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It wasn’t the most pleasant drive for Carol Edlow and her husband Arthur. She wasn’t thrilled about the move south after Arthur, a military man, was relocated to Georgia — and a certain billboard only worsened the mood.
Traveling through South Carolina on Interstate 95 in 1970, the black couple drove by a sign of a horse-mounted Ku Klux Klan member in uniform with the words "The United Klan of America welcomes you" printed on it
Contemplating the move, Edlow said to herself, "I made a big mistake. Oh my goodness! What have I done?"
However, the former resident of 22nd and Earp streets eventually became enamoured with the South.
"The white people that were there were so wonderful to us," the 59-year-old, who attended the now-defunct David Landreth Elementary at 23rd and Federal streets, said. "You talk about Southern hospitality, they know how to do it up."
The Yankee’s relocation afforded her the opportunity to absorb the culture of the once pro-slavery South while pursuing her teaching career and an unintentional endeavor: acting. Having resided in both the North and South, Edlow will fittingly star in a tale taking place during a time when both regions were at odds, but managed to unite through a holiday.
The actress will appear as Harriet Jacobs in "Christmas in the Civil War," appearing on digital cable’s Discovery HD Theater on Christmas Eve. Jacobs, a former slave, is one of several historical figures profiled in the movie. Set during Christmas, it shows how the war molded celebrations and modified traditions.
Edlow expects audiences to have varying perceptions of the film. Southerners, she said, will feel vindicated by the characters’ accomplishments amid their hardships. Northerners will see "what triumph had come out of pain."
Edlow immediately researched Jacobs after getting the part following an April audition in Bedford. She was referred to filmmakers by Historical Entertainment, a company she worked with on another Civil War film "No Retreat from Destiny: The Battle that Rescued Washington," a straight-to-video release this year. Her role in "Christmas" is Edlow’s first as a principal actor.
Her character suffered constant sexual harassment by her master, Dr. James Norcom. She escaped, but hid in a crawl space in her grandmother’s house for years before finding freedom in the North. Jacobs told of her experiences in the autobiography "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl."
Jacobs eventually was hired by Quakers to open a school for freed slaves after the Civil War. In casting that mimicked real life, Edlow’s daughter, Ivy, plays Jacobs’ child, Louisa, who was a teacher. Edlow, too, served as an instructor in Philadelphia and in Yorktown, Va., where she currently resides.
Since the movie was filmed in Bedford during the summer, creating a winter wonderland was a feat. The cabins lacked air conditioning and fans — and the heavy period clothing didn’t help.
"They had fake snow everywhere and we were just sweating," Edlow said, adding many of her scenes had voice-overs describing the events.
Despite minor setbacks, she has enjoyed all of her roles, no matter how small, especially since acting is something the retired teacher never thought she would delve into. She credits her daughters for unexpectedly getting her involved in the business.
After returning to Philadelphia in ’73 and spending 16 years here, Edlow and her family relocated to Virginia. At the pleas of her daughter and a friend, Edlow and husband Arthur took the girls to a ’96 audition in Williamsburg for the Bruce Willis-Richard Gere film "The Jackal."
While waiting for the two girls, a person involved with the movie casually asked to take photos of Edlow and her spouse. Surprisingly, the couple — not the two girls — became extras.
"I had just started my first teaching job [in Virginia]," Edlow said with a laugh. "I can’t tell these people I have to be absent because I was going to shoot a movie. It was too weird."
Edlow spent three days in Richmond, Va., playing a wealthy wife in a scene set in Washington, D.C. During this part of the movie, the first lady is speaking at an outdoor reception when an explosion occurs. During six takes, the director yelled "boom" and instructed the crowd, including Edlow, to frantically run and scream.
However, when the actual explosion occurred, Edlow said, "We were horrified. We were running in all directions. We weren’t acting at that point. We just wanted to get the heck out of there."
During the experience, she got the chance to chat with celebrities like Sidney Poitier, who played an FBI deputy director in the film. "That man does not look like he is in his 70s," Edlow said. "He did all his own stunts and after every take, he would come down and joke with the people."
Edlow described Gere as "friendly," but Willis as "standoffish."
Since there were so many extras on site "they wore us down like we were cattle," she said, adding people would come around and apply sunscreen to the masses.
Edlow was part of the masses again for "No Retreat From Destiny." Her three-day experience was in Petersburg, Va., and her husband also had a role.
Exemplifying the scarcity of food during that time, Edlow, as a servant, took part in a "bread riot" at a bakery.
"It was a woman catfight," she said. "We were fighting, bread is flying everywhere, women are saying things they ought not to say."
Her stints on screen might be entertaining, but Edlow has received more enjoyment from her 15 years of teaching. She particularly likes reaching out to the "tough kids."
"They need to know there are people that are not afraid of them and also need to know there are people that care about them and that you would be a constant in their lives," she said.
The rest of her family — including son Aaron, 32; and daughters April, 30, and Meredith, 25 — enjoy her screen appearances. They, and the rest of America, will get quite the history lesson this holiday season.
"Especially not being from the South, I’m always interested in the Southerner’s perspective of things," Edlow said. "They have a different take on things that Northern people don’t."
