A Clubhouse or a Golf Course or Two?

by | Feb 5, 2021 | Blog, Books, Community Engagement, Conservation, Drayton Hall Stories, Family, Historic Preservation, Outreach, Publication

First on Facebook – February 5, 2021

Click on the blue Facebook logo in the upper right corner above to read all the comments and enlarge the photos, or read the transcript below:
 
 
“A Clubhouse and a Golf Course or Two”?
 
It could have happened. Expansive lawns. Teeing off by the Ashley. Dinner on the portico. Drinks by the pond? What’s not to like?
 
Our future is the product of choices made, isn’t it?
 
In the early 70s, a choice faced Charlie Drayton and his brother Frank: “What to do with Drayton Hall?” They’d just inherited it from their Aunt Charley Drayton. Taxes were owed. Costly repairs were needed. Vandals were stealing antiques. Children needed money for college educations. Better start planning for retirement! Familiar financial demands.
 
So what to do with this asset, Drayton Hall? In my forthcoming book, Charlie Drayton recounts the story. Here’s an excerpt:
 
“My brother Frank and I really didn’t make a public decision to sell the property. But people knew we had it and that we were not going to be able to maintain it. I did have a phone call from a fellow who wanted to buy it.
 
I said, “What are you going to do with it?”
 
He said, “We’ll make it into a clubhouse and put a golf course or two on it.”
 
I said, “No. No way!”
“No way!”? Why care?
 
For my book, I seek answers from more than three dozen people. More anon.
 
May be an image of grass, tree and nature
 
 

Preview my new book “Drayton Hall Stories: A Place & Its People”

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

George W. McDaniel, Ph.D., is President of McDaniel Consulting, LLC, a strategy firm that helps organizations use history to build bridges within itself and to its broader constituents. The company’s tag line, “Building Bridges through History,” is grounded in McDaniel’s personal beliefs and his experience in site management, preservation, education, board development, fundraising, and community outreach. Rather than using history to divide us, he strives to help organizations use history, especially local history, to enhance cross-cultural understanding and to support local museums, preservation, and education.  Dr. McDaniel led volunteer efforts with Emanuel AME Church and historical organizations in Charleston to use historic preservation to enhance racial reconciliation and healing. McDaniel is also the Executive Director Emeritus of Drayton Hall, a historic site in Charleston, SC, owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He retired from Drayton Hall in 2015 after 25 years of distinguished service.

A frequent writer, speaker, and facilitator about such issues, he can be reached at gmcdaniel4444@gmail.com or through his website at www.mcdanielconsulting.net.

All images courtesy of the author unless otherwise noted.

Drayton Hall Stories" is now a 4X Award Winner with the SE Museum Conference's James R. Short Award, the Governor's Award in the Humanities, the SC Preservation Honor Award & the Alexander S. Salley Lifetime Achievement Award.

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