[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 123 (Tuesday, September 21, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11171-S11172]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                      TRIBUTE TO GEORGE P. CROUNSE

 Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to 
the life of George P. Crounse, who passed away on August 22, 1999. His 
death marked the end of a five-decade career of entrepreneurship, 
community building, and philanthropy in Paducah, Kentucky.
  A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, George worked for the Tennessee 
Valley Authority and then Arrow Transportation Company, an Alabama 
firm. George served his country in the U.S. Navy during World War II, 
and came to Paducah in 1945, to work for Igert Towing. George realized 
the potential of his new hometown as a crossroads of the nation's major 
river ways, and Crounse Corporation began operations in 1949, when its 
first towboat, The Alice, began operation on the Ohio River. This was 
the beginning of George's dream to have his own company.
  Crounse Corporation continued to grow over the years, and expanded 
operations to other parts of the inland waterway system. From that 
single boat, the Alice, grew one of the nation's largest towing 
companies which presently operates 25 towboats and 750 barges. Even 
more amazing, the only time George borrowed money for his operation was 
the $60,000 he borrowed to help construct that first boat. Aside from 
that initial loan, the Crounse Corporation balance sheets never showed 
debt. George continued to run the company as its chairman until only a 
few weeks prior to his death.
  George led not only his own company to prosperity, but helped 
establish Paducah as a major center for river shipping, bringing 
economic growth and jobs to the area. His business acumen also was 
highly sought out in other areas such as banking. George was a firm 
believer in the principle of giving back to the community that had been 
so good to him, his family, and business. Entities such as the Paducah 
Public Library, Tilghman High School, and the new River Heritage Museum 
benefitted from George's generosity and guidance. We will probably 
never know the true extent of George's work to better the lives of all 
those in his community, and that's just the way George, a humble and 
modest man, would have wanted it.
  George Crounse perhaps will best be remembered as a dogged advocate 
for education. In 1968, as a board member of Paducah Junior College, he 
helped bring the school into the statewide network of the University of 
Kentucky Community College System. George made sure that PJC retained 
ownership

[[Page S11172]]

of the property and buildings, making it the only community college in 
Kentucky controlled by the local community. When it appeared that the 
area was handicapped by the lack of an engineering school to serve 
college students in the area, George worked to establish an extension 
of the UK engineering school in Paducah. In fact, George and his wife, 
Eleanor, gave $4 million to help build a suitable facility to house the 
program. Though George was reluctant, the building was named Crounse 
Hall to acknowledge his leadership and generosity in bringing the dream 
to reality.
  George's passing leaves a great void is left in Western Kentucky. His 
was truly a life well lived. I offer condolences to his wife of many 
years, Eleanor, and the entire Crounse family. I ask that my colleagues 
join me in honoring the achievements and contributions of this 
outstanding Kentuckian, and that an article from the Paducah Sun be 
printed in the Congressional Record.
  The article follows.

                   Crounse's Legacy One of Generosity

                            (By Joe Walker)

