VOLUME 25, ISSUE 3 • FEBRUARY 1, 2022

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Feb. 1, 2022 • Volume 25, Issue 3 • Complimentary • BlufftonSun.com

INSIDE • Top Black-owned businesses awarded at Excellence Ball 10A • Volunteers work to corral community cast-off cats 12A • Bluffton artist spreads love through murals 18A • Sign-up open for senior softball 22A • Roasting Room sells out fast for Matt Stock’s comedy show 26A

Praise houses reflect a past rich in faith and tradition By Gwyneth J. Saunders CONTRIBUTOR

The small building on cinder blocks on Simmonsville Road doesn’t look much like a church, but for Bluffton’s Black community, the Praise House represents more than a century of worship. “The whole family worshiped there,” said native Blufftonian Renty Kitty Jr. A deacon himself, Kitty’s family was integral in the life of this particular place of worship. “My mother, father, sisters, myself. It was a family worship for the families in Simmonsville and Buck Island community,” he said. The Simmonsville house is one of three surviving Bluffton praise houses. Another is behind the Cordray House on the corner of

Calhoun and May River Road, and the other – known as the Bluffton Tabernacle, built in 1935 – is now a pottery studio on Church Street. Built about 1910, the Simmonsville structure used to be located on Belfair Plantation until the 1950s. Local history notes that volunteers – led by deacons with very familiar local family names – organized the move when the plantation was sold to developers. Among those were Rev. Jimmy Buncomb, and deacons Oscar Frazier and “Daddy Toy” Fields. Once in place, those who lived on Simmonsville and Buck Island who did not have the transportation to get into town

Please see PRAISE on page 8A

PHOTOS BY GWYNETH J. SAUNDERS

One of only three surviving praise houses in Bluffton, this structure on Simmonsville Road was built about 1910.

State of the Sound Symposium’ on ecology set for Feb. 11 The Port Royal Sound Foundation will host the first State of the Sound Symposium, moderated by Dr. Chris Marsh. The event will be held virtually, via Zoom, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Feb 11. Several area experts from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and University of South Caroli-

na-Beaufort will discuss what knowledge currently exists about the ecology of the Port Royal Sound. The event will feature a series of short talks covering an array of topics including crustaceans, fish, underwater soundscapes, dolphins, shorebirds, water quality, geology, and land use. A roundtable discussion will follow

Volunteer at the Maritime Center…

for a Sound Future

GET INVOLVED TODAY!

“ Volunteering at the Maritime Center is my contribution to help protect our beautiful Port Royal Sound.” – Norma Duncan

310 Okatie Highway (843) 645-7774 PortRoyalSoundFoundation.org

SCAN TO LEARN MORE

that explores how future research can help citizens better understand and protect this incredible resource in the heart of the Lowcountry. Registration, information & schedule available at: portroyalsoundfoundation. org/event/sos. The Port Royal Sound Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is dedicated to

preserving the Port Royal Sound for the environmental, cultural and economic well-being of our area. The Foundation is committed to education, research, conservation and sustainability. For more information, contact Kat Armstrong at 843-645-7774 or email at karmstrong@portroyalsoundfoundation. org.


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