April 1995

How does a quiet city become a tourist spot? Ask Myrtle Beach, SC

By: Emory Thomas, Jr.

Myrtle Beach, SC – This town’s old-fashioned, seaside Pavilion, with its dance hall and amusement park, sits at the center of Robert H. McElveen’s fondest summer memories.

“The biggest thing in the world,” recalls the 72-year-old optometrist from Gaffney, SC, “was to take your girl down to the Pavilion for the big dance.  Boy, when that band would start, and you had your girl, and the moon came up – that was the prettiest thing on earth.”