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“August of another summer, and once again I am drinking the sun and the lilies again are spread across the water.” ~ Mary Oliver

 

Another August arrives, filling a vintage-green garden cart with ripe tomatoes, tasseled corn, dusty-purple Joe Pye flowers, and bright splashes of zinnias amid pinwheels of yellow blooms. 

 

She brings buzzing emerald-coated June bugs, butterflies, and afternoon thunder boom-booms. The heart of summer has tiptoed out the back screen door…a yellow leaf perches high up in a stout old hickory. 

 

Crickets fiddle, hanging on to summer. August drifts her hand through rippling mountain creeks, kissing the edge of fields where whispering breezes rustle secret paths in tall grass. 

 

Saluda Tailgate Market is every Friday at the west city parking lot, located off Main Street, 4:30-6 p.m. 

 

Saluda Community Land Trust (SCLT) keeps busy with land conservation, trails, projects and more: visit saludaclt.org or call 828-749-1560 for information. Support SCLT with donations, volunteering, and Amazon Smile. Contact “Trail Boss” Chuck Hearon at chearon1942@gmail.com about hike info, leading a hike, or helping clear trails. The next Walk in the Woods is August 7 to the Missing 40, a moderate hike that’s kid/pet-friendly. Water shoes are recommended. Meet at Saluda Library’s parking lot at 2 p.m. 

 

Mountain Page Theater, 1303 Mountain Page Road, will have a classic Alfred Hitchcock radio drama along with musical/comedy performances presented by the Mountain Page Players and the Young Acting Krew (YAK) on August 12 and 13, 7 p.m. For info, visit https://mountainpage.theater/.

 

Saluda Community Table will have dinners on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month at McCreery Park’s pavilion; the next one is August 10 at 6 p.m.; bring your own plate, cup, and cutlery. 

 

Historic Saluda Committee meets on August 12, at 2 p.m. at the Saluda Library in the upstairs meeting room. The public is invited. 

 

At the Saluda Historic Depot and Museum, Train Tales on August 17, will feature Alexia Jones Helsey–historian; archivist, author, and daughter of Saluda’s Dr. George A. Jones. She is a senior instructor in history and university archivist at USC-Aiken. The event is at 7 p.m.

 

Saluda Center’s (64 Greenville Street) potluck and bingo night is on August 29, at 6 p.m. Bring a side dish or dessert to share; the main dish is provided. 

 

Saluda Visitor Center at 20 W. Main is open 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily this summer,and for monthly First Friday Strolls from 5-8 p.m. 

 

Saluda Pop-Up Pantry is Tuesday from 1-6 p.m. at Saluda Presbyterian Church, located at  54 Carolina Avenue (behind Saluda Library).To volunteer at the Pantry, call Saluda Church of the Transfiguration, at 828-749-9740. You can mail tax-deductible donations to Saluda Pop-Up Pantry, P.O. Box 428, Saluda, NC 28773 or donate online at www.saludapantry.com; or through Amazon Smile. Paper donations are needed (toilet paper/paper towels/napkins, etc.). Bring donations to the pantry on Tuesdays between 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Thank you to Saluda Garden Club for the fresh flower bouquets!

 

Readers’ Corner: I’ve been asked what the old Saluda High School’s mascot was for the basketball teams. If Martha Hardin, Charlene Pace, Martha Ashley or others in the know were still alive, I’d be calling them to answer this question! Saluda Wildcats is the current mascot for Saluda School, but who remembers ‘back when’? Cindy Tuttle looked through a 1950s-era yearbook of her dad’s (Joe Stephenson) called “The Mountaineer,” but didn’t find the answer either. Do you know? 

 

Happy August Birthday to B.J. Kent, Paul Stoney, Jen Pace, Zack Pace, Don Mintz, Caroline Tindal, Nora Ward, Samantha Ward, Reeda Ward, Natalie  Aabye, Verlie Murphy, Peter Eisenbrown, Coleman Bradley, Ryan Bradley, Libby Archer, Rodney Thompson, Cathy Jackson, Bill Jameson, Tayloe Francisco, Troy McAfee, Patricia Carmichael, Syman Thomas, Jade Burdett, and Ron Bennett. Add your birthday to the list! 

 

Feel free to contact me at bbardos@gmail.com, (828) 817-6765, P.O. Box 331, Saluda, NC 28773, Facebook, or visit bonniebardos.com