[00:00:01]
CLOSED CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY BUFORT COUNTY.
WELCOME EVERYONE, UM, TO THE NINTH ANNUAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION SYMPOSIUM.
I CAN'T BELIEVE WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR NINE YEARS NOW.
I'M KATIE PETERSON, THE SENIOR MANAGER HERE TOWN AND I'D YOU ALL BE HERE TONIGHT AND SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE WATCHING MOVIES AS WELL.
TONIGHT WE HAVE A PLANE, HISTORIC RESERVATION.
WHY HAVE HISTORY, LOVE, AND ITS UNIQUE IDENTITY AND WHY SO MANY PEOPLE ARE ATTRACTED TO LIVE, WORK AND VISIT HERE.
AND SOME OF THOSE VISITORS DON'T EVER LEAVE.
LARGELY IT'S DUE TO OUR DEDICATION TO PRESERVING THE STORIES, STRUCTURES AND RESOURCES THAT TELL US ABOUT OUR COLLECTIVE PAST OR IF YOU'RE HANGING OUT IN OLD TOWN, THE BLUFFED STATE OF MIND.
WE ALSO CELEBRATE NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION MONTH, WHICH IS AN ANNUAL CELEBRATION HELD BY THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION THIS YEAR.
THEIR THEME FOR PRESERVATION MONTH IS PEOPLE SAVING PLACES.
EACH MAY, WE SHINE A SPOTLIGHT ON HOW INDIVIDUALS CONTRIBUTE TO PRESERVING PLACES IN BIG AND SMALL WAYS.
PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY AND AROUND THE COUNTRY POUR THEIR TIME, ENERGY, RESOURCES, SOMETIMES THEIR SWEAT AND THEIR TEARS INTO PROTECTING THE PLACES THAT THEY CARE SO DEEPLY ABOUT.
TONIGHT, WE WILL HEAR ABOUT HOW THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON AND A PRIVATE RESIDENT HAVE JOINED FORCES TO PRESERVE SOME OF OUR COMMUNITY'S TREASURED STRUCTURES AND HOW WE ARE PRESERVING THE STORIES OF OUR PAST.
ONCE WE KNOW THE STORIES, THEY BRING HISTORY TO LIFE, EACH TIME WE PASS BY THOSE SPACES.
DEBBIE WONDER, ONE OF OUR PRESENTERS TONIGHT WILL SPEAK ABOUT PRESERVING THE OLD POST, THE OLD BLUFFTON POST OFFICE, AND I WON'T GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY ABOUT THAT, BUT SHE AND HER HUSBAND, RUSTY PISTACHIO, ALSO PRESERVED A STRUCTURE CALLED THE RATE, WHICH IS RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO THE OLD POST OFFICE OR ON THE CORNER IF YOU'RE WALKING DOWN BRIDGE STREET HERE.
THE RATE, WHICH WAS BUILT IN 1948 WAS A GROCERY STORE.
AND EACH TIME I WALKED PAST IT, I HEAR ANNE HAYWARD'S VOICE SAYING, WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY CALL IT THE RATE, THAT SIGN ON THE SIDE OF THE BUILDING SAID CUT RATE PRICES.
AND SOMEHOW IT JUST WASHED OFF.
AND SO IT SAID THE RATE, AND NOW EVERYBODY CALLS THAT BUILDING THE RATE, BUT IT WAS REALLY JUST A SLOGAN.
AND SO EVERY TIME I WALKED PAST IT, I HEAR THAT STORY AND I LAUGH AND I GO, WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHY WE CALL IT THE RATE.
I WASN'T HERE EVEN WHEN IT WAS BEING FUNCTIONED AS A GROCERY STORE, BUT EVERY TIME I WALK PAST, AND NOW EACH TIME YOU ALL WALK PAST, YOU'LL ALSO HEAR THOSE WORDS AND YOU'LL THINK, WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHY WE CALL IT THIS, BUT WE DO.
AND HOPEFULLY YOU'LL SHARE THAT STORY WITH YOUR VISITORS AS THEY COME IN FROM OUT OF TOWN.
STORIES LIKE THESE ARE AMONG THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF BLUFFTON SUCCESS.
BLUFFTON IS FULL OF THESE STORIES BECAUSE WE KEEP THEM ALIVE.
WE KEEP THEM ALIVE BY TELLING THEM EACH DAY.
WE CURRENTLY ARE LIVING THE EVENTS AND BUILDING THE SPACES THAT WILL ADD TO THE RICH HISTORY FOUND HERE IN BLUFFTON.
FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WILL FOLLOW US TODAY, OLD TOWN BLUFF IN'S, LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICT, THE OLD TOWN BLUFFTON HISTORIC DISTRICT, WHICH WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2007, BOASTS 87 CONTRIBUTING RESOURCES.
EACH ONE OF THOSE RESOURCES AND SOME BUILDINGS THAT AREN'T EVEN ON THAT LIST HAVE THEIR OWN STORY.
TONIGHT WE'LL HEAR ABOUT THE OLD BLUFFTON POST OFFICE AND ITS STORY.
BUT BEFORE WE HEAR ABOUT THAT STORY, I'D LIKE TO HAND THE MIC OVER TO MAYOR LARRY TUBER, WHO HAS MADE SOME HIS HOME AND HIS BUSINESS, THE HISTORIC DISTRICT OF BLUFFTON HERE FOR SOME OPENING REMARKS, AND TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HIS BLUFFTON STORY.
AND WHEN I, WHEN I SAY WHEN I KNOW, IT'S LIKE IF I SEE IT WITH MY OWN EYES, I KNOW IT.
IF YOU TELL ME, UH, IT MIGHT BE TRUE AND IT MIGHT NOT, BUT, UM, SO ANYWAY, MOST OF YOU I KNOW, UM, FOR THE ONES THAT DON'T, I'VE BEEN AROUND HERE A COUPLE OF DAYS.
I ACTUALLY STARTED THE FIRST GRADE HERE IN THE, IN THE BUILDING RIGHT HERE, 60 YEARS AGO THIS YEAR.
UM, SO I'VE WATCHED BLUFFTON CHANGE.
I WATCHED IT GROW, AND THE OLDER I GET, THE MORE I REALIZE HOW THE OLD STUFF IS REALLY, REALLY WORTH SAVING.
SO, SO I WANTED, WHILE I WANTED TO HIT ON A FEW POINTS, I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF SAY, YOU KNOW, MY GRANDFATHER MOVED TO THIS AREA IN 1913, ALL THE WAY FROM THUNDERBOLT, GEORGIA.
UM, STARTED A OYSTER BUSINESS ON
[00:05:01]
HILTON HEAD.THE BRIDGE WAS BUILT TO HILTON HEAD IN 1956, SO I DON'T REMEMBER THAT, BUT I DO REMEMBER ONE OF THE BEST THINGS ABOUT RIDING THE SCHOOL BUS FROM HILTON HEAD TO BLUFFTON WAS IF THE SHRIMP BOATS GOING OUT AT THE SAME TIME, THEY GOTTA OPEN THE, HAD TO OPEN THE BRIDGE AND YOU'D HAVE TO SIT THERE FOR 20 MINUTES.
AND THEN IF YOU WERE LUCKY ENOUGH, AND IT RAINED THAT NIGHT BEFORE BURNT CHURCH ROAD WAS ALL DIRT, AND IT WAS A MUD BOG.
SO WE HAD TO COME ALL THE WAY AROUND TO 46 ON THE SCHOOL BUS.
IT RAN 30 MILES, 30 MILE MILES AN HOUR.
SO I MEAN, WE COULD MISS A GOOD HOUR, HOUR AND 20 MINUTES OF SCHOOL.
SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S HISTORY.
BUT, UM, SO, YOU KNOW, AS I'VE WATCHED HIS, WATCHED THE BLUFFTON HISTORY AND, UM, WHAT IS THIS? UM, SORRY ABOUT THAT.
SO MY, I REALIZE HOW, HOW IMPORTANT THE BUILDINGS, THE STRUCTURES, UM, THE, THE HISTORIC TREES AND ALL THAT ARE, AND I TOTALLY SUPPORT PRESERVING AND PROTECTING ANYTHING THAT WE POSSIBLY CAN.
MY MAIN THING IS, IS BRINGING EMPHASIS TO THE MOST HISTORIC THING IN THIS AREA IS THE RIVER.
THE RIVER WAS A LIFELINE FOR EVERYONE HERE.
IF YOU WANTED TO GO TO SAVANNAH BACK IN THE DAY BEFORE THEY BUILT A BRIDGE, YOU'D GET ON A STEAM SHIP AND YOU'D RIDE FROM CALHOUN STREET TO RIVER STREET TO SAVANNAH TO SELL YOUR CHICKENS OR YOUR PIGS OR YOUR VEGETABLES OR WHATEVER, BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE HERE TO DO EXCEPT FOR FISHING AND FARMING.
AND EVERYONE DEPENDED ON THE RIVER.
IF IT WEREN'T FOR ACTUAL FOOD, IT WAS FOR MONEY THAT THEY COULD GO BUY FOOD SOMEWHERE ELSE, YOU KNOW, OTHER TYPES OF FOOD.
SO THE PRESERVING OUR HISTORIC RIVER IS THE TOP OF MY LIST.
UM, AND I WILL ALWAYS, AS LONG AS I CAN, AS LONG AS I CAN STILL SWING, I'M GONNA KEEP SWINGING UNTIL WE DO ALL WE CAN TO PRESERVE THAT.
UM, WITH, WITH THE, TALKING ABOUT CALHOUN STREET, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, CALHOUN STREET IS, WAS A MEETING PLACE FOR PEOPLE BACK THEN, AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT STILL IS RIGHT DOWN CALHOUN STREET TO THE DOCK IN THE EVENINGS THERE.
IT'S PROBABLY FULL JUST AS WE SPEAK, PEOPLE DOING THE SAME THING.
UM, I'M VERY PROUD OF WHAT THE TOWN DOES TO PRESERVE OUR HISTORY AND SOME OTHER PEOPLE, I SEE SOMEBODY IN HERE, A COUPLE, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF LOCAL GUYS THAT ARE REALLY AMPED IT UP ON THE STORIES OF PEOPLE THAT WERE HERE LONG BEFORE WE WERE.
THAT'S A WAY TO KIND OF KEEP THINGS ALIVE AND, UM, REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT WE USED TO HAVE.
UM, TODAY, TOWN COUNCIL HAS FUNDED MORE THAN 216,000 TO PROTECT, PRESERVE, PROTECT, AND REHABILITATE.
EIGHT CONTRIBUTING RESOURCES FROM THE HAYWARD HOUSE TO CAMPBELL CHURCH, A ME CAMPBELL, A ME CHURCH, TO SEVERAL PRIVATE RE RESIDENTS, EXCUSE ME, THAT'S NOT INCLUDING THE MILLIONS THAT THE TOWN HAS SPENT ON THE GARVIN HOUSE, THE SQUIRE POPE COTTAGE WE'RE WORKING ON ABOUT TO GET STARTED WITH THE SARAH RILEY HOOKS HOUSE, WHICH IS REALLY, REALLY HISTORIC, IN MY OPINION.
I KNEW THOSE PEOPLE WHEN THEY WERE ALIVE.
SO, UM, I THINK WE WERE GOING TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THIS, BUT TWO OF THOSE GRANTS WERE AWARDED TO DEBBIE WONDER AND WERE USED FOR A NEW ROOF AND WINDOWS AND DOOR REPLACEMENTS FOR THE OLD POST OFFICE.
UM, I WANNA THANK MY COLLEAGUES ON TOWN COUNCIL FOR MAKING HISTORIC PRESERVATION A PRIORITY, AND FUNDING PROJECTS WHICH KEEP BLUFFTON THE SPECIAL PLACE.
SPECIAL THANKS TO EACH MEMBER OF TOWN'S HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE COMMISSION.
THESE VOLUNTEERS APPOINTED BY COUNCIL ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING THE HISTORIC INTEGRITY OF MANY OF OUR TOWN'S STRUCTURES.
THEY ARE THE FRONT LINES OF LOCAL PRESERVATION, AND EACH PAST AND CURRENT MEMBER DESERVES OUR APPRECIATION FOR THEIR WORK.
THANK YOU TO OUR TOWN MANAGER, STEVEN SEEDS AND ALL TOWN STAFF MEMBERS WHO IMPLEMENT THE POLICIES AND PROJECTS TO MAKE HISTORIC PRESERVATION
[00:10:02]
ALIVE IN BLUFFTON.I THINK I'VE STU ENOUGH, SO I DON'T KNOW WHO'S NEXT.
THANK YOU, MAYOR, TO, UM, NOW I'LL HAND THE PROGRAM OVER TO GLEN UN BERGER.
I WON'T TAKE TOO MUCH OF YOUR TIME HERE.
UM, HE'S THE HISTORIC PRESERVATIONIST ON STAFF HERE.
GLEN'S BEEN WITH THE TOWN FOR ABOUT THREE YEARS NOW, AND HE JUMPED RIGHT IN WHEN HE GOT HERE.
SINCE HIS ARRIVAL, HE'S BEEN INTEGRAL IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GRANT PROGRAM WHILE COUNCIL WAS A HUGE SUPPORTER OF IT.
AND THEY ARE THE ONES WHO GET TO ACTUALLY MAKE THOSE POLICIES AND PUT THEM IN PLACE.
GLEN HAS BEEN CHAMPION, CHAMPION CHAMPIONING IT FROM THE SIDE.
THAT'S A HARD WORD FOR ME TODAY.
UM, HE'S PROVIDED INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE TO HOMEOWNERS, TO BUSINESS OWNERS, WHETHER THEY WERE APPLYING FOR A GRANT, APPLYING FOR A CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS, OR JUST WANTED A LITTLE BIT OF ADVICE ON WHAT THEY SHOULD DO IN ORDER TO HELP MAKE THEIR KITCHEN THE RIGHT SHAPE AGAIN.
UM, HE HAS HAD THOSE CONVERSATIONS, HE'S BEEN IN ALL OF THOSE.
HE'S HELPED THEM ALL DECIDE HOW THEY COULD MOVE FORWARD ON THAT WITH WORK ON THEIR HISTORIC BUILDINGS.
AND HE IS ALSO SHARED A LOT OF BLUFF AND SUCCESSES AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE FOUND AS STRUGGLES TO HELP OTHER COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE REGION BE ABLE TO DO THE SAME.
SO, WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO GLENNON BERGER TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE OLD POST OFFICE.
GLEN, IF YOU HAVE SPENT ANY TIME IN THE OLD TOWN, BLUFFTON HISTORIC DISTRICT, AND MOST LIKELY YOU HAVE, YOU ARE ALREADY WELL ACQUAINTED WITH OUR NOTABLE LOW COUNTRY VERNACULAR STYLE STRUCTURES, INCLUDING THE CARD HOUSE, ONE OF THE OLDEST SURVIVING RESIDENCES IN BLUFFTON THAT WAS CONSTRUCTED AROUND 1825.
