The Breeze Jan 2016

The Breeze

Ja n u a r y 20 16

THE MAGAZINE OF BLUFFTON

Bluffton.com

The Breeze JANUARY 2016

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FAMILY JEWELERS Thank You for your Support Last Year.

Wishing you a Prosperous and Healthy New Year!

God Bless America z

1008 Fording Island Road 843.815.GEMS (4367) GolisJewelers.com

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Serving the Needs of Greater Bluffton Since 1988

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Lower brand name prices than the chains Easy access to our helpful pharmacists “We care about every prescription” Bluffton’s Favorite Pharmacy!

843-757-4999 167 Bluffton Rd, on Highway 46 Open: Mon-Fri 9-6; Sat 9-2 Always on call!

“We’re ready to help you”

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NOTES FROM THE EDITOR: HAPPY NEW YEAR! In China it is the year of the Monkey. The holidays are behind us, football is in front of us and we have a great line-up for the first month of the 14th year of The Breeze. We look forward to the challenge in 2016 to improve every month and bring you high quality content and graphics and make bluffton.com the best local Internet tool for advertisers, residents and visitors. Email us if you have any ideas for stories you would like us to tell. We are always accepting great local photography and all comments are appreciated as well.

We would like to take a second and thank those merchants that helped us collect toys that were distributed to families in need for Christmas: the cosponsor LongHorn Steakhouse, Golis Family Jewelers, ACE Hardware, Town of Bluffton, Scott’s Meats, Cahill’s Market, Bluffton Pharmacy, Mameen & Maudie, Palmetto State Bank, Palmetto Electric Coop. and Food Lion. A special thanks goes out to Sharon Brown for her hard work distributing the toys to just the right families.

To start the New Year out, Chase S. Wilkinson has written a humorous piece about making and breaking NewYear’s resolutions. Sad but true. This is sure to bring a chuckle!

One New Year’s resolution we should keep this year is to read more local books. In this issue, Michele Roldan-Shaw has taken the time to preview a few great books from South Carolina authors. There is quite the diverse selection and we hope you will find this of interest, and let us know your favorite. Roger Pinckney, a Daufuskie Island author, has a way of telling stories that perfectly suits his habitat. Julia Peterkin wrote Scarlet Sister Mary which was the first Pulitzer Prize for a South Carolinian in 1928.

Ramblers Life: The South and The South Reloaded, written by Michele, chronicle secret histories and little-known stories of the Lowcountry. And of course, among others, Pat Conroy’s 1972 classic, The Water is Wide.

This month, our history feature is about Charles Cotesworth Pickney, a great South Carolinian. Little is spoken of him, but the more you read, the more you will understand how important he was to forming the foundation for this country. We almost had a South Carolina president, but he lost his first run to Thomas Jefferson and the second to James Madison.

Oyster farming is growing locally. Amber Hester Kuehn has written a piece about the process. You will learn the importance of the “spat” and the “cultch” in farming oysters. We work hard to keep the May River pristine and protect our oyster population. This growing mariculture business can only help protect our rivers.

We visited a contemporary house on Spring Island. It’s like “living in sculpture.” Less is more for this totally unique home that fits right into its natural environment. The outside comes inside in every room. The photography by Tom Jenkins tells the story. Enjoy!

How do you help children overcome fear and insecurity? Put them on the back of a ¾ ton horse and teach them how to ride! Kelly Dillon does a nice job telling the story of some kids riding at the Moss Creek Equestrian Center.

For the third year in a row we sat down with Dr. Marc Dievendorf, principal of Beaufort High School, and talked about how the Bluffton youth are doing.

Not only are they exceeding the county scores but they are also top 10 in the state and top 5% in the nation. Dr. D. stresses the importance of the quality of student culture on campus. The dropout rate is down, truancy is down, teen pregnancy is down, bullying is down and student participation in many clubs and activities is soaring. Dr. D. deserves another “A” and we’re happy to give him one!

Kudos to Ben Kennedy of Brighton Builders for building the Tiny House on May River Road. Again, Blufftonians and businesses came together to help families in Columbia, who lost everything in the recent flood. Katie Hatfield has done a nice job telling the tiny home story.

Oh least I forget, remember the Rotary Oyster Roast on January 30 at the Oyster Factory. Lots of families and friends, music, and bushels of Bluffton’s finest. See you there!

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The Breeze

THE MAGAZINE OF BLUFFTON PUBLISHER Lorraine Jenness lorraine@hiltonhead.com 843-757-9889 EDITOR Randolph Stewart randolph@bluffton.com 843-816-4005 COPY EDITOR Andrea Six andrea@hiltonhead.com 843-757-9889 SALES DIRECTOR Chierie Smith chierie@bluffton.com 843-505-5823 GRAPHIC DESIGNER Liz Shumake liz@hiltonhead.com 843-757-9889 ART DIRECTOR Jennifer Mlay graphics@hiltonhead.com 843-757-9889 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Chase S. Wilkinson, Jevon Daly, Michele Roldan-Shaw, Amber Hester Kuehn, Kelly Dillon, Katie Hatfield PHOTOGRAPHERS , ARTISTS Kelly Dillon, Tom Jenkins, Andrea Six, Chierie Smith CORPORATE OFFICE 40 Persimmon St. Suite 102 P.O. Box 472, Bluffton, SC 29910 843.757.8877 DISTRIBUTION Bruce McLemore, John Tant 843.757.9889 The Breeze is published by Island Communications and The Breeze Media, LLC. All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored for retrieval by any means without permission from the Publisher. The Breeze is not responsible for unsolicited materials and the publisher accepts no responsibility for the contents or accuracy of claims in any advertisement in any issue.

The Breeze is not responsible or liable for any errors, omissions, or changes in information. The opinion of contributing writers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the magazine and its Publisher.

All published photos and copy provided by writers and artists become the property of The Breeze. Copyright. 2016.

CONTENTS

JANUARY 2016, VOLUME 14, NO. 1

08 Charles Cotesworth Pinckney

F E AT U R E S

12 After The Ball Drops

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16 Winter Reading List:

Poignant Books By

Lowcountry Authors 20 Oyster Farming 24 Tiny House 28 Spring Island House:

Living In Scuplture,

Basking In Nature 35 Dr. D. Gets An “A” 42 Teaching Kids The Art Of

Riding Horesback

D E PA R T M E N T S

44 16 Songs For 2016

08 History 10 Golf Courses 22 Fellowship 26 Your Corner 28 Architecture 32 Over the Bridges 38 Tide Chart 40 Restaurant Guide 44 Bluffton: Music Town

COVER PHOTO : Happy New Year baby

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HISTORY

He was born in Charleston, South Carolina on February 25, 1746. His father was an attorney and a prominent member of the provincial government. His mother, Eliza Lucas Pinckney, was one of colonial America’s most educated women. Her knowledge of botany led to the development of indigo, which was used for blue dye, and was a major cash crop. Her contribution to the growth and development of colonial America was recognized by many, including George Washington who served as a pallbearer at her funeral in 1793. His brother Thomas served as a minister to Spain and Great Britain, and was Governor of South Carolina when the Constitution was ratified.

His second cousin, also a Charles, was a delegate at the Constitutional Convention and also served as Governor of South Carolina.

s you cross the bridge between Bluffton and Hilton Head Island, you briefly touch the southern tip of Pinckney Island. Looking quickly you see only a few cleared fields surrounded by woods and marshes. There seems little today to indicate that at one time it was the home of a famous American, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1746-1825).

Historians praise Pinckney as an American hero who fought for his country during the Revolution, helped build a new America by negotiating compromises between the competing state governments, and served South Carolina as its representative at the Constitutional Convention. His bravery as an officer in the Revolution and his proposals at the Constitutional Convention made him a vital and necessary contributor to our nation’s growth. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was the Federalist Party nominee for president in the election of 1804, which he lost to Thomas Jefferson, and again in 1808, which he lost to James Madison.

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In Charles’ younger years, his family moved to England when his father traveled there as a representative of the provincial government.

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney enrolled at Christ Church College at Oxford and also attended the military academy of Caen in France.

His studies included chemistry, military science, and his mother’s favorite, botany. He received his legal training at Middle Temple and passed the English bar in 1769.

When he returned to South Carolina he followed his mother’s example and continued work in experimental farming. He shared his technique for growing high-grade, sea-island cotton with his fellow plantation owners. In addition to agriculture, Pinckney also served as attorney general for some of the small towns. He also served as a member of the provinces’ Royal Militia.

He married Sarah Middleton in 1773, whose father was the second president of the Continental Congress. After her death in 1784, he married Mary N. Stead, a wealthy planter’s daughter, in 1786.

Pinckney had three daughters.

(Above) A British political cartoon depicting the XYZ Affair: The United States is represented by the woman, who is being plundered by f ive Frenchmen. The f igures grouped off to the right are other European countries; John Bull, representing Great Britain, sits laughing on a hill.

With tensions mounting and calls for rebellion, he was elected to the Committee of Safety, and began working on plans for an interim government for South Carolina. When war broke out, he joined the Continental Army as a captain. His skill as an officer, and no doubt his family prestige, soon advanced him to the rank of colonel. In 1780, his regiment aided in the defense of Charleston against the British siege under the command of Major General Lincoln. He became a prisoner of war for two years when Lincoln surrendered his 5,000 men to the British and even while a prisoner he was integral in keeping the troops loyal to the Patriot’s cause. In 1782 a grateful nation honored Pinckney by promoting him to the rank of Brevet Brigadier General.

Following the Revolution he returned to work with the government of South Carolina, and in 1789 he was sent to the Philadelphia convention to help revise the existing Articles of Confederation.

When it became obvious that revisions would not be enough, the delegates began debate on a new constitution. Pinckney advocated that African-American slaves be counted as a basis of representation.

He was influential in inclusion in the Constitution that slaves “may be lawfully reclaimed from free states and territories.” Pinckney wanted a strong national government with a system of checks and balances to replace the current, weak one. He supported the Electoral College and opposed paying senators (who he envisioned as men of independent wealth). Pinckney was a key part in requiring treaties to be ratified by the Senate and in the compromise that resulted in the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade, but it stopped short of emancipation. He also opposed placing a limitation on the size of a federal standing army.

