THE MAGAZINE FOR COOPERATIVE MEMBERS Vol.71•No.11
(ISSN 0047-486X, USPS 316-240)
Read in more than 584,000 homes and businesses and published monthly except in December by
The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc. 808 Knox Abbott Drive Cayce, SC 29033
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EDITOR
Keith Phillips
Tel: (803) 739-3040
Email: [email protected]
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Diane Veto Parham
FIELD EDITOR
Walter Allread
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Travis Ward
ART DIRECTOR
Sharri Harris Wolfgang
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Susan Collins
PRODUCTION
Andrew Chapman
WEB EDITOR
Chase Toler
COPY EDITOR
L. Kim Welborn
CONTRIBUTORS
Jayne Cannon, Mike Couick,
Amy Dabbs, Jan A. Igoe, Patrick Keegan, Sydney Patterson, Susan Hill Smith, Belinda Smith-Sullivan, Brad Thiessen PUBLISHER
Lou Green
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Mary Watts
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                               NOV/DEC 2017 • VOLUME 71, NUMBER 11
 FEATURE
16 Cane-cooking school
Join a Lowcountry family as they refine the delicate art of making syrup the old-fashioned way.
    MIC SMITH
4 CO-OP CONNECTION
Cooperative news
6 ON THE AGENDA
Start planning now for seasonal light festivals. Plus: Your guide
to the 2017 Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl, our exclusive Mr. Football Reader Poll and a chance to win tickets to the game.
POWER USER
DIALOGUE
10 Unexpected gratitude for chaos
As we head into the busy holiday season, Mike Couick shares
the life lessons he’s learning fromBernie,hisunpredictable Goldendoodle puppy.
ENERGY Q&A
12 Stylish,efficientlighting
for your home
Looking for a way to save up to $75 a year on power bills? It’s as easy as changing your lightbulbs.
SMART CHOICE 14 Presentperfect
Shopping for holiday gifts? Our gadget columnist has eight great options to suit children of all ages.
SC LIFE
STORIES
21 Meetthemillers
Reed and Ethan Severance keep South Carolina history alive with every batch of grits, cornmeal and flour they produce at Hagood Mill.
TRAVELS
22 Hittheslopes
Need to get away this winter? The ski, snowboard and snow-tubing parks of North Carolina are a short drive away.
GARDENER 28 The secrets of
bare-root planting
Follow these tips to spruce up your landscape with bare-root trees, shrubs, roses and vines you can order online, plant this fall and enjoy for years to come.
RECIPE
30 Madeforgiving
Homemade food gifts are a thoughtful and affordable way to treat family and friends.
HUMOR ME 38 Rise and schlep
In the battle between humor columnist Jan A. Igoe and her alarm clock, the alarm clock is winning.
34 MARKETPLACE 36 SC EVENTS
22
    8
 SWEET
ARTS The heat is on when making syrup from sugar cane
30
Friends and relatives stir the pot at an old-fashioned cane boil hosted by the Hagood family. Photo by Mic Smith.
      SC RECIPE
Holiday gifts from the kitchen
HUMOR ME
There’s no need for alarm
S
                           APPALACHIAN SKI MTN./SAM DEAN
GINA MOORE
EXCLUSIVE
GAME GUIDE
NOV/DEC 2017