"We're just trying to get people into the Christmas spirit and share some of the joy of the season," said Herbert J. Hartsook, curator of the library's Modern Political Collections, which collects, preserves, and maintains the personal papers of prominent South Carolina politicians.

Normally, those papers don't include Christmas cards, Hartsook said. But each year during the holidays since 1992, he has asked prominent Palmetto State politicians to share their holiday cards from years past, which he puts on display for USC students and the public.

For this year's exhibit, which will run through mid-January 2002, Hartsook and processing archivist Katherine V. Moore approached Peatsy Hollings, wife of Sen. Ernest F. Hollings, and former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, with their seasonal request.

From Hollings they asked if she would share a sampling of the Christmas ornaments and accompanying notes she and Sen. Hollings received as gifts from Senate spouses after the August 1999 fire that destroyed their Isle of Palms home and life-long collection of ornaments. From Riley, they requested selected samples of the Christmas cards he had received while serving as secretary of education. Both responded generously, with Peatsy Hollings sending five ornaments and notes from nine Senate spouses, including Elizabeth Dole, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Elizabeth Moynihan, and Joseph and Hadassah Lieberman, among others. The ornaments were presented to the Hollings at a surprise party organized by Karyn Frist, wife of Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., as a way of starting a new ornament collection. Included in the ornaments on display are those celebrating the centennial of the Alaska Gold Rush, the Wright Brothers' flight at Kitty Hawk, the Washington National Cathedral, the Connecticut State Capitol, and a patriotic angel.

From Riley came about 125 cards of the more than 1,000 he received as education secretary, 34 of which will be on display in two cabinets on either side of the ornament exhibit. The cards are arranged by those received from educators, ranging from presidents of universities to elementary school classes, along with a variety of others, from the Canadian embassy to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and the Smithsonian Institution.

"The cards were selected on the basis of being beautiful, interesting, or who they're from," Moore said.

Also in the exhibit will be this year's Christmas card from President and Mrs. Palms, and a Thanksgiving card sent by the Hollings, along with photos and newspaper clippings highlighting Hollings' career in state government and the U.S. Senate.

"It's fun to see holiday cards of famous and powerful people, which are always unique," said Hartsook. "This is a fun thing to do for students, and it's a good way for us to reach out and let people know Modern Political Collections exists."

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