By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net Photo: The ash door to the smokehouse in Historic Brattonsville. To some, the smokehouse remains a symbol of the impoverished, rural South. Not me. I see it as a rustic savior, and I thank the late Harry Crews for my column’s title. I recalledContinue Reading

Lake Sweep Nets Over 15,000 Pounds of Trash Keep the Midlands Beautiful (KMB) led a successful Lake Sweep/River Sweep on September 20, 2025, removing more than 15,170 pounds of litter, recyclables, and bulky debris from Lake Murray and nearby waterways. The cleanup is part of South Carolina’s annual Beach Sweep/RiverContinue Reading

My lost geisha By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net It was the photograph in my father’s war album. Her white kimono. Hair black as onyx. Pale, serene face. Perfect bone structure. Gloss, a sheen upon her hair. On one side, a nameless GI. On the other, my father, not muchContinue Reading

COLUMBIA – The Cooperative Ministry is seeking volunteers for the 2026 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which provides free tax preparation services to individuals and families with low-to-moderate incomes. Since 2010, The Cooperative Ministry’s VITA program has prepared more than 70,000 tax returns, returning over $88 million in refundsContinue Reading

By Radley West The Two Most Detrimental and Overused Phrases in American Culture Today: “It’s Not Fair” and “I Deserve It.” In a time when motivational quotes plaster our screens and self-help slogans promise quick fixes, two seemingly harmless phrases are quietly chipping away at the very fabric of resilienceContinue Reading

By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net Photographs speak if you listen to them. That curling, cracked Polaroid of your deceased uncle and aunt tells a story as surely as the photos of Iwo Jima and V-J Day in Times Square images do. A world entire lives inside the four wallsContinue Reading