The Outpost at Huger
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Things are quiet here at the confluence of Steed Creek Road and Hwy 41 in Huger, SC. Huger is an old South Carolina name pronounced, "Hugh--Gee" or even "You-Gee", but NOT "Hugger or Hew-gur". We know the name of the community and its correct pronunciation, but we don't know the name of this store. It has the ambiance of an outpost. From time to time someone comes to the door and stares out at nothing in particular.
At this junction one is safely out of reach of urban sprawl and ghastly malls. Steed Creek Road runs back to Hwy 17 North just above the point to which malls have sprawled. There's pressure to widen Steed Creek, but preservationists just want it patched. On the way here we had to dodge a deep pothole and very nearly hit an oncoming car. We vote to patch that road. From here one can head north on Hwy 41 or west on Hwy 402 which skirts a series of old plantation properties then past Mepkin Abbey to Moncks Corner.
Without a doubt development is rushing up Hwy 41, but for now it's peaceful, uncluttered and uncrowded. It may be a little too uncrowded for the folks who run this store. One pump's out of fuel and we're not sure what's in the other. It seems slow going here, but they appear to be surviving.
And so the juggernaut of development will roll over this place in time. The dominoes are falling this way from Mt. Pleasant. There will be gated communities at least one of which will have "Pointe" in its name. The SUV's will then outnumber the tractors and logging trucks. The white tires will be replaced by landscaped gardens with embedded lighting. This little store and those who work it will be gone and replaced by a massive convenience store stocked with everything you find everywhere else. We bet even money that it may well have "El Cheapo" in its name.
For now this is just a little outpost waiting on the inevitable.
posted by Windviel at 11:43 PM
6 Comments:
Even worse than "Pointe" are anglicisms like " Harbour" and Centre."
Thanks for your comment, PMC. We've seen, "Harbourtowne", a double offense and we're certain that there's a "Centre Pointe" out there. With a security gate and a fanciful name you've got sucker bait and a very profitable development.
The Name of the Store is P & C Grocery
P & C, thanks very much. It's always fun to learn more about the places visit. We wish P & C good luck. We'd like to more of them survive.
As a former Ladsonite I was thrilled to see the P&C as well as some of your other stops. I can almost smell the paper mill as I read on. I haven't yet been through the whole blog, but I'm looking for Ft. Dorchester and Miss Ruthies up in Awendaw. I wonder if, up on the College Park Road the old barn with the wagon in it is still standing. Good Gravy! You've made me homesick!
We're glad that we have reminded you of happy places and, hopefully, happy times as well. One force which moves us to these delightful places is development which is consuming many of the places you remember. We will covering all of that ground in due course. Please stay tuned.
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