Okla-homey
8/23/2008, 10:01 AM
This from SC's "The State" newspaper. The reporter is writing about life in Mrs. Homey's hometown. It features a tale of a 13 y/o's first kill, ticks at the breakfast table, and mom, dad and the kiddoes all in the deer stand:D
Worth a read.
Holiday for hunters
Deer season’s opening celebrated over big breakfast
By JOEY HOLLEMAN - [email protected]
http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/2881/3701198standaloneprodafzm2.jpg
John Wayne Bolin, left and Andy Bolin talk about the elder Bolin's first kill of the new deer season. The first day of deer season opened Friday for the lower area of South Carolina and hunters were in their stands before daylight. And after the hunt, places like the restaurant in the Piggly Wiggly grocery in Neeses, SC fill with stories of the morning.
NEESES — The day broke slightly cooler than normal for mid-August, with a misty fog. Those tiny water droplets shared the air with a sense of excitement for people like J.C. Hallman and Ashley Hoover.
“I could hardly sleep last night,” said Hallman, 18.
The anticipation for the first day of deer season affects hunters that way. Hoover, 17, was fighting a head cold, and Hallman tried to talk her into sleeping in.
“I told her she didn’t have to go, but she said, ‘I got to go. I want to get me a deer,’” Hallman said.
“I’m the one who had to wake him up,” Hoover said, to prove that her tired eyes weren’t a true judge of her excitement.
Alas, they didn’t see any deer worth shooting during a couple of hours in the tree stand in northern Orangeburg County. So they did what thousands of hunters do throughout the long season: headed to their favorite breakfast place.
They pack Waffle Houses along interstates in rural counties or Hardee’s in the small towns. Around Neeses, the hot spot is the Piggly Wiggly, where every one of the 37 booths in the full-service restaurant might be filled with camo on deer-season weekends.
“Saturday mornings, about 9:30, it gets crazy in here,” said waitress Annette Bruner, who has worked in the restaurant 13 years.
The booths are close enough together to encourage hunting tales told across the aisles. On weekdays, most hunters know each other by name. The mood is only slightly less familial on weekends, when non-residents flock to surrounding hunt clubs.
The sassy type, Bruner serves up zingers with breakfast specials that feature liver pudding, grits and toast. Hunters don’t count calories, and a surprising number order sweet tea with their eggs.
Hoover went with orange juice, and it’s a good thing she did. She might not have noticed the tick that fell off her sleeve into the drink if the liquid had been brown instead of orange.
“There’s a tick in my orange juice,” Hoover said in disgust.:eek:
“I didn’t put it there,” Bruner said. “Honey, you better check yourself when you get home.”
With the season starting on a Friday this year, the hunters shared space with camo-free weekday restaurant regulars. It’s that way throughout the long deer season (Aug. 15-Jan. 1 in much of the Lowcountry).
“It does make an impact on our sales,” said store operator Joey Miller. Unlike most Piggly Wiggly stores, this one at a crossroads in Orangeburg County sells hunting licenses and stocks ammo. Deer hunters can pick up a 40-pound bag of shelled corn to bait fields. It’s packed in camo-colored sacks.
The hunting culture runs deep in these parts. And the first day of deer season feels special.
“It’s a redneck holiday,” said Mackie Tyler, 66, of Livingston. [Mrs. Homey's first cousin by gawd!]
Tyler was holding court in a booth with two young friends, Justin Brown, 17, of Springfield and Molly Bookhart, 17, of Orangeburg. They didn’t see any deer during their morning hunt. Bookhart admitted to falling asleep in the stand. But they were all smiles.
Tyler, who works in Florida, comes home at least every other weekend to hunt during deer season. He made a special trip for opening day.
Tim Gleaton, 48, of Pine Hill joined the trio after eating his own hearty breakfast across the dining room. He had more luck in the stand than they did.
“I seen two bucks and 10 does,” said Gleaton, who hasn’t missed an opening day in 24 years. “Right after the birds started chirping at 6:29, (the deer) started moving. But they stopped when the fog came up and the birds stopped chirping.”
Gleaton didn’t take a shot, preferring to wait for larger deer. “It was just great to be out there and be out with nature,” he said.
