Some Like It HOT…

What’s better on a cool night than spicy-hot chili and a cold beer?  Not that we’ve had much of a winter, but there’s been at least a nice nip in the air, just enough to make it feel great to bundle up and hang outdoors with a group of friends.  A bonfire would make it perfect, but whether that will happen at this event remains to be seen—perhaps I should give them a call and suggest it!

So, what event might that be?  It’s the 3^rd Annual Chili Cook-Off and Beer Tasting, hosted by the Young Professionals of Sumter (YPS).  Scheduled for Friday, March 16, 2012, this popular event features live entertainment, a chili competition (with awards) and 25 beers for tasting.  Everything happens at the Sumter County Museum, 122 North Washington Street, from 6 to 10 p.m.

I love chili, but don’t eat it very often because when I try to cook, people get hurt (seriously), and I think my friends hide their food when they see me coming (the other Visitor’s Center staff members do!).  But when chili is good, it’s really, really good—and just the thing for the turn of the seasons.  From basic to exotic, there is bound to be something to please any chili-lover’s palate.  A quick Web search shows literally hundreds of recipes.  Do you like your chili loaded with beef, slow-cooked with chicken, vegetarian, so hot it singes your eyebrows, or loaded with spices that I can’t even pronounce?  Someone will probably have it just like that!  Tickets are going now for $25 (advance, $30 after March 1), and include all the chili you can hold, plus the chance to taste a variety of beers.  And if you think your chili is among the best out there and would like to enter the competition, application forms are available online here.  For more information on the Young Professionals of Sumter, please check out their Facebook group (you must be logged in to see this page).

The YPS Cookoff is sponsored by H&S Wholesalers, and tickets are available by calling (803) 775-0908.  So whether you’re into cooking it, eating it, or both, get your tickets now and get ready for a great night out!  And by the way, if we have a sudden cold snap, I’ll be glad to call someone about that bonfire…

“Red Tails” of Sumter

George Lucas.  Now, what does this legendary producer, screenwriter and director (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc.) have to do with Sumter, South Carolina?  Seriously, has he ever even heard of the place?

Does it matter?  Lucas is the Executive Producer of Red Tails, a major 20^th Century Fox film that has grossed more than $40 million dollars since its release a few weeks ago.  Starring Terrance Howard, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Bryan Cranston, the film is based on the original Tuskegee Airmen, the black flying aces of World War II.  One of the Airmen went on to become the first African-American four-star general in the U.S. Air Force—General Daniel “Chappie” James, Jr.  With a 40-year career that spanned three wars, he was a recognized civil rights leader.  Several others became men of noted accomplishment.

Still haven’t twigged on to the Sumter connection?  Here it is: three of those famed pilots whose exploits are dramatized in this film called Sumter, South Carolina “home.”  Philip Rembert, Willie Ashley and Leroy Bowman were among the daredevil pioneers who served as the first black fighter pilots in American history.  According to the official website of the United States Army, “the Airmen, quite literally, smashed through an aerial glass-ceiling and in heroic fashion, displayed the skills and courage of African-Americans.”

Lt. Willie Ashley, Jr. was a member of the 99^th Fighter Squadron, America’s first black fighter unit, and flew the unit’s first mission of the war.  He died in 1984 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.  J. Philip Rembert was Sumter County’s first black Councilman, elected at-large in 1974 before the introduction of the single-member district voting system, and held the seat until his death in 1987.  Dr. Leroy Bowman, Sumter’s only surviving Tuskegee Airman, received the Congressional Gold Medal from then-President George W. Bush in 2007.  He was also honored at a Veteran’s Day ceremony held at the Sumter County Courthouse in November 2011.

