Home Care In Cowpens, SC

A “spontaneous” Powerball player scored a huge prize — and her next move left her family “stunned,” officials said.

The woman made the unexpected decision to share some of her prize money with her siblings, according to the South Carolina Education Lottery.

“I wanted to make positive changes for my family,” the Spartanburg-area winner told lottery officials in an April 18 news release.

The woman shared the wealth after she bought a ticket that matched all but one number picked in the Feb. 28 drawing. Since she spent an extra dollar on the Power Play option, her $50,000 prize doubled to $100,000, McClatchy News reported.

“I was definitely surprised,” the woman said. “I kept rechecking it to be sure it was true.”

The prize was the real deal, and the woman scored it after she bought her lucky ticket on a whim.

She was at a Scotchman convenience store in Cowpens when she reportedly made the “spontaneous,” “spur of the moment” decision to play Powerball. She chose the Quick Pick option, meaning a machine randomly chose the numbers for her.

It turns out, her $3 ticket matched five of the six numbers picked in the lottery’s drawing. But it was one number from winning that night’s estimated jackpot of $414 million, drawing results show.

The winner — who wasn’t identified in the news release — kept $69,500 after taxes, lottery spokesperson Holli Armstrong told McClatchy News in an email.

To score a jackpot in the Powerball, a player must match all five white balls and the red Powerball.

The odds of scoring the jackpot prize are 1 in 292,201,338.

Tickets can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times and price vary by state.

Drawings are broadcast Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:59 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.

Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

The Palmetto State has more than its fair share of sites that showcase key moments in American history, as well as a national park that showcases astounding champion trees.

At these attractions, you can take your sweet time strolling nature paths, listening to the birdsong and admiring nature’s beauty – while learning about the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Here are the best national park experiences in South Carolina.

Discover the towering scope of ancient trees with a visit to South Carolina’s only “scenic” national park. Primordial cypresses, giant upland pines and water tupelos count among its towering specimens – the highest concentration of “champion-size” trees (aka the biggest of their species) anywhere in North America.

Look out for the massive loblolly pine, which rises to over 170ft tall. If that’s not enough, the park also protects the eastern US’s largest tract of old-growth bottomland forest, low-lying land that’s periodically covered by water throughout the year.

The best way to see the trees – and to admire the beauty of this unique park – is along the 2.6-mile elevated Boardwalk Trail. You can also paddle along the Congaree River, its dark, tannic-dyed waters hiding turtles, frogs and other watery life.

Bring your own canoe or kayak, or join a paddling tour led by a park ranger. You can also rent a watercraft in Columbia, a 30-minute drive away.

If you thought the Revolutionary War didn’t extend to the Southern states, think again. Among several battles that took place in South Carolina, one of the most significant took place at Cowpens.

The battle occurred on January 17, 1781, near present-day Gaffney. The site was, literally, a wide-open woodland (or “cowpens”) where early cattle drovers would camp overnight.

On the fateful day, Gen Daniel Morgan strategically deployed his Continental troops here against Lt Col Banastre Tarleton’s forces. The end result: more than 1000 losses for the British and about 150 for the Americans.

The park includes a visitor center and a walking tour through the battlefield.

Two forts guard the entrance to Charleston’s harbor, emblems of South Carolina’s roles in both the Civil War and Revolutionary War.

The more famous of the two is Fort Sumter. On April 12, 1861, the Confederate Army opened fire on the Union fort: the first battle of the Civil War. The bombardment ensued for 34 hours, followed by a Union surrender.

The Confederate troops occupied the installation, making it a symbol of resistance – though constant shelling from Union troops over the course of the war virtually destroyed it. Visitors today can see the cannons and fortifications that remain and hear lots of stories about this crucial fortification.

On nearby Sullivan’s Island, Fort Moultrie is where Col William Moultrie’s South Carolinians warded off a British attack in one of the Revolutionary War’s first Patriot victories.

