Selden K. Smith, a South Carolina native who taught history for nearly four decades at Columbia College in Columbia, South Carolina, talks about his role in the development of Holocaust education courses. He describes meeting local survivors and says of interviewer Lilly Stern Filler’s mother, “The most compelling person of all—it was all compelling—was Jadzia [Stern].” What started as an experimental course featuring presentations by survivors grew into a standard offering at Columbia College. Dr. Smith notes he was not involved in or even aware of the effort to create legislation that established the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust (SCCH) in 1989. However, he was appointed to SCCH in 1990. He credits Margaret Walden, who then worked for the South Carolina Department of Education, for much of the progress made with Holocaust education in the state. Among SCCH’s projects was a joint effort with South Carolina Educational Television to interview survivors and liberators, resulting in the publication of the teaching guide South Carolina Voices. The interviewee discusses the status of Holocaust education in South Carolina and suggests that the challenge is how to make it “relevant to one’s day and time.”
Sound engineer, drummer, and songwriter Jason Mcfarland was born in New York City in 1973. He has lived in the Lowcountry since the 80s. His earliest music memories are related to Joyce Kilmer Park in South Bronx where every Saturday bands like Chic or Talking Heads used to play. Additionally, he saw legendary musicians as The Jackson 5 and James Brown at the Apollo Theater where his cousin worked as a sound engineer. These early experiences were enriched by the Gospel and Funk sounds of Awendaw. Later, he attended Wando High School and was a member of the Marching Band. In the interview, McFarland tells about the origin of his first band, Funny Looking Kids, and explains how young musicians worked to find opportunities to play before the internet era. He reflects about punk culture and states that Black Flag, Bad Brains and the Descendents were his most influential artists. He affirms that touring with Fishbone was one of the most memorable and remarkable experiences of his career. He recalls the Charleston music scene in the 80s and 90s naming the music venues, record stores, and bars that congregated musicians and students in the city. McFarland is proud of his multifaceted career as a sound engineer and as a musician, which gives him multiple opportunities to enjoy great music. At the time of the interview, McFarland was playing with two bands, Funny Looking Kids and Hybrid Mutants.
Delia Chariker was born in born in Kingsville, Texas and when she was two moved to Clover, South Carolina where she grew up. Her earliest musical memories relate to her mother's big playful and musical family. She learned to play guitar when she was in High school. She attended college in North Carolina and after that she moved around the country playing in Nashville and California. However, making a living as a musician proved to be a struggle and she returned to school to obtain a Masters in Music therapy. She reflects about being a working musician and states this is one of the most rewarding times of her career: She is able to make a living creating music with her veteran clients and plays around town with her musician friends. Animas, her solo album reflects Chariker's deep connection with her Native American spirituality roots. At the time of the interview, Chariker was employed at the Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affair Medical Center and was the Music Director at Unitarian Church in Mount Pleasant.
Music entrepreneur and philanthropist Eddie White was born in 1960 in Charleston, South Carolina. He attended Wando High School and later Furman University where he obtained a degree in dentistry, a profession he has practiced for more than thirty years. Music acquired an important place in White's life when he met his wife and her musical family. This interest deepened raising his three children because White became involved with his children music activities and by doing that, he had the opportunity to meet and share time with interesting and creative people. In 2007, after a series of collaborations with local musicians and small concerts, he opened Awendaw Green with the purpose of offering a listening environment for new bands and local talent. In the interview, White remembers the beginning of the project, the challenges they faced and reflects about the impact of Awendaw Green on the Lowcountry music scene and beyond.
Guitarist and entrepreneur Clelia Hand Reardon was born in Huntsville, Alabama. She recalls her beginnings: taking piano lessons when she was in first grade and knowing when she was only thirteen that she wanted to be a classical guitarist. Reardon talks about her mentor and friend, Mr. Fred Sabback, and states he was the biggest influence in her career. In the interview, Reardon reflects about her prolific career as a performer and as a teacher. She remembers her experiences playing in many shows in Charleston; included Man of the Mancha, Porgy and Bess, and Jesus Christ Superstar; touring Europe twice with a jazz band, and participating in the organization of the Guitar Foundation of America international conventions and competitions. Finally, she reflects about the rewards of her teaching career.
