New (and New-to-Us) Materials in the Research Room, 3rd Quarter 2026

We are back with a New (and New-to-Us) update! This update covers materials that have been catalogued from July 1, 2026 to September 30, 2026. We have received various new materials such as books, posters, magazines, reports, telephone directories, and yearbooks. We also have a newly updated archival collection that was processed by one of our dedicated volunteers! To learn more about these exciting updates, keep on reading! 

Books

Box Like the Pros: World Champion Smokin' Joe Frazier's Complete Insider's Guide by William Dettloff, 2005.

Beaufort's renowned boxer Joe Frazier, also known as "Smokin' Joe," partnered with boxing writer William Dettloff to create a guidebook for one of America's most popular sports at the time of publication. This title not only offers tips from the Former World Heavyweight champion himself, but it also provides a history of the sport as well as reference tools that can help casual boxing viewers better understand factors such as rules, scoring, timing, and so much more.

Caroline's Claim: The Remarkable Story of the Martins of Calhoun Street - A Bluffton Original Since 1820 by Andrea R. Martin, 2025.

Martin tells the extraordinary story of her ancestral land in Bluffton that was once owned by her Great-Great-Great-Grandmother, Caroline, who was a free woman of color in the 19th century. The narrative melds past and present, familial facts and historical context, immersing the reader in her heritage. Martin includes tips on researching your own family as well as helpful resources such as books, periodicals, archives, and online resources.

Come Out Smokin’: Joe Frazier, the Champ Nobody Knew by Phil Pepe, 1972. 

Sportswriter Phil Pepe was the first to publish a culminative piece on the "Champ Nobody Knew," who we all now know as Joe Frazier. The book begins with Frazier's early life in Beaufort with his family and the beginning of his amateur boxing career. According to Pepe, those who knew Joe understood that he had a fire and innate drive, which would eventually take him to the Olympics, the Heavyweight Championship, and to win against professional boxer Muhammad Ali. 

Ghosts of Manila: The Fateful Blood Feud between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier by Mark Kram, 2001.

Ghosts of Manila covers two of the most well-known boxers in American history, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. The two met in Manila for their third fight to determine who the true boxing champion was. Little did they know, the fight would become one of the most brutal boxing matches of all time. Ghosts author, Mark Kram, won an award for his Sports Illustrated article detailing the cruel and controversial fight. He expanded on it in this work, which also contains background details on each fighter. 

Gullah-Geechee Diasporas: Knowledge, Culture, and Black Lowcountry Legacies edited by Muhammad Fraser-Rahim and Elizabeth J. West, 2026. 

This title consists of eight essays that explore Gullah culture from multiple perspectives and periods. Each essay considers how different aspects such as origin, migration, geography, and more have transformed Gullah culture and traditions over time and space. Readers come to understand that dispersion does not diminish the impact that African and Gullah-Geechee cultural traditions have had on the world.

The Gullah Geechee Saga: Through African Eyes by Amadu Massally, 2025. 

This work, as stated by the author, is part historical narrative and part memoir. Gullah Geechee history cannot be told solely through the records of slavery in America; Massally states that we must begin with the Rice Coast of West Africa, then combine our findings with records and oral histories from the Lowcountry to fully understand the brilliance of the culture and its surviving African heritage. 

Mockingbird Diary of St. Helena Island by Deborah Serravalle, 2025.

This book is a fictionalized story depicting the true service of Reconstruction-era teachers Ellen Murray and Laura Towne. Towne, along with her dear friend and companion Murray, founded the Penn School, one of the first educational institutions for newly freed Black people. 

Pat Conroy's Lowcountry: A History & Guide by Lynn Seldon, 2026. 

It was in A Lowcountry Heart: Reflections on a Writing Life (2016) that Pat Conroy confessed that Beaufort was where he discovered himself. With this knowledge, travel journalist Lynn Seldon set out to create an immersive travel guide that takes the reader on a journey through the place that inspired Conroy the most: the Lowcountry. Seldon highlights many important spots such as the Arsenal, the Penn Center, Hunting Island State Park, Daufuskie Island, and so much more. 

Requiem for Reconstruction: Black Countermemory and the Legacy of the Lowcountry's Lost Political Generation by Robert D. Bland, 2026. 

Requiem for Reconstruction centers on the political turning point of the Reconstruction Era, highlighting Black figures who played key roles in shaping the nation. This era is often overlooked due to ensuing events of the early 20th century. Robert Bland felt it was time to recognize the contributions of essential Black political figures of this postbellum era such as Frances Rollin, Robert Smalls, Judge William Whipper, and many more. 

Sparring with Smokin’ Joe: Joe Frazier’s Epic Battles and Rivalry with Ali by Glenn Lewis, 2021. 

Compared to the majority of accounts on the rivalry between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, this title offers a more complex perspective on Frazier, his personal life, and the immediate as well as long-lasting fallout he felt from the friction. Glenn Lewis also dives into the next phase of Frazier's life when he trained his son Marvis through his own boxing career.

