History

Legend still lingers on a tiny barrier island only 200 yards off the Isle of Palms. In the early 1930s, a man and his wife lived in self-exile on Goat Island, without electricity or water, choosing to turn their backs on civilization forever. The island remains a place of rustic solitude – a precious, slender slice of land beyond the reach of streetlights and bus stops. The … [Read more...] about The lingering legend of Goat Island

Where would we be without them? Certainly not as safe, that’s for sure. We might not even think about them until we need them but just knowing that they are there gives us peace of mind. It all started with a house fire in 1952. Since no fire department existed on Isle of Palms at the time, volunteers from the Sullivan’s Island Fire Department rushed in to help. But for … [Read more...] about Emergence and Evolution of IOP Fire Department

When we think about famous marriages, one that comes to mind is that of former Isle of Palms residents Ernest “Fritz” and Rita Liddy “Peatsy” Hollings. Their union is the definition of a true “power couple.” When Peatsy died in 2012, one of the mourners wrote to Fritz, a former South Carolina governor and U.S. senator saying, “You and Peatsy were an unbelievable team, who … [Read more...] about Keeping Up With The Hollings: IOP’s Power Couple of The Past

What Marty Bettelli and his grandson Elijah Price experienced Oct. 7 during the IOP Connector Run was exactly what the run is all about. The charity event benefits 11 child abuse prevention agencies through grants from the Isle of Palms Exchange Club. Marty Bettelli, a 50 plus year Isle of Palms resident and former IOP City Council member, walked with Elijah’s sister, … [Read more...] about Passing the Baton to the Next Generation