What to Expect in August 2025

It's hard to believe that we are now in the 8th month of the year 2025. 

Traditionally, August is hot and muggy - and often comes with a tropical system or two. In fact as I was updating my "Hurricanes of Beaufort District's Past" talk for the Palmetto Bluff Conservancy, I was repeatedly struck by how often the date of one of the storms impacting here fell into the final week of August. That happened in 1813, 1881, 1885, 1893, 1898, 1911 and 1952. I see a pattern. Do you? 

I have my fingers - and toes and legs -- crossed that I will be able to retire without having to do a hurricane disaster recovery effort to save as much of the BDC's materials as possible. We're as ready as we can be; but I'd really rather not have to put that training into use. 

As of this writing there are no scheduled closures of the Library system during August. But - and it's a big but -- we are entering the most active phase of Hurricane Season so be sure to monitor weather conditions. Any changes to the Library's schedule will be posted in a red banner along each and every page of the Library's website. 

Update: 9:30 AM - Unfortunately the West Point cadets working on the Fort Fremont Digital Project experienced travel delays so they had to cancel their visit to the Research Room this afternoon. We'll have to save the presentation we made for them about customary special collection and archival protocols and a brief tour of some of the BDC’s Fort Fremont related resources during their visit for another time. As of this writing, the Panel Discussion scheduled for Sunday, August 3, is still "on." 

The BDC is "On the Road" a lot during August. We hope that you can join us for: 

Sunday, August 3, 2025 – Panel Discussion about Fort Fremont Findings by West Point Cadets with Dr. James Shinn as moderator. This rare-for-the-BDC Sunday event is brought to you by the Friends of Fort Fremont, United States Military Academy, the Beaufort County Historical Society and the BDC. Meet us at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Port Royal at 3 PM. 

Thursday, August 7, 2025 –In honor of National Lighthouse Day, local author Ted Panayotoff will share his book about the Hunting Island Lighthouse at St. Helena Branch Library at 2 PM.

Wednesday, August 27, 2025 - "In the Eye of the Storm” will feature personal accounts left behind by the survivors of the Hurricane of 1893. Session 1 is at Hilton Head Branch Library at 1 PM.  Hilton Head has a big meeting space and can seat up to 120 people. One does not need to register for Session 1.  

Thursday, August 28, 2025 – I will repeat “In the Eye of the Storm” at Port Royal Branch Library at 5 PM – but because of the small size of the Port Royal Branch Library, folks should register to attend. Registration will open August 14, 2025.

Two of the local history programs will impact our Research Room schedule this month as staff will have to be other places delivering services. Accordingly, the BDC will close at Noon on Thursday, August 7th so that we can present the Lighthouse program at St. Helena Branch Library. Because traveling to and from Hilton Head Branch requires more time, the Research Room will be closed  beginning at 10:45 AM on Wednesday, August 27th. 

The Fort Fremont panel discussion is on a Sunday - which shouldn't affect the public facing Research Room schedule. Nor should session 2 of "In the Eye of the Storm" as it starts at 5 pm. The Port Royal Branch is only a few miles away from the BDC's Research Room. It has a very small meeting room so there won't be a lot of room arrangement. Thus, I'll leave my staff to woman the Research Room while I set up, deliver, and put everything back to rights at Port Royal Branch on August 28th.

Local history programs are mere flashes in a pan whereas preservation of historic materials is meant to last for a century. When I started offering Local History programs, I intentionally designed them to highlight and complement resources we make available through the Library's special local history collection and archives unit in hopes that the unit's reputation within the community at large and with potential researchers would be raised. That goal has been a constant throughout my career here. It will remain my goal until I turn in my County badge. 

While I like to coordinate local history programs, doing so takes up a lot of time. Sometimes I have to remind myself and others that the primary responsibility of the BDC is to acquire, protect and share resources related to the long and storied history of Beaufort District's people, places, events and themes so that researchers can find useful materials inside our facility. BDC staff  do our best to practice good stewardship, describe and prepare materials for use by humans, and support historical investigations into the past inside the Research Room - and coordinate local history programs of the highest quality to highlight those materials when possible. We would love to tell you more about how to do research in our facility. Please reach out to us: bdc@bcgov.net; 843-255-6468 to discuss.