BOOK SIGNING - Madaline Herlong, seated, signs her novel at the R. L. Bryan booth as (L to R) Saluda residents Bela Herlong, Ruth Bledsoe, Brenda Eidson, and Marcia Baxter look on.

 

Saluda Author

Speaks at Convention

　　Madaline Herlong, author of The Great Wide Sea, was a guest author at the recent convention of the South Carolina chapter of the International Reading Association. She conducted two seminars and signed books for those who purchased them. 　　

　　Madaline was sponsored by R. L. Bryan and Company and was the guest of Saluda’s Marcia Swindler Baxter, who has recently become the R. L. Bryan book representative to South Carolina’s schools. At the convention Marcia was in charge of the R. L. Bryan booth, where teachers from all over South Carolina came to see the new books which R. L. Bryan has for sale. Madaline was available at this booth to sign her book for buyers.

　　Madaline’s book has just been listed in the top ten Young Adult books in the nation for the year by the Youth Adult division of the American Library Association. The book has also received a number of other awards by state library associations and has recently been published in paperback.

　　Many Saluda area teachers attended the conference and gathered at the R. L. Bryan booth to talk with Marcia and Madaline and to examine the books available for use in their classrooms.

 

　

FORMER TEAMMATES FACE EACH OTHER - Two former Saluda High School softball players squared off against each other onFeb. 23 at Lander University. Cameron White is a junior catcher for Anderson University in Anderson. Ashley Proctor is a sophomore center fielder for Lander University in Greenwood. The two girls were teammates on Coach Allison Stribble's Region 3 and District championship team of 2007 and many years prior to that. Anderson and Lander played a double header with Lander winning the first game 4-3 and Anderson winning the second game 9-7. Both players had a good day. Cameron homered in the first game and doubled in the second game. Ashley drove in the winning run with a hit in the first game.

 

Irish Harpist To Give

Performance in Saluda Theater

BY BELA HERLONG

 

　　On Saturday, March 13, at 7:30 p.m. Claire Roche, harpist from Ireland, in a return engagement at the Saluda Theater will sing Irish folk songs as she accompanies herself on the golden harp that takes center stage. If you were fortunate enough to be a part of the large audience that enjoyed her program of music last year, you will want to return and bring all your friends and neighbors with you. If you did not come last year, be sure not to miss this very special treat. In a letter that Clair wrote after she returned to Ireland, she said that Saluda was "a special moment on our 7000-mile tour through 23 states." She added that "everywhere there was a welcome and the landscape was breathtaking." She praised both the audience and the theater in Saluda.

　　From the moment Claire walked on the stage and took her place at the harp, she was in touch with her audience. Each person felt as if she were speaking especially to him or her as she explained the history of each Celtic song and why she had included it in her repertoire. As she plucked the strings and a haunting melody filled the theater, she sang in an incredibly pure voice, mostly in English but sometimes in the Celtic language, songs that touched the heart.

　　Again this year she will share such songs as "Danny Boy" and other well-known Irish ballads. Because Claire Roche is always aware of how her audience is reacting, she is able to help her listeners appreciate not only the sound of her voice with the harp but also the history and legend connected with each song.

　　At certain points in the program John Willmott, dressed in costume as one of the bards of old, will come on stage and in a comic manner act out and tell some of the legends so common in Ireland.

　　After the performance the audience will gather in the museum to meet the performers, purchase any DVDs of Roche’s music you may wish to buy, and enjoy fellowship and refreshments. You will also have an opportunity to have Claire sign your DVDs.

　　Mark on your calendar Saturday, March 13, 7:30 p.m. and come to the Saluda Theater to enjoy an evening of music and song—one you will long remember and talk about for years to come.