Saint Helena Island (South Carolina)

Transcription

[ Noise ] [ Music ] >> [Background Music] The land and the water here was the way of life. [ Music ] Everybody on Saint Helena depended on it. [ Music ] You were a farmer or a fisherman [ Music ] The people that farmed share with fisherman, the fisherman shared with the farmer. [ Music ] And that was the way of life. [ Music ] >> Saint Helena Island is a magical place on the South Carolina coastline where African-American men and women have farmed this land and fished this water for centuries. First, its plantation slaves and then its freedmen. It's now one of the last communities on the East Coast that hasn't been swallowed up by development and tourism. But Saint Helena's way of life is at the crossroads. Denise and I have spent the last year on the island to see how farmers and fishermen have adapted to the modern world. We wanted to see if they could pass their heritage onto another generation or if the treasures of the land and the water here would be lost forever. [ Pause ] [ Music ] [Background Music] We met James Bradley on his family land which sits on a deep creek of easy access to the ocean. >> I'm a commercial fisherman. I've been doing this for 52 years. I think a best shrimp in the world is shrimp that we catch from here to Florida with the boat. The boat will come in or go out there this morning and bring in some fresh catch right out the ocean. It's the best you can find. So my family were right here. My wife grew up right on Saint Helena Island. >> Chuck Henry was born way up north. But he bought 1,000 acres on the island and now owns one of the few large farms here. >> I came to this piece of sand the second day of February 1947. Set out to see if I could run a farm to pay the bills and make it better. [ Music ] There's never been less than three people work here. I've had as much as 200 people working on the place. I've had an awful lot of people in for 65 yrs, a lot of people. >> Ben Johnson grew up on the island. And like many others, moved north to pursue a career in industry. But after he retired, he ended up right back on the family farm. >> I can trace my family back to slavery. And I lived here for the first 17 years of my life. We grew up everything we ate. Very little, we had to go to the store and buy. I had to milk cow every morning everyday of my life. And when I left South Carolina, I set two things I was going to do, drink milk and go to church because those are the things I had to do, I didn't have a choice. When I retired, I went back to the thing I hated most, farming. I farm about 30 acres. I have cows on it, I grow sweet potato and olive vegetables. [ Music ] >> I came across my great grandfather's deed in the courthouse which was 1892. He purchased 20 acres of land 30 or 40 years after they got out of slavery. And we've been farming. My great grandfather farmed it, my mother farmed it, and now, I'm farming it. So-- and hopefully, I can pass it on to the next generation. >> When we first met Sara Reynolds-Green, it was on her family land. Her husband, Bill, cooks up most of their produce at his restaurant, the Gullah Grub. >> Things that grow by the sun and grow by nature, they get a natural flavor and it tastes so much different. The thing about this Gullah style cooking is you've got to be able to use all your senses. You've got five senses. Most of the time, by the time you're finished, you done used them all. [ Music ] [ Pause ] >> After the smoke cleared from the Civil War, people continued farming and fishing using the practices passed down from their slave ancestors. [Background Music] Up and down the Atlantic Coast, these isolated pockets developed their own culture and way of life. They became known as the Gullah people. To the mainlanders, they were known as the Geechee people. >> Saint Helena was a very connected community. Everybody did and pretty much still does know everybody else. They were just industrious self-sustaining people. It was such a pleasure back in those days. >> I can remember and it came to me the other day, my father, he had a mule and a plow. And as a child, I would sit on the middle of the plow as he was plowing the field. And I could see it now, the soil just moving and moving. And I'm sitting right in the middle of that plow while he's plowing down the rows. Straight rows. >> I never realized how good it was until I left because you had everything here. Everything you needed here. People come in here and catch, get shrimp, and they could walk on it, get all oysters you need. It was a good life down here. I just thought that out after I came back. >> They used to go out and come back with a boatload of mullet fist. "Mullet fish, mullet fish man. Mullet fish five cents a pound. Mullet fish everybody bring your pan." Everybody came