35 www. ReadMPM. com | www.MountPl easantMagaz i ne. com | www.MountPl easantPodcas t . com The rest is history. Somehow this issue made its way to D.C. because Arthur was one of our U.S. House Representatives at the time. We received requests from politicians throughout Washington. They all wanted copies of the magazine with Arthur on the front cover. I had no idea this would happen; after all East Cooper Magazine was just a small community magazine. Why would powerful politicians want copies? This all happened before the word viral was part of our vocabulary, but if it had been, this cover would have gone viral. Thirty years after the East Cooper Magazine front cover, Pam Gabriel (one of our writers at the time) and myself visited Arthur and Jean Ravenel at their Franke at Seaside Farms independent living space. It was the 10th anniversary of the Ravenel Bridge opening, and Mount Pleasant Magazine wanted to publish an interview with Cousin Arthur. We scheduled a time to visit their home once again. I remember it being cold — like really cold. After entering their house, we sat down in the living room and I asked Arthur how he was doing. In typical Arthur fashion, seamlessly he replied he was ‘really tired.’ I asked why because he didn’t look tired. With a sincere look in his eyes he shared, “I’ve been on the bridge scraping ice off the road so no one would get hurt.” There he was, the Arthur I knew. I also knew when we set up this interview that one of the items I wanted to ask Arthur about was the urban legend that he purchased the old cigar factory on East Bay our town 1974 – Married Jean “Ric” Rickenbaker of Manning 1981-87 – Served in the South Carolina Senate 2023 – Died at age 95 1987-94 – Served in the U.S. House of Representatives Ar thur Ravene l ’s backyard i n the Ol d Vi l l age where the 1988 Eas t Coope r Magaz i ne cover was shot . 1974 – Makes bid for the South Carolina Senate 1976 – Makes bid for the South Carolina Senate 1994 – Makes a bid for the South Carolina Governor 1997-2004 – Served in the South Carolina Senate 1999 – New Cooper River bridge named in his honor 2006-2010 – Served on the Charleston County School Board 2010-22 – Active personal life focusing on timberland acquisition and stock trading
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