>> Hello, I'm Beryl Dakers.

Welcome to Palmetto Scene.

The new year's here, and we're looking ahead to what we hope will be a season of hope and prosperity for all of us.

We're off to the Low country for most of this episode.

But we begin with a look at some of the mural artists who've left their mark across various cities in South Carolina.

Through color and shape, we know an artist can turn a small blank canvas into an image worth 1000 words, these large detailed works of art can capture the beauty of our cities, and present positive messages for our communities.

<Janeva> I believe by painting murals has a significant impact in the community.

Even with me working on this mural, currently, it's crazy how many people go by and they just tell me, like how much it's impacted the area, and how like this area specifically needs things like this, and this isn't just this mural, in general, this is all across the United States.

The reason why I come back to South Carolina, it seems like there's a new artwork going up, I was literally just driving down the street, and I saw this mural and I was like, wow, like artwork literally can bring a whole community to life in an average building that you would never look at.

It really draws your eyes and it gives you that peak of inspiration.

It really sparks your heart.

>> We are in Charleston, South Carolina.

And it is growing so fast.

There is all kinds of construction going around, and I think this mural right here and other murals in the city is a great example of how artwork and public art can really beautify a city in a space.

How this mural came about was a nonprofit called, Just be you, reached out to me.

And they wanted to create a public artwork piece that really exemplified the social uprising.

So, I wanted to create a piece that spoke to that.

I call that summer Freedom Summer.

People call them riots.

I think it was a lot of things and there's truths on both sides, but my truth is here up on this wall, and I really wanted it to resonate with people in the black community.

I think that public art can be a tool in cities everywhere, that unifies people and brings people together and helps people to understand the human experience that we all share.

I believe that art is something that can really touch people and when people see that it's easy for them to connect to, and I think there could be more love in the world.

You know, once more people see the human in each other.

>> The feedback from the community is always overwhelmingly positive.

I mean, just people are so excited to see something new.

People will go out and watch the process.

You know, sometimes these murals take several weeks, and so it's always fun to watch the evolution.

And people you know, online, start talking about them and kind of pondering, what does this mean?

The city didn't actually realize that there was a need for public art murals that kind of came organically from the community.

So, in about 2014 or 15, we started to see an increase in the number of applications for public art murals throughout the city, and one of the first came from Stone Academy, which is a local elementary school and they kind of focused on the arts from that was really born, the Stone Avenue mural collection.

So, we've seen that particular corridor grow over the years and now they're approximately 10 to 15 murals just on Stone Avenue alone.

>> Community engagement is why I'm here working with neighborhoods and working with, you know, either nonprofits or community centers or schools.

♪ That's why I'm doing this.

It's that...connectivity.

It's the connection.

>> The art that's behind me, Living Local Legends.

So, on one side of the mural is Mary Duckett is a community activist from the southern side of the neighborhood here and on the other side of it is Assistant Fire Chief Mack and both of those individuals were present at the unveiling of the...mural.

We hosted a community paint day here where residents of the gallery of the surrounding neighborhood were invited to come and paint.

You had to be 10 years or older to paint on your own.

If you were younger, we had chaperones to kind of help you do it.

And you know it's paint by numbers, you came up to the table you grabbed a cup, it had a number on it.

Number one, you went up to the wall you found the number one and you filled in that space.

>> Adam Schrimmer is really an expert on this.

He really involves all the community members when he goes into a community.

He will meet with the constituents.

He'll meet with the neighborhood, and he just ensures that everyone is at the table and has input on what he's designing for their community.

One of my favorite murals in the city was one that was installed in 2020 at the Canvas building, which was a former office building downtown, and it was renovated by the Beach company out of Charleston as part of a larger mixed use development, and they actually commissioned an Australian artist Guido van Helten, to do an eight story black and white mural, featuring educator Pearlie Harris, and he really involved the community in a number of ways.

He came here, did his research, learned a little bit about the history of Greenville.

Pearlie's impact on education, and it's just really amazing.

It's very inspiring to see the process itself is incredible.

>> Artists have the responsibility of you know, sharing their gift, as well as letting people know what's going on in the times.

What are people feeling socially, emotionally?

What's going on, in the economy.

...you know, you look back into history, you can pick an artist from each time period and you learn history through that.

>> I do murals more for the community than myself, I love to do it, but I love seeing people's reactions, when I do something this big and so bright.

...they're not used to seeing this, especially in a community like this, and they're used to seeing real just deep abstract art, you know, as an artist myself, universal is the main thing I have from art.

So this piece is more of a universal piece as in the meaning behind is supposed to appeal to different genders, different ages, even different ethnicities, as well, because my piece for me, I want all my art to be more universal to everybody to appeal to everybody out there.

It's supposed to give off this illusion of white borders around it.

And as you see the artist flowing out the frame, so it's supposed to be an illusion, as well.

So, that's something I'm trying.

This is my second time attempting something this big with this.

My original piece like this is in Greenville, South Carolina.

It's all green, for Greenville.

But for this piece, I wanted to use a lot of multi colors to bring more brightness to the alleyway, as well as people who walk by.

Since it's kind of a hard location to see, the colors will automatically pop out to people.

So...it won't be too hard for them to find it or see it from a far distance or anything.

♪ <McClellan> There's a special feeling, I think in the South that we have a lot of stuff, a lot of baggage, but we have, you know, the beautiful, beautifully diverse culture.

So I decided to make this as diverse as possible, and anytime I'm doing a piece if I can use people I know because I like to take my own photography and put my own people in there.

So this was an opportunity to use, you know, to bring - put a spotlight on a couple of people and also to put some people I love in there.

It's been really wonderful.

<McClellan> Right now I'm working on my grandfather.

They retired him as a Brigadier General.

He's actually the son of Emily Douglas, who they named the park after, and he became the Postmaster of Columbia, retired as "Grandbilly," loved and adored by the entire community.

♪ <Cedric> As someone who's a muralist.

It's amazing, shocking to have your face on the side of a building.

It's something you don't necessarily expect, because you're the one usually doing that kind of work.

So for someone else to do it for you, or do it kind of honoring you is a really big gesture.

I do believe this piece turns a lot of heads.

McClellan chose to use some really bright colors.

It catches people's eyes.

He's also chose to use different individuals.

He used me to start the whole thing off.

I mean, hey, and I'm wearing a black hat.

I'm looking like a superhero on the side of a wall, but also to everybody else who's on the wall looks like a superhero or someone who's contributed something to the community in some kind of way.

<Beryl> Beaufort is center stage next, as we travel south to visit a facility that can be a last chance stop for troubled youth.

Let's look at how Beaufort AMI kids works to help these young men get back on the right path.

(Group roll call) ♪ >> AMI kids is a community based program, teen program for youth ages 14 and up.

We take kids from all over the state of South Carolina, and we try to redirect their behaviors.

We try to work on their education, and we try to work on their treatment while they're here, so when they return, they can be productive citizens for a family environment.

So some of the youth are lacking that family atmosphere.

So, we do bring that and the other thing is we open their eyes to different experiences.

You know, we have the challenge events that we do, the experiential events that we do.

We take them scuba diving.

We take them whitewater rafting.

We have summer and winter challenge events that's held at different locations and that's where all the schools in the company come together and we do Olympic style events.

We love on them.

We try to steer them right, and we show them that you know you are... a good person, you just got to bring it out of you.

An average day during the week you wake up, wake up six o'clock, 6:30 in the morning.

You do your morning details that's fully closing your locker, making the bed, clean the bathrooms, you fall out for for breakfast, you go to school, normally in school from 8:30 to four.

After four o'clock, you have your rec, you have your midday snack, you have your dinner.

We do a quiet time where you can do homework, or even write letters to family and friends.

They get a little bit of free time.

About 8:30 they're kind of breaking down for bed and nine o'clock, light's out.

>> Had I not gone to AMI, I probably honestly would have been locked up right now, probably would have gotten in more trouble doing things mischievous.

I probably would have got in trouble for maybe stealing because I would do things like that.

...so I believe AMI Kids was not a hindrance for me, but it was more of a blessing, because it got me to where I am today.

I see myself and all of the kids that walk by, if they could just understand that this is not a hindrance for them, and this is not anything that's done.

to not be for the betterment of them.

