Aiken Hound & Home Winter 2024 : simplebooklet.com

RANDY WOLCOTT | 803.507.1142 | www.CarolinaCompany.comRepresenting buyers Representing sellers Representing buyers & sellersin the sale of Aiken’s finesthomes, historic estates, &horse properties, Randy is one ofCarolina Real Estate Company’sTOP PRODUCERS!For excellent service in the Aikenreal estate market, contact RANDY WOLCOTT RandyWolcott@CarolinaCompany.comRepresenting sellers Representing sellers $4,200,000$1,550,000$1,400,000$1,500,000BEACON FARM | SPACIOUS 4 BEDROOM, 4 BATH HOME with 3,594 SQUARE FEET | FLEX SPACES | CUSTOM KITCHEN | PRIMARY SUITE withDOUBLE WALK-IN CLOSETS | PRIVATE DECK | 32.69 ACRES | ABOUT 11 ACRESFENCED WITH RUN-IN | POND with SHADE TREES | 36 X 40 GARAGE/BARN BUILDING | WORKSHOP | ONLY 5 MILES FROM DOWNTOWN | $889,000www.CarolinaCompany.com | RANDY WOLCOTT | 803.507.1142HOMES HORSES HISTORY HOSPITALITY. .. THISTLE COTTAGE3 3 8 F A I R F I E L D S T R E E T S EE L E G A N T | C H A R M I N G | 803-998-0198 H I S T O R I C A I K E N142 LAURENS ST NW, AIKEN, SC 29801 INFO@SULLIVANTURNERTEAM.COMThistle Cottage, built in 1922, is a comfortable and elegant home with exquisite gardens, privately sitedbehind a brick wall in Aiken’s coveted historic district. Discover the charming atmosphere of thisWinter Colony cottage and its prime location just 2 blocks from The Willcox and Horse District.Contact UsF O R D E T A I L SC I S S I E S U L L I V A NT R A C E Y T U R N E R

Page 4

SHODWEMAGAZINEI grew up being read the Park Seed and MurrayMcMurray Hatchery catalog by my dad instead ofbedtime stories. I didn't know I would somedayappreciate those memories as much as I do now.Going forward, I hope that there will be childrenflipping through these pages soon asking their familymembers “What’s that say? Read me that!” There has been so much interest in what will behappening with the Fermata Club, and Katey Rich sopoignantly recalls its history and prepares us for what'sto come! (I still am in shock and denial that we haveher contributing!)Rob Heilig’s style and wit reminded me so much ofRick Bragg with a little punchiness. His inauguralarticle is our hunt piece this issue, but people andplaces are writing passions of Rob and he lovesfinding the best food in town and is a fellow musiclover.Sarah Mayson is heavily involved with the plantingworld not only in Aiken, but the Southeast. She lays outa planting guide for fall in an interesting, personal andinformative way. She will be a face and voice that youwill become familiar with in this journey.This magazine would not be here if it wasn't for thepeople listed to the left. We are so humbled to havethese gifted contributors involved with this issue. Thephotographers, Susan Victor, Frank Mullins and CodyTurner are the best of the best at what they do and weare honored that they agreed to contribute! Speaking of the best of the best, a HUGE thank you toMr. Jeff Wallace for agreeing to be our copy editor. Hisreputation precedes him, and he lives up to it, thankyou sir.Collectively we decided to take an informal, personaland educational approach to our content, we want youto READ! Take a break, grab a drink and jump into ourworld. To everyone who has subscribed, or will chooseto, we appreciate you and promise to stay true to ouroriginality.Rebecca Wiliams, Publisher/EditorContributing WritersKatey RichRob HeiligSusan VictorFrank MullinsCody TurnerSarah MaysonCopy EditorJeffrey WallaceContributing PhotographersTony Gouge (AP Photography) Brandy CarrollShelly SchmidtBrent Cline Wyatt SpeedRiver Magnolia PhotographyHistorical Photos Courtesy of the Aiken County Historical MuseumThanks to Plum Pudding for lending dishes for our recipe, as well as The Pine House venue for letting usshoot on location for our Fall Planting Guide!5 SHODWEMAGAZINEIs there anything prettier than hearing hounds in the distance? Growing upwith treeing hounds and Curs, it was something I woke up to and fell asleepto, but I truly didn’t realize how much I missed that sound until I movedaway. It’s an unwelcomed, deafening silence. I smile a little anytime I hearsomeone say “he’s got a pretty mouth on ‘im” when referring to the sound (thesound of the south).Aiken is home to the iconic Aiken Hounds, America’s oldest drag huntclub. We asked Joanna Lacey of The Lowcountry Hunt Club to give alittle glimpse on what a Huntsman does.The Aiken area is also home to many avid coon, squirrel and rabbithunters. We could have approached this many ways, but for our firstwinter issue we wanted to “shine a light” (pun intended) on coonhounds.Jamie did a wonderful job honoring the sport.Our beautiful home this issue is by Maria Rhinehart, owner of LaurelLeaf Designs, go grab inspo for your home! Our recipe is by thegregarious Chris Najmola, Executive Chef of the Green Boundary Club.Do yourself a favor and try these venison recipes this year – they willdefinitely be a hit!Katey had a little phone call with Christina Ricci about the That DarnCat filming. I mean, is this even real? She got an Aiken Hound & Homeexclusive interview with CHRISTINA RICCI? Many of you mayremember when the production was in town, and for those of you whodon’t, I hope you read this, turn on Disney+ and watch it – then go visitthe filming locations. While in Edgefield stop by the Edgefield PoolRoom too – grab a bite and soak it in.Sarah caught up with Yon Family Farms after Hurricane Helene to seehow it affected them and what the future holds. Speaking of Helene, wealso wanted to showcase businesses that supported the communityduring the aftermath. The devastation Helene brought to Aiken and thesurrounding areas was unexpected, tragic and detrimental to many – butmet with the community coming together to overcome. Finally, Rob remembers Swamp & Hill Hunt Club. Boy, there’s probablya lot of memories that are going to be dug up with this one. Huntersfrom all over our area went to sacred ground in Allendale County everyFriday during deer season for so many years. I had the pleasure ofsourcing the photos for this feature. The gentleman pictured to the left,Russ McCollum, took the photos for the club.The next few months will be filled with fires, glitter, holiday traditionsand a lot of memory making. We all hope you SLOW DOWN and enjoyit. Curl up with a festive treat and read what we put together for you.God bless us in the New Year.Rebecca WilliamsEditor/PublisherContributing WritersKatey RichRob HeiligSarah MaysonJoanna LaceyChris NajmolaJamie PearsonMaria RhinehartCopy EditorJeffrey WallaceContributing PhotographersRuss McCollumNick BridgesExplore EdgefieldDisney Studios via SC Film CommissionWebb PhotographyRiver Magnolia PhotographyCover Shot- Cover Pup Pac-Man in the Edgefield TownSquare in reference to Katey’s That Darn Cat feature. Did you spy the easter egg (hint it’s on the bench) ? By River Magnolia Photography.4Russ McCollumApril 1946-October 2016

Page 5

Page 6

Page 7

Page 8

Page 9

s a lifelong equestrian, Christina Scharf fell in love with Aiken while living and working for over a decade as an interior designer in Savannah. Drawn to theavid horse community and the vibrant downtown area, she planned her movewhen a charming downtown cottage became available mid-renovation. Thethought of creating her own spot in Aiken where she could settle with her horseand her beloved standard poodle, Dash, was the tipping point. Before long, shetransitioned from working independently as the principal designer in anarchitectural firm to joining the Nandina Home team as a Lead Designer.When you enter Christina’s home, you immediately realize that every roomreflects her love of collecting found items, each with a story or emotion thatprovides a memory or sparks joy. The understated elegance of neutral hand-knotted rugs, sofas and drapes acts as the backdrop to her fabulous collections ofart, antiques and collectibles. Every item is carefully curated and has a story totell.Always on the hunt for hidden treasures, over the years she has found severalHermes scarves while on antiquing adventures. If affordable, she snaps them upand often uses them throughout her design. Two such scarves serve as focalpoints of art in her cottage: a black and white horse as a bold statement over herliving room fireplace, and another an explosion of colorful equestrian medalribbons over a bar in her kitchen. Asked about the colorful ribbon scarf in the kitchen,she quickly responds, “I keep it front and center toremind myself that it embodies my belief thateveryone is a winner and we all deserve a ribbon!”The kitchen presented a space-planning challengewith its tall ceilings and limited wall space. Sheemphasized the height by extending the uppercabinetry to the ceiling and balancing the scale withdeep crown molding. A matte black stain grounds thespace, allowing the wood grain to peek through,fitting the cottage's era. Casual entertaining is a joywith a large island offering ample seating, enhancedby unusually shaped pendants that draw the eye tothe room's center.Her primary suite, bathed in neutrals and saffron, is aserene sanctuary. Christina acknowledges, “I chosesaffron as the contrast to the neutrals and blackssprinkled throughout the bedroom and bath. Saffronis known as the color of love and supposedlyincreases happiness and controls anxiety and anger. Iread, relax and decompress here from days stackedfull. It reminds me how powerful the use of color is.” Growing up as an Army brat, she traveled extensively,collecting furniture, art, textiles and mementos fromvarious places. Her home is layered with thesecollections, rich with cultural influences and stories.Each piece reminds her of its origin, reflecting thecreativity that has been such an important part of herlife. Her cottage intertwines her love of horses, dogs,travel and design – masterfully creating a spacewhere stories come alive.A9 For the flooring, we selected marble, a natural stoneknown for its timeless beauty arranged in a custom-cutlayout that added both elegance and subtle drama. Thecool, natural tones of the marble helped reflect light,brightening the room even more. Beneath the marble, heated floors brought a modern touch of comfort,ensuring that the room would be as cozy as it was stylish.The centerpiece was the freestanding tub which wepositioned to maximize both space and visual appeal,turning it into a true focal point of relaxation. The softblue cabinets surrounding the tub added a calming, serenevibe, balancing the soothing palette with the sleekcountertop profile and glass hardware selected.These thoughtful details didn’t just elevate the design,they also made the bathroom much more functional,giving the clients ample storage and a dedicated makeupvanity for their daily routines.I’m lucky to have strong connections with tradesmen andbuilders throughout the CSRA and for this project, mytrusted partnership with Southern State Builders played acrucial role in bringing this design to life. Theircraftsmanship and attention to detail ensured that everyelement of the project was executed flawlessly.In the end, this renovation became much more than just afunctional update – it was a perfect blend of beauty andpracticality. For the clients, it became a sanctuary oflight, warmth and elegance. For me, it was a joy to watchthis transformation come to life.Growing up in a small town in Texas and a minimalisthousehold, my perspective on design completely shiftedwhen I lived and studied in Paris during college. It wasthere that I fell in love with detailed millwork, timelessfinishes and traditional accents – elements I now striveto incorporate into my work.With over 18 years of design experience here in Aiken,I’ve always loved the challenge of reimagining a room –transforming it into something beautiful, functional andpersonal. The project I was about to face was nodifferent.Upon stepping into the bathroom my clients wanted torenovate, I saw beyond the dark, non-functional spacethey were using. My clients wanted more light, heatedfloors, a dedicated makeup vanity and a stunningfreestanding tub – luxuries that had to be balanced withpracticality.From the very beginning, I knew we could elevate thisbathroom with classical details that would give it alasting, elegant feel. The first challenge? Bringing in morelight. Lowering the shower wall would open up thespace, allowing natural light to flow into the showerarea. We also opted for polished tile finishes and arevamped lighting layout to make the room feel brightand airy at any time of day.9t Laurel Leaf Design Studio, my designphilosophy is all about reinventing spaceswhile keeping a sense of tradition alive. Ilove to weave together modern needs withtimeless elegance.A

