4/23, full issue: Gaillard family members; Year of the Woman?; What we love

MYSTERY PHOTO: You might have seen this before   

Here’s a mystery that many residents and visitors to Charleston might see. (We’ve slightly altered the picture to make identification more difficult.)  Send your guess to editor@charlestoncurrents.com with “Mystery Photo” in the subject line.   Please make sure to include your name and contact information.

Last issue’s mystery

The April 16 Mystery Photo showed First Scots Presbyterian Church on Meeting Street in Charleston.  Hats off to photo sleuths Chris Brooks of Mount Pleasant; George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; and Tom Tindall of Edisto Island for correctly identifying it.

Both Tindall and Graf pulled information from the National Park Service to provide more information on the historic church.  Here’s a combination of the information they provided:

 “First Scots Presbyterian Church, the fifth oldest church in Charleston, was constructed in 1814. Its design was perhaps inspired by St. Mary’s Cathedral in Baltimore, Maryland designed by Benjamin Latrobe. Latrobe was the first professionally trained American architect, best known for designing the United States Capitol.

“The massive brick Presbyterian Church has walls that are three feet thick and covered with stucco. Twin towers rise above a columned portico. Reflecting the heritage of the congregation, the seal of the Church of Scotland is displayed in the stained-glass window over the main entrance, and the decorative wrought iron grilles contain thistles, the symbol of Scotland. First Scots replaced the congregation’s first church, a frame building previously located in the southeast corner of the graveyard. The graveyard contains more than 50 stones that date earlier than 1800.  Unique silver and pewter tokens were used for admission to Communion. During both the Revolutionary War and Civil War services were not held.”

• Send us a mystery:  If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!)   Send it along to  editor@charlestoncurrents.com.

MYSTERY PHOTO: You might recognize this place

FOCUS: New family memberships at Gaillard Center are hot

COMMENTARY, Brack: Will the Year of the Woman impact S.C. governor’s race?

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Morris Financial Concepts, Inc.

WHAT WE LOVE:  Breach Inlet and Orchestra League

GOOD NEWS:  Local artist Osmond receives South Arts fellowship  

FEEDBACK:  Two readers react to education commentary

S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIA: Oconee Bell

CALENDAR, April 23+:  From learning about redistricting to Yappy Hour

FOCUS:  New family memberships at Gaillard Center are hot

Charleston Gaillard Center

By Catherine Brack, special to Charleston Currents  |  The Charleston Gaillard Center is now offering a membership level for families to immerse children earlier in the arts at a price that is affordable for parents.

Families with children under the age of 12 that join will receive an array of benefits, ranging from a city-wide interactive passport book for each child to discounts on family-only performances to special event invitations for the whole family to enjoy.

Since the re-opening in October 2015, the Charleston Gaillard Center has provided many opportunities for families to enjoy the arts. With performances like Peppa Pig, the Disney Jr. Dance Party and the annual tradition of the Charlotte Ballet’s Nutcracker, families have experienced live stories from their favorite characters and created lasting memories.

Along with family-friendly performances, the Charleston Gaillard Center also offers a wide array of educational services for students and teachers in the Lowcountry. Our school programming annually attracts 25,000 students from the surrounding tri-county area.  We work with teachers and students in the schools to incorporate the upcoming performances into their curriculum, provide transportation to and from the center to bring students to free or reduced-fee performances, and return to the schools a few days after the ticked performance for cognitive evaluation and to get feedback on the experience.

We provide 12 opportunities each year for schools to attend a performance at the Gaillard, with two shows per date (10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.). Tickets cost $5 per student per performance, and are free to Title One schools. Seventy-one percent of our audience attending qualifies for free performances. The education performances are open to home-schooled children. Once announced, our education shows sell out within the first week.

In addition to our school performances, we also host theater camps during spring break and summer break. Our theater camp is immersive – campers, ages 5 to 14, start their week with a theme, and finish the week having written, cast, costumed, directed, set designed, promoted and acted in their original play. Our most recent play was “The History of The Jenkins Orphanage,” written, created and performed by 20 local school children with help from the Gaillard Center’s artist-in-residence, Charlton Singleton.

Family members have the chance to sign up for theater camps, dance camps and jazz orchestra camps at a reduced rate. Other membership benefits include:

• Two-day advance ticket purchase on family performances
• Four complimentary beverage vouchers
• Two complimentary parking vouchers
• Private back of house family tour (date TBA)
• Two complimentary tickets to an education performance (reservations required)
• 10 percent off Gaillard Center Camps (ages 5 to 14)
• Children’s Passport Activity Books (available September 2018)
• Receive one free ticket with purchase of two tickets to The Nutcracker on Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.
• Invitation to members-only Sweets with Santa event, featuring photos, and a member gift
• $15 off your membership at the South Carolina Aquarium
• Special events with Charleston County Public Library.

Family memberships are available on an annualized basis for $175 per year.  The membership benefits extend to two adults (parents, grandparents or guardians) and children 12 and under.

• To learn more, please call our membership department at 843-579-6452 or contact Gage Baxter at gbaxter@gaillardcenter.org

Catherine Brack is director of development at Charleston Gaillard Center.

• Have a comment? Send to:  editor@charlestoncurrents.com

BRACK: Will the Year of the Woman impact S.C. governor’s race?

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher   |  Strap in.  The silly season is creeping up on us.

South Carolina’s primary elections are less than two months away.  You’re about to get inundated with campaign literature, commercials, emails and lots of junk, particularly from gubernatorial candidates.

Up until now, the 2018 race for governor has been anything but titillating.  In fact, it’s been pretty tame and dull.  But that’s expected, in one sense because early campaign time is devoted mostly to raising enough money so candidates can stir up the party faithful later.  And that “later” is now beginning.

Witness recent television ad buys by Republicans John Warren of Greenville and Catherine Templeton of Mount Pleasant, both of whom are trying to define themselves as they take on incumbent GOP Gov. Henry McMaster, who already has enough name recognition that he can keep his powder dry until election day is closer.  The other two Republican candidates, Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant of Anderson and his predecessor, Yancey McGill of Kingstree, haven’t raised much of a profile among primary voters.

The GOP challengers are taking two tacks:  Warren and Templeton are pitching themselves at tough, conservative outsiders who say they’ll bring a business sense to Columbia.  But Bryant and McGill, both of whom are seasoned former state senators, seek the state’s top job because of their experience.  Bryant says he wants to protect liberty and bolster limited government.  McGill says he wants to work with all people to fix the state’s big problems.

Meanwhile McMaster is using a veteran campaign machine to try to pick apart coalitions his opponents are trying to form.  In the Upstate to counter Bryant, the governor is wooing pro-life conservatives by highlighting efforts to thwart Planned Parenthood.  Across the state to combat threats by Templeton, who has almost matched him on fundraising, he picked a fresh face as running mate – Upstate businesswoman Pamela Evette – to show how he, the inveterate insider, can also be an outsider.  For all Republicans, McMaster figures out ways to remind that he is close to President Donald Trump, still wildly popular among GOP primary voters.

At this point, the race seems to be McMaster’s to lose, unless he fumbles and gives voters a reason that he should be cast aside.  Templeton’s bankroll may be enough to get her into a runoff, but at this point, the governor seems like the likely GOP nominee.

On the Democratic side, it’s refreshing for many that there actually is a contested primary.  Perhaps that reflects a growing strength for the minority party that has seemed to step on its feet a lot in recent years.

This three-way primary race is between veteran state Rep. James Smith of Columbia, Charleston consultant Phil Noble and Columbia attorney Marguerite Willis. There hasn’t been much substance yet, although Noble frequently attacks Smith about guns using distorted information.

Like McMaster, Willis decided early to announce a running mate, state Sen. John Scott of Columbia.  What makes her choice particularly interesting is the diversity of the ticket.  Willis, married to a former Florence mayor and gubernatorial candidate, may be able to pick up support from black voters because Scott, a longtime Democratic player, is black.

Throughout the Democratic race, Smith has been the frontrunner.  While he’s not flashy on the stump, his organization is building strength, as witnessed by the overwhelming number of small donors he has.  In the last three months, for example, Smith received contributions from 2,625 individuals.  That’s almost more than the number you get when you add up first quarter contributors for all of the other Democrats and Republicans in the race.

Over the next two months, look for Noble to continue to needle Smith, an attack strategy that’s off-putting for many in the party who want candidates to go after Republicans, not fellow Democrats. Meanwhile, Willis, whose coffers are about as full as Smith’s thanks to a big loan, should be able to get out her message, which could cause him some problems.

If 2018 becomes the Year of the Woman in South Carolina politics, Templeton and Willis are well-placed in terms of money to knock off one of the frontrunners.  It’s happened before.  Remember 2010 when a little-known candidate named Nikki Haley swept past three GOP candidates, including McMaster?

