Cherokee County native Tom Wheeler entertains customers dining at Sadie Mae's Cafe in Gaffney with his brand of folk ballad music. Wheeler performs every Thursday and Saturday at the restaurant. Old habits die hard.

Growing up in Cherokee County, Tom Wheeler learned to make the most of the land, using trees and other parts of nature for recreation and work, believing it was his duty to preserve it as a gift to later generations.

When not in the woods, Wheeler would go to work perfecting his second love — music. Spending hours strumming away at his guitar or trying to find the right key on his harmonica, the local native wrote songs about himself, and in particular, life here in Cherokee County.

“This area is a part of me,” Wheeler said. “It has given me so much through the years, and the best place for me to show my appreciation is through song.”

Tom Wheeler takes a look at some of one of his many pieces of wooden art on display at Sadie Mae's Cafe in Gaffney. A local native, Wheeler took up the pastime while growing up in the Cherokee County wilderness. “I never met a piece of wood I didn't like,” Wheeler said. Nothing brings families in the South closer together than a home-cooked meal. However, the perfect compliment to it is good music.

While his cooking may not be up to par with that of Denise “Sadie Mae” Ferguson, both agree that giving customers a taste of home keeps them coming back.

In recent weeks, Wheeler has dusted off his guitar and harmonica, taking the musical items out to give patrons an extra dose of Southern hospitality to go along with their order of ribs and fried corn on the cob.

“It’s something I enjoy,” Wheeler said. “I’m just giving people a little entertainment to go along with their meal.”

Wheeler performs his brand of folk ballad music each Thursday and Saturday night at Sadie Mae’s Cafe.

“I have your choice of funny songs and mushy ones,” Wheeler said. “They mainly consist of my stories about growing up around here.”

According Ferguson, the local native pulling up a chair to sing only reinforces the eatery’s mission to make customers feel like they are at home.

“We’ve seen it over and over, with people coming in as strangers and by the time they leave are friends,” Ferguson said. “A lot of friends have been made here, and that is something we daily try to accomplish.

“(Wheeler’s) singing definitely makes the wait for food much shorter.”

Wheeler’s talents don’t stop with his guitar pick and harmonica, confessing he is still a country boy at heart.

It’s nothing to see him head into the woods on his property, looking for dead trees doing their best to blend into the Cherokee County wilderness.

No longer of use to nature, the local native brings pieces of wood back to life, turning the wood into benches, hat & coat racks, and a number of other items currently on sale at Sadie Mae’s.

“I never met a piece of wood I didn’t like,” Wheeler said. “I’d rather have sawdust on my hat rather than something else on my shoe.”