Page 10

Page 11

Page 12

Page 13

Ingredients1 pound raw, bulk Italian sausage2 tablespoons butter1 cup chopped Vidalia onion3/4 cup minced celery2 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic1 pound dove or quail breast*3 cups hot chicken stock1 1/2 cups Carolina Gold rice1 teaspoon hot sauce1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershiresauce1 1/2 pounds crushed tomatoes2 teaspoons crushed red pepper2 teaspoons black pepper1 tablespoon salt1 tablespoon Creole seasoning*You may also substitute chickenInstructionsIn a heavy bottom stock pot or Dutch ovensauté the sausage chopping and crumblingas you go rendering the fat. As the fatrenders and the sausage browns, melt thebutter in the pan and add the onion andcelery. Sauté until soft stirring often toprevent any burning. Add some of the stockto release anything that sticks to thebottom.Add the garlic and dove breast and sautéjust to open up the garlic and sear theexterior of the breast chunks. Deglaze thepan with the chicken stock scraping thebottom of the pot to release any aromaticbuildup.Add the rice, hot sauce, Worcestershiresauce and crushed tomatoes and stir evenlydistributing everything throughout thecooking liquid. Add the seasonings and bringto a simmer.Once the pot begins to bubble, cover andplace in an oven heated to 350 degrees andbake for 45 minutes. Remove the lid and check the rice. It shouldhave cooked through and absorbed most ofthe liquid. If the rice is still not done, stir thepot one final time and return to the oven. Let stand 20 minutes off the heat and servewith a crusty breadChristian Carlisle13 This is a career based on love for the hound and for thesport as it is 24/7, 365 days a year. The hounds rely onthe huntsman for everything. The huntsman is a true master and companion of thehounds. His job is to take care of his pack of hounds inevery way. They depend on him for food, exercise,healthcare, training and companionship.During hunting season, the huntsman is up earlyprepping the hounds for a day of sport. Whether a dragor a live hunt, these are the days they prepare for allyear long. The huntsman determines which hounds willhunt for the day and readies them by collaring with GPStracking collars and making sure all of the collars arefunctioning. Next, they are off to the meet. Excitementexudes from the hounds as they ready for the day ofhunting.Once at the meet, the huntsman mounts his horse andawaits the hounds to be let out of the trailer. Theygather in exhilaration around him. The huntsmanpraises the hounds and sets off. With a single hornblow, they are off to the first draw! Now is the time forthe hounds to show off all their training.During the off season, the huntsman is busy caretakingnew puppies which will be added to the pack as well astraining young hounds the tricks of the trade. He spendsmany hours in the kennels cleaning the runs, feeding thehounds and building an indescribable bond. During the off season, the puppies are learningfrom the older hounds to go on hound walks. Theseteach the young hounds to listen to the huntsman.Eventually they graduate to following the huntsmanon horseback. They often go to fox pens to learnthe scent of the intended game. During this time,they are also getting in shape for the start of theseason. This leads to mounted hound walking androading. Roading is a time where the huntsmantakes the hounds out for exercise while riding ahorse and having a field of riders follow behind.There is a long-standing history of Foxhunting inEngland and Ireland. A history which stems fromlandowners and farmers needing help to rid theirland of predators: the fox. The sport is deeplyembedded with ritual and etiquette.In the United States, many landowners and farmerswelcome foxhunting to help eliminate livestockpredators such as bobcats, coyotes and of coursefoxes as well. Coyotes are a big threat to lamb,cattle, goat (kids) and bird production. A coyotecan also take down a new calf, lamb and kids, aswell as fawns. Although live hunting is all butextinct in Europe, it is very much alive in theUnited States. The typical formal hunt season begins in the fallaround November and ends in March. Cubbing orhunting to get the new young hounds prepped forformal season begins in September, depending onthe climate. Cold, damp mornings are preferred forprime scenting conditions.huntsmanhuntsmanT H ET H EWRITTEN BY JOANNA LACEYPHOTOGRAPHY BY NICK BRIDGES13s the sun barely begins to peak over thehorizon, a huntsman is already in thekennels. He is welcomed by the gentle, butsometimes exuberant, speaking of thehounds. They are excited. A

Page 14

Pinot Noir:Matt Fowles crafts thisplayful named Pinot in thecooler hills of Victoria(Australia) and its red fruitscented accents are theperfect complement to themild, reddish meat of grilleddove. While traditionallyknown for big, hulkingShiraz grown in the heat ofBarossa, Matt’s Pinot showsthat Australia is game forworld class efforts in alighter register as well. Beer:While some consider dopplebock to be a heavier style of beer, the coppery brew from the world’s oldestbeer maker has the malty richness to pair with grilled meat, but the balance to be enjoyed on its own.Refrain from over-chilling it and you’ll find complexity and depth usually reserved for much spendierbrews. James RecommendsJames Recommends14 FILMINGSMALL TOWNAs it turns out, the film’s star Christina Ricci was alsoexperiencing something totally new. “That town square waslike nothing I had ever seen before,” Ricci, who was 15 backthen, told me recently of filming in downtown Edgefield.“At that time I hadn’t spent that much time in the South. Iremember thinking, ‘This is a Southern town.’ ”.Talking to Ricci about That Darn Cat, a movie sheremembers fondly if vaguely nearly 30 years later, is thefulfillment of a dream that began back in 1996, when myfriend Katherine Coleman and I wrote a fan letter andtucked it in the door of one of the production trailersparked in downtown Aiken. Katherine included her mailingaddress and a few weeks later received a signed photographof Ricci in the mail. (Ricci credited her mother, Sarah Ricci,for that: “My mom always had the headshots with her.”)Ricci was generous with her time but didn’t have a ton ofspecific memories about filming That Darn Cat, besides thefact that she was a cat lover excited to act opposite one. Butshe’s not the only one for whom memories have faded ofthis remake of a 1965 film starring Hayley Mills. WRITTEN BY KATEY RICHPHOTOGRAPHY BY EXPLORE EDGEFIELD, JOHN BRAMLEY, DISNEY ENTERPRISES VIA SC FILM COMMISSION 14hen the Disney production of ThatDarn Cat set up camp in Aiken andEdgefield in the early months of 1996,it was a thrilling exposure toHollywood magic for those of us whohad never imagined seeing our quiethometowns onscreen. W

Page 15

By Rob HeiligLOYALTY OFTHE HUNTGumbo A veteran Disney publicist who worked at the studio formore than 50 years remembered working on the first filmbut not much about the remake. A representative for thefilm’s costume designer, Marie France, said she was notavailable for an interview but “she remembers Aiken as alovely town.”But for those of us who were in Aiken and Edgefield in1996, That Darn Cat has a lasting legacy. “I have not seenThat Darn Cat in decades, but in the 1990s, it was one of thebiggest things to happen to our small city,” Brittany SkilesCook, a childhood friend, tells me “at least in the eyes ofone elementary school girl.”When Disney+ launched a few years ago, my sister and I satdown our children to show them what felt like a magic trickpressing play on a real Hollywood movie and showing theAiken County Library, the familiar water tower and thedowntown square of Edgefield, where much of the movie’saction takes place. Though major movies like The Big Chill, The Prince ofTides and Forrest Gump had been filmed in South Carolinathroughout my childhood, That Darn Cat was the first timethe movie industry ever came anywhere close to Aiken, aplace that I was convinced was as far from Hollywood asanywhere on Earth. Dan Rogers was working for the South Carolina FilmOffice when those big, Oscar-winning movies came to thestate, and he’s still there today, a walking treasure trove of history about South Carolina and the movies. “The BigChill put us on the map,” he remembers now. “It gaveHollywood a sense that there’s a state called South Carolinathat this really good movie was made in.” When the teamfor That Darn Cat came calling to Rogers’s office, they werelooking for a picturesque small town that could stand in forthe Boston suburb where the film was set. Why come all theway to South Carolina for a movie set in Massachusetts?“They knew they would be shooting in the winter, andsnowing, when you’re filming, screws up everything.”15Edgefield Town Square present day.Christina Ricci with co-star Doug E. Doug

