South Carolina, Part 2. Uncle Philip

I decided before we even got to South Carolina that I wanted Justice to learn more about his Great Great Uncle Philip Simmons.  I know that he really enjoyed doing the Black History Month report on him, but I wanted him to learn more.

There was a lot to learn about life from Uncle Philip, and it was important to me that Justice understand what I meant.

There is a park named after Philip Simmons on Daniel Island, his birthplace.  We went there first.

After we visited the park, we got a map of the locations of all the work that Uncle Philip had made that was in Charleston.  We drove or walked from place to place on the map, so Justice could see and touch his work firsthand.  I am including pictures of two of my favorite pieces.

This is my absolute favorite.  The double-heart gate.  This gate is located at Uncle Philip's old church, and they have a garden named after him.  I have admired the picture of this gate online for years.  It is breathtaking in person.  And it is tucked into a quaint little garden that is quiet and serene.

This is my other favorite.  A gate and fence located at a private residence in Charleston.

And I wanted to do this last, because I wanted Justice to have a preconceived notion about how Uncle Philip lived his life.

This is Uncle Philip's house.  It has been restored and turned into a museum.  His blacksmith shop is in the back yard, and it remains fully operational.

Justice, upon first seeing his house:  "Uncle Philip lived THERE?"

And that's exactly what I expected from him.  Seeing the park plaques and the highly regarded ornamental ironwork would of course lead him to believe that Uncle Philip was a wealthy man with wealthy accommodations and a wealthy lifestyle.  I knew this would be a huge shock to him, and also a very valuable teaching opportunity.

We entered the house/museum, and it was very neatly decorated with pictures of Uncle Philip and framed news articles.  The walls were lined with his awards, plaques, and other achievements he had earned throughout his lifetime.  I only took a few pictures.

 

This piece was listed online as "on tour", but to my surprise it was now in the museum.  It is a beautiful room screen that was made for a priest (that's not relevant to the story, I'm just repeating what the woman told me.) but his wife did not like it at all, so the priest returned it.  Philip refused to sell it to anyone else, although plenty of people wanted it.  He said he would never sell anything as seconds that the original customer didn't want. So it just hung around his shop for years until it went on tour.

And this was his modest bedroom, and he slept in an iron bed he crafted himself.

Justice was very quiet.  The nice lady that gave the tour addressed what I'm sure runs through many peoples minds when they go through this humble home.

Uncle Philip lived very modestly, and was not a material man.  She told us that throughout his lifetime, Uncle Philip paid for 19 family members to attend college.  And all 19 of them graduated.  Uncle Philip knew the value of education, and wanted to leave that legacy to his family.  He wanted to educate them, for them to rise above it all, and he did do that.  And he used his hard earned wages to make sure that happened.  And his family is much stronger for it.   

Justice simply said "Wow."

Then we went out back and if wasn't awestruck before, he certainly was then.

Uncle Philip's shop is a very simple shed in the back of the house, probably 10 x 15 feet.  It is old and it  is worn.  His blacksmith equipment is also old and well worn.  

Justice touched the old anvil and said: 

"I can't believe he used this to make all of that beautiful stuff."

Before Uncle Philip passed away, he trained an apprentice.  His nephew has taken over the trade, and his nephew and an apprentice create all of their work in that same old shop on that same old equipment.   This is a new piece that he is working on.  It is incredibly beautiful.  I am taken with the hearts.  I look at the meager equipment and realize what a gift Uncle Philip had, and how fortunate it is that this gift has been passed down to his nephew so that the trade remains alive.  His pieces are coveted.

They also make smaller pieces for the tourists to purchase as they come through to see the museum and shop.

As we walked from the shop to the car, I said:

Me, softly:  "Did you learn anything today?"

Justice, clearly exasperated with me:  "MOM.  You KNOW I did.  Uncle Philip was really humble and modest.  He worked hard to make his family better instead of spending his money on himself."

Then, after a few minutes of silence, he said with what sounded like embarrassment in his voice, "I want to say that I would do that too, but I don't know if I could."

That's exactly what I had hoped for.  I am blessed that Justice is a smart boy and life lessons are easily absorbed.