[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 85 (Thursday, May 22, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S4790]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM PEYTON HARRIS

 Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President. I rise today to tell you about a 
wonderful and humble man, William Peyton Harris of Camden, AL, who died 
on February 25, 2008.
  Mr. Harris was born October 22, 1909. He was a man who loved 
adventure and a man of many talents. He survived the Great Depression 
and worked some weeks for $5 per week. He grew up in a time when good 
morals, good manners, and discipline were the norm.
  He was very fortunate to have married Lois Sutherland who was the 
perfect life partner for him. She was with him for 62 years. They had 
one son, my friend, Billy, three grandchildren and seven great-
grandchildren.
  At the age of 12, he rode a horse 2\1/2\ miles to see the last 
steamboats loading cotton bales on the Alabama River. Then, in the 
early 1960s, he salvaged an old steamboat that sank in 1850 and his 
discovery revealed lost treasure.
  He was well known in his later years for his artwork of Old South 
scenes and wildlife, especially the wild turkey, which he also loved to 
hunt. His art studio was in the back of an old country store he owned 
and operated for many years in Possum Bend. The store was known as the 
``Social Center'' of Possum Bend. After renting out the country store, 
he concentrated more on his art. His popularity grew and in 2001, he 
was interviewed by CNN and the interview aired on national television. 
Buyers for his art increased and more visitors stopped by his studio. 
No matter how busy he was, there was always time for his friends and 
customers. Good conversation occurred on subjects from politics to 
weather, and from grandchildren to divorces and if you were down and 
out, or had a cold, he would always offer you a little of his special 
``remedy.''
  As a son of a store owner in a nearby community myself, I remember 
some of those times very well when as a young boy I observed such 
scenes, but times have changed. We are much ``busier'' now, though not 
necessarily wiser. The old store stands vacant. Only fond memories 
remain of the life of a wonderful man who was one of the last of a 
great generation.

                          ____________________