Mount Pleasant Magazine 6.4

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According to the Heaths, helping
out at the packing house, which was
230 feet long by 100 feet wide, was a
coveted form of summer employment
from mid-May until July. Boxes of
tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers,
beans, cabbages and more were
prepared to be sold in different areas
of the region. Produce
from Heath Farms was
available at the juncture
of Ben Sawyer Boulevard
and Rifle Range Road in
an open air market, at the
downtown Charleston
market and even as far
away as in Columbia,
in what Douglas
Heath called “a natural
progression” of business.
Then, in 1983, Alva
Heath passed away,
and plans changed. In an effort
to scale back but still honor the
family’s legacy, Douglas Heath,
his brothers and their immediate
family members decided to open
a produce stand at 1503 Mathis
Ferry Road, known as Heath Farms
Fresh Produce. The business was
a true family effort and remained
a cornerstone of Mount Pleasant
culture until the early 1990s.
“My two sisters-in-law – Clayton’s
wife, Sally Heath, and Alec’s wife,
Jeanie Heath – ran the produce stand,
which was about 60 feet by 30,”
Heath remarked. “We still farmed, but
we did it on a smaller scale. The one
thing we knew back then was work.”
Today, Douglas Heath and his
remaining family members are no
longer in the produce industry, but
East Cooper residents can still view
the brick house where the Heaths
lived, plus the packing shed and the
slab of concrete where the produce
stand was near the corner of Mathis
Ferry and Whipple roads. Meanwhile,
Douglas Heath now lives in Seaside
Farms and enjoys a more leisurely
pace of life.
And probably a salad for nostalgia’s
sake every now and then.
Alva Heath’s sons helped him run the business. Left to right: Alec, George, Douglas and Clayton.