I have always been interested in anything paranormal.. it has a certain fascinating quality to it. Way back in 1999 I had been hearing things about this place called Strawberry Chapel and how it was supposedly haunted.
Long story short I finally ended up going out there with some people and it was creepy as hell - I was instantly hooked. As I started delving further into the history of the chapel I started coming across stories of a girl named Catherine Chicken who was supposedly tied up to a tombstone in the cemetery and was forgotten overnight by her schoolmaster.. I then realized a book had been written about it called Little Mistress Chicken by Mrs. Arthur Gordon Rose. Naturally, I had to get a copy of this book and was lucky enough to find one online.
As I read through the traumatizing ordeal of Catherine in the cemetery it mentioned that she grew up to marry and have children and she resided at Middleburg Plantation in Huger, SC where her portrait was still hanging to this day (the book was written in the early 1900's). I then of course had to research Middleburg Plantation and to my excitement it was still around. I found the owner's name and called and he was more than happy to have we come out and visit his home and share it's history. Do you know how excited I was? It was fantastic. I ended up going out to the plantation and fell in love and wanted to visit more plantations which then lead to my intense love for history and architecture.
Those passions of mine are such a huge chunk of my life and thoughts right now I cannot imagine where I would be had I never pursued this. Fast forward to the present day, I visited over 60+ privately owned plantations in South Carolina and contributed photographs to SCIWAY - South Carolina Plantations which then lend them to want to interview me and write an article for their newsletter. I am intensely proud of this article and wanted to share it with you guys. If you are interested you can read it here: Brandon Coffey: Old Soul Searching For The Old South
Brandon, I just want to thank you for your kind comments on my Strawberry Chapel blog posting. I could not believe the response that posting generated and especially the unkindness of it.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your posting here on the chapel and where it lead to in your life. We have many of that type of experience in our lives and never recognize them at the time - how they change the course of our lives. Next we will see a great publication with your photos and stories of the south's living plantations! I can't wait!
Suzie, it was absolutely my pleasure to put in my two cents on that matter. I was really honestly, whole heartedly, disgusted at how they were attacking you over a simple love of sharing our state's history. I am in the same boat as you when it comes to a love of exploring and if I saw that the chapel was open I, of course, would have stopped too. The way their comments were coming was very childish and not adult like at all and honestly they were snobby as all get out. You could see them looking down at you for even having the audacity to step onto "their" families property.. whatever! So snobby and disgusting.. This is a clear example that just because you are from money does not mean you are any better than anyone.. I mean they clearly do not how to act and with someone of their social status you would think it would be a given. It really rubbed me the wrong way.. even had to write a Facebook status about it, lol! Thank you so much for your kind comments and I just wanted to let you know that you actually inspired me to start a blog again! I have been wanting to share things for a while (even though some probably aren't worth sharing) and you reminded me I can do that in blog form. I really enjoy reading your entries and look forward to seeing more in the future!
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