Hunting Island State Park, St. Helena Island, South Carolina
Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him. ~ Matthew 4:21-22 Have you ever considered the men that Jesus called to Him? Especially those He chose to spread His Gospel? Very few were educated men. Seven were fishermen (frowned upon by the general population because of their vocation – which I will never understand. The people ate fish – a lot! Reminds me of how we often look at trash collectors or public bathroom cleaners. What if no one did those jobs?!?). One was a tax collector (They were despised by both the Jews and Gentiles. A Gentile is anyone who’s not a Jew.). One was a Zealot (think politician or revolutionary), one was possibly an accountant as he kept the funds for Jesus’ ministry. And Jesus knew this man would ultimately betray Him. The other two, no one knows hardly anything about. Outside of the Twelve, we have the apostle Paul who was a Pharisee and most likely a tent maker who chased down and encouraged Jesus’ early followers to be arrested or murdered. But regardless of their vocations and their education or influence, when Jesus called them, they dropped everything to follow Him.
We crammed a lot of site-seeing into today. That means more words and more pictures. Some day maybe we’ll slack back off on our sightseeing excursions. Nah! It’s too enjoyable for us. 😊
First stop – go find the Chapel of Ease that was built in the 1700s.
There was also an old cemetery there, but I don’t know how much you’ll be able to read.
There was so much, we figured it wasn’t just a fluke, so I Googled it.
I seems that coins left on the headstone lets the family of a deceased soldier know
that someone stopped by to pay their respects.
And then we drove to the Penn Center. We’d read about this being a wonderful historic area that held, among other things, a school for freed slave children and a cottage where Martin Luther King, Jr. stayed during his days as a Civil Rights activist.
We went into the Welcome Center expecting to pick up a map and some information and ended up being subtly coerced/guilted into purchasing tickets we had no intention of buying, for $15 each. And on top of that? A map of the large area for an additional $5. Boy! This woman was good!
And she also told us that across the dirt road was a National Historic Park, which we hadn’t read about. Guess what? The NP was free!! And so was the exact same map we paid for! Good grief!
The one on the bottom right with the pink background and blank face really touched me.
The only thing the Penn Center had that didn’t belong to the NP, was their museum. Was it worth $30? I would have to say, “No”. It could benefit from a lot of work and upkeep, as well as updating many of the displays. PLUS, a woman came in while we were there and told us we couldn’t take any pictures of the photos they had in there. I snuck in a couple anyway. I know. I was deliberately defying authority. My mom would probably tell you I was good at that. And I wonder where our youngest got it! 😊
I will tell you that some of the pictures and stories are pretty disturbing.
We’re finished with the museum. The rest of our visit was all free.
In addition, there was a NP Ranger on his way to give tours if people were interested, but we would be gone by then. His talk is also free. Eye roll
It’s actually an interesting bit of history.
When the Penn Center had dairy cows, the cows would pick up ticks wandering around in the fields.
They made some kind of a dip, put it in that pit and had the cows walk through it.
Apparently it smelled really bad.
But it got rid of the ticks. : )
He was someone prominent in Black history, but I can’t remember why.
I risked life and limb for this picture. : )
I could feel the floorboards giving under my gingerly placed weight.
If they plan on keeping it, it’s gonna take a lot of work.
We were going to get a better up-close look,
but there were dozens of people milling around for some unknown reason.
We left feeling a small bit of enlightenment, but also a bit scammed and probably didn’t learn as much as we could/should have.
Here’s what we remember a week later –
The Emancipation Proclamation freed all the enslaved in the United States. And so they were. But right around the time the Civil War began, two ladies came to South Carolina and started a school for the children, because it had always been against the law in South Carolina for slaves to learn to read and write.
And so, after the War, it began – the Reconstruction of the South. Everything had to be changed and much of it rebuilt because they no longer had slaves to do the work that needed doing. And, as I read in a recent novel, many Union soldiers were recommissioned and sent South to make sure the slave owners really did free their slaves. They also help the slaves get themselves off and running with their new-found freedom. Remember, they owned nothing and knew nothing other than whatever work they’d been doing for their masters.
