Tag Archives: Louis Gregory Baha’i Institute

The Road to Diamond, Day 94: Close Calls

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Family, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 2, 2025- Myrtle Beach was an unexpected surprise, when I was near the end of my Army Basic Training, in mid-August, 1969. I earned a three-day pass, and got to spend 1 1/2 days just enjoying a cabana to myself and the long strand of sand, with plenty of the scenery that appealed to an 18-year-old man-child. I haven’t been back there since, though I’ve been close-having visited Florence and Hemingway, as well as the Louis Gregory Baha’i Institute, in 2016 and 2018.

Myrtle Beach has grown immensely, in the past 56 years. Its popularity as a resort has kept pace with that of several other towns, up and down the Atlantic Coast. So, it was a major national concern when the city was threatened by wildfire, over the past two days. Resources have been rushed to the area, and containment of the fire stands at 30 %, as I write this.

Tryon, NC is a town I visited in 2019. I briefly considered moving there, from Phoenix, in 2011, before deciding on Prescott. Tryon and nearby Saluda are also dealing with a wildfire. It, too, is 30% contained, as of now. Tryon is prime horse country, southeast of Asheville and high upon the South Carolina state line.

I pray for both areas, knowing that there, but for the grace of God, goes our area. We expect rain or snow on Tuesday, and again towards the end of this week. It won’t do much to stave off fire, and given the current status of wildland firefighting teams, it likely falls to us volunteers to check on campsites, to make sure no embers are left to wait for a sudden gust of wind. This is exactly what brought me back from the Philippines and is keeping me close by, over most of the next six months. In a couple of weeks, our Red Cross team will be holding a dry run of a shelter set-up. A while back, I was asked to direct this exercise, and will see whether that still holds, at our meeting on Thursday.

This will be a year for many close calls. Let everyone be on the alert, that those surprises don’t overtake yourselves and loved ones.

The 2018 Road, Day 33: High Life in the Low Country

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Posted by on in Travel

June 27, 2018, Timmonsville, SC-

Many lovely days, over the years, have been spent in places not exactly mapped out or put on an itinerary.  Today,  I made an early start, out of Spring Hill, with the aim of reaching somewhere in the Carolinas, before calling it a night.   I bid farewell to W and the dogs, with  Mother still asleep.  A stop at Staples was necessary, to pick up a carrying case for this laptop, before heading up the back highway towards I-10.

I stopped on the east side of Ocala, at a Huddle House, getting a loaded burger-a break from the more Spartan fare I gave myself, over the three days at the “Beach House” (named for its Beach Street location, rather than proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, which is ten miles away).  Huddle House is a football-themed chain, found in the South, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.  It seems fairly reliable and put me very close to Interstate 10.

I also stopped at the Florida Citrus outlet, in Macclenny, to pick up some jars of marmalade- one for a friend I plan to visit, tomorrow, and one for some friends in Tennessee.   Then it was on to I-95 and through Georgia, once again, to the lowland interior of South Carolina.  I would be passing east of Louis Gregory Baha’i Institute, this time, and focusing on a backroads route towards Salisbury, NC, where another Baha’i friend lives.

This route brought me to Walterboro, just in time for a simple, but well-varied Southern buffet, at Olde House Cafe.

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Walterboro has some fine architecture, in its downtown,  but rain was setting in, and I had the idea of getting closer to the North Carolina state line.  The rain got worse, though, the further north I drove, and after another hour of dealing with the elements and the approaching nightfall, I stopped in Timmonsville, at a Budget Inn.  The place is also clean and fairly inexpensive, like its counterparts in Ocala and Elkhart, IN.   There looks to be some sort of breakfast place, attached to the gas station across the road, so tomorrow may well be off to a good start.

 

The 2018 Road, Day 27:The Flow of Kindred Souls

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Posted by on in Community, Family, Matters of Faith, Service Activities, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

June 21, 2018, Hemingway, SC-

I did accomplish a goal of three years’ running:  A simple dinner with a young woman who is like a daughter to me.  C and I met up at Jenna’s Cafe, Virginia Beach, after I negotiated a busy, but peaceful causeway from Williamsburg to V.B., via Norfolk.

After a couple hours of encouragement from me, it was time for her to head back home and prepare for another day’s work.  She has the wherewithal to go far in her field, and to continue doing a fine job with her children.

I found a reasonable motel in Newport News and rested well, preparing for a southward journey.   My next goal would be Louis Gregory Baha’i Institute, Hemingway.  The center is used for spiritual education and gatherings. It is named for an early African-American Baha’i, who was a prominent attorney.  He chose to move to the South, in the midst of the Jim Crow era, and whilst abiding by the laws of the time, he worked behind the scenes to gradually ease the discrimination, which hobbled oppressed and oppressor, alike.

On this summer solstice, I chose to bypass Richmond, and drove a straight shot through North Carolina, to which I will return, next week. A leisurely drive into South Carolina’s pine woods brought me to LGBI,

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES just in time to meet the caretaker, before he closed up for the night.G generously gave me accommodations for the night, for which I offered a nominal contribution, this being a place that operates on a shoestring budget. LGBI was established in 1972, to assist the large number of people in northeastern South Carolina, who had shown interest in the Baha’i Faith.

Here are some scenes from around the small campus. The first three are from the Main Hall.  The patchwork quilt was made by junior youth, ages 11-14.

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Mr. Gregory is shown below, with his English-born wife, Louisa.  Theirs was one of the first interracial marriages performed legally in the United States.

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After settling into my night’s lodging, I made a visit to downtown Hemingway, for dinner, finding the lovely and welcoming Fish Net Seafood Market.

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Across the street from LGBI is a Baha’i- affiliated radio station, named-what else: WLGI!

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I find my accommodations for the night quite refreshing, and another unfinished goal from 2007 is realized.

NEXT:  Return to Greenville