President Washington was grateful for Pinckney’s work in helping

secure the new Constitution and offered him a position on the Supreme Court or the office of Secretary of War, but Pinckney preferred to work in the South Carolina Legislature. Near the end of Washington’s second term Pinckney accepted the offer to replace James Monroe as America’s minister to France. The King Louis XVI was gone, replaced in a bloody rebellion by a committee known as The Directory. There was an undeclared sea war between England and France, and the French objected to the Jay Treaty, which they interpreted as an alliance between England and America. The Directory refused to see Pinckney. He wrote a letter to the president complaining that he had not received the proper respect of a visiting foreign diplomat, then traveled to the Netherlands to await further instructions.

In 1797 President John Adams sent future Chief Justice John Marshall and future Vice President Elbridge Gerry to join Pinckney in another attempt to establish diplomatic relations with France. The American diplomatic trio was met by French Foreign Minister Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord. He informed them that a meeting with The Directory could be arranged if certain monetary obligations could be met: $250,000 for himself, and a promise of a $10,000,000 loan for the nation of France. It was reported that Charles C. Pinckney’s angry retort was, “No, no! Not a sixpence!” When this reached America it became known as the “XYZ Affair.” This led to an undeclared war or “quasi-war” with France, which did not end until 1800.

Following his return to America, Pinckney retired from politics to his law practice and plantations.

Courtesy of the Junto Society.

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GOLF COURSES GOLF COURSE

DESIGNER COURSE

YDS*

RATING*

Belfair Golf Club 200 Belfair Oaks Blvd. (843) 757-0715

Tom Fazio: East Tom Fazio: West

6,936 7,129

74.4 75.3

Berkeley Hall Golf Club 366 Good Hope Rd. (843) 815-8444

Tom Fazio: North Tom Fazio: South

6,936 7,129

75.1 74.6

Callawassie Island Club 176 Callawassie Island Dr. (843) 987-2161

Palmetto Magnolia

3,443 3,564

n/a n/a

Chechessee Creek Club 18 Chechessee Creek Dr. (843) 987-7070

Coore & Crenshaw

6.606

71.8

Colleton River Plantation Club 60 Colleton River Dr. (843) 837-3131

Jack Nicklaus Pete Dye

6,936 7,129

76.1 74.7

Crescent Pointe Golf Club 1 Crescent Pointe Dr. (843) 292-7778

Arnold Palmer

6,733

n/a

Eagle’s Pointe Golf Club 1 Eagle Pointe Dr. (843) 757-5900

Davis Love III

6,738

73.1

Hampton Hall Golf Club 170 Hampton Hall Blvd. (843) 815-8720

Pete Dye

7,503

76.6

Hilton Head National Golf Club 60 Hilton Head National Dr. (843) 842-5900

Gary Player Bobby Weed

6,731

72.7

May River Golf Club, Palmetto Bluff 350 Mount Pelia Rd. (843) 706-6579

Jack Nicklaus

7,171

75.4

Moss Creek Golf Club 1523 Fording Island Rd. (843) 837-2231

George Fazio: South Tom Fazio: North

6,885 6,555

73.4 72.5

Island West Golf Club 40 Island West Dr. (843) 689-6660

Clyde B. Johnston Fuzzy Zoeller

6,803

73.2

Oldfield Golf Club 9 Oldfield Way, Okatie (843) 379-5052

Greg Norman

7,142

75.4

Old South Golf Club 50 Buckingham Plantation Dr. (843) 837-7375

Clyde B. Johnston

6,772

72.4

Pinecrest Golf Course 1 Pinecrest Way (843) 757-8960

Rocky Rocquemore

7,489

n/a

Rose Hill Golf Club 4 Clubhouse Dr. (843) 757-9030

Gene Hamm

6,961

74.1

Sun City Golf Club 672 Cypress Hills Dr. (843) 705-4057

Mark McCumber: Hidden Cypress Mark McCumber: Okatie Creek

6,946 6,724

73.2 71.9

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*Ratings for the longest tees

A great learning trip for kids & adults!

Voyage of discovery

Discover the local marsh habitat.

See the richness of life in our tidal estuary.

Learn measures for water quality.

All trips led by Captain Amber Kuehn MS in Marine Biology Contact: SpartinaCharters@gmail.com or Spartinacharters.com 843-338-2716

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By Chase S. Wilkinson

I

have a nacho problem. The problem being that nachos are delicious and I can’t stop shoving them in my face. It’s hard because 2015 was supposed to be the year I finally shed the extra baby fat and got super sexy and ripped. And then I began my love affair with nachos. Every year I make the same resolution: to get fit, to find some confidence and to give Chris Hemsworth a run for his money as the dreamiest man on the planet. And every year a new food item derails me with its sultry ways. Chicken nuggets were 2014’s Temptress of the Year; 2013 saw the rise of Chinese take-out. But despite my crippling queso-drenched addiction, I seriously thought I could make my New Year’s resolutions work.

Oh, how wrong I was.

I didn’t think I was being too ambitious when I looked at my cinnamon roll belly and was like “Hey, I bet there are some abs of steel under there.” Working out more is pretty much everyone’s number

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one resolution. Even though I may be a towering 6’3”, I still tip the scales at 300 pounds. It doesn’t look obvious upon first glance (people mainly get caught up in my luxurious beard), but it is a fact that I am extremely conscious of in my everyday life.

So this year I set out to change that with Marine-level discipline.

But I don’t have Marine-level discipline. I barely have baby puglevel discipline. But that didn’t stop me from writing elaborate workout plans and pumping myself up with my Taylor Swift workout mix only to spend a few hours crying on a yoga mat. Crunches are hard and my shoulders make scary clicking noises when I do pushups.

Through yoga I’ve discovered that I have all the grace of a snowman made of bowling balls and the patience of a toddler up way past its bedtime. I don’t know if you’ve ever yelled at a yoga DVD to go faster but it’s kind of the opposite effect the practice should have on you.

Self-discipline is not really my thing. I’m a good day dreamer. If I made a resolution to day dream about being Superman at least five times a day, I would have passed with flying colors and be pretty fulfilled right about now. But no, I decided to actually become Superman and discovered that fast food and YouTube videos are my kryptonite.

For the first few months of the year, I slaved away at workouts in my tiny bedroom. Apparently a full range of motion is a requirement for good yoga. I often found myself twisting into impossible shapes to avoid slamming my arms into the wall when stretching. My dad would often find me pinned in a knot with my head on the shelf of a bookcase and my lower half wedged under my bed. Carpet burn was a regular fixture on my face for a few months. But then I decided to give the gym a whirl.

I had avoided the gym for the majority of my life because I simply had no idea what to do in one. I’d always get all dressed up and excited to get a workout in only to walk around the gym and stare at the equipment in utter confusion.

How does the chest fly machine work? Am I allowed in the free weight section if I’m not training to be Mr. Olympia? Is it okay if I just drink a smoothie and watch TV? Spoiler alert: I drank a smoothie and watched TV.

even more than that. Sure I may have dropped a medicine ball on my face a few too many times, but progress is progress.

Although some draws are just too strong.

While my friends ran on the treadmill, I sat in the corner, day dreaming about nachos again. I spent my afternoons drenched in sweat, only to go home and gorge on a mountain of queso, chips, ground beef and salsa that was bigger than my head. No matter how large my biceps grew, my stomach was still outpacing them.

By the end of May, my triumphant perfect attendance at the gym had crumbled into a lazy pile of Taco Bell wrappers and defeat. The grind of work would eventually derail my workout schedule, separating me from my workout buddies and forcing me to do it alone again. It turns out the gym closes at 9 p.m. but junk food knows no curfew.

New Year’s resolutions, whether big or small, are all an attempt to apply discipline to our lives. And while I enjoy a good spanking from time to time, it always feels better when you have a partner to help you out. Having a friend get in on the action finally helped jump me into some real progress. It wasn’t until work broke up my buddy system broke down, that I descended back into another Tex-Mex themed bender.

So this year, make a pact with a good friend to do your resolutions together. Check in with each other regularly. Carpool to the gym.

Go to dinner together. Handcuff yourselves together and never let them out of your sight again. It’s for your health after all. It’s hard to shove food in your mouth when your hand is tethered to another human being.

But then, the buddy system kicked in. I found that going to the gym with friends who actually knew how to work out was very helpful. I learned that I love a good squat and that bench pressing a bunch of weight is pretty fulfilling. For three beautiful months, my whole world changed. The gym became a pleasant escape from work and the stresses of the day. I looked forward to joking around, playing games and seeing just how strong I could be. Before long I was bench pressing over 200 pounds and squatting

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O L D T O W N

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Winter Reading List:

Poignant Books By Lowcountry Authors

The Water is Wide

Pat Conroy is generally better known for novels like Prince of Tides and Beach Music, but an early work of nonfiction about his days as schoolteacher on Daufuskie Island is, in my opinion, by far the standout. Although Daufuskie is called “Yamacraw” and the names of characters are changed as well, the unflinching portrayal still ticked off a lot of folks around here when it was published in 1972. Conroy spoke the truth about what he saw: little black children on an island of isolation and poverty, whose education had been so sorely neglected that they couldn’t even recite the alphabet or name the country they lived in.

In a pitiful drafty schoolhouse with outdated textbooks cast off by mainland white schools, they were beaten and called “retarded” by their only other teacher. So Conroy promptly instituted his own unorthodox methods—such as taking them across the water on field trips to an outside world about which they had an astounding ignorance—until his job was threatened by patriarchal powers of the school board.

Despite its treatment of such heavyweight issues, the book is an absolute joy to read, full of the warmth and humor of Daufuskie’s native islander community. And the kids—you can’t help but love the kids! Conroy perfectly captures their hilarity, innocence and mean streaks; their tragedy, potential and hope. The Lowcountry is better for having this book.

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Scarlet Sister Mary Highly controversial in its own time, this novel will still raise eyebrows today. It is the story of a young black woman whose true love does her bad, so in his wake she gives free reign to her passions with a long string of casual lovers by whom she bears nine illegitimate children. She rears them on her own with strength, courage and a sort of homely dignity, even as she is ostracized by her church-dominated community. The book is set in post-emancipation coastal Carolina, but with a twist: there is not a single white character in the book. It has been compared with other pioneering novels (such as The Color Purple and Their Eyes Were Watching God) for its celebration of rural Black-American culture on its own terms, in its own language.

