[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 87 (Monday, July 10, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6324-S6326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE GREENBRIER
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, tucked into a sheltered green valley in
Southern West Virginia is a magical place, a place where fascinating
history, natural majesty, and sumptuous comfort have combined since the
first days of our nation's founding to create a spot that is justly
world-renowned. That place, Mr. President, is called The Greenbrier, in
White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. It has been a special place for
several decades now, overflowing with game for the Shawnee Indians, a
spa since colonial days, a place of high society idylls and balls,
fought over during the Civil War, a World War II diplomatic internment
site and then a rest and recuperation hospital for wounded soldiers,
and a secret government relocation site--all cloaked behind the well-
bred, white-columned face of a grand southern belle of a resort.
Mr. President, in May, my wife Erma and I celebrated our 63rd
anniversary. Erma is my childhood sweetheart, the former Erma Ora
James. We have written a lot of history together over the past 63
years, and I could not ask for a better coauthor.
This year, as we have in the last several years, we celebrated at the
fabled Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs. I am certainly not
original in my inspiration to celebrate moments of marital bliss
there--President John Tyler, the first President to be married in
office, spent part of his 1844 honeymoon in White Sulphur Springs.
Actors Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher spent part of their 1955
honeymoon there, and Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy arrived at the
Greenbrier on October 11, 1914, for a two-week honeymoon. Many, many,
other famous names are inscribed in the Greenbrier's guest register.
The history that Erma and I have created together is a blink of the eye
compared to that of The Greenbrier, whose healing waters were first
enjoyed by hardy colonists in 1778, as they had been by Shawnee Indians
for untold years before that.
The Greenbrier has been a resort almost since the day in 1778 that
Mrs. Anderson, one of the first homesteaders in the Greenbrier area of
the ``Endless Mountains,'' as the region was identified on colonial
maps, first tested the wondrous mineral waters on her chronic
rheumatism. Word of Mrs. Anderson's recovery spread rapidly, and
numerous log cabins were soon erected near the spring. The ``summer
season'' at the spring was born, albeit in a somewhat primitive state.
Still, the fame of the spring along Howard's Creek continued to
spread. Thomas Jefferson mentioned ``Howard's Creek of Green Briar'' in
his
[[Page S6325]]
``Notes on the State of Virginia'' in 1784; that same year, George
Washington focused the Virginia legislature's attention on the
commercial prospects of the ``Old State Road'' running between the
Kanawha River valley, through The Greenbrier's lands, to the piedmont
and tidewater sections of Virginia. Along the route of today's roadway
between the hotel and the golf clubhouse stands a monument to this
vision. The Buffalo Trail monument commemorates the point at which the
pre-colonial Indian Buffalo Trail crossed the Allegheny Mountains on
its way from the Atlantic Coast to Ohio. This trail became the James
River and Kanawha Turnpike, which for over a century carried commerce
and development from the settled East to the future states of West
Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. By 1809, a
tavern with a dining room, a barn, a stable, mills, and numerous cabins
constituted a hospitable stopping place along the still-rugged route
West. And rheumatism sufferers were joined at this watering hole by
others more interested in the creature comforts and social interaction
than in relieving joint pain.
By 1815, the first spring house was built over the spring head, and a
thriving resort was attracting visitors who typically stayed for
several weeks at a time. A hotel and many surrounding cottages, some
quite sumptuous, were erected over the years. Commodore Stephen
Decatur, hero of the Barbary Wars, brought his wife for a 16-day stay
in 1817, and Henry Clay of Kentucky, Speaker of the House of
Representatives, spent some time at White Sulphur Springs during
several summers over some 30 years. The cool mountain breezes under the
shelter of ancient oaks, combined with stylish fans and gentle rocking
chairs on a shady porch, made the Greenbrier a comfortable spot in
those sweltering summers before air conditioning.
In many ways, the Greenbrier has changed little over the years. The
gracious sweep of lawn, the stately trees, the ranks of white cottages
and imposing hotel facades hark back to that earlier era. Many of the
cottages, most too sumptuous to be called merely ``cottages,'' have
their own special histories. One of the cottages was owned by Jerome
Napoleon Bonaparte, who was a nephew of the French Emperor. General
John J. Pershing, Commander of the Allied Forces in World War I
completed his memoirs in the cottage named ``Top Notch.'' Early morning
horseback rides are still popular, and Erma and I recently enjoyed the
romantic carriage ride through the grounds. Hunting, fishing, and even
falconry are still practiced. But more golf courses, tennis courts, and
swimming pools encourage a more active lifestyle than in those early
days. The Greenbrier is justly famous for its golf and for the Sam
Snead Golf School. Though I do not play, I still enjoy the beautifully
landscaped courses with their wide sweeps of lawn and water dotted with
sandy island obstacles. The partaking of the sulfur water, that
elemental component of the original spa experience, is now complemented
by health and beauty facilities and services that pamper every part of
you. A visit to the Greenbrier has grown ever more restorative over the
years.
