[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 109 (Tuesday, July 22, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S9706]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO THOMAS D. CLARK

 Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, I pay tribute to Thomas D. Clark, 
Kentucky's most prominent historian. On Monday, July 14, 2003, Mr. 
Clark celebrated his 100th birthday, Remarkably, Mr. Clark's life has 
spanned nearly half of Kentucky's history.
  Thomas Clark is an esteemed southern historian and writer, agrarian 
and preservationist. Having grown up on a cotton farm in Mississippi, 
Mr. Clark came to the State as a graduate student enrolled in the 
University of Kentucky in 1928. Less than 3 years later he decided to 
settle in Kentucky and delve into its history.
  In 1937, Mr. Clark's ``A History in Kentucky'' was published, and it 
is still considered the definitive work on Kentucky history by the 
State Department for Libraries and Archives. Mr. Clark was declared 
Kentucky's historian laureate for life in 1990, and to this day, 
maintains his enthusiasm and passion for Kentucky history. That he 
lived and experienced much of the history he wrote is testament to this 
man's inimitable and authoritative qualities.
  In addition to being Kentucky's premier historian, Mr. Clark paid the 
State a great service by saving part of its history. In 1936 he stopped 
the State librarian, who had run out of storage space, from selling 
truckloads of records as scrap. He then encouraged the Governor to 
create a State archive and established a special documents collection 
at the University of Kentucky's library.
  Mr. Clark's ardor for Kentucky and its history and his tenacity for 
historical preservation makes this man one of Kentucky's greatest 
heroes. For generations to come, Kentucky will be indebted to this man. 
I thank the Senate for allowing me to recognize Mr. Clark and voice his 
praises. He is Kentucky at its finest.

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