From a fishing spot with one lone pavilion to a park and campground rated as one of the best in the south, Sherling Lake has come a long way since its early days.

And Phillip Herring was there to see many of those changes.

Herring, who retired in May after 23 years as director of the facility, served under four mayors – Charles Kennedy, Larry Jones, Ernie Smith and Dexter McLendon

– during his tenure at Sherling Lake.

Herring said it was always the park staff's mission to improve the amenities offered to the park's patrons and to keep it &#8220the cleanest spot in Greenville.”

But first, they had to get the word out about Sherling Lake.

&#8220When I first started there, we had 12 campsites that had been added in the mid-70s and a nice shower house, but no campers. People didn't know we were here,” Herring explained.

In the mid-80s, the park staff cleaned the park, increased the fishing and saw the addition of another family picnic pavilion.

&#8220We also added a fishing pier and walking trail around the lower lake. These changes brought a lot of interest from different counties surrounding us.”