Sen. Ernest F. Hollings retires

Early in 2005 Jim DeMint will be sworn in as a U.S. senator from South Carolina. He will be taking the seat that has been occupied since 1966 by Ernest F. Hollings.

Hollings, who will turn 83 on New Year's Day, decided not to run for re-election last year.

The senator who worked in the shadow of the legendary Strom Thurmond, served as South Carolina's senior senator for two years. He was its junior senator for 36 years.

Always ready to say what was on his mind, Hollings will be remembered for his candor toward friend and foe alike. He was as likely to admonish fellow Democrats as he was to target Republicans.

For South Carolinians today, the most important work that Hollings did may have been when he was governor of the state in the early 1960s. Through his leadership the state's technical education system was started. That led to a network of 16 campuses across the state that provided training for industrial jobs that were being introduced into the state.

Tens of thousands of South Carolinians have this legislation to thank for their careers. And South Carolina is much better off as a state for luring new industries because of the training afforded to a willing work force.

South Carolina will miss Fritz Hollings and his sharp tongue in the U.S. Senate.

Copyright © 2003, The Aiken Standard