As the holidays approach, you’re probably getting decorations out of the attic. After the holidays pass, you likely dread putting so much back in the attic. Well, we can help with the candles! If you find candles melted and misshapen, set them aside for us. All those stubs of candles from holiday meals, candlelight services, and advent wreaths are perfect for our needs. We’ll recycle them into new candles. This is your chance to support the Historical Association and save the world, one candle at a time!

As many of you know, our most popular living history activity for school groups on field trips at Walnut Grove is candle-making. The wax these students use to make their candles comes from old candles that we melt down and we’re running low. We need more candles!! If you have some you can give, please drop them by Walnut Grove in Roebuck or the History Museum in the Chapman Cultural Center downtown. We accept candles year-round, so keep us in mind!

Let me know if you have any questions or if you need pick up service – we can work it out.

Thanks,
Becky

Becky Slayton, Executive Director
Spartanburg County Historical Association, 864-278-9664

Cedar Spring Baptist Church invites you to our remembrance of the 230th Anniversary of the 1st Battle of Cedar Spring. The celebration is planned for Sunday, July 11, 2010, during the 11:00 am worship service. A covered dish luncheon will follow the service. For more information, call the church at 585-5526.

The next item on the list is the voting for the Biltmore Estates Holiday wine label. It seems a Spartanburg native is in the running to have her design chosen (online voting – her design is currently in the lead!)

Tina Steenerson is the Spartanburg artist who designs the Regional History Museum’s historic stained glass ornament series featuring historic structures in Spartanburg County. We have always loved her work and it looks like the folks at Biltmore do, too. Please take a moment to click on the link below to vote for her “Sunset Snow Scene” wine label design. It’s beautiful and it would also be wonderful for a Spartanburg artist to win the contest.

Here’s the message she passed along:

Hi!

I just received notification that I am a finalist in the Biltmore Christmas Wine Label Design contest! Please go to :

http://www.biltmore.com/our_wine/labelvoting.asp

and vote for “Sunset Snow Scene”.

Thanks!

Tina Steenerson

Through the Looking Glass Stained Glass Commemoratives

Congratulations and good luck!

The third item is Peach History Day, July 17th:

The Greenville Chapter, National Railway Historical Society; The Convention and Visitors Bureau; The Spartanburg County Historical Association; and Main Street Trolley, Inc., are sponsoring “Peach History Day” on Saturday, July 17, 2010. Featured events will be a tour of the Inman and Gramling peach growing areas. A presentation will be made, en route, on the role railroads played in the development and growth of the peach-growing industry. As an added treat, peach ice cream will be served on the tour. Main Street Trolley will be providing the transportation. Fares will be $15 for adults and $8 for children under 12. Various farm implements will be on display at the Farmers Market and Hub City Railroad Museum on Magnolia Street, Spartanburg, from 8AM till noon. The Main Street Trolley Peach tours will depart from the depot at 9 am and 11:30 am.

Sounds like a fun tour!

When I started researching it was before there was much public access of the internet and the only access many had to various local genealogy societies was by mail. If you were lucky enough to be nearby, your local libraries would have copies of the newsletter from the genealogical society. The internet has opened up communications so much, it’s easy to forget.

Anyway… They have a number of projects underway as well as meetings planned, so if you have ancestors from the Old Darlington County area, you might want to take a look at their website, or visit in person… Upcoming events

Hartsville, SC in the Old Hartsville Train Depot. The archives are operated by the Old Darlington chapter of the SCGS.

Their hours are 1-5 Monday and Friday, 10-3 Saturday and 2-5 Sunday. The archive is closed most holidays. Prospective visitors are encouraged to check the schedule at The Old Darlington Chapter USGS site for holiday closing information.