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Gray clouds hovered above as the evening grew cold. Couples held hands as they cuddled in a horse-drawn carriage, listening to the clopping of horse hooves.
Despite the harsh economic times and cold weather, the Valentine business is alive for some venues.
“The romance of the day, that’s what carriage rides are all about. Romance and happiness.”tiffany jewelry said Liz Ragsdale, co-owner of Whitehaven Carriage.
She and her husband, Marion, have owned Whitehaven Carriage for 16 years. Saturday was their first Valentine’s Day operating in Denton.
“I think in our economy today, people need something to relax.” Marion said.
“And it gives their husband an opportunity to …,” said Liz.
“… get out of the doghouse,” Marion said with a laugh.
With many businesses feeling the impact of the financial crunch, the Ragsdales are thrilled they haven’t felt much of it.
“We feared every year when we heard that … but they come back every year,” Marion said.
Whitehaven Carriage was booked on Valentine’s Day. Marion handed roses cufflinks and chocolates to couples and families as Liz drove the white carriage guided by two Percheron horses.
“We’re big on customer service; I think that’s what keeps us in business.” Marion said.
He said that 75 to 85 percent of their business comes from repeat customers.
Joe and Johanna Iaia of Denton were among those with Valentine’s Day reservations. They rode a horse-drawn carriage on their wedding day nine years ago.
“We’re kind of reminiscing,” Johanna said. “I scheduled this as a surprise for Joe.”
The Ragsdales offered three packages that included a 25-minute ride, romantic music and a photograph. Chocolates and roses were also given, depending on which package was purchased.
The carriage packages were priced lower than they were when the Ragsdales worked money clips out of Dallas. Marion said he did that out of consideration for their new location in Denton and the economic hardships some are facing.
“If we did Valentine’s Day for the money, it would be weak. You can’t do it for the money,” Marion said.
But Valentine’s Day isn’t their biggest seller. Liz had a full schedule of carriage rides for the night and Marion had to turn away couples attempting to take part in the romance at the last minute.
“It’s a totally different world when they’re on a carriage,” Marion said.
The St. Clair County Community College issued the following press release:
St. Clair County Community College’s Theatre Discipline in December will present A Christmas tiffany Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas in the college’s Fine Arts Theatre.
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6.
The play is written by Charles Dickens and adapted by Michael Wilson. Tom Kephart is director.
The play tells the classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and his Christmas Eve journey with three ghostly spirits.
Tickets are $5 for students and seniors age 60 and older and $7 bracelets for adults. Tickets are available at the door or by calling (810) 989-5513 between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays.
A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas
SC4 student cast list Student Hometown
Joel Badley Marysville
Samantha Bogumil Kimball Township
Robert Croy Croswell cufflinks
Cassie Farrugia Clyde Township
Kelsey Hernandez Marysville
Rachel Kearney Port Huron
Mallorie Krul Kimball Township
Erilee Lowe Marine City
Jeremiah Lukasak East China Township
Rae Ann McVeigh Kimball Township
Kami Misch Emmett
Donald Parker Port Huron
Zach Parkhurst St. Clair
Ryan Silver Yale
Angie Stoecklin Columbus Township
Dan Williams Kimball Township
Jordan Yeip Columbus Township money clips Children cast list Lillian Beckman Port Huron
Erin Blaylock Marysville
Owen Day Port Huron
Courtney Harris Kimball Township
Delany Lemke Marysville
Wesley Spain Marysville
Marisa Spain Marysville
Elizabeth Sturtridge Marysville For more information please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, Email:- htsyndication@hindustantimes.com.
Smiling, Haley Christmas tiffany jewelry rides again.
She will ride soon, anyway. Because York County will not stand for somebody stealing a golf cart from a lady with cerebral palsy.
The story of the theft of “Bye-bye,” Haley’s golf cart, ran in Thursday’s Herald. It was snatched last week from her family’s yard in Lesslie. The cart remains missing.
But by Thursday afternoon, Haley Christmas was at Andy’s Used Golf bangles Cars in Rock Hill, deciding whether she wanted pink or blue.
Showing Haley and her father the options was a guy with working man’s gear oil on his hands and tears running down his face named Andy Clabough. A man who heard about the theft and heard from his customers who wanted to donate and strangers who wanted to donate, and without anybody asking, he offered to build a new cart for free.
