Newberry County - Eggs, Milk, and Goodness

Late winter of 2004, I was invited to speak at the Smyrna Presbyterian Church in Newberry County. The address was given to the Men of the Church, which had the odd starting time of 8:00pm. Most Church going people like for things to be over around 8:00pm, maybe even 7:30pm. So I thought this was most unusually especially for a Tuesday night.

The dinner started first and to my surprise it was breakfast. I innocently asked if they like to have breakfast as a break from cooking. I was told they have breakfast every month. Now I had driven up and down I-26 all my life. I had seen the egg shaped water tower. But I was unaware of the serious impact that the Dairy and Egg Farmers were still having on Newberry.

You see, the reason they started at 8:00pm was because this was the earliest the dairy farmers could get there. Breakfast was natural meal for Egg and Dairy Farmers. I was a little slow on the uptake but see it clearly now.

Newberry County holds a odd childhood memory for me. My Grandfather and I on the way back from Edisto stopped at a Gas Station Restaurant right off I-26. I remember getting a spaghetti dinner. I was so impressed for $3.00 you got a huge plate of Spaghetti, Salad and Garlic toast. I often wonder: was food like this better back then or was this just my youthful desire for the most food possible. Where quantity usually trumped quality? I can still see myself sitting inside the restaurant with my Papa, the noodles were thick like we got at school and the garlic toast had the green parsley specks. Maybe this was such a good memory because I was with my grandfather and we had just been to Edisto. Yet I still remember sitting down to this large meal and being happy.

Newberry County is also the home of great BBQ. I would argue some of the best in the state. Wise's BBQ is located on US 76 just in Newberry County on the way to Clinton. I have already mentioned Wise's in a previous article. They are a simple BBQ house that holds many fond memories.

Playing Basketball for Erskine College meant eating a lot of fast food. During my freshman year we ate at 15 different McDonald's at least. I had memorized the whole menu and had eaten almost everything at least once. The return of the McRib was a cause for celebration. Newberry had several Fast food chains beside each other which means when we played the Indians of Newberry College we were going to have a choice. We still went to Lou & Perry's after we got back. Due West was only about an hour away.

Newberry County is home to its famous Opera House, Newberry College, is still a heavily Lutheran area denominational, and is also the home of my wife's grandfather's family. In general a wonderful little town that I have always enjoyed visiting very much.

These are some of my favorite memories of eating in Newberry County. Please comment and suggested any other restaurants that you think deserve a mention.

Good Eating's,

The Hungry Preacher