• Have a comment? Send to:  editor@charlestoncurrents.com

SPOTLIGHT:  Morris Financial Concepts, Inc.

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring Charleston Currents to you at no cost to readers.  Morris Financial Concepts, Inc., is a nationally recognized, fee-only financial consulting firm that helps you identify and align your resources, values and goals to achieve an enriched life. We do not accept commissions or compensation related to the products and service we recommend. Our counsel is based solely on what we believe is best for each client.

• Learn about founder and Charleston Currents columnist Kyra Morris and more about the consultancy at: Morris Financial Concepts, Inc.

WHAT WE LOVE:  Breach Inlet and Orchestra League

Breach Inlet with Sullivan’s Island on the left.

Two readers were the first to submit entries into our new “What We Love About Charleston” feature.

Gabriel Andrade of Mount Pleasant pointed to Breach Inlet between Sullivan’s Island and Isle of Palms, noting it “is a great place to watch dolphins play during the summer right before sunset.”

Music lover David Savard of Charleston tapped the Charleston Symphony Orchestra League as something he loves – and he encouraged people to enjoy the organization 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. April 29 for its “Sippin’ Sangria on the Stono” party at the Island House on Johns Island.  He also promoted the organization’s scholarship concert at 1 p.m. May 6 at Bishop Gadsden on James Island.

“Ongoing programs in support of the CSO include “Pursuit of the Podium” and a car sponsorship. For more information, visit www.csolinc.org. The lucky winner of the car will be announced at a special noontime CSO Brass concert on Marion Square on May 19, and the winner of Pursuit of the Podium will debut conducting the CSO at the Custom House on May 25.”

Tell us what you live about the Lowcountry

Tell us what you love.  Send a short comment – 50 words to 100 words – that describes something you really enjoy about the Lowcountry.  It can be big or small.  It can be a place, a thing or something you see.  It might the bakery where you get a morning croissant or a business or government entity doing a good job.  We’ll highlight your entry in a coming issue of Charleston Currents.  We look forward to hearing from you.

• Click here to tell us what you love.

GOOD NEWS:  Local artist Osmond receives South Arts fellowship  

“Barbapapa,” by Kate Hooray Osmond.  Oil and gold leaf on canvas, 2017. Image provided.

Staff reports  |  Charleston artist Kate Hooray Osmond last week received a $5,000 South Arts State Fellowship as one of nine recipients for the stat-specific juried competitive award to visual artists in the South.

Osmond is a painter and installation artist whose work expresses bold architectural lines and bright, shiny colors, according to South Arts, which presented the award in Atlanta. “She rides in a helicopter to capture much of her subject matter: highways, agricultural structures, industrial plats, container ships, etc. to offer a new perspective of our familiar everyday existence. Energy, optimism, and the use of gold leaf are the hallmarks of Kate’s work. She believes in the unlimited curiosity and creativity of the human race and is fascinated by our relationship with the land.”

Osmond, who lives in Charleston with her family, recently won the Lowcountry Artist of the Year by the Coastal Community Foundation. Her work has shown in galleries and museums from the U.S. to South Korea.

According to a press release, nearly 700 visual artists submitted work for consideration, and a national panel of jurors reviewed each application with the sole criterion of artistic excellence to determine the nine State Fellows. A second national panel of jurors reviewed the State Fellows to determine the Southern Prize winner and finalist. Each panel is conducted blind, with the applicants’ identities and information withheld from the jurors.

Also in Good News:

New kiosks.  Three new kiosk businesses are now open in a concourse of Charleston International Airport: Daddy’s Girls Bakery, LMM Dolls & Gifts, and King Street Cookies.  A fourth kiosk specializing in Cuban food is set to open in May.

Chamber scholarships.  The Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce last week awarded scholarships to 25 high school students graduating from a regional career academy.  Scholarships are for $2,000 a year for up to two years at Trident Technical College to obtain a degree in one of the region’s high-demand career sectors.  More.

Respond Gallery.  The S.C. Aquarium last week unveiled its new Respond Gallery, an extension of Zucker Family Sea Turtle Recovery designed to educate guests about the innovative alternatives to single-use plastics. The gallery’s construction is the on-floor component of the “In Our Hands” campaign aimed at curbing use of single-use plastics and was funded by North Charleston-based manufacturing company, Ingevity—the South Carolina Aquarium’s partner in raising awareness of the dangers of plastic pollution.  Entrance to the gallery is part of the aquarium’s price of admission.

