Sen. Orrin G. Hatch proudly shows everyone who visits him a painting of his great-grandfather, Jeremiah Hatch, entering Utah's Uintah Basin on horseback. Jeremiah founded what is now Vernal in 1878, and left a great legacy. Hatch has carried the torch of his great-grandfather's frontiersman spirit all his life, from his working-class upbringing in Pittsburgh to a successful Utah law practice, and eventually to representing the Beehive State in Washington. Hatch reached his full height of 6'2" his junior year of high school. His height gave him considerable advantage on his school's basketball team - but he weighed only 118 pounds. Despite his scrawny build, Hatch became a scrappy boxer and came to pack a jarring punch for a youngster his size. Hatch balanced his athletic pursuits with scholarly discipline and a passion for music. He learned to play the piano, organ, and violin. While in high school, Hatch was elected to the student Senate, and later as student body president. As a young man, Hatch learned the value of hard work as a metal lather and a card-carrying member of the AFL-CIO. As a student, he struggled to provide for a growing family as a janitor, lather, and all-night desk attendant in a dormitory. He earned a bachelor's in history from Brigham Young University and a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh. In 1954, Hatch served a mission for his church to the Great Lakes . After returning, he married Elaine Hansen of Newton, Utah , on August 28, 1957. The two had met in an astronomy class at BYU thanks to an alphabetical seating chart. The two have six children and a growing brood of grand- and great-grandchildren, sometimes called "Hatchlings." http://www.townhall.com/columnists/OrrinHatch http://media.townhall.com/TownHall/icons/TH-feed-icon-128x128.gif http://www.townhall.com/columnists/OrrinHatch TownHall.com, Where your opinion counts. 128 Copyright (c) 2013 Townhall.com, A Salem Communications Web. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED jim.dearras@townhall.com (Jim De Arras) Tue, 13 Sep 2011 04:01:00 GMT Tue, 13 Sep 2011 04:01:00 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ Note: Co-authored by Rep. Tim Scott America's laws have long recognized the need to protect workers from abuse. In 1935, Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which ensured that... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/OrrinHatch/2011/09/13/the_employee_rights_act 7019b3e4-87d0-4adb-b00a-aae34e95c4f4 Tue, 13 Sep 2011 04:01:00 GMT Editors note: This piece was co-authored by Ken Blackwell. As part of the debate over the final Fiscal Year 2011 continuing resolution, members of Congress faced a choice - whether to eliminate federal funding for... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/OrrinHatch/2011/04/26/planned_parenthood_on_the_ropes b4414fee-8806-437c-b9b3-055d1cb2589b Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:27:00 GMT Sky-high debt is a threat to individual liberty, continued prosperity, and national security. Yet the President's response to this impending disaster is to pass the buck with a budget that is sadly, a sorry... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/OrrinHatch/2011/02/16/time_to_bring_down_the_debt 3434f673-b08d-4002-aea9-15912a9d7412 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 05:01:00 GMT The Democratic operative, James Carville, coined one of the most legendary campaign catchphrases, "it's the economy, stupid." Close to two decades later with our federal deficits this year and last, the highest on... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/OrrinHatch/2010/10/30/it's_the_spending,_stupid 904bb0b6-b474-44f5-bd99-5507a84ad256 Sat, 30 Oct 2010 04:01:00 GMT