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Rest in peace
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In an era rife with rancor and worse on Capital Hill, an epic bipartisan display of comity happen in the wake of the passing on Wednesday of Herbert “Bertie” Bowman.
Mr. Bowman was the longest-serving staffer in U.S. Senate history with over 65 years of distinguished service.
He was 92 at the time of his passing.
He was also but a couple years retired from working on Capital Hill when he passed.
A place of opportunity
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Bertie started out working on Capital Hill in his mid-teens sweeping the steps of the US Capital building after he was encouraged by then Senator Burnet Maybank to look him up should he come to DC.
Mr.Bowman did and the rest is history.
After he was drafted for a stint in the Army, Mr. Bowman, the son of dirt poor South Carolina sharecroppers, returned Washington DC to work his way up the ladder on Capital Hill.
Early rungs up the ladder included working in the coffee shop before becoming a janitor, cook, and shoe-shiner for U.S. senators.
Among other things, Mr. Bowman experienced the end of segregation in Washington DC as well as meet many important figures along the way.
He ultimately ended up as a senior staffer member for the prestigious Senate Foreign Relations Committee and served with great distinction for many decades.
Of particular distinction was his ability to work with any and all in a workplace rife with different beliefs.
For example, the now-late Senator Strom Thurmond helped to see Mr. Bowman attend college at the prestigious historically black college Howard University.
Also now late Senator Jesse Helms thought highly of Mr. Bowmen.
Additionally, Mr. Bowman befriended a then twenty-year old Bill Clinton who while he was a college intern on Capital Hill. Bertie took Bill under his wing and the two were known to sing early rhyme and blues and now classics while they were out and about together while working on Capital Hill.
As for how he successfully spanned working across the wide spectrum of characters on Capital Hill, Mr. Bowman’s arguably guiding view was to look to the greater good done by those whom others might feel otherwise about these same individuals.
That and maybe, just maybe, “occasionally” encouraged some to do better along the way by his example.
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