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New South Carolina Web Sites
South Carolina Statistical Abstracts Now Online
Each year our state government's Office of Research and Statistics publishes a 400+ page document called the South Carolina Statistical Abstract. This volume includes almost 500 tables, graphs, and maps - more data about South Carolina than one could digest in a lifetime. Printed copies of recent South Carolina Statistical Abstracts can be purchased from the Office of Research and Statistics (http://www.state.sc.us/drss), as can diskettes that include the statistical tables in spreadsheet format. And now you can also access the 1995 and 1996 Abstracts on SCIway. These documents are the cornerstone of our new South Carolina Statistics section (). Both were converted to Web format at private expense. In addition to the 1995 and 1996 Statistical Abstracts, SCIWAY's Statistics section includes links to more than 50 other South Carolina statistical collections and reports. But if you know of a resource we've missed, please send its address to SCIway.News@SCIway.net.
Water Tower Update
In the last issue of SCIWAY News, I asked if anyone knew of an unusual South Carolina water tower, other than Gaffney's Peachoid. Here's what the mail brought in:
HARDEEVILLE (Jasper County) - Chuck Williams of Hilton Head Island writes that Hardeeville has an attractive water tower that looks like a golf ball on a tee. Chuck is a "water and wastewater technical consultant" who climbs and repairs water towers for a living. He says that the politically correct term for water tower is "elevated water storage tank" . . . but he offers no politically correct substitute for manhole.
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH - Jerry Ausband of the Myrtle Beach Sun Times reports that there is also a golf-ball-shaped elevated water storage tank at Bay Tree Golf Plantation, which is just west of North Myrtle Beach on South Carolina Highway 9.
NEWBERRY COUNTY - Newberry County has an egg-shaped water tower, which I've now seen with my own eyes. It's located at Exit 74 on I-26 (on your right if you're headed upstate), and it looks like a giant white egg sitting on a tall blue golf tee. The side that faces I-26 announces that Newberry County is the "Milk and Egg Capital" of South Carolina.
DENMARK (Bamberg County) - In the eyes of Ed Merwin of USC, Denmark may have the most beautiful water tower in the state: it displays dogwood blossoms on a green background and was designed by artist Jim Harrison.
BELTON (Anderson County) - Belton's downtown water tower is more than a mere storage tank - it's also the town's most famous landmark. This 155-feet high concrete structure looks like a medieval castle tower - or the world's largest rook chess piece. Known locally as the "standpipe," it is Belton's official symbol. In fact the town even hosts a Standpipe Festival every fall. [Thanks to two members of the Charleston Chess Club () and Scott Ogburn, Belton's utilities director, for this info.]
Three more South Carolina libraries--Coastal Carolina University, Columbia International University, and the Lexington County Public Library - now have online catalogs that can be accessed directly by Web browsers. You can find them at .
Upcoming Festivals, Shows, Events
For the latest information on upcoming South Carolina events, please see .
Roadside Marker of the Month
For some reason I've always liked to read roadside historical markers. There are hundreds of these small, serious looking, black-and-gray or black-and-white signs throughout South Carolina. But their lettering is so small that I usually can read only the first few words while driving by . . . so, I have to stop for a marker moment.
Most historical markers are located in cities and towns or along older US and state highways. Almost none are on interstates. However, about a year and a half ago one popped up at the interchange where I-95 crosses I-26, about halfway between Charleston and Columbia. This tombstone-like marker sits on the interchange's eastern slope, 100 feet or so from the highway. (You can see it on your right as you drive toward Columbia on I-26.)
Since I first noticed this lonely marker, I've wondered what its fine, distant print said. So on my way to Columbia recently, I pulled off I-26 and hiked up the hill to satisfy my curiosity. Turns out that the marker honors Colonel Frank Culbertson, a US astronaut and graduate of Holly Hill High School (which is located nearby in Orangeburg County). For those of you who have wondered about this marker from your speeding car, truck, or motorcycle, here's the complete text:
HIGHWAY INTERCHANGES 169 A-B OF I-26 AND 86 A-B OF I-95 NAMED IN HONOR OF ASTRONAUT FRANK L. CULBERTSON, JR. (CAPT. USN) * GRADUATED HOLLY HILL HIGH SCHOOL 1967 * BS DEGREE AEROSPACE ENGINEERING, US NAVAL ACADEMY 1971 * NAVAL AVIATOR USS FOX, GULF OF TONKIN, VIETNAM WAR * USS MIDWAY, JAPAN; USS JOHN F. KENNEDY * GRADUATED DISTINCTION US NAVAL TEST PILOT SCHOOL * SELECTED ASTRONAUT CANDIDATE 1984 * INDUCTED INTO STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA'S ORDER OF PALMETTO, 1989 * PILOT SHUTTLE MISSION STS-38, 7-15-1990 * COMMANDER SHUTTLE MISSION STS-51, 9-21-1993 * DIRECTOR OF MIR, JOINT AMERICAN RUSSIAN SPACE ACTIVITIES 1995 * DEDICATED JAN. 25, 1996
Earlier this week I talked with Colonel Culbertson's mother, Mrs. Carolina Culbertson, who still lives in Holly Hill with his father, Dr. Frank Culbertson. She says that her son Frank (one of five children) decided he wanted to be an astronaut when he was in the eighth grade . . . lives in Houston, Texas . . . is still the US director of the MIR shuttle program . . . and still wants to fly another space mission.
I've learned a lot from this and many other South Carolina roadside markers - they're worth stopping for. But please be careful . . . and if you happen upon a particularly interesting marker, I hope you'll let me know about it.