Two New Finding Aids Online: Edgar & Ann Morris and Charles Wickenberg

We've recently added two finding aids to our online listings:

Edgar & Ann Morris were both key figures in the growth of the Republican Party in South Carolina during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1950 Edgar was named Chairman of the state Republican Party, and he soon became involved in an effort to renew the Party as something more than a patronage organization and provide the state with a viable alternative to the Democratic Party.

Charles Wickenberg (pictured, during his tour in Korea) enjoyed a distinguished forty-year career as a journalist, primarily with The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C. He served in the Marine Corps in both World War II and the Korean War, and subsequently as Gov. George Bell Timmerman’s Executive Secretary from 1955 to 1958. This collection also contains papers concerning the Wickenberg family.

Harry C. Walker Oral History Transcript Online

We have updated our Oral History web pages with the transcript of a 1999 interview conducted by Herb Hartsook with Harry Clayton Walker (1925-2008).

Walker served as Governor Fritz Hollings’ legal assistant from 1959 to 1963. He was responsible for all legal matters that reached the Governor’s office, advised Hollings on the constitutionality of bills sent for the governor’s signature, oversaw statewide appointments and those requiring Senate confirmation, and served as disaster coordinator for South Carolina and as liaison with all law enforcement. This latter capacity proved particularly challenging, as Walker worked closely with SLED chief Pete Strom (at left, in profile) to ensure the peace during this watershed period of civil rights activities.

As Walker notes, “When I went to work in the morning, I never knew where I was going to lay my head...that night.” In this interview, he reflects on his service, particularly civil rights matters, and provides his appraisal of Hollings’ gubernatorial legacy.

Re-elected!

Joe Wilson, U.S. House of Representatives (2nd District), and Lindsey Graham, U.S. Senator, were both re-elected on Tuesday. Both have donated their collections to SCPC for future research.

Graham has served in the U.S. Senate since 2003 and previously in the U.S. House from 1995 to 2003. Wilson began his service in the U.S. House in 2001, winning a special election following the death of Congressman Floyd Spence.

Congratulations to them and their supporters.