Seafood Display by Olivia Santos

Today's entry was written by Olivia Santos, the BDC's Circulation (and Reference) Assistant: 

If there’s one thing I’ve come to love about the South, it’s the food. Fried green tomatoes, hush puppies, pimento cheese; all of it is delicious. And while I’m not the biggest seafood lover myself, there is a huge culture around seafood and its various industries in Beaufort since we are indeed right next to the ocean. So, this month we’re celebrating one of the gems of living in the Southeast, and in the Lowcountry in particular: Seafood. I’m going to talk about the industry, the recipes, and many people’s favorite part, the food.

Shelf 1 of our display holds two books, both of which give introductory information about the shrimping and seafood industry, which continues to be prevalent throughout the sea islands. This was especially helpful to someone like me who did not grow up in a coastal area and is therefore not familiar with the crucial role these industries play in the communities they serve. The two books featured include Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold by Jack and Anne Rudloe (2010) and A Recreational Guide to Oystering, Clamming, Shrimping & Crabbing in South Carolina by Charles J. Moore (1980).

In Shrimp, the Rudloes discuss all aspects of the shrimp, from its anatomy to its role as a food source for early humans, and into the modern day. They highlight different types of shrimp, and what exactly is going on at the microscopic level. But most importantly, they talk about shrimp in relation to the human experience. Now a whole industry that many people rely on, shrimp is used for a variety of purposes. These include, but are not limited to, as a food resource in restaurants and the home, as bait for fishing, and as a way to make an income as a shrimper. They particularly celebrate the modern shrimper, as the job can be a difficult one at best. They discuss techniques, trials, and tribulations these folks go through to ensure that everyone will have food on the table at the next family gathering or dinner outing.

A Recreational Guide has probably the widest scope of all the books display this month, as most focused solely on the shrimping industry. On the other hand, Moore expands his writing to feature information about the seafood industry as a whole, with crabbing, clamming, and oystering being highlighted in addition to shrimping, serving as a technical guide. The book discusses how to identify various types of shrimp, how to cast a net, and shows maps of the best places to catch different types of shellfish. Distant Island, Parris Island, and Habersham Creek are all mentioned, as well as other noteworthy locations in the area.

Various copies of A Recreational Guide to Oystering, Clamming, Shrimping & Crabbing are available throughout the SCLENDS consortium, but Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold is only available for viewing here at the BDC.

Shelf 2 houses the main features of this display case: Shrimp Tales: Small Bites of History by Beverly Bowers Jennings & William P. Baldwin (2020), and Where Have All the Shrimp Boats Gone?: A 100-Year History of the Shrimping Industry in the South Carolina Lowcountry by Captain Woody Collins & Laura Von Harten (2020).

Where Have All the Shrimp Boats Gone? highlights exactly what the title asks its readers: Where did the shrimp boats come from, where have they gone, and where are they going? Collins begins where much of our human history starts; with the native populations in the area and the later arrival of European colonizers. He discusses how the shrimp boat came to be, its original role, and the progression from a focus on oysters to a focus on shrimp. According to Captain Collins, “Hilton Head and Beaufort were two different worlds in those days.” Therefore, he divided his book into separate chapters about Port Royal, Beaufort, and Hilton Head respectfully. Each location is analyzed by its past history, the current state of the industry, and what the future may hold. A fierce industry by nature, shrimping and its workers are celebrated, and it is discussed how the industry has changed over time.

Collins’ book is widely available for checkout, both within the Beaufort County Library system and through the South Carolina State Library. [I will be interviewing Capt. Woody about the local shrimping industry in January 2024. More details forthcoming in Fall 2023].  

Filled with photographs, maps, vintage advertisements, and portraits, Shrimp Tales tells the story of shrimp: its industry, its people, its life, and its importance to the folks of the sea islands. With chapters specifically dedicated to Beaufort, Hilton Head, and Port Royal, Jennings tells us of the work of the earliest shrimpers, the different types of nets and boats used over the years, and how the shrimp empire was born. In her chapter on Beaufort, she discusses the restaurants, taverns, families, and media surrounding the shrimping business in their earlier days. She also talks about the use of a local’s boat for the movie Forrest Gump, renaming the boat Jenny after Tom Hanks’ love interest in the iconic movie. Visually appealing and thorough in its information, Shrimp Tales is an all-around interesting read that celebrates the people and industry that has kept our little corner of the world thriving for so long.

Jennings’ book is available for checkout at several other Beaufort County Library branches, as well as for viewing with us here at the BDC. And if you want to hear more about Jennings’ book, register to attend our joint program with the Beaufort History Museum on March 21st for a book talk with the author herself. Her talk will be at St. Helena Branch Library. Our cap is 75 people, as per the fire department’s safety regulations, so make sure you sign up early to get yourself a good spot! Just so you know, sometimes people who have registered are not in their seats at 1:54 PM - in which case we offer the empty seats to anyone who is on "Stand by." Sometimes we can seat "stand byers;" sometimes we cannot. 