Here is an intimate, three-dimensional portrait of a Gullah community where people’s lives carry on absolutely independently of their recent masters—yet it was written by a white woman, making the book very revolutionary for its time. Due to this, and to the sensual nature of its content, it was labeled obscene and banned from at least one public library in South Carolina. Its author Julia Peterkin, a plantation mistress who grew up around Gullah folk and knew how to perfectly render their dialect and humor, became the first South Carolinian to win the Pulitzer Prize when Scarlet Sister Mary was selected in 1928. (A detractor promptly resigned from the jury in outrage.) But none of this is the real joy of the book. Read it for the colorful language and laugh-out-loud humor that bring to life this troubling, yet warmly loved slice of Lowcountry folklife.

J.E. McTeer, High Sheriff of the Lowcountry He is a local legend, along with his arch-nemesis (and in a way admired friend) the infamous Sea Island conjure man Dr. Buzzard. McTeer became head lawman of Beaufort County in 1926 at the age of 23, replacing his deceased father, and went on to serve in the position for 37 years, garnering respect and affection from both the black and white communities of that segregated time. But where else in America could you find a sheriff who was also a selfprofessed “white witch doctor” and who openly did supernatural battles with the criminals he was trying to bring down? McTeer authored The Fifty Years as a Lowcountry Witch Doctor, High Sheriff of the Lowcountry, Adventure in the Woods and Waters of the Low Country, and Beaufort Now and Then, vintage classics you can find in any local library. The pages brim with matter-of-fact accounts of hexes, counter-hexes, and court witnesses who couldn’t complete their testimony because they started convulsing and foaming at the mouth after someone “put the root” on them. McTeer’s long quest to bring down the flashydressing, purple-spectacled, third-generation rootman Dr. Buzzard – who in particular was helping draft dodgers by administering small doses of arsenic to give them heart murmurs, a malpractice that McTeer couldn’t abide—resulted in much trading of threats and spells, and ended only when Buzzard’s son ran his car into the marsh and drowned. (In his books McTeer insists this was a coincidence, but nevertheless it sealed the fame of his powers.)

Sensational as all this may sound, McTeer was an extremely intelligent, rational, shrewd and insightful person who had a deep understanding and sensitivity toward the people of his community. He called himself a “poor man’s psychiatrist,” and after his tenure as sheriff, he continued to see patients who came from several states around to seek his counsel in a little back “root room” of his real estate office. He was truly an icon of a unique era that is now past (you could never get away with this stuff now!) but which continues to hold sway on popular imagination. There is a new book by Baynard Woods entitled Coffin Point: The Strange Cases of Ed McTeer, Witchdoctor Sheriff, and it’s reportedly being made into a TV series by Will Smith’s production company. Sounds great!

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William Elliot’s Carolina Sports by Land and Water: Including Incidents of Devil-Fishing, Wild-Cat, Deer, and Bear Hunting, Etc. First published in 1846, here is a genuine primary-source window into a past that is so often discussed here: the days of gentlemen rice planters. “I am a hereditary sportsman,” Elliot writes, “and inherit the tastes of my grandfather, as well as his lands.” Elliot is absolutely typical, keeping to all the social norms and prejudices of the era. He built his fortune on the backs of slaves, whom he felt certain would burn the whole place down if he didn’t crack the whip; later he went into politics; his passion for “sportsmanship” contributed heavily to the wanton 19th-century slaughter of wildlife that nearly exterminated deer, bear and panthers from the South. But at least the way Elliot tells it, he’s a hero.

Here are rollicking tales of the hunt in which he kills two bear with one shot, chases down and strangles a deer with his bare hands, and lands any number of epic bass and drumfish that would make the modern angler gape with envy. Of particular interest are his stories of “the mightiest, strangest, most formidable among them all for its strength, the devil-fish; then rarely seen, and deemed, even down to our own times, scarcely less fabulous than the Norwegian kraken!” Elliot liked to harpoon these monstrous manta rays, then hold fast to the line while they towed his little boat on a wild ride all over Port Royal Sound! Politics aside, there’s just no denying he knew how to spin a good yarn.

Rambler’s Life: The South and The South Reloaded

These back-to-back underground classics are the rarest books on the list, written by a hometown girl (me) and available in limited handmade editions at Cahill’s Market. They chronicle secret histories and little-known stories of the Lowcountry—as well as the real-life South beyond it—told in the words of everyday people who you might actually know. If you like moonshine, folk art, BBQ, gospel, snake experts, bluesmen, rednecks and people who wrastle gators with their bare hands, you will enjoy Rambler’s Life; if you like rubies, treehouses, backpacking, kung fu, island-hopping, Buddhist meditation, sacred healing waters and intelligent conversation you will also enjoy Rambler’s Life. There is a lot going on in the South, once you get beyond ugly stereotypes on the one hand, and overcorrection of being too polite on the other. An indie writer with no agenda and the willingness to get down and dirty for the story is just the person to report on these complexities—here is Huckleberry Finn reborn as a girl with a pickup truck and a notebook, on an epic New South odyssey.

Support your local authors so they can keep telling their truths!

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Roger Pinckney This Daufuskie Island author has a way of telling stories that perfectly suits his habitat: thick and tangled like the woods, weaving in and out like tidal creeks, grand as a plantation, full of shabby history like an old praise house, dubious as something you only thought you saw in the moonshadows, dirty as a dirt road yet somehow sacred too, like golden light on the marsh. You’re never quite sure what his stories are about, but boy do they give you a feeling—like being up in a deer stand before dawn, or down at Marshside Mama’s after dark (Daufuskie’s infamous juke joint). And they are NEVER politically correct.

A seventh-generation Lowcountry native son, Roger Pinckney is authentic; he’s got both the pedigree and the checkered past to lend just the right sensibilities to his work. Characters include bootleggers, outlaws,“root doctors” (Lowcountry voodoo men), unscrupulous developers, and of course more than a few beautifully dangerous women. His novels are titled Reefer Moon and The Mullet Manifesto, and his collections of essays include The Right Side of the River, Signs and Wonders, and Seventh Son on Sacred Ground.

He even has a fairly scholarly work entitled Blue Roots: African-American Folk Magic of the Gullah People, which tells all about Gullah folk magic from Roger’s own experience.

Read him to escape into a tale, to understand the Lowcountry, and to be reminded that we must appreciate and protect what has always made this place great: the water and the land.

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By Amber Kuehn

“Why, then the world’s mine oyster, which I with sword will open.”

-William Shakespeare History that Led to Conservation Oyster canneries and shucking houses were most prolific in South Carolina from 1900 to 1935.

In 1903, the South Carolina Board of Commissioners passed legislation that restricted oyster harvesting in South Carolina to state residents only. This mandate is a good idea for conservation, but South Carolina coastal counties did not want to lose the revenue generated from taxes collected from Georgia and North Carolina harvesters working the South Carolina coast. This disagreement resulted in a survey in 1905 that would ultimately be used to create the Board of Fisheries in 1906. Interviews with oystermen were conducted in Beaufort, Bluffton, Charleston, and Georgetown. L.P. Maggioni, owner of the oyster cannery on Daufuskie Island, stated that oysters were an “inexhaustible resource” and that the quality of the oysters on frequently harvested beds were of higher quality…Hmmmmm.

Despite this comment, the conclusion was made that regulation was necessary to keep the industry viable. The Board of Fisheries was granted authority to lease the intertidal zone (bank exposed at low tide) to individual oyster canneries and harvesters. In addition, they required a three-inch cull and deposits of CULTCH* within two years of the lease. Not too much has changed in 100 years except for the price of the lease! Although regulations have been in place for a century, it is still important to do all that we can to preserve this natural resource as population continues to increase the demand.

Will an oyster by any other name taste as sweet?

*Definition of CULTCH. 1: material (as oyster shells) laid down on oyster grounds to furnish points of attachment for the spat.

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There are several species of oysters worldwide, but only five species are edible. Crassostrea virginica, or Eastern Oyster, is the indigenous variation in South Carolina and comprises 85% of oysters harvested in the U.S. It can be found from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, down the entire eastern seaboard, and throughout the Gulf of Mexico. However, appearance and flavor will vary depending on the environment they inhabit. Although they are the same species, the variation in taste gives rise to local names. For example, in Connecticut, they are called Blue Point oysters. Because they are filter feeders, you get a good taste of what they take from the water.

In our case, Beaufort County is considered the nursery of the ocean and a salt marsh estuary which provides our oysters with plenty of salt—but also, a cornucopia of larval fish, crabs, shrimp, etc. and, yes, their own oyster larvae filtered from the water. Our local oysters have it all! Naturally, a small percentage of oyster larva make it long enough to become a spat that settles down on an oyster reef. The reason? The majority of oyster larva in South Carolina provides a food source for other organisms maturing in the salt marsh estuary—a divine ecosystem produces nothing by mistake and does not make waste of natural resources.

T

he method for producing a triploid oyster became commercial on the West Coast in 1985 with the Pacific Oyster, Crassostrea gigas. A triploid (three chromosomes, sterile) oyster is produced by mating tetraploid (four chromosomes) male oysters with diploid (two chromosomes, naturally occurring) female oysters. For all you nerdy scientists out there, I can relate. Similar science has been applied to produce seedless fruits!

A Boost for Preservation

Oyster farming has developed methods of cultivating oysters while leaving them in their natural environment. It usually starts with sterile oyster larva, purchased from an authorized source, which are then introduced to finely ground oyster shell to encourage attachment.

A free-floating oyster larvae (veliger) needs a hard surface to attach to in order to become a spat (young oyster that has settled down).

Shucked oyster shell provides the preferred substrate (cultch).

Remember, naturally, there are no rocks in the Lowcountry. There are several smaller efforts to cultivate oysters locally, but only two companies that are making a name for themselves—The May River Oyster Company and Lady’s Island Oyster Farm—both farm raise oysters and collect wild oysters on leased banks.

The oysters that are farmed in the May River will taste exactly like the naturally occurring version. The only apparent difference is that their shell will be more round and singular versus long and clustered. The oyster farmers check on the oysters periodically and disrupt the cages to discourage wild spat from attaching to farmed oyster shell, preventing the cluster. Another difference is not apparent until you open the bivalve. When a wild oyster spawns in the summer, the energy required depletes the oyster body—it takes a lot out of them; so wild oysters are “less meaty” and “more watery” in the summer months. This is one of the reasons that we do not harvest wild oysters in months that do not have an R. Sterile oysters do not spawn and will not lose body mass or texture.

