B E AU M AG | W I NTER 2015
Contents
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8 , 50, 5 7, 5 9 LOCA L H A PPENINGS BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE Out and About in Charleston: BEAU Release Party; AFFA Event; and BEAU Night at the Charleston Performing Arts Center 7 W H Y WE L OVE JEN BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE BEAU Shout Out to Jen Bennett 1 0 MOVI E REVIEW BEAU MOVIE REVIEW Stonewall 12 BEAU HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE BUYING BEAU STYLE Buying Local for Unique Gifts 1 8 C H ARLIE OF CHA RL ES TON BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE Charlie Smith: Pioneer of Equal Rights
28 ROOTS BEAU ROOTS A dig into the archives of the LGBTA community in Charleston by Harlan Greene 43 INSPIRE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE Photography meets poetry as two locals merge their art 4 4 LET THEM EAT CAKE OUT CROWN WEDDINGS Duvall Events Pastry Chefs, Cassi Hibbett and Ginny Bradford 51 THE RAINBOW GRAPE IN THE VINEYARD BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE Ambassador Randy Arnold of Barefoot Wines 53 COUNTRY CUTE FUR BEAUs Rural animal shelters need YOU!
53 56 LOOK MOM , NO P U LLI NG ! FUR BEAUs Teaching your fur baby how to walk on a loose leash 58 W E “D O ” N E E D A NO T H E R H E RO SAME SEX IN THE CITY With age comes respect 6 0 SU E ’ S HORO SC OPE S BEAU’DIACS A look at seasonal horoscopes guided by the larger planets 6 2 A SK PAT T I BEAU Q&A “Dragging” out answers to community questions 6 3 R E SOU RC E S Handy information 6 4 BU SI N E SS DI R E C T ORY Find our advertisers fast
Roots- Opening the Archive Local Author and College Of Charleston’s Head of Special Collections, Harlan Greene at his home in Downtown Charleston. COVER PHOTO BY ABIGAIL MARIE
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B E AU M AG | W I NTER 2015
Contributors SPECIAL THANKS TO
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS C.C. BOURGEOIS EMILY DZIUBAN HARLAN GREENE SUE “KRONELLA” HANDLEY SUSAN MARETT BECKI MCSWAIN
Maria Rivers Publisher publisher@beau-magazine.com
Abigail Marie Art Director Lead Photographer nonpareilphoto@gmail.com
JENN MUCKELVANEY PATTI O’FURNITURE MARIA RIVERS STEVEN WILLARD
CONTRIBUTING GRAPHIC ARTISTS BRANDON HUNTER
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS DAN FOLK CRAIG JONES JOHN KURC BECKI MCSWAIN
Jenn Odel
Brandon Hunter
Social Media Director
Marketing Coordinator, Sales
Facebook.com/ BEAUMagazineCharleston
bhunter@beau-magazine.com
Bree Moler
Dixie Fanning
Sales and Events Marketing
Graphic Design
Bree.moler@yahoo.com
dixie@designfromdixie.com
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To subscribe go to BEAU-MAGAZINE.COM
B E AU M AG | P U BLI SHER’S NOTE
Publisher’s Note
Happy Anniversary to Charleston’s OUT Crowd! It’s hard to believe that one year ago we were all realizing the soon to be legal passing of the equal marriage act AND celebrating the launch of Charleston’s own BEAU Magazine (a very unintentional but welcomed synchronicity). It has been a prolific 2015! This Anniversary Issue titled Roots, Opening the Archive is written by Harlan Greene, Head of Special Collections at College Of Charleston, and myself. We both dedicate this issue to the life of John Ziegler. He was a long-time friend of Harlan’s. Unfortunately, I missed my chance to meet him as he passed shortly before our photo shoot opportunity. However, thanks to historians such as Harlan Greene, people 100 years from now can read books and memoirs that prove there once was a prominent and celebrated Charleston aristocrat who had a passion for politics, deeply loved his husband Edwin, and lived to be 103 years old. The stories of our elders are crucial to the development of our descendants. Yes, there’s Google for now, but there’s something about the look and feel of diaries, original pictures, poems and personal experiences of individuals through history that’s fascinating. It allows connection to be passed through decades of time. We don’t have a whole lot of Charleston LGBTA personal memoirs and pictures that have survived the years. If you have anything relating to African American LGBTA history, Harlan would like to document it. If you, a parent, grandparent/acquaintance or good friend may have some stories or memorabilia from LGBTA Charleston, please let Harlan know. Documenting our past is as important as creating our future. Thank you to everyone who continues to make BEAU Magazine a success. Please support your advertisers. Without them, we would be yet another archive…
MARIA RIVERS Publisher@BEAU-Magazine.com
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B E AU MAG |B E AU TI FUL P E O P L E
Jen Bennett emanates the word kindness. Her passionate love for Charleston and the communities within is evident in her life and art. Many people know Jen as a well-educated and trusted therapist, and many others know her from her dynamic, radiant photographs of Charleston showcased in Images Art Gallery on King Street. Some may also know her as the family-oriented woman they proudly call friend. However, not everybody knows that she played a key role in one of the largest integrative movements in Charleston’s LGBTA history.
Why We
LOVE Jen
Jennifer Bennett moved to Charleston in 2006 to go into business with her dad. She had recently finished a Master of Arts Degree in Sociology at the University of Colorado, focusing on Gender and Sexuality. Feeling the desire to continue her education, the Citadel’s Clinical Counseling Master’s degree became very appealing. In 2011, Jen was in the middle of her graduate program of Clinical Counseling as well as Chair of SC GSA Network (a program of South Carolina Equality that helps students form Gay Straight Alliances (GSA’s) at their Schools and network the GSA’s across the state with one another) when the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell happened. Within a month of the repeal, protection for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity was added to discrimination protection by General Rosa, the president of The Citadel. She was approached by a fellow cadet interested in starting a GSA at The Citadel in efforts to ensure the safety of students. Jen pushed for training The Citadel’s faculty and staff on LGBT issues with a campus Safe Zone Program. Dr. Julie Lipovsky, currently the Assistant Provost of Diversity at The Citadel, was instrumental in getting the Safe Zone Training approved. Jen and Doug Warner conducted the training themselves to assure efficiency. After the first Safe Zone Training, a GSA for cadets, recognized by The Citadel, was started. Currently, The Citadel has the cadet GSA and The Citadel Spectrum Alliance, a GSA for graduate students. To date, over 200 faculty and staff have voluntarily participated in the Safe Zone training.
WRITTEN BY MARIA RIVERS PHOTO BY ABIGAIL MARIE
Being a person that acts from her heart, she may not realize how her passionate drive for limitless equality continues to light up so many people’s darkness. Jen LOVEs her city, and it shows throughout the events of her life and within her beautiful photographs. When asked what she loves most about Charleston, her response was, “The genuine kindness of the people that live here. I feel like Charleston is the perfect representation for how kindness builds kindness. Whenever I come home from a trip, I am continually impressed by how people help others they don’t know and without any incentive beyond being helpful.” n B E AU-MAG A Z I N E .CO M | 7
AFFA GAyLA • Memminger Auditorium Photographer: Dan Folk 8 | B E AU - M AG AZI NE.CO M
#BEAUcommunityhouse
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B E AU M AG | B EAU t i fu l Peo p l e
Movie Review
I Saw Stonewall
The Stonewall Inn in New York City allowed LGBTQ people to gather when being homosexual was illegal. After a police raid in the summer of 1969, the patrons of the Stonewall Inn, plus a gathering crowd, fought back by rioting. The event galvanized the community into political action, and the first Gay Liberation March occurred the next year. Charlestonians know history matters. It allows us to honor the past and understand the present. Last year, BEAU Magazine published several articles, available online, exploring LGBTQ history in Charleston. This year, the release of the movie Stonewall (2015) generated national discussion about the riots widely credited as the origination event for the modern gay rights movement. Before its release, Stonewall was skewered for “whitewashing” history by featuring a classically handsome, white, cis, middle-class male named…wait for it…Danny Winters (Jeremy Irvine). Among others, two trans women of color—Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera—were leaders at Stonewall, yet the film sets their roles, and, therefore, their lives, to the side. Director Roland Emmerich has defended his choice by claiming the narrative as “fiction” designed to make the history of Stonewall relatable to straight audiences (Buzzfeed, Sept. 22, 2015). Despite calls for boycott, I bought a ticket, determined to keep an open mind. The Stonewall story does need to be told, and here was someone doing the important work of telling it. So, I wanted to honor the attempt and try myself. Friends, don’t. Just don’t. You will be sorry you did. The film is patently offensive. Winters gets off the bus from Indiana onto Christopher Street in NYC and is quickly approached by a “queen” with a drug problem who makes a clunky hot dog joke and unwelcome advancements. Winters’ body language communicates fear, reinforcing the dangerous homophobic trope that gay people are predatory. And things go stunningly downhill from there.
