Milton A. Pearlstine and Cecile M. Pearlstine papers

Milton Alfred Pearlstine (1899-1994) was born in Mayesville, South Carolina, to Esther Strauss Pearlstine (1874-1934) and Hyman Pearlstine (1870-1934), co-owner of I. M. Pearlstine & Sons. In 1913 Milton entered The Citadel military college and graduated in 1919 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He maintained strong ties with the military college, serving as director emeritus of The Citadel Alumni Trust Fund, president and honorary life member of the Association of Citadel Men, and chairman of the Association's Board of Trustees for the Permanent Funds. In 1965 The Citadel awarded Pearlstine an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

After graduation he entered the family business, I. M. Pearlstine & Sons, a wholesale grocery and hardware business founded in 1865 by his grandfather, Isaac Moses Pearlstine (1844-1911), and great-grandfather, Tanchum "Thomas" Pearlstine (1817-1877). After the death of Hyman Pearlstine, control of the business went to a cousin, Sam Cohen, and Hyman's two sons, Milton and Edwin. In 1950, after the retirement of Sam Cohen, Pearlstine liquidated the wholesale grocery and hardware business to allow the company to concentrate on beer distribution in Charleston and surrounding counties. In 1971 Milton's nephew, Edwin Pearlstine Jr., purchased the beverage division and Pearlstine Distributors was incorporated. I. M. Pearlstine & Sons became a real estate and investment management firm and finally the name of a holding company.

As one of the original board members appointed to the South Carolina State Ports Authority (SPA), Milton Pearlstine was instrumental in obtaining the former army port of embarkation in North Charleston from the federal government in 1947 for the SPA and in securing a $21 million state-funded expansion program for the renovation of the Charleston waterfront and the establishment of port facilities at Georgetown and Port Royal in 1957. In 1962 he chaired a SPA committee that established a grain elevator at the Port of Charleston, enabling major shipments of grain to pass through the ports, and facilitating the growth of the state's soybean industry. In 1972, after 30 years of service, Pearlstine retired from the SPA board, was awarded the Order of the Palmetto, the state's highest honor, and was named life-member emeritus of the Ports Authority. Pearlstine also served several terms on the board of directors of the American Association of Ports Authorities and was elected an honorary lifetime member in 1972. An active member Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, Pearlstine served as president of the congregation from 1947 to 1949. In 1986, after extensive remodeling and renovation, the Bicentennial Tabernacle was rededicated Pearlstine Hall in honor of the contributions made toward its renovation by Pearlstine and his brother, Edwin. Milton also contributed to the historic preservation of downtown Charleston with his gift to the city of the Planters Hotel in 1935, making possible the construction of the Dock Street Theater within the shell of the old hotel.

Pearlstine's wife, Cecile Mayer Pearlstine (1912-1948), was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, to Fannye Latner Mayer (1884 -1951) and Sidney Hanaver Mayer (1880-1950). She was a graduate of Miami Beach High School and a 1933 graduate of Agnes Scott College. She was active in many civic organizations and served as president of the Charleston Section of the National Council of Jewish Women, the Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Sisterhood, and the Happy Workers of Charleston. During World War II she belonged to the Red Cross Motor Corp. Cecile and Milton Pearlstine had two daughters, Mary Ann Pearlstine Aberman (b. 1935) and Barbara Pearlstine Lemel (1937-2010).