the bluffton breeze december 2013

2 www.blufftonbreeze.com

3The Bluffton Breeze December 2013


The magazine of BlufftonBluffton BreezeThe

The Bluffton Breeze Magazine is published by The Bluffton Breeze LLC. All rights are reserved. No part of this pub-lication may be reproduced or stored for retrieval by any means without permission from the Publisher. The Bluffton Breeze Magazine is not responsible for unsolicited materi-als and the publisher accepts no responsibility for the con-tents or accuracy of claimes in any advertisement in any issue. The Bluffton Breeze Magazine is not responsible or liable for any errors, omissions, or changes in information. The opinion of contributing writers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the magazine and its Publisher. All published photos and copy provided by writers and artists become

the property of the Bluffton Breeze Magazine Copyright.

FOUNDERDonna Huffman

PUBLISHEREric Einhorn

[email protected]

Randolph [email protected]

SALES DIRECTORBonnie Stewart

[email protected] 505-0945

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSGene Cashman III, Jevon Daly,

Joel Zuckerman, Michele Roldan-Shaw, Amber Kuehn, Andrew Peeples, Tamela Maxim,

Barbara O’Connor, Joan E. Morris

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERSEric Horan, Margaret Palmer, Ed Funk

COVER PHOTOEd Funk

ART DIRECTORJane Skager

PRINTERAccurate Lithography

CORPORATE OFFICE12 Johnston Way, Suite 300

P.O. Box 472, Bluffton, SC 29910843.757.8877

Inspiration from the Founder


Breeze Contents December 2013 volume 11, no.12

14 YEAR END SCHOOL REPORT It’s the end of the year, so we’re switching roles and grading the Bluffton High School

18 OUR BLUFFTON BEAUTY We celebrate the Hollywood success of one of our true Blufftonians -- Simone Griffeth

26 THE HEROES OF SUN CITY Mr. Arnold Rosen has found a way to make sure the stories of our heroes are never forgotten

44 CUMBERLAND ISLAND PART II The sequel of Michele’s adventure in uncovering the magic of this unique island.

Features

Departments7 History10 Tide Chart 12 Environment 17 Fellowship 22 Bulletin Board24 Over the Bridges 32 Wine Within Reach34 Restaurant Guide36 Reflections40 Music Town 48 Golf Course Guide49 Golf Report


NOVEMBER 7 Event The Society's lecture series features Kim Poovey, a local

author and storyteller. Her lecture will be on clothing and textiles during the Civil War. 11am at the Heyward House

We’re also Bluffton’s Information CenterGet walking tour maps and invitations to fun places

Sign up for personal guided toursOur friendly staff knows Bluffton inside out!

A visit to the Heyward House reveals the mystery of Bluffton.You’ll find out why the May River is so much more than a beautiful waterway.

Why Bluffton’s breezes were an attraction to the rich and famous.Why decisions made in Bluffton changed the USA forever.

Get to know Bluffton through its character. And the characters that built it.To understand Bluffton you need to get a sense of its rich history.

The Heyward House makes it fascinating and easThe Heyward House makes it fascinating and easy.

Find out how history shaped Bluffton.And how Bluffton shaped history!

The Bluffton Historical Preservation Society70 Boundary Street, POBox 742 Bluffton SC 29910

For more information call 1 843 757 6293Or visit our website at www.heywardhouse.org

D ID YOU KNOW?Antebellum Bluffton was a quaint, yet affluent summer village and was home to a high number of South Carolina Militia officers. Confederate Brigadier-General Thomas F. Drayton’s home was situated at the northeast corner of Boundary and Water Streets, positioned adjacent to Heyward Cove. Drayton’s house was consequently destroyed in the burning of Bluffton on June 4, 1863. The Pine House, which now occupies this beautiful parcel, was built by Dr. Freeman Walker in 1905.

Contributed by:Jeff Fulgham Historian and Author


NOVEMBER 7 Event The Society's lecture series features Kim Poovey, a local

author and storyteller. Her lecture will be on clothing and textiles during the Civil War. 11am at the Heyward House

We’re also Bluffton’s Information CenterGet walking tour maps and invitations to fun places

Sign up for personal guided toursOur friendly staff knows Bluffton inside out!

A visit to the Heyward House reveals the mystery of Bluffton.You’ll find out why the May River is so much more than a beautiful waterway.

Why Bluffton’s breezes were an attraction to the rich and famous.Why decisions made in Bluffton changed the USA forever.

Get to know Bluffton through its character. And the characters that built it.To understand Bluffton you need to get a sense of its rich history.

The Heyward House makes it fascinating and easThe Heyward House makes it fascinating and easy.

Find out how history shaped Bluffton.And how Bluffton shaped history!

The Bluffton Historical Preservation Society70 Boundary Street, POBox 742 Bluffton SC 29910

For more information call 1 843 757 6293Or visit our website at www.heywardhouse.org

D ID YOU KNOW?

Breeze H i s t o r y

A true old time Blufftonian will remember Mr. Andrew Peeples. He was born in 1905 in Bluffton and was one of fourteen children of a prominent Bluffton merchant. His father owned a quaint shop on Calhoun Street called “Peeples Store.” This little structure still stands on Calhoun Street as “The Store.” Andrew graduated from Bluffton High School and later from The University of South Carolina. He was also a graduate of The Alvienne School of Dramatic Art in New York. The stories Andrew has written have been recollections of his childhood in Bluffton around the early part of the century. His daughter, Mildred, sent me this story and I could think of no better gift than to share this with everyone in Bluffton. Andrew Peeples died on January 16, 1979 and he is without a doubt a genuine Bluffton Folk.

The little stranger in my native town of Bluffton, South Carolina, came into my life Christmas Eve under circumstances most embarrassing to me. I can only believe that an angel--one of the guardian angels that watch over little children--planned it that way for a very special purpose. How else can I explain the strange events which began in the late afternoon of that memorable day?For instance, who but an angel urged me to get ready for our Sunday school Christmas Tree a whole hour before the church bell rang, and then hurried me

off while the sun was still bright enough for me to see that shiny quarter half buried outside my front gate?Who but an angel made me run to the store and exchange my sudden wealth for that brand new mouth organ in a bright red box, and then prompted my father to heave a sigh and say, “Please son, go down to the river and learn to play a tune.”And who but an angel led me into the chilly dampness underneath the deserted steamboat wharf, and then sent that little stranger to the flowing well on the beach, in easy earshot of my practicing place?Anyway, there I was with my brand new mouth organ, seated and shivering on a drift of dead marsh grass, practicing a plaintive little melody, a sort of wail or dirge, called ‘Reuben.’ í It was the top tune in Bluffton. Any mouth organist in the town could close his eyes and breathe sadly into a few minor keys and render ‘Reuben.’But my musical talent was limited. No matter how sadly I breathed, or into which combination of keys I breathed, the succession of sounds that came out of my beautiful little instrument of tin and wood was as unrelated to a dirge as the clanging of cow bells to a lullaby.Had I not believed that practice makes perfect, those harsh discords would have discouraged me. Instead, they inspired me to even greater effort. And I was breathing in and out just as hard as I could when suddenly, from behind the nearest barnacle-covered piling, a pair of big black eyes began staring at me, and the mouth organ fell out of my cupped hands.I was so embarrassed that I fumbled the little instrument in my lap before I could get it in the bright red box and conceal it deep down in my side coat pocket. Then I began skipping oyster shells across the water, hoping those big black eyes would go away as silently as they had come.But instead of going away, they moved out from behind the piling, bringing with them the rest of an oddly dressed little boy just about my age. The red woolen stocking on his head was pulled down over his ears and his grayish sweater reached almost to the tops of his enormous black rubber boots. He stood there looking at me with a grin on his face that reminded me of a stray puppy that wanted to be friendly.I skipped another shell. I was in no mood for friendliness with a stranger who had sneaked up on me and shamed me half to death. I wanted him to go away and leave me alone.“My name is Jesus,” he said and I almost fainted before he added, “Antonio Fernandez.” I recognized the accent of the Portuguese fishermen who sometimes sailed their boats up the river to Bluffton.He pointed to a small cabin sailboat anchored in the shallow water near the flowing well. “That my papa boat,” he said “I come ashore with the water jug and I hear the music.”I felt like saying, “Fill your jug and leave me alone.” But I skipped another shell and continued avoiding those big eyes. I thought that if I ignored him, he’d go away sooner. But he didn’t. He kept on talking.“My papa teach me the harmonica. Then I drop the harmonica over board. Now it is Christmas already and we have no music on boat.”

A Memorable True Story of a Modern Christmas MiracleWritten and Illustrated by Andrew Peeples (1905-1979)Provided by Donna Huffman


Buy another one,” I said. It slipped out before I thought . “Sure we buy another, when we find fish,” he said. “Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next day.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe next week. But now is the time for the Christmas music, Like the ‘Jingle Bells.’”Right then the church bells began to ring. “Gee whiz,” I cried, jumping to my feet, “I forgot about the Christmas tree! I got to go!” I was glad for the excuse to get away from that talkative little intruder.The church was filled when I got there. I had to wedge myself between two other boys on a front bench. Everybody was excited, waiting for Santa Clause to appear from his hiding place back of the big candle-lighted tree in front of the pulpit. In a few minutes the organ was playing and everyone was singing, ‘Silent night, holy night,’ and then there was a prayer, and then the bible story about little Jesus in the manger and the shepherds and all that, and then-well, I thought they would never get to the tree.Finally Santa Clause came out of hiding and then there was so much commotion on the benches that he had to hold up both hands for quiet. Then he talked a little while about the spirit of Christmas. He even quoted one of the bible verses I had learned in my Sunday school class, the one about how being more blessed to give than to receive.I thought that was a strange verse to quote at a Christmas tree. We came to a Christmas tree to get, not give! At least I did. Ever since I had entered the church, I had been trying to spot my package on the tree and figure out what was in it. I had a feeling it was a pocket knife, or maybe a new fountain pen.Just as soon as Santa Clause finished his little talk, my Sunday school teacher and another lady went up to the tree and began taking the gifts off the tree and handing them to Santa. He would bring each one to the chancel rail and read aloud the name on it. Then a boy or a girl would run up and receive it from Santa Clause. I sat poised on the edge of my seat, ready to jump the three or four feet to the rail the second my name was called. Several times I almost slipped off the bench!By the time the tree was stripped down to the last two gifts, my heart was running wild. One of them had to be mine. I couldn’t sit any longer. I had to stand up and put one foot forward. The first of the last two gifts was for a little girl. Knowing that the next one had to be mine, I sprang up to the rail and waited for Santa to return with it from the tree. But when he came, he didn’t read the name on the package, he just stood there looking over my head at something to the rear of the church. Then he leaned down and whispered in my ear. “There’s a little stranger in the vestibule, do you know his name?” I looked quickly at the little stranger. He had taken the red stocking off his head and was holding it in his hand. But I recognized the grayish sweater and the enormous black rubber boots. “His name is Jesus Antonio Fernandez, he lives on a boat,” I said.Santa looked at the name on the gift he was holding in his hand, “This is for you,” he said to me. “It’s the last gift on the tree. Would you be willing to have your name rubbed out and the name of little Jesus put on it?” For a moment I hated the little stranger. Wasn’t it enough that he had embarrassed me underneath the wharf? Why did he have to follow me to the church and take my gift, even before I could see what it was? I wanted to yell “NO, NO! Its my gift and I want it for myself!”In anger I thrust my hands into my coat pockets. In one of them I touched the bright red box I had concealed there. And then something---I know it was the angel---made my hand grasp it and pull it out and hand it to Santa and say, “This is what he wants, he can have it instead.”“God bless you,” Santa said. “Now go and bring him up here while I get his gift wrapped and his name on it.”Hand in hand we came up to the chancel rail, and side by side we stood there. Santa Clause read out my name first. Then, chuckling merrily, he said, “Well, well, well. We’ve come to the very last gift on the tree, and it’s---let’s see--it’s for our very special guest, little Jesus Antonio Fernandez!”We tore wrappers off of our gifts as we hurried out into the street. Little Jesus looked at mine and I looked at his, and we laughed until we almost cried. Then we both began playing our beautiful brand new mouth organs just as hard as we could. Little Jesus was playing ‘Jingle Bells,’ and I was once again attempting ‘Rueben.’I can only believe that it was planned that way by an angel---one of the guardian angels who watches over little children.

Presented by The Bluffton Historical Society

Written and illustrated by Andrew Peeples

9The Bluffton Breeze December 2013 9The Bluffton Breeze December 2013

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Breeze D e c e m b e r T i d e s

LOW 12:33 AM HIGH 7:09 AMLOW 1:20 PMHIGH 7:25 PMLOW 1:25 AM HIGH 8:00 AMLOW 2:12 PMHIGH 8:16 PM LOW 2:17 AM HIGH 8:50 AMLOW 3:03 PMHIGH 9:07 PM LOW 3:09 AM HIGH 9:41 AMLOW 3:54 PMHIGH 9:58 PM LOW 4:01 AMHIGH 10:34 AM LOW 4:44 PM HIGH 10:53 AM LOW 4:53 AMHIGH 11:31 AMLOW 5:36 PM HIGH 11:52 PMLOW 5:47 AM HIGH 12:29 PMLOW 6:28 PM HIGH 12:53 AM LOW 6:44 AMHIGH 1:29 PMLOW 7:24 PMHIGH 1:54 AM LOW 7:47 AMHIGH 2:27 PMLOW 8:23 PMHIGH 2:53 AM LOW 8:53 AMHIGH 3:23 PMLOW 9.22 PM

Su 1

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Sa 7

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M 9

Tu 10

Tide chart is calculated for the May River

lfull moon

The lunar month is the 29.53 days it takes to go from one new moon to the next. During the lu-nar month, the Moon goes through all its phases.

HIGH 3:51 AM LOW 10:00 AMHIGH 4:19 PMLOW 10:19PMHIGH 4:47 AMLOW 11:00 AMHIGH 5:14 PMLOW 11:13 PMHIGH 5:41 AM LOW 11:55 AM HIGH 6:07 AM LOW 12:02 AM HIGH 6:31 AMLOW 12:45 PMHIGH 6:57 PM LOW 12:49 AM HIGH 7:18 AMLOW 1:30 PMHIGH 7:43 PM LOW 2:16 AM HIGH 8:02 AMLOW 2:13 PMHIGH 8:26 PM LOW 2:16 AM HIGH 8:42 AMLOW 2:53 PMHIGH 9:06 PM LOW 2:56 AM HIGH 9:21 AMLOW 3:30 PMHIGH 9:45 PMLOW 3:35 AM HIGH 9:59 AMLOW 4:06 PMHIGH 10:23 PMLOW 4:12 AM HIGH 10:36 AMLOW 4:40 PMHIGH 11:01PM

W 11

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LOW 4:49 AM HIGH 11:14 AMLOW 5:15 PMHIGH 11:41PMLOW 5:28 AM HIGH 11:54 AMLOW 5:51 PMHIGH 12:23 AM LOW 6:09 AM HIGH 12:37 PMLOW 6:31 PMHIGH 1:09 AM LOW 6:57 AM HIGH 1:24 PMLOW 7:16 PMHIGH 1:59 AM LOW 7:52 AM HIGH 2:14 AMLOW 8:09 PMHIGH 2:52 AM LOW 8:54 AM HIGH 3:08 PMLOW 9:08 PMHIGH 3:48 AM LOW 9:59 AM HIGH 4:05 PMLOW 10:09 PMHIGH 4:47 AM LOW 11:02 AM HIGH 5:04 PMLOW 11:09 PMHIGH 5:47 AMLOW 12:02 PM HIGH 6:04 PMLOW 12:08 AMHIGH 6:46 AMLOW 12:58 PM HIGH 7:02 PMLOW 1:05 AMHIGH 7:42 AM LOW 1:53 PM HIGH 7:57 PM

Sa 21

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W 25

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Fr 27

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Mo 30

TU 31


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Breeze E n v i r o n m e n t

By Amber Kuehn

Beneath the surface where the sunlight does not go, there is a place that gives Lady May’s secrets away. There is a vast fossil bed that lies between the All-joy Boat Landing and THE Sandbar. The treasures found here are millions of years old. Before the last Ice Age began, Bluffton was part of the Ocean floor and the beaches were in Columbia, SC. Just imagine 50 foot long sharks and ancient whales swimming in the clouds overhead. Upon their death, their bones settled in hundreds of feet of water. To-day, under only 30 feet of water, you can find shark teeth of Carcharodon Megalodon, bones of ancient whales, and even some civil war artifacts. They’re buried in just inches of sand that is constantly shift-ing with the tide. It is like a hidden hope chest of ancient memorabilia. Oddly enough, this is the December edition and we are talking about diving in the May River! The wa-ter is 45 degrees in the middle of winter which is the best time to find fossils. Because the water is so cold, the multitude of microorganisms that thrive in the water during the summer have died, causing the water to clear up a little bit for adventurous, certified SCUBA (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Ap-paratus) divers.

What does this ageless beauty look like below?

The ebb and flow of the tide results in a topography that you might not expect. There are ridges, 2-4 foot hills and valleys that run north and south, per-pendicular to the east/west tidal flow of the river in that area. It is interesting to feel the current on the floor of the May which is slightly less swift than on the surface. The bottom is firm…no pluff mud down there...and covered with course sand. There aren’t many stationary hard objects for sponges and sea whips to attach to, so many of the fossils become substrate for these soft corals.To uncover her secrets, you need full SCUBA gear, and the help of a weight belt heavy enough to keep you on the bottom and resistant to the current. You

also need a tool to probe the sand, like a screw-driver or dive knife. When a hard surface is detect-ed simply brush away the sand to reveal the object. Most of the discovery is done by feel since the best visibility may only be 2 feet using an underwater flashlight. Tip for the wise: The May is a tidal embankment (not actually a river) -- a body of water formed by the Ocean pushing into land, flowing back and forth

with the tides along the path of least resistance. It is a good idea to enter the water just before slack tide (when one tide cycle stops and the water is still before the next cycle begins) to avoid turbidity and to scout out a spot without the push of the current. Coincidentally, slack tide lasts about 30 minutes and depending on the efficiency of the wetsuit, you may only be able to stand it for the cold for about 20 minutes!

Why would anyone crawl around under water in the dark and risk hypothermia?

Those of us that are impressed by nature would compare it to Capt. Jack Sparrow’s quest for the Fountain of Youth. There is a surge of excitement when you find something hat has been waiting to be discovered for millions of years. This is clearly not for everyone, but for those in search of adventure, this “black water diving” is more than just treasure hunting. It is about unique experiences that add

The May River is like a Southern Lady. She keeps her secrets buried deep and does not reveal her age. She flows gracefully and keeps her reflection handy.

Diving the May


depth to your day to day life. For ex-ample, on one fossil dive I remember coming face to face with a large spi-der crab that assumed the fighting position, but it was so cold that he moved in slow motion. I laughed at him, despite the fact that he was not kidding. It was something that I did not expect to see – my surprise and wonder at that moment, alone with nature, left a lasting impression.

What does it take to be a diver in the May?

Of course, you need some qualifi-cations: A SCUBA certification, a dive flag, and a Hobby Diver License from the State of SC, to com-ply with the law. The South Carolina Underwater Antiquities Act of 1991 as it pertains to fossil col-lection states that all finds over 50 years old must be reported quarterly to the South Carolina Museum Commission (custodian of paleontological materials for the state). Nothing may be removed that would necessitate a mechanical lift or underwater excava-tion.

In addition to these basic requirements, it is recom-mended that you have quite a bit of diving experi-ence, comfort in zero visibility water, and a sound mind to prevent panic when bumped by a curious sea creature passing by! A Hobby Diver License is required. But you also need a bit of skill, comfort

in zero visibility water, and a sound mind to prevent panic when bumped by a curious sea creature passing by!

What will you hope to find?

The most popular treasure in the fossil bed is the ancient shark tooth belonging to Megalodon, the largest apex predator that ever lived in the sea, becoming extinct 1.6 million years ago (mya). It ruled the Ocean in the Miocene Epoch (23 – 5.3 mya) and scientists believe that the

depletion of food supply (whale) caused its demise. The Pliocene Epoch (5.3 – 2.6 mya) was a cooling period caused by shifting continents that blocked Ocean access as tectonic plates collided to form dry land. Changes in temperature, salinity and range caused the extinction of many ma-rine species… but that is an-other lesson…

The color of these fossils depend on the sediment where they were deposited. In the May, most of the fossils are dark grey/black, but beige colored fossils have been found on rare occasion.

How about a real adventure for your kids?

I taught a high school Marine Biology class for a se-mester a few years ago and was astonished that most of the kids were unimpressed with these fos-sils. They are distracted by modern technology, so-cial media and easy to access virtual experiences.

My plea is this: Parents, create a seed of environ-mental awareness by exposing your kids to the out-doors and let them discover the excitement of real adventure! It will give them an experiences that they will never forget. Suggestions range from camping and nature walks to boating tours and even SCUBA classes (minimum 10 years of age). Spark their curiosity! Encounter the real thing.

Water carries sound 4 times faster than air. A diver in the May River surely knows when a motor boat passes overhead, but the direction that the sound is coming from is hard to determine. Boat motors are very loud underwater; the fish and dol-phins must be so annoyed. Remember: Boats must stay 100 feet away from a dive flag – It’s the law.

Megalodon had 46 front row teeth (24 in the upper jaw and 22 in the lower). Most modern sharks have at least six rows of teeth, so Megalodon may have had 276 teeth! They are easy to identify mainly by their large size and chevron shape between the root and the blade. The tooth position in the mouth is opposite of what you might think. The convex (rounded) side faced inward while the flat side would have faced the Ocean…and any unfortunate prey.

The Megalodon shark tooth

The ear bone of an ancient whale


2012-2013 SummaryEOC’s BCSD 3 YrBiology 86.1% #1 +14%US History 64.4% #1 +16%HSAP BCSD 3 YrHSAP ELA 96% #1 +16%HSAP Math 90% #1 +17%HSAP Both 90% #1 +18%

PSAT: College ReadinessPSAT: 2012-2013 BLHS NationClass of 2014 Juniors 53% (53%) 46%Class of 2015 Sophomores 66% (50%) 38%

AP Program Mean ScoresAdvanced Placement BLHS SC US Global

Average Score 3.04 2.96 2.95 2.97

Advanced Placement 2011 2012 2013 # of AP Exams 393 391 +521# Scoring 3 & Above 219 267 +341% Scoring 3 & Above 56% 68% 66.3%

tools that is doing so. He knows which student’s families are homeless and makes sure they get plenty of food in the lunch line as well as fills their backpack up to take home with them on weekends - as that may be the only food they have. They are shown the same courtesies and respect as those who are more fortunate. He helps the less fortunate students develop a sense of self-worth by providing them with all the help and academic attention they need. He has taught staff how to recognize signs of abused kids and how to help and counsel them.

*EOC - End of Course HSAP - Required to graduateThis includes home abuse, on school buses and making all on campus understand that bullying is wrong and will not be tolerated. Mr. D, and his staff will not let the Special Needs Students be left behind. There are many programs that give them individual attention as well as encouraging them to

become involved socially within the school family.

Mr. D. is aware that with 1200 students there will be drugs on campus. He is not afraid to call in the drug dogs at any given time and search lockers, students and cars in the parking lot. This alone is a great deterrent and along with the hard work of the School Resources Officers, provided by the police department, has worked toward having a drug free and safe campus.

Students with language deficiencies are assured to get tutors and participate in programs that help them learn better English and bring their grades up as well as test scores. The student government

has a role and a voice. This includes suggestions, complaints, and ideas for achievement, safety issues, and development of a school spirit like no other. Students helping students make Bluffton High a better place for all. This pride and caring attitude is found in academics, sports, cultural activities, and everyday student life.

