Fall Magnolia Cemetery Visit

 

We stopped by Magnolia Cemetery last Saturday after a nice lunch downtown at Fleet Landing. 

It was such a pretty day I thought it would be fun to walk off our big meal at the cemetery.

Joseph took this photo of me at the iconic Smith Pyramid, eternal home to William Burroughs Smith, a wealthy banker who died in 1892. 

The pyramid and hundreds of other gravesites and the people interred in them are featured in my 2014 book, "In the Arms of Angels: Magnolia Cemetery- Charleston's Treasure of History, Mystery and Artistry." Check it out as well as my other books for sale on Amazon. My book information is also available at the top of this blog. 

On this sunny fall day I also wanted Joseph to see the spot we are purchasing in the mausoleum at Magnolia Cemetery.

I still have a number of monthly payments to make. But once that is accomplished we can have our names inscribed on the outside. Kind of creepy I know, but kind of cool too! 

Here are some of the pictures I took as we walked around the venerable150 acre burial grounds. Someone put a tiara on the lovely figure on the tomb of "Little Annie" Aiken who was just shy of 3 years old when she died at 1856 of diphtheria, a bacterial disease that a vaccine today can cure and prevent. 

Home Talk a Neat Treat!

The calendar finally flipped to Oct. 1 meaning I would finally give my talk at Coosaw Creek Country Club. 

The “Meet the Author” event was originally set for early August but was postponed due to Tropical Storm Debby. The week before the new date, Hurricane Helene struck. The Charleston area got off easy from Helene compared to other parts of South Carolina not to mention North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.

The clubhouse dining room was set up nicely for my talk and for the few dozen neighbors who RSVPed. light appetizers were served before I took to the podium. 

It was a good experience to speak to an audience of friends and neighbors! 

I delivered my “Tales of a Taphophile” PowerPoint, adding a part about the Ladson family, due to our neighborhood's proximity to Ladson and Ladson Road. 

The first Charleston Ladson, John, came here in 1679 from Barbados by way of England where he was born. Some Barbados men were granted large tracts of land in the Carolina Province and would become very prosperous with their rice plantations and enslaved African laborers. The Ladsons became very wealthy and prominent Charlestonians.

I signed and sold several books after my talk including copies of “Stories from the Underground: The Churchyards of Charleston” and “In the Arms of Angels: Magnolia Cemetery- Charleston’s Treasure of History, Mystery and Artistry.” 

The Ladson story is in the Charleston churchyards book. 

Many thanks to Ruth Norton for suggesting the “Meet the Author” event and to Coosaw Creek Country Club GM Chris Mitchell for inviting me and having such a nice AV and seating arrangement. Dan Montero, the club’s food and beverage director, made everything work just right. 

And thanks and ❤️ to Alesia for her help, support and photography. 

I'll have a table at the upcoming Coosaw Arts & Crafts Fair. It will be held Saturday, Nov. 2 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Keep on Shipping--- Dock Workers Strike is Suspended

 

It was a wistful outing to Sullivan’s Island on Sunday, Sept. 29 amid news that at midnight Tuesday port dockworkers from Maine to Texas would go on strike. 

The strike did happen but the good news as I begin this post Thursday at 7 p.m. is that it was just announced that the strike is suspended and International Longshoremen Association union members will return to work tomorrow morning. The ILA represents 85,000 longshoremen in the U.S., eastern Canada, Puerto Rico and the Bahamans.

So these big container ships will soon again be loading and offloading precious cargo at Charleston’s several ports. 

Hopefully things will quickly settle down at grocery stores where many shoppers have been stocking up on food and supplies, fearing shortages a long strike could cause. Plus people and organizations have been buying water, food and other products to help those suffering from the wrath of Hurricane Helene. 

We were fortunate to only have lots of yard debris caused by Helene's winds in our area.

Right as we arrived on the beach just before noon two APL ships passed in the harbor. The Southampton entered the harbor…