[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 16, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3345-S3346]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LUCIUS WADE EDWARDS JULY 18, 1979-APRIL 4, 1996
Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, on March 14 of this year, one of the most
impressive young men I have ever met came to my office, accompanied by
his justifiably proud mother. Lucius Wade Edwards, 16, had just come
from the White House. He had visited with First Lady Hillary Rodham
Clinton who praised him for having been 1 of the 10 finalists in a
contest sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the
Voice of America.
His father, John R. Edwards; his mother, Elizabeth Anania Edwards,
and his younger sister, Kate, accompanied him to the White House living
quarters for his visit with Mrs. Clinton.
Wade was being honored for his having written a poignant essay
entitled, What It Means To Be An American. Wade described going with
his father to vote.
It was, as I said at the outset, Mr. President, March 14, 1996, when
Wade and his dear mother stopped by my office. Three weeks later, on
April 4, Wade died in an automobile accident that involved no
carelessness, no recklessness, no failure to wear his seatbelt. It was
just one of those tragic things that happen, and it snuffed out the
life of this remarkable young man.
Mr. President, in a moment I shall ask unanimous consent that two
important insertions into the Record be in order. The first will be the
text of the award-winning essay written by Wade. It is entitled ``Fancy
Clothes and Overalls.''
The second is an account, published in the Raleigh News and Observer
on April 4, 1996, relating to the tragic death of Wade Edwards.
I now ask unanimous consent, Mr. President, that the two
aforementioned documents be printed in the Record at the conclusion of
my remarks and in the order specified by me.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Fancy Clothes and Overalls
(By Wade Edwards)
A little boy and his father walk into a firehouse. He
smiles at people standing outside. Some hand pamphlets to his
father. They stand in line. Finally, they go together into a
small booth, pull the curtain closed, and vote. His father
holds the boy up and shows him which levers to move.
``We're ready, Wade. Pull the big lever now.''
With both hands, the boy pulls the lever. There it is: the
sound of voting. The curtain opens. The boy smiles at an old
woman leaving another booth and at a mother and daughter
getting into line. He is not certain exactly what they have
done. He only knows that he and his father have done
something important. They have voted.
This scene takes place all over the country.
``Pull the lever, Yolanda.''
``Drop the ballot in the box for me, Pedro.''
Wades, Yolandas, Pedros, Nikitas, and Chuis all over the
United States are learning the same lesson: the satisfaction,
pride, importance, and habit of voting. I have always gone
with my parents to vote. Sometimes lines are long. There are
faces of old people and young people, voices of native North
Carolinians in southern drawls and voices of naturalized
citizens with their foreign accents. There are people in
fancy clothes and others dressed in overalls. Each has
exactly
[[Page S3346]]
the same one vote. Each has exactly the same say in the
election. There is no place in America where equality means
as much as in the voting booth.
My father took me that day to the firehouse. Soon I will be
voting. It is a responsibility and a right. It is also an
exciting national experience. Voters have different
backgrounds, dreams, and experiences, but that is the whole
point of voting. Different voices are heard.
As I get close to the time I can register and vote, it is
exciting. I become one of the voices. I know I will vote in
every election. I know that someday I will bring my son with
me and introduce him to one of the great American
experiences: voting.
Wade Edwards, 16, is a junior at Broughton High School, the
oldest high school in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has played
on Broughton's soccer team, participated in student
government and has been an editor on the yearbook staff. He
is also a member of the Key Club, the Junior Classical
League, and the Latin Honor Society. This year Wade was
selected to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum on Law
and the Constitution. After school, he works as a messenger
for a law firm. One of the accomplishments of which Wade is
not proud was achieved outside of high school--last summer he
successfully climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in
Africa, with his father and two friends.
____
LUCIUS WADE EDWARDS
Raleigh.--Lucius Wade Edwards was born in Nashville,
Tennessee, on July 18, 1979, the first child of John R.
Edwards and Elizabeth Anania Edwards. He moved at two years
old with his family to Raleigh. He moved into the house he
calls home the day after his loving sister, Kate, was born.
He chose the green room and quickly filled it with the
imagination of a boy. In elementary school at Aldert Root, he
made lasting friendships and, when his sister joined him, he
was the perfect big brother, walking her home each day hand
and hand. Wade played basketball at the Salvation Army, the
YMCA, and the Jaycee Center. He played soccer for years with
CASL, eventually on the Broncos coached by his father, and
later on the Renegades. Wade attended middle school at Ligon
for two years, where his poetry was published and he won a
countrywide computing award, and at Daniels for one year. He
really began to become a young adult when he started
attending Broughton High School in 1993. He made the Junior
Varsity Soccer team in his freshman and sophomore years. He
joined various organizations, such as Junior Classical
League, Key Club, and the yearbook staff, where he was
organizations editor this year.
In the summer between Wade's sophomore and junior years in
high school, Wade attended and completed the eighteen day
Rocky Mountain Outward Bound program. Immediately after that,
Wade and his father flew to Africa, where they met with close
friends and together successfully climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.
It was the accomplishment of which he felt most proud.
In his junior year, Wade was invited to attend and did
attend the four day National Youth Leadership Conference on
Law and the Constitution in Washington, D.C. A short story he
wrote based on his Outward Bound experiences was chosen for
publication in Broughton's literary journal and won second
place in the Raleigh Fine Arts Society competition for all
Wake County eleventh graders. He wrote an essay on the topic
What It Means To Be an American for the National Conversation
Essay contest. He wrote about voting with his father. His
essay was selected as one of the ten finalists nationwide. As
a result, in March he was invited by the National Endowment
for the Humanities and Voice of America to receive an award
in Washington, D.C. During that visit, he had a personal
audience with the First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton in the
private quarters of the White House. With his father, mother,
and sister watching, he received his award in the Indian
Treaty Room. He recorded his essay for international
broadcast over Voice of America.
Wade had a greater impact than his many achievements. He
made many friends with his wide smile and easy way. He had a
genuine sweetness and compassion that made his friends
cherish him. He was always affectionate and loving with his
family, which, in this time, gives great comfort. And in
return he was well-loved in his home, in his school, and in
his community.
In addition to his parents, Wade is survived by his sister,
Kate, maternal grandparents, Vincent and Elizabeth Anania of
Melbourne, Fla., paternal grandparents, Wallace and Catherine
Edwards of Robbins, N.C.
Funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Edenton Street
United Methodist Church.
The family will receive friends at Brown-Wynne Funeral
Home, St. Mary's Street from 7-9 p.m. Sunday. Burial will
follow in Oakwood Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made
to a Memorial Fund at Broughton High School, St. Mary's
Street, Raleigh, in Wade's name to be used to create a
memorial befitting Wade's special gifts and contributions.
____________________