through. Everybody got a pan, five cents a pound. And they shared all around. You know, everybody had enough to eat, you know? [ Pause ] >> Landownership was also traditional. Emancipated slaves really kept their will and they passed their land on to all surviving [Background Music] family members in a system known as Heirs' Property. Family members owned the land together and shared in both the benefits and the responsibilities of ownership. This system kept the people connected to the land and to one another. >> It was a good thing 100 years ago because it kept the land in the family. One would plant something and the other would plant something different. Every harvest season, everybody would have part of what everybody else harvest and if they could sell them, the person who have them would sell. >> But as time changed, some families lost control of their land. >> As the family grew and people go away, in a lot of times, they'd leave the burden on the family member that either farm on it and labor on it to pay the taxes and everything. And larger the family gets, the more people get involved. What a developer can do is try to get one or two people to sell their portion. If you got 100 people and you only have five acres of land, you can't split the land but you can split the money. And the bad thing about that, it sells to a disinterested party. And that's why a lot of land got away. >> I've seen a lot of changes. I've seen too much changes really. >> [Background Music] Explain that. What have you seen? >> Well, developers going into areas that I know when I first ran away from Beaufort County, it was a lot of that land on Hilton Head was growing tomatoes. There was tomato stands over there and now it's gone, you know? >> It's hard to believe that Hilton Head Island is just 15 miles away by boat. 50 years ago, it was covered by small family farms, but now, it hosts some of the most exclusive resorts and golf courses in the state. >> Their land is worth more being on deep water to the economy as far as building houses and condominiums and things. More people are realizing they like to live on the coast. >> A lot of people can put a big house up there and knock those trees out of the way better viewing over the ocean. People will a million dollar for it. [ Music ] >> A lot of shrimpers, they know nothing but shrimping. And it is a tradition, it's a way of life. And it's being lost. I wish I could say it will be, but with the economy like it is and the cost of everything, it went up. [ Music ] >> You know, the developments on Hilton Head and Fripp, and all the other islands, it saddens me because, you know, I look at what was. And now, you don't have that kind of sense of home, like home like your home has been renovated in a sense and you didn't have much to say about it. >> The bottom line is that profits are low and property prices are high. In recent years, this perfect storm has pushed locals to sell the land that was in their family since reconstruction. Now, the Gullah Geechee folks of Saint Helena are some of the most hold outs against this tide. [ Music ] Other forces the islanders faced were the tectonic shift in both the fishing and the agricultural markets. >> The younger people, you know, started going to school, started going off. They didn't work the farm. All the fruit and vegetable they used to grow, they don't grow it no more. They come from somewhere. See, they're growing shrimp in a pond, send it to America, and America buys it cheap. And it's put the boats out of business doing that. >> In the '40s, '50s, and '60s, almost every landowner in Saint Helena Island would grow a small patch of tomatoes. Maybe just a couple, tenth of acres, or something really, they could take it to anyone in four different outfits in the nearby area who would buy it from them at a reasonable market price. Grade it, pack it, and sell it. That can't be done now. That's sort of disappointing but that's the way it is. >> Saint Helena's residents were not about to give in, however. >> The people saw what was happening to Hilton Head, [inaudible], Fripp Island, and then they had another little island the came and wanted to develop right off Eddings Point. They wanted to run a road through our lady's yard. [Background Music] And that sparked the protest. And then back then, it was-- we don't want development on this, we don't want it to move that fast. >> The Penn Center, originally started as the Penn School after the Civil War, became a rallying point for Saint Helenans to organize and make their voice heard. In 1999, the Beaufort County zoning ordinance delineated Saint Helena as a Cultural Protection Overlay District. That's a special status that puts strict limits on development on the island. >> It was a multiracial event. Everybody was interested in it because most