Over the past fifteen years, the Folklife Resource Center has been actively involved in documenting folk culture through video. Footage is generated by students, contract fieldworkers, and professional videographers. An ongoing program, topics of research include traditional foodways, the environmental landscape of the Lowcountry, traditional music, and general folklife. Material associated with this program is not selected for artistic merit alone, but for the documentary value of the subject matter.
McKissick Museum enjoyed a productive collaborative relationship with veteran documentary filmmaker Stan Woodward. A South Carolina native, his work concentrated on Southern culture and folklife, with a special emphasis on folk heritage foodways. In the late 1990s, Woodward began documenting the variety of stews cooked in large black iron pots throughout the South. This led to a partnership with the Folklife Resource Center that produced the major exhibition “Southern Stews.” Three documentaries grew out of that fieldwork – Southern Stews: A Taste of the South, Carolina Hash: A Taste of South Carolina, and The Sheep Stew of Dundas: A Gastronomical Delight.
The Folklife Resource Center continued to explore the merits of video documentation through projects focusing on South Carolina camp meetings, the Kentucky stew known as burgoo, and a variety of student-driven projects.
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As Jerry “Butch” Nichols of the Piedmont Fire Department says, “cush is a Piedmont thing!” Largely confined to Piedmont and the surrounding area of Williamston and Pelger, the cush tradition goes back...
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Video transcript for: Howarton Finch Importance Of Rockfish Conservation J.E. Evans Cooks A Muddle Jimmy Storey And Muddles Rockfish Conservation What Is A Muddle?
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Video transcripts for: Life In Dundas Johnny Hawthorne Long Tradition Of Sheep Stew Preparing The Stew Sheep Stew Stirring Committee The Art Of Cooking Stew The Cooking Committee The Dundas Ruritan...
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Video transcript for: A Tradition From The Upstate Making Cush Sweet Potato Hushpuppies The Fire Department & Communal Cooking
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The Dundas Ruritan Club “dips” the stew and then sells to the local community.
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Wayne Parrish and Billy Wilkinson’s families made sheep stew.
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Walter and Bernice Thompson discuss stewmaster Maxie Moore’s skill in making sheep stew.
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Walter Thompson shows the method for stirring sheep stew
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In this video the uniqueness of spawning ground is discussed.
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Stewmaster details how the famous Sheep Stew is prepared for consumers.
