Charley Webb Outdoors: How hot is it?
Charley Webb Outdoors
- “Hotter than a burning stump”
- “Hotter than a boiler room in hell”
- “Hot enough to fry an egg on a Bay Street side walk”
- “Nothing is as hot as Backfield on Carolina Causeway”
I’m sure many Lowcountry families have a unique expression for the broiling days during the summer doldrums. Oppressive heat and humidity combined can mix into a recipe that is not only uncomfortable but can also be down right dangerous.
Now let’s look at some of the cooling solutions new and old time Beaufortonians tried. Before air conditioning (Mom and Dad got ours when I shipped off to Clemson in 1970) many coastal community businesses closed for a midday siesta, reopened in the afternoon and remained open until early evening (7:00 to 8:00 p.m.). That schedule enabled a dodge of the hottest part of a summertime day.
At home there was always a generous supply of lemonade and REAL iced tea. Sometime get me started on how some local eateries have morphed REAL into instant brewed with artificial sweetener. SHAME-SHAME-SHAME!
Along with plenty of hydration the window box fans hummed and stirred the still air. For those who tilted toward heat frustration a wash cloth dipped in cool water or wrapped around ice cubes and applied to the back of the neck provided some relief.
Even as early as the mid 1800s clipper ships delivered ice blocks from winter freezes in Northern states. These blocks were stored in deep cellars and packed in sawdust for insulation. The ice was sold to local residents. Though it probably carried an essence of pine sawdust it was certainly cooling to the psyche in an antebellum mint julip or a fruit jar of local stump hole brew.
Houses were constructed with a Southern face and open central halls to catch predominant breezes with gauze and later wire screens in the windows. Screen protection helped keep the skeeters and no seeums out and enabled the windows to remain open. Of course, there was always hope for an afternoon squall that could drop the temp a few degrees as it often only takes a small differential to think you are more comfortable.
Local military bases know that too much heat combined with high humidity can be deadly to Marines in physical training. They have “Black Flag” days that are declared when certain maximums are reached. On those days they restrict physical training and may move recruits inside for class or PT. It is a welcomed change for those who are being trained, but when the black flag is taken down they may have to make up for lost time. Hot, cold or lukewarm, many thanks for the brave Marines and Sailors who train at our Lowcountry bases.
As a young lad growing up in Beaufort, I got my daily cooling in the Beaufort River. Before and after I mowed one of my contract lawns on the Point I stayed neck deep with God’s own temperature control swirling around me. Frequently a small “cool spot” would drift by. To catch the tide and ride it while declaring to my buds that I had found it was daily fun.
I also could expect a tall icy glass of lemonade from Mrs. Maude Cory after I finished her lawn and a bowl of ice cream from Mrs. Ryan after fighting my way across the tough Charleston grass in her yard. We often enjoyed cold watermelon at Billy Aimar’s with a seed spitting war to polish off the enjoyment. It was just as hot as it is now but we had too much fun to let it bother us.
In my teen years I graduated from the lawn mowing trade to farm work. My best ol’ buddy Mac Sanders had a farm with his Daddy “Big Ross” who taught me the meaning of real “Can see to can’t see” work. Talk about HOT! The Almighty turned on the broiler in “Backfield” after the tomato harvest. Sitting behind the engine of a big diesel tractor with the sun cooking down gave new meaning to the term “half baked.” Follow a day of this with that first afterwork dive into Station Creek and you just knew there was life after Heat. It was enough to keep the “MONKEY” off your back.
The term “MONKEY” is a local expression for heat exhaustion. I’ve been told that once the “MONKEY” jumps on you, from that moment on you will be more prone to suffering from extreme heat. Too many times in fields, on construction sites and on the back deck of a shrimp boat I have heard: “Watch out and don’t you let that MONKEY jump on you” or “What happened to him?”, answered by “He Monkeyed”.
At times of long days of soaring temperatures many swimming pools in Beaufort get too warm to afford a break from the heat. In the summer of 1974 the Beaufort Yacht and Sailing club found a way to cool the pool. Beaufort had an “ice plant” at Burton Hill that produced ice for the seafood and farming businesses in 300 pound blocks. The club ordered 20 of the ice blocks and launched them into the pool. I can’t really say they cooled the water, but floating around the pool laying on top of one was a great chilling experience. Shortly afterwards the “ice plant” burned but the novelty is still talked about by club members.
Well, the 5:00 bell is about to ring and I have a cooling appointment with a Spring high tide with two creek swimming grandchildren. We’ll swim for a cool spot.
Be careful and safe in this heat. Keep plenty of water, lemonade, REAL iced tea and popsicles on hand. Stay in the shade if you can and don’t forget the sunscreen.
Charley Webb
Charley Webb is a Beaufort native who writes an occasional column for The Beaufort Tribune when he is not otherwise busy in the great out of doors or operating Kinghorn Insurance of Beaufort. Click here to see all his columns.
Sunrise photo by Jack Howison.
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