With a late start from Crossville and a long drive ahead of them, the options for arriving in a small town with nothing open and while it was dark were looking pretty limited. As would later be described to them, the town of Cross Hill was basically a crossing of streets on top of a hill. This became apparent as they took trusty ‘ole Raging Blueberry for a late-night stroll down Main Street, encountering a handful of abandoned buildings, a Post Office, and diner, and, of course, plenty of churches.
As is often the case in a foreign place during the night, the community builders were unsure of how to approach the evening before them. Their contact Benny would not be available until lunch the next day. The campgrounds in the area were either closed or difficult to find. The clerks of two gas stations were extremely unknowledgeable, and just as the stallions were running out of options in these uncharted waters, an unlikely hero emerged from outside the gas station. Rick was definitely a bit rough around the edges, but claimed to know a lot about the area. He spoke of a Subway four miles down the road with ‘women hanging around in bikinis,’ along with a campsite in the same area. While the boys took Rick’s words with a large grain of salt- maybe even a cube of it- they were desperate for leads at this point, so they went out seeking this mysterious tropical oasis of a Subway.
Lo and behold, a Subway there was, and while there were no scantily-clad ladies, there was a campsite nearby and a bonus find of a local food joint called Sundae’s By The Lake. To the delight of these wearily travelers, it was still open at 9:30pm and there were even people hanging out front! Maybe there was still hope to salvage an evening of building community!
At Sundae’s, they were warmly greeted by restaurant owners Beverly & Donny, their friends Todd & Melissa, and employee who went by the name of Rabbit. After a brief synopsis of what had brought these four journeymen to Laurens County, South Carolina, it was time to grab some grub. Shortly thereafter, Todd & Melissa left for the evening, but that would not be the last the community builders would see of this hospitable couple.
The plush leather couches and a Val Kilmer movie on the big-screen TV provided some perspective for how far these four Minnesota boys. Six days ago when they ventured out, there was no way they could have imagined the scene now taking place in northwestern South Carolina, as they conversed with Rabbit about his interesting past and zoned out over this movie about lions attacking a village in African Sahara. These stallions could not have asked for anything more on this evening, for these unique experiences were exactly what they lived for in their journeys.
Beverly and Donny had a heart for taking people in when they needed it. Rabbit, it turns out, had just gotten out of jail and the couple was giving him some work to help him get back on his feet. Business in these parts was a bit hard to come by; this was by far the poorest county the Campaign For Community has visited thus far. Even with a pristine location on Lake Greenwood, the stallions got the sense that making a living out here as a small business owner was no walk in the park. So when Bev & Donny said they had a room available to rent out for the night, it seemed like the logical place to call home for the night.
The next morning brought more destination frustration. It originally looked like the boys would be heading by way of Savannah, GA, to a friend of Todd’s. Then it looked like North Carolina would be the direction, but Donny’s friend wasn’t reachable. Bev had friends in Fort Walton Beach, FL, but that was more than 8 hours away. In this small town, the networks of residents rarely reached out of state, as was also encountered in Crossville. These unsuccessful efforts, however, were nothing against the character and kindness of this loving pair.
The next order of business, though, was continuing to build the chain of community that they had started to build in Coloma, WI. In every destination they had reached so far, they had not only met the person to whom they’d been sent, but they had found someone within that community to send them to a contact in a new state. Lunch at the Depot Diner in Cross Hill with Benny and his companion Mr. Tom continued this impressive streak.
The dynamic duo was a favorite memory of the stallions on a trip where they had already gathered the stories o many memorable characters. Benny was in a way a personal assistant to Mr. Tom, taking him to the doctor appointments and as he jokingly put it, speaking on behalf of him when necessary. Benny & Tom’s relationship was something formed on a mutual understanding of one another- two men who had been living in the same community for a combined 100 years and who thrived off the music at the Kentucky Bluegrass Festival. Tom once told the doctor he had no choice but to skip his chemo-therapy, for it was the week of the festival.
Mr. Tom was somewhat of a local legend, which tends to happen when you’ve been roaming the Earth for over 80 years. He was easily recognizable in his signature overalls and John Deere classic mesh hat. The ladies at the Depot Diner knew him well, especially for the fact he would always eat a good banana pudding if you put it before him. He didn’t mind telling you what was on his mind regardless if it had to do with the current topic of conversation or not.
Continuing the madness at the Depot was a visit from Felicia of the local newspaper, the Greenwood Index Journal. Like some of these community builders, Felicia was a recent graduate and had moved to the area just over two months ago. The stallions thank her for taking time to highlight their story, and, as she put it, focus on some of the positive news stories out there. Check the press section for a link to the article!
At this point in the early afternoon, things were beginning to look a little bleak for finding a contact to be sent to. But as seems to be a reoccurring theme on this trip, somebody always comes through. This time, it was Todd & Melissa, their old friends from the night before. The made a stop at their house in the neighboring community of Clinton, SC where they met daughters Sarah and Jessica. Todd was a pastor in the community and had a good friend from his pastoring days in Indiana that was now living in Elkton, VA, a good 6.5 hour hike from where they were. Still, at this point there were seemingly no other options, so off to visit Jeff, Carole, and family it was.
The only certainty at this point is that more adventures are sure to come!
2 comments:
Solid work Stallions! Keep that community building going!
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