Of course, the Veteran’s Day ceremony was moving and meaningful for all the surviving veterans and the friends and family members present.  But don’t feel badly if you missed it.  Commemorating the accomplishments of not only the Tuskegee Airmen, but all of the Sumter area’s men and women in uniform, local historian Sammy Way curates the Sumter County Military Display at the James E. Clyburn Intermodal Transportation Center, 129 South Harvin Street.  This display, comprising more than 3,000 items of memorabilia, covers the era from World War I to the present Afghanistan conflict.  It is open on Sundays, from 2 to 4:30 p.m., and Coach Way is often on hand to answer questions or discuss historical matters.  It’s quite an experience to see the faces on the walls, the actual uniforms of those who served, and to remember.

And the movie?  It’s still playing at the Beacon 12 on Broad Street (Wesmark Plaza).  Check it out soon—I know I intend to!

This Bird Has Flown

Hungry ibis gather at the base of a cypress tree. Photo: Ruth Ann Bigger

It’s been pretty dreary today, and there haven’t been a lot of reasons to look out the windows here at the Swan Lake Visitors Center.  However, I have decided that I’d best make it more of a habit, because in our wonderful natural habitat, there’s no telling what I could miss!

Although Swan Lake is home to a wide variety of migrant species—both airborne and water fowl—we had some very special visitors last week.  If you were here last Thursday afternoon, you might have been lucky enough to spot a flock of white ibis.  I got an excited call from my supervisor, who had gotten a call from a member of the Friends of Swan Lake, and so I was fortunate to see a sight that I am assured is a rarity at the gardens.  In fact, in the nine years that the Visitors Center has been in operation, I’ve never seen or even heard of these birds being here.

Australian black swans approach, apparently wondering what's going on! Photo: Ruth Ann Bigger

White ibis are not normally seen in this part of the state—in fact, there is only a 2-10% chance of seeing them this far inland.  Although we are in their migratory path, they usually don’t stop.  Imagine our surprise when they decided to come and hang out for a good part of the afternoon!  It was a beautiful day (and the fishing was probably excellent), so why not?

It all goes to show that nature is never wholly predictable.  If you’ve been to Swan Lake Iris Gardens and think you’ve seen it all, there might be a surprise in store for you!

Everyone must have enjoyed lunch, and now it's time to chill in the cypress trees for a while.

Many thanks to Ms. Ruth Ann Bigger for being in the right place at the right time!

History, Heritage & Heroes

Here at Sumter’s tourism office, we handle a variety of inquiries from the public.  Some are routine (“When do the irises bloom?”  “Is the Heath Pavilion available for this date?”), but every now and again, we get one that requires a bit of research.  That happened this week, when we got an e-mail through the City’s Service Request Module regarding one of the area’s historic churches.

Living in Sumter, it’s easy to look right past the many historical markers that dot the landscape throughout the city and county.  After all, it’s our job to know why they are there.  But for visitors, these markers can be an unexpected source of Sumter’s fascinating history. 

I was once out photographing churches with a friend, and we came to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church near Pinewood.  He wasn’t from here, and had married a girl descended from two of Sumter’s oldest families.  Now, we Southerners have a reputation for loving tea and genealogy, but it was a great moment to see him reach out and touch the historical marker in front of that beautiful old church.  “Six Governors of South Carolina?”  He looked at me and said, “And my sons are their descendants.  Wow.”  Suddenly, those family stories were real.

That was the nature of the question fielded by one of my co-workers.  The writer was descended from the Gayle family (founders of the City of Sumter), and had a question regarding whether or not a certain property was donated by her family or that of General Thomas Sumter.  It’s one of the things that make Sumter truly remarkable—these old names are not inert print in the history books; they are families who live among us and take a lot of pride in the accomplishments of their forebears.  It’s living history.

