Dear Reader:

The pine tree has played a major role in the history of Summerville… it is the core or heart of Summerville, the little town nestled in the pines.

But long before the pine tree became symbolic of Summerville… this beautiful evergreen was mentioned in scripture and other cultures dating as far back as the first Christmas. Some historians recognize the pine tree as the ” Nativity” tree. It symbolizes life.

Because the pine tree is an evergreen… it retains its green foliage through droughts and bitter cold winters. It represents the triumph of life over darkness.

Japan also reveres the pine tree. After the 2011 Tsunami in Japan all the forests were devastated outside one region. Yet, somehow one lone pine tree survived and to the Japanese people became a symbol of resilience and spiritual reawakening.

In Summerville history… early settlers began migrating to Summerville from the Charleston coastal plantations to escape malaria and the mosquitoes spreading the disease in the summer months. Returning back home after the first frost!

Then in the late 1800’s an international medical symposium cited Summerville South Carolina as one of the top places in the world for benefiting patients suffering from severe pulmonary diseases …due to the abundance of pine trees in the area.

So many people came to Summerville for the health benefits that hotels sprang up all over Summerville and it became known as the ” Golden Age of Inns.” The most famous was the Pine Forest Inn where both Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft visited and stayed. ( Honey’s father owned it in its last days.)

So now you know why the pine is still sacred to Summerville… and the archway welcomes visitors to the ” Flowertown in the Pines.”

Today the archway leads visitors to Hutchinson Park in the center of town… all decorated for Christmas!

So until tomorrow…

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh