Retired teacher’s Miracle Circle lesson
To hear that the Oconee intersection that some used the word miracle to pass through is still a place for modern-day car accidents, 101.7/WGOG NEWS turned to a retired schoolteacher for a remembrance of what Seneca’s Miracle Circle used to be like as way back in the mid-20th century. That’s when, Ernest Riley, says the crossroads that led to Walhalla in one direction and Westminster in another used to be a circle without traffic lights – or what you might call a rotary that resembled today’s roundabouts in South Carolina. Because of the way the circle was laid out, with a railroad track bisecting it, its picked up the derisive name of Miracle Circle. What made it dicey also were the 67 signs that greeted motorists. Riley says he knows there were 67 signs because he and his childhood friend, Mike Crews, counted them. The two hung out near Miracle Circle because Mike Crews’ dad ran a gas business there. The last major upgrade to the intersection, turning lanes, is believed to have been accomplished around 35 years ago during the time that Seneca insurance agent and former state lawmaker Bob McLellan served as chief of the state highway department.