SAGE SOCIETY MINUTES
Date: February 8 2022
Location: Pat Conroy Center, Beaufort, SC
Members in attendance:
Donna Armor
Sandi Atkins
Diane Gallagher
Debbie Gray
Barbara Hathaway
Stuart Heath
Ruth Ann Lawson
Peggy Pickett
Jerry Stocks
Larry Koolkin
Guests: Patsy Hand, invited by Stuart Heath
Catherine Stewart, invited by Sandi Atkins
Jonathan Haupt, Director of Pat Conroy Center
Barbara Hathaway called the meeting to order at 4:00pm
Member update: Lex Bomar and Bonnie McCardle have been voted in as new members
Approval of minutes: Minutes of the January 11, 2022 were approved
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Presentation by Stuart Heath – “Along Came Phosphates”
· --Phosphate mining and processing was one of the major industries from Charleston to Beaufort from 1867 to 1912 when over 12 million tons of phosphate was mined from the rivers and land in the Low Country. At the height of its period of production, phosphate fertilizer was exported all over the world, causing Port Royal to be one of the most active ports on the southeast coast.
· --The mining of the rock, aka “stinking stones”, was very labor intensive and relied heavily on the Freedmen who remained in the area after the Civil War.
· -- The rock was mined from the river, which was very dangerous, and also strip mined on the land. The damage to the land caused by strip mining is still visible today.
· --In addition to mining activities, factories were established to crush the rock into powder. Once crushed, the powder was shipped to local fertilizer plants where it was combined in ovens with sulfuric acid and other materials, causing lethal gases and dangerous chemicals to be released into the air and on the ground.
· --The production of phosphates continued through 1912 but significantly declined at the end of the 1800’s due in part to the devastation caused by the 1893 hurricane.
· -- Much of the land in portions of Port Royal have residual arsenic, lead and other deadly chemicals in both the ground and the marshland where the fertilizer plants once stood. The EPA has remediated some of the land and monitors it continually.
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General business discussed:
· Barbara asked for a vote to approve the changes in the by-laws. There were 9 members present which constitute a quorum. The members voted by secret ballot and unanimously approved the by-laws changes.
Amended Bylaws state that under Section 2, prospective new members may be proposed by an active member though the year. And a potential new member may be invited to attend two meetings a year whenever possible.
· Sandi
Atkins and Jen Moneagle recommended that the 2022 dues go to Hopeful Horizons
to create a children’s library in the emergency shelter. Sandi went through a Powerpoint presentation
about Hopeful Horizons to educate members about the organization (click here to see the presentation). Jen and Sandi also suggested that, rather
that give the money directly to them, we could purchase the books ourselves and
deliver them to the shelter. Barbara
offered to help with selection and it was suggested that Geni Flowers might
also be willing to help. It was also
suggested that members could get involved in other ways by adding money to
support this effort, donating books or possibly toys, or volunteering time to
work at the shelter. Sandi is going to
follow up with the shelter manager to get more specific ideas of their needs and
then will send a copy of the Powerpoint presentation to the members. We will discuss further at the March meeting.
· Barbara mentioned that the Historical Society tea is on May 10, 2022, the same day and time as our May meeting. Stuart will find out if the tea is going to take place this year and, if so, if the members would like to have a table at the tea in lieu of the regular May meeting. We will discuss this further in March.
Meeting adjourned at 5:10 pm
Next regular meeting will be on Tuesday, March , 2021 at 4 pm at the Conroy Center
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List of presenters for 2022:
March 8: Donna Armer: Monet’s Garden
April 12: Barbara Hathaway: Bookmobiles
May 10: Debbie Gray: Forgotten Survivors: Widowed Servicemen’s Wives of World War II.
Respectfully submitted by Sandi Atkins, Secretary, on February 10, 2022
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Sage Society Bylaws
To Be voted February 8, 2022
Existing:
Section 2: Prospective New Member
A prospective new member may be proposed by an active member though the year.
· A potential new may be invited to attend 2(two) meetings a year
· New members will be nominated and voted on at the next annual meeting, if there are vacancies
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Proposed Amendment to Section 2 in Red
· A prospective new member may be proposed by an active member though the year.
· A potential new member may be invited to attend 2(two) meetings a year whenever possible.
· New members may be voted on throughout the year, if there are vacancies
Rationale for Amendment
As of January 12, the membership consists of 18 members (2 of whom were voted in at the 2022 Annual Meeting.) It was planned that a full membership would be 24 (twenty-four). In 2020 we added one new member and accepted resignations from 4 (four). To be “full” we could add 6(six) new members.
Written ballot: Circle one YES NO