The teachers are another very important component to The Plan and Bluffton High Schools success. A Like Course Team approach has been implemented within and across the various departments. Working with each team and teacher on the team, he has strengthened and made consistent the course plans to the highest standards. This approach has created a collaborative spirit and professional pride among the teaching staff. This not only helps the students succeed but also makes all teachers better, and to feel that they are making a difference. He challenges his staff to do better, earn the respect of the students, and show compassion to all.

Bluffton High has a heart. Everyone counts and is important. From the administration and staff, to all students, everyone is treated with respect and as individuals, not just another number. This is the foundation of Mr. D’s vision and personality and it has carried throughout the school. He has given many reasons for the students to want to go

to school, work hard and help others, teachers to respond to the individual needs and differences of their students, and to make THEIR school the best it can be. All Blufftonians should be proud. Bluffton High is a State of Mind just as the town. We say Mr. D. gets an A!


With show-stopping dance numbers performed to such classics as “We’re in the Money” and “Lullaby of Broadway,” this quintessential tap-dancing production

tells the story of a small town chorus girl who steps into the starring role to save the show-within-a-show.

THIS BIG, BOLD, TONY® AWARD-WINNING MUSICAL WILL BRING YOU TO YOUR FEET, CELEBRATING THE STUFF

THAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF!


Breeze F e l l o w s h i p

AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPALCambell Chapel A.M.E.

25 Boundary Street, 757-3652Sunday School 8:45am

Worship:10am

ASSEMBLY OF GOD

New River Worship CenterHwy 170 & Argent Blvd. (next to ESPY)

379-1815 Sunday: 10:30am Wednesday 7pm

BAPTISTFirst Baptist Church of Blufft on

Boundary at Church Street, 757-3472Sunday School: 9am

Worship: 10:30am & 6pm

First Zion BaptistWharf Street 757-3128

Sunday School: 9amSunday worship: 10am

May River Baptist ChurchSC-170, North of US 46, 757-2518

Sunday School: 9:45amSunday Worship: 10am & 7pm

St. John’s Baptist Church103 Pritchard Street, 757-4350

Sunday Worship: 11am

St. Matthew’s Baptist ChurchSC Highway 170, 757-3255

Sunday Worship: 11am

Indian Hill Baptist ChurchHwy 278 next to Eagle’s Point, 757-2603

Sunday School: 9:45amSunday Worship: 11am

Bible Missionary Baptist ChurchGoethe Road Community Cntr, 815-5523

Sunday Worship: 11amBible Study: 6pm

CATHOLICSt. Gregory the Great Catholic Church

333 Fording Island Road, 815-3100Sat. 4pm, 6pm Sun. 7:15am, 9am, 11am, 5pm,

Espanol 1pm Mon-Fri 6:45am Chapel, 8:30am Church

EPISCOPALTh e Church of the Cross110 Calhoun St, 757-2661

495 Buckwalter Parkway, 757-2662Sunday Worship: 8am & 10am

Th e Episcopal Church of OkatieAt St. Luke’s Baptist ChurchHwy 170 and Snake Road,

Worship: 1st, 3rd and 5th Sunday, 8:30am

GREEK ORTHODOXHoly Resurrection Church

at St. Andrews Catholic Church 220 Pickney Colony Road, 837-4659

Orthros: 9:30am, Liturgy 10am

JEWISHTemple Osah Shalom

at Lowcountry Presbyterian278 Simmonsvill Road, 705-2532

Shabbat Worship 3rd Friday of month, 8pm

LUTHERANLord of Life Lutheran Church

351 Buckwalter Parkway, 757-4774Sunday School: 10am

Sunday Worship: 8am, 9am, 11am

METHODISTBlufft on United Methodist Church

101 Calhoun Street, 757-3351Sunday School 9:45am

Sunday Worship: 8:45am & 11am

Church of the Palms United Methodist1425 Okatie Highway, 379-1888

Sunday Worship: 10:30am

St. Luke’s United Methodist ChurchSC Highway 170 near Sun CIty, 705-3022

Sunday Worship: 8:30am and 10am

PRESBYTERIANLowcountry Presbyterian Church

US 278 and Simmonsville Road, 815-6570Sunday School: Adult 9:40am, Child 10:30

Sunday Worship: 8:30am & 10:30am

Grace Coastal Church (PCA)1425 Okatie 15 Williams Drive (off SC170),

379-5521Sunday School: 11am

Sunday Worship: 9:30am

NON-DENOMINATIONALLive Oak Christian Church

Blufft on High School Auditorium 757-5670Kidstreet: 9:15am, Worship 10:15am

LowCountry Community ChurchBlufft on Campus: 801 Buckwalter Parkway,

836-1101Sunday Worship: 8:30am, 10am, 11:30am

JEHOVAH’S WITNESSESKingdom Hall, SC 46, 815-4455

Sunday Public Talk: 9:30am & 3:30pmSpanish Public Talk: 12:30pm


When Martha Crapse, one of Bluffton’s fi rst real estate brokers, heard there was trouble with the Gulf Oil commercial being shot on Hilton Head be-cause a strong-willed Palomino was too much for the fi lm crew and wouldn’t go near the ocean, she knew what to do. And, so after a phone call to Frances Griffeth, 15 year old Simone’s path to the silver screen was launched.

Simone Griffeth, who had her fi rst horse, Ginger, when she was only 7, was not afraid of stubborn horses. On day one of a three day shoot, the pow-erful horse, with Simone barefoot and bareback, raced over the dunes, reared up and headed for the ocean. If Simone’s stop-a-man’s-heart good looks, and horse whisperer charm weren’t enough future-paving good fortune, the commercial aired during one of the Apollo Space missions, setting the stage for dreams come true.

Despite “instant fame” and offers for modeling and commercials in New York, Simone’s parents refused permission and their chomping-at-the-bit prodigy would have to wait until after college before they would acquiesce. Even when the call to Holly-wood came, Mama Bear Frances Griffeth traveled with her daughter – and, on the fi lm studio’s tab.

So, just how did this down-to-pluff-mud Bluffton girl get from the Bluffton Slowcountry to the Hollywood Hills? How does a water-skiing, shrimp net throw-ing, shotgun shooting, fried squirrel for breakfast girl become Bluffton’s fi rst movie star? Her parents had more to do with it than they probably realized. Good genes for beauty; ballet lessons from her mother; a Scot’s stubbornness; a southern gen-tleman father and gorgeous mother who would fl oat downstairs for nights out in Vogue glamor and Chanel mist (the same woman who fried the squirrel). Simone’s acting debut was in a ballet as a cabbage in Mr. McGregor’s garden. She “wrote,” directed and performed in after dinner performanc-es with brother Bob and at age 11, after seeing The Sound of Music in Savannah there was no turning back; her star was hitched.

After the commercial on the beach, the starry-eyed

our bluffton beauty and the silver screenBy Tamela Maxim


Simone began to dream about her future. She knew she needed an orbit for her star, but how, what, where and when? She thought she might like to be the next Jane Pauley or Diane Sawyer, but maybe being an actress would be more exciting. Her parents insisted that she attend college, so they packed her off to USC in Columbia, where she performed in theater and created and starred in her own children’s television show called “Rio” on the NBC affi liate WIS-TV. There were interviews, lots of children and ani-mals, trips to the circus, rodeo --- it was challeng-ing and fun. A monkey was once brought to the show and after taking one quick look at the lights, camer-as and all the children, he fl ew under Simone’s cowgirl dress, wrapping tail, legs and arms around her limbs. Animals and children were cute, but Simone was ready to orbit somewhere bigger, bright-er, faster and oh so very much more grown-up.

She knew she wanted to go to New York and/or Los Angeles for television, commercials and fi lm, but she chose big-city-enough Atlanta as her interim star incubator. She had enough common sense to know that unfamiliar ponds sometimes have big, mean alligators. Southern “gators” weren’t so bad, but she wasn’t sure about LA and New York. She moved to Atlanta after school in June and with the help of the Atlanta Models & Talent Agency, landed a starring role in the cult classic Swamp Girl, fi lmed in the Okefenokee Swamp. By February she had saved enough money and gained enough confi -dence to move to California where she acquired an agent and a little apartment.

Picture 20 year old Simone in low riding hip hugger red corduroy bell bottoms and a skinny little striped top. She (and her mother) rented a convertible, drove to Santa Monica and had their fi rst sighting of the Pacifi c Ocean at Malibu. They thrilled at be-ing in a hotel with a revolving restaurant at the top.

When Simone saw L.A. she thought to herself, with exclamation points, “I love this place”

The fi rst famous person she worked with was Vin-cent Price on a Mattel toy commercial. She de-scribes herself as starstruck, but trying hard not to show it. He told wonderful Dracula stories and was a charm-dripping gentleman.

But, sometimes the famous people were not so nice and hardly resembled their on-screen personas. Simone had always been fascinated with “I Love Lucy’s,” Lucille Ball, but when she was sent for an audition on the Dis-ney Ranch and the trailer door was opened by her idol, she was painfully disappointed. All Simone could think about was the Lucy she loved so dearly --- Lucy in the chocolate factory; Lucy and Ethel stomping grapes; Lucy who made the whole world belly laugh. But the real Lucy wore a bath-robe and had a turban on her head; was hard, driv-en, whiskey-voiced and not very lovable. And, no, Simone did not get the part.

Actress Bea Arthur (“Maude”) was tough on screen and not so surprisingly also tough in person. Sim-one played the role of Bea’s spoiled daughter-in-law in “Amanda’s by the Sea,” a television show based on Britain’s Fawlty Towers. Bea, who was going through a divorce (in real life), liked to stra-tegically place screwdrivers – not the kind for car-pentry - behind the 3 stage set so she could knock ‘em back at necessary intervals, plus she’d had a few before she got there.

The show was canceled after airing only 10 of 13 episodes and when Simone’s agent secured an-other part for her in the new show “Golden Girls,” Simone told her agent, “Please hurry - make the deal before she fi nds out it’s me.” Bea, upon seeing Simone on the set barked in her dramatic, throaty boom, “OH (pause) YOU AGAIN! Is this an omen?”


Simone may have graduated with honors from Mas-ters Class in dealing with tough broads, but at least she escaped joining the zombie world of drugs and alcohol so common during the zany 70s and 80s. When her new friends tried to include her in the pill popping/nose snorting/orgy culture she would say, “Oh (laugh, sweet smile) I’m much too southern for that!” with slow southern drawl emphasis.

Sylvester Stallone and Simone were in Death Race 2000 together with co-star David Carradine. Stal-lone kept talking about a script he’d written about a boxer and that he was going to star in the film. Even though all of the studios liked the script, they wouldn’t use Stallone as the star, but eventually he found a producer who mortgaged his home to do the movie and the low budget I-told-you-so film “Rocky” was shot in only 28 days for about $1 million.

One of Simone’s favorite leading men was Jeff Goldblum. She re-members him as tall, skinny and Ichabod-Crane-like. They took bal-let together and he would usually forget his ballet shoes. His black-socked feet looked like floppy bean bags as he did his entre chat trois – flip, flip, flip go the feet in the air. He was one of the guys who worked in a restaurant and smelled of garlic. Sim-one later played his fiancé, Bunny in Ten Speed & Brownshoe with Ben Vereen. When she saw him later (after the film, The Fly) Jeff’s transformation was impressive. He had developed a cool sophis-ticated look and it was obvious he’d been working out.

