M Then & Now
Photographed by Nikole Carmichael
2014 feature story
Marthđ
hunn
then:
MY NAME:
Martha Sasser
MY SCHOOL:
Conway High School
Home of the Conway Tigers
ME THEN: I loved tap dancing! I took tap,
jazz and ballet for many years. I was also
a member of Girl Scouts Troop 133 from
2nd grade all the way through high school,
earning Senior First Class Girl Scout status.
MY STYLE: Nice pants and classic tops with clean
lines. I had a 3-piece green corduroy suit that I
loved to wear with boots. I loved wearing beautiful
fashion and getting all dressed up.
WHAT I LOVED MOST ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL:
Serving as a Student Council representative. During
my senior year, I worked as a page for U.S. Senator
Strom Thurmond in Washington. What an incredible
experience! In addition to work involving constitu-
ent issues, several of us were able to meet the All
in the Family cast. Archie and Edith Bunker’s chairs
were being donated to the Smithsonian, and this
special group would have the opportunity to tour
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AUGUST 2017
1979
the Capitol Building together. I will never forget
chatting with Jean Stapleton, Sally Struthers, Rob
Reiner, Norman Lear, Senator John Glenn and other
notable political leaders. I had to pinch myself!
MY DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE: To attend Coastal
Carolina College (now University) to study Political
Science and become involved in politics in some
way. I also believed I would open my own dance
studio.
MY FAVORITE TEACHER AND SUBJECTS: Irby
Koon, Government Studies, and Doris Hedgepath,
AP English.
HOW I THINK MY CLASSMATES WOULD HAVE
DESCRIBED ME: Friendly and very involved in
school activities.
Martha as Miss Conway 1980
MY MOST PRIZED ACCOMPLISHMENT OR TITLE:
Senate Page for Senator Thurmond and Miss Con-
way High School.
WHAT WAS MOST IMPORTANT TO ME: My large
extended family. My first feeling of real indepen-
dence came when my dad let me take the johnboat
out by myself to roam the channels of Cherry Grove
Beach. My mother spent her days painting creek
scenes from our back porch while Daddy fished for
flounder.
continued
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