According to the state’s official tourism site at  www.discoversouthcarolina.com, “There are hundreds of roadside historical markers in South Carolina that provide interesting and important information about places, people and events in our state.”  Among Sumter County’s site markers, some are particularly noteworthy.  These include:

• Early Charleston Road (SC 261, which joined Camden to Charleston and played a crucial role in the development of our state)
• Colonel David DuBose Gaillard (Engineer of the Panama Canal)
• LeNoir Store (A general store founded in 1808 near the town of Horatio, where to this day you can enjoy penny candy, a soda and learn some local history from members of the LeNoir family)
• Potter’s Raid (The campsite of General Edward E. Potter, whose mission was to destroy Sumter County’s railroads in the last days of the Civil War)

There are many others, each one presenting a unique slice of local history.  For more information, please visit the SC Department of Archives and History.  Or, give us a call at the Swan Lake Visitor’s Center (436-2640 or toll-free at 800-688-4748).  If we’ve got the answers, we’ll give them to you.  If we don’t, we’ll be glad to help you find them…after all, it helps us, too!

Photo:  David Taylor.  From www.waymarking.com.

Kookaburra Soccer Tournament Returns for Third Year

“Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree
Merry, merry king of the bush is he
Laugh, kookaburra, laugh…”

Honestly, some days I think anything will give me an ear worm.  Does anyone else remember the old “Zoom!” television series and that Australian round they used to sing?  This time, though, at least it makes some sort of sense.  Temperature-wise, this has been the warmest winter I can remember, and in looking at our events calendar, I thought, “How perfect for the Kookaburra Tournament!”

Hosted by the Sumter Soccer Club and sponsored by Outback Steakhouse, Sumter’s first major soccer tournament of 2012 will be held February 18 and 19, 2012.  The 3^rd Annual Kookaburra Challenge Cup will host boys and girls ages 9-14 at the Patriot Park Sportsplex.  With six fields, mature Bermuda grass, covered spectator areas and a new canteen, if you’ve never been to Sumter County’s latest state-of-the-art sporting facility, this would be an excellent time to come and watch the sports action.

The 2011 tournament attracted more than 60 teams from the Carolinas and Georgia for a weekend of intense field action—up from 35 in 2010—and this year’s tournament should be even bigger.  Play begins both mornings at 8:30, with the final winners being declared on Sunday afternoon.

Long the most popular sport in Europe and South America, “Association Football” keeps getting bigger in the US.  Forget the “soccer mom” jokes; this is serious stuff, and makes a serious impact on our local tourism economy.  It’s also a whole lot of fun to watch—during soccer season at my school, anyone who was looking knew where to find me, and I’m really not even a sports fan.  (Of course, the fact that one of my best friends was a champion player, and that soccer was a major social event in the absence of a football team didn’t hurt, either.) 

Patriot Park Sportsplex, located off Patriot Parkway near the intersection of Loring Mill Road, can be mapped at 3365 Patriot Parkway, Sumter, SC 29154 (GPS coordinates:  33.937129,-80.426402).  For more information, please contact the Sumter Soccer Club at http://www.kookaburracup.com/contact.asp and follow the links.  And then get out and root for the boys and girls, and find out why in the rest of the world, soccer is all the rage!

The Subject Was Hats

Hats.  I don’t mean baseball caps or those stocking-type things you wear to keep your head warm; I mean elaborate ladies’ hats that make a statement when they enter the room.  Remember those?  Of course, you do! 

Tell me—does anyone really recall anything about the last Presidential inauguration other than Aretha Franklin’s hat?!  As I remember, there was even an article in the paper about women who had been into downtown businesses to inquire about purchasing reproductions of that show-stopping millinery.  Although I won’t name names, there are local women of my acquaintance whom I’ve seen sporting headwear for which the word “hat” seems wholly insufficient—I’ve even attended a wedding in which the mother of the groom wore a hat that was so big, so sparkly and so colorful that she risked upstaging the bride!  And she wore it like…a crown. 