The Chavis family from Sawyerdale felt the same way. Michael and Samantha were out before the crack of dawn with 10-year-old Bryan and 8-year-old Brandon. “We make it a family thing,” Samantha said. “We go out every weekend.”
Brandon was restless Thursday night, didn’t get to sleep until midnight and woke up at 3:30 a.m. But he was full of energy at the restaurant at 9:30 a.m.
While many of the breakfast crowd planned to go home to take a nap before heading out for a late afternoon hunt, the Chavises expected to be back in the tree stands before they could digest their big breakfasts.
As their pickup pulled out of the parking lot, Todd and Landon Sandifer of Norway strolled up. Thirteen-year-old Landon’s face had a tell-tale grin — he’d shot his first deer.
Todd Sandifer usually isn’t a morning hunter. But Landon, antsy to use a new gun and scope, talk him into going out early Friday.
“We had just walked to the deer stand and by the time we sat down, he said, ‘Daddy, here comes a deer,’” Todd Sandifer said.
Even better, it was several big deer. Landon got to pick out the best one, a 185-pounder with a rack spreading 19 inches.
“He got his first nice gun for Christmas, his first scope last week and now he gets his first deer,” said his proud father.
Landon just smiled and showed off the camera-phone photo of his deer. Then father and son went inside for a celebratory breakfast and a round of attaboys from the other hungry hunters.
Reach Holleman at (803) 771-8366.
South Carolina Deer Seasons
Game Zone 1: Most of Oconee, Pickens and Greenville counties, starts Oct. 1 for archery and muzzleloaders, Oct. 11 for guns.
Game Zone 2: The rest of the Upstate, starts Sept. 15 for archery, Oct. 11 for guns.
Game Zone 3: Aiken, Lexington and Richland counties, starts Aug. 15 for archery and guns.
Game Zone 4: Kershaw, Chesterfield, Marlboro, Dillon, Florence, Marion and Horry counties, starts Sept. 1 for archery, Sept. 15 for guns.
Game Zone 5: Darlington, Lee, Sumter, Clarendon, Williamsburg and Georgetown counties, starts Aug. 15 for archery and Sept. 1 for guns.
Game Zone 6: Calhoun, Orangeburg, Barnwell, Allendale, Bamberg, Hampton, Colleton, Jasper, Beaufort, Dorchester, Charleston and Berkeley counties, Aug. 15 for archery and guns.
Worth a read.
Holiday for hunters
Deer season’s opening celebrated over big breakfast
By JOEY HOLLEMAN - [email protected]
http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/2881/3701198standaloneprodafzm2.jpg
John Wayne Bolin, left and Andy Bolin talk about the elder Bolin's first kill of the new deer season. The first day of deer season opened Friday for the lower area of South Carolina and hunters were in their stands before daylight. And after the hunt, places like the restaurant in the Piggly Wiggly grocery in Neeses, SC fill with stories of the morning.
NEESES — The day broke slightly cooler than normal for mid-August, with a misty fog. Those tiny water droplets shared the air with a sense of excitement for people like J.C. Hallman and Ashley Hoover.
“I could hardly sleep last night,” said Hallman, 18.
The anticipation for the first day of deer season affects hunters that way. Hoover, 17, was fighting a head cold, and Hallman tried to talk her into sleeping in.
“I told her she didn’t have to go, but she said, ‘I got to go. I want to get me a deer,’” Hallman said.
“I’m the one who had to wake him up,” Hoover said, to prove that her tired eyes weren’t a true judge of her excitement.
Alas, they didn’t see any deer worth shooting during a couple of hours in the tree stand in northern Orangeburg County. So they did what thousands of hunters do throughout the long season: headed to their favorite breakfast place.
They pack Waffle Houses along interstates in rural counties or Hardee’s in the small towns. Around Neeses, the hot spot is the Piggly Wiggly, where every one of the 37 booths in the full-service restaurant might be filled with camo on deer-season weekends.
“Saturday mornings, about 9:30, it gets crazy in here,” said waitress Annette Bruner, who has worked in the restaurant 13 years.
The booths are close enough together to encourage hunting tales told across the aisles. On weekdays, most hunters know each other by name. The mood is only slightly less familial on weekends, when non-residents flock to surrounding hunt clubs.
The sassy type, Bruner serves up zingers with breakfast specials that feature liver pudding, grits and toast. Hunters don’t count calories, and a surprising number order sweet tea with their eggs.