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Properly understood, the movie is a fictional coming out story for which the Stonewall riots serve as backdrop. Okay, fine. In the climatic riot scene, Winters makes eye contact with an ex-boyfriend before throwing the iconic brick through Stonewall’s window. With this choice, the director invites the audience to interpret relationship drama as a primary driver of protest, rather than the poverty, hunger, familial and societal rejection, homelessness, optionless sex work, police harassment, mafia exploitation, and institutionalized oppression faced by the most marginalized members of the queer community. In fairness, these issues are addressed in the film, but none of them is as important as who Danny will date. n
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B E AU M AG | BUYING BEAU STYLE
BEAU Local Gift Guide
To many, the Holiday Season is a huge, extremely expensive headache. We try to concentrate on those nostalgic family moments, but it soon turns into harsh realities of pocketemptying hell. Well, staying true to our mission statement, BEAU Magazine is here to offer a way around that negative tornado of fleeting dollars and depleted feelings. First things first, let’s give YOU the gift of turning this into a positive and fulfilling experience. How? Let’s make the purchases a full-circle affair! BUY LOCAL! What does that mean? Simply, it means not supporting your nearest Wal-Mart and instead getting into the dynamics of this act of buying local. How deep into “local” can you go? Where do you go to find these eclectic treasures? The gift itself: is it hand crafted by a Carolina artisan or at least made in the U.S.A.? And last but not least, how do you attain such sought-after rarities without breaking the bank?
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The following options are a tip of the iceberg. Shopping from this BEAU Local list will not only accomplish the above but also patronize the businesses that support this local publication. That would be yet another positive and fluffy feather to add in your buying local, locally-made hat!
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B E AU M AG | BUYING BEAU STYLE
Within the sea of shops on King Street (no “flooding” pun intended), it’s sometimes hard to distinguish between local and commercial establishments. If you turn onto John Street (on the corner of King where Jo Pasta lives), you’ll find a treasure chest of local artisans called Surface Gallery. Surface Craft Gallery brings over 20 local craft artisans and several other regional and national artisans. Work includes hand-blown glass, jewelry, fiber, wood and printmaking. There are a few options to stimulate your shopping buzz!
m fro ge p. n ra d u om ces an at ton.c Pri $15 w s o e p n arl Sholerych gal ace f r Su
(L) Fused Glass Wine Bottle Stoppers by Warm Glass by Keller - Charleston artist, $24 each (C) Wheel thrown stoneware teapot by Anne John. - Charleston potter, Teapot pictured $170 (R) Handmade soaps by Old Whaling Company of Charleston - All natural ingredients $7 each for soaps and all natural salt scrubs $16 each
Why… oh, why get yet ANOTHER boring tie? (That was almost a haiku!) No need to break a good tradition, though. Some people LOVE getting that holiday tie. Let’s take it to another level with local bowtie creator, Ron’Rico Judon’s eclectic, one-of-a-kind Debonair Gentleman Tie Collection.
Prices ranging $10 to $40 Shop now at Debonairties.com
Vaporfi nicotine e-liquid is always 100% made in the USA, for the very best in potency and manufacturing standards. Located in North Charleston, you can choose from an in-house blend or customize your own combo giving you over 30,000 choices. Bet you can’t try them all! . 14 | B E AU - M AGAZI NE.CO M
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B E AU M AG | BUYING BEAU STYLE
Instead of a video game that will isolate your kids from you, get your kids an amazing memory of you and them. Max and Henry’s, a locally owned and operated half bar/ restaurant and half game room is located on James Island. Your kids may never remember what video game you bought them when they’re older, but I guarantee they’ll remember an intense Air Hockey family tournament!
Spooky, scary, creepy and COOL! Based on native Hoodoo traditions of South Carolina Lowcountry, Doctor Wren Gris-Gris and Fetish Dolls will scare away unwanted plateyes, boo-hags and haints in your life. Dolls measure from 20” - 28” and are individually created by local artist Larry Fertick with new as well as upcycled and vintage material. Embellished with beads, buttons, and unique embroidery, this is for sure a one-of-a-kind gift for that unique loved one in your family.
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t na s fu s.com ’ t a wh enry See andh x Ma
at re .com o s d m doll a e h r is nd fet e a ren e S rw cto Do
What better gift to give your partner for the holidays than a portrait of YOU! Selfie!!! Actually, setting up a photo shoot with one of our local photographers can be a fun-filled time to remember that comes with a tangible reminder of that perfect day. From family portraits for holiday cards (furry children included) to a sexy boudoir shoot for your partner for Valentine’s Day, make the memory last forever AND support your local artist.
Abigail M arie nonpare ilphotogr aphy.com
e Ann y By raph om g .c o t e n Pho byan aphy r g o phot
Yes, you will pay a little more than if you went to the Dollar Tree. But look at the Artist who is thankful, the person receiving the gift who feels special, and the awesome example you are setting by practicing the act of buying local. Chances are if someone that you care about receives another mass-produced tie or unauthentic knockoff pair of socks, it will be forgotten as soon as it hits the floor. But a hand-crafted unique gift from a local artisan may one day become a family heirloom. n B E AU-MAG A Z I N E .CO M | 17
Charleston’s Charlie Pioneer of Equal Rights
WRITTEN BY MARIA RIVERS PHOTOS BY ABIGAIL MARIE 18 | B E AU - M AGAZI NE.CO M
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B E AU M AG | R o o t s
Charleston’s Charlie Pioneer of Equal Rights
Charlie Smith 1965
When asked what do you love most about Charleston, Charlie’s reply; Charleston has the richest wellpreserved fabric of any city in America. It is socially an open place where people of different backgrounds can and generally do work together for the “greater good”. I do feel that much of the credit for that belongs to one man, though. Joe Riley made this city, which I ran from as a closeted man in the 70s, into the city that I wanted to come home to in 1996. Had it not been for him and the incredible positive energy he created in this city, I would not be here today. I felt a strong need to live somewhere where I could be myself, and as luck would have it, Charleston felt right. Charleston had always been home. After almost twenty years, I still live in the DuPont area of West Ashley with my partner (and now husband), Rob Suli.
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Charlie Smith was born in Orangeburg, SC in 1959 and moved to James Island with his family from Beaufort, SC in 1967. His father opened new locations in South Carolina for James C. Greene Company Insurance Adjusters out of North Carolina. His offices were located at 15 Broad Street next door to Joe Riley’s father’s office. They lived on Bruce Street in Stiles Point during most of that time. “One of my favorite things to do when I was a boy was to come into the city with my father on Saturdays and get my hair cut and shoes shined. The city was old and pretty run down at that time, so it was a fun place for a kid’s imagination to run wild,” Charlie reminisces. The name “Charlie Smith” historically is a well-known name through the political realm. His quest to evolve Charleston into a more equal and peaceful place began at an early age when he began to see the injustice of racism. “I remember one such Saturday during the 1969 Hospital Workers’ strike, that Ralph Abernathy [leader of African American Civil Rights Movement and best friend to Martin Luther King, Jr.] was in town. I had no idea what all the commotion was about, but I do remember that white Charlestonians were in an uproar over Dr. Abernathy’s remark that he liked Charleston so much that when he got out of jail that he might just move his family here. John Conroy was the Chief of Police at the time, and he had squad cars parked bumper to bumper across the Legare Bridge to intimidate anyone who thought they were going to cause problems. This was my first inkling that something was not right in South Carolina.”
Charlie’s grandmother, Louise Fanning of Columbia, was a housemother at McClintock Dormitory at USC during the 60s and 70s. In those days the women’s dorms had housemothers. USC did not integrate immediately after Brown v. Board of Education. They waited until the mid- to late-sixties. The fathers of the white southern girls did not want their daughters rooming with black girls in the dorms. It made room assignments difficult for the administration. They lost students over this. “When we visited her, we heard the students talking about the war, racial injustice, segregation, and poverty…all the things the sixties brought into focus. She had a front row seat to all of that, and we saw it first hand when we visited.”
LGBT community protesting Representative John Altman 2002 (used again to protest in 2004)
By the time he began college at The College of Charleston, his passion to rectify the injustice had been brewing for a while. He took a job as an intern with the City of Charleston’s newly created Division of Archives and Records in August of 1977 under Dr. Margaretta Pringle Childs, who was an outspoken advocate for racial justice. During that time Charlie catalogued every piece of correspondence that had come to former Mayor J. Palmer Gaillard since 1957. “Reading twenty years of the first hand documentation of our city’s role in those turbulent years was like getting a PhD in race relations,” says Charlie, “but, frankly, there was not much to be proud of in that cache of documents.”
