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We, in this multimixed community seem to have a different understanding of the word "Yankee", or "yankee", or "Yank", or "Northerner". Usually a "Yankee" is a native of a New England state.
Here's a web page that may help on the way to explaining things a bit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Atlantic_States
My company considered their Mid-Atlantic region to exclude New York state, but included Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. I think most people in Beaufort would consider a New Yorker to be a Yankee.
I'm a transplanted "Northerner", a native of Pennsylvania, and now a long time resident of South Carolina. I'm not a "Yankee", I've not much in common with New Englanders. Massachusetts was a "slave state", the port of entry for the Africans sold into servitude.
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Defining "yankee" is a little like defining "pornography." It may be difficult to put into words, but we all recognize it when we see it.
Elida=Yankee in my book.
Was the state of your birth/childhood/long time residence a state that did not secede=yankee.
Also, an attitude that because westchester county did something, that must be the solution here.
Yankee: someone from nawth of the Mason-Dixon line who travels south to a point below the Mason Dixon, and returns nawth.
Damn Yankee: someone from nawth of the Mason-Dixon who travels south to a point below the Mason Dixon, and stays.
BTW, my beloved bride is a Damn Yankee...from Hershey, PA. Her saving grace is her Christian conservative values. Me? I was born and raised within 45 miles of Beaufort. Ya don't need a whole lot more grace than that.
I would define a Yankee as someone who moved to the South from a place where seemingly everything is done differently and better in their eyes. Someone who constantly wants to place their way of doing things ahead of any ideas that worked to make the South what it is, and so attractive to Yankees! People who constantly refer to the way it is in Philadelphia would most likely qualify. If y'all did everything so well up there why did you come here?
I would define a Yankee as someone who moved to the South from a place where seemingly everything is done differently and better in their eyes. Someone who constantly wants to place their way of doing things ahead of any ideas that worked to make the South what it is, and so attractive to Yankees! People who constantly refer to the way it is in Philadelphia would most likely qualify. If y'all did everything so well up there why did you come here?
Damn, boy!! As much as it HURTS to say this.....you finally posted something accurate on this blog....and something I agree with. Keep up the good work!
Topgunscooter paints a picture so clear even yankees can see the beauty of the south. The south is a place where we love and know our neighbors, we wave as they drive by, we don't feel the need to lock our doors. My neighbor said that we have visited with him more in one year than his previous neighors in Maryland over 20 years.
I believe the majority vote would place Elida very firmly in the "Yankee" category...however, let's not forget we do love our Yankees visitors(well most of them). ...wasn't too long after the great War of Northern Agresssion that our Southern ancestors figured out a yankee was three times more valuable than a bale of cotton and twice as easy to pick...
Topgunscooter paints a picture so clear even yankees can see the beauty of the south. The south is a place where we love and know our neighbors, we wave as they drive by, we don't feel the need to lock our doors. My neighbor said that we have visited with him more in one year than his previous neighors in Maryland over 20 years.
Obviously, you do not live on St. Helena or in Burton.
Lisa2 and I agreeing on something...there is hope! It's a hard concept to grasp, but hopefully one with promise for the future.
I wasn't born here, but my family roots in Beaufort date back hundreds of years. I was born in the North and spent nearly half of my life in the West. I first laid eyes on Beaufort in 1969 and fell in love with her. I had to develop my career elsewhere but longed everyday for the the day that I could be here permanently. I didn't want to change a thing, nor did I wish to impose any of the values from another place. I have lived here full time for 11 years (after visiting on every possible opportunity during the previous years) and for the first time in my life I was home. I have never cut or moved a tree or disturbed any of the natural beauty here, nor will I ever.
In a sense Beaufort is Brigadoon to me, and she presents the same magical qualities. I will defend her and her natural beauty to my last breath, although I would like to see an IHOP here,lol.
Basically, I don't care how y'all did it up North, we do it right! For us!!!
After meeting me Scooter - y'all think I'm a Yankee?
hahahaha
No Joe, you are no Yankee! Sicily and Ireland are both southern states! You are welcome on my veranda any time, and we can sip mint juleps 24-7!!!!
. .. since being thought a yankee is not a good thing 'round here. I'm a Red Sox fan anyway, and member of the nation, with my very own membership card. Not sure I can be a Red Sox fan and a southerner - too many lobstas and fenway sawseeges in my bowel. I do luv fried okra and good bbq - my family being from Sicily is in southern Europe, so, I guess thats a start!
