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to ALL-AmericA
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www.MountPleasantMagazine.comB
illy SwailS
iS the top
elected
official in
South Carolina’s
fourth largest
municipality, a
vibrant and growing town that has
attracted a wide range of cultural and
culinary events and festivals, as well
as the attention of the National Civic
League and its coveted designation of
All-America City.
Swails, mayor of Mount Pleasant
since winning a three-man race
among a trio of sitting town council-
men in 2009, is neither overwhelmed
with the job nor overly impressed by
his own importance.
“Don’t call me ‘Mr. Mayor.’ My
name is Billy,” he insisted in a smooth
Southern drawl perfected by a lifetime
in the town he now helps run. His
Lowcountry origins are depicted in
the hunting and fishing prints that
adorn his office at City Hall.
At 64, Swails has fond memories of the
town he will always call home, which, a
half century ago, was no more than a dot
on the map, a brief rest stop for motorists
headed north to Myrtle Beach or south
to Charleston and beyond.
“In 1960, there was one red light on
Highway 17, which was called Ocean
Highway,” he remembered. “Tourists
stopped here, mainly to gas up on the
way to Myrtle Beach and the land of
oranges. I pumped gas. The Colonial
Store [then on the corner of Coleman
Boulevard and Fairmont Avenue in
the current GDC Home Interiors
location] was the largest grocery store.
I bagged groceries and at night swept
and mopped the floor. I was never
scared of hard work.”
mAyor
photography by Chris Smith
story by Eileen Robinson Smith