Are you visiting Charleston, or are you just looking for things to do in the area? There is no shortage of things to do and see here! Charleston was founded in 1670, and is a living museum with an amazing history.
There are a lot of things to do with kids and your entire family, historical things to do, romantic things to do, unique things to do, and there are also plenty of free things to do in Charleston.
There is always something fun to do while you are here, and below is a list of my favorite things to do and see near Charleston!
This week marked the official partnership of Vision to Learn and Charleston. Former CCF board chair Henry Blackford played a big role in bringing this organization to South Carolina, and Gov.
Henry McMaster signed legislation allowing its full operation here.
The group provides eye exams and free glasses to low-income kids who otherwise can’t see the board, their books or participate in class. Nationwide, they’ve helped more than 374,000 kids…and now, ours are in the mix!
There is no denying the eloquent beauty and historic solace of Charleston. That is why is has and continues to be one of the top destination wedding spots in the United States. That being said, there are so many details that go into the perfect wedding, from the Pinterest dream board to the caterers, flowers to music, location to bridesmaid dresses.
Fortunately, Charleston offers some of the best resources in the country. Here are some sites to help you prepare your perfect Charleston Wedding.
The Wedding Row – Welcome to The Wedding Row… Charleston’s ultimate resource for the most elegant and innovative weddings, along with all the posh details.
As I walked the Mount Pleasant Waterfront Park pier last evening, I began to think about science and the truth seekers that lead the revolution of knowledge gathering. Their framework is very simple: seek answers to life’s most complex and challenging questions. The goliath of all questions that has riddled us all is the meaning of life and existence.
Where did we come from? Why are we here? What lies ahead after our organic body expires? We most likely will never know the absolute truth of what force led to this thing we know as the universe and our tiny piece of real estate, but we continue to search.
Over the millions of years of evolution, our bodies, our ability to think, our every-day tools have developed and adjusted, but one core value has remained with humanity; the ability to feel empathy and love.
What makes love so powerful and so unexplainable? It brings us to extreme levels of happiness and sadness. It makes us laugh and cry. It penetrates our bodies to the point of actual pain and ecstasy. Yet, it is completely unpredictable. Perhaps, you need to look at love as not an answer to be sought, but a guiding force in our journey.
As I walked the pier, with the final glimmer of sunlight reflecting off the harbor on onto my back, I saw couples holding hands, taking selfies, sitting on the rocking bench together, mothers and daughters holding hands, fathers giving son’s piggy back rides and all had the same common attributes of laughter, happiness and joy.
Just then, it hit me, the glue that keeps the wheels spinning on Charleston is the aphrodisiac in the air of love. It is the roots of our garden, the fuel that keeps this Southern flame alive.
Take away the mansions, the fancy restaurants, the church steeples, the scenic waterways and you are still left with a simple philosophy: “Be guided by the simplicity of love, find those that fulfill your need of community and embrace the nature wonders of home and there you are”. Charleston’s core mantra is love.
What brings couples from all over to pledge their eternal love on our beaches and churches?
What leads flocks to seek warmth under our sun?
What plants the idea to step back over two hundred years and let a horse guide you through the cobblestone roads?
What presence sends subliminal messages to kiss under the palmetto and frolic through Philadelphia Alley?
Why do you feel the need to dance on the sidewalk as a street performer serenades you or dine as the moon reflects off the harbor waters?
Love
We shower you with our Southern kindness, greetings of acceptance and acts of respect.
That is the pillar that can never be broken in Charleston. That is the life that we have chosen.
When I think of a word to best describe the Charleston experience, it is simple, “Love”.
Embrace the idea of love. Be kind, generous and hopeful.
HOWELL MORRELL AND MAMIE BOOZER – A CHRISTMAS LOVE STORY
My name is
Kathy Morrell Newman. I live on top of
Horrell Hill in a two-story Victorian-style home my Grandfather built for my
Grandmother. Howell Morrell bought a
tract of heart pine in the Congaree Swamp and sent it to Mr. Corley’s lumber
mill in Lexington. He built the
outbuildings out of the unfinished wood and the house from the finished
wood. It was his wedding present to
Mamie Boozer.
