Calhoun County Museum
Come and enjoy the history of Calhoun County and South Carolina presented with a personal southern touch.
The Late Senator L. Marion Gressette
Calhoun County's Own.... Senator Marion Gressette
In 1908 when Calhoun County was formed, the future President Pro Tempore of the South Carolina Senate was a lad of six years, having been born in the Sunny Plain Section of what was to become Calhoun County on February 11, 1902. Senator Lawrence Marion Gressette lived a life of high accomplishment and honor. He always tried to reflect the rich principles instilled by his parents the late John Thomas and Rosa Wannamaker Gressette.
Always an excellent student, his analytical mind was well trained. In 1925, he entered the political arena and was consistently elected to represent the people of Calhoun County -- it is the people he remembered. The political contests were many and the victories resounding but always it is the people who elected him that were important to the Senator. He always tried to represent the hopes and desires of the people. Political contests came and went but the individual remained with the wishes for the land and its progress.
His integrity and honor stood above personal ambition. He had countless opportunities to spend his talents in offices that might be appraised higher; however, he chose to represent his county in an unselfish and loyal way. His ambition was for Calhoun County rather than self. His faultless drive was used to promote educational, agricultural, and industrial growth.
The Senator's multi-faceted life included a long list of honors that were bestowed on him by his peers. There was the impressive L. Marion Gressette State Building in Columbia. He was President Pro Tempore of the South Carolina Senate since 1972 until ? but if you asked him what honor touched him the most, he will tell you it was the naming of the Development Center for the Handicapped in his behalf. The L. Marion Gressette Center in Cameron was more important to him.
Senator Gressette was first and foremost dedicated to his family. Always at his side was his wife, the former Florence Howell. Until Miss Florence's illness she held a better attendance record in Columbia that most Senators. His only child, Lawrence, Jr., was a tremendous support system. Lawrence, Jr., his wife, and three children completed his imediate family circle.
Written By:
Jeanne Ulmer
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