Bulloch Hall

Dad greeted us with a smile & history book

By Laurie Bower Epps

My family got together this past Thanksgiving at my brother's home in Atlanta, GA for the first time in about three years. However, my father has become quite elderly, and at 89 years young, I paid special attention to spend time with him. Dad wanted to go to my hometown of Roswell, GA and for spectacular results. This has got to be the best kickoff to my holiday seasons blog, and was even more than I had first envisioned. With over 70 photos to choose from, I definitely had some hard choices to make.

Our NC Mountain Adventure

Country Road near Linville Cavern

By Laurie Bower Epps

For my daughter's 20th birthday, I asked what she wanted, and she told me, "Mom, take me on one of your adventures." Unable to resist, I gave her three options and being a geology major, a jaunt to the mountains was somehow, perfect. 

This outing, I chose specifically due to my childhood memories from this region near Marion, NC. Come get lost with my sweet girls and I. The pictures are truly spectacular. Unfortunately, not too far away, wildfires are ravaging the hillsides covered in woodland areas. For now, these areas are fairly safe, but that could change with the worst of the damage a mere 30 miles or so away. Respectfully, I ask that you pray for the residents of Lake Lure, NC and the firefighters trying to contain the blaze.

Hagood Mill

By Laurie Bower Epps

Something about an old mill just evokes for me fall images of golden, burnt sienna, and rich sangria red leaves framing it off in the distance. My dear friend and I set off with our young daughters on an adventure into the past. 

Hoping to avoid their "fall festival" so to miss the crowds and additional cost, we set out on a beautiful autumn day with our picnic basket and cooler in tow. However, we got it perfectly wrong, but with magnificent results. Not only was there a storytelling competition going on, there were also plenty of arts and crafts to keep the kids busy.

Central Historical Society

By Laurie Epps

With fall activities in full swing, it's been even more essential that I stick close to home. But as a salesperson that travels throughout the southeast, I can't help but notice that there's a number of towns that seem to have sprung up around the railroad. I love trains. As a child, my favorite picture book was The Little Engine That Could. This love was passed along to my daughter Ellen, to whom this blog is dedicated in honor of her 20th birthday.

Campbell's Covered Bridge

Campbell's Covered Bridge, Circa 1909

By Laurie Epps

There's something about a covered bridge that seems romantic, and nostalgic. Almost everyone has seen a Christmas card sleigh ride scene with a covered bridge in it. Some would say that a covered bridge is wooden poetry, or a passageway to the past which speaks to our inner child.

After a really tough week, originally I'd planned on going to a fall festival at a plantation in Spartanburg, but an invitation from a friend in the country had an unusual appeal. I asked her about a few places that I thought would be near her farm in the country. So when she said she was just a mile from this beauty, my youngest and I set out to see it before we arrived at my friend's home.

The Wilhite House

View from McDuffie Street

By Laurie Epps

At the corner of River & McDuffie Streets in Anderson is the prominent Wilhite House. For those that don't live around here, that's a busy intersection about half a mile from the public library. The sign boasts it's the home to the man who discovered Ether but it's shell looks more like a creepy ghost story. From my daughter, I've learned that local school children are making up haunting tales about the old place. As for me, I can't dismiss it's historical significance.

Significance

Dr. Philip Abney Wilhite, owner of the grand house, was a young medical student when he administered ether to a young black man at a party in 1841. The drug anesthetized him, and the other party guests believed him to be dead. This was the beginnings for anesthesia as we know it today since the boy awoke unharmed.

Kilgore~Lewis House

By Laurie Epps

When I say that people down here are fanatical about their football, it's the understatement of the century. Being fall also means that in addition to the fabulous pumpkin spice latte's, this area becomes a sea of orange in support of nearby Clemson University on Friday afternoons. As a salesperson, I wear my orange on Fridays too, because it's just good business.

Fashion

Dress, Shrug, & bracelets
~Catherine's Plus Sizes

Metallic Sandals by Sketchers
~Rack Room Shoes

Brown Leather Handbag, Chaps by Ralph Lauren
~Kohl's