Simone also loved playing undercover agent with Tom Selleck and had a wonderful two weeks film-ing in Hawaii. She had known him years before he ever played the Magnum P.I. role. They had done a Hanes pantyhose commercial together at the Harold Lloyd estate. They were dressed in 1920s costumes. Simone wore her own dress that she’d found in a thrift shop. The setting was a Great Gats-by-ish party with Tom and Simone coming down the staircase. Simone wore silver high heels and the scene was shot so many times that when she got off the plane in South Carolina to meet her parents, she hobbled on her blistered feet. Simone and Tom bumped into one another over the next few years at auditions and she especially remembers seeing

him from a distance on the Universal lot wearing a white dress uniform. Simone, walked over to Tom. “What are you doing? You look like a million dol-lars!” Tom’s reply – “Oh, just another pilot.” When he told her about the show, she said, “If THIS one doesn’t sell, they need to have their heads exam-ined!” And, as you have guessed by now – Simone was right and Magnum P.I. was one of the highest rated shows in the history of television.

Other Simone stories: Another of her other favor-ite leading men was David Carradine who included

a tribute to her in his book, Endless Highway. He once told her he was sorry that he’d never hit on her. Sim-one remembers working with Wil-liam Shatner. He played the part of a Sergeant, but she would forget and call him Captain. She learned a lit-tle known trivia item about the Mov-ie 10 from actor Robert Webber. He told her that the music Bolero was popular when he lived in New York – it was music to be played as you set your charms against a pretty girl along with a few strong drinks – thus the famous love scene in 10 is set to this “theme” music. Leslie Niel-sen was known for always having a

whoopee cushion handy. Simone learned magic from the famed magician Harry Blackstone for a part in a Mandrake, the Magician. She once baked a coconut cake for cigar smoking James Coburn that he wanted as a gift for his ballet dancer girl-friend; Simone said that James smoked so much during the cooking that it probably had a rather Cu-ban flavor.

Simone has been very active this past year, in-cluding the second female lead as Sam Shepard’s wife in the film, Savannah and a recent commer-cial at the Biltmore mansion. She plays Barbara in the film, 10 Rules for Sleeping Around, a romantic comedy shot in Charlotte, NC directed by Leslie Greif. And, the movie The Untouched is a murder mystery set in Savannah, Georgia where she plays a shrewd calculating woman who is very ambitious for her son.

Simone will be starting her next session of act-ing classes (for all ages) in early January and you can reach her at [email protected] or 843.384.4466 for more information.


we cater parties large and small!


Breeze B l u f f t o n B u l l e t i n B o a r d

For future announcements on the Bluffton Bulletin Board call the Breeze

at 843 757 8877.

Farm fare from Bluffton and beyond, every Thursday 2pm to 7pm

Farmers Market was voted the most celebrated Market in SC

and 11th in the USA!

Free Advice! Third Tuesdays Events Hosts a Panel of Experts in a Local “Shark Tank” Forum (Without Teeth)

from 5:30-7:30 p.m. 400 Buckwalter Place. (843) 540-0405

Halo is a spirited girl who loves to play and enjoys jaunt-ing around a yard. When you see that big smile on her face and tennis ball in her mouth you can’t help but fall in love. Let’s find her or another a home for Christmas. Call 843-645-1725 [email protected]

Haley Lawson is a graduate of Bluffton High School and is teaching in Uganda.

She has reached out for help to purchase Book Bags and School Supplies for

her 31 Children. Let’s show her that BLUFFTON CARES

Please give a small amount to help. Call Sharon Brown at 368-6755 or

The Breeze at 843-757-8877. Tax Deductible. Cards Accepted

“Island Vibes” a display of QuiltsDecember 9 - February 28

Sponsored by Palmetto Quilt Guild

BLUFFTON CARES

Hope and EncouragementSelf-Improvement Resource

Worship & Practical Bible applicationFood, clothing, shelter

If you need assistance, contact us at843-505-1538

www.myfathershousebluffton.org

Rambler’s Life: The South Reloaded


Tuesdays from 2 - 6pmBuckwalter Place

Broadway Back In Da' Woods Productions presents a full-stage musical "Gullah Kinfolk Christmas Wish"

Friday, December 6 beginning at 7 pm. University of South Carolina in Beaufort.

The Chambers Non-Profit Committee hopes you remember the Local Charities during

this month of Giving: Bluffton Area Community Association

Bluffton Self-Help Boys & Girls Clubs of the Lowcountry

God’s Goods Thrift Store Hilton Head Regional Habitat for Humanity

Hospice Care of the Lowcountry Literacy Volunteers of the Lowcountry

Lowcountry Legal Volunteers Moss Creek Marines

Osprey Village Programs for Exceptional People (PEP)

Congratulations to Bluffton High SchoolArmy ROTC Raiders National Champions

Michele Roldan-ShawBook Signings & Readings

Dec 1 2pm George & Lillian Heyward’s HouseDec. 10 7pm - Corner Perk

Dec. 12 6:30pm Vineyard 55Dec. 14 2-4pm ArtWorks in Beaufort

Dec. 18 6pm Picture This Gallery, Hilton Headwww.ramblerslife.com

Rambler’s Life: The South Reloaded


BEAUFORT

*Dec. 5 CELTIC CHRISTMAS CONCERT Harry O’Dono-ghue and Carroll Brown present a lively program filled with spiritual, Celtic, and traditional seasonal songs, compliment-ed by stories and Irish recitations. Beaufort County ArtWorks, 379-2787, 2127 Boundary St., Beaufort (K-Mart Plaza). 7:30 pm $12 (Group of 10 $10, Kids $5)

*Dec.5 & 8 FA-LA-LA-LA-LA Winter Holiday Concert, Beau-fort Symphony Orchestra. Purchase in advance online at TIX.com or by calling 800-595-4849. USCB Center for the Arts, 801 Carteret St., Beaufort. Thurs. 7:30 pm, Sun. 3 pm $37.50

*Dec. 13-15 A CHILD’S CHRISTMAS IN WALES Welsh-man Peter Townes presents holiday nostalgia at its best. Learn who the Welsh are, including the difference be-tween the Welsh and the Irish, Scots, Picts, and the Bloody English! Beaufort County ArtWorks, 379-2787, 2127 Boundary St., Beaufort (K-Mart Plaza). Fri. & Sat. 7:30 pm, Sun. 3 pm $12 (Group of 10 $10, Kids $5)

*Dec. 15 USCB FESTIVAL SERIES Music for strings and clarinet by Antonin Dvořák, David Bruce, George Gershwin, and W.A. Mozart. USCB Center for the Arts, 801 Carteret St., Beaufort. Call 208-8246 Mon.-Fri. for tickets or purchase at the door. 5pm $40, $45, $50

*Dec. 19-22 HONKY TONK ANGELS HOLIDAY SPECTAC-ULAR Three good ole country gals provide many surprising twists and turns in this musical comedy revue, including a gospel soul sister who also happens to be a psychic mani-curist! USCB Center for the Arts (Purchase Now), 521-4145, 801 Carteret St., Beaufort. Thurs.-Sat. 7:30 pm, Sun. 3 pm $20-$25 (Seniors $18-$20, Students $10-$15)

HILTON HEAD ISLAND *Dec. 2 JOY TO THE WORLD Eric Tsai on violin with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, 842-2055, First Presbyterian Church, 540 William Hilton Pkwy. (278), HHI. 4 & 8 pm $25, 40, 50

Breeze O V E R T H E B R I D G E S*Dec. 7 CHRISTMAS ON BROADWAY A ball-room dance showcase presented by the Fred Astaire Dance Studio, 837-6161, Seahawk Cultural Center, H.H. High School, 70 Wilborn Rd. 7 pm $22 (Kids $15)

Sat. Dec.7th THE HERB SOCIETY OF HILTON HEAD from 10AM to 1PM in the Courtyard of Pineland Station (High-way 278 and Mathews Drive), will hold their semi-annu-al sale of quality herb plants and Herb Society products which includes French Market Soup Mix, Curry, Flavored Vinegars, Jellies, Bouquet Garni, Herbs and Flowers Note Cards and more. All profits from the sale are donated to lo-cal charities. For further information, call (843) 363-6602 *Dec. 13 THE SOUNDS OF CHRISTMAS is an Is-land tradition offering something for everyone’s musical taste. The chorus continues its love affair with Dave Bru-beck celebrating Christmas as only a jazz legend can. Hilton Head Choral Society and Orchestra, 341-3818, First Presbyterian Church, 540 William Hilton Pkwy. (278), HHI. 8 pm $25 (Reserved $30)

*Dec. 18 THE MOST HATED MAN IN BEAUFORT COUN-TY Learn about William Henry Brisbane, one the state’s most passionate defenders of the “peculiar institution” in his proslavery newspaper, from the pulpit, or in public speeches and debates For adult audience only. Coast-al Discovery Museum Calendar, 689-6767 ext. 223 (reser-vations required), 70 Honey Horn Dr., HHI. 3 pm $7

*Dec. 25 OUR COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS DAY DINNER A traditional turkey buffet at no charge for residents and visitors away from their loved ones. Donations for food and supplies may be mailed to the Christmas Dinner, P.O. Box 541, Bluffton, SC 29910. Guests’ free-will offerings go to “Meals on Wheels” and “Second Helpings.” Reservations are encouraged, call 843-705-5725 or 843-304-1086, First Presbyterian Church, 540 William Hilton Pkwy. (278), HHI. 11 am-3 pm Free

*Dec. 4-29 42ND STREET With show-stopping dance numbers performed to such classics as “We’re in the Money,” and “Lullaby of Broadway,” this quintessen-tial tap-dancing show features one dazzling scene af-ter another! Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, 842-2787, 17 Shelter Cove Lane, HHI. Tues.-Sat. 8 pm, Sun. 2 pm $45, 55 (Kids $31, 37)

Breeze O V E R T H E B R I D G E S*Wheelchair accessible event.


SAVANNAH

Nov. 29-Dec.1, Dec. 5-8, Dec. 12-15, Dec. 18-Jan. 1 SAVANNAH HARBOR FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS A spectacu-lar holiday adventure! The drive-through light experience will showcase over 80 larger-than-life displays. The Staples Sa-fari Zoo will showcase wonderful, exotic animals from around the world. Savannah Harbor Foundation, Hutchinson Island. 5:30-10 pm $25 per automobile Parking for the winter village at no additional charge.

*Dec. 4-8, 11-15 Join our walk on THE JOURNEY to Beth-lehem. Cross the Sea of Galilee to the market-place. This memorable production is on the grounds of the Savan-nah Christian Church. Dress prepared to walk roughly 3/10 of a mile on a cleared path through the woods. (A tram is available for people with special needs.) SCCJourney.com, 912-925-9657, 55 Al Henderson Blvd., Sav. 6-8 pm $5

*Dec. 1-26 A CHRISTMAS TRADITION Holiday glitz and glitter! Christmas standards you know and love, sprinkled with comedy and audience participation for a great sea-sonal event. Savannah Theatre, 912-233-7764, 222 Bull St. Tues.-Fri. 8 pm, Sat. 3 & 8 pm, Sun. 3 pm, Mon. 12/23 8 pm, Tues. 12/24 2 pm (no show Christmas day) $37.45 (Group of 20 $30, Coupon $34.24, Kids $18.19)

*Dec. 13-14 HOLIDAY POPS Sing-along carols, Nutcrack-er excerpts, Skaters Waltz, Sleigh Ride, O Holy Night, Hal-lelujah Chorus. Savannah’s favorite holiday concert with The Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra. SCAD Box Of-fice, 912-525-5050, Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, 912-233-4709, 222 East Harris St., Sav. 7:30 pm $36, 60, 100 *Dec. 27-30 JUKEBOX JOURNEY Popular music and pro-fessional choreography from the 1940’s to the present are presented in a colorful and fast-moving production filled with lavish costumes and comedic skits. Savannah Theatre, 912-233-7764, 222 Bull St. Fri., Sat. & Mon. 8 pm, Sun. 3 pm $37.45 (Group of 20 $30, Coupon $34.24, Kids $18.19)

Jan. 4 ELVIS LIVES is an unforgettable multi-media and live musical journey across Elvis’ life. Featuring finalists from El-vis Presley Enterprises’ worldwide Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest, as well as a tribute to Ann-Margret. Johnny Mercer Theatre at the Savannah Civic Center, Broadway in Savan-nah, 912-651-6550, 301 W. Oglethorpe Ave. 8 pm $30-50 (plus fees)

