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| Issue 1.10 | Monday, Dec. 8, 2008 | Forward to your friends! |
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FEEDBACK THE
LIST GOOD
NEWS ALSO INSIDE ___::
CALENDAR: Coming events |
ABOUT US CharlestonCurrents.com is a new online twice-weekly publication that offers insightful community comment and good news on events. It cuts through the information clutter to offer insight and news on the best of what's happening locally. More. |
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TODAY'S
FOCUS DEC. 8, 2008 -- Charleston is an old town with more than three centuries' worth of exciting stories, but it's a shame that some of the best stories are the ones least told.
Take for example the story of Fort Johnson, which many historians have called the most important fort in colonial South Carolina. It was built long before Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumter, but its history has far less currency than those more famous sites. Although the name of Fort Johnson is familiar to nearly every resident of the Charleston area, few can tell you the dramatic story of its rise and fall. All of this is an unfortunate loss of local memory, especially considering that 2008 marks the 300th anniversary of the fort's beginning. Not to fear - a refresher course is coming your way. Fort Johnson was built in 1708 at a place known as Windmill Point on the northeastern edge of James Island. It was designed to guard the entrance into Charleston's harbor and to protect the English city from attack by Spanish and French forces. It began as a triangular fort, made almost entirely of earth, but it was later repaired with bricks and tabby after being damaged by several hurricanes. It was essentially rebuilt and expanded in the 1730s and again in the 1750s, using tabby walls as a bulwark against the encroaching tides.
In the first military operation of the American Revolution in South Carolina, amphibious forces captured the fort from the British in September 1775. Fort Johnson was again rebuilt in the 1790s, became a federal property in 1805, and was again destroyed by storms during the War of 1812. It was from Fort Johnson that the first shots of the Civil War were fired in 1861, and the site was actively defended by Confederate forces until 1865. After the war, the remnants of the fort were allowed to decay and the site became a federally operated quarantine station. In the second half of the 20th century, the former grounds of Fort Johnson became host to a number of scientific laboratories. Today people associate the site with environmental research and higher learning, and the memory important military heritage is lost to most visitors. To mark the 300th anniversary of the construction of Fort Johnson, the Charleston Archive and the Mayor's Walled City Task Force are presenting a free program, "Fort Johnson, 1708-2008: Charleston's First Line of Defense," at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 11 at the main branch of the Charleston County Public Library, 68 Calhoun St. As the master of ceremonies, I'll begin the program with an illustrated overview of the fort's history. Archaeologist Carl Steen of the Diachronic Research Foundation will conclude the evening with a discussion of the recent digs at the Fort Johnson site and show images of his findings. It will be a fun and informative event, and we hope you can join us to celebrate the history of this important part of Charleston's past. For further information, please go to http://charlestonarchive.org or contact me at 805-6968 or butlern@ccpl.org. ANDY
BRACK DEC. 8, 2008 - Wanted: A South Carolina lawmaker with enough spice to lead the charge to make pork barbecue become the state's official meat.
"What a wonderful idea," said Lake E. High Jr., a retired Columbia stockbroker who heads the SC Barbeque Association. "This is the state where barbecue was invented and this is the only state in the nation that has four different kinds. "We are the unrecognized barbecue capital of the world. They need to make us the recognized barbecue capital of the world." Adopting a state meat makes a lot of sense. It seems we have an official everything else. We've already got an official tree (sabal Palmetto), bird (Carolina wren), fish (striped bass), flower (yellow Jessamine) and animal (white-tailed deer). We've even got an official state beverage (milk), hospitality beverage (tea, although most people might think of something a little stronger), fruit (peach), dance (the Shag) and wild game bird (wild turkey). If we have enough gumption to have an official snack food (boiled peanuts), we ought to be able to have succulent, tender South Carolina barbecue as our state meat. High says South Carolina is unique in the barbecue world because it is the only state to have four kinds of sauces. First there's the standard basting marinade - a vinegar and pepper mixture that also is used as a finishing sauce. It's been around for generations.