Maintaining the status quo was the rule of the day in the 50s and 60s. By August of 1977, Joe Riley had been in office less than two years and the first Spoleto had only ended three months prior. It was clear that change was coming. “I doubt that much of what I saw in those documents at City Archives even exists today as there were two schools of thought about what should be saved and what shouldn’t,” he admits. “But what I saw was more than enough for me to understand that there were entities that did not want anything to change in Charleston, and those entities were extremely powerful. How Joe Riley overcame those powers is a remarkable thing. He was an amazing advocate for
2004 Charlie Smith (R) with his partner Robert Suli on Yawkey Island B E AU-MAG A Z I N E .CO M | 21
B E AU M AG | R o o t s
Charlie Smith talks about the creation of AFFA In 1998 the oldest LGBT organization in Charleston was the Lowcountry Gay and Lesbian Alliance. It had served a social purpose for many years for a mostly closeted membership. It was so closeted in fact that placing last names on name tags at meetings was prohibited! There were a handful of us who had moved to or moved back to Charleston at that time, and we did not want to live like that. Linda Ketner was first to pick up on this new energy, and she immediately seized the opportunity and invited a group of folks to join her for a weekend retreat at Middleton Place. We had a very frank discussion over the course of two days that delved into what the problems were in our community and state, and what we thought we could do that would be the most effective way to resolve them. The main thing that came out of that meeting was that we wanted our LGBT community to be healthy in every way possible. The tool that we created for that purpose was the Alliance for Full Acceptance. Seventeen years later, it is by far the most effective tool for education, advocacy and networking for LGBT equality in South Carolina and in much of the south in general. AFFA blew the closet doors off of Charleston and made us proud members of this community.
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equality. The real measure of Joe Riley’s influence on my life and the lives of all LGBT people in Charleston is that the advocacy he employed in the 70s for racial justice was still there for LGBT Charlestonians to tap into in the 1990s. He never winced at acknowledging the importance of Charleston’s LGBT community during all of Charleston’s history. He welcomed us with open arms and became our best advocate for the change that we have now seen over the past 20 years. So I guess you could say that Joe Riley was my greatest inspiration… before meeting Linda Ketner, that is!”
Four years after the founding of AFFA, the Board met at a weekend retreat at Middleton Place to discuss what actions to take during the course of the coming year that could create the biggest impact. Having an openly gay candidate for public office was at the top of the list. After reviewing the list of folks who were up for re-election and what districts they were in, AFFA realized that the notoriously homophobic State Representative John Graham Altman would be unchallenged if they did not resolve to take him on. Charlie Smith became the prime candidate for the job. “As luck would have it,” Charlie smiles, “I lived in his district, and I was the only one who had ever run for public office before (Miami Shores Village Council 1993). So the decision was made.”
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B E AU M AG | R o o t s
At the Charleston County Democratic Convention later that year, Charlie spoke about the damage that had been done to our city and state by Rep. Altman. “I told the listeners that I felt I was uniquely qualified to run against him. I told them of my family ties to Charleston since the 1670’s and that I felt it was my obligation not to continue the status quo, but to advocate for change for the benefit of all of us. I also told them that I was openly gay, that it had taken me 27 years to understand my own place in the world, and that I did not expect other people to understand me over night, but that I did expect them to try.” He received two standing ovations that day. Charlie was not the first openly gay person to run for office in South Carolina. “That distinction belongs to my friend David Schwacke,” he says, “who was outed in office as our Ninth Circuit Solicitor and who ran again after having been outed. He won in Charleston County, but lost by 212 votes in Berkeley County. For me, that was evidence enough that a win was possible. Without David’s race as the foundation, I would not have had the intestinal fortitude to do what we did in 2002 and 2004. I garnered 41% of the vote in 2002 and 48% of the vote in 2004. With an openly gay Democrat coming that close to a win in 2004, John Graham Altman did not run the following term.” Spirits were high as this was considered a huge win for Charleston’s LGBT and pro-equality citizens. Unfortunately, the inflated numbers and voting power of the LGBTA people were noticed, and the betrayal began. “In 2006, Leon Stavrinakis, who had come to us as an “Equality Candidate” in his 1998 run for County Council, ran for and won Altman’s former House Seat. Oddly and much to our chagrin, Stavrinakis’ first “Key Vote” in the legislature after being sworn in [in 2007] was to vote IN FAVOR OF the ratification of the antigay Marriage Amendment. LGBT folks in Charleston should never forget this betrayal. It is even more important now than it was then. We know that we have the right to expect and demand better now…and we will!” As politics can be filled with the darkness of deceit, political reclaim was the only way that Charlie Smith, Linda Ketner, and many others with AFFA felt would pave the way for equality in the first decade of the 21st century, even if it wasn’t attained immediately. Marriage Equality has finally come to fruition, and we are all thankful of this. However, it doesn’t stop here at all. Employers can still fire someone for their orientation, housing can still be denied if the landlord wishes 24 | B E AU - M AGAZI NE.CO M
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What is Charlie doing now? Most of Charlie’s recent community work has revolved around West Ashley redevelopment and his work on the Charleston County Planning Commission on which he has served for eight years. “I am a proud appointee of openly gay Charleston County Councilmember Colleen Condon, whose service to this community has been amazing,” he says with pride.
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to discriminate against LGBT people, children and teens are still bullied because of their Gender Identity due to lack of education, and in SC there are no Hate Crime Laws to protect anyone. There is so much more to do. With the political involvement of LGBT pioneers such as Charlie Smith who have relentlessly pushed to set precedents promoting equality and initiating political involvement back in the 90’s, we would not have as much dexterity in our political persuasion as we do today. He put himself in the line of fire, proudly “outed” himself in a world of condemnation, only in efforts to create a more accepting and peaceful community. Yes, this, amongst other prestigious ways, is why we Charlie Smith! n
LOVE
R { oots
Opening the Archive
WRITTEN BY HARLAN GREENE
2015 has been a banner year for gay, lesbian, and transgender history across the world. In the future, people will look back to this year to document the time that marriage equality was won statewide and nationally and across the Atlantic. There will be newspaper articles, photographs, videos, legal briefs, Pride publications, and even copies of BEAU Magazine to inform the future how it was, how it came to be, and what it was like to live in Charleston, SC when we achieved this milestone of equality. But what can we show for past years? For all too many of them, we have nothing at all. We lack letters, stories, photos and even basic knowledge of past generations of gay lives, long-gone celebrations, and early beginnings. In less hospitable times, folks had to hide to survive, and so our predecessors lived and loved secretly, existing on the “downlow” to get along in a society that was dismissive at best and violent at worse. Any information that proclaimed you were gay could be used in a court of law or the court of public opinion to incriminate you, so written records were expunged; life stories were lost; whispered words were not overheard or written down. Resultantly, there are gaps in our past where heroes and heroines, love stories, statutes in parks, and plaques on buildings and other memorials should be. The silence is sad and oppressive, especially in these loud, out and proud years. All has not been lost. Some bits of knowledge have survived; coming down the years are stray individual stories, fragments, echoes, and innuendoes. Although there are many holes in the history of homosexuality in the Holy City, the fragmented tale needs to be told. So, now in 2015, the year we have made history, here is a beginning of writing it down. First, there are apologies because here you will not find a full representation of all times or all people. At this point we lack significant information, especially on African American lives, those of women and those of other groups and minorities. Gay history shares much with other histories in this country; it has often centered on men and primarily
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED Your contribution can make a difference in filling in the blanks of gay history. Addlestone Library’s Special Collections at the College of Charleston is dedicated to collecting those materials that will help fill in the gap of this important part of our history. Those with documents, photographs, business records, personal papers and any other archival materials that relate to gay, transgender and related lives, businesses, events, and pursuits can get in touch with Harlan Greene. Harlan Greene Head, Special Collections Addlestone Library College of Charleston 66 George Street Charleston, SC 29424 Email: greeneh@cofc.edu
those of European descent. To help fill in the blanks, your help is needed: Addlestone Library’s Special Collections at the College of Charleston is dedicated to collecting those materials that will help fill in the gap of this important part of our history. Those with documents, photographs, business records, personal papers and any other archival materials that relate to gay, transgender and related lives, businesses, events, and pursuits can get in touch with Harlan Greene, head of special collections. The contact information is at the end of this article. Your contribution can make a difference in filling in the blanks of gay history. B E AU-MAG A Z I N E .CO M | 29
B E AU M AG | R o o t s
What follows is a quick chronology of lowcountry men, women, moments and events for which some trace has survived – in documents, printed texts, word of mouth, or in archival evidence. Some of this information appeared in a slightly different format in “The Real Rainbow Row: Charleston’s Queer History,” a map and guide to gay Charleston created by College of Charleston faculty and staff and accessible at this address: http://claw.cofc.edu/digital/rainbow.html.
