While I care about every story I write, not many are this touching. I would have loved to have learned more about Karen's life, but she wasn't feeling well enough to tell me.
As I wrote, I realized this was as much about a church embracing one of its members as it was about Karen getting to see her parents again.
It's been a long time since I've been this proud to be part of a story.
Woman gets dying wish to see parents
By Lisa Kaylor Staff Writer
NORTH AUGUSTA --- All Karen Flores wants for Christmas is to see her parents one more time.
The last time she saw them, the 23-year-old North Augusta woman was leaving Honduras for the United States, where she planned to make enough money to make a better life for her family and then return home.
That was three years ago, long before she was diagnosed with the liver cancer that will soon claim her life.
Late Wednesday night, just in time for Christmas, Misael and Margarita Flores arrived in North Augusta.
Ms. Flores had her doubts that she would get her Christmas wish, saying she would believe it when she saw it. Once before, she thought they were coming, but their application for a visa was denied by the U.S. government.
Too sick to fly home, Ms. Flores had no hope of seeing them again without the help of her Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church family.
The Rev. Tim Lijewski, church members and Eric Muhlbaier of Aiken Regional Medical Centers wrote letters to the U.S. consulate asking it to grant Ms. Flores' parents a humanitarian visa to visit their daughter, who has already outlived her doctors' prognosis.
The Rev. Lijewski assumed responsibility for the couple and assured the consulate that they would return to Honduras. He got word a week ago that their visas had been approved.
"She has so much faith," the Rev. Lijewski said, teary-eyed. "It seems like seeing them means more to her than dying."
Church members raised more than $5,000 to fly the Floreses to the United States and provide for them while they are here.
On Tuesday night, before her parents' arrival, a frail Ms. Flores, wrapped in a thick winter coat despite the house's warmth, spoke about them in a thin, breathy voice.
"They're humble," she said in Spanish, translated by fellow church member Angie Mallar. "They're most important. They are the best parents in the world."
They are staying with the family of Rodrigo and Mayra Azofeifa, Costa Ricans who have welcomed Miss Flores into their home and their hearts in the four weeks she has been out of the hospital.
"She's a person who needed help; and we believe in God; and we know that if we help her we're helping God, too," Mr. Azofeifa said through Mrs. Mallar.
The Hispanic ministry at the church, headed up by Conchita Antunez and Amalia Garcia, provides volunteers to care for Ms. Flores 24 hours a day to lessen the burden on the Azofeifa family.
Ms. Antunez and Ms. Garcia bathe her, and others help with anything else she might need.
"Even though her parents are going to be here, there are still going to be people coming (to help)," Ms. Antunez said through Mrs. Mallar.
Ms. Flores said through Mrs. Mallar that her parents' arrival was a gift from God.
"We all think that God was keeping it for a Christmas gift," Mrs. Mallar said. "Baby Jesus will bring her a big gift."
Reach Lisa Kaylor at (706) 828-3904 or lisa.kaylor@northaugustatoday.com.
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2008/12/25/met_505327.shtml
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
The Ghost Walk
I hate ghost stories. When I was a young girl a friend who lived up the street loved watching Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, My Bloody Valentine (wow...do I really remember that one?!?) and the like. She would insist that I watch these things with her, which I did as any good friend would do. Invariably, as the music began to get louder and faster and along with it my adrenaline, I would have to run outside because I just knew my mom must be calling. Sleep would be chased away that night by images of burned men with knives for fingernails or masked men with chainsaws.
At last year's Hallowed Eve, I escaped the ghost stories by standing in the tavern at Living History Park, learning about the customs of a colonial harvest festival and asking braver souls their opinions of the event. This year, I was not so lucky. I tried to quiet the butterflies as we plod along behind giant black horses. I couldn't let my 13-year-old son see me quaking! About halfway through the first story, about the plight of old Abigail Stevens, I realized I would be just fine and actually began to enjoy myself. Perhaps it was the knowledge that I had my strapping son to protect me. Or perhaps it was simply that many of the "ghosts" I knew in the flesh.
Whichever it was, I'm looking forward to next year.
For this story, I thought it would be fun to condense the stories I heard. It was Crystal's idea, but I thought it was a great one.
Ghost walk offers spooky tales
By Lisa Kaylor Staff Writer
Posted October 28, 2008 4:42 PM
First-time visitors to the Spirits of Hallowed Eve at Living History Park Saturday may not have known what to expect, including getting chuckles instead of scares.
Rather than ghouls and gore, they got a taste of a colonial Halloween celebration, complete with bonfires, ghost stories and music.
"It was like Halloween comedy," Zach Burch, 15, said. "It was interesting."
The tour began with a horse-drawn carriage filled with passengers, which led the way for additional pedestrian guests, down the dirt driveway into the shadows of the park.
Throughout the park, buildings, people and trees were silhouetted against campfires and flaming torches. A small field behind the park's Colonial kitchen was pitch black by 7:25 p.m. and set the scene for tour guide Connie Burleson's tale of Irish traditions of the hearth fire.
