Accomplished, respected orator, ex-congressman dies at home

August 14, 2005

By RICHARD WHITING
Executive news editor

Orator. Statesman. Congressman.
Those words are synonymous with the name William Jennings Bryan Dorn, 89, who died Saturday morning at his home off Callison Highway in Greenwood.
Johnson Dorn was at his father’s side. He said there was “no struggle, no pain” when his father died in the house he called home since he was 17 years old.
Funeral arrangements are incomplete, but Johnson said the funeral service will be at First Baptist Church in Greenwood. Burial will be at Bethel United Methodist Church in Callison, where the former Third District congressman’s parents and wife, Millie, are buried along with several other family members.
Dorn, born April 14, 1916, was named after William Jennings Bryan, a political leader of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In his own words, Dorn said he was “destined to be a politician.” Watson Dorn, who served as his brother’s campaign manager on more than one occasion and had his own career as an attorney in Greenwood, said he can remember young Bryan and his father discussing politics for hours.
“He always had an ambition, even as a young fellow,” to enter politics, Watson said Saturday. “Bryan was not a scholar, he had no ambitions for a job or college; he concentrated on wanting to be a representative of the people,” Watson said.
Dorn was one of seven sons born to his father, a former superintendent of Greenwood County schools.
Dorn is hailed as a great orator of “stump” or political speeches, typically made on campaign tours.
“He entered public speaking or ‘declamation contests’ in school and won,” Johnson told The Index-Journal in October 2002. “His father would take him different places and ask him to make speeches,” Johnson said.
“He spoke at numerous political barbecues at which someone’s sole job was to stir the hash,” Johnson said. “He knew he had the crowd when the hash man stopped stirring.” Dorn represented South Carolina’s Third Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives between 1948 and 1974.
He also served as chairman of the Congressional Committee on Veterans Affairs, and the Veterans Administration medical center in Columbia, established in 1932, was named in his honor. The William Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Hospital is a 244-bed facility, encompassing acute medical, surgical, psychiatric and long-term care.
Dorn’s congressional career was prefaced by service in the South Carolina House and Senate. When only 22, Dorn launched his life ambition by being elected to represent Greenwood County in the state House of Representatives. Watson said his brother received the highest number of votes of any of the 10 candidates running. At that time (1938) there were no House districts and the county had three representatives in the House, all elected at-large.
Two years later, a 24-year-old Bryan Dorn was elected to again represent Greenwood County, this time as a state senator. At the time, a person had to be 25 to serve, Watson Dorn said. But his fellow senators thought they knew best who was qualified to serve. So, they bypassed the law and voted to allow Dorn to begin serving, just months shy of his 25th birthday.
In 1942, Dorn resigned from the state Senate to serve in the military during World War II. Watson said his brother didn’t think it would be right for him to bypass military service, even though his political post exempted him from having to serve.
At 26, Dorn — an accomplished and respected orator — made his farewell speech to the state senate. Watson drove him to Fort Jackson in Columbia, where his brother joined the Army Air Corps.
After the war, Dorn returned to his love: politics. In 1946, he was elected to Congress, as Greenwood County’s only native elected to that body. He ushered in his congressional career at the same time as future presidents Kennedy and Nixon.
His congressional political career — 13 terms — spanned six presidents: Harry S Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford.
As a statesman, Dorn had a way of bringing people together.
“Bryan had the capacity, whether Republican, Democrat or whoever they were, to put together coalitions,” Watson said. “He was the kind of person who could get along with people on both sides of the aisle, and, as a result, he could get a lot of things done.”
He was instrumental in the development of the Savannah River Basin and construction of various hydroelectric plants along the river.
Dorn helped change the face of Greenwood’s Main Street by working to get the tracks removed from Uptown Greenwood. He also helped get the medical university built in Columbia.
During the height of the civil rights movement, Dorn took a less-than-popular stance, advocating busing as a means to integrate public schools.
Brother Watson remembers the many barbecues Bryan had at the Dorn home during his political career, and the guests who attended: former President Jimmy Carter, boxing legend Jack Dempsey, Gen. William Westmoreland, who died last month, and Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King Jr.
Former state Rep. Marion P. Carnell said Dorn was a great friend.
“All the years he was in there (Congress) he did everything he could to help me,” Carnell said. “He was known in Washington and in the Statehouse too as ‘Mr. Veteran’ because he did everything to help veterans, not only in South Carolina, but the nation.”
“He was just a great American, a great statesman,” Carnell said. “We really need more people like him now.”
Greenwood Mayor Floyd Nicholson said he “hated to hear” that Dorn had died. “He has been very valuable to our area, made a lot of significant contributions when he was here, in Columbia and Washington,” he said.
Nicholson, who coached two of Dorn’s sons in football during his education career, said Dorn’s death “is a great loss to our community.”
Greenwood’s R. Boykin Curry recalled a good and long friendship with Dorn.
“He was a good friend. We grew up together,” Curry said. Dorn and Curry were in the third grade together at Magnolia Street School and graduated from Greenwood High School together in 1933. “He’s been at every reunion since then,” Curry said of his friend.
Curry said Dorn was a good friend of the Kennedys, and it was that friendship that resulted in the removal of the railroad tracks along Greenwood’s Main Street. The Corridor Bill was moving through Congress and would result in a high-speed rail line from Boston to Washington. Dorn was able to tack a provision onto that bill that provided enough money to have the tracks removed. “He was a grand fellow, a good congressman,” Curry said.

