[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 81 (Friday, June 19, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6659-S6662]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              FATHER'S DAY

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, on Sunday, June 21, Americans will take time 
to honor the Nation's fathers. The Bible tells us to ``honor thy father 
and thy mother.'' But at times, fathers have received less public 
attention and appreciation than mothers. Mother's Day, after all, has 
been recognized on a continuing basis since 1914, while Father's Day 
has only been an official holiday for a little over 25 years.
  Mr. President, my State has a proud, though little noted, role in the 
history of Father's Day. According to the American Book of Days, 
Fairmont, WV, held a church service honoring fathers in July 1908. The 
idea did not begin to catch on, however, until a

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woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd launched a campaign the 
following year to establish a day celebrating fatherhood. A resident of 
Spokane, WA--one of Washington's diligent, able, and respected Senators 
presently presides over the U.S. Senate--Mrs. Dodd reportedly wanted to 
honor her own father, a widower who raised her and her five brothers by 
himself on a farm in eastern Washington State. As I mentioned, a 
Senator from Washington State is presiding over the Senate, Senator 
Slade Gorton. He is the chairman of the Interior Appropriations 
Subcommittee in the Senate and is one of the most knowledgeable Members 
on the subject matter of that subcommittee. He is an excellent 
chairman. But we are talking today about a lady from his State, the 
State which he so honorably represents, the State of Washington.
  Thanks to Mrs. Dodd's efforts, the first official Father's Day was 
held in Spokane on June 19, on the third Sunday in June 1910. President 
Woodrow Wilson, who fathered three daughters, and President Calvin 
Coolidge, who had two sons, endorsed the concept of Father's Day, and 
various Congresses considered different resolutions making Father's Day 
an official holiday.
  Finally, in 1972, Congress passed and President Nixon signed into law 
a bill making Fathers' Day a national holiday.
  I remember as a child watching my stepfather, my uncle, who was the 
only dad I ever knew, Titus Dalton Byrd. I remember watching him set 
forth to toil in the mines, a hard way to make a living, no future, 
sometimes $2 a day, working in the black bowels of the Earth, in water 
holes, under mountains of rocks overhead, loading coal. I saw him set 
forth to work. I suspect that much of what I have achieved in life can 
be traced to the example of patience, tireless diligence, that he set 
for me.
  He was a poor man, a humble man, a quiet man. I never heard him use 
God's name in vain in all my days with him. And when he left this 
world, he left owing no man a penny. He was an honest, hard-working 
man, one who accepted his lot in life without complaint. I never in my 
life saw him sit down at the table--no matter how meager, how humble, 
the fare--and utter the slightest complaint, never a complaint about 
mom's cooking, although she was an excellent cook, never a complaint. 
He never complained about anything.
  Like so many children with their fathers, I continue to be indebted 
to that man, one of the greatest men that I have ever known in life. 
And I have known a lot of so-called great men, statesmen, leaders, 
Senators, Governors, shahs, kings, princes. My dad was a truly great 
man, great because he symbolized the great things in life: honesty, 
integrity, respect for his neighbor, love for his God, faith in his 
country. He loved his family. He loved me.
  I shall always be indebted to him for teaching me by his conduct the 
virtuous and proper path to take in life, not that I have always 
followed that path. But if a parent will ingrain these principles in 
his children, the child may from time to time wander from the righteous 
path, but in time he will return because the old lessons, the old 
verities, the eternal values, taught and inculcated into the minds of 
the children, will always, always remain and will become a part of that 
life and a part of the next generation.
  The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes, chapter 9, 10th verse, 
``Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.'' That old 
dad taught me that. And I took the maxim seriously because he took it 
seriously. He worked hard, very hard.
  Senators can't know it unless they lived in the mining towns. They 
can't know the hard drudgery, the discouraging life of the coal miner 
and his family.
  And my old dad always strove to do his very best, no matter how 
simple or unexciting the job in the mines. Many men's lives--my 
neighbors, my friends, fathers--depended in a very literal sense upon 
the quality of each other's work and upon the carefulness of each 
other's work. A careless lighting of a match might snuff out the lives 
of the fathers of hundreds of children. Think of Monongah, WV, where 
more than 300 lives were taken in one day by an explosion, an explosion 
in a mine.
  I recall now how late in the afternoon I would go out on the porch 
and look up the railroad tracks and wait for my uncle, my dad. I never 
lived with my natural father. My mother died with the influenza 
epidemic in 1918. I lacked just a few days being 1 year old. I never 
lived with my father after the day she died. And I never saw him during 
the next 15 years, and then I was able only to visit with him 1 week. 
That was my natural father. I had three brothers and a sister, but only 
recently did I learn that I had a fourth brother, who died at 
childbirth. I grew up in the hands of these wonderful, wonderful 
people, this old couple who had had one child before I was born. He 
died of scarlet fever. This old couple took me on my mother's leaving 
this earthly life. And they brought me from North Carolina to West 
Virginia. So this was my dad. This was my mom. I have no recollections 
of my natural mother.