people move to Saint Helena, move for the laid-backness we have. We can't really stop development but the idea was to slow it down at a pace where it wouldn't encourage developers to come. The first thing you don't see, you don't see a whole bunch of stoplights. No golf courses, no big signs and all of that. But the overlay program is one of the best things that could happen to Saint Helena. >> This island sustained us for so many years. And as development continues and grows, that sustainability is being compromised. That's what I don't understand. How do you destroy the thing that drew you to this beautiful place? And if they can get that point, then we can live in harmony with one another because we both treasure the same thing. >> Over the last few decades, many outsiders have come to see the importance of preserving Gullah culture. Other organizations are joining in this effort. The Natural Resources Conservation Service or the NRCS is a group like this. They work with private landowners to ensure healthy soils and clean water especially in agricultural areas. Diane Leone is a conservationist who has worked on Saint Helena for years. She has a passion for the place. >> [Background Music] Coming to Saint Helena is like going back in time. I think it's what every person comes back to in their life even for me personally. I worked on a farm when I was younger and to see people come back and work the land, I have a connection to I have a connection to that small farming concept. NRCS has a partnership with the Penn Center, the Beaufort County Open Land Trust, the Beaufort Conservation District on an effort to preserve prime agricultural land on Saint Helena. Chuck Henry, he has made a huge decision to take a good chunk of his property and put it in land preservation or conservation easement forever. I really admire him for that conservation ethic because people say, oh, they want to do the right thing or they want to recycle but this man really did what he said he wanted to do. >> I got people coming out here and hanging up their easels to paint pictures and so on. And I get to live there. Good grief, girl. You can't beat that one a stick. So hopefully, the same children and grandchildren of mine will be able to look at it the same way for some years to come. >> With the conservation easement, Mr. Henry has basically committed his land to agriculture in perpetuity. And that's forever. It will never be used for hotels or mansions. >> What I-- I'd really like to see on Saint Helena is preservation of farmland but more importantly, the preservation of the small family farm. We've preserved large acreage and the piece of the puzzle is now the smaller acreage which usually is heirs' property. They're usually smaller pieces of land but they are just as valuable as a 200 acre piece of land. I think working with heirs' property is challenging but I think it's doable. It's just working through those challenges. There could be over 19 members of the family that own the property. And they need one spokesperson, one decision maker on behalf of those 19 family members. I'm optimistic that we can work through it. It would just take time. [ Pause ] >> Another NRCS effort goes by the name of EQIP. This is a cost sharing program that helps landowners and start conservation practices that improve their farms' productivity and environmental performance. >> Sara is a great spokesperson for education and for organic farming and being close to the land. >> This system, it has been a lifesaver throughout the summer because it's been so dry and we were trying to work with the forces of nature and, yeah, in his graces and given us the water. But it just wasn't coming. So we had to tap this drip tape throughout the field all summer long keeping the plants saturated with water. And it's good because it goes directly to the plant. It doesn't water the alleys and all of the other areas and the grass. So that has been a lifesaver and I thank them so much for having that program available to small farmers, you know? >> Ben Johnson has a really good conservation ethic. He was hesitant at first to getting involved in cost share programs. But now that he's tried it, he's convinced and he knows it can work and it worked great for him. >> This fence came about through NRCS and getting involved with NRCS was one of the best things that happened to me since I was farming. It came about through Penn Center. Really, if it wasn't for Penn Center, I'd never got involved in it. When we first started, you'd have to be this 75 feet boundary, you know. I said, "Man, I'm wasting all that land." But then I understood why it was necessary and it's a really good thing, a really good thing. We don't want-- don't want to have runoffs in the creek, in the water because we go out there and get crab, I can throw a