"The hearth was very important to the Irish people," she said. "They kept a fire burning and coals burning in their hearths all the time. On Oct. 31, they would extinguish their hearths and go to a community celebration. They would return to their home with coals (from the community bonfire) and reignite their hearth."
The evening's event was a re-creation of such a celebration, complete with a large bonfire on the commons.
Visitors were invited to partake of refreshments such as cookies, hot chocolate and cider in the tavern while they listened to Jim McGaw play the dulcimer.
Outside, they joined Faire Wynds' Eric Scites in an 18th century sing-along. Then Scites and his family performed such pyrotechnics as fire eating and twirling a flaming hula hoop.
Washington Irving's headless horseman capped off the night by throwing firecrackers into the bonfire during Faire Wynds' retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Following are summarized versions of a few of the tales of woe.
Spirits of Hallowed Eve Tales
ON THE WALKING TRAIL: "Welcome, welcome" bade the deep, gravely voice of a man whose features were completely obscured by darkness. Chris Meyer's physical shape, which appeared to be wearing 18th century clothing, was proven by the firelight behind him.
He said that Abigail Stevens, a long time ago, married a wealthy merchant named Jorg Smith who beat her. She sought solace in the arms of a man named James while her husband was away on business.
When Jorg found out about the affair, he challenged James to a duel which was fought in the woods of what would become Living History Park.
Jorg won the duel by killing James. Unsatisfied with the victory, he went home and murdered poor Abigail. He was caught and put to death for his crimes.
"But to this very day it is said that Abigail's ghost walks these very woods, looking for her beloved James," Meyer said.
AT THE THOMPSON ACADEMY: Pam Schmidt, her hair and face covered in lace, welcomed visitors into the schoolhouse.
She introduced them to the spirit of her husband, which now resides in a raven.
"He was such a wonderful man. We have great conversations, you know," she said.
She said her great-grandmother and grandfather were witches from Salem, Mass., and she pleaded with visitors to come to the academy to learn to read, write, sew and cook.
Then she displayed her teaching credentials, which was in the form of a sampler on the underside of her apron.
"How come it's all blank?" asked a young voice from the small crowd.
"Oh, it is not blank. You just cannot see it," Schmidt exclaimed. "Oh, you just have to believe! It is a wonderful sampler, my son."
AT AN INDIAN CAMPSITE: Chuck Hudson, in full Indian regalia, stood over a campfire and related an Iroquois legend.
An evil wizard, who was believed to change himself into an owl and fly about doing evil things, had died. His body was placed in a cedar wood box and left in his lodge deep in the woods as was according to Iroquois custom.
One winter, a traveling family happened upon the lodge and chose to spend the night there. The man chose the bed closest to the door so that he could protect his family should trouble arise. The woman wrapped her baby in the only blanket she had, but had trouble herself falling asleep.
When she did finally slumber, she was awakened by the strange sound of an owl crunching the bones of a mouse.
She crawled to where her husband slept and found him dead, with his throat ripped out. Looking around, she saw that the top of the cedar box was open, and in it lay the skeleton of a large man whose teeth were red with blood.
She escaped, and ran toward the next village but heard the vampire skeleton behind her. She ran into the tent of one of the villagers, and the village warriors went looking for the predator. The skeleton began advancing toward them, but just then the sun came up and it ran back into the forest and disappeared.
"And this my friends is why you should not wander into the forest at night," Hudson admonished.
IN WILLOW SPRINGS MEETING HOUSE: A wailing woman draped in black led visitors into the meeting house, where they took seats on benches in front of a black coffin.
As she cried over the deceased, she gently lifted the lid and began wailing louder.
Slowly, a gnarled gray hand reached out of the coffin. A tattered corpse sat up and turned toward the audience... and screamed.
"You scared the life out of me!" said Tim Nealeigh, gasping for breath.
Standing, he said, "Allow me to present myself. My name is Canby. Dedus Canby. My friends just call me Ded."
Nealeigh, as Canby, gave a brief history of Halloween before telling the story of Stingy Jack.
Stingy Jack was very lucky, Canby said, because if he passed by a steaming pie in a windowsill or a hunk of meat in a barn, he would assume it was put there for him and he would take it.
One day he met the devil in an orchard and decided to trick him. Stingy Jack told the devil he wanted an apple from the top of a tree. But the devil told Stingy Jack that he had come for him. Stingy Jack told the devil that if he would get the apple, Stingy Jack would go with him.
So the devil climbed into the tree to get the apple. While he was in the tree, Stingy Jack ringed the bottom of the tree with crosses. Because the devil can't go past a cross, he was stuck in the tree. After extracting a promise from the devil that he would not go to "heck" when he died, Stingy Jack removed the crosses and let the devil come down from the tree.