  But these were the people who raised me. They didn't have much, but 
they had love for me. I never heard them quarrel at any time in their 
53 years of marriage. Not a quarrel did I ever hear. My wife and I have 
been married 61 years. I can't say we haven't had a few spats. But my 
old mom used to say, ``One thing you must remember, both of you, don't 
you both get mad at the same time.'' When one gets mad, the other 
shouldn't get mad. The other shouldn't say anything. Just sit down, be 
quiet. So that was her recipe, and it worked.
  I used to look up the railroad tracks and wait for my dad to return 
from his day in the mines, swinging his dinner bucket beside him. I 
treasured my time with him. He encouraged me to read, to draw, and to 
learn music. Like so many fathers, he wanted me to have a better life 
than he had had. He set about encouraging my interests and in building 
my confidence.
  I suspect that many of my colleagues learned to throw a ball or to 
fly a kite under the tutelage of their fathers. Fathers played such an 
integral role in many of the memories that many of us have of our 
childhood. We picture those fathers tending the weekend barbecue, fork 
in one hand and a plate of hot dogs or hamburgers in the other, sitting 
patiently in the stands of the Little League ball game cheering our 
successes, consoling us afterwards about our less than successful 
efforts; or teaching us with a mixture of stern caution and warm 
affection how to drive the family car. That is not an experience or 
memory of mine. But I know that it is with many others. Such moments 
are as precious as pearls, and we string them together in our minds to 
make a beautiful necklace of memories.
  Fathers can be stern, of course, but what father is more worthy than 
the one who selflessly serves as a garden stake for his young child?
  I grow a few tomato plants, and I always have a stake to hold those 
tomato plants until they are strong enough that they can climb and make 
it with the help of still larger stakes.
  So, what father is more worthy than the father who serves as a garden 
stake for his child, using his own example to encourage the tender 
young sapling to grow up straight and to grow tall? Good fathers are 
like good gardeners. They prepare the soil carefully and they coddle 
the seedlings before handing them off and planting them in the soil of 
life. And, even then, they weed out the bad influences, prune the bad 
habits, support and train the tender shoots with discipline and order 
and fertilize with affection.
  Let me close, Mr. President, with a short poem by Grace V. Watkins 
entitled, ``I Heard My Father Pray.''

     Once in the night I heard my father pray.
       The house was sleeping, and the dark above
       The hill was wide. I listened to him say
       Such phrases of devotion and of love,
       So far beyond his customary fashion,
       I held my breath for wonder. Then he spoke
       My name with tenderness and such compassion.
       Forgotten fountains in my heart awoke.

       That night I learned that love is not a thing
       Measured by eloquence of hand or tongue,
       That sometimes those who voice no whispering
       Of their affection harbor love as strong,
       As powerful and deathless as the sod,
       But mentioned only when they talk with God.

