In honor of Women's History Month, we made several additional posts in March:
March 20 - "Black History Note in Women's History Month:" Though she didn't get to stay here during the Civil War era for very long due to her health, Charlotte Forten was an advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion. Here are some recommended books about her:
We are grateful to Anne Christensen Pollitzer for donating us a copy of her "Great-Grandmother Abbie M. Holmes Christensen's Family Photo Album" that she compiled. It is quite charming and supplements other Christensen Family related materials here in the Research Room. In fact, we have a bibliography of materials about Abbie Holmes Christensen in our BDCBCL: Lists, Links, and Finding Aids Blog in case you'd like to learn more about this quite untraditional 19th Century woman and her influential family. The BDC is the only library within SCLENDS to own and share this item.
March 27 - "Black History Note in Women's History Month:" Frances Rollin Whipper was an advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion.
Born into a Free Black family in Charleston, Frances Rollin was the author of the first full length biography written by an African-American, The Life and Public Services of Martin R. Delany though she had to publish it under the pseudonym Frank A. Rollin. (We have a copy of the book in the Research Room and there's one online).
She is also the author of one of the earliest known diaries written by a Southern Black woman. It begins in 1868 and covers publication of her book about Delany, her time as secretary for prominent Reconstruction Era politician William J. Whipper, his girlfriend and then as his wife (against her family's wishes). The diary is owned by the Smithsonian Institution and is now available online.
In Beaufort the Whippers lived at 606 North Street. The marriage broke up in 1880. Rollin moved to Washington, DC with their three surviving children and went to work in the District's Deeds Office with Frederick Douglass. She later returned to Beaufort where she died of tuberculosis in 1901. Her husband died 6 years later. It is believed that Frances and William are buried in unmarked graves in the Wesley United Methodist Church yard at the corner of Prince and West Streets.
April was National Poetry Month among other themes link to Busy, Busy Connections post so of course, there were relevant posts made in commemoration:
April 1 - "Uniquely BDC: Materials Monday:" The BDC is the only library within SCLENDS to highlight the contributions of Beaufort District's most famous hymn writer, Mary Palmer Dana Shindler. Read more about her life, career, and descendants in a Connections post from 2013 that I just updated.
April 3 - "Black History Note" in National Poetry Month: Patricia Bee is a native of Beaufort and taught school here. In 2003 she published Mama's Pearls: Gullah Poetry to Live By. We try to collect published books of poetry by native sons and daughters and from those who have resided within Beaufort County for at least 10 years.
She was inspired to write the poem "Bitter Sweet" by a photograph of a proud WWI era Black soldier:
Tho' these brogues
Are tattered and worn,
For my country I fought -
But my spirit is torn.
For women and children
I did fight ....
But sadly returned
No job in sight.
'Tis good to know
That God brought me back
But bitter sweet
'Cause my skin is black.
Copies of Mama's Pearls are available for checkout at some of the Branch Libraries as well as in the Research Room.
April 10 - "Black History Note:" in National Poetry Month on what used to be called "National Bookmobile Day" but is now called "National Outreach Day": (I do so like to get multiple uses of data.)
Mulberry Wine by Amy Jenkins Bassett and illustrated by Alex Foltz (2010) is a collection of 25 poems about a childhood spent in Beaufort, SC. Each poem chronicles some aspect of the author's personal experiences, but also paints a picture for the reader about growing up in a small town in the South. The poems address school, church, nature, customs, ambience, relationships and the changing landscape. She even wrote an ode to the Drive-In movie theater:
The Hilton Inn wasn't always there
Instead sprawled the Greenlawn Theater
The spacious drive-in milieu where
We went to clock our movie meter. ...
Sagas played out on a Technicolor screen
Dramas, westerns, and romances galore
Were eyed intermittently between
Kisses stolen pressed against the car's door. ...
How utterly fortunately groovy
To have not one choice but three
Of an old-time drive-in movie
Where one could choose to be....
This selection could be a "Uniquely BDC" selection as well because the title is available only in the Beaufort County Library system. We have local history copies at Beaufort and St. Helena Branch Libraries. Here's the hook: There's also a copy riding around the Northern County bookmobile.
April 29 - "Uniquely BDC: Materials Monday" in National Poetry Month: One could argue that William John Grayson is Beaufort District's most famous poet by virtual of his pro-slavery poem “The Hireling and the Slave.” The BDC is the only library within the SCLENDS consortium to have an original copy of To the Hon. W. J. Grayson by One of the People [Place of publication not identified] : [Publisher not identified], [1850]" There's a digital copy linked from the BDC's own "William John Grayson" WordPress blog post.