One day, after plucking a large turnip, Stingy Jack died and found himself standing at the devil's door. But the devil wouldn't take him and told him to go to "that other place."
Then the devil tossed Stingy Jack an ember so he could see his way in the dark. The ember was too hot to hold, so Stingy Jack cut out the inside of the turnip and put the ember in it. Then he could see the pathway that led him to heaven.
But at the gates of heaven, he was turned away because of the way he'd lived.
"So Stingy Jack is still wandering around with his light, still trying to find a place to stay," Canby said.
Reach Lisa Kaylor at lisa.kaylor@northaugustatoday.com.
At last year's Hallowed Eve, I escaped the ghost stories by standing in the tavern at Living History Park, learning about the customs of a colonial harvest festival and asking braver souls their opinions of the event. This year, I was not so lucky. I tried to quiet the butterflies as we plod along behind giant black horses. I couldn't let my 13-year-old son see me quaking! About halfway through the first story, about the plight of old Abigail Stevens, I realized I would be just fine and actually began to enjoy myself. Perhaps it was the knowledge that I had my strapping son to protect me. Or perhaps it was simply that many of the "ghosts" I knew in the flesh.
Whichever it was, I'm looking forward to next year.
For this story, I thought it would be fun to condense the stories I heard. It was Crystal's idea, but I thought it was a great one.
Ghost walk offers spooky tales
By Lisa Kaylor Staff Writer
Posted October 28, 2008 4:42 PM
First-time visitors to the Spirits of Hallowed Eve at Living History Park Saturday may not have known what to expect, including getting chuckles instead of scares.
Rather than ghouls and gore, they got a taste of a colonial Halloween celebration, complete with bonfires, ghost stories and music.
"It was like Halloween comedy," Zach Burch, 15, said. "It was interesting."
The tour began with a horse-drawn carriage filled with passengers, which led the way for additional pedestrian guests, down the dirt driveway into the shadows of the park.
Throughout the park, buildings, people and trees were silhouetted against campfires and flaming torches. A small field behind the park's Colonial kitchen was pitch black by 7:25 p.m. and set the scene for tour guide Connie Burleson's tale of Irish traditions of the hearth fire.
"The hearth was very important to the Irish people," she said. "They kept a fire burning and coals burning in their hearths all the time. On Oct. 31, they would extinguish their hearths and go to a community celebration. They would return to their home with coals (from the community bonfire) and reignite their hearth."
The evening's event was a re-creation of such a celebration, complete with a large bonfire on the commons.
Visitors were invited to partake of refreshments such as cookies, hot chocolate and cider in the tavern while they listened to Jim McGaw play the dulcimer.
Outside, they joined Faire Wynds' Eric Scites in an 18th century sing-along. Then Scites and his family performed such pyrotechnics as fire eating and twirling a flaming hula hoop.
Washington Irving's headless horseman capped off the night by throwing firecrackers into the bonfire during Faire Wynds' retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Following are summarized versions of a few of the tales of woe.
Spirits of Hallowed Eve Tales
ON THE WALKING TRAIL: "Welcome, welcome" bade the deep, gravely voice of a man whose features were completely obscured by darkness. Chris Meyer's physical shape, which appeared to be wearing 18th century clothing, was proven by the firelight behind him.
He said that Abigail Stevens, a long time ago, married a wealthy merchant named Jorg Smith who beat her. She sought solace in the arms of a man named James while her husband was away on business.
When Jorg found out about the affair, he challenged James to a duel which was fought in the woods of what would become Living History Park.
Jorg won the duel by killing James. Unsatisfied with the victory, he went home and murdered poor Abigail. He was caught and put to death for his crimes.
"But to this very day it is said that Abigail's ghost walks these very woods, looking for her beloved James," Meyer said.
AT THE THOMPSON ACADEMY: Pam Schmidt, her hair and face covered in lace, welcomed visitors into the schoolhouse.
She introduced them to the spirit of her husband, which now resides in a raven.
"He was such a wonderful man. We have great conversations, you know," she said.
She said her great-grandmother and grandfather were witches from Salem, Mass., and she pleaded with visitors to come to the academy to learn to read, write, sew and cook.
Then she displayed her teaching credentials, which was in the form of a sampler on the underside of her apron.
"How come it's all blank?" asked a young voice from the small crowd.
"Oh, it is not blank. You just cannot see it," Schmidt exclaimed. "Oh, you just have to believe! It is a wonderful sampler, my son."
AT AN INDIAN CAMPSITE: Chuck Hudson, in full Indian regalia, stood over a campfire and related an Iroquois legend.
An evil wizard, who was believed to change himself into an owl and fly about doing evil things, had died. His body was placed in a cedar wood box and left in his lodge deep in the woods as was according to Iroquois custom.
One winter, a traveling family happened upon the lodge and chose to spend the night there. The man chose the bed closest to the door so that he could protect his family should trouble arise. The woman wrapped her baby in the only blanket she had, but had trouble herself falling asleep.
