AROUND CHAPIN AND IRMO

Hunger is still a problem in the summer months, and We Care in Chap-in’s inventory has reached low levels. Collection bins are located at the Chapin Library, Crooked Creek, and at local churches.  

While many are just graduating, others have class reunions. Many older folk in the Chapin area remember The Rev. Evrett Dasher and his wife, Helen, from Mt. Horeb Lutheran Church. Rev. Dasher married my parents in 1964!  Helen Dasher is still living and is an incredible lady!  She graduated from Saluda High in 1939 and she and her only living classmate, Sudelle Lot, just celebrated their 79th high school reunion.

The Chapin High graduating class of 1971 also celebrated its 47th class reunion at the home of Gladys Meetze Boland. A fascinating facet in these two reunions is that Helen Dasher’s daughter Ruthie Dasher was in the class of 1971. Mom and daughter celebrated graduations the same month!  

We wish all graduates well as they continue in this new season of their lives.  

As a summer treat, give your skin a spa moment, with a DIY natural skin care clinic at the Chapin Library June 28 at 2 p.m. This is for teens only, but mothers can come and learn also!  

As the new graduates take flight into a new life adventure, this is also a season when the Purple Martins take their yearly flight to Lunch Island on Lake Murray for their summer vacation. An estimated 1 million Purple Martins come to this sanctuary before their long journey to their winter home in South America. The birds come in every night from June to August at 9 p.m.  and leave before dawn to find food. The beauty of large swarms of birds flying and dancing in the sky with the backdrop of an incredible Lake Murray sunset is said to be a beautiful sight.  SCE&G agreed with the Department of Natural Resources in 1995 to establish a permanent sanctuary for the Purple Martins and is the largest roosting site in North America. The best viewing times are from 8-9:15 p.m.  and 5:30 a.m to 7 a.m.

Happy birthday to one of the oldest buildings in Chapin. The former Bank of Chapin building is officially 110 years old.  It was built in 1908 but was organized the last week in March 1907 with a capital stock of a whopping $10,000 with C.P Robinson, P.M Frick and J.S Wessinger as part of a board of directors. A 1907 article said, “The bank should thrive, as Chapin is one of the richest agricultural sections of the state.” The building is at 108 Beaufort St.