crab trap out behind my farm over there. And go back maybe a day later and it got 20 or 30 crabs in it. And I have to eat that crab. So I'm not really, you know, I'm looking out for the environment but I'm looking out for myself too. And I wouldn't want nobody to have runoff in there. The cost sharing plan, they supply 75 percent of the money and it was a good cost sharing plan. You had to do a lot of the work yourself. But it was worth it. [ Pause ] [ Music ] >> [Background Music] For this community to thrive, it needs to have young people who want to stay on the island and who know how to make a living of the land. >> Hi. My name is Janice. >> Hi. My name is Carolyn. >> My name is Kalila. >> My name is Zariah Green. >> I'm Brandon and I'm 13. >> I'm Jordan and I'm 12. >> I hear the young people talk about leaving and they can't wait until they get out of here. >> Do you think you're going to stay here forever? >> No. I'm moving to Atlanta. I want to go. I want to go. >> I want to move out of state. >> Why is that? >> I don't know. I just don't like it that much on here. >> What do you not like about it? >> I don't like it. It's so small. >> It reminds me of what I will say. We always said, "Why would you want to live at the-- on the end of the world at the-- " you know, it seems like this was the end of the world because there was one way in and one way out. When it was time for me to leave, I was glad to get out of here. But I keep saying, if they knew what I know now, they wouldn't say that because to me, this is the best place to be. >> All right. All right, we're going to have a [inaudible]. All right, the thinners-- come on let's go. Thinners, the ones that go in [inaudible], come on in, goes in the kale. >> What is kale? >> This is kale here. >> The Greens are using their businesses to teach young people about entrepreneurship and farming, making food and selling food. >> In working with the young kids, that's what I think a lot of our kids are missing, that experience of being on a farm, growing things, and being around people that love it. And they can tell I love working, coming out and working on a farm. [ Inaudible Remark ] And we can do a dinner for them. That sounds like a great idea. Like most people look at hard work, that's slavery, you know, who want to work in the farm, that's slave work. And that's the mentality of not only the young kids but some of the old people as well. Who want to go back to slavery, you know, working on a farm? And so once we educate them, that this is not slavery, this is entrepreneurship, creativity, teaching you to be self-sustaining, to be able to take care of your family. You have to do it in order to get that kind of euphoric feeling. Looking good back there guys. Especially when a young child that you've been working with come to you and say, "Oh, Ms. Green, we're going to the farm today?" And I'll say, "No, I can't do." "Oh, come on, maybe we could go for a little while." [Background Music] That is the most important. I mean, that makes your day when a young child wants to come and work with me, it's sort of heightens my understanding of-- this is really working. [ Music & Inaudible Discussion ] [ Pause ] Each landowner has had to find their own pathway to sustainability on the island. [ Music ] >> About 40 years ago, we decided to get our own business. At that time, we could mortgage the property to buy the boat. We bought our own boat and put up our own seafood market. And I was running, the boat, the owner, operator, boat captain and run the boat, me and my son. And my wife runs the seafood market. And we were doing pretty good at making ends meet doing that. if I have a big catch, they might catch 400 or 500 pounds, I take 200 pounds to retail market and take 300 or 400 pounds to someone who can buy a whole lot. We don't retail but a small amount. >> When we started the farm as an organic farm, we were trying to find out the best way to market what we grew. I am working full time and my husband is working full-time and the kids are in school. So we didn't want to go to the avenue of taking it to a farmer's market. So I went to a seminar and they were talking about this thing called CSA. It's called Community Supported Agriculture. And what that involves is you get shareholders to buy into your farm and you grow for those shareholders. That was a perfect match for us. So during this summer, Wednesday, all the kids will just converge on the farm and some of the shareholders and we pick everything that is ready to be harvested. And then we package it up and take it down right behind the Gullah Grub. There's a little shed there, so the shareholders just come and they go with bags of vegetables every week, and they are so happy because they get to know where their food is coming from, who is growing their