Revolutionary Beginnings
Charleston was settled in April of 1670, with the city moving to the peninsula from the area now known as Charles Towne Landing around 1680. And that is the era when we have what might be our first mention of homosexuality: might because we don’t know exactly what the evidence is and because it takes the form of criminality. Florence O’Sullivan, for whom Sullivan’s Island was named, was punished for having inappropriate sexual relations with children, an early document tells us. We don’t know if the children were male or female, (not that it matters, as a crime) or if he had relations with older members of his own sex. It’s distressing to link sex crimes with gender and sexual orientation or preference, a tactic often used against us over the centuries. Pedophilia is not linked to being straight or gay, but this intriguing, although disturbing, reference suggests that it was not just an “Adam and Eve” story that began the peopling and population growth in the low country. Charlestonians took leading roles in launching the rebellion. Henry Laurens (1724–1792), for whom Laurens Street is named, was one of the Founding Fathers: a president of the Continental Congress and the only American held prisoner in the tower of London. His son John Laurens (1754–1782) is often celebrated in the annals of early American gay history, due to his strong emotional bond with Alexander Hamilton (ca. 1755–1804), who is 30 | B E AU - M AGAZI NE.CO M
the subject of a hip hop play these days on Broadway. The letters between them seem so affectionate that some historians believe that their friendship went beyond bounds of male camaraderie. Other historians are more cautious and suggest that the rhetoric of the day cannot be understood in ours; what seems obvious to our eyes could be a flowery and non-literal manner of speaking from another century. So John Laurens, who wanted to free the slaves and who died young, is a possibility. A statue celebrating the friendship of Hamilton and Laurens in Lafayette Park in Philadelphia has been dubbed one of the “queerest historical spots.” And as for the war itself, there is at least one documented local case of a soldier caught in women’s clothes. He was punished, we know, but we don’t know why he cross-dressed.
Henry Laurens - National Portrait Gallery
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The Antebellum Period This is the era that Charleston sold its soul to slavery and helped launch a civil war that nearly destroyed this country. There is not much information locally found to date on gay history in the lowcountry, but the state of South Carolina produced a man ideologically linked with slavery and who is now known for his blatant sexual behavior, including his sexual acts with members of his own sex. John Henry Hammond (1807–1864) was governor of our state as well as the man who popularized the phrase “Cotton is King”. He was a sexual predator in many ways,
but his correspondence with his college roommate Thomas Jefferson Withers (1804–1865) at South Carolina College (now University of South Carolina) leaves no doubt that they were bedmates. In 1981, gay historian Martin Duberman overcame heavy-handed attempts to censor him, and he published some of the most indiscreet and sexually provocative letters known in this era between prominent public men. Duberman’s intellectual honesty and Hammond’s and Withers’ homosexuality have all become part of the lexicon and text of gay American history.
Victorian Era In 1882 one of the most famous gay men of any time visited the city. Oscar Wilde (1854 –1900) came and gave a lecture and stayed very briefly. It was news that he entered the ladies’ entrance of the Charleston Hotel; newspapers reported on how utterly fluttery he was. A generation later, tongues were still wagging over his appearance in the holy city. Not quite 20 years later, about 1899, Charleston police arrested a man named Gus Green for trying to have sex with
another man. For once, laws might have been in gay people’s favor, for his attorney came up with the defense that it could not be a crime because there was only a law about women trying to solicit sex with men or men trying to do that with women. With no laws on the books forbidding men soliciting for sex with other men, there could be no crime or conviction. Unfortunately, we don’t know what happened in that case, for the documents once archived in a local institution can no longer be found. Stay tuned.
Early 20th century From this point on, we have more information about gay men and women in the city. The navy base, to play a large impact on gay lives, was opened in 1901, and in 1913, a Law and Order League was founded in Charleston to help save our decaying morals. Citizens were warned that perversity, the word to cover sexual relations between members of the same sex, was much more rampant than many knew or feared. 32 | B E AU - M AGAZI NE.CO M
In this era, too, a remarkable woman named Laura Bragg (1881–1978) came to Charleston and eventually became director of the Charleston Museum. Her sexual orientation cannot be defined without doubt; she was definitely “gay friendly” and went on record as saying many of her women friends were gay and that was the basis of many of the long-standing stable relations between women in the city.
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It was about this time, too, that a young black man named George Cantey came to Charleston from his small South Carolina town. He worked for a white family that had an African American butler. George and the butler became lovers. When George left Charleston, he was now Georgia. Dressing and passing as a woman, she lived her life as one for the next few decades. Georgia Black
married several times, adopted a son and was so beloved by the Florida town to which she moved, that when her true gender was discovered at her death in 1951, no one in town, not even the white power structure, would allow her to be called “fairy,” “pervert,” or “freak.” They all spoke of her as a loving and kind lady.
The Roaring 20s With loosening of some social strictures, gays became more visible in town. Edward Iredell Renwick, or “Ned”, Jennings (18981929) was one of the first modern artists in the city, and he influenced our major modern artist, William Halsey. Many of Ned’s gay-themed artworks are housed in the Gibbes Museum of Art. Handsome, but afflicted with a major speech impediment, he grew depressed when he broke up with a male friend, and he killed himself in 1929. He is the subject of the novel Why We Never Danced the Charleston.
Above: Ned Jennings Below: Henry Hervey
Ned had a friend named Harry Hervey (1900–1951), who lived briefly in Charleston with his lover Carleton Hildreth in the late 1920s. Hervey wrote many books with gay subtexts. His Ethan Quest: His Saga, set in Savannah, is one of them. A little more opaque is his Red Ending, published in 1929, which might be considered the first novel with any gay elements published about our city. A biography of him, with highlights of gay history in town, is forthcoming. 34 | B E AU - M AGAZI NE.CO M
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1930 – World War II All of these men were friends of Laura Bragg, and her friend, Charleston novelist Josephine Pinckney (1895–1957). The latter became great friends with the artist Prentiss Taylor (1907–1991), a gay white man identified with the Harlem Renaissance movement and a champion for civil rights. Prentiss Taylor spent time in Charleston in the early 1930s at about the same time Gertrude Stein and her lover Alice Toklas spent Valentine’s Day at a guest house on the Battery, which if not by this time, then soon after, became the male cruising ground in the city. There were a few mixed bars in town by then, and some men would look for sailors to see if they needed a ride back to North Charleston.
Scholars now trace a lot of changes in gay society to the tumult of World War II. It came about partly due to the mixing of so many gay soldiers coming from all over and realizing they were not alone; there were other men — and women — just like them. Charleston had a very active gay scene then, apparently. We know this from vice files now part of the Burnett Rhett Maybank Papers in Special Collections at the College of Charleston. Undercover cops, investigating vice, found men willing to pick up men and “street Arabs” which were young boys giving sexual favors for a fee on Folly Beach.
Mid-century to Stonewall While there was some movement on the national scene demanding rights for gay men and women in the 1950s, locally the closet was still the option for those who wanted to be accepted by society.
into town, began to play in a piano bar and became the lover of a brutal controlling blue blood aristocrat who hid his sexuality from the city. Though bleak, his letters give us a view of what it might have been like to be gay here at the time.
One such case was a very dignified Charlestonian, who hid his bisexuality from his family, his friends, his institution and his city. Harrison Randolph (1871– 1954) served as President of the College of Charleston for nearly forty years and only long after his death was it revealed in his diary that he had led a double life. It shows how he had to hide his desire for affection for other men. Randolph Hall, the College of Charleston’s main building is one of the many venues on the campus named for mostly closeted gay men. We have a glimpse of another, not quite so closeted life afforded us in a book called The Joint written by a petty thief named James Blake (1922–1979), who wowed the literary establishment in the 1950s with his descriptions of his louche life. Blake drifted
James Blake Photo by: Alex Gotfryd B E AU-MAG A Z I N E .CO M | 35
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Homosexuality may have entered the lexicon thanks to the study of sex lives of men and women carried out and published by William Masters and Virginia Johnson, but it was not discussed in polite society. Many who would later link the demand for civil rights with communism, saying it was a plot to unsettle our segregated lives, began to see gays as a similar threat to American life and security. Imagine then, the shock that occurred when a book about gay life at the Citadel, the bastion of the southern male virtue and virility appeared in 1947. Southern writer Calder Willingham, who spent one year there, changed the name of the school in his novel, End As a Man, but he wrote of gay scenes at the school verging on sadomasochism. The book was lauded as a great literary achievement and became a Broadway play and a movie.
in Charleston. Their bookstore became a haven and meeting place for famous and ordinary gay men and women who passed through the city. They were friends with the gay-themed writer Carson McCullers, black gay poet Langston Hughes, and gay author Maurice Sendak who visited their shop. John Zeigler has become something of a gay icon. He is one of the characters in the book Jeb and Dash: A Gay Life, 1918 –1945, edited by Ina Russell. John has also published a book of poems about his longtime partner Edwin, called The Edwin Poems, and he also wrote the story of their life, titled Edwin and John: A Personal History of the American South.