The days when a lady did not appear in the street without a suitable head covering are long gone, and hats make increasingly rare appearances even on formal occasions.  However, there is one place where they are welcomed, expected, and some women even try to outdo one another in their extravagance—the traditionally African-American church.  That is the subject of Crowns, an award-winning play by actress and playwright Regina Taylor, adapted from the book by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry.  Coming to the Sumter Little Theatre next week, this story of life, love, loss and faith is recommended for all audiences. 

As described in the Sumter Little Theatre’s press release, “Yolanda loses her brother to street violence in Brooklyn, NY.  She is devastated…(and) moves to Darlington, SC to live with her grandmother, and gradually she comes to terms with her grief and loss,” as well as her own identity.  Through a series of scenes in this one-act play, the church ladies who speak “the language of the hat” (including words like “hattitude,” along with rap numbers and much teasing) inspire and uplift Yolanda in this acclaimed musical.

Whether or not you Celebrate the Hat (and to see what I’m talking about, check out photographer Cunningham’s website here), this slice of cultural history will teach, preach and entertain.  Directed by Eric Bultman, the play opens on Thursday, February 9, with performances running through February 12 and again from February 16-19, 2012.  The show begins at 8 p.m., except for the Sunday matinees that start at 3 p.m.  Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, students and military.  The Sumter Little Theatre is located at 14 Mood Avenue.  For more information, please call (803) 775-2150. 

(Images taken from various websites.  No copyright infringement intended.)

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

January has been such a busy month that some of us are sort of looking around and saying, “Hey, where did it go?!”  I mean, Christmas just happened…didn’t it?

Well, this month may have vanished unaccountably quickly (for me, anyway), but it’s certainly going out BIG!  The Sumter Enduro Motorcycle Riders Association (SERMA) is pleased to host the 43^rd Annual Sumter Enduro, January 29, 2012 at Manchester State Forest in Wedgefield.  With 600 riders registered, this 75-mile Class AA off-road bike race will probably stand your hair on end—and that’s just if you’re watching!  Participating riders come from 35 states and Canada, making this the largest event of its type in North America.

What, exactly, is Enduro?  According to Wikipedia, it’s a form of off-road motorcycle race.  It’s not so much racing other competitors as racing the clock; riders are required to check in at certain points at particular times, with penalties for early or late arrival.  However, it’s not a casual ride in the park, either, as various obstacles and challenges are set up along the route.  Known throughout the world, Enduro has enjoyed international popularity since the first major event was held in England in 1913 (hmm…do I see a centennial coming up?).  With the varied terrain at Manchester, and the ever-present possibility of large quantities of mud, just about anything can happen!

This excerpt from a 2010 article gives an intriguing glimpse into the sport:
“Motocross people are scared of Enduro racing and possibly off-road racing in general. Maybe it’s the name: Enduro! It sounds sort of scary, I guess. It surely sounds difficult. If it weren’t tough, I guess it’d be called an Easy. But the name’s no reason to be frightened, moto guys and gals. Now, more than ever, the National Enduro scene is rider-and bike-friendly.”  (Source:  http://www.dirtrider.com)

Before the Enduro race on Sunday, a fun preliminary event, the 7^th Annual Sumter Pit Bike Classic, will be held at Manchester to kick off the festivities.  Join the group on Saturday, January 28 at 7 p.m. for fun and laid-back entertainment.

Admission for spectators is FREE, and the main Enduro event on Sunday, January 29 begins at 9 a.m.  From SC 261, just follow the green arrows.  Come join these super-skilled riders as they test their endurance against the wilds of Sumter County, South Carolina!

SERMA is part of the American Motorcyclists Association.  More questions?  Check out the event flyer (PDF) here.

If you’re new to Enduro, the following links may also be helpful:
http://sermaclub.com
http://www.nationalenduro.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enduro

Manchester State Forest is located at 6740 Headquarters Road in Wedgefield, off SC Highway 261.  For more information, please contact e-mail them at  johnny_mccoy@hotmail.com or sermaclubprez@yahoo.com.

Image from www.nationalenduro.com