A Blurry and Vague Haze of Memory
Cat Keith
Yuhl, Stephanie E. A Golden Haze of Memory: The Making of Historic Charleston. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2005.
A Golden Haze of Memory: The Making of Historic Charleston by Stephanie E. Yuhl focused on the historic enterprises of Charlestonians in the early 20th century, the economic impact of these enterprises on the town, and the historical motivation and accuracy behind them. Each chapter in the book described different movements that promoted the preservation of a specific interpretation of “historic Charleston.” These movements included The Society for the Preservation of Old Dwellings, popular artists of 1920-1930 Charleston, the Poetry Society of South Carolina, and the Society for the Preservation of Negro Spirituals. Yuhl argued that the efforts of these organizations may have been instrumental in preserving Charleston as an historic town, but the version of history that was preserved was fostered by white elites, promoted a Lost Cause ideal, a romantic and ideal antebellum period, and silenced the African-American voice.
Chapter one focused on the Society for the Preservation of Old Dwellings (SPOD). Led mainly by women, SPOD worked to save older buildings in Charleston from being torn-down, remodeled, or turned into something else. Chapter two described the art of two women, Alice Ravenel Huger Smith and Elizabeth O’Neill Verner. Through the examination of their art, Yuhl showed that the white Charlestonians’ view of the Old South was romantic and inaccurately promoted paternalistic slavery. Chapter three detailed the history and goals of the Poetry Society of South Carolina (PSSC). This chapter noted how the PSSC preferred old writing styles, but was open to experiencing new ones. Yuhl stated that the PSSC avoided analyzing Charleston’s history and stuck to idealistic false memories as fuel for their writings. Chapter four was about the Society for Preserving Negro Spirituals (SPS). Yuhl used this chapter to give a brief commentary on the North. Despite popular beliefs about the North being tolerant and open to African-Americans during the twentieth century, Yuhl described how events, people, and venues in the North booked and enjoyed the performances from the SPS. Finally, chapter five detailed how Charleston became a historic town. Yuhl included an interesting quote that showed how white elites exploited their false histories: “As ‘an old lady of Charleston’ remarked to a Fortune magazine reporter in 1933, ‘In 1865, the Devil sent the Yankees…. Today, God sends them.’” (Yuhl, 182). Although Charleston had many attractions like beaches and golfing, Charlestonians, led by Mayor Thomas Stoney, embraced history as their main attraction.
Throughout each chapter, Yuhl highlighted how each group inaccurately perceived the “Old South.” Despite the fact that most Charlestonian preservationists never lived during Reconstruction or the pre-war period, these elite whites acted as the official authority on Charleston’s history. Yuhl’s description of Alice Ravenel Huger Smith’s art can efficiently be synthesized to other groups described in the book: “Not only were the subjects and scenarios represented by Smith based upon hand-me-down memory, but the actual technique she employed to produce the images also depended on mental invention… The ‘history’ Smith remembered, memorized at her ancestors’ knees, merged with her encounters with the Carolina environment and her own sentimental longings about the past to create an art that claimed the authoritative weight of ‘history.’” (Yuhl, 69). Most organizations viewed Reconstruction as an “inexpressible tragedy” and did not acknowledge many political or historic elements during or after the Civil War. Yuhl stated that the rise of preservation efforts in the early 20th century may have stemmed from the decline of Charleston during the Gilded Age. The port of Charleston declined in importance, which heavily impacted the town.
Another theme throughout the book emphasized how white elite’s preservation techniques not only misremembered Southern history, it distorted African-American history. While the SPS efficiently preserved, recorded, and transcribed spirituals, they did it with misguided intentions. The SPS regularly performed and sang these spirituals while telling their audiences that the subjects of the songs reflected the African-Americans’ philosophical view of life, that they were “devotional songs,” rather than songs lamenting labor exploitation and slavery. Another example of this theme can be seen in Yuhl’s commentary on some of Elizabeth O’Neill Varner’s art. Varner was known to romanticize the dwellings of African-Americans. Rather than portraying the decrepit houses as poor or in need of repair, the areas were given a charming atmosphere. In particular, in Do-As-You-Choose Alley, Varner represented an area the police were known to avoid as another cute part of Charleston.
Overall, Yuhl is extremely effective in articulating and supporting the book’s thesis. The thesis was reiterated often, and each chapter provided examples of the trend Yuhl stated in the introduction of the book. Despite being written for an academic audience, the book was organized fluidly and relatively easy to read. This book will be instrumental to future works on the preservation of other historic American towns, especially those located in the South.