  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. THURMOND addressed the Chair.

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  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Carolina.
  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I want to commend the able Senator from 
West Virginia for the remarks he just made. He has told us about that 
great State that has so many places named for other places in this 
country, so many places. He has told us about his history and the 
hardships he underwent and he has overcome. We are very proud of him. I 
consider him a man of integrity, ability and dedication. All that he 
has done in this body is a credit to him.
  I have never heard unfavorable remarks about Senator Byrd. Everything 
I have heard and learned about him has been good. And after hearing his 
talk this morning, I am convinced that all the experience he has in his 
life has influenced him throughout his entire career, which is quite 
remarkable. He has brought out so many instances of how other States 
are connected with his State; his State is intertwined with so many 
different places.
  Incidentally, in West Virginia there is a town or community named 
Thurmond. I don't know whether the Senator is familiar with it or not. 
He did not mention that, but I mention it to show that South Carolina 
has a connection with West Virginia, and we are very proud of the 
connection that we have with the Senator and his State. Again, I wish 
the Senator long life and much happiness and continued success in all 
of his undertakings.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, if I may again claim the floor just for 2 or 
3 minutes, I thank the senior Member of this body for his preeminently 
gracious and charitable remarks.
  There is a place named Thurmond in West Virginia. It is down on the 
New River, and it is a very historic place, an old railroad town. There 
was a poker game there that continued for several years. I have heard 
various stories about this poker game that lasted 7 years. Some said it 
lasted 10, 11 or 12 years. It was evidently a long, long time in its 
existence.
  Thurmond is just a small town now--not to be called even a town. But 
I am very proud that Senator Thurmond of South Carolina has reminded me 
of Thurmond, WV. I hope Senators will travel through Thurmond at some 
point. It is on one side of the river, and on one side of the railroad 
tracks. One can see the beautiful mountain peaks on each side.

