudley Osteen, Owner RV Coach Repairs & Local RV Relocation

MOBILE SERVICE

Your Neighborhood Income Tax Specialist

Call or Text me at 803-795-6217 to schedule an appointment.

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803-795-6217

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20% OFF NEW PATIENT AND CLIENT OFFICE VISITS

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2093 Alex Harvin Hwy Manning, SC 803-435-8001

Mon-Thurs: 8:00am - 5:00pm • Fri: 8:00am - Noon • Closed: Sat & Sun 42 NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 | LAKESIDE

Tammy Spigner & John Usry

• Quick Accurate Service • Free E-File • Business & Personal Taxes • Very Knowledgeable with Over 30 Years of Experience

John C. Usry Certified Public Accountant

26 East Boyce Street • Manning, SC

(803) 566-7740

Our Prices are So Good, They’re Explosive!

Dealer #: DL35721

N&M Homes offers OVER 30 HOMES: New & Pre-Owned Singlewides & Doublewides & Land/Home Packages!!

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Fresh Oysters MANNING, SC

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SUMTER, SC

226 S. Pike West (378 Bypass) • (803) 773-3321 NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 43

Out of the ordinary Rare Tree Nursery offers something different for your yard

by ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com “I basically grow what no one else grows,” said Rigdon Boykin, owner of Rare Tree Nursery on U.S. 521 in Kershaw County.

Boykin has been interested in plants since he was a child

and started collecting and growing trees in 2005 when he retired after practicing law for 22 years.

He began buying trees from a friend’s nursery in Oregon for landscaping

around his home.

“I’ve planted about 2,000 trees and bushes,” Boykin said. “If you see a lot of the same tree, that means I like them.”

He said he has about 150 different types of Japanese maple trees.

Boykin started his nursery in 2008 to provide a place for other nature fans to get trees that don’t grow in this state or part of the country.

Many of the trees that Boykin favors have weeping branches and other visually stunning shapes.

Boykin’s inventory is also unique because it includes many trees that are not native

to South Carolina and that normally do not survive in this area.

“I had to figure out how to grow these plants here,” he said.

Boykin has a few blue spruce trees on his property

Serpentine atlas cedar Japanese maple tree 44 NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 | LAKESIDE

Japanese maple tree and at his nursery, which he said are not supposed to grow in this area.

He has even been so determined to add a tree to his collection that he found out that a soil bacterium needed for the tree to grow was not present on his property as it is in the tree’s native environment.

Boykin can also provide firsthand knowledge of all of the trees he sells because he has them growing around his home.

Most nursery owners don’t know how big a tree will get when it's fully grown because they sell their plants when they are still young, he said.

Boykin on the other hand can tell you how tall a specific

tree could grow, how far apart trees should be planted, which tree will give the best color in different seasons and how the trees will fare as they age.

He said the leaves of some trees turn different colors in the Southern climate than in their normal environments.

For example, he said the autumn blaze maple tree, which is usually bright red when grown up north, has neon orange leaves when it grows in the South.

Although his inventory can be pricey because they are foreign to the area, Boykin said the visual aesthetic and beauty that trees can give to a property are worth every penny.

Leaf of a chocolate mimosa tree

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Some people have no problem spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to build a house but will not invest in landscaping for their property, he said.

He said the loss of interest in the outdoors seems to be a growing trend these days.

“A lot of people are ‘indoor people’ today,” he said.

However, Boykin sometimes meets customers who have an appreciation for nature.

A customer’s son once called the Hollywood juniper

Dee's Rentals Lake Marion Area Monthly & Long Term Rentals

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trees “green fire,” Boykin said.

He said the boy’s mother told him that her son watched less than an hour of TV each day.

You could tell that the boy was used to using his imagination, Boykin said.

He said the majority of his customers are retired military personnel. "I can’t explain it," he said.

To find out about Boykin's current inventory, call (803) 432-5670.

Boykin said some of his plants were damaged during the freeze that came in late March, but this part of the year is the best time to transplant trees.

A lot of people make the mistake of buying plants during the spring because they can see the full foliage and blooms, but that is the worst time, he said.

And if you happen to come across a tree that fits your aesthetic but is not native to South Carolina, you can be assured that Boykin will provide details of how to care for it.

Horse chestnuts, or buckeyes, come out of their pods.

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CONCORD CHAISE ROCKER RECLINER 110183/84/85/86 wallsaver - 110179/80/81/82

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ROXBURY MEDIA CONSOLE FIREPLACE tHE RUXBURY FEATURES A CLASSIC FLAME ELECTRIC FIREPLACE INSERT THAT IS 120 VOLTS/1400 WATTS/4600 BTU. THE MANTEL FEATURES AN EMPIRE CHERRY FINISH FRAMED BY BOOK-MATCHED VENNERS. 901364

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230 Bultman Drive• SUMTER • 803-778-5155 MONDAY–FRIDAY 9AM–6PM • SATURDAY 9AM–5PM • SUNDAY CLOSED 46 NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 | LAKESIDE

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Palmetto Adult Medicine Joins McLeod Health McLeod Health is pleased to announce that Palmetto Adult Medicine, a highly respected and well known local practice, has joined our team of leading physicians.

Together, McLeod Health and Palmetto Adult Medicine continue to provide the highest level of expertise in diagnosis and treatment of adult medical conditions. This partnership enhances our already extensive range of services and supports our commitment to providing the most advanced treatments and techniques to the Sumter area.

For excellence in healthcare, you can trust McLeod Health and Palmetto Adult Medicine.

Specializing in: • Arthritis • Autoimmune Disease • Cholesterol Management • Diabetes

• Geriatrics • Gout • High Blood Pressure & Heart Disease

• Medicare Wellness Visits • Osteoporosis • Pulmonary Disease

• Well visits, physicals • Women’s Health

Call Palmetto Adult Medicine at 803-905-6800 for more information or to schedule an appointment.

Dr. Ansel McFaddin

Dr. Harry Jordan

Dr. Hugh Stoddard

Dr. Andrew Reynolds

Palmetto Adult Medicine

1295 Wilson Hall Rd, Sumter, SC 29150 803-905-6800

McLeodPhysicians.org NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 47

This holiday season, let us fill your house

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2891 Broad Street | Sumter, SC 29150 | 803-469-8733 Open: Mon-Fri: 9:30am-7pm | Sat: 9:30am-5pm | Closed Sunday

48 NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2017 — JANUARY 2018 | LAKESIDE

CASH, CHECK, CREDIT CARDS & FINANCING ARE AVAILABLE. SEE STORE FOR DETAILS. -LAYAWAY AVAILABLE-