2024 Year in Review

 Highlights

• January 24 attended a Daniel Island Community Speaker's event at the Daniel Island club featuring speaker Alex Pelbath, U.S. Air Force Colonel (retired) who was the commanding officer for the mission charged with evacuating all U.S. military and civilian personnel from Kabul, Afghanistan in August 2021.  Despite the chaos the air force was able to evacuate 124,000 people but still left people behind.  The tragic departure was embarrasing and disturbing to say the least. 

• February 2 Forte Jazz featured the Big Band sound of Sinatra and other crooners conducted by our friend Frank Duvall.  Frank is the bassist with the Charleston Jazz orchestra and also plays piano where we first met him at Charleston Place and his trio played at our wedding.  In addition to teaching at the College of Charleston he has performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Eckstein, Buddy Greco and Marian McPartland.

• We celebrated my 81st birthday at Maison, March 19.  After 18 years paying full price for dental care with avid cyclist Dr. Mike Bannister, I switched to River Landing Dentistry and Dr. Kramer.  I discovered after speaking with Blue Cross that there was a "preferred provider" on Daniel Island that covers two cleanings a year with a co-pay of $35, annual x-rays free and routine dental care at very nominal cost.   

• March 23 attended the Charleston Jazz performance of "Bop Till You Drop" featuring music of the 1950s and 1960's including the hard bop music of Horace Silver and Bobby Timmons.  The song list included "Summer in Centrel Park" and "Filthy Nasty" by Silver and "Moanin" and "Blue Train" composed by John Coltrane.

• March 30 - April 7 Credit One Charlestonn Open volunteering back with court maintencne.  Danielle Collins defeated Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 6-1.  

Dragging the Court

New Stadium opened in 2022

• April 23-26 we spent four days and three  three  nights in Hendersonville, NC at our friend Gary Snyder's AirBnB with our Dunham Street neighbors Bill & Chris Lark, Joyce & Paul Perrochi and Bill & Linda Price.  The house had four bedrooms and was located in the mountain above Hendersonville.  We had a great time hiking the Dupont State Forest, then visiting Bullington Gardens and the Henderson County museum.

The men made Breakfast the last day 

    Linda, Doris, JoAnne, Joyce and Chris 
at Triple Falls

• May 3 we attended a very successful Spaghetti Dinner and silent auction at St. Mary's.  Doris donated some pieces of jewelry for the auction. 

• At some point around this time the breakfast group decided to eat at the DI Club every Thursday morning since Gary and Paul were members.  The menu included a short stack of blueberry pancakes, omelets and eggs with biscuit or grits.

• May 11 attended the Charleston Jazz performance of "Low Country Rhythms" with a song list that included "Down by the River"; "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess; "Take Me to the Water" arranged by members of the band among others plus vocal performances by the Lowcountry Voices. 

• May 29 we attended one of the Spoleto Chamber Music performances at the Dock Street theater.  An annual must see performace for us.  The program included a Piano Quartet  number by Mozart featuring Pedja Muzijevic, a pianist from Boznia and Herzegovina basede in New York.  Regretably the previous director violinist, Geoff Nuthall, the founder of the St. Lawrence String Quartet, passed away suddenly at the age of 56.  He was undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer.  The new director is Cellist Paul Wiancko.

• On May 31st we attended another Spoleto performance by the Charles Lloyd Quartet at the College of Charleston Sottile Theater.  At 86 years old Lloyd maintains an active performance and recording schedule though you could see that he was tiring,  The other members of the quartet included pianist Jason Moran, the Artistic Director of Jazz at the Kennedy Center.  Bassist was Larry Grenadier and on the drums Brian Blade.

• June 5 we attended the performance of Beethoven's Third at the Gaillard.  Besides Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 "Eroica", two other performances included "Testament" by Reena Esmail; and Concerto No. 1 for Piano, Trumpet and Strings by Dmitri Shostakovich.  The festival conductor was Timothy Myers.

• June 6-9 we made a quick trip out to San Francisco to see my brother Mike and my cousins in Lafayette.  We took the ferry over to Larkspur to meet up with our friends Jack and Kathy Colbourn.  We made our usual visits to the wharf and the Buena Vista for clam chowder and Irish Coffee.  Conditions in downtown San Franciso seemed to be improved as we didn't see many homeless or incidents of people shooting up in the streets or storefronts vandalized.  It took us an hour and half waiting to get the cable car back to Powell street so tourists are definitely back.

• June 28 and July 5 we attended the Charleston battery matches at Patriots Point.  The Battery ended up losing the US Soccer League (USSL) Eastern Conference Final to Rhode Island. 

• Doris' sister Raine visited us July 13-20.  Besides visiting different sites we did attend a jazz performance by guitarist Grace McNally at the Gibbs Art Museum as part of the "Art in Jazz" summer performances.  


• Sunday, August 11 we went to see the tribute band "Queen Flash" at the Charleston Music Hall.  The perforamnce by Johnny Zatylny and his 6-piece band was outstanding.  His his high energy stage presence was reminisent of Freddy Mercury and he had many folks waving the lights in their smart phones dancing in the aisle. 

                                              

• We spent the weekend of  August 23-25 on Amelia Island visiting my former boss at CGFS Charleston, Jim Millette and his wife Mary.  They have a beautiful home in a gated community on the Amelia National Golf course.  The main attraction was visiting the little beach town of Fernandina.  Despite the rain all day Saturday, Mary was kind enough to take us on drive to see the main beaches.  We ended up visiting the City Museum, walking the streets of the town and having lunch.

