2 0 1 9 | aug 16 Fes-taa-vul! THE MAGAZINE FOR COOPERATIVE MEMBERS VOLUME 73 • NUMBER 8 (ISSN 0047-486X, USPS 316-240) Read in more than 595,000 homes and businesses and published monthly except in December by The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc. 808 Knox Abbott Drive Cayce, SC 29033 Tel: (803) 926-3175 Fax: (803) 796-6064 Email: [email protected] EDITOR Keith Phillips Tel: (803) 739-3040 Email: [email protected] FIELD EDITOR Walter Allread PUBLICATION COORDINATOR Travis Ward ART DIRECTOR Sharri Harris Wolfgang DESIGNER Susan Collins PRODUCTION Andrew Chapman WEB EDITOR Chase Toler COPY EDITORS Jennifer Jas L. Kim Welborn CONTRIBUTORS Michael Banks, Abby Berry, April Coker Blake, Mike Couick, Hastings Hensel, Jan A. Igoe, L.A. Jackson, Patrick Keegan, David Novak, Sydney Patterson, Jenny Peterson, Lynn & Cele Seldon, Belinda Smith-Sullivan, Brad Thiessen, Paul Wesslund PUBLISHER Lou Green ADVERTISING Mary Watts Tel: (803) 739-5074 Email: [email protected] NATIONAL REPRESENTATION American MainStreet Publications Tel: (800) 626-1181 Paid advertisements are not endorsements by any electric cooperative or this publication. If you encounter a diffiffifficulty with an advertisement, inform the Editor. ADDRESS CHANGES: Please send to your local co-op. Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to Address Change, c/o the address above. Periodicals postage paid at Columbia, S.C., and additional mailing offiffiffices. ©COPYRIGHT 2019. The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc. No portion of South Carolina Living may be reproduced without permission of the Editor. SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING is brought to you by your member-owned, taxpaying, not-for-profifit electric cooperative to inform you about your cooperative, wise energy use and the faces and places that identify the Palmetto State. Electric cooperatives are South Carolina’s—and America’s—largest utility network. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS: $5.72 members, $8 nonmembers Member of the AMP network reaching more than 9 million homes and businesses Celebrate the tie-dyed groovy vibes of South Carolina’s eclectic Albino Skunk music festivals. 4 CO-OP NEWS Updates from your cooperative 6 AGENDA Learn how to stay safe around those big green utility boxes that make underground power lines possible. 10 DIALOGUE Honoring their sacrififice South Carolina Women Involved in Rural Electrifification (SCWIRE) honor the memories of our military men and women who gave their lives in service to others. 12 ENERGY Q&A Charging an electric vehicle at home Our energy-effiffifficiency experts review the options for keeping an electric car topped offff and ready to run. 14 SMART CHOICE Power through your honey-do list When it’s time to tackle those home improvement projects, these useful tools will help you get ’er done. 21 STORIES The shark whisperer Meet the Palmetto Electric Cooperative member who’s setting new records for hooking fearsome great white sharks. 22 SCENE Make a joyful noise In Beaufort and beyond, Dr. Marlena Smalls and the Hallelujah Singers spread the gospel of Gullah music. 26 TRAVELS The return of Cypress Gardens It took more than three years to repair the damage from the 2015 flfloods, but Berkeley County’s popular blackwater swamp is back and better than ever. 30 RECIPE Cheap eats—meals under $10 Delicious and nutritious meals don’t have to be expensive. 32 GARDENER The lure of lunaria Sow lunaria seeds in the garden this summer and “the money plant” will pay handsome dividends in the spring. 34 MARKETPLACE 36 CALENDAR 38 HUMOR ME Alice in plunger-land When home plumbing disasters strike, the tough start plunging. Mali Obomsawin, bass player for the folk trio Lula Wiles, gives it her all during a performance at the SpringSkunk Music Fest near Greer. Photo by John Gillespie. FROM TOP: JOHN GILLESPIE; RUTA SMITH; ALEX FOX 16 22 26 Tuned in Join the fun at SkunkFest Make a joyful noise with the Hallelujah Singers SC TRAVELS Nature rules at Cypress Gardens SC RECIPE Dinner for $10 AUGUST 2019