33 www. ReadMPM. com | www.MountPl easantMagaz i ne. com | www. ShemCreekRes taurant s . com book entitled “Rice to Ruin” chronicling another branch of his family tree on his mother’s side – the Lucas family. Jonathan Lucas was a prominent rice planter east of the Cooper in the late 1700s. “At one time, he owned half of Mount Pleasant,” quipped Marianne. Marianne grew up on Middle Street in the Old Village. “When Daddy bought the house, people thought he was crazy,” she said. “It was in disrepair and the neighborhood was somewhat isolated. But he had a vision. The house was on a section of Charleston Harbor, so we spent time playing at low tide in the mud and had a grand time! We did everything outside. We crabbed off the dock, played ball in the street, climbed trees on vacant lots. To our right was Pierates Cruze. It was no longer a public garden but the caretaker, an elderly black man, would sometimes let us come in and explore. It still had lots of beautiful flowers. Daddy later got two or three camellia bushes from there when they were clearing the property for houses to be built. I have some that were propagated from daddy’s camellias, so mine might be one of them. When I moved it to my house in Oakhaven, I had Lofton’s Nursery move them for me — they are my distant cousins.” Marianne wishes children today had the freedom to explore, likening the small town back then to a pearl in an oyster. But she does contend that scenic parks such as those at Shem Creek and the Pitt Street Bridge have allowed more families to enjoy what the Lowcountry has to offer. “We used to watch pelicans fly right over our house every evening,” recounted Marianne. “A couple of porpoises regularly came up in the harbor. And we’d see the shrimp boats opening their nets out to dry. Simple things.” As they say, life’s simple pleasures are the best. our town Mar i anne Lof ton Al l en . Eleven81 E A T . D R I N K . G A T H E R . 1181 Oakland Market Rd. | 843-849-8646 | @EatAtEleven81 | EatAtEleven81 .com
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjcyNTM1