Closing of the Gullah

O’oman Museum

in Pawleys Island

I’ve been coming to this area since the early ’80s with my family, first to Litchfield and now wintering 4 months a year on Pawleys Island. I am saddened and stressed about the closing of the museum. The area has always attracted us because of its rich culture and lack of development. The Big Box issue and now this, what’s next?

I’ve read about the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, from St. Augustine, Fla. to Wilmington, N.C. I’ve been to Charleston, S.C. and seen what they have done about their heritage. I’m a member of Brookgreen Gardens and attended many programs on the Gullah culture, but where is Pawleys Island pride of their culture if not the Museum? The Museum has been a center for local folks to gather, visitors to the area to learn more of the Gullah culture in this area specifically. Many folks stop on their way to Charleston to listen to Mr. and Mrs. Rodrigues’ stories and lectures and see the amazing artifacts.

These are hard times, but we should be looking towards the future and ensuring that the history of African American slaves in this area, who have so enriched us, is properly represented and preserved. Mr. and Mrs. Rodrigues have worked tirelessly for many years; who will carry their tradition of local history, pride of self and belief in hard work? As the Gullah/ Geechee corridor continues to build, Pawleys Island has a unique place in this corridor. The area is full of plantations and the ancestors who built them. Let’s not lose these valuable resources. The politics and economics of this make sense. What can we do to preserve this area for future generations?

Billie Ruepp

Elk Park, NC

Response to letter ref Mojo

The Editors,

Mojo was rolling around laughing. He knows I like a good joke so I asked him what was so funny. He didn’t reply, as he often does, “a cat was walking into a bar …” Instead he pointed to a letter to the editor he had somehow missed in the Waccamaw Times. He had been given a copy of the letter by his friends, Jeep and Tank, the Labradors. They are part of a book club that meets regularly. The club members are currently comparing and contrasting two classics: The Hounds of the Baskervilles and Old Yeller with an eye toward how canines are portrayed in literature.

The writer of the letter, a Mr. Halbohn, said that Mojo couldn’t get the point of a letter trying to make a case for no curbs on the ownership of weapons because, “Mojo is a dog”. Mojo can’t understand the point of Mr. Halbohn’s letter either. Does Mojo being a dog make his points about gun violence (semi-automatic weapons are military style weapons and if we are really serious about protecting ourselves from a government gone awry we should be able to own sting missiles) any less valid?

Ironically, the writer of the letter stuck his Mojo comment at the end of a letter about discrimination (he questioned the use of looking at racial makeup in public schools as one criteria in determining if Civil Rights legislation is being followed). My hunch is that there are more than a few readers who trust the instincts of their canine colleagues more than they do some of the humans they know.

Sincerely,

The Rev. Dr. Jim Watkins and Mojo

Pawleys Island

Baffling behavior

I try to read different viewpoints on the many issues being discussed in our country. I read blogs and editorials supporting both sides of an issue to better understand what each side is thinking. Unfortunately, the latest behavior of Republicans in the Congress on immigration reform has me baffled.

There is a group of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate working on a bill for Immigration reform. I think this is great. Also, President Barack Obama’s staff has been working on a bill of what they would want for immigration reform. This draft has not been submitted to Congress, but was leaked to the press.

What happened after the leak has me confused. The Republicans started saying Obama’s immigration bill is dead. They said this could ruin the talks going on in the bipartisan Senate group. The anti-Obama statements were in many Republican legislators’ news releases.

The questions that now need to be answered are not on immigration reforms, but about how our Congress works. Since when does expressing an idea stop Senators from working together on a bill? Everyone knows what was leaked was a draft so it is not the final word of the administration. I have always believed a draft was a starting point which could be changed before being sent. Yes, even this letter I am writing now had a draft before the final letter was sent. In fact, some things in this letter were not in my original draft.

The Republicans in Congress have been calling for President Obama to send ideas to Congress on budget matters, gun control, and other items. They want to hear from him. Yet, when the draft of his ideas are released prematurely, he is criticized. I am beginning to think that the Republicans are not interested in making improvements in our country, if the improvements do not come from them.

It is time for the Republicans to start learning the best solutions to problems often are best done collectively. Until we get cooperation, our country will not improve. Many issues have different solutions, but there is one thing that over 80% of Americans agree. Congress will not more our country forward, if they cannot listen to each other and acknowledge different viewpoints. Compromise seems to be a negative word in today’s government.

Edward Morgan

Pawleys Island

Opinions that appear on this page in Letters to the Editor or in columns do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.