A message from Publisher & Editor Karen Brewer:  Through the years, as a journalist, I’ve taken photographs of Senator Lindsey Graham at events in our county, his native Pickens County, but, in 1996, three years before I even became a newspaper Editor, he asked one of his staff members to take a photo of him with me, my mother, and my younger cousin, when we visited in his office in Washington. In September of 1996, he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, having taken office only 20 months prior, in January of 1995. Although my mother had visited Washington during a class trip while she was a senior at Pickens High School, this was the first trip to Washington for my cousin and for me. My cousin was a student at Hagood Elementary School, which was on a year-round schedule, and she was out of school at the time of our September, 1996 trip, so she was able to go with us. We enjoyed visiting with him in his office, and he enjoyed visiting with us. Not only were we fellow Pickens County natives, but, also, long before I was even born, he had grown up with several of my older cousins, who knew him since he was a little boy. He later signed the photo of the four of us, and he included the words “God bless.”  In January of 2001, we were invited to his office again. He had sent me tickets for the inauguration of President George W. Bush, and we, along with others, were invited to Lindsey’s office following President Bush’s inauguration ceremony. By that time, I had been the Editor of The Pickens Sentinel for 18 months, and I wrote about the inauguration for the newspaper but also enjoyed the trip because, as I respected Lindsey Graham, I also respected George W. Bush, whom I first came to know when he visited Pickens for a Veterans Day speech in November of 1999, and I covered several of his campaign events in the Upstate. Lindsey also sent me tickets for President Bush’s 2005 inauguration, but it turned out I wasn’t able to go to Washington then. My cousins who grew up with Lindsey have memories and stories of him from his youth as well as adulthood. After his passing, one of my cousins told me, “Last time I saw Lindsey, he said, ‘Do you remember when I used to try to run you over with my bicycle?'” Another cousin, her sister, spoke about his kindness and told me how their mother (my beloved late aunt, who passed in 1999 and who had known him since he was a little boy) cherished his wishing her a Happy Birthday. Another cousin, their brother, shared memories of Lindsey when they were small boys and also as adults. My aunt and other family members are buried at the cemetery where Lindsey was buried today, so I know this cemetery well, having visited it many times over the past four decades. May God bless Lindsey’s family. Continuing to pray for them now and in the days to come. (July 29, 2026)