The Sun News published an article this week titled: Myrtle Beach doesn’t want to be ‘Dirty Myrtle’ anymore. Is anyone listening?
In the article, Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune is quoted.
“The Beach,” without any other descriptors, was how Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune said she heard people talk about her home when she was growing up. “Dirty Myrtle” is a more recent issue, she noted.
“It’s degrading to the entire community,” Bethune said. “If we get this reputation of being something that we’re not, we’re only hurting ourselves. We’re hurting our property values. We’re hurting our business community. We’re deterring people who may want to come here, to move here.”
Mayor Bethune owns the local Better Brands Beer Distributing company.
MyrtleBeachSC News reached out to New South Brewing. This brewery manufactures the beer called the Dirty Myrtle.
Says Roddy Graham of New South Brewing, “Yes, we do brew Dirty Myrtle. Better brands is our distributor.“
The Sun News article goes on to quote Myrtle Beach local Ralph Hunn.
Downtown’s current appearance is why Ralph Hunn, who has lived here since the 1970s, says the term “Dirty Myrtle” is “justified.” Hunn used to run local night clubs, the places some people attribute the pejorative to, but he said he’s always heard “Dirty Myrtle” in reference to downtown alone.
Why Mayor Bethune chooses to distribute a beer called Dirty Myrtle was never asked by Sun News journalists.
The question should have been asked since the mayor says that name is misrepresentative of what Myrtle Beach truly is.