Then there's a mustard-based finishing sauce frequently spotted from the Lowcountry to the Midlands. It was created here in the mid-1700s by mustard-liking German immigrants who added the seasoning to the vinegar sauce. (These immigrants apparently came from pro-mustard areas of Germany, compared to Pennsylvania Germans who didn't have such a tradition of dumping mustard on everything, High noted.) The third concoction is a light-tomato sauce with vinegar and a little sugar. It's found in South Carolina's Pee Dee and the Piedmont area of North Carolina. It started picking up in popularity around 1900. Finally, there's the thick tomato sauce that came on the scene after World War II. It's the kind of sauce you often see in a lot of bottles at the grocery store. It uses only a little vinegar and pepper. Barbecue restaurants in the Upstate often feature this sauce, High said. (Click here to learn more on SC's barbecue history. ) Sources tell us lawmakers may be intrigued with the idea of making barbecue become the state's official meat. Gervais S. Bridges, a blogger who runs the tongue-in-cheek Barbecue and Politics Web site, said in a special interview that he was surprised barbecue wasn't already the state's official meat.
"On the other hand, barbecue isn't kosher," mused Bridges, a pseudonym for Columbia law student Ross Shealy. "But I guess if we're going to discriminate against Vegans by having a state meat, we can discriminate a little further and make it a non-kosher meat. Let's go ahead and push it through while the ACLU is tied up with the new 'I Believe' license plates." Shealy, err, Bridges says barbecue and politics are two of the messiest things in South Carolina. "I suspect the two have always gone hand-in-hand, and Maurice Bessinger consummated the union when he ran for governor in the 1970's. I wasn't born yet, so don't take that to the bank." Bridges agrees South Carolina has the world's best barbecue. "What really sets South Carolina barbecue apart is that it's made by and for the greatest folks in the world ... South Carolinians. It's a scientific fact that love, when distilled down to a tasteable substance, has the flavor of hickory-smoked barbecue." So why should state lawmakers argue with science? Regardless of what kind of barbecue you like, real change can come to the Statehouse by lobbying legislators to make barbecue our official meat. Yes, you
can. Get to work. Andy Brack is publisher of CharlestonCurrents.com. He believes the world's barbecue epicenter hovers somewhere around Kingstree, S.C. You can reach him by email at: publisher@charlestoncurrents.com. FEEDBACK
SPOTLIGHT
The public spiritedness of our underwriters allows us to bring CharlestonCurrents to you at no cost. In this issue, we welcome a new underwriter, the Joye Law Firm. Committed to fighting for the rights of the wrongly injured in South Carolina for more than 40 years, the experienced, dedicated personal injury lawyers of the Joye Law Firm want to help you get every dollar you truly deserve for the injuries you've suffered. Whether you've been injured in an auto accident, by a defective product, in a nursing home, or on the job, we may be able to help you. For more information, contact Joye Law Firm at 843.554.3100 or visit online at: http://www.joyelawfirm.com.
GOOD
NEWS The latest tri-county area projects and news and the outlook for 2009 are the topic of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce's "State of the Region" address Wednesday at the Charleston Area Convention Center, Ballroom A. The speakers are county council chairmen Joe McKeown from Charleston County, Daniel Davis from Berkeley County and Larry Hargett from Dorchester County. The program will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in Ballroom A. The cost is $15 for chamber members before Tuesday, $20 per person at the door, or $35 for nonmembers. More info: Diane Owens, 805-3094, or go online here. Footlight Players' drive will benefit Lowcountry Food Bank The Footlight Players will hold a food drive for the Lowcountry Food Bank during this month's performances of "Inspecting Carol," a comedic twist on the classic holiday story "A Christmas Carol." Anyone who brings in a nonperishable food item during the run of the show will have his or her name entered to win season tickets to the remaining shows of the Footlight Players' 77th season, as well as the entire 78th season.
"Inspecting Carol" is a farce set in a Midwestern regional theater, where a pathetic acting company is having a dickens of a time with its annual production of "A Christmas Carol." The company is also having trouble with cash flow because its federal funding has been cut, and the only way to get the funds back is to convince a visiting inspector from the National Endowment for the Arts that the company deserves government support. Remaining performances for the show, which opened Dec. 5, are 8 p.m. nightly Dec. 11-13 and Dec. 18-20, and 3 p.m. Dec. 21. All shows are at the Footlight Players Theatre, 20 Queen St., downtown. Tickets are $22 for adults, $20 for seniors, $15 for students, and $10 for children under 13. To order tickets, call the box office at 722-4487 or go online here. CSO musicians organize benefit concert
Several musicians in the Charleston Symphony Orchestra have put together a benefit concert with an unusual format to help raise money for the cash-strapped organization.
“The concert is much different than the typical classical concert at the Gaillard Auditorium,” says Chris Sales, the new principal bassoonist for the CSO. “It will be at one of the local churches and will not be involving either of our conductors. We will be playing mostly concertos and smaller chamber ensembles.”