Farmed oysters “keep their figure” and grow faster without reproductive responsibilities. The cultivated oysters have also been given a head start in an environment that excludes predators, especially in the first few weeks of life. The spat are kept in fine mesh bags, then graduate to larger mesh containers kept in cages that look a lot like large crab traps suspended slightly above the pluff mud. They will mature quickly and at the same rate, so there will be less bycatch (tiny oysters attached to harvested oysters in a cluster). A farm-raised oyster will be three to four inches in one year versus three years for the wild stock. They will each aid in filtering approximately 50 gallons of water daily, boosting denitrification, a process that reduces harmful nitrogen levels in the waterway. There is no downside to this method of oyster cultivation and no doubt that it will take pressure off of the wild stock.

To support, & not to replace—there is no question.

Although oyster farming helps with the demand for human consumption, we can never replace the natural oyster reef. Wild oyster spawn provides food for the smallest animals. Larger animals such as the American Oyster Catcher (bird), oyster drills (snail), and sea stars depend on mature oysters for a food source. Certain fish species feed on small crabs, barnacles and invertebrates inhabiting the oyster reef. Oyster reefs also help to prevent erosion of the marsh grass and mud flats, the basis of our ecosystem. The wild oyster is a keystone species that we cannot do without.

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FELLOWSHIP AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL Cambell Chapel A.M.E. 25 Boundary St. (843) 757-3652 Sunday School: 8:45 a.m.

Worship: 10 a.m.

ASSEMBLY OF GOD New River Worship Center

Hwy 170 & Argent Blvd. (next to ESPY) (843) 379-1815 Sunday: 10:30 a.m.

Wednesday: 7 p.m.

BAPTIST First Baptist Church of Bluffton Boundary at Church St. (843) 757-3472 Sunday School: 9:15 a.m.

Worship: 11 a.m.

First Zion Baptist

Wharf & Robertson St. (843) 757-3128 Sunday School: 9 a.m.

Sunday Worship: 10 a.m.

Maye River Baptist Church 3507 Okatie Hwy. (843) 757-2518 Sunday School: 9:45 a.m.

Sunday Worship: 11 a.m.

St. John’s Baptist Church

Sat.: 4 & 6 p.m. Sun.: 7:15 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 5 p.m., Spanish, 12:45 p.m.

Mon.-Fri.: 6:45 a.m. Chapel, 8:30 a.m. Church

Church of the Palms United Methodist

ANGLICAN The Church of the Cross

St. Luke’s United Methodist Church

110 Calhoun St. (843) 757-2661 Saturday Worship: 5:28 p.m.

Sunday Worship: 8 & 10 a.m.

495 Buckwalter Pkwy.

(843) 757-2661 Sunday Worship: 9 & 10:30 a.m.

The Church of the Holy Trinity

2718 Bees Creek Rd., Ridgeland (843) 726-3743 Sunday Worship: 8:30 & 11 a.m.

Sunday School for All Ages: 9:45 a.m.

Midweek Services: Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.

EPISCOPAL The Episcopal Church of Okatie

103 Pritchard St. (843) 757-4350 Sunday Worship: 11 a.m.

231 Hazzard Creek, Okatie, SC (843) 592-3965 Worship: Every Sunday 9 a.m.

St. Matthew’s Baptist Church

GREEK ORTHODOX Holy Resurrection Church

SC Hwy. 170 (843) 757-3255 Sunday Worship: 11 a.m.

Indian Hill Baptist Church Hwy. 278 next to Eagle’s Point (843) 757-2603 Sunday School: 9:45 a.m.

Sunday Worship: 11 a.m.

JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES Kingdom Hall

119 Bluffton Rd. (843) 815-4455 Sunday Public Talk: 9:30 a.m. & 3:30 p.m.

Spanish Public Talk: 12:30 p.m.

Bible Missionary Baptist Church

Goethe Road Community Center (843) 815-5523 Sunday Worship: 11 a.m., Bible Study: 6 p.m.

CATHOLIC St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church 333 Fording Island Rd. (843) 815-3100

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at St. Andrews Catholic Church 220 Pickney Colony Rd. (843) 837-4659 Orthros: 9:30 a.m., Liturgy 10 a.m.

JEWISH Temple Oseh Shalom at Lowcountry Presbyterian

278 Simmonsville Rd. (843) 705-2532 Shabbat Worship third Friday of month, 8 p.m.

LUTHERAN Lord of Life Lutheran Church 351 Buckwalter Pkwy.

(843) 757-4774 Sunday School: 10 a.m.

Sunday Worship: 8, 9 & 11 a.m.

METHODIST Bluffton United Methodist Church 101 Calhoun St. (843) 757-3351 Sunday School: 9:45 a.m.

Sunday Worship: 8:45 & 11 a.m.

1425 Okatie Hwy. (843) 379-1888 Sunday Worship: 10:30 a.m.

SC Hwy. 170 near Sun City (843) 705-3022 Sunday Worship: 8:30 & 10 a.m.

St. Andrew By-The-Sea UMC Bluffton Campus One University Blvd.

(USCB’s HHI Gateway Campus, Hargray Building) (843) 785-4711 Sunday worship: 10:30 a.m.

PRESBYTERIAN Lowcountry Presbyterian Church US 278 and Simmonsville Rd. (843) 815-6570 Sunday School: Adult 9:40 a.m., Child 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Worship: 8:30 & 10:30 a.m.

Grace Coastal Church (PCA) 15 Williams Dr. (off 170) (843) 379-5521 Sunday School: 11 a.m.

Sunday Worship: 9:30 a.m.

NON-DENOMINATIONAL Live Oak Christian Church

Bluffton High School Auditorium, (843) 757-5670 Kidstreet: 9:15 a.m., Worship: 10:15 a.m.

Lowcountry Community Church Bluffton: 801 Buckwalter Pwky.

(843) 836-1101 Sunday Worship: 8:30, 10, 11:30 a.m.

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Lowcountry 110 Malphrus Rd. (843) 837-3330 Sunday Services: 10 a.m.

Religious Education & Childcare provided

Unity Church of Hilton Head Island

Seaquins Ballroom 1300 Fording Island Rd., Bluffton (Near Tanger I) (843) 682-8177 Sunday Services: 10 a.m.

Family Owned & Operated Free Pick-up & Delivery Drop off -Pick up Each Garment Inspected Dry Cleaning Shirt Laundry Alterations & Repairs Stain Removal Leather Cleaning Household Items

Bluffton Plant: 373 Red Cedar Street 843.815.5885 door2door@hargray.com Mon.-Fri. 7:30 am-5:30 pm

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By Katie Hatfield ot much had changed until a year ago. If you drove along May River Road the houses were all well kept, the trees hung over the street draped with Spanish moss. The biggest change in the scenery were the additions in the Promenade, where Calhoun Street and May River Road met. The new Corner Perk opened a year and a half ago, prompting others to follow suite and open in that area, developing parts of Old Town Bluffton with local and small businesses. But more recently another thing has changed.

Sandwiched between Edward Jones and the new home goods store, The Roost, one tiny home popped up and then another.

When you first look at the tiny home, it isn’t anything special. An adult version of a playhouse, really. When I first looked at one I had no idea

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how anyone could stand to live in that small of a space, much less fit up to four people. But with careful planning and organization living in a tiny home is easy. Walking into this tiny home, there is a small seating area to your right, enough for two people to sit comfortably, and it can also double as a dining area. Behind that lies the kitchen, with a beautiful stainless steel sink and a few drawers and cabinets, just enough for the essentials. Right next to the kitchen is the closet and storage area, meant for clothing and shoes. In the rear of the house is the bathroom with a full shower, sink and toilet, just like a normal home. But the coolest part is the loft bed. Climb a ladder, and you’ll find a bed above the bathroom and kitchen. The tiny home can fit a full or queen sized bed easily, and because it is lifted, there are no worries of tripping over sheets or living in a room with just a bed.

stages. Ben and his team had considered building tiny homes for a few months and as soon as the flood hit, he knew this would be the perfect time to put all his hard work to use for people and not money.

Each house, taking up no more than 240 square feet, is part of a national craze. The idea is that living on less gives us more. More freedom to do what we like without being shackled financially, or even timewise to the upkeep of a full sized home. With small, compact homes people can spend more time with friends and family, enjoying their town instead of staying at home. Thousands of tiny homes have been erected across the country, some mobile with wheels and some built on platforms for a more permanent arrangement. The two tiny homes being built here in Bluffton by Ben Kennedy, the owner and president of Brighton Builders, have sets of wheels, not just to make it easier to move, but to make sure the houses get where they need to go: Columbia, South Carolina.

In October, Hurricane Joaquin traveled up the East Coast, bringing storms and rain along with it. Fortunately for most of us here in the Lowcountry, we only had a week or so of rainfall, but others north of us weren’t so lucky. Water levels rose in Charleston, and most notably, Columbia, to an all time high wiping out major roadways, sweeping away cars, destroying homes, and unfortunately claiming the lives of six innocent people.

Once Ben was cleared to help, he and his friend Gerrick Taylor of Taylor Landscaping began material runs to hard hit areas. Clean water was also a big part of their efforts. But soon Ben realized he could do more. Rather than just bring wood to help build homes, he thought, why not build the homes and bring them to needy families for free? Ben pledged to build two tiny homes for the victims of the South Carolina flooding, more if there was funding that could cover the cost of materials, which was how #blufftoncares was born.

Almost immediately after the flooding Brighton Builders broke ground on the first tiny home. By October 16, the shell of the first house had been completed and the second was in its planning

While Brighton Builders had pledged to build two tiny homes without reimbursement, Ben wanted to build more, as many as he could to help the flood victims in hard hit areas. #Blufftoncares started as a way to help raise $50,000 through crowd sourcing as a way to cover all costs of the tiny homes. As of mid-­December only $6,858 has been raised through the tiny home’s GoFundMe account, a mere 13% of what is needed.

To help offset the beginning costs before the end of the GoFundMe campaign, and to make sure these homes were filled with everything needed for the flood victims, Ben found subcontractors willing to donate their time in installation and supplies. Mike Covert and Covert Aire donated the heating and air conditioning units for each of the tiny homes, making sure that the family who received the home would have cool summers and nice, toasty winters. Play and Gourmet donated all the kitchen appliances. A two burner stove, oven and even a fridge, which you’d be surprised to know, does fit, quite nicely in fact.

The fact is that Bluffton has always been a close-knit community.

Small local businesses make up the majority of our shops, while the restaurants are much the same. River life tends to keep neighbors close and friendly, and there is truly something special here in Bluffton that keeps us together. We care. We care about our neighbors and how their kids are doing in school. We care about how their day at work went, or what they got when they went out shopping. We care that our neighbor’s, daughter’s or friend’s older sister is trying to open up her own boutique for pets. We invest in our neighbors’ lives because they are part of our lives as well.