Some of the most well know family names and largest landowners in Beaufort county were post Civil War land reward recipients from up north. It was a way to reward northern families that supported Lincoln's war effort. So, at what point is a Carpetbagger no longer a Yankee and considered a true Southerner? I come from a family of sodbusters that has been turning over Carolina dirt for more than 300 years. However, we originally came to this area through Massachusetts. Does that make me a Yankee?
Some of the most well know family names and largest landowners in Beaufort county were post Civil War land reward recipients from up north. It was a way to reward northern families that supported Lincoln's war effort. So, at what point is a Carpetbagger no longer a Yankee and considered a true Southerner? I come from a family of sodbusters that has been turning over Carolina dirt for more than 300 years. However, we originally came to this area through Massachusetts. Does that make me a Yankee?
It's not as much where the person was born as it is a state of mind. Like the blogger above says....we all know one when we see or hear one. Those who have made the transition to normal person are welcome....those who want to change things into what they left behind are not.
Where does it stop and start? A lot of Southerners (even in good Ole SC) are descended from folks who came from Up Narth originally. There was a large migration from Pennsylvania down the Shenandoah Valley through NC to the Upcountry of SC back in the day. Dorchester County was settled by folks who migrated from Pennsylvania and, I think, named for Dorchester, PA. Can anyone cofirm? One of my ancestors was given a grant by William Penn.
Thomas Green Clemson who married John C. Calhoun's daughter and gave his father-in-law's lands in the Upstate for an institution of higher learning was from Philadelphia.
The Russell House in Charleston is named for a Rhode Islander who came South and married into the Charleston elite. His house is a must see for the tourists as a prime example of Charleston architecture.
What about the Onthanks, Waterhouses, Crofuts, Christensens, and other Beaufort folk who may have originally been from off?
I think it's the attitude and not the birthplace. Nice people are nice people whether they were born in Portland, Maine, or Pocotaligo, Boston or Beaufort.
I agree with the posters who say the word yankee has changed over time and even today may have different meanings.
Wikipedia says, "Traditionally Yankee was most often used to refer to a New Englander (in which case it may suggest Puritanism and thrifty values), but today refers to anyone coming from a state north of the Mason-Dixon line, with a specific focus still on New England." It further says that it applies to origin of birth, not heritage.
After the Civil War, otherwise known as the War for Sourthern Independence, Yankee applied to anyone who fought for the Union and could apply to midwesterners as well. This liberal definition has been used even now, because some southerners would consider anyone from above the Mason Dixon Line as being a yankee, even those from Ohio and Michigan.
In many cases, it was used as a derogatory term based on the cultural and attitude differences of people who moved here during reconstruction.
My own experience, both personal and in business, is that most people moving here have been friendly, polite and cordial. Many have picked up on the southern customs of greeting people on the street with eye contact and giving a wave to strangers as a gesture of friendliness. In gated communities, like Dataw, even commercial vehicles get a friendly wave by residents walking along the sidewalks.
Of course there are some exceptions. There is an old description to describe those who are arrogant and uppity. They are called "yankees, with adjective." Bless their hearts.
By definition, I am a Yankee. But, I have lived in Beaufort for over eight years. I love the south. Not for what it is becoming, but for what it represented for me when I came here. Since I arrived here in December of 1999, marveling in the 70 degree temperatures that were a stark contrast to the 20 below zero I had left behind, I have seen Beaufort and the surrounding area change a great deal. Some of it is for the better and some for worse. I resist the big development as much as any southerner. Beaufort is beautiful just the way it is. I will never regret the decision to move here, no matter how many “southerners” treat me differently or lump me in with the hated “Yankees.” I did not choose to be born in the north. If I could have made the choice on where I was born and raised, I would have chosen the south. There is such a laid-back attitude here, and a friendliness and willingness to help complete strangers that I have never experienced elsewhere, and I am so glad that my children will grow up here. So, for everyone that persists in hating on the Yankees, please remember that some of us are not here to change your world, but rather to become a part of it.
We need more nice people like you! Beaufort's always been a place where folks from off were taken in, embraced, and encouraged. From the Huguenots of Purrysburgh to the Yankee missionaries after the War Between the States to the numerous military families to returning African Americans who found the promised land up above the Mason-Dixon to not be so promising.
The joke goes like this: in the South, everyone born above Virginia is a Yankee; in New York, everyone born in New England is a Yankee; in New England, everyone born in Vermont or New Hampshire is a Yankee; in Vermont or New Hampshire, those who still use outhouses are Yankees.