Consuelo Campos was born in Aquila, Michoacán, Mexico. Because her family was very poor and she was the oldest of thirteen siblings, she started working at an early age in the production of bricks and selling food that her mother prepared. She attended school only for two years after the village priest convinced her father that education was necessary and important. Poverty and the news of prosperity that came from the north fueled her desire to emigrate and help her family. At the age of nineteen, she married a young man from her town who worked as an agricultural worker in the United States. Soon after, in 1989 they settled in the state of Washington. In 1992, they moved to Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina but continued to travel as a migrant working family. Finally, after almost ten years working in the fields and concerned about her children’s wellbeing, she decided to settle down and began to clean houses in Johns Island. She learned English and opened several small businesses, including a cleaning company and a restaurant. At the time of the interview, Campos was working full-time with the company Mary Kay. She reflects on the reasons for emigrating, remembers life on Johns Island and Wadmalaw Island in the 90s, and takes pride in accomplishing her goal of helping her family. / Consuelo Campos nació en Aquila, Michoacán México. Su familia era muy pobre y como era la mayor de trece hermanos tuvo que comenzar a trabajar desde muy pequeña en la producción de ladrillos y vendiendo comida que su madre preparaba. Asistió a la escuela solamente por dos años después de que el sacerdote del pueblo convenciera a su padre de la que la educación era necesaria e importante. La pobreza y las noticias de prosperidad que llegaban desde el norte alimentaron su deseo de emigrar y ayudar a su familia. A los 19 años se casó con un joven de su pueblo, que se desempeñaba como trabajador agrícola en los Estados Unidos y con él, en el año 1989 se radicó en el estado de Washington. En 1992 se mudaron a Wadmalaw Island, Carolina del Sur, pero siguieron viajando en familia como trabajadores migrantes. Finalmente, después de casi diez años trabajando en el campo y pensando en el bienestar de sus hijos, decidió establecerse y para ganar su sustento empezó a limpiar casas en Johns Island. Aprendió inglés y abrió varios pequeños negocios, entre ellos una compañía de limpieza y un restaurante. Al tiempo de la entrevista Campos estaba abocada a tiempo completo a trabajar con la compañía Mary Kay. Campos reflexiona sobre las razones para emigrar, recuerda la vida en Johns Island and Wadmanlaw Island en la década de los noventa y se enorgullece de haber logrado su objetivo de ayudar a su familia.
Enrique Martinez is the owner of La Casa Mexicana, one of the first Hispanic stores in the city of Goose Creek. He was born in Tampico Tamaulipas, Mexico and studied Agricultural Administration at the Autonomous University of Tamaulipas. At the end of the 80s, he emigrated with his then-wife Marcela Ortega to the United States and after a brief stay in Texas, they settled in Johns Island, South Carolina. Martinez started working in agriculture, but the devastation caused by hurricane Hugo in 1989 and the subsequent real estate development in the area demanded more workers and created new job opportunities. Martinez found work in the construction of the Kiawah golf courses. He and his wife opened El Mercadito, the first Hispanic store in Johns Island. After their separation, Martinez left the island and moved to North Charleston. He became familiar with the growing Hispanic community of Goose Creek and decided to establish the store he still owns. In the interview, Martínez reflects on his experiences as an immigrant and the evolution of the Hispanic community in the area. He also speaks proudly of his children and of what he has been able to achieve in his life. / Enrique Martínez es el propietario de ”La Casa Mexicana” uno de las tiendas de productos hispanos con más trayectoria en la ciudad de Goose Creek. Nació en Tampico Tamaulipas, México y estudió administración agropecuaria en la Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas. A fines de la década de los ochenta emigró con su entonces esposa, Marcela Ortega, a los Estados Unidos y después de una breve temporada en Texas la pareja se asentó en Johns Island, Carolina del Sur. Martínez encontró empleo en la agricultura, pero la devastación producida por el huracán Hugo en 1989 y el posterior desarrollo inmobiliario de la zona demandaron más trabajadores y originaron nuevas oportunidades por lo cual Martínez comenzó a trabajar en la construcción de los campos de golf de Kiawah. Junto a su esposa abrió la primera tienda de productos hispanos en Johns Island ”El Mercadito”. Después de su separación, Martínez dejó la isla y se mudó a North Charleston. Se familiarizó con la vibrante comunidad hispana de Goose Creek y decidió establecer allí el negocio que todavía conserva. En la entrevista, Martínez reflexiona acerca de la evolución de la comunidad hispana en el área y sus experiencias personales como inmigrante. También habla con orgullo de sus dos hijos y de lo que ha podido construir en su vida.
Gino Castillo was born in Quito, Ecuador in 1974. His maternal grandparents raised him and introduced him to classical and Cuban music. He started playing drums when he was thirteen years old. As a drummer, he toured with rock bands in his country, Latin America, and Europe. In 1998, studying in Cuba, he decided to focus completely on hand percussion. Castillo moved to New York with his family in 2010 and was there for about a year. Then, he relocated in the Lowcountry lured by the promise of a great opportunity to play music. After realizing the deal was not real, he tried different jobs to support his family. He was frustrated and depressed but determined to play music. He connected with local musicians such as Charlton Singleton and Quentin Baxter and through them with the Charleston Latin Jazz Collective. Castillo reflects about the changes in the Charleston music scene since he arrived in town in 2010. He talks about the challenges of carving a niche for Latin Jazz and funk music. He discusses his participation in the Charleston Jazz Collective, his collaboration with other musicians and the success of the Salsa Nights in Voodoo. Castillo recorded his first solo album Ya llegué in 2008 and in 2014 released SoulFunKubanized.