They provided role models for young gay men and women growing up in Charleston in the 1950s and 60s. A devoted female couple that played an active part in the cultural life of the city, and the theatrical world especially, were Kit Lyons (1927– 2011) and Dottie D’Anna (1918–2012), who trained many of the best actors in the city. All was not bleak and closeted in the city in these years. Two of the most important and visible gay men in Charleston were John Zeigler (who just died at 103 in October 2015) and Edwin Peacock (1910–1989) who, upon finishing up their services in World War II, opened up The Book Basement in a building now on the College of Charleston campus. For their times, they were very out, and they were champions for civil rights and crusaders for causes and culture 36 | B E AU - M AGAZI NE.CO M
In 1958, a shattering event took place that drove many people back into the closet. The event is called the Candlestick Murder, and it happened on Halloween. A young gay man in town named Jack Dobbins picked up a fellow in the Air Force; they went to Club 49 on King Street, which called itself the gayest spot in town. Dobbins then took the 19-year-old John Mahon home. The next day, Dobbins was found dead, bludgeoned by a candlestick, and Mahon had some of
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his belongings on the base. Mahon went to the police, told how Dobbins had tried to seduce him, and was tried for murder. Dobbins, the victim, was tainted with the crime of being gay, and his murderer, a “nice young man in the military,” was found innocent. A witch hunt ensued; at least one professor at the Citadel lost his job because it was found out that he knew Dobbins. The message in the city was clear; it was necessary to hide your homosexuality. Many men and women in town still recall how they were scarred by this event. But with the passing of time and the coming of the “swinging sixties,” there was the possibility of freedom and living more openly. Gordon Langley Hall (1922–2000), an English writer, moved into the Ansonborough neighborhood and was seen as one of the most eligible bachelors in town. Many aver that he was gay (something denied in all three of his autobiographies). In 1967, he startled the city and the country by undergoing a very early sex reassignment
John Simmons and Dawn Hall surgery at Johns Hopkins. Now named Dawn, she further upset the social norms by marrying her African American servant, John Paul Simmons. Theirs was a tempestuous relationship, ending in divorce and mental illness. But no one can ever doubt her bravery for claiming her rights and working for civil rights in our city.
Post Stonewall For many, the gay rights movement began in 1969 at a bar called Stonewall Inn, in NYC’s Greenwich Village when gay men and lesbians began fighting back against police harassment. While it would take us a while to match that militancy, it is interesting to note that two of most outspoken leaders of that movement lived in Charleston briefly. Armistead Maupin, acclaimed author of the very out gay series of novels, known collectively as Tales of the City, set in freewheeling San Francisco, lived here for a short while, working for the local paper. Then there is the case of Leonard Matlovich (1943–1988), who may not be as well known today, but 38 | B E AU - M AGAZI NE.CO M
whose contribution to gay rights and gays in the military is beyond debate. Matlovich’s family was in the service; he attended high school downtown and became an admitted racist. Overcoming that, he understood that society’s hatred and fear of homosexuality is just as mindless and disfiguring as racism. He came out of the closet and demanded to be allowed to stay in the military. The case riveted the country, and he became the first out person to appear on the cover of Time Magazine on September 8, 1975. He was kicked out of the military and died of AIDS in 1988, a true hero to many.
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This was the era that the Spoleto Festival came to town, despite the outcry of early supporters who withdrew their funding when they realized many of the performers and people coming to see them would be “deviants” and “queers.” Gian Carlo Menotti, the founder, was a visible and respected presence in town. By now, there was a growing list of gay bars; Basin Street
South, Tucker’s Tavern, David’s, and others such as Déjà vu and Les Jardins, as well as many others, opened and closed over the years. It was the opening of the Garden and Gun Club, first associated with the Spoleto Festival that brought gays and straights together in a way never seen before here. Bluebloods mixed with blue collars; straight men danced with gay women; blacks and whites partied and then nodded when they saw each other on the street. A sort of social Stonewall, the Garden and Gun Club helped tear down barriers; the city’s self-imposed sexual segregation was over. A new spirit of tolerance had begun. This tolerance grew as Charleston opened up to the larger world. In the 1980s, Africa, a prominent African American drag queen, appeared in a ball gown on the Battery as the cover of Southern Exposure Magazine. In this era, too, white English anthropologist Colin Turnbull (1924–1994) came to town with his African American lover, Joseph Towles (1937–1988), also an anthropologist. Turnbull lectured at the college, and the papers documenting their tragic love story are now part of the collections of Avery Research Center for African American History. More and more changes came. The Metropolitan Community Church was established locally; many other prominent churches, such as the Unitarian Church and Circular Church opened their buildings for gay programming, the Unitarian Church’s Gage Hall being one of the most popular sites. Blanche Boyd, a lesbian novelist from Charleston, was a national commentator on Public Radio; there were gay societies and action groups like the University Club and Lowcountry Gay and Lesbian Alliance. When workers at local hospitals refused to touch AIDS patients, organizations like PALS (Palmetto Aids Life Support) arose. An early director, Joe Hall, became one of the first local self-identified gay persons to appear proudly, undisguised, on local TV.
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In 1992, Charleston gay writers, Harlan Greene and Blanche Boyd, each won a Lambda Literary Award for best gay male novel and best lesbian novel published in this country. The local press, however, made no note of it. (Barry and Alice: Portrait of a Bisexual Marriage by a husband and wife living here had appeared to much publicity in 1980.) In 1999, for the first time on a historical marker, the city used the word “homosexual” when a Holocaust monument was dedicated in Marion Square. Although it was in reference to the time when gay men and women, along with Jews and other minorities, were murdered for their difference, it was, nevertheless, a beginning—of including gay lifestyle in the many hued and faceted family of humanity. And now with the twenty-first century, with gay men and women in the news, in the Harlan Greene at home
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military, in business, running for political office, and marrying, we can now not just carry on and make progress, but maybe help fill in the blanks and document our past. n
If you have any materials—manuscripts, photos, newsletters, diaries, clippings or related matter—documenting the lives, organizations, institutions, clubs and social events of gay, lesbian or transgender people of Charleston and the surrounding area and would like to consider donating them to an archive that will preserve them and make them accessible now and in the future, please contact Harlan Greene, Head, Special Collections, Addlestone Library, College of Charleston, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC 29424. Email: greeneh@cofc.edu. Phone (please call after January 5, 2016) 843-953-7428.
INSPIRED PHOTOGRAPHY BY Abigail Marie POETRY BY MarLyn
Being present is knowing, respecting, and loving your own roots‌ Are you INSPIRED? Create fearlessly and submit your artwork to editor@BEAU-Magazine.com for consideration. #BEAUMAGAZINE.
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Let Them Eat Cake
WRITTEN BY JENN MUCKELVANEY PHOTOS BY ABIGAIL MARIE SPECIAL THANKS DUVALL EVENTS PASTRY CHEFS, CASSI HIBBETT AND GINNY BRADFORD 44 | B E AU - M AGAZI NE.CO M
If you have a wicked sweet tooth like me, the cake is one of the most anticipated parts of the wedding (beyond the wedding party, of course!) Wedding cake doesn’t have to look so traditional all the time, and here are a few ideas to consider for your big day. No matter if you choose fondant, buttercream, ganache, naked cake with very little icing, or cupcakes, make sure the baker you choose has a good understanding of the look and taste you’re trying to achieve. “The most important thing you can do is look through the baker’s portfolio,” says Delicious Desserts owner Laney Cowan. Providing pictures, or even details from your wedding attire, is often helpful to create the cake of your dreams. Here are a few BEAUtiful sweet inspirations for your own wedding cake by Duvall Events Pastry Chefs, Cassi Hibbett and Ginny Bradford.
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Offset Ruffle Cake First up is the exquisite, modern ruffle cake, created by Cassi Hibbett. “The ruffle cake was my attempt to express something a little more avant-garde. The obscure ruffle in the center balances the juxtaposition of each tier. I wanted the ruffle to contain both masculine and feminine qualities to appeal to anyone. I was trying to pull in a concept of a flower with such sharp lines that were almost architectural but still have the soft waves that are reminiscent to cloth. The gold backdrop was my way to make it really pop, while still keeping within its clean and modern design,” says Hibbett.
