Hey, Charleston!

Hey, Charleston!

Picture book
If you ever need an inspiring story of making dreams come true
even in the harshest of circumstances, Anne Rockwell's real life Hey,
Charleston! is a must read.
Daniel Joseph Jenkins was a church pastor in Charleston, South
Carolina. To supplement his meager income he collected and delivered
scrap wood. You'd think he have enough to do keeping body and soul
together. When he found some homeless orphans he took them into his
church and gave them food and a place to sleep.
That was during the Great Depression. The first orphans were
soon joined by others, so many that they had to move to an abandoned
warehouse. Finding funds to keep the children sheltered and fed was a
challenge in itself. Reverand Jenkins had a dream beyond that. He
wanted to buy a farm where children could grow up strong and healthy.
Human nature being what it is, no doubt well meaning people
tried to talk him out of his quest. But he had an unorthodox way of
achieving his goal. You wil find it quite delightful and inspiring.
On a personal note, the minister reminds me of my friend Brenda. She
runs her whole life around the premise that hunger can be ended. When
I met her she was running a food pantry out of her garage. In the
fifteen years since she has grown it into a big operation with a
thrift shop to help finance it. I keep telling her that she'd better
start weight lifting so that when she gets to heaven the crown of
jewels she has waiting won't give her whiplash. ;)
A great big shout out goes out to all who find brave, novel, daring
ways to help others in need.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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