Daufuskie part 4 ~ native Magnolia trees

Look at this ancient live oak it is spectacular
This was the home place of Moses Ficklin a deacon of the First Union African Baptist Church and the Gullah undertaker along with his wife Grace who was the island's midwife.
 It has been completely restore and is now a private resident.

This is the carriage that was used as the hearse 

old pottery and everyday household items can be seen at the Billie Burn Museum

I loved seeing this letter dated August of 1945 the return address is Desoto Beach Hotel
Savannah Beach, Georgia which is now called Tybee island, Georgia and the Desoto is still there

These are some of the things John has found, they are reworking some of the drainage ditches and he says that there is all types of things just laying around. The shell was used as a tool / weapon and the old pot is from the Marine-Hospital Service which took care of sick seamen..
 you can read more about that here.

John also show us a native Magnolia tree that could be one of the biggest in South Carolina we had to go a little way's through his property into the woods to find it.

and it was well worth the walk .. These pictures really don't show how wide the base of this tree really is.

This one kinda gives you an idea... That is our guide John who ain't no shorty but he sure looks like one up side this monster.

do you see what Beth and I see? This was to the back of the tree which I didn't see till Beth shared her pictures and the first thing I saw was an old man's face..lol Beth and her husband had already said the same thing .. What do you think .. I think he is the protector of all those that come to visit...

and how about the toes on this guy..

Have a wonderful weekend everyone Beth and I are off on our next adventure it's
 Peaches to Beaches weekend over 200 miles of junking
 and we are going to do our best to hit them all..
see ya'll next week and yes there is still more to share of Daufuskie
hugs, Cherry

Gullah Learning Center ~ Jane Hamilton School part 3

Jane Hamilton School house..is now the Gullah Learning Center and the island's library. The windows you see here are high for ventilation and also to keep the children from becoming distracted by the road. There is a bank of floor to ceiling windows on the opposite side that provide light.

 Early 1900’s.

Inside is filled with historical artifacts found on the island or donated to the learning center .

and on the shelves was a few of mine and Beth's favorite author Dorothea Benton Frank and 

Mary Kay Andrews along with some of the island's local authors Billie Burns ~ AN ISLAND NAMED DAUFUSKIE and Roger Pinckney who's newest book Reefer Moon  is on the top of my want list ..
Click here to read a very lively piece about Mr. Pinckney and the island that was written last year for the Charleston City paper.... and when you read this piece you will see reference to Dr. Buzzard  if  you are a  Midnight in the garden of good and evil   fan you will remember him and Miss Minerva.. 

here's what Dorothea Benton Frank had to say about 
Reefer Moon...

 “Nobody knows the South Carolina Lowcountry like Roger Pinckney, hunter, fisher and voodoo man. He's the real thing. When Pinckney writes about love on a moonlit beach, you know he's been there. Facing down a wild boar in a briar patch, you know he's been there too.
 “Reefer Moon” is a cry for wild places, on the earth
 and in the heart. Unforgettable! Roars with life! ”

There is also local cookbooks and a little book some of you may remember by Pat Conroy...  The Water is Wide which was set on Daufuskie, fictionalized as "Yamacraw Island." The book recounts Mr. Conroy's experiences teaching on the island in the 1960s and I will add if you read it remember it is just a tale and the locals weren't really happy with parts of his tale...

The learning center is filled with wonderful information on how everyday life was lived from education to making a living.

Jane Hamilton was a native islander who donated the land for this school in the 1940s. Until then, black children on the opposite end of the island would have to walk to get to the Mary Fields School during the era of segregation. The building housed children for about 10 years,
 until busing arrived on the island. You can read
 the rest of this story here.

and the wood used inside this building was gorgeous... 

I adore the pictures Beth took of the old bottles do you see the rainbow of colors in a couple of them..

OK there's still more to come.. 

hope ya'll are enjoying the tour so far..

and if you missed part one you can see it here

and part two here...

hugs, Cherry

D'AWFOSKEE ~ Daufuskie Island part 2

I'm back and loving my new computer but it sure was a lot of work getting all my pictures and junk off the old one but now that it's all done I'm ready to share the rest of mine and Beth's trip to Daufuskie.

The map is from the

 Daufuskie Island Historical Foundation

as you can see the spelling is different. It is said to have been spelled several different ways over the years.  Today it is pronounced "duh • FUS • key." 
The Gullah pronounced it "das • fus • cay" – meaning "the first caye" (or "key") north of Savannah.
There is also different stories about how it was named and what the name means. The Creek Indians were the island's first inhabitants, and in their language "Daufa" means "feather" and "Fuskie" means "pointed." They joined these two words to refer to the shape of the island. Others say the island is shaped more like an arrowhead which is what I see when I look at the map above.. I tried to find the date of this map but was unable to. You can read more about the island and it's history by clicking here Daufuskie Island Historical Foundation and you can read more about the

 Gullah of Daufuskie Island, SC

in this brochure by the Historical Foundation

click here.

from the dock we saw oyster shells lining the entire banks

and lush marsh grasses with majestic ancient trees
everywhere we looked.
 Our tour started time we got off the boat we had a wonderful tour guide John, he and his wife are teachers on the island and we knew instantly that he loves sharing this island and all of it's history. He was a wealth of information and I do believe if we had spent a week there he could have continued to share new information. For 3 hours he told stories about the past and the present. I wish I could repeat them all for you but I can't so I will just share our pictures and hope that one day John will put into writing all the wonderful stories that have been shared with him and that he is sharing with those lucky enough to meet him..
Now onto some of the sights

Tabby Ruin ~ Tabby is a building material made from a mixture of ground oyster shells, sand and water. Many slave quarters were constructed of wood and have long been gone but remnants of structures made from the tabby mixture remain on the island. This would have been a fireplace.