Plastic bag-ban ban.  Mount Pleasant gets a shout-out in this Statehouse Report story about the legislature’s attempt to thwart home rule and ban bans on plastic bags.

• Have a comment? Send to:  editor@charlestoncurrents.com

FEEDBACK:  Two readers react to education commentary

We need to do more

To the editor:

We must increase our investment in our youth to be successful and to minimize the disparities between the haves and the have nots. [Brack, 4/16: Invest to build talent.]

We can no longer say thanks to Mississippi. We’re at the bottom. To remedy this, we need to change the culture and change the legislature. Voting for the same people will continue to give the same results.

We need to re-examine the Education Finance Act and Act 388. Republicans have brought us here and want to continue with the same.

— George Tempel, James Island, S.C.

Money isn’t root cause

To the editor

Most of this report seems to be jargon and gobbledygook. [Brack, 4/16: Invest to build talent.]  In fact, some Midwestern states with the highest public school test scores spend the least nationally per capita on education.  So, money is not the root cause of educational outcome disparities.

Social/cultural factors are way more important.  While adequate funding of schools is needed, throwing more at a sclerotic public school system is not going to help much.  The voters know this.

— Rick Saunders, Charleston, S.C.

Send us your thoughts.  We love hearing from readers.  Comments are limited to 250 words or less.  Please include your name and contact information.  Send your letters to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com|  Our feedback policy.

HISTORY:  Oconee bell

S.C. Encyclopedia  | The Oconee bell (Shortia galacifolia) is a small, evergreen species related to Galax, with white flowers produced in March.

It was discovered by French botanist André Michaux in 1787 in the mountains of South Carolina along the Keowee River near the present Jocassee Dam. He never described the plant, and a dried specimen sat in his collection in Paris until Asa Gray of Harvard University saw it in 1839.

Gray and others spent nearly forty years trying to find this plant of unknown genus and species in the wild. Unfortunately Gray did not have access to Michaux’s journal and thought the discovery location was in the high mountains of North Carolina. He visited Grandfather Mountain (a known collecting site of Michaux) in 1841 but did not find the plant. In 1842, Gray described the plant as Shortia galacifolia in honor of Charles Short, a Kentucky botanist, who had never seen the plant.

During the next thirty-five years the species remained unknown in the wild, until a seventeen-year-old boy, George M. Hyams, collected it in McDowell County, North Carolina. Oconee bells immediately gained fame and have maintained their popularity ever since. Numerous scientific papers, popular magazine articles, books, and even a song have been dedicated to this plant.

Today the Oconee bell is considered a rare plant. Approximately sixty percent of the known populations were destroyed by the construction of Lake Jocassee and Lake Keowee. It currently grows along stream banks and hillsides in Oconee, Pickens, and Greenville Counties in South Carolina and is also known from small populations in North Carolina and northeast Georgia. More populations of Oconee bells are found in South Carolina than in any other state.

— Excerpted from an entry by Patrick McMillan.   To read more about this or 2,000 other entries about South Carolina, check out The South Carolina Encyclopedia, published in 2006 by USC Press. (Information used by permission.)

CALENDAR, April 23:  From learning about redistricting to Yappy Hour

Staff reports  |  Gerrymandering isn’t limited to any one political party. It allows the party in power to serve its own interests by drawing the lines of voting districts. The effect on democracy and competitive elections is disastrous.

Barbara Fowler and Carol Degnen of the League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area will explain gerrymandering and ways to address it through nonpartisan action 3:30 p.m. May 3 at a two-hour presentation at the Mount Pleasant public library, 1133 Mathis Ferry Road.

In South Carolina, the League of Women Voters supports a bipartisan solution to redistricting reform at the Statehouse. Legislation was introduced this session.  The League is pushing for passage of legislation before the 2020 census that create an independent redistricting commission to draw the boundaries of voting districts, ensuring that voters choose their representatives, not the other way around.

Presenters will discuss how gerrymandering happens, highlight the impacts of gerrymandering, including hyper-partisanship and high rates of uncontested races, and let voters know how to advocate for a solution in South Carolina.  More information on gerrymandering can be found at the LWVCA website.

Also on the Calendar:

(NEW) Yappy Hour is back:  4 p.m. to 8 p.m., April 26, James Island County Park, James Island.  The Charleston County Parks and Recreation Department will kick off Yappy Hour, a series of dates in the spring and fall where dogs frolic in the facility’s off-leash dog park and owners are able to enjoy a cold beverage.  Admission is included with $2 per person park admission.  Other dates: May 17, Sept. 13 and Oct. 11.  More.

