November is filled with the sights, sounds, and smells of winter’s approach. Thanksgiving marks the start of the holiday season, and celebrations abound in every South Carolina community. Family, food, music, and dance are a few small things that make this time of year special, giving us the perfect opportunity to introduce two more South Carolina symbols – our state Folk Dance and our state Wild Game Bird.

SQUARE DANCE		WILD TURKEY

November & December’s Featured Symbols:

• SC State Folk Dance: Square Dance – Square dancing is fun for the whole family and has long been enjoyed in South Carolina. Originally formed as a combination of dance styles brought to America from across Western Europe, square dance has been adapted to include dozens (if not hundreds) of steps.
• SC State Wild Game Bird: Wild Turkey – Before you dig into that Thanksgiving feast, take a moment to learn about our State Game Bird, the Wild Turkey. These noble creatures are one of only two native fowl to have been domesticated in North America. Each bird can have up to 6,000 feathers, and Benjamin Franklin wished they had been chosen to represent our nation in lieu of that “lazy” and “lousy” Bald Eagle. (And just in case you decide you like the turkey too much to eat him, we’ve included a link to Compassionate Thanksgiving Recipes too!)

If the upcoming festivities have you feeling a little frantic, take heart! SCIway.net has a wealth of resources to help you through this hectic time. Whether it’s preparing your home for family and friends or joining others in the celebration of the season, we can point you in the right direction.

We hope these links will save you time – and most importantly, we hope you have a safe and wonderful winter!

• Shop SCIway - Give gifts from SC artisans, authors, and merchants this year. Shop online for original SC paintings and photographs, palmetto-tree clothing, gourmet gift baskets, and more.
• Christmas Tree Farms - Find out where to cut your own tree this year, plus tree care tips and info on living trees.
• Churches and Temples - Share the spirit and meaning of the season with others.
• Coffee Shops and Tea Rooms - Warm up this winter!
• Community Service Organizations - Learn how you can help the non-profits working in your community … ’tis the season to give!
• Day Spas - Where to go to get away from it all!
• Holiday Lights Festivals - From the Lowcountry to the Upstate, our state’s holiday spirit is shining through!
• Hotels - Where to send the in-laws. Umm … we mean … great guide for friends and family members in town for the holidays!
• Arts, Entertainment, Sightseeing - Wondering what to do with your friends and family once they’ve arrived? Well wonder no more!
• Malls and Shopping Centers - Sooner or later, it has to be done!
• Resources for the Homeless - Almost 7,000 South Carolinians are homeless this winter – Learn how you can lend a helping hand.
• Restaurants - Too many cooks in the kitchen? Find out where to get a good meal.

South Carolinians turned out in record numbers for the 2008 elections. Lines were long and problems with voting machines were reported in precincts throughout our state. While some races are still being contested, the majority have been called.

View SC statewide election results.

View SC county election results.

Tuesday, November 4, is election day – we have less than three weeks to go! While most of us agree that voting is important, the hard part is finding the time to learn about the candidates and constitutional amendments we’ll be faced with in the voting booth. SCIway’s 2008 election guide can save you time. You can find it at: http://www.sciway.net/gov/sc-elections.html

SCIway’s Election Guide is the most complete South Carolina resource of its kind. It lets you compare hundreds of candidates by visiting their actual campaign websites. Our guide covers presidential, federal, state senate, state house, county and school board, and solicitor offices. (If you know of a candidate website we don’t yet have, please write service@sciway.net.)

We also link to straightfoward explanations of the three constitutional ammendments (PDF) that will be on our ballot this year, as well as a helpful form you can use to find both your voting districts and driving directions from home or work to your precinct polling place:

Find your voting districts and driving directions to your polling place

1. Use slashes in birth date and 4-digit year.
2. Click Submit after completing all boxes.
3. After results appear, click Get driving directions to the Precinct in upper right corner for directions, map.

Here are some other especially useful 2008 SC election links:

• Absentee voting | Curbside voting
• Candidate debates from SC ETV – 7 live US House and Senate debates in October – TV, Internet, radio
• Winthrop University / SC ETV Poll – October 23rd – Seeks to determine whether Obama or McCain will win in SC, NC, VA – North Carolina and Virginia, in particular, are still described as “battleground” states

South Carolina is known for having three unique folk-art traditions: Sweetgrass basketry, Catawba pottery, and Edgefield pottery.¹ These historically-significant crafts are not commonly found in any other place. A recent trip to the Town of Edgefield introduced us to the latter of these art forms.

