The holiday season almost always reduces our social media output. This year was no exception. I took some time off over the holiday period to visit some of my children and grandchildren. (I'll get to see every one of my progeny later this month at a wedding. Hurray!) As per usual I have eliminated posts about local history programs that have already occurred. - Grace Cordial
December 1 - 10 AM - Monthly Overview; 2 PM "Uniquely BDC: Materials Monday:" We try to collect copies of titles published by local presses. An example to fit the holiday season is the Chinese Christmas Box by Gerald Chan Sieg with calligraphy by Han Sun Woo. The booklet shares the author's Christmas memories from China and in the United States. The booklet was a product of poet Edith Dowling's private press, "The Peacock Press, LTD" in 1970.
December 2 - The Hallelujah Singers led by Dr. Marlena Smalls are a state and national treasure. The BDC has video, audio and vertical file materials by and about this group, including their Joy: A Gullah Christmas CD from the late 1990s. It includes these seasonal carols: Joy to the World; Children Go Where I send Thee; Sing to the King; Mary had a Baby; Rock dat Baby; Go Tell It on the Mountain; The First Noel; Sweet Little Jesus Boy; O Holy Night; Come See da Baby; and Silent Night.
December 3 - "Black History Note:" When I was at the 7th American Revolution Symposium at the Archives last month, a member of the audience shared some research that had been presented at the Francis Marion Symposium in October. I wish that I had caught the historian's name who made a case for "Oscar Marion" being the Black man in the hat directly behind Marion's left shoulder. As a personal servant to Marion, he argued that Oscar would have been better dressed than an enslaved person in charge of the cooking. That argument makes sense to me.
This painting has been owned by the U.S. Senate since 1899 and is entitled "General Marion Inviting a British Officer to Share His Meal", which consisted of roasted sweet potatoes. December 4 - In honor of National Cookie Day, see the "Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip" cookie recipe shown in the image from The Cookie King: A Lifetime Journey of Cookie Baking by Robert Merten (Lydia Inglett Ltd. Publishing, 2015).
December 5 - "Finding Aid Friday:" Archival collections can be formed from local celebrations and commemorations, such as we have done with a variety of materials from and about the Ribaut Quadricentennial of 1962. The "Prologue to Freedom" theatrical production was an integral part of the 400th anniversary celebration of Jean Ribaut's landing on Parris Island.December 7 - Today we observe a solemn anniversary: the 84th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Learn about Samuel and Leon Bush, two Beaufortonians who were there that fateful day.
December 8 - "Uniquely BDC: Materials Monday": Did George Washington really chop down that cherry tree? Did Henry Laurens really say ""My flesh is too good for worms. I give it to the flames."? Probably not. But Mason Locke Weems, AKA "Parson Weems" made good money from his biographies of historical figures. His books were full of entertaining apocryphal anecdotes about the personages he wrote about - as he did not let historical accuracy get in the way of a good story. Weems is described as a convivial fiddle-playing guest, particularly on his trips to the southern parts of the nation. Weems just so happened to drop dead in Beaufort, SC on May 23, 1823 while on a sales trip to our area. For awhile his remains were buried in the Churchyard at the St. Helena Episcopal Church.
The BDC has the only copy of The Book-Peddling Parson: An Account of the Life and Works of Mason Locke Weems, Patriot, Pitchman, Author, and Purveyor of Morality to the Citizenry of the Early United States of America by Lewis Geary (Chapel Hill, NC : Algonquin Books, 1984) in the SCLENDS Consortium of Libraries.
December 9 - Cremation is more common than burial in many places in North America now but that was certainly not the case before the late 20th - early 21st centuries in the United States or Canada. The first intentional cremation in England's North American colonies was likely that of a prominent South Carolinian whose body was cremated 233 years ago today.
December 10 - "Black History Note:" Gullah Spirituals: The Sound of Freedom and Protest in the South Carolina Sea Islands by Eric Sean Crawford with Bessie Foster Crawford includes these Christmas spirituals that you may have heard or sing yourself: "Go Tell It on de Mountain;" "Mary had a Baby, Aye Lawd;" "Mary had a Baby, Sing Hallelu;" and "Rise Up, Shepherd an' Foller."The BDC and Branch Libraries have plenty of copies of this important title on the diffusion of Gullah culture to share.
