After moving to Orangeburg from the “big city” of Washington, D.C., when he was a 10-year-old boy, Ernie Wiggins discovered a love for the off-beat and undiscovered. He frequently ventured out with neighborhood friends to explore the undeveloped woods nearby, following paths and trails through towering pines to wherever they let out. Knowing no fear. Daring all. Feeding a desire to see what’s out there.

He never lost that curiosity. In fact, it led him first into a 10-year career as a journalist and then to his second career as a journalism teacher at the University of South Carolina. As a reporter, he imagined his readers coming along with him whenever he ventured out – whether it was to a local town meeting or a lowcountry fishing village.

Ernie has lived in his adopted state for 40+ years and has not tired of discovering what’s out there, at the end of the road or the path or over the next rise. He believes it’s the anticipation of the new that enriches our lives.