Page 16

Trying to write an introduction to my story oftimes with my own Boykin, I took a hard lookat the cover photo of this premiere issue: aBoykin Spaniel, the state dog of SouthCarolina, with a mourning dove in its mouth,and an old Ford pickup truck. It was then thatI realized it was neither just a dog, nor someold truck. This introduction needed to includebackground information on Boykin Spanielsfor those who may not be familiar with thebreed. Things like a biddable stray was foundby someone after church long ago, given ahome, showed promise and voila – a couple OFyears later we have these amazing LittleBrown Dogs all over South Carolina and manyother parts of the country. Nicknames seem to abound for this breed liketheir contagious energy: the aforementionedLBD, Swamp Poodles and Kershaw dogs(these pups were discovered in Spartanburgand further bred in Camden, which lies withinKershaw County). Those who have owned Boykins still marvel athow a young, blue-eyed bundle of brownvelveteen fur magically develops eyes the hueof something between sunflowers, jasmine andamethyst overnight. This is but one of themysteries of the breed. Those same owners willalso admit in private that there were severalwords not fit for print they uttered during theirdog’s adolescent years.THE BACK STORYAN INTRO BY ROB HEILIGIf you need a deep dive on The BoykinSpaniel, I encourage you to visitwww.boykinspaniel.org. Looking back again at the cover photo,it’s not just a dog and a truck: it’s afriend’s dog in his grandfather’s truck.And it just so happens that my family andhis family have been friends since beforethat truck was delivered at Holley Ford in1975. These dogs fill in the gaps in ourlives – his parents had black labs thatalways come up in tales of yesteryear:Tarbaby and Onyx. All these years later, Iremember times at their house as a toddlerand someone would find me IN one of the50-lb bags of Purina in their mudroom. The recipe that accompanies this issue iscompliments of Chef Christian Carlisleowner of Blue Collard Catering. Christianalso happens to be my cousin.Realizing that my intro wound uprediscovering the ties that bind many of uslocally, I hope that you will reflect fondlyon the dogs in your life and the people whohave helped weave its fabric and story.Continue to “Loyalty of the Hunt”16 The Edgefield town square that Ricci remembers so wellwas what charmed the film crew as well, who loved it thereso much they kept the name for their fictional town. NearbyAiken and Augusta, with hotels and offices for theproduction, made it an even easier sell. Rogers shared withme production documents that show the South Carolinaoffice at 139 Laurens Street in downtown Aiken — now theCarriage House Inn — and the art departmentheadquartered on Highway 19, around the corner fromAiken High. “In the town at that time, they opened up their arms andsaid ‘Let’s make this work,’” Rogers says. “They knew itwould be a disruption, but it can be really fun. It’s kind oflike life, too. You can look at it as a disruption, or you canlook at it as a learning opportunity, or something I’m nevergoing to experience again. Most towns in South Carolina,because they haven’t experienced it before, embrace it.”Everyone is curious when film production comes to townfor obvious reasons. Ricci has witnessed it many times.“Any time you’re out on location, people stop and watch,”she says. “I get it though. When I was very little they werefilming something in a town I was in once, and I went andwatched.”In Aiken and especially Edgefield, where a lot of the filmtakes place outdoors in the town square, there were observers for nearly every scene, carefully wrangled to stayout of view of the camera. My mom and sister were drivingthrough Edgefield and caught the filming of a nighttimeaction sequence at one of downtown’s vintage gas stations;they came home thrilled to be able to tell the tale of theirbrush with real Hollywood drama. Set in the present day andnot even changing the name of the town, That Darn Cat was apretty simple transformation compared to some otherproductions Rogers has helped. To film 2004’s The Notebookin downtown Charleston, for example, “they had to remove47 parking meters, since they didn’t have parking meters inthe ’40s. They had to take down all the street signage and thestop sign and everything. “It’s a big deal, and it requires a lotof coordination and money.” Film productions don’t come to South Carolina at the ratethey used to, thanks to the extensive tax breaks and massivesoundstages now on offer in Georgia. Rogers stays busy —the week we spoke, he was helping the crew for HBO’s TheRighteous Gemstones set up a shoot in Columbia — andsometimes finds himself guiding visitors toward the real-lifelocations for shows like Outer Banks and movies like ThePatriot. Will downtown Edgefield ever become a tourist destinationfor That Darn Cat super-fans? Those of us who grew upwatching the production are at least trying to spread the wordto the next generation. “In the town at that time, theyopened up their arms and said‘Let’s make this work.’ ”

Page 17

nother Labor Day is firmly planted in the rear-view mirror. If you’re a native son of the great state ofPalmettos, that means one thing on the calendar:doves. Always, always, doves.I wanted to write about the pomp and circumstance ofthe shoots of old to include the shaking of handsbefore going to stands, the people in attendance, andthe horsed-overs and cocktails afterwards. There werealso the very informal shoots with only three or fourmen, one or two dogs, and a lot of fun had. Maybeanother day. 2000 is the year that keeps popping into my train ofthought. That was the year that a little brown ball offur came into my life and started a run of a dozengreat years afield chasing feathers in all their sizesand variations. Doves were always the majority of thefocus of those years, though there were a graciousplenty days spent after waterfowl.The dog world opened my eyes to a whole ‘nothersegment of life and people on this planet. I met somereally good ones, and some I wish I could forget. I pored over different retriever training books to thebest of my ability that late winter and early spring of2000, trying to do my best for my ever-faithfulcompanion Gumbo. Training a gun dog in the citylimits of Columbia isn’t exactly the easiest thing in theworld to do – thankfully, I found some schools withacreage and some other places to be able to run drills.(note to self and others: even if the gates are open, theState Fair grounds are not to be used for retrievertraining. They will ask you to leave in short order.)I was lucky enough to have a friend from workwith a nice pond not too awfully far away andwas able to eek out some water work there aswell in a couple of other spots.There’s a little nuance of retriever training,depending upon the school you follow, called“force fetch.” I don’t need to espouse on thesubject, but a good many believe it’s the basis fora successful retriever. Like most things in life, it’sa process, and the idea is that once all the stepshave been properly completed, you have a bullet-proof retriever (in some regards). I waited for theproper age to arrive early that summer and wentabout the task at hand. I followed the instructionsin the books I had at hand, and after the requirednumber of satisfactory exercises, I assumed wewere successful. Assume. Pretty sure y’all know how to break thatword into three separate words for the desiredeffect. I called a professional trainer I barely knew thatsummer and asked if I could come out for a dayin the field to see kind of where I was or wasn’twith my young charge’s progress. Suffice it to say,it was a miserably long, hot day in some god-forsaken mown pigweed field hours from myhouse. Towards the end of the day, after I’d put inthe required sweat-equity by throwing birds forthe pro’s clients’ dogs, I got Gumbo off the truckand we ran a set of marks.He balked on one of the birds, and I got myfeelings hurt in short order when the pro told methat he was indeed “not force fetched, not by adamn mile.” I went back through the process offorce fetch for several weeks that summer whilewe were getting closer to opening day of doveseason. Realizing that he’d never had a live birdof any kind, nor feathers (I didn’t exactly knowthe season before that I was getting a puppy, norto save some wings) I called another pro that Ibarely knew to ask about live birds and such asthat. Another long ride later, we’d beenintroduced to pigeons and actually picking upthings that were pretty close to live-shot gamebirds. ROB HEILIGA17 “On a recent visit to Aiken, we drove by the library, and Itold our three kids about the time it was in a movie and howthe water tower was painted,” Brittany Skiles Cook says.“My daughter is currently obsessed with cats, so I thoughtshe would appreciate the history lesson.”As for Ricci, she can sometimes be hard on herself watchingher performances from her time as a child actor. “Some ofthem I’m really bad in, which I think is funny,” she tells me.“Even to this day no one is willing to admit it. It’s OK, Iwas young! We can all be like, she wasn’t so great in thisone.”That Darn Cat marked the end of Ricci’s child actor period.The same year it was released, in early 1997, she alsoappeared in the dark drama The Ice Storm, and thefollowing year brought the even grittier Buffalo 66 and TheOpposite of Sex. She can admit now that by the time That Darn Cat camealong, she was ready to move on. “I was 15, I was intoCriterion Collection films,” she says, describing the kind ofarty movies many future film buffs get into around that age.“I didn’t want to be making That Darn Cat. It was one ofthose things where we needed money and I made themovie.”Today, though, she can look back on it fondly, particularlyher performance as exactly the kind of sarcastic teenagershe was at that age (even if she wasn’t solving crimes with acat in real life). “That Darn Cat is fine because I was anannoyed teenager. I was fine in that one,” she says. “I haveaffection for it now. I can see how certain movies areadorable, and people love them.”Most people who love Ricci’s child performances willreference Casper or Now and Then or especially The AddamsFamily. She’s probably far more used to giving interviewsabout all of them. But I’m so grateful that she took the timeto reflect back on one that’s not nearly as well-remembered— except for in two towns that never forgot the timeHollywood came calling.17Aiken County LibraryCarriage House Inn

