Category Archives: Lifestyles
Growing outreach helps homeless stay warm
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY —
local effort to help the homeless stay warm in the winter is expanding to include more cities.
I Am Not Lost – Upstate S.C. began after Tammy Ferguson met Marline Sexton at a craft fair.
The two women both crocheted and had heard about efforts in Northern cities to provide homeless people with ways to keep warm, by placing homemade scarves in trees for them to pick up.
“We hit it off,” Ferguson said.
Sexton had the idea to try the outreach here in the Upstate, and
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Keckley and Lincoln’s widow
By Dr. Thomas Cloer, Jr.
Special to The Courier
In 2018, I wrote a two-part story about Elizabeth Keckley, a slave and dressmaker who became close friends with the Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln families in Washington after buying freedom for herself and her son. She then wrote a tell-all book in 1868, “Behind the Scenes,” which was full of intimate, personal details about President and Mrs. Lincoln. Scholars who have tried to understand the Lincolns and this era in U.S. politics have valued this book. It was very controversial, but riveting, and impregnated with detail. I could not professionally finish my review of the book without adding a third part; here it is.
Romantic history of Mrs. Lincoln
Keckley, the former slave, ironically wrote a chapter on the origin of the rivalry
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How to make Valentine flowers last longer
That would Valentine’s Day be without a beautiful bouquet of flowers? In addition to chocolate, cards and dining out, flowers — particularly roses — are
among the most popular gifts. According to a survey by the National Retail Federation, 58 percent of American men and 16 percent of American women were projected to buy flowers for Valentine’s Day 2016, spending a total of $1.9 billion. Similar spending is predicted in 2019.
Flowers of all shapes, sizes, colors, and aromas can make popular gifts this February. Prolonging the life of beautiful blooms is a priority for those who want their Valentine’s Day arrangements to endure for as long as possible. Florists and other experts differ with regard to the best methods of preserving flowers. Here are some ideas to try.
Trim stems before immersing in water
The natural emollients and sap in the stems of flowers may cause a film to form over the bottom of the stem after it is initially cut. This can reduce the flower’s uptake of water. To alleviate this, cut the stems once the flowers are
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Give the gift of healing this year
The gift of massage treats recipients to relaxation and the healing power of therapy and can serve as an escape from the stresses of daily life.
In their 21st annual consumer survey, the American Massage Therapy Association says 19 percent of consumers reported receiving a massage from a professional therapist in the previous year. Many people rely on massage for medical relief, including to alleviate muscle soreness, stiffness or spasms. Massage can also aid in the recovery from migraines, help prevent injury and assist in general well-being.
Gifting massage is easy when one knows the type of massage a person desires and the place he or she frequently visits for massage therapy. However, those
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Working together to save the oceans
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
LIBERTY —
The public has an opportunity Saturday to see a fun, educational musical with a timely message.
Student audiences have been enjoying “Something Very Fishy” at the Pickens County Performing Arts Center in Liberty for more than a week, but a public performance of the play will be held at 10 a.m. this Saturday.
More than 2,700 area public and homeschool students will see “Something Very Fishy” during its run, which began Jan. 30 at the center, Pickens County tourism director Jay Pitts said.
Kathy Prosser’s musical tells the story of Sandy Carson, a young science major conducting coral transplant research, and Stu Pidder, a fisherman who treats the ocean as his own personal garbage dump.
The audience sees first-hand the effects of littering, not only on the coral reefs but on the lives of Boss the great white shark and his aquatic friends.
“‘Something Very Fishy’ started as an early education program in Australia, which toured around Australia to many thousands of children,” Prosser said. “It was really
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Clemson plans campus CollabFest to celebrate creativity
By Tara Romanella
Clemson University
news@thepccourier.com
CLEMSON — From Wednesday, Feb. 27, through Saturday, March 2, the CollabFest at Clemson University will celebrate creativity with a slate of art, film, technology and food events that seek to inspire, entertain and educate.
Famed designer Tina Roth Eisenberg will deliver the festival’s keynote at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, in the Watt Family Innovation Center. Jason Levine, Adobe’s principal worldwide evangelist, will give a keynote in the Watt Family Innovation Center at 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 29, during the Adobe Creative Jam.
CollabFest was created by a collective group of departments across
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Cracking up for a cause
Show to raise money, awareness for needs of those with autism
LIBERTY — Liberty High School’s Walking Shadows improv group will kick off the second half of its regular season on Thursday, Feb. 7,
Broadway actress Kimilee Bryant will join Liberty High School’s Walking Shadows improv troupe for a benefit show Feb. 7.
with “Improv Never Dies,” featuring Broadway actress Kimilee Bryant.
The show will also serve as a benefit to raise money for and awareness of the needs of those on the autism spectrum in the state.
“I’ve been looking for a cause for our group to get involved with, and this seemed like an area where we could make an impact,” LHS improv coach and Accelerate supervisor David Holland said.
The show will start at 7 p.m. in the Liberty High School auditorium.
Before the show, a panel discussion will be held featuring experts in the field who will give insights into the struggles, triumphs and needs of individuals with autism and their families. In addition, space will
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Learning more about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Well respected, honored and appreciated for his civil rights activism, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rightfully earned his place as one of the most influential figures in American and world history. Through his 
religious teachings and social activism, Dr. King played a key role in the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
While Dr. King lived a good portion of his life in the public eye, many facts of his life are not widely known. In honor of his birthday and
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Celebration of champions
Thousands of fans lined College Avenue in downtown Clemson and the streets of the Clemson University campus on Saturday morning as a parade 
led the 2019 College Football Playoff champion Tigers to Memorial Stadium for a celebration of the team’s second national title in three seasons. The Tigers took down top-ranked Alabama 44-16 in the championship game on Jan. 7 to give Clemson its third national crown in program history. Asked about the atmosphere during the parade by an Upstate TV news station, head coach Dabo Swinney responded, “It’s surreal. Can’t wait to do it again.”
Photos courtesy ClemsonTigers.com
Six Mile cloggers audition for ‘America’s Got Talent’
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
SIX MILE — A local clogging team is hoping to show off its talents nationwide.
The team included nine members of the studio’s Footloose team.
HotFoot Studios owner Sharon Finley said Footloose, the studio’s senior team, took part in auditions for “America’s Got Talent” in Charlotte, N.C., on Dec. 15.
“We participated first in Pickens County’s Got Talent,” Finley said.
Pickens County’s Got Talent 
was held as part of the county’s “Blue Ribbon Birthday Bash” sesquicentennial celebration Oct. 6 in Easley.
“We competed in Pickens County’s Got Talent,” Finley said. “We won.”
Because of its success, the team was invited to audition for the 14th season of the popular television show, expected to begin later this year on NBC.
“We got what’s called a front of the line pass,” Finley said. “It was really fun and a great opportunity for us.”
A hostess met the team and guided them around the proceedings, she said.
“We learned a lot about behind the scenes of ‘America’s Got Talent,’” Finley said. “We even performed for the entertainers there. We were made to feel really special. It was a great day for us. We had a great time.”
The team will learn sometime between now and March 1 if they’ll be going
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