By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

COUNTY —

Pickens County rolled out new branding last week following a presentation from the South Carolina National Heritage Corridor.

County community relations manager Jamie Burns said in a release that a new slogan — “Adventure Starts Here” — was adopted as part of the rebrand, along with a new county logo modeled after the county seal with mountains, lakes and four stars representing the four Medal of Honor recipients in Pickens County.

Beginning earlier this year, Pickens County parks, recreation and tourism staff oversaw the branding process in collaboration with the National Heritage Corridor, Burns said.

SC National Heritage Corridor president and CEO Michelle McCollum gave a presentation to county council members at their July 13 meeting.

“My team has had a blast doing this project,” she said, before hitting the highlights of a branding

I am almost ashamed to recount this frightening encounter with wild hogs in this article. Some may wonder about my mental acumen. However, I will recount exactly how I planned to avoid disaster, and that might mitigate your thoughts of my possible mental deterioration — at least somewhat.

Unfortunately, wild hogs are everywhere in our state, including the Upstate. It is important to note that the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources encourages the harvesting of wild boars. They are destructive to habitat and voraciously eat all the food that falls to the forest floor. They root with their snouts, make destructive gullies and cause mountain erosion.

A Serene and Successful Hunt in the Pickens Mountains

I was hunting up U.S. Highway 178 in the Pickens mountains when I found unbelievable gullies made by wild hogs while rooting for acorns that were falling. I made myself a natural blind out of downed logs in mountain laurel. I sat for several evenings waiting for a boar to appear. I was situated so I could see all the gullies. After sitting for several trips, I decided to try and call a buck since the fall deer season was underway. I would call about every 20 minutes with grunts that, I thought, resembled a big buck wanting

My children and grandchildren always loved the classic children’s book “Where the Wild Things Are,” by Maurice Sendak.

The Jocassee Gorges here in our county are full of wild things. While these wild animals may not be as bad as imagined by the main character, Max, in Sendak’s classic, there are still some dangers.

My ancestors and my immediate family have spent many wonderful hours collectively camping, picnicking, exploring, fishing, hunting and photographing in Jocassee and other wilderness areas in

An entire day dedicated to dear ol’ dad may not be enough to show the depths of your appreciation, but a hug, a heartfelt thanks and some quality time (even from afar) are great places to start.

When it comes to giving gifts for Father’s Day, practical and purposeful gifts are high on most dads’ lists. Think about his favorite things to eat and the ways he spends his coveted down time. A gift that celebrates the things that matter most to him is sure to earn dad’s gratitude.

Find more ideas to make it a Father’s Day to remember at eLivingtoday.com.

Special steaks  to celebrate dad

Father’s Day gifting can be pretty simple: Many dads want a delicious steak. Give him a collection of

By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

PUMPKINTOWN — Soapstone Baptist Church has been a part of Mable Clarke all her life, and she wants to make sure the church is on a firm financial footing when she is gone.

A fundraiser is underway to pay off the church mortgage’s remaining $50,000, Clarke said.

“We’re down to nine members that’s left at the church,” Clarke said Sunday. “We have to get this paid off by December, because we’re facing a maturity date coming up on the church.”

For the past 14 years, Clarke has been overseeing monthly fish frys to support the church and its

By Dr. Thomas Cloer, Jr.

Special to The Courier

Last week we introduced the killing of Charles Silver, on Dec. 22, 1831, by his petite teenage wife, Frankie Stewart Silver, in what was then Burke County, N.C.

My Howell ancestors played a most significant role in this story. My great-grandmother was Fannie Jane Howell. Frankie’s mother was Barbara Howell, who married Isaiah Stewart.

My great-great-great-great-grandfather, James A Howell Sr., and his son, Thomas Howell, were key witnesses in the trial that sent Frankie to the gallows. So — what happened? I refer to Perry Deane Young’s 2012 book, “The Untold Story of Frankie Stewart: Was She Unjustly Hanged?” After the most thorough research in 187 years, I believe Young shows clearly that Frankie should not have been hanged.

Frankie panics

So, What happened? When her inebriated, abusive husband was loading his gun to kill Frankie and their 13-month-old baby, Frankie grabbed the closest thing — an ax — and struck at Charles’ head. The sharp ax — accidentally, I think — made a cut three inches long and

By Dr. Thomas Cloer, Jr.

Special to The Courier

In the 1830s, my maternal Howell ancestors in Yancey County, N.C., were inextricably involved with one of the most bizarre trials ever to occur in Southern Appalachia — and the subsequent hanging of a white teenage mother.

My mother’s name was Fannie Grace Cloer. She was a namesake of her maternal grandmother, Fannie Jane Howell, of Yancey County. My grandmother, Bonnie Missouri Woody, daughter of Fannie Jane Howell, lived in the remote mountains of Yancey County with Fannie Jane and Bonnie’s father, George Woody.

Introduction

The bizarre killing of Charles Silver in 1831 involved his pretty wife, Frances “Frankie” Stewart Silver. This took place in Kona, N.C., in what was then Burke County, near the North Carolina and

I imagine Mother’s Day is a very sad occasion when it comes around for the first time after you’ve lost your mother. For a mother who loses a son, it must be that much more sorrowful to face the day without him for the first time.

So my heart goes out to Maud Bryant, Browning Bryant’s mom, who lost the bright shining star in her life late last year.

She told me, though, that as she approaches this holiday, she has found solace in a letter he wrote to her for her 90th birthday in 2016. I later found out that the letter was adapted from a Jimmy Dean song called “I.O.U.” that reached the country top 10 in 1976.

Browning intended to read it to her at her birthday party, but it was so noisy, he didn’t get to. But she came across it the other day and offered to share it.

“Let me tell you, this letter that he wrote to me, every mother would certainly appreciate what he had to say to me,” she said.

I agree with her on that. Pretty much everything he said would apply to my mom, too.

Browning, in case you don’t know, was a Pickens native who rose to national fame as a singer in his