[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 144 (Friday, September 15, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13653-S13654]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       COMMENDING OSEOLA McCARTY

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I rise today to commend a Mississippi woman 
who is a role model for all Americans, Ms. 

[[Page S 13654]]

Oseola McCarty. Ms. McCarty, of Hattiesburg, has spent her life as a 
laundress. Due to her compassionate nature, she quit school in the 
sixth grade to take care of her ill aunt who was unable to take care of 
herself. At that time she began to wash and iron clothes for people in 
the Hattiesburg community and began to put money in the bank, dollar by 
dollar. But she was not thinking of herself. She only took one vacation 
as a young woman to Niagara Falls and, despite the heat of summer in 
Mississippi, she just recently purchased a window air-conditioning unit 
for the home she has lived in for most of her life. She only made the 
purchase at the insistence of her friends at the bank.
  She is no longer able to iron clothes due to her arthritis, but she 
has given the University of Southern Mississippi $150,000 in order to 
set up a scholarship for needy black students in her name so someone 
will have the education she had to give up. She made the statement, ``I 
just want it to go to someone who will appreciate it and learn. I'm old 
and I'm not going to live always.'' She gave 60 percent of her savings 
to the university near her home. The business community in Hattiesburg 
is overwhelmed with her generosity and has come together to match her 
donation. Ms. Oseola McCarty has been recognized by local and national 
media alike, and I am proud to have this opportunity to share this 
remarkable story of generosity with everyone here today.
  Not only should we commend Ms. McCarty, but also her community. At 
this time of budget cuts and welfare reform, we should use the people 
of Hattiesburg as a model for our future. Yes, it is going to be tough 
to bring our Nation to fiscal order, but if we all pool our efforts we 
can do great things for those who need help. Ms. McCarty lived a frugal 
existence so that she could give to others. What a wonderful example 
for us all.


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