Features

The lazy, hazy days of summer are winding down.     

No, fall isn’t in the air yet, but the sound of school bells are.

COLUMBIA — Leigha Crisp , 8, and her pony Gunner, 5, showed in a competition on Oct. 17 at the South Carolina State Fair. They took champion in the 18-inch cross rail hunter division and Leigha received a blue ribbon in the cross rail equitation class. Leigha and Gunner are also fighting for the lead in the local Camden Equine Circuit in walk/trot.
Leigha has been trained since age 6 by Linda Klein at Voxton Farm in Camden. She is the daughter of Steven and Summer Crisp of Camden and the granddaughter of Steve and Becky Crisp of Jefferson.
 

Janice Grant handed a $5 bill to Becky Wetzel for a coloring book drawn by a high school senior. Cha-ching.

The transaction illustrated a primary goal of the Art Show & Sale at the Center last Thursday. Painters, crafters and photographers from Pageland and other Chesterfield County communities showed off their artistry in hopes of generating sales or at least wider exposure.

Wetzel was selling a stack of princess-themed coloring books drawn by Katie Sanders, a 17-year-old senior at Hartsville High School.

PAGELAND - It’s almost 1 p.m. on a  Wednesday and already a line is forming in front of the Door of Hope food bank.

A mixture of race, gender and age strike up small talk. Inside, a small team of four prepare boxes with food in what was formerly the Pageland Seventh Day Adventist location. It is now the Door of Hope food bank where food is distributed on Wednesdays to the needy.

In sudden death, it was old school versus new.

In a highly rare tie, seed-spitting veteran Andy McManus and first-year challenger Tony Alverez went head to head during Saturday’s annual festival games with Alvarez emerging the victor at 23 feet.

“I was worried about the seed just falling out of my mouth ,” said Alvarez, whose recent marriage relocated him to Pageland three months ago.

Alvarez and winners of the annual contests received a prize packet plus a custom champion shirt and are invited next year to defend their title.

KERSHAW — Every day is Christmas at Papa John’s Christmas Tree Farm.

Since becoming a full-time business a few years back, John Mangum and Jack Mangum spend all year cultivating family experiences at Christmas.

“When they come out here, they bring the dog, the kids and the camcorders,” John Mangum said. “It’s about family. That’s the way it’s always been. It’s about more than picking out a tree.”

Be prepared for R.J. Adams.

The smooth vocalist takes Pageland 5 p.m. both Friday and Saturday festival weekend on the main stage.

“I simply want to bring back music that is positive, inspiring and not offensive to anyone,” said Adams, of Monroe, N.C.

“It’s okay to sing about love and everyday life and that is the message in my music,” Adams said.

Adams’ new album Acoustic Soul, released in March, features his strongest songwriting.

Rumor has it there’s a man roaming the streets of Pageland, echoing sounds of Festival 2009. Who is he? He’s our Watermelon Man!  This weekend will mark another year of Pageland Watermelon Festivities. You can be assured to have a great time and enjoy loads of fun.

Drusilla Carter has a subtle smile on her mouth as she remembers a piece of her childhood.

“My parents had a tendency to forget that I wasn’t one of their recruits, I was their kid. My mother used to tell the story of me at about five, putting my hands on my hips and looking way way up at her and my father and saying ‘Mommy! I am not one of your recruits!’” said Carter.