Hastings Hensel

Contributor at South Carolina Living Magazine

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Articles

Unusual SC place names unlock passwords to the past

3 weeks ago | scliving.coop | Hastings Hensel

A few years ago, I took an 800-plus-mile road trip around South Carolina to learn about the origins of 10 of the state’s most intriguingly named communities: Round O, North, Plum Branch, Ninety Six, Due West, Possum Kingdom, Cross Anchor, Prosperity, Coward and Ketchuptown. Colorful town names, I knew, would lead me down colorful backroads to colorful places and colorful people. And I wasn’t wrong.
From young to old, pickleball proves to be a sport for all

1 month ago | scliving.coop | Hastings Hensel

Maybe you’ve heard the thwocks and the whacks of paddles and balls at your neighborhood park. Maybe you’re an expert at dinks and serves. Maybe you’re just wondering what all the fuss is about pickleball. More than 13 million players across the country tell an unmistakable truth: Pickleball is one of the hottest sports around, and it’s getting hotter by the moment. In South Carolina, you can find more than 200 places to get your volley on.
In a pickle(ball): A beginner’s first lesson in the country’s fastest-growing sport

1 month ago | scliving.coop | Hastings Hensel

I won’t lie. When I arrive at Wild Dunes Tennis Center on Isle of Palms for my first foray into the booming sports phenomenon of pickleball, I believe the game will come naturally to me. After all, I’d grown up playing intense pingpong every summer at Lake Murray in my family’s July Fourth tournaments. And I’d played in my fair share of Junior Tennis League tournaments, until the day I got so angry at an errant shot that I mimicked John McEnroe and smashed my racket, thus ending my tennis career.
Shedding light on a good cause

Nov 1, 2024 | scliving.coop | Hastings Hensel

Ross Shotts Age: 65. Resides in: Florence. Claim to fame: Owner and operator of the charity holiday light display Lights 4 Paws. Lighting up the screen: The Shotts family participated in the ABC reality competition show The Great Christmas Light Fight on an episode that aired in 2023 but took four years of preparation. “The show was fun, but I don’t think we’d do it again,” Shotts says with a laugh.
Anyone’s Game

Oct 7, 2024 | scliving.coop | Hastings Hensel

Deep in the rounds of the American Cornhole League’s World Championships, defending Pro Singles champion Jamie Graham is on edge. In the cavernous Rock Hill Sports & Event Center, he’s trying to drown out the sounds of a thousand other cornhole bags plopping down on the boards and focus on his next shot. But that’s not easy. As the crowd grows, so does the pressure. The score is tied at 19-19, and if Graham doesn’t win the next two points, he’ll be out of the tournament.
Hide and seek

Sep 1, 2024 | scliving.coop | Hastings Hensel

I know where I am, but I don’t know where I am supposed to be. Not exactly. I’ve just stepped off the Mountain Creek Trail at Paris Mountain State Park, just outside of Greenville, and I’ve climbed up the stone amphitheater in the rain to the top of the hill. I’m walking through a well-worn path in a forest of sweetgum and maple, and I come at last to a kind of ruin—a broken foundation of cinderblocks, many of which lay on the ground. I look down at my phone.
Cream of the crop dusters

Jul 1, 2024 | scliving.coop | Hastings Hensel

Guy McClary Age: 70 Resides in: Kingstree Claim to Fame: Veteran crop duster, owner of Williamsburg Air Service, and two-time recipient of the Williamsburg Hometown Chamber’s “Agriculturalist of the Year.” Ace Pitcher to Ace Pilot: Before becoming an agricultural pilot, McClary thought he might become a professional baseball player. “I had about eight professional teams looking at me, but I got bursitis in my shoulder,” he says.
Back on track

Jun 1, 2024 | scliving.coop | Hastings Hensel

After the last bugle notes of “First Call” have sounded, and the rear starting gate has clanked shut, a stillness seems to hang in the Elloree air. It’s like the moment before a thundercloud bursts—as if all the energy of race day is getting squeezed into a single kernel of pressure. The jockeys scrunch tight against their racehorses, who ripple with muscle.
Humming along

May 1, 2024 | scliving.coop | Hastings Hensel

Resides in: Awendaw, where she’s artist-in-residence at the Awendaw Green outdoor concert venue. Claim to fame: Acclaimed Americana singer-songwriter considered the state’s musical matriarch. Sharing the gift: Swamp Sessions is the name of one of Howle’s albums, but it’s also the name of recording retreats she hosts for up-and-coming musicians at an off-grid cabin in the Francis Marion National Forest. For details, visit daniellehowle.com. Latest project: Current, her 16th album.
Flying high

Mar 28, 2024 | scliving.coop | Hastings Hensel

At 5,500 feet above the ground, we can see for miles. We can see the farmlands and woods and small towns of at least four counties. We can see the 11,000-plus acres of Lake Greenwood spread out like a mere puddle. We can see birds flying between the clouds because we, too, are flying between the clouds—the fiercest bird of all, a yellow World War II-era T-6 Texan, 2½ tons of metal and whirring propeller blade. But then the world, for all its vastness, goes very small.