That this place is to help them be the better them, if they can just see beyond where they are right now, and see the good that will come out of where they are right now.

>> When I got here, our old SHP told me that before I go home, I needed to change...then that's what I'm trying to do before I go home so I won't end up in the same predicament as this time.

We do a lot here.

We get to go off campus, top five, of our camp.

We go off campus to go to church with Mr.

Guy.

We get in the pool.

We do a lot of things here.

We're never bored here.

We always have something to do.

>> So, we have different vocational programs.

We have our services where the kids come in.

We have an associate manager who teaches them basic restaurant food handlers skills, each kid leaves with that certificate.

So, if they go home, and they apply at a restaurant fast food, they have a leg up on other competition because they don't have that certification.

Another certification we have is our welding, we have a guy that comes out and certifies kids in welding.

And there's several different kinds of types of welding they do in the shop.

That helps them get certified.

So when they go home, they can get on with different companies.

And they can actually flourish in the welding field.

Before going home, we look for them jobs.

So hopefully, when they leave here, they're walking into a job.

>> My main problem was I didn't like being told what to do, like ever.

And so I just kind of would go off and do my own thing.

And so I still have that problem, but it's nowhere near as bad.

And then like I can control and walk away from a lot of different stuff, now.

Like before, Honestly though, like when me coming here, though it could is the best thing that could ever happen.

Because if I went to came here, probably could have been, you know, somewhere way worse right now or not have what I have now.

Because honestly, after I left here, I never in a million years thought I'd be where I am now.

>> I want to first prove to children or prove to the boys here that what they have done is not who they are.

And so I believe the only way to show them that is to be the example.

And the closest I can get to being the example is to serve them.

And being on the board, it's not about having a good name or big picture.

It's about serving the boys to show them that where they are right now.

It's not where they have to end up.

<Beryl> And now for a taste of the Low country.

Here's a dish that has a little something for everyone.

You might call it Low country boil, maybe Beaufort stew, or even Frogmore stew.

ETV's Low country's Holly Jackson tells us where the name and the dish originated, but more importantly, how you can make it a crowd pleaser.

♪ <Danny> In the Low country, we have what has been called now deemed as Low Country Boil.

So, Low Country Boil.

People think that it's really a real real old dish.

But really everything is coined and documented to 1960.

A gentleman Richard Gay.

He was feeding some of his National Guardsmen.

He was on duty there was 100, 100 guardsmen, and they'd asked for him to cook.

Well, he come in from shrimping and obviously had plenty of shrimp, but he wanted to create a dish, something he could do all in one pot.

And he had farmers with potatoes that he could trade shrimp for potatoes.

He had farmers that had sausage, he could trade the shrimp, so it kind of got into a bartering system.

And he had different leftover stuff.

So 1960 Richard Gay, started the Frogmore Stew.

So, basically when you're looking for a good fresh shrimp, you know, obviously the Carolina shrimp, but wild caught USA shrimp.

These are white shrimp.

So these little potatoes, I like to use a little potato pearls.

But what I love about these is they basically when they cook up, they cook up nice and tender, and the skin holds together on them.

So then basically you don't end up with mush.

But the real deal is a good smoked cabasa.

And that's basically what we're going to go here.

So we're going to run in, we've got a pot getting hot here.

So I just started out with a little bit of olive oil mixed with a little bit of canola oil.

So like I like to take my sausage that's been smoked.

I'll go ahead and add in a good amount of butter right in here.

So, I'm going to take my smoked cabasa here (sizzling) and we're going to go ahead and add that in.

And you don't want to go crazy and start stirring yet but you want to make sure that everything's getting laid in there pretty good.

Once you feel good with that temperature, go ahead and raise it up a little bit.

You'll start to see where the sausage is already starting to plump up a little bit.

Let's stir it about one more, one more time.

(sizzling) Now I'm starting to get some good sausage fat on the bottom, of that pan.

You're seeing it starting to stick in there.

Once it starts sticking, I like to add my seasoning.

And I'm going to go in, we're going to go ahead pretty heavy with this from the get go.

And don't be scared It's not spicy.