Page 18

abor Day rolled around. I wish that I could tell youwith pinpoint accuracy exactly where we were for ourvery first hunt. I can tell you within 1 of maybe 3 fieldswhere we were, but not with any degree of certainty.I received an invitation very early in that season to a “big”shoot down in the lower part of the state. Bowman, SC, tobe precise. I was actually a backdoor guest becausesomeone had backed out, and this was a thank-you type ofhunt for a certain cause. There were important peoplethere. Big-wigs in whatever circle this was. Importantpeople and self-important people walk a troublesometight-rope and often it’s hard to distinguish the two.It was a weekday shoot, so I had all of our stuff in a pile,went to work until noon, then signed out for somevacation and grabbed dog and gear and hit the road. Whatfelt like a never-ending drive down I-26 finally endedwhen the Bowman exit came into view and I pulled thetruck off of the interstate. I followed the directions outthrough the country for a couple minutes and finallyfound the destination.There were mostly “men” in attendance. I say that not thatI’m not a man, but that I was 24 at the time, and theaverage age of the rest of the crowd was north of 50. That,and I didn’t know a single person in attendance. There’ssomething about being in unfamiliar territory that makesone extremely self-aware. And self-aware I was as soon asI started to gather all the “stuff” you need to take into afield with a dog. Water, a bowl, a leash, a tie-out stake. Notto mention a stool and shells for yourself. I couldn’t helpbut feel like I was being choked to death by the leatherlanyard holding whistles around my neck. Why in theworld did I have whistle? Because the pros used whistles.As with most things, the amateurs try to emulate the pros.Looking back, I can’t help but think how silly I had to lookthere in a bone-dry field trying to whistle in my dog 40yards away trying to ferret out a nearly scentless dove.Look at the fine lettering on your side mirrors and you’llsee the statement “objects in the mirror are closer thanthey appear.”I’m not sure, exactly, the validity of that statement. I putmyself back into hunts and situations that played outyears ago quite often. Hindsight being 20/20, I know that Iwould kill to have more photos of those years than I donow. We missed the digital age by just a few years. Theymay be closer than they appear, but they’re gone fasterthan you can blink.I can remember one of many mornings in2012 of easy, purely pleasurable hunts. Therewas no more carrying all this stuff afield.There was no more battle of the wills overcommands to be obeyed or disobeyed. Therewas just me and an old, mostly deaf browndog at my side. I say mostly deaf, but I’m notsure it wasn’t situational deafness – as in heheard what he wanted to hear. Because he’dbe sitting there on my left side scanning theskies for birds, and if I happened to pick up anincoming bird from the side he wasn’twatching, as soon as I clicked off my safety hisears would noticeably perk up.I hit some, and I missed some. The ones I hit,he found. Maybe it took him a minute to sortthings out in the heavier cover, but he cameback with a bird way more often than not. Inthe early years, I would’ve stood up and beenall kinds of anxious and been trying to givehim whistles and hand signals to where Ithought the quarry was hiding. No more. Heknew.Despite my best intentions of trying to screwhim up as good as any book by famousretriever authors would allow, after a dozenseasons he had it down pat. He taught me, inthose final hunts (that I never knew were thefinal hunts), how to relax and just let himwork it out on his own. They were infinitelymore enjoyable that way. I’d be telling a hugelie if I told you I wouldn’t want one more huntwith that old dog for purely selfish reasons. I’m also telling you the whole truth when I tellyou that he taught me more in those few shortyears than I ever taught him. Don’t blink too much. It flies by.“I’m also telling you thewhole truth when I tellyou that he taught memore in those few shortyears than I evertaught him.”L18 Holiday VenisonWRITTEN BY CHEF CHRIS NAJMOLA EXECUTIVE CHEF OF THE GREEN BOUNDARY CLUBPHOTOGRAPHY BY RIVER MAGNOLIA PHOTOGRAPHY18f you love hunting as much as I do, then hopefully you will also enjoy the feast as much. I fell in love withhunting because of my job as a cook. I was eating some duck confit in a kitchen where I was working andthought to myself, “I could get this for free!” Of course, I found out that hunting is anything but free. Also, I’mnot that great at it, which means when I am lucky enough to harvest an animal, I put my everything intomaking sure every dish is a knockout.IVenison in particular is my favorite ingredient. There is nothing I would rather see on the holiday table than a goodbackstrap, or a braised roast. I’m sure you all know how good it feels to put dinner on the table, the hard way – the funway, especially when it is undeniably delicious. Here are couple of recipes that will have your family begging for morethan jerky on your next harvest. Wine & Beer Pairing By James Alford P. 20

Page 19

The Backstrap All right, this is an easy one, and hopefully doesn’tfall too far in the category of common sense for you. Ihave tried too hard and messed up too much not topreach about the beauty of simplicity. I write this onebecause it is simple, and though I love every part ofthe deer, the backstrap is the star of the show for me.If I offer you a couple of slices, know that I love you,as there’s no way of telling how long I sat in thewoods waiting for that perfect shot. You’ll need: A grill, preferably charcoal or hardwood burning. 1 venison backstrap Kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper, powdered garlic Olive oil A probe/meat thermometer Where the magic starts… All right, so you are going to want to have a fire goingon half of your grill. The idea is that you will becooking on hot coals, so if you are using hardwoodstart this early. Your propane grill will do a good jobas well, but I love the idea of being as primitive aspossible for this one. Once you get the fire going, itwill be time to marinate the meat. Since venison is soinherently lean, I like to give the backstrap a goodcoat of olive oil – not extra virgin, just somethingnatural without too much flavor. Then I follow with agenerous rubdown of kosher salt, fresh cracked blackpepper, and the finest garlic powder I can find. Thesefour ingredients, when used correctly, do nothing butbring out the natural flavor of venison. Allow yourloin to rest as long as possible while you wait for thefire to get right. Once your coals are nice and red, lay the backstrapover them. There should be a satisfying sizzle. Resistthe urge to poke, prod, flip, and move it around. Ifyou are doing it right, you will maybe touch it four orfive times total. After a couple of minutes, lift it up tosee if there is a good crust. If there is, give it a turn.Repeat this process two or three times until you havea good crust all over. Move the strap to the side of thegrill with no coals and break out your thermometer.Find the centermost point of the loin at which to tempit. When you have achieved 120 degrees Fahrenheit,pull it off the grill and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.During this time, the outside temperature willequalize with the inside, and the cell structure willrelax. Slice a thin slice from the middle and pop it inyour mouth. If we’ve done our job right you should have anexplosion of wild, free range, fire roasted venison.This simple recipe in a way connects us all the wayback to the beginning of civilization. Just like ourancestors, a little meat and fire might be one of thebest things to happen for dinner. 19

Page 20

FERMATAHISTORY&folkloreB y K a t e y R i c hH i s t o r i c a l P h o t o s C o u r t e s y o f t h eA i k e n C o u n t y H i s t o r i c a l M u s e u m D I V I N G I N T OIt had been 60 years since the Fermata Schoolfor Girls last taught the daughters of America’sfinest families about everything they’d need toknow to enter high society, from cooking tohorseback riding. But on monthly weeknightsin the late ’90s, in that wide wood and stuccogymnasium that had once been state of the art, Iwas still there being taught the foxtrot and thewaltz.The Fermata Club, for me, was the home ofSocial, the program that still teaches ballroomdancing and manners to Aiken and Augusta’smiddle schoolers. It was also the home of swimteam, its pool deck the origin of the scar stillfaint on my left hand. For my parents it was thevenue for monthly parties thrown with theirfriends, and before that an annual Pink Cadillacparty that came complete with custom T-shirts.For generations of Aikenites it’s been a place tocut loose, to reunite, to roast an oyster or sneaka kiss.N O M A D I C | 2 4LATIN CL ASS AL FRESCO20 Venison OssobucoHere’s a fun one. You’ll need a bone saw or for yourprocessor to be fluent with the finercuts, but it will be more than worth the trouble.Alternatively, braising the whole shank is anoption, though you’ll miss out on that beautiful bonemarrow. In any case, the aroma of atraditional burgundy will fill your home, andhopefully it will become a harvest dish your friendsand family look forward to every year. You’ll need: Hind shanks Sharp kitchen knife Bone saw (if you are producing the individualportions yourself) Olive oil Salt, pepper, powdered garlic 1 cup all-purpose flour Sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme 4 whole garlic cloves 2 cups of diced onion2 cups of diced celery3 cups of rough chopped carrots 3 cups of diced Yukon potatoes 2 bottles of your favorite red wine (I’d go with aCab, Merlot, Pinot or Zinfandel) Butcher’s twine Dutch oven or other stovetop pot with lid that isappropriately sized for your ingredients Any ordinary stovetop Where the magic starts… If you are producing the individual cuts themselves,take each shank and divide into thirds using a sharpkitchen knife. Cut down to, but not through, thebone. Follow through with the bone saw to finish thejob, being careful to remove any bone splinters orshards that may be produced. All right, take yourshanks, pat them dry and give them a good coat andrub down of olive oil. Season generously with salt,pepper, and powdered garlic. Wrap these up andrefrigerate for at least one hour. Use this time to diceyour vegetables, open a bottle of wine, and gatherany other loose ingredients. Take about two sprigs of rosemary and four sprigs ofthyme and tie them together with about one foot ofbutcher’s twine. Pour one glass of your chosen wine,sip as desired throughout the rest of the cook, or downit immediately. On your stovetop, begin to heat yourDutch oven with the dial at 3/4 of the way up. Once thepot is hot enough to produce a sizzle, lightly coat thebottom with olive oil and introduce the shanks. Aim toachieve a nice, golden-brown crust on all sides. Onceyou have, remove the shanks, set them aside for amoment, and stir in all of your vegetables. Seasonvegetables lightly with salt and pepper, and add onecup of flour to the pot, stirring all the while. Afterabout two minutes, deglaze the pot with your firstbottle of wine. Reintroduce the shanks to the pot. Addthe four cloves of garlic as well as your thyme androsemary. 20Chef Chris Najmola

Page 21

“If you had to pick the exact spot where the Aiken Winter Colony givesway to the modern era, it’s somewhere around the entrance to theFermata Club on Whiskey Road.”Before there was the Fermata Club, there wasTall Pines. The June 22, 1905, edition of TheAiken Recorder reported that “Mr Anthony R.Kuser of New Jersey is about to build a veryhandsome residence on the tract of landbought a few years ago by Mr. J.F. Dryden atthe entrance of the golf grounds.”Construction was expected to cost $25,000and be completed by the year’s end.The connection between Kuser and Dryden,the founder of what is now the PrudentialInsurance Company, was a personal one —Kuser was Dryden’s son-in-law, havingmarried his daughter Susie in 1896. By 1905both men were the kind of prominentNortheastern businessmen drawn south asthe Winter Colony began its remarkablereign.The more you learn about Kuser, the moreyou realize how few degrees of separation hecreates between Aiken and the greatinstitutions of America. For example: in 1915,when he was probably still spending a lot oftime in Aiken, Kuser lent $200,000 to WilliamFox to establish the Fox Film Corporation —now 20th Century, the studio behind filmclassics from “Dr. Dolittle” to “Avatar.” Another example: Kuser’s daughter-in-law wasBrooke Russell, later known as Brooke Astor,who lived until the age of 105 as one of the lastremaining icons of this Gilded Age. Tall Pineswas just one of several homes owned by theKuser family, and it’s hard to know why itbecame one of the less essential; when Kuserdied in 1929, it was at a different winter retreat in Florida. What we do know is that by 1921 the Kuser family was willing to sell — and the new Tall Pinesresidents would not be the buyers, but the girls they were planning to educate.None of us, I don’t think, thought much about thebuilding’s origin as part of a school for wealthy girlsin the fading days of the Winter Colony. But that’s thething about growing up in Aiken: there’s usuallyhistory right beneath your feet, whether you’re awareof it or not.21 At this point everything should be in the pot. Shanksin the middle, veggies surrounding, and hopefullyslightly thickened wine all throughout. I like to havethe meat I braise to be submerged about 2/3 to 3/4 ofthe way in the wine. Add more from the secondbottle if needed.Reduce the heat down to simmer low for the rest ofthe cook. Place the lid loosely on the pot, to let itbreathe and not steam, and to fill your home withthis wonderful aroma. From here, it will be betweentwo and three hours before the dish is done. I like totest for doneness using tongs.Give it a pinch, and if the meat comes off easily,then it’s done. If it refuses to yield, just let it simmera little longer. It won’t be too long. When you aresatisfied, remove the garlic and herbs. Taste yourbroth, as it may need some more salt or pepper.Spoon out a healthy portion of the veggies andbroth onto a plate or into a bowl and top with oneof your beautiful Venison Ossobuco. From my kitchen to yours, I truly hope that thesedishes make it to your table. Thank you very muchto Aiken Hound and Home for the opportunity towrite these recipes, and if you are a member, see youat the Club. Happy hunting everyone!James Recommends21Written By James Alford, Owner of Cork and Cap Bottle ShoppeThe colder months in SC mean the harvest: not just on the farm, but inthe woods as well. We harvest more venison in SC than almost anywhereelse, and these two beverages merge with the sensibilities of hunter andharvester alike. Anne Amie Passe-Tout-Grains is a delicious and playful nod to an oldBurgundian tradition. Passe-Tout-Grains is a Burgundian phraseroughly translated as “all grapes welcome”. In Burgundy it’s anappellation title for wines blended from Pinot Noir and Gamay, andsince that’s generally a no-no in the region, Passe-Tout-Grains winestend to be cheap, used to soak up all the sub-standard Pinot Noir unfitfor real Burgundy. At least, that’s how things used to be. These days, theappellation has a small but dedicated fan club, and the undeniablecharms these blends are capable of have even reached Oregon. This redfrom Anne Amie has the bright, red berry flavors that so perfectlycomplement the ultra lean red meat of whitetail deer. It’s truly an idealmatch. Edmunds Oast Bound by Time is a traditional IPA that captures thefresh, piney zip of mosaic hops, and makes one feel as though they’redrinking down the invigorating aromas of a brisk alpine hike. This beerhas enough heft to handle red meat, but is light enough on its feet to letthe food be the star of the show.