These small buildings were used to store kerosene for the light in the Bloody Point Lighthouse

now days it's home to the Silver Dew Winery

Rice field

The church is open to all that want to come and every Sunday morning you can hear the bells ring all over the island

out back of the church is a praise house that stands in the same footprint as the original one that was built in 1823 which was years before the church was established. The slaves used the praise house not only as a place of worship but also too discuss the daily happenings on the island .. In other words if your kid did something bad you knew about before the day was done...and you handled it. Even today things are still handled island style there is no police force. If an islander does something wrong their outline is draw in chalk on the road for all that passes by to see and if a non islander does something wrong they are put on a boat and shipped away .... I love it !

There is only a few paved roads on the island and they are named for what is on that street.

Most of the original homes were built the same in other words all the door frames, window frames and other parts are interchangeable from one house to the next and the roofs are all pitched the same.

This home is being fixed up and is going to be a guest cottage that you can rent, but you will have to be willing to share your time with it's permanent guest.. it's said a few spirits call it home.

This property belongs to an 18 year old young lady from up north that is a descendent of the original property owner and because it is protected through a trust deed she can not sell the property. So there is no telling what will happen to it. Maybe one day she will come to the island fall in love, rebuild and live happily ever after.

Don't you just love the Firehouse shield ... I would love to have this on my back porch..

More tomorrow so come on back to the island with us... 

but for now let's head on over to
 Miss Susan's for Outdoor Wednesday's 

I promised Daufuskie ..... but

I am having computer issues that will not be solved till over the weekend when my BRAND NEW COMPUTER 

said in a very excited, happy, jumping up and down voice.... gets here.
So for now I leave you at the dock with the words from one of my favorite songs ever and if you are as old as me you will remember it...

Sailing

Well, it's not far down to paradise, at least it's not for me

And if the wind is right you can sail away and find tranquility

Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see.

Believe me.

It's not far to never-never land, no reason to pretend

And if the wind is right you can find the joy of innocence again

Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see.

Believe me.

Sailing takes me away to where I've always heard it could be

Just a dream and the wind to carry me

And soon I will be free

Fantasy, it gets the best of me

When I'm sailing

All caught up in the reverie, every word is a symphony

Won't you believe me?

Well it's not far back to sanity, at least it's not for me

And if the wind is right you can sail away and find serenity

Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see.

Believe me.

~

Christopher Cross

hugs ya'll... hope you have a wonderful weekend see ya soon, Cherry

Sunlit Sunday ~ 3

Good Sunday morning everyone it is a sheet of solid rain outside my window right now.  Not complaining we need it to much to even think about complaining

these are a few more shots from our trip to Daufuskie of those brief moments of sunshine

I'm joining Miss Karen for Sunlit Sunday at her blog

 My Little Home and Garden  come join us..

Sunlit Sunday

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's Sunlit Sunday 

might be the only sunshine I get to see today...

On a personal note ~ I would like to say how much I enjoyed getting to meet fellow bloggers 

Miss Ginger Savannah Granny , 

Debbie of reFresh reStyle

 Kim of Today is my some-day, 

 Summer from Banana hammocks & tutus,  

and  Adriana of La Dulce Vida.

it was an awesome day, can't wait till our next adventure.. 

and yes there is pictures to come..

Have a wonderful day everyone... now come on let's go to

Miss Karen's  My Little Home and Garden

hugs ya'll, Cherry

Getting to Daufuskie Island - part 1 for Outdoor Wednesday

First I would like to say Thank you so much to my girlfriend Beth and her hubby Steve for not only this wonderful gift
but for your friendship that just keeps on giving.
We love you both more than we could ever say..

For my 50th birthday they gave me an island..
OK it was a day trip to Daufuskie island, South Carolina which of course I wasn't going on without Beth because she and I both love nothing more than grabbing our cameras and seeing what we can find, and what we found was beautiful coastlines rich in history... and an island that we didn't want to leave.

 We boarded our boat at the Savannah Bend marina in Thunderbolt, Georgia early Friday morning
 with Captain Rusty at the helm.
It was cold, cloudy & foggy but it felt like heaven me.


There is nothing like being on the water to take your mind away from life..Our ride took about 30 minute.  We left Thunderbolt by way of the Wilmington River into the  
Intracoastal waterways ~ You can click here for a great interactive map . 
just click the + button to enlarge


as we moved farther out you could see waterfront homes and the industries that border the Savannah River


passing inlets, marshes, creeks and islands with names like Turtle island, Bird island and Elba island

this container ship leaving the port of Savannah looked like it was sitting on top of this little island

but once we rounded the island you could see it wasn't and it was headed right for us ... That is Elba island to the right, it is home to a liquefied natural gas receiving terminal 

this is my very cold girlfriend .. hey Beth you in there...

as we scooted on down the Atlantic the sun tried hard to come out and we were encouraging it to do so it was mighty hard to take pictures while wearing gloves and shaking.

rays peeking through the clouds while we moved through the Calibogue Sound and into the Cooper River

 as we neared Daufuskie the sun started shining on the marshes and reed grasses

that is Elba island to the right of this island in the distant. That is a lot of water between here and home..

and here we are....Daufuskie Island is to your right ..

Daufuskie Island is a true island there is no bridges...
 You can only get here by boat
 or by riding along with Beth and I ...
Time to dock and see what kind of trouble we can get into..
Come on back next week for Outdoor Wednesday
and to tour the island with us..

 

don't forget to go see what everyone else is sharing over at Miss Susan's A Southern Daydreamer

hugs and Happy Wednesday ya'll, Cherry