Memories of Politics Past

The current issue of Statehouse Report included this photo with the challenge:

Not only will you find a former governor in this photo after a South Carolina hunt, but if you look closely enough, you'll spy the guy who wrote today's "My Turn" commentary in the second row at the far right.

Here's our description:

South Carolina Governor Robert E. McNair (standing, third from left) takes a break from the challenges he encountered as the state's top executive in the tumultuous 1960s. His overarching interest was the advancement of South Carolina in all areas of his responsibility such as education, industrial development, promotion of tourism, and the improvement of the quality of life for all in the state. Many of his challenges were related to the civil rights movement, which he faced resolutely and with a moderate tone, in contrast to the more adamant states' rights views of most other southern governors. Here, though, he enjoys some down time with his hunting buddies at a cabin in Belmont in 1967.

To find out more about Robert E. McNair, check out his collection or contact us.

Photo and caption originally appeared in the June 4, 2010 issue of Statehouse Report.

Memories of Politics Past

This week,Statehouse Report pondered, "Boy, the guys liked their hats a few years back. Figure out yet who the guy in the middle was and what he was doing about the time this photo was taken (hit the rewind button for about 52 years)."

And the answer is...

Before Fritz Hollings was a U.S. Senator, he was Lt. Governor and Governor of South Carolina (1955-1963). In this classic shot taken Feb. 5, 1958, Lt. Governor Hollings stands with T.C. Bannister, Jr., and R. Sundberg at the Bowater Pulp Mill in Catawba, S.C., prior to the mill’s start up. Hollings successfully ran for governor later in 1958. As Lt. Governor, Hollings was known for pursuing industrial interests for the state — something he continued as governor.

To find out more about Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, check out his collection or contact us.

Photo and caption originally appeared in the May 28, 2010 issue of Statehouse Report.

Memories of Politics Past

This week,Statehouse Report asked, "First, who are the four leaders in this photo? Second, what's remarkable about two of the people in the photo?"

And the answer is...

Pictured here are four legendary figures in South Carolina politics: from left to right, James F. Byrnes, Strom Thurmond, John C. West, and Edgar Brown. Byrnes and Thurmond both served as governor and U.S. Senator; West as lieutenant governor and governor; and Brown as President Pro Tempore of the S.C. Senate for thirty years.

In 1997, Gov. West wrote of this photograph: “This picture was taken at the Carolina Cup race (1964). It is the first time Strom Thurmond and Edgar Brown had a picture together since Thurmond defeated Brown in the 1954 senatorial election as a write-in candidate. Of significance also is the appearance of former Gov. Byrnes, who supported Strom in 1954 despite his friendship with Edgar — including serving as best man in Edgar’s wedding.”

To find out more about John West, check out his collection or contact us.

Photo and caption originally appeared in the May 14, 2010 issue of Statehouse Report.

Memories of Politics Past

This week, Statehouse Report asked, "Remember the name of the guy waving?"


And the answer is...


State Senator Donald Holland of Kershaw County served in the S.C. House (1951-54 and 1957-64), as a S.C. District Highway Commissioner (1964-68), and in the S.C. Senate (1968-2003). Holland, at different times, represented constituents in Kershaw, Chesterfield, Darlington, Lancaster, Lee, Marlboro, and York counties. On his death in 2003, John C. West said of his friend and colleague, "I have never seen a man as honest, with more integrity, with more dedication, than Donald Holland...he had that dedication to the people which characterized his life. He was just a model public servant."

To find out more about Don Holland, check out his collection or contact us.

Photo with caption originally appeared in the May 7, 2010 issue of Statehouse Report.

Memories of Politics Past

This week, Statehouse Report asked,"Remember this Pioneer?"


And the answer is...

Harriet Keyserling, a Democrat and self-proclaimed “New York Jewish liberal,” represented District 124, Beaufort County, in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1977 until her retirement in 1993. Mrs. Keyserling was a tireless advocate of the arts, of education, and of the protection of the environment from nuclear waste and other energy hazards. Highly respected by other legislators, she was once described by former Governor Richard W. Riley as “more given to quiet research, serious conversation, and careful organization - and less to the smoke-filled-room politics of much big talk and little listening.” Her memoir, Against the Tide, presents fascinating insights into how government works, and fails to work.

To find out more about Keyserling, check out her collection or contact us.

Photo with caption originally appeared in the April 30, 2010 issue of Statehouse Report.

Memories of Politics Past

This week, Statehouse Report asked,"Where in the world were these two?"



And the answer is...

