Saluda locals to tell some tales

Always a favorite month by local Saludians, September is a time of respite between seasons.  To celebrate this time of year, Saluda Historic Depot will hold a “locals month” at Saluda Train Tales on Friday, September 15 at 7 p.m. with tales from four or five Saludians who will tell stories about growing up in Saluda or who spent their summers here.

Billy Shand’s great-grandfather built one of the first summer homes in Saluda. Since he was an infant, Billy Shand spent most summers in Saluda and enjoyed visiting the depot under the watchful eye of station master, Doran Fisher.  He will share some of these stories.

Priscilla Pearson was born in 1942 in St. Luke’s Hospital and came home from the hospital to Melrose.  She later moved to Saluda and lived on Greenville St. where she went to Saluda School and graduated from high school there. She worked in Frank Thompson’s orchard to make extra money.  She graduated from Brevard College. She helped Charlene Pace write the book on the Saluda centennial in 1981 and wrote a column about Saluda in the Thermal Belt Newspaper called the “Bench Sitters.”  She is a freelance writer and has published in various magazines such as: North Carolina’s “In State,” “Civil War Times,” and Black Mountain’s “Mountain Living.”

David Twiggs from Lenoir City, Tenn. will tell stories about his family’s trip to Saluda from Cuba. The Twiggs family continues the tradition of summering on Florida St. in Saluda.

Chuck Hearon will tell about his family’s summer home in Saluda. His father, Charles O. Hearon, Jr. (aka C’Boy) was an editor of the Spartanburg paper and wrote the book, “I Remember Saluda” which is sold at the Saluda Historic Depot.  Chuck and his wife Carolyn now have a full-time residence in Saluda.

Jack Milhaupt, a volunteer at the Saluda Historic Depot,  will start the evening with his recitation of a poem he wrote about the Saluda Grade.

Saluda Train Tales is a free monthly event to educate the community on the importance of Saluda’s railroad history and the Saluda Grade. These events are at the Saluda Historic Depot, 32 W. Main Street, Saluda, NC 28773. Doors open at 6:30. Presentation is 7 – 8:30 p.m. The events are free and voluntary donations are appreciated.  Memberships and donations to the Saluda Historic Depot in 2017 will enable us to receive matching grant funds from the Polk County Community Foundation.

– submitted by Cathy Jackson