[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 174 (Tuesday, November 15, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7445-S7446]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO MR. ELDRED MUSGROVE
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to honor and pay tribute
to a very fine Kentuckian and World War II veteran, Mr. Eldred Musgrove
of McCreary County, KY. Eldred, who is now 91, has played an
instrumental role in developing many of the basic services that are
currently enjoyed by the citizens of McCreary County, KY.
Eldred was raised in Strunk, KY, in a house just behind the old Lum
Strunk homeplace. As a teenager, he became familiar with responsibility
and hard work. The oldest of six, by the time he was 14, Eldred
remembers having to help raise his brothers and sisters after their
mother passed away. He recalls carrying his 3-year-old baby brother to
his grandmother's each morning and returning each afternoon to pick him
up, before walking a mile himself just to get to school each day.
``When I was 16, I worked my first `real' job,'' Eldred explains. At
the time, ex-county sheriff Neil Stephens owned a sawmill that was
located up above the Marsh Creek Schoolhouse. ``He paid me 10 cents an
hour to roll logs down for him to saw,'' Eldred says. As a result,
Eldred developed a resilient worth ethic, which would eventually help
pave the way to a long and successful career in community service.
Eldred met Sophie, who is 90 years old and his wife of 64 years,
while they attended school together at Pine Knot as kids. ``I didn't
pay any attention to her when we were in school!'' he recalls. After he
returned home from the military, though, Eldred got a job working at
the Ford garage in Stearns and began to see Sophie as he drove home
from work each day. They began dating and have been happily married
ever since.
Not long after they wed, Eldred began taking a more active role in
the community. ``I became a charter member of the Pine Knot Kiwanis
Club in 1950,'' he remembers. Eldred and the organization were very
active for several years, selling stock, helping to establish the
county's first dial-telephone company, and even playing an instrumental
role in helping to build the first Pine Knot fire truck. In 1967,
Eldred helped form the McCreary County Fire Commission and served as
the board chairman for the South McCreary County Fire Department for
many years.
Eldred also served as one of three original water commissioners for
the McCreary County Water District. Eldred presided over the Pine Knot
portion of the district he helped create. In his later years, he became
involved with the McCreary County Development Association, and also
served as a member of McCreary County's first airport board, where he
helped develop a local runway. Additionally, Eldred has also been a
member of the McCreary County Industrial Development Association, the
first Stearns Museum Board, and the Kentucky Highlands Investment
Corporation for 31 years.
These days, the Musgrove home is decorated with countless
photographs, certificates, and awards including a picture of Eldred
shaking President Bill Clinton's hand that serve as a reminder of Mr.
Musgrove's many successes and achievements throughout the years.
However, Eldred admits that he is not yet finished. ``I still have a
job to do. My job may be taking care of my wife, writing letters to
congressmen, or erecting a monument. All I know is that I still have a
job to do.''
Mr. President, Mr. Eldred Musgrove's long life of selflessness and
service to McCreary County and his fellow Kentuckians is truly
admirable. Mr. Musgrove is a true American patriot and an inspiration
to the people of our great Commonwealth. A local newspaper, the
McCreary County Voice, published an article on October 20, 2011, to
celebrate Mr. Musgrove's many accomplishments in life. I ask unanimous
consent that the full article be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From the McCreary County Voice, Oct. 20, 2011]
Making a Difference
(By Eugenia Jones)
You may or may not be personally acquainted with Eldred
Musgrove, but if you are a resident of McCreary County, the
energetic 91-year-old probably touches your life on a daily
basis. Not only did he serve his country in World War II, but
Musgrove, throughout his life, has been instrumental in the
development of many of the basic services currently enjoyed
by citizens of the county.