Singer and storyteller Ann Caldwell was born in Denmark, South Carolina in 1952. Her family moved to Charleston when she was three years old. Her early musical memories relate to the church music and the long hours she spent listening to gospel and R&B on the radio. However, her interest in pursuing a professional musical career would develop much later. She was an adult when she had her first solo concert at St. Paul AME Church in the City of North Charleston in 1982. In the interview, Caldwell recalls the challenges of being a working mother and a party band singer as well as her experiences singing with the David Archer Band. She also talks about the Magnolia Singers, a Charleston-based vocal group she founded and gained national recognition. Caldwell reflects about what means for her to perform Gullah Spirituals, the music of her ancestors to different audiences. She discusses her participation in programs and events with musicians of different styles and traditions such as the Women & Series at the Music Hall and talks about what it takes to be a working musician in Charleston. Finally, she reflects about the Charleston music community response to Mother Emanuel tragedy and affirms, "I don't believe the music has changed. It's the medicine we lean on."
Musician, educator, and community leader Lonnie Hamilton III was born in Charleston in 1927. He is a graduate of South Carolina State College and VanderCook College of Music in Chicago. In the interview, Hamilton reflects about growing up and developing his career in the segregated South since his beginnings at Burke High and the Jenkins Orphanage Band. He speaks about his long and gratifying career as an educator teaching music at Sims High School in Union, South Carolina and at Bonds-Wilson High School at North Charleston, South Carolina, and the many relationships he forged with his students over the years. He talks about the highlights of his performing career, playing daily on Channel 2, attaining the dream to have his own club, Lonnie's, his successful years playing at Henry's on North Market Street, and having the opportunity to compose an original song, "Ugly Way Blues" that he performed on the movie Rich in Love. Hamilton recalls the excitement he felt when he listened to jazz music for the first time in a show called Silas Green Minstrel in downtown Charleston and describes playing at Mosquito Beach as a unique and wonderful experience. Hamilton takes pride in his accomplishments, as an educator, as a musician, as a businessperson, and as a City Council member. He affirms he was able to break Charleston's racial and economic barriers thanks to his saxophone.
Lara DeVille LeRoy talks about her grandparents Rosa and Felix Dziewienski, who “survived the Holocaust by sheer luck.” From the Warsaw ghetto in Poland, where a soldier killed their infant son, they were sent to Plaszow concentration camp. Near the end of the war, they escaped to the forest where they were separated. Felix joined the resistance and Rosa was forced to work for a Russian colonel keeping house and caring for children. After the war Rosa and Felix were reunited in a German DP camp. With two of Felix’s brothers and their wives, they settled in Wurmannsquick, Germany. One brother and his wife, Herman and Maria, immigrated to Atlanta, Georgia, as soon as possible. Felix and Rosa and Felix’s remaining brother and his wife, Carl and Sasha, stayed and made a life. Lara’s father, Roman, was born in 1946. The antisemitism in the German schools was hard on Roman and his cousin, so they were sent to boarding schools in England and Australia, respectively. When Roman was about fifteen years old, he and his parents visited Herman and Maria in Atlanta. Roman announced he would not leave, so they enrolled him in Georgia Military Academy. His parents immigrated to Atlanta about a year later, followed by Carl and Sasha. Lara describes Rosa’s attitudes about food—it was a “cure-all”—plus “there was a lot of focus on the ability to use the bathroom.” In her habits Rosa was very neat and clean, but also a hoarder. “She, for sure, communicated that you had to be strong and put your best face and foot forward. And so, if an emotion could be satiated by a macaroon or salami stick, a larger emotion was not to be displayed in public.” Rosa also demonstrated a strong work ethic, believing you should always do your best. While this concept was conveyed to Lara, it was not imparted to Lara’s father. Lara notes that her grandparents weren’t “equipped to be parents” due to the trauma they endured and the lack of family support. Rosa, in particular, overindulged Roman, setting no boundaries. “I think that I would directly attribute my dad’s drug addiction and his insecurities and his need to self-medicate and his lack of discipline and his, sort of, largess to the Holocaust. I think the way he relates to people is, to some extent, largely influenced by the Holocaust.” Lara found herself driven to learn about the Holocaust; “it drove me professionally because I founded an organization that did Holocaust and diversity education.” She discusses her group visits to Poland, one with her father, one with local Holocaust survivors Pincus Kolender and Joe Engel, and one that she organized while working for Charleston Jewish Federation. “Mankind has not, as a whole, changed because these atrocities still continue. So that’s why I went.” [Note: Roman changed the family name from Dziewienski to DeVille when Lara was three years old.] This is one of a number of interviews conducted by Ph.D. candidate Lucas Wilson, for his dissertation, “The Structures of Postmemory: Portraits of Survivor-Family Homes in Second-Generation Holocaust Literature.” Wilson was awarded two Charleston Research Fellowships (May 2017, February 2019) by the Pearlstine/Lipov Center for Southern Jewish Culture at the College of Charleston.
Michelle Mapp was born on September 4, 1969 in Bad Kreuznach, Germany where her father, a U.S. Army drill sergeant was stationed. The family moved back to the United States when she was four years old and to the Charleston area when she was thirteen. Mapp attended Brentwood Middle School and Garret High School in North Charleston. She earned a bachelor's degree in Engineering from Clemson University and a Master of Engineering Management at George Washington University. She lived with her husband in Atlanta for several years and then relocated to Charleston in 2000. While teaching math at Stall High in North Charleston she observed the complexity of community factors that affected her students and became more interested in working on public policies. Following this interest, she enrolled in the master's degree program in public administration at the College of Charleston and started working right away with a newly formed organization, the Charleston Housing Trust. In the interview, Mapp discusses in length the need for affordable housing in Charleston and North Charleston and states that regional conversations and plans are needed and still lacking. She explains that affordable housing requires both finding resources but also modifying government building and development regulations. At the end of the interview, Mapp reflects about the Mother Emanuel AME Chuch massacre, the killing of Walter Scott, and systemic racism in Charleston and South Carolina.
Feidin del Rosario Santana was born in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic in 1991. He moved with his family to New Jersey, NY when he was twelve years old. After high school graduation at the age of nineteen, he returned to his country to train at a baseball academy in rural San Pedro. He explains that for him this was a "life-changing experience" but after a physical injury, he had to quit and return to the USA where he struggled to adjust. Later, he went back to Punta Cana to work in the tourist industry. There he met the mother of his child and trained as a barber. A job opportunity in a barbershop brought him to North Charleston in 2013. On his way to work on the morning of Saturday, April 4th, 2015 Santana recorded the killing Walter Scott by North Charleston Police Officer Michael Slager. Realizing the magnitude of the event he had witnessed, he feared for his safety but decided to hand over the video to the Scott family prompting the arrest of Slager. Santana reflects about the following months, including dealing with the press and media outlets, being a witness in the trial, and becoming the target of hateful messages.
Interview with Thomas Pinckney Rutledge Rivers, long time Charleston resident living on the lower peninsula in the South of Broad neighborhood. Rivers recalls they joy of growing up South of Broad at 28 Gibbes St and 7 Orange Street and the change that took place over the past 80 years. His parents were both from established, long time Charleston families. Rivers grew up hunting in McClellanville and was an avid hunter his whole life. He went away to boarding school, attended Davidson College, went to medical school, joined the army, then came back to Charleston and started practicing as an OBGYN at Roper Hospital. Rivers has a lot of commentary on what the hospital was like years ago and how it has evolved since the 1960s. A particularly funny story he tells is that he delivered a baby with a dying quail in his back pocket after being called in to the hospital while hunting. He believes he has delivered 7,000 babies in Charleston over his lifetime. Rivers has fond memories of the Charleston he knew as a boy and fears what has become of the city today with new development and an influx of tourists and new residents. Interviewed by Anne Blessing in Mrs. Blessing's home on August 9, 2017. Recorded as part of HCF's "Changing Neighborhoods" series, made possible by a grant from the SC Humanities Commission.
Radio host and producer Osei Terry Chandler was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1946. His father was a musician and his mother loved listening to music. Growing up in his multicultural city, he was exposed to all kinds of music. As a teenager, he joined his high school radio and mixed music at parties. He moved to Jacksonville, Illinois to attend MacMurray College and there continued DJing and working for the college radio. After graduation, he returned to New York to support his younger brothers and there he met and fell in love with Sadeeka Joyner, a young woman from Ridgeville SC, who would become his wife and the mother of his three children. In 1977, Chandler relocated to Charleston. Soon after, he found an opportunity to work on a jazz radio program replacing the host Tony Robertson. Later he focused mostly on reggae and Caribbean music. His program Roots Musik Karamu has been on the air in SC Public Radio since 1979. In the interview, Chandler recalls some of the most memorable moments of his career and reflects about the evolution of the music scene in Charleston. Finally, he states he has had a joyful life sharing his work with musicians and friends and explains that all the aspects of his life, family, his work as an educator and the music, are tied together. Mostly he always has wanted to share music that brings positive feelings and thoughts that are uplifting for the community.
Galen Hudson, owner of Monster Music and Movies Store, was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1967 and he grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. His earliest musical memories relate to his love for bagpipes and drums and the music of his Catholic grade school. He remembers the first record he bought- Steve Miller Band, Fly Like an Eagle when he was just a nine-year-old kid. He got his first job in a books and records store when he was a teenager. After graduating from college with a Bachelor in Psychology, he went to work for a retail music and entertainment store chain, Record Bar, in Chapel Hill. Later, he moved with his girlfriend to Charleston where he continued working with record stores, first at Manifest Discs and Tapes and later at Cats Music. In the interview, Hudson talks about the negative impact that the big boxes commercial model and the early file-sharing services had on the records business. However, he argues small local stores are resilient and have learned to adjust. He talks about Record Store Day, an initiative started by of a coalition of independent record stores fifteen years ago. He states his store and the Record Store Day are successful thanks to the Charleston community's cultural vibrancy and support.
Musician and art entrepreneur Leah Suárez was born on August 12, 1981, in Greenwood South Carolina. She grew up in Charleston with her parents and three brothers and her childhood activities revolved around soccer and music. As early musical experiences, she remembers singing with her mother the mixed tapes her brother created for her. Suárez formal musical training started in middle school when she joined the school band and learned to play the euphonium. She received a scholarship to study the instrument at George Mason University College but she dropped out due to health problems. She returned to South Carolina and enrolled at the College of Charleston where she focused on vocals. At the age of twenty-four, she participated in the Copenhagen Jazz Festival and lived in Europe for six months. Back in Charleston, with the support of her mentor and friend, Jack McCray co-founded Jazz Artists of Charleston (JAC) becoming the organization Executive Director and the co-producer the Charleston Jazz Orchestra. In the interview, Suárez explains that her life experiences and the issues affecting her community shaped her voice and art. She reflects about the challenges and rewards of being a musician entrepreneur in Charleston, her work with other Charleston musicians, and the importance of re-connecting with her Latino roots.
Songwriter, singer, and guitarist Eddie Bush was born in Princeton, a small rural town in Indiana, in 1965 and he has lived in the Lowcountry since the early 70s. When he was four years old, his father taught him basic guitar chords and since then he never stopped learning and perfecting his craft. In the interview, Bush talks about the musicians that influenced him, remembers his teen years playing in Charleston and reflects about the evolution of Charleston music scene. Bush recalls some of the most memorable moments of his career such as touring with Eric Johnson, becoming a member of the harmony group One Flew South, standing on a stage by John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson, designing his own guitar and the overwhelming public response he received for his songs "Spirit of America" and "The Thin Blue Line." Finally, he discusses the challenges of making a living as a musician in the time of the internet and takes pride in his work as a guitar teacher. Teaching gives him the opportunity to nurture young talents and share his values as a musician.
Vocalist Aisha Kenyetta (a.k.a Aisha Frazier) was born in 1980, in Monetta, South Carolina. Before going to college, her life revolved around family and church activities. Kenyetta describes herself as a freelance vocalist with a powerful voice: "I'm a power singer... but when I sing, my diction is rhythmic. My voice is an extension of the percussion instruments. It's not—I'm not the violin. I'm the bass." She performs with her own band AmpSquared and several other such as Super Deluxe, Plane Jane, and the musician collective Emerald Empire. Additionally, she is the North Charleston Seacoast Church's Worship Leader. In the interview, Kenyetta discusses balancing family, day work, and music career and states she is grateful for the many opportunities to perform. At the time of the interview, Kenyetta was writing her own material.
Saxophonist Abe White was born in downtown Charleston in 1935. He attended Burke High and there he realized he could be a musician. Soon, with almost no training, he started playing at the local bars in Reynolds Avenue in North Charleston and in downtown Charleston. The job allowed him to make money and support his mother financially but also exposed him to the nightlife dangers. After graduating from high school, White joined the Air Force in administrative positions. He was stationed in Texas, Colorado, California, Florida, Germany, and Thailand. On each place, after his office hours, he pursued opportunities to play. When he returned to the civil life, he started his own business, "The Abe White Affair". In the interview, White reflects about his music and career and the long journey that took him from playing at armors and bars to his performances in local concerts and the Piccolo Spoleto Festival.
Interview by April Wood of Gladys G. Harvey, a woman who grew up in the North Central neighborhood. Her father was carpenter and also a pastor of Gethsemane Church and her son is the current pastor of the church. Ms. Harvey describes her experience growing up as a pastor's daughter and how her father was very protective of her and her siblings. She recalls shopping for clothes and also the neighborhood grocery stores. She also discusses the Charleston Hospital Workers strike and how she felt when Martin Luther King was killed, and about her having gotten pregnant at 16 and had to leave Burke High School for a private school in Denmark, SC. She reminisces about lunches after church on Sundays and how this was the biggest event of the week. There was a lot of cross over between Gethsemane Baptist Church and New Israel Reformed Episcopal Church as neighbors, especially after Sunday services. Ms. Harvey has had the opportunity to travel a lot in more recent years and has enjoyed this opportunity. Grants from both the South Carolina Humanities Commission and the Employees Community Fund of Boeing allowed HCF to proceed with this initiative and several oral history interviews have been conducted that focus on specific neighborhoods and the changes these residents have experienced over time.
Musician and educator Mervin Antonio Jenkins, also known as Spec the Spectacular for his talent at rhyming and freestyle, was born in Eutawville, South Carolina in 1972. He is the first child of Mary, a schoolteacher and Melvin Jenkins, an auto mechanic worker. It was on his father's garage that Jenkins listened to Run DMC, "Sucker MC's" for the first time. Then, he would learn more about rap music and culture with his cousin from New York. In the interview, Jenkins reflects on his career as a musician and as an educator that uses rap to engage young people. He shares the challenges and rewards of his career, stating that recording with Big Daddy Cane was one of his proudest moments. He discusses the evolution of rap music and its styles and names his favorite artists. When asked about a particular Charleston/Carolinas sound, he argues that the Carolinas never developed their own rap sound and style because it was not functional for the music industry. At the end of the interview, he performs "War of the Worlds" and freestyles responding to the audience prompts.
