An invitation to newcomers.
If you are a newcomer to Clinton/Laurens County and you want some reading material about the community, the best place to go is the welcome center in the lobby of the Laurens County Chamber of Commerce, in the professional park behind the County Hospital.
The second best place is right outside The Clinton Chronicle’s front door.Our advantage? We don’t have to be open for you to get the material.
It’s in a re-purposed newspaper box (Blue) and all material is free for the taking. Now, don’t take it all, and definitely don’t try to sell it. This is for free distribution and, we want to make clear, is also for residents here who just want to know perhaps a little more about their community, also.
Inside the Blue Box, you will find a Clinton map, menus of some local restaurants, a Medical Directory, a Visitor’s Guide, and our Lauren magazine. We are just now getting into magazine publishing so, be patient, there are some “bugs” to work out. But we are SO PROUD of our Laurens feature articles subjects and our advertising partners.
Now, you might say, “Who uses maps anymore?” And you would be right, many folks get their directions on their phones. Still, it can be fun when you have some time to look at a map and see how all the roads connect together. How can you travel from Clinton to Laurens without getting on Hwy 76? (Hint: AB Jacks Road). The maps also have some landmarks so you can see, if you don’t already know, where they are. Newcomers, we certainly point you toward Presbyterian College, Musgrove Mill State Historic Site, Sumter National Forest, and Lakes Greenwood and Rabon for cultural and outdoor opportunities.
Our Visitor’s Guide is an annual publication. It falls to me, as the newspaper’s chief photographer, to keep my eye out for environmental (ie, non-people) photos for this magazine. It contains some info about many local agencies and ways that you can connect to the community. Looking over our past Visitor’s Guides, I am struck by what a beautiful county we have.
As the Blue Box becomes depleted - which we certainly hope it will - we will replenish with other restaurants’ menus and more Visitor’s Guides and maps. This way, we don’t have to “take them and leave them” at local businesses - we know counter space is valuable. Just a small word of caution, DO NOT let little ones try to open and close the box, fingers can get smushed really easily. We hope you will take a look, if you have the need and desire, at the Blue Box.
Vic MacDonald was named Publisher of The Clinton Chronicle on March 2. He is a 47-year veteran of the news business. Reach him at 864-833-1900 or
news@clintonchronicle.net