On a recent sunny afternoon — an impulsive zig, when I could have zagged — took me on a drive toward Edisto Island. I won’t try to make this sound any more profound than necessary. I’ll be straight up with you: I was looking for a story. Some days the subject matter that fills this space falls into my lap. Other days, it requires a little extra digging.
My dad always said, “A good farmer doesn’t pray for potatoes without sweat runnin’ down the hoe handle.” Maybe that’s what pushed me down S.C. Highway 164 and then left onto Highway 174. Some of the most fertile farmland in these parts would soon surface on either side of that two-lane blacktop.
What would I find? I was sure to discover something I didn’t already know. There was only one way to do that, right? Grab the hoe and start digging.
What I noticed first were the many dirt roads that head off to various locations on either side of the main artery. Some of the road names offer clues as to how the names originated. There’s Red House Road, not too far from Oyster Factory Road. I also passed a road called Freeman Village Road, which clearly speaks to a period of our country’s history of oppression and plantation culture.
There was something else quite prominent: In the 15 miles from St. Paul’s District until the town limits of Edisto, I passed 12 churches. Some were quite big, some very small, and all ministering to various denominations.
Bridges, boats and barriers
Some of the most pristine views of the Lowcountry occur when crossing the many bridges that connect these long-standing rural communities to each other. The tides, shrimp, oysters and puff mud reside deeply in their fabric.
New bridges have been under construction on this highway for years. Dependable evacuation routes were long overdue for those who might get caught in an area where marshes and creeks and rivers run so close to the Atlantic Ocean.
As these new bridges continue to be built, it’s easy to spot where the old bridge once stood. Fishing tackle dangles from a wire and often, there’s also a lone shoe hanging from its laces.
As I journey past Toogoodoo Road, I notice a huge boat, sitting upside down in the grass. This thing is really big and at least half of it is hidden beyond the tree line.
How did it get here? Why is it here? What’s the backstory? Across the street is a restaurant. It’s not open, but I see someone sitting out front. Maybe he has some answers.
Beau Barnwell is his name. Beau and his wife Jackie run a restaurant for locals, as he describes it. It’s called Roxbury Mercantile, named for the general store his great-grandparents established on the very same property.
I think I just stumbled into the right guy.
Does the boat float?
So here’s the story. In 2000, local shrimper Jimmy Bell started building a shrimp boat. He worked on it for years but never finished it. It is 66 feet by 22 feet and the hull is made of fiberglass.
Beau confesses he doesn’t know all the particulars. He then calls Jimmy and puts him on speaker while explaining somebody wants to ask him a few questions. What else could Jimmy do but cooperate, he was on speaker phone, right?
Jimmy could not have been nicer about sharing the rest of the boat’s story and why it remains high and dry. In 2016, he sold the still-unfinished boat to Zach Main. Main’s intentions were to sink the boat and build a house on its deck. The boat was moved to its present location two years ago and there it sits. Presumably, the boat will be moved once all the work is finished on the various bridges. (I’m not altogether sure that explanation holds water, but it adds another layer to the story.)
Are there projects in your garage or backyard still unfinished? Maybe hearing this more than 20-year-old evolving idea that remains incomplete gives you some solace.
If nothing else, if you find yourself on a leisurely ride down Highway 174 one day, you’ll now know why that big ol' boat may or may not ever float.
The Link LonkApril 10, 2021 at 07:00PM
https://ift.tt/3a37MEh
Peper column: A shrimp boat story | Columnists | postandcourier.com - Charleston Post Courier
https://ift.tt/3eNRKhS
shrimp
No comments:
Post a Comment