The P.E.P. Club (People Enjoying People) was very fortunate to have Gary Hermann as the guest speaker for the March meeting. Gary is the last remaining original member of the Colleton County Council appointed team of the Edisto River Canoe and Kayak Trail Commission or E.R.C.K., which was established in 1989. A team of six, who receives no pay, leads guided paddle trips, teaches proper canoeing and kayaking, paddling, teaches classes in CPR and first aid. They also sponsor “Riverfest” and the “ACE Basin Triathlon, maintain river navigability, teach river safety and raises public awareness of valuable river blue ways in our area. The Edisto River, which is a Native American term meaning black as referring to the color of the water. The Edisto is approximately 310 unobstructed miles long and the longest free flowing black water river in the US and possibly the world and is contained entirely within the state’s borders and flows all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. The Edisto basin produces 20% of South Carolina’s timber and forest products and 33% of it’s crops and livestock. It also supports several rare, nationally threatened and endangered species, such as the bald eagle, wood storks, loggerhead turtles, and the short-nosed sturgeon, but is best known to anglers for the largemouth bass, striped bass, red breast sunfish, and black crappie. For more information about the Edisto River Canoe and Kayak Trail Commission (E.R.C.K.) go to www.ercktrail.org.
The P.E.P. Club is a senior club for anyone over 50 years old and meets the last Tuesday of the month at the Recreation Center in the Industrial Area at 12:00 pm. Lunch is served, and a program is presented. The April meeting will be the April Attic Sale. Free door prizes are given, and Bingo is played ($1.00 a card) if you so desire. Your first visit is free and if you join membership dues are $5.00 a year. For information call Club President Norma Weeks at 843-538-8950.