December 11 - By creating National App Day in 2017, C.J. Thompson, founder of Platinum Edge Media aimed to recognize how apps have transformed our lives. For example, I use the SCLENDS app to search the consortium catalog and access my personal library account; the Flipster app to borrow magazines; and the Hoopla digital app to read e-books and graphic novels, listen to audiobooks and music, and watch tv series, movies, and to take an occasional Great Courses. Needless to say, it's the Hoopla digital app that I use the most. On this National App Day, ask your branch library staff about the ins-and-outs of downloading and using the BCL's apps on your personal electronic devices.
December 12 - Happy "National Poinsettia Day." There's a Palmetto State connection to the holiday - though not a Beaufort District one.
In 2002 Congress chose December 12 in remembrance of former ambassador to Mexico Joel Roberts Poinsett a native South Carolinian who popularized the colorful bracts (another way to say "modified leaves") as well as of American businessman, Paul Ecke Jr., who later successfully marketed the poinsettia worldwide. Poinsett died on Dec. 12, 1851; Ecke in 2002. Ecke's version of the Mexican plant is what most Americans would identify as Euphorbia pulcherrima. I was surprised to see the poinsettia as a foundation shrub on a visit to the Land Down Under a few years ago. For me, a poinsettia says "Christmas is coming." I still prefer the traditional red bracts to the pink and white ones. But that's just me. BTW: Poinsettias can also be spelled without the 2nd "i" - as poinsettas. Both poinsettia and poinsetta are considered correct spellings of the common name of Euphorbia pulcherrima. The pphoto by Salil Kumar Mukherjee from the Wikipeida Commons is the image I associate with the word "poinsetta"; an example of the shrub "euphorbia pulcherrima" is from the Picture This website. December 15 - AM: "Uniquely BDC: Materials Monday:" If you are of a certain age, you may have fond memories of the arrival of the annual Christmas letter that became the thing to do after WW2 until the pervasiveness of email and later still of Facebook, Instagram, etc.
The BDC has Christmas Letters: An African-American Story, 1968 - 2003 by Ervena Faulkner. Faulkner taught in the public schools, was a school counselor, shared her life and recipes through a column in the Beaufort Gazette/Island Packet newspapers, and was honored by the Penn Center 1862 Circle. In this book, she shares stories of the goings on, successes and challenges of her family life and career. Her prose is always upbeat and full of warmth. What I most admire is that she wrote a letter every November for 35 years without fail. Now that's an impressive run! The BDC has a permanent copy and we have placed additional copies you can borrow in the branch libraries. The BCL is the only library system within the SCLENDS consortium to have copies of this title.
December 15 - PM: The Library began its "Holiday Cheer Days" today. We're a bunch of history nerds so the way we "sport our favorite 'team'" is by wearing the most recently issued Beaufort County Library shirts. Rah! Rah! Go Team!!
December 16 - AM: My former boss, Dennis Adams, wrote a column for the Beaufort Gazette. Among his many articles was this one about the meaning of Hanukkah and shares a recipe for latkes. The BDC has copies of all his "Answer Man" articles in our Research Room: bdc@bcgov.net; 843-255-6468.
December 16 - 10 AM: Today's Holiday Cheer Day involved flannel.
December 16 - 2 PM: Sydney was our designer for the County's Winter Holidays "Decorating Your Unit's Door" contest. Cassi and I added in a few tweaks. A lot of the clippings came from our extensive vertical files and blog posts. The door is a perfect prequel to coming inside the Research Room to see the "Winter Wonderland" display she designed and wrote about in elsewhere in Connections. BBBrrrr! The flyer has links to some of our wintry weather in the past posts.
December 16 - 6 PM: Today's Holiday Cheer Day involved flannel. Sydney and I and our guest, Madison from the NOB Bookmobile crew, channeled our inner lumberjacks. With that image in your mind, you might want to come do some research about wood harvesting in the Lowcountry. Two titles come immediately to mind: The Bull-Hunchers : A Saga of the Three and a Half Centuries of Harvesting the Forest Crops of the Tidewater Low Country by Howard A. Hanlon, 1970 and Live Oaking : Southern Timber for Tall Ships by Virginia S. Wood, 1981. Contact us to set up a date and time to get Sydney's assistance: 843-255-6468; bdc@bcgov.net.