Interview by Katherine Pemberton with Martha Sass, a woman who was raised in the East Side of Charleston. When she was a child, the family moved to Charleston from Cross, SC after the family house burned down there. They first lived on Line Street, then moved to the projects. While living on Line Street, she started attending Mt. Carmel United Methodist Church where she remains very active and involved. Mrs. Sass discusses living in the East Side; her sometimes difficult family life and her social life; going to school (Sanders Clyde, then C.A. Brown) and college (South Carolina State University); various grocery and department stores in the neighborhood and downtown; recreational activities including ice skating at County Hall, going to The Battery, and going to Folly and Mosquito Beach; moving to New York after high school then moving back to Charleston; meeting her husband; her involvement with the Church; Hurricane Hugo; etc. She reminisces about Cross, SC, where she visited throughout her early childhood. She also discusses the changes she has seen in the neighborhood both positive and negative, and her concerns about the future of the East Side. While she feels that she didn't experience racism directly, she was aware of racism and other racial divides in Charleston, and shares a story about her brother's marriage to a Vietnamese woman. Grants from both the South Carolina Humanities Commission and the Employees Community Fund of Boeing allowed HCF to proceed with this initiative and several oral history interviews have been conducted that focus on specific neighborhoods and the changes these residents have experienced over time.
Interview of Joe Louis Jefferson by April Wood, a man who grew up in the North Central neighborhood and long-time attendee of New Israel Reformed Episcopal Church. Mr. Jefferson recounts his experiences growing up in the neighborhood and describes businesses that he would frequent as a young man. He used to walk through Hampton Park on the way to school and walked by the former zoo in the park. He recalls that the lions could be heard roaring at night from his house. He also describes his experiences working at local drug store and race relations through the Civil Rights era. Grants from both the South Carolina Humanities Commission and the Employees Community Fund of Boeing allowed HCF to proceed with this initiative and several oral history interviews have been conducted that focus on specific neighborhoods and the changes these residents have experienced over time.
Lebanese-American musician Peter Kfoury was born in Manchester, New Hampshire. His father was Lebanese and his mother Syrian. At thirteen, he learned to play guitar and soon after, he became fascinated with the oud, an old Mid-Eastern traditional instrument. He moved to Connecticut to attend college and for a few months, he took lessons with the Armenian musician George Mgrdichian. By that time, Kfoury started blending Middle Eastern music with jazz, rock, and funk. After a year, he decided to leave college and went to play music in New York. Later he returned to school and graduated as Dr. Chiropractor, the profession he has practiced for almost forty years. In the interview, Kfoury talks about the lack of diversity in the music offerings in Charleston as well as the lack of listening rooms. Responding to these voids, in 2016 he launched the World Music Cafe. John Holenko and Hazel Ketchum from Hungry Monk Music supported his efforts. Since then, World Music Cafe produces a monthly show that features three musicians of different musical traditions and styles. Finally, Kfoury talks about creating, recording and presenting his album At the Heart of Two Worlds.
In this interview, Father Lawrence McInerny relates his family tree, starting with Michael McInerny from County Clare, Ireland, the first family member to come to Sullivan’s Island in 1840. Married to Julia Lillis, Michael McInerny bought property but had trouble retaining it. He owned a bakery that was destroyed by arson. In 1884, he died in a horse and buggy accident. His son, John Francis McInerny, was born on the island in 1842. John Francis became a brick mason and later operated a lumber business. John Francis briefly served as marshal of Moultrieville. His brother, James, died in Confederate service during the American Civil War. The hard times of Reconstruction forced John Francis to move to Brooklyn, New York, where he married. He moved back to the island in about 1875. In 1876, during the last great yellow fever epidemic, two of his children died. In 1889, he bought Centennial Hall which he renovated but sold soon after renovations were completed. John Francis died in 1914. His son, Joseph P. McInerny, was a merchant on the island and was instrumental in starting the local elementary school. Joseph’s son, Edward Reynolds McInerny, was born in 1910 and ran a successful laundry business. Reynolds, as he was called, was the Father Lawrence McInerny’s father. Father McInerny reflects on his and his family’s recollections of many aspects of island life including the presence of many more children, a significantly larger African American population, an easy-going lifestyle focused on boats and bicycles, the storms that have hit the island, prohibition, the ferries once needed to bring people to the area, and the businesses that used to dot the island. Closing on a personal note, Father McInerny talks about his summer work with the National Park Service and his call into the priesthood.
Doris Dayhoff was born in a house on Sullivan’s Island on March 5th, 1928. During this interview, she recounts her early childhood growing up on the island. Her father worked as a tugboat captain and an oysterman. Her mother was postmistress at the Atlanticville Post Office. The family home was at Station 26 ½ and Myrtle Avenue on the marsh side of the island, locally referred to as “the back beach.” Property research indicates the land was originally part of a “King’s grant” in the Colonial era. Dayhoff helped her father with his oyster business, selling pints of fresh oysters for only 25 or 50 cents each. Dayhoff attended elementary school on Sullivan’s island. For high school, Dayhoff first attended Memminger on the Charleston peninsula, though she attended and graduated from the newly opened Moultrie School. Much of her time was spent on the beach with friends, and in this interview Dayhoff recounts an instance when one of her friends nearly drowned. Dayhoff also recalled how, despite there being only a few stores on the island, one store operated a delivery service for the residents of the island, including going to the house of customers to take their order. Dayhoff was in high school when World War II started. She described the island’s initial reaction to Pearl Harbor. Like most all the other girls on the island, Dayhoff was recruited during the war to go to the local USO clubs as a volunteer to dance with the servicemen. Dayhoff recounted how some of the airmen would later fly over the beach and dip their wings to say good-bye to the girls as they flew off to war. Dayhoff described the stresses of living on the island during World War II, including blackouts, rationing, and evidence of U-Boat activity. A GI from Ft. Moultrie eventually asked Dayhoff to marry him, which she did. Doris describes in detail the origins of Sullivan’s Island Baptist Church, which she has attended for 68 years. Dayhoff discusses the changes the island has undergone in her lifetime, including the island demographics shift, the accretion of land and increased traffic on the island.