THE HOUSE GETS ITS UNUSUAL NAME FROM THE HIGH STAKES POKER GAME HELD IN THE HOUSE IN THE 1840S, DURING WHICH WILLIAM EDDINGS BAARD WON THE DE TO THE 1000 ACRE BRADDOCKS POINT PLANTATION IN HILTON HEAD FROM COLONEL JOHN JOSEPH STONEY, OR WHAT IS TODAY KNOWN AS THE HAYWARD HOUSE THAT WAS BUILT IN 1841 BY JOHN COLE, THE OWNER OF MORLAND PLANTATION IN PRESENT DAY PALMETTO BLUFF, AND LATER EXPANDED LATER THIS EVENING.
THIS WILL BE THE LOCATION OF OUR CLOSING RECEPTION, OR PERHAPS, YOU KNOW, THE FRI HOUSE, WHICH IS DOUBLE HEIGHT VERANDA BUILT AROUND 1830 BY JAMES L. POPE, WHICH WAS ACQUIRED BY THE FRIT FAMILY IN 1885.
OF COURSE, ALL THESE SURVIVED THE BURNING OF BLUFFING ON JUNE 4TH, 1863.
BUT THIS EVENING I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO ANOTHER ICONIC LANDMARK.
THE OLD POST OFFICE LOCATED JUST ACROSS THE STREET, WHICH HAS A RATHER INTERESTING STORY TO TELL.
A UNITED STATES POST OFFICE WAS FIRST ESTABLISHED AT MAY RIVER, SOUTH CAROLINA ON MAY 21ST, 1839 OR 185 YEARS AGO THIS PAST WEEK.
UM, AND THREE YEARS LATER, ON APRIL 22ND, 1842, THE NAME OF THE VILLAGE WAS OFFICIALLY CHANGED TO BLUFFTON POSTAL OPERATIONS IN BLUFFTON, CONTINUED UNERUPTED UNTIL JUST AFTER THE CIVIL WAR.
WHEN IN OCTOBER, 1866, THE BLUFFTON POST OFFICE WAS BRIEFLY DISCONTINUED, BUT SOON THEREAFTER WAS REESTABLISHED IN JANUARY, 1837.
OVER THE NEXT 100 YEARS, THE BLUFFTON POST OFFICE OCCUPIED SEVERAL DIFFERENT BUILDINGS, ALL OF WHICH WERE LOCATED NEAR THE GEOGRAPHICAL CENTER OF TOWN.
SANBORN STYLE MAP IDENTIFIES ONE SUCH LOCATION IN THIS SMALL COMMERCIAL STRUCTURE THAT USED TO BE AT THE CORNER OF BRIDGE IN CALHOUN STREETS.
THE POST OFFICE HAD MOVED HERE FROM THIS BUILDING ACROSS THE STREET, SEEN IN A PHOTOGRAPH FROM 1939, FOLLOWING A MYSTERIOUS FIRE IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF DECEMBER 18TH, 1941, WHICH DESTROYED THE STORE OWNED BY WILLIAM SIMMONS'S, UM, WHICH HAD HOUSED THE POST OFFICE SINCE THE 1920S.
IN FEBRUARY, 1955, PRESIDENT DEIGHT EISENHOWER NOMINATED LUCILLE HAYWARD, A LOCAL RESIDENT AS POSTMASTER FOR THE TOWN.
MRS. HAYWARD'S APPOINTMENT WAS CONFIRMED BY THE UNITED STATES SENATE THE FOLLOWING MONTH, AND IN NOVEMBER OF THAT SAME YEAR, THE LOUGHTON POST OFFICE WAS ON THE MOVE AGAIN THIS TIME TO JUST DOWN THE ROAD TO THE CORNER BRIDGE AND BOUNDARY STREETS INTO THIS BUILDING, WHICH MRS. HAYWARD AND HER HUSBAND HAD BUILT IN 1946 AS A SEASONAL GROCERY STORE.
THIS BUILDING WAS LATER USED AS AN ICE CREAM AND SUN SHOP, WHICH BOLEY ADVERTISED THE SEAL TEST BROWN OF ICE CREAM AND OFFERED CUT RATE PRICES ON ITS MERCHANDISE UNDER PROVISION SET FORTH IN THE POST
[00:15:01]
OFFICE DEPARTMENT LEASE PURCHASE ACT OF 1952.THE PRIVATE SECTOR CONSTRUCTED NEW BUILDINGS OR MODIFIED EXISTING ONES TO POST OFFICE SPECIFICATIONS, WHICH REMAINED UNDER PRIVATE OWNERSHIP AND WERE THEN LEASED BACK TO THE DEPARTMENT FOR A SET PERIOD OF TIME.
HERE IN BLUFFTON, THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT IN WASHINGTON PAID RENT ON A BUILDING THAT WAS OWNED BY THE LOCAL POSTMASTER HERSELF SEEN HERE ON THE LEFT AND FRONT OF HER FORMER GROCERY STORE WITH MRS. IDEL MOCK OF HARVILLE, WHO WAS THE AREA'S RURAL MAIL CARRIER.
WHEN ARTHUR SUMMERFIELD WAS APPOINTED POSTMASTER GENERAL IN 1953 BY PRESIDENT EISENHOWER, HE INHERITED A DEPARTMENT THAT WAS NOT ONLY, NOT ONLY HAD SUFFERED FROM DECADES OF LACK OF PROPER FUNDING DUE TO THE GREAT DEPRESSION IN WORLD WAR II, BUT WAS ALSO EXPERIENCING WIDESPREAD ORGANIZATIONAL DYSFUNCTION CAUSED IN PART BY DRAMATIC INCREASE IN DEMAND FOR SERVICES BROUGHT ON BY THE POST-WAR SUBURBAN HOUSING BOOM.
CHIEF GOALS AS POSTMASTER GENERAL WAS TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF THE DEPARTMENT AT A TIME WHEN THE AVERAGE AMERICAN WAS RECEIVING ABOUT 300 PIECES OF MAIL ANNUALLY TO HELP MEET THIS GOAL.
SUMMERFIELD ADVOCATED FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF NEW FACILITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, PRIMARY IN RURAL AREAS.
THESE NEW BUILDINGS WERE DESIGNED TO BE MODERN IN STYLE, EFFICIENT IN THE WAY THAT MAIL WAS HANDLED AND DISTINCTIVE AS THE ICONIC RED, WHITE, AND BLUE COLOR SCHEME WAS FOR ITS MAILBOXES AND DELIVERY VEHICLES.
ONE PARTICULAR ADVANTAGE FOR SUMMERVILLE'S AMBITIOUS BUILDING CAMPAIGN WAS THAT THERE WAS NO NEED FOR INDIVIDUAL ARCHITECTS SINCE NEW BUILDINGS WOULD BE CONSTRUCTED ACCORDING TO A SET OF STANDARDS CONTAINED IN THE DEPARTMENT'S BUILDING DESIGNS CATALOG INITIALLY PUBLISHED IN 1959.
THIS GUIDE PROVIDED ARTIST RENDERINGS, SCHEMATIC PLANS, AND MATERIAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR UNIFORMLY EFFICIENT AND ARCHITECTURALLY ATTRACTIVE SMALL POST OFFICE BUILDINGS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES.
THESE PLANS RANGE IN SIZE FROM 1000 SQUARE FEET TO 12,000 SQUARE FEET.
AND ACCORDINGLY, THESE BUILDINGS WERE REFERRED TO AS A THOUSAND SERIES POST OFFICES.
THE CORRESPONDING SITE PLANS COULD ACCOMMODATE A THOUSAND SERIES BUILDING ON A CORNER LOT OR AN INTERIOR LOT EACH WITH DEDICATED CUSTOMER PARKING AND REAR ACCESS FOR MALE TRUCKS.
NOW, WHILE THESE DESIGNS WERE STANDARD, THEY COULD BE EASILY ADAPTED TO FIT LOCAL CONDITIONS, AND AS SUCH, WERE SUITABLE FOR ALL CLIMATES AND GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS WITHIN THE UNITED STATES.
BECAUSE OF THE VARIETY, NO TWO BUILDINGS WERE PRECISELY IDENTICAL, THOUGH ALL SHARED STRONG VISUAL MOLARITIES PLANS WERE OFFERED IN TWO ARCHITECTURAL STYLES, THE INTERNATIONAL STYLE AND THE COLONIAL REVIVAL STYLE.
YET EVEN WITH SUCH A CHOICE, THE INTERNATIONAL STYLE PROVED TO BE THE MORE POPULAR OPTION.
IN FACT, EXAMPLES OF THE INTERNATIONAL STYLE THOUSAND SERIES POST OFFICE BUILDINGS CAN STILL BE FOUND AND USED TODAY IN PLACES LIKE WAVERLY, FLORIDA, ULMER, SOUTH CAROLINA, AND EVEN IN ANOTHER BLUFFTON.
BUT A UNIFORMED ARCHITECTURAL STYLE FOR POST OFFICES AND PARTICULAR INTERNATIONAL STYLE HAD ITS SHORTCOMINGS.
AS JAMES BRONZE, THE FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL POSTAL MUSEUM AT THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOTES IN HIS BOOK, GREAT AMERICAN POST OFFICES.
IN FAR TOO MANY INSTANCES, THE HEAVY HANDED MODERN STYLES IMPOSED UPON A LOCAL COMMUNITY EITHER OVERPOWERED OR UNDERSTATED THE PREVAILING ARCHITECTURAL FLAVOR OF THE HOST COMMUNITY.
IN SUCH INSTANCES, ALL TOO OFTEN IT BECAME EASY TO PICK OUT THE POST OFFICE SIMPLY BECAUSE IT VISUALLY DID NOT FIT IN WITH THE REST OF THE BUILDINGS IN TOWN.
AND THIS WAS ESPECIALLY TRUE HERE IN BLUFFTON, WHERE OUR INTERNATIONAL STYLE POST OFFICE WAS BUILT DIRECTLY ACROSS BRIDGE STREET FROM ONE OF THE TOWN'S MOST ICONIC ANTEBELLUM RESIDENCE IS THE FRI HOUSE.
IN AN EFFORT TO MOVE MAIL MORE EFFICIENTLY AND QUICKLY THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, THE POST OFFICE CREATED THE ZONE IMPROVEMENT PLAN OR ZIP CODE, WHICH WAS INAUGURATED ON MONDAY, JULY 1ST, 18, 19 63.
THE NEW ZIP CODE WAS PROMOTED BY A CARTOON CHARACTER NAMED MR. ZIP, WHICH OFTEN APPEARED IN ADVERTISEMENTS PLACED IN POPULAR MAGAZINES AND IN LOCAL NEWSPAPERS, AND EVEN HAD ITS OWN COMIC BOOK, ALL SPECIALLY CURATED TO ENCOURAGE THE PUBLIC'S USE OF THE NEW FIVE DIGIT NUMBERING SYSTEM.
THE DEPARTMENT BELIEVED THAT THE WIDESPREAD USAGE OF THE ZIP CODE WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE SPEED WITH WHICH MAIL COULD BE DELIVERED WITHIN THE UNITED STATES.
THESE NUMERIC CODES WERE ASSIGNED SEQUENTIALLY BASED ON GEOGRAPHY AND THE LOCATION OF THE NEAREST MALE SORTING AND DISTRIBUTION CENTER FOR AN AREA WITH THE LOWEST NUMBERS FOUND IN NEW ENGLAND.
AND THE HIGHEST NUMBERS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST BLUFFTON ALONG THE COAST OF SOUTH CAROLINA, ACCORDINGLY WAS ASSIGNED ZIP CODE 2 9 9 1 0.
BY THE EARLY 1960S, THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT WAS
[00:20:01]
HANDLING APPROXIMATELY 80 BILLION PIECES OF MAIL NATIONWIDE.AND IN BLUFFTON, POSTMASTER HAYWARD WAS QUOTED IN A LOCAL NEWSPAPER STATING THAT MAIL BUSINESS IN THIS AREA HAS GONE UP, FOR EXAMPLE, 10 YEARS AGO, FOR ABOUT THE TIME THAT THIS PHOTOGRAPH WAS TAKEN, REVENUE WAS LESS THAN $3,000 COMPARED WITH $7,500 TODAY TO ACCOMMODATE THE DRAMATIC INCREASE IN DEMAND.
MRS. HAYWARD FURTHER NOTED THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT IS NOW CONCENTRATING ON CONSTRUCTING NEW POSTAL UNITS ONLY WHERE THEY ARE MOST URGENTLY NEEDED.
AND ONE OF THOSE LITIGATIONS SLATED TO GET A NEW POST OFFICE WAS HERE IN BLUFFTON.
THE DEPARTMENT OPENED BIDS FOR A NEW POST OFFICE IN JUNE OF 1964, AND IN OCTOBER IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT IT HAD NEGOTIATED A CONTRACT TO CONSTRUCT AND LEASE A NEW 1000 SQUARE FOOT POST OFFICE BUILDING TO THE LOWEST BIDDER WHO WAS NONE OTHER THAN THE OWNER AND LANDLORD OF THE CURRENT POST OFFICE AND LOCAL POSTMASTER LUCILLE HAYWARD, USING THE DEPARTMENT'S BUILDING DESIGNS CATALOG AS HER GUIDE.
THIS MRS. HAYWARD CHOSE A THOUSAND SEAGERS BUILDING APPROXIMATELY 1000 SQUARE FEET IN SIZE IN THE INTERNATIONAL STYLE.
THE NEW BUILDING WOULD BE CONSTRUCTED ON HAYWARD FAMILY PROPERTY DIRECTLY NEXT DOOR TO THE CURRENT POST OFFICE.
THE CONSTRUCTION COSTS A GRAND TOTAL OF 10,000 $4,488, WHICH WOULD BE PAID BY MRS. HAYWARD, WHO IN TURN WOULD RECEIVE AN ANNUAL RENT OF $1,248 FOR USE OF HER NEW BUILDING.
MRS. HAYWARD, UNDER THE TERMS OF THE CONTRACT, WOULD REMAIN RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL REAL ESTATE TAXES AND MAINTENANCE COST ON THE BUILDING.
THE NEW POST OFFICE WAS CONSTRUCTED OF CONCRETE BLOCK AND ENTIRELY CLAD IN RED BRICK WITH A FLAT ROOF, LARGE PLATE GLASS WINDOWS, AND A STRIKING CANOPY OVER ITS FRONT ENTRANCE, ALL OF WHICH CONFORMED TO THE ARCHITECTURAL REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH IN CHAPTER THREE OF THE BUILDING DESIGNS CATALOG, THE INTERIOR FOLLOWED A STANDARD PLAN FOR A 1000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING WITH A MAILBOX LOBBY, A SERVICE COUNTER WORKSPACE STORAGE, AND TWO SMALL BATHROOMS IN THE REAR, EVEN INTERIOR PAINT, COLORS, FLOORING MATERIALS, AND THE FLAGPOLE OUT FRONT, ALL CONFORMED TO STANDARDS PROVIDED FOR IN THE CATALOG ON SUNDAY, MAY 16TH, 1965.
