Capturing a Fort

Visitors (and new residents) often gaze at the harbor from Waterfront Park or from the Battery and wonder about the small overgrown fort, seemingly a stone's throw away, between the city and Patriots Point. Hopefully, the coverage of it in today's paper will solve the mystery for those folks. The rest of us know it's Castle Pinckney, an early 19th century fort named for Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, one of the signers of the U.S. Constitution who hailed from our neck of the woods. (He was also a hero of the Revolutionary War, but don't get me started on that topic, as I've already "written the book" on it.) Anyway, back to the fort, it was built as a defense of the harbor but never saw any military action other than being taken over by Confederate troops at the begining of the Civil War - even before they took over Ft. Sumter. But to stay on track, today the focus is on capturing the fort - in pictures. The School of the Building Arts is diligently working with the State Ports Authority (who owns it) and the National Park Service to clear it of brush so that experts (and students) can make drawings and notes on its condition. For most of my life, the island (more like a sandbar) where the fort is located was a place to visit if you had your own boat (or a friend's) and do a little exploring (or sunbathing). I don't know why it was made off limits to boaters in recent years, but I suspect it has to do with the SPA assuming ownership and the Homeland Security issues the SPA has in place. I have heard of no plans to make this a tourist attraction, so I'm assuming that the ongoing studies there are purely to gather historical data. Even though I fondly remember the days when it was a beachcomber's getaway, let's hope from here on it is allowed to remain secluded and untouched by humans. Not every old fort needs to become an attraction. But it is also doubtful that boaters will ever be allowed to set foot there again, as in my youth, but that might not be a bad thing. After all, look what has happened to Morris Island. (However, Morris Island may soon be the last place anyone around here can hit the beach without having to pay to park. I'll save that diatribe for another day.)

Not Just for SEWE

The College of Charleston has ongoing exhibits that will appeal to animal and nature lovers who will be attending the Southeastern Wildlife Expo (SEWE). On permanent display at their Addlestone Library is a copy of John Audobon's "Birds of N. America". It is open to two pages, and every day, the pages are turned. It is said that if a freshman visited the library every day and viewed the pages displayed each day, he would have viewed the entire book at the end of his 4 years. Cool, eh? All that for free. They also have on permanent display in the Natural History Exhibit in the Liddy Science Center some really cool fossils of mammals that roamed the Lowcountry 23 million years ago! A huge 30 foot long lizard and a 7 foot tall pig are only a couple of the 2,000 fossils in the collection. And you can view these for free - and not just during SEWE. But SEWE's as good a time as any to visit these 2 amazing exhibits!

We're Off and Running

We've made it through January, so we're on the way now! With February comes the Southeastern Wildlife Expo - something akin to celebrating the new year in Charleston! All the wonderful exhibits and demonstrations will bring us out of hibernation - and not a bit too soon! What a winter! I'm viewing today as the last cold dreary day we'll have - obviously wishful thinking - but, between weather forecasts that offer us sunny days and temps in the low 60s for the next week and the excitement surrounding SEWE next weekend, the worst has got to be behind us! So happy 2011. And be sure to get out there to check out something at SEWE - the schedule of events will be published in an insert in the Post and Courier, and yours truly wrote the lead article on the featured artist, Eldridge Hardie. (This year's poster is from one of his paintings.) Remember, there's nothing but blue skies from now on!

Remembering the Legacy of the Navy in Charleston

Tomorrow marks the 69th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Obviously, I wasn't alive at the time, but I have heard so many stories through the years from my mother and her brothers and sisters that I have always had a great interest in the era. Three of my mother's brothers served in the military and two of her sisters married sailors. Charleston had a big navy base in those days and I've heard countless stories of life here during that period. My mother was 17 when the U.S. entered the war, so her memories were of USO dances, Big Band music, her brothers bringing servicemen home on leave with them, and war bond rallies. Her memories were full of fun and excitement - a great time for a young girl. But obviously, the war meant something far different for her brothers who participated in the war - and for their mother who worried for her sons and those of her friends. Being the center of a major military installation, Charleston was under threat of attack by German submarines who were at times spotted off shore. In fact, there was even a POW camp just outside the city limits where German soldiers were held. And many homes in the city served as naval offices and quarters, since the numbers of navy personnel exceeded the capacity of the navy base itself. Today, the navy base has become a ghost town, but there are some signs of new life for the facility - a prestigious high school, a film studio, a private shipyard, and a marina for recreational boats are some of the enterprises that are currently found there. But the beautiful old officers' quarters, homes built in the "Panama-style" of architecture, along with the lovely chapel are continuing to decay. My hope is that the city of North Charleston will do for the base what the city of Charleston has done for some of its long-neglected areas and give them a second chance. After all, the navy base was here when the citizens needed it. Let's hope the citizens will now be there for the base.

Plantations - Yesterday and Today

Sometime people (locals and visitors) think there were only a few plantations in the area - namely the ones that are now open for tours. That is just not so. Many former plantations have been developed into neighborhoods (including where my house is). For more info, this is a very cool website that lists all those in SC! Check it out: http://south-carolina-plantations.com/charleston/charleston-county.html

There is Nothing Like It

I had a delightful stroll through the city this morning with a gentleman from Switzerland. Although he'd been to "America" many times in the past, he had never been to Charleston. I love when I have the opportunity to take first-time visitors on a tour through the city, but when the visitor is from Europe, it is particularly pleasant for me. Europeans have a different, more objective, perspective on things and are generally excited to learn about all things American. The comment that this gentleman made that really struck me was that he'd been all over America but he'd never seen anything like Charleston. Yes, I told him. We have a city that is undoubtedly one-of-a-kind. The city has one foot in the past and one in the present. We enjoy all the modern conveniences of today set within the backdrop of an earlier time. Unlike in most American cities, the old wasn't thrown out with the new in Charleston. In fact, it was cherished. So thanks to our ancestors who built this city and more recent generations who held onto it for us, we have a very special place - "unlike any other."

Lessons to Learn

According to a recent survey in a national travel magazine, Charleston was voted number one in a survey of the friendliest cities. This is not at all surprising. In Charleston, it is just common etiquette to speak to complete strangers when passing on the streets. It's also the norm for two strangers to engage in conversations at the drop of a hat. I think all this friendliness stems from the fact that people who live here are actually thrilled that they live here! Why wouldn't they be? It's a beautiful city with beautiful weather (except in August and January) and beautiful buildings and beautiful parks and beautiful vistas and - well, you get the idea. And speaking of beautiful, another survey by the same magazine ranked Charleston as #1 in having the best- looking people. Well, like they say, when you look good, you feel good. And when you feel good, - well, I guess you act good? There must be some correlation. Anyway, both recognitions are well-deserved. And the city placed first in being the most polite earlier in the year, so now it looks like folks from away who for years have been loving Charleston for her buildings, weather, history, and attractions can add her "people" as another reason they love Charleston.