Turbeville: A Haven of Hospitality

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Can anyone in Clarendon County hear the word rain without a shudder coursing through their body? I cannot. My heart aches for all those who suffered losses of any kind. Although the town of Turbeville seemed to escape the worst of the water, our out-of-town areas did not. It affected homes, vehicles, properties, roads and bridges. The list is endless. The words loss and lost are now frequent in most conversations. But so are two more words that you wouldn’t expect to go hand-in-hand with loss and lost: blessed and grateful. Every person I’ve spoken with has used these two words. They feel blessed that the losses were mostly material and replaceable things; they are grateful for all of the people who came to the aid of anyone in need of help. The authorities urged everyone to stay off the roads unless you had to be on them. A combination of those instructions with a nasty fear of water and the inability to swim was enough to convince me to park my truck and retreat indoors to wait out the storm. This did nothing to keep my nerves calm, so I took all y pent up fears and nervousness and made myself at home in my kitchen. When I’m nervous, I cook. I wondered if anyone else was a little apprehensive, so I decided to peek at the social media sites while I attempted to remain calm. At that point the TV was on the Weather Channel and local news to keep abreast of the warnings and advisories. So, Facebook it was. Ladies and gentlemen, I will never again say that this one particular social site is just for social purposes. The posts were nothing to do with anything social. Facebook seemed to have become a gathering place of information, with many folks sharing up-to-the-minute updates from manninglive.com. There were warnings of which roads were impassable and what bridges were compromised, which routes were safe to use and which were to be avoided. Pictures were streaming in, some taken right out of the front door of people’s homes. People continually updated from wherever they were at what they were seeing. Social media gets a lot of flack, but people were keeping up with their families and friends and neighbors through it. Turbeville IGA actually encouraged people to join and visit their Facebook page to see what supplies the store had, what it had run out of and when it expected to have more. And then there were the posts offering many, many prayers. One picture that caught my attention was one posted by Pastor Devon Coker. It was a line of cars and trucks, motorists who were stranded from traveling Interstate 95. It was in that moment that I realized the flood affected more than just the residents living here. It brought to a standstill the folks trying to pass through our state. Devon and his wife, Ramelle, played a big role in coming to the aid of these travelers by leading them into Turbeville to a shelter initially opened at East Clarendon High School. This shelter was later moved to Lake City High School in Florence County, which was gracious enough to host it for the county when relief could not get from county sources due to a washout of U.S. 301 between Manning and Turbeville and of U.S. 521 between Manning and Sumter and, of course, the impassability of Interstate 95. Coker posted suggestions on what donations would be helpful and appreciated to make these stranded folks comfortable during their unplanned visit. He also posted a thank you to those unnamed heroes who added handwritten signs to the stop signs and street markers on many twisted back roads. They were placed to help guide people to the main roads during their detours around the water-covered areas who followed the safety rule of “Turn Around. Don’t Drown.” Devon also brought about another reminder of who was affected by these continually rising waters – our furry creatures. It is my understanding that Devon is not a dog owner, but he gave food and shelter and care to a dog that sought refuge under his carport. He posted the dog’s picture, explaining his paws were torn and bloodied from his travel. Although exhausted, the animal seemed OK and asked that everyone repost his picture so that maybe the owner could be found. And they were: The owners were located over in Williamsburg County near the Kingstree area and happily retrieved their pet. Yes, I love animals, and I also love happy endings. This story showed that two people accomplished and helped so many during this flood. I hope maybe it brings into focus what everyone accomplished by helping in every way that they did. Every single person’s offering of time, skills, help, donations and prayers have caught the nation’s attention. But it’s caught no one’s attention as much as those who call Clarendon County home. Social media was our window to the storm, and helped provide invisble hands to help us through it. Until we meet again, I’m Lynn B. Welch, grateful and blessed. Lynn B. Welch is a native of Turbeville. Her column about people, places and events in her hometown and those of eastern Clarendon County will be featured twice monthly in The Manning Times.