The only way to visit both forts is by boat shuttle, departing from Liberty Sq in downtown Charleston and Patriots Point across the harbor.

Thomas Jefferson called it the “turn of the tide of success.” During the Revolutionary War, American and Loyalist soldiers clashed on this isolated ridge, just below the North Carolina line, on October 7, 1780.

Fighting tree to tree with rifles and bayonets, the rebels won the first American victory to occur after the British invasion of Charleston.

The park preserves important battle sites, with markers and monuments that detail the action. At the visitor center, you can watch an introductory film, see exhibits and consult a map of the walking trail that winds through the battlefield.

Explore more along the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, a 330-mile route through Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina that follows the path of the American militia leading up to the battle of Kings Mountain.

In addition to the famous Yorktown, the town of Ninety Six presents some of the Revolutionary War’s best remnants of original siege lines anywhere. Established in the early 1700s, this crossroads town was so named because of its location 96 miles from the nearest Keowee village.

Twelve roads passed through it – more than in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in 1863 – helping it to flourish in terms of commerce, trade and transportation. Then the war came along.

In November 1775, Americans and Loyalists faced each other in a three-day battle here, ending in an uneasy truce. The Americans built an important post, subsequently seized by the British in 1780.

Another battle erupted in 1781, when Gen Nathanael Greene’s army arrived to take the British fort, initiating what became the war’s longest siege. Greene’s forces ultimately failed – though the British were so weakened, they moved their post to Charleston.

Today, the visitor center has exhibits on the site’s history, while walking trails wander past earthworks, cannon and exhibits.

As a child, Charles Pinckney split his time between the family’s Charleston mansion and Snee Farm, a rice and indigo plantation just outside of Charleston where enslaved individuals toiled.

Pickney is also known for his political involvement in the revolutionary cause: he contributed at least 25 clauses to the U.S. Constitution, before serving four terms as state governor and Thomas Jefferson’s ambassador to Spain.

But as a member of one of the state’s wealthiest and most politically powerful families, Pinckney inherited the plantation (as well as the Charleston mansion) in 1782 and continued to run the "family business" – thanks to, per the 1810 census, 58 enslaved people.

While much of the plantation was sold off over the years, the NPS has preserved 28 acres of it as the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, a quiet place sprinkled with ornamental gardens and pockets of moss-draped live oaks.

A visitor center occupies an old 1828 farmhouse, offering exhibits on Pinckney the politician, the African people he enslaved and the operations of the plantation.

There are walking trails and archaeological displays to explore: for instance, archaeologists have unearthed delftware and pearlware once used by the elite. Archaeologists also uncovered a bounty of colonoware – unrefined, handmade earthenware widely used by enslaved people on the property. Farm tours are also available.

Many historians claim Beaufort County in the Lowcountry to be the birthplace of Reconstruction, the tumultuous, post–Civil War era (between 1861 and 1898) when the reunited nation faced the economic and social legacies of slavery.

Established only in 2019, Reconstruction Era National Historical Park is a work in progress, its aim to spotlight nationally important places and events throughout Beaufort County that reflect this stormy time.

The park includes four sites in and near Beaufort. Penn Center on St Helena Island was founded in 1862 by Northern missionaries as the first school in the South for formerly enslaved West Africans. Today, the historic building houses a cultural and educational center.

Enslaved people constructed Brick Baptist Church on St Helena Island for white planters. After emancipation, the edifice became a school for formerly enslaved individuals, and today it hosts an active church congregation.

On New Year’s Day in 1863, Union Army Gen Rufus Saxton publicly read the Emancipation Proclamation to 3,000 Black soldiers and formerly enslaved people at Port Royal’s Camp Saxton.

The Old Beaufort Firehouse in downtown Beaufort serves as the new park’s visitor center and offers a good starting point for your visit.

A nearly 1.2 million-square-foot industrial facility that will be one of the largest speculative buildings ever constructed in Spartanburg County has broken ground near Cowpens.