This special something we have is worth sharing, and Ben Kennedy has realized that. What he is giving isn’t just a roof over someone’s head, or financial help, which undoubtedly can ease a lot of worries, but he is showing to those who have lost everything that there are people who still care. There are people who still want to help even after all the water has receded and the disaster relief aids have gone.

Bluffton Cares.

If you’d like to join in these efforts to help, you can donate money online on their GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/TinyHomes4SC.

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Christmas On Calhoun

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ARCHITECTURE

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riving onto Spring Island, blue sky, pillowy clouds, an occasional fox squirrel or two, light dancing on the ground from the oak forest—the serenity of it all gives you a sense of peacefulness as you simply take in all of nature. My mission was to visit Laurie and Bruce Kienke and write about their unique home. I was forewarned by John Strother, Broker-in-Charge of Spring Island Realty, that there was nothing like it in the Lowcountry and that I would love it, so naturally there was a sense of anticipation as I drove down the winding gravel lane, not another house in sight, neighbors screened with natural curtains. After getting out of the car I just stood there to soak it all in.

Retired with five grandchildren in Minnesota, the Kienke’s live an active life. Both are equestrians with horses in the Spring Island stable, Bruce an avid golfer.

They were so polite and welcomed me into their home as if we were old friends. Taking me under her wing, Laurie showed me through their contemporary abode.

Each space had a connection to the other and to its surroundings. The handsome furnishings and colorful accessories were selected to be part of the space and part of the architecture. Laurie pointed out how the light playfully moves through the rooms. She said it all when she told me, “Living in this house is like living in a sculpture.”

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We are so used to seeing vernacular architecture with wide overhangs and exposed rafters, expansive porches with columns, windows and shutters, fitting to the history and culture of the Lowcountry. All I could think of as I looked at the contemporary architecture was how it fit and truly belonged in so many ways.

Organic, with sustainable and recycled material–unfinished concrete block, neutral paint on wood and composite siding making minor statements, as glass is the major component.

Structural components appear to defy gravity.

An intelligent and balanced massing of the buildings surround the pervious motor court comprised of the main structure.

Multi-level and multi-dimensional planes support vast expanses of glass, which are organized square and rectangular patterns. These components are unified at different levels by the modernist, horizontal expression of the wide

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cantilevered roofs. The extended overhangs and the siting take advantage of the large oaks, provide shading and disperse the rain away from the foundation. To the right are structural components, connected to the main house by a covered walkway and comprised of a studio/workshop, an inside/ outside dog kennel and three-car garage. Each face on different planes, and the surfaces and heights are articulated. There is a three-bedroom guest suite, accessed by a covered connection that makes you feel as if you are outside. The guest wing is nestled into the landscaping and utilizes the same neutral colors and organic materials. Each component is inextricably linked to the other, creating architecture with excitement.

Integral to the design of this home is the descending bank on which it was placed. The bank disappears in the marshes and creeks of Spring Island. This siting permitted a full basement uncommon to the Lowcountry. The design of the rear of the house is such that the main floor is well above the marshes and allows for expansive vistas with peeks through old growth oaks.

The great room, kitchen and dining room take full advantage of these eye-level perspectives, while the study, master bedroom, and master bath on the second floor have more heightened and longer views.

Inside, you see the use of the same material that is on the outside. The glass brings the outside completely inside. Less is more here. No moldings, no distractions. Architectural lighting fixtures punctuate the space. The contemporary furniture combined with a touch of antiques, all fit into the man-made environment. This provides a clean palette for their art and sculpture collection.

Each painting adds color and personality to the space. Laurie and Bruce were gracious enough to provide me with anecdotes to quite a few.

Their placing of the art was as if the wall was made for that piece to be hung. Their choice of art celebrates the home and is an expression of their life. I was pleased to recognize multiple works from local artists Linda St. Clair and Murray Sease.

There is a powerful integration of landscaping and the structure. The landscaping is very natural and xeriscape. A camellia garden for color, numerous small planters and a multi-level terrace in the rear is just as much part of the house as the natural beauty that surrounds the home.

(Above) Windows in the kitchen allow for exceptional views, while the open layout provides lots of space and functions efficiently.

(Below) The study is high above the natural grade giving the space a ‘treehouse’ feeling.

As I was saying my goodbyes and thanking my kind hosts, my mind wondered. This home does fit. The sensitivity to nature, selection of materials, the purposeful architecture, and the strong emotions that the inside and outside evoke belongs right here, basking in the splendor of nature.

I would like to thank Tom Jenkins for providing the photos that tell the story. For more information about Spring Island, contact John Strother at JStrother@springisland.com.

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E v e n t s • C O N C E R T S • A R T • P l a y s • C o n c e r t s • W i l d Life•Parades•FAMILY•Music •Symphony•Dance ART•Plays•CONCERT WildLife•Parades Events•CONCERTS ART•Plays•Events FAMILY•Concerts•Wild Life•Parades

ver the Bridges January Events in Bluffton, Beaufort, Hilton Head & Savannah

Family Music

BLUFFTON: Jan. 1: The 9th Annual Bluffton New Year’s Day Polar Bear Run at 10 a.m. featuring a 5K Run, Health Walk and one-mile Children’s Fun Run & Dog Walk. Start and finish for all events will be the Publix Buckwalter Place Parking Lot, 101 Buckwalter Pl. Blvd.

Registration ranges from $25-$35, with a family of four special for $90. bearfootsports.com/BlufftonPolarBearRun. Jan. 8: At the Bluffton Awards Ball 10 “Golden Oyster” awards will be presented to 10 local businesses from 7-10 p.m. at the Rotary Building off the Oscar Frazier Park, 11 Recreation Ct. (843) 757-1010 or blufftonchamberofcommerce.org.

Jan. 16-18: 31st Annual MLK Celebration in Bluffton – Sat. Memorial Banquet at Campbell Chapel AME Church, 25 Boundary St., 6 p.m. Tickets: Marge Baker (843) 757-2547, Renee Frazier (843) 757-3229, or Bridgett Frazier (561) 452-3703. $35 (kids $15) , before Mon. Memorial Service at 12:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 20 Bridge St. Memorial Walk/Parade at 2:15 p.m. in Old Town (starting and ending at Town Hall). Cookout at 3 p.m. at Oyster Factory Park, Wharf St. Free (Donations accepted).

Jan. 21: Poetic Palette reception featuring Jim Lewis from 4-7 p.m. at Four Corners Gallery, 1263 May River Rd. The event is free and open to the public. (843) 757-8185 or fourcornersgallerybluffton.com.

Jan. 22: Composer, guitarist and singer-songwriter from Kyoto,

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Japan, Hiroya Tsukamoto performs at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lowcountry,110 Malphrus Rd., at 7 p.m. Tickets available at the door; $15 for adults, $10 for students and children 12 and under.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. (843) 837-3330 or uulowcountry.org.

Jan. 24-31: The 7th annual Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber Restaurant Week at restaurants all across Bluffton and Hilton Head Island, offering specially price-fixed menus. (800) 523-3373 or hiltonheadchamber.org.

Jan. 30: Bluffton Rotary Club’s Annual Oyster Roast at Bluffton Oyster Factory Park from 5-8 p.m. blufftonrotary.org.

BEAUFORT: Jan. 1: The 8th Annual Pelican Plunge at 1 p.m. at the Hunting Island State Park, 2555 Sea Island Pkwy. Registration on-site near the Lighthouse at Hunting Island. Call the park at (843) 838-2011 for more information or go to friendsofhuntingisland.org.

Jan. 13: Lunch with author of The Practice, Barb Schmidt at noon at the Dataw Club, 100 Dataw Club Rd. Tickets are $42 (includes lunch) and reservations are required. Contact the USCB Center for the Arts at (843) 521-4145 or uscbcenterforthearts.com.

Jan. 16: The Met: Live In HD – Bizet’s Les Pecheurs De Perles at 12:55 p.m. at USCB Center for the Arts, 805 Carteret St. Tickets

are $20 for adults, $18 for Olli members, and $10 for students.

(843) 521-4145 or uscbcenterforthearts.com.

Jan. 17: Penn Center hosting Community Sing honoring Dr. King at 6:30 p.m. at the Frissell Community House, 16 Penn Center Circle W., St. Helena Island. (843) 838-2432 or penncenter.com.

Jan. 29: Comedian Jon Reep at USCB Center for the Arts, 805 Carteret St. at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors, and $15 for students. (843) 521-4145 or uscbcenterforthearts.com.

Jan. 30: Harlem Renaissance: The Legacy Lives at Tabby Place in Downtown Beaufort, 913 Port Republic St. Dinner, music, dancing, a cash bar and silent auction from 7-11 p.m. General admission is $75, VIP tickets are $100. (843) 379-2787 or beaufortartscouncil.org.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND: Jan. 13: Stardust Orchestra will appear in concert at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at First Presbyterian Church Hilton Head Island, 540 William Hilton Pkwy., for the kickoff of church family night. The concert is free.

(843) 681-3696 or fpchhi.org.

Jan. 16: Paul Taylor II Dance Company performs at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, 14 Shelter Cove Ln., at 8 p.m. Tickets are $60. (843) 842-2787 or artshhi.com.

Jan. 17 & 18: Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique with Conductor John Morris Russell and Elliot Wuu on piano at the First Presbyterian Church, 540 William Hilton Pkwy. 4 p.m. matinee on Sunday and 8 p.m. on Monday. Tickets are $30-$55. (843) 842-2055 or hhso.org.

Jan. 18: Martin Luther King Day Activities: a march begins in front of the high school at 9 a.m. and is followed by a ceremony inside the Seahawk Cultural Center, 7 Wilborn Rd. After the ceremony, there is a community luncheon. (843) 689-4800.

Jan. 30: Hilton Head Snow Day will have inflatable rides, a snowfield, pony rides, bungee jumping, face painting and treats from local restaurants and shops. Shelter Cove Community Park, 39 Shelter Cove Ln. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. $10/child. (843) 681-7273 or islandreccenter.org.

Jan. 30: American Heart Association’s 2016 Hilton Head Heart Ball featuring a cocktail reception, dinner, silent and live auction at the Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa, 2 Grasslawn Ave. (843) 540-6338 or hiltonheadscheartball.heart.org.

