38 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasantPodcast.com ballots that I spread around town. Wherever people gathered I would do my best to leave a paper ballot, small pencils and a Best of Charleston box where people could fold their ballot and insert the results. Since Mount Pleasant had less than one-third of the population we have now, I placed ballots and boxes up and down King Street and at any fast photo film development location in Mount Pleasant and Charleston. One of the best places besides bars and restaurants was National Home Videos or any place that rented VHS tapes. It was a challenge, but even in 1990 I believed with all my heart that the way for all area residents, including newcomers, to discover the Best Of everything and anything that Mount Pleasant had to offer at the time was to gauge the popularity based on votes. I remember using local radio stations to announce where the listeners could find the official Best of Charleston Ballot. This was one of the ways I was able to encourage businesses to let me leave my Best Of Ballot boxes at their establishments. Visiting all the locations, picking up the paper ballots and boxes and tabulating the 1,000 or so votes from our 1990 Best of Charleston voting results was exciting for me at the time. Seeing the fruits of your labor is always rewarding. I thought, ‘Wow 1,000 votes, how amazing!’ Looking back on the 1990 results is like climbing into a time capsule. The Best Night Spot was Myskyns, with Henry’s as a close second. Back then, we could ask our readers to vote for the Best Male Sex Symbol. It was Warren Peper if you can believe it – I wonder if Peper remembers? Readers voted Leslie Lyles the Best Local Female Sex Symbol. The Best New Restaurant winners were Jimmy Lou’s and Josie Joes. Remember those? Or Best Shoe Store, which went to Bob Ellis, and Best Men’s Store, which Berlin’s won. Continue your journey back in time. You can view all the original Best Of results at bestofmp.com/ BestofCharleston1990. Charlie Hall.
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