Posters

• All Shook Up: A New Musical Comedy: June 26-July 5 [2026] from Southeastern Summer Theatre Institute, [2026].
• Conversations with Ben [Franklin]: Beaufort County Library [3 branches]: June 29 - July 1 [2026] from Color Illustrations, 2026.
• Dolly Ever After: A Tribute to a Literacy Pioneer from Beaufort County Library, 2026.
• Dragonboat Race Day: June 27, 2026, from Color Illustrations, 2026.
• Spring Fling Festival: A Family-Friendly Community Event: Lowcountry Montessori School: May 16 [2026] 12 to 4PM from Lowcountry Montessori School, 2026.
• Stop Those Skeeters! With Beaufort County Mosquito Control: June [2026] from Beaufort County Library, 2026.

Magazines, Reports, and Yearbooks

• The Beaufortonian [yearbook]: 1959 from Beaufort High School, 1921-1972.
• Calling Beaufort Home: The Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina: Volume XXVII Number 1 ~ Spring 2022 from The Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina, 2022
• Water Use and Future Requirements, Hilton Head Island and Vicinity, South Carolina by Roger W. McCready, 1989. 

Telephone Directories

• Beaufort County Telephone Directory: 1994 from Beaufort County Government, 1994
• Beaufort County Telephone Directory: 2006-2007 from Beaufort County Government, 2007.
• Beaufort County Telephone Directory: 2009-2010 from Beaufort County Government, 2010.

Archival Collections

The Josie Childs Photograph Collection, 1953-1973

This is not a new collection, but it was updated recently by BDC volunteers. The Josie Childs Photograph Collection includes photographic slides of the Mather School, its students and events circa 1953-1973. Earlier this summer, the slides were scanned to archival standards by BDC volunteers. The slides were then sleeved, assigned a barcode, and foldered. The finding aid was also updated by Cassandra Knoppel and published on our bdcbcl: Links, Lists, and Finding Aids blog. As of September 2026, the digitized images are being added to the BDC’s PastPerfect (our internal content management system) by BDC volunteer, Peggy Scott.

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If you are interested in any of the materials we have shared today or wish to explore our collection for yourself: appointments are encouraged while walk-ins are sometimes accepted. To make an appointment, send an email to bdc@bcgov.net or give us a call at 843-255-6468. We hope to hear from you soon!

Upcoming Local History Programs in November

The BDC survived the October crunch and are now looking towards a calmer November. We hope you fellow History Nerds are looking forward to these upcoming BDC Local History programs!

Did this summer's America 250th festivities spark your interest in the Revolution in Beaufort District? Are you feeling a little low now that the fanfare has died down? Never fear, the BDC is here to quench your thirst for local Revolutionary history!

Mark your calendar for Dik Daso's program on Colonel William Harden, a Lowcountry commander of Patriot forces. Join the BDC and BCHS at the Beaufort Branch Library on Thursday, November 5th at 11:00 AM for this intriguing program. 

Dik Daso serves as the Executive Director of the Air Force Historical Foundation. Daso was adjunct faculty in the department of history at the University of South Carolina where he taught a variety of courses that focus on the history of technology and science. He retired from the USAF in 2001 and then served at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum as the curator of modern military aircraft until retiring from that post in 2012. He earned his B.S. from the USAF Academy in 1981 and his doctorate in history from the University of South Carolina in 1996.

Daso flew T-38, RF-4C, and F-15 aircraft during his service. He was assigned to the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board during the visionary New World Vistas S&T study in 1995. He also held the position of Chief, Air Force Doctrine, as a member of the Air Staff in the Pentagon. Lt. Col. Daso retired after 20 years of active service in 2001.

Daso has authored several books and contributed chapters to several more. The books include U.S. Air Force: A Complete History (Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, Inc., 2006), Doolittle: Aerospace Visionary (Brassey’s US, 2003), Hap Arnold and the Evolution of American Airpower (Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001; Special AFHF Edition, 2012; USAF 75th Anniversary Edition, 2022), Architects of American Air Supremacy: General Hap Arnold and Dr. Theodore von Kármán (Air University Press, 1997).

His latest work, Colonel William Harden: South Carolina’s Unheralded Partisan Commander, is the subject of our upcoming event.

We rescheduled Historic Black Businesses of Beaufort with NPS Ranger Dr. Chanda Powell! 

Please join us on Monday, November 16th, 2:00 PM, at Beaufort Branch Library, as Dr. Chanda Powell of the National Park Service will discuss the historic Black Businesses that once were along Scott, West and other downtown Beaufort streets. Some of the businesses started by African Americans were blacksmiths, carpenters, restaurants, and more. Come learn with us!

Chanda Powell is a native of North Carolina and attended North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC where she received her BA and MA in History and received her PhD at Howard University and majored in the African Diaspora and a minor in Public History. She has been a National Park Service ranger for nine years. She currently works at the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park located in Beaufort, South Carolina where she has an interest in Black history and culture and showing diasporic connections and learning from communities. 