Don't add any additional salt.

just add your good crab spice.

Once you get that to bubbling your crab spice going on it's toasting and a little bit, you're going to add a beer of your choice.

♪ Now, I'm going to come in with my cold beer.

Make sure they give that a good stir and then that temperature does not take long for the alcohol to cook out of it.

Once you get to that point, simply just go ahead and add some water.

and everything about this recipe with Low country boil, is you know a lot of its eyesight.

You know, you can go by recipe, you can create your own Low country boil, but basically everything is you want enough liquid water, beer to cover the rest of your ingredients.

I'm just going to stir that sausage around, make sure it gets good woken up and stir in all that good, good fat.

Now, once you after you've added all your liquid in like this, I like to add probably about eight or 10 but good bay leaves good size bay leaves.

And if you were using any other kind of things like artichokes, or any you know crazy stuff like that, now's kind of when you would add that, but we're not we're going to bring this back up to a boil.

Now you see that beautiful color we got there, that's what we're looking for.

You can already see the fat and the butter and oil is working, you can see that crab spice working.

Bay leaves once they get to get good and hot, they'll break down and they'll start to get their flavor going in there.

So we're at this point, we're going to go ahead and slap the lid on it.

Once we do that, we'll give it about five or so minutes, and then we'll check it.

♪ Basically once you get your stuff rolling, which we're rolling here now we're getting all that happiness going on right there.

You got your bay leaf really soaking it up spreading out that bay leaf love.

And then you look out fat and plump those sausages are and now once you get to this point, this is where you want to add your other ingredients.

So I'm going to roll in with these beautiful little baby potatoes.

We're going to go right on in there.

Be careful of the splash.

Now you keep that stay roll going.

And very, very carefully, without splashing.

Now add that beautiful corn in there.

Alright guys, so once you've got everything rolling here we've been rolling for over 10 minutes, we're going to the key to knowing when things are done is when your potatoes are done, I can see a couple of potatoes, the skin starting to crack a little bit you see that.

But I'm going to take the little pocket knife and just see how we do right there.

So just starting to go in there.

So now you want to get that point you know your potatoes are done.

You know you everything else is done.

I'm going to kill the heat.

Now we're going to add the star of the show.

We got that beautiful South Carolina shrimp that we've been talking about bragging about.

These things are just incredible.

You got green tails, we talked about any South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, best shrimp on the planet.

Anything wild caught USA is where it's at.

Heats off.

We're going to go ahead and add a shrimp in.

You want to just give it a nice little gentle stir.

And I mean, don't take shrimp long.

You can already see how it's getting that nice starting to get a little pink color.

So now at this point, you're going to start scooping it up.

So now once your company is all gathered around the table You got everything scooped out.

And down here in the low country we have a beautiful thing.

It's called adobo.

We use a wooden adobo to serve everything in.

We love, love to do stuff, family style.

You know we plate dishes we do this that and the other, but the love country boil is like our oyster roast.

We like to do a family style, everybody gets to pick in.

So we're going to come on over here, this Adobo right here we got our friends and family over here.

We're just gonna come on in.

And you just dump that right on in there.

That's your low country boil right there.

Alright, everybody, come on in, dig in.

That's what it's all about.

♪ <Beryl> Finally, when you think of South Carolina, probably the last thing that comes to mind is a kazoo.

But did you know that one of the number one manufacturers of this quirky instrument is located right here in Beaufort, South Carolina?

We took a trip to Kazoobie Kazoos to check out their zoo Museum and to reminisce about just some childhood fun.

<Sarah> So, we're Kazoobie Kazoos.

We are a place that spreads joy around the world.

(kazoo sounds) A kazoo, is a merlatone instrument.

So, it works off of vibration.

It needs a little resonator in there.

You've got to make a lot of noise.

So, you can sing, talk or laugh, because you want that little resonator to shake around and give you that vibration.

>> So if you go Ooooo.

That is how you get your sound.

We make about a million Kazoos a year, and then we ship them all over the world.

♪ >> I got into the kazoo business.

I just lucked out.

My background was in theater.

I grew up in Beaufort, South Carolina, got connected with a guy who was the king of kazoo Rick Hubbord.

