Local Authors and Rotarians Raising Money for Fraser Elementary

June 17, 2008: Today, we hosted a book signing for six local authors as a fund raiser to benefit the children at Fraser Elementary School in downtown Charleston.

Dr. Charles Banov author of Office Upstairs
Dr. Banov is a Charleston native, who traveled the world lecturing on the subject of allergies. He is a fellow of many national and international medical societies. In his book Dr. Banov shares the drama, humor, and humanity of his years practicing medicine. When asked why he wrote the book Dr. Banov responded: “I was in Arizona teaching at a graduate program and one day I saw an African American woman walking alone who no one seemed to want to talk to. I struck up a conversation with her and after sharing about my life she said, ‘you must write a book.’ Later my wife asked ‘do you know who that was; that was Oprah Winfrey’. Mr. Banov hopes he lived his life and practiced medicine in a way that, at the end of his time on earth, those who knew him will say Dr. Banov has moved his Office Upstairs!

Mrs. Joyce Coakley author of Sweetgrass Baskets
Joyce Coakley, author and historian, is Director of the College of Charleston’s Upward Bound Program and president and cofounder of Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Preservation Society and the owner of Sweetgrass Baskets by Design. The author is from Mt. Pleasant and considers her book the result of a “30 year research project”. Growing up, Mrs. Coakley cared for the aged while their families attended church and other community events; she used this time to ask her elders to tell her of the rich past of the Lowcountry including stories of ghosts, h’aints, and the local Gullah traditions, she also recorder the stories of her grandmother, the medicine woman, and the “flower ladies” who came into existence in 1911. The book was originally written to accompany the beautiful sweet grass baskets hand-woven in Charleston to educate all of their history and significance.

Ms. Tressy Magwood Mellichamp and Ms. Lily Herndon Weaks co-authors of East Cooper, A Maritime Heritage
These two ladies combines Tressy’s expertise as a 4th generation Shem Creek shrimping family, with Lily’s research and writing skills to co-author “East Cooper, A Maritime Heritage”. The book is meant to educate on the rich history East of the Cooper that is often overshadowed by Charleston. It is Tressy and Lily’s hope that the book will preserve the maritime history that has been an integral part of life on the coast for over 200 years.

Tripp Wiles author of Forgotten Raiders of ’42
Mr. Wiles has served in the armed forces and as a civilian for the US Army with the Central Identification Lab in Hawaii and the Defense POW office in Virginia. Mr. Wiles first task was to research nine marine raiders who died in the pacific and determine where they were executed. While working on the project the author uncovered new information and realized that only one side of the story was being told. Tripp Wiles wrote “Forgotten Raider’s of 42” to educate the people on both sides of the story, the ensuing investigation and honor the men who died in the raid.

Mr. Jack McCray author of Charleston Jazz
Mr. McCrary has a long rich history with his beloved art, Jazz Music. Jack McCray was a reporter with the Post and Courier for over 30 years and is “the lead researcher and co-founder of the Charleston Jazz Initiative”. Mr. McCrary spent the last three decades on a journey of self discovery and wanted to share with fellow Charlestonians and jazz lovers around the world the largely unknown jazz history of the Lowcountry. Mr. McCray states that often times the jazz history associated with Charleston is over shadowed by the thought that the music was originated in New Orleans. “What happened on the South Carolina coast rivaled what was happening in New Orleans, Tennessee, and all over the South East”. The author’s goal in “Charleston Jazz” was to educate and entertain his reader, while preserving the roots of Jazz in Charleston.

Submitted by Elizabeth Wooten Burwell, Keyway Committee