Fernandina Beach

Downtown Fernandina

Amelia Island and the town of Fernandina have an interesting history which can be summarized by reviewing the "Tale of Eight Flags" 

French Flag:  In 1562 French Huguenot explorer Jean Ribault becomes the first (recorded) European visitor to Napoyca and names it Isle de Mai. 

Spanish Flag:  In 1573, Spanish Franciscans establish the Santa Maria mission on the island, which is named Isla de Santa Maria. The mission was abandoned in 1680 after the inhabitants refuse a Spanish order to relocate.

English Flag: Georgia's founder and colonial governor, James Oglethorpe, renames the island "Amelia Island" in honor of princess Amelia (1710-1786), King George II's daughter, although the island was still a Spanish possession.

Spanish Flag: In 1783, the Second Treaty of Paris ends the Revolutionary War and returns Florida to Spain. British inhabitants of Florida had to leave the province within 18 months unless they swore allegiance to Spain. 

Patriot Flag:  With the approval of President James Madison and Georgia Governor George Mathews in 1812-1813, insurgents known as the "Patriots of Amelia Island" seize the island. After raising a Patriot flag, they replace it with the United States Flag.

Green Cross of Florida Flag:  Spanish forces erect Fort San Carlos on the island in 1816. Led by Gregor MacGregor in 1817, a Scottish-born soldier of fortune, 55 musketeers seize Fort San Carlos, claiming the island on behalf of the "Green Cross."  

Mexican Rebel Flag:  Spanish soldiers force MacGregor's withdrawal, but their attempt to regain complete control is foiled by American irregulars organized by Ruggles Hubbard and former Pennsylvania congressman Jared Irwin.  President James Monroe vows to hold Amelia Island "in trust for Spain."  

Confederate Flag:  On January 8, 1861, two days before Florida's secession, Confederate sympathizers take control of Fort Clinch.  General Robert E. Lee visits Fort Clinch in November 1861 and again in January 1862, during a survey of coastal fortifications.

United States Flag:  Union forces, consisting of 28 gunboats commanded by Commodore Samuel Dupont, restore Federal control of the island on March 3, 1862 and raise the American Flag.

The Amelia Island Museum of History is housed in the old Nassau County Jail. The first jail on this site was built in 1878; the current building dates to 1938.  The exhibits chronicle:

• The first people to live on the island going back over 4000 years to the Timucua Indians who raised crops, fished, carved canoes and developed an advanced early civilization.
• European contact with Amelia Island, began in the 1500s, changing everything. Powers shifted to the European powers who staked their claim to Amelia Island.
• During the Civil War Fort Clinch was a critical Union base, and the town was a haven for free blacks seeking shelter and protection in the South.
• After the Civil War, the timber industry built fortunes and brought massive growth. Later, pogey fishing and then shrimping cemented the Island’s legacy by the water. 
• There is also a recreated jail cell. 

Inside the Museum

The Margery Pirate Ship

Mary & Bill at the Lighthouse

   

Jail Cell

                                 

• August 28 we attended a jazz performance by pianist Nolan Techlingburg at the Gibbs Art Museum as part of the "Art in Jazz" summer performances.  

• September 14 we went to the American Music Hall for the Charleston Jazz performance of Cha-Cha Charleston featuring percussionist Gino Castillo and Yusa, Cuban on vocals and Abdiel Iriarte on Piano.  Castillo is a native of Ecuador, trained in Havans Cuba, played in New York City and now resides in Charleston.  Yusa is from the Buena Vista district of Havana and plays the Tres Guitar, piano and bass.  Abdiel is from Venezuela and also resides in Charleston. 

• September 17 attended a Daniel Island Community Speaker's event at the Daniel Island club featuring Charleston Mayor William Cogswell.  He talked about about the problems facing the city such as affordable housing, rising sea levels, crime and traffic congestion. 

• October 3 to 29 was our vacation to Paris and Morocco.  (See Blog) Paris and Morocco

• November 7 was the annual Yorktown volunteer dinner cruise on the Charleston harbor.  Norm Woolfe was the only volunteer in our group who attended.   

• November 8 we attended the Charleston Symphony performance of Aaron Copeland's "  Appalachian Spring" and a 50 minute performance of "Sanctuary Road" with Guest Conductor Andrew Grams which included three Sopranos, two Baritones and the Charleston Symphone Choir.  Prior to the concert we had dinner with our neighbors Paul & Joyce and Bill & Linda at the Saffron Bakery & Restaurant. 

• Sunday, November 10 Paul Perocchi and I attended the United Soccer League (USL) Eastern Conference semi-finals which saw the Charleston Battery defeat the Tampa Bay Rowdies 2-1 on a long range late goal buy midfielder Aaron Molloy. The following week the Battery lost to Rhode Island in the finals.

• November 13 attended a Daniel Island Community Speaker's event at the Daniel Island club featuring Northe Charleston Mayor Reginald Burgess.  He talked about about the challenges with the pending opening of the port for inland shipping and establishing the Headquarters of the East Coast Coast Guard; redevelopment of the Westvaco Paper Mill, rebuilding the Don Holt bridge and widening I 526.  

• My grandson Jayden was named first team All State Defensive Lineman for the Virginia State High School varsity football team Kettlerun Cougars Division 3.

• My cousin Father John Kelly passed away of a heart attack on December 29.  The mass of Christian Burial was held on Saturday, January 4th at the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Biloxi.  Doris and I along with many of our Meehan cousins were able to watch the mass via video.   

Father John Kelly Born June 23, 1936
Passed December 29, 2024

  

          Doris and I visited Father Kelly in Biloxi
                       in March 2018 

              

Father Kelly said mass at our wedding
With Heather, David and Patrick