For more than 200 years, the Edgefield area of South Carolina has been known for its production of a specific type of pottery called “stoneware.” Strong and non-porous, stoneware is usually glazed and fired in a kiln at very high temperatures. The resulting product can be very large – up to 40 gallons! – and has the potential to last for centuries.

Remnants of even earlier pottery have been found in several places around South Carolina. As many as 4,500 years ago, Native Americans created earthenware using the rich, red clay found throughout our state. Rather than turned on a wheel as modern vessels are, these hand-shaped pots were left unglazed and fired at lower temperatures. As a result, earthenware was not nearly as durable as stoneware and could not hold water. Still, the Catawba are well known to this day for having employed this essential method for food preparation and storage, using the natural resources available to them. (Catawba pottery continues to thrive in South Carolina and is the “earliest recorded Indian potting tradition”² in the United States.)

	FERRELL MUSEUM COLLECTION		POTTER STEVE FERRELL		OLD EDGEFIELD POTTERY

Edgefield was not the first place in the the country to produce stoneware commercially. It is, however, thought to be the first place in the Southeast to produce it successfully. In the early 1800s, the Landrum family settled in what was then called Edgefield District – now Edgefield County. The Landrums, like many others in the area, owned slaves who helped run their plantations and businesses. In 1810 Dr. Abner Landrum built an entire community around the slave production of stoneware pottery, sometimes referred to as Landrumville, but more often as Pottersville.

Pottersville residents made use of the abundant red clay and kaolin deposits in the region. Kaolin was (and still is) used for a number of practical purposes, such as Kaopectate®, toothpaste, and paint pigment. In stoneware pottery, this brilliant white clay allowed for the addition of decorative elements to the red-clay pots and jars. Edgefield District potters made beautiful use of the kaolin, sand, pine, and feldspars naturally available to them. While not entirely unique to the area, these elements were essential to Edgefield’s pottery production.

Pottersville quickly grew to a village of approximately 150 and soon earned a reputation for producing inexpensive, sturdy, and beautiful stoneware. By the 1840s, numerous families had begun similar operations and Edgefield gained greater renown for its pottery. Slave labor was still heavily relied upon, and a handful of skilled artisans stood out among them.

One slave in particular has become a familiar name among historians. “Dave the Potter,” as he is commonly known, was born around 1800 and may have lost one of his legs in a train accident, making him unfit for field-work. He was among the relatively few literate slaves of his time, perhaps having been taught to read by his first owner, Harry Drake. Although it was frowned upon to educate slaves for fear that literacy would spark free will and potential uprising, many owners taught their slaves to read so they could study the Bible. Dave’s literacy allowed him to mark many of his pots with a signature and date, or more rarely, a rhyming couplet or short poem.

There is also speculation that Dave was paired with another slave laborer named Henry. The story goes that Henry was missing both of his arms, and while Henry used his feet to turn the wheel, Dave’s tremendous strength allowed him to produce jars and pots of exceptional size. The resulting pots were not only beautifully crafted, they also offer a timeline which has allowed historians to trace Dave’s movement between stoneware manufacturers and solidify many of the theories surrounding the history of southern pottery. Examples of Dave’s poetry are as follows:

“I saw a leopard and a lion’s face / then I felt the need of grace” - August 7, 1860 - Here, Dave may have been referencing the Bible, a dream, or stories passed down by older African ancestors.

“Put every bit all between / surely this jar will hold 14” - July 12, 1834 - This rhyming couplet, perhaps Dave’s first, makes reference to the size of the piece on which it was written. When well packed, the jar could hold up to fourteen gallons.

“Dave belongs to Mr. Miles / Where the oven bakes and the pot biles” - July 31, 1840 - Here, Dave made reference to then-owner, Lewis Miles. Dave may have had as many as five owners.

“I wonder where is all my relations / Friendship to all and every nation” - April 16, 1857 - This piece alludes to the buying and selling of members of a slave family.

Today, this remarkable tradition has been brought back to life by Old Edgefield Pottery’s resident artist, Stephen Ferrell. With each rotation of his wheel, Steve gently pulls a vessel from the mound of clay before him. His work, like that of innumerable craftspeople of the past, is characteristic of Edgefield County. Its ovoid shape and sturdy, yet delicate lip will dry to a leather-hard stage, at which point he will embellish it with a brilliantly white kaolin slip and a rich, celadon glaze to bring further luminosity to the pot’s surface design. Once fired, the vessel will harden to virtually indestructable stoneware that, like Dave’s, can be enjoyed for centuries to come.

