JUNE, 1963
THE PIEDMONITOR
PAGE THREE
Station Spotlight
They Have Sea, Surf, Sand And Sun
Sniff the salty air. Take off
your shoes and squish your toes
through the warm sand. Loolc
over miles of sparkling waves
toward the horizon, etched with
white clouds on blue sky.
You’re in Myrtle Beach, S. C.,
one of the most popular resorts
on Piedmont’s system. Scores of
company personnel, along with
tourists from all over the coun
try, flock here each spring, sum
mer, and fall to fish, swim, and
laze in the sun.
mm
There's more than one kind of
bathing beauty. This little charmer
shows that Myrtle Beach can be a
vacation spot for the whole family.
Year ’round service was au
thorized for the MBC station
last year as part of the Pied
mont Area Case, and was put
into operation in June, 1962. The
area had previously been served
on a seasonal basis, with Station
Manager - Charles Donahoo and
part of his staff alternating their
services between operations in
the winter at Southern Pines
and in the summer at Myrtle
Beach.
Traffic Good
Traffic has been especially
good of late at Myrtle Beach,
with the latest figures showing
the station topping 14 others on
the system.
“Our boardings have been
steadily increasing,” said Dona
hoo, “and with any luck at all,
by the end of June we should
have boarded 1,000 passengers
for the month.”
The warm months are the best
months for the area, since with
the exception of some golfing
and fishing activity, the 50-mile
“Grand Strand” strip of South
Carolina beach lies dormant
during the winter, gradually
stirring as it gets warmer, and
bursting into full life as the hot
summer months arrive.
There are many ways to take
a vacation in Myrtle Beach and
the surrounding smaller beaches.
One may go first-class deluxe in
plush accommodations at the
more expensive hotels and mo
tels, or go tourist for anywhere
from around $5 to $10 a person.
If you’re really economy-minded,
you can pay from $2 to $5 for a
campsite, pitch a tent, and live
on beans.
For those who prefer a more
conventional form of eating.
there are a number of fine res
taurants in the area, and as is
to be expected, the specialty of
the house in most is fresh local
seafood.
Fish Rodeo
If you like to catch your sea
food, Myrtle Beach and its fish
ing facilities are an angler’s
paradise. You might even make
a little money at it, since the
Grand Strand Fishing Rodeo is
offering $10,000 in monthly and
grand prize cash offerings for
the largest in a number of salt
water fish categories. Three
whoppin’ big king mackerel
have been reported in the last
month, weighing 21 pounds, 35
pounds, and 37 pounds, respec
tively. The fishing contest is
and to become acquainted with
all sections of the nation
through exchange of souvenirs,
pictures, and ideas.”
Brings Cash
It may be added, not so inci
dentally, that the Pageant is also
a hard-sell commercial venture,
carefully designed to provide a
powerful publicity and tourist
attraction for the area. It is be-
coming more successful each
year, hosting entries from 25
states and garnering news cover
age on a national level.
Whatever its underlying pur
pose, the Myrtle Beach beauty
contest provides ample oppor
tunity for one of man’s most
pleasant occupations — girl
watching.
' sis?' “
i
Geri Schmidt, Miss Sun Fun USA,
1964, shown here just minutes after
her coronation.
A look at part of the Grand Strand beach area. This portion is near the center of Myrtle Beach, adjacent
to the amusement and entertainment sections.
i
m.
The beach abounds in sparkling young lovelies, doing justice to bathing suits and gracing surf and pool.
sponsored by the MBC Chamber There are other forms of en-
of Commerce and entry rules tertainment to be found at the
may be obtained by writing that resort, both for children and
office. adults
The window of the operations department has a view of the runway
plus several palm trees growing at the front of the building. Giving out
with that casual, resort air are (left to right) D. K. Jones, D. W. West,
and Gene Shore.
The Myrtle Beach Chamber of
Commerce, by the way, is an en
grossing place reflecting the ac
tivity of the area it serves. It is
not recommended that you visit
there unless you have the better
part of a day free, since within
its confines are a group of ex
tremely busy individuals, dedi
cated to spreading the word that
their area is one of the greatest
vacation spots to be found, and
you might have a bit of a wait
before flagging one down.
Annual Festival
One of the major undertakings
of the Chamber each year is the
annual Sun Fun Festival, a free
wheeling four days of sack races,
golf tournaments, parades, street
dances, concerts, art shows, and
other sundry activities, all cli
maxed by the finals of the Miss
Sun Fun USA Pageant in which
a young lady is selected to rep
resent the area for the coming
year.
The beauty pageant, accord
ing to brochures, “. . . gives
young ladies from each of the
50 states an opportunity to meet,
to talk, to establish friendships.
If you like to dance, you can
go to the Myrtle Beach pavillion
and join the predominately teen
age crowd gyrating wildly to a
rock ‘n’ roll band. For the
youngsters there are several
amusement park areas resplen
dent with hobby horses, cotton
candy, and taffy apples.
Adults will enjoy nearby sup-
Station Manager Charles Donahoo
relaxes for a moment in a corner
of the airport lobby. Donahoo and
his family shuttled back and forth
between Myrtle Beach and South
ern Pines for several years as Pied
mont service opened and closed
with the change of the seasons.
per clubs, restaurants, and mak
ing its debut this season, the
Cabaret Theater at the Ocean
Forest Hotel, featuring old time
“mellerdrammers” and vaude
ville acts.
Historic Sites
For those interested in history
and sightseeing, tours of old
South Carolina rice plantations
are available. Lower Waverly
Plantation, located 20 miles
south of Myrtle Beach near Paw
ley’s Island, looks over rice
fields and the river from its site
on a bluff covered with moss-
hung live oaks and banks of
camellias and azaleas.
Another outstanding attrac
tion is Brookgreen Gardens, 17
miles south of Myrtle Beach.
With a plantation setting, Brook-
green has been developed to in
clude the world’s largest collec
tion of outdoor American stat
uary. Its gardens feature native
South Carolina plants and
flowers, a zoo, and a picnic area.
There’s a lot to do and see on
the Grand Strand, whether its
dancing, fishing, or taking a
moonlight stroll in the surf. If
you’re a sea, sun, and sand ad
dict, Myrtle Beach is the place
for you.
*
PIEDMONTAf
Piedmont's section covers one end of the small MBC airport terminal.
Busy getting tickets ready for outgoing passengers are M. B. Bullard
(left) and Don Knight.