Henry Clay, that great man from Kentucky, the State of the Senator
who now presides over the Senate with a dignity and degree of charm and
skill and poise as rare as a day in June, often visited at the
Greenbrier, as I have said.
Henry Clay was an early political fan of the Greenbrier, surely the
most gracious and comfortable stopping place on his many trips between
Washington and his home in Kentucky. Other well-known figures and
luminaries who visited the resort prior to the Civil War were
Presidents Martin Van Buren, Andrew Jackson, Millard Fillmore, Franklin
Pierce, and James Buchanan. I have already noted that President John
Tyler honeymooned at the Greenbrier. Dolly Madison, Daniel Webster,
Davy Crockett, Francis Scott Key, and John C. Calhoun, and many other
political notables have also contributed to engrossing dinner
conversations there in more recent years, including Senate greats such
as Everett Dirksen, Sam Ervin, Jacob Javits, and Barry Goldwater. Other
politicians preferred the outstanding golf at the resort, including
President Eisenhower, President Nixon (as a Vice President), and Vice
President Hubert Humphrey. President Woodrow Wilson has also graced the
Greenbrier, though I do not know if he was a golfer.
The Greenbrier has always been a favorite spot of other celebrities,
as well. The Vanderbilts, Astors, Hearsts, Forbes, Luces, DuPonts, and
the Kennedys have sojourned there, as did Prince Ranier and Princess
Grace with their children Albert and Caroline. The Duke and Duchess of
Windsor danced the night away in the grand ballroom. Bing Crosby has
sung there, and Johnny Carson, Steve Allen, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale,
Rudi Valle, Art Buchwald, Dr. Jonas Salk, Cyrus Eaton, and the Reverend
Billy Graham have all made mealtime conversations there sparkle more
than the crystal chandeliers in the dining room. Babe Ruth and Lou
Gehrig are just two of the sporting greats who have autographed the
guest register. Clare Booth Luce wrote the first draft of her most
enduring play, ``The Women'', during a three-day stay in 1936. Like
Tennyson's brook, the fascinating list of notables could go on and on
forever. People watching--that is watching people--has always been a
spectator sport at Greenbrier functions!
The Greenbrier has experienced trauma as well as galas. During the
Civil War, the Greenbrier's location astride a strategic rail line into
Richmond, Virginia, put her in the line of fire. Troops were billeted
in her guest rooms, but both sides spared a favorite pre-war vacation
site and fighting raged along the Greenbrier River. Being in what
became Southern West Virginia, during the debate over succession in
1863, the Greenbrier's fate as a West Virginia or a Virginia citizen
was uncertain. I am surely glad that West Virginia was the winner!
During Reconstruction, the hotel's healing waters also helped to heal
the wounds of war, as grand society from both sides of the conflict
continued to meet at the Greenbrier. General Robert E. Lee was a
frequent visitor. In General Robert E. Lee's single post-war political
statement, he led a group of prominent Southern leaders vacationing at
the Greenbrier in drafting and signing what became known as ``The White
Sulphur Manifesto'' of 1868. This document, widely reprinted in
newspapers across the country, declared that, in the minds of these
men, questions of secession from the Union and slavery ``were decided
by war,'' and that, upon the reestablishment of self-governance in the
South, the Southern people would ``faithfully obey the Constitution and
laws of the United States, treat the Negro populations with kindness
and humanity and fulfill every duty incumbent on peaceful citizens,
loyal to the Constitution of their country.'' The war was truly over.
In 1869, one of the most famous photographs ever taken at White
Sulphur Springs included Robert E. Lee and a group of former
Confederate Generals, among them Henry Wise of Virginia, P.G.T.
Beauregard of Louisiana, and Bankhead Magruder of Virginia. Other ex-
Confederate officers who visited the resort were Alexander Lawton of
Georgia, Joseph Brent of Maryland, James Conner of South Carolina,
Martin Gary of South Carolina, and Robert Lilley of Virginia. Former
Union General William S. Rosecrans visited General Lee while Lee was
vacationing one summer at the Greenbrier.