The Class A building will be located in Upstate Corporate Park on a 106-acre site off Mount Olive Road, across from Dollar Tree’s southeast distribution center. It is being constructed by Evans General Contractors. The 1,189,440-square-foot facility is a concrete tilt-wall project that will include a 40-foot minimum clear height, 50-foot by 56-foot column spacing, 70-foot speed bays, and a 200-foot truck court with ample trailer parking.

The building’s flexible design is the product of collaboration between the multi-national architectural firm, NELSON Worldwide, and Carolinas’ leading civil engineering firm, Seamon Whiteside. The project is being capitalized by institutional owners, and the Greenville commercial real estate firm NAI Earle Furman will handle both the leasing and development management. The project is slated to be delivered in early 2024.

“We’re excited a high-quality industrial developer has taken the lead on the Upstate Corporate Park, one of the premier industrial parks in the region,” said David Britt, chairman of economic development in Spartanburg County. “The Upstate Corporate Park is a shining example of the kind of collaboration you can find in Spartanburg, and across the Upstate. This park represents significant opportunities for industrial users to establish operations that will, in turn, be career opportunities for residents in Spartanburg and Cherokee counties.”

Upstate Corporate Park is in the rapidly growing southeastern corridor along I-85, a strategically advantageous location for both manufacturing and distribution operations. The park offers access to an available labor pool creating a competitive advantage for manufacturing operations and offers distribution users access to 40 million people within a one-day drive, which is 38 percent more than Atlanta and 41 percent more than Charlotte.

Allen Tate raises over $20K for education

The Upstate offices of Allen Tate Realtors recently gathered to raise more than $20,000 to benefit public education in the region through the company’s annual FUNday event.

Although the event has been an Allen Tate mainstay for 25 years, the 2022 edition was the first in-person gathering after two years of virtual fundraising due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 2022 event was part of four such Allen Tate gatherings across the Carolinas, which to date have raised more than $2.51 million for public education.

More than 100 people attended Greenville event held Oct. 20 at the Saskatoon Lodge. Festivities included a live auction, costume content, DJ, photo booth, beer and wine pull, reverse raffle and games. Local education organizations that will benefit from Allen Tate FUNday dollars include Greenville County, Spartanburg, Oconee, Pickens and Anderson One school districts.

Coffey among those earning luxury title

Kasey Coffey, a lifetime resident of the Upstate and team leader of The Coffey House Group at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices C. Dan Joyner Realtors, has earned the designation of Luxury Collection Specialist, the agency has announced.

Luxury Collection Specialists are skilled in the buying and selling of luxury homes that reside in the top 10 percent of their local market, according to C. Dan Joyner Realtors. A Fountain Inn resident, Coffey attended Hillcrest High School and North Greenville University, and obtained his real estate license in 2014.

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Other C. Dan Joyner Realtors who have recently earned the designation include Della Toates, Patrick Toates, Liz Nunnally, Jennifer Davis, Brian Sullivan, Jeff Meister, Robbie Haney, Alex Crigler, Melissa Morrell and Sharon Calhoun.

Area’s 3Q price jump ranks in U.S. top 10

The Greenville metro area was among the U.S. markets that saw the biggest increase in the prices of existing single-family homes in the third quarter of 2022, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Single-family existing-home sales prices increased 18.8 percent from the third quarter of 2021 to the third quarter of 2022, the NAR said. That jump by the Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin metropolitan statistical area was the sixth-biggest nationally, though not the largest in South Carolina—the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach MSA saw prices jump 21.1 percent over that same period, according to the NAR, good for third nationally.

The North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla., area led the nation with an existing single-family home price increase of 23.8 percent between the third quarters of 2021 and 2022. Nationally, the price rose 8.6 percent, although that figure is a slowdown from the 14.2 percent increase seen in the second quarter of the year.

