[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 16] [Senate] [Page 22417] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS ______ ON THE SERVICE OF JUDGE LEWIS STITH TO SULLIVAN'S ISLAND Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, it is a pleasure for me to recognize today one of South Carolina's finest public servants, Judge Lewis Stith. August 1 marked Mr. Stith's 43d year of continued service to the town of Sullivan's Island. A native of Sullivan's Island, Mr. Stith and his wife, Marguerite, raised their five children there after he returned from service in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. He later served in the Korean war. In 1956, Lewis Stith was appointed a Charleston County magistrate, a position he held for 25 years. In 1981, he was appointed municipal judge of Sullivan's Island, a position he still holds. Judge Stith's civic accomplishments are numerous and include helping to organize the Sullivan's Island Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department 51 years ago. The Sept. 1-7 issue of the Moultrie News featured an article which pays tribute to Lewis Stith's commitment to Sullivan's Island and to his wife and children who are continuing the island leadership tradition. I ask that the article be printed in the Record. The article follows: [From the Moultrie News, Sept. 1999] Lewis Stith of Sullivan's Island The ``Island Boys'' ruled the beach back then. Lewis Stith, Burt and George Wurthman, Frank and Vernon Damewood, Tony Blanchard, and John and Otis Pickett, just to name a few, spent their days enjoying the ocean, and playing half rubber on the beach at Sullivan's Island. Life was simple. Being surrounded by summer cottages and neighbors that knew everyone made life a yearlong vacation. The Pavilion was located at Station 22 and Burmester's Pharmacy was where Sullivan's Restaurant now stands. The soldiers at Fort Moultrie shot off the cannons everyday at 5 p.m. to mark the end of the day. Lewis Stith, who was born at Station 24, November 9th, 1921, is still there and though his life has taken him on many journeys, he always returns because, ``There's no place in the world like Sullivan's Island!'' The son of Luther P. and Susan Maguire Stith, Lewis is a well known figure on Sullivan's Island. After high school, Lewis went on to work for the Army as a Post Exchange Clerk and later as a bookkeeper until WW II. He then entered the Coast Guard and served at various shore stations and was eventually assigned to a troop transport--U.S.S. General A.W. Brewster APA 155--as a gunners mate. He traveled the European, Asiatic and Pacific theaters transporting troops. At the end of the war, Lewis was discharged on the WWII Point System in 1945. Lewis returned to Sullivan's Island to be with his wife Marguerite Strickland and eventually raised five children. His sons are well known islanders as well. Paul is a Wachovia Bank Manager, Marshall is the Mayor of Sullivan's Island and owner of Station 22 Restaurant, and Anthony is the Sullivan's Island Fire Chief. Their two daughters, Debbie White and Susan Hindman, are both school teachers. The Stith's have six grandchildren. After several jobs, 35 years at the Exxon corporation and also serving in the Korean War, Lewis was appointed a Charleston County Magistrate on August 1st, 1956, by State Senator T. Allen Legare. He remained a Magistrate for 25 years. On August 1st, 1981, Lewis was appointed Municipal Judge for Sullivan's Island and is still serving in this position. ``When I was first appointed Magistrate in 1956,'' said Stith ``Mount Pleasant, Sullivan's Island, and the Isle of Palms had only one police officer in each town. Buck Gossett was the only Highway Patrolman in the area and Charleston County had very few officers back then.'' Fifty-one years ago, five guys got together to form the Sullivan's Island Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department. Lewis, along with Art Chiola, Joe Rowland, Red Wood and Leo Truesdale are the original five members and are still active in the volunteer effort today. The Army donated two trucks and a station to house them. They were the first volunteer rescue squad in the county. Lewis served as chief of the department, and recalls one particular devastating fire that was very chilling. ``I think it was 1952 on Station 28. The house was in the shape of an H. The kitchen wall backed up to the children's bedroom wall and a gas fire ignited and spread. Art Chiola and I found the children the next day in a closet,'' he said, describing the remains as gruesome. ``Apparently, they couldn't find the door and entered the closet looking for a way out.'' The Volunteer Fire Department started some of Sullivan's Island's most popular events including the annual Fish Fry and Oyster Roast. Fifty one years ago, the Fish Fry started as a fund raiser for Red Wood's sister-in-law who need surgery for an aneurysm. It eventually grew into a large community event and the proceeds raised now go to fund the Fire and Rescue Division's special training and equipment. ``We have a tremendous turnout these days,'' said Lewis. ``When we first started it was in the same location that it is now, but all we had was some cinder blocks and a steel plate to cook on. Now things have grown and we have the present facility called `The Big Tin.' '' Lewis and Marguerite remember the good old days on the island. ``After Labor day,'' said Marguerite, ``The vacationers would all go home and there would only be about 25 permanent residents.'' ``We played recreation activities with the soldiers and got to see first run movies at the fort,'' added Lewis. ``Middle Street was the only road through the town and you could drive your car on the beach.'' Marguerite was a Charleston girl, and Lewis met her through a friend. He began to date her and, according to Marguerite, ``We'd come over the Sullivan's Island Bridge and every time he would say, `Smell that good salt air? Isn't it great?' I never told him that I could smell that same air on the Cooper River Bridge and in Charleston,'' she said laughing. ``He thought there was no better place than Sullivan's Island, and he was right!'' After Hurricane Hugo though, the island completely changed. ``All the summer cottages were wiped out entirely and replaced with massive homes that tower over the beach. But this is still God's country!'' said Lewis. ``You can't find a better place to raise a family.'' August 1st of this year marked the 43rd Anniversary of Lewis's continued service for the Town of Sullivan's Island. He's done many other things for the town, including forming the VFW Walter Brownell Post #3137 on Sullivan's Island. He served as the first Commander. Lewis attributes all of his success to many things, but his greatest accomplishment he said, was marrying his wife and raising his five successful children. ``I owe it all to my good family upbringing. I grew up during the Depression and we just learned to take care of what you had. I am also a member of Stella Maris Catholic Church. These things have taken me where I'm at today.'' Still active as a judge, and still loving Sullivan's Island like he always has, Lewis sums it up by saying, ``I've been all over the world, and there is no place like the sandy spot we live on. I love it here.'' ____________________