GHS grad makes history

ELIZABETH MITCHELL Even as a child, the responsibilities of being a leader never phased Gaffney native Elizabeth Mitchell.

Getting to watch her grandfather and uncle rise to public office at an early age, she learned how to voice her opinion while always remaining a role model. For those reasons, Mitchell's sister Joyce Childers knew her sibling's future was bright.

"For as long as I can remember my sister's been a leader," Childers said. "Popular all the way through school, I knew big things were ahead for her... we just didn't know how far it would go."

A graduate of Gaffney High School in 1958 and Furman University four years later, Mitchell originally hoped to make a difference in people's lives by teaching them to read.

She is still making a difference in the lives of others, but on a much higher level.

The 68-year old mother of four and grandmother of six a few weeks ago brought a dose of Southern hospitality to a chilly December day in Augusta, Maine when she was sworn in as the state's Senate president.

In Maine, the Senate president is the de facto lieutenant governor, meaning she would assume the role of governor in the event the governor would become incapacitated.

Ten years after becoming the first female Speaker of the House in Maine, the Democrat added another notch to her long list of accomplishments in becoming the first woman in the United States to be elected as presiding officer in both of her state's legislative bodies.

To achieve those goals, it took a lot of hard work and dedication, said Childers, who joined several family members in the front of row of Maine's Senate chambers during her sister's first day of work as Senate president Dec. 3.

"(Mitchell) worked for every bit of it," Childers said. "You just don't know how happy seeing her do this is; she really deserves it."

It's been nearly 40 years since Mitchell lived in Gaffney. She left the South after she and her husband Jim, moved to Connecticut, where he attended Yale Law School.

They left the Nutmeg State in 1971 for a 19th Century farmhouse in Vassalboro, Maine, a place the couple still calls home.

When the Gaffney native made her first foray into Maine's political arena in 1974, Mitchell's platform focused on education.

Now, 34 years later, the issue remains close to her heart, along with creating job opportunities in the midst of a difficult economic climate.

"We must capitalize on the opportunities before us and carry out the fundamental mission of government, by tending to the needs of our most vulnerable and ensuring all Maine's people have access to clean air, clean water, safe transportation, great schools and an amazing quality of life," she said.

Mitchell's husband is a probate judge in Kennebec County, the county in which they reside. Each of their four children and their families also live in Maine.