34 www. ReadMPM. com | www.MountPl easantMagaz i ne. com | www.MountPl easantPodcas t . com Magazine. The idea was to capture an image of Arthur for the front cover. I remember calling Cousin Arthur’s office multiple times until I secured a date and time. When I eventually did, I was over the top. Arthur Ravenel was going to be on the front cover of East Cooper Magazine. How cool was that? Back then, I shot a lot of the magazine’s photos, so we arranged a time for me to drop by his house at 109 Center St. That same home recently sold —for the second time since Arthur lived there — and is featured in our beautiful homes section. It’s a little surreal for me to be writing about meeting Arthur at this home, one we are featuring today, some 30 years later — the same home’s backyard in which Arthur posed for a cover photo back in 1988. It has come back around full circle. On the day of the cover shoot, I dropped by Piggly Wiggly and bought a watermelon, an umbrella full of bright colors and a beach chair. Arthur was an authentic person, and I knew that was his appeal. It may have been an arranged photo, but I wanted to do my best and capture Arthur as the real person everyone knew him to be. Honestly, I did not explain all the details to him, but I was hoping he would play along with my idea — relaxing barefoot in those rolled-up pants, eating watermelon in a beach chair, with a colorful umbrella behind him. After gathering the props, I drove to 109 Center St. and enthusiastically hopped out of my car and knocked on his side door that I had hoped he used as a front door. As he walked to open the door, his expression appeared quizzical. I told him we had an appointment for the shoot, and he said he had forgotten. I explained that it would only take a few minutes and thanked him for his time, assuring him we could take the photos right there in his backyard. I our town ARTHUR RAVENEL JR. 1927 – Born March 29 in St. Andrews Parish in Charleston 1945-46 – Served in the U.S. Marine Corps. 1948 – Married Louise Rodgers thanked God it was a sunny day and knew I’d better keep this moving along. Arthur and I went into his backyard, and I set up the umbrella and the beach chair and asked him if he could please take a seat. A few minutes into the shoot I asked him if he would take his shoes off and roll his pantlegs up. Then I gave him the final prop — a slice of watermelon. About halfway into the shoot he facetiously said, “I can only hold this phony politician smile for so long. Are we almost done?” The 1988 cover of Eas t Coope r Magaz i ne wi th Ar thur Ravene l . 1950 – Earned Bachelor of Science from College of Charleston 1952 – Established a real estate business 1953-59 – Served in the South Carolina House of Representatives (Democrat) 1960 – Switched to the Republican party 1962 – Makes first in a bid for South Carolina Senate seat 1966 – Served as the President of the South Carolina Association for Retarded Children 1971 – Falls short in a special election for the U.S. House of Representatives 1971 – Falls short in the Charleston mayoral election
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