Painted Ganache Cake Are you keeping your wedding rustic and simple? Warm, dark color palettes, including chocolate and sunflowers, express fall colors in all their beauty. “By painting the chocolate ganache onto the cake instead of using the traditional technique of pouring or drizzling the icing, I was able to achieve a more rustic texture that reminded me of trees changing color,” Hibbett says. 46 | B E AU - M AGAZI NE.CO M
BE AU MAG |O UT CRO WD WE D D I N G S
Ombre Ruffle Cake This delicate, ruffled cake is perfect for those who prefer softer more delicate details. Its simplicity makes it pleasing to behold, and yet it still has a modern edge because of the light to dark color scheme. Any color scheme would look fabulous on this cake. Another plus is the ability to easily match wedding flowers to the ruffled feel of the cake.
Watercolor Cake Maybe your wedding falls more in line with the creative and artsy category. Why not use your cake as the canvas for your creativity? A watercolor cake like this one is sure to impress any guest and showcase your creative side. Pastry Chef Cassi Hibbett pulled inspiration from a variety of places in order to create the exquisite watercolor cake. At the top of the cake, brushed muted colors look like a sunset in contrast with the bold translucent flowers at the bottom. Together, the different painted areas blend into an artful masterpiece. B E AU-MAG A Z I N E .CO M | 47
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Lace Cake The square cake shape says modern and the lace detail says traditional. Could this be the perfect marriage for a couple that has both inclinations? The lace detail is a perfect opportunity to tie the wedding dress into the decoration of the cake. To top it off? Use a flower that matches one in the bouquet or boutonniere to tie it all together.
The fun is just beginning. Many bakeries allow couples to arrange for a taste test so that they can narrow down exactly what they want. Come hungry, because the options are limitless! Happy tasting! n
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BEAU Fall Is s ue R el ease Par ty “H oedown” • Ma x a n d H e n r y ’s Photos by Dan Folk 50 | B E AU - M AGAZI NE.CO M
The Rainbow Grape in the Vineyard The title of this story makes me think of this radical cartoon set in a California vineyard starring a gay grape, dynamic in both charm and vibrant humor. Throughout its cartoon journey this rainbow grape must travel to other not-so-vibrant, snobby grapes, and through laughter and spontaneous adventures, crush stereotypes of the way grapes should grow up and how wine should be perceived. Ultimately, it creates universal excitement and fun passion throughout the vineyard in the great name of winemaking. Now, take away the cartoon grape and add one handsome devil, and you have the backbone behind Barefoot Wine, Randy Arnold. Barefoot Ambassador Randy Arnold was born in Sonoma County, California. He grew up in the idyllic surroundings of his family’s orchards and vineyards in the Sebastopol area. His wine grape growing experience began at the “ground level,” helping plant grapevines in his family’s vineyards. Following a degree in Wine Marketing, Randy learned first-hand about the wine industry by working for numerous vineyards, wineries and distributors throughout Northern California. One day, over 26 years ago, Randy stumbled across a little vineyard in Sonoma County, CA. The wine was great, the surroundings beautiful. But that wasn’t the reason he decided to join this emerging Barefoot Wine family. It was the unique and benevolent way that they decided to market their wine. Through investing in the power of helping others, Barefoot Wine creators, Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey would spread the word by donating wine to events organized by local non-profits. They coined this term “worthy cause marketing.” With Michael and Bonnie’s support when Randy arrived at Barefoot, he set about expanding this marvelous idea. Over two decades later, Randy, with Barefoot Winery’s support, has assisted over 200 non-profits and has also personally attended and poured at more than 1,200 non-profit benefits. Ambassador Randy
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Harvesting Chardonnay grapes at the Cowell Ranch in the Sierra Foothills with Barefoot Winemaker Jennifer Wall
Throughout his adventure promoting Barefoot Wine, Randy has embraced the “outside of the wine box” way of thinking, adapting his own self-expression and unique branding within his product. He saw that combining humanitarian efforts with his passion for wine creates a symbiotic level of awareness and fulfillment. Matched with his charismatic charm and allegiance with vino, Randy helped pioneer a new, more fun-loving genre of wine connoisseurs. I can’t think of a better reason to raise a glass than that!
I had the opportunity to meet Randy for brunch when he was in Charleston. As soon as I sat down, it was like two old friends that hadn’t seen each other in ages. The stories flowed like the freshly squeezed mimosas. Needless to say, Randy is the kind of gentleman who never meets a stranger. “Charleston is a favorite city of mine,” he exclaims. “I tell people that they MUST visit. I’m a big booster! I often say, ‘Charleston is the most historic city in America’, and say it in such a way that there is never any discussion!” After speaking with Randy about his passion for wine and philanthropy, I told him that we would be honored to tell his story to our BEAU readers. His response? “I’m very grapefull of this opportunity!” I like this punny guy! When not working, Randy likes nothing better than spending time with his husband, Greg, at the Wildwood Retreat Center located on a mountaintop in Western Sonoma County. This amazing retreat center specializes in yoga, massage and healing. Randy started Wildwood Memorial Grove there, a non-profit created to help people process their grief at the loss of a loved one and to create remembrance. In the grove among several hundred redwoods lie the memorial stones for loved ones. Randy loves to sit on a bench in the grove watching the redwoods grow. A Coast Redwood can live to be 2,000 years old which is what Randy calls longterm planning. n Randy and Greg’s wedding in 2008
B E AU MAG |FUR B E AUS
“Country Cute” Fur BEAUs About an hour and half southwest of Charleston is beautiful and rural Hampton County. If the name rings a bell, you may recognize it as the home of The Watermelon Festival. Serendipity and a Craigslist photo led me to Hampton County Animal Shelter to adopt a 6-month old pup. After a couple of weeks of waiting on her to be spayed, we got to bring her home. We named her Barley because (without asking) she was a pro at lapping beer right from our cups quicker than we could say stop. (More about Barley in a future Fur BEAUs!) That unexpected experience opened my eyes to the world of rural shelters that house the many wonderful animals who may go without homes for months or be euthanized only because of the lack of publicity and funding. Unlike their urban counterparts, rural shelters can remain in the shadows, sometimes due to their remote locations (Who wants to drive an hour and half to an animal shelter?), and often because they don’t have enough volunteers (not to mention lack of staff) who can bring their pups and kitties to Charleston so we know they’re there.
PHOTOS AND STORY BY BECKI McSWAIN
For the Hampton County Animal Shelter, it’s only been a few years since the county found a way to financially support them. Prior to that, various groups made every effort to care for stray or abandoned animals on a limited basis. But now with county assistance, the shelter has made great progress. They have an amazing manager, Mandy Strickland, who works non-stop for the animals in her care. Mandy, along with Director Tim Latham, says the shelter’s needs are simple: Notice Us and Help Us Save Our Animals by finding creative ways of getting them into foster or forever homes. Mandy said she hopes that Charleston shelters will be open to sharing what they’ve learned and maybe offering them training about animal care and shelter operations. They also need assistance with increasing volunteer participation and community awareness of their animal and shelter needs, as well as seeking out donations and grants to add staff and improve facilities. So if anyone is looking for a way to experience pure joy, I can promise you that helping out this shelter— any way you can—will make your year and theirs! Visit their updated Facebook page at facebook.com/
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hamptoncountyanimalshelter. Contact Mandy at the shelter: (803) 914-2269, or and/or email me (Becki) with your ideas (ifurrybeaulover@gmail.com). If you are a Furry BEAU Lover with a Furry BEAU of your own, you don’t have to adopt to help. These websites have information on fostering as well as the many ways you can help the furry BEAUS in shelters still hoping to find a home. From pure breeds to multi-mixes, search the find-a-shelter-near-you lists and see where your heart lands. Find one close by or venture to our neighboring counties. Each shelter or rescue has a list of the many ways they need help. Volunteer to walk a dog, be a transporter, train to assist in the shelter, or if that’s not your thing, many shelters need our recyclables, such as blankets, towels, food, etc. Please don’t forget there are all sorts of options for fostering. Sharing your home by temporarily caring for an “animal-inwaiting” can be the ultimate gift, both for the animal and you! n
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• ASPCA Sponsored https://www.petfinder.com/animalshelters-and-rescues • Rescue Me is a public charity http://www.rescueme.org • Humane Animal Foundation Sponsored http://www.adoptapet.com/ animal-shelter-search?city_ or_zip=29401&shelter_ name=&distance=50&adopts_out=all • PetSmart Sponsored http://www.charlestonpetconnect.com/ category/animal-shelter-rescue • SCIWAY http://www.sciway.net/org/coastal-scanimal-rescue.html SCIWAY was originally created at The Citadel in early 1996 as a learning and public service project. Since 1997 it has been privately funded, and it is now published by SCIWAY.net, LLC, a James Island web information company. While SCIWAY is in many ways a public service, it receives no government funding. Donations are appreciated greatly.