1. Thanks to Stephen Ferrell for providing information and guidance on SC folk art traditions.
2. Catawba Indian Pottery

Edgefield Pottery Resources

• Dave the Potter - Learn more about Dave’s life and work
• Edgefield Pottery Photo Gallery - Photos with information and links
• Old Edgefield Pottery - Learn about this amazing organization and those currently working to keep the tradition alive
• Pottersville Kiln Site - Site of Dr. Landrum’s original Edgefield District kiln
• Glossary of Pottery Terms - Confused about pottery terminology? Want to learn more?

October brings to a close hatching season for South Carolina’s state reptile, the Loggerhead Turtle. Under the watchful eyes of dedicated volunteers, nests could be seen “boiling” along the SC coast as recently as last week. In fact, it is estimated that some 3,000 nests were found on our shores in 2008 alone. Each nest consists of as many as 125 eggs, but sadly only a handful of young turtles survive into adulthood. Because they rely on the moon’s reflection to lead them to the sea, they are often confused by man-made lights coming from beachfront homes and street lamps, which lead them in the opposite direction. Loggerheads have been on the threatened species list since 1978.

LOGGERHEAD TURTLE		EASTERN TIGER SWALLOWTAIL

On the flip side, this month’s issue of SCIway News also introduces our state butterfly, the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. From around mid-September through the end of October each year, butterflies flutter over South Carolina in abundance. There are dozens of varieties that flourish here, each adding color to fall’s remaining flowers. Take a moment to visit these new state symbols pages, filled with interesting facts and beautiful pictures.

October’s Featured Symbols:

• SC State Reptile: Loggerhead Turtle – Named for their large, log-shaped heads, males of this species are rarely, if ever, seen on land. Females come ashore to nest each year – amazingly on the exact same beach on which they themselves were born! Learn more about this incredible reptile by clicking the above link.
• SC State Butterfly: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail – You have probably seen these beautiful creatures with their yellow wings and bold, black stripes, floating through your lawn or garden. This is the time of year when they come out in droves to sip nectar from the flowers of early fall. Click above to learn more about the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.

After water, tea is the most popular beverage on Earth. People drink it far and wide, on every continent and in every country, and it’s often associated with such exotic locales as China, Kenya, India, and Peru.

Thanks to a small farm on Wadmalaw Island, we can now add South Carolina to that list. The Charleston Tea Plantation, owned in part by the renowned R. C. Bigelow & Company, is the only place in North America that produces black tea commercially.

	TEA PLANTATION SIGN		FIELDS OF TEA		TROLLEY TOUR

Tea, South Carolina’s official state hospitality beverage, has a long and colorful history in our state. In 1799¹, French botanist André Michaux brought the Camellia sinensis plant to his friend Henry Middleton, future governor and heir to Middleton Plantation in Dorchester County. Tea has since become a relative staple in the Lowcountry, where the soil is sandy, the air is humid, and tropical temperatures prevail.

Of course, this doesn’t mean growing tea in these parts has always come easily. Farm after farm collapsed before finally – after nearly two centuries of trial – horticulturalist Mack Flemming and his partner William Hall claimed success with their brand, American Classic. Together the two men took over the former Lipton Research Station on Wadmalaw, cultivating cuttings from plants once grown at Pinehurst Tea Gardens in Summerville.

Interestingly, though Pinehurst ceased operations nearly a century ago and the land has long since been carved into neighborhoods, residents still find tea growing wild in their backyards. Because the plants have acclimated to our climate over time, their cuttings are stronger and more likely to survive than those from imported varieties.

Fleming and Hall split their company several years ago, and Hall, a third-generation tea taster trained in England, approached the Bigelow family to help save the land from developers. Ruth Bigelow’s daughter flew down from Connecticut to bid on the plantation at auction, and its future was secured. Today Hall and Bigelow manage the plantation jointly. It is open to visitors, who can view the factory, take a trolley tour of the fields, browse the gift shop, and best of all – sample the tea themselves. After all, tea tastes best when it’s fresh, which gives a cup “born and brewed” right here in South Carolina a distinct advantage.

[Editor's note: October is a great month to visit the Charleston Tea Plantation. Butterflies abound along the coast this time of year, and the tea plants attract them by the hundreds with their small white blooms.]

1. Some sources give 1802 as an alternate date.

South Carolina Tea Resources

• Complete history of South Carolina Tea Farms - 1799 through present
• Charleston Tea Plantation - photos, information, links
  – American Classic Tea | Order Online

• Tea rooms in South Carolina - phone numbers, addresses, and where possible, websites
• Tea: South Carolina’s Official State Hospitality Beverage