Shelf 3 of the display case focused more on individual stories and experiences, with Nets & Doors: Shrimping in Southern Waters by Jack Leigh (1989) and Little Geech: A Shrimper’s Story: Life on the Waters of Beaufort and the Sea Islands by H. H. Von Harten, Jr (2011).

Nets & Doors is a guide to the art of shrimping in southern waters. Following groups of fishermen during their grueling workdays, this book is full of glossy and elegant black and white photos that take viewers on a visual journey through the life of a shrimper. Leigh’s work reminds us of the human aspect of this work; it is not done by a machine in a factory, but by real humans that spend days out at sea, rain or shine, to bring in a catch. Author Jack Leigh sums up his experiences with these fishermen in his last photo; a distant shot of a shrimp boat out at sea with the caption, “Day after day, I went to sea with the shrimp fishermen. Some days were good; most days were bad. Yet, the spirit of the fishermen always looked forward to tomorrow and the hope of a bountiful catch.”

Little Geech tells of the life and times of H. H. Von Harten, Jr, also known as “Bubba.” A former treasurer for the Beaufort County Historical Society and Korean War veteran, Harten, who passed away in 2017, went into business with his brother and father after his stint in Korea, then later establishing Von Harten Seafood on Lady’s Island in 1965, his own seafood business. Later in life, Harten and his wife opened Capt. Geech’s, a locally loved seafood restaurant attached to his fish market on Lady’s Island. This book gives personal insight into Harten’s life both as a child and an adult, telling of his adventures in shrimping and beyond.

Both books are available for checkout within the Beaufort County Library System and throughout the SCLENDS consortium.

Shelf 4 is a little bit different from the others. Instead of finding two or three more books that may or may not having similar information to some of the books already featured, I figured it would be more interesting to celebrate the end goal of all the work folks do in the seafood industry: the delicious food. I went through our surprisingly vast collection of cookbooks and brought out ones that specifically highlight seafood recipes. From those, I picked the most visually appealing ones and ended up with these three: Catch-of-the-Day: Southern Seafood Secrets by Ginny Lentz (1983), Shrimp, Collards and Grits: Recipes, Stories and Art from the Creeks and Gardens of the Lowcountry by Pat Branning (2011), and De Gullah n de Geechee Seafood Cookbook by Gloria Haynes Polke (1999).

Originally known as Fripp Island Fare, Catch-of-the-Day became a popular cookbook in the 70’s to locals and out-of-towners alike. The author, Ginny Lentz, was originally a science teacher, whose love for seafood led to the creation of this cookbook. According to her, there was a ‘seafood renaissance’ occurring around the time of this book’s original publication, where “interest in nutrition, gourmet cooking, and home entertaining have caused tremendous increases in seafood consumption.” It also led to more sales of this cookbook, leading to another edition being released in 1983, which is the copy we have in our stacks. Including recipes for fish, shellfish, crabs, clams, squid, mussels, oysters, and scallops, the variety and number of recipes is deceiving considering the book’s skinny appearance. If you’re interested in recreating some of Lentz’s recipes, a few copies are available for checkout outside of the BDC, and of course we do hold a copy for viewing here as well.

Serving not only as a cookbook, but as a resource for the history of seafood and cooking in the South, Shrimp, Collards and Grits introduces readers to the wonders of Southern cuisine. Divided into appetizers (or what the author calls ‘Gracious Begginings’), ‘Breads and Brunches,’ ‘Hot from the Oven Entrees,’ ‘From the Garden,’ ‘Sensational Seafood,’ ‘Gullah Fixin’s,’ and ‘Sweet Splurges,’ this cookbook compiles a vast number of recipes in a way that is easy to follow and visually appealing. Originally from Georgia, author Pat Branning’s Shrimp, Collards and Grits is a love letter to Southern cooking, and the food and culture she has come to know and love here in the Lowcountry. Now serving as a food editor for the Beaufort Tribune and Pink Magazine, she is also a contributor to Charleston’s newest culinary magazine, The Local Palate, where she continues to share her love of Southern cooking with others. Her book is available for viewing here at the BDC but is not available for checkout in the BCL system nor within the SCLENDS consortium.

De Gullah n de Geechee Seafood Cookbook was inspired by the recipes of Polke’s family, who she says, “learned to cook without measuring our ingredients.” In an effort to share her culture’s food with others, she began writing down recipes and measurements, which date all the way back to her enslaved ancestors and ancestors of Native American heritage. In this cookbook, the author dedicates each chapter to a specific type of seafood: fish, scallops, lobsters, shrimp, crabs, oysters, and clams, respectfully, with a few miscellaneous recipes included at the end as well. Full of delicious ingredients and straightforward instruction, Polke’s book is only available for viewing here at the BDC.

PS: I love the frothy net on Shelf 4.