MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) — A sweet gesture for a sweetgrass basket maker.
We have documented the story of Eugene Gilliard and his sweetgrass stand along Highway 17 in north Mount Pleasant, which was destroyed by a hit-and-run accident.
It was his livelihood, and he had no money to fix it. After we aired his story, dozens came together and made it right.
Out with the old and in with the new, one piece at a time. Eugene Gilliard sits with his sweetgrass and watches as his stand takes on a new and improved look.
News 2 viewers, friends, and neighbors saw the News 2 story on Gilliard and volunteered their time and services.
“I am so impressed and grateful, but I’m really not surprised. I think Mount Pleasant is such a generous, prosperous community and willing to help. Sometimes you just need to make it easy for them to know how they can get involved, and that’s what happened with this story. It really just took off,” said Dan Delanty, a Mount Pleasant resident.
“Not surprised at all, not surprised. We knew we would have a lot of people here, and it’s just great,” said Phil Bennett, Mount Pleasant resident.