SOUTH CAROLINA

“WHEN YOU GET YOUR OWN PLACE, DO IT YOUR WAY, BUT YOU’RE AT MINE.”

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That’s what James Freeman Sr. told James Jr. whenever he made a helpful “suggestion.”

James Sr. learned how to slow-cook hogs in an open pit from his grandfather. This tradition is now carried on by his son. (Image 127)

Image 127: Freeman’s Bar-B-Q 1060 Sandbar Ferry Road • Beech Island, SC 29841 • (803)827-16232

“I spent thirty-five years as an understudy. I came around to his way of thinking and I do it just like him.”

James Jr. is a very personable guy. He greets all the regulars like family, and if a first-timer finds his way here, James Jr. will introduce himself and offer a rib or some hash to sample.

The backbone of their business is the loyal regulars. “We’ve got one guy, Joe, who comes in twice a day, sometimes three.”

It goes without saying that James knows his way around smoke and fire. When he isn’t the ’cue master, he is also a battalion chief with the local fire department.

“I was always hanging around here, but I got real serious when I was fifteen. I needed money to get a car. I eventually scraped together $500 to get a ’66 VW Beetle. I made every dime right here!”

Freeman’s is just across the river from Augusta and right on the way to Hilton Head Island. “A lot of people plan to stop here on their way. Over the years, we get to know the semi-regulars.

“We make our own charcoal here, and that is a secret my father perfected. It allows us to cook the hogs slow, slow, slow. It takes about twenty-four hours to cook a whole hog. We turn it once during that time. I can tell exactly when to turn it from the smell that the grease gives off when it hits the coals.”

James is assisted by his wife, Christine, and their daughter Christa, a recent graduate of Spelman College. Christa is currently applying to law school. She comes back on weekends from Atlanta.

Freeman’s is only open Thursday through Saturday, but it’s all hands on deck during one particular week in April. That’s when the eyes of the world cast their gaze firmly upon Augusta National Country Club, a couple of miles down the road, which hosts The Masters Golf Tournament. (Image 128)

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