Photo: A stack of 1964 Reader’s Digests, a trip back in time. Courtesy of Brenda Bancroft. By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net I read my mother’s Reader’s Digests from cover to cover. It’s hard find one today, but if you do, it will take you back to another era. And itContinue Reading

COLUMBIA – United Way of the Midlands is preparing for the upcoming school year with its fifth annual Ready, Set, Supply! school supply drive, collecting classroom materials for elementary school teachers across the Midlands. The annual campaign benefits schools served by United Way’s Midlands Reading Consortium (MRC), an education initiativeContinue Reading

COLUMBIA – Tourism continues to play a vital role in Columbia’s economy, with visitors generating more than one-third of all spending in the city and providing a significant boost to locally owned businesses, according to Capital City/Lake Murray Country’s 2025 marketing impact report. The report highlights how the partnership betweenContinue Reading

IRMO – Lexington-Richland School District Five’s Adult Education program has received high praise from the South Carolina Department of Education following a recent compliance monitoring review, with state officials recognizing the program’s leadership, student achievement, and commitment to helping adult learners succeed. In its final report, the Compliance Monitoring teamContinue Reading

Three-year-old Griffin Rac-Hewitt proved that big fish stories can come true when he landed a whopping 9-pound, 9-ounce catfish on Lake Murray. Using a lure and plastic worm his dad purchased at Lake World, Griffin reeled in a fish that’s almost as big as he is. Judging by the smileContinue Reading

(Photos by Lexington County Blowfish)  The Lexington County Blowfish found themselves with a day off Monday in Wilmington as its game with the Sharks was postponed due to rain. By Thomas Grant Jr. Before embarking on a season-long 3-game road trip against Coastal Plain League Eastern Division foes, the LexingtonContinue Reading

Capital City/Lake Murray Country hosted one of the Southeast’s longest-running Fourth of July traditions with the annual Lake Murray Independence Day Celebration, featuring a spectacular fireworks display over Lake Murray. Since 1989, Capital City/Lake Murray Country has produced the annual celebration, launching synchronized fireworks from two locations—Dreher Island and SpenceContinue Reading

SC7 Expedition enters S.C. Midlands enroute to the coast and Lowcountry Photo – SCDNR Director Tom Mullikin (center) with son Thomas Mullikin Jr., SCDNR Capt. Tommy Buckhannon and two SCDNR game wardens at Jones Gap, South Carolina, along the SC7 trail, July 9. By W. Thomas Smith Jr. Despite searing SouthContinue Reading

Photo – Winnsboro’s clock tower, the country’s longest-running clock By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net In my journeys across the South, Georgialina, in particular, I take note of clock towers, watchtowers, and steeples. How can I not. They command the eye. They set me to thinking. I’ve written many timesContinue Reading