Page 22

“So many things in this life have changed,” said Marie Eustis Hoffmann, nicknamed“Mariquita,” in a 1953 interview, decades after the glory days of the Winter Colony and herschool for girls. “But these woods never change.”Looking out at Hitchcock Woods as she spoke, Marie was living in the gardener’s cottage ofwhat had once been her family home with world-renowned pianist Josef Hofmann, basednear the southern end of Laurens Street (where the Hitchcock Apartments now stand). Acousin of Lulie Hitchcock, one of the great driving forces who established the Winter Colony,Marie was looking for a school for her daughter on par with the boys-only Aiken PreparatorySchool, which Lulie had founded in 1916. Beginning in October 1919 the Fermata School forGirls operated out of the third floor of the Hofmann home, with five students and a whopping22 instructors. “A dietitian came in to instruct the girls in the preparation of meals,” Marieexplained in that 1953 interview. “And there were riding instructors from the outside, and artinstructors.”These girls were presumably raised withimpeccable manners, but it’s still easy to imaginethe chaos that ensued in the Hofmann household,and Marie seemed to have a sense of humor aboutit. She remembered one evening when a studentwas serving her family dinner, and “in bringing ineggs to prepare in a chafing dish, she dropped twodozen of them on our dining room rug. We had ahilarious time cleaning up the mess.” In 1921 Marie, whose marriage to Hofmann was beginning to collapse, partnered with HopeGoddard Iselin to purchase Tall Pines and expand Fermata. By the end of the decade theschool had 70 boarding students and 20 more day students.“The only remaining big event of the Aiken season is the Fermata School Horse Show,”proclaimed The New York Times in an April 5, 1931, article titled “Resorts Take On FreshGayety.” “There are always a number of fine horses entered and almost all of the more thaneighty girls at the school will participate in the many classes.”Shakespeare play on the Fermata stage Everyone who was in her path felt the heartache that camewith this storm. Somber and overpowering empathy was afog around us all for days on end, knowing that if you wereseeing the devastation, you should be grateful to be alive.The countless number of families who were displaced orworse, lost their lives, is unfathomable. Helene has beencompared to Katrina that hit New Orleans, Louisiana, andMississippi in 2005 as well as several others since then. It istruly heartbreaking.In the days after, our local area banded together from thebeginning helping neighbors and reaching out to those trulyin need. Road crews worked around the clock so that peoplecould get to their loved ones they couldn’t talk to, and toattempt to get gas or propane for generators and grills andnon-perishable foods. As soon as it was safe, the electricalcrews went to work and began the daunting task of restoringpower and internet.Some of us received the “luxury” of power restoration waysooner than others, and it felt unfair. After the two-to-three-week mark, most everyone in the area was fully restored. It seemed that once the electricity, especially, was restored,people began trying to find a new normal in the midst ofrecovering. While debris cleanup could take months, movingforward is the only option.Yon Family Farms, located in the heart of Ridge Spring, willattest to feeling the effects of the storm for years to come. Aslocal business owners the devastation was immense. Theirfamily business is comprised of two main segments:Cattle/Beef Sales and Pecans. Each of these segmentsspecializes in their own niche.Like many of us, immediately after the storm, the Yons wererushing to find generators. However, these generators wereneeded to be able to run wells and the remaining tensile fencelines. With hundreds of cattle that can drink 10-40 gallonseach per day, having an available water source wasimperative. There were miles of fencing that neededimmediate repair to keep the livestock contained and safe overa vast 5,000 acres. After securing the animals in temporarypastures, a crew came in to help rebuild the existing fencework and move things as close to normal as possible. In orderto try to maintain a sense of normality, the storefront openedas soon as possible and was able to provide necessities such asbeef and milk to those in the community. The family was evenable to help another local meat market with freezer space, sothat they too didn’t lose their inventory.Yon Family FarmsWRITTEN BY SARAH MAYSONPHOTOGRAPHY BY WEBB PHOTOGRAPHY & THE YON FAMILY22eptember 26, 2024, families all over the Southeast,went to bed (or rather attempted to go to bed) withthe rain pouring in and the winds blowing, knowingthat there was a hurricane coming up from the Gulfbut anticipating a turn westward toward Atlanta.However, no one could predict what Mother Naturehad in store that night. Hurricane Helene plowed throughthe bottom of the United States and trekked through in anortheast direction. Leaving in its wake mass destructionthat no soul was prepared for. In the light of the morning onSeptember 27, the devastation that was left behind shatteredlives across six states.SLeft: Yon Family withCongressman JoeWilson in the pecanorchard post Helene.

Page 23

The most famous Fermata graduate,however, is most likely now RebekahHarkness — a.k.a. the Rebekah “who rodeup on the afternoon train” in Taylor Swift’ssong “the last great american dynasty.”Harkness was the previous owner of Swift’sRhode Island beach house, and herexploits described in the song — filling apool with champagne, dyeing a neighbor’spet green — are truly only the beginning.She composed a tone poem performed atCarnegie Hall. She befriended the mostfamous yogi in the world. When she died in1982, her urn was designed by SalvadorDali!The Fermata School, like the marriagebetween Marie and Josef Hofmann, was notdestined to last. The school closed in 1941,and shortly after that a fire destroyed mostof Tall Pines, save a few buildingsincluding the gymnasium that still standstoday. But by then Aiken was on the vergeof the most massive change in its history —one that would eventually open theexclusive doors of Fermata and make it atrue Aiken icon..If you had to pick the exact spot where the Aiken Winter Colony gives way to the modern era, it’ssomewhere around the entrance to the Fermata Club on Whiskey Road. The construction of theSavannah River Plant (now Savannah River Site) in 1952 turned Whiskey into a “principal arteryleading to the atomic energy plant,” as Kay Lawrence wrote in her 1971 book “Heroes, Horses, andHigh Society” (which also includes the Marie Eustis Hofmann interview). “Traffic whizzed by the rowsof magnolias and the beautiful vine-covered walls which had once insured complete privacy for theresidents.” The Fermata School buildings on Whiskey stood empty back then, but some of those new arrivals —“the DuPonters,” as old Aiken types still call them — had an idea. Sixteen families teamed up to leaseand eventually purchase the land, and by the end of the summer of 1952 there were 116 familiesforming what’s still the Fermata Club.Ruining everything.Ruining everything.SHE HAD A MARVELOUS TIMEREBEKAH HARKNES S23 The damaged pecan trees will take years to fully “replace.”After the orchards are cleaned up from the remaining debris,replanting can finally take place. Even then, it will takeanother 7-10 years before a full mature crop will beproducing pecans. Limiting the future crops to smallnumbers in the forthcoming years.With everyone in the small community of Ridge Springbanding together and helping each other, the town helpedprovide and survive one day at a time. Groups of residentswere cooking meals in the town square for hundreds ofpeople at a time all while bringing together non-perishableitems that were needed the most.The Yons were blessed and thankful that their homes wereleft untouched, unlike many of their neighbors and friends.In the grand scheme of things, the family through it all hasmade it clear that, “Throughout our experience with Helene,we have been reminded how blessed we are to be part of sucha wonderful community and despite the circumstances, it hasbeen beautiful to see our town rally together. The financiallosses from this event will be significant, not just this year,but in years to come – for us, and many other farms.”“We thank you for your continued support of our familybusiness – we couldn’t do it without you!”It is with this mentality that The Yon family has pushedforward and persevered through this difficult time. They werenot going to let a massive hurricane stop their plans for theirannual fall cattle sale which was held at the end of October.The Yon Family is truly an inspiration. Their love for whatthey do has moved their dreams forward throughout theyears, and despite this devastation and temporary setback,they picked up their torches and carried on! If you arelooking for amazing quality beef or amazing snacks, bakingpecans, and all- around household gift ideas, visit The NutHouse and Country Market, Ridge Spring, South Carolina,online. Or if you just happen to be driving through RidgeSpring, stop in and give them some love!They will be hosting another spectacular cattle sale inanother few short months in February 2025. it will take another 7-10 years before a fullmature crop will beproducing pecans.Limiting the futurecrops to small numbersin the forthcomingyears.23

