[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 6, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S1095]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    THE RETIREMENT OF OUR FRIEND ``TINKER,'' ARTHUR MALAN ST. CLAIR

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, a special guest joined us at our caucus 
lunch this afternoon. His name is Arthur Malan St. Clair. We know him 
better as ``Tinker.''
  Tinker St. Clair has spent 55 years in public service. He has worked 
in the Senate--for the Sergeant at Arms--for the last 22 years. This 
Friday, he is retiring.
  His leaving was inevitable. He is, after all, 85 years old, although 
you would never guess it. Even so, Tinker's departure will leave a void 
for all of us.
  Every Member of this Senate knows how dedicated Tinker is to his 
work. We all know how much he loves this Senate, and this Nation. We 
have all benefitted--at some time--from Tinker's kind smile, and from 
his quiet words of encouragement, which always seemed to come exactly 
when we needed them. We will all miss him.
  Tinker St. Clair was born in a coal miner's camp in McDowell County, 
West Virginia. His father worked in the mines. All together, his 
parents had six sons and one daughter.
  He got his nickname from his grandmother, because he was a curious 
little boy--always ``tinkering'' with something, she said.
  While some of his brothers followed their father into the coal mines, 
Tinker knew he wanted to do something different with his life. After 
graduating from high school in 1937, he went to work as a school bus 
driver, and then a commercial bus driver. He later owned his own small 
taxi business.
  In 1940, Tinker had the good sense and good fortune to marry Elnora 
Hall. They would remain married for 55 years, until her death.
  Tinker and Elnora had two daughters, Patty and Linda. In 1948, when 
the girls were little, Tinker began his life in public service. He 
became Deputy Sheriff for McDowell County.
  Over the next 20 years, he would serve as: court bailiff; criminal 
investigator for the McDowell County prosecuting attorney; and justice 
of the peace.
  In 1968, Tinker was elected McDowell County Clerk, running on the 
slogan: ``the man to give the office back to the people.'' In 1974, he 
was re-elected--with 89 percent of the vote. He might have won 100 
percent of the vote had he chosen to run for a third term.
  As a local office holder, Tinker helped many a national leader 
through the back roads of West Virginia. He walked through the coal 
fields with President Truman. In 1960, he campaigned with a charismatic 
young Senator from Massachusetts, John Kennedy. He greeted President 
Johnson during LBJ's visit to West Virginia. He was at Robert Kennedy's 
side in 1968 when Senator Kennedy sought to bring hope to places 
prosperity had overlooked. He has been a constant help over the years 
to his fellow West Virginians, Robert Byrd and Jay Rockefeller.
  In July 1979, Tinker and Elnora left West Virginia and moved to the 
Washington area to be closer to their daughters and grandchildren. At 
63--an age when most people are thinking about retiring--Tinker came to 
work in the Senate.
  A friend once told me that--for a month after she started working in 
this building--every time she saw Tinker, she thought, ``Which Senator 
is that?'' You can see how a person could think that. Tinker St. Clair 
is one of the most distinguished-looking men you could ever hope to 
meet. He's also one of the kindest.
  At our caucus lunch today, Tinker told us he plans to visit his two 
brothers in Florida. He also hopes to do a little traveling with his 
82-year-old sister, who lives in Tennessee--if she can get away long 
enough from the little shop she owns and runs.
  Tinker also told us about some of the friendships he has made in the 
Senate. Probably the most important of those friendships was with the 
man who was sitting at his left at lunch, his fellow West Virginian, 
Robert Byrd--the only man in the Senate with hair as nice as Tinker's 
own.
  He also spoke about his friendship with the man seated to his right: 
Ted Kennedy. They first met in 1960--two years before Ted Kennedy was 
elected to the Senate. Recently, as a token of their friendship, 
Senator Kennedy gave Tinker a framed photograph. It shows the three 
Kennedy brothers John, Bobby and Ted all standing together, smiling and 
young.
  ``It's really something,'' Tinker told us.
  We feel that same way about you, Tinker. You're really something.
  On behalf of the Senators and staff, I want to say: We're proud to 
have had the chance to work with you and to know you. You are a 
treasured member of our Senate family. You take with you our best 
wishes as you begin this next chapter of your life.

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