“Blue!” squealed Haley.
“Blue it is!” called out Clabough.
Before Thursday, Andy Clabough had never heard of Haley Christmas. rings Yet, before 8 a.m., calls were coming in to Clabough with offers to help.
A guy named Wayne Logan who took his electric cart there for service offered up his cart, no strings attached. Since Haley needed gas, Logan just said, “Put a sign on mine and sell it and use the money for Haley.”
Clabough decided right then and there that this girl was going to get a cart, if he had to pay for it himself.
“I never had a morning like this in my whole life,” Clabough said. “This is about the most amazing thing I ever saw. I come to work today, and I found out that people care so much more about a little lady who had her golf cart stolen than anything else.
“Hit me right in the gut, it did. Been crying all day.”
Clabough took an old plastic jar that once held pretzels and made it into a collection box. People called and offered to bring in cash. One guy offered $400.
A lady named Frances McEntee, who before Thursday never heard of Clabough bracelets or the Christmas family, started e-mailing and calling friends and fellow parents at St. Anne Catholic School to raise money because she could not sit idly by after reading of this dastardly deed. The school forwarded the e-mail to hundreds.
“I went to the dentist; the hygienist gave me $5 for Haley, and the dentist wrote a check,” McEntee said. “Anybody I talked with wanted to help.”
A guy named Henry Eldridge from Tega Cay came in to Clabough’s shop to get some work done on his golf cart and dropped in a big bunch of money without ever meeting Haley Christmas.
“No way is somebody going to take away Haley’s wheels,” Eldridge said. “Thieves don’t win. Haley wins.”
By 1 p.m., the jar had fivers and ten-spots and C-notes. A C-note is a $100 bill. Clear plastic jars with c-notes look great.
Finally, better than a thousand dollars to help get another cart to replace the one that had cost about $5,000 three years ago when it was bought. Clabough thought he was on his way.
But Clabough didn’t have to pay for a new cart. Paul and Jeryl Christmas, Haley’s parents, didn’t have to pay, either.
A lady named Nicki Nash whose kids go to that St. Anne school made one phone call to her boss, Founders Federal Credit Union president Bruce Brumfield. Brumfield needed about two seconds to say: “Do what you gotta do; get that girl a golf cart!”
Paul and Haley Christmas came over to the shop to meet Clabough, who sure was getting no other work done Thursday as he fielded phone calls and dropped money in the jar and cried like a baby.
Nash stopped in and told Clabough the cart builder these simple words from behind a huge grin almost as big as Haley’s grin: “Do what you gotta do. Make it happen.”
All agreed that Founders would pay for the base cart, and the donations would pay for the extras to make Haley Christmas‘ golf cart the best cart any girl who likes to sit at the side of the road waving and smiling at strangers ever rode in. And this one will have a security system to make sure it isn’t stolen.
These strangers turned friends decided if the stolen cart turns up, it will be donated in Haley’s name to a charity that needs a cart to get another disabled person around. If there is extra money after the cart is finished, it will go into a foundation or scholarship in Haley’s name to help someone else with cerebral palsy.
“My daughter’s been smiling all her life. She’s 27 years old, but this might be the best day she ever had,” said Paul Christmas, Haley’s father.
Haley gave out as many hugs at that golf cart shop as there were people to accept them. Clabough got his hug and that golf cart mechanic just about floated.
Clabough needs a couple weeks to put together this custom cart. It will have special tires and taillights cufflinks. A radio/CD player, and roof, and special backseats for Haley’s friends and family. A cover to keep out the rain. A gas engine for plenty of get-up-and-go. There will be hubcaps to shine and mirrors to see where she’s been.
But no headlights. Haley’s glowing smile will light the way to wherever she may go.
Want to help?
Andy Clabough, owner of Andy’s Used Golf Cars, is building Haley Christmas a new golf cart to replace one that was stolen. To donate, stop by the shop at 300 Twin Lakes Road, Rock Hill, or call 803-328-8794.
Smiling, Haley Christmas tiffany jewelry rides again.
She will ride soon, anyway. Because York County will not stand for somebody stealing a golf cart from a lady with cerebral palsy.
The story of the theft of “Bye-bye,” Haley’s golf cart, ran in Thursday’s Herald. It was snatched last week from her family’s yard in Lesslie. The cart remains missing.
