[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 13, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3903-S3904]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                    REMEMBERING TRACY WARREN HYLTON

 Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the life and 
legacy of Tracy Warren Hylton, a proud West Virginian, World War II 
Veteran, a legendary businessman, a fierce advocate for our proud coal 
heritage, and one of the dearest friends I have ever known.
  I have known Tracy my whole adult life. Tracy was doing business with 
my father-in-law, Carl Conelly, when I met him in 1966. Ever since 
then, I have always considered Tracy to be a very dear friend. He had a 
different sense humor that kept us all laughing, which will be sorely 
missed. Throughout his long life, he did a great deal for Raleigh 
County and Beckley, was a good legislator, and was always extremely 
kind.
  Our little State has mined the coal that forged the steel that built 
the tanks and ships that keep our country the strongest in the world. 
Coal miners themselves are some the bravest and most patriotic men and 
women I have ever met, and it is an honor to fight for our coal 
heritage and our way of life that sinks deep into the roots of West 
Virginia's rich culture. I am so deeply proud of what our citizens have 
accomplished and what they will continue to accomplish. So it is with a 
heavy, but grateful heart that I join my fellow West Virginians in 
honoring Tracy, a ``king'' of coal in southern West Virginia.
  There is no better position to find yourself in than being able to 
give back to the community you love. I can attest that my small 
hometown of Farmington helped make me who I am, and it brings so much 
joy to my life to be able to give back to the place that shaped me. 
Tracy and I shared that mentality.
  Born on the Fourth of July in Crab Orchard and having grown up in the 
coalfields, Tracy was a true patriot and was passionate about our State 
and its heritage. His father, Arthur, was a coal miner and a carpenter, 
and his mother, Grace, ran a boarding house at Stotesbury. They were 
hard-working people, and they passed their knowledge and work ethic to 
each of their six children.
  Tracy attended Mark Twain High School with our dear Senator Robert C. 
Byrd before attending Concord College and West Virginia University. He 
enlisted in the Army in 1943 and served in the Pacific Theatre in the 
267th Anti-Aircraft Ordnance Company during World War II. When he came 
home,

[[Page S3904]]

he met the love of his life, Betty Jo Foster. They had three sons: 
Tracy ``Warren'' Hylton II, Robert ``Bobby'' Hylton, and Harry ``Mac'' 
Hylton.
  It was a troubling time for the coal market and for business in 
general during that time. He started a few different businesses, and 
though he had some failures, he never gave up hope. At one point, he 
was running a conveyor mining business out of the front seat of his 
pickup truck. He did what he had to do to succeed, and eventually, he 
founded Perry and Hylton, Inc., which expanded to become one of the 
largest mine companies in West Virginia.
  Tracy was well known as a pioneer of modern surface mining 
techniques. His reclamation sites had a profound impact on the local 
communities, as they became home to high schools, housing developments, 
farms, and greenhouses.
  He was an extraordinary leader. No detail could be slipped passed 
him, and he wasn't one to mince words. He was a man of his word, and as 
an employer, he was beloved. This carried over into his role as a State 
senator for the ninth district for Raleigh and Wyoming Counties from 
1964 to 1972 and when he was reelected to serve an additional term from 
1987 to 1990.
  Tracy and my uncle, A. James Manchin, would have the most interesting 
and entertaining debates. When they weren't debating though, they were 
good friends. That relationship taught me a lot about working with 
someone with an opposing viewpoint.
  He was truly one of the most humble, generous, and hard-working 
people I know. His generous spirit and compassion extended throughout 
the State, touching the lives of countless West Virginians with his 
anonymous donations to various charities.
  What is most important is that Tracy lived a full life, surrounded by 
his wife, Betty; his sons Warren, Bobby, and Mac; and his beloved 
grandchildren Traci Jo Hylton, Kirsten S. Hylton, Morgan Tate Hylton, 
and Lance M. Hylton.
  He was a true West Virginian, always willing to help a neighbor in 
need. I am honored to recognize his memory, as well as the unwavering 
love he had for his family, friends, our home State, and our great 
Nation.

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