Nancy Golson

April 2024 Issue

by Edwina Hoyle
Photography by Cassidy Dunn Photography

Nancy Golson was featured in the very first issue of Pink Magazine 20 years ago. In that feature she was described as the epitome of the Bluffton State of Mind. And that hasn’t changed. Nancy has lived on Myrtle Island for 44 years in a house built in 1919 on family property previously owned by her mother-in-law.

“When I got married, we built a house in my mother-in-law’s backyard. We were young and naïve and kept adding on. Eventually we moved into the original house,” Nancy said. She mentioned her children enjoyed growing up there, on the river, as opposed to a gated community. “My new edict is to leave the vegetation alone. It’s a habitat for animals and birds. Nature is wild, and it gives the yard privacy. But now they’re cutting down trees for mega-houses with manicured lawns.”

Bluffton is booming with new developments, and Nancy expressed her concern that the downtown development has pushed a lot of mom-and-pop businesses out. Nancy understands what it takes for a small, independent business to succeed. She was the owner of Eggs ‘n’ Tricities, a Bluffton boutique and landmark. She and her husband, Charlie, also owned Charlie’s L’Etoile Verte restaurant in Hilton Head. “Charlie loves all things French, especially the wine,” Nancy shared.

“When Covid ended, a staff member decided to make an offer on Eggs ‘n’ Tricities. Charlie had a catastrophic illness, I was wearing a brace, and I sold it a few months later when I found out I had uterine cancer. I powered through it. Then I found out I had breast cancer, and I powered through that,” Nancy said.

Charlie and Nancy decided to give the restaurant to their two children, Margaret and Palmer. Margaret, a certified sommelier, is in charge of the front of the house, and Palmer supervises the back of the house. Nancy, who will turn 75 this year, said, “I now enjoy a slower pace than when we owned the businesses.”

Her new “slower pace” has given her time to indulge in her love of art. “I was an art minor in college and loved art my whole life. I’ve taken some classes here and yonder. I can get away from life in a corner of the guest room to paint.” Her creativity, decorator’s eye, and knack for retail has led her to become a vendor at Tapley’s Mercantile and Antiques in Savannah. Nancy sells her daughter’s paintings and boasts that Margaret is a great painter, but Nancy also sells her own creations. Her booth has eclectic offerings like oyster shell mirrors and ornaments, vintage items, and the “fun items” she paints.

“I paint on lampshades. I paint on pillows. I move from one thing to another. I might paint a landscape one day, and the next day, paint monkeys on existing paintings I find at thrift stores.”


“I go almost every day to a thrift store or estate sale, but I don’t buy anything that won’t fit in my Expedition. I get great stuff to resell. I repair, fix it up and make it shine. People love vintage items that were loved by other people. I make quick decisions. I get it and get gone. I think if you like it, buy it. Too many people agonize over it. Just find a place for it. And I don’t take anyone with me because I just whiz around.”

Nancy is a caregiver, wife, mother, grandmother, business entrepreneur, and lifetime board member of the Bluffton Montessori School where she has served for 38 years. Nancy and her friend, Mary Vaux, were founders of the school. “I’m very proud of what we accomplished,” she said, “I’m still out there begging for money.”

With all of her myriad experience, she has some advice for younger women. “Everybody needs to know you can’t start at the top. Get experience and work hard. Your instincts will tell you what to do. Wait a little while and enjoy life and experiences. The greatest lessons come after college when you work. Find the thing you’re really good at, the thing you love. Stick with it. Stick with your marriage, your children, your life.”

She added, “Don’t fall prey to ‘the husband is the head of the household.’ You can still be a good wife and be a partner. Get an equal voice, support each other. So many women marry too young, Lord have mercy! Keep yourself informed. Love one another. Women need to love themselves.”

Nancy’s favorite pastime is to sit on her porch, which is 150 feet long, and watch the tide come in and go out. She loves to listen to birds. With four feeders and three bluebird boxes, Nancy said, “You name them, we’ve got them. Everything evolves around the river. That’s usually how it goes.”

Up Close:

• When Nancy opened Eggs ‘n’ Tricities, she decided the boutique shop needed a mascot. Her friend, Holly, painted “Edwina” on the window with the quote: “Edwina eggsplains that Eggs ‘n’ Tricities is an eggsample of an eggcellent eggstablishment.”

• Nancy said the name Edwina was picked out of thin air.

• Edwina is still painted on the inside of the restroom door holding a roll of toilet paper. She now quips, “If you sprinkle when you tinkle, clean it up!”

• Nancy’s wise advice from the very first Pink issue: “The older and fatter you get, the bigger your jewelry needs to be!”

• Check out the name of the writer assigned to this story. Lordy, Lordy! What a coincidence. (“Is it though,” asked Elizabeth Millen, Pink’s editor-in-chief?)