• What does it mean "Sister Cities " ?!

    What does it mean "Sister Cities " ?! ,Ute Appleby

    “Sister cities” are ​very common in Europe and this is becoming more and more popular in the US. But what the heck is a "sister" city ? What does this mean ?  According to​ what I found in the Internet, the program was introduced​ by  President Eisenhower in 1956. The idea​ was for “individual sister cities, counties, and states across the United States” to link up with the citizens of other countries​ all over the world​ ​to improve and make an effort to bring about “citizen diplomacy. and understanding of different cultures." The program ​has been very much embraced by many cities and as an example, Chicago has 28 sister cities all over the world. Charleston's sister city is Spoleto, Italy  ! ​These two cities ​enjoy each other so much that hey created an annual festival together, known as the Spoleto Festival USA. The festival takes place in Charleston and runs for 17 days and nights, bringing the sister cities together though art, dance and music.  Charleston is rich in theater, music, art, dance and history, a very diverse city, booming with tourism, software companies, manufacturing, high paying service jobs, an ever more important and busy sea port, very reputable schools and colleges and some of the best hospitals in the US. And the food.... !!!  Well, come and visit and check it out. A divine cuisine will make want you to stay forever and make Charleston or the surrounding cities your home !   Learn more about the City and find your home at my website: www.DefinitelyCharleston.com

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  • Charleston, the home of pirates and ghosts

    Charleston, the home of pirates and ghosts,Ute Appleby

    Charleston was at one time in history the home of pirates, lots of them ! And​ their ghosts and others, those are still living among us, in cemeteries, in houses, in hotels, in alley ways, in parks. Don't be afraid. Most of them are friendly. At night, you can hear them talk and laugh ! This is no joke. I heard their voices myself, saw their shadows and felt their soft touch on my shoulders while walking down a narrow alley d'town Charleston.The City shows off proudly all kind of signs of past history including signs of pirate history, of the  Civil War, of  fires, and hurricanes, of plantation times and so we have a huge amount of very very old sites which seem, sometimes at night, come to life. Pirates in Charleston enjoyed their life here, the rich city, the perfect location to capture sailors and trade ships. And many of these pirates ended up at White Point Garden right at the Battery where one can smell the ocean and hear the sounds of the wind and sea birds and sometimes, when all is quiet, the sound of the cannon balls. It is a park where many pirates were hung, among them Stede Bonnet who was called the "gentleman pirate" and his crew, as well as the pirate Richard Worley.  The most famous pirate of them all, "Blackbeard",  captured Charleston without firing a shot in 1718, and held the town hostage for several days while awaiting needed supplies. The story of Blackbeard is a story so interesting that I recommend it to anyone to read.  One can easily find the signs of piracy in Charleston in the architecture of two buildings in the French Quarter, the Pirate House, and the Pink House, which was once a brothel serving the culinary needs and vices of pirates.Several companies in Charleston offer pirate and ghosts tours, a must participate event when visiting our City.If you need more info and tips for tours:  check in with me at uappleby@gmail.com or search for a home on my website www.DefinitelyCharleston.com and if you are lucky, you find one with a friendly ghost. 

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  • Charleston Historic paint colors - what is Charleston Green ?

    Charleston Historic paint colors - what is Charleston Green ? ,Ute Appleby

    Charleston: history and beauty and colors !  There are a lot of historic homes d'town Charleston and our city is known for its beautiful architecture. The Charleston Preservation Society plays a great part in preserving our history and architecture and I am a proud member of this organization. One very unique addition to some of Charlestons homes are little outbuilding which have survived all manner of historic events, including the Civil War, Restoration, and the difficult times after Hurricane Hugo in 1989. One unique thing you might have seen or heard about are the "Charleston historic colors" and in particular the "Charleston Green" . What is this color ? Is it green or is it black ?  The most prominent oral history tells is that it has something to do with Union troops sending down buckets of black paint to help the economically decimated city keep up appearances. True to form, colorful Charlestonians added green and yellow paint to the buckets, creating a brighter version of the funereal black. Per our history books, it is a mixture of the following:   Charleston Green10 ounces black paint4 ounces green paint½ ounce yellow paint  Looking for property, historic or otherwise in Charleston or surrounding areas ? Search on my website at www.DefinitelyCharleston.com and feel free to contact me a 843-345-2625 or uappleby@gmail.com

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  • Charleston - home of great Museums

