Berlin G Myers - A Summerville Icon

Every one in Summerville knows the Berlin G Myers Parkway, but do you know about Mr Berlin G Myers?  He is an excellent example of someone from “The Greatest Generation”.  The common characteristics of Greatest Generation members are that they lived through and experienced the hardships of the Great Depression and later either fought in World War II or worked in the industries that contributed to winning the war.

Berlin G Myers - His life

Mr. Myers was born in 1917 in Knightsville, SC and lived here his entire life. He showed an aptitude for business at a young age by selling cold drinks, bread and cigarettes at a roadside stand to earn money.  At the age of 21, Mr. Myers started his lumber company, Berlin G Myers Lumber, in Summerville in 1938.  WWII broke out and he temporarily left his business to join the army and served his country with distinction.  As an Army Sgt. in June 1944 he landed on Omaha Beach during the Normandy Invasion and then followed General Patton into Paris.  He earned four bronze stars for his service in WWII.

After the war, he returned home and spent his entire business career as a lumberman.  He celebrated The 75^th Anniversary of his business in 2014.

Berlin G Myers The Mayor

Mr. Myers also had a distinguished political career.  He was elected town alderman in 1965 and elected Mayor of Summerville in 1972 after serving as a temporary mayor when Mayor Allan Luke died in office.  He served 10 terms as Summerville’s mayor, making him one of the longest-serving mayors in South Carolina history. Myers chose to step down as Mayor in 2011.  Check out more history time here.

While in office, Myers was awarded the Order of the Palmetto and the Order of the Silver Crescent. He was a life deacon at Summerville Baptist Church and was honored by the Exchange Club of Charleston with its “Book of Golden Deeds”. He was a 60-year member of Clemson University’s IPTAY booster club, past president and member of the Summerville Rotary Club, co-founder of Charleston Southern University and the longest-serving board member of First National Bank of South Carolina.

Our sweet town of Summerville was abundantly blessed that Berlin G Myers called Summerville home.