“Much lower buying capacity has slowed home price growth and the trend will continue until mortgage rates stop rising,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. “The median income needed to buy a typical home has risen to $88,300 – that’s almost $40,000 more than it was prior to the start of the pandemic, back in 2019.”

Johnson attains SIOR designation

Hal Johnson, the chief development officer of the Greenville-based commercial real estate firm NAI Earle Furman, has attained the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors designation, the company has announced.

Johnson works in conjunction with NAI Earle Furman leadership team to strategically direct business development plans and design and implement processes to support the growth and success of their individual clients. He also works directly with clients and business partners to ensure the success of their projects and determine evolving market needs.

During his career, Johnson has also worked with many large companies including BMW, Michelin, Magna, Walmart, Oatly, Inc., Lennox, Food Lion, Husqvarna and Zeus. Only the industry’s top professionals qualify for the SIOR, a professional symbol of the highest level of knowledge, production, and ethics in the commercial real estate industry.

Prior to joining NAI Earle Furman, Johnson served six years with the Orangeburg County Development Commission as its executive director, and three years with the South Carolina Department of Commerce as a Project Manager before becoming president and CEO of the Upstate SC Alliance in 2005. He served in this capacity for almost nine years and was named the 2013 Economic Developer of the Year by the South Carolina Economic Development Association.

Greenville has the 11th-largest stock of build-to-rent (BTR) homes in the country, according a report from the research division of the apartment search site RentCafe.com. The city saw 584 homes built specifically to rent in 2022, with another 529 constructed in 2023, bringing the metro area’s total number of BTR units to 1,455.

Build-to-rent homes are single-family homes (which can be attached or detached) constructed by developers with the purpose of renting rather than selling them. Nationally, the number of BTR units has skyrocketed over the past decade, from 4,056 in 2014 to 27,495 in 2023, according to RentCafe. Greenville has seen a 473 percent increase in BTR deliveries over the past five years, the site added.

The BTR inventory in the United States is expected to eventually double, according to John Burns Research and Consulting. The Palmetto State has at least 66 active BTR communities, according to a March report from South Carolina Public Radio, among them the Harrington Trail and Fairforest Creekside developments in Greenville and Durham in Spartanburg.

Greenville’s available home inventory is ticking up from historic lows brought about by the pandemic buying frenzy, with 4,215 residential listings in March, the most recent month for which figures were available. The median sales price that month was $311,704, up 6.5 percent from the previous year. The Greenville-Spartanburg area also had a multifamily occupancy rate of 88.6 percent as of the first quarter of 2024, according to the commercial real estate firm Colliers South Carolina.

Greenville’s BTR inventory is the highest among metros in the Palmetto State, according to RentCafe. Myrtle Beach ranked 16th nationally with 1,181 units, and Charleston 18th with 964. Phoenix led the nation with 12,357 BTR units as of the end of 2023.

A historic upstate South Carolina town is so small that you might miss its exit on Interstate-85, but to Merle Gault, it’s home.

During Father’s Day weekend, the red, white and blue colors are hoisted high in Cowpens as the 2.3 square-mile town celebrates the Mighty Moo.

“If you don’t know what the Mighty Moo is you’re losing out on a lot of things,” said Gault, a Cowpens resident.

The town holds the four-day celebration each year to honor and remember Navy crewmembers of the USS Cowpens CVL-25 who served in World War II and those from the USS Cowpens CG-63, which is currently active in the US Navy’s fleet. This year’s 41^st festival was June 13-16.

The festival is packed with various events for visitors and residents. This year, those events included, rides, performances, and fireworks. Vendors were also there this year.

“It’s to welcome traveling veterans from across the country and their families that come into Cowpens, and it’s a lot like a church social or a family reunion,” said Jan Humphries, a member of the Mighty Moo Committee and the official point of contact between the community, the ship and veterans.

The history of the festival is one Cowpens clings to and celebrates.

