In this gem from the ETV Tape Vault, Carolina Journal shares a historic gathering not seen before or since! On November 17, 1989, nine men who served as governor of the state of South Carolina met together at Cottingham Theatre on the campus of Columbia College in South Carolina for a two-hour roundtable discussion. Tom Fowler served as moderator for this gathering.
Fritz Hollings and Strom Thurmond attended remotely, and Judge George Timmerman joined the assembly after court in Aiken was out of session. While the roundtable went on for two hours, this episode covers the first hour of the event.
The former governors were introduced by ETV's Robyn Zimmerman, with biographical information supplemented with archival photos and film for the participating governors. We learn about James Strom Thurmond, George Bell Timmerman ,Jr., Ernest Frederick "Fritz" Hollings, Donald Stuart Russell, Robert Evander McNair, John Carl West, James Burrows Edwards, Richard Wilson Riley, and Carroll Ashmore Campbell, Jr.
Their terms of service spanned the following years:
- James Strom Thurmond, Sr. (1947-1951)
- George Bell Timmerman, Jr. (1955-1959)
- Ernest F. Fritz Hollings (1959-1963)
- Donald Stuart Russell (1963-1965)
- When Senator Olin Johnston died in 1965, Governor Russell resigned to serve the remainder of Johnston's term in the Senate.
- Robert Evander McNair (1965-1971)
- John Carl West (1971-1975)
- James Burrows Edwards (1975-1979)
- Richard Wilson Riley (1979-1987)
- Carroll Ashmore Campbell, Jr. (1989-1995)
Each of the attending governors spoke in turn about the facets of their administration. Topics included economic development, improvement in the state's credit ratings, education to battle the high rates of illiteracy in the state, and race relations.
The group felt that the state needed to be a member of the world in terms of bringing in outside manufacturing and that educational opportunities had to improve to provide a viable work force and improved living conditions for the citizens of South Carolina. The governors were proud that the state managed desegregation by quietly following the word of law.
It was interesting to see how each of the terms of governors built upon the work of the last, each in turn benefiting the state and truly turning South Carolina into a state of the world.
Side Notes
- Carroll A. Campbell - July 24, 1940 - December 7, 2005
- Richard Wilson Riley - January 2, 1933
- James Burrows Edwards - June 24, 1927 - December 26, 2014
- John Carl West - August 27, 1922 - March 21, 2004
- Robert Evander McNair - December 14, 1923 – November 17, 2007
- Donald Stuart Russell - February 22, 1906 - February 22, 1998
- Ernest Frederick Hollings - January 1, 1922 – April 6, 2019
- George Bell Timmerman - August 11, 1912 - November 29, 1994
- James Francis Byrnes - May 2, 1879 - April 4, 1972
- James Strom Thurmond - December 5, 2002 - June 26, 2003
- South Carolina Governors. Learn more about South Carolina Governors as well as Governors Nationally.
- Harvey Gantt - The Education of Harvey Gantt.
- Harvey Gantt and the Integration of Clemson University.
