LETTER

City of Gaffney continues to pursue excellence Dear Editor:

There’s a whole lot of Gaffney going on.

THOSE OF us who dedicate ourselves to the redevelopment of downtown Gaffney are finding much to celebrate about our progress. Ride through the area and look at the good you find here. Downtown beautification is evident on almost every major street. The street crews do an excellent job of keeping the city clean. Those who regularly plant and maintain seasonal flowers give our eyes a feast in every season. The lighted trees on Limestone Street help us keep Christmas in our hearts all year long. The stores and shops who paint and use artistic signage welcome us to come and see. In case you thought we hadn’t noticed, we celebrate your contribution to making downtown a place to come to.

The theatre

There’s a whole lot of Gaffney going on.

OUR COMMUNITY has been recently treated to two outstanding theatrical productions. Gaffney Little Theatre scared us to death with four exciting shows of Dracula. This was a wonderfully cooperative effort with so many actors in the community and new faces from Limestone College bringing Bram Stoker’s novel to life on the stage. Dr. Tim Baxter-Ferguson of the college theatre faculty masterfully adapted Stoker’s book to the stage. Then the Limestone Theatre Department, in conjunction with the Cherokee County Arts Council, gave nine amazing performances of Beauty and the Beast. With hundreds attending, including children from the county schools during morning school hours, word of mouth and out of county advertising once again put the spotlight on the arts. The costuming was incredible, the music had us all singing the score days after we had seen the show, and Dr. Baxter-Ferguson’s set again allowed us to feast our eyes.

Studio art

There’s a whole lot of Gaffney going on.

AND SPEAKING of art, we have an opportunity to enjoy studio art, which, up until now, has been somewhat of a rarity in Gaffney. The Cherokee Alliance of Visual Artists, a newly formed group, will present a holiday exhibit and sale of work done by adult professional artists in the community. The public is invited to participate Nov. 22 through Dec. 22 at the Gaffney Visitor’s Center on Limestone Street. Many of the works will be available for purchase, and, as visitors pick up paintings for Christmas gifts, other works will be put on display.

Antiques

There’s a whole lot of Gaffney going on.

SEVERAL OF our downtown antique shops have brought in recently acquired treasures from local estates and surrounding communities. Pieces From the Past and Blankenship and Rowe comb the antique world for rare and hard-to find items to enhance our homes and satisfy our “collecting” urges. In the near future, Guy Blankenship will open Central Exchange Cafe inside his antique shop. To combine eating amid the ambiance of antiques gives us the chance to relive going to Grandma’s house on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Home town Christmas

There’s a whole lot of Gaffney going on.

TO OPEN the Christmas season, the Uptown Merchant’s Association will again sponsor “Christmas on Limestone: Gaffney Uptown Christmas Celebration.” The Dec. 2 event will combine arts, music, a special appearance by Santa Claus, live demonstrations by local artists, a live Nativity scene, food provided by vendors, a tractor ride for the children, and other special events of the season. The street scenes will bring oldfashioned Christmas cards to life for us all to enjoy. Many of the downtown merchants have promised to decorate their windows.

Historic homes

There’s a whole lot of Gaffney going on.

IN THE historic homes district, residents will again welcome throngs of people to ride by and look at specially designed seasonal decorations, complete with lights and luminaries. We welcome a number of new families that have decided to make their homes in Gaffney and what a joy it will be to have them see that Christmas season is always special in Gaffney. The remodeling of some of our older homes and the reworking of gardens that we have enjoyed through the years are deeply appreciated by those of us who have called Gaffney home for a long time. We take pride in our reputation for the beauty of every season in Gaffney.

Limestone College

There’s a whole lot of Gaffney going on.

AND SPEAKING of beautification, Limestone College’s grounds employees continue to do outstanding work — work which we so take for granted that we seldom say thank you to those responsible. If you have not visited the new wrestling center on Thompson Street with its artistic plantings, lighting effects and imposing new building, you should put this on your Christmas tour.

Work is nearing completion on the city’s new administration building. This project is something that we will become more and more proud of as the years pass, an exciting complement to recent building improvements of the First Baptist Church, the administration building’s across-the-street neighbor.

Churches and CHAPS

There’s a whole lot of Gaffney going on.

AND SPEAKING of churches, have you seen the new building programs at Central Baptist Church and Concord Baptist churches? Both congregations are to be commended for building for the future at great financial sacrifice. Those communities will see how the new structures enhance the quality of life for all of us. Several other churches are also expanding or remodeling.

For the past few weeks, CHAPS has begun a major remodeling of the old Central School to create a history museum. The exterior brickwork is just about finished and we look forward to seeing the interior when it is completed.

That’s what it’s all about, folks – enhancing the quality of life and making our town better than it has ever been. Those of us who have dedicated our lives to improving life in our town, who ignore political wrangling and carping criticism, refuse to accept less than the pursuit of excellence. We urge you to take a stand with us and celebrate the fact that... There’s a whole lot of Gaffney going on.

Sincerely, Tedi Hoke Gibbons