GoodSpring fund-raiser:  6 p.m. to 9 p.m. April 30, Mira Winery, 68½ Queen St., Charleston.  CharlestonGOOD is holding a spring fundraiser to be able to develop a new summer project as it continues to host collaborative gatherings.  This event will include live music, art, food from Butcher & Bee and wine rom Mira.  Tickets are $50.  More: CharlestonGOOD.com

Free skin checks.  Dermatologists and certified dermatological providers from Dermatology and Laser Center of Charleston will offer free skin cancer screenings for new patients on May 1 and 15.  The screenings will take place at the offices of Dermatology and Laser Center of Charleston 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. May 1 at 2180 Henry Tecklenburg Drive, West Ashley (behind Lowe’s), and at the same time May 15 at 1364 Ashley River Road, West Ashley.  Registration for the event is required and may be made by phoning 843-556-8886, visiting their website www.dermandlaser.com.

Wine Down Wednesdays:  5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., on May 2, Old Towne Creek County Park, West Ashley.  While this new county park is not yet open daily to the public, these Wednesday opportunities offer Lowcountry residents the chance to experience the beauty of this property. Tickets needed.  More:  CharlestonCountyParks.com/WDW.

(NEW) Summey to speak:  Noon, May 3, Halls Signature Events, 5 Faber St., Charleston.  North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey, who runs the state’s third largest city, will offer remarks at a special small business lunch offered by King Street Marketing Group and Hall Management Group.  Tickets are $31.  Doors open at 11:30 a.m.

Early morning bird walks at Caw Caw:  8:30 a.m. every Wednesday and Saturday, Caw Caw Interpretive Center, Ravenel.  You can learn about habitats and birds, butterflies and other organisms in this two-hour session.  Registration not required, but participants are to be 15 and up.  $10 per person or free to Gold Pass holders.  More:  http://www.CharlestonCountyParks.com.

Area farmers markets

SATURDAYS: The  Charleston Farmers Market, is back in action from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday through Nov. 24 at Marion Square.  A holiday market will be open Dec. 1, 2, 8. 9, 15 and 16.

SATURDAYS:  Johns Island Farmers Market operates each Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. year-round with more than 50 local farmers and vendors, food trucks, music and more.  The market is located on the campus of Charleston Collegiate School, 2024 Academy Road, Johns Island.

SATURDAYS: The Town Market on James Island are again open.  Open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday at the James Island Youth Soccer Club, 871 Fort Johnson Road, James Island.

TUESDAYS:  The Town of Mount Pleasant’s Farmers Market is every Tuesday from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the market pavilion at Moultrie Middle School, 645 Coleman Blvd, in Mount Pleasant.

WEDNESDAYS.  The market in West Ashley reopens April 25 in Ackerman Park. More.

• If you have an event to list on our calendar, please send it to editor@charlestoncurrents.com for consideration. The calendar is updated weekly on Mondays.

OUR UNDERWRITERS

Charleston Currents is an underwriter-supported weekly online journal of good news about the Charleston area and Lowcountry of South Carolina.

• Meet our underwriters
• To learn more about how your organization or business can benefit, click here to contact us. Or give us a holler on the phone at: 843.670.3996.

OUR TEAM

Charleston Currents offers insightful community comment and good news on events each week. It cuts through the information clutter to offer the best of what’s happening locally.

• Mailing address: O. Box. 22261 | Charleston, SC 29413
• Phone: 670.3996

Charleston Currents is provided to you weekly by:

• Editor and publisher: Andy Brack, 843.670.3996
• Contributing photographer: Michael Kaynard
• Contributing editor, careers: Ben Fanning
• Contributing editor, common good, Fred Palm
• Contributing editor, money: Kyra Morris
• Contributing editor, Palmetto Poem: Marjory Wentworth

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE

Subscriptions to Charleston Currents are free.

• Click here to subscribe.
• We don’t want to lose you as a reader of Charleston Currents, go to the bottom of any of your weekly newsletters and click the “unsubscribe” function.   If that doesn’t work, please send us an email with the word “unsubscribe” in the subject line.

© 2008-2018, Statehouse Report, LLC. All rights reserved. Charleston Currents is published every Monday by Statehouse Report LLC, PO Box 22261, Charleston, SC 29413.