Wagener Produce Farm Rises from a Carolina Bay

By Valerie Sliker, Courtesy Wagener Monthly.   Pictured: Bennie and Sylvia Mixon.

Ride a couple miles west of the Wagener town limit on Highway 39 and you’ll find a farmer’s vegetable stand situated on a little piece of nutrient-dense land lovingly called “God’s Acre.” Master gardener and retired pastor Bennie Mixon and his wife of 54 years, Sylvia Bussey Mixon purchased this Carolina Bay over twenty years ago and have been gardening it ever since.

Most Carolina bays are currently boggy or dry, elliptical in shape in a northwest to southeast orientation, as is Mixon’s.  Many legends of their origins exist, but most scientists attribute them to glacier activity. They run in a specific pattern along the Atlantic Coastal Plain from northern Florida to New York. Many are used for agriculture because they contain thousands of years of organic matter that settled in them.

Last year, the Mixons harvested 2600 pounds of tomatoes from 144 tomato plants. This year is looking to be about as good. Several of his tomato plants were well over five feet tall in early July. Mixon currently grows only two types of tomatoes: Amelia and Park’s Whopper. He finds the other types disease ridden.

Congratulations Jordan Robbins and Taunija Swedenburg

The Rosie O. Thomas Scholarship

This scholarship fund was established by family and friends of the late Rosie Thomas. Its purpose is to provide financial assistance to youth within the Chalk Hill Baptist Church that have plans of pursuing post-secondary education.

This year’s recipients are Jordan Robbins and Taunija Swedenburg. Jordan plans to attend USC-Aiken and Taunija will attend Clemson University. These young ladies are active church participants and have been successful students. Much success to each as they continue their journey!

Wagener United Methodist Church Senior Food Program

Are you a senior citizen over 60 in need of some food? If so, the Wagener United Methodist Church in conjunction with ACTS (Area Churches Together Serving) of Aiken can help.

On the 3rd Saturday of every month, food that has been supplied by ACTS is distributed to those that qualify for this service. Along with the age limit, of course there is an income limit as well.  Confirmation of your age and income is a requirement.

 

Apply either through the ACTS office in Aiken on Park Avenue, SW, or come to the church on the 3rd Saturday with your paperwork in hand and we will complete your application. If you qualify, food will be given to you at that time. Distribution time is 8 to 9:30 AM every month on the 3rd Saturday.

 

Wagener Native Supports Critical Navy Mission

By Chief Mass Communication Specialist Erica R. Gardner, Navy Office of Community Outreach
Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Brown

NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY BAHRAIN – Petty Officer 1st Class Raveen Davenport, a Wagener, South Carolina, native, joined the Navy wanting to explore the world.

Now, nine years later and half a world away at Naval Support Activity Bahrain, Davenport serves at U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) / U.S. 5th fleet.

“The best part has been experiencing the different cultures and food,” said Davenport.

Davenport, a graduate of Wagener-Salley High School, is a logistics specialist at U.S. 5th Fleet, headquartered in Manama, Bahrain.

“I handle processing mail, financials, ordering and receiving material and so much more,” said Davenport.

Davenport is a part of Task Force 57, which provides airborne maritime patrol and reconnaissance throughout the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. The task force supports three task groups comprised of over 500 personnel, operating from three countries with three variants of P-3 Orion aircraft and the remotely-piloted Broad Area Maritime Surveillance-Demonstrator (BAMS-D).

Davenport credits success at U.S. 5th Fleet, and in the Navy, to many of the lessons learned in Wagener.

“Growing up in a small town, I learned the value of hard work and a dollar,” said Davenport. “I use these values everyday while serving in the Navy........."

RWP Cancels Dixie Youth Baseball

Concerning The Wagener Dixie Youth Ball Program.

From Roy Warner Park & ACPRT:

We are sad to announce that we (ACPRT & RWP) have made the decision to cancel and refund the 2020 Spring Dixie Youth ball season. ACPRT feels that it is in everyone’s best interest to do so.

Many of our neighboring teams that we were scheduled to play have already canceled, which in turn cut several of the games.  Most importantly, we don’t want to put our players, coaches or the community’s health at risk.

We will be keeping the uniforms for the 2021 season.   If need be, we will order additional jerseys & sizes next season to complete each of the teams.

If you ordered a parent/fan shirt or hat, please message me to schedule a time to come by the Courtney Center to pick those up.

Most of our sponsors for the season have been gracious enough to allow their sponsorship to roll over to next spring.  This was HUGE we really appreciate them for doing this!!  It has allowed our dept. to be in better shape financially,  allowing us to issue a full refund to each of you.  We will begin processing refunds, which will be mailed to the address on your registration form.  It may take up to 3 weeks for the checks to be processed.

If you have any questions or concerns please message us on the Facebook page or call 564-5211.  Thank you for your continued support!

Pages