[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 131 (Tuesday, November 16, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING JACK AND CARTER HARDESTY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 16, 2004

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to draw the attention of the 
House to a noble couple on the occasion of the dedication of the Jack 
and Carter Hardesty Bridge in Clarke County, VA. The Hardestys have 
been a vital part of the Clarke County community for over half a 
century, and now their name will be honored and associated with the 
bridge over U.S. Route 340 which crosses the Norfolk Southern Railroad 
line about a mile from the West Virginia border.
  State Senator Russ Potts sponsored the legislation in the Virginia 
General Assembly to dedicate the bridge in their name. I was honored to 
join him; Virginia Governor Mark Warner; the Honorable Al Smith, former 
member of the Virginia House of Delegates; the Honorable Jack Marsh, 
former Virginia Congressman and former Secretary of the Army; members 
of the Hardesty family and their friends and neighbors at the 
dedication ceremony and unveiling of the bridge marker on October 4. 
The Clarke County High School Band and school Concert Choir provided 
music for the event.
  Carter, who passed away last year, was a special woman. She sent 
literally hundreds of cards each year to county residents that she 
personally picked out and wrote notes in for every occasion. These 
cards were often just pick-me-ups for friends that were down. 
Apparently, even a flat tire didn't escape her notice. The cards she 
sent made her an irreplaceable part of the community that is dearly 
missed.
  Carter was also an active member of the Crums United Methodist 
Church. She spent 25 years teaching numerous Sunday school classes. 
Pastor Sandra Stamey of Crums UMC gave the invocation at the dedication 
ceremony.
  However, I remember Carter best for her service at the Lord's Acre 
Booth at the Clarke County Fair. She was cochairman of the booth.
  Carter was only one half of this dynamic duo. A dairy farmer by 
profession, Jack has served Clarke County as a member of the board of 
supervisors and his long list of community, civic, and public service 
activities is unparalleled. We all share with him and his family in the 
grief of Carter's loss. She left a great legacy behind for the husband 
and family and community that she dearly loved.
  I want to share with our colleagues an article about the dedication 
ceremony from The Winchester Star.

                [From the Winchester Star, Oct. 5, 2004]

                 Ceremony Celebrates Hardesty Influence

                          (By Jessica Sabbath)

       Berryville.--Gov. Mark R. Warner visited Clarke County 
     Monday to honor a husband known for his lifelong service to 
     the county and a wife known for her heartfelt cards.
       More than 200 people joined the governor, area politicians, 
     and the extended Hardesty family at the dedication of a 
     county bridge to John D. ``Jack'' Hardesty and his late wife, 
     Carter.
       The bridge, on U.S. 340, crosses over the Norfolk Southern 
     Railroad line about a mile from the West Virginia border.
       The couple is part of eight generations of Hardestys that 
     have been prominent in the county. Speakers praised the 
     couple for the couple's commitment to faith, family, and the 
     county.
       ``Jack Hardesty and his family represent not only the best 
     of public service, but the best of what it means to be a 
     Virginian,'' Warner said against the backdrop of rolling 
     green hills.
       The ceremony was held at Oakland Orchard by state Sen. H. 
     Russell Potts Jr., R-Winchester, and the Virginia Department 
     of Transportation.
       It wasn't the first time a Hardesty family ceremony brought 
     the governor to Clarke County. In March 2002, Warner declared 
     Virginia Agriculture Week at Harvue Farms, the dairy farm 
     Jack Hardesty and his father established in 1949.
       Jack Hardesty served on the county Board of Supervisors for 
     30 years, and was its chairman for 18 years.
       He was named ``Dairyman of the Year'' in 1992 and has been 
     president of the Maryland-Virginia Milk Producers Association 
     for the past five years. He served five gubernatorial 
     appointments and has been on the board of the Bank of Clarke 
     County for 40 years.
       Carter Hardesty, who died last October, was known as the 
     ``Card Lady'' of Clarke County. She sent out between 15 and 
     20 cards each week to county residents for just about any 
     occasion.
       During the ceremony, Potts, who sponsored the legislation 
     in the Virginia General Assembly to dedicate the bridge, held 
     up a stack of cards he had received from Carter Hardesty.
       ``She would even send a card out when somebody's car broke 
     down,'' Potts said.
       Carter Hardesty taught Sunday School at Crums United 
     Methodist Church for 25 years. She was the co-chair of the 
     Lord's Acre booth in the Clarke County Fair for 35 years.
       U.S. Rep. Frank R. Wolf, R-10th, praised the couple's 
     service to the county and family.
       ``They have played a vital part of this community in a 
     unique way,'' Wolf said, adding he hopes future generations 
     of Hardestys would carry on the tradition.
       Danny Hardesty, grandson of Jack Hardesty and a senior at 
     Clarke County High School, said the ceremony and his 
     grandfather's service had done just that.
       ``He laid down the roadwork for us all to follow,'' Danny 
     said.
       The governor made a late, but rather striking entrance. A 
     few minutes into the ceremony, a helicopter carrying the 
     governor approached while the Clarke County High School Band 
     played ``The Star Spangled Banner.''
       A mix-up in the location of the helicopter caused the 
     governor to make a last-minute sprint to Richmond 
     International Airport to catch a flight into Winchester.
       There, Warner jumped on the helicopter that flew him into 
     Clarke.
       ``I was not trying to interfere with the band's wonderful 
     rendition,'' Warner said at the dedication. ``Neither sleet, 
     nor rain, nor snow, nor hail nor misplaced helicopter could 
     keep me away.'' Warner recalled receiving a card from Carter 
     Hardesty when he began his term and found the state's budget 
     in worse-than-expected shape.
       `` `Don't worry, Mark,' '' Warner recalled the card saying. 
     `` `You'll get through it all right.' ''
       Potts, Wolf, former Del. Alson H. Smith Jr., former 
     Congressman and former Secretary of the U.S. Army John O. 
     Marsh all spoke at the event, held on a warm and sunny fall 
     day.
       ``My wife arranged the weather,'' Jack Hardesty told the 
     crowd. ``I know Carter's looking down and enjoying this.''
       During an emotional high point of the ceremony, tears 
     welled in the eyes of the family and many members of the 
     audience as Alexandra Masters, a junior at Clarke County High 
     School, sang pop singer Sarah McLachlan's ``Angel.''
       The Hardesty family stood with politicians as Warner and 
     Jack Hardesty unveiled a green highway sign that read ``Jack 
     and Carter Hardesty Bridge.''
       Potts said it would be fitting that after crossing over the 
     Virginia border, people would first see the bridge.
       ``The bridge that represents that `Highway to Heaven' that 
     the Hardestys tried to make Clarke County,'' Potts said.

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