All good things must end: It’s been a pleasure serving you, Fort Mill Times readers

It was a little more than 15 years ago when I drove into downtown Fort Mill, turned on to Confederate Street off Main (noticing the nice-looking bandstand, but not the real, Civil War-era cannons, nor the historic statues behind it) and parked in the lot separating Town Hall and the Fort Mill Times.

I had an appointment with then Publisher Patricia Larson to interview for the editor’s position that was coming open. We had talked on the phone a few weeks earlier and this would be our first meeting (spoiler alert: It went well), but not our last before I was formally hired more than a month later. One of the things I recall from that meeting, in addition to at least one reference to “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” and that we laughed often, is Patricia telling me “I don’t want to hire someone looking for a stepping stone. I want someone who wants to be here for life.”

Sounded good to me. I had just turned 41 that summer, was engaged to a woman with two children and this seemed like a really nice town with a terrific local newspaper that Patricia was planning to grow. That growth was timed to go off just as the building boom in Fort Mill, Tega Cay and Indian Land and possibly even tiny, wonderful Van Wyck (Lake Wylie wasn’t in our coverage area at the time) went into Infinite Improbability Drive.

Seems naive to think anyone gets a job for life in these modern times and, as much as I relished the thought, I never really believed it would work out that way. I was correct, and – cue the music – now it’s time to say goodbye.

To say “it’s been a good run” does not even come close. And before I recap some highlights/lowlights of my years as editor, I have to touch on the subject of being not just another face in the wave of transplants to our coverage area (which expanded to include Lake Wylie a couple of years ago) but a gosh durn Yankee! I’ve been called that in jest and with warmth and I’m sure some people have said that to me under their breath or in their minds with the opposite intent. That’s fine. I get it.

I thought I knew a little something about the South and small Southern towns before I ever set foot in one. The boss at my second paper, in Amityville New York, where I started as a reporter and left as an editor (starting my career trajectory) told me all about his life growing up in Covington, Tenn., and I recalled those stories when I arrived in Fort Mill. Southern authors like Pat Conroy, Florence King, Tom Robbins and Flannery O’Connor left an impression that turned out to be rather accurate.

In retrospect, “The Andy Griffith Show” seems less like fiction than I imagined. And, who wouldn’t want to live in Mayberry (actually, a more diverse version of Mayberry would suit me better)?

However, you have to live it to really understand.

But enough about me. It’s About You.

I wrote that in initial caps because that was the slogan of our new marketing campaign around the the time I landed here. It was even on billboards! It’s always been about you, but before I dive into that, I have to say that it would not be possible, in this space, to mention every name I’d like to mention here. If not for the limits of print, there easily would be well over 200 names in this piece. Though there are some I must.

To those not mentioned here, know in your heart that we have a connection that I hold dear. That said, in addition to Patricia (and her husband Stephen Guilfoyle) here’s to you: John and Carol Mantle, Jenny Overman (and Raymond, Kat and Charlotte), Mac Banks (and Rebecca and Lauren), John Marks, Chip and Trudi Heemsoth, Stephanie Marks Martell, Kitty Muccigrosso (and Brandon), Jonathan Allen (and Joanna), Liz Foster (and Jason), Heather Mayoros Knol, Jason and Nicole Chisari, Melissa Oyler, Misty Kasic, Cheney Baltz, Jeff Sochko, Kelly Lessard, Jenny Arnold, Stephanie Jadrnicek, Monique Caudle Kilpatrick, Bob Condron, Phil Baity, Sue Gulasky, Scott Cost, Karen Tomas, Lizann Rex Lutz, Pat and Ray Eudy, Linda Headrick, LeAnne Morse, Jason Ford, Elizabeth Ford, Karin McKemey, Kelly McKinney, Amber Joy, the family of the late William R. Bradford Jr., the Rev. Joanne Sizoo, Ray Dixon, Stormy Young, Al Steele, Carol Dixon, Grady Ervin, Larry Huntley, Chris Moody, Rufus ”Rudy” Sanders, Guynn Savage, George and Penny Sheppard, Charlie Funderburk, Joey Blethen, and the entire staffs at Dominguez & Rucker Family Dentistry, Veterinary Medical Center of Fort Mill and Tega Cay Animal Hospital.