According to documentation at the Cowpens Museum, during World War II, George D. Martin, a Cowpens businessman, wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt asking that an aircraft carrier be named after the town of Cowpens. This wasn’t an unqualified request since Cowpens was the site of the pivotal Revolutionary War battle.

Many saw the naming of the ship as an appropriate honor, and so did President Roosevelt.

On May 28, 1943, the USS Cowpens was commissioned in Philadelphia, jumpstarting a distinguished combat career.

The CVL-25 “was in active service for three years during WWII. She was floating next to the Missouri when the Japanese signed the peace treaty. And her planes flew off her deck and were the first to land in Japan after the end of the war,” said Humphries.

The ship earned 12 battle stars and a navy unit commendation for her service in World War II, according to the Mighty Moo website.

Carswell Wynne served as plane captain on the USS Cowpens CVL-25 and recalls being near the Missouri at the end of the war.

“Going into Tokyo Bay on the first American Air Craft Carrier, [being] anchored close to the Battleship Missouri when all the dignitaries came aboard to sign the surrender, [and] walking the streets of Tokyo two weeks after the surrender [were] all exciting to participate in,” he said. “[But,] the most exciting time was when the going home pennant went up and our ship was headed for home.”

“The Mighty Moo” was the nickname given to the ship by its crew, because of the “mooing” sound the ship made as it moved through the water, according to accounts from the crew. Cowpens picked up on the nickname in 1977, turning the annual festival into the ship’s namesake.

“Well it initially started following, the nation’s bicentennial in 1976. The first reunion of the USS Cowpens CVL-25 WWII ship was held in ’77. And all they did was put a blurb in several newspapers throughout the southeast,” said Humphries.

But that blurb was more than enough to draw a crowd. According to the Mighty Moo website, about “1,500 visitors” showed up to enjoy the “rides, flea market, and colonial experiences” the first year.

On March 9, 1991, the USS Cowpens CG-63, a guided missile cruiser, was commissioned in Charleston, South Carolina.

“We call it, the ‘new ship,’ even though she’s 26 years old… She’s the first of the guided missile cruiser group that’s being renovated, updated, modernized with all of their security, technology, everything. She’s going to be top of the line. They are anticipating that she will be back in active service late 2019 to mid-2020,” Humphries said.

The ship has set many records, including an unparalleled track of six successive battle efficiency awards.

With the crew from two different ships, the amount of people that the annual festival drew grew, which Humphries attributes to the uniqueness of the festival.

“We say, and very proudly say, that we are the only community in the United States that has this type of event. I’ve had military career sailors, veterans tell me, ‘I’ve been/served on six or seven ships and I’ve never seen anything like what Cowpens has done with the Mighty Moo.’ Never. It’s not done,” said Humphries.

The future of the festival faces a challenge as the number of World War II veterans dwindles.

Just four of the eight surviving CVL-25 crewmen were able to attend this year’s festival.

“It’s very hard and sad. It breaks your heart because we are family. It’s kind of what the adopt-a-crew emphasis is. Celebrating our family that served on our ship and they are now part of the Cowpens family. It’s very hard losing our WWII crewmen,” said Humphries.

The dwindling number of crewmen isn’t lost on Humphries and many others.

“There’s only four of us from the CLV-25 here this year, and we’ll be dropping off year by year. So, the CG-63 people take up the representation of the Cowpens ship,” said Ray Williams, a WWII USS Cowpens CVL-25 crewman.

Wynne, too, is aware of that reality but plans to relish every moment.

“Words can’t explain the joy we have when coming to The Mighty Moo Festival,” Wynne said. “This could be my last year, but if I can crawl, I’ll be here next year,” he said.

Humphries is confident the younger crew members of the CG-63 will take up the baton and represent the ships at future reunions as they get older.

“You know when you’re young, you don’t think about reunions … But as you get older, you think back to the history, the times, the experience you shared,” she said. “I’m very proud of them, and I’m very sure that they will step up and continue for our WWII crew.”