I was Rick's production manager and Rick had this custom motor coach that we traveled around the country in.

He had everything from a whole stage full of bubble machines to confetti cannons, to lights and lasers.

It was really a rock show for kids and for adults, but all through music and all through using the kazoo to really bring people in, have a good time and celebrate together.

I got tired of living out of a suitcase and living on the road wasn't as glamorous as I thought it was going to be.

So I made an offer to take over the e-commerce business.

I was 19 years old at the time.

So, the partners that I worked for they flew me to Detroit.

So, we bought all the assets moved it to Hilton Head Island, and we just celebrated 20 years in the kazoo business.

<Sarah> So the history of the kazoo is a bit unsure.

>> Since we don't know how the kazoo was invented, we've had people come up with their own ideas.

>> We truly think that it's probably been around for a really long time.

>> In 1850, ancient aliens introduced them to speak to humans through music.

>> Most likely, it's kind of originated from ancient times where tribes and things like that would take things like gourds and bone hollow them out the kazoo was developed as a homing call for air and donkeys use things like leather, or even the egg sack of a spider as a medieval torture device.

For that merlatone , that resonator or that vibration part.

To seduce women and men so seductive, almost like Kenny G. on the sax.

>> One theory about how the kazoo got its name was that George Smith had bought the rights to the kazoo, taking it to his factory in New York.

It was called the down south submarine at that point, and they had filed a patent for the down south submarine.

The patent office came back and said as submarines already taken, you got to come up with some other name.

And so sitting around the factory, someone said, How about kazoo, that's what it sounds like, let's call it let's call it a kazoo.

<Sarah> They've always kind of been used for both music and mainstream music, professional music, and they've also been kind of a novelty toy at the same time.

So, even from the turn of the century, we would get little kazoos looking like little fish for kids all the way up to more modern day where they were adapting them into fast food, happy meal toys, things like that.

(kazoo sounds) >> It is a fun business and most of the people who come and want to give us their money to buy kazoos are really fun cool people.

What would not make me come to Kazoobie Kazoos.

I'm going to get the very loud horn.

>> I'm going to toot it the whole way back to Maryland.

>> He's going to be walking back to Maryland if he blows that loudest kazoo.

♪ (kazoos playing tune) ♪ >> The kazoo love is out there.

(laughs) There's lots of it.

>> The demand is good.

We do a little over a million of our basic plastic kazoo, and then several 100,000 of other noisemakers, accessories, in adaptations that we've manufactured over the years, and we are a global company.

We have customers in 30 countries now.

>> Our kazoos are made of polypropylene, polyethylene, which is heavy duty durable medical grade plastic.

The melting of the plastic happens down in Tampa, Florida.

It's in St. Pete.

That's where they have our mold.

It is our patent but they're melting it.

They're so still made in the United States.

They send all the parts and pieces to us here and we hand assemble every kazoo here in Beaufort.

The museum really starts from what we could find on the beginning of the kazoo history, which starts in the late 1800s.

So we've kind of collected kazoos that have spanned over the last probably 140 years, >> We just completed a major renovation of the museum.

So it's been here a little over a decade.

We're really proud of the museum because the Kazoo is a part of American Heritage, American legacy, and we think it's our responsibility to help promote that.

<Sarah> So we got to do kazoos from the first patent to kind of handmade kazoos and just showing you different styles and how they've evolved over the decades.

♪ I think I'm good at it.

But I think a lot of us are good at the kazoo.

It's an instrument you can pick up quickly and you know, it's you making the noise.

So, the more passion you have behind that instrument, the more passionate your kazoo sounds.

>> For me, it's about being able to make something creating some joy in the world.

And then I've got this really great team of people that come in every day, work really hard and really proud of the product that we that we produce.

So, I don't intend on getting out of kazoo business anytime soon.

As long as people are still willing to buy our products.

♪ <Beryl> Wow.

For more stories about our state and more details on those stories you've just seen do visit our website at Palmetto scene.org.

And, of course don't forget to follow us on social media, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @SCETV #Palmettoscene.

For all of us here at ETV and Palmetto Scene.

I'm Beryl Dakers.

Good night, and thanks for watching.