[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 112 (Tuesday, August 3, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S10133]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                  TRIBUTE TO CHARLES BENNETT GREENWOOD

 Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
fellow Kentuckian and friend Charles Bennett Greenwood of Central City, 
who died July 16, 1999, at his home.
  Charles, or C.B. to his friends, was a unique individual who loved 
his home state of Kentucky and revered life in small-town Central City. 
You see, C.B. lived all of his 93 years within a four block area of 
downtown Central City. Almost all of the milestones of his life 
occurred within the same four blocks of Central City. C.B. never went 
away to college and took very few vacations. It was obvious to 
everybody who knew him that C.B. was satisfied with his view of the 
world from Central City.
  C.B. was born to William H. and Viola ``Louisa'' Greenwood on March 
6, 1906, at the family home on Fourth Street and went to school just a 
few hundred feet from his birthplace. In 1934, C.B. and his bride, 
Louise Batsel, were married at the minister's residence on Third 
Street, just one block away from the homeplace. All of C.B.'s 
children--daughter Margaret Ann Long of Oklahoma City; and sons Charles 
Jr., William and David of Central City--were born at their home on 
Fourth Street.
  Incredibly, C.B. never worked more than four blocks from his 
birthplace. In the 1920s, C.B. worked for J.C. Batsel Meat Market and 
Perry Drugstore and in 1932, he went to work for J.C. Penney, all of 
which were located downtown. In 1945, C.B. purchased Barnes Mercantile 
Clothing Store on Broad Street, again just four blocks away from his 
birthplace and residence. He worked at the store until he retired in 
1989. For 75 years C.B. walked to and from his jobs in downtown Central 
City in deep snow or 100 degree weather.
  An active community leader, C.B. was a member of the First Baptist 
Church of Central City, and served on both the Central City Council and 
the Central City School Board. C.B. was laid to rest in the Rose Hill 
Cemetery in Central City, four city blocks from where he was born, 
lived his life, raised his children, worked and ran his business, and 
served his community.
  In today's highly mobile society, few people live their lives like 
C.B., rooted in their hometown. C.B. was a special person who was happy 
in his life and lived life to the fullest. I express my condolences to 
C.B.'s family--his wife, Louise, and children, Charles, Jr.; my close 
friend Bill and his wife Leslie; and David, and Margaret; 10 
grandchildren, 9 great-grandchildren, and one great-great 
grandchild.

                          ____________________