John Boozman's recent remembrance of John Paul Hammerschmidt defines the pioneering politician well.
"I'll never forget how he told me that when the election is over, there aren't any Republicans or Democrats anymore. There are just the people of Arkansas, who you are to serve," Boozman said.
Hammerschmidt, who is rightfully credited with building the Republican Party of Arkansas, died Wednesday at Regency Hospital in Springdale. He was 92.
Boozman, who went to the retired congressman for advice when he first pondered a 2000 race for the congressional seat, was one of many politicians who sought Hammerschmidt's counsel through the years.
Now Sen. Boozman is one of four Republicans who have held the 3rd Congressional District seat since Hammerschmidt retired in 1993. Boozman followed brothers Tim and Asa Hutchinson in the office. Steve Womack holds the seat now.
Collectively, those four have held the seat for 18 years, compared to Hammerschmidt's 26 years, from 1967 to 1993.
He was the one who made the 3rd District seat a "safe" seat for Republicans. His only serious challenge came in 1974, when Bill Clinton, then a young law professor who would become president, tried unsuccessfully to unseat Hammerschmidt.
JPH, as headlines often abbreviated his name, had solid bipartisan support in what was then a Democratic district in a Democratic state, enough to hold off the charismatic Clinton and discourage other challengers.
Clinton lost, he said last week, because of how hard Hammerschmidt worked to help the people he represented with their individual problems.
"I hope his legacy will prompt more officials to keep the human element of public service in mind," Clinton said.
In the 1960s and the 1970s, the Republican Party in Arkansas had comparatively tiny numbers. It was a far cry from the party that last year secured every seat in the state's federal delegation, won all of the state's constitutional offices and solidified control of both chambers of the state Legislature.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson, reflecting this week on his mentor's influence, said Hammerschmidt "balanced his conservative convictions with a unique ability to work across party lines and accomplish great things for the people of Arkansas."
That advice Hammerschmidt gave to Boozman and other aspirants to serve Republicans and Democrats alike was based on lessons learned when Hammerschmidt was for many years the lone Republican in the state's congressional delegation.
He made his mark not by espousing the party line so much as tending to his constituents' individual and collective needs.
He helped constituents solve problems they were having with federal agencies, like securing Social Security benefits or veterans' services. And he worked slowly but surely to pass legislation or get funding to address local concerns.
At the top of that list were his successful efforts to protect the Buffalo River as a free-flowing stream and to direct federal dollars to build what is now Interstate 49 and meet other infrastructure needs, including the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport.
They're all part of the legacy that began back in Boone County.
After serving as a highly decorated pilot in World War II, the Harrison native joined the family's lumber business. He grew into leadership roles within the industry, including time lobbying in Washington.
Brought up in a Democratic family, he chose to get involved in Republican politics, largely because local Democrats weren't as welcoming.
By 1964, he was chairman of the state Republican Party and deeply involved in what would be an unsuccessful bid that year by Winthrop Rockefeller, a transplanted New Yorker, to become Arkansas' first Republican governor since Reconstruction.
Rockefeller didn't succeed but tried again in 1966. That year, not only did Rockefeller win but Hammerschmidt became the first Republican to win the congressional seat in 93 years.
That was almost a half century ago, and the 3rd District, which has shrunk geographically from 24 counties to all or parts of nine counties, has been in Republican hands ever since.
A dozen different Democrats held the office from 1874 until Hammerschmidt came along in 1967.
After toiling in party ranks, Hammerschmidt found himself being encouraged by Rockefeller and others to take on Democrat Jim Trimble.
Trimble had been in the office since 1945 and had shown some vulnerability in his 1964 bid for re-election. Republican Jerry Hinshaw, a Springdale businessman, got 40 percent of the vote that year, convincing state Republicans there was an opportunity in this district.
Hinshaw passed on a second try and, as Hammerschmidt and other party leaders looked for a candidate, Rockefeller suggested Hammerschmidt run.
Then came 26 years of congressional service and, after his retirement, another stint as chairman of the state Republican Party and a variety of nonpartisan service roles.
One of his old Democratic colleagues, former U.S. Sen. David Pryor, who was in the Senate while Hammerschmidt was in the House, fittingly captured his real legacy.
"Generations from now, when people define the gold standard of public service, they will be thinking of the life and dedication of John Paul Hammerschmidt," said Pryor.
"He was truly a person who lived for public service every day of his life -- not only in the military, but in business, community affairs and as a distinguished congressman."
Brenda Blagg is a freelance columnist and longtime journalist in Northwest Arkansas. Email her at [email protected].
Commentary on 04/05/2015