In this interview, Rovena Owens relates the story of her family on Sullivan’s Island beginning with Vincent Peter, whose father was a slave trader. According to Owen’s family tradition, one of the captured African women became both Vincent’s slave and his wife. They arrived on Sullivan’s Island around 1812-13. Owens then traces her family history through succeeding generations, many of whom were free people of color, including Louis Peters, her second great-grandfather, her great-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Pezant, and grandmother, Margaret Etta Pezant, who married Alan Perry Jones. Their daughter, Rovena Agnes Jones, married Walter Hazel, a member of the prominent Manigault family of Charleston. Walter was “kicked out” of his family for marrying a woman of color. Rovena Agnes Jones and Walter Hazel were then the parents of Rovena Owens. While discussing her roots on Sullivan’s Island, Owens discusses the topic of racially mixed families and their general acceptance on the island. Owens contrasted this sentiment with the attitudes of those who came from other parts of the country, such as the Fort Moultrie soldiers. Owens recalls island life as “paradise” where black and white children enjoyed playing, boating, and crabbing. Sundays were always popular times for the family on the island. Her grandmother had a pot of okra soup ready for whoever appeared. Some of Owens’ fondest memories were those Sundays with the ladies in the kitchen and the men out working on some kind of “project.” Owens also discusses the efforts made on the island to preserve its historic cemeteries. She also relates her family’s struggles with major storms such Hurricane Hugo. Through all of the storms, the Owens family homestead at Station 23 and Myrtle Avenue on the marsh side of the island, locally known as the “back beach”, remains intact. To Owens, Sullivan’s Island is “home,” where she’s comfortable.
Born in Horry County, South Carolina, Bryan Rowell came to Sullivan’s Island after World War II. He reminisces about life on the island in the late 1950’s. Rowell soon became active in the political life of the island, serving on the Township Commission for 12 years from 1963 to 1975. While on the Commission he served as Civil Defense Chairman and helped prepare the island for a potential nuclear attack during the Cuban missile crisis. He also recounts the reenactment of the Battle of Sullivan’s Island that was staged in 1966, including a mishap with gunpowder that led to the death of a local teenager. Despite his best efforts to create reasonable ways to keep horses as part of the island ambiance, horses were banned during Rowell’s tenure on the Commission. Bryan Rowell is remembered by many as the member of the Exchange Club who was in charge of the skating rink at the old recreation hall that no longer exists. Rowell also operated a “Variety Store” on the island that sold everything from food to clothing. His other passion has been as a member of the local Baptist Church. Rowell recounts other memories, including conflict with the DOT over access to the Isle of Palms, the local theater productions, and the accretion of land with development of the maritime forest.
Interview with Emily Whaley Whipple, long time Charleston resident living on the lower peninsula in the South of Broad neighborhood. Whipple recalls growing up South of Broad at 58 Church and the change that took place over the past 75 years. She discusses her parents and their involvement in Charleston, both in city issues and the social scene. Her father, Ben Scott Whaley, was an attorney for the County Council, President of the South Carolina Bar Association, served in the South Carolina legislature, and was a charter member of Historic Charleston Foundation and its President for 13 years. Her mother was the chairwoman of a large annual church event and she started a dancing school with a family friend that met in Hibernian Hall and eventually the school was turned over to Whipple. She paints a beautiful picture of what it was like to play in the neighborhood, go to Charleston Day School, be one of three sisters, come home for 2 p.m. dinner, summer on Isle of Palms, vacation in Flat Rock, and spend weekends out on family plantations. Whipple provides commentary on Historic Charleston Foundation's home and garden tours. She mentions all of the people who were employed by her family and where they lived. Whipple also talks about various natural disasters that hit Charleston and how the city has changed to become much nicer looking but says that does mean that the city has not always been beautiful. She remarks, "Charleston is like a well-tended and cherished garden. That is what the city of Charleston is like. Certainly there are some plants that need to be pulled up or changed or rooted. But we love it. I'm so proud of the next generation and what they are doing to keep it this way. My mother always said that Charleston's adornment were its children, because we were all over the street." Interview conducted by Anne Blessing in Mrs. Blessing's home, on July 18, 2017. Recorded as part of HCF's "Changing Neighborhoods" series, made possible by a grant from the SC Humanities Commission.