FOLLOWING SIX MONTHS OF CONSTRUCTION, TOWN OF LEFT OFFICIALS, ALONG WITH STATE AND LOCAL DIGNITARIES GATHERED TO DEDICATE THEIR NEW POST OFFICE MARKING THE FIRST TIME EVER THAT THE TOWN HAD A PERMANENT PURPOSE-BUILT POST OFFICE FACILITY.
IN HER PUBLIC REMARKS FOR THE OCCASION, POSTMASTER HAYWARD PREDICTED OUR PATRIOTS WILL DERIVE MORE ENJOYMENT FROM DOING BUSINESS HERE.
THEIR MAIL WILL BE HANDLED MORE EFFICIENTLY AND THIS BUILDING AND ITS UP TO DATE EQUIPMENT WILL ENABLE OUR POSTAL EMPLOYMENTS TO WORK UNDER THE BEST OF CONDITIONS.
SHE ALSO NOTED THAT THE FACT THAT BLUFFTON HAS BEEN CHOSEN FOR A NEW POST OFFICE REFLECTS CREDIT ON OUR GROWN CONTRIBUTION TO THE ECONOMY AND THE LIFE OF THE NATION.
AT THE CENTER OF THE NEW DESIGN SCHEME, AS THE POSTMASTER NOTED, WAS EFFICIENCY.
C SITUATED DIRECTLY ON BRIDGE STREET, A MAJOR EASTWEST THOROUGHFARE THROUGH DOWNTOWN BLUFFTON.
THE POST OFFICE WAS READILY ACCESSIBLE BY AUTOMOBILE, AUTOMOBILE, AND MAIL TRUCK.
AS MRS HAYWARD NOTED, THE NEW FACILITY WILL BE A LINK WITH THE POSTAL SYSTEM THAT TODAY HAS OVER 45,000 POSTAL IN INSTALLATIONS NATIONWIDE.
IN ADDITION, MAIL WAS AVAILABLE TO BE PICK PICKED UP FROM INDIVIDUAL POST BOXES INSIDE THE LOBBY, WHICH WAS NOW ACCESSIBLE 24 HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
A MODERN CONVENIENCE FOR BLUFFTON RESIDENTS THAT WILL OCCASION AS MRS. HAYWARD'S DAUGHTER ONCE TOLD ME, SOME POSTAL CUSTOMERS WOULD TELEPHONE MRS. HAYWARD'S HOME TO ASK IF SHE COULD BRING THEIR MAIL HOME WITH HER FROM WORK SO THEY COULD JUST PICK IT UP FROM HER DIRECTLY.
MRS. HAYWARD ALWAYS REFUSED CITING POST OFFICE REGULATIONS.
THE NEW POST OFFICE, WHICH THE LOCAL PRESS DESCRIBED SIMPLY AS ATTRACTIVE, WAS DECIDEDLY MID-CENTURY MODERN IN APPEARANCE.
THE ONE STORY BUILDING WITH ITS RED BRICK EXTERIOR FLAT ROOF, AND ALUMINUM FRAMED PLATE GLASS WINDOWS WAS HARDLY LOW COUNTRY STYLE BY ANY STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION.
HOWEVER, AT SOME POINT WITHIN THE NEXT FEW YEARS AS SEEN AS THIS IN THIS POLAROID FROM 1976, THE POST OFFICE WAS ALTERED.
ITS DISTINCTIVE FLAT ROOF WAS CHANGED TO A LOW PITCHED FRONT END GABLE ROOF.
THE REASON FOR THIS CHANGE AND WHEN IT WAS ACTUALLY DONE REMAINS AN UNSOLVED MYSTERY AS THERE ARE NO SURVIVING CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS YET, EVEN WITH ITS UNUSUAL ARCHITECTURAL STYLE, ITS MASSING AND SCALE FIT WELL INTO ITS SETTING NEXT TO THE FORMER POST OFFICE BUILDING NEXT DOOR, AND WITH A CONVENIENT LOCATION ON BRIDGE STREET.
IT WAS A POPULAR GATHERING SPOT FOR THE COMMUNITY AS FORMER MAYOR EMMETT MCCRACKEN RECALLS, IT WAS WHERE
[00:25:01]
YOU WENT IF YOU NEEDED TO SEE SOMEONE, BECAUSE EVERYONE CAME INTO THE POST OFFICE EVERY DAY.MRS. HAYWARD RETIRED AS POSTMASTER IN 1975, ON HER 65TH BIRTHDAY, AND PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE OF 82 ON DECEMBER 16TH, 1992.
AND HER OBITUARY LISTED AMONG HER MANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS WAS THE FACT THAT SHE SERVED AS POSTMASTER FOR 20 YEARS.
BY THE MID 1980S, THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE AS SUCCESSOR TO THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT WAS LEASING APPROXIMATELY 28,000 BUILDINGS FROM PRIVATE OWNERS ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES, LIKE THIS ONE IN CARL PLACE ON LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK, WHICH RECENTLY SOLD FOR $1.35 MILLION.
OTHER POST OFFICES ARE CURRENTLY FOR SALE IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE IN THE MARKET FOR ONE.
IN THE YEARS BETWEEN 1965 AND 1984, THE POPULATION OF BLUFFTON MORE THAN DOUBLED, AND THE POST OFFICE STRUGGLED TO HANDLE THE INCREASED DEMAND FOR MAIL SERVICE AS EVIDENCED BY THE LENGTHY WAITING LIST KEPT ON THE POSTMASTER'S DESK OF BLUFFTON RESIDENTS INTERESTED IN RENTING A POST OFFICE BOX.
AS A RESULT, IN APRIL, 1984, THE BEAUFORT GAZETTE REPORTED THAT THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE HAD DECIDED NOT TO RENEW ITS LEASE WITH MRS. HAYWARD AND BEGAN A SEARCH FOR A SUITABLE SITE UPON WHICH TO BUILD AND LEASE A NEW, MUCH LARGER POST OFFICE BUILDING FOR THE TOWN.
HOWEVER, THAT PLAN WAS DELAYED FOR MORE THAN FIVE YEARS UNTIL A SITE WAS FINES SELECTED, AND THEY KNEW A 4,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING WAS CONSTRUCTED.
IN 1988, THE POST OFFICE BUILDING ON BRIDGE STREET WAS CLOSED.
THE FLAG WAS LOWERED FOR THE LAST TIME, AND THE ICONIC SIGNAGE WAS REMOVED FROM THE BUILDING'S FI BRICK FACADE.
POSTAL OPERATIONS WERE RE RELOCATED THIS TIME, AGAIN, ABOUT A HALF A MILE AWAY INTO A NEW ONE STORY POST OFFICE BUILDING.
HOWEVER, IN 2 0 0 2 POST OFFICE, YOU GUESSED IT MOVED AGAIN THIS TIME TO ITS PRESENT LOCATION, A 26,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING THAT AS ACCORDING TO THE ARCHITECTS, JOINED MODERN DESIGN WITH TRADITIONAL LOW COUNTRY ARCHITECTURE.
BUT THE CURRENT BUILDING IS NOTEWORTHY FOR MORE THAN JUST A STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN BLUFF IN'S HISTORY, THE POST OFFICE WAS NO LONGER LOCATED WHEN THE, WITHIN THE HISTORIC ONE SQUARE MILE VILLAGE FROM 1959 UNTIL 1971, LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF THOUSAND SERIES POST OFFICE BUILDINGS WERE CONSTRUCTED ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ALL IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE DESIGN STANDARDS CATALOG.
BUT WHILE THESE BUILDINGS WERE INTENDED TO BE MODERN, EFFICIENT, AND DISTINCTIVE, MANY BECAME FUNCTIONALLY OBSOLETE AS THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE BEGAN TO FACE FINANCIAL CHALLENGES WITH INCREASED COMPETITION FROM OVERNIGHT CARRIERS AND OTHER TECHNOLOGIES.
DURING THE ENSUING YEARS OF THE 20TH CENTURY, MANY OF THESE BUILDINGS WERE CLOSED.
FOR EXAMPLE, ACCORDING TO REPORTS FROM THE POSTAL SERVICE, OVER THE LAST DECADE, MORE POST POST OFFICE HAS BEEN, HAVE BEEN CLOSED IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY THAN IN ANY OTHER STATE SINCE THE POST OFFICE LITERALLY PUT THE COMMUNITY ON THE MAP AND IT ESTABLISHED ITS PLACE WITHIN THE UNITED STATES WHEN THOSE BUILDINGS CLOSED.
IT'S NOT ONLY THE LOSS OF A PHYSICAL POST OFFICE, BUT ALSO THE LOSS OF THE COMMUNITIES BEAR IDENTITY.
NOW, WHILE MANY HAVE BEEN DEMOLISHED, SOME SURVIVING DECOMMISSIONED POST OFFICE BUILDINGS HAVE BEEN ADAPTED TO SUIT DIFFERENT NEEDS.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE FORMER BGE CHEETO, MISSISSIPPI POST OFFICE BUILT ABOUT THE SAME TIME AS OUR POST OFFICE WAS VACATED IN 1996.
TODAY IT SERVES AS HOME FOR THE MASONIC LODGE NUMBER TWO 60.
LIKEWISE IN LEE SUMMIT, MISSOURI, THE POST OFFICE BUILDING WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1962, AND IN 2016 IT WAS REHABILITATED INTO THE BRIDGE SPACE, A COWORKING AND MEETING SPACE THAT BROUGHT NEW LIFE INTO A BUILDING THAT OTHERWISE WOULD'VE FACED DEMOLITION.
IN 2018, IT WAS LISTED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER C PLACES UNDER CRITERION C AS AN INTACT EXAMPLE OF A THOUSAND SERIES TYPE BUILDING.
NOW, SINCE THE BLUFFTON POST OFFICE CLOSED NEARLY 25 YEARS AGO, THE BUILDING HAS BEEN SERVED, HAS BEEN USED FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES AS A PRIVATE STORAGE UNIT BY THE HAYWARD FAMILY, A LOCAL NEWSPAPER OFFICE, AND RENTED AS A STUDIO AND LIVING SPACE FOR TWO LOCAL ART ARTISTS.
IN FEBRUARY, 2022, THE CURRENT OWNERS WHO YOU'LL HEAR FROM LATER PETITIONED THE BLUFFTON HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION FOR A CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS TO CONVERT THE 1965 POST OFFICE BUILDING INTO A NEW PRIVATE RESIDENCE.
PLANS INCLUDED THE ADDITION OF A 528 SQUARE FOOT MASTER BEDROOM SUITE ON THE REAR ELEVATION AND A 315 SQUARE FOOT SIDE PORCH ON THE EASTERN ELEVATION.
THOUGH THE PROPOSED NEW FLOOR PLAN WAS TO, WAS TO BE MODIFIED, MODIFIED FOR DOMESTIC USE, THE BUILDING'S DISTINCTIVE ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES WOULD BE RESTORED.
THE COMMISSION CONDITIONALLY APPROVED THE PLANS AND CONSTRUCTION BEGAN SHORTLY THEREAFTER.
AS PART OF THE REHABILITATION PROJECT, THE OWNERS SOUGHT TO HAVE
[00:30:01]
THE BUILDING INDIVIDUALLY LISTED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER.BUT THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE DETERMINED IT WAS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR LISTING DUE TO A LACK OF HISTORIC INTEGRITY WRITING THAT THE ORIGINAL DESIGN OF THE BUILDING HAD BEEN COMPROMISED BY THE REPLACEMENT OF THE FLAT ROOF WITH A FRONT GABLE ROOF, THE LOSS OF HISTORIC SIGNAGE AND CHANGES TO THE INTERIOR.
BUT I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT AT LEAST THE HISTORIC FLAGPOLE REMAINS IN PLACE ON APRIL 6TH TO 2022, OUR HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MADE A FORMAL RECOMMENDATION TO TOWN COUNCIL TO HAVE THE FORMER BLUFFTON HEALTH CENTER AND THE OLD BLUFFTON POST OFFICE DESIGNATE AS CONTRIBUTING RESOURCES TO THE OLD TOWN BLUFFTON HISTORIC DISTRICT.
AND IN CONNECTION WITH NATIONAL PRESERVATION MONTH IN MAY, 2022, TOWN COUNCIL MADE THOSE DESIGNATIONS IN THE RESOLUTION FOR THE POST OFFICE TOWN COUNCIL RECOGNIZED THAT THE SUBJECT PROJECT PROPERTY EMBODIES THE DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A THOUSAND SERIES INTERNATIONAL STYLE POST OFFICE BUILDING CONSTRUCTED FROM STANDARD DESIGNS CONTAINED IN THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT'S BUILDING DESIGNS CATALOG PUBLISHED IN 1959, AND THE SUBJECT PROPERTY WAS THE FIRST PURPOSE-BUILT UNITED STATES POST OFFICE FOR THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON.
TO COMMEMORATE THE OCCASION, BLUFFTON TODAY PUBLISHED A SPECIAL EDITORIAL CARTOON CELEBRATING THESE TWO NEW DESIGNATIONS TO OUR LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICT.
THE FIRST EDITIONS, UM, SINCE 2008, THE BLUFFTON POST OFFICE, ONCE A SYMBOL OF THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT'S EFFORTS TO BE MODERN, EFFICIENT, AND DISTINCTIVE NOW HAS A NEW LIFE TODAY, SIMPLY KNOWN AS NUMBER 41 BRIDGE STREET.
IT NO LONGER SERVES A CIVIC FUNCTION FUNCTION, BUT HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO A STUNNING PRIVATE, PRIVATE RESIDENCE.
I OFTEN WONDER WHAT MRS. HAYWARD WOULD THINK ABOUT THIS REHABILITATION PROJECT IF SHE WERE STILL AROUND.
NEVERTHELESS, THE OLD POST OFFICE REMAINS A MODERN EXAMPLE OF THE ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA LOW COUNTRY FOR YEARS TO COME.
I'VE HEARD VERSIONS OF THAT IN PRACTICE AND, UM, JUST THROUGH THE OFFICE WHILE WE LOOK AT THIS BUILDING.
BUT NEVER, NEVER DO I LISTEN TO ANY VERSION OF IT AND NOT PICK UP SOMETHING NEW.
AND EVERY SINGLE TIME IT MAKES ME SMILE BECAUSE I THINK OF ALL THE LITTLE TOWNS ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT I'VE BEEN IN WHERE I THEY'RE CORRECT.
YOU LOOK AT A POST OFFICE AND YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT IS THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT, UM, WHETHER IT DOES FIT INTO THAT TOWN'S ARCHITECTURE OR IF IT STANDS OUT LIKE IT DID HERE FOR A WHILE, AND NOW IT BLENDS INTO, UM, THE FABRIC OF OUR HISTORIC DISTRICT.