Robert Ashmore, U.S. Representative for South Carolina’s 4th District, risks running afoul of the authorities as he steps out of the American Sector of Berlin in 1964. His devoted and amused wife, “Billy,” wishes him well in whatever detainment the future holds for him.

To find out more about Ashmore, check out his collection or contact us.

Photo with caption originally appeared in the April 23, 2010 issue of Statehouse Report.

Memories of Politics Past

This week, Statehouse Report asked, "What are these guys doing?"


And the answer is...

In 1969, U.S. Senator “Fritz” Hollings embarked on a crusade to bring attention to the prevalence of hunger among South Carolina’s poor. With the help of I. DeQuincey Newman (pictured here in his trademark derby hat) and other local leaders, Hollings toured the poorest areas throughout the state. He focused national attention on “bleak, hunger and hovel-housing amidst disease and ignorance.” Journalist Lee Bandy praised Hollings’ courage in confronting this politically risky issue-- "If political awards for courage were available, Sen. Ernest F. Hollings, D-S.C., would certainly be in line for such an honor today" (The State, c. Feb. 1969). Hollings’ first book, The Case Against Hunger, was published in 1970 and details the cost of hunger.

To find out more about Hollings, check out his collection or contact us.

Photo with caption originally appeared in the April 16, 2010 issue of the Statehouse Report.

Memories of Politics Past

This week, Statehouse Report asked, "Who's on the stump?"

And the answer is...

William Jennings Bryan Dorn was a spell binding speaker. In 1938, at the young age of twenty-two, Dorn was elected to the South Carolina House. Two years later he won election to the state Senate. He represented Carolina’s Third District in the United States Congress for thirteen terms between 1948 and 1974. During an era known for stump speeches and political rallies built around barbeque and catfish stew, Dorn knew you had captured your audience if you could make the man stirring the pot put up his ladle.

To find out more about Dorn, check out his collection or contact us.

Photo with caption originally appeared in the April 9, 2010 issue of the Statehouse Report.

Another look at Olin D. Johnston

Have you ever seen one of these?

Do you know what they're called?

Maybe you played with one growing up while sniffing around your mom, dad, or grandparent's desk?

We like to call them "pop-up" directories or something similar.

Turns out, they are Bates List Finders. Olin D. Johnston had them on his desk as a U.S. Senator, and they are easy and surprisingly fun to use. You just move the arrow to a desired letter, press the tab at the bottom, and "whoosh!", up goes the cover to reveal the people you seek.

Of course, his collection here at SCPC has a whole lot more to offer. If you have a research topic focusing on the 1940s through early 1960s, you might find the Johnston finding aid worth a look. Johnston was a Senator from 1945 until his death in 1965. He was also Governor of SC from 1935-1939 and 1943-1945.

In the Senate, he was a member and chair of the Post Office and Civil Service Committee and a member of the Judiciary Committee, and his papers reflect his leadership in those areas. Johnston was also known as a friend to the farmer and laborer. From his finding aid: "In the Senate, Johnston was a staunch advocate of public power, parity programs for farmers, a broad strong social security program, and the provision of lunches to needy school children."

Most of the documents in his collection (like speeches, legislative files, and press releases) focus on his Senatorial service but we also have one box of Gubernatorial material, as well as campaign files and personal correspondence, such as several folders of sweet letters between Johnston and his wife Gladys in the early years of their marriage.

Memories of Politics Past

Statehouse Report included a new feature this week. Every Friday, they will highlight a photograph from our collections and challenge their readers to brush up on some history.

This week, Statehouse Report asked, "Guess who this guy was and why he made political history."

And the answer is...

Charlie Boineau – the first Republican elected to the General Assembly since Reconstruction, shown at his desk. When Boineau (1923-2005) won a special election to represent Richland County in 1961, conservative icon Barry Goldwater wrote him: "You will go down in history as the first Republican to crack the solid ranks of Democrats in South Carolina, and some day, whether you know it or not, your victory will mark the turning point in not only the political but the economic direction of your state." Boineau was unable to hold his seat in the 1962 general election, but his victory was a milestone in the growth of the Republican Party in South Carolina.


To find out more about Boineau, check out his collection or contact us.

Photo with caption originally appeared in the April 2, 2010 issue of the Statehouse Report.

2009...A Year In Review

Look what happened at SCPC this year...

Rapid progress in construction of the Hollings Special Collections Library
We should move in April. Cross your fingers! Soon, we will be only a short walk across an enclosed bridge to Thomas Cooper Library, our library colleagues, and potential researchers (in the form of the thousands of undergrad students who inhabit Cooper Library each day)! Check out more pictures.