I have a long history in the south and many of my ancestors fought and died in the war between the states. However, I went to graduate school in Cambridge, Mass and know what it's like to live amongst the Yankees. I also know that the Yankees that move down south are typically college graduates and they frequently have advanced degrees. Many are retired and they bring money with them. Trust me, these are the Yankees that you WANT to come to Beaufort. They may complain periodically about the heat, bugs, and humidity, but I think we all do quite a bit of that ourselves. Beaufort could be doing much worse in terms of who moves here. I also agree with the previous bloggers - being Southern is a state of mind, ya'll.
......these are the Yankees that you WANT to come to Beaufort......
What kind of distorted logic is that? One of the last things Beaufort County needs is MORE people!
The people are coming anyway and it's not just Beaufort. Most major cities in the South are growing. Look at the growth of Charlotte, Atlanta, and Charleston. All of which are growing much faster than Beaufort. There is a general transfer of population from the large metro areas of the North and upper Midwest to the Southeast. You can look at the the situation through your own distorted viewport, but the population of Beaufort county and the U.S. will continue to grow. I would rather have people of substance and education moving here regardless of where they are from. Accept it and move on.
If anything KT-whatever's thinking makes a lot of sense. You can't honestly believe Beaufort can keep up recent growth rates and still maintain desirability. It has to stop somewhere or folks will be falling off into the marsh. Why not slow it down now. Every effort should be made to DISCOURAGE people from moving here, whether they be former Exxon CEO's or illegal Mexicans.
"Accept it and move on." What a cop out!
TS,
You make a good case for growth control. Not only will the desirability be lost with every tree that is cut, but the people who will come here can't support what is built for them. Retirees are not commonly known as big spenders. They will obviously spend money on utilities, food, and medical care, but not much else. Our tourist trade is very limited, overrated, and highly dependant upon P.I graduations. Those in control seem to be on a mission to bring service industry here but nothing more. In order for the area to have the infrastructure to support these incoming hordes there must be industry that creates a local product and brings new outside money here. We have little of that and nobody seems to be making any effort to find it. Adding another restaurant or department store to compete with those already here is not the answer. Regardless of these facts, I still agree with you that further growth should be discouraged...a newly emigrated human is a poor replacement for a downed tree or fouled marsh!
Hilton Head Island is an example of a place that is built out. There is no more land that is easily accessible to build on. Any new home built there now means buying an older home and either altering it or demolishing it, In fact, some larger new homes being built there in Sea Pines have bought two adjacent lots and torn down two older homes. Some of the original homes built in the '60s were slab homes and don't meet the new flood control levels.
The new Surf Watch by Marriott mid island on 278 has 5 new 5 story condo time share buildings built where a community of small older homes were demolished.
The city has bought land in some areas in an effort to provide open spaces.
The only land left undeveloped are some heirs property parcels along Spanish Wells Road.
You didn't tell us how you feel about that situation. I think it sounds terrible! Is that what you expect to happen to northern Beaufort county? What can be done to stop it?
I do business on HH, Bluffton and SunCity as well as here NOB. I would never choose to live in those crowded areas and much prefer the rural area here on St Helena Island. The majority of people voting on the referendum to show approval of the Comprehensive Plan shows us that it is an issue to keep our area less crowded, preserve open and green spaces and also the scenic areas. It very important that we try to stay away from what some people call the Myrtle Beach look, with apologies to anyone from Myrtle Beach.
Sea Pines has tried to preserve their mature tree growth and some areas of the island have also tried. Even the commercial areas like around Walmart, Barnes & Noble and the fast food restaurants have planned their facilities around the natural stands of indigenous growth.
I am critical of the town of Bluffton for not only allowing clear cutting, but by allowing large paved parking lots with little landscaping.
The county has tried to follow the Comprehensive Plan, but the cities of Beaufort and Port Royal have not and they do allow developments with little regard for indigenous trees.
What can we do? Political leaders do listen to public outcries, especially at the hearings scheduled for each development. The Planning Boards receive the development plans first and then it goes to the council. During this process, it is important for people to be involved along the way and be proactive.
Thanks to the publicity about the proposed Walmart on LI, the public was vocal about the plan. However, the original PUD was first proposed to the county and then it was annexed into the city. Were there any people there at those hearings when the PUD was approved? I wasn't and there was no publicity. The news media can help by announcing controversial development plans, but the process must include an active and proactive group of concerned citizens.