It's About That Mark!!!

I've gotta tell ya gang, if there was ever a prophetic title for a post, it was the one we used yesterday.  We talked about those of us who leave a mark - great or small - on the landscape of our relationships.  Well - as we started out today that theme jumped right out in front of us and didn't leave us until we got back onto I-95 heading back for tranquil, suburban Ridgeway.  Here's how it all came about.... We got up early (...well...kind of..) and got our stuff packed up.  We needed to get back home to get ready for some commitments on Friday but we still had a lot of stuff we wanted to see before we turned north.  We have a particular fondness for Beaufort, S.C. because of our many trips to the area and countless camping experiences on nearby Hunting Island.  Sooooo... we decided we would get a bite to eat and head toward Beaufort on Route 170 - without getting on the interstate highway.  It was a beautiful morning and with a northeasterly wind pecking at our cheeks we said goodbye to our home for the past week and reluctantly turned our backs on this beautiful place.  It has been a great visit and we couldn't help but reflect - one more time - on the really neat folks we met while we were here.  But - we were looking forward, not backward, today and we knew there were new friends to find and new places to see so we were anxious to hit the road.  We got a quick breakfast, stopped by the post office to mail some Christmas cards and headed north on William Hilton Parkway.  Within minutes after getting on the parkway we simultaneously shouted - "Nature Preserve!!! and I spun the wheel right onto Squire Pope Road.  We had spotted a sign announcing the "Green Shell Enclosure."  Whoa!!! You will recall our visit to the shell ring in the Sea Pines Nature Preserve yesterday - and - for those of you who were with us a couple of weeks ago - our visit to the Sewee Shell Ring.  Well - we were on a roll!!!  We had found yet another of the rings that are purportedly so rare - and this time without even trying!!!  Less than a block off the parkway we found the entrance to a small but extremely well maintained park which belongs to the city of Hilton Head Island.  Fortunately, there was a park employee in the parking lot and he directed us to the shell enclosure site.  After a very short walk we entered an unusual and, as we later learned, rare location.  The shell enclosure here is a unique configuration in that here, the Native Americans utilized the rings as fortifications for the village, incorporating enclosures, palisades and ditches.  The ring itself is two to six feet high, and 30-feet wide at the base and dates from 1300 to 1450 A.D. It was a fascinating discovery made even more exciting by the knowledge that, according to the information we have been given, the Green Shell Enclosure is the only instance of this particular use of shell rings known to exist.  Wow!!  We had a very moving and enjoyable visit to the ring, reflecting on this particular mark that was left for all of us.  But we were in for an additional experience.  Although we had not paid a lot of attention when we first arrived, as we began to walk out of the shell ring enclosure we noticed that it was adjacent to a cemetery.  We strolled over and began looking at some of the grave markers and were immediately struck with the poignancy of the site.  It was an African-American cemetery dating back to the War Between The States.  As we walked among the graves dating as far back as the 1860s and as recent as just a few months ago we were struck with the plaintive plea for remembrance expressed so crudely but so eloquently on the stones.  Often etched by hand, the inscriptions absolutely cried in anguish and it was a profoundly moving experience walking among them.  Named the "Stoney Cemetery" on Squire Pope Road it also is referred to as the "Amelia White Cemetery" and "The Graham Cemetery."  Look closely at some of the stones we recorded.  The emotion is raw, real and moving.  Of course, since the cemetery is in current use there are more "modern" grave-sites.  Those that have the more polished wording, engraving and design.  But, I have to tell you, anyone who looks at the inscriptions we saw can not help but recognize the profound love and depth of feeling that lay behind their preparation.  It was very moving!!  So, after paying our respects and spending a few moments in prayer for the souls who are no longer here in physical form but who will never be forgotten, we continued on our journey to Beaufort.  Our unexpected excursion did start us to thinking about the "shell ring phenomenon" and Linda did a bit of net-surfing to see what we could find about Green's Shell Enclosure.  (By the way, we never did find out where "Green" came into the picture.)  Well, she hit the jackpot right away.  Turns out we were headed directly toward a "shell ring bonanza."  We learned that "Daws Island" near Beaufort housed several shell rings.  But - we absolutely could not find out anything about how to get there.  So - we decided to go the the visitor's center in Beaufort.  For those of you who don't know anything about Beaufort, it is one of the earliest cities in our state's history.  Founded around 1711, the town actually represented the culmination of the efforts of a number of people including Dr. Henry Woodard, (who arrived shortly after Captain Hilton explored the area and who was instrumental in establishing trade with local Native Americans), Thomas Nairn and John Barnwell, local planters who had settled on the nearby sea islands. The city is really beautiful and, to me, is second only to Charleston in "old world charm." We'll add some pics from the area along Bay Street to give you an idea. Some of you might recognize the area, and this house in particular, from the movie "The Big Chill." Anyway - we found a parking spot near the beautiful waterfront park that represents years of effort by the city to reclaim the run-down dock front area that bordered the Beaufort River.  It is a great spot to begin a walking tour of the downtown area and is near the marina where a friend of ours has a boat docked.  We first strolled across the street to the "+Greenfish Gallery", one of the most prominent of the eclectic art shops in the downtown area.  There, we again hit the jackpot!!  We met +Kathy Gampo who, along with her co-owner, +Kelly Davidson, has brought together an amazing collection of artworks from almost every genre' in a truly dazzling shop.  Kathy is one of the neatest folks we have run into on our travels and we talked about everything from art to shell rings to the singing of oysters!!!  Kathy is a remarkable artist in her own right but she also had a number of pieces done by one of Linda's friends +Terry Waldron.  The stuff Terry does is just stunning.  Here is one of her whimsical "doll sculptures."  Don't be misled, though, her paintings, fabric art and jewelry are also exceptional and much more serious!!  We had a ball chatting with Kathy and she gave us some tips about who could tell us how to get to Daws Island.   Following her suggestion we moseyed on over to the old armory building where the Visitor's Center is now located where we met two more of our newest best friends - Angel, the manager and her co-worker Martha.  Now, lemme tell you folks, Angel is one sharp cookie - but - she didn't know anything about the shell rings.  And - that did not sit well with someone who knows just about everything else there is to know about the low country.  She immediately attacked her computer and within minutes was up to speed on shell rings in general and those along our coast in particular.  But - Daws Island was not going to be on the itinerary today.  You can only get to the island by boat and there are no scheduled excursions running at this time.  But - in her search, Angel found MORE shell rings nearby.  Turns out that Coosaw Island has three that were discovered just a few years ago.  The directions to the site were somewhat sketchy but we were determined not to be shut out in shell ring exploration so we headed out armed with little more than enthusiasm.  Now, I've got to admit - finding the rings was not easy for us.  (Although it shouldn't have been so hard!)  When we were right on the verge of giving up our search we stopped the car and, for the third and final time, Linda asked one of the local folks if they knew where the rings were.  Halleluia!! ... he did.  We finally made it to the site, maintained by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, and successfully completed our quest!!!  Although it takes some practice to be able to identify and recognize the configuration of these ancient structures, these were somewhat more prominent than some of the others.  As our body of knowledge has increased we have also learned that there are more rings than we first thought.  Above on the right is a page from the National Park Service "Register of Archaic Shell Rings of the Southeast U.S." which Angel printed out for us.  The pictures on the left are from the kiosk at the Coosaw Island site.  We found the place to be absolutely beautiful and the sound of the wind in the Saw palmettos was mesmerizing.  I'll try to post a video Linda made to give you an idea of the sights and sounds. Like Sewee, Sea Pines and Green's, the shell rings at Coosaw are thickly covered with vegetation but their immensity is readily apparent.  As you may be able to see from the NPS page or the picture from the kiosk, at least two of the rings are "joined."  Also, we saw three of the four pictured in the NPS material but the fourth is on private property so we weren't able to get there.  And, while there are some folks out there who will surely say ... "What's the big deal about looking at a bunch of old oyster shells?"..... I would tell them it is good for the soul!!  What I mean by that is - it doesn't really matter whether you are related to Native Americans - or any other race for that matter - we are all part of this great-big human family and, in that sense, we are all brothers and sisters.  The living presence of our ancestors and appreciation for what they achieved is palpable here and this spot brings a peace to one's mind that is hard to explain.  There is another place we will visit on our trip home that illustrates those points in a different way.