NOW, I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE DEBBIE WONDER.
UM, SHE MOVED CHAIRS ON ME HERE, DEBBIE, WONDER UP TO SHARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGE, CHALLENGES AND VICTORIES THAT SHE EXPERIENCED WITH THE RENOVATION OF HER BUILDING.
DEBBIE AND HER HUSBAND MOVED TO BLUFFTON A FEW YEARS AGO AND IMMEDIATELY JOINED IN EVERYWHERE THEY CAN.
UM, THEY HAVE MADE FRIENDS, I THINK, ON EVERY CORNER AND EVERY PARK OF THIS ENTIRE HISTORIC DISTRICT, AND I'M SURE WELL BEYOND.
I SEE THEM OUT WALKING THEIR DOGS JUST ABOUT SEVEN DAYS A WEEK TALKING TO SOMEONE DIFFERENT EVERY SINGLE TIME.
I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY FIND AS MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE TO SPEAK TO AS THEY DO.
DEBBIE HAS EVEN JOINED OUR HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION.
SO SHE'S NOT ONLY BEEN INVOLVED, UM, WITH PEOPLE SOCIALLY, BUT SHE'S ALSO DECIDED TO, TO STEP IT UP AND JOIN THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION FROM RESEARCHING IT TO WIELDING THE HAMMER THEMSELVES, DEBBIE AND RUSTY'S EFFORTS WITH FIRST THE RATE AND NOW THE OLD BLUFFTON POST OFFICE HAVE BEEN TRULY AMAZING TO WATCH.
SO DEBBIE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING TONIGHT.
SO DEBBIE, WHY DON'T YOU START BY TELLING US WHERE ARE YOU ORIGINALLY FROM AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AT LOUGHTON? UM, WELL, I I'VE LIVED ALL OVER THE PLACE.
UM, I WAS BORN IN LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, AND, UM, LIVED IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, DIFFERENT CITIES, BUT, UM, MY FAMILY ALWAYS HAD A HOME BASE IN HILTON HEAD, SO WE MOVED TO HILTON HEAD IN 1983.
SO I AM FAMILIAR WITH THE AREA.
I'VE SEEN IT CHANGE AND UM, BLUFFTON WAS DEFINITELY ONE OF THE PLACES THAT LATER IN LIFE I JUST NOTICED THIS HUGE CHANGE AND FELT I NEEDED TO BE A PART OF.
NOW, HOW MANY PROPERTIES DO YOU ACTUALLY OWN IN BLUFFTON? I OWN TWO.
UM, I OWN THE RATE AND THE POST OFFICE.
WE BOUGHT THE POST OFFICE FIRST IN 2015.
AND, UM, I ALWAYS HAD MY HEART ON THE RATE, AND AT THE TIME, A COUPLE OWNED IT.
AND, UM, I HAD A REALTOR, UM, AND HER, AND I ALWAYS KEPT, SORRY, I'M A LITTLE NERVOUS.
[00:35:01]
I'M NOT A PUBLIC SPEAKER.WE HAD A REALTOR AND THEY'RE LIKE, YEAH, YOU KNOW WHAT? THEY'RE NOT WILLING TO SELL IT.
THEY'RE, THEY MAYBE WILL TURN IT INTO AN OFFICE.
AND I'M LIKE, WELL, IF THEY'RE EVER WILLING TO SELL IT, JUST, JUST PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
SO WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY.
WE WERE LIVING OUR CAREERS HAD US IN DIFFERENT CITIES.
SO WHEN THE RATE BECAME AVAILABLE, UM, I'M LIKE, WHATEVER THEY'RE ASKING FOR, I'LL PAY IT.
I JUST LIKE, I'LL FIND THE MONEY, WE'LL DO, SORRY,
I'M JUST VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT THESE BUILDINGS BECAUSE I PUT SO MUCH ON OUR HEART AND SOULS INTO IT.
UM, BUT WHEN THE RAPE BECAME AVAILABLE, WE FOUND THE MONEY, WE BOUGHT IT, AND THAT'S WHERE OUR FOCUS WAS IN THE VERY BEGINNING BECAUSE THE ROOF WAS COLLAPSED, THERE WAS A WHOLE ECOSYSTEM LIVING ON TOP OF IT.
AND, UM, WE WERE LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE'RE GONNA PUT THE POST OFFICE ON, ON THE BACK BURNER FOR A MINUTE AND FOCUS ON KEEPING THIS BUILDING FROM FALLING APART.
AND THEN ONCE WE HAD THE RATE TOGETHER AND EVERYTHING WAS FINE, YOU KNOW, WE SAVED SOME MONEY AND LIKE, OKAY, NOW WE'RE READY TO DO THE POST OFFICE.
AND WHEN WE BOUGHT IT, IT CAME WITH RENTERS.
SO THAT WAS HELPING PAY THE MORTGAGE UNTIL WE WERE READY TO DO OUR THING.
SO WHEN YOU GOT THE POST OFFICE MM-HMM,
UM, NOW DID YOU KNOW IT WAS A POST OFFICE? YES.
WHEN YOU LOOK LIKE I, WE, WE SUSPECTED, WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT, YOU KNOW, IT HAD THE FLAGPOLE, IT WAS A RED BRICK BUILDING, IT HAD BIG STOREFRONT WINDOWS.
WE'RE LIKE, THIS LOOKS LIKE IT USED TO BE A POST OFFICE.
AND WE REALLY WERE DRAWN TO THAT COMMERCIAL MID-CENTURY GUIDE.
SO WHEN YOU BOUGHT IT, WHAT WAS YOUR VISION? UM, OUR VISION WAS IT WAS GOING TO BE A PLACE FOR US TO LIVE.
AND, UM, BECAUSE IT, WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE INSIDE, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT, WE'LL JUST BLOW OUT THE INSIDE.
IT'LL HAVE THIS LOFT TYPE VIBE.
LIKE, WE'LL HAVE OUR DOGS THERE.
LIKE IT'LL, IT'S A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE.
SO THAT WAS OUR VISION, WAS TO BRING IT BACK AND, UM, KEEP IT THE WAY IT WAS.
AND AT THE TIME WE WERE FULLY AWARE THAT WE COULD BULLDOZE IT AND BUILD WHATEVER WE WANTED ON IT, BUT WE JUST THOUGHT IT WAS SO UNIQUE TO THE TOWN.
AND THERE WAS NO OTHER BUILDING EXCEPT FOR THE, THE BLUFFED HEALTH CENTER, THE RED BRICK ON MAY RIVER THAT LOOKED LIKE IT.
IT WAS JUST SO UNIQUE THAT LIKE, WE JUST DIDN'T WANT SOMETHING THAT LOOKED VERY COOKIE CUTTER.
WE WANTED TO KEEP THAT BUILDING THE WAY IT WAS.
SO I HAVE TO ASK, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING,
JUST, IT COULDN'T BE THAT BAD.
AND IT, IT WAS JUST THE TOWN THAT ALSO DREW US, YOU KNOW, JUST WALKING AROUND AND TALKING TO PEOPLE.
AND MY HUSBAND, I WISH HE WAS HERE RIGHT NOW 'CAUSE HE'S MUCH BETTER THAN I AM AT THIS.
UM, SO YOUR PROJECT ACTUALLY REQUIRE A CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS.
AND, UM, WHAT WERE, WERE THERE ANY PARTICULAR CHALLENGES TO THE PROCESS? YOU KNOW, KNOW WHAT WE REALLY LEANED INTO AMANDA AT P SCOTT, AND THIS WAS ALSO AROUND THE TIME OF COVID WHEN WE WERE LOOKING TO MAKE MOVES TO TRY AND RENOVATE IT.
SO I WAS GLUED TO THE FACEBOOK BROADCAST OF THE HPC MEETINGS, AND THAT'S WHERE I REALLY BECAME INFORMED.
I SAW WHAT WAS GETTING PASSED, WHAT WASN'T, AND I REALIZED THAT, YOU KNOW WHAT, IF YOU HIRE A LOCAL ARCHITECT THAT KNOWS THE UDO, THEY'RE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT WHAT YOUR DECISIONS ARE AND WHAT YOU WANNA DO WITH IT IS GONNA GET PASSED.
SO I REALLY LEANED INTO AMANDA.
SO ONCE WORK STARTED, ENCOUNT, ANY SURPRISES? MANY, MANY, UM, ASBESTOS, AND THIS IS A SAVANNAH ABATEMENT RIGHT HERE.
AND THAT'S ACTUALLY, THAT'S, NO, THAT IS RUSTY
WE TORE, THERE WAS CARPET AND THEN WE SAW LIKE THESE, I GUESS THE TELLTALES SIX BY SIX GREEN LINOLEUM TILES.
AND, UM, EVERYBODY'S LIKE, THAT'S ASBESTOS.
SO I SENT IT IN, HAD IT TESTED SURE ENOUGH.
UM, AND THEN WE HAD IT, UH, HAD IT ABATED BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW IF WE COULD EVER LIVE KNOWING THAT THERE WAS ASBESTOS UNDERNEATH THE FLOOR.
SO WE SPENT THE MONEY ON THAT.
UM, WE DIDN'T, WHEN WE WERE SOLD THE PROPERTY, WE WERE TOLD IT WAS HOOKED UP TO CITY SEWER, NOT THE CASE.
BIG SEPTIC TANK WE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT.
UM, THE LARGE, UH, THE LARGE PROPANE TANK THAT WAS BURIED, WE DIDN'T KNOW HOW BIG THAT THING WAS UNTIL WE HAD TO
[00:40:01]
DIG IT UP.UM, AND THEN ALSO THE BIGGEST SURPRISE WITH THE, WITH THE TWO ROOF MM-HMM.
UM, WE THOUGHT, I'M LIKE, OH, THERE'S A PITCHED ROOF.
YOU KNOW, LIKE, WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT THERE ORIGINALLY WAS BUILT A FLAT TAR ROOF ON TOP.
SO MY HUSBAND ALL BY HIMSELF TOOK OFF THAT, THAT PITCHED ROOF THAT WAS NOT SO GREAT BUILD.
AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN WE FOUND THE TAR FLAT ROOF THERE.
WE NEEDED HELP TO GET THAT DONE.
BUT, UM, A GOOD SURPRISE WAS BETWEEN THE DROP CEILING ON THE INSIDE AND THE TAR ROOF, THERE WAS ALL THIS OLD PINE THAT WAS IN PERFECT CONDITION.
AND WE REPURPOSED IT THROUGHOUT OUR HOUSE AND THE CARRIAGE HOUSE.
AND, UM, I KNOW OUR, OUR, OUR, OUR CRAFTS GUY, OUR OUR CARPENTERS LOOKED AT IT AND THEY KIND OF LIKE WENT LIKE THIS BECAUSE THAT PINE WAS SO HARD, IT WAS JUST GONNA TAKE MORE WORK TO CUT THROUGH IT AND USE IT, YOU KNOW, IN, IN THE, UH, IN THE STRUCTURE.
SO, OH, ALSO WHEN WE RUSTY, THERE WAS A, UM, A CINDER BLOCK WALL BETWEEN THE MALE AND FEMALE BATHROOMS. AND RUSTY KNOCKED THAT DOWN.
AND IN THE SPACE IN BETWEEN WE FOUND ALL OF THESE LIKE OLD VODKA BOTTLES,
MY, MY FAVORITE IS THE, THE CORN WHISKEY.
THEY CALL THAT BLOCKED IN INSULATION.
UM, ANY PARTICULAR CHALLENGES YOU FACED DURING THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS? OKAY.
AND I HOPE THIS PICTURE'S NOT TRIGGERING.
YOU KNOW,
YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TOOK THE ROOF OFF, UM, WE HAD TO, THE CINDER BLOCK WALLS, WE HAD TO REFORTIFY THEM.
WE HAD TO, WITH REBAR AND POUR CEMENT IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THE PITCH ROOF THAT WE WERE DOING.
UM, ALL NEW PLUMBING, ALL NEW ELECTRICAL, ALL NEW H ALL LIKE HVAC.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THERE'S THE THINGS THAT ANYBODY WHO'S UNDERGONE A RENOVATION OR CONSTRUCTION YOU DEAL WITH, LIKE, THINGS GETTING STOLEN.
LIKE WE HAD LIKE THREE GRAND WITH A WINDOW STOLEN.
WE HAD A PLUMBER, SHADY, SHADY PLUMBER THAT NEVER FINISHED THE JOB, DID A BAD JOB, AND WALKED AWAY WITH LIKE 14 K OF OUR MONEY.
AND, UM, I THINK THE ONE THING LIKE, IT, IT WAS JUST, IT WAS JUST A, THINGS LIKE THAT THAT YOU, THAT YOU DEAL WITH.
BUT, UM, I THINK THE ONE THING THAT WE LEARNED IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, OUR A TEAM, PLUMBERS THE ONE THAT DID THE RATE, THEY WERE AMAZING, BUT THEY WERE BUSY ON LIKE A BIG FANCY JOB IN PALMETTO BLUFF, AND WE JUST SHOULD HAVE WAITED FOR THEM.
SO WE WENT WITH LIKE THE B TEAM.
AND I THINK LIKE THE, A LESSON LEARNED IS THAT SOMETIMES IF YOU CAN AFFORD TO TAKE THE TIME TO WAIT FOR THAT, FOR THE, FOR THE GOOD PEOPLE, WAIT FOR THE GOOD PEOPLE.
SO AS I MENTIONED, UM, THE POST OFFICE WAS DESIGNATED BY TOWN COUNCIL AS A NEW CONTRIBUTING RESOURCE TWO YEARS AGO.
UM, WHAT WAS THAT LIKE FOR YOU AS THE OWNER? IT'S AN HONOR, IS AN HONOR TO OWN SOMETHING THAT SO MANY PEOPLE CARE ABOUT.
LIKE I SAID, WE WORK SO HARD ON IT AND, UM, WE JUST, WE LOVE LIVING HERE.
AND SO MANY TIMES PEOPLE HAVE WALKED BY AND LIKE, CAN WE LEND A HAND? AND SOMEBODY WILL PICK UP A SHOVEL AND HELP US.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT REALLY CEMENTED THINGS FOR US.
UM, ONE WAS FOR THE ROOF, UM, AND ONE WAS FOR THE WINDOWS.
SO TELL US ABOUT THAT PROCESS.
UM, WELL, WE'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH, YOU KNOW, WITH GOVERNMENT PAPERWORK AND ALL THAT, SO, UM, WE, WE LEANED INTO AMANDA AT P SCOTT AND THEN EVERYBODY HERE, YOU AND KATIE, UM, WE'RE SO HELPFUL, LIKE IN TERMS OF JUST THE, THE PAPERWORK AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO.
AND I THINK THE ONLY CONCESSION THAT WE HAD TO, THAT WE MADE FROM OUR ORIGINAL PLANS TO, IN ORDER TO BECOME A CONTRIBUTING STRUCTURE WAS THE PITCH OF THE ROOF.