Growing up in Strunk, Kentucky, in a house just behind the
old Lum Strunk homeplace, Eldred probably did not see himself
becoming such a civic-minded adult. At the age of 14 and as
the oldest of six children, Eldred helped to take care of his
brothers and sisters when his mother died. He recalls walking
more than a mile to school each day because there were no
school buses. On his way to school, Eldred would carry his
three-year-old baby brother to his grandmother's house and
then return on his way back home from school to carry the
toddler home. Eldred grins, ``I've never had a chance to
study, but I still managed to make Cs throughout school. When
I got home, instead of studying, I had to take care of the
stove wood. My dad was rather thrifty, but he managed to take
care of us. Dad worked some in coal, and later, he went
together with his brother and bought a 1933 model Chevrolet
truck to haul stone for building schools through the WPA. Dad
was also good at making moonshine stills and made them for
everybody around. He had customers from as far away as
Lexington and Cincinnati. I wanted to go into the CCC, but
dad wouldn't let me.''
As a teenager, Eldred was not afraid of hard work. When he
was 12 years old, Musgrove sold ``Grit'' newspapers to people
all over the southern end of the county. Musgrove shares his
memories of one special customer. ``I remember one customer
in particular. His name was Andy Galimore. He was a Spanish-
American War veteran. He lived up on a ridge across the
railroad at Pine Knot. He had a vineyard, and he would let me
pick all the grapes that I wanted. Andy Galimore must have
been a secretary or something like that for his unit, because
he had a roster of names that he let me see. The roster
listed the names of men and told different types of
information about them. It told when the men were absent,
when they were promoted, and all of the different things they
did in the service.''
``When I was 16, I worked my first `real' job. I worked for
Neil Stephens, who was an ex-county sheriff living on Cal
Hill. His sawmill was up above the Marsh Creek Schoolhouse.
He paid me 10 cents an hour to roll logs down for him to saw.
The mill used a steam boiler, and they had to get up steam in
order to saw. I also carried drinking water. I didn't get
money for pay. I got a slip to take to Manuel Creedmoor's
(O.K.'s) store to buy things. I bought school clothes.''
Eldred met the now 90-year-old Sophie, his wife of 64
years, while they attended the Pine Knot School together. He
laughs, ``I didn't pay any attention to her when we were in
school! When I came back home from the military, I got a job
at the Ford garage in Stearns. She walked home from where she
worked, and I drove home from my work in an old pickup truck.
We started meeting. I'd toot the horn and wave at her.
Finally, I asked her to go to the show with me. We went from
there by going out to a show together and ended up where we
are now by being married for 64 years! I don't remember the
name of the show, but I do remember going to pick her up one
time. There was a store sitting up on the corner of the road
going to her house. There was a big long bench outside. The
road to Sophie's house was so bad that I couldn't drive out
it so she would meet me at the store. One time I was sitting
on the bench waiting on her and another fellow was sitting
there talking to me. He said he had a date with a ``Meadows''
girl. I said, `Well, I do too!' It wasn't long before Sophie
showed up with her sister as a date for the other fellow!''
After Eldred and Sophie married, Eldred began taking an
active role in trying to serve his community. He remembers
the influence of the Kiwanis Club during the early
development of the county. ``I became a charter member of the
Pine Knot Kiwanis Club in 1950. The club was very active for
a few years. Pine Knot, at that time, had only 12 telephones
on two party lines. The Kiwanis Club started selling stock
and formed the first dial-telephone company in the county.
The company had 128 customers and was doing well. However, we
couldn't afford a full-time maintenance man. When the
Highland Telephone Company offered 150 percent on our stock,
we ended up selling out to them. We made sure that we sold
under the condition that we would get free service all across
McCreary County and in Scotty County. I remember some of the
board members when the phones were with the Kiwanis. I was on
the board, as well as Leon Hayes, Gorman Strunk, Harold
Hickman, Smith Ross, Autis Ross, and Ralph Chaney.''
The Kiwanis were also instrumental in helping to build the
first Pine Knot fire
[[Page S7446]]
truck. Musgrove can remember when Clarence Harmon picked up a
pump and gave it to the Kiwanis to use. ``We kept it up at
the service station, and it froze and burst. I only remember
us putting out one fire with it and that was in a cabin down
at the Shell Grove. Later, when Bob Anderson was county
judge-executive, there was a salesman with two fire trucks
for sale. Bob appointed me and Bon L. Bybee to check on the
trucks. Tweedy Hatfield helped too. In 1967, with the help of
Mr. Wright from the Bank of McCreary County, we ended up
forming the McCreary County Fire Commission and bought a
truck for Pine Knot and one for Whitley City. I was the board
chairman for the South McCreary County Fire Department for
many years. During that time, we built the sub-station at
Holy Hill.''