The Greenbrier has served the nation well in two other wars, as
well--World War II and the Cold War. At the outbreak of World War II,
the hotel served as a rather gilded cage for several thousand foreign
diplomats and their families, from Germany, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria,
and, later, Japan. It was then taken over by the federal government for
the Army's use as a rest and recuperation hospital for wounded
soldiers, before returning, like the soldiers it housed, to civilian
life.
Much has been made, in recent years, of the Greenbrier's secret life
as a covert agent of the U.S. government. In 1992, the existence of an
emergency government relocation center built secretly deep beneath the
Greenbrier was revealed. The result of an extraordinary partnership
between the CSX Corporation and the federal government, the bunker
contained facilities to house and operate the entire United States
Congress in the event of nuclear attack. It had its origin in plans
created by President Eisenhower to ensure
[[Page S6326]]
the survival of the constitutional system of checks and balances. The
President had to convince Congressional leaders, including Senate
Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson, to go along with the plan, which was
carried out in the greatest secrecy for over forty years. The secrecy
was necessary, because the bunker at the Greenbrier was not designed to
withstand a direct hit, but, rather, to ensure security through a
combination of physical design and camouflage. The remote shelter of
the West Virginia hills proved a perfect combination of cover,
concealment, and denial.
Now, the bunker is open to the public for tours. It is fascinating to
see the level of detail that was included in the bunker, but it is also
sobering to reflect upon the real fear of Armageddon that existed in
this country during those years and which justified this kind of
contingency planning. As you finish the tour and return to the sunlit
world of golf, lazy country walks, luxurious settings, and fine dining
that is the hallmark of the Greenbrier experience, it is difficult to
recall those not-so-distant times when school children practiced hiding
under their desks in the event of a conventional or nuclear exchange.
I encourage my fellow Senators, and, indeed, anyone listening, to
visit the Greenbrier, to tour the bunker, and to relish the history and
the service that are so much a part of this precious piece of West
Virginia. Avoid the current high gas prices and road congestion, and
take the train as so many have before you. Leave steamy, contentious,
Washington behind for a time, and step out at the Greenbrier's rail
depot wondering at the beauty, the cool breezes that smell of fresh,
clean air and wildflowers. Allow yourself to be swept along by the
attentive, unobtrusive service of an earlier age and be deposited in a
bright, flower-bedecked room before a pre-dinner stroll about the
grounds. You will be walking with the celebrities of the past as you
write a wonderful new chapter in your own history.
I was mentioning the Amtrak train. My recollection went back to a
time in England when the distinguished Senator from Washington, Slade
Gorton, and his nice wife Sally, and Erma and I rode the train from
London up to York. Oh, my, what a wonderful time we had in York,
visiting through the countryside with its narrow roads and its hedges
and having our meetings with the British. Those were most enjoyable
days and memorable ones.
But riding the train in itself is a real treat. I like to ride
trains, and I know Slade Gorton does, too. Has he ever told about his
bicycle journey across the United States? He and his wife and their
children traveled by bicycle, a bicycle odyssey, across the United
States of America, all the way from the Pacific to the Atlantic. That
would be something worth reading about. Better still, talk with him in
person about it.
I close with the immortal words and images of the poet William
Wordsworth, who lived from 1770 to 1850, when the Greenbrier was yet in
its early days. But his lines eloquently capture the sights one can now
happen upon when strolling through the magical grounds of this
wonderful outpost of gentle civilization amid the mountains, and they
capture the happiness such beauty inspires:
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
Like the Greenbrier, the forests in West Virginia.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Collins). The Senator from Tennessee.
Mr. THOMPSON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for
20 minutes as in morning business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. THOMPSON. Madam President, I say to the Senator from West
Virginia how much I appreciate that rendition and bringing us back to a
better reality here from time to time.
I remember the comments by that same poet who once said:
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers,
Little we see in nature that is ours.
I don't think anyone can ever say that about the senior Senator from
West Virginia.
Mr. BYRD. He said, ``we lay waste our powers.'' But I can assure you
that the Senator from Tennessee doesn't lay awaste his powers. He is a
busy man, and he serves his country and his State in a great fashion.
I thank the Senator for his kind words.
Mr. THOMPSON. I appreciate that very much.
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