BLUFFTON

Dec. 7 BLUFFTON’S CHRISTMAS PARADE Enjoy its State of Mind! Town of Bluffton, 706-4500. Starts 11 am along Bridge St. from M. C. Riley School, up Calhoun St., over May River Rd., and ends on Pin Oak St. Free

*Dec. 12 LUNCH WITH AUTHOR: CLAY RICE, one of the foremost silhouette artists in the world. He will serenade us with some of his original songs and make a silhouette of you to be placed in one of his books. USCB Lunch With Author, reserve at 521-4147, Moss Creek Clubhouse, HHI. Noon $42 (includes lunch)

*Dec. 14 METOPERA – LIVE! presents Verdi’s “FALSTAFF”! Cinemark, 757-2859, 106 Buckwalter Pkwy., Bluffton. 12:55 pm $24 (Seniors $22) Encore: Dec 18, 6:30 pm $22 (Seniors $20)

*Dec. 15 BETHLEHEM’S CHILD – A cantata by Victor C. Johnson and Lloyd Larson, performed by the Chancel Choir, with the Wesley Ringers (bell choir). Bluffton Unit-ed Methodist Church, 757-3351, 101 Calhoun St. 8:45 & 11:00 am Free-will offering

Your friend is your needs answered.He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.And he is your board and your fireside.For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.Kahlil Gibran

26 www.blufft onbreeze.com

� e world wars are long gone, but we are not without global con� ict. � e new war is more random. It takes place in the mountains of Afghanistan and in cities across the world. It is characterized by enemies who do not play by any rules. � at unreal day of 9-11 symbolizes how a single tragic event is able to bring out the resolve of a nation. And for that reason it will always be remembered. December is when we remember Pearl Harbor. A di� erent era. A di� erent war. A seemingly long time ago. � is was an event that we were equally unprepared for. A moment that symbolizes the will of all Americans to rise up and � ght for what is right, and do it with total commitment. So we would like to use December to honor an individual that captures the spirit of war heroism. For our read-ers at Sun City, please forgive us. You know all about Arnold Rosen and what he writes. Many of you have been the subject of his writings. But we believe the world should know. Because he has made the sacri� ce (be-yond serving in our armed forces) of chronicling the amazing stories of our veterans. � e titles of two riveting books,“Keeping Memories Alive” and “Before It’s Too Late” make his purpose clear ... and it is quite remarkable that all of his stories come from people living in Sun City.When you read these books you will be reminded how war brings out amazing facets of human nature. You will laugh, cry and sit on the edge of your seats in suspense. You will appreciate the bravery of these men and women by the simple truth that they were the very, very lucky ones that made it back. Mr. Rosen is a great writer, interviewer and editor. He makes it easy for us to soak in the heroism. He also makes it clear that the heroes of war are not just those in the front line, but all those who came together in support of the cause. He is extremely sensitive in his work. As he says in one of his intro-ductions, “One of the greatest privileges I’ve had in my � ve years living in Sun City has been meeting so many veterans. � eir aging bodies may be frail, their faces may be lined with wrinkles and marked with age spots, but they tell their stories with pride and humility”.Here are just a few snippets of the stories he shares: (Note the titles are ours.)

The Heroes of Sun City

A tribute from the Blufft on Breeze


I got up early Sunday morning, December 7 1941. ... still a little groggy aft er a late night party. I walked out on the fantail ... and noticed huge splashes in the water around us. I asked the OD “What the hell is going on here?” He said, “Oh that’s them old PBYs of ours drop-ping water bombs.” About that time I hear the roar of engines and bullets were fl ying everywhere, ricocheting off the decks and walls. We saw the low-fl ying Japanese torpedo planes all around us and the OD and I dove down the hatch ... another sailor and I went to the ar-mament room and found a .30 caliber machine gun. We didn’t have anything else, most of the guns and ammo had been removed the day before because of the visit -- get this -- of some foreign ministers and a deputy am-bassador of Japan.We were like sitting ducks -- fl ags, banners, awnings -- but not guns or ammo. My sailor buddy tried to get that machine gun to work but we couldn’t; it never had been fi red. I looked north across the channel and saw the battleship Arizona destroyed and sinking in a fi ery blaze ... I could hear the moans of the wounded and dying around me, and curses of men who fl ailed helplessly at the Japanese.

Edmund (Gene) McGuire

The Immense Loss

My worst memories of combat were trying to survive from the cold. I was cold, cold, cold! We couldn’t carry much equipment in our backpack for warmth. I didn’t have a heavy coat, just a fi eld jacket and I was freezing. Th e Army tried to ship us overcoats but they never arrived. We just had to huddle together to keep warm. I remember taking off my paratroop boots on night. My buddy told me, “Don’t do that, Bob, you’ll freeze!” But my feet were so cold I took my boots off anyway to rub my feet. Th e next morning the boots were frozen solid and it took a long time to soft en them up to get them back on. I’m still cold, aft er all these years! It’s up here (Bob points to his head.)

Bob Holly

He left on our fourth wedding anniversary when he got his notice to serve. I was six months pregnant and they gave him a deferent until the baby was born. We had our fi rst and only child, Arla, in March 1943. What was ahead of me? I was frightened ... I remember crying all day trying to fi gure out a budget of $78 a month. Where would I live and how would I care for the baby? Allotment checks were the same every month, although there was one stretch where I didn’t get a cent from August to February. I thought we were going to starve! When I fi nally got the back money, it was like hitting the lottery.

Jean and Sylvester Crumlich

The Hardship

Mixed FortunesTh e pilot shouted for us to get ready for a crash landing. I quickly strapped our radio operator into his seat, opened the ceiling escape hatch and fell to the fl oor bracing my back against the pilot’s bulkhead. My future looked bleak. I didn’t know of a single survivor from any past B-26 crash. Yet I felt strangely peaceful. My only regret was for my parents, as I pictured them receiving the inevitable ”missing in action” and, later, “killed in action” notices.Th e plane smashed into the Maas River at 250 miles an hour and split in half on impact. Th e front section sank like a submarine in a few seconds. I was underwater but able to stand on the plane’s fl oor and push our radio operator out of the hatch ahead of me. We struggled to the surface fore air. In a moment, our pilot and co-pilot burst to the surface and the four of us swam towards shore. Our turret and tail gunners never made it out of the Marauder.When we reached the river’s bank, a young German offi cer was waiting. He pointed his rifl e at us and in perfect En-glish stated: “For you I think the war is over.”

Jim Howel


FACEBOOK US! @ Gigi'sBlu� ton 843.815.445040 Calhoun Street

DECEMBER 4TH:Guest, Weniger Plastic Surgeryfeaturing Colorscience Pro make-up

LIBATIONS, REFRESHMENTS & LIGHT FARE

SIZES: AGE: Yours! Clothing Shoes Accessories

LADIES NIGHT!the fi rst Wednesday of every

month from 6–8 pm

Recipe … to a great holiday outfi t!


I was sharing a foxhole I dug with my buddy, Robert Young. We covered it with logs and branches. One night it was late and we didn’t have time to cover the hole, we just hunkered down in our sleeping bags and suddenly awoke to an artillery barrage. A tree, hit by a shell, burst and landed on my buddy. It killed him instantly. I reached over and tried to revive him but he wasn’t moving. I was in shock.

Bob Holly

(My Dad) and his crew suddenly sustained a tremendous explosion. The tank crew didn’t know what hit them. It was an 88 round that pierced the front armor plate. Ev-eryone else in his tank got killed, but luckily Dad, in the turret, got blown clear. During the attack he was wounded in his leg by a bullet. The doctor told him to put in for a Purple Heart award but he denied the incident—he never admitted he got shot, nor did he ever tell me he got shot until about 2000. “Yeah,” he said, “I got shot. (But) I never really told anybody.” He pointed to his leg and showed me his scar. He turned down a Purple Heart because, he said, the wound wasn’t bad enough.

George Hawley in the words of his son, Wayne

The Humor

We worked in a secure building at Bainbridge Island, intercepting and copying Japanese transmissions. These mes-sages were from shore to ship or ship to ship. The high-powered antennas allowed us to listen in to their broadcasts throughout most of the Pacific Ocean. After a while, you got to know the particular idiosyncrasies of the sender and could identify him without having met him. I would copy the same sender for a long time, which had a real advantage because you just knew (especially if he had a stutter in his transmission) who he was. On my last day the Japanese sender broke into English (in Morse code): “SAVE O SAVE! WE ARE SINKING!” His ship was in the midst of battle and it was going down. I almost felt like I was losing a friend.

Elaine Barlett

We had Christmas dinner on the line and I remember that I got about 20 packages, which I opened and shared with everybody. The Germans were on a hill near us and they were singing Christmas carols in German and we were on anther hill—we could hear them.

Bob HollyThe Air Corps sent us to Hunter Field in Savannah, Georgia and we picked up a “spank-ing new” B-25 bomber ... (they) had the WASP (Women’s Air Force Service Plots) ferry planes from the factories to stateside military bases. These women flew every airplane in the USAAF’s inventory, including half of all pursuit planes delivered during the war. I would see a tiny, 100 pound woman sitting in the cockpit of one of these big four-en-gine bombers. It was an amazing sight!

George Scuffos

The Unexpected

The captain ordered all crew to abandon ship. There were 2,000 of us in the water ... Some were in rafts: many others were floating aimlessly. We had an executive officer who was a regulation guy, a stickler for proper uniform attire. White socks were a ‘no-no’ for him. Everyone had to wear black socks. There was a fireman in the water with us, an Olympic swimmer. Our stickler exec was on the life raft with 20 other guys who were all standing up. The raft was under water. They yelled to the swimmer, ‘Come on aboard!’ The fireman yelled back, ‘I can’t! I got white socks on!’ And away he went.

Bud Ledbetter

The government was drafting men into the Marines, Army and Navy. When Jim arrived, they had four lines—Marine, Navy, Army and Coast Guard. They placed him in the Marine Corps line. Jim asked the guy alongside, “Do you want to go into the Marines?” “Yeah!” he said. They switched places and that is how Jim entered the Navy.

James Capossela


He never regretted his military service. “If I hadn’t been married, “ he said, “I would have stayed in. I’m just thankful to be here. I served my country, survived the war and am happy to be in Sun City.”

Charles Burton

The Dedication

Mildred Pickers was a nurse at the Perth Amboy hospital, when I arrived. The surgery was successful. While I was recovering I was attended by several other nurses. One morning I had the following exchange with another nurse:“You Know Miss Pickers? I want to take her out for a date!!”“No, I don’t think so!”“Will you ask her?”“No, not me!”“You ask her”“No!”I finally told her (halfheartedly in jest), “You ask her today. If you don’t I’m going to grab hold of you!”Mildred walked into the room and said to me, “I hear you want a date with me?” I said, “Yeah; what’s wrong with that? She says, “Nothing; but I’m too old for you; I’m older than you are!” “So what; I don’t care. I still want to go out with you.”I was in the hospital for about a week. A day before I was to be discharged, I asked her, “Do we have a date?” She says, “Oh, all right!” We were married for 59 years.

John Hango

The Romance

The KindnessI was hiding about an hour when a very elderly woman, maybe about 90 years old, came into the barn. But she was tall and strong, carrying what appeared to be buckets. She came within 25 to 30 feet from where I was hiding; I wondered whether or not to stay put. I decided to step forward and hope for the best. I stepped into view and from my pack pulled out the little American flag the Air Corps had given us to identify ourselves. I waved the flag and said, “Ameri-can, American!” On seeing me she dropped her buckets and came charging right towards me. She grabbed me under the armpits, picked me up off the ground and bounced me in unbridled joy while my feet never touched the ground. She took me into the farm house where the rest of the family lived, and they broke out some wine and cheese and called a neighbor over and started a little celebratory party on my behalf.

