What I saw around Savannah

Last week I participated in a National Endowment for Humanities teacher workshop in Savannah, Georgia. It was a great learning experience with quality speakers and field trips to places of significance in the story of Gullah Geechee people.

This was a whipping tree that was on a plantation that later became a cemetery.

This statue commemorates the people who came to Savannah as slaves. It is located near the river. Not sure what message the artist wanted to convey with the people in modern dress.

Isaac, whose 'basket' name was Dog, let us feel the difference in crab nets plain and dipped in paint. Guess which one lasts longer in sea water.

Tom tried his hand at making a loop on the crab net after I tried it. I thought it would be more like crocheting but it was more like macrame.

This was a former oyster shucking shed. Now it is part of a learning center.

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Closer view of oyster shed.

We had a cultural immersion/low country crab boil at the Pin Point Center.  It  reminded me of a crawfish boil. They didn't use quite the same spices and there was no remoulade or come back sauce.

Another field trip was to the Penn Center in South Carolina. This former school was started in 1862 during the Civil War. The morning was spent on traditional school subjects and the afternoons were spent learning trades like basket weaving, farming, carpentry, and cooking.

The grounds were filled with trees covered with Spanish moss.

In the 1960's Martin Luther King, Jr. met with his supporters and associates at the Penn Center.

We enjoyed hearing Ron Baise sing. Have you heard of Gullah, Gullah Island? It was a TV show that Ron and his family were on a few years back. 

This room in the library was made to look like a sweet grass basket. The community was involved in the planning of the library and it was an important place in their community.

We visited this praise house on our way back. Each community had a praise house where people came to worship Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday nights. They would take care of problems with sassy children, wayward church members, and other small disputes here.

There are more photos. I'll try to post them soon.