IslandVibesIOP.com 24 Some of us look forward to it, others, not so much. But nonetheless, it happens every day except Sunday. And neither rain nor snow, sleet nor hail, can stop it. It’s the delivery of the U.S. mail. Isle of Palms residents have the option of renting a box at the post also served as the island’s epicenter for fun, with amusements and games. When the building burned down in 1954, a post office building was erected on Palm Boulevard near where the IOP Connector is now. A decade later, home delivery began with Eldon Graham as the first mail carrier. His daughter Sharon Arnwine recalled that, “Although he sometimes had a mail delivery truck, Dad often relied on his own car to deliver the mail. He always had a farmer’s tan on one arm from it being out the window.” Graham was raised on a farm in Conway and moved to the Isle of Palms as an adult. So, when he was offered the postal job, it was the perfect fit for him. “He loved the outdoors, and driving around the island’s mostly dirt roads enabled him to spend his days outside in the fresh air. But with so few full-time residents on the island back then, it wasn’t really a fulltime job, and surely not enough money to raise a family, so he had a second job downtown at the Charleston News and Courier,” Arnwine recounted. She also mused that the old joke of being called the mailman’s child was often applied to her. “My brother and I looked nothing alike. He had dark hair and I had blonde, like my dad, so he would often laugh and say that I was the mailman’s daughter.” Graham left his job as mail carrier after five years to work full time at the newspaper. He died in 2022 at the age of 89. Several years ago, a sea turtle hatchling on Edisto Island was named after him – a nod to the man who loved the outdoors while making sure the early residents of the Isle of Palms stayed connected. office or the convenience of having it dropped off at their homes. That latter choice was a big deal when home delivery first came to the island 55 years ago. Before then, mail could be picked up at a makeshift post office inside Hudson’s Pavilion on Front Beach. Hudson’s HISTORY From the Archive Meet IOP’s first mail carrier By Mary Coy Isle of Palms' first post office was inside Hudson's Pavilion photo courtesy of the City of Isle of Palms Eldon Graham photo courtesy of Sharon Arnwine Visitors to the Isle of Palms are quite familiar with the challenge of finding parking when they arrive for their day in the sun. Fortunately, along Front Beach, there are some options available, with metered parking on Ocean Boulevard as well as a few all-day lots. Isle of Palms County Park offers a great alternative, too. But for real convenience, there is now the CARTA bus that provides shuttle service back and forth to the beach from Mount Pleasant Towne Center on weekends throughout the summer. It drops off beachgoers on Ocean Boulevard at 14th Avenue – and it’s free! Who could ask for anything more convenient than that? That relatively new bus service is reminiscent of the commute to the island in the early 20th century when an electric trolley left Mount Pleasant’s Old Village and brought visitors to the beach for the day. The trolley passed through Sullivan’s Island and stopped at specific “stations” along Middle Street. Many of the streets in this area are named for the trolley stops that once existed there. But there was only one stop on the Isle of Palms. And what a stop it was! Front Beach boasted a bath house, restaurant, dance hall and even a grand hotel for those who wished to stay longer than just the day. When you think about it, it’s kind of like what can be found there today. When the automobile came into use, the trolley system became obsolete. As convenient and exciting as the trip to the island had been on the trolley, people viewed the new invention as even Then vs Now Beachfront parking was permitted on Front Beach By Mary Coy A postcard reflects the ease of parking on the Isle of Palms A postcard depicting the trolley station on Front Beach more convenient and exciting. The trolley tracks were replaced with a paved road, Charleston Boulevard, and the trolley station on Front Beach was removed. But with the jungle that was the Isle of Palms in those days, the only access to the ocean for the next several decades was still at Front Beach. And visitors drove right onto the beach itself to park. They could also drive on the sand along the shoreline as far as they wanted – or dared. Once homes were built on the island in the mid-20th century, automobiles were no longer permitted on the beach. Today, the automobile has perhaps become more of an inconvenience than a convenience. With frequent traffic and parking challenges, the return of the trolley in the form of CARTA’s air-conditioned buses might offer a better remedy.
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