Sam Najarian

One day during The Death March my dad noticed a farm house way off in the distance. He saw someone coming from the farm house to-wards the ragged line of 10,000 marchers stretching across 20 miles. As the person walked closer my dad saw that it was an old woman, in that freezing weather, with a pot of tea in one hand and a cup and a saucer in the other. She walked up to one of the GIs and said to him, “Would you like a cup of tea?” One normally would think, how does that help—helping just one man? But it was a gesture, a symbol that ... inspired the men who saw it as a single act of kindness.

Jim Hoel

I went back to Guam for R&R. That was a joke! They packed us a lunch -- sandwiches, cokes and a couple of beers. We played softball with the crew of another ship for about 3 or 4 innings and then they chased us back to our ship to make room for another crew coming in for R&R.

Robert (Buddy) MacMillan

When his children asked (Major General Close) what his medals were for, he explained as he pointed to them. “This one was for brushing my teeth every day; this one was for polishing my shoes and this one for making the bed.”

Winton Close

The Humor (cont’d)


By Michele Roldán Shaw

It’s hard to hide a Chef’s passion.For 17 years our Chefs have shown their passion

in the finest beef dishes from the rotisserie and taste sensations from the catch of the day.

Sit at the Chef’s counter and watch the fun.Or sit back and be served with perfection.

Welcome to the Chef’s place.

Sigler’s Rotisserie & Seafood, 12 Sheridan Park Circle 843 815 5030

We offer much more than all the great bikes.We’ll get your bike perfectly in tune.

Do all the safety checks.So you have peace of mind on the road.

And you’ll ride off like never before.

THE BLUFFTON BIKE SHOPNew and used bikes, parts, services, tune ups, group rides.

4 Oliver Court 843 706 2473 Blufftonbicycleshop.com

WE MAKE BIKING EASY


With the holiday season upon us I thought it would be appropriate to cover sparkling wines. Besides be-ing my wife’s favorite category (I must therefore tread carefully!) wines such as champagne are associat-ed with celebrations, and when served, they take on special meaning? Why is this? What makes these wines so special? First, a quick tutorial.The sparkling in the wine comes from fermenting the wine twice. There are two methods for this process, one expensive, and one cheap. The expensive meth-od requires that the second fermentation be made in the bottle. This is called the “methode champenoise”, and is the only method used for French champagne, Spanish cava, and select California sparkling wines (usually identifi ed on the label as the traditional meth-od). The cheaper method uses pressurized stainless steel tanks to fi nish off the fermentation. All Italian sparkling wines such as asti spumante, prosseco, moscato, lambrusco are made this way. To complicate matters further, the double fermenta-tion is accomplished by adding yeast and sugar to create even more sugar and carbon dioxide. This al-chemy continues with choosing and the mixing the varietals (the cuvee) to create the style and sweet-ness of the wine, which can go from bone-dry (brut) to sickly sweet (doux). My fi rm recommendation is to stick to brut or extra dry for all sparkling wines.And then comes the glass in which to serve a spar-kling wine. These wines must be served in a fl ute glass if they are to retain their character. Old-fash-ioned coupe glasses allow too much of the carbon-ation to dissipate and will render the wine fl at. Sparkling wines can be red, white or rose. Avoid the reds such as moscato, and lambrusco because what is sent to the US is dreadful. The whites and rose are another story so let’s begin with champagne:If you see champagne on the label, it will be French from the champagne region, which is roughly 100 miles NE of Paris. No sparkling wine from any oth-er law-abiding country can label their sparkling wine as champagne. The varietals will be predominantly chardonnay, pinot meunier and in many cases pinot noir (without the skin). Pink champagne uses pinot

noir with a quick pressing of the skins to add the col-or. This is the easy part because when it comes to evaluating champagne using my three pillars for a white wine (fruit, acidity and alcohol), I have a prob-lem but so do the pundits.

As you can now appreciate, champagne (or any sparkling wine) is the result of serious tinkering by serious winemakers, who in turn will make a wine that will inevitably fall into one of two camps: light and crisp or full-bodied and creamy. This dichotomy of styles drives the pundits crazy because they prefer the latter, while consumers prefer the former and so do I. My favorite pundit propaganda for a full-bodied champagne describes Krug (a truly venerable French house not to be confused with the American label) as: “The Krug Grande Cuvee is a smoky, intense wine, with layer upon layer of coffee, roasted nut, golden piecrust, ripe apple, honey and spice fl avors; perfect-ly poised. “ This same reviewer, who had the extra-terrestrial ability to fi nd golden piecrust in wine, then proceeded to award a 96-point rating! This is absurd because this is not what champagne, or any spar-kling wine is about. Sparkling wines should be as-sociated with elegance, lightness, and subtle fl avors which are then heightened by the tingling feeling from carbonation. With this in mind, let’s see what I found in Bluffton.

I began my search looking for my favorite cham-pagne, Pommery. Alas, this label is little known in the US, much less in Bluffton, but I was pleasantly surprised with the variety of other sparkling wines available. I settled on four, each very representative of their respective region.

Moet & Chandon Brut Imperiale ($60 @ Belfair Wine)I could have chosen any of the great French labels ( Pol Roger, Veuve Clicquot, Roederer, Perrier Jouet, Taittinger etc.) but this wine has really stood the test of time. It is a “can’t go wrong” quintessential cham-pagne, and unlike other producers, they have resist-ed the temptation to please the pundits by making it more full-bodied and creamy. This is a beautifully balanced wine : delicate, crisp, hints of fruit ( pear),

By Michael Mavrogordato

Breeze W i n e W i t h i n R e a c h

Champagne? Or not.


reasonably light with a long bubbly finish. It is a “mood” wine, and for the right occasion it will shine well beyond its price.

Domaine Carneros 2009 (Taittinger) ($26 @ Bill’s) Several famous French producers copy their cham-pagnes in California but they can’t label it as cham-pagne. The Taittinger entry, Domaine Carneros, is a good facsimile of the French version and it sells for half the price of the original. However, if you are a part of the ABC (anything but chardonnay) movement, you will not like this wine. The chardon-

nay is obvious, protruding fruit (pears, again) with a full-bodied, creamy background. In short, if you want to taste something in vogue with the pundits and on the cheap, this is a good choice.

Elyssia Grand Cuvee Brut ($20 @ Big Jim’s)Spanish cava will always be the dark horse of a tast-ing. When a wine is associated with college parties, major cork popping, and other nefarious behavior, it is tough to earn respect. This cava is the exception!

This is a seriously good wine. Bone-dry, assertively crisp, with good structure, and very refreshing. A great buy!Prosecco Santa Margherita ($ 20 @ Big Jim’s)I must confess that I have always been a fan of pro-secco, and this one is very good. Of all the wines reviewed, this probably the most delicate. It is so light, dry and airy that it invites you to sip it forever, and at the same time, it has enough fruit (peach and apple) to keep it interesting. If you want to kick this wine up a notch, add a little peach nectar. This

aperitif, known as the Bellini, and made famous by Harry’s Bar in Venice, leaves the ubiquitous Mimo-sa in the dust.Final tip: never pop or explode the cork of a spar-kling wine. Besides being dangerous, it will deplete the carbonation instantly. Instead, carefully remove the wire cage, and twist the cork slowly until you hear a hiss.

Cheers and Happy Holidays!


AMIGO’S, MEXICANBELFAIR TOWN VILLAGE815-8226MON-SAT 11-9 BLUFFTON BBQ**, BARBEQUE PORK & RIBSPROMENADE 757-RIBSWED THU FRI SAT 11-Whenever

BLUFFTON FAMILY SEAFOOD HOUSE**27 DR. MELLICHAMP DR. 757-0380LUNCH/DINNER MON-SAT 11-9

BRITISH OPEN PUB, PUB, SEAFOOD, STEAKSSUN CITY & SHERIDAN PARK 705-4005MON-SUN 8-9 SUN BRUNCH 8-1

BUFFALO’S, CONTEMPORARYPALMETTO BLUFF VILLAGE 706-6630LUNCH MON-SAT 11-4

CAHILL’S CHICKEN KITCHEN**, SOUTHERNHIGHWAY 46, 757-2921LUNCH MON-SAT 11-3 SUPPER THU-FRI-SAT 5-9 SAT BREAKFAST 7-12 SUN BRUNCH 9-3

CAPTAIN WOODY’S**, SEAFOOD, SANDWICH, SALADSPROMENADE757-6222 MON-SUN 11 - 10

CLAUDE & ULI’S BISTRO**, FRENCHMOSS CREEK VILLAGE837-3336MON-SAT LUNCH & DINNER

CORKS WINE CO.,CONTEMPORY, TAPASTHE PROMENADE, 815 5169MON 5-10 TUES -SAT 5 -MIDNIGHT

CORNER PERK, BREAKFAST, LUNCH, COFFEE, TEABRUIN & BURNT CHURCH 816-5674M-F 7AM-4PM SAT 8AM-3PM, SUN 9AM-2PM

DIMARE’S STEAKHOUSE & ITALIAN CUICINABLUFFTON RD815-6900TUES – SAT 4:30 -10PM

DOWNTOWN DELI, BURGERS& SANDWICHESDR MELLINCAMP815-5005MON-SAT 8-3

FUJIYAMA, SUSHI/ASIAN CUISINE BI-LO CENTER706-9907MPN-TH 11AM-10PM, F/S 11AM-10:30PM, SUN 12-10PM

GUISEPPI’S, ITALIANKITTIES CROSSING842-8333MON-SAT 11AM-10PM SUN 11 AM-9PM

GRUBY’S, NEW YORK DELI OKATIE VILLAGE DRIVE705-4190 SUN-MON 8AM-8PM

INN AT PALMETTO BLUFF, CONTINENTALPALMETTO BLUFF VILLAGE706-6500 DAILY 7AM -10PM KATIE O’DONALD’S, IRISH AMERICANKITTIES CROSSING815-5555MON-SUN 11AM-2PM KOBE STEAKHOUSE, JAPANESE/SUSHIPLANTATION PARK757-6688LUNCH (EXCEPT SUNDAY), DINNER

LA HACIENDA, MEXICANKITTIES CROSSING815-4540MON-THU 11-10 FRI 11-10:45

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SAKE HOUSE, BEST BUY PLAZAASIAN FUSION/SUSHI 706-922211:30AM-10PM, SUN FROM 12PM

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SIPPIN COW CAFÉ**, DELI SANDWICHES/SWEETS MAY RIVER ROAD757-5051TUES – SAT 7AM – 3PM, SUN 9AM – 2PM

SUGAREE, BAKERY BURNT CHURCH & BRUIN RD.290-8585MON-SAT 6 AM-3PM

TAVERN 46, AMERICANBLUFFTON ROAD815-2327MON-FRI 11AM-11PM SAT-SUN 9:30AM-9:30PM

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Written by Gene Cashman IIIWritten by Gene Cashman IIIWritten by Gene Cashman III

Strands of decorative lights shone softly from the tree casting a romantic glow across the room. An old vinyl copy of White Christmas played quietly. The presents were wrapped and placed strategically throughout the room ready for the big morning. Seven stockings hung from the mantle laden with goodies, one for each member of the family, pets too. All that was left was for Betsy and jolly ole me was to finish off a glass of cabernet sauvignon and head to our big warm bed. “Dinner was superb babe” I said turning to kiss my wife on the head. However, before I could make the connection I heard an odd creak and saw a flash of light from the corner of my eye.

What happened next was a mixture of involuntary reaction and futile attempt at saving the day. Betsy leapt forward to grab the tree as it fell, I pulled back to miss getting hit, we crashed into one another as both glasses of wine tumbled from our grasp onto the couch. We both ended up under the toppled tree. For a second it seemed as if time stopped. Slowly sound began to creep back in. I could hear Betsy giggling, the record still played soft and low, our dog was panting on the other side of our pine prison. I must admit an expletive escaped my lips when I visualized the mess we had on our hands. “Dang Dog!” I blurted out “I bet that mutt did this trying to drink water from the stand.” I attempted to get up, causing fragile ornaments to clang together loudly. “Honey” Betsy replied still giggling, “hush or you’ll wake the kids!” I fumed “wake the kids! You have to be kidding me!”