Hoover went with orange juice, and it’s a good thing she did. She might not have noticed the tick that fell off her sleeve into the drink if the liquid had been brown instead of orange.
“There’s a tick in my orange juice,” Hoover said in disgust.:eek:
“I didn’t put it there,” Bruner said. “Honey, you better check yourself when you get home.”
With the season starting on a Friday this year, the hunters shared space with camo-free weekday restaurant regulars. It’s that way throughout the long deer season (Aug. 15-Jan. 1 in much of the Lowcountry).
“It does make an impact on our sales,” said store operator Joey Miller. Unlike most Piggly Wiggly stores, this one at a crossroads in Orangeburg County sells hunting licenses and stocks ammo. Deer hunters can pick up a 40-pound bag of shelled corn to bait fields. It’s packed in camo-colored sacks.
The hunting culture runs deep in these parts. And the first day of deer season feels special.
“It’s a redneck holiday,” said Mackie Tyler, 66, of Livingston. [Mrs. Homey's first cousin by gawd!]
Tyler was holding court in a booth with two young friends, Justin Brown, 17, of Springfield and Molly Bookhart, 17, of Orangeburg. They didn’t see any deer during their morning hunt. Bookhart admitted to falling asleep in the stand. But they were all smiles.
Tyler, who works in Florida, comes home at least every other weekend to hunt during deer season. He made a special trip for opening day.
Tim Gleaton, 48, of Pine Hill joined the trio after eating his own hearty breakfast across the dining room. He had more luck in the stand than they did.
“I seen two bucks and 10 does,” said Gleaton, who hasn’t missed an opening day in 24 years. “Right after the birds started chirping at 6:29, (the deer) started moving. But they stopped when the fog came up and the birds stopped chirping.”
Gleaton didn’t take a shot, preferring to wait for larger deer. “It was just great to be out there and be out with nature,” he said.
The Chavis family from Sawyerdale felt the same way. Michael and Samantha were out before the crack of dawn with 10-year-old Bryan and 8-year-old Brandon. “We make it a family thing,” Samantha said. “We go out every weekend.”
Brandon was restless Thursday night, didn’t get to sleep until midnight and woke up at 3:30 a.m. But he was full of energy at the restaurant at 9:30 a.m.
While many of the breakfast crowd planned to go home to take a nap before heading out for a late afternoon hunt, the Chavises expected to be back in the tree stands before they could digest their big breakfasts.
As their pickup pulled out of the parking lot, Todd and Landon Sandifer of Norway strolled up. Thirteen-year-old Landon’s face had a tell-tale grin — he’d shot his first deer.
Todd Sandifer usually isn’t a morning hunter. But Landon, antsy to use a new gun and scope, talk him into going out early Friday.
“We had just walked to the deer stand and by the time we sat down, he said, ‘Daddy, here comes a deer,’” Todd Sandifer said.
Even better, it was several big deer. Landon got to pick out the best one, a 185-pounder with a rack spreading 19 inches.
“He got his first nice gun for Christmas, his first scope last week and now he gets his first deer,” said his proud father.
Landon just smiled and showed off the camera-phone photo of his deer. Then father and son went inside for a celebratory breakfast and a round of attaboys from the other hungry hunters.
Reach Holleman at (803) 771-8366.
South Carolina Deer Seasons
Game Zone 1: Most of Oconee, Pickens and Greenville counties, starts Oct. 1 for archery and muzzleloaders, Oct. 11 for guns.
Game Zone 2: The rest of the Upstate, starts Sept. 15 for archery, Oct. 11 for guns.
Game Zone 3: Aiken, Lexington and Richland counties, starts Aug. 15 for archery and guns.
Game Zone 4: Kershaw, Chesterfield, Marlboro, Dillon, Florence, Marion and Horry counties, starts Sept. 1 for archery, Sept. 15 for guns.
Game Zone 5: Darlington, Lee, Sumter, Clarendon, Williamsburg and Georgetown counties, starts Aug. 15 for archery and Sept. 1 for guns.
Game Zone 6: Calhoun, Orangeburg, Barnwell, Allendale, Bamberg, Hampton, Colleton, Jasper, Beaufort, Dorchester, Charleston and Berkeley counties, Aug. 15 for archery and guns.