Processing
For our fine and valued researchers, we put online many new or revised finding aids, including the papers of Lester Bates, Barbara Moxon, Charles Appleby, Robert Hemphill, and Bruce Littlejohn. Counting the collections brought in this year, we are incredibly close to that magic number of 100 collections.

Researchers
We welcomed researchers from far and wide. Along with researchers from our own university and from universities around the Southeast, we had students from England for extended stays and two political scientists from California State University, Channel Islands who were awarded the William Jennings Bryan Dorn Research Award. Of course, we also helped many folks via phone and email.

Student Assistants
We love our student assistants (funded through endowed support), and SCPC would not function well without them. This year, they helped with researchers, research requests, arrangement and description of collections, and many more tasks, always with great attitudes all around. Our students in 2009 were:

*Graduate students Debbie Todd, Gabrielle Dudley, Virginia Blake, Julie Milo, and Allison Hughes. -- We said goodbye to Allison (pictured above with Herb Hartsook, SCPC boss) and Julie (pictured below with Debbie in their workroom) in the summer. They graduated with an MLIS and took positions in Atlanta and Florida, respectively. We get to keep Debbie, Gabby, and Virginia at the start of 2010 as they continue working toward their degrees.

*Undergrad Mai Nguyen graduated in December and is off to do great things like attending law school. Our last undergrad went off to law school, as well. Go pre-law students!

*Graduate intern Katie Thompson of Long Island University received our 2009 Schuyler L. and Yvonne Moore Summer Internship. She spent six weeks here, processing the papers of Mary Kelly, a leading figure in the SC League of Women Voters.

Pictured here in July at Julie and Katie's farewell party, from L-R: Lori, Mai, Katie, Debbie, Julie, and Dorothy

Exhibits
We put up many exhibits in our gallery at Thomas Cooper Library, including:

• A nod to the changing administration in Washington led us to set up an exhibit based on material from the collections of Ambassadors John West and David Wilkins and cabinet officers Jim Edwards and Dick Riley.
• We celebrated the centennial of the NAACP by displaying material from the papers of Modjeska Simkins and I. DeQuincey Newman.
• We enlightened folks about SCPC's Oral History Program.
• We filled a case with memoirs and biographies written by our donors.
• Holiday cards...this year's cards were sent and received by Joe Wilson.

In February, we displayed material from the Fritz Hollings Papers at the SC Book Festival in conjunction with a talk between Jack Bass and Sen. Hollings. It was one of the last of many events promoting Hollings' new book, Making Government Work. Also this year, we digitized 200 documents and audio records from the Hollings Papers and placed them online in "Fritz Hollings: In His Own Words."

Oral History
Oral History helps fill gaps in the documentary record and enriches many research experiences. This year, SCPC completed a major oral history with Jim Edwards, began a project with Joe Wilson, and continued a project with former Butler Derrick staffer John Gregory.

That completes our journey through 2009. Those were merely some of the highlights. On to 2010 and all the progress it will bring!

A New Look at the Hemphill Papers

Check out the updated finding aid for the Robert W. Hemphill collection. It highlights Hemphill's long judicial career and offers a glimpse into his 8 years in Congress. Some of his personal pursuits are also captured here, such as his involvement in the Civil Air Patrol and the Purity Presbyterian Church of Chester.

Hemphill represented South Carolina’s Fifth District in Congress from 1957 to 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Hemphill to a federal judgeship in April 1964. A distinguished jurist noted for his keen opinions and strong work ethic, Hemphill took senior status in 1980, and continued to hear cases until he suffered a massive heart attack in July 1983. He returned to work shortly before a second attack took his life on Christmas night, 1983.

Hemphill's public papers cover his seven-year tenure in Congress and his seventeen years as a federal judge. His judicial materials include his court schedules from 1964 until 1982, which provide insight into his heavy workload, and eight volumes of judicial opinions, 1969-1974, that showcase the wisdom and fairness he was known for in his courtroom.

His personal papers relate to his long involvement with the Civil Air Patrol, leadership in the Purity Presbyterian Church of Chester, and his life before embarking on a legal career in 1945. The materials from his early life consist of letters to international pen-pals, high school report cards, and invitations to organizations and other events during his collegiate years.

At the time of Hemphill's death, Chief U.S. District Judge Charles E. Simons, Jr. characterized him as “an outstanding judge of great judicial temperament, and he was one of the hardest-working people I have ever known.”