Some information for this story was taken from stories published in October 2002 and written by staff writer St. Claire Donaghy.

Janie K. Combs

WASHINGTON, Ga. — Janie Kirkland Combs, 74, formerly of Ward Avenue, Lincolnton, widow of Edwin L. Combs, died Saturday, Aug. 13, 2005 at Wills Memorial Hospital in Washington.
A native of Grovetown, she was a daughter of the late Ed and Laura Davis Kirkland. She lived in Lincoln County most of her life, moving to Washington a few years ago. She was a member of Bethel United Methodist Church.
Survivors include a son, Edwin L. “Bubba” Combs of McCormick; two daughters, Janice C. Danner of Lincolnton and Fran C. Fortson of Washington; a brother, Lamar Kirkland of Apopka, Fla.; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Graveside services are 11 a.m. Monday at Bethel United Methodist Church Cemetery, conducted by the Rev. Herman Bradley.
Nephews are pallbearers.
Visitation is 7-9 tonight at Beggs Funeral Home, 200 May Avenue, Lincolnton.
Memorials may be made to Bethel United Methodist Church or the American Cancer Society.
Beggs Funeral Home is in charge.

Bryan Dorn

Former U.S. Congressman William Jennings Bryan Dorn, 89, of 707 Bryan Dorn Road, widower of Mildred “Millie” Johnson Dorn, died Saturday, Aug. 13, 2005 at his home.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services.

Ruthie Poland

CALLISON — Ruthie Yvonne Poland, 35, of Response Court, died Saturday, Aug. 13, 2005 from injuries received in an automobile accident.
The family is at the home of her parents, Jess and Marie Lipe, 115 Annette Way, Greenwood. Services will be announced by Harley Funeral Home, Greenwood.

Sallie R. Wright

RIDGE SPRING — Sallie Randall Wright, 78, of Cobblestone Road, died Friday, Aug. 12, 2005 at University Hospital.
She was a homemaker and a member of Ridge Spring Baptist Church.
Survivors include three daughters, Peggy Vaughn of Johnston, Gail Rowell of Greenville and Debbie Dallas of Columbia; two sons, John Randall and Doug Randall, both of Ridge Spring; a brother, Jay Holton of Fernandina Beach, Fla.; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Services are 1 p.m. Monday at Edgefield Mercantile Funeral Home. Burial is in Ridge Spring Cemetery.
Visitation is 4-6 tonight at the funeral home.
Edgefield Mercantile Funeral Home is in charge.

