A View from the Front Porch: West Pelzer Prepared for 2021

By Blake Sanders/Mayor of West Pelzer

It’s a cold January in a small, rural town in South Carolina.  The Christmas decorations remain.  Some stockings still hung.  We sit anxiously awaiting our first, maybe only, snow of the season.  While the children run with their Christmas toys, parents basking in the tidbits of warmth provided by the winter sun, there are many municipalities across the nation that are planning – and West Pelzer is one of them!

While historically New Year’s Day is reserved for black-eyed peas, collards, pork chops, and West Pelzer releasing our yearly calendar of festivals and events, COVID-19 has altered our course.  Instead of releasing calendars, working to plan ahead, and get ready to hit the ground running on January 4, we opted instead, as elected officials and staff, to do something that we always tell everyone to do – spend time with your family at home, perhaps on your front porch.

And so that we did, reflecting on 2020 yet still planning 2021 in our own little way.  While we’re not sure yet what the future holds, we are sure that West Pelzer will continue to invest in our community.  In 2021 you’ll continue to see the same great events (COVID pending) like National Night Out, Dog Days of Summer, Mile-Long Yard Sale, Pumpkinpalooza, and the only night parade in Anderson County (with our friends in Pelzer).

We’re confident that you’ll see our neighbors produce some great events (like the Spring Water Festival, and the Pelzer Light People) and we’re sure that our private businesses will continue to bring in many visitors from afar (like the Mill Town Players, Westy’s Antiques, and All About Fabrics).  You see, we’ve spent the last five years investing in community events to introduce residents and businesses to each other and cultivating relationships with our neighbors in Williamston and Pelzer.  We’ve earned our right to sit on the front porch with our families.  If you could only see what we see from our front porch, you would see why we’re always telling the world that we’re the best small town in South Carolina – the “Front Porch” to the Saluda River, Anderson County, Clemson University, and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

As we sit on our front porch, we see the 10,000 cars per day on Main Street – ballooning to 25,000 on (Clemson) gameday Saturdays.  This is why we host most of our festivals and events in the fall.  The weather is perfect, the coffee is warm (Moondog Coffee and Art Café opening this Spring on Main Street), and we maximize exposure to passersby across the state.  Yes, we’ve received cards, letters and emails from residents of the low country, praising our festivals, honoring our community for being friendly (yes, we still wave at everyone), and requesting a calendar of events so they could plan on stopping next time.

As we sip on the sweet tea in our rocking chairs, we see the family walking down the street, pulling a wagon full of books.  Surly they’re headed to the Little Free Library at Town Hall (conceptualized and developed 100 percent by residents).  Perhaps they have a few non-perishables to place at the Blessing Box (conceptualized and developed 100 percent by residents).  They could be going to Chapman Park to swing in the sunshine (swings were identified as a need in Town by West Pelzer Elementary School and 50 percent funded by the children in goalPOST).

As we lean forward to stand up to go in at night, we’re reminded that the “West Pelzer Story” has been told thousands of times, but none as important as our annual trips to West Pelzer Elementary School to speak to every grade level about local government.

We always tell the story of how we were founded and how local government operates differently from our friends in Columbia and Washington, D.C.  None are as important as when we reveal the “If I were Mayor” chalkboard and let the children write and draw what they really want in town – some want the potholes filled (yes parents, our children are listening) and some want a Chic-Fil-A next to their house (we’re working on this one).

What we’ve come to realize is that this story has been told for six years straight; this means that for the first time, a Palmetto High School this year a Palmetto High School graduate will walk across the stage knowing the “West Pelzer Story” and memories of a young mayor with a mustache telling them that they could be the next mayor.

Now we realize that in the next election, they’ll be eligible to vote in local, state, and national elections.  We can only reflect in prayer that we have invested enough in our youth to make a difference in what we always say are our “future leaders.”  In West Pelzer, that future has arrived.  Those children will soon be the ones walking their children to the swing they help fund or the Little Free Library they help stock.  Those children will soon be our next employee, our next Council Members, and our next mayor.

So in 2021 be prepared.  Be prepared to relish in our previous accomplishments as we work to make our previous years events and festivals better.  Be prepared to nurture those relationships with your neighbors, your local businesses, and your friends and family from near and far.  Be prepared for may have just been discussed on my front porch -  a new idea may have just emerged from deep conversation for a new event in 2021 – stay tuned!!  As we always say: “The Best is Yet to Come!!”