This interview with Brent Heffron focuses on two major topics, one being the idyllic nature of growing up on Sullivan’s Island during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and the other being the long history of the family home known as Waveland. Heffron details the way the house looked and the summers that were spent there. He tells many of his father’s memories passed down through the family, such as the outdoor rainwater shower, the two-holer outhouse, the Atlantic Beach Hotel that existed then, and the ferries that served the island. Heffron notes such figures as Henry, the vegetable man, and the iceman, both of whom made regular deliveries. He relates summer activities such as crabbing, swimming, exploring the old forts, and riding horses on the beach. He describes the few businesses that existed during that time. The interviewee goes on to detail the total devastation of the family home by Hurricane Hugo and the efforts to restore it.
Doris Sander Lancaster was born in a house on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, in 1928, and ever since has spent most of her life on the island. In this interview she recounts memories of childhood growing up including games, crabbing, and playing on the beach. She tells of the house near Station 24 where she and other family members grew up "fatherless." Doris details much of the relationships between the civilian population and Fort Moultrie Military Reservation. She recalls the initial reaction to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She and other island girls then were recruited by the USO to dance with the ever-increasing number of servicemen in the area who were headed for the war. She tells of her emotional reaction to the newsreels showing the horrors of combat. Doris met her future husband, Bob, when he was stationed at the fort. They were married in 1948 and spent most of their married life on the island. A great deal of Doris's narrative surrounds the relationship with Stella Maris Catholic Church, the events that took place and the personalities involved. The interview ends with Doris Lancaster's reactions to the many changes that have occurred on Sullivan's Island over the 94 years of her life.
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.
Roy Williams’ family association with Sullivan’s Island goes back to about 1815. This interview focuses on Williams’ recollections of life on the island during World War II. He describes the leisurely pace of life on the island before the war. Williams was in first grade when World War II started. He was aware of the attack on Pearl Harbor, but it seemed very far away to him. The family moved to Charlotte, North Carolina when Williams was in the second grade. Life there was a contrast with life on Sullivan’s Island. There was much more awareness of the war. Williams describes scrap metal and paper drives that took place in Charlotte. By the summer following second grade, Williams’ father had left to become an engineer on a hospital ship making runs from New York to Liverpool, England. His mother took the family to the North Carolina beach for the summer where Williams collected debris from the frequent U-Boat attacks. His mother brought the children back to Sullivan’s Island by the time Williams entered third grade. The island was now in full military mode and populated by many people from other parts of the country. Williams describes the rationing that took place for everything from shoes to beef. The war economy provided his family with money, but there was nothing to buy. Williams talks about the fear of being bombed by the Germans. He recalls that relationship between the islanders and the military Fort Moultrie was good. For Williams, the fort felt like a protective umbrella that provided services such as fighting fires and providing hurricane shelter. Still, Williams could tell the nation was at war. Soldiers marched down Middle Street. There were practice amphibious landings around Station 9. At the northeast end of the island was Battery Marshall, which was fenced off. Williams described how there were stories of prisoners of war being held at that facility. Williams relates how the war became personal to the Williams family on a couple of occasions. He recalls the joy at the end of the war, especially VJ Day, a jubilant time because friends and family were coming home.
Coastal Plains Human Development Coordinating Council (CPHDCC) publication discussing the issues and history of the coastal islands of South Carolina as well as the CPHDCC's goals and philosophy, program implementation, organization and structure, and organizational profile.
Sullivan's Island Branch Library. Caption on back: "Some of the 13 'graduates' and their friends at the closing exercises of the County library's summer reading game at the Sullivan's Island branch library, Charleston, S.C. Aug. 27, '57. Charleston County Library."