When she did finally slumber, she was awakened by the strange sound of an owl crunching the bones of a mouse.
She crawled to where her husband slept and found him dead, with his throat ripped out. Looking around, she saw that the top of the cedar box was open, and in it lay the skeleton of a large man whose teeth were red with blood.
She escaped, and ran toward the next village but heard the vampire skeleton behind her. She ran into the tent of one of the villagers, and the village warriors went looking for the predator. The skeleton began advancing toward them, but just then the sun came up and it ran back into the forest and disappeared.
"And this my friends is why you should not wander into the forest at night," Hudson admonished.
IN WILLOW SPRINGS MEETING HOUSE: A wailing woman draped in black led visitors into the meeting house, where they took seats on benches in front of a black coffin.
As she cried over the deceased, she gently lifted the lid and began wailing louder.
Slowly, a gnarled gray hand reached out of the coffin. A tattered corpse sat up and turned toward the audience... and screamed.
"You scared the life out of me!" said Tim Nealeigh, gasping for breath.
Standing, he said, "Allow me to present myself. My name is Canby. Dedus Canby. My friends just call me Ded."
Nealeigh, as Canby, gave a brief history of Halloween before telling the story of Stingy Jack.
Stingy Jack was very lucky, Canby said, because if he passed by a steaming pie in a windowsill or a hunk of meat in a barn, he would assume it was put there for him and he would take it.
One day he met the devil in an orchard and decided to trick him. Stingy Jack told the devil he wanted an apple from the top of a tree. But the devil told Stingy Jack that he had come for him. Stingy Jack told the devil that if he would get the apple, Stingy Jack would go with him.
So the devil climbed into the tree to get the apple. While he was in the tree, Stingy Jack ringed the bottom of the tree with crosses. Because the devil can't go past a cross, he was stuck in the tree. After extracting a promise from the devil that he would not go to "heck" when he died, Stingy Jack removed the crosses and let the devil come down from the tree.
One day, after plucking a large turnip, Stingy Jack died and found himself standing at the devil's door. But the devil wouldn't take him and told him to go to "that other place."
Then the devil tossed Stingy Jack an ember so he could see his way in the dark. The ember was too hot to hold, so Stingy Jack cut out the inside of the turnip and put the ember in it. Then he could see the pathway that led him to heaven.
But at the gates of heaven, he was turned away because of the way he'd lived.
"So Stingy Jack is still wandering around with his light, still trying to find a place to stay," Canby said.
Reach Lisa Kaylor at lisa.kaylor@northaugustatoday.com.
School teaches adults to spot sexual predators
It's nice to feel like you make a difference. I didn't really make a difference with this story. My job with this story was just to let the public know that there is a local program that they can attend, regardless of religious affiliation, which will teach how to protect their children.
http://natoday.augusta.com/node/4625
School teaches adults to spot sexual predators
By Lisa Kaylor Staff Writer
Posted November 11, 2008 3:44 PM
Sexual abuse can be a subject no one wants to talk about, but one area school requires anyone working with its children to do just that.
Our Lady of Peace Catholic School requires each teacher and parent volunteer to attend VIRTUS training, a three-hour class designed to teach adults how to spot a sexual predator.
"It's really a nondenominational program that teaches people about the profile of a predator," said Marlee Calloway, the school's guidance counselor and co-teacher of the class. "This program highlights the problem but gives a strategic plan for preventing it from happening here."
Calloway said one in six males and one in four females are molested by age 18.
The school began offering VIRTUS, which means "excellence" in Latin, four years ago in accordance with the Diocese of Charleston, which requires all church personnel and volunteers who have access to children to be trained in recognizing sexual predators.
A main component of the training is a video in which expert psychologists outline the profile of a predator, and sex offenders explain how they got close to their victims.
Predators groom children both physically and psychologically before they victimize them. During physical grooming, the molester first touches the child in appropriate ways, such as a pat on the back, which progresses to tickling or wrestling and then to inappropriate touching as the child becomes more familiar with the predator.
"It lowers the child's inhibition of the adult having their hands on them," Calloway said.
Psychological grooming begins by the predator showing interest in the child, being very friendly and getting to know the child's likes and dislikes. The predator will display concern and care to create a sense of dependence in the child. As the behavior escalates into abuse, the predator may threaten to harm the child or the child's family if the child tells anyone.
The abuser will also groom the community into thinking that he or she is incapable of such behavior.
Teaching parents and community members what to look for in adult/child relationships is only one way Our Lady of Peace has committed to keeping children safe. Each volunteer and worker is required to have a background check through the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. In addition, Calloway teaches the children SafeTouch, a program designed to teach children to protect themselves.
The school has also redesigned classrooms and the building to reduce blind spots and isolated areas that could give a predator an opportunity to abuse a child on school grounds.
"By teaching people about the predators and creating a safe environment, it's less likely a predator would want to come here," Calloway said.
