Sold Out! Local History Program about the GAR This Thursday

I hope that you've reserved your seat at this upcoming program already because seats went very, very quickly. All seats were spoken for within a few days

Rev. Dr. Elijah Washington will provide fascinating details of the Grand Army of the Republic, David Hunter Post in Beaufort. The GAR's local post was founded in 1866. Comprised of African-American veterans, mostly formerly enslaved men from Sea Island plantations who had served in the U.S. Colored Troops in the Civil War, and White Union soldiers, the GAR served as a fraternal society for veterans of the Union Army. 

Looking ahead: The Library will be closed on Monday, February 21, 2022 in honor of all past and the current Presidents of these United States. This means that the BDC staff won't be able to respond to requests for Research appointments sent after 4 pm on Friday, February 18th until Tuesday, February 22 - all things going as planned. Since it has been my experience that a whole lot of "stuff" hasn't been going as planned for quite some time now, why don't you contact me this week sometime to make the necessary arrangements for a Researcher slot next week sometime? bdc@bcgov.net; 843-255-6468.  

On the Agenda for October 2021

October is usually a busy month in the Research Room as we celebrate Archives Month, Family History Month and Archaeology Month. This year those observances will be mostly made on the BDC's Facebook page. If you're comfortable on that social media platform, I do hope that you'll follow us there. If you're not comfortable on Facebook, the posts I make there in October will re-appear here in Connections in early November. 

Please note: The Beaufort County Library will be closed for Staff Training on Wednesday, October 6, 2021. Regular hours will resume on Thursday, October 7th. 

We have two local history programs scheduled that you may want to put on your calendar. Professor Barnes discusses Charlotte Forten and Harriet Tubman and what they were doing in June 1863 beginning on October 14th at 11 AM 

and a few days later, on Tuesday, October 19 at Noon, we post the all virtual "Dueling in Beaufort District" lecture by Neil Baxley into the Library's YouTube Channel for you to enjoy.

The Library system will also be providing a link to the all virtual Arkhaois Archaeology Film Festival 2021. This festival actually began in Beaufort County in 2013 and was held here through 2017. (We have a vertical file of materials and some posters about the festival in the BDC Research Room).  Unfortunately this year's festival does not include any entries about Beaufort District nor South Carolina. Nevertheless if you are interested in archaeology at all, I encourage you to attend the free and virtual festival, October 11 - October 17. 

A reminder that limited access to the BDC Research Room continues. The COVID situation and loss of staff caused a re-evaluation of service delivery and access to the Research Room. Since the first re-opening in June 2020 and the second re-opening on October 5, 2020, we have provided limited in-person access to the Research Room.

This model is the most common form of special collections and archival service delivery.

As those of you who have been inside the Research Room are aware, the public area is physically quite small. We cannot accommodate multiple researchers and staff while at the same time following CDC guidelines for keeping everyone safe.

Be sure to make the necessary arrangements no less than a couple of work days in advance to have the best chance to secure your preferred future weekday date and time. BDC does not monitor incoming requests when the Library is closed, when the BDC is closed, on weekends, over holidays or when staff is on leave or otherwise unavailable.

Please note: No walk-ins allowed. No same day appointments. No monitoring of appointment requests on weekends, holidays, or when the BDC staff is otherwise unavailable. No exceptions – since the access provided for one customer must be provided to all under terms of the Library Code of Ethics.

Contact us to make the arrangements 843-255-6446 or bdc@bcgov.net.

"National Spirit of '45 Day"

Latest update: 11 July 2023 - gmc

Among our newest holidays is "Spirit of '45 Day" upon which the contributions of America's "Greatest Generation" (those who lived, died, and fought during the worldwide conflagration of World War II) are honored and remembered. In 2010, Congress unanimously voted to observe the second Sunday in August as National Spirit of ‘45 Day.  According to Warren Hegg, National Supervisor of "Keep the Spirit of '45 Alive!" grassroots initiative that led to the creation of the national celebration, “1945 was the defining year of the last century, and virtually every city and town in America has a story to tell about what happened in their community on August 14.” It is unclear whether the organization is extant in 2023. Any surviving WW2 veterans would be a nonagenarians, centenarians, or perhaps even one of the very few supercentenarians still alive. There's an updated "List of last surviving World War II Verterans" on Wikipedia. According to the National World War II Museum, South Carolina has approximately 2,100 living veterans from the Second World War. 

What was Beaufort like on V-J Day?  The only newspaper published in  Beaufort County at the time was the weekly Beaufort Gazette which came out on Fridays.  The Surrender of the Japanese Forces on August 14 was the topic of the next Beaufort Gazette issue on Friday, August 17, 1945.  The banner headline proclaimed "PEACE ON EARTH." 

BTW: The Research Room has two scrapbooks about the men and women of Beaufort County who served in the military forces during the conflagration. Make an appointment to review the scrapbooks or any of our other resources related to World War II: bdc@bcgov.net ; 843-255-6468.