Making a mark as the I-A elite

Calhoun Falls, Ware Shoals perform well Saturday at Tommy Davis Field

August 14, 2005

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports writer

WARE SHOALS — It might have been simply a preseason test, but the Calhoun Falls and Ware Shoals high school football teams again look like the elite in Region I-A.
The region champion Blue Flashes and runners-up Hornets picked up lopsided victories Saturday night at the Region I-A Jamboree in Riegel Stadium at Ware Shoals, despite both teams coming off jamboree games Friday.
Behind a tremendous performance from Tony Lomax, Ware Shoals knocked off McCormick, 26-0, in the finale, while the two Tillmans — Theo and Santonio — led the Flashes to a 25-0 victory over Thornwell in the opener.
Region II-A’s Christ Church edged past Dixie, 3-0, in the middle contest.
The Flashes didn’t need much time to show why they are the team to beat in the region. Calhoun Falls, which played to a 7-7 tie with Easley in Friday’s Wren Jamboree, needed only 1 minute, 40 seconds on offense to score a pair of touchdowns.
After a three-and-out on Thornwell’s opening drive, the Flashes started from their own 20-yard line.
But the poor starting field position didn’t faze the defending Upper State champions, as they used just two plays to reach the end zone.
After a Theo Tillman 15-yard run, fullback Santonio Tillman took the handoff up the middle and into the secondary, where he saw no Saints between him and the goal line. Tillman scampered 65 yards for a touchdown.
It took the Flashes three plays to pick up their second score and it was the other Tillman that reached the end zone. Theo Tillman ran around right end and after getting a key block on the outside, cut inside and ran 49 yards for the score.
The Flashes used up a little more time on their next two scoring possessions, with both coming from quarterback Monterrio Tatum.
Tatum capped a 1:41 drive with a 6-yard run on a designed rollout play.
The quarterback then connected with Cleve Robinson on the team’s fourth possession for a 43-yard touchdown pass to put the Flashes up 25-0.
Calhoun Falls racked up 224 yards of offense, with Santonio Tillman gaining 96 and Theo Tillman rushing for 76.
And the Flashes’ defense was equally dominating, limiting Thornwell to two first downs in five possessions.
The Saints, who gained 49 yards of total offense, failed to reach the Calhoun Falls side of the field.
“I was concerned about playing last night against Easley, and us coming back here tonight, but I was pleased with the effort,” Calhoun Falls coach Eddie Roberts said. “I was tremendously pleased with our defense. We got to play more people on defense than we have all season.”
Ware Shoals, which earned an 8-7 win over Emerald Friday in Abbeville, was just as efficient offensively against McCormick Saturday night.
The Hornets put up touchdowns on each of their first four possessions, with Lomax accounting for three of them.
The Ware Shoals wingback, who picked up a jamboree-high 107 yards rushing on six carries, capped a nine-play drive on the Hornets’ first possession, taking in a 3-yard run for the first score. After a McCormick three-and-out, Ware Shoals started on the Chiefs’ 46. On the third play, quarterback Keith Stewart connected with Lomax for a 30-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0. After Patrious Leverett opened the third drive with a 31-yard run, Lomax then added his third touchdown on a 19-yard dash to the end zone.
D.J. McGrier later scored on an 8-yard run to give Ware Shoals the 26-0 win.
“We looked a lot more crisp in this game, more focused,” Ware Shoals coach Jeff Murdock said, comparing this jamboree appearance to Friday’s. “We cleaned up a lot of the penalties from yesterday, and I was happy to see us do that.”
Leverett finished with 47 yards on three carries, while fullback Santonio Mays added 25 yards on four attempts.
McCormick had problems moving the ball on offense, picking up just two first downs and failing to get into Ware Shoals territory. Senior fullback Tony Adams led the Chiefs with 15 yards rushing, while quarterback Cedric Hill was 1-for-1 for 13 yards.
Neither Dixie nor Christ Church got many chances to do something offensively during the 20 minutes of play.
Both teams were able to move the ball against the opposing defense, but neither squad could sustain a drive because of mistakes.
That is until Christ Church’s third possession.
Starting at midfield thanks to a Dixie fumble, the Cavaliers put together a 10-play drive for the game’s only points.
After converting on a fourth-and-9 from the Dixie 29, Christ Church elected to kick on its next fourth down.
On fourth-and-goal from the 12, kicker Rick Furman, the team’s quarterback, booted a 29-yard field goal for the 3-0 win.
The Hornets had 1:40 remaining to go for a tie or the win. However on the ensuing kickoff, Furman sent the kick skyward and one of his teammates recovered, allowing the Cavaliers to run out the clock.
“We made too many mistakes,” Dixie coach Steve Dunlap said. “The fumble hurt us and the kickoff at the end was just a bone-headed mistake. It gives us something to fix before the season starts. “I am proud of our defense. We’ve had two scrimmages and a jamboree and we haven’t given up a touchdown.”
Dixie did put up some offensive numbers, getting three backs with 20 or more yards rushing. Paco Pruitt led the way with 40 yards on four carries.

Greatness of Bryan Dorn was multi-faceted reality

August 14, 2005

“Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”
William Shakespeare wrote those words several hundred years ago. Nevertheless, he could have been talking about Bryan Dorn — Congressman Bryan Dorn — of Greenwood, South Carolina, all these years later. Rep. Dorn died Saturday at 89.
It could even be said that all of those things, to some extent, were Bryan Dorn.
He was born with an innate ability to use words as tools, turning everyday words into stirring, spellbinding speeches that grabbed and held his listeners like few others could. His oratorical greatness matched his namesake, William Jennings Bryan, who was known as one of the greatest orators of all time.

DURING HIS 13 TERMS IN Congress, Rep. Dorn achieved so much ….. so much, in fact, that the very thought can be overwhelming. The times and global politics, and Bryan Dorn’s steadfast devotion to his community, his state, and the nation, left little doubt that greatness was something that would be thrust upon him whether he wanted it or not. Indeed the world was beneficiary of Rep. Dorn’s influence, determination and hard work. His strong support for keeping the United States militarily prepared to meet the challenges of Communist aggression did more than some of us even realize.
Of all the positive causes he championed through the years, and they were legion, perhaps none were so far-reaching as his devotion to military veterans and their welfare. Without him, chances are there’d have been no GI Bill. Because of him, thousands of veterans were able to get a college education and eventually their contributions to every aspect of American life has been enhanced time after time after time.

BECAUSE OF BRYAN DORN, others had opportunities to learn a trade and contribute in a variety of ways.
Veterans still are recipients of medical benefits that exist because Bryan Dorn insisted. It’s fitting that the VA Hospital in Columbia bears his name.
Rep. Dorn didn’t put on great airs, but the hundreds of pictures in his study tell a story of time and place and greatness. They tell at a glance that here was an important and widely respected native son of South Carolina who was a positive influence on thousands of lives. Just about every world leader of his times can be seen with Rep. Dorn. He knew them all, most of the time on a first-name basis.
It’s hard to imagine where we might be had Bryan Dorn not come our way. One thing’s for sure, we’re much better because he did.