But by Thursday afternoon, Haley Christmas silver necklaces was at Andy’s Used Golf Cars in Rock Hill, deciding whether she wanted pink or blue.
Showing Haley and her father the options was a guy with working man’s gear oil on his hands and tears running down his face named Andy Clabough. A man who heard about the theft and heard from his customers who wanted to donate and strangers who wanted to donate, and without anybody asking, he offered to build a new cart for free.
“Blue!” squealed Haley.
“Blue it is!” called out Clabough.
Before Thursday, Andy Clabough had never heard of Haley Christmas bangles. Yet, before 8 a.m., calls were coming in to Clabough with offers to help.
A guy named Wayne Logan who took his electric cart there for service offered up his cart, no strings attached. Since Haley needed gas, Logan just said, “Put a sign on mine and sell it and use the money for Haley.”
Clabough decided right then and there that this girl was going to get a cart, if he had to pay for it himself.
“I never had a morning like this in my whole life,” Clabough said. “This is about the most amazing thing I ever saw. I come to work today, and I found out that people care so much more about a little lady who had her golf cart stolen than anything else.
“Hit me right in the gut, it did. Been crying all day.”
Clabough took an old plastic jar that once held pretzels and made it into a collection box. People called and offered to bring in cash. One guy offered $400.
A lady named Frances McEntee, who before Thursday never heard of Clabough or the rings Christmas family, started e-mailing and calling friends and fellow parents at St. Anne Catholic School to raise money because she could not sit idly by after reading of this dastardly deed. The school forwarded the e-mail to hundreds.
“I went to the dentist; the hygienist gave me $5 for Haley, and the dentist wrote a check,” McEntee said. “Anybody I talked with wanted to help.”
A guy named Henry Eldridge from Tega Cay came in to Clabough’s shop to get some work done on his golf cart and dropped in a big bunch of money without ever meeting Haley Christmas.
“No way is somebody going to take away Haley’s wheels,” Eldridge said. “Thieves don’t win. Haley wins.”
By 1 p.m., the jar had fivers and ten-spots and C-notes. A C-note is a $100 bill. Clear plastic jars with c-notes look great.
Finally, better than a thousand dollars to help get another cart to replace the one that had cost about $5,000 three years ago when it was bought. Clabough thought he was on his way.
But Clabough didn’t have to pay for a new cart. Paul and Jeryl Christmas, Haley’s parents, didn’t have to pay, either.
A lady named Nicki Nash whose kids go to that St. Anne school made one phone call to her bracelets boss, Founders Federal Credit Union president Bruce Brumfield. Brumfield needed about two seconds to say: “Do what you gotta do; get that girl a golf cart!”
Paul and Haley Christmas came over to the shop to meet Clabough, who sure was getting no other work done Thursday as he fielded phone calls and dropped money in the jar and cried like a baby.
Nash stopped in and told Clabough the cart builder these simple words from behind a huge grin almost as big as Haley’s grin: “Do what you gotta do. Make it happen.”
All agreed that Founders would pay for the base cart, and the donations would pay for the extras to make Haley Christmas‘ golf cart the best cart any girl who likes to sit at the side of the road waving and smiling at strangers ever rode in. And this one will have a security system to make sure it isn’t stolen.
These strangers turned friends decided if the stolen cart turns up, it will be donated in Haley’s name to a charity that needs a cart to get another disabled person around. If there is extra money after the cart is finished, it will go into a foundation or scholarship in Haley’s name to help someone else with cerebral palsy.
“My daughter’s been smiling all her life. She’s 27 years old, but this might be the best day she ever had,” said Paul Christmas, Haley’s father.
Haley gave out as many hugs at that golf cart shop as there were people to accept them. Clabough got his hug and that golf cart mechanic just about floated.
Clabough needs a couple weeks to put together this custom cart. It will have special tires and taillights cufflinks. A radio/CD player, and roof, and special backseats for Haley’s friends and family. A cover to keep out the rain. A gas engine for plenty of get-up-and-go. There will be hubcaps to shine and mirrors to see where she’s been.
But no headlights. Haley’s glowing smile will light the way to wherever she may go.
Andrew Dys 803-329-4065adys@heraldonline.com
Charity donations made in lieu of presents are becoming common gifts at birthdays and Christmas tiffany. Now a new beneficiary is being marketed alongside victims of famine and endangered species: the Treasury.