• Humane Society Sponsored http://theshelterpetproject.org/shelters
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Look Mom! No pulling! Steps to teach your dog to walk on a loose leash.
Renowned trainer, Pat Miller jokes, “A walk is an hors d’oeuvre.” She knows the high level of physical exercise dogs require. A walk is the tip of the iceberg. So how do you teach polite walking when he needs so much more? Be honest. Is your dog’s exercise filling his happy quotient? We’re talking real dog fun: running at a park or beach, fetching a ball, hiking, etc. If daily walks are his only source of physical fun, you’re setting yourselves up for a struggle. Tools of the Trade Use the latest gear and buy a front-clip harness where the leash clips to a ring on the chest piece. This greatly decreases their ability to push the front of the harness against their chest. It’s a game changer! Use Your Words Add a cue to the behavior they naturally offer. Incorporate phrases like, “Let’s Go” or “Let’s Walk” and “Go Sniff” into your walks to capture the behaviors you want. Lead and they will follow. Rules of the Game Simply notice when there is tension on the leash. We’ve all seen it-- dogs pulling owners down the street. It becomes second nature to both of them. Here’s a game plan for what to do instead. Your mission is to clearly communicate that a loose leash is required to move forward. • Red Light/Green Light - If they pull, you stop in your tracks. Be patient. When they create slack in the leash, allow them to move forward. Repeat. • Penalty Yards - Leash tight again, step backwards away from the direction they are pulling. Leash loosens, let them move forward to sniff that tree. • Change Directions - Say, “Let’s go” and move in the opposite direction. • Treats - Like kryptonite to Superman, this is powerful stuff. Randomly say, “Find It” and toss a high value treat in the direction you want to go. • Toys - Take along a favorite ball or tug toy.
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Your pooch will keep a better eye on you, never knowing what fun might be in store. And isn’t a walk supposed to be fun for both of you? Training positively is only limited by our imaginations, so be creative! Have a fun way you’ve found success? Tell us what’s worked for you on our Purely Positive Facebook page. n
MIX IT.
8983 University Blvd #103, North Charleston, SC 29406 (843) 518-8098 Monday - Saturday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM
THINK IT.
VAPE IT.
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We “DO” Need Another Hero
For this issue on LGBTA History, I decided to write about someone you’ve never heard of. Hell, I don’t even know his name. I grew up in a different time and a very different Charleston. There was no “gay” representation on TV (except for the center square on “Hollywood Square”... Youtube it, kids) and there were certainly no historical points of reference to be found. Instead, I’m writing about a kid I went to high school with. I only saw him in the “Thunderdome” (the hallways between classes and before homeroom). This kid, with his platinum white hair (long before Madonna’s True Blue), skintight jeans and belly shirts, with a fierce, full face of make-up, fascinated me and terrified me at the same time. I knew he was “different” in the same way as I feared I was. He would walk down the hall to a chorus of “faggot, sissy.” What has stuck with me all these years is that he walked those halls every day, seeming impervious to the name calls and verbal beatings heaped upon him. He never changed anything about himself. I, on the other hand, was so uncomfortable in my skin. I may have never joined in the chorus of hecklers, but I was definitely complicit in my silence. Then, one morning, I didn’t see him in Thunderdome. The rumors started. Some were simple; “He switched schools.” More awful ones were whispered that I hoped and prayed couldn’t be true. I still don’t know what happened; I just know that he disappeared. Before long, he faded into one of those soft-focus memories. The thing that has stuck with me is that he was absolutely unapologetically himself, something that would take me the better part of 30 years to accomplish. I was so incredibly uncomfortable in my skin then. I prayed that I wouldn’t be noticed as I maneuvered those same halls. If noticed, I bargained with God to keep my secret safe. All these years later, that child’s ability to stand in his truth, to be his authentic self in a time that did not welcome his uniqueness, amazes me. It was an era that was both a lifetime ago and not really that long ago, when “gay” wasn’t cool or tolerated, and when things you would hear in the hallways of high school or in the street made Huckabee look like a moderate!
WRITTEN BY
S TE VEN W ILLARD
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Recently, I reached out to a high school friend that knew him. I’m glad to know that SHE is now happy in HER life. I hope the scars have faded and the memories have become distant. And if by some miracle she may be reading this now, please accept the apologies of a scarred and insecure teenager and the respect of a grown man. n
BEAU Night at Charleston Performing Arts Center featuring DUKE, King of Jazz Photos by John Kurc B E AU-MAG A Z I N E .CO M | 59
B E AU M AG | B EAU ’DI ACS
Sue’s Horoscopes
GEMINI (MAY 21 – JUNE 20) You must wonder when all these apparently negative things will stop. For those born in the middle of Gemini, they will stop in about one more year. Early Gems are about finished, and late birds still are looking at eighteen months. You do have lots of good energy from Mars and opportunities for adjustments from Uranus. We all have about five good years and one tough one, so hang in there. Soon it will pass, and Jupiter will come in to soothe your fevered brow.
CANCER (JUNE 21 – JULY 22)
Sue “Kronella” Handley
Since you are summer solstice kids, this isn’t your best time of year. You may have to get behind yourself and push to be festive like most others. The planets aren’t helping you this time, with Mars threatening and Uranus being twitchy. Just put on a happy face and pretend joy. Maybe it will catch on, and you’ll have lots of fun after all.
ARIES
LEO
(MARCH 21 – April 19)
(JULY 23 – AUGUST 22)
You’re still smack in the middle of change, Aries. This period will last about two more years for most of you, but Saturn who can be a real pain is in your corner this time. So you will make the right changes and start some new educational goals that will pay off big time. Do, however, be extra careful through December as Mars is shooting accident rays your way this month.
Wow, seems almost unfair to have so many good things coming from the planets for you. Poor Cancer has nothing (if you know any, be nice to them). This will be a banner Season and a fantastic New Year. Everything you touch will turn to gold, and love will flood in from all sides. This is the best year to make a final commitment. It will not come again like this for six years, so go for it.
TAURUS
VIRGO
(APRIL 20 – MAY 20)
(AUGUST 23 – SEPTEMBER 22)
Do you believe in Karma? I hope so, because right now yours is working overtime to pay you some old debts, and Jupiter is helping. This should be a record Christmas Season with all kinds of gifts coming your way with a wonderful start for the New Year.
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They say we learn more from our mistakes than our successes. You may find this out right now. Saturn is rather stern, and your intuition will be flawed-Almost like it’s looking for a key hole in the fog. It’s there somewhere, but it will take real perseverance to find it. Virgos live to learn, so it won’t be too hard on you. Just chalk it up to lesson time.
LIBRA
CAPRICORN
(SEPTEMBER 23 – OCTOBER 22)
(DECEMBER 22 – JANUARY 19)
Time to be extra careful; both Mars and Uranus are opposing your sign. It can get nasty but you have the wisdom of Saturn, the love of Jupiter and the intuition of Neptune available. Use them. Don’t go if it doesn’t feel right. Don’t believe it if it sounds too good to be true, and stay off the roads as much as you can. Things will be better in January and fine in February. Just watch that the tree doesn’t fall on you.
Like your opposite Cancer, it isn’t the greatest time for you. Mars is after you, so take extra precautions. Uranus is in there making forced changes, and you will have very little help, except for your own good sense. Hold tight next year; it will be much better with lots of opportunities. Every down has its up; yours is on the way.
SCORPIO
AQUARIUS
(OCTOBER 23 – NOVEMBER 21)
(JANUARY 20 – FEBRUARY 18)
The biggest thing to watch out for is overeating. It’s so easy this time of year, but Jupiter is sitting square in your sign, and that will cause extravagant actions with food, drinks, and spending. At least your love life will be booming. Try not to overdo it there, too.
“Possibilities” is the name of the game. There are so many good chances in everything except your love life (really sorry about that since I’m an Aquarian, too). Jupiter will mislead you if you try. Of course, you will. LOL. Try to concentrate on making money, friendships, and good changes. Love will come roaring back in about two years.
SAGITTARIUS
PISCES
(NOVEMBER 22 – DECEMBER 21)
(FEBRUARY 19 – MARCH 20)
Like Leo, your fire signs seem to have everything going great for you this winter. It’s your time of the year and the planets are with you. The only clinker is Uranus, who will bring about some changes you won’t want. The truth is you will benefit from all of them: housing, jobs, friendships and love. I predict the Season’s celebrations will not be what you want, but you will love them.
