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he front room of the Heyward House, where we were seated, was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Suddenly the soulful sound of a familiar old gospel melody is heard as “Kessie” enters. She closes her eyes and continues to share the beautiful verse as we are mesmerized by the reality of her character. Bringing history to life, Kitty-Wilson Evans, portrays “Kessie”, an African American slave who lived on a plantation in South Carolina during the 1700s and 1800s. Through her first person characterization, “Kessie” tells us in rich detail the history of slave life in the south.
As an educator, historian, interpreter and performer she shares the memories with such passion that you are forced into the reality of slavery. 
Portraying her character with vivid authenticity she makes her way back to the Revolutionary War as well as The Civil War. The passion is felt when she drops her head down and softly remembers the African American’s struggles often relegating to a heartfelt past that was at times very painful.
A former school teacher, Kitty-Wilson Evans is a well known storyteller and interpreter throughout the southeast where she travels around to classrooms, events and festivals. She educates her audiences on the African American contributions in our country’s history. In truth, it was the source from which much of our culture emerged.
The Lowcountry Questers invited Kitty Wilson-Evans to the Heyward House in Bluffton to interpret the lifestyle and furnishings of the slave cabin located in the back of the main house.
The Lowcountry Questers is an organization that consists of twenty two local women whose mission is the preservation of historical properties on the national register. The Heyward House projects include the restoration of the slave cabin; whitewashing the interior, locating and purchasing period furnishings and the construction of a small herb garden on the grounds. They are in the process of acquiring a special grant for the funding of this endeavor.
The Questers are an international organization founded in 1944 by Jessie Elizabeth Bardens to further knowledge and education about antiques; and, to encourage the preservation, restoration and conservation of historic buildings, sites and antiquities. Jessie Elizabeth Bardens expressed, “The powers of the mind are memory and imagination: without memory, we have no past; without imagination, no future”. She felt that a person’s curiosity, enthusiasm, imagination and memory contribute to constructively acquiring information on our past and utilizing that knowledge to save our history for future generations.
Questers take great pride in their personal education about antiques and their collections, in sharing their knowledge and collections with other Questers, and, especially in the collection of a lifetime....friendships. Interested?
“We have to know where we come from before we know where we are going,” says Kitty Wilson-Evans, who was a treasure chest of knowledge for the Questers historical inquiries. “If we never forget, then my living will not be in vein.”
