S.C. Encyclopedia | The Stumphouse Mountain Tunnel is an unfinished nineteenth-century railroad tunnel located near Walhalla. The variation of the name “Stump House” was drawn from the legend of a Cherokee woman who lived on the mountain with her white husband. Rejected by both their respective communities, the couple lived on the mountain in a log home built atop stumps.
Staff reports | You can learn about what it takes to become a school board candidate or advocate at a special two-hour nonpartisan workshop that will be offered 10 a.m. Feb. 24 by the League of Women Voters.
“The League of Women Voters is deeply concerned about public education and all of our children who are served by public schools in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties,” According to a press release. “Whatever other educational opportunities there may be, the vast majority of our children depend on public schools. Their education is critical to our democracy and our country’s future. Our public schools need dedicated advocates and school board candidates.”
In the tri-county area, more than 113,000 students count on public schools, the league said. “These students are our next generation of teachers, doctors and first responders. They are our future and they require the best we can offer. School board members are critical decision makers in ensuring that all our children can access an excellent education. In 2018, approximately half of the seats on school boards for the four Tri-County districts will be on the ballot.”
Staff reports | The niece of a celebrated civil rights photographer will be at a special event Jan. 30 at Charleston County Public Library on Calhoun Street. Karen Berman will attend an event at the library at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 30 that celebrates photographs taken by her aunt, Ida Berman, in 1959 on Johns Island as residents were organizing to vote and figure for their rights. A display of photos have been at the library since the beginning of the month.
NINE DAYS LEFT, Cuba photo exhibit: Through Jan. 31. Charleston County Public Library, Calhoun St., Charleston. Charleston Currents’ editor and publisher Andy Brack offers photographic insights into Cuba from a 2015 visit to the country. An exhibition is on display in the Saul Alexander Gallery. Free.
Breaking down barriers: 6 p.m. Jan. 23, Emanuel AME Church, Charleston. Former S.C. Rep. Lucille Whipper of Mount Pleasant and Charleston business leader Linda Ketner will share their experiences breaking barriers in this talk moderated by Patricia Williams Lessane, a cultural anthropologist and the executive director of the Avery Research Center at the College of Charleston.
S.C. Encyclopedia | Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1932 as a wintering ground for migratory waterfowl. Located in Charleston County and stretching for twenty-two miles along the coast between Charleston and the Santee River delta, Cape Romain is a rich natural resource. In its shallow bays, tides combine the life-giving nourishment of the ocean with the nutrient-laden freshwaters of rivers to make one of the most productive environments on earth. Plants and animals from the land, rivers, and ocean are all present at Cape Romain, and all are dependent on the delicate balance of the marshlands.
Staff reports | The 2018 legislative agenda for the Charleston Metro Chamber includes 15 priorities split between priority issues and competitiveness issues.
Anticipating a session focused on our state’s energy and state pension issues, the Chamber restructured this year’s state agenda into priority issues and competitiveness issues.
The agenda features 11 priority issues that the Chamber’s advocacy team will actively work to pass this year. There are an additional four competitiveness issues which may take longer to accomplish, but are priorities that are vitally important to the business community.
S.C. Encyclopedia | Founded in 1954 in Indianola, Mississippi, Citizens’ Councils quickly spread across the South. The organizations promoted membership as a “respectable” way for disgruntled segregationists to protest civil rights activism. The councils distributed pro-segregation propaganda and attempted to protect the legality of racial segregation throughout the South. They publicly renounced violence but encouraged organized economic pressure against African Americans and whites who were sympathetic to the black freedom struggle.
Cuba photo exhibit: Through Jan. 31/ Charleston County Public Library, Calhoun St., Charleston. Charleston Currents’ editor and publisher Andy Brack offers photographic insights into Cuba from a 2015 visit to the country. An exhibition is on display in the Saul Alexander Gallery. Free.
Restaurant Week: Jan. 10-21 in Charleston area restaurants. Charleston diners will be able to enjoy special food and drinks from renowned chefs at dozens of local eateries during the latest installment of Charleston Restaurant Week. More than 100 restaurants are expected to participate. For a list, click here.
Tata talk: Noon, Jan. 10, High Cotton restaurant, East Bay St., Charleston. Retired Brigadier Gen. A.J. Tata will profile his latest military thriller, Direct Fire, at this Blue Bicycle Books Charleston Author Series Luncheon. Tickets are $31 for the luncheon and $58 for the luncheon and signed copy of the book. More info.
Staff reports | With most people across the Lowcountry homebound because of the Great Charleston Snow of 2018, we solicited photos via Facebook from people around the area and were flabbergasted to receive more than 60 photos from 40 people.
What’s amazing in looking through these photos is how you can see the storm and its impact through lots of different eyes. You can find your favorite by going through the links above. In addition to the photo above, here are five of our favorites…
OUR FAVORITES
PHOTOS: The Great Charleston Snow of 2018
MORE PIX of the Great Charleston Snow of 2018
Here’s a snow picture that we received over the last week, but where is it? Does it look familiar? (It should, for a couple of reasons.) Send your best guess – plus your name and hometown – to editor@charlestoncurrents.com. In the subject line, write: “Mystery Photo guess.”
The Jan. 1 mystery, “The remains of a day,” showcased the remains of the Progressive Club, a civil rights landmark on Johns Island that is recognized as a start for citizenship schools. They eventually led to the voter registration of hundreds of thousands of African Americans across the South.
S.C. Encyclopedia | The ACE Basin consists of around 350,000 acres in the watershed of the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto Rivers in the South Carolina Lowcountry, which drains one-fifth of the state. The ACE Basin encompasses a range of ecosystem types from forested uplands to tidal marsh (salt, brackish, and fresh water). The basin is home for more than 260 permanent and seasonal bird species and seventeen rare or endangered species, including the wood stork and the loggerhead turtle.
History, as much as geography, unites the three rivers. By the 1750s the rivers were lined with plantations dedicated to rice production and using African slaves for the arduous labor required. Most plantations controlled tidal flows by a series of floodgates (rice trunks), dikes, and canals to grow vast amounts of rice.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina! (2019) by editor and publisher Andy Brack offers incisive commentaries on the American South, politics, the common good and interesting South Carolina leaders. Available exclusively for Kindle for $7.99. A paperback version will be ready soon. Learn more.
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