But for some, coming to Cowpens once a year wasn’t enough.

Joe Giannini was on the original ship in World War II. Gianni, a lifelong resident of New York had eight children who he exposed to the Mighty Moo celebration.

His son, Mark, a New York city fireman who brought his family to the festival for almost 20 years, served during 9/11 and recently retired from the New York City Fire Department. After retirement, he moved his family to Spartanburg County and built a house on a local lake last summer.

“That’s all funneled through Mighty Moo because of the relationships and the connection that’s been made over the years,” Humphries said. “They have fallen in love with the area, the people, so we are thrilled to have them.”

Humphries hopes others follow their lead. “If you haven’t gotten here yet, come on and visit us. We are waiting for you, anytime you can make it. We will love on you, spoil you and wear you out, but we will have a fantabulous time,” she said.

For more information about the festival, visit cowpensmightymoo.com.

COWPENS, SC-- Mrs. Alline Brown, born Alline Lavonna Gaffney on April 14, 1929, near Thickety Mountain in Cherokee County, SC was reared in Cowpens, SC.

She was the 5th child of James Warren and Julia Marie (Mills) Gaffney. To the union, four children were born to Mrs. Brown and the late Mr. Uzie Brown, Sr., Willie James, Uzee, Jr., Ethelene, and Delois Marie. She and her husband were married for 42 years.

Mrs. Brown graduated from Cowpens High School in 1946. She worked as a special education teaching assistant for Cowpens Elementary School, as an employee of Collins and Aikmans Textile, and as a childcare provider. She was the first Black manager of Southland Shopping Center Cafeteria. At an early age Mrs. Brown joined Island Creek Baptist Church.

For more than sixty years at Foster's Grove Baptist Church, she faithfully served as the pianist and choir director, deaconess, Sunday School teacher and vice president of the Sympathy Club. She was a former member of the Order of the Eastern Star.

Mrs. Brown always believed that hard work is a virtue that leads to achievement. She was a supportive wife, and continued to be a supportive mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great-grandmother, relative and friend.

Throughout her life she preached that no hurdle, challenge or plateau of success was greater than faith in God, the power of prayer, and a willingness to work. She lived a full and blessed life.

Mrs. Brown leaves to celebrate her life; children, Deacon Willie James (Cornelia) Brown, Sr. of Cowpens, Dr. Uzee Brown, Jr. of Atlanta, Mrs. Ethelene Brown Palmer of the home, Reverend Delois Brown-Daniels (Reverend Dr. David Daniels, III) of Chicago, Mrs. Daisy Mae Dawkins of Spartanburg, and Mr. Zebedee (Effie) Brown of Spartanburg; brothers, Mr. James Warren Gaffney, Jr. of Virginia Beach, Mr. Smith Elbert Gaffney (Sandra), and Mr. Howard Benjamin Gaffney (Hattie), both of Gaffney, SC; grandchildren, Willie James Brown, Jr., Brandon C. Brown, Sonya L. Palmer, Leroy Palmer, Jr., Jason C. Palmer, David D. Daniels, IV, DeAndrea M. Daniels, Gail Brown, Stephanie Brown, Stefon Brown, Odis Dawkins, Cynthia Dawkins West, Sheila McGill, Michael McGill, Linda McGill, and Brenda McGill; cherished great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Brown was predeceased by siblings, Anthony James Gaffney, Anita Marie Hunter, Samuel Edwin Gaffney, Vivian Gaffney Moore, and Weldon David Gaffney and a newborn.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, August 16, 2010, at 3:00 PM at Foster Grove Baptist Church. Reverend Horace Wilson will officiate. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Mrs. Brown will lie in state from 1:00 PM until the hour of the service.

The family will receive friends from 7:00 - 8:00 PM at the John Stinson Woodward Memorial Chapel on Sunday, August 15, 2010.

J. W. Woodward

Funeral Home