Well, here I am again, the editor still prints my rambling writing each month. Sometimes I get a nice note from a reader. One note was from a genuinely nice person. I won’t print her name, but she and I ran the afternoon lunch counter at the old J&J drugstore. Another nice note was from a reader of my ramblings that loved my nature stories. Thanks for that encouragement!
This is for Elaine, yes…we really enjoyed going to Howard Johnson’s for a plate of clams. In those days we closed the store and headed for an eating place. A Howard Johnson’s on Augusta stayed open late and, we would all go out to eat together. It was a pleasure to become friends and work beside so many kind and thoughtful people during our long 17 years owning the drugstore.
For those of you readers who were not in Simpsonville “a long time ago”, it was a small place with only one person on the town’s police force. He was Chief Godfrey. He came to us for his early morning coffee and to catch the news of what was happening.
Boy, the town changed into a thriving wide-awake city. In years past, the Woodside Mill would close for maintenance during the week of July 4 and half of the employees left town. It was a slow week for merchants. Thank goodness Cryovac never closed! These two companies were the mainstay for the town. When I-385 was built, a few companies put plants along the frontage roads. Union Carbide was the first to come. Now we have plants on both frontage roads and our town has become a full-blown city. Even south of town just below Hillcrest Hospital (Prisma Health) is filling in with a mix of retail stores, a county park and manufacturing. A lot has changed since we opened our drugstore in 1960. Things are changing pretty fast and changing a lot…Way to go Simpsonville. What a nice place to live!
Till next time, goodbye and enjoy the beauty of the fall season!
Jack■
