Mount Pleasant Magazine July/August 2018

60 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.ILoveMountPleasant.com | www.BestOfMP.com feature W hen I was in college, my South Carolina history professor posed a question on our first day of class: “I was not born in South Carolina, but I have lived here for 40 years. Socially, can I call myself a South Carolinian?” The class was divided on the merits of birthplace versus tenure versus style of upbringing versus ancestry lines and every manner of opinion. The question has popped into my mind time and again as I meet people – some new to the area, some who have been here for decades – and, to this day, more than 10 years after I took that class, I still haven’t settled on an answer. A similar conflict came up when we discussed this new “We Are Mount Pleasant” series in an editorial meeting. Who would we include? Do they have to be from Mount Pleasant? What are the parameters? The reality is that Mount Pleasant today has been shaped by a swath of people over the decades, not all necessarily born and bred right here on the gorgeous eastern shores of the Cooper and Wando. More importantly, these people, regardless of their birthplace or heritage or longevity here, care deeply about the place we call home and have in some way made it better. They are pillars of the community, landmark business owners, those keen on nostalgia and those building the future – and come from many walks of life. Though our roots are all planted here at different times, we grow together as a community. It’s my pleasure and privilege to share the stories of some of those who have bloomed brightly in Mount Pleasant in this and the coming issues. We Are Mount Pleasant By Anne Shuler Toole . .