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George Stewart, accomplished Republican Congressman and Architect of the Capitol

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor George Stewart, born in Delaware, June 2nd 1890. His initial business was landscape construction. He won a U.S. House of Representatives term and was delegate to the 1936 Republican National Convention. After four years with the Senate Committee on the District of Columbia, Stewart worked for the Corps of Engineers. President Eisenhower named him Architect of the Capitol, and he remained on the job sixteen years. Achievements included overseeing construction of the Capitol Extension and of the Rayburn House Office Building. Back to Basics for the Republican Party is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we Republicans know about the history of our party, the more Democrats will worry about the future of theirs. For more information, see www.grandoldpartisan.com .  Here is a YouTube Video about this article. Here is...
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Flavius Beal – "the Man who Put the Bang in Bangor"

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Flavius Beal, born in Maine, June 2nd 1841. He was a Union army sergeant during the Civil War. Peace restored, hard work brought him up from railroad baggage handler to hotel manager. In 1892, this self-made man won the first of eight one-year terms as mayor of Bangor. Among his achievements were promoting the economy with cultural festivals and constructing an impressive city hall. The shield and scrolls of the Battleship Maine are displayed nearby due to his initiative. Beal also served two terms in the state house and was delegate to the 1900 Republican National Convention. He was known to be "an honest mayor, a warm friend, an approachable and courteous citizen" as well as "one of the city’s most colorful characters." Back to Basics for the Republican Party is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: ...
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Wirt Yerger, founder of the modern-day Mississippi Republican Party

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Wirt Yerger, born in Jackson, June 1st 1930. It was this dynamic young conservative who revived the Mississippi GOP, which had been nearly inactive since the end of Reconstruction. In 1956, he united Young Republicans, Eisenhower supporters and businesspeople. This coalition won control of the state committee and elected him chairman.  Yerger recognized his victory as "the ultimate break with the old-line, racist Southern Democrats who didn't know whether they wanted to be liberal or conservative, but were vocally committed to keeping long-held, highly corrupted power."  Under his leadership, Mississippi Republicans strenuously denounced Democrats for advocating white supremacy.  Yerger attended three Republican National Conventions and chaired the Southern Association of Republican State Chairmen. In 2009, the MSGOP named him "chairman ...
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Edward Valentine – Congressman and Senate Sergeant at Arms

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Edward Valentine, born in Iowa, June 1st 1843. He apprenticed to be a printer. During the Civil War, he was an officer with the 67th Illinois Infantry then the 7th Iowa Cavalry. Peace restored, Valentine relocated to Omaha and studied law. President Grant named him a land office register. He won election to the bench. In 1878, he won first of three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Following this were three years as U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms. Back to Basics for the Republican Party is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we Republicans know about the history of our party, the more Democrats will worry about the future of theirs. For more information, see www.grandoldpartisan.com .  Here is a YouTube Video about this article. Here is a TikTok Video about this article. Here is an Instagram Video about this article. Here...
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the National Negro Committee

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I commemorate the National Negro Committee. Plans for this civil rights organization were made on the one hundredth anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. It was formally established May 31st 1909, at Henry Street Settlement House in Manhattan. Attendees included Republican luminaries Mary Ovington, Ida Wells Barnett and Mary Church Terrell. "The systematic persecution of law-abiding citizens and their disfranchisement on account of their race alone is a crime." Its second annual meeting re-organized as the National Organization for the Advancement of Colored People. Back to Basics for the Republican Party is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we Republicans know about the history of our party, the more Democrats will worry about the future of theirs. For more information, see www.grandoldpartisan.com .  H...
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Jesse Dwight Locker, beloved African-American City Councilman and Ambassador

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Jesse Dwight Locker, born in Cincinnati, May 31st 1891. He earned undergraduate and law degrees from Howard University. Back home, the young attorney worked as a janitor while building his practice. Locker led the North Ward Progressive Republican Club and the Lincoln-Douglass Republican Club. He also endeavored with various charities. In 1941, he won first of six terms on the city council, rising to become its president. In 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower named him ambassador to Liberia. A cerebral hemorrhage struck him down two years later. His foremost diplomatic accomplishment was negotiating for use of the principal airport by U.S. airlines. Back to Basics for the Republican Party is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we Republicans know about the history of our party, the more Democrats will worry about the future of theirs....
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Elizabeth Farrington, influential Hawaii Republican

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Elizabeth Farrington, born in Japan to American parents, May 30th 1898. As a child, she attended schools in Tennessee and Texas and California. Relocating to Hawaii followed graduation from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in journalism. Beginning as a reporter, Farrington published the Honolulu Star-Bulletin fifteen years. She was League of Republican Women president from 1946 to 1948 and National Federation of Women's Republican Clubs president from 1949 to 1953. This tireless activist was delegate at the GOP's 1952 national convention. In 1954, her husband died, during his sixth term as congressional delegate. Prompted by the territorial governor, Farrington ran for the vacancy. She won first of two terms, and on her second day in office met with President Dwight Eisenhower to advocate statehood. Back to Basics for ...
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