The Glendale Greenway
As many of you know, The Lawson's Fork Creek in Spartanburg has been on a steady incline in terms of awareness thanks to Upstate citizens taking charge of their environment. A once unknown creek to me, last year while visiting my sister she and her husband took me on a short day hike of the newly opened portion of The Cottonwood Trail. I was awestruck at the sheer beauty of the trail, how clean it was in comparison to what I am exposed to here on The Saluda (esp down near the Zoo). The creek runs parallel with the trail, and I was intrigued more so than usual. Something about this little creek sort of grabbed at me. I kept gauging depths, turns, debris as if I were already in the waters gazing up from my Kyoook searching for the occasional snake sunbathing, only to be disturbed by the little group of turtles who DID mind my existence in their creek. In my mind, I kept picturing the Army Reserve men who on occasion paddle with their chainsaws and other equipment to keep the creek clear of damming downed trees, etc..I kept daydreaming, all the while in the background Brad Steinecke was pointing out different vegetation local to the Spartanburg area. Brad, my sister's wonderful husband, is the collections and research manger for the Spartanburg County Historical Association. Albeit at times arguable by my sister's standards of verbally expressed ideas and exchange thereof- generally Brad knows what he's talking about. I love my sister. Her standards are exceeded by no one.
Back to Lawson's- upon a short period of time to allow the ADHD to process I discovered that I had instantly fell in love with two attributes of the creek; For one, it's entirely local. It's the only creek to begin and end within the same county in South Carolina. It's this fact that gives the creek a character locally known, and strictly applicable only the locals. If you were raised around that creek, you knew the mills, the mill lifestyle. You knew the reasoning behind why there were so many mills on Lawson's. You knew about the sirens the mills would sound when they would release different dyes. I've heard stories about the locals that could glance at the creek's foam levels and determine by the smell what mill was releasing what pollutant. The mills and that creek. Character only to Spartanburg. The second attribute is directly related to the first. The relationship between Lawson's and the people who are concerned with the creek's well being. This is where all of the blabber you've been reading takes a turn of content. When Sara, the sister, invites me to Spartanburg it is inevitable that within minutes conversation of an outdoor activity will converge.... or emerge on it's own. It is then you can see see the teeth of the gears in Brad's head take jerk to the torque being applied...He begins to shoot different ideas, and my sister will shoot more. They are team, those two... Either the way, it's almost always based around a trip to Lawson's...and the passion to visit the creek is nothing less than children jumping as high as they possibly can on the trampoline 'out back. It's that love for such an natural beauty that excels Brad in his job as a researcher, Sara as an organizer, and my newly met acquaintance, John Lane, who is a leading researching professor and naturalist of the area. John cannot get enough of talking about Lawson's Fork Creek, so he and his wife formed Hub Bub. Hub Bub is a Spartanburg based publishing group specializing in the revitalization of local arts and the artist therein. When John or others want to to talk your ear off about Lawson's Creek, he writes a book- and publishes it. This is where it all ties in; Sara and Brad both work for Hub Bub. Tuh Dahh!
This week Wofford College, The Spartanburg Conservancy, and the Palmetto Conservation Foundation, SDOT, several local leaders, The Hub Bub and fans of the Creek all gathered on Monday afternoon (June 2, 08) at 5 o'clock to present the groundbreaking for the Glendale Greenway, a new home for Wofford's Environmental Studies program, which will by directed by Mr. John Lane. The renovation will be on the grounds of the old Glendale Mill, overlooking a nice wide stretch of rock shoals below the dam and bridge over Lawson's Creek. The Greenway will not only be used for research, it will be a public attraction with the bridge being restored for pedestrians, completion of a bike trail that will run along the old trolley lines, renovation of existing hiking trails, climbing walls, and most interesting to the most of us: a put-in and take-out for white water kayakers who want to surf the shoals. This, basically is a dream come true for anyone wanting to do it all outdoors in one place, without looking about and seeing the metal rafters above.
Mind you, as your summarize what has been a good waste of one and half minutes or so reading my rambling, that the point I have here is that it is possible to create the largest waves from the smallest of ponds. From the minute I stepped foot, the small amount of research I've done, the short time of exposure that expresses the creek's rise to great power from the building and sustaining the textile mills. Then to a decline in awareness, to it's degradation caused by development claimed by DHEC. I have been exposed to it's power to stand once again high and mighty as Lawson's soon will be presenting what will be one of the most impressive multi-outdoor experiences in the Southeast. THAT; for a little measly polluted water creek in the back yard of South Carolina, is a hell of an accomplishment.
And that's why I have come to love The Lawson's Fork Creek of the Upstate.

Catch 'cha paddling!
-Tom
News about the event:
http://www.goupstate.com/article/20080601/NEWS/806010370/1051/NEWS01
http://wofford.edu/newsroom/content.aspx?id=36696
Photos of the event:
http://s59.photobucket.com/albums/g318/t0mmski/Trips/Glendale%20Greenway%205-2-08/?albumview=grid

Links about the Lawson's Fork Creek:
http://www.lawsonsfork.org/about.html
http://www.upstateforever.org/Newsletters/April'02Newsletter/River4_02.htm
Link to John Lane's website:
http://www.kudzutelegraph.com/