Musgrove also played a role in the initial development of
the McCreary County Water District. Judge-Executive Prince
Stephens appointed Musgrove, Bill Gilreath, and Alfred Kidd
as water commissioners for the Pine Knot/Revelo area. ``We
brought engineers out of Tennessee to help build a water
district,'' Musgrove recalls. ``They did a study of the
county and recommended that we join together with the Whitley
City Water District. Whitley hadn't done much, so we decided
to eliminate the two districts and form one new McCreary
County Water District. I represented Pine Knot. A.W. Holmes
represented Whitley City, and Dr. Winchester represented
Stearns. We were the first three water commissioners for
McCreary County. The three of us ended up signing a personal
note and buying a farm that was for sale. That's where the
water reservoir was built. There was a problem, though, when
the lake covered five acres of Forest Service land. We had to
get a special permit to take care of that!''
Years later, Musgrove became involved with the McCreary
County Development Association. The Association was formed to
help the water department and McCreary County. Musgrove
remembers when the water department discovered that they
could get grants to run water lines to industrial sites. He
smiles as he explains, ``I remember those people saying that
they hoped we were smart enough to find a site away from
town. I guess we went to the extreme! Industrial sites were
bought in Greenwood and near the state line. We managed to
get a grant that let us lay water lines to those sites on
both ends of the county!''
In addition to busying himself with McCreary County
telephone, water, and fire department concerns over the
years, Musgrove also turned his attention to the development
of a local airport by becoming a member of McCreary County's
first airport board. Musgrove can recall early attempts to
establish an airport. ``We found two pieces of property where
an airport could be built. Both tracts belonged to the Forest
Service. When we chose the Pine Knot site, we had to get a
special use permit from them. They had clear-cut the site and
planted it with pine trees. Burris Smith and I surveyed it
and finally got a dirt runway built. ``Doc'' Jim Anderson had
a small plane, and he became chairman of that board. We had
several people on the board, including Jim Burgess, Harold
Hickman, and Burris Smith. We got Bob Gable on there too,
because he knew people in Frankfort. Later, there was a land
exchange with the Forest Service, and McCreary County was
finally able to get the airport turned over to them.''
After serving on the McCreary County Airport Board for four
years, Musgrove went on to serve on the McCreary County
Industrial Development Association, the first Stearns Museum
Board, and, for 31 years, as a board member of the Kentucky
Highlands Investment Corporation Board. The Kentucky
Highlands Investment Corporation is an organization formed to
help fund businesses so that jobs are created. KHIC began in
the old wholesale building (now the Depot) in downtown
Stearns and has since moved to London, Kentucky, where it
currently serves over 20 counties. Musgrove and Bill
Singleton currently represent McCreary County.
Along with his active participation in the community
throughout the years, Musgrove has supported himself and his
family through self-employment. Musgrove operated a car body
and fender repair shop and was a plumbing and excavation
contractor. He and his wife also operated a mobile-home park.
Always eager to learn, Musgrove attended classes about
business law and small-business management.
Today, the walls of Musgrove's home are adorned with many
photographs, certificates, and awards. Photos of U.S.
presidents, including former President George W. Bush, are
displayed. One photograph, snapped when Musgrove visited a
factory as a KHIC board member, shows Eldred shaking the hand
of President Bill Clinton. Musgrove comments on that photo,
``I shook his hand. It didn't make much difference to me that
he was the president.''
Eldred's latest project is an attempt to erect a monument
that displays the Ten Commandments and honors veterans. He
comments that he still has a job to accomplish in life. ``I
still have a job to do. I'm just not sure what it is. My job
may be taking care of my wife, writing letters to congressmen
or erecting a monument. All I know is that I still have a job
to do.'' So it is, that Eldred Musgrove, who was not overly
impressed by shaking the hand of the president, still finds
great happiness in ``making a difference'' in the lives of
his fellow McCreary Countians.
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