WE JUST HAD TO KEEP IT TO WHAT THE ORIGINAL SECOND ROOF WAS.
OTHER THAN THAT, IT'S LIKE WE, I FELT LIKE THE TOWN REALLY HELD OUR HAND THROUGH THROUGH THE APPLICATION PROCESS.
AND WE INVITED THE DOGS TO BOTH BIG CHECK GIVEAWAYS.
SINCE HINDSIGHT IS ALWAYS 2020, UM, WOULD YOU DO ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY? YES, I, I DEFINITELY WOULD, WOULD DO A FEW THINGS DIFFERENTLY.
UM, RUSTY AND I TALKED ABOUT THIS.
IT'S LIKE WE WERE PLAYING CHECKERS WHEN HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN PLAYING CHESS.
WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE, FOR THINKING LIKE EVERYTHING AHEAD, AHEAD OF TIME.
UM, LIKE JUST ANYTHING FROM LIKE WHERE OUR THINGS ARE GONNA BE TO
[00:45:01]
THE WINDOW PLACEMENTS.UM, VETTING THE SUBS, VETTING THE SUBCONTRACTORS.
WE SHOULD HAVE DONE THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
AND WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST REWARDING PART OF THE PROJECT NOW THAT IT'S DONE, NOW THAT IT'S DONE LIVING IN LIKE, OUR VISION, YOU KNOW, WE OBVIOUSLY YOU MAKE, YOU MAKE CONCESSIONS ALONG THE WAY, BUT JUST LIVING WHERE WE ARE IN THE PLACEMENT.
I MEAN, LIKE JONI HAYWARD'S OUR NEIGHBOR.
LIKE WHAT COULD BE BETTER THAN THAT? YOU KNOW,
UH, THE, THE COAL BURNS ARE AWESOME.
THE WARDS ACROSS THE STREET, LIKE THEY'RE THE MOST FRIENDLY PEOPLE AND YOU JUST, YOU FEEL LIKE SOMEBODY ALWAYS HAS YOUR BACK.
AND ALSO LIVING SO CLOSE TO THE RIVER, WE WALK THERE TWICE A DAY WITH OUR DOGS.
SO NOW THAT YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY REHABILITATED TO MM-HMM.
ANY OTHER REHABILITATION PROJECTS ON THE HORIZON? NO, WE'RE PAUSING ON THAT UNTIL LIKE YOU ASKED ME A COUPLE YEARS, BUT, UH, WE'RE TAPPED OUT.
UM, ANY WORDS OF WISDOM FOR SOMEONE WHO'S CONTEMPLATING A MAJOR REHABILITATION PROJECT? UM, JUST TRY AND TRY AND FOR THINK, UM, TRY AND PLAN FOR THE WORST.
IF YOU CAN, WHEN YOU'RE DOING CONSTRUCTION, GET TO KNOW THE CRAFTSMEN BECAUSE IF YOU LEARN THEIR NAMES OR SAY IT'S LIKE A, IT'S A 98 DEGREE DAY AND THEY'RE OUT THERE LIKE SAWING YOUR WOOD, LIKE BRING THEM DRINKS, BRING 'EM COLD WATERMELON.
LIKE, BECAUSE IF YOU CARE ABOUT THEM, THEY CARE ABOUT YOUR PROJECT, YOU KNOW.
SO WHAT'S IT LIKE TO LIVE IN AN OLD POST OFFICE? IT'S AWESOME.
IT'S GONNA BE OUR FIRST CHRISTMAS PARADE IN THAT LOCATION.
SO COME BY FOR SOME LIKE CHO EGG WRAPS.
UM, NOW SINCE YOU'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN REHABIL A THOUSAND SERIES POST OFFICE BUILDING, HAVE YOU NOTICED ANY OTHERS AROUND THE COUNTRY IN YOUR TRAVELS? YEAH, YOU DO.
YOU SEE THEM AND YOU'RE LIKE, OH, LIKE THAT'S GOTTA BE AROUND THE SAME TIME THAT, THAT OURS WAS BUILT.
BUT YOU SEE THEM AND YOU KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S SOMETHING OTHER THAN A POST OFFICE, I THINK THERE'S LIKE ONE STILL, LIKE THAT'S STILL AN OPERATING POST OFFICE.
IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY TOOK SOME TIME TO TRY AND KEEP THAT BUILDING THERE INSTEAD OF YEAH, YEAH.
SO THIS ONE IS ALMAR, SOUTH CAROLINA.
UM, NEARLY IDENTICAL TO WHAT YEARS LOOKED LIKE WHEN IT WAS BRAND NEW.
UM, I USE THIS AS AN ILLUSTRATION OF MY TALK, WHICH I WROTE TWO YEARS AGO.
AND, UM, I WAS LOOKING FOR AN IMAGE OF IT.
SO I, FOR TONIGHT'S Q AND A AND GOOGLED TO PULL UP AN IMAGE 'CAUSE I DIDN'T WANNA DRIVE ALL THE WAY TO HOMER FOR A PHOTOGRAPH FOR TONIGHT.
UM, AND I FOUND OUT THAT, UM, IN MARCH, THE POST OFFICE, UM, SENT OUT A PRESS RELEASE SAYING THAT THIS LOCATION HAS BEEN TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED, UM, DUE TO FACILITY DAMAGES.
UM, AND AS OF TODAY THEY'RE STILL NOT REOPENED YET.
SO, UM, I'M NOT SURE WHAT THEIR ISSUES ARE, BUT, UM, THIS ONE USED TO BE OPERATING AND RIGHT NOW IT'S NOT QUITE OPERATING.
UM, BUT I DO NOTICE THEM ARE AROUND A LOT AS WELL.
COULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SOMEBODY.
UM, NOW I HAVE TO SAY, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO THE DOGS THINK ABOUT THE NEW HOUSE? LOVE IT.
THEY GET TO LOOK OUT THE WINDOW AND BARK AT EVERYBODY.
YOU'RE WALKING BY AND MY DOGS ARE BARKING AT YOU.
SO, UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO OPEN UP TO SOME, WE HAVE A FEW MINUTES FOR QUESTIONS.
UM, I KNOW THAT YOU AND RUSTY MADE REALLY SPECIFIC DESIGN CHOICES FOR YOUR HOUSE.
AND ONE OF THEM WAS THE FLOOR, WHICH I KNOW IS A REALLY HARD THING TO KIND OF ACCOMPLISH YOUR TERRAZZO FLOOR.
CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT PROCESS? WELL, I ALWAYS THOUGHT OF LIKE, BECAUSE IT WAS A COMMERCIAL BUILDING, I JUST THOUGHT INDUSTRIAL AND YOU KNOW, IN INDUSTRIAL YOU THINK OF LIKE AIRPORTS AND SCHOOLS AND YOU THINK THOSE TERRAZZO FLOORS WITH ALL THE STUFF IN IT.
AND THEN WHEN I WAS TALKING TO GLEN, HE SAID ONE OF THE CHOICES SOMEBODY MADE WHEN THEY WERE BUILDING THE BUILDING, THEY COULD CHOOSE LINOLEUM OR TERRAZZO.
SO WHEN KNOWING THAT MY, THE IDEA I HAD IN MY HEAD WAS ACTUALLY HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT, I'M LIKE, OH, AWESOME.
BUT TRY AND FIND SOMEBODY TO DO A GIZO FLOOR IN A THOUSAND SQUARE FOOT BUILDING BECAUSE THESE COMPANIES, THEY DO COLLEGES, THEY DO AIRPORTS, THEY DO HOSPITALS AND LIKE WE'RE SMALL PEANUTS, LIKE REAL SMALL PEANUTS, YOU KNOW.
UM, SO WE HAD A BUDGET TO WORK IN AND UM, LUCKILY I JUST, I CALLED, I HAD, THERE WAS ONE GUY, I'M NOT GONNA NAME HIS NAME.
HE DOES AMAZING WORK IN, UH, BUT HE WAS JUST TOO MUCH MONEY AND HE WASN'T WILLING TO WORK WITH US.
BUT I FOUND BONNETS AND BONNETS IS, HAS A SOUTHEAST DIVISION
[00:50:01]
AND, UM, THEY WERE WILLING TO WORK WITH US ON OUR PRICE AND THE TIME AND THEY JUST DID AN AMAZING JOB.IF YOU'RE EVER WALKING BY AND YOU WANNA SEE OUR AMAZING FLOORS, LEMME KNOW.
I HAVE TO SAY THEY ARE AMAZING.
WHY DON'T YOU TELL EVERYBODY HERE HOW YOU HAVE IT SET UP AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, YOUR BEDROOM, THE BATHROOM, WHAT YOU'VE DONE, YOU KNOW? RIGHT.
THE, THE MAIN AREA OF THE POST OFFICE.
LIKE, WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT WE COULD ADD ONTO IT.
SO WHEN WE BOUGHT IT AND UM, AMANDA AT PIERCE SCOTT WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T CHANGE THE OUTSIDE, BUT YOU CAN ADD ONTO IT.
AND AT FIRST WE'RE LIKE, OKAY, A THOUSAND SQUARE FEET, WE CAN LIVE IN THAT.
WE LIVE IN APARTMENTS IN NEW YORK CITY AND LA AND THEN WHEN WE FOUND WE COULD ADD 'EM, LIKE, OKAY, WE'LL JUST ADD OUR BEDROOM AND A BATHROOM ON THE BACK.
BUT THE MAIN UM, THE BIG ORIGINAL STRUCTURE IS JUST AN OPEN AREA.
SO IT'S AN OPEN AREA CONCEPT WITH A PITCHED ROOF, WITH A KITCHEN AND A LIVING ROOM AND A SMALL DINING AREA.
AND THEN WE CREATED A SEPARATE AREA FOR AN OFFICE, BUT WE, WE GOT RID OF THE WALLS FOR THE BATHROOMS. AND THAT'S KIND OF LIKE A GUEST BATHROOM THERE.
TALK ABOUT THE WINDOWS AND THE LITTLE
OH YEAH, THE, UM, SO WHEN WE WENT FOR THE SECOND, FOR THE SECOND GRANT, FOR THE GRANT FOR THE WINDOWS FOR REPAIRING THEM, UM, WE, WE NEEDED TO KEEP AND WANTED TO KEEP THE ORIGINAL FRAMING, BUT BECAUSE THE GLASS WAS CRACKED AND, YOU KNOW, AND JUST A MESS.
WE NEEDED TO, WE NEEDED TO REPLACE THE WINDOW.
SO, UM, INSTEAD OF USING WINDOW TREATMENTS FOR PRIVACY, WE LOOKED INTO EGL GLASSS.
AND IF YOU'VE EVER SEEN THOSE MOVIES WHERE SOMEBODY'S IN AN OFFICE AND THEY PRESS A BUTTON AND THE GLASS GOES FROSTY, THAT'S WHAT THOSE ARE.
SO IF YOU'RE DRIVING BY OR WALKING BY ONE WENT THE FROSTY, AND THEN THAT'S WHEN YOU CAN SIT IN, YOU JUST, YOU JUST PRESS A BUTTON AND IT'S JUST WATER MOLECULES IN BETWEEN GLASS.
SO IS THE FRONT DOOR FUNCTIONAL? IT IS.
AND IT STILL HAS THE ORIGINAL LIKE, ARM ON IT, LIKE RUSTING NEEDS TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF REPAIRING ON IT.
IT'S STILL STILL THE ORIGINAL LOCK, ORIGINAL FRAMING AND THE ARM UP ABOVE.
DO YOU USE THAT AS YOUR FRONT DOOR? WE DO, WE DO, BUT REALLY I THINK MY FRONT DOOR HAS NOW BECOME THE PORCH DOOR.
SO, BUT THE, OUR PORCH DOOR WAS THE SECURITY DOOR INSIDE THE POST OFFICE, SO IT'S A REALLY BIG HEAVY DOOR AND, AND THE GLASS PANELS ALL HAVE CHICKEN WIRE IN IT, SO WE JUST REPURPOSED THAT AS OUR FORGED DOOR.
AND HOW ABOUT YOUR KITCHEN AND YOUR DESIGN? IT'S KIND OF FINISHED.
WE JUST KEPT IT REAL MO LIKE REAL MODERN KIND OF LIKE, UH, ON ONE HAND IT'S LIKE, IT, IT'S A NEW STRUCTURE ON THE INSIDE.
UM, BUT WITH THE TERRAZZO FLOORS AND JUST A, A GRAY COUNTERTOP AND WHITE CABINETS THAT JUST KIND OF DISAPPEAR AND EVERYTHING IN BECAUSE IT'S SO HOT DOWN HERE.
WE WANTED TO WALK AND YOU KNOW, IN THE SUMMERTIME WHEN YOU WALK IN YOU JUST WANNA FEEL COOL IMMEDIATELY.
AND THAT WAS KIND OF THE VIBE FOR THAT.
ONCE HE MADE THE CABINETS, DIDN'T HE? HE DID.
I THINK YOU'LL BE FOR A WHILE YET.
UH, THIS IS MORE OF A HISTORICAL QUESTION, BUT UM, YOU SAID THAT PART OF WHY THE, UH, APPLICATION FOR TO BE AN OFFICIAL, UM, HISTORIC SITE WAS BECAUSE THE ORIGINAL LETTERS THAT SAID LIKE THE US POSTAL OFFICE, UM, WERE REMOVED.
THE POST OFFICE REQUIREMENTS MADE THEM TAKE POST OFFICE STUFF DOWN, INCLUDING THE SIGN REMOVE THE MAILBOX THAT USED TO BE AT THE FRONT DOOR, ALL THAT STUFF WENT AWAY.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO IT.
YOU COULD SEE LIKE BULLET, SOME WAS A LETTERING STILL.
SOME OF THE, UM, ANCHORS ARE STILL THE, THE WALL FROM WHERE THE IS WHERE ALUMINUM SIGN ALUMINUM LETTERS WERE WERE INSTALLED.
RIGHT NOW THE DESIGN CATALOG THAT OVER HERE, WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE RATE? WELL, THE RATE IS DONE THAT WE FINISHED THAT.
SO RIGHT NOW WE RENT IT OUT TO OUR CONTRACTOR.
WHEN WE HAD IT FINISHED, I WAS LIKE, OKAY, HOW ARE WE GONNA PAY THIS MORTGAGE AND OUR RENT? AND I'M LIKE, I GUESS WE GOTTA LOOK FOR SOMEBODY TO RENT IT TO.
AND JOSH SIMPSON, WHO, HE WAS OUR CONTRACTOR FOR THE RATE AND THE POST OFFICE, HE CAME TO US AND HE'S LIKE, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ME BEING YOUR FIRST RENTER? I'M LIKE, ABSOLUTELY.
I'M LIKE, YOU DID AN AMAZING JOB.
I KNOW YOU'RE GONNA TAKE CARE OF IT.
I'M LIKE, DEAL, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE AN OFFICE USUALLY.