Jan. 31 & Feb. 1: Richard Strauss’ Tod Und Verklärung and Beethoven’s 8th with Conductor John Morris Russell and Violinist Paul Huang at the First Presbyterian Church, 540 William Hilton Pkwy. 4 p.m. matinee on Sunday and 8 p.m. on Monday. Tickets are $30-$55. (843) 842-2055 or hhso.org.

SAVANNAH: Jan. 1: Tybee Island Polar Plunge and Gang of Goof Parade at 11 a.m. on Tybee Island. Arrive early as traffic will be heavy.

Registration is $25 for adults, $15 for children and includes

the official Tybee Polar Plunge T-Shirt. Tybee Island Pier and Pavilion at 16th Street and Strand Avenue. (912) 663-1099 or tybeepolarplunge.com.

Jan. 9: Romeo & Juliet at 7:30 p.m. in the Johnny Mercer Theatre at the Savannah Civic Center, 301 W. Oglethorpe Ave. 7:30 p.m. $28-58. (912) 651-6550.

Jan. 16: The MLK 5K & Music Festival in Forsyth Park at Bull Street and Park Avenue. The 5K starts at 9 a.m., Music Festival begins at 11 a.m. Proceeds go to Blessings in a Book Bag Inc. blessingsinabookbag.org.

Jan. 16: Chamber Concert No. 4 – Schuamann & Mahler Piano Quartets at the Lutheran Church of the Ascension, 120 Bull St., at 5 p.m. Tickets are $20. (912) 232-6002 or savannahphilharmonic.org.

Jan. 16: Beach Boogie & Doo Wop at the Lucas Theatre, 32 Abercorn St., at 7:30 p.m. $29-75. SCAD Box Office, (912) 525-5050.

Jan. 18: MLK Parade through Downtown Savannah, starting at 10 a.m.

For more information, contact parade@mlkingsavannah.com or call (912) 234-5502.

Jan. 22-23: The 7th annual Mountainfilm on Tour in Savannah will be held at the Trustees Theater, 216 E. Broughton St., featuring award-winning documentary films and forums with guest filmmakers from Telluride Mountainfilm’s 37th annual festival. $15 general admission, $10 students, military and seniors with valid ID, $5 for children and matinee showing. Tickets available at the Savannah Box Office and at mountainfilmsav.org.

Jan. 27-31: The 10th annual Telfair Museum’s PULSE! Art + Technology Festival at the Jepson Center for the Arts, 207 W. York St., has a multisensory mix of fun, innovative and interactive technology-based art. Many PULSE programs are offered free of charge, including the festival’s largest event, PULSE Free Family Day. (912) 790-8800 or telfair.org/museum-events/pulse.

Jan. 29-30: 13th Annual Gray’s Reef Ocean Film Festival honoring our oceans with a special National Geographic Night on Saturday.

Admission varies. Trustees Theatre, 216 E. Broughton St., and the Lucas Theatre, 32 Abercorn St. graysreef.noaa.gov.

Jan. 29-31: The 16th Annual Low Country Home & Garden Show at the International Trade & Convention Center, 1 International Dr. $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, 16 & under and active military are free. Tickets sold onsite, cash or check only.

Friday, 2-7 p.m., Saturday, 10-7 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. savannahhomeandgardenshow.com.

Jan. 30: Oatland Island Wildlife Center hosts an Open Fire Cooking Workshop, held outdoors at Oatland’s Heritage Home Site, 711 Sandtown Rd. Participants should come prepared for the weather. In case of rain, a rain date will be selected. 12 years and older. $35 per person. To register, call (912) 395-1500.

Jan. 30: Mardi Gras on Tybee! Festivities include the N’awlins Costume & Cocktail Kick Off Party, Mardi Gras Tybee Parade & the Mardi Gras Tybee Street Party with free live entertainment and more! 12-6 p.m. Tybrisa Street and Butler Avenue. tybeeisland.com.

The Breeze JANUARY 2016

33

WE MAKE BIKING EASY

We offer much more than all the great bikes.

We’ll get your bike perfectly in tune.

Do all the safety checks.

So you have peace of mind on the road.

And you’ll ride off like never before.

New and used bikes, parts, services, tune ups, group rides.

BLUFFTON BICYCLE SHOP 4 Oliver Court 843 706 2453 Blufftonbicycleshop.com

34 bluffton.com

W

hy are so many families moving to Bluffton? Great climate? The abundance that the May River brings? The history and culture of the town? Because it’s a wonderful place to raise a family? Perhaps it is the available jobs.

The most important reason? A great school system for our children!

We sat down for the third year in a row to talk with Dr. Mark Dievendorf, the Principal of Bluffton High School (BLHS), to get an update on all the achievement that has been made since he first came to town. Dr. D. had a vision, a program and knowledge on how to get there.

“When I arrived in July of 2010 I implemented my Academic Achievement Improvement Plan (AAIP) which is a multi-phased approach to improving student achievement while enhancing the learning environment and the school culture. The AAIP focuses on improving achievement for all students regardless of gender, ethnicity, or demographic group in a student-centered school environment where students are invested, engaged, and valued,” Dr. D. explained.

“Since July of 2010 we have implemented the first four phases of our AAIP. During that time we have experienced dramatic and documented increases in student achievement for all demographic groups while quadrupling student participation in student activities.

Student perceptions regarding a variety of school climate and culture issues have also improved tremendously in every area as documented by our yearly Student Climate Survey results data.”

In 2015, BLHS was the largest high school in the county, with 1,410 students, even though they are only 10-12 grades. The demographics have remained about the same while the percentage of Hispanic students has increased by 6%. Next year with the addition of May

River High School, Bluffton High will take on 9-12 grades and will have approximately 1,272 students. Let’s take a look at Dr. D.’s report card and see just how his plan is working.

• BLHS is ranked #9 in the state and is in the top 5% nationally according to US News & World Report on “America’s Best High Schools.”

• In “America’s Most Challenging High Schools” annual study by The Washington Post, Bluffton High is ranked #12 in the state and is in the top 5% nationally.

• On the College, Career, Workforce Readiness 2015 ACT Work Key assessment test, Bluffton High juniors received the highest scores in Beaufort County with the most students being tested; 94% of the class passed and they also received the fifth highest scores in the state.

• On the 2015 Advanced Placement Exam, Bluffton High had the highest passing rate (71%) with the highest number of students passing in the district. The pass rates and mean scores exceeded South Carolina, the U.S. and global pass rates for the fourth straight year!

• As a result of the 2015 AP Exam achievements, 88 students were named “Advanced Placement Scholars,” the highest number in BLHS history.

• The seniors were #1 in Beaufort County in the State Junior Assessment; they also exceeded the state average.

• The South Carolina Department of Education released ACT scores for last year’s seniors, which document that BLHS students exceeded the state and national ACT Composite Scores while achieving the greatest improvement with the most students tested in the district!

The Breeze JANUARY 2016

35

•—Since 2011 the ACT writing scores have been dramatically improved for all students, regardless of demographics. Achievement gaps among the broad demographics have diminished and in the case of the gender achievement gap, it has been completely eliminated.

•—The seniors’ SAT Assessment improved by 10 points, while the district declined two points, South Carolina declined one point and the National Composite Scores declined by nine points. BLHS has doubled the number of seniors taking the SAT while improving the Composite Score by 92 points.

• Sophomores and juniors take the PSAT throughout the state. BLHS students exceeded the state and national benchmarks in all areas of this test.

• Slightly over 83% of the members of the class of 2015 are attending a post-secondary four-year institution, a two-year community college, or a trade-technical associate degree school.

• The 2016-17 curriculum includes the additions of biomedical science and computer science. The 2017-18 curriculum includes law enforcement. Dr. D. is constantly improving the curriculum and offering his students more opportunities.

Now these statistics are all about the three R’s. For Dr. D., his school vision and program includes creating a culture and climate on campus that motivates all students to learn and become prepared for the future and to show respect to their fellow students, teachers and family – a lifestyle.

Keep in mind that a school campus has the same demographics as society: scholars, students preparing for college, students preparing for technical fields, students with learning disabilities, students with English as a second language, homeless children, children with affluent families, low income families, students with physical disabilities, athletes, artists, future teachers, future military, from all colors and all walks of life. Dr. D. understands that each student has a dream, and if they don’t he helps them find one.

Dr. D.’s plan teaches students how to function outside of the classroom and become a member of the school community. BLHS has over 44 clubs and organizations.

Teachers act as advisors in each and every one. This provides a broad spectrum of activities for all of the students. If they don’t like sports, they might like to join the Debate Team, if they don’t like the Math Club, they could participate in the Jazz Club. Try the Robotics and Engineering or Drama Clubs to see if they are to their liking. The various clubs and the school sponsor over 34 events each year, ranging from the Science Fair to the Music Festival.

There are also many “Points of Pride” that students can be proud of where they are going to school. Recently BLHS hosted a Volunteer Fair as part of Mayor Sulka’s volunteer initiative. A variety of community organizations joined the students during four lunch periods and distributed materials with regard to their organizations including volunteer opportunities. Over 500 BLHS students signed up to volunteer! Bluffton can only be better for this, as our youth are learning about helping others and participating in community projects. Here are a few more successes: • The DECA Club (Distributive Education Clubs of America) has approximately 112 members and competes with DECA Chapters throughout the state at regional and state events and nationally at the Annual International DECA Career Development Conference.

BLHS is the 2015 State Champion.

• Bluffton High School Family, Career, Community Leaders of America members won the First Place Gold Medal at the South Carolina State FCCLA Competition and qualified to compete at the National FCCLA Competition.

• Sixty-five Bobcat Personal Finance students competed in the Fall Finance Challenge.

Four BLHS Personal Finance students again earned the State Championship in the event!

• The BLHS JROTC Drill Team & Color Guard placed fourth at The Citadel National Drill Team Competition!

36 bluffton.com

• Congratulations to Junior Devin Holaus as he and his teammates won the Gold Medal and the State Championship at the first South Carolina Special Olympics State Kayaking Tournament.

• Bobcats won seven gold, two silver and two bronze medals at the Special Olympics National Tennis Tournament.

• Ebony Gadson was named the South Carolina Boys and Girls Club State Youth of the Year.

There are so many more points of pride to mention than space allows. Under the radar you must know that as a result of school pride and respect, we can look at a reduction in teen pregnancy, reduction in bullying and drugs on campus, violence, the dropout rate and truancy. Students are learning to help others, to take what they have experienced home and extend it throughout their family and neighborhood.