Page 24

Founded as a space for the daughters of the elite, theFermata Club has spent the past 70 years welcoming somuch more of the community. Jason Rabun, until recentlythe chair of Fermata’s Board of Directors, was never amember as a child, but remembers being there for“birthday parties, social events, school dances, and oysterroasts.” Like me he went there for Social, and like me hisparents and their friends seem to have had an even bettertime: “my favorite stories come from my parents' friendsabout the parties they used to attend and host, reminiscentof a supper club.”Rabun has been leading the charge to sell the FermataClub to a group of private investors; the sale was approvedby Fermata’s membership in late June, but won’t befinalized until later this year. Damaged by a fire in 2023,the iconic Fermata Hall cannot legally be occupied —though thanks to Rabun I got to take a peek inside, and itlooks almost exactly as I remember it, for good (thoseoriginal wooden floors!) and bad (those crummy 1950sbathrooms!). Rabun notes that there have been no majorimprovements to the interior of the clubhouse since theprivate club first began, and though there’s a lot ofnostalgia in that tiny kitchen stuffed behind the stage,there’s a lot of potential for something bigger, too.Fermata, named by the music-loving Hofmann family,means to pause or to rest. The Fermata Club pool is stilllively and the tennis courts still hard at work, but thehistoric building is in its own moment of pause — waitingfor the music to start again.THE FERMATA GYM PRESENT DAY 2024“waiting forthe music to startagain.” ACA Open EnrollmentEnds January 15th

Page 25

Page 26

No, you didn’t miss Epcot or Disney having a theme park inSouth Carolina, but to those who took part in the sport tobe had in this part of the world, it was better than any rollercoaster ride or lazy river log boat imaginable.Heading south on Highway 3 from Barnwell towardsHighway 125, the land was a mix of timber and old-timeyrow crops. Smaller hog barns and pig pens dotted farms onthe tree lines that were caught in a transformation betweendirt-poor sharecroppers and the glistening, computer-controlled mega-machines that we know as today’s modernagriculture.We turned left onto what I knew as the Appleton Roadsince being in diapers, just as the highway began its descentto the creek bottom and railroad tracks marked asBALDOCK in white letters on a sign with a greenbackground that was four times longer than it was tall,traveled another three-quarters of a mile before turningright into a kempt grassy yard with 10 or 15 other trucksparked haphazardly between, and around, a small screenedin building and the biggest piece of industrial pipe stickingout of the ground a boy my age at the time had ever seen.If the castle is central to any fairy tale, this giant piece ofwhat looked like culvert pipe was central to the tale wovendown, near and around Baldock: it was the mythicallymagical Quonset Hut which served as headquarters forSwamp and Hill Hunt Club.Inside the doors of the clubhouse was a tiny, yet cozysmattering of dining tables that also served as pokertables when sunset and supper had both finished. A rangewith oven was tucked into one awkward corner alongwith a restaurant grade stainless sink as long as some ofthe trucks parked outside along the wall. My memories there were mostly forged from about thetime Carter left Pennsylvania Avenue until Clinton’saffinity for cigars got him in all the newspapers, whichmeans there was always a blue haze of smoke near eyelevel in the snug communal room: old men smokingpipes, younger men like my dad and his cohorts smokingcigarettes. Greetings and salutations were exchangedalong with handshakes, you signed the book and notedwhether you were a stander or a dog man that day. At the slightest sign of the sun heating up the eastern sky,someone tallied the numbers in attendance and countedout plastic, sequentially numbered poker chips. A hat wasusually requisitioned from the head of a boy. The chipswere placed inside, shaken a few times, and then all thosewho were taking a stand drew a number from the hat.Semi-democratic luck of the draw fairness if you will,Swamp & HillWRITTEN BY ROB HEILIG PHOTOGRAPHY BY RUSS MCCULLOM26ear the intersection of Highways 3 and 125, nearspots on an old map that make you wonder whyanyone ever named a place what they named it,flourished a magical kingdom the likes of whichwe likely won’t ever see again.NLeft: Club HouseRight: Buck Tyler (in white) chatting withclub members

Page 27

Albert Camus said, “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”What I find to be even better in our map-dot spot of the world is that not onlydo we get the brilliant leaves for autumn, but we also get magnificent flowerstoo!It has long been understood that springtime was when people prepared theirfields and flower beds and began the “growing” season. But spring is just oneseason, and I am not sure that we have four full seasons, they do like to teaseus quite a bit. However, here in our sweet spot of the South we have a windowfor fall planting that allows for so many different opportunities! FALL PLANTING GUIDEWritten by Sarah MaysonPhotography by Brandy CarrollSARAH PLANTING SHRUBS FOR F A L L27 which is where democracy in a hunt club ends: it just doesn’twork, nor can it. While democracy may be a fine experimentin these United States, it has no place in ahunt club. The un-initiated may think the sole purpose of ahunt club is reducing game to bag, but it’s actually muchmore simple: it’s a collective focused on a communal goodtime SAFELY.Therefore, a dictator is the only way to ensure its operation.Dictatorships are fraught with challenges, but we were luckyfor the entire span of my memories to have what we alwaysreferred to as our “benevolent” dictator: Buck Tyler. Hunting deer with hounds seems like a very simple endeavorwhen you write it down on paper: look at a map of thewoods, draw up boundaries consisting of creeks, swamps,firebreaks, fields, two-rut dirt roads, and long ago, barelytraveled paved roads and railroad tracks. String lines of“standers” around the edges in predetermined spots, thenloose the hounds into the woods with the drivers wherethey’ll hopefully use their noses to jump a deer and theirtongues to sing their sweet music while they run it towardthe standers, or possibly another lucky driver on the drive. Ifthe hunt is successful and someone’s aim is true, the deer isreturned to the clubhouse where it’s cleaned on the skinningrack. The other envious hunters gather ’round to admire thegame brought back to the clubhouse by the other members.At this point, I could sugarcoat the love letter I’m writingyou by skipping the fact that hides and viscera must beskillfully removed to turn the carcass into more manageableportions which can then be further reduced into cuts to becooked in different forms for the table.Kids stand around watching the process as the adults pointout the organs as they’re removed – a hands-on biologylesson long before they see it in a book in a classroom.You may think that a piece about a hunt club would bebased on killing, and while certainly a part of hunting, it’s sofar down the list that you’d likely need to turn the page tofind it. A sense of community and fellowship with acommon goal is at the top of that list. Going back tosomewhere around the time when man first befriended awolf and began a symbiotic relationship with his new bestfriend, those who love the sport of pursuing game with dogsare linked together by a common gene in a cave with acampfire that perpetually smolders. Of the highlights throughout the season, one Saturday eachmonth was reserved as “family day.” While we wouldnormally make five hunts, or “drives,” during a day in thecooler months of the year, the family days usually includedfour drives with a big meal in the middle of the day – eachmember bringing a covered dish specialty or buckets of friedchicken for the midday feast.South Carolina poet laureate and well-known author oftales of the great out of doors Archibald Rutledge famouslysaid through his muse Price Alston that “he’s ‘gwine wherehe’s gwine” in reference to where a big buck goes and howhe gets there when being chased by hounds. He went on to further explain the habits of mature whitetailsand how they reached old age as “he has nowhere to go, andall day to get there,” meaning that when not being pursued,a buck can ponder whether or not to take his next step.27Family Day (more on page 29)

Page 28

Fall is Fall is Fall is for for for PlantingPlantingPlantingWither you are a first-time gardener tryingyour hand or an expert, it is always goodpractice to make a list of plant material youare interested in and then double check thehardiness of each plant to the zone you livein. In late 2023 the USDA updated their planthardiness map for the first time in over 10years. Aiken falls into Zone 8 and is furthersubdivided with a small portion being Zone8A while most of the county is considered an8B. What does this mean? In general, not awhole lot. The “A/B” respectively onlyrepresents a 5-degree difference intemperature, so spread throughout thecounty, you may be hard pressed to find thatdifference day to day. You can find moreinformation on the USDA hardiness zonesat: https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/ ZONING Not every plant you may want to use in yourgardens or lawn must be “from or in” yourzone. Typically, if you purchase your plantsfrom a local garden center your new plantswill come with a care tag that gives aplethora of information! Side note: KEEPYOUR TAGS!! Many people overlook thiskey piece of gold! This tag will educate youas to what hardiness your plant is tolerant to.For example, you spy a beautiful SouthernLiving “Neverland” Agapanthus, and it isconsidered a Zone 8a. You absolutely canplant it in your Zone 8b yard! However, if youhave a friend living up in the mountains ofNorth Carolina where their H-Zone may onlybe a 6, it will likely not survive. Yet the Zone5 tolerant Southern Living SunshineLigustrum can survive all over NorthCarolina and even farther north as well as inour Zone 8 areasThe H-Zone list, by ZIP code, is based off of years ofresearch and temperature changes, however, thereare absolutely no hard and set-in-stone rules. It is aguideline, but one that has worked well for the lastfew decades. CROPSFall gardens are a time to reap an immediate harvestas well as to get a jump on some fantastic springcrops! If you are having a hard time deciding what toplant you can also lean on a wonderful resource suchas the Old Farmer’s Almanac. This classic resourceis available in print and online 2024 PlantingCalendar by Zip Code | The Old Farmer's Almanac |Almanac.com Plant maturity dates can be as few as 25 days(radishes) to 100 days (Brussels sprouts) and seedscan be planted as early as mid-July (for the longermaturity crops) to early August. Due to the earlierplanting of some of these crops, you must be diligentin maintaining the proper care and watering as thesummer heat is still lingering. If you have vegetableswith a shorter maturity date you can harvest and thenplant additional crops if there is time based on frosttolerance. He may run through a swamp, zig-zag around in the water,then double back on his original trail in an effort to lose thedogs and return to his bedroom. It still beguiles even theoldest and wisest houndsmen who’ve spent a lifetime pursuinggame with dogs, because no matter what they’ve learned fromthe chases they’ve been a part of, at the close of the hunt, noneof us have ever had a conversation with a deer.Trying to write about a place that fills so many of mymemories leaves me feeling a little like the deer above,inasmuch as I’m three pages deep at this point and left withthe feeling that I’ve told an incongruous story, cherry-pickingmy recollections of a long-ago time, bouncing off of the wallsof that metal building, a wooden bridge across a creek,walking down railroad tracks to access what then, to me, wasequivalent to Ruark’s darkest Africa. Back inside the clubhouse, in rows above the sink, hung piecesof art I’ll liken to Picasso and Rembrandt. At least that’s howI’ll take them to my grave. Each member had a nickname, or a“handle,” that was used on the CB radios that were central toevery hunt to know when to turn the dogs loose, or if a racehad gotten out of the drive and people needed to converge ona road or highway to catch dogs and keep them from going tothe next county. One of the members who was artisticallytalented painted caricatures of the rest of the members alongwith their “handles” on old metal paint can lids (see belowand to the bottom right). On the coldest mornings in November and December, oncethe hunt had been drawn up, in the era before fuel-injection,all of the trucks in the yard cranked and would warm up forseveral minutes. Whether it was the thin, cold air of a below freezingmorning, or the heady aroma of leaded gas exhaust, therewas something magical and holding the promise ofadventure as 20-plus Chevrolets, Dodges and Fords fast-idled and sang their songs while hounds warmed up theirvocal chords in anticipation of the day to come. We could’ve been heading to The Gator Pond, The Big PineField, The Dog Leg or any of the other tracts that hadnames whose origins were super-obvious. Standers werestrung, then the dog men came, and if you were withinearshot of a dog truck or a CB radio, you’d hear Buck givethe command on the radio to “turn ’em out!” A single cry,then the pack joining in to make a choir – the race was on,and if you were lucky, you fired your shotgun and bagged adeer.I’m already anticipating the flak I’ll receive from otherformer members who hunted there who’ll say: “You forgetabout this, or you forgot to mention so and so!” We lost Buck Tyler, our benevolent dictator, in early 2024,with his wife, the club matriarch, Miss Ellen, following himsoon thereafter to the great celestial hunt in the sky. The song “Dog Huntin’ Man” played at Buck’s service, withthis verse saying it all:“Turn ’em loose let ’em run, it will only be a minute and therace is on. Once they hit that cypress pond, the dogs went tosinging their sweet song. Wait jus’ a minute they’re comingmy way, Maybe this will be my lucky day.”Hindsight being 20/20 as it usually is, every day at Swampand Hill was a lucky day for those of us who were there andremember it fondly.28