Calloway said the length of the class and the subject matter can be a deterrent to some parents, but many parents have come back and said they were glad they took it.
"It takes something that is so depressing and harmful to society and gives you a plan of offense," she said.
Parents of Our Lady of Peace pupils are not allowed to volunteer in the classrooms, as chaperones, or to help with any school event until they have been through the class.
Classes are free and open to the public. Calloway said she plans to offer another class in December, but other parishes such as St. Mary's on the Hill and Aquinas High School in Augusta also offer the program.
For more information on VIRTUS, visit http://www.virtus.org/.
http://natoday.augusta.com/node/4625
School teaches adults to spot sexual predators
By Lisa Kaylor Staff Writer
Posted November 11, 2008 3:44 PM
Sexual abuse can be a subject no one wants to talk about, but one area school requires anyone working with its children to do just that.
Our Lady of Peace Catholic School requires each teacher and parent volunteer to attend VIRTUS training, a three-hour class designed to teach adults how to spot a sexual predator.
"It's really a nondenominational program that teaches people about the profile of a predator," said Marlee Calloway, the school's guidance counselor and co-teacher of the class. "This program highlights the problem but gives a strategic plan for preventing it from happening here."
Calloway said one in six males and one in four females are molested by age 18.
The school began offering VIRTUS, which means "excellence" in Latin, four years ago in accordance with the Diocese of Charleston, which requires all church personnel and volunteers who have access to children to be trained in recognizing sexual predators.
A main component of the training is a video in which expert psychologists outline the profile of a predator, and sex offenders explain how they got close to their victims.
Predators groom children both physically and psychologically before they victimize them. During physical grooming, the molester first touches the child in appropriate ways, such as a pat on the back, which progresses to tickling or wrestling and then to inappropriate touching as the child becomes more familiar with the predator.
"It lowers the child's inhibition of the adult having their hands on them," Calloway said.
Psychological grooming begins by the predator showing interest in the child, being very friendly and getting to know the child's likes and dislikes. The predator will display concern and care to create a sense of dependence in the child. As the behavior escalates into abuse, the predator may threaten to harm the child or the child's family if the child tells anyone.
The abuser will also groom the community into thinking that he or she is incapable of such behavior.
Teaching parents and community members what to look for in adult/child relationships is only one way Our Lady of Peace has committed to keeping children safe. Each volunteer and worker is required to have a background check through the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. In addition, Calloway teaches the children SafeTouch, a program designed to teach children to protect themselves.
The school has also redesigned classrooms and the building to reduce blind spots and isolated areas that could give a predator an opportunity to abuse a child on school grounds.
"By teaching people about the predators and creating a safe environment, it's less likely a predator would want to come here," Calloway said.
Calloway said the length of the class and the subject matter can be a deterrent to some parents, but many parents have come back and said they were glad they took it.
"It takes something that is so depressing and harmful to society and gives you a plan of offense," she said.
Parents of Our Lady of Peace pupils are not allowed to volunteer in the classrooms, as chaperones, or to help with any school event until they have been through the class.
Classes are free and open to the public. Calloway said she plans to offer another class in December, but other parishes such as St. Mary's on the Hill and Aquinas High School in Augusta also offer the program.
For more information on VIRTUS, visit http://www.virtus.org/.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Another piece of history goes up in smoke
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/090608/met_472243.shtml
I first heard about North Augusta's latest historic loss via text message from my editor Friday morning. My first thought was disbelief. There was truly nothing like it.
I had the privilege of touring the building a couple of times while its owner, Robin Dunn, worked to polish it until it shone. She was like a child at Christmas, her eyes gleaming as she talked about the different fabrics she'd chosen, or a new piece she had bought, or the next project she would undertake.
She only had the place for a little over a year.
The interior was warm yet impressive. Rich heart pine paneled the walls, floors and ceilings, the latter of which sported intricate hand-made designs. The staircase, located at the rear of entry room, led to a second floor that offered views of the first floor on the interior, and breathtaking views of Augusta from its front gabled windows.
Rooms on the second floor were either tastefully wallpapered or painted, with richly-hued wooden doors and trim. Some rooms were offices, some were meeting rooms.
In one room on the second floor, which contained a full, luxurious bathroom and appeared to have been used for living quarters at one time, had several square cut-outs in the floor and walls. Given the reputations of some previous owners, it's possible these were hiding places for either money or drugs.
The third floor was just plain creepy.
I recall paint peeling from the walls of the dark, dank space. It was accessible through a narrow hallway on the second floor at the rear of the building, which led to a narrow staircase. The only two gabled rooms were connected by a dark, narrow hallway. It was mostly used for storage.
At first, Robin opened the Seven Gables as a meeting facility. Only this year did she open as an upscale restaurant for lunch.
It's interesting that the Seven Gables met its demise in the same manner as the Hampton Terrace Hotel.
Around the turn of the last century, North Augusta was the Hampton Terrace, an opulant behemoth that spread its wings atop the hill. Rich northerners would flock to North Augusta to escape the bitter northern winters.
