Amid conflict between development, heritage, why is St. Helena so important?
By Tony Kukulich
ST. HELENA ISLAND
When chef Bill Green, owner of the Gullah Grub restaurant, talks about Gullah cooking, he recommends adding a pinch of salt as the dish heats up.
The salt gets the flavors working together, he said. It unifies the dish.
“Whatever you’re using, different spices or herbs, it’ll make ’em speak,” Green said. “You put a little dash on, and you’ll hear them start talking at you.”
In light of recent events, Green’s cooking lesson begins to feel like a metaphor.
When a developer proposed an exclusive golf resort along the north shore of the island known as the Pine Island Plantation in 2022, residents came together in much the same way flavors do in Green’s Gullah cooking.
Vigorous opposition to the development project coalesced, and large crowds began to speak out against the project whenever it appeared on a Beaufort County meeting agenda.
They pointed out that golf courses, resorts and gated communities are prohibited by an ordinance known as the St. Helena Island Cultural Protection Overlay.
In addition, Gov. Henry McMaster warned in a letter dated Jan. 3 that if the county allows the proposed development, it will signal an “open season” for further development on St. Helena.
If this proposal is indeed an existential threat to the island, it begs the question: What’s so special about St. Helena?
Continue reading this story