Celebrating libraries in general, the Beaufort County Library, our dedicated cadre of Beloved BDC docents, and the start of Preservation Week 2024 was fun:
March 25 - It's another Red Letter Local History Day! Although the March 22, 1918 issue of the Beaufort Gazette did not survive until the 1960s newspapers microfilming project, we found a photostat image of the front page in our archive of Beaufort County Library Records. From the article we know - with certainty - that the Beaufort Township Library opened for business on Monday, March 25, 1918. Back in the day, the Board minutes of the Library were kept in the possession of Township Library Board's secretary. Unfortunately, he had a house fire in late 1926 that burned all the early minutes which is where one would expect to find the opening date and the debrief of same. BTW: The Finding Aid to the Beaufort County Library archive is posted online in case you'd like to cut-and-paste the URL to learn more about the history of the Library system.
April 7 - Given that National Library Week starts today, you might like to enjoy a little unknown story from Beaufort Library's Civil War era history.
April 9 - Staff is celebrating National Library Week in accord with system encouragement. BDC staff took our "Read & Relax Time" to "Read" the skies and watch the partial eclipse yesterday.
Today we were paired with the Bookmobiles staff for "Adopt a Branch/Dept." day. They sent us a sweet card, note, and sweets; we sent them a video about the history of bookmobile services in Beaufort County - 90%- 95% done by Cassi.
The BDC staff watching the eclipse photo was taken by Travis Walters, the Library's social media guy. Check out the Library's new Instagram page that he has created. More to come...
April 11 - People just keep on dying. Beloved docent Kathy Mitchell indexed 1282 obituaries from the Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet newspapers in the year 1996. That means our Online Obituary Index has about 33,000 names so far with only 19 years worth more to go....
April 12 - Our "shelfie" around the Preservation Week display case in honor of National Library Week, 2024.
April 21 - Celebrating the Beloved BDC Docents! The veterans: Laura Lewis, Peggy Scott, Joe Noll and Kathy Mitchell as well as the newcomers: Alison Cody and Clinton Hallman and Molly Gray [no pictures yet]. Read about their respective projects in Connections.
April 28 - It's Preservation Week - and Cassi has a little something to share on that topic in our Connections blog.
Honoring anniversaries or themed days or weeks during the period:
The South Carolina Wildlife Magazine, published by the Department of Natural Resources, is dedicated to the conservation, protection and restoration of our state’s wildlife and natural resources, and to the education of our people to the value of these resources. It includes conservation success stories, heartwarming reflections, humorous tales, intriguing field notes, hunting and fishing instruction and guidance, firearm safety, delectable recipes and awe-inspiring outdoor adventures.
We have some of these magazines in print, but not the complete run.
April 8 - Today marks a sad "Red Letter" day in Beaufort District's history. On April 8, 1956, a forced march led to the death of six Marine Recruits on Parris Island. Soon a decorated war veteran stood trial and was convicted for his role in the drownings. Read more in the BDC's WordPress blog.
April 15 - "Uniquely BDC: Materials Monday" In honor of the RBC Heritage Tournament this week, revisit a sports highlight of 1988. A Victory for Jamie by Lawrence Levy and Gordon S. White, Jr. is a photodocumentary about 17 years old leukemia victim Jamie Hutton's visit to see the Great White Shark, Greg Norman, play in the tournament. Norman was inspired to win by his fan's encouragement - edging out David Frost and Gil Morgan by one stroke. Jamie had a successful bone marrow transplant soon after.
The BDC and the Hilton Head Branch library are the only libraries within the SCLENDS consortium to have copies of this title.
April 22 - "Uniquely BDC: Materials Monday" on Earth Day 2024 - Keeping the May River Wild : A Multimedia Look at Challenges Facing Creatures who Live and Visit a Special Place is a DVD produced by then local resident Greg Smith in 2009. Smith asks the perennial question: At what point does real estate and business development adversely impact the environment upon which it depends? He interviewed local politicians, conservationists, and Department of Natural Resources employees for his graduate project.
The Beaufort County Library is the only SCLENDS unit to have this DVD title. There's a copy in the BDC for permanent retention (though one of my successors is bound to have to reformat it in the future for continued access). We also share copies of the DVD through the BCL's Branch Libraries. But If you no longer have access to a DVD player, the video can be streamed online. For more about Greg Smith's life and work watch this video.
April 26 - Beaufort County has the largest number of historic markers in the state with more going up on a fairly regular basis. (One went up at the Carteret Street Methodist Church on March 18). Researching and marking historic sites has been one of the most significant missions of the Beaufort County Historical Society since its founding in 1939. So I have 2 action points for you today:
1. Find and read at least one historic marker today.
2. Review the recently updated online Finding Aid to the contents of the Beaufort County Historical Society Records in the BDC's Lists, Links and Finding Aids blog.
As points of information:
March 21 - The Chronicling American Historic Newspaper database has a new URL and a new search page. Read 452 issues of 10 Beaufort District related historic newspapers in digital form online at your convenience.
April 25-26 - The Lowcountry Digital Library was doing some maintenance work so I posted that some of our digital collections might not be accessible until it was done.
April 30 - As of this writing, there are a few tickets still available for the Academy of South Carolina Authors 2024 Induction Weekend. Be one of the 99 people who are in for a treat!
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