Britain’s national debt, currently at record peacetime levels, has become a charitable cause.
The Charities Advisory Trust, which has offered to collect donations and send them to the Treasury to help “whittle down Britain’s national debt”, has already received individual gifts of up to pound(s)500 from publicly minded citizens.
The scheme is being promoted as an ideal Christmas present for those worried about bequeathing the legacy of the banking crisis to the next generation. “Why lumber your descendants with a staggering debt burden?” the advertisements ask. “A wonderful present for children and grandchildren . . . Now is the time to start reducing the National Debt in their names”.
A donation of pound(s)20 is suggested, although bankers feeling weighed down by guilt have the option to cufflinks pay in pound(s)1,000. Higher rate taxpayers should be able to claim back tax relief on donations made to the Treasury, according to PwC, the professional services firm.
Dame Hilary Blume, director of the Charities Advisory Trust which disburses donations to charities, said that although the idea had raised eyebrows, money was already arriving. “This is a way for people to feel that they are helping,” she said. “People feel that the only way we can sort out this situation is if we all take responsibility.”
The scheme evokes the “I’m backing Britain” campaign of the late 1960s, when office workers volunteered to money clips stay at their desks for an extra half-hour each day to help the flagging economy, while the Treasury received envelopes containing “conscience cash” from the public to pay off government debt.
Public-spirited action on national debt is not confined to the UK. In the US, contributions to reduce the country’s debt have risen this year, at just more than $3m, according to the Bureau of the Public Debt.
Unfortunately for the Treasury, it will take more than pound(s)20 a person to dig Britain out of its fiscal hole. John Sibson, partner and government and public sector leader at PwC, estimates the current debt equates to pound(s)17,000 for each adult in the country.
The Budget predicts a deficit of pound(s)175bn this year and debt is expected to more than double from 37 pendants per cent of national income to almost 80 per cent by 2015. Accountancy firms say high levels of national debt could lead to persistently high interest rates, higher currency volatility and uncertainty for business.
Lombard, Page 17
For the last two years, James Ward and his family have sent a bit of christmas gift cheer to deployed American service members in Iraq and Afghanistan through Operation Christmas Tree, but this year that could change. Last year they sent 5,000 live Christmas trees. Now a goal of 2,000 may be out of reach, even with the efforts of fellow military support organization Soldiers’ Angels, which contributed $2,000 to the cause yesterday.
In years past, the spirits of soldiers deployed during the Holidays have been buoyed by an extraordinary gift–a live Christmas tree complete with tiny ornaments and lights from Operation Christmas Tree. One soldier wrote, “I couldn’t believe what I found in that little box. Wow. And it even smells a little like a Christmas tree rings!” Another exclaimed, “I am so moved and filled with joy. Thank you multiplied by a billion isn’t enough for this simple act of kindness.”
The recession has hit Operation Christmas Tree hard, with only five percent of the donations coming in that they’ve had in the past. “If we can’t bring in more, there will be no trees going out this year,” reports Ward, with a catch in his voice. “But I have faith that Americans will come though once again. Last year we got our last $10,000 needed on the day we packed the trees!”
Soldiers’ Angels is calling on other organizations, companies and individuals to make sure that bracelets once again this year, deployed servicemen and women will have the experience of opening up a box in the sands of Iraq or the mountains of Afghanistan and finding a piece of Christmas inside. Says founder Patti Patton-Bader, “When our heroes are serving in dangerous places far from home on our behalf at Christmas, we owe them so much. A piece of home like this is a treasure.”
Established in 2003, Soldiers’ Angels is a volunteer-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing aid and comfort cufflinks to the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, veterans and military families. For more info, see www.soldiersangels.org or call (615) 676-0239. Tax ID# 20-0583415
Operation Christmas Tree is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a singular mission: sending live Christmas Trees money clips to the deployed “until our troops are home.” For more info, see www.operationchristmastree.com or call 410-984-7300. Tax ID# 84-1722360
Keywords: Soldiers’ Angels, *U.S. Army, Defense, Military, U.S. Military.