Sure enough, a wee small voice could be heard at the top of the steps. “Mommy” the voice called out softly. There was a long pause and then quickly “daddy?” We both held our breath. “Santa” the voice called out much louder and more enthused “is that you?” I turned to Betsy, we locked eyes and communicated in ways only couples with young kids can. We sprung into action. I bear hugged the tree and rolled it off Betsy who leapt over the edge of the couch and sprinted up the stairs. I was alone with the soft music, the mangled but still romantic lighting, two arm full’s of sappy limbs and the dog. The dog knew I was ticked. She stared at me, tail between the legs. I propped up the tree against the wall and begin sopping up the wine. Upstairs, it seems things were not settling down. I could hear several sets of footsteps scurrying about, excited voices chirped and lights flipped on and off. I decided to stop cleaning and assist in calming things down.By the time I arrived at the top of the stairs and into the children’s room all the kids were piled up in my son’s single bed, Betsy in the middle, reading The Night Before Christmas. Soft lamplight shown on their cherubic faces. My heart became more tender and my mood less stressed. “Ahh” my heart sighed “what gift’s!” A creak of the floor gave my presence away. “Daddy, Daddy” they exclaimed excitedly “we thought we heard Santa, it woke us up!” I smiled and plopped down on the end of the bed. Betsy winked and started to read again only to be quickly interrupted by our son. “Daddy” he said sternly “don’t turn on the alarm tonight. I don’t want Santa to get taken to jail.” We all had a good laugh “no problem son.”

Restless and excited children take time to unwind on a random Tuesday much less Christmas Eve. We repeated our prayers, giggled some more, read a lot more, and sang every soothing Christmas song ever written. Finally the wave of emotion broke. With one final story and one last rendition of Away in a Manger sleepy eyes were fully restored. Peeling the children off us was a task but we managed and slowly crawled our way out of the room. “Mommy, daddy” our daughter called out. We froze thinking things were about to start back up, but instead she whispered, “Merry Christmas, I love you.”

It was now very late. It had been a full day and now and even fuller evening. We came down the steps heavy footed knowing what was waiting in the den. The tree was propped up against the couch, which was still soaked

Written by Gene Cashman III

Christmas Joy


Written by Gene Cashman IIIWritten by Gene Cashman IIIWritten by Gene Cashman III

with two glasses of red wine. Presents were crushed and wrapping paper torn. We were confronted with recreating the perfect Christmas morning scene or cleaning up the wine, staking the tree down and calling it a night. “You know” Betsy said, “what we just had was pretty special.” I stared tiredly at her waiting for the punch line. “To have all of us in bed together, that was really a sweet moment.” I nodded in agreement. “You put up the tree, I’ll get the Oxyclean and I will meet you in bed in fifteen.” She kissed my cheek before bouncing off to the laundry room.

I awoke to an empty bed. It was early, barely light out. I assumed Betsy had gotten up before me to feed the baby and tidy up some more. I could not hear any footsteps upstairs running about. I thought it odd, but figured they’d been up late and were still racked out in bed. Nevertheless, I knew I’d be needed in the den so the festivities could begin whenever they did wake up. Betsy met me with a cup of coffee at our bedroom door and a smile. “Shh” she said, “follow me.” A mother’s joy was painted across the corners of her face. When I rounded the corner of the den I saw the source of that joy. There on the couch, the children wrapped in blankets and pillows curled up with the dog and the cat. All sound asleep. On the coffee table a note, “dear santa” it read, “we love you.” A father’s joy quickly spread across my face. I hugged my wife “Merry Christmas.” She smiled “ yep, best gifts in the whole world.”

Clement Clarke Moore (1779 - 1863) wrote the poem Twas the night before Christmas also called “A Visit from St. Nicholas” in 1822. It is now the tradition in many American families to read the poem every Christmas Eve. The poem ‘Twas the night before Christmas’ has redefined our image of Christmas and Santa Claus. Prior to the creation of the story of ‘Twas the night before Christmas’ St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children, had never been associated with a sleigh or reindeer! The author of the poem, was a reticent man and it is believed that a family friend, Miss H. Butler, sent a copy of the poem to the New York Sentinel who published the poem. The condition of publication was that the author of Twas the night before Christmas was to remain anonymous.The first publication date was 23rd December 1823 and it was an immediate success. It was not until 1844 that Clement Clarke Moore claimed ownership when the work was included in a book of his poetry.

Written by Gene Cashman III


No Christmas is complete without yourfavorite Fruitcake. It comes in many sizes and

shapes and there are even more recipes. We came up with a list of things

that you can do with your left over cakesafter the holidays are over.

Use as a doorstopUse as a paperweightUse to clean your pots and pansUse as boat anchorUse as bricks in fireplaceBuild a house with themUse it to hold up your Christmas treeUse as a pencil holderGive it to the cat for a scratching postPut it in the back yard to feed the birds Hold up your car when changing tiresSlice and use for poker chipsUse it to carve your turkey onUse the fruit for monopoly piecesUse as replacement for Duraflame logTake it camping with you... use it to weigh down the tentLet your kids use it for a science project to see how mold growsUse it as a seat at a stadium eventStand on it to change a light bulbReplaces weights when you work outUse as book ends at the school libraryMake Bocce Balls out of it

Lulabelle In The Low Country Hey Y’all! I am loving this wonderful weath-er! Time to get the recipe books out and search for something new for the holidays, along with a steaming cup of hot cocoa. This recipe makes an adorable Christmas cook-ie that’s perfect for a Christmas cookie ex-change party, or one to make and share with friends and family. The colors are so pretty and I think these will make a beautiful and de-licious treat that the whole family will love! Merry Christmas from Lulabelle!

Candy Cane Blossoms

1 bag Hershey’s Kisses brand Candy Cane Kisses1/2 cup butter, softened1 cup granulated sugar1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract1 egg2 cups all purpose flour1/4 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon baking soda2 tablespoons milkRed and Green colored sugar

Preheat over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Re-move wrappers from candies (approx. 35)

Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg in large bowl until well blended. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add alternatively with milk to but-ter mixture, beating until well blended.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in red and/or green colored sugar. Place on ungreased cook-ie sheet.

Bake 8 - 1o minutes or until edges are lightly browned and cookies is set. Remove from oven; cool 2 to 3 minutes. Press candy piece into cen-ter of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Yields approxi-mately 35 cookies.


I c o m e t o y o u

G i v e t h e B re e z e s u b s c r i p t i o n

f o r C h r i s t m a sFor $45 you can give

someone special the spirit of Bluffton

for a whole year!

Bluffton BreezeThe

Call 843 757 8877Email [email protected] send a check to the Bluffton Breeze at

PO Box 472 Bluffton SC 29910.

What you have to say is important.We’ll make it shine.

Located in Bluffton, we bring you great service, fast turnarounds and outstanding quality through state of the art technology. We also offer design services. We’re proud to be as-sociated with all busi-nesses in our growing town -- like the Bluffton Breeze magazine.

43 Goethe Road, P.O. Box 1266, Bluffton SC [email protected] 843 757-2612


Written by Jevon DalyIn case you’ve never heard him, Zack speaks like a country star -- and he’s one in the making. So when he talks about a friend it’s “that’s my dogg!”

Yes, one of our own has gone to make a name for himself in the big city. Zack Stiltner from Bluff-ton has written a bunch of tunes and headed to Nashville. Having been successful locally playing to large crowds at sever-al of Bluffton’s music ven-ues, namely Station 300, Corks and Tavern 46, the buzz about Zack prompt-ed a sit down to discuss plans for his next move.

“The interesting thing about this article, is that I was in your band.” said Me. “ Still are man!” Zack fires back, with the kind of genuine niceness that is Zack Stiltner. The kind of young man that has just gotten back from re-cording an all original CD in Nashville. The kind of young dude who thanks everyone {usually by name} over the microphone at gigs. The kind of young stud who doesn’t care if a drunken buddy clambers up to the stage unannounced to “sing” along with Zack on a tune. Zack is just a nice guy in his 20s with hair down to his shoulders who plays country and wants to make a living singing.

Reverbnation/Zackstiltner should take you right to his new album, where you will hear songs of heartbreak and of love. The album features some young Nashville guns playing on it too. It

sounds pro and apparent-ly a lot of the songs were done in ‘modern’ coun-try fashion. “You think you’re just gonna go in and record the song, but you actually take the song step by step and BUILD it. “ “You learn how to build it step by step. It’s not like singing someone else’s song or singing ka-raoke.” Most of the lyrics stayed exactly like Zack wrote them here in his studio in Bluffton, but he says the learning experi-ence involved in actual-ly producing a song was amazing. Talk of tempo and guitar tone seemed to hit home with Zack the most, paired with the will-ingness to bend a bit to get that ‘next level’ !%^#.

“Sometimes the audience runs the show, and the

band can just have fun and play.” “The audi-ence entertains the band, the musicians enter-tain each other.” ‘The band’ ideal seems really important to Zack also. The feeling i got was that whomever is lucky enough to be feeding off of his energy on the bandstand will be a happier musician on the car ride home. I’ve definitely felt it. The crowd that comes to see Zack are

Bluffton dogg. Nashville cat.


also very apprecia-tive of Zack’s smile and -guitar hoisted up to the heavens, twisting on one heel- stage antics. People in Bluffton dig it. Team Zack.

The conversation drifted from talk about Nelly, to the energy level it takes to do 3 or 4 hour gigs. “You know what keeps me going man , it’s just fun...it’s just fun...If I’m not doing having fun it starts to feel like a job.”

“The best moments onstage are when someone is singing along with you, especially when it’s your song”. “I also like to go out and see my friends playing, which is hard sometimes ‘cause Bluffton keeps us all workin all the time.”

He mentions John O Gorman as his favorite perform-er locally, as well as Craig Coyne and Cranford. “I might only stay for 30 minutes, but so many of my friends are playin every night it is hard to get to all the gigs.” Having hung out with Zack before

at shows or just at my house tinkering with tube amps, I was taken aback with his knowledge of what’s goin’ on in the pop world as well. The kid knows his metal, he knows his hip hop and he knows his Chuck Norris.

It made me realize there is more to Zack than just the tight jeans and snakeskin boots.

Get the great taste of Old Bluffton!55 Calhoun Street, Bluffton 843 757 9463.

7 Days a week from 11:30am. Music most nights.

22 Fresh craft beers on tapA huge choice of wines

By the glass or by the bottleGourmet pizza and great dishes

Bring your friends and relaxSink back in our couches

Or sit on our famous porch.


Expedition on Cumberland Island

In Part I of this narrative the author enters the Cumberland Island backcountry on a solitary sleepout. We left her exploring a marsh inhabited by feral ponies and hogs, where after a series of misadventures she becomes separated from her camp with some doubts as to how to return...

Part II

By Michele Roldan-Shaw

Any wilderness adventurer worth their salt knows that going astray (avoidance here of the word “lost” is deliberate) isn’t so much a question of not know-ing where you are—it’s the fact that progress in the direction you need to go is blocked by obstacles such as sheer cliffs, bodies of water, treacherous snow fields, un-crossable expanses of sucking mud, or forest tangles so dense you can’t even crawl through on your belly. And rest assured by the time you’ve been stopped dead in your tracks by one of these, the convoluted and highly misguid-ed route you took to get there is totally impossible to retrace.But a way needed to be found; so with little heed

to the munching ponies and rooting hogs, none of whom were any help, I scanned the distant tree line whence I’d come: there was a break in it that I hoped might be the slough I’d crossed earlier, on a little bridge pertaining to a proper road. I made for this distant beacon, cutting cross-country over parched tidal flats and bushwhacking through chig-ger-infested brush…and sure enough my calcula-tions proved correct. “Whew, got outta that one!” I thought.Sometime later I reached the Settlement—rem-nants of a former African-African community—where several wild ponies were grazing around the church. It was cute but nothing really special. More interesting by far was the ramshackle conglomer-


ation of lean-tos and outbuildings next door, from which issued the crows of a rooster—meaning someone lived there. Undeterred by the “Private Property” sign, I rang a bell at the gate thinking I’d ask for a drink of water as an excuse to find out about the inhabitant.

