Who Do You Visit at the Smithsonian Castle in Washington D.C.?

gmcdaniel4444@gmail.com

3 years ago

The Secretary, that’s who. He just happens to be a friend of mine — long before he (Lonnie Bunch) was chosen to be Secretary.

Perhaps 40 years ago, he and I and another historian Clem Price just happened to be at the same lunch table at some conference and just clicked. Telling stories. Laughing. We didn’t know who was who or our future, though Lonnie and Clem already seemed to be friends. Lonnie and I saw one another from time to time and each time, consistently hit it off. Over the years, many episodes have passed.

When Lonnie came to Charleston, I took him and our friend John Fleming, who was elected chairman of the American Association for State and Local History, fishing on the Cooper River. As the picture shows, Lonnie caught spottail bass.

We also visited Mother Emanuel, toured the exhibit, and he met Liz Alston, whom he’d met before, Polly Sheppard, and others. He was touched.

A copy of an 18th-century watercolor of Drayton Hall I gave him in thanks for his service on our advisory council of Drayton Hall is now on a display shelf in his office at the Castle.

A good guy. You’d like him. We’re fortunate to have him as Secretary of the nation’s premier museum, the “nation’s attic.”

With Lonnie at the Smithsonian Castle.

L-R: Enjoying a day on the Cooper River with Lonnie Bunch and John Fleming.

With L-R: Liz Alston and Lonnie Bunch at the Mother Emanuel exhibit in Charleston.

Excerpted from my new book

Drayton Hall Stories: A Place and Its People

to be published in the spring of 2022

by Evening Post Books.

Click to learn more about it.

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.