Mary
(Mamie) Boozer and Howell Morrell were married December 26, 1906, six years
after Mamie’s parents refused Howell’s request to court her and 2 months after
Grandfather’s election to the SC Legislature.
In the fall
of 1899 Howell had asked Mamie’s parents, Albert M. and Amanda Boozer,
permission to court Mamie and been refused. Courtship is defined as a
relationship that could lead to marriage.
In that era, courting was usually approved by the parents and done at
the lady’s home under supervision.
Their love
story began in the fall of 1898 at the new Horrell Hill Elementary and High
School when Mamie Boozer was named
Assistant Principal and Teacher to Howell Morrell, principal. It was her
first job since graduating from Columbia Female College(Columbia College). She grew up in downtown Columbia.
At the end
of the school year, Howell asked Mamie
if he could court her. She said yes, but
her parents said “No!” and instructed
Mamie to quit her job and move back home.
According to family legend, Mamie’s parents
said she was a city girl, that she couldn’t live in the country and she
couldn’t even cook. Grandfather’s famous
reply: “I don’t want a cook, I want
a wife.”
Albert
Boozer was half right. Howell Morrell
got a wife, never a cook. But she
loved living on top of Horrell Hill in the country.
On December 11, 1933, 27 years later, Grandmother
wrote:
“Heartsick and weary over the never-ending
work in the kitchen, shutting my eyes and fleeing from it to sink into the
depths of the big easy chair by the dining room fire. For a while, too tired to open my eyes or
even think. Gradually the music of the
radio soothing me and soon laughing heartily with the boys and their jokes and
songs.” She was also known to call
the stove the “black monster” and threatened to hid the pots and pans
behind it. She usually had kitchen help,
but this was 1933, often considered the worst year of the Great Depression.
But factors
other than where Mamie would live and not being able to cook impacted her
parent’s decision. First was the their
family background and second their age
difference. Howell was fourteen years
older than Mamie. At that time, he as 39
and she was 25.
Grandmother grew up
in Columbia on Plain Street -now Hampton St.
Her father was a lawyer and clerk
of the SC Supreme Court most of his career.
Both he and his wife could trace their ancestors back to the early days
of America. Grandmother and her two sisters attended Columbia Female College and her
brother attended Yale and became a
dentist. She was a pianist with a degree in music and was a favorite performer
in Columbia musical events and concerts.
Attending professional and local musical programs, theatre and lectures
was part of the family’s daily life.
Very importantly, Grandmother was very close to her parents. She would not
marry without their consent.
Grandfather was raised on a farm in Dentsville (Blythewood), an area known for its poor soil and where farming was hard. When he was seven years old his father was killed in the Civil War. He was an only child and suddenly he was the man of the house, helping his mother eke out a living from their small farm. Sometimes farm chores took precedent over school attendance. It wasn’t until he was 19 and his mother remarried that he was free to pursue his dream of attending South Carolina College (USC) and becoming an educator. He was unprepared for the entrance exam and convinced a rural schoolmaster to let him sit in on classes in return for serving as caretaker for the schoolhouse. After a year, he took and passed the college’s entrance exam. He taught at several schools in SC before being recruited to oversee the building of Horrell Hill’s first community school and become its first principal.
AN UNDER-THE-WIRE
COURTSHIP
Even though
permission to court was denied, there was a courtship, perhaps best described
as under-the-wire.
Letters
were Howell and Mamie’s primary means of
communication and social events or other community activities were their
primary ways of seeing each other. And then there were the times they conspired
for him to visit her home on the sly.
On January 12, 1895, Mamie wrote Howell:
Dear, I’m so afraid you
misunderstood me to-night. When I shook my head, you looked so sad that it
cut me to the heart, and I can’t get over it.
I only meant that I could not
arrange for you to visit me at my home tomorrow. Mama is not going away as she expected, and
my sisters may come home tomorrow; so you see that it will not be
possible. I shook my head , because I
promised to let you know to-night whether you could come or not, and that was
the only way I could do it. I intended writing you a note this afternoon,
but had to rush my work to get out tonight and did not have time.