Interview with Joseph Watson, owner of the corner store located at 62 America Street. Watson recalls growing up on the East Side and the changes that have taken place over his 67 years of living there. He discusses his mother at length and her strength and resilience to do whatever it took to raise her children as a single mom working several jobs. His mother, Mary Watson, opened up a restaurant in the same location where Watson's corner store is currently located, and called it Watson's Grill. Watson's ancestors were enslaved in Eutawville before the Civil War and were moved to this area to work on a local plantation. After freedom, two of the brothers were able to buy 72 acres in Parker's Ferry. Mr. Watson notes the changes in the boundaries of the east side, state of the schools in the area, involvement in the BAR, and addition of a community council. He worries that the cultural character of the neighborhood may get lost and the kind community and integrity that they have will be gone due to gentrification. Watson recalls several stores and landmarks that used to be in the area and different ethnicities of people living in the Eastside. Joseph Watson is committed to his community and wants to see his neighbors thrive. He finishes his interview saying, "Our Constitution says we. It didn't leave no one out, and we must make an effort to make sure everyone can have a job. And that's why I wanted and still want to start with our training program now." He intends to help everyone he can and empower the members of the East Side to want the best for themselves. Interviewed by April Wood on June 6, 2017 at Mr. Watson's shop at 62 America Street. Recorded as part of HCF's "Changing Neighborhoods" series, made possible by a grant from the SC Humanities Commission.
Interview by April Wood of Joyce Howard, a woman who grew up in the North Central neighborhood of Charleston. The interview focuses on Ms. Howard's experiences growing up in the neighborhood, what her childhood house and neighborhood were like (and how it has changed), where she was allowed to shop and go to as a young woman. She talks about having been recruited for college, her experiences during the Civil Rights era in Charleston and in Alabama where she went to college, and also voting and registering to vote, including how people had to pass a literacy test. She recalls times when Black entertainers who come to perform in Charleston and where they'd be able to stay, and going to Atlantic Beach (near Myrtle Beach) because Charleston area beaches were segregated. (She mentions Mosquito Beach but not as a "water beach" but one with clubs and houses.) She also reflects on the shootings at Emanuel A.M.E. Church and the impact the City on the nation impressed by the local response and as an impetus for many people to move here. Ms. Howard is a long-term member and leader of New Israel Reformed Episcopal Church. Grants from both the South Carolina Humanities Commission and the Employees Community Fund of Boeing allowed HCF to proceed with this initiative and several oral history interviews have been conducted that focus on specific neighborhoods and the changes these residents have experienced over time.
Oral history interview conducted by College of Charleston Libraries Special Collections and Archives as part of the ongoing efforts to preserve, elevate, and document the stories and history of the LGBTQ+ community in South Carolina. Mark Gray (pronouns: He/His), white chocolatier and AIDS activist, in this third of three interviews (with transcripts of earlier ones available in the repository), discusses the changes in his life as he moved from West Virginia to Charleston, SC, where, in a "turning point," he worked on the "front line" of AIDS activism. Having grown up in Virginia, attending gay bars in Roanoke in an era when there were still raids, he became a renown chocolatier at the Greenbrier Hotel. He trained from 1977-1979 and then worked there for five years. He led a "charmed life" at this prestigious hotel where US Presidents came and the Iranian hostages were housed after their 1981 release. His friends included a gay speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan, and the White House Executive Chef Walter Scheib. He speaks of the parties he threw, the relationships he had, and the start of the AIDS crisis. Moving to Charleston in 1984, Gray eventually established Cacao, a chocolate shop on King Street. He lived a completely out life in Charleston where he found people open, friendly and non-judgmental, recalls eccentric friends like Witsell Neyle and Mary Alston Ruff, mentions how African Americans attended the women's bar D?j? Vu, and contrasts the small town atmosphere and the beginning of the food and restaurant scene to later changes. Being an openly gay merchant started rumors and brought many to his shop including two gay youths seeking positive role models ? Joel Derfner, who later wrote books on LGBTQ topics and "Baby" Thomas Myers whose father founded We Are Family, an organization for LGBTQ youth. Distressed by the death of so many "boys" from AIDS, Gray helped found Helping Hands, a grass roots organization of volunteers who banded together to help people with AIDS, a disease that provoked such fear that he had to paper his store windows to shield those attending a fund-raiser there. He traces the creation of Palmetto AIDS Life Support Services (PALSS), and his growing involvement, noting how he learned to become an advocate "and that I do have a voice." He became trained in HIV testing and counseling, became the head of the volunteer program of PALSS, later Lowcountry AIDS Services, creating the nutritional program and a food bank. As he closed his retail store and concentrated on baking, and his business partner started St. John's Caf?, a gay friendly restaurant on John's Island (later The Fat Hen), Gray realized his work with HIV and advocacy "had become everything I was." This took a toll on his life and his relationships, which therapy helped resolve. Speaking on the current state of affairs, he says he is happy that HIV has become a manageable disease but is alarmed that people are still becoming infected, and regrets the fact that many younger than he are ignorant of this and other parts of LGBTQ history. He finds the community much more fragmented, assimilated and divided by class than what he experienced, yet ends on a positive note of his personal philosophy to "celebrate life."
![Interview with Thomas Pinckney Rutledge Rivers [Tommy Rivers]](https://rspace.library.cofc.edu/filestore/9/9/7/0/2/2_95b79094de0524c/220799_alt_32898_44746902137e16d.jpg)