The hotel spawned a few satellite buildings, of which the Seven Gables was one. Across Georgia Avenue, one of the two buildings that served as the sanitorium still stands. The other was later destroyed by fire.
In 1916, just before the opening of its 14th season, the Hampton Terrace was destroyed by a fire caused by an electrical short.
Officials are still investigating the cause of the Seven Gables fire.
There is now a gaping hole on Georgia Avenue where a piece of the city's history used to live.
Investment goes up in smoke
Cause of blaze still under investigation
By Lisa Kaylor and Julia Sellers Staff Writers
NORTH AUGUSTA --- Jared Mankins and Amber Lloyd hesitantly approached Robin Dunn, the Palmetto House at 7 Gables' owner, as the remains of the historic building smoldered Friday.
The couple, who were supposed to be married at the Georgia Avenue site Nov. 1, told Mrs. Dunn they were there to offer support and would wait to discuss the fire's effect on their upcoming nuptials.
"We kind of don't know where to go," Mr. Mankins said after talking to Mrs. Dunn. "We're at a loss for words."
Mrs. Dunn first learned of Thursday night's fire at the former Seven Gables Inn when a friend's husband called her from the scene. Mrs. Dunn had left the Palmetto House only an hour earlier.
"I live in Savannah Barony, and we could smell it" on the way to the car, she said. "When we saw it, everything was on fire. It was like something you see in a movie."
Within an hour, the house was engulfed in flames and destroyed.
Crews tore down the structure Friday morning to contain flames that continued from interior walls.
North Augusta Public Safety Chief Lee Wetherington said the fire's cause is still under investigation.
Shortly after the fire started, a 2-inch gas line exploded behind the building, but the fire was contained and no one was hurt.
Mrs. Dunn bought the property for $678,000 in March 2007 and reopened it as the Palmetto House at 7 Gables Restaurant this past March.
Even after renovations, Mrs. Dunn continued to upgrade at least one thing every week.
"We were going to get a new freezer this week," she said.
Three of the 13 employees watched the smoking rubble from a bench on the property. "We worked here," Cassandra Elam said. "We were a family."
She mourned the loss of the building, which included heart pine flooring, walls and ceiling.
"The architecture is something you just won't ever see again," she said.
Ms. Elam also expressed concern about clients who have scheduled events. Some owners of area meeting facilities have called Mrs. Dunn and offered to honor her contracts with clients.
Mrs. Dunn assured Mr. Mankin and Ms. Lloyd that she would soon be in touch and provide them with a list of options.
Mrs. Dunn said she isn't sure what her next move will be beyond finding out the cause of the blaze.
"I really do want to know what caused it," she said.
Reach Lisa Kaylor at (706) 828-3904 or lisa.kaylor@augustachronicle.com
PALMETTO HOUSE AT 7 GABLES HISTORY
1903: Built as a hunting lodge for the Hampton Terrace Hotel, which burned down Dec. 31, 1916 , because of defective wiring.
1908: Named Palmetto Lodge under the ownership of New Yorker John Herbert , whose family used it as a winter home.
1928- 43: Author Edison Marshall buys the property and renames it Seven Gables in honor of a Nathaniel Hawthorne novel.
1943: Mr. Marshall sells the property to Marvin MacFerrin, the pastor of Greene Street Presbyterian Church
1977: Bruce and Rose Salter purchase property
1989: The Salters name the Seven Gables restaurant the Buffalo Room. They later have their license revoked for barring black patrons.
1993: The Salters sell their business to Tra-Kim Inc., owned by sons Randy and James Salter.
1996: Buffalo Room reopens under sons' ownership . Randy was the only son to hold a deed on the establishment.
Feb. 11, 1999: Randy Salter is sentenced to 11 years in prison for transporting marijuana between Texas and South Carolina and money laundering. As part of his plea, he forfeited ownership of the property.
2000: Cecil and Herbert Barns buy the property at auction for $400,000 but never reopen it.
2005: Property goes on market again for $655,000
March 2007: Robin Dunn purchases property for $678,000 and opens the Palmetto House restaurant in October.
Source: Augusta Chronicle Archives, North Augusta James U. Jackson's Dream (Book)
I first heard about North Augusta's latest historic loss via text message from my editor Friday morning. My first thought was disbelief. There was truly nothing like it.
I had the privilege of touring the building a couple of times while its owner, Robin Dunn, worked to polish it until it shone. She was like a child at Christmas, her eyes gleaming as she talked about the different fabrics she'd chosen, or a new piece she had bought, or the next project she would undertake.
She only had the place for a little over a year.
The interior was warm yet impressive. Rich heart pine paneled the walls, floors and ceilings, the latter of which sported intricate hand-made designs. The staircase, located at the rear of entry room, led to a second floor that offered views of the first floor on the interior, and breathtaking views of Augusta from its front gabled windows.