UM, AND I, I'LL SAY THAT THIS IS MAYBE MORE OF LIKE A GENERAL QUESTION, JUST AS IT SEEMS LIKE THE HISTORIC PANEL PLAYS A BIG ROLE AS PERSONAL INDIVIDUALS COME TO LOOK FOR THE PRESERVATION.
UM, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY WHEN IT COMES TO MAINTAINING LIKE THE LOW COUNTRY LOOK, I HAVE NOTICED THAT, UM, LIKE WHAT IS
[00:55:01]
THE ADVICE THAT IS GIVEN TO PEOPLE COMING IN FOR THESE PROJECTS, ESPECIALLY WITH A LOT OF THE, I WOULDN'T SAY THE WILDLIFE, BUT THE TREES, RIGHT? THEY'RE A VERY HISTORIC, ICONIC LOOK FOR THE AREA, BUT THERE'S KIND OF A BALANCE, YOU KNOW, OF KEEPING 'EM, WE'VE SEEN THEM USE SOME DAMAGE AND I WAS JUST KIND OF WONDERING LIKE IF THERE'S ANY, IF EVER A DISCUSSION IN ANY OF THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROCESS? YEAH, SO ALMOST EVERY PROJECT THAT I CAN THINK OF, AND KATIE COULD PROBABLY CORRECT ME IF I'VE FORGOTTEN ONE.UM, WHEN TREES ARE INVOLVED, THERE'S A DISCUSSION, THERE'S TREES, THERE'S A TREE ORDINANCE, THERE'S TREES IN THE UDO, WHICH IS, IF YOU DON'T KNOW, OUR LINGO IS THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE, UM, FOR SEVERAL WEEKS WHEN I WAS FIRST IN TOWN THINKING U-D-O-U-F-O, LIKE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS IS
SO WE ARE VERY STRONG SUPPORTER OF OUR TREES.
UM, WE HATE TO LOSE OUR TREES.
UM, SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO, AND THEN WE HAVE TO PLANT NEW TREES IN THEIR PLACE.
MY PEANUT GALLERY ANSWER OVER HERE IS THAT, UM, IT'S SECTION 5.5, 5.3 0.3 OF THE UDO.
BUT THE, UH, REQUIREMENT IS THAT ALL SITE PLANNING MUST BE DONE TO CONSERVE THE EXISTING CANOPY OF THE LOT TO THE GREATEST EXTENT POSSIBLE.
THERE ARE OBVIOUSLY SOME LOTS THAT ARE EXISTING WHERE A TREE WILL HAVE TO COME DOWN.
SO IF YOU'RE DOING AN ADDITION ON A HOUSE, WE TRY AND GET THAT TO FRAME AROUND THE TREE OR IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION THAN THE TREE.
UH, BUT THERE'S ALSO A REQUIREMENT FOR THE CANOPY COVERAGE AT THE END OF DEVELOPMENT TO BE 75% OF THE LOT AT FULL GROWTH, NOT INCLUDING ROOFTOPS.
SO THAT MEANS THAT A LOT OF TIMES YOU'LL SEE THESE LITTLE TREES, THEY SHOULD BE 12 FEET IN HEIGHT OF PLANTING THAT GET INSTALLED AFTERWARDS.
SO THAT WHILE WE HAD TO TAKE SOME DOWN IN ORDER TO CONTINUE THE GROWTH OF LUPTON, WHICH IS HAPPENING AT A RAPID PACE, UM, IN 20 YEARS FROM NOW, YOU'LL SEE THOSE AND THEY'LL BE GOOD SIZED TREES AND IN 50 THEY'LL BE EVEN BETTER THAN THAT.
AND FOR OUR GRANDCHILDREN AND GREAT GRANDCHILDREN, YOU'RE GONNA GET THESE MASSIVE OAKS AND MASSIVE TREES THAT ARE JUST GROWING THROUGHOUT TOWN AND THEY'LL LOOK LIKE THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN HERE.
SO WE DO TRY OUR BEST TO MAINTAIN THE CANOPY AS IT EXISTS, BUT IF NOT, WE REPLANTED IT.
GIVEN THAT YOU DISCOVERED TWO ROOFS, HOW DID YOU CHOOSE WHICH ONE TO GO FOR? WELL, WE, WE NEEDED A NEW ROOF BECAUSE BOTH OF THEM WEREN'T GOOD.
UM, I KNOW THAT THE PITCHED ROOF, LIKE THE, THE I-BEAM FORWARD WAS LIKE KIND OF NOT THE RIGHT WIDTH OF WOOD AND THEY WERE KIND OF LIKE PIECED TOGETHER.
AND THEN THE TAR ROOF UNDERNEATH IT, IT WAS, IT JUST LEAKED AND IT WAS A BAD ROOF.
AND THAT'S WHY THEY BUILT THE PITCHED ROOF ON TOP.
SO THERE WAS NO KEEPING THE ROOF AND WE HAD TO DO EVERYTHING ENGINEERING WISE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CURRENT ROOF WOULD BE SUPPORTED THOUGH THE HOUSE HAUNTED
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR QUESTIONS.
FROM LARGE PROJECTS LIKE DEBBIE HAS TAKEN ON, UM, AND THE STORIES OR THE LITTLE PROJECTS, LIKE THE STORIES OF US TELLING OUR VISITORS ABOUT THESE PROJECTS AS THEY COME TO TOWN.
EACH ONE OF YOU HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE THE PEOPLE SAVING PLACES THAT THE NATIONAL TRUST TALKS ABOUT.
NEXT TIME YOU'RE OUT AND ABOUT IN THE HISTORIC DISTRICT, TAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME TO LOOK AT THE BUILDINGS THAT WE CELEBRATE, NOT ONLY IN THIS ROOM, BUT IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES.
THE ONES THAT WE EAT IN, THE ONES THAT WE SHOP IN, THE ONES THAT WE LIVE IN, THE ONES THAT OUR FRIENDS DO THOSE THINGS IN.
AND THINK ABOUT WHICH SPACE YOU WANT TO SAVE, WHICH SPACE YOU WANT TO SEE, HAVE THINGS THAT ARE DONE TO IT WHERE YOU CAN WATCH THESE BUILDINGS CREATE MORE HISTORY.
I PROMISE TO BE BRIEF IN MY CLOSING TONIGHT, BUT BEFORE WE GO, I HAVE A COUPLE ITEMS. THEY'RE ALL MOSTLY HOUSEKEEPING.
THE FIRST IS MOST OF YOU RECEIVED A LITTLE COMMENT, FEEDBACK CARD.
IF YOU COULD FILL THOSE OUT AND RETURN 'EM TO STAFF.
WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT TONIGHT'S PRESENTATION SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT THE ONES IN THE FUTURE, UM, REFLECT SOME OF THOSE COMMENTS.
THE SECOND IS THAT FOLLOWING THE SYMPOSIUM, THERE IS A RECEPTION HOSTED BY THE HISTORIC BLUFFTON FOUNDATION AT THE HAYWARD HOUSE, WHICH IS LOCATED JUST DOWN THE STREET HERE ON BOUNDARY.
UM, WE'LL ALL BE WALKING OVER THERE FROM STAFF, SO IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH WHERE IT IS, YOU CAN GET FAMILIAR THERE.
THERE WILL BE SOME SNACKS AND SOME DRINKS THERE THAT WE CAN ALL ENJOY AND CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT PRESERVATION.
AND THEN THE FINAL THING THAT I'D LIKE TO SHARE IS THAT WE HAVE A TOKEN FOR DEBBIE TO SAY THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE TIME, EFFORT, AND ENERGY YOU PUT INTO YOUR BUILDINGS.
[01:00:01]
NOT A TOKEN JUST FOR THAT.THIS IS MOSTLY FOR TONIGHT, BECAUSE THERE'S NO WAY THAT WE CAN SAY THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR ALL OF THE WORK THAT YOU'VE PUT INTO THOSE BUILDINGS.
DO YOU WANNA PRESENT IT? BECAUSE
SO FOR THE AUDIENCE, WHAT WE HAVE IS A SMALL, AGAIN, TOKEN OF OUR ESTEEM, UM, LITTLE MAP OF HISTORIC BLUFFTON.
UM, AND, UM, SOME LOVELY FLOWERS COURTESY OF OUR, OUR FRIEND LINDY.
UM, SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR, FOR JOINING US TONIGHT.
PORT FREMONT CLOSES OUT A 350 YEAR LEGACY OF COASTAL FORTIFICATIONS IN PORT ROYAL SOUND, BEGINNING IN THE MID 16TH CENTURY.
IT ALSO REPRESENTS THE CLOSING CHAPTER OF AMERICA'S COASTAL DEFENSE SYSTEM BEFORE THE DAWN OF AIR POWER.
PORT FREMONT IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE MOST ADVANCED MILITARY TECHNOLOGY OF ITS TIME.
IT WOULD PARALLEL THE B 17 AND AIRCRAFT CARRIER OF WORLD WAR II, THE F 35 OF TODAY.
FORT FREMONT WAS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE BEAUFORT CULTURE, VERY SIMILAR TO PARIS ISLAND AND THE MARINE CORPS AIR BASE.
TODAY IN 1525, THE SPANIARDS NAMED THIS SOUND AND THIS HARBOR, SANTA ELENA, THEY CALLED THE NAVIGATIONAL POINT, LA PUNTE DE SANTA ELENA, THE POINT OF SANTA ELENA.
AND WHAT THE SPANISH EXPLORERS DISCOVERED IS THAT PORT ROYAL SOUND IS A UNIQUE PIECE OF GEOGRAPHY.
IT'S THE DEEPEST NATURAL HARBOR SOUTH OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY, POSSIBLY SOUTH OF NEW YORK, THE CHANNEL INTO PORT ROYAL SOUND.
THIS I FIND A REMARKABLE GEOLOGICAL FACT.
THE CHANNEL HA, UH, HAS NOT CHANGED FOR 500 YEARS.
THERE'S NO INLET ON THE SOUTHERN COAST THAT HASN'T SHIFTED ENTIRELY IN 500 YEARS EXCEPT PORT ROYAL SOUND.
THERE'S SOMETHING GEOLOGICALLY DIFFERENT, OR ONE MIGHT SAY MAGICAL ABOUT PORT ROYAL SOUTH.
SO SPANISH SAILORS BEING THE BEST IN THE WORLD IN THEIR TIME, FOUND THIS PLACE VERY EARLY, KNEW THAT FOR THE SPANISH EXPLORATIONS OF THE AMERICAN SOUTHEAST, THIS WOULD BE THE ENTRATA, THE ENTRANCE.
AND SO THEY BUILT A CITY ACROSS THE RIVER, UH, ACROSS THE SOUND FROM WHERE WE ARE ON PARIS ISLAND THAT BECAME THE FIRST CAPITAL OF FLORIDA.
AND THEY EXPLORED THE BACK COUNTRY FROM THIS LOCATION FOR, UH, MORE THAN A CENTURY, WITH THE OBJECT OF BUILDING A HIGHWAY FROM THIS MAGNIFICENT HARBOR TO MEXICO CITY.
SO THE SOUND WAS KNOWN TO THE SPANIARDS, IT WAS KNOWN TO THE FRENCH WHO ACTUALLY GOT HERE FIRST AND FOLLOWED AND CREATED THE FIRST PROTESTANT COLONY IN THE NEW WORLD ON PARIS ISLAND OVER MY SHOULDER.
UM, AND THAT COLONY WAS A FAILURE.
IT WAS PART OF SPANISH, FLORIDA WHEN THE ENGLISH ARRIVED 150 YEARS LATER.
AND THIS WAS BECAME, AS A CONSEQUENCE, A BATTLEGROUND IN THE 18TH CENTURY BETWEEN SPANISH INTERESTS IN FLORIDA AND ST.
AUGUSTINE AND THE ENGLISH COLONY IN CAROLINA AND IN CHARLESTON AND BACK AND FORTH.
THESE WARS WENT, MANY OF THEM NAVAL WARS, MANY OF THEM EMPLOYING AS ALL THE SAILORS KNEW BY THEN THE MAGIC OF PORT ROYAL SOUND.
WHEN THE CIVIL WAR CAME, CONFEDERATES DEFENDED THE, UH, HARBOR, BUT IT WAS BASICALLY INDEFENSIBLE AGAINST, UH, LARGE NAVAL FORCES.
SO THE US NAVY MADE IT THEIR PRINCIPLE TARGET DURING THE BIG BEGINNING OF THE CIVIL WAR AND SENT THE LARGEST FLOTILLA OF SHIPS, UM, ASSEMBLED BY THE UNITED STATES NAVY IN THE 19TH CENTURY INTO PORT ROYAL SOUND.
ON NOVEMBER, NOVEMBER 7TH, 1861, IN A FOUR HOUR CANNONADE, WHICH WOULD'VE BEEN DEAFENING FROM WHERE WE'RE SITTING, WAS HEARD FROM MILES FROM SAVANNAH, NEARLY TO CHARLESTON.
IT WAS CALLED THE DAY OF THE BIG GUN SHOOT.
THIS HARBOR THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT WAS FILLED WITH SHIPS.
IT WOULD BE HUNDREDS OF SHIPS IN THIS HARBOR.
THERE WAS A THOUSAND FOOT, UH, DOCK WITH A RAILROAD ON TOP OFF OF HILTON HEAD.
UM, THE MILITARY INSTALLATION WAS MAMMOTH.
THERE WERE 13,000 US SOLDIERS ON HILTON HEAD,
[01:05:01]
WHICH WE'RE LOOKING AT THE LARGEST POPULATION ON HILTON HEAD UNTIL 1974.SO THIS WAS A MAJOR US GOVERNMENT INSTALLATION IN THE HEART OF THE SOUTH.
IT WAS THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE US ARMY DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT WAS THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY, SOUTH ATLANTIC BLOCKADING SQUADRON.
SO THE BIGGEST SHIPS IN THE NAVY WERE HERE.
AND, UM, SO IT, IT BECAME, AND, AND THAT'S REALLY WHERE THE STORY OF FREIGHT.
FORT FREMONT STARTS WITH THAT HUGE CIVIL WAR MILITARY, UH, OPERATIONS AND INSTALLATIONS, UM, ON HILTON HEAD, ON ST.
HELENA ISLAND, ON PARIS ISLAND.
AND IN BEAUTIFUL AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, WE'RE GONNA SEE A MASSIVE CHANGE IN TECHNOLOGY THAT'S GONNA REVOLUTIONIZE THE MILITARY.
DURING THE CIVIL WAR, WE HAD IRONCLAD SHIPS, WE HAD RIFLE CANNONS, BUT THEY WERE ALL MADE OUTTA IRON AND THEY WERE NOT TERRIBLY EFFECTIVE.
BUT ITS TECHNOLOGY'S GONNA CHANGE.
AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, WE'RE GONNA SEE STEEL PRODUCED, AND STEEL IS MUCH HARDER.
SO NOW WE HAVE A NEW MATERIAL TO MAKE ARMOR OUT OF FOR SHIPS.
