Let’s face it. Some really big stuff has happened in South Carolina this year alone. But we’re purposely going to skip over those big news items from 2015 – mostly because we’re already painfully aware of them. And besides, other big things happen in the Palmetto State that aren’t so clearly associated with tragedy. So let’s get on with some interesting “BIG” things about small places in South Carolina. Are you ready?
- Chester, SC - It rained non-dairy creamer
Kim Keegan/Flickr Ironically, in 1969 it rained non-dairy creamer (Cremora®) all over Chester, SC, including the dairy cows! The event was the result of an issue with the vent at the local Cremora® manufacturing facility.
- James Island, SC - a superstar grew up in a small SC village
David Shankbone/Flickr Stephen Colbert is from Charleston and grew up across the harbor on James Island. Colbert is the new host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS.
- Rimini, SC - It snowed 24 inches at Lake Marion
James Marvin Phelps/Flickr Logically, South Carolina’s record for the most amount of snow to fall in a 24-hour period should be somewhere in the mountains. Not so. Rimini, SC holds the current record. In 1973 24 inches of snow fell on this small community near Lake Marion in Clarendon County.
- Spartanburg, SC - A famous psychic grew up here
Chip Coffey Press Kit Chip Coffey, famous psychic, medium and spiritual counselor grew up in Spartanburg, SC. On his popular A&E television series Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal he often mentions his childhood paranormal experiences.
- Catawba, SC - An entire nation was recognized
Rob Goldsmith/Flickr In 1993 Catawba, SC became the site of the only currently federally recognized Indian Nation in South Carolina.
- Orangeburg, SC - became the birthplace of boiled peanut stands
chipstickaddict/Flickr Reportedly the first SC sale of boiled peanuts took place in Orangeburg. In 1925 a man reported seeing kids hawking bags of them for a nickel each.
- Edgefield, SC - America’s oldest person was from here
Michael Holahan, AP via USA Today For a short time the Oldest Person In America was from Edgefield, South Carolina. In 2013, Mamie Rearden died at age 114. But not before she enjoyed 16 days of national fame as the “Oldest Living Person in America.”
- Prospect, SC - A serial killer was born
Crime Scene Database South Carolina’s most infamous serial killer, Donald Gaskins, was born in Prospect, SC. In 1978 he admitted to killing 15 people. He was executed in South Carolina’s electric chair on Sept. 6, 1991.
- McCormick, SC - A small mine produced a million in gold
James St. John During the 1850’s William Dorn struck gold in what is now McCormick, SC. Over a period of several years he extracted a million dollars worth of gold from the Dorn Gold Mine. In 1869, convinced he’d exhausted the mining opportunities, he sold the property to Cyrus McCormick (an inventor).
- Lexington, SC - Identical Quadruplets were born here in 2000
Mathias Quads On Feb 16, 2000, Allison and Steve Mathias beat odds tougher than matching 5 numbers on the Powerball. They welcomed identical quadruplets into the world. Current statistics show the odds of monozygotic quadruplets are 1 in 13 million. The odds of matching all 5 numbers in the Powerball Lottery? 1 in 11 million.
- Harleyville, SC - UFOs were spotted here Oct 22, 2015
mogollon_1/Flickr According to a National UFO Reporting Center’s website UFOs are constantly reported by residents all over South Carolina. That’s right. There’s a running list on their website. At the time of this writing the most recently spotted UFO in SC was seen at approximately 3:30am on Oct. 22, 2015 by two people in Harleyville. They reported watching two triangles over a wooded area for about 5 minutes before the objects accelerated vertically, turned 90-degrees and disappeared into the distance.
Can you recall other big things that have happened in small places in South Carolina? Did we miss anything? Tell us in the comments.
Kim Keegan/Flickr
Ironically, in 1969 it rained non-dairy creamer (Cremora®) all over Chester, SC, including the dairy cows! The event was the result of an issue with the vent at the local Cremora® manufacturing facility.
David Shankbone/Flickr
Stephen Colbert is from Charleston and grew up across the harbor on James Island. Colbert is the new host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS.
James Marvin Phelps/Flickr
Logically, South Carolina’s record for the most amount of snow to fall in a 24-hour period should be somewhere in the mountains. Not so. Rimini, SC holds the current record. In 1973 24 inches of snow fell on this small community near Lake Marion in Clarendon County.
Chip Coffey Press Kit
Chip Coffey, famous psychic, medium and spiritual counselor grew up in Spartanburg, SC. On his popular A&E television series Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal he often mentions his childhood paranormal experiences.
Rob Goldsmith/Flickr
In 1993 Catawba, SC became the site of the only currently federally recognized Indian Nation in South Carolina.
chipstickaddict/Flickr
Reportedly the first SC sale of boiled peanuts took place in Orangeburg. In 1925 a man reported seeing kids hawking bags of them for a nickel each.
Michael Holahan, AP via USA Today
For a short time the Oldest Person In America was from Edgefield, South Carolina. In 2013, Mamie Rearden died at age 114. But not before she enjoyed 16 days of national fame as the “Oldest Living Person in America.”
Crime Scene Database
South Carolina’s most infamous serial killer, Donald Gaskins, was born in Prospect, SC. In 1978 he admitted to killing 15 people. He was executed in South Carolina’s electric chair on Sept. 6, 1991.
James St. John
During the 1850’s William Dorn struck gold in what is now McCormick, SC. Over a period of several years he extracted a million dollars worth of gold from the Dorn Gold Mine. In 1869, convinced he’d exhausted the mining opportunities, he sold the property to Cyrus McCormick (an inventor).
Mathias Quads
On Feb 16, 2000, Allison and Steve Mathias beat odds tougher than matching 5 numbers on the Powerball. They welcomed identical quadruplets into the world. Current statistics show the odds of monozygotic quadruplets are 1 in 13 million. The odds of matching all 5 numbers in the Powerball Lottery? 1 in 11 million.
mogollon_1/Flickr
According to a National UFO Reporting Center’s website UFOs are constantly reported by residents all over South Carolina. That’s right. There’s a running list on their website. At the time of this writing the most recently spotted UFO in SC was seen at approximately 3:30am on Oct. 22, 2015 by two people in Harleyville. They reported watching two triangles over a wooded area for about 5 minutes before the objects accelerated vertically, turned 90-degrees and disappeared into the distance.
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