Page 29

LIMELIGHT HYDRANGEAThere is such a long list of varieties to choosefrom that you could plant! Some of myabsolute favorite fall crops include arugula,broccoli, green beans, Brussels sprouts andcauliflower. Other fall “greens,” that arefavorites to many include mustard greens,spinach, cabbage and kale. For those crops that are being planted forearly spring, it allows the plants to have timeto settle in and establish a root system andprepare nutrients for the dormancy of winter.Onions, shallots and garlic are three of themost common in this category. Asparagus,turnips and potatoes can also all be preparedfor spring if set up properly in the fall. Theseplants will awaken from their dormancy andbegin rapidly growing with the onset of spring. ShrubberyThe same concept is used for plantingshrubberies and fall bulbs. Getting them in theground and allowing them to establishthemselves before the first hard frost will helptheir survival for years to come. The theory isthat underground is still warm enough from thesummer days but has begun to cool off. It isnot under the threat of being so hot that itcauses stress to the plant. In addition, thecooler days and increased rains oftenassociated with fall help to establish thosemuch-needed root systems. All of these contributions lead in general toless stress on the plant. With less stress, moreenergy can go into the plant’s development forgrowth. If ample time is given for the roots tobe established and the nutrients to be storedthere should be no reason the plants cannotsurvive the winter months ahead. Typically,planting 4-6 weeks prior to the first frost orfreeze is a good rule of thumb to follow. TYPICALLY, PLANTING 4-6 WEEKSPRIOR TO THE FIRST FROST ORFREEZE IS A GOOD RULE OFTHUMB TO FOLLOW. 29 29Sarah & Bruce Mayson, Buck Tyler’s Son-in-law and GranddaughterRob Heilig

Page 30

To actually get them in the ground it’s good torefer once more to the care tag for spacingrequirements for your shrubs of choice. Manyof these tags will give you recommendedplanting steps, and you can then dig yourholes for plants. Another pro tip that is largelyforgotten or often ignored is to break up theroot ball if it is compact and tight in thecontainer. This will allow for the roots to thenbegin spreading out and establishing thosestronger and healthier root systems. Once your plants are in the ground it is highlyrecommended to cover them with mulch.Shredded leaves and bark work best. Thishelps to hold in the warmth of the soil andreduces any risk of cold damage that may bebrought on by frost or freezing temperatures. Inserting bright nandinas, ligustrums,camellias, beautiful ground covers, azaleas,any deciduous shrubs and even hydrangeasare perfect additions in the fall to complementpops of color and to jump-start your spring. CONTAINER GARDENINGIf you are on a space constraint and still wantto get into fall planting, container planters maybe a perfect option. Container planting is soversatile. You can plant colors of all kinds andincorporate a mix of perennials, annuals andbulbs. No matter what you plant in yourcontainers, it is best to try to get similar thingsthat all have the same tolerances for soilcontaminations (pH), moisture requirementsas well as shade tolerance. You don’t want to mix one plant that needs full sunand a lot of water with one that needs mostly shadeand minimal watering. I love mixing the bold lights and darks of perennialheuchera with coleus and a long flowing sweet potatovine. Other classic combinations could include ferns,dianthus, daylilies or clematis with a mix of annualssuch as marigolds, dahlias or petunias. Containerplanting has endless opportunities and combinationsand really is what makes your heart happy! I have mentioned bulbs a few times but haven’t reallytouched on that topic and honestly that’s because, likecontainer planting, bulbs are easy and one of bestsurprises you can give yourself in gardening! I love torandomly buy bulbs of hyacinth, tulips, daffodils,alliums, poppies, peonies and lilies and then any time Iam planting (anywhere) take some of them and putthem around whatever it is that I am doing. A space inmy garden, a new spot with the shrubs or just an extraadd-in for my container plants. To me bulbs add just alittle extra spice to the planting life. They are easy andfun and so beautiful when they show up! Fall planting doesn’t have to be hard nor should it be.It should be a joy and come from a place of love; atime to make memories with your kids or grandchildrenor even your pets. It lets you enjoy the cooler days andlearn new and exciting tips for your gardens, lawnsand containers that you will take with you for years tocome. Happy fall and happy planting y’all! SNOW & SUMMER JASMINE30 Morgan Batton organized trips to Western NCwith hay, feed and supplies to help locals inneed as well as equestrian rescue efforts. Theyestimated delivering supplies totaling $25,000on the first run with help from HannahJungling, which led to more efforts and trips.Alok Kumar Akse, owner of Taj Aiken IndianCuisine, stepped up to help the Aiken community byproviding free lunches for several days during theHelene aftermath. He estimated the number oflunches to be over 1,900. When asked about whatinspired him he said, “It is a natural part of myculture to help when there is a need. I love thistown.”Helene HeroesIn those immediate days afterward many of us wondered “what can we do?” These small business ownersfound ways in the midst of the chaos to help others. There are probably hundreds of stories like this, ourcommunity really knows how to come together. Western North Carolina was affected even more than the CSRA. Aikenites also donated, and some evenwent to help out in WNC, while dealing with their own issues at home. WRITTEN BY REBECCA WILLIAMS PHOTOGRAPHY BY RIVER MAGNOLIA PHOTOGRAPHYAA30iken and its small businesses were deeply affected by the aftermath of Hurricane Helene inSeptember. Many families and businesses were left without power, internet and water forover a week, and damage in some areas were unfathomable. Trees and powerlines lookedlike a messy jewelry box just begging to be untangled. A

Page 31

Page 32

WHI L E A L L I NSPE C TAT I NG Frank Mullins gives a glimpse into racehorseownership and the thrill of the race!All of my life I have loved horses.When all my friends had motorcycles, I had ahorse. As my life moved along, horses werealways part of it. Sometimes nearby,sometimes not but always there. Luckily, myintense work years ended relatively early inlife and I had the opportunity to pick where Iwanted to live instead of where I had to. Forme the only choice was Aiken.My first contact with Aiken was in the 1980s and with Cot Campbell and Dogwood Stables.Cot welcomed me in as a 23-year-old pauperand allowed me to invest in a miniscule way inone of his partnerships. Even with my smallinvestment, he treated me like a king.Next was discovering riding in HitchcockWoods. Later years led to polo, which is still avery large part of my life. My wife Becky and Ihave our own polo team and play in manytournaments around Aiken. All of this hadbeen centered around a deep love for horsesand for Aiken.This came into even sharper focus once I become president of the Aiken Steeplechase. The AikenSteeplechase is truly one of the most important and fundamental elements of our community. Even morepopular today than it was when it started in 1930 when Tommy Hitchcock, Harry Worchester Smith andTemple Gwathmey started it here.The Spring Steeplechase is seen as the beginning of spring in Aiken. Tens of thousands of patrons come out tosee the horses and enjoy the first major outdoor event with friends and family. Race days are a beautiful,exciting blur. You would think there was no way I could be more immersed. Wrong – along come horsesagain.Clara BellePHO TO GR AP HY B Y TON Y GO UG EWR I T T E N B Y F RA N K M U L L I N S31 their dog box, excited about going to work.We climb out the truck and walk to the tailgate to apair of anxious hounds, a Treeing Walker (Molly) anda Black and Tan (Ellie). They leap from the tailgateand follow their owner, my daddy, Mark Hett. Hewalks into the woods several yards off the creek bed,unsnapping their leashes one by one before the dogsvanish. Daddy turns on his headlamp and sets hiscompass to where his truck is parked, listens for hishounds and checks a GPS tracker.In no time, Ellie strikes a track with a deep bark.Molly backs her up moments later. Soon enough, longbarks turn to loud, fast chops. Daddy looks at his GPSand says, “They got one.” We turn on our headlampsand head in the dogs’ direction. For a 70-something-year-old man, daddy can plow through the thickest ofwoods and it’s all I can do to keep up. We cross a creek and hop over dead trees. Daddy stopsfor a minute, listening to make sure the dogs are stillon the tree. We nearly come nose-to-nose with a white-tailed deer bedded in a thicket as we finagle our waythrough the brush. Meanwhile, the dogs are steady onthe tree and having a fit!A half-mile later, we find them at a huge water oak.Daddy flips his coon light to the red filter and uses hissqualler call to mimic the sound of a distressedraccoon. Red light is a preferred color because itdoesn’t spook raccoons and offers good visibility tohunters. Old-timers say the red light sometimes has acalming effect on coons.Because I’m generally the lucky shot, I shoulder my.22- caliber Ruger and peer through the scope whileDaddy shines the coon. Before I can pull the trigger,the raccoon jumps out amongst the dogs and climbsanother tree a hundred yards away. Do yourself a favorand Google comedian Jerry Clower’s skit, “A CoonHuntin’ Story” for a clearer picture of how thosefew minutes unfolded. Daddy hits his coon squaller again and scans the treelimbs with a spotlight. “I see him,” I call out over thebarking. This time, I was quicker on the draw, and wesoon heard the coon crash in a pile of leaves. Ellie andMolly wagged their tails a 100mph and nudged theraccoon before taking their prize to Daddy. As wewalked to the truck, he praised them like they had justscored the winning touchdown in double overtime.I grew up coon hunting, you might even think there’s araccoon hiding somewhere in my family tree. Heck, Ihave an Uncle Jesse who sprouted from a limb becausewe spent so much time hunting with him. My daddyalways had good dogs, all ones he trained himself. Hedabbled in competition hunts for a brief moment,titling a couple of his dogs but realized his passion waspleasure hunting with his dogs, his hunting buddiesand making memories with us kids, our friends andgrandchildren. So when given the chance, I gladlyeducate others about a pastime that’s finally cool againsince it was a big part of my childhood.Centuries ago, owners and their trusty hounds huntedcoons for meat and fur. Native to North America,raccoons are known for being clever nocturnalmammals that can have a nasty attitude if provoked.Because they are omnivores coons eat a variety offoods and can easily adapt in woods, wetlands, farms,neighborhoods, parks and anywhere there is a buffet tokeep their bellies full. Raccoons stay to themselves forthe most part, except during breeding season or aftertheir kits are born. A female in the wild can have from35 to 70 babies in her lifetime.When the Tailgate Dro ps32n a crisp fall night driving down an oldgame management road in EdgefieldCounty, we ease off to the side near acreek and shut off the truck. It’s quietand so dark there’s not a star in thesky. Silence breaks when the coon dogsrustle around inside oWRITTEN BY JAMIE PEARSONPHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDEDAuthor Jamie Pearson with her brother Chad Hett, 1996.Trainer’s Corner