       People who knew barge company mogul George P. Crounse Sr. 
     remember him for his ceaseless giving to the Paducah area and 
     helping mold it into a hub of the nation's river industry.
       ``I was honored to be able to tell people that George 
     Crounse was my friend,'' said Paducah Community College 
     President Len O'Hara. ``He was a wise, visionary and generous 
     man. There's no doubt that he did more to shape the face of 
     the college--both Paducah Community College and Paducah 
     Junior College--than any other individual.''
       Mr. Crounse, 86, died at 8:24 p.m. Sunday at Western 
     Baptist Hospital. Friends may call at Roth Funeral Chapel 
     from 5 to 8 p.m. today.
       Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at First 
     Presbyterian Church, where he was a member. The Rev. Lynn 
     Shurley will officiate. Burial will be private.
       He was founder and past chairman of Crounse Corp., which he 
     built from a single, leased boat to one of the nation's 
     largest barge lines. He started the firm in 1948 after having 
     worked with the Tennessee Valley Authority and seen how its 
     dams improved navigation on the Tennessee River. He also knew 
     Paducah was ideally situated near the confluence of two major 
     rivers.
       ``I had learned earlier that the Tennessee (river) is a 
     side street,'' be once wrote, ``and the Ohio and Mississippi 
     are the main highways.''
       About a month ago, in failing health, Mr. Crounse became 
     chairman emeritus of the firm, making way for President Bill 
     Dibert to take over as chairman. Mr. Crounse's son, Avery, a 
     noted filmmaker, assumed the role of vice chairman.
       My father was the first to show us to always plan for the 
     inevitable,'' said Avery Crounse, who returned to Paducah to 
     help run the business while continuing to make films. ``We've 
     often said that no one will fill his shoes, but several of us 
     will try to do that.''
       The same is true for Paducah, which will miss Mr. Crounse 
     immeasurably, said O'Hara. ``People don't have any idea how 
     much he's given to this community, not only with his mind, 
     but also contributions of money.''
       In 1968, as a member of the Paducah Junior College Board of 
     Trustees, Mr. Crounse fashioned the legal structure that 
     brought the school into the University of Kentucky community 
     college system while maintaining local ownership.
       ``He made sure PJC retained ownership of the property and 
     buildings, so the community still owns the college,'' O'Hara 
     said. ``It's the only one in the nation that is locally 
     owned.''
       Mr. Crounse, who told O'Hara repeatedly that higher 
     education was Paducah's greatest need, and his wife, Eleanor, 
     gave $4 million toward the PCC engineering school. But O'Hara 
     said Mr. Crounse was reluctant to publicize the gift or have 
     the school named after him and his wife.
       ``I told my staff this morning that I'm so happy to have 
     been able to get it finished and for it to become a community 
     icon before his passing,'' O'Hara said.
       Because of Mr. Counse's modesty, Paducahans will never know 
     the real extent of his beneficence, O'Hara said.
       ``The (public) library owes a great deal to George Crounse. 
     Paducah Tilghman High School does, too, and a lot of other 
     less visible charities,'' he said. ``He was very quiet about 
     it and didn't want his named passed around, but he was always 
     there.''
       In the 1960s, Mr. Crounse used his business savvy to boost 
     the growth of Peoples First Corp., which became a large, 
     regional banking firm before merging with Union Planters last 
     year Aubrey Lippert, head of Union Planters' Paducah 
     operation, was executive vice president when Mr. Crounse 
     was a Peoples board member.
       ``He was probably one of the best thinkers I've seen in 
     being able to put together business plans and concepts and 
     then methodically talk through how you would execute them,'' 
     Lippert said. ``He was always very quiet, but as we used to 
     say around our board table, when Mr. Crounse speaks, you need 
     to listen because he always has his thoughts in order.''
       Lippert said Mr. Crounse's generosity began when he came to 
     Paducah in 1948 and continued throughout his life.
       ``He was a fine family man, had a great family and I have 
     great admiration for Eleanor,'' Lippert said. ``He was the 
     kind of citizen that you would love to have as many of as you 
     could possibly have in the community. We'll sure miss George 
     Crounse.''
       A native of Minneapolis, Mr. Crounse worked for TVA and 
     later Arrow Transportation, a river towing company in 
     Sheffield, Ala. After serving in the U.S. Navy in World War 
     II, he joined Igert Towing in late 1945 and moved to Paducah. 
     All along, he had a desire to form his own company.
       That happened three years later when Mr. Crounse put down 
     $40,000 in cash and borrowed $60,000, which he said gave him 
     $88,000 to build his first towboat and $12,000 for working 
     capital. He rented a towboat to get started.
       In 1949, Mr. Crounse finished construction. The Alice, 
     named after his aunt, and immediately starting towing 
     chemical barges on the Ohio River. Steady growth of the 
     company led to purchasing barges in 1951 and finishing a 
     second towboat. The Louise, in 1952. By then, coal was the 
     main cargo.
       John Cathey remembers working on The Alice and becoming 
     pilot of The Louise, named after Mr. Crounse's mother. As the 
     firm added towboats, Mr. Crounse ran out of family names and 
     began naming vessels after the wives of employees like 
     Cathey's wife, Hazel.
       ``That was a real honor at that time,'' Cathey said. ``He 
     was a really smart man, and he had a good relationship with 
     all the employees. There were times when people came in off 
     the boats and were troubled, and he'd talk to them.''
       Cathey saw the firm grow gradually, expanding to the Green 
     River in 1956 and buying Clifton Towing Co. in 1959. Renamed 
     Southern Barge Line Corp., the Clifton operation remained a 
     subsidiary until 1980.
       In June 1965, Crounse Corp., moved from a converted 
     residence into its current headquarters at 2626 Broadway. In 
     1969, Mr. Crounse completed another major expansion by 
     opening a branch in Maysville in eastern Kentucky to serve 
     the upper Ohio River.
       Cathey remained with Crounse Corp. for nearly 30 years, 
     retiring as senior vice president. Aside from his initial 
     loan to build The Alice, Mr. Crounse ran the firm in the 
     black, Cathey said.
       ``One of the things I always admired him for was, we never 
     went into debt,'' he said. ``We paid as we went.
       Mr. Crounse is survived by his wife Eleanor Buchanan 
     Crounse; his son, Avery Crounse of Paducah; his sister, 
     Barbara Kleet of Naples, Fla.; nine grandchildren; and eight 
     great-grandchildren.
       He was preceded in death by a son, George P. Crounse Jr.; 
     and his daughter, Virginia Cramp. His parents were Avery 
     Fitch Crounse and Louise Ray Crounse.
       Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions 
     to the Paducah Cooperative Ministry, 1359 S. 6th St., 
     Paudcah, KY 42001; Paducah Junior College Board, P.O. Box 
     7380, Pducah, KY 42002; or First Presbyterian Church, 200 N. 
     7th St., Paudcah, Ky 42001.

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