Her name was Carol and she was sun-weathered and healthy-looking in rubber boots and jeans, with her plaid shirt and graying pigtails. She led me to an outdoor faucet and said she’d be glad to show me her “little museum” if I came back tomorrow—right now she needed to feed the animals.

That’s how I found out that Carol had lived on Cum-berland for forty years, with no street address and a phone that doesn’t work. In the mornings she writes; by afternoon she’s in the garden. She only ventures to the mainland every couple months, and once she didn’t go for half a year. “Just de-pends how the scavenging’s been,” she told me. “How good the garden’s growing.” While we talk-ed, a few buzzards clattered over her tin roof and hopped around the yard—they weren’t exactly pets but they’d eat out of her hand, and I watched as she fed them some mangy old freezer-burned coon-hock or something. “They’re so sweet to each other,” Carol said tenderly. She told me the general public didn’t really know that most of Cumberland was a protected wilder-ness. The majority came as day-trippers to get sun-tanned and see the ruined mansion, or take one of the van tours that posed an environmental threat. As for the ponies for which Cumberland Island is famous, she was totally against them being there. “They have a dang hard time,” she said. “They get snakebit; they’re not native so there isn’t much for them to eat; sometimes they get mired in the marsh muck, then the tide comes in and they die. The Hu-mane Association and all the horse groups support getting rid of them…but the public love them.” Peo-ple ask me, ‘Where can we see a horse?’ and I say, ‘You came here for livestock?’” Carol knew of way more interesting stuff than that. A biologist who escaped big-city life in Atlanta, she’d made it her business to do a biological ar-chive of Cumberland. “I wanted to study the ecol-ogy of this island and investigate the connections between things,” she said. “The last two weeks I’ve been going through parasite data.”

Once a week for four decades she had been riding the beach to do dead animal counts, which started as a way to draw awareness to all the sea turtles washing up because of the shrimp industry. Over the years she’d tallied more than 2,000, though lately the carnage wasn’t so bad because shrimp-ing had scaled back with the bad economy. At some point she started collecting specimens that ultimately became the museum: a strange-smelling assortment of catalogued skeletons and pickled creatures in jars—snakes and squid, cooters and salamanders, baby leatherbacks and loggerheads, moles and mice, birdies and bunny-rabbits. There is also a state record hawksbill turtle carapace and the baleen of a juvenile humpback whale. Many of the marine creatures have already gone to the Smithsonian, and the rest will eventually be donat-ed to the University of Georgia. She sent me off with a homegrown grapefruit, which I devoured appreciatively on the hot sand road away from her place. I’d broken camp on the river bluffs and was headed to Hickory Hill for my last night, which meant I had some serious ground to cover, starting with a cut across the island to the beach.

People had told me I would be amazed by the beach here, that I would love the sand dunes, though to be honest I’d wondered how different it could really be. But then I hit that high white moun-tain of the first dune—it had to be two stories tall—crested it and passed through more shifting sands that rolled away in dips and rises, all heaped-up and powdered-soft like Dixie Crystals; and by the


time I’d trekked through this broad expanse and reached the beach proper it hit me: all alone in this desolate wind-swept universe! There was nothing and nobody for miles, just the shorebirds and murmuring wavelets and stout-hearted little palmettos in silhouette against the blow-out sun. There was even a baby alligator, just sort of chill-ing and letting the surf wash gently over him. I was loving wild Cumberland.

But after several days of hard travel in my Kung Fu slippers, my knee had started to hurt myste-riously. I was in pretty bad shape by the time I limped into Hickory Hill, where I boiled a supper of noodles with arugula from Carol’s garden and glasswort gathered in the marsh. Later I cow-boy-camped on the hard, tick-infested ground, amidst whippoorwills, lightning bugs, barred owls and mosquitoes.

After a cold night with bugs swarming around my head, I broke camp and dragged the bum leg seven miles back to the ferry dock before break-

fast. I could barely walk by the time I reached the landing, but still I felt happy to have come.

I met a middle-aged couple waiting for the boat, and the woman told me all about their adventures: fishing and exploring and gathering mussels; feeling the river breeze at Brickhill, and bedding down snug-tight despite the rain under ancient oaks at Yankee Paradise. They’d spent their last night here at Sea Camp, and earlier this morning they’d taken a blanket and pot of coffee down to the beach to watch the sunrise.“You sure know how to live!” I said with genuine pleasure.“It was just the perfect trip,” the woman smiled.

I thought about that for a long time afterwards. They’d encountered all the same weather con-ditions as I had, covered the same terrain, only they’d done it with ease and opulence, whereas I’d come under equipped and pushed myself too hard as usual.

“Michele, you’re thirty years old now,” I told my-self. “You can’t just trudge forty miles with a full pack in broken slippers anymore.” I decided if I ever came back to Cumberland it would be with a whole different game plan; I’d wear proper shoes and spend more time in the hammock.

A few days later my limp was mostly gone and I had a presentation to do in front of a Sun City travel club. There were a few familiar faces in the crowd, including one woman who approached me beforehand to say thanks for taking the time. She gave me a card in which she explained how she was originally from Switzerland, but that she had lived here for many years and loved getting to know her adopted country; she really appreciat-ed hearing my stories. “With all your adventurous travels,” she wrote, “I thought perhaps you could use a good pair of walking shoes. Enclosed is a $50 gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods.”

Ma’am, if you’re out there reading this, I want you to know I got a pair of hot-pink ultra-light running sneakers and my knee hasn’t hurt since. THANK YOU! Oh and p.s.—Merry Christmas.

For more of Michele Roldan-Shaw’s writings visit www.ramblerslife.com


Breeze G o l f C o u r s e G u i d e


Golf Course

Belfair Golf Club200 Belfair Oaks Blvd, (843) 757 0715

Berkeley Hall Golf Club366 Good Hope Road, (843) 815 8444

Colleton River Plantation Club60 Colleton River Driver(843) 837 3131

Chechessee Creek Club18 Chechessee Creek Dr, (843) 987 7070

Crescent Pointe Golf Club1 Crescent Pointe Dr, (843) 292 7778

Eagle’s Pointe Golf Club1 Eagle Pointe Dr, (843) 757 5900

Hampton Hall Golf Club89 Old Carolina Road, (843) 837 3131

Moss Creek Golf Club1523 Fording Island Road, (843) 837 2231

Oldfi eld Golf Club9 Oldfi eld Way Okatie, (843) 379 5052

Old South Golf Club50 Buckingham Plantation Dr, (843) 837 7375

Sun City Golf Club672 Cypress Hills Dr, (843) 705 4057

Designer, Course Yds*

Tom Fazio: EastWest

6,9367,129

*Ratings for the longest tees

Pinecrest Golf Course1 Pinecrest Way, (843) 757 8960

Rating*

74.475.3

Arnold Palmer 6,733 n/a

Davis Love III 6,738 73.1

Pete Dye 7,503 76.9

Tom Fazio: NorthTom Fazio: South

6,9367,129

75.174.6

George Fazio: SouthTom Fazio: North

6,8856,555

73.472.5

Greg Norman 7,142 75.4

Clyde B. Johnston 6,772 72.4

Mark McCumber: Hidden CyprusMark McCumber: Okatie Creek

6,9466,724

73.271.9

Rocky Rocquemore 7,489 n/a

Jack NicklausPete Dye

6,9367,129

76.174.7

Coore & Crenshaw 6.606 71.8

May River Golf Club, Palmetto Bluff350 Mount Pelia, (843) 706 6579

Jack Nicklaus 7,171 75.4

Hilton Head National Golf Club60 Hilton Head National Dr, (843) 842 5900

Gary PlayerBobby Weed

6,731 72.7

Rose Hill Golf Club4 Clubhouse Drive, (843) 757 9030

Gene Hamm 74.16,961

Breeze G o l f C o u r s e G u i d e

Island West Golf Club40 Island West Drive, (843) 689 6660

Clyde B. JohnstonFuzzy Zoeller

6,803

73.2


Breeze G o l f R e p o r tWritten by Joel Zuckeman

Only a handful of shopping days left be-fore Christmas? Well, that’s the downside of whiling away your time on the golf course when you should be out trampling folks at the mall or outlet stores, like everybody else.

But not to worry. This Vagabond Golfer has carefully examined the latest golf goods, and hand-selected a laundry list of products that any links-lover would be thrilled to fi nd under the tree.

Taylor-Made DriversThey are the industry leader, because (or perhaps in spite of) the fact that they bring out new models with jet speed In fact, JetSpeed is their shiniest new mod-el, following close at the heels of the SLDR (referred to as the “Slider” driver.) The SLDR driver is a revolutionary new club featuring a sliding weight system that allows the golfer to easily and effi -ciently manipulate ball fl ight from a fade to draw. SLDR is engineered to launch the golf ball high, fast and long. Jet-Speed is the company’s fi rst-ever driver to incorporate Speed Pocket technolo-gy, utilizing a low and forward center of gravity to promote distance and accu-racy with less spin. Both are excellent products, and either one is an improve-ment over what’s currently in the bag.

Miura Wedges

These are the Stradivarius, the Rolls Royce of the wedge industry. Hand-made in Japan, elegant and superb-ly crafted, there is no golf club avail-able any better looking or performing than these. The K-Grind Wedge has a distinctive fl uted sole, and has reinvigorated thousands of short games and provided confi dent, high-spin exits from countless bunkers.

TRUE Golf Shoes

Odd looking, yes, but amazingly comfortable. These are shoes you can literally take out of the box in the parking lot, wander to the fi rst tee, play 18, even 36, with nary a blister. They are low-to-the-ground so you can really feel the course contours underfoot. The minimalist shoe is the hottest trend in golf footwear, and TRUE shoes are at the forefront of this wave.

Tin Cup

This is a cute little product that helps a player mark their ball in distinctive patterns. Use this high-quali-ty metal stencil, and emboss your ball with a perfect horseshoe, star, martini glass, or any number of whim-sical designs. Use Tin Cup and you will never, I mean never ever, be confused as to who’s ball is whose.

Ecco Shoes

First popularized by superstar Freddie Couples, Ecco Shoes have rocketed to incredible popularity with golf-ers of all ages. Taking both comfort and performance to new levels, the evolution of ECCO's best-selling golf shoe continues with the Street Evo One. This stylish, performance based men’s golf shoe features Hydromax technology, fl exible light weight construc-tion and a low profi le for greater stability, feel and power. It’s the complete shoe for the complete golfer.

Vans shoes

These are decidedly not golf shoes, but even the most avid player is off the course far more than he or she is on. Vans are casual, colorful, utilitarian, stylish, and ooze California Cool. There are plenty of people who, despite the rise of the “Tiger Gener-ation” over the last 15 years, consider golf to be in-credibly stodgy. Dedicated golfers can help turn back that stuffed shirt image by slipping on a pair of Vans post-round; they have been making wearers look hip since the fi rst model came out way back in 1966.


REED GROUP


LUNCH Mon to Sat, 11am - 3pmSUPPER Thurs, Fri, Sat, 5 - 9pm BRUNCH Sunday 9am - 3pmSATURDAY BREAKFAST 7am - 12pm

1055 May River Road, Bluffton, SC1 mile west of Old Town Bluffton

843 757-2921 www.cahillsmarket.com

We have a huge selection of beautiful Christmas trees ... and

one that’s just perfect for you!

Brrrrr ... it’s cold outside.But I just LOVE Christmas. I wonder what’s going to

be under my tree!!

the bluffton breeze december 2013

Documents

founder5the bluffton

bluffton beauty

mystery of bluffton

bluffton breeze llc

bluffton high school18

breeze contents

easthe heyward house

history shaped bluton