Bamberg Design Workshop

First, I have to thank Jessica from Bamberg-Erhardt High School for coming to the design workshop. Although she was the only student I spoke to that made the workshop, she made it. Can we get her a certificate or something to thank her and show her it was worth the trip to share her thoughts with us?

Secondly, while I know there were a ton of stories to tell, I really only got to talk to Mr. Maynard and Mr. Haye in depth. If you caught any of our conversations, I am sure you learned a lot too. Mr. Maynard served in the Normandy invasion under General Patton. The significance of that is that Mr. Maynard is black, my grandfather is white and General Patton is the great-grandfather of my roommate and long time friend from boarding school, Bea. Kind of an interesting coincidence.

So, what was the big deal about one guy being white and one being black? Mr. Maynard worked in a segregated support unit in munitions. (He has an interesting story about how they got the weapons and ammunition to soldiers that involves water, crates and the current). My grandfather, a lifelong bigot, served on an advance team that was given the task of breaking the German supply lines. These men relied on each other but because of racism and sheer stupidity were kept from actively benefitting from the other's skills and knowledge. The mind wobbles at how shortsighted and narrowminded people can be at the wrong time.

Mr. Haye came to Bamberg from Jamaica in 1951 to work for Stokely. He met his wife in 1953 and married in 1954. They spent some time in Philadephia where they raised a family. I never got to find out why they came back to Bamberg, but only one daughter lives in South Carolina (in Orangeburg). Sad to see family is so far away from the Hayes.

You would have thought I went down to Bamberg to visit, jawjack and meet new people. Ok, I did go for that, but I also went to document the discussions and opinions of the town residents and officials. I am not sure how to edit the video footage I have, but I want to make a piece that will make the town proud. The trick will be to do it with my limited skills without making it cheesy.

I am not sure what our design task for the town will be. Right now, talk is centered around a corridor study and recommendations. SCDOT, in their infinite wisdom, saw fit to close off the town's historical roads to create a highway throught the center of town. No outsiders stop and now residents literally have to take "back" roads to access their homes and businesses that can't be reached from the front.

I will have to post some town footage to this site so you can see what I am talking about.

Talk atcha' later.