    Charleston - home of great Museums,Ute Appleby

                            Charleston's Top 5 Museums Charleston, SC, is one of America's most historic cities, with a rich cultural, natural and military heritage. There's no better spot to experience Charleston's past than in its many museums: The Charleston Museum The Charleston Museum was founded in 1773 and is called "America’s First Museum."  Visitors enjoy hundreds of artifacts that give personal insight into Charleston’s Colonial, agricultural and wartime past. Examine cultivation tools and sweet grass baskets that slaves used to harvest and cull rice in the fields, and view “slave badges,” haunting relics of a troubled past. Tribal pottery and quilts showcase decorative arts and traditions from early natives to English colonists, while uniforms  and armaments bring to life Charleston’s role in the Revolutionary and Civil wars. Gibbes Museum of Art This art museum houses an extensive collection of paintings, sculpture and decorative arts, from eras including the colorful Charleston Renaissance. One  finds the faces that played major roles in Charleston’s history as one strolls through rooms of portraits, many commissioned from classically-trained European artists who brought their skills across the Atlantic to serve Colonial Charleston’s elite. At this newly renovated museum one find also contemporary art work by artists native to the area whose works express the rich and culturally diverse story of Lowcountry heritage. The Old Slave Market The Old Slave Mart was once part of Ryan’s Mart, a complex that spread from Chalmers to Queen streets, and included a brick-enclosed yard, a slave jail, a kitchen and a “dead house,” or morgue. Slave auctions took place on this site until November 1863. After the Civil War, the property underwent many ownership changes and served many functions, incl. periods as an auto repair shop and tenement housing. When sisters Judith and Louise Wragg took over the Old Slave Mart in 1964, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is now a museum. One can find artifacts of African arts and crafts that illustrate Charleston’s role in the slave trade. Karpeles Manuscript Museum  This is definitely a trip back in time to an era when reading material was made of paper, and some was even written by hand. The Karpeles Manuscript Museum houses the world’s largest private collection of historic manuscripts in a Greek Revival building fronted by dramatic Corinthian columns. Originally a Methodist church, the grand structure served as a hospital during the Civil War. These days, it’s supported by philanthropist David Karpeles, who funds 7 other document repositories nationwide. A "Must-see item" in the Karpeles’s permanent display is the Constitution of the Confederate States of America.  American Fire Museum  A short drive up to North Charleston, this is the nation’s largest collection of American LaFrance firefighting trucks and apparatus, all lovingly restored.  A walk among the museum’s shiny engines and horse-drawn fire wagons is a lesson in America’s firefighting history. There are Interactive exhibits i.e. demonstrations to show what it feels to lift the 100 pounds of equipment a firefighter wears on the job or how take a turn speeding to an emergency scene in a full-size fire truck driving simulator ! Children can climb a real firefighter’s ladder and slide down the fire pole on a large, indoor play set. Well, that is just another thing to do do when visiting Charleston or even making Charleston your home. And if you are looking for real estate to buy or just to lease, contact me via email mailto: uappleby@gmail.com, by phone 843-345-2625 or visit my website www.DefinitelyCharleston.com Ute Lisa Appleby, Realtor AGENTOWNED REALTY CO., Mt Pleasant SCReal Estate/Leasing/Property Managementcell:    843.345.2625      efax:  843.725.6501 www.DefinitelyCharleston.com        www.agentownedrealty.com

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  • Interesting Facts about America’s Birth Certificate

    Interesting Facts about America’s Birth Certificate,Robert Marquart

    Everybody thinks they know the story of America’s Birthday, July 4th. In reality, the Declaration of Independence, which gave birth to the nation, was only published on the fourth. The facts behind the declaration may surprise you. John Adams wrote, “People in every Colony of the 13, have now adopted it, as their own act, the Second Day of July 1776, will be the most remembered Epocha, in the history of America.” So July 2nd is Independence Day? Technically, this is true! The Continental Congress voted on the 2nd to approve an earlier motion, which called for the colonies to declare their independence from Great Britain. The motion was made by Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee on June 7, 1776. There was strong debate, and the vote was postponed. A committee of five, which included Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were appointed to draft a document that would support and explain the postponed motion. Jefferson wrote the first draft in June of 1776. It explained Lee’s motion thusly: “Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally absolved.” After revisions by the committee, Jefferson’s revised draft was submitted and read on June 28th. The motion was adopted on July 2nd with New York abstaining. Revisions were proposed and drafted during the 3rd and 4th of July. What we know as the Declaration of Independence was formally submitted to Congress late in the day of July 4, 1776, nine voted in favor, two (Pa. & SC voted no, Delaware was undecided, and New York abstained). It wasn’t a slam dunk! It was sent to a Philadelphia printer, John Dunlap, for publication. It was Dunlap that included the words, “In Congress, July 4, 1776” in large type at the top of his first printed version, and so July 4th became the date that American’s first saw and heard the document being read and it is the date we celebrate 244 years later. It wasn’t signed until August 2, 1776, and the British didn’t surrender until October 19, 1781. On the 50th anniversary of its printing, July 4, 1826, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died hours apart. HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! Be Safe, Stay Healthy, Celebrate Responsibly.

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