The Bluffton Eccentric was the first and only newspaper the town of Bluffton has had in fifty years. We felt such a kinship with them that we asked Graham Bullock, publisher of The Bluffton Eccentric, if we could resurrect articles from previous issues and republish them. Graham graciously gave his permission and loaned us volumes of old papers. It has been a treat for me to read them and it is with great honor that I get to share them with everyone again. So, kick back, relax and get ready for a blast from the past.

STATE OF MIND

Written by Jeannie Bunton

fter two years in the city, (Columbia, SC) I came home to find change. First of all, I am delighted that I can offer something back to the community which has given me my roots, a place of belonging and a sense of identity. I am excited to have this opportunity to prove the value of a college education.

I am loyal to Bluffton and always have been. It is home. The iced tea is sweeter. The people are friendlier and the salt water is more refreshing, some would say, “mo’ betta.”

Scotts, Nickel Pumpers and the Post Office are still the “hot spots.” There are no traffic lights, no neon signs. There is safety here. The city wasn’t safe. I remember the night I stood helplessly at my 15th story window, watching a man chase a screaming woman. Then I realized, “this is not Bluffton.”

Perhaps on those short weekends home, I simply neglected to recognize the change. I still see home through “rose colored glasses.”

In the spirit of the only thing that remains the same is change, Bluffton has grown without me. I return to find new houses, subdivisions and people. Friends I grew up with are marrying. I take on the demeanor of a responsible adult and commence to challenge my education.

People change and sometimes forget to tell one another. Well. Bluffton changed and forgot to tell me. Some of the cashiers at Scotts don’t know me. It angered me the day I was asked for my driver’s license to cash a check. There’s cable TV and a barber shop. The beach is clean. There’s a restaurant called the Squat and Gobble. To top it all off, Arnold Palmers’ name is on a car dealership and there is a pizza parlor in a business complex.

This is some shock to the person who remembers life before Nickel Pumpers. I remember when there was McCracken High and May River Academy.

I’ve been in Bluffton for 21 years, not as long as some but longer than many. It’s amazing how much can happen to our benefit, if we let it.

We’ve always known who we are and we’ve never reasoned why or made any excuses. There is neither pretense, nor glittering generality in Bluffton. We wave at our neighbors and we know the grand marshals in our parades. It is okay to thumb our noses at those who don’t understand us. We know who we are.

Blufftonians are prouder now. We have a broader vision for ourselves and the community. As for myself, there’s no place like home. To quote the singer John Mellincamp, “I can not forget from where it is that I come from. I can not forget the people who love me. I can be myself in that small town. And people there just let me be who I wanna’ be”.

My Aunt Bonnie in New York once told me, “If you ever wash that Bluffton dirt off your feet, they don’t want you back.” I may never wash my feet again. “Eventually, you do come back,” she added. How well I know. I can’t think of any other place I’d rather come home to.