Dear SCAN members,
Sixteen SCAN members and two guests visited the 210-acre new addition to Landsford Canal State Park in Lancaster County on Saturday December 12. The new site is directly opposite the Chester County portion of the park on the shores of the Catawba River. While cold rain was predicted for the day, there were no showers until late in the afternoon when everyone was partying inside a building in front of a warm fire.
Two unique features of this area were man-made stone structures that may have been foundations for 18th century mills. While there seems to be historical basis for assuming that the stone structures were part of mills, the physical details of the foundations are different from mills of the period. The stone structures were in remarkably good shape considering that they were at least 150 years old- clearly built by very skilled stone masons. One of the structures produced two channels paralleling the river while the other only one channel. Skepticism regarding the purpose of the stone structures was based on the dimensions of the channels.
The bald eagles’ nest was clearly visible and many winter birds were out and about. As the last group was returning to the cars, Superintendent James spotted a shell in a puddle on a jeep trial. He pulled out the still-intact remains of a huge snapping turtle. The shell was estimated to be sixteen inches long. It is planned to have natural processes turn it into a skeleton to be used in a park display. It was an impressive animal!
See the Flora/Fauna List
Special thanks are due to Park-Superintendent Al James for spending the entire day with SCAN. Also, we are grateful to Charlie Williams, our Northern Regional Director, for finding this interesting site and leading the trip in spite of just recovering from a bad cold.
Ken Boni, President
SCAN Annual Meeting – January 23, 1999
This year’s meeting will be held at its usual location – the S.C. State Museum, located at the corner of Gervais and Huger Streets in Columbia, SC. We are meeting in the Vista room, which is on the second floor of the museum. All members and guests are invited to bring to the meeting exhibits related to natural history. The schedule for the meeting is:
| 9:30 AM | Registration, coffee and refreshments, and viewing exhibits |
| 10:30 | Introduction and greeting |
| 10:45 | Jackie Palmer on Spiders |
| 11:45 | Lunch (on your own) and viewing exhibits |
| 1:15 PM | Charlie Williams on Magnolia macrophylla |
| 1:45 | Lynn Smith – Slides on 1997 SCAN Activities |
| 2:45 | Business meeting including election of officers for 1999 |
The slate-of-officers generated by the nominating committee for consideration by the membership is published in this newsletter. Nominations for any of the offices will be accepted from the floor at the annual meeting provided that the nominee has given permission to be nominated.
Nominees for 1999 Officers
| President | Dee Hope |
| Vice-President | Alex Ciegler |
| Secretary | Ken Boni |
| Treasurer | Bill Carter |
| Flora/Fauna List Keeper | Jan Ciegler |
| Parliamentarian | Lynn Greenlee |
| Historian | Virginia Winn |
Area Directors
| Eastern | Loree Gandy & Pat Chaplin |
| Northern | Don Seriff |
| Western | Robbie Allen |
| Central | Sandy Schmid |
| Southern | Mary Garland Douglass |
PRT Contact. At the end of the December field trip several members expressed interest in providing feedback to PRT about the interesting finds on this new addition to Landsford Canal State Park, and to encourage providing to the better protection for this site than is currently available. The person who could best use your comments is Phil Gaines, 1205 Pendelton Street, Columbia, SC 29201. Other parks sites could be discussed as well.
Dues Are Due!!! It is that time of year when all memberships must be renewed. Enclosed you will find a form to send back, or you may bring it to the annual meeting. The present and next secretary and the treasurer would be highly appreciative if you would return the form with your dues before the meeting. Note that this year there is a line for your e-mail address if you have one you are willing to share with all the other members. Don’t procrastinate, Do it now!