I know you will agree with me that
it would not be prudent to come here to-morrow, under the circumstances. I want Cousin Henry to talk to Mamma
first. I can’t imagine why he hasn’t
written or done something, as he promised.
I have watched for a letter every day, and am so disappointed. I have no right to ask you to wait any
longer, but was depending on Cousin
Henry’s help in setting things straight so much.
It breaks my heart to see you so
miserable. When I think of what a hard
time you have had all your life, and of how I am adding to your suffering every
day, it seems as if it must kill me. God
knows I would like to make you happy, and would rather die than send you
away. Oh, indulge me a little longer!
Your
Miserable,
M
Howell
Morrell waited on his “Miserable M”.
It was a
long and happy marriage. Within 9 years
they had four children. Grandfather
later retired from teaching and became a successful farmer. He terraced the
“Hill” and grew different crops on each of the 6 terraces. He owned the cotton gin at the bottom of the
hill and opened a community store on the corner of Horrrell Hill-Harmon Rd and
Garners Ferry Rd.
On December
26, 1932, my grandparents celebrated their Silver Anniversary. He was 72 and she was 58. On December 26,
1933, Grandmother pasted two intertwined
hearts in her diary and wrote: “Our
Wedding Anniversary, hence the hearts. Wonderful memories of last year’s Silver
Wedding Anniversary.”
CHRISTMAS
AT THE BOOZER AND MORRELL HOMES
Grandmother was a lifetime diarist and all seven
that have survived – her 1890-95 journal, her 1933 diary and five diaries from
the 1940’s – reflect her love of Christmas.
On September 12, 1942 she pasted a Henry Van Dyke prose poem entitled Keeping Christmas in her diary. She said she found it in the Progressive
Farmer magazine and just had to keep it.
A few lines:
It is a
good thing to observe Christmas Day.
But there is a better thing than the observance
of Christmas Day. It is keeping
Christmas.
Are you willing to forget what you have done for
other people and to remember what other people have done for you; …to stoop
down and consider the needs and the desires of little children;… to remember
the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old; …to look
round you for a place where you can sow
a few seeds of happiness? Are you
willing to do these things for even a day? Then you can keep Christmas. And if you can keep it a day, why not always?
No matter
her age, Grandmother loved Christmas.
November
25, 1890, age 16
“One month until Christmas! How glorious! But I heard today that we would not have but three days holiday.
I think that’s the meanest thing I ever heard of. I never have had less than a week. I earnestly hope that the report is a
mistake.”
December 5,
1890
“Only three weeks until Christmas! How time flies. I am going to make this the very happiest
Christmas I have ever spent. If it would
only turn cold! I have some hopes for
it; for the weather is very warm now, and if it will just turn cold again in
time for Christmas.”
December 8, 1890
“Just now
happened to glance out of the window and saw a boy pass with a bunch of
mistletoe in his hand. How good it made
me fell to think that Christmas is so near!
Yesterday, as we were out walking, a carriage passed us loaded with
holly boughs; and it looked so jolly that we just had to stand and stare.”
December 17, 1890
“Everything is lovely! Everything is pure white outside. Last night it sleeted a little and then froze
hard; then when we awoke this morning, we found everything covered and it has
continued to snow all day. It is simply
beautiful. We have been nearly wild with
delight all day. It has been intensely
cold for about a week and we have been expecting this all the time. How glorious for it to come during the
holidays! I have seen several sleighs
pass and the air has been ringing with laughter and snowballs.”
November
25, 1890, age 16
“One month until Christmas! How glorious! But I heard today that we would not have but three days holiday.
I think that’s the meanest thing I ever heard of. I never have had less than a week. I earnestly hope that the report is a mistake.”
December 5,
1890
“Only three weeks until Christmas! How time flies. I am going to make this the very happiest
Christmas I have ever spent. If it would
only turn cold! I have some hopes for
it; for the weather is very warm now, and if it will just turn cold again in
time for Christmas.”
December 8, 1890
“Just now
happened to glance out of the window and saw a boy pass with a bunch of
mistletoe in his hand. How good it made
me fell to think that Christmas is so near!
Yesterday, as we were out walking, a carriage passed us loaded with
holly boughs; and it looked so jolly that we just had to stand and stare.”
December 17, 1890
“Everything is lovely! Everything is pure white outside. Last night it sleeted a little and then froze
hard; then when we awoke this morning, we found everything covered and it has
continued to snow all day. It is simply
beautiful. We have been nearly wild with
delight all day. It has been intensely
cold for about a week and we have been expecting this all the time. How glorious for it to come during the
holidays! I have seen several sleighs
pass and the air has been ringing with laughter and snowballs.”
“This morning two girls and myself went out
to see about gathering a Christmas present for our Sunday school teacher. We had to walk some distance to see some of
the other girls and I don’t know when I have had more fun. We laughed, sliding along, ran, fell down and
had fun in general.”
December 25, 1895, age 21
“Such a beautiful, balmy Christmas day! We
have just returned from church and am
sitting at my open window. The services
were appropriate and interesting, led by our new pastor. Mr. W.W. Daniel, with
whom we are charmed. We couldn’t feel
solemn, though, with the sound of firecrackers out in the street and the many
merry, smiling faces of some of our “boy” friends sitting near. After the service we had a merry little chant
with “the boys”. We hung up
our stockings as usual last night and received some very pretty and useful
presents. I m trying my best to get
hungry, but I m actually tired of good things already. I see Lena out in the yard busy with
firecrackers and Papa helping. I must go
too.”
December 14, 1933, age 58
“A day in town. Annual
custom-we three sisters doing Christmas shopping together and such a
happy time! They treating me to a “turkey lunch”-delicious. Wandered from one gaily decorated store to
another, imbibing the Christmas spirit.
The varicolored lights coming on at dusk, making a veritable
fairyland. The Salvation Army with their
Christmas music a fitting climax.”
December 25, 1933
“Shall I try to write about this blessed
day, or should I just hold it against my heart ” the memory? Our darlings, little children again, untying
their stockings. Ruth having bulging
ones – mysteriously left at the door for us.
Lavish gifts for each other and us on the lovely tree. Dinner-the boys almost unable to walk
afterwards. Carols over the radio. My heart full tonight for my many
blessings.”
December 25, 1944, age, age 70
“Wondrous Christmas Day! Up until long after midnight stuffing
stockings and wrapping gifts. After
breakfast this morning unloading our stockings as eagerly as children, but
waiting until after dinner to open our regular gifts. And such a dinner! Getting full so quick and looking at the
loaded table in despair. This afternoon
a roomful of Ruth’s girlfriends with two soldiers from Congaree Air Base.
”
December 25, 1946, age 72
“How can I
tell of this blessed day! One of the most glorious of my life! First of
all, everybody half dressed examining their stockings, filled with sweets and
jokes. Later, upstairs and down joining
forces on dinner. Our table almost
breaking down under the weight of good things.
Later Santa Claus himself in full costume(whisper this as Toni had come
in with Hanley.”(granddaughter and son) ” In common life known as Mr.
Rawle, who handed out gifts that had been placed under the Christmas tree. At night, all around big bonfire shooting off
fireworks with me in the car looking on.
I’ve been dissolving into happy tears often during the day.”
Grandmother’s 1947
diary ended on June 15, 1947, 23 days after I was born in Greensboro, NC. We
never met, but through her journals, I have listened to her say what she wants
in whatever words she chose. And I have learned to love her.
###
I am not a
historian. My writings are one woman’s
thoughts, opinions and historical facts as I know and understand them. Any omissions or errors are mine alone. I welcome your comments at kmorrellnewman@
Zofia Posnysz, Polish Holocaust survivor passes away just shy of her 99th birthday. Learn more about this heroic author, screenwriter, reporter and survivor
About Zofia – By Culture.PL
Author, screenwriter and writer for radio and televised theatre performances, reporter and broadcast radio editor. Born August 23, 1923 in Kraków.