  I thank the Senator, too, for his services to his State and to his 
country. If one reads his biography, one will find that he is truly a 
remarkable Senator who has led an extraordinary and remarkable 
political career, a career in public service. He honors me with his 
kind words, and I am thankful to the divine hand that guides us all for 
having let me live and serve in this body with Strom Thurmond now for 
40 years. I am grateful for my friendship with him and most 
appreciative of his kind words this morning.
  Mr. LEVIN addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, let me just join Senator Thurmond in 
thanking Senator Byrd for his eloquent remarks on his home State on its 
birthday. We all join the Senator in wishing West Virginia happy 
birthday and on his tribute to fathers. What the Senator said about his 
family, his stepfather, his uncle, and other men who had such an impact 
on his life, brave men, modest men, men of modest means who had such an 
impact on his life, all live through him in us and those memories are 
shared with us. They become part of all of us. And so I want to thank 
the Senator from West Virginia for sharing those memories with us.
  I talk a lot back home about lifelong learning. When I talk to 
students when they graduate, whether high school or college, I say it 
is the learning that lies ahead of them also which is so important and 
they should never stop learning. We have greater opportunities for that 
now as adults because of some of the efforts, as a matter of fact, 
which the Senator from West Virginia has made to make possible lifelong 
learning for our citizens.
  We all still learn from Senator Byrd. It has been a learning 
experience for me, being with him in this Chamber, since the first day 
I was here, and that learning experience has never ceased. I do not 
know of any Member of this body who has not gained a great deal of 
wisdom and knowledge from serving here with the senior Senator from 
West Virginia. So I thank the Senator for taking the time he did this 
morning to share those thoughts with us.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, if I may just comment briefly, Tennyson 
said, ``I am a part of all that I have met, and we are all a part of 
each other.'' I am a part of Carl Levin. Carl Levin is a part of me. I 
am proud to serve in this body with Carl Levin, Senator Levin. He is a 
man who when he studies a bill, studies it with infinite care, 
dissecting each comma and period, semicolon, colon, each word, each 
phrase.
  The Bible says, ``See us now a man diligent in his business; he shall 
stand before kings.'' Senator Levin is a man with diligence and 
ability, and I am proud to know him, proud to serve with him. He is the 
ranking member on the Armed Services Committee on which I serve with 
Senator Warner, who is the ranking member on the Republican side. I 
thank him. He has always been very generous, very kind, very thoughtful 
to me. And I hope to predict that within just a few weeks he will join 
me in lauding the Supreme Court of the United States for holding that 
the Line-Item Veto Act is unconstitutional. He has fought that battle 
with me, and I hope we are able to join in triumph as Roman Emperors on 
that great day. May it come.
  Mr. LEVIN. A hope in which I share, may I say. Thank you, Robert.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I wish to associate myself with the 
remarks of the distinguished Senator from Michigan and our great and 
courageous chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Mr. Thurmond. For 
all of us who have joined here today, and Senator Kerrey and others, to 
listen to those beautiful remarks, of course they evoke memories of our 
own parents.
  My father was a medical doctor who practiced surgery and gynecology 
in the greater metropolitan Washington area all his life. He was proud 
of his heritage from the central part of Virginia, from whence his 
father and mother came. I often think that no matter what riches there 
are available in the world, there is no greater gift of God or anyone 
else than to have loving and strong parents. To the extent I have 
succeeded modestly in life, I owe it almost entirely to a wonderful 
father and a wonderful mother, who lived to be 96 years old.
  Senator Byrd, you have left a profound mark on all of our lives. We 
visited momentarily here before those remarks about the birthday of 
West Virginia. I continue to make the offer to rejoin Virginia and West 
Virginia, bond them together as they once were, and I will yield the 
position of the senior Senator from Virginia and allow my colleague to 
be the senior Senator. Just how Senator Robb will fit into that, I am 
not sure.
  Mr. LEVIN. Where does that leave Chuck?
  Mr. WARNER. We will work out those modest details as we go along. But 
you have greatly enriched the lives of all of us.
  What a treasured experience--to have the opportunity to listen to 
Senator Byrd on the floor on this and many other subjects.
  Perhaps before the day ends, you will give us a quote, relative to 
Cicero, as you give Senator Levin and me a little token of what you 
feel about so strongly.
  Mr. President, I will be consulting with the distinguished chairman 
of our committee and the ranking member regarding the remainder of the 
day. But we will continue actively on this bill. At this moment, I 
yield the floor.
  Several Senators addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, will the Senator from Nebraska allow me to 
respond just briefly to the Senator from Virginia, Mr. Warner? I want 
to express my gratitude to him for his very lavish and profuse words 
with respect to me. He shares with us great riches, as we enjoy his 
friendship and work with him. I look upon him as a great American. He 
is on the Armed Services Committee, a former Member of a President's 
Cabinet--Secretary of the Navy. He has demonstrated by his patriotism 
and public service the kind of service that we should try to emulate.
  I thank him very much for his kind words. They mean much to me.

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  Mr. WARNER. I thank the Senator from West Virginia, my friend.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mr. KERREY. First of all, I come to the floor to offer some comments 
on S. 2057, a 412-page law that is before us. But I had the pleasure, 
as many others did on the floor, to listen to the statement of the 
distinguished Senator from West Virginia about not only West Virginia, 
but also on Father's Day.
  I want to offer my praise as well, not just for the Senator's 
statement, but for the Senator's service. The senior Senator from West 
Virginia has not only made the lives of the people of West Virginia 
better, but he has also made the lives of the people of America better 
and, for those of us who have had the opportunity to learn from him, we 
hope our service better as well.
  I am grateful for the advice and counsel and the assistance that the 
distinguished Senator has given me. But I am most grateful for those 
times when I had the opportunity to sit and listen to his views and his 
capacity to connect the strength and courage of individuals in the past 
to what we do here on this floor.

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