Gullah Campfire Supper with Stories and Songs

Many travelers come to St. Helena Island to visit places associated with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  They go to Penn center and tour the campus, and the York W. Bailey Museum.  Many see the place where Dr. King lodged during his stays and the cottage built and named after him.  This event will focus on his visits here for planning retreats for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference held at Penn Center, the attendees, guests speakers and the purpose of the events. Meet a few people who were actually here when Dr. King came to visit.

The event will have two parts, first a guided tour of the Penn Center Campus to visit the York W. Bailey Museum and the grounds of the campus. In the museum one can see the exhibits of the history of what began as the Penn School to the Civil Rights era and the visits of Dr. King and the SCLC. On the campus participants will see the buildings where the SCLC meetings were held and the conference center lodging including the Gantt Cottage where Dr. King lodged during each of his visits.

After the visit to Penn Center the event continues with the campfire supper at Morning Glory Homestead Farm. The meal will have two options a oyster roast appetizer and the main course with beverages and dessert. The oyster roast appetizer will feature oysters prepared the traditional Gullah way over fire. The main course will include filé gumbo with local shellfish and, rice, winter greens and cornbread and dessert choices.

Around the campfire guests will hear stories of the Civil Rights movement and hear selections of Negro spirituals that were transformed to be songs of the movement.

Select the ticket option that best suits your schedule and taste.

If you can attend the supper only, select the supper option, adult, teen or child.

If you would like to attend the tour at Penn Center add that ticket as well.

Finally if you would like to include the special oyster roast appetizer then select that ticket.

Something about your hosts and tour guides.

Tony and Belinda Jones, owners of Morning Glory Homestead Farm are both from South Carolina. Tony grew up in the Poppy Hill community of Burton near the Marine Corp Air Station Beaufort Base. Belinda is from Orangeburg, home of two HBCSs, South Carolina State University and Claflin University. Tony and Belinda met and graduated from SCSU.

In 1981 Tony served his internship at Penn Center under the supervision of them director Dr. Emory Campbell. After a twenty year career as an officer in the United States Army, Tony retired and he and family moved here on family property and began homesteading and later farming as a business.

While homeschooling their five children Belinda and the kids regularly visited Penn Center and began volunteering. They did farm and garden 4-H presentations during special programs for Heritage Days, served as helpers for the after school program, and Belinda was a docent at the museum serving until the Covid19 pandemic forced its closure. Tony and Belinda were also regular volunteers for programs at the Frissell Community House including Labor Day Program, the Civil Rights Symposium and the monthly Sunday Sing programs. They are very familiar with the history of Penn Center and lead tours throughout the year to their farm guests.

As farmers they are involved with the extension services of South Carolina’s two land grand universities Clemson and South Carolina State. They are members of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, Lowcountry Beekeepers Association, SC Grown, the SC Agritourism Association, Tony is a member of the Veteran Farmers Coalition where he serves on the board of the Lowcountry regional team, and Belinda is a Master Gardener and Farm to School volunteer. They have participated in the SC Black Farmers annual conference and were instructors for the beekeepers classes.