--Contributed by Gabrielle M. Dudley

Archives Month is here

We are in the closing days of American Archives Month, a month-long celebration of all things archival. In honor of Archives Month, I thought now to be a good time to take a look at the resources on our website that might aid you, friend of the archive, in your research.

Digital Collections
I. DeQuincey Newman Papers -- a Methodist pastor, activist, entrepreneur, and a leading figure in the Civil Rights movement in South Carolina. His entire collection is digitized. Some documents are available online through the link above. Others may only be viewed from a computer at SCPC.

Fritz Hollings: In His Own Words --200 of Senator Hollings' writings, speeches, photographs, and audio files from his days as Lt. Governor, Governor, and U.S. Senator.

Online Exhibits
The Acerbic Pen: Editorial Cartoons from the Collections of Walt Lardner and Kate Salley Palmer. At left is a Lardner cartoon about the Hunger tours of the late 1960s and early 1970s embarked on by Senator Hollings and Governor West.

Exhibits on Robert McNair, Donald Russell, Floyd Spence, and John West

Fritz Hollings: In His Own Words -- 200 items from the Papers of Fritz Hollings

Research Guides
Civil Rights material and Women's History material at SCPC.

Bibliographies
Books written by and about our donors (like Jack Bass, Kate Salley Palmer, and C. Bruce Littlejohn)

Memoirs of U.S. Representatives and Senators.

Environmentalists, Inc. Papers- Take Two!

“There aren’t many 87 year old grandmothers like Ruth Thomas. For 35 years, Thomas has fought nuclear industry in South Carolina,” Sammy Fretwell, The State Newspaper, Dec 2, 2007

Recently, SCPC picked up a significant addition to Mrs. Thomas’ collection documenting her organization, Environmentalists, Inc. This week, myself, and the other two graduate assistants, Gabby and Virginia, completed the preliminary inventory of the materials.

As a team, we tackled the many cartons of correspondence, meeting minutes, reports and court documents, and legislation related to environmental issues. Some highlights include a play written and copyrighted by Thomas about environmental education and Thomas’ personal minutes from her group’s Sunday meetings. True to her environmental roots, Thomas seemed to take notes or write letters on just about anything from pieces of junk mail to checkbook covers! We even found items attached with clothes pins!



The preliminary inventory helps to establish both intellectual and physical control of the materials and will be the foundation for future processing activities.

-Submitted by Debbie Davendonis Todd

New Discoveries in the Gasque Papers

“The next time you hear anybody say a Congressman does not have anything to do, you can just deny that fact. It is the hardest work I have undertook.” --Allard H. Gasque, March 14, 1924

Check out an updated finding aid for the Gasque Papers that includes added material and highlights documents and subject areas previously unknown to even the archivists here at SCPC.

Gasque represented SC’s 6th Congressional District. His collection is dominated by constituent correspondence from 1923 to his death in 1938. These letters provide insight into issues such as patronage, veteran’s affairs, and post office politics. The patronage letters take up the most space and show the sacristy of jobs from 1923-1938.

Much of Gasque’s mail concerns the selection of local post masters. He could select from among the three individuals scoring highest on a federal exam to fill any openings for these desirable, remunerative, and hotly contested positions. Letters of recommendations from locals highlight the political ramifications of an appointment and the political battles that waged between potential appointees. Gasque fumed over the local corruption and was frustrated by his inability to influence patronage.

Veterans, their widows and families held a special place in Gasque’s heart. Correspondence poured in from Civil War widows and from veterans of the Mexican American, Indian, Spanish American, and First World wars. Gasque supported a number of pieces of legislation to aid widows and families, as well as assisting veterans with pension claims.

Gasque suffered from heart troubles and illness throughout his career. Get well letters poured in after he suffered a major heart attack in 1935. He lost his battle with heart disease just hours after the close of the 75th Congress in 1938. His wife served his remaining term and his long time secretary, John Lanneau McMillan, was elected to Gasque's former seat and served through 1972. McMillan's papers are also held by SCPC.

--contributed by Debbie Davendonis Todd

New finding aid for the Hollings Papers

The finding aid for the General and Admin files of the Ernest F. Hollings Collection is now on SCPC's website. Check it out!

The Administrative files include:

• Invitations that Hollings accepted to various events, like the one pictured above.
  
  
• Press office files that document operations of the press office -- files about the drafting of the Senator's book, The Case Against Hunger (1970), are in the Personal series AND all other documents created by the press office are in the Press and Media series.
  