Bluffton High is a school that has a path, a vision, a mission, and is achieving their goals. It is not easy and it was not done overnight. Ask a student. See what they say. Our community is so much better off because of the dedication of Dr. D. and his staff, the teachers working as a team, and the student body. One wonders why this program is not implemented in other district schools that are lagging behind? Yes, this year I would say Dr. D. gets another “A”.

Bluffton High School Student Body Climate Survey Results:

(Six Year Comparison Data)

O

ne of the most telling studies has taken place each year since 2010. The Student Climate Survey below speaks volumes about how students felt about school five years ago, and how they feel about school, their classmates, teachers and themselves today. One can only think that this survey is more important than how many As and Bs everyone is getting. Study it for a second and you will see why students are doing well in school – they want to go, they want to participate and they are motivated to succeed.

2010 Agree

2015 Agree

(+/-)

1.

I feel safe at school.

81%

95%

+14%

2.

I feel academically challenged at school.

68%

88%

+20%

3.

I am treated with respect by my teachers.

73%

90%

4.

Students treat teachers with respect.

54%

80%

+26%

5.

I find that what I am learning is relevant.

65%

84%

+19%

6.

I feel successful at school.

74%

90%

+16%

7.

I am treated with respect by other students.

76%

89%

+13%

8.

I feel comfortable participating in class.

69%

90%

+21%

9.

Students respect students who are different.

59%

85%

+26%

10.

I think Bluffton High School is a good school.

70%

96%

+26%

11.

There is a staff person I can go to if I have a problem.

68%

98%

+30%

12.

I receive individual help/attention when I need it.

68%

91%

+23%

13.

I check my grades and/or assignments regularly.

73%

88%

+15%

14.

I have been bullied by another student at BHS.

40%

9%

-31%

15.

I know what career(s) I would like to pursue.

75%

90%

+15%

16.

I typically look forward to coming to school.

61%

85%

+24%

AVERAGE %

69%

90%

+21%

+17%

The Breeze JANUARY 2016

37

JANUARY TIDES

MON 11

L H L H

3:16 AM 9:46 AM 3:56 PM 10:00 PM

FRI 22

L H L H

1:02 7:32 1:42 7:58

AM AM PM PM

FRI 1

H L H L

1:50 7:29 2:01 7:49

AM AM PM PM

TUES 12

H L H L

2:40 8:25 2:50 8:40

AM AM PM PM

4:02 AM 10:30 AM 4:41 PM 10:47 PM

SAT 23

SAT 2

L H L H

L H L H

1:52 8:20 2:30 8:45

AM AM PM PM

WED 13

H L H L

3 : 3 1 9:24 3:40 9:34

AM AM PM PM

4:50 AM 11:18 AM 5:27 PM 11:39 PM

SUN 24

SUN 3

L H L H

L H L H

2:39 9:05 3:13 9:29

AM AM PM PM

THURS 14

L H L

5:39 AM 12:10 PM 6:15 PM

MON 25

MON 4

H L H L

4:22 AM 10:22 AM 4:32 PM 10:27 PM

FRI 15

H L H L

12:35 AM 6:33 AM 1:06 PM 7:07 PM

L H L H

3:24 AM 9:46 AM 3:53 PM 10:11 PM

TUES 26

TUES 5

H L H L

5:14 AM 11:16 AM 5:24 PM 11:19 PM

SAT 16

H L H L

1:34 7:32 2:04 8:05

AM AM PM PM

L H L H

4:05 AM 10:27 AM 4:31 PM 10:53 PM

WED 27

WED 6

H L H

6:05 AM 12:07 PM 6:16 PM

SUN 17

12:08 AM 6:54 AM 12:55 PM 7:04 PM

AM AM PM PM

THURS 28

L H L H

2:34 8:39 3:04 9:07

4:45 AM 11:07 AM 5:06 PM 11:34 PM

THURS 7

H L H L

L H L H L H L

5:24 AM 11:48 AM 5:41 PM

MON 18

L H L H

AM AM PM PM

H L H L

12:18 AM 6:04 AM 12:31 PM 6:17 PM

TUES 19

L H L H

H L H L

AM AM PM PM

SAT 30

SAT 9

12:56 AM 7:39 AM 1:42 PM 7:50 PM

1: 4 4 AM 8:22 AM 2:27 PM 8:33 PM

3:35 9:49 4:05 10:10

4:37 10:55 5:08 11:11

FRI 29

FRI 8

H L H L

H L H L

1:03 6:46 1:16 6:57

AM AM PM PM

WED 20

H L H

5:39 AM 11:56 AM 6:09 PM

SUN 31

SUN 10

L H L H

2:30 9:04 3:12 9:16

THURS 21

L H L H

12:08 AM 6:38 AM 12:51 PM 7:06 PM

H L H L

1:51 7:35 2:04 7:44

AM AM PM PM

AM AM PM PM

Tide chart is calculated for the May River.

Full Moon January 24.

www.HHBoathouse.net Hilton Head Boathouse Showroom: Hilton Head Boathouse: 843-681-2628 1498 Fording Island Road, Bluffton, SC 29910 405 Squire Pope Road, Hilton Head Island, 29926

38 bluffton.com

The Breeze JANUARY 2016

39

BLUFFTON’S

RESTAURANT GUIDE Cahill’s Chicken Kitchen** - Southern 1055 May River Rd. (843) 757-2921 Mon.-Wed.: 11a.m.-3 p.m.

Thurs.-Sat.: 11a.m.-9 p.m.

Saturday Breakfast: 7 a.m.-12 p.m.

Sunday Brunch: 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Choo Choo BBQ Xpress - BBQ, Pork, Ribs 129 Burnt Church Rd. (843) 815-PORK (7675) Tues.-Fri.: 6-10 a.m., 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 5:30-8 p.m.

Sat.: 6 a.m.-7 p.m.

Corner Perk** - Breakfast, Lunch, Coffee The Promenade & May River Road (843) 816-5674 Tues.-Thurs.: 7 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 7 a.m.-11 p.m., Sunday Brunch: 7 a.m.-4 p.m.

Latitude Wine Bar** - Wine, Tapas, Lunch

Pour Richard’s** - Contemporary 4376 Bluffton Pkwy.

(843) 757-1999 Mon.-Sat.: 5:30-10p.m.

Sonic Drive In** - Fast food 5 Sherington Dr. (843) 815-3630 Daily: 6 a.m.-Midnight

Squat N’ Gobble** - American, Greek 1231 May River Rd. (843) 757-4242 Daily: 7 a.m.-3 p.m.

Toomers Bluffton Seafood House**

27 Dr. Mellichamp Dr. (843) 757-0380 Mon.-Sat.: 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

The Village Pasta Shoppe** - Italian, Deli, Wine

6 Promenade St. (843) 706-9463 Wed.-Sat. 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.

10 B. Johnston Way (across from post office) (843) 540-2095 Tue-Fri.: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

May River Grill** - Seafood Contemporary

Agave Sidebar

Old Town Bluffton 1263 May River Rd. (843) 757-5755 Lunch Tue-Fri.: 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Dinner Mon.-Sat.: 5-9 p.m.

Mulberry Street Pizzeria** 15 State Of Mind St. (843) 757-7007 Tues.-Wed.: 11a.m.-9 p.m.

Thurs. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Fri.-Sun. 12 p.m.-whenever

40 bluffton.com

13 State Of Mind St. (843) 757-9190 Mon.-Thurs.: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Fri. & Sat.: 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

Bluffton BBQ - Barbeque, Pork, Ribs 11 State Of Mind St. (843) 757-7427 Wed.-Sat.: 11 a.m.-whenever

The Bluffton Room - Fine dining 15 Promenade St.

(843) 757-3525 Tues.-Thurs.: 5-10 p.m.

Fri.-Sat.: 5-11 p.m.

Closed Sunday & Monday

British Open Pub - Pub, Seafood, Steaks 1 Sherington Dr. #G, Sheridan Park (843) 705-4005 Mon.-Sun.: 8 a.m.-9 p.m.

Sunday Brunch: 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Buffalo’s - Contemporary

1 Village Park Square (843) 706-6630 Lunch Mon.-Sat.: 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Butcher’s Market and Deli - Deli 102 Buckwalter Pkwy.

(843) 815-6328 Tues.-Sat.: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Sun.: 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

Captain Woody’s - Seafood, Sandwich, Salads 17 State Of Mind St., The Promenade (843) 757-6222 Daily: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Claude & Uli’s Bistro - French

1533 Fording Island Rd. #302, Moss Creek Village (843) 837-3336 Mon.-Sat.: lunch & dinner

Corks Wine Co. - Contemporary, Tapas

14 Promenade St. #306, The Promenade (843) 816-5168 Biz hours: Tues.-Sat. 5-12 p.m.

Kitchen hours: Tues.-Wed. 5-10 p.m., Thurs.-Sat. 5-11 p.m.

Downtown Deli - Burgers, Sandwiches 27 Dr. Mellichamp Dr. (843) 815-5005 Mon.-Sat.: 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

Hinchey’s Chicago Bar & Grill - American 104 Buckwalter Place, Ste. 1A (843) 836-5959 Daily: 11 a.m.-2 a.m

Hogshead Kitchen - Contemporary 1555 Fording Island Rd. (843) 837-4647 Mon.-Sat.: 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.

Closed Sunday

Inn At Palmetto Bluff - Continental

1 Village Park Square, Palmetto Bluff Village (843) 706-6500 Daily: 7 a.m.-10 p.m.

Katie O’Donald’s - Irish, American

1008 Fording Island Rd. #B, Kitties Crossing (843) 815-5555 Daily: 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Longhorn Steakhouse - American 1262 Fording Island Rd. (843) 705-7001 Sat.: 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

Sun.-Fri.: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Mulberry Street Trattoria - Italian 1476 Fording Island Rd. (843) 837-2426

Tue-Sat.: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. & 5-10 p.m.

Sun.: 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m.

Neo - Gastropub - Farm To Table Fare

1533 Fording Island Rd. #326, Moss Creek Village (843) 837-5111 Mon.-Thurs.: 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m.

Fri.-Sat.: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.

Sunday: 5-9 p.m.

Okatie Ale House - American 25 William Pope Dr. (843) 706-2537 Mon.-Wed.: 11 a.m -9 p.m.

Tues.-Sat.: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Sun.: 12 a.m.-9 p.m.

