A Third-Grade Celebration of South Carolina History and Culture at Hammond School in Columbia

Something a little different this time. A program that combines South Carolina’s interesting places and interesting people.

Last month I had the opportunity to learn that South Carolina history still is being taught in our schools. In this case, courtesy of the third grade at Hammond School in Columbia.

Each year Hammond’s third grade students present an extensive South Carolina history-related program for parents, grandparents, and friends. Describing some of the things they’ve learned about their State over the school year. Here’s a brief look at this year’s performance. Enjoy.

Interview with Mitchell Helms, Park Naturalist at Hunting Island State Park, SC.

Back in early March this year I had another opportunity to visit Hunting Island State Park here on South Carolina’s coast. About sixteen miles east of Beaufort. On a barrier island.

Hunting Island is a Huge Park. Well over 5,000 acres; part salt marsh and part maritime forest. Many of the Park’s million-plus visitors each year are attracted by the Park’s four miles of beach. Certainly one of the nicest on the East Coast.

But there are beautiful beaches up and down South Carolina’s Atlantic coast. If that’s all you see during your visit to Hunting Island you’ve missed a lot! But with so much to see and to learn, how to begin?

My suggestion is to begin with a trip to the Park’s Nature Center. Whether you’re at the Park for just a day, or you’re camping for several days, time spent at the Nature Center will be both informative and enjoyable.

And that bold assertion holds for visitors of all ages. During the past couple of years, Park Naturalist Mitchell Helms and his staff have redesigned most, if not all, of the Nature Center’s exhibits, making sure to include something for every age group. Recently my wife, our daughter, a 9-year-old granddaughter, and twin grandchildren 3 years old, visited the Center. Everyone, from Nana to the twins, found something of interest to enjoy. The new touch-screen displays impressed everyone!

In addition to its beautiful environment and an excellent staff, Hunting Island State Park enjoys another important resource: a large, active, and effective Friends Group. Click here to visit the Friends of Hunting Island State Park website. Spend some time clicking the various menu headings. This website is chuck-full of useful information about the Park and the Group’s activities. According to Park Naturalist Mitch Helms, they have generously supported recent improvements to the Nature Center.

Well, enough preliminary commentary. Let’s get to the interview with Park Naturalist Mitch Helms. He’s responsible for this remarkable facility, and explains it far better than I am able. The interview is in two parts. Be sure to see them both.

Mitch Helms Interview: Part One

Mitch Helms Interview: Part Two

A Quick Visit to Landsford Canal State Park, South Carolina

Most South Carolinians have seen, or at least heard of, the extremely rare spider lilies that grow along the banks of the Catawba River near Landsford Canal State Park. When they bloom, mid-May to mid-June or so, Park visitors get to see a rare sight indeed. Click here for more information on Landsford Canal’s lilies.

However, as I discovered during a brief visit on April 13th of this year, Landsford Canal State Park offers its visitors much more than spider lilies. And offers those additional features year-round!

One thing Landsford Canal doesn’t offer, unfortunately, is RV camping. It would be an ideal spot. But with only a Park Manager and one Ranger to maintain the Park’s 450 acres – including a long stretch of Catawba River and shoreline, and all that entails -- it would be impossible to add RV camping and the additional responsibilities that would bring.

Don’t let that lack of RV camping discourage you, though. Landsford Canal is conveniently located between two terrific RV camping Parks: Andrew Jackson about 16 miles north, and Lake Wateree, about 30 miles south. There’s plenty of information about both Parks on the CarolinaConsidered website. Two of my favorites Parks in the whole State.

You can begin to enjoy the Landsford Canal State Park immediately upon turning off Route 21 at the State Park sign. The three miles or so of nicely paved two-lane road takes you through beautiful fields, hedge rows, and farm houses on both sides. Typical South Carolina countryside. For this part of the State, anyway.

Then, before you know it, you reach the Park’s main gate and the Iron Ranger. Don’t forget to tip the Ranger as you enter. That’s one of the few sources of “revenue” for this Park. And at $2.00 per adult, it’s a bargain.

I’ve mentioned this before, but South Carolina residents are able to buy Park passes good for a year that provide access to all State Parks for only $50. And that’s only $25 for seniors. They’re available on-line and at many Park offices. So pick yours up and save. Click here for more information.

There’s plenty of parking down toward the River, and, as you can see in the first photo on this page, a nice paved walkway that provides easy wheeled-vehicle access for folks with mobility problems. Good to see.

Throughout this Park, or at least in the parts I was able to see, attention has been paid to access for limited mobility folks. Trails are meticulously maintained; ramps are available and well maintained. This photo of the front of one of the stone-built restrooms shows the concrete walkway nicely. And look at that stone work! Be sure to click on the photo to get a larger view.

I’ve yet to learn much about the history of this Park. But, according to its website, the Park began with a donation from Duke Power of 194 acres in Chester County. Subsequent additions of 44 acres in 1989 and 210 acres in 1998 combined to make up the current 448 acre total. Now the Park is located in both Chester and Lancaster Counties.

The two-mile long Landsford Canal, for which the Park is named, played an important role in settlement of South Carolina’s upstate region between 1820 and 1840. It was designed to provide easier transport along a difficult portion of the Catawba and Wateree Rivers. I have to learn more about this site. In the meantime, here’s a link to the South Carolina Department of Archives and History that provides more information and photos.

I did get to see the 1790s Simpson-Wise log house that was disassembled and relocated here, piece by numbered piece, from its original site near the Town of Chester, South Carolina. You may recall our visit to an earlier [mid-18th century] log house now at Sesquicentennial State Park. [click the link to refresh your memory].