December 17 - AM: "Black History Note:" Laura Towne came to St. Helena Island to found Penn School in 1862. She remained on the island until her death, educating generations of children and adults and providing basic medical care. Here's what she wrote in her diary about her first Christmas Day on the island:
"The celebration went off grandly. The [Brick] church was beautiful. Lottie [that is, Charlotte Forten] draped the pulpit in long moss and put a wreath of red holly and broad leaves along the top from which the moss fell like a fringe. The words "His People are Free" were put up opposite the pulpit. Festoons of green hung between the pillars, with a cluster of red berries and magnolia leaves looping each up. On the walls were circlets of green, each surrounding a little flag that Miss Ware sent us. It was beautiful."
The BDC and SCLENDS libraries have a variety of editions of the Letters and Diary of Laura M. Towne to share with our cardholders.
December 17 - PM: It was "Holiday Cheer Come in as Your Favorite Decade Day." I chose to don the apparel of the 1820s; Theresa represented the 1970s; Traci revisited the 1980s; Sydney was preparing for Y2K; and Cassandra re-produced the ensemble from a photo she had taken in 2013 when monogrammed chevron infinity scarves were all the rage. Thanks go to Travis Walters who took the image for us.
December 18 - PM: It was "Honor Your Alma Mater" day today. Together the BDC staff represented the American Military University, College of Charleston, Harford Community College, Midlands Technical College, Newberry College, Technical College of the Lowcountry, University of North Carolina, and University of South Carolina. We are as a group, however, not into alumni paraphernalia and clothing. Hence the makeshift points of pride, except for Cassi's College of Charleston shirt. But even she is not honoring her latest Alma Mater: She graduated with her MLIS degree from USC's School of Library and Information Science on Tuesday. Sydney and I hosted a small "Congratulations- cake-and-ice-cream Drop-in" for Library staff and BDC docents to celebrate Cassi's achievement. December 19 - AM: One knows that the holidays are near when the newspaper writes about three holidays in one article. This clipping about the "Symbols of the Holidays" comes from the Beaufort Gazette, 21 December 2003, p. 1C.
December 19 - PM: Holiday Cheer "Channel Your Fav Holiday Movie" was Home Alone (1990) for us as a staff. In the spirit of seasonal cooperation, I agreed to be Kevin McCallister, the boy who was left home alone, portrayed by Macaulay Culkin; Cassandra was Harry Lyme, the short robber portrayed in the movie by Joe Pesci; and Sydney was Marv Murchins, the taller robber portrayed in the movie by Daniel Stern.
December 23 - Today's Cheer Day theme was Disney! BDC's Cassandra and Sydney along with Beaufort Branch's Will dressed as Mike, Sully, and Randall from Monsters Inc. Merry Christmas everyone! December 29 - The BDC is back from our Christmas vacation and we're celebrating another BCL Cheer Day. Today's theme was "Fandom - Cheer on what you geek!" Sydney repped her Hogwarts House while Cassandra donned a t-shirt with her favorite show, Sailor Moon.
December 30 - 10 AM: As the BDC gets ready to say goodbye to 2025, we look forward to our first program of 2026: "Camellias" with Dr. Brenda Litchfield on Jan 27th at 2:00pm at the St. Helena Branch Library. Dr. Litchfield will cover the fascinating history of camellias along with their care and propagation in the Lowcountry. The BDC hopes to see you there next year!
December 30 - 1 PM: Today's Holiday Cheer Day theme was "Fantasy." Sydney brought her Toothless dragon plush, BCL Admin's Theresa dressed like a Gryffindor student, and Travis from Marketing wore his WOW hoodie. Tomorrow will be our last Cheer Day as we say goodbye to 2025! December 30 - 5 PM: Make sure to start your 2026 off right with some traditional Lowcountry cuisine. I never want to miss out on good luck so I always have a meal of Hoppin’ John and greens on New Year’s Day. There's still time for you to get the ingredients - and try out our posted recipes! We will be open regular hours tomorrow. Thank you for reading our Facebook posts this year. I hope that you've learned a little local history about this wonderful place where we live and a little about how the BDC tries to share the deep and storied of Beaufort District with others through our programs, collections, and social media as a result of the time you've invested with and in us.
December 31 - AM: "Black History Note:" Tonight there will be Watch Services throughout the lowcountry in remembrance of President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation that freed all enslaved people within the Confederacy. Read first person accounts of that original Day of Jubilee, January 1, 1863 in the BDC's Connections blog.
Cassandra, Sydney and I trust that your time with family and friends as this year draws to a close and another one dawns is jolly, merry and bright. May 2026 be a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year for us all! See you in 2026!
December 31 - PM: It was "End 2025 in (Work Appropriate) PJS" Holiday Cheer Day!
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