You can coast through the winter. You earned it last Season. Now only Saturn is affecting you and not very strongly. Great time to study. Go get that degree you’ve been wanting. Nothing will stop you. Not much to help, but if you want it, you can get it this season.
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B E AU M AG | ASK PATTI
ASK
Patti Dear Patti, We’re a couple and are thinking about moving to Charleston. We’re familiar with the local LGBT scene but want to know three “local’s” places off the beaten path that we should check out the next time we are in town • Lovely Ladies Landing in the Lowcountry
Photo by Dan Folk Dear Patti, How does it feel to replace the legendary Ava Clear? • J.T. from Charleston I am honored to step into the (much smaller and sexier) shoes of my sister, Ava Clear, as the new advice columnist for BEAU Magazine! First, I need to clarify a few words. I cannot “replace” her because she is one of a kind. Ava has a new job now that requires her to travel a great deal. Writing a regular column takes time, so I am just helping a sister out to give her more time to pursue her dreams. Secondly, I want to be clear that “legendary” is YOUR word and not mine (because some people think that word is synonymous with OLD and Ava is MUCH younger than me). Even at her young age, she is so well-known and loved that she is legendary. Ava has been a dynamic part of the Charleston community, and I know she is still around to entertain us, support our great LGBT organizations, and offer advice. And if you get too close, she’ll still pinch you!
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Hello, Lovely Ladies of the Lowcountry, You make me feel like a real advice columnist with the way you signed your question! I am excited to hear that Charleston has worked its magic on you! I love Charleston so much that it will be hard to narrow down to three places, but I will try by giving you places to eat, play, and relax. With all the great restaurants in Charleston, you have to cross the river to find Bluerose Cafe, a quaint little dining gem that features daily specials with local produce at reasonable prices served by friendly staff members who welcome LGBT patrons. The West Ashley Greenway is a great scenic place to take your dog for a walk if you are a puppy parent! Relaxing is important. The beach on Sullivan’s Island is full of natural Charleston beauty. It’s not as busy as some of the other beaches, and the surf is not as rough. Move on down and make a home for yourself in the Lowcountry and in no time, you can add to my list with even more locations that make this area one of the best places in the world!
ti t a P
F
B EAU M AG | R E S O URCE S
Local LGTBAQI Non-Profit Resources ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union of SC info@aclusouthcarolina.org 843-720-1423 • www.aclusouthcarolina.org AFFA Alliance For Full Acceptance • Affa-sc.org Charleston Area Transgender Support C.A.T.S. is an open support group for all members of the transgender community in the coastal area of SC ChasAreaTSupport@aol.com
Lowcountry AIDS Services A non-profit Social Service agency serving men, women, and children living with HIV/AIDS. 843-747-2273 Office • 877-874-0230 Toll Free www.AIDS-Services.com information@aids-services.com Low Country Leather lowcountryleather.com/ • 336-831-4107
Charleston Pride www.Charlestonpride.com
MUSC Gay Straight Alliance An organization of both gay and straight students at MUSC designed to provide a sense of community, support, and advocacy for lesbians, gays, and bisexuals in any medical profession. www.facebook.com/groups/18159034357/
Charleston School of Law Alliance for Equality www.charlestonlaw.edu/Current-Students/StudentOrganizations/Alliance-for-Equality
PFLAG Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays 843-722-2438 • cousinef@comcast.net
Charleston Social Club The Charleston Social Club is a non-profit organization for lesbians and all women who are accepting of lesbians. lynndugan@hotmail.com www.charlestonsocialclub.com
Ryan White Wellness Center Roper St. Francis Center for free confidential HIV testing and support • 843-402-3093 www.Ryanwhiteofcharleston.org
Charleston Blockade Rugby Football Club www.facebook.com/groups/charlestonblockade/
College of Charleston Gay Straight Alliance GSA@edisto.cofc.edu Citadel Gay and Lesbian Alliance http://www.citadelvmigala.org/citadel-gay-andlesbian-alliance/ Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) GLAAD is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. www.facebook.com/GLAAD • twitter.com/glaad GLSEN The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, or GLSEN, is working to ensure safe and effective schools for all students. www.glsen.org/ Human Rights Campaign Working for Lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender equal rights. www.hrc.org/states/south-carolina Lambda Legal Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, the transgender, and people with HIV or AIDS through impact litigation, education, and public policy work. www.lambdalegal.org
South Carolina Equality Organization committed to securing civil and human rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender South Carolinians. info@scequality.org www.scequality.org The South Carolina Gay and Lesbian Business Guild Supports the needs of South Carolina's Gay and Lesbian Owned/Friendly Businesses. scglbg@aol.com • www.scglbg.org South Carolina GSA Network www.facebook.com/scgsanetwork South Carolina Pride Movement Formed to enlighten the general population with respect to gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual issues, and to work peacefully to achieve equal protection under the law for all South Carolinians. 803-771-7713 • info@scpride.org Trident Technical College Gay Straight Alliance 34d.way.34170@ttc.mailcruiser.com We Are Family Safe Space, a peer support group for LGBTQQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer) youth. 843.637.9379 • waf.org
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Directory Inside Front Cover:. . John Kurc Photography . . . daxwax.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 580-4181 Inside Back Cover:. . . . . Dr. Craig Koniver, MD . . . edgeinbed.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 405-5906 Back Cover: . . . . . Whisky Bar / NV Nightclub . . . nvcharleston.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 343-6733 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barefoot Wine . . . barefootwine.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-(800) 750-8828 3 . . . . . . . . Carriage Properties, Justin Thomas . . . justinthomasrealestate.com . . . . . . . (843) 224-4422 3 . Charleston Performing Arts Center (CPAC) . . . charlestonperformingarts.org . . . . . (843) 991-5582 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . Rad S. Deaton Attorney at Law . . . Deatonlaw.net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 225-5723 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sugar Bake Shop . . . SugarBake.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 579-2891 9 . . . . . . Carolina One Real Estate, Tom Tillery . . . TomTillery.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 414-1202 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ryan White Wellness Center . . . RyanWhiteofCharleston.com . . . . . . (843) 402-2273 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Another Broken Egg Café . . . AnotherBrokenEgg.com. . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 471-0353 13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Max & Henry’s . . . Maxandhenrys.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 225-4030 13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Surface Craft Gallery . . . SurfaceGalleryCharleston.com. . . . . (843) 203-3849 13. . . . CSA Real Estate Services, Charlie Smith . . . CSARealEstate.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 813-0352 15 . . . . . . . .. . . . Meg Richichi, Acupuncturist & Integrative Health Practitioner. . . . . . . . Megrichichi.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (917) 837-3547 15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . True Hypnosis . . . TrueHypnosis.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 252-0573 15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kiawah Fine Jewelry . . . KiawahFineJewelry.com . . . . . . . . . . (843) 768-5357 19. . . . . . . . . The Fertility Center of Charleston . . . FertilityCharleston.com. . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 881-7400 19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brinkley Law Firm . . . BrinkleyLawFirmLLC.com . . . . . . . . (843) 277-9009 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Embassy Suites Hotel . . . HistoricCharleston.EmbassySuites.com..(843) 958-2416 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lowcounty AIDS Services . . . Aids-Services.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 747-2273 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coastal Fertility Specialist . . . Coastalfertilityspecialists.com. . . . . (843) 883-5800 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . House of Sage . . . HouseofSage.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 573-7256 27.Dermatology & Laser Center of Charleston . . . Dermandlaser.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 556-8886 31 & 55. . . . . . . . . . NON’PA*REIL Photography . . . Nonpareilphotography.com . . . . . . . . (484) 798-4117 31. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Green Goat . . . GreenGoatCharleston.com. . . . . . . (843) 737-08209 33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Personal Trainer, Jim Nettles . . . JimBuilt2@gmail.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . (703) 851-9293 33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Perkins Eye Care + Eyewear . . . PerkinsEye.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 535-808 33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dan Folk Photography . . . DanFolkPhoto@gmail.com. . . . . . . . (843) 670-46201 37. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Pub 61 . . . Facebook.com/pub61 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 737-0072 37. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Clem Collaborative . . . ClemCollaborative.com. . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 214-2747 39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lowcounty Laserworks . . . LowcountryLaserworks.com. . . . . . . . (843) 881-3777 41. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Photography by Anne . . . Photographybyanne.com . . . . . . . . . . (843) 277-2174 45 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Absolutely Charleston . . . AbsolutelyCharleston.com. . . . . . . . . . (843) 747-4448 45 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Duvall Events . . . DuvallEvents.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 763-9222 55 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Purely Positive Pet Training . . . PurelyPositive.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (843) 532-8154 57. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vaporfi . . . stores.vaporfi.com/charleston. . . . . (843) 518-8098 64 | B E AU - M AGAZI NE.CO M