Community: Saluda Community Land Trust (SCLT) meets at 3 p.m. on the first and third Wednesday at the Pavilion at McCreery Park.  SCLT phone is 828-749-1560; (website is saludaclt.org).  If you haven’t renewed your membership by now, please send it in: only $25 a year, and funds support worthy projects. Thank you, SCLT, for all you do — the accomplishments are many!
The Saluda Tailgate Market starts on May 4, 4:30 p.m. at the city parking lot off Main Street. Offerings throughout the growing season include fresh vegetables, meat, fruit, honey, baked items, plants and much more.
Art Notes: Saluda artists Bill Ryan, Bonnie Bardos, Stoney Lamar, Dale McEntire, Bill and Anne Jameson, Jim Carson and Jim Shackelford will be on the Art Trek Tryon open studio tour along with 35 area artists on May 5 and 6 with a preview party at Upstairs Artspace in Tryon on May 4. Participating artists will be featured in a gallery exhibit for two weeks; this is always a fun event! Mark your calendar for the Saluda Arts Festival on May 19 with 65 artists/craftspeople. Thank you Polk County Community Foundation for sponsoring music for this  event.
Saluda Fire and Rescue Auxiliary is having a huge yard/plant sale on May 5; funds raised will help members and families in our community who are affected by disasters.
Saluda Sympathy: Please remember Ray Pague in your thoughts: his son Jesse died at Big Bradley Falls: another young man will be missed in our close-knit Saluda community. Also, Lois Case passed away: keep the Case family in your prayers as well.
Happy May Birthday to Corinne Gerwe, Mark Jackson, Cary Pace, Lisa Hipp, Trevor Young, Jemme Latell, Paul Marion, Joe Brown and Jesse Thomas. Please add your birthday to the list!
Saluda History: Is there anyone who remembers a long-ago train accident involving nineteen men — the “Saluda 19” that were killed around Melrose on the Saluda Grade railroad, then buried between Tryon and Saluda in a now-overgrown cemetery. If you have knowledge of this story, let me know your contact info — I’ll pass it on to someone who is collecting facts about the event. Time has erased a lot of the past, but there’s bound to be someone who knows more.
Thank you, dear readers for reading this column; as Walter Cronkite closed his  evening news cast every night with “And that’s the way it is,” I like to close off  by saying  thank you each and every time. Keep in mind if you have something of note, feel free to contact me at bbardos@gmail.com; or 749-1153. You may also visit my website at bonniebardos.com