Tiffany and co Glass: “A Riot of Color” is the Only Exhibition in the Hampton Roads 2009 Art of Glass Festival Devoted to the Art Nouveau Glass of Tiffany
Betsy Moss for Muscarelle Museum of Art
804-355-1557
betsymoss@verizon.net
The Muscarelle Museum of Art (http://www.wm.edu/muscarelle) presents Tiffany earrings Glass: “A Riot of Color,” an exhibition of the finest Tiffany glass on view from April 18, 2009 to July 12, 2009. The exhibition celebrates the ten-year anniversary of the “Art of Glass,” organized by the Chrysler Museum and the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, in conjunction with the Virginia Arts Festival. While most of the participating institutions will display contemporary glass, the Muscarelle will be the sole venue devoted entirely to the stunning Art Nouveau glass of Tiffany from the period around 1900.
In 1913, Louis Comfort Tiffany threw an Egyptian-themed party at his Madison Avenue studio. A New York Times journalist described the event as a feast, “held in a riot of color.” Although this description refers to the elaborate costumes and entertainment, it is just as applicable to Tiffany’s iridescent glass — a feast for the eyes.
Tiffany Glass: “A Riot of Color” showcases highlights from the career of Louis Comfort Tiffany, whose extraordinary interior designs made him the first word in taste and sophistication in Gilded Age New York. Stained glass windows, glass-tiled fireplaces and blown-glass light fixtures were mainstays of Tiffany rings interiors.
The “Riot of Color” exhibition will include an array of brilliant, jewel-like glass lamps, glass tiles, blown glass, and a stained glass window that together illustrate the styles, themes and techniques with which the Tiffany studios experimented during the Art Nouveau period. In addition to the finest glass objects on loan from museums and private collectors, the exhibition includes a selection of Art Nouveau posters and metalwork.
The Muscarelle Museum of Art is located on the campus of The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. cufflinks The Museum is open from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 12:00 noon until 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The Museum is closed on Mondays. Docent tours are available at 2:00 p.m. on Sundays and other times as announced. During exhibitions, there is an admission fee of $5.00.
For the past two decades, Louis Smith has enjoyed helping Spartanburg residents attain the finer things in life through his downtown business, Smithworks Fine Jewelry at 361 E. Kennedy St.
On Wednesday, Smith’s company turned 20 and, for the first time in his career, Smith had a chance to appraise something besides jewelry — his career.
“I’ve always tried to stay one step ahead by bringing nationally known designs to Spartanburg,” he said. “I want to give my customers value and go out of our way to try and make people happy when they shop with us.”
Smith said he became interested in the tiffany jewellery business while he was a student at Wofford College. For his interim study, a class that offers opportunities for off-campus learning and travel, he went to Los Angeles and worked with a jeweler.
“I got hooked,” Smith said. “I immediately loved it. I still love it.”
After graduating from Wofford, he began working for his family’s business, Smith Music.
By 1988, Smith had saved enough money to open his first retail jewelry shop. He chose a 700-square-foot space near downtown Spartanburg’s main shopping thoroughfare, off Magnolia Street.
Smith said he initially found the city’s retail jewelry industry a tough rock to cut.
“We had a difficult start,” he said. “For the first two weeks, not a customer walked through the doors. It was frustrating.”
But Smith’s luck changed when a competing downtown bracelets jewelry store, Crosby’s, closed its doors. He said that store’s customer base began to shop at his store.
“I got a little lucky, I think,” he said. “I just came along at the right time and was able to get some of their customers.”
Last year, Smith made his biggest gamble as a business owner when he moved his shop out of the city’s shopping district to its current 3,500-square-foot location on Kennedy Street.
But the move was met with enthusiastic reviews, including a feature in the May 2007 issue of InStore magazine, a top national trade publication that highlights the best stores in the jewelry industry.
Smith’s sales have reached an all-time high as well.
While jewelry design continues to be a big part of his business, Smith has continued to cufflinks stock his store with upscale brands such as Tiffany and Co., Tag Heuer, Jewels By Star, Roberto Coin, Baume & Mercier, Slane & Slane, Marco Bicego and Precision Set.
He is also diversifying his offerings with hopes of widening his appeal via more affordable merchandise and an elegant gift line.
“The first 10 years were the toughest, and I kept telling myself that if I could just get through those years I would get to 20,” Smith said.
“Here I am. I’m exactly where I want to be, and I hope to be around for a long time and draw from a more regional audience.”
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