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| Highlands and Cashiers |
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or Terry and Brenda Beye, their second home near Cashiers became too appealing to leave. “I am originally from Michigan, and my wife is from Pennsylvania, but I lived in South Florida for almost 30 years,” he explained.
When Mr. Beye sold his business back in the late 90s and decided to retire, he and his wife talked about finding something a bit cooler than South Florida for the summers.
The Highlands/Cashiers area seemed centrally located in terms of family and friends, and they bought 42 acres, with the intention of spending a month or two each summer. “It didn’t work out that way,” Mr. Beye laughed. “Each time, we’d stay a bit longer.”
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inally, they decided to make the North Carolina mountains home, and visit Florida. However, that hasn’t worked out exactly according to plan either, because their South Florida friends like to visit them.
“I’ve lost 30 pounds by being more active, and we’ve got a five-year old son in a great school here,” he said. “People are more relaxed and take time to be friendly.” The couple is involved in a number of charities, including
Relay for Life, a fund-raiser for the Cancer Society. “We raised more money here, per capita, than anywhere else in the U.S.,” he said.
Perhaps people are so happy and giving because they are so comfortable. The high in July and August is in the 80s. Take a zip down nearby Sliding Rock into 45-degree water and expect a first-class chill-out. “It’ll take your breath away,” promises Sue Bumgarner, executive director of the Cashiers Area Chamber.
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Beauty is of the untouched sort, with waterfalls and wildflowers overshadowing
anything man could make.
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It’s not hard for Ms. Bumgarner to promote the area. She loves eclectic boutiques and fine restaurants, so abundant in these villages. She’s happy there are no malls or fast food chains, and that waterfalls and wildflowers excite the people who live and visit here.
A few important facts: Highlands (elevation 4,118 feet) is on a mountain. Cashiers (elevation 3,500 feet) is in the valley. Ten miles and 30 minutes of winding mountain roads separate them. Highlands is incorporated; Cashiers (pronounced CASH-ers) is not. Ms. Bumgarner predicts Cashiers eventually will become incorporated.
It’s a delicious place for people who love to be outside. Hiking and river rafting are popular; so are mountain biking, kayaking and canoeing. Golfers have 13 courses between Lake Toxaway and Highlands to try; four of them are public.
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Floridians, and now Atlantans, find tranquility
here; some even commute for the season or the weekend.
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The area has entranced people at least since 1875, when Samuel T. Kelsey and Clinton C. Hutchinson founded it as a summer resort for people escaping the Southern heat. One regular was Confederate hero and South Carolina Governor Wade Hampton, who hunted on the grounds of the High Hampton Inn. By the 1920s, golfer Bobby Jones had established the Highlands Country Club.
A more recent advocate is Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump. The Mobile, Alabama, native, captivated by the need for a light blanket during summer nights and the lack of bugs throughout the year, marveled about his new hometown in Modern Maturity.
Tourism is the driving industry here, and “the season” is from Memorial Day through October. The busy time concludes with the High Hampton Inn’s annual pre-Thanksgiving Day House Party. Cider-making, children’s crafts, golf and tennis are some of the activities.
“It’s rare to have tropical storms here, and if so, they are nothing like Florida, but one blew through a couple of years ago,” Mr. Beye said. “The next morning, the volunteer fire chief stopped by our home to make sure we were all right. That wouldn’t have happened in Florida.”
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Aida Rogers has worked in newspapers, magazines, legal newsletters and television.
The USC graduate and Lexington, SC native currently is managing editor of Sandlapper,
The Magazine of South Carolina, for which she writes a column about the
most popular restaurants in The Palmetto State. Call her with your favorites
at 803.808-1664.
Katherine O. Pettit has worked as a writer, magazine editor,
printer and public relations consultant. The Columbia resident has published more than 250 articles in magazines
and newspapers. Her writing explores a variety of subjects including travel, lifestyles, business and management.
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