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Article published Jun 29, 2003
Hundreds line up to say goodbye to Thurmond

By PAM HAMILTON and AMY GEIER EDGAR
Associated Press Writers

Hundreds of people lined up in oppressive heat Sunday afternoon at the South Carolina Statehouse for the opportunity to pay their final respects to political icon Strom Thurmond.

Thurmond, the nation's longest serving U.S. senator, died Thursday at age 100. His body will lie in state until his funeral Tuesday.

Many of the people at the Statehouse wore their Sunday best, and all had a story to tell about Thurmond.

Eva Baughman said when her husband faced a military transfer in the middle of the school year in 1990, Thurmond intervened and the transfer was postponed a few months.

"It didn't mean that much to the people receiving my husband, but to the children it meant a whole lot not to be uprooted in the middle of the school year," said Baughman, who drove some 100 miles from Greenville to the Statehouse.

Sweat poured down Leah Sandiford's face as she waited for more than an hour outside the Statehouse holding an umbrella for shade. Sandiford's family had received a letter from the senator when her grandmother died. Her grandmother had sometimes baby-sat for the Thurmonds while in Columbia.

"It was really touching to receive the letter from him," she said. "It has always stayed in the back of my mind.

"I just wanted to come out and give him my condolences. That's what he did when my grandmother passed away. And I thought that's the least that I could do today."

Inside the cool of the Statehouse, Thurmond's flag-draped casket was on the second floor between the House and Senate chambers. Thurmond was a member of the state Senate in the 1930s. He was governor of South Carolina in the 1940s.

His casket was surrounded by a military honor guard and the medals he earned during World War II were displayed nearby.

Family members greeted each person in the long line with handshakes and smiles, thanking visitors for coming. The line dragged as many people stopped to tell their "Strom stories," prompting one guard to ask visitors not to share them.

Helen Dennis Bone traveled from Murrells Inlet along the South Carolina coast to pay respects to the Thurmond family. Bone said she worked for Thurmond as an intern and campaigned for him on his "Stromtrek" in the 1970s.

"There was a spirit in his office of really helping people," Bone said. She was a recipient of that help, too, when her mother died in Iceland. Thurmond arranged for her to get a passport immediately.

"There are so many politicians who are bigger than you are, but he was never bigger than you," Bone said.

James Graham, Thurmond's driver for 16 years, made his second trip in seven days to South Carolina from Maryland. His first Monday was when he heard Thurmond's condition had worsened.

"He looked up at me and said 'James, I love you' and reached for my hand and I will treasure that as long as I live," Graham said.

Tears welled in the eyes of Judge Dennis Shedd and his wife, Elaine, as Graham told his story. Shedd was appointed last year to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thurmond's nomination.

"I was honored," Shedd said. "But he just did for me what he's done for thousands of other South Carolinians."

Shedd was approved after Thurmond used his last appearance before the committee to criticize members for not considering the nomination of his former aide.

"I'll leave it to others to talk about what a great man he was," Shedd said. "I can remember what a good man he was."

The Statehouse will be open for visitation Monday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and again Tuesday from 9 to 11 a.m. The funeral will be held Tuesday at 1 p.m. at First Baptist Church in downtown Columbia.