[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 59 (Friday, May 13, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 13, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
              MOUNT OLIVE COLLEGE HONORS JAMES BAXTER HUNT

                                 ______


                        HON. H. MARTIN LANCASTER

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 12, 1994

  Mr. LANCASTER. Mr. Speaker, Mount Olive College, an Original Free 
Will Baptist college in the North Carolina Third Congressional 
District, will honor James Baxter Hunt, the father of North Carolina 
Governor James B. Hunt, Jr., for 30 years service as a member and 
chairman of the Board of Trustees during commencement exercises on 
Saturday, May 14.
  Mr. Hunt, an active church and community leader, will receive one of 
the highest honors given by the college during a luncheon in the Lois 
K. Murphy Regional Center in recognition of his work for the college 
and its students, the Center's student lounge will be dedicated as the 
``James Baxter Hunt Student Lounge'' and a commemorative plaque will be 
affixed to the room.
  Friends and colleagues of Mr. Hunt, as well as Mount Olive college 
President W. Burkette Raper and Governor Hunt, will participate in the 
ceremonies.
  A Guilford County native, James Baxter Hunt earned a bachelor of 
science degree at North Carolina University in preparation for a career 
in forestry and soil conservation and pioneered work in those fields 
for 32 years, primarily in Wilson County, where he planted more than 
100,000 trees on his own properties.
  Mr. Hunt served his home church, Marsh Swamp Original Free Will 
Baptist Church, as Sunday School superintendent from 1948 to 1972. It 
was at Marsh Swamp that the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists 
voted in 1953 to purchase property in Mount Olive as a home for Mount 
Olive College.
  Mr. Hunt was elected to the Mount Olive College Board of Trustees in 
1964, a membership he still holds, and he was elected its chairman in 
1974. When he retired from chairmanship in 1989, Mr. Hunt was presented 
an honorary lifetime membership on the board's executive committee.
  During Mr. Hunt's tenure on the board, he provided leadership for the 
construction of every building on the main campus and for the growth of 
enrollment from 250 to nearly 1,000 students including the program at 
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, NC. As chairman, he 
encouraged and supported the college's development from a 2-year to a 
4-year institution.
  Mr. Hunt and his wife, the late Mrs. Elsie Brame Hunt of Rock Ridge, 
NC, were recognized during 1989 commencement exercises as 
``Distinguished Friends of Mount Olive College.'' The Hunts have two 
sons, Robert Brame Hunt of Clayton and Governor James Baxter Hunt Jr. 
of Lucama, NC. Mr. Hunt is now married to the former Pearl Reardon 
Johnson. Mr. Hunt was also honored with an original poem, ``A Man to 
Remember'', by Lee Davenport Witte of the Lake Phelps region of North 
Carolina:

                           A Man to Remember

     A little boy
     age of eight
     lived on a farm
     in the low rolling hills--
     the Piedmont area--
     of our cherished Old North State.
     Taught by his parents
     the age-old wisdom
     of the Bible,
     to follow God's counsel
     the ten commandments
     and the very important
     Golden Rule,
     in the family home
     and in Sunday School.

     A soft spoken
     gentle boy
     plowed the fields
     tilled the soil
     planted the crops
     of corn, tobacco,
     soybeans
     and cotton.
     Working alongside his brothers
     he learned lessons of life
     he has never forgotten.

     A shy little boy
     who
     way before dawn
     hurried
     to milk the cows
     to supply the milk
     the neighbors depended on.
     Then off to school
     he would go.
     For he had been taught
     that Education
     is mankind's
     most valuable tool.

     Another thing he learned
     as he plowed the furrows
     of the farm's rich earth--
     the soil of the land
     was fragile, precious
     and must be renewed
     and nurtured
     or
     like the farm tools uncared for
     and
     left in the rain to rust,
     would become nothing
     but wind-driven
     scattered
     useless dust.

     When into manhood
     he grew
     as small boys do
     he met a school teacher
     named `Elsie'.
     He married this beautiful lady
     who worked and walked
     Life's road with him.
     She gave to him
     her gifts of joy--
     two really fine sons
     two very good boys
     one named `Robert'
     and one named `Jim'.

     Oh yes,
     You know they did
     farm the land
     hoe the corn
     chop the cotton
     milk the cows
     and brand the cattle.
     These two fine boys
     grew into outstanding men
     following in the footsteps
     of their father
     and emulating him.

     Elsie,
     The beloved wife and mother
     passed on from view
     And later on
     he married their longtime
     family friend, Miss Pearl
     who loves him
     and loves his children, too.

     See the beautiful character
     of this loving spiritual man
     Listen to his teachings
     Number his qualities
     one by one
     Look at the grand work
     this man has done. . . .!

     Where once
     acres of barren
     tortured
     eroded farmland
     lay in neglect abuse
     and ruin
     Stands
     a glorious fertile forest
     of lofty whispering pine trees
     where the wild animals roam free.
     The dogwoods blossom
     pink and white.

     The pungent fragrance
     of the honeysuckle
     pervades the night
     The cardinals can flash
     their bright red wings
     The owls can hoot
     and the wild birds sing
     Frogs croak their freedom song
     in the moss covered banks
     of the gurgling brook
     The wildflowers colorful
     as a patchwork quilt
     attest to the rebirth
     of the once forsaken
     forlorn and
     ragged earth.

     There even stands a serene lake
     with pristine water beside
     a big red barn and
     the white house in which he lives.
     And, Oh Yes,
     another house of brown
     to match the soil of
     his beloved farm's ground.

     All of this beauty
     we now see
     is due to the unselfish
     long hard years of work
     this man has done
     And which now
     is enjoyed by everyone.

     James Baxter Hunt
     is this man's name
     who with Burkette Raper
     his longtime friend
     shared from the beginning
     the vision
     the dream
     to build Mount Olive College
     Because these two men knew
     that Education
     for the young
     is a most valued and
     important thing.

     Mr. James B. Hunt, Sr. . . .
     All who ``carry'' the Tar Heel Pride
     will always remember
     Who You were
     And
     We will all Remember
     ``Who You Are''!

                          ____________________