Titled “Mozart and More,” the concert will be held at 8 p.m. Dec. 16 at First Scots Presbyterian Church, 53 Meeting St., downtown Charleston. The program will include Corelli's Christmas Concerto, a performance by the CSO Brass Quintet and concertos by Bach and Mozart featuring CSO musicians as soloists. Among the performers, in addition to Sales, will include Yuriy Bekker, CSO concertmaster; Alan Molina, principal second violin; Megan Allison, violin; Jessica Hull-Dambaugh. principal flute; Mark Gainer, principal oboe; and Charlie Messersmith, principal clarinet.
Donations will be accepted at the concert. For more information on the CSO, go to www.charlestonsymphony.com. Electronic Recycling Day a success for Charleston County More than 1,300 items were collected for recycling during Charleston County's first Electronic Recycling Day, held Nov. 15 at Citadel Mall. County officials report that 236 vehicles drove up to the mall with old, no-longer-working or broken electronic items to be recycled - among them, 423 computers, 134 computer monitors, 77 VCR and DVD players, 74 televisions, 18 scanners and seven fax machines. Also among the items were 53 household batteries, which will be given to Batteries Plus for recycling, and 51 cell phones, which will be given to Pak Mail to use in its program to help raise money for U.S. troops. In addition to unloading some unwanted electronic items, county residents who participated in the program were eligible to win a raffle for a 20-inch flat-screen TV provided by Target. Charleston resident Cathy Badger was the lucky winner. Charleston County's Solid Waste and Recycling Department, Knology, Citadel Mall and Target were the hosts for the event. If you missed the big day and have some electronic items to recycle, you can take the items to any of the county's eight solid waste convenience centers during regular business hours. For a list of those centers, go to http://www.charlestoncounty.org/News/2944.htm.
HISTORY
SPOTLIGHT One of the grandest and most significant public buildings constructed in colonial America, the Exchange and Customs House at 122 East Bay was designed by William Rigby Naylor in 1766 and constructed by Peter and John Adam Horlbeck between 1767 and 1771 on the site of the earlier "Court of Guard" and Half-Moon Battery. The original design included a cellar, a first-floor open arcaded piazza, and a large second-floor assembly room. The roof was hipped with a parapet and lead-coated cupola.
During the colonial era, royal governors were greeted at the east portico, the front of the building facing Charleston harbor. On December 3, 1773, a large gathering of Charlestonians met there to protest British tea taxes. While the British occupied Charleston from 1780 to 1782, many prominent citizens were confined in the cellar as political and military prisoners. After 1783 the Exchange became City Hall and was the site of South Carolina's convention to ratify the federal Constitution in 1788. The building also hosted visits to Charleston by George Washington in 1791 and the Marquis de Lafayette in 1825. Later architectural changes included removal of the west stair wings, enclosure of the arcaded piazza, and stuccoing of the Flemish bond exterior. For much of the nineteenth century it served as a post office. Threatened by demolition, the Exchange became the property of the Rebecca Motte Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1921. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975. Since 1976 the building has been administered by the Old Exchange Building Commission. A renovation undertaken as part of the American bicentennial observance returned the building to use in 1981. The Exchange Building was subsequently operated as a museum dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the history of the Old Exchange, the city of Charleston, and colonial and antebellum America. Excerpted from entry by John Laurens. To read more about this or 2,000 other entries about South Carolina, check out The South Carolina Encyclopedia by USC Press. (Information used by permission.)
CREDITS CharlestonCurrents.com is provided to you twice a week by:
© 2008, Statehouse Report LLC. All rights reserved. CharlestonCurrents.com is published every Monday and Thursday by Statehouse Report LLC, PO Box 22261, Charleston, SC 29413. |
Five most requested works The five works from the collection of the Gibbes Museum of Art that are most requested by other museums as loans:
Two Seated Female
Models, One on a Stool, 1971, by Philip M. Pearlstein (American, b.
1924). Oil on canvas. Museum purchase with funds provided by the National
Endowment for the Arts Living Artist Fund.
Night Lights,
ca. 1958, by J. Bardin (American, 1923-1997). Pastel and ink on paper.
Museum purchase with funds provided by a Purchase Award from the Guild
of South Carolina Artists.
Mrs. Francis Dallas
Quash (Emma Doughty), ca. 1820, by Samuel F.B. Morse (American, 1791-1872).
Oil on canvas. Gift of Mrs. Emma J. Edwards.
Still Life with
Fish, ca. 1903, by William Merritt Chase (American, 1849-1916). Oil
on canvas. Gift of Anna Heyward Taylor.
