Many moons ago, when I was preparing to move to Charleston for this job, art director Melinda Smith Monk sent me a reading list. Among her recommendations were Mrs. Whaley and Her Charleston Garden and Mrs. Whaley Entertains. I have to say, those delightful books were apt primers for this West Coast girl learning to navigate Holy City mores. Emily Whaley had long since passed by the time I arrived, but in many ways she embodied Charleston at its best: gracious and generous, devoted to beauty and tradition, yet never without a sense of humor about it all.

More recently, as I began hearing more and more laments from locals about the loss of the city’s graces, I thought of Mrs. Whaley. I wondered what she might make of Charleston today and what lessons her particular brand of humor, hospitality, and neighborliness might still hold for us. In “What Would Mrs. Whaley Do?” (page 96), frequent contributor Maura Hogan draws on the garden grande dame’s wit and wisdom to offer a guide for living graciously in Charleston—and finding your place in a city where how we treat one another still matters.

During our email exchanges, Mrs. Whaley’s daughter Marty shared a story that seems particularly fitting for this Giving Back issue. After Hurricane Hugo, her mother made recipe booklets to raise money for St. Philip’s Church, placed them in a basket, and asked people to drop in $2. She later did the same for the Police Athletic League. Nothing grand or complicated—just Mrs. Whaley seeing a need and finding a way, however modest, to help.

It’s an impulse Charleston’s own Mr. Hospitality, Mickey Bakst, has put into practice on a much larger scale. As Stephanie Hunt explores in “At Your Service” (page 86), since founding Feed the Need in 2009, Mickey has rallied our F&B community’s talents and resources to help neighbors facing hunger and housing insecurity. Mrs. Whaley’s and Mickey’s efforts may be worlds apart in scale, but both spring from the same instinct: recognize what you have to offer and put it to use for someone else. Maybe that’s the Charleston grace most worth preserving.

That giving spirit runs throughout our November issue. And because generosity can come beautifully wrapped, our annual Holiday Gift Guide (page 104) is filled with locally available finds for everyone on your nice list. Each offers a chance to give twice: to the person opening it and to the local shops, makers, and businesses that help make this place home.

Enjoy!

Darcy Shankland
dshankland@charlestonmag.com