Mr. Steve Williams came to talk to us today. Mr. Williams is a local author, historian, and former educator who has won awards for his newspaper columns. He graduated from Winyah High School and went on to work as a teacher and educational adminstrator for thirty years in Atlanta, Charlotte, and New York. When his parents died, he retired and decided to move back to Georgetown. He then embarked on a new career as a writer.

Mr. Williams has written fourteen books about black history and today he talked to us about his new children’s book From Slavery to Shipwright. The book details the history of James Mashow, a slave of mixed heritage whose white father sent him up North to become a carpentry apprentice. James found his calling in ship-building and went on to construct 100 ships before the Civil War. He was a very well-known shipwright in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he was in charge of building many whaling vessels for that booming industry.

Mr. Williams told us that James Mashow’s example should encourage us to do great things. “He was born ordinary,” he said, “and became extraordinary.” Mashow’s inspirational story is now better known, thanks to Mr. Williams’ research. Mr. Williams told us that every day was a chance to learn and better ourselves. “To quote Dr. King,” he concluded, “the way to education is always under construction.”

By Reece