Hank Tisdale, now 85, left South Carolina for decades to pursue a career as a corporate executive in New Jersey

Hank Tisdale, now 85, left South Carolina for decades to pursue a career as a corporate executive in New Jersey, but eventually, his Lowcountry roots pulled him back. On any given evening, you might find him digging into a heap of seafood purloo at Gillie’s Seafood on Folly Road in Charleston. When he was growing up, he’d come home from school and head for the wood stove. Before going outside to play ball with his friends, Tisdale says, “I had to start the rice.” He measured the water using the time-honored knuckle method, touching the top of the rice with his index finger and pouring in water so that it reached the joint of his first knuckle. His mother would later doctor it up with vegetables and seasoning, and that rice would form the nightly centerpiece of a family dinner.