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Saluda News & Notations

By Bonnie J. Bardos

“Like Confucius of old, I am absorbed in the wonder of earth, and the life upon it, and I cannot think of heaven and the angels. I have enough for this life. If there is no other life, than this one has been enough to make it worth being born, myself a human being. With so profound a faith in the human heart and its power to grow toward the light, I find here reason and cause enough for hope and confidence in the future of mankind.” ~ Pearl S. Buck

 

Last evening I went over to my old house and visited with the new owners on the front porch I loved so many years. The Japanese maple tree, the fish pond and frogs, hydrangeas, soft breeze, porch rockers, the wrought-iron secret garden gate: still there.

We sipped a glass of wine, talked of fireflies, a vegetable garden, old houses, dogs. Yes, they have a dog: a gentle beagle mix nick-named Poochie. When Poochie came wagging to greet me, that was heart-meltingly good to get soft warm dog ears in my hands. (It was hard to let go!)

The Mata family loves the house, and I tell them they’ll make their own stories there– just as I did…just as a couple other families in the past hundred-plus years did. Like adopting a child out to a family, I’d felt that they are the right fit for an old house in a small town: it just took months to get from point A to point B with virus, loans, and glitches.

Gil’s an RN, Sabine a professional organizer, and son Manuel is heading to Governor’s School next year for dance. They’ve already met a few neighbors including Gus the Beagle. They love walking down to Thompson’s Store, Wildflour Bakery, and being a part of the fabric that knits us all together. Seeing their delight makes my heart happy, at ease.

Over at the old library building, I’ve dug out another (albeit smaller) fish pond, planted gardens, watch fireflies and birds, troll Shar-Pei rescue sites. There’s a goldfish in the new pond, named after Don Clapp who fished a little one for me out of his and Patty’s pond.

That’s Good Neighbors for you, Dear Reader: Saluda folks who make sure you have a fish, love, invite you over to your former house and let you pat their dog: and add to this story, this tapestry of life we weave together.

 

Join in, but don’t show up! The Historic Saluda Committee will have a closed-to-public meeting on July 10, 2:00 p.m. at Saluda Library. This meeting can be joined virtually; a link will be posted on their Facebook page as well as the City of Saluda’s.

The Saluda Women’s Club meets July 14, 11:00 a.m. at the pavilion at McCreery Park. Bring a bag lunch.

Keep up with Saluda Community Land Trust (SCLT)’s latest projects: visit saludaclt.org or call 828-749-1560 to learn more. Walks in the Woods on July 19 will be to the “Missing 40”. Meet at Saluda Library parking lot, 2:00 p.m., social-distancing measures will be practiced. SCLT’s trails can benefit from regular clearing and pick-up; if you’d like to help, contact Trail Boss Chuck Hearon at 828-817-0364 or chearon@skyrunner.net

 

Colden O’Dell, FNP will partner with Dr. Lisa Broyles at Saluda Family Medicine. Dr. Broyles will continue to offer functional medicine on Tuesdays/Thursday; Colden O’Dell will be available Mondays/Wednesday. Saluda Family Medicine is also featuring the paintings of Dale McEntire and Bonnie Bardos through TPS/St. Luke’s rotating art exhibit.

 

The Community Pop-up Pantry is open for drive-through each Tuesday, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Saluda Presbyterian Church parking lot. Send donations to Church of the Transfiguration, designated for Pop-Up Pantry, 72 Charles Street, Saluda NC 28773.

 

Saluda Historic Depot & Museum is open Thursday to Saturday. 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Saluda Train Tales are canceled until September.

 

Happy July Birthday to Debi Thomas, Rheta Foster, Nancy Weinhagen, Lisa Obermiller, Kathy Thompson, Bill Jameson, Emily Rose Ford, Jeremy Ford, Mike Cass, Nathen Honeycutt, Melissa Justus, Hunter Justus, Alyssa Justus, Lin Savage, Doug Taylor, Amanda Anderson, Gail Slaughter, Diane Ballard, Amber Grant and Marianne Blazar.

 

Feel free to contact me at bbardos@gmail.com, 828-749-1153, or visit bonniebardosart.com