SO WE CAN HAVE THESE ARMORED SHIPS MADE WITH STEEL IN A MUCH MORE RESISTANCE TO SHOT.
AND BECAUSE I HAVE STEEL, I CAN MAKE, UH, STRONGER BARRELS FOR MY GUNS.
UH, I CAN RIFLE AND MACHINE THESE MUCH BETTER.
AND THE RIFLING IS THE SPIRALS THAT ARE CUT IN THE BARREL THAT ALLOWS IT TO SHOOT FURTHER WITH MORE ACCURACY.
AND WE CAN ALSO NOW HAVE BREACH LOADING GUNS THAT CAN LOCK FROM BEHIND.
SO I CAN LOAD MY GUN FROM BEHIND.
I DON'T HAVE TO GO HAVE THE WHOLE BLACK POWDER MUZZLE LOADING CANNON I HAD BEFORE.
NOW I CAN FIRE MUCH MORE RAPIDLY.
IF I COMPARE THE GUN OF, UH, 1890 TO THE GUNS OF 1860, UH, FOR THE SAME CALIBER, THE SAME DIAMETER GUN, UH, THE 1890 GUN WILL BE ABLE TO FIRE PROJECTILE AS FOUR TIMES HEAVIER, CAN SHOOT IT THREE TIMES FURTHER, CAN PUT IT IN WITH GREATER PRECISION, AND CAN PUT IT THROUGH MUCH MORE ARMOR THAN ANYTHING.
WE HAD IN 1860S WORLD DIFFERENCE.
A MILITARY HISTORIAN, ER LEWIS WOULD SAY THAT THE CHANGE BETWEEN THE CIVIL WAR IN 1890 AND ARTILLERY TECHNOLOGY WAS THE GREATEST THAT WE'D BE SEEN SINCE INVENTION OF ARTILLERY IN THE 14TH CENTURY TO THE INTRODUCTION OF THE NUCLEAR PROJECTILE IN THE 1950S.
SO THERE'S BEEN A HUGE CHANGE IN GUN TECHNOLOGY AT THE SAME TIME.
IT'S NOT JUST THE STEEL, BUT ALSO THE POWDER THAT FIRES THESE GUNS IS DIFFERENT.
WE'RE HAVING NEW CHEMICAL MAKEUP.
AND SO, LIKE CORDITE IS INVENTED NOW, AND IT'S STILL A WIDELY USED MILITARY EXPLOSIVE.
SMOKELESS POWDER IS INVENTED DURING THIS PERIOD OF TIME, AND IT'S NOT JUST CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, BUT IT'S THE DETAILS OF HOW YOU MAKE THE GRAIN, HOW FAST THEY BURN.
SO MUCH LIKE THE SKILL OF FIRING A SOLID ROCKET, UM, SOLID FUEL, UM, ROCKET.
IT'S THAT SAME KIND OF TECHNOLOGY THAT'S BEEN DEVELOPED IN THESE, UH, GUNPOWDER, IN THIS NEW POWDER.
SO OUR WEAPONS OF THIS DAY ARE, ARE MUCH, MUCH GREATER.
UM, THEY WOULD BE THE GREAT KILLING MACHINES IN WORLD WAR I.
MOST OF THE CASUALTIES ON THE BATTLEFIELDS WORLD WAR I WOULD COME FROM ARTILLERY.
SO THE WORLD HAS SEEN A HUGE CHANGE IN ARTILLERY, AND THAT'S TIED INTO CHANGES IN SHIPS.
WE NOW HAVE STEEL ARMORED SHIPS.
THEY'RE ALL, UH, STEAM POWERED.
THEY ARE NOW EQUIPPED WITH THESE FINE LONG RANGE GUNS, AND THEY NOW BECOME THE DOMINANT THREAT OF THE LATE 19TH, EARLY 20TH CENTURY.
THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH WOULD BOMBARD CITIES LIKE CAIRO AND REDUCE 'EM TO RUBBLE BECAUSE THEY WERE UNABLE TO DEFEND THEM.
SO THIS IS HOW THE WORLD WAS SEEING THE THREAT FROM THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY.
BIG BATTLESHIPS ARE THE THREAT OF THE ERA, AND NEW GUNS AND FORTIFICATIONS ON, UH, THE GROUND ARE WHAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE TO DEFEND AGAINST THEM.
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND FIRST THINGS THAT HAPPENED AFTER THE CIVIL WAR IS THEY BUILT A RAILROAD TO PORT ROYAL SOUND, WHICH DIDN'T EXIST.
IT WAS THE FIRST CONNECTION OF THE SEA ISLANDS TO THE MAINLAND.
AND THE ADVANTAGE OF THAT RAILROAD IS IT BROUGHT COAL TO PORT ROYAL SOUND.
SO WHEN THE COAL WAS DELIVERED, THE NAVY FOLLOWED IN 1872, ROBERT SMALLS WAS IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA LEGISLATURE, AND HE PUSHED THROUGH A RESOLUTION TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR CALLING FOR THEM TO PUT A NAVY STATION ON PARIS ISLAND.
AND EVENTUALLY HE WOULD GO ON TO CONGRESS WHERE HE WOULD CONTINUE HIS SUPPORT FOR A NAVY STATION HERE IN THE BEAUFORT PORT ORAL AREA.
THEY EVENTUALLY OPENED A NAVY STATION HERE AND A COALING STATION THEY CREATED IN THE 1890S ON PARIS ISLAND, THE LARGEST DRY DOCK IN THE UNITED STATES.
THIS IS THE PERIOD WHEN THE US NAVY WAS SWITCHING FROM SAIL TO STEAM.
ALL THE NAVYS OF THE WORLD NEED COALING STATION.
THIS WAS THE PRINCIPLE COALING STATION BECAUSE OF THE RAILROAD FOR THE CARIBBEAN AND SOUTH AMERICAN US FLEETS, THIS WOULD BE THE BIGGEST DRY DOCK SOUTH OF NORFOLK.
[01:10:01]
DOCK SOUTH OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, THAT'S CAPABLE OF TAKING THESE NEW MODERN BATTLESHIPS IN THESE NEW MODERN ARMORED CRUISERS.SO THIS BECOMES, AT THIS POINT, A STRATEGIC NAVY BASIN THAT IT PROVIDES COAL AND IT PROVIDES, UH, TOP LINE SUPPORT TO THE SHIPS, AND THEY CAN REPAIR THE HULL OF EVEN THE BIGGEST SHIPS IN THE US NAVY.
FOLLOWING THE CIVIL WAR, NATIONAL STRATEGY AND EMPHASIS IN THE UNITED STATES SHIFTED FROM TO RECOVERY FROM WAR, AND ALL OF OUR COASTAL FORTIFICATIONS WENT INTO NEGLECT.
THE MILITARY WAS BUSY TAMING THE WEST, AND COASTAL DEFENSES, UH, BECAME SOMETHING THAT WAS NO LONGER IMPORTANT.
AND THE REST OF THE WORLD, TECHNOLOGY IS MOVING FORWARD, AND THEY'RE DEVELOPING THESE BATTLESHIPS.
THEY'RE DEVELOPING NEW, UH, HIGH QUALITY ARTILLERY.
AND THIS IS GOING ON, UM, WORLDWIDE.
AND IN 1885, PRESIDENT GROVER CLEVELAND APPOINTED ENDICOTT BOARD, THIS WAS SEC HEADED BY SECRETARY WAR ENDICOTT, WILLIAM ENDICOTT.
AND THE BOARD WOULD MEET AND ISSUE A REPORT IN 1886.
AND THEY SAID THE CONDITIONS OF OUR COASTAL DEFENSES WERE JUST UNBEARABLE.
THEY CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO STAY LIKE THAT.
AND THEY MADE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FORTIFICATION AND IMPROVEMENTS.
IDENTIFIED 29 PLACES THAT NEEDED FORTIFICATIONS, AND 11 OF WHICH WERE CRITICAL IN THAT LIST OF 29 SAVANNAH AND CHARLESTON ON THE LIST.
BUT BEAUFORT IS NOT ON THE LIST.
IT'LL TAKE INTERNATIONAL EVENTS TO BRING BEAUFORT INTO THE PLAY OF, OF MODERN FORT TECHNOLOGY.
SO THE USS MAINE WAS HERE ON PATROL AND IN THE HARBOR, AND WHILE THEY WERE IN THE HARBOR, SEVERAL TIMES THEY ENTERTAINED THE LOCAL POPULATION.
SO THE MERCHANTS IN THE SOCIAL LEADERS AND THE POLITICAL LEADERS OF BEAUFORT WERE INVITED TO COME HAVE LUNCH WITH THE CAPTAIN OF THE SHIP, CAPTAIN SBY.
AND THE OFFICERS GOT TO KNOW THE PEOPLE.
THE PEOPLE GET, GOT TO KNOW THE OFFICERS.
THE CREW, WHICH WAS LARGE, WOULD GO ASHORE ON PAYDAY AND MAKE FRIENDS WITH EVERYBODY IN TOWN.
SO IT WAS A VERY SOCIAL, UM, ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWNS, PORT ROYAL AND BEAUFORT AND THE SHIP.
SO THE MAIN LEFT HERE, IT WENT AND REPROVISION, IT REFUELED IN KEY WEST AND THEN WENT TO 90 MILES ACROSS TO HAVANA INTO THE HARBOR AND BLEW UP THIS INFLAMED.
THE ALREADY, UH, HOT PASSIONS BOTH IN CUBA AND HERE IN THE UNITED STATES.
AT THAT POINT, SOMEBODY IN THE WAR DEPARTMENT REALIZED THAT WE HAD THIS BIG DRY DOCK, THE ONLY DRY DOCK IN THE SOUTH THAT COULD TAKE ON AND REPAIR THESE BIG CAPITAL SHIPS THAT WERE IN OUR NAVY.
WE WERE GOING TO START OPERATIONS AGAINST A POWER IN THE CARIBBEAN.
AND THIS FORT WAS TOTALLY UNDEFENDED, AND THAT'S WHAT PUT FORT FREMONT ON THE MAP.
WE HAD TO HAVE A FORT HERE TO DEFEND THE COALING STATION, AND ESPECIALLY THIS BIG DRY DOCK AS WELL AS THIS FINE HARBOR.
AND OF COURSE, THAT EVENT, WHICH KILLED 300 OR MORE SAILORS ON THE SHIP, UM, WAS VERY MUCH FOLLOWED BY THE LOCAL NEWS MEDIA AND VERY MUCH LAMENTED BY THE MANY FRIENDS THAT THE CREW HAD MADE HERE.
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE USS MAINE WAS A PERSONAL MATTER TO BEAUFORT AND TO PORT ROYAL SOUND.
UM, AND OF COURSE, IT WAS THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR AND THE ATTEMPT TO DEFEND THIS HARBOR AGAIN, WHICH LED TO THE, THE CREATION OF FORT FREEMAN.
THE UNITED STATES DECLARED WAR ON SPAIN IN, IN APRIL, 1898.
AND BY EARLY MAY, WE HAD TEMPORARY BATTERIES IN PLACE HERE, SUBMARINE MINES WERE IN PLACE, AND IN THE SUMMER, THEY WOULD ACTUALLY PLACE THE MINES ACROSS THE BEAUFORT RIVER.
THE TEMPORARY BATTERIES WERE A TEMPORARY EXPEDIENT.
THEY WERE LOCATED TO MY LEFT ABOUT A THOUSAND YARDS.
THEY IMMEDIATELY BEGAN CONSTRUCTION OF WHAT WOULD BECOME FORT FREMONT.
THE LARGE BATTERIES WOULD HOUSE THE LARGE GUNS BATTERY FOR THE RAPID FIRE GUNS.
THE SMALLER BATTERY WAS COMPLETED BY JUNE OF 1898.
IN 1898, EVERYBODY IN TOWN WENT TO WAR.
UM, THEY HAD A NAVAL MILITIA UNIT, SOUTH CAROLINA NAVAL MILITIA UNIT, AND THEY WERE ABSORBED BY THE NAVY.
UH, MANY OF THEM RAN TUGBOATS FROM HERE TO NEW YORK TO KEY WEST, WHICH WAS THE PRINCIPAL SUPPORT BASE, TAMPA AND KEY WEST FOR THE US ARMY OPERATIONS IN CUBA.
PEACE WAS DECLARED BY THE END OF 1898, AND THE, UH, REMAINDER OF FORT FREMONT WOULD NOT BE FINISHED UNTIL EARLY 1899, AND THE FIRST SOLDIERS WOULD ARRIVE FROM THE REGULAR ARMY AT THAT POINT IN MARCH, 1899.
WELL, FORT FREMONT WAS NAMED FOR, UH, MAJOR GENERAL JOHN FREMONT.
UH, HE WAS ACTUALLY A LOCAL BOY, SO TO SPEAK.
[01:15:01]
AND GREW UP IN, UH, SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, JUST, UH, SOUTH OF US.AND, UH, WENT TO, UH, COLLEGE IN THE COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON, UH, UP JUST NORTH OF US IN CHARLESTON.
HE SERVED IN THE ARMY AND, UH, PRIMARILY INITIALLY AS A AS EXPLORER, AS ARMY FORTS WERE GENERALLY NAMED FOR ARMY OFFICERS.
UH, AND HE WAS, UH, CONNECTED LOCALLY.
UH, THIS WAS, UH, MORE THAN LIKELY WHY THE FORT WAS NAMED FOR HIM.
THE FORT WAS CONSTRUCTED ON A SITE, UH, DIRECTLY ACROSS THE RIVER FROM, UH, THE PARIS ISLAND, UH, UH, NAVAL STATION.
AND THE SITE SELECTED WAS 170 ACRES, WHICH INCLUDED THE TWO, UH, ARTILLERY, UH, BATTERIES, UH, FORT, UH, FOR FREMONT, OF COURSE, HAD BATTERY FOREIGNNESS AND BATTERY JESSUP.
UH, BUT THEN ADJACENT TO THE BATTERY SITE WAS AN ADMINISTRATIVE QUADRANGLE, A VERY TYPICAL MILITARY TYPE, UH, ADMINISTRATIVE SQUARE.
UH, WE ARE SITTING IN THE NUMBER THREE GUN POSITION OF A THREE GUN BATTERY BATTERY JESSUP, WHICH HAD THREE 10 INCH DISAPPEARING CARRIAGE, LARGE CALIBER GUNS BREACH LOADING GUNS.
THEIR PURPOSE WAS TO, UH, ENGAGE THE WARSHIPS THAT MIGHT, UH, BE ENTERING THE HARBOR, UH, AND PORT ROYAL SOUND.
WE'RE HERE NOW AT THE SECOND BATTERY, UH, THAT WAS PART OF FORT FREMONT.
THIS IS BATTERY FOR NANCE, UH, WAS NAMED FOR A ARMY OFFICER, UH, THAT WAS ACTUALLY KILLED DURING THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR.