  
• Files about Hollings' state visits, town hall meetings, and other functions
  
  
• Office files that document the management of Hollings' Senate office
  
  
• Schedules for the Senator
  
  
• and more...
  

The General files consist almost entirely of correspondence from his entire Senate career. Here, you'll find letters of a general nature from colleagues about service in the Senate, letters in which constituents broach multiple subjects, and letters on unusual subjects that, quite frankly, don't fit elsewhere!

Guide to Hollings' Campaign Records

Senator Fritz Hollings ran in quite a few elections during his fifty plus years in politics. Now, records from those campaigns and others are open to research. A guide to the materials, now online, will help you dig through the material.

The records include Hollings' successful 1950 re-election to a SC House seat, successful campaigns for lieutenant governor and governor in 1954 and 1958, failed 1962 bid for U.S. Senate, subsequent successful senatorial campaigns (1966, 1968, 1974, 1980, 1986, 1992, and 1998), and his 1984 run at the presidency.

Also included is material from the years when Hollings was not up for re-election but was aiding in the election of fellow Democrats, particularly during presidential campaign years. This includes 1960 when Hollings supported John F. Kennedy in his presidential bid (JFK carried South Carolina) and 1972 when Hollings was chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Visit SCPC today and take a look!

New Finding Aids for Hollings Collection

More finding aids for the Ernest F. Hollings Collection are now on our website. Check them out! You'll find guides to Hollings' Gubernatorial Papers, his Personal Papers (except for his Campaign Files -- that will be up in a few weeks), and most of his Senate Papers.

For his Senate Papers (1966-2004), 3 files list every folder of legislative material and constituent correspondence -- Folder List #1 (1966-78), Folder List #2 (1979-90), and Folder List #3 (1991-2004). Aids for Press and Media, Travel Files, and Voting Record are also up.

Some documents in Press and Media are part of "Fritz Hollings: In His Own Words". Of the 200 writings, speeches, photographs, and audio files in this online exhibit, you'll find 57 articles written by Hollings for newspapers and magazines, 65 newsletters (like the partial front page of one shown above from Aug. 1976) and newsletter articles sent to South Carolinians from the late 1960s through mid-1980s, and a few press releases.

So if you can't make it down to SCPC on the USC Campus, check out some of Hollings' material online.

SCPC at the South Carolina Book Festival

SCPC participated in the 13th annual South Carolina Book Festival over the weekend of February 27. The Festival celebrates the book and features South Carolina authors, publishers, and book sellers. Four SCPC donors - - Jack Bass, Fritz Hollings, Kate Salley Palmer and Nick Zeigler, were featured prominently. All spoke at the Festival and signed their books for the avid readers drawn to Columbia’s Convention Center for the event.

Hollings was the main speaker Saturday morning. He appeared with Jack Bass before over one hundred and fifty Festival patrons for a fifty minute presentation in which he reflected on a life in government. Later, he was interviewed by C-SPAN, whose bus, a mobile studio, visited the Festival for the second year in a row.

SCPC was given a booth at the Festival for a well-received exhibit of the Hollings Collection. Hundreds saw the exhibit, which showcased materials from the collection and Lori Schwartz’s new electronic publication - - Fritz Hollings: In His Own Words, which features over two hundred speeches, press releases, op ed columns, and other items from the Hollings Collection presenting Hollings’ thoughts on government and politics. It is hoped this publication will be welcomed by those interested in Hollings’ career as well as public school teachers using primary materials in their classrooms. Hollings continues to talk and write on government.

Recent writings are available at his web site - - http://www.citizensforacompetitiveamerica.com/.

Civil Rights Resources

In honor of Black History Month, we would like to throw the spotlight on our Civil Rights research guide webpage. From the SCPC home page, this guide can be found by following the left-hand "Resources" navigational link and then clicking on "Supplementary Resources." This page is intended to present researchers and more casual browsers with auxiliary material concerning the issues we document and the nature of the material we collect.

Currently on the Supplementary Resources page, we have a link to a selection of Articles relating to our collections and a link to our new Research Topics. The topical pages suggest SCPC collections (and, when applicable, some at USC's Caroliniana Library) that might be of interest to those working in particular subject areas. The suggestions are not meant to be exhaustive, but should prove helpful to researchers who are interested in particular subject areas such as civil rights.

There will be more of these resources as we develop them, and we plan on a topical page for women's history in the near future. We sincerely hope these new resources will prove useful to the researcher and of general interest to the casual browser.