Almost immediately following the war, the Southerners began enacting “Jim Crow” Laws.
Jim Crow laws were a collection of state and local statutes that legalized racial segregation. Named after a Black minstrel show character, the laws—which existed for about 100 years, from the post-Civil War era until 1968—were meant to marginalize African Americans by denying them the right to vote, hold jobs, get an education or other opportunities. Those who attempted to defy Jim Crow laws often faced arrest, fines, jail sentences, violence and death. ~ history.com
And they had help from the Democratic Party, President Andrew Johnson and the start up of the Ku Klux Klan.
During the Reconstruction era, local governments, as well as the national Democratic Party and President Andrew Johnson, thwarted efforts to help Black Americans move forward.
Violence was on the rise, making danger a regular aspect of African American life. Black schools were vandalized and destroyed, and bands of violent white people attacked, tortured and lynched Black citizens in the night. Families were attacked and forced off their land all across the South.
The most ruthless organization of the Jim Crow era, the Ku Klux Klan, was born in 1865 in Pulaski, Tennessee, as a private club for Confederate veterans.
The KKK grew into a secret society terrorizing Black communities and seeping through white Southern culture, with members at the highest levels of government and in the lowest echelons of criminal back alleys. ~ history.com
The KKK organization that began in Tennessee lasted only until 1870, when they were pretty much forced to disband by the US Government, then reappeared in 1915 and they’ve been a driving force of hate ever since. By the way, their name is derived from the Greek word, kyklos from which comes the English word, circle. They added ‘Klan’ to make it sound and look good.
Also during the Reconstruction period, from 1865-1877, the whites discovered a new way to get themselves slaves without breaking the law. They began arresting Blacks for any tiny infraction and leasing them out to plantation owners, etc. as prisoner work – often times indefinitely. Basically, just enslaving them again. If you read the signs above, you already know this. So sad, and downright evil-hearted.
After spending more time at Penn Center that we’d originally planned, we went in search of “The Few, The Proud, The Marines”. The Marine Corps Recruit Depot is on nearby Parris Island, and they have a museum. Since we visited the Navy SEAL one the other day, we thought we’d check out the Marines.
It’s a lot more secure, and there were few signs to help us find it. In fact, it got a little frustrating if you wanna know the truth.
But persistence eventually paid off. They have a nice museum, but I think we were on information overload already, so I just took pictures of information that seemed it would be interesting, but with the intention of reading later. And now you know one of my secrets. 😊
Also, we noticed as we drove around the towns and island hopped,
there were quite a few things and streets with Small’s name on them.
of them finding this ancient canoe they have on display.
One of the things we heard about was something called “The Great Skedaddle”,
which I believe is what they’re referring to here.
The ones with green belts are his underlings, men called Drill Instructors training for Drill Sergeant.
And look at all those cakes!
I don’t understand different standards.
We’ve been told for years that women can be just as good a Marine as a man (or any other vocation they want to pursue), but if that’s the case, then why are they treated differently? While the men are ‘stripped of their personal identity’ by shaving their heads when they enter the Marines, the women get to keep theirs. And now, even all of it. They keep it rolled up in a bun at the base of their necks.
In addition, they’re not required to meet the same physical demands as the men. Hmmmm . . . . .
I came away from the museum feeling like in order to be a Marine, besides being tough physically and mentally, you must enjoy screaming at people and/or being screamed at – up close and personal. I don’t know about you, but the whole spittle in my face thing is a definite turnoff for me. So is stressing my vocal cords. Guess I’m not Marine material.
We felt the need for something a little more relaxing so our last two stops were nature trails – The Cypress Wetlands and Crystal Lake Park.
By the time we got home today, I was done going out, but not my active husband. Honestly, if it weren’t for him, I’d probably be one of those wives who sit around and eat bon-bons all day. Anyway, he took his bike and went out to enjoy part of the sunset from our beach.
Spectacular!
Lovely way to end our day!