The Passenger
is what won acclaim for Zofia Posmysz. It was the first of four books
whose themes were centred around the Nazi death camps (1st edition –
1962). The account of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp from the
perspective of the German supervisor, a loyal SS servicewoman who was
nonetheless capable of humane reactions, was something new, not just for
Polish literature. The novel was translated into 15 languages. It was
transformed into a minor film version, based on the screenplay written
by Posmysz and director Andrzej Munk,
as well as radio broadcasts and televised dramatic performances. On the
basis of the novel, (with her knowledge but without any collaboration
on her part) Yuri Lukin and Aleksandr Medvedev wrote the libretto for Mieczysław Weinberg‘s opera The Passenger. It was adapted for the stage as well, both in Poland and abroad.
Zofia Posmysz spent three years as a prisoner in Nazi concentration
camps. During the occupation she attended secret courses and worked in a
cable factory. On April 15, 1942 she was accused of distributing flyers
for the Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Union for Armed Struggle), and
arrested. After 6 weeks on trial in a Gestapo jail in Kraków, she was
sent to KL Auschwitz-Birkenau. She survived two months of penal time in
Budy, a sub-camp of the Auschwitz concentration camp, and was twice
saved from death by the camp doctor Janusz Mąkowski. Later she was
assigned less strenuous activities, which gave her a better chance for
survival: in the kitchen and stockroom. On January 18, 1945, she was
transferred to the Ravensbrueck camp and later to an offshoot of that
camp in Neustadt Glewe. She was finally liberated from Neustadt Glewe on
May 2, 1945.
Zofia Posmysz, photo: Sepp Spiegl / vario images / Forum
After
the war, she took up residence in Warsaw. She applied to the University
and began Polish Literature studies. She worked as a journalist and was
a copy-editor for the publication “Głos Ludu” (“Voice of the People”).
She made her debut at the newspaper in 1945 with an article on the SS
servicemen of the Auschwitz camp put before the court in Germany. She
didn’t sign the article with her name but instead her identification
number at the camp: 7566. For the next few years Posmysz shunned the
Auschwitz topic in her writing. In 1952, she began working for Polish
Radio, first in the Education department, later in the news editorial
section, and was made director of the department in 1958. Radio
reporting at this time was mainly a writing job, rather than recording
(there was no equipment for sound recording) and it was read out loud
from a script in a studio. In 1959, Zofia Posmysz began to write radio
broadcast material of a more literary nature. She contributed to raising
this genre of (specifically Polish) radio programmes to a high level of
artistry as she collaborated with some of the most brilliant Polish
directors and actors. She remained, nonetheless, true to the reporting
profession. When in 1960 she was named the co-author and administrator
of the team preparing the radio novella on country life “W Jezioranach”,
she used the method of brainstorming and documenting the topic on-site,
much as she would do with a news story.
Photographs
of Zofia Posmysz from the time of internment at Auschwitz concentration
camp, photo: Rafal Milach/Tygodnik Powszechny/Forum
Zofia Posmysz’s first radio broadcast was Passenger from Cabin 45 in 1959 (she took up the topic of prison camps 14 years after her liberation). A year later, also drawing on her personal experience, she wrote several versions of Ave Maria, the story of a girl who hears music for the first time in her life at Birkenau, takes up voice lessons with one of the camp guards and survives because she performs with the camp orchestra. Over the next few years, Posmysz began to take up contemporary issues for her narratives, such as the story of a complex relationship of a pupil and his teacher, which first came about as the radio play Zanim mnie pan pozna (“Before you get to know me”), followed by Szczęście pani Janiny (“Ms. Janina’s Happiness”) and the screenplay for Janusz Weychert’s unsuccessful film Gorzkie głogi (“Bitter Briers”, 1966). The radio play Palę Martina Edena (“Burning Martin Eden”) was the basis for the screenplay of Julian Dziedzina’s film The Little One (1970). It’s a story of the tragic fate of a boy who tries and fails to get out of a laborer’s hotel to find a better, more cultured life in the city. Inspired by the news and reporting – her own as well as that of others, as the writer explained – she wrote the novels Mikroklimat (“Microclimate”; a doctoral student faces up to the realities of the socialised rural system of the countryside; 1975) and Cena (“Price”; 1978) about a female doctor who wants to cut herself off from her rural ties at any price and ends up paying for it with a family tragedy. In her contemporary writings, Posmysz often analyses the psychological effects of social migration, civilisational transformation and change in customs.