This log house was disassembled, moved, and then reconstructed here during 1979 and 1980 by Park personnel. Park budget at that time didn’t allow for the support of outside specialists. But the building was reconstructed here nonetheless. According to Park records, nearly all of the original logs were saved and used in the current building. Though roofing and flooring board had to be replaced.

Stonework too, of course, was done at the time of reconstruction. Here’s an example of that work on the outside of the main chimney. Wish I could have seen the stone mason at work!

Here’s a closer look at the chimney stonework. Every square foot that I saw, inside and out, was of this remarkable craftsmanship. Imagine being able to do work like this!

There’s plenty more to see and learn here at Landsford Canal State Park. I’m hoping to visit again during my next trip to Lake Wateree State Park during the second week of May. Hopefully, just before the lilies bloom and the Park fills with visitors! So stay tuned.

A Guided Tour of Atalaya at Huntington Beach State Park, South Carolina.

Atalaya is one of those interesting places in South Carolina that demanded a visit from CarolinaConsidered. It is a remarkable structure, difficult to describe.

Built during the early 1930s by railroad heir, Archer Milton Huntington, and his second wife, the famous sculptor, Anna Hyatt, Atalaya covers nearly an acre of ground at what has since become Huntington Beach State Park.

I visited Atalaya a year or so ago while camping at Huntington Beach State Park, walked around, took a few photos, and didn’t think much more about it. Click the link above to see the post from that visit. The building, to my architecturally unsophisticated eye, was more whimsical than practical. “An impulsive project born of a vague idea,” is how I then described it.

Well! You should have read the e-mail that post inspired. Some amusing. But some that encouraged me to take another look. Next time with an informed guide. In February of this year I got that chance. During another visit to Huntington Beach State Park, made primarily to visit Brookgreen Gardens, just across the road from the Park.

This visit I was able to meet and interview Ms. Elizabeth Moses, the Interpretative Ranger responsible for Atalaya. Needless to say, Ms. Moses didn’t share my earlier opinion of Atalaya. More important, she proved to be extremely well informed. About the building, the building’s history, and about Archer and Anna Huntington. What a difference an hour or so spent listening to Elizabeth Moses meant!

Here is the first part of the interview with Elizabeth Moses, done at the Huntington Beach State Park Office. In it we learn how Ms. Moses came to her current job and the history of Atalaya.

In the second part of the sit-down interview with Elizabeth Moses, she provides more specific detail on Atalaya as it exists today at Huntington Beach State Park. Including the importance of the Friends of Huntington Beach State Park volunteers who help maintain the building and guide tours. Click the link above to access a Friends Group description of the house and a useful map.

When you visit Atalaya, try to join a docent-led tour. Those tours are available from March through November, if memory serves. Call Huntington Beach State Park [843-237-4440] for the tour schedule.

If you’re unable to join one of those tours, or if you visit Atalaya between November and February, be sure to take one of the new audio tours. They cost only $4.00 per person, and allow you to wander through Atalaya at your own pace, with informed commentary. Even including some comments of Anna Hyatt Huntington herself! Well worth the fee.

I was able to persuade Interpretive Ranger Moses to take me on a brief tour of her own during my last visit. A real treat. Listening to her informed commentary as we walked through the many corridors and rooms made all the difference in the world. I’ll never describe Atalaya again as an “impulsive project”!

The quality of the audio in these next two videos is terrible. My recording equipment just wasn’t up to the challenge of windy weather that day. But Ms. Moses’ commentary was too interesting to waste. So I’ve included it here for everyone to hear. Here’s Part One of that tour:

And here is the second part. Even with repeated editing I was unable to clean the sound of the wind from the audio tracks. Sorry about that. Don’t let the poor quality keep you from listening though. You’ll miss a lot.

So there you have it. Another, more informed, visit to Atalaya at Huntington Beach State Park in South Carolina. After listening to Elizabeth Moses’ patient explanations and description, I hope to visit Atalaya at least one more time, when I can devote several hours to the project. Thanks again, Elizabeth, for your patience and for your remarkable knowledge of this important site and of the Huntingtons who created it. You made a world of difference!

Interview with York County, SC, Museums Director, Van Shields

While visiting Historic Brattonsville on February 10, 2011, I happened to meet Mr. Van Shields. He’s Director and CEO of Historic Brattonsville’s parent organization, the York County Culture and Heritage Museums.

Mr. Shields was on the way to another meeting, but agreed to sit and chat for a while with CarolinaConsidered about York County’s remarkable system of museums. Here, in four parts, is the result of that chat.

At about thirty minutes, this is longer than most CarolinaConsidered interviews. But I think you’ll agree that it’s worth the extra time.

Here in Part One Van describes his arrival in York County, and his efforts to integrate several existing institutions.

In this second segment of the interview Van explains the thinking behind the diverse offerings of York County’s museums, and some personnel considerations.

Van continues in this third interview segment to describe the remarkably diverse museum offerings here in South Carolina’s York County, and how they are presented.

In conclusion, I asked Van what the future holds for York County’s museums. Most executives shy away from that question. But listen to what Van has to say. Clearly, he’s a man of vision. Not one of those bureaucrat/clerk implementers or maintainers. Hard to find such leadership!

Well, there you have it. Thirty minutes of highly credible description of one of South Carolina’s most dynamic and interesting museum systems. I had no idea so much was available here. York County is neither the most populous nor the richest of South Carolina’s 46 counties. Yet, with some innovative thinking, leadership, and strong community support, York County has created a system of museums that would make any county in the State or country proud.

The availability of such public resources is bound to have a positive effect on York County’s economic development, as well as its cultural quality of life.

After talking with Van I decided to visit not only Historic Brattonsville, but all of the other York County Museum branches. What a treat! So stay tuned for programs on each branch.