Rooms on the second floor were either tastefully wallpapered or painted, with richly-hued wooden doors and trim. Some rooms were offices, some were meeting rooms.
In one room on the second floor, which contained a full, luxurious bathroom and appeared to have been used for living quarters at one time, had several square cut-outs in the floor and walls. Given the reputations of some previous owners, it's possible these were hiding places for either money or drugs.
The third floor was just plain creepy.
I recall paint peeling from the walls of the dark, dank space. It was accessible through a narrow hallway on the second floor at the rear of the building, which led to a narrow staircase. The only two gabled rooms were connected by a dark, narrow hallway. It was mostly used for storage.
At first, Robin opened the Seven Gables as a meeting facility. Only this year did she open as an upscale restaurant for lunch.
It's interesting that the Seven Gables met its demise in the same manner as the Hampton Terrace Hotel.
Around the turn of the last century, North Augusta was the Hampton Terrace, an opulant behemoth that spread its wings atop the hill. Rich northerners would flock to North Augusta to escape the bitter northern winters.
The hotel spawned a few satellite buildings, of which the Seven Gables was one. Across Georgia Avenue, one of the two buildings that served as the sanitorium still stands. The other was later destroyed by fire.
In 1916, just before the opening of its 14th season, the Hampton Terrace was destroyed by a fire caused by an electrical short.
Officials are still investigating the cause of the Seven Gables fire.
There is now a gaping hole on Georgia Avenue where a piece of the city's history used to live.
Investment goes up in smoke
Cause of blaze still under investigation
By Lisa Kaylor and Julia Sellers Staff Writers
NORTH AUGUSTA --- Jared Mankins and Amber Lloyd hesitantly approached Robin Dunn, the Palmetto House at 7 Gables' owner, as the remains of the historic building smoldered Friday.
The couple, who were supposed to be married at the Georgia Avenue site Nov. 1, told Mrs. Dunn they were there to offer support and would wait to discuss the fire's effect on their upcoming nuptials.
"We kind of don't know where to go," Mr. Mankins said after talking to Mrs. Dunn. "We're at a loss for words."
Mrs. Dunn first learned of Thursday night's fire at the former Seven Gables Inn when a friend's husband called her from the scene. Mrs. Dunn had left the Palmetto House only an hour earlier.
"I live in Savannah Barony, and we could smell it" on the way to the car, she said. "When we saw it, everything was on fire. It was like something you see in a movie."
Within an hour, the house was engulfed in flames and destroyed.
Crews tore down the structure Friday morning to contain flames that continued from interior walls.
North Augusta Public Safety Chief Lee Wetherington said the fire's cause is still under investigation.
Shortly after the fire started, a 2-inch gas line exploded behind the building, but the fire was contained and no one was hurt.
Mrs. Dunn bought the property for $678,000 in March 2007 and reopened it as the Palmetto House at 7 Gables Restaurant this past March.
Even after renovations, Mrs. Dunn continued to upgrade at least one thing every week.
"We were going to get a new freezer this week," she said.
Three of the 13 employees watched the smoking rubble from a bench on the property. "We worked here," Cassandra Elam said. "We were a family."
She mourned the loss of the building, which included heart pine flooring, walls and ceiling.
"The architecture is something you just won't ever see again," she said.
Ms. Elam also expressed concern about clients who have scheduled events. Some owners of area meeting facilities have called Mrs. Dunn and offered to honor her contracts with clients.
Mrs. Dunn assured Mr. Mankin and Ms. Lloyd that she would soon be in touch and provide them with a list of options.
Mrs. Dunn said she isn't sure what her next move will be beyond finding out the cause of the blaze.
"I really do want to know what caused it," she said.
Reach Lisa Kaylor at (706) 828-3904 or lisa.kaylor@augustachronicle.com
PALMETTO HOUSE AT 7 GABLES HISTORY
1903: Built as a hunting lodge for the Hampton Terrace Hotel, which burned down Dec. 31, 1916 , because of defective wiring.
1908: Named Palmetto Lodge under the ownership of New Yorker John Herbert , whose family used it as a winter home.
1928- 43: Author Edison Marshall buys the property and renames it Seven Gables in honor of a Nathaniel Hawthorne novel.
1943: Mr. Marshall sells the property to Marvin MacFerrin, the pastor of Greene Street Presbyterian Church
1977: Bruce and Rose Salter purchase property
1989: The Salters name the Seven Gables restaurant the Buffalo Room. They later have their license revoked for barring black patrons.
1993: The Salters sell their business to Tra-Kim Inc., owned by sons Randy and James Salter.
1996: Buffalo Room reopens under sons' ownership . Randy was the only son to hold a deed on the establishment.
Feb. 11, 1999: Randy Salter is sentenced to 11 years in prison for transporting marijuana between Texas and South Carolina and money laundering. As part of his plea, he forfeited ownership of the property.
2000: Cecil and Herbert Barns buy the property at auction for $400,000 but never reopen it.