Page 33

My son in law Jordan Wycoff and his family hold a very significant presence in the flat trackracing world. They campaign a large complex array of horses across the country each year. Formy first steeplechase as president, I asked Jordan to send a horse or two to support the race. Hesent a full trailer load of eight. Easily Jordan talked me into ownership. It was like being backwith Cot again. Jordan knows horses and he knows racing. The first horses were Topic Changerand Clara Belle. Topic is now a 5-year-old gelding but raced here when he was a 3-year-old. Hesteeplechased from 2022 to 2023 and was named Horse of the Year by the National SteeplechaseAssociation for his back-to-back wins at the Fall Aiken 2022 race and the Fall Charleston 2022race. The Charleston race is very poignant for me since Charleston is the birthplace of horseracing in the U.S. Topic has had 10 starts, four firsts and has earned $121,086.Clara Belle is a 5-year-old mare who started racing in 2021 and is still going strong. She is a rock-solid foundation for us. Her last win was at the Spring 2024 Aiken Steeplechase race. She hasthree first places and is a very solid runner almost always finishing in the money. Becky and Iwill be in Saratoga, New York, with our family to see them both race this August. I keenly feel theweight and responsibility of the tradition of the Aiken Steeplechase but at the same time I trulyenjoy it. Having horses in the races makes it even better. You watch the horses start, you hopeyour horse is not in front because it is too early in the race. You switch to watching the monitorsas they go out of sight around the first turn. You pray your horse stays somewhere behind thefront so they can have a giant burst of speed at the right time. You stop watching the monitorand go back to the track as they round the final turn. Hopefully, your horse is pulling to the frontnow. You, and all the other owners, are yelling“Go, Go, Go” for your horses as they flash by the finishline. Sometimes it’s your day and your horse is first. Youwin, you go to the Winner’s Circle for pictures with yourhorse and family and friends and trainer and jockey. Andthe hook goes deeper in you. It may be a long time beforethis all happens this way again, but you will be back. Ican’t ask any more from the horses or the AikenSteeplechase. They both give me everything they have.Every time I’m there, even on non-race days, I feel this. Iresolve to find a way to do more for this place and for thistown. Hopefully Topic and Clara Belle will do it again.Change of TopicClara Belle with her racing family in the Winner’s Circle32 Raccoons can carry bacteria, viruses and parasites,among the most common are rabies, leptospirosis, parvo,canine hepatitis, and pseudorabies with canine distemper.Coonhounds are a type of scenthound and hunting dogthat originated in America during the early 1700s. TheAmerican Kennel Club (AKC) recognizes six breeds:American English, Black and Tan, Bluetick, Plott Houndand the Treeing Walker. The United Kennel Club (UKC)acknowledges a seventh breed, the Redbone Coonhound.The Continental Kennel Club (CKC) validates five ofthose breeds, all of which excel at tracking their prey atnight and driving them up a tree. Lastly is theProfessional Kennel Club (PKC) and is the largestorganization devoted to coonhounds.By nature, coonhounds are scent-obsessed but easygoing,and often can be found lounging around. Most coonenthusiasts prefer to hunt large acreage away from busyroads for their dogs’ safety and for the abundance ofwildlife. Large tracts of public land are available to thosewho pay to hunt Wildlife Management Areas. Otherhunters partner with farmers and private landowners tohunt raccoon populations that can wreak havoc on cattlefarm commodities, either by eating and contaminatingstored feed or destroying crops before harvest. Studiesalso show that hunting raccoons can increase the survivalrate of wild turkeys, ducks, quail and turtles, all of whichare at risk of being eaten or attacked by nest predators.This group covers crows, armadillos, skunks, opossumsand raccoons – a top predator of turkey eggs.Coon hunters are a special breed who stay up latewhen raccoons are active. But owners of highly traineddogs can turn out twice and be home before the 11o’clock news. Hunters turn out their dogs in locationswhere a scent can be picked up fairly easy. Once thedogs locate a scent, they strike a trail, first letting outa long bark. That bark is followed by a pause as thechase continues. Once the dogs close in and tree theraccoon, their bark turns loud, fast and choppy. Headlamps are used by coon hunters to stay hands-free during the trek, to safely carry their rifle and tohandle their dogs. They use a coon squaller to helplocate the raccoon (to make sure the dog isn’t lying)and to accurately make a humane shot. Like any sport,one can participate as a hobby or compete for money,titling dogs and bragging rights.The next time you see someone with a dog box in theback of their truck one evening headed out of town,will you wish you could tag along? There’s justsomething about hunting in the woods at nightlistening to your dogs. It definitely gives moremeaning to the expression, “when the tailgate drops.”33Jamie Pearson with her Daddy, Mark Hett and hounds Ellie and Molly.Mark Hett, Jamie Pearson with her grandson, Blayne.Trainer’s Corner

Page 34

TRAINER CORNERHey guys, my name is CodyTurner, and I am the owner/headretriever trainer at Kiokee CreekKennels in Appling, Georgia! With fall and winter approaching Iwould like to point out a few thingsthat we see very often as trainersthat may help you and yourcompanion have a more successful,safe season! We are coming off avery hot summer, where most ofour retrievers have been sitting inthe air conditioning and eating ourleft-over ice cream, meaning theyare out of shape physically andmentally. We always ask our clientsto make sure and get out thereseveral weeks to months ahead ofthe season and get their dogs backin shape not only physically, butmentally as well. There are many ways to dothis and one of the best waysis by swimming. Swimmingfires almost every muscle inthe dog’s body making it easyfor us to wear them out andget a good workout in. Wealways tell our clients to alsomentally prepare their dog bysetting up simulated hunts insimilar environments that youwill be hunting in. Take yourdove bucket and shotgun andgo have a training session in afield with tall grass! At Kiokee Creek we firmlybelieve that the foundation ofany retriever is the mostimportant piece of the training‘puzzle.’ It starts as a puppy. Our head obedience trainerWesley Williams says, “One ofthe best things to do with yourpup is to always put them up‘wanting more.’ Every puppyhas that point where theybegin to get bored withwhatever it is y’all areworking on. Try to alwaysstop one rep before that pointto avoid burning out thepuppy.” We tell clients all thetime this may mean only to doone rep or one retriever andthen move on to somethingelse. This will help you keep afocused and attentive pup!These are a few simple thingsthat will go a long way thisfall to help you and yourcompanion have an enjoyablehunt!KIOKEE CREEK KENNELS OFFERS OBEDIENCE COURSES AND INDIVIDUAL APPOINTMENTLESSONS. THEY ALSO OFFER STARTED GUNDOG, FINISHED GUNDOG AS WELL AS UKC HUNTTEST TRAINING. (706) 833-2067CODY TUR NER34 In the Doghouse“When selecting a quality pup, first, I want aquality-bred pup; one born to winners on boththe sire and dam side. Next, I want a good-looking, healthy pup. I want to see the puprunning, using its nose and not caring what otherdogs are doing. Lastly, I want a proud pup; onethat carries its tail up when it interacts withothers.” ~ Eric Owenby, owner of FarmScape,Handler of UKC Grand Night Champion Rose,Owner/Handler of UKC Grand Night ChampionWipeout Kala and UKC Grand Night ChampionWipeout Troubadour, Co-owner of WipeoutWicked Trix (4th place S.C. PKC State Race2023-2024, PKC Truck Hunt Qualifier). “Finding a ready-to-hunt adult dog can beexpensive. Personally, I enjoy starting pups andfinishing them. But if I were in the market to findan adult dog for both pleasure and competitionhunts, I would prefer a smaller-framed, athletic-built dog. I look for a dog that moves fastthrough the woods, one that doesn’t payattention to other dogs when hunting in a group,and one that will tree by itself. I also like atighter mouth “ambush style” strike dog with ahard, consistent tree bark; in my opinion they aremost accurate. “~ George Agner, co-owner of E.Agner Contracting, 2019 S.C. State YouthCoon Hunt “Senior Sportsmanship Award,”Owner/Handler of Grand Night Champion XXX,qualified for several high stakes competitions inIllinois, Missouri, and placed 5th in the GeorgiaPeach Classic, and also handles dogs for otherhoundsmen.34Above: Grand Night Champion (4)PR Fast Track Allie, TreeingWalker, Owned by George AgnerRight: Lane Owenby with WipeoutWicked Trix (Left). Billy Bell withWicked Speed Shifter (Right).Trainer’s Corner

Aiken Hound & Home Winter 2024

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3