 As if to put a punctuation point on that idea, as we walked back to our car (located on a very isolated dirt road because of our earlier "mis-directions") we met a young man who had come down to speak to us from his home nearby.  +Rick Geisler, a really neat resident of the island, has gently assisted lost adventurers like us and it was great fun getting to know him and hear of some of the other visitors he has met.  But, it was getting late so we said goodbye to Rick and headed back toward Beaufort.  Turning onto U.S. 21 (which, incidentally, runs directly through beautiful downtown Ridgeway) we stepped it up a notch hoping to beat an approaching storm we had heard about.  But - you know how it is when "adventuring" is in your blood.  We just couldn't stay on the main road too long.  We took a back road toward Yemassee, S. C. (name after the Yemassee Indians) which we frequently traveled on camping trips long ago.  We knew the road led past one of our favorite old places in the low-country and wanted to pay our respects.  Soon we arrived atthe site of +Old Sheldon Church.  Now, folks, if you ever look up the definition of "sacred" or "tranquil" or "moving" you are bound to find "Old Sheldon" attached to them somewhere.  This is a structure that has endured the worst mankind has to offer and, yet, still remains as a haven for those seeking solace and a site for celebration of the joys of life.  The people who settled this land, tilled the soil and dreamed of a new kind of future for their families and for future generations, built something indestructible here and, yes, left their imprint on us all.  It is really hard for me to get my mind around the idea that I could be standing in front of the grave containing the remains of a man who did so much to settle this land over three hundred years ago - whose legacy remains strong today.  The churchyard is filled with graves which display names so familiar to the history of our state as well as those of individuals from contemporary times.  While the inscriptions were a bit fancier than those we saw earlier today at "Stoney Cemetery" the power of the emotions described centuries ago - or just a few months back - were absolutely identical in power and anguish.  Yes, funerals - as well as weddings - are still held here and on the Sunday after Easter, church services are held here as well.  There is a subtle and somewhat melancholy irony in the fact that the services are held then.  Remember the name of the tribe this area was named for? Yemassee?  Well, on Easter Sunday in 1715, four years after it was founded as a town, Beaufort was burned to the ground by combined forces of the Yemassee and Creek tribes with many of the settlers killed.  The Yemassee were later defeated by colonial forces under General Moultrie and fled to Florida and later to Cuba.  Although in South Carolina for only thirty five years, the Yemassee certainly left their mark.

Soon, the wind began to pick up and the clouds were darkening considerably so we hopped back in the car for the last leg of our journey.  All-in-all it was a rather remarkable week for us.  We had a wonderful time exploring South Carolina's "diamond necklace" of sea islands and we wound up knowing a whole lot more about 'shell rings' than we had ever imagined!!  We met some of the greatest new friends ever and were delighted by new discoveries every day.  And we truly did observe, time after time, the marks left on the land - and on our souls - by those who have walked these shores, fields and lanes.  But, y'know, the nice thing is that each adventure, each new friend made, each new fact learned just whets your appetite for more.  So - hang in there gang, we'll be back soon to go again.  So, ya gotta be ready!!!!  See ya.