Olivia and Nathan here! We made it to Charleston, South Carolina! And we’re super stoked for the best food and low country southern cuisine we can find! Our first impressions of Charleston didn’t disappoint as there are tons of awesome things to do in this city!
Greenville, S.C – August 22, 2022 – Broadstreet, Inc. has continued its strong growth in the Carolinas by providing private equity backing to the first state of the art Crystal Lagoons® amenity in South Carolina through Broadstreet’s exclusive funding relationship with Blue Lagoon Development LLC, whose principals are Ford Elliott and Josh Howard. The first project is expected to be in Columbia, South Carolina and more will follow across the state.
“We continue to work exclusively with Broadstreet as our valued private equity institution which has allowed us to continue to undertake exciting development projects and continue our massive footprint of projects in the Carolinas,” commented Ford Elliot, Chief Executive Officer of Contender Development and Blue Lagoon Development, LLC.
Through a unique and patented concept and technology that allows developers to build and maintain crystalline lagoons of unlimited size at very low cost, Crystal Lagoons® technology has the ability to create an idyllic beach lifestyle anywhere in the world. The technology has been implemented in more countries around the world and cities in the United States than any other lagoon developer. As one of the top five fastest-growing state populations between 2020-2021, South Carolina is well positioned for its first of these exceptional properties.
“Imagine living near a beautiful, crystal-clear water lagoon surrounded by white sandy beaches without actually having to travel to the beach,” said David Feingold, Chief Executive Officer of Broadstreet, Inc. “We are excited to bring this innovative amenity to South Carolina.”
Broadstreet and its development partners plan to locate the first lagoon in Columbia, South Carolina near a residential housing development. Many of the other similar projects around the United States offer more than just sunbathing and swimming, with the opportunity for shopping, entertainment, restaurants and hotels around the lagoon. The team has the option to develop three of these lagoon projects within the state.
“The options are endless to make this a destination everyone can enjoy,” said Joseph Baldassarra, President of Broadstreet, Inc. “It’s a tremendous opportunity to be a part of something very special.”
“I am thrilled with this unique project. I’m not aware of any other private equity firm doing similar deals like this. This is an incredible opportunity to help create a distinctive destination for residents and tourists to enjoy,” added Akhil Morada, Senior Managing Director of Broadstreet, Inc.
Crystal Lagoons ® amenities are sustainable and eco-friendly using a minimum number of additives and energy. They use up to 100 times fewer chemicals and only consume 2% of the energy needed by a conventional swimming pool. Additionally, the lagoons can use any type of water and are only filled once, and they operate in a closed circuit. By bringing beach life, water sports and entertainment close to home, Crystal Lagoons® amenities also lower the human impact on biodiversity and reduce CO2 emissions associated with car and plane travel to natural beach destinations. It is a U.S. based company with locations around the world and was recognized as the Champion of Champions in the 2022 Green World Awards for winning the carbon reduction category, beating 200 winners across all other categories including climate change, water and energy efficiency and innovation.
ABOUT BROADSTREET
Broadstreet, Inc. is a private equity firm based in Greenville, S.C. with an impressive track record of identifying promising growth sectors for capital investments. The company has achieved approximately $3 billion in transactions and more than 600 people are employed in the businesses in which Broadstreet is the lead equity provider. Broadstreet is also the equity provider for the largest land infrastructure developer in the Carolinas with more than 40 projects that cover approximately 30,000 home sites. The firm’s significant development business has allowed expansion to ancillary real-estate based opportunities that include home development, land banking, and hotel lodging. For more information, visit broadstreetprivateequity.com.
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What presence sends subliminal messages to kiss under the palmetto and frolic through Philadelphia Alley?