food, and the quality is out of this world. >> Ben Johnson's strategy is quite simple. >> Among all the-- my fruit farm, and all my vegetable, I don't have to go anywhere, the people come to me. They get [inaudible], and they call. In fact, I got two calls on the phone this morning. I had to go home and received at that the answering machine that they want pigs and sweet potato. For me, the market is not a hard job 'cause all I have to let people know I have it. >> Ben passes his traditions on to future generations by giving his grandchildren a good taste of farm life. >> All right, Brandon. >> Yeah? >> Get back on the truck. Fix that [inaudible]. There you go, push it some more. OK. We got to cut the sugarcane and while I was cutting it, my grandchildren were scraping it to put it on the truck so we will make a massive pile when we get there tomorrow. We arrive there working 'cause all the money they make, all the money off the sugarcane goes to them. This is a part of bringing them down to the farm and let them know how I grow things and to take it to the market. >> How many Brandon ? >> It ends right there, on the watering [inaudible]. >> And also, the [inaudible] the sprinkler. >> Brandon. >> What's a sprinkler? >> We do this every year, every year for the last, I guess, 10 to 15 years and this is their fifth or sixth year being involved with cutting sugarcane and putting it on the truck and selling it. Tomorrow, their mother and father and their granny, they'll sell the sugarcane tomorrow. [ Pause ] [ Music ] >> [Background Music] Heritage Day and the parade, it's hard to put in words. You can't really describe. Heritage is a feeling. It's a way of life. It's something embedded in you that comes out when you start to march from Saint Helena Elementary School and to come to Penn Center and you get involved with the people there, it's an awesome feeling. You just can't put it in words, you know, how you feel. >> Every year, thousands of people converge on Saint Helena Island for Heritage Days. >> How are you doing? >> My whole family got involved with it. They are out there. They are-- they just like being out there with the people. >> There you go. [ Inaudible Remark ] I'm a school teacher, I can count now. Wonderful, wonderful. How are you doing? That's great. You made it, I'm going to get where you are one day. I will, I will. >> Every family on the island just about is touched doing heritage. That means you have a relative or a family or a friend that came from wherever they have gone to. They have escaped the island, they have gone somewhere else, and now, they are coming back for heritage. [ Music ] >> [Background Music] How do you do? [ Inaudible Remarks ] >> There you go. >> All right. >> For those coming home, Heritage Days is about the nostalgia of the youth. This is not just the reenactment of the good old days. This is where the people bring out the best of the year's harvest and catch from the sea. Here in Saint Helena, they must be doing something right. [ Music ] It's going to take everyone's effort to make the island viable. And it lies in the hearts of the farmers and the fishermen. >> My relationship with the land is something that would be incomprehensible to a sane person. They just-- they couldn't grasp, to me, the land and the fruits that spring from it are-- I sound like some novelist or something, but they are part of me and I love it. >> [Background Music] Ben Johnson will continue by keeping the best traditions and adding the conservation methods that improved upon his ancestors' ways. >> I have lived all over the world and I had never found a place that I love as much as I love Saint Helena. I love as much as I love down to my farm. >> Talk to Sara for a while and you'll soon find out who is most influential in her life. >> My mom, I mean, she was an entrepreneur to her heart and like my brothers, you know, they always used to say, "Boy, if she was a lawyer or a doctor, we would have been millionaires but she had been into farming," I said, "But we're still millionaires in a sense that everybody knew that whatever she grew, it was beautiful." [ Music ] [ Inaudible Discussion ] >> That's what I want to do. I want to hold onto the land. And I got some grandchildren coming up and, I mean, my daughter and her children, I hope they'll stay interested in it. I hoper they'll keep it and put something on it. And the land ain't going nowhere. >> We have so much notoriety about Gullah Geechee culture and how sacred this place is but we have to embrace that it's sacred. And we have to know when things are sacred, you take care of it, you maintain it, and you preserve the way of life that it is. If we incorporate the kids in as many opportunities in our culture as possible, there is no other way but it can be a better place. [ Silence ] [ Music ]