Bob Barker – A Rare Gentleman

gmcdaniel4444@gmail.com

4 years ago

First on Facebook – May 6, 2021

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Interview with Drayton Hall’s long-time tour guide, Bob Barker, a rare gentleman:

Bob: “When I was discharged from the Army in 1953, I came to visit Charleston for a simple reason: my great grandmother from Virginia came here every year for Race Week in the 1850s and wrote in her diaries about Charleston. I drove out to Drayton Hall. Since the chains were down, I drove in, and Miss Charlotta Drayton, who owned Drayton Hall at the time, happened to be there and asked me to come in.

“I demurred because I’d arrived with a puppy, and puppies pee. It didn’t bother her.

“’Dogs have been piddling on these floors for 200 years,” she declared. “Bring him in!’

“She gave a wonderful tour through the whole house. It was musty and dusty with the ground floor packed full of furniture, but it was one of the most fascinating house tours I’ve ever had.

“That was my introduction to Drayton Hall.”

Preview my new book “Drayton Hall Stories: A Place and 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.