Old Town Dispensary - Contemporary 15 Captains Cove, off Calhoun Street (843) 837-1893 Mon.-Sat.: 11 a.m.-2 a.m.

Sunday Brunch

Peaceful Henry’s and the Bluffton Cigar Bar

181 Bluffton Rd. (843) 757-0557 Store: Mon.-Thurs.: 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Fri. & Sat.: 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Sun.: 12-5 p.m.

Bar: Monday: 12-6 p.m., Tues.-Thurs.: 1-11 p.m., Fri. & Sat.: 1-1 a.m., Sun.: 1-11 p.m.

Pepper’s Old Town - American, Seafood 1255 May River Rd., Old Town Bluffton (843) 757-2522 Daily: 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Redfish - Contemporary

32 Bruin Rd., Old Town Bluffton (843) 837-8888 Mon.-Sat.: 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., 4:30-10 p.m.

Sun.: 10 a.m-2 p.m., 4-10 p.m.

Sigler’s Rotisserie & Seafood - Contemporary 12 Sheridan Park Circle (843) 815-5030 Mon.-Sat.: 4:30-9:30 p.m.

Southern Barrel Brewing Co. - American 375 Buckwalter Place Blvd.

(843) 837-2337 Tues.-Thurs.: 2-9 p.m.

Fri.: 2-11 p.m.

Sat.: 11-11p.m., Sun.: 2-8 p.m.

Stooges Cafe - American 25 Sherington Dr. (843) 706-6178 Mon.-Fri.: 7 a.m.-2 p.m.

Sat.-Sun.: 8 a.m.-2 p.m.

The Cottage - Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner 38 Calhoun St. (843) 757-0508 Mon.-Sat.: 8 a.m.-3 p.m., 5-7:30 p.m.

Sunday Brunch 8 a.m.-2 p.m.

Vineyard 55 - Pizza, American 55 Calhoun St. (843) 757-9463 Daily 11:30 a.m.-Whenever

** See the ads in the Breeze for more info

The Breeze JANUARY 2016

41

Teaching Kids

THE ART OF HorsebackRiding

By Kelly Dillon

rules around the barn. Curbing attitudes like yelling, running or even sudden movements are quelled before they even set one foot in a stirrup. Horses, they learn, are prey animals – more flight than fight – and spooking one can cause deadly consequences. For while most horses are gentle giants at their best, even an unfamiliar noise can have them accidentally hurting someone with a kick or a swing of the head.

Respect of the horse’s boundaries remains the most important thing to remember.

S

itting atop a 1,000-pound animal capable of speeds up to 30 mph can, at first, seem a daunting task.

But riding a horse brings a level of experience, appreciation, respect and responsibility to the rider unmatched by other sports and hobbies. To ride a horse, one must adopt an entirely new mindset – for not only are you responsible for your thoughts, you are also taking into account the mind of another intelligent animal. Imagine all the nuances of golf, but instead of the club, you’re in charge of guiding a horse with a personality that you must come to understand.

With this in mind, teaching beginners the art of riding is a slow game; those expecting their horse to be driven about like a go-cart will either find themselves frustrated or left behind in the dirt, if they’re unlucky. Teaching the mindset to new riders is the key to both their and their horse’s success for the ride – for not only is the rider affected, but also the horse. As rider Taylor Gilmore and her sister Mallory put it, “You don’t get off on the same horse you got on.” The responsibility lies on you to keep things right.

While learning how to ride, kids discover this aspect of responsibility, among other life-lessons. I rode for over 10 years and now help run a summer camp for horseback riding, and the kids that come are eager to learn.

Before anyone can ride, though, they have to learn everything that comes before it: tack (equipment), grooming and

42 bluffton.com

We teach them how to groom after this respect has been set and also how to tack, putting on saddle pads, bridles and the saddles themselves.

And then comes the fun part.

We finally put kids on their horse.

On the first day, most do expect to ride the go-cart: reins are suddenly yanked to the side, kicks to trot are non-existent and hands are held tight onto the horn of the saddle as their horse or pony plows along – sometimes with their ears pinned back. Frustration is usually present at this stage, when kids find their horses stopping to eat grass or refusing to trot. Emily Ayers, a rider for more than 13 years, explains, “Most of the time, it’s not the horse’s fault; it’s the rider that continues to do the same thing but always expects a different result. Therefore, becoming the better rider is impossible since they never take the risk of trying something new.”

But with counselors’ shouts, “Sit up!

Straight back! Look where you want to go!” and various corrections to rein-holding and stance, the kids slowly become more confident as the ride goes on, and the second

day, they seem more at ease atop the horse. They learn that they have to use teamwork and the same level of respect for the horse when on the ground to get results. On the second day, reins are opened with more careful movements, trotting comes with only a little help from the counselors, and there are far more smiles. By the third day, the ease comes a bit more naturally.

“If it looks effortless, they’re doing it right,” says rider Brooke Wilhem.

Because the longer the kids ride, the more confident they become. Think about it – they’re guiding this huge animal around, using gentle cues and commands to work as a team, to go where they want to go. For kids, it’s more than an experience and for even versed riders this sort of art never loses its charm, even after a bad ride.

Long-time rider and teacher Catherine Stangroom claims that horseback riding teaches life-lessons to everyone, from kids to adults. There is respect, responsibility, care and understanding. She says that you will like some horses and you won’t like others – just like people. You only have to work around the problems, and when something goes wrong, you are the one who was to find another way to make it work.

For those who are looking for both a challenge and a refreshing, engaging experience, I highly recommend looking at horseback riding. Even if it’s only for a lesson or two – and I don’t mean a trail ride – you’ll quickly come to appreciate not only horses themselves, but also the art to the sport and the hobby. These animals are not only beautiful, but they can teach us so much, and for kids, the lessons they learn while riding will stick with them forever.

They did for me!

The

Village

Pasta Shoppe

Delicious homemade Italian dishes ready to heat and serve.

Enjoy home-made Italian dishes without paying restaurant prices. Bring us your dish (or use ours) and we’ll fill it up with authentic Italian favorites like Lasagne, Chicken Parmesan, Ziti, Eggplant Parmesan and more. We also have Fresh Pasta and many hard to find Italian deli products.

It’s like mom or grandma made it!

10B Johnston Way www.villagepastashoppe.com (opposite the Bluffton Post office) 843.540.2095

Tue - Fri 10am - 6pm, Sat 10am - 4pm The Breeze JANUARY 2016

43

MUSIC

16 Songs for 201

6

By Jevon Daly New year’s resolutions? Bah humbug. Gonna join a gym?

Stop smoking? Quit drinking? I’m here to wish you well on your impossible quest. We just got another brewery here in Bluffton. Isn’t walking into a place with 30 beers on tap exercise? Sure, you could join a gym or run away to join a yoga cult out west somewhere. But you are reading this article. You are probably sitting down. So let’s just take it one day at a time here and read my TOP 16 SONGS TO LISTEN TO THIS YEAR.

Mojito. Maybe a hamburger from Wendy’s.

6. “Girls” from seminal Beastie Boys’ album Licensed to Ill.

Fun party jammer your kids need to hear almost as bad as your grammy does. Rap music has never been so fun. Yeah, go ahead and knock an American art form if you want. “I don’t like rap.“ Yeah, yeah, yeah. You will be singing this one the next day. Goes great with a 40 oz. Bud and a gyro.

1. ”Only Lies” off of Robert Ellis’ album The Lights from 7. “Tonight” by Ozzy. Nuff said. Listen and be surprised. Do the Chemical Plant is a fabulous song from a throwforward not eat bat. Pass go. Collect $200. country renegade. Listen to the guitar interplay and the exciting drum and bass parts. The vocals are great and 8. “Brokedown Palace.” Jerry Garcia and the Grateful sound very real. Pair with a wheat beer and maybe some Dead own folk music now. If you don’t believe me, crank this tune when your mother who loves Pete Seeger comes over kettle corn. and starts telling you that story about her going to see the 2. ”Rastaman Chant” off of the live in the radio station Weavers in NYC that one time for $5. The Dead are out there album Talkin’ Blues. Fabulous reggae, live in California in playing gigs nowadays. Does it sound like this recording from 1973. Superb musicians playing a fresh new music that American Beauty in 1970? Unfortunately, no. Don’t drink the turned everyone from the Eagles to the Grateful Dead on to red Kool-Aid. Probably goes best with a nightcap or some tea the Jamaican sound perfected in England by Chris Blackwell. early on a Sunday.

Goes great with late night munchies or on a flight back home from Denver visiting that llama farm you told your family you 9. ”What Does the Deep Sea Say?” comes from live album Bill Monroe and Doc Watson – Off the Record Vol. 2. might buy.

Amazing harmonies. Scary guitar playing from blind boy 3. “Dunes” is my go-to choice from Alabama Shakes’ sophomore Doc Watson. Insanely high singing from Bill. Get out the crusher Sound and Color. Brittany Howard and her green Gibson SG moonshine and some jerky. coddle me on this tune. Pay close attention to the sounds on this album. Get the whole album. This is the one you can shove 10. “Flourescent Half Dome” off of Dirty Projectors’ down all those people’s throats that say “music was better album Bitte Orca has got smooth keyboards and sick drum in the ‘60s.” Ok, I get it, you love Steve Miller. So do I. This fills. Give this one a few listens after some fish tacos and album is right there. Producer Blake Mills made sure they cut sangria. The lyrics and music take you away. This is more proof that music is still moving forward in 2016. Look out for Dave all the fat off this one too. Simple and beautiful music.

Longstreth, frontman of the band, and co-writer of Rihanna/ 4. “Rattlesnake.” St. Vincent is the artist. She is sexy and Paul McCartney hit “Four Five Seconds.” Yup. writes great songs. She plays the guitar like a riot. Goes well with organic pear juice and some sushi from the grocery I will get songs 11-16 later on in the year. After a full week of store. This woman just did an album with David Byrne from playing music around the area I am tired. Signing off for now the Talking Heads. Take notice! Alert!

– Jevon.

5. “I’m Writing a Novel” is a country rock that explodes off the blocks of Father John Misty’s album I Love you Honeybear. Anyone that puts themselves in a dune buggy with Neil Young in a song deserves a hug. Watch this maniac perform this song on KEXP. Do it. Pair with a Rumchada or

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The Breeze JANUARY 2016

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The new year brings new beginnings, new opportunities and new dreams.

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New Year

from the Charter One Realty family CHARTER ONE REALTY PROMENADE 1 Promenade Street, Bluffton 843-815-0055

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