Please note: The BDC and BCL will be closed on Wed., November 11 for Veterans Day. The BDC and BCL will be closed again on Thurs., Nov. 26 and Fri., Nov. 27 for Thanksgiving.

Don't be a stranger - We hope to see y'all soon!

Celebrating Gullah Culture at the Library by Cassandra Knoppel

The BDC (and the rest of the Lowcountry) is celebrating Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Month in October, and the BCL Marketing team asked me to write a short article on the topic to go up on the BCL Soundings Blog. I'm reposting it here so our followers may learn from it too! 

Some of the material may be familiar to long-time BDC patrons, as this post is based on the introduction to “Gullah Culture: A Selective List of Links and Materials” written by former BDC manager Grace Cordial, which itself uses material from former BCL Staff members Dennis Adams, Hillary S. Barnwell and Fran Hayes. - Cassandra

"Uncle Jim" Frogmore, S.C. from The Lucille Hasell Culp Collection.

Did you know that October is Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Month?  

The Gullah-Geechee people are a unique group of African Americans descended from enslaved Africans who lived on the sea islands of the Atlantic coast, between Wilmington, NC and Jacksonville, FL. African traditions, language and myths were better preserved along the sea islands, as those who were enslaved on the island plantations were allowed greater self-sufficiency and were relatively isolated.[i] This allowed them to retain their cultural memory longer and throughout many subsequent generations, fusing it with the other cultures of the Southeast to become Gullah-Geechee.

Gullah is also a language spoken throughout the sea islands of the coastal Southeast. Considered a creole form of English, the vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation mix elements of West African languages and English.[ii]

The contributions of the Gullah people have had a lasting impact on Beaufort County’s local culture and history. Sweetgrass baskets are a famous Gullah art form and common sights at farm stands and craft markets in the Lowcountry. Foods like red rice, gumbo, okra, and benne wafers are Carolina favorites that come from Gullah cuisine. Aspects of Gullah spirituality are also well known, like praise houses and spirituals, and even more so root doctors and hoodoo.

Gullah culture is not just tied to local history, but to national history as well. For example, the Penn School was established in 1862 to educate the formerly enslaved residents of St. Helena, many of them Gullah. 100 years later, Penn School became an important site in the Civil Rights Movement as a retreat for Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. It is even said that Dr. King wrote much of his "Where Do We Go From Here" speech there.[iii]

Frissell Hall, Penn Center from The Lucille Hasell Culp Collection.

The Beaufort County Library celebrates our local Gullah-Geechee community and promotes their unique culture throughout the year through our collections and programs. 

As Wilbur Cross noted in his book Gullah Culture in America, Beaufort County Library “has one of the South’s largest collections of materials on the Gullah language and the sea island culture.” The Beaufort District Collection is home to an extensive Gullah-Geechee historical collection of books, manuscripts, pamphlets, vertical files, videos and more. St. Helena Branch Library has a reference collection of Gullah-Geechee materials on-site in addition to a small Reconstruction Era reference collection. Hilton Head Branch Library has its own South Carolina Room which also has a section of Gullah-related resources. And, of course, every BCL branch library (including bookmobiles) has a Local History section where you can check out books on a variety of historical subjects. Here are some new Gullah-related titles that can be found in a Local History section near you!

• Descended: Searching for my Gullah-Geechee Roots by Keith Rushing (2025). Motivated to uncover the history of his family after learning the Gullah origins of a name, Rushing set out on a journey that led him through time to Hilton Head Island.
• Romancing the Gullah in the Age of Porgy and Bess by Kendra Y. Hamilton (2024). Hamilton documents the impact of Gullah culture on the Harlem and Charleston Renaissances.
• Gullah Culture in America by Wilbur Cross (2008). This title meticulously explores the history of the Gullah, from the arrival of African slaves in the New World to 21st century Gullahs traveling to West Africa to uncover their heritage.
• Gullah-Geechee Diasporas, edited by Muhammad Fraser-Rahim and Elizabeth J. West (2026). In this anthology, writers and scholars explore the African roots of the Gullah and their historic and contemporary impacts on American culture.

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[i] Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. (n.d.). The Gullah Geechee people – discovering legacy of African cultures. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://gullahgeecheecorridor.org/the-gullah-geechee/

[ii] Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. (n.d.). The Gullah Geechee people – discovering legacy of African cultures. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://gullahgeecheecorridor.org/the-gullah-geechee/

[iii] Power, J. T. (1993). I will not be silent and I will be Heard: Martin Luther King Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and Penn Center,1964-1967. South Carolina Department of Archives & History.

Note: This post is based on the introduction to “Gullah Culture: A Selective List of Links and Materials” written by former BDC manager Grace Cordial, using material written by former BCL Staff members Dennis Adams, Hillary S. Barnwell and Fran Hayes.