Dennis Chastain in a video
Dennis Chastain tapes a video to promote tourism in our area. Photo by Jane Chastain

Several years ago, Tim Todd, director of Discover Upcountry, asked me to do a promotional video about Greenville and the surrounding area to be sent to potential international tourists around the world. Of course, I said yes. I’ve known Tim for pretty much as long as he has had that job, so I knew it would be a first-class production.

Sure enough, he had contracted with a top-notch film crew. Some came up from Florida and some came down from Washington, D.C. We had already decided they would film my part at Table Rock State Park and then get their b-roll footage at various venues around downtown Greenville. 

All went well with the taping, and they put together a really nice short film. They had me doing restaurant reviews, offering tips on where to shop, and showcasing tempting teases on Segway tours, Falls Park and the Liberty Bridge, in addition to hiking at Table Rock and cycling on the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail. The final product presented a very enticing package.

But honestly, Greenville is an easy sell.

I think Greenville’s most attractive asset is a somewhat nebulous concept that we call Southern hospitality. You sense it everywhere you go in Greenville and it pervades the social scene. Southern hospitality is a real thing, and it really is just doing what our mamas taught us — specifically, the golden rule to “treat other people the way you would want to be treated.” It involves treating others with respect, honor, politeness, charm, helpfulness and charity, and doing it all with style and grace.

In the film, I suggested that no matter how fluent you are in the English language, you need to learn one new word before coming to Greenville. It’s that classic Southern contraction, “y’all.” That quirky but ever-present word says so much about Southern charm and grace, Southern culture and Southern hospitality.

Dennis Chastain head shotI remember telling the potential visitors that if they had a problem or needed a restaurant recommendation, they could call the visitors’ bureau or the concierge at the hotel, or they could just take a walk down Main Street. 

I assured them that, if you encounter a group of people ambling down the sidewalk laughing, telling stories and uttering the word “y’all” in virtually every sentence, you have found yourself a bunch of bona fide, boiled-peanuts-popping, grits-loving Southerners, and they will do their dead-level best to help you in any way they can.

It’s not that people who are “not from around here” aren’t friendly, helpful and kind; it’s that for those of us raised in the South, it’s in our DNA. We are taught from childhood to treat guests like family, and in the South, family is everything. When company comes, it’s “Yes, ma’am,” and “Yes, sir,” and you put out the “guest towels.” Everyone is to be on their best behavior, and the guest gets the pulley bone piece of fried chicken. That’s why they call it Southern hospitality.

To those of you who are blessed with Southern charm and grace, keep doing what you’re doing and pay it forward. Your mama would be proud. 

Dennis Chastain is a Pickens County naturalist, historian and former tour guide. He has been writing feature articles for South Carolina Wildlife magazine and other outdoor publications since 1989.

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