UH, DURING THE BATTLE OF SAN JUAN HILL, UH, BATTERY FORMANCE MOUNTED TWO, UH, BRITISH MAID, 4.72 INCH ARMSTRONG QUICKFIRE GUNS.
UH, THEY WERE CALLED QUICK FIRE BECAUSE THEY LOADED, UH, WERE LOADED WITH A COMPLETE CARTRIDGE, AND IT, UH, IN TIME OF ACTION, THEY COULD FIRE FOUR TO SIX ROUNDS PER MINUTE.
THE PURPOSE OF BATTERY FOR NANCE WAS TO DEFEND THE MINEFIELD, WHICH WAS THE OTHER COMPONENT OF THE ENDICOTT COAST ARTILLERY OR OR COAST DEFENSE SYSTEM.
UH, A MINEFIELD, UH, WITH CONTROLLED MINES.
CONTROLLED MEANING THAT THEY WERE CONNECTED ELECTRICALLY TO SHORE AND COULD BE FIRED ON COMMAND FROM SHORE.
THAT, UH, CONTROL STATION WOULD'VE BEEN, UH, PROBABLY SHARED WITH THE PLOTTING ROOM.
AND IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE MINE FIELD, OBVIOUSLY AN ENEMY WOULD WANT TO INTERFERE WITH THAT.
MIGHT SEND VESSELS, UH, SMALL SHIPS IN HERE AT NIGHT TO TRY TO INTERFERE.
AND THIS BATTERY WOULD TAKE THOSE VESSELS UNDER FIRE IF THERE WAS SOME, UH, THERE WAS SUSPECTED THAT, UH, UH, THEY WERE DOING SOMETHING TO INTERFERE WITH THE MINES, SUCH AS, UH, PULLING UP THE CABLES AND CUTTING THOSE.
THE INDIGO ERA OF FORT WAS A FORMIDABLE TECHNOLOGY.
IT REPRESENTED STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY, DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY OF ITS TIME AGAINST THE STATE OF THE ART THREAT, WHICH WOULD BE THE BATTLESHIP.
THE LIFE FOR THE SOLDIERS AT FORT FREMONT WAS DISCIPLINED AND REGIMENTED.
THEY EVEN HAD MEALTIMES WERE SPECIFIED LENGTHS OF TIME, 15 MINUTES FOR LUNCH, 15 MINUTES AT BREAKFAST, 20 MINUTES AT SUPPER.
THEY HAD TO PRACTICE THEIR SKILLS.
THEY WERE TRAINING AND DOING MAINTENANCE CONSTANTLY, IF YOU CAN IMAGINE WITH THESE BIG GUNS.
THEY HAD TO HAVE SKILLS IN AND PRACTICE SKILLS IN ARTILLERY MIND, LAYING SIGNALING, WHICH INVOLVED IN OUR CASE AT FORT FREMONT, THE USE OF THE FIRE CONTROL TOWER, WHICH WAS A PRETTY SOPHISTICATED AND, UM, ADVANCED SIGNALING TECHNIQUE.
THEN THEY ALSO HAD TO, UM, PRACTICE THE TYPICAL MILITARY SKILLS, MARCHING AND, UH, DRILLING SMALL ARMS, FIRE, FIRST AID, AND SO FORTH.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, THEY ALSO, UM, HAD AT, PARTICIPATED IN ATHLETICS.
THEY HAD PHYSICAL TRAINING, PT, AND THEY ALSO HAD SPORTS TEAMS. SO THIS WAS TO KEEP THEM PHYSICALLY FIT SO THAT THEY COULD CONTINUE THEIR, THEIR DUTIES, BECAUSE THEY WERE, IT WAS PRETTY RIGOROUS AT FORT FREMONT.
WHEN EVENTUALLY THE DECISION WAS MADE TO MOVE THE DRY DOCK AND THE COALING STATION AND THE NAVY STATION UP TO CHARLESTON, THEN THIS FORT NO LONGER BECAME
[01:20:01]
SIGNIFICANT.THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT HERE THAT WAS TO BE PROTECTED.
AND AT THAT POINT, 1911, THE LAST TROOPS WERE TRANSFERRED OUT, AND FORT WAS CLOSED IN 1901, THE MAYOR OF CHARLESTON AND THE UNITED STATES SENATOR PITCHFORK, BEN TILLMAN FROM SOUTH CAROLINA, WANTED THIS TO MOVE FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY TO CHARLESTON COUNTY 'CAUSE THERE ARE MORE VOTES IN CHARLESTON COUNTY.
AND THE MAYOR WANTED THE US CORPS OF ENGINEERS IN THE, IN THE NAVY TO DREDGE THE HARBOR IN CHARLESTON.
'CAUSE BATTLESHIPS IN THOSE DAYS REQUIRED 26 FEET OF WATER.
CHARLESTON'S NATURAL HARBOR IS 15 FEET OF WATER.
PORT ROYAL IS 30 FEET OF WATER.
IN ORDER FOR CHARLESTON TO SUSTAIN ITS PORT, ITS COMMERCIAL PORT, IT HAD TO DREDGE THE HARBOR.
WELL, IF THEY COULD GET THE NAVY UP THERE, THEY GET THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS TO DREDGE THE HARBOR.
AND THE, UH, THE PLAY FOR PITCHFORK, BEN TILLMAN, THE US SENATOR IN 1900, WAS THAT HE'D GET A WHOLE LOT MORE VOTES FROM VOTES FROM THE LARGEST CITY IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
SO IT WAS A POLITICAL COMMERCIAL OPERATION, AND THEY MOVED THE NATION AND IT WAS DONE, BOOM, LIKE THAT.
THE FORT DID ITS JOB, A DETERRENT FOR ANYBODY THAT WISHED TO ATTACK THESE.
IN FACT, THE WHOLE INDICO SYSTEM, ALTHOUGH NEVER CHALLENGED IN, UH, THIS ERA HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, PROVIDED SOME 300 MAJOR GUNS, COASTAL GUNS, TO PRO, UH, PROTECT MAJOR AREAS, AND LEFT THE UNITED STATES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY WITH AS WELL DEFENDED, UH, COASTLINE AS ANY PLACE IN, IN THE WORLD.
BUT I, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY THAT IT'S A MAGNIFICENT ARTIFACT OF AN ERA, AND IT'S AN ERA THAT HAS BEEN NEGLECTED, UH, THE TURN OF THE 20TH CENTURY, UM, THE NAVAL STATION ACROSS THE RIVER HERE.
AND, UM, SO IT'S A, IT'S A PIECE OF HISTORY THAT'S DISAPPEARING, AND THE FRIENDS OF FORT FREMONT AND BEAUFORT COUNTY HAVE PRESERVED IT FOR THE USE OF THE PUBLIC.
AND, UH, AS A MEMORIAL TO THAT MOMENT IN HISTORY, FORT FREMONT CLOSES A 350 YEAR STORY OF HOMELAND SECURITY ADDRESSING EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM IN THE 19TH CENTURY.
IT'S A TALE OF HOW GEOGRAPHY, TECHNOLOGY, AND NATIONAL SECURITY CREATES A TRANSITION FOR AMERICA TO BECOME A GLOBAL POWER.
IT'S ALSO A WONDERFUL SNAPSHOT OF AMERICA.
IN THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY, THE FRIENDS OF FORT FREMONT AND BEAUFORT COUNTY HAVE A VALUED PARTNERSHIP WORKING IN TANDEM TO PRESERVE THE FORT'S INTEGRITY AND PROMOTE THE HISTORICAL, NATURAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS OF THE FORT.
MOST IMPORTANT, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR CREATIVE WAYS TO ENHANCE THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE.
HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN BEAUFORT COUNTY.
OH, RIGHT NOW WE'RE BEGINNING THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE OF A, UH, JUVE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE CHARGING TRAILER.
WE BROUGHT THE TRAILER HERE TO THE BONE WALL COUNTY CAREER CENTER, MET WITH RON STILL, AND, UH, HIS GROUP OF, UH, FINE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.
WE HAD DONE ONE FOR BARNWELL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, AND BEAUFORT ASKED US ABOUT DOING ONE FOR, FOR THEM DURING THE OCTOBER, 2015 FLOODS.
ROGER RILEY, THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR, BARNWELL COUNTY AND I, GOOD FRIENDS, AND WE WERE HAVING A DISCUSSION DURING FLOODS.
HE HAD BUILT A TRAILER SIMILAR TO
[01:25:01]
THIS.UH, IT WAS UNIQUE IN SOUTH CAROLINA AND THAT, THAT SPARKED AN IDEA.
AND NOT VERY LONG AFTER THAT, WE HAD A SITUATION, A STORM IN BEAUFORT, UH, JUST A, A THUNDERSTORM, BUT IT KNOCKED OUT POWER TO ONE OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS DOWNTOWN FOR ALMOST 48 HOURS.
PEOPLE WERE COMPLAINING THEY COULDN'T CHARGE THEIR DEVICES, THEY COULDN'T GET THE INFORMATION.
HE CAME UP, TOLD ME ABOUT THE BARNWELL TECHNICAL SCHOOL AND HOW THEY HAD BUILT HIS ON THE TRAILER THAT HE BOUGHT FRAME FOR HIM, JUST $2,000.
SO I STARTED SCORING THAT IDEA, FUNDED IT THROUGH WHAT WE CALL AN L-E-M-P-G GRANT THAT THE STATE, UH, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT GIVES US FOR LOCAL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.
GOT THE TRAILER, BOUGHT ALL OF THE EQUIPMENT, GOT IT WITH THE FOLKS HERE AT BARNWELL TECHNICAL SCHOOL.
GOT THE GRAPHICS DONE AT SEVEN, UH, SIGNS AND GRAPHICS IN BUFORT.
IT'S PRETTY MUCH BARE WALLS, UH, GENERATOR.
WE GOT THE SOLAR PANELS, WE'VE GOT THE INVERTERS AND SOME OF THE OTHER DEVICES.
IN ADDITION, OUR PLAN IS TO INSTALL, UH, TELEVISION FOR THE PURPOSE OF RELAYING INFORMATION, PHOTOS, MAPPING ANYTHING THERE, WHICH CAN AID OR ANSWER ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OF THE SYSTEM OF BEAUT COUNTY.
WE INSTALLED THE, THE MAIN BREAKER PANEL, UM, SO THAT WE CAN GET POWER FROM THE GENERATOR INTO THE PANEL, INTO THE TRAILER.
WE ALSO HAVE A, A SOLAR POWER THAT WE CAN CONNECT IN HERE AS WELL.
EVERYBODY'S THINKING GREEN THESE DAYS.
HOW DO YOU GET MORE, MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT? BEAUFORT COUNTY, WE HAVE A LOT OF SUNNY DAYS.
WE DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM SEEKING THE SUN, SO WE DECIDED TO GO WITH THE ALTERNATE SYSTEMS AND WE'VE GOT IT BUILT INSIDE DUAL SYSTEMS. THAT'S THE WAY THE FOLKS LOOK.
THE KIDS UP HERE AT BARN WILL BUILD IT FOR US.
SO WE DEPLOY IT OUT, WE'LL DEPLOY THE SOLAR ANTENNAS OUT THAT WILL MEET MOST OF OUR ENERGY NEEDS.
AND THEN IF WE HAVE TO STAY LONG TERM, THE GENERATOR CAN DO IT OVERNIGHT.
WHILE WE'RE RECHARGING THE SOLAR BATTERY, WE'LL BRING IN THE CARPENTRY INSTRUCTOR, UH, WHERE WE WANT TO TRY TO BUILD SOME TABLES FOR THE TVS TO SIT DOWN ON AND GIVE YOU SOME STORAGE SPACE UNDERNEATH.
WE'LL HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE CAN COME UP WITH A GOOD ENGINEERING SOLUTION TO, UH, THE TVS BEING MOUNTED, UH, RIDING DOWN THE ROAD AND TAKING IN, YOU KNOW, CONSIDERATION FOR BUMPS AND, AND TURNS AND SO FORTH WHERE, UH, THE, THE TVS AREN'T DAMAGED AT THE SAME TIME.
REAL TICKLED WITH THE WORK THAT THESE KIDS DID FOR US.
THESE ARE HIGH SCHOOL KIDS AND THEY'RE LEARNING A TRADE AND DOING SOMETHING VALUABLE TO A COMMUNITY.
IT'S NOT EVEN COMMUNITY THEY LIVE IN.
THIS IS MY SECOND YEAR STUDENTS.
THEY, THEY REALLY HAVE TO KIND OF WORK AS A TEAM.
THEY HAVE TO KIND OF, UH, I LEAVE A LOT OF THIS STUFF UP TO THEM.
THAT EXPERIENCE IS SOMETHING THEY CAN TAKE INTO, YOU KNOW, FAR AS FROM HERE INTO THE WORKING SECTOR OF THE WORLD.
SO THEY REALLY ENJOYED THE CHALLENGE AND, AND THEY ENJOY DOING SOMETHING FOR ANOTHER COMMUNITY WHERE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF GETTING OUT OF THE BON AREA, THAT THEY CAN GO SOMEWHERE ELSE AND SEE THIS MAYBE, UH, SOMEWHERE AND, AND REALLY BE, YOU KNOW, TAKE A LOT OF PRIDE IN IT.
WE WISH WE'D HAD IT DURING HURRICANE MATTHEW, BUT WE WEREN'T READY FOR IT YET.
BUT NOW, ANYTHING LIKE THAT HAPPENS WHERE THE POWER IS KNOCKED OUT, WE CAN BRING IT INTO A COMMUNITY, SET IT UP.
FOLKS CAN RECHARGE THEIR DEVICES.
WE'VE GOT THE TELEVISION MONITORS HERE.
WE CAN PUT UP PERTINENT INFORMATION THAT THEY NEED TO KNOW, OR WE CAN RUN LOCAL NEWS OFF THE INTERNET, WHATEVER WE NEED TO DO.
PLUS WE HAVE THE AMPLIFIER SO THEY CAN GET CELL PHONE SIGNALS.
WE'RE GONNA USE IT AT LOCAL FESTIVALS LIKE WATER FESTIVAL AND THAT SORT OF THING, JUST AS A CONVENIENCE.
AND TO GET THE MESSAGE OUT THERE THAT THIS IS ANOTHER TOOL THAT SHERIFF'S OFFICE, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIVISION HAS AVAILABLE TO THE COMMUNITY TO HELP US RESPOND BETTER TO ANY TYPE OF SITUATION THAT COMES UP.
IN SOUTH CAROLINA, THERE ARE 46 COUNTIES AND THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTORS, UH, ALL, WE ALL SUPPORT EACH OTHER ALL THE TIME.
SOUTH CAROLINA GETS CRITICIZED IN THE NATION FOR A LOT OF THINGS, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, WE'RE SECOND FROM NONE.
AND IT'S BECAUSE OF PARTNERSHIPS LIKE ROGER AND I AND AND THE OTHER COUNTIES WORKING TOGETHER.
AND THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN BEAUFORT COUNTY.