Dear Reader:
Yesterday I ate lunch at Eva’s Restaurant…if you have stopped in there this past week you have seen the black draped table (with flowers) where our former Mayor Berlin Myers ate breakfast about every single day of his life. “His” chair leans against the table in tribute to him and remains in that position until after the funeral.
An emotional lump started growing in my throat when I realized that Berlin Myers assumed the office-Mayor of Summerville – the same year I moved to Summerville (after graduating from Erskine College-1971-1972 school year) to begin my teaching career at Alston Junior High (at that time)…now Alston Middle School.
I taught almost three decades before leaving to become the Social Studies Specialist at the school district… (once standards came into play)…and I stayed in that position for four more years…before “retiring” and then working for the State Department doing workshops on storytelling and Social Studies (around the state) for about three more years. Through it all…Berlin Myers remained our Mayor of Summerville.
Even after I was diagnosed with breast cancer (little “c”) and temporarily stopped doing workshops….Berlin Myers was still going strong as our mayor. It wasn’t until 2011 that he decided to lay down the gavel once and for all. What an amazing leader!
We, Summervillians, have been doubly blessed, in the lowcountry, to have Mayor Myers for our long-standing leader locally and Mayor Joe Riley for Charleston…two amazing trailblazers who have been at the helm to see the changes and progress made in both locales.
Summerville only had a population of 3000 when Mayor Myers presided over Summerville that first year…1972. I remember as a fresh, young teacher (right out of college) falling in love with the little town and getting treated to hot dogs by the school coaches from the Pool Hall near Eva’s where they would take turns running each day to pick up lunch . The best hot dogs in the world!
In 1996 Sherri Houston and I became involved in a state project titled: Downtown as a Classroom. We put our heads together and came up with the idea of honoring seventeen local “legends” including (Mayor Berlin Myers, Coach John McKissick….famous authors (like Fern Michaels and our beloved Effie Wilder) doctors, pharmacists, photographers, quilters, etc.)
“My” Tommy was in the seventh grade that year and he portrayed Mayor Myers…with a stuffed pillow to puff out his wiry stature.
We had the students interview each “legend” and then create a fairy tale about them to present at an afternoon tea in April of 1996.
I remember helping Tommy with his fairy tale (with some help from Betsy Myers on his accomplishments people didn’t know about…like serving in WWII and being there on D-Day to storm the beaches of Normandy.)
Since Mayor Myers has always been known for his lumber company (so clean that you can eat off the floor) we kept sneaking in the word “wood” into the fairy tale…as much as we could.
For example….the fairy tale read that Myers was a kind king who ruled longer than any other in a beautiful village by the sea….known for its wonderful aroma of pine trees and azaleas. When he fell in love and asked the beautiful princess- Miss Janie of “Farmer-town” to marry him he held his breath until she answered she “wood.”
And now at 98 our wonderful mayor has left us for new adventures and exciting new worlds…I think God needed him to manage another town in another place far away…
I think this ancient saying from India pretty much sums it all up….
When you were born
you cried and the world rejoiced.
Live your life in such a manner
that when you die
the world cries
and
you rejoice!
…………………………..
So until tomorrow…Let us be thankful for all the blessings bestowed on our beloved Summerville under the guidance of a proven leader for all its citizens…through all its seasons…Mayor Berlin Myers!
“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh
