Hollings' life one of service

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Hollings has been a maverick most of his political career. At times, he has been ahead of his time: pushing for civil rights, fighting poverty and hunger, working to protect the environment, moving South Carolina's economy ahead with a technical education system. At other times, he's been a voice in the wilderness: arguing for more fiscal integrity in Washington, decrying the deficit spending embraced by his legislative colleagues, fighting trade agreements that he thought would hurt American workers.

And through it all, he has been uniquely "Fritz," a New South politician whose beliefs were forged during the Depression and World War II. He has been known far and wide for his bluntness in speech, and his career has been defined by extraordinary leadership.

Hollings' political career began almost as soon as he returned from the battlefields of World War II. He was in the House of Representatives in 1949 and the lieutenant governor's office in 1955, and he served as governor from 1959-1963. He helped lead this state from a budget swimming in red ink to one that was fiscally sound. He was instrumental in creating the technical college system that nurtured this state's industrial growth.

In what was perhaps his finest hour, Hollings helped this state through the trials of integration, and he resisted the race-baiting tactics used by many other Southern governors. Hollings urged South Carolina to be "a government of laws rather than a government of men." He recognized integration was inevitable and he helped this state do it with dignity. That accomplishment alone is the mark of an outstanding political career.

As a U.S. senator, Hollings operated on the national stage. He showed enthusiasm for tackling some of the tough national issues such as the federal deficit and trade agreements. He was an early proponent of environmental laws, and one of his most recent pieces of legislation made Congaree Swamp South Carolina's first national park.

He even entertained dreams of the White House and ran for president in 1984. And after horror and tragedy visited this nation on Sept. 11, 2001, Hollings helped write the new air- and port-security laws.

Hollings plans to stay active through volunteer work at the cancer center that bears his name at the Medical University of South Carolina. We join other South Carolinians in thanking Sen. Hollings for more than a half-century of public service.