2005: Property goes on market again for $655,000
March 2007: Robin Dunn purchases property for $678,000 and opens the Palmetto House restaurant in October.
Source: Augusta Chronicle Archives, North Augusta James U. Jackson's Dream (Book)
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Vacationing in North Augusta
As the cost of existing is steadily climbing and paychecks are most definitely NOT keeping up, I started thinking about the fact that I could not really afford a vacation. I'd heard about staying home to vacation and I started thinking about all of the places in Augusta I still haven't seen. (The thought process at the beach, as outlined in the column linked below, was very real. Except for frying little brains. That creative touch which bespeaks truth came later.)
I've never darkened the door to the Ezekiel Harris house because I'd heard that thirteen Civil War soldiers had once swung from the spiral staircase inside, and occasionally they hang around for old times' sake. Probably not true, but why take chances?
I missed my chance to see the golf hall of fame, and until the last few years never cared about walking down Magnolia Lane, not that that's an easy sight to see.
If I've never laid eyes on so many Augusta places that other people pay good money to see, surely there were plenty such treasures in North Augusta. It would be fun to find some. I desperately wanted to discover something fabulous and little known. I didn't.
It took two weeks to finish compiling the list of places to go....which was a week longer than it should have. For crying out loud, North Augusta is nice and all, but it is only so big!!
The column was a whim. If I'm going to tell people what to do, it's only right that I do it myself. Plus, I really did want to see if it would feel like a vacation. And no, I did not fully consider the fact that I chose to tackle it on a holiday. That would be my blonde streak showing again.
The story: http://natoday.augusta.com/node/3537
The column: http://natoday.augusta.com/node/3527
I've never darkened the door to the Ezekiel Harris house because I'd heard that thirteen Civil War soldiers had once swung from the spiral staircase inside, and occasionally they hang around for old times' sake. Probably not true, but why take chances?
I missed my chance to see the golf hall of fame, and until the last few years never cared about walking down Magnolia Lane, not that that's an easy sight to see.
If I've never laid eyes on so many Augusta places that other people pay good money to see, surely there were plenty such treasures in North Augusta. It would be fun to find some. I desperately wanted to discover something fabulous and little known. I didn't.
It took two weeks to finish compiling the list of places to go....which was a week longer than it should have. For crying out loud, North Augusta is nice and all, but it is only so big!!
The column was a whim. If I'm going to tell people what to do, it's only right that I do it myself. Plus, I really did want to see if it would feel like a vacation. And no, I did not fully consider the fact that I chose to tackle it on a holiday. That would be my blonde streak showing again.
The story: http://natoday.augusta.com/node/3537
The column: http://natoday.augusta.com/node/3527
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Why I Love North Augusta
Perhaps its hokey to begin my first blog with this particular column, but it is also fitting. I am, after all, a reporter for North Augusta Today. To say anything other than that I love the city would be both biting the hand that feeds me and wholly untrue.
It was also the first of my stories to pop up under a Google search.
That said, I begin this blog as a showcase for my favorite stories as I travel my career path and as a forum for discussing my favorite aspects of my job.
I wrote sports features, most weeks, for The Augusta Chronicle for three years before moving to North Augusta Today in February 2007, and I certainly experienced memorable moments and have learned some interesting things. I will share them, in no particular order, along with links to the stories as they were published.
This column was written for NA Today's one year anniversary issue, which should have run in February 2008. For reasons I can't explain, our anniversary issue didn't actually publish until the end of April, to very little fanfare.
All year, residents told us what they love about North Augusta, whether we asked or not. Our staff thought it would be nice to pull quotes about North Augusta from some of our stories and re-run them. We also thought it would be a nice gesture from us to tell residents what we loved about their town, despite the fact that none of us actually lived there at the time. It was a fun piece for me to write, because I was able to use amounts of creativity and personal experience that are inappropriate in a news story.
http://natoday.augusta.com/node/3114
It was also the first of my stories to pop up under a Google search.
That said, I begin this blog as a showcase for my favorite stories as I travel my career path and as a forum for discussing my favorite aspects of my job.
I wrote sports features, most weeks, for The Augusta Chronicle for three years before moving to North Augusta Today in February 2007, and I certainly experienced memorable moments and have learned some interesting things. I will share them, in no particular order, along with links to the stories as they were published.
This column was written for NA Today's one year anniversary issue, which should have run in February 2008. For reasons I can't explain, our anniversary issue didn't actually publish until the end of April, to very little fanfare.
All year, residents told us what they love about North Augusta, whether we asked or not. Our staff thought it would be nice to pull quotes about North Augusta from some of our stories and re-run them. We also thought it would be a nice gesture from us to tell residents what we loved about their town, despite the fact that none of us actually lived there at the time. It was a fun piece for me to write, because I was able to use amounts of creativity and personal experience that are inappropriate in a news story.
http://natoday.augusta.com/node/3114
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