Mrs. Robert Gilmor, Jr. (Sarah Reeve Ladson), 1823, by Thomas Sully (American, 1783-1872). Oil on canvas. Bequest of Mrs. Leila Ladson Jones.
"Though there are other ways to finance your gardening, one successful way is to choose carefully whom you marry. A good and generous man is needed, one who knows how to make money and enjoys sharing it, one who himself is not interested in the actual pursuit of gardening but likes to be proud of the premises."
State of the Region Address: 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Dec. 10, Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, Charleston Area Convention Center, Ballroom A. The chamber's Joint Area Business Council looks at the state of the tri-county area with the chairmen of Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties. Topics include the latest projects, laws, news and outlooks for the coming year. To register: http://www.charlestonchamber.net. Rural Mission Fund-Raiser: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Dec. 11, Mad River Bar & Grill, 32 Market St., Charleston. Fun and entertainment to raise money to support local families in need. Donation of $5 provides food and beverages. Chance to win dinner at some of the area's best restaurants. More on Rural Mission. Fort Johnson Anniversary: 6:30 p.m. Dec. 11, Charleston County Library Main Branch Auditorium, 68 Calhoun St., Charleston. The Charleston Archive and the Mayor's Walled City Task Force sponsor a free, illustrated talk by Dr. Nic Butler, manager of the archive and the historian for the task force, to mark the 300th anniversary of the building of the fort. Archaeologist Carl Steen will discuss his recent investigations at the site. More info: 805-6968 or butlern@ccpl.org. Growing Up Gifted: 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Dec. 13, Rooms 117 and 118, School of Education, Health and Human Performance at the College of Charleston Alumni Center, 86 Wentworth St. Educational session for parents of gifted children; speakers include local and state experts and advocates for programs for exceptional children. Reservations: Stacey Lindbergh, 437-1751 or slindbergh@homesc.com. (NEW) Historic Crafts: 10 a.m. to noon Dec. 13, Charleston Museum, 360 Meeting St. Family-oriented annual event in which kids can make a cornhusk doll, spin a potter's wheel and construct a gingerbread house. Free for museum members; for nonmembers, program is free with regular museum admission of $10 per adult, $5 per child (free for those younger than 3). More info. CALENDAR: ONGOING AND SOON (NEW) Chanukah in the Square: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 21, Marion Square, downtown Charleston. Citywide celebration of the Festival of Lights, marking the first night of Chanukah. Live music, performance by the Jewish Choral Society, craft tables for kids (make your own dreidel or menorah), face-painting and more. Free and open to the public. 'A Christmas Carol': Dec. 4-21, College of Charleston Sottile Theatre, 44 George St., Charleston. Charleston Stage production of Charles Dickens' classic novel of the season. Tickets: $41-$10. To see showtimes and buy tickets, click here. Holiday Festival of Lights: Through Jan. 4, James Island County Park, 871 Riverland Drive, James Island. Millions of sparkling lights and hundreds of imaginative displays line a 3-mile drive through the park. Also includes marshmallow-roasting and activities for kids, gift shop and walking trail through Winter Wonderland. More info. Also see more here. (NEW) MLK Concert: 4 p.m. Jan. 18, Mount Moriah Family Living Center, 7396 Rivers Ave., North Charleston. "Perseverance: Where Do We Go From Here: A Celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.," presented by the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Gospel Choir and the city of North Charleston's Cultural Arts Department, featuring music, historical audio and video footage. Free; donations will be accepted at the door to support the choir's community outreach work. First-come, first-served entry tickets available at the Gaillard Auditorium Box Office in downtown Charleston; Mount Moriah Family Living Center in North Charleston or the North Charleston Cultural Arts Department. In this section, we offer a list of good reads that you might want to consider reading:
FOCUS ARCHIVES 12/8:
Butler:
Fort Johnson's 300th THRASH ARCHIVES 12/4:
Museums
offer holiday insights BRACK ARCHIVES 12/8:
Barbecue
should be state meat LIST ARCHIVES 12/8:
Top
5 requested art works SISTER PUBLICATIONS We encourage you to check out our sister publications: SC Statehouse Report -- a weekly legislative forecast that keeps you a step ahead of what happens at the Statehouse. It's free. SC Clips -- a daily news compilation of South Carolina news from media sources across the state. Delivered by email about the time you get to work every business day. Saves you a lot of money and time. Sign up for a free trial subscription today. Georgia Clips offers a similar daily news compilation for the scores of newspapers in Georgia's 159 counties. GwinnettForum -- an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA.
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