Also, my extended Herald family: Amanda, Andrew, Barbara, Bret, Cliff, Hannah, Jennifer, Keyonta, Leigh and Tracy.

Thank you, all.

Now we’re at the beginning of the end, so let’s continue.

Community, loyalty

When I left that interview with Patricia, my car wouldn’t start. Dead battery. It took about 30 seconds to find someone to give me a jump and then I headed right over to that little garage I remembered passing. It was Fort Mill Automotive. The owner, Dean (also, a gosh durn Yankee and, even worse, a Cowboys fan. But he, too, gets it), checked things out, said I just had some corrosion on the battery posts, cleaned it up and sent me on my way. He refused to take any money. His shop is the only one I’ve used for auto repairs since.

Not the first time I told this story, and won’t be the last: After moving into our house, the next morning, on the doorstep, was a basket of homegrown produce. If that doesn’t touch your heart, call an ambulance.

If I had to name one single organization as an example of community, and one that helped me “get it” it’s the one with “community” in its name – The Community Cafe. When I first heard about it (there are now three – the original one in Lake Wylie and two in Fort Mill), I thought “that’s terrific! A place where homeless people and others in need can get a good, hot meal for free!”

Actually, I was missing the point and I didn’t get it until I visited one day. I think I can best describe what the Cafes are all about by quoting a line from a song by my favorite band: “Strangers stopping strangers, just to shake their hand.” Yes, they wanted to help feed those in need, but also nourish souls and bring together people from all walks. How beautiful is that? Community.

There are angels all across the community and many are part of the institutions and organizations I’ve come to know here: Marching band. It’s everything in this area and the students (and their families), staff, boosters and their fans are a nation. And they have been Fort Mill’s best ambassadors across the U.S. and overseas. So many service organizations. Lions, Rotary, Elks, Hibernians and Moose Lodge. The fabulous Foundation for Fort Mill Schools. The Humane Society of York County and Paws in the Panhandle.

I’ve been blessed to be involved with some of them and I have supported all best I could.

The most iconic and prolific institution I’ve come to know is the Springs-Close family and Leroy Springs & Co. They weren’t always happy with me and the Times, but those bumps were few and far between and to their credit, there was never a grudge. Anyone not familiar with this family and its many enduring contributions to this town as well as the region needs to visit the Fort Mill History Museum. My walk and talk with family matriarch Anne Springs Close on the eve of the ASC Greenway’s 20th anniversary will remain one of my favorite memories.

Wow, memories. Here are my top five:

▪ Exposing a con artist who exploited the community’s patriotism and left more than one family financially damaged and heartbroken. The unintended consequence was what became known as the Baxter YMCA should have been named after a war hero. It was a story that had to be told and it unfolded in an award-winning investigative series in which every staff member of the Fort Mill Times participated. We scoured the country for information. Hands down our best investigative work.

▪ Tony’s burning down during Fest-i-Fun. It essentially ended the town’s annual spring festival, but paved the way for the S.C. Strawberry Festival.

▪ The election of the first woman to Tega Cay City Council (there have since been three more women, including the two elected last fall) and the election of Fort Mill’s first female mayor.

▪ Jack Hensley. A former Tega Cay resident and member of the city’s rescue squad, he was working as a contractor in Iraq in 2004 when he was kidnapped and murdered by terrorist insurgents.

▪ Van Wyck becomes a town. Alarmed by the residential building boom around them, residents voted in a referendum to incorporate and form a town as a firewall against unchecked growth. How often does one have the opportunity to see the birth of a town? I was there on election day and it was exhilarating.

Here we are then, at the end. I’ve been privileged and blessed to serve you. My time has been well spent and I have few regrets. There are a couple of stories, in retrospect, that would have been better not to tell, especially in the digital age. But only a couple I can think of. My chief regret is all those times I ended a conversation early because of deadline anxiety. I never felt like I had enough time for all of you and to hear your stories and shoot the breeze and I hope anyone I may have offended accepts my sincere apology.

Can’t say what’s up next for me because I don’t actually know, but it will be fine. If you’re curious, follow me on Twitter at @MikeHarrisonFM.

It’s not about me, though. It’s About You. It’s always been about you.

Now, in the immortal words of that great philosopher Porky Pig: “That’s all, folks!”

This story was originally published August 31, 2018 at 4:00 PM.