[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 2868-2869]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        REMEMBERING CALVIN RITCHIE OF FAUQUIER COUNTY, VIRGINIA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 7, 2006

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor for Mrs. Jo Ann Davis of 
Virginia and me to remember Calvin L. ``Boots'' Ritchie, a farmer and 
activist deeply committed to agriculture and his fellow farmers in 
Fauquier County, Virginia, who passed away on February 26.
  Selected by the Fauquier Times-Democrat as ``Citizen of the Year'' in 
1994, Boots will be remembered for his countless accomplishments, 
including co-founding People Helping People of Fauquier County, Inc., a 
local charity offering immediate help to residents of Fauquier 
struggling against natural disaster, illness, or sudden financial 
hardship.
  We insert for the Record a Fauquier Times-Democrat obituary from 
February 28. A Fauquier native, Boots will be deeply missed by the 
people of the county, and at home by his family.

           [From the Fauquier Times-Democrat, Feb. 28, 2006]

                      ``Boots'' Succumbs to Cancer


   Southern Fauquier farmer was outspoken advocate for agriculture, 
                               education

       Calvin L. ``Boots'' Ritchie, of Bealeton, one of Fauquier 
     County's leading citizens for the past two decades and an 
     active force behind a home-grown charitable organization, 
     died at home on Feb. 27 after a long and valiant fight 
     against cancer. He was 78.
       A native son of Fauquier, Mr. Ritchie was born June 17, 
     1927 at Inglewood Farm, where he died.
       He earned his unique nickname as a child, when he did his 
     chores around the farm ``wearing an adult-sized pair of 
     gumboots that reached to his hips,'' recalled his sister, 
     Hazel Bell, in a 1994 interview. ``He was about 5 or 6 years 
     old, and the name stuck.''
       He spent his entire life working in agriculture, first on 
     the family farm and later, while engaged in custom farming. 
     In the mid-1970s, he founded the Fauquier Grain Company.
       Mr. Ritchie came to the general public's attention in 1978, 
     when he was involved in the American Agriculture Movement.
       The AAM sought 100 percent parity for farm products, and 
     made their point by staging a memorable ``Tractorcade'' 
     demonstration that passed through Fauquier into Washington, 
     D.C.
       ``Our main agricultural export is grain, which is priced 
     lower now than it was five years ago,'' wrote Mr. Ritchie in 
     a 1979 column in the Democrat. ``No other industry could stay 
     in business under these circumstances, and farmers cannot be 
     expected to, either.''
       In later years, Mr. Ritchie became a driving force behind 
     Fauquier County's purchase of development rights program.
       However, it was a different crisis, far from Fauquier, that 
     put Mr. Ritchie on a new path that would make a lasting 
     difference for hundreds of people.
       In the wake of the disaster in South Carolina caused by 
     Hurricane Hugo in 1989, Mr. Ritchie and several of his 
     friends founded People Helping People of Fauquier County, 
     Inc., a nonprofit corporation for the sole purpose of helping 
     people struggling against natural disasters, illness or 
     sudden financial hardship.


                           Education Advocate

       In the early 1990s--after a school bond referendum held to 
     provide funding for a second high school failed--Mr. Ritchie 
     became active in yet another arena.
       Determined to see a second high school in southern 
     Fauquier, Mr. Ritchie persistently lobbied the School Board 
     and pushed for the needed school bond referendum. When 
     Liberty High School at Bealeton opened in 1994--without the 
     funding for a football stadium--he was at the forefront of 
     the campaign, soliciting donations and selling raffle tickets 
     to raise the money to get the stadium built.
       After Mr. Ritchie and his friends on the Principal's 
     Advisory Committee at Liberty raised $100,000 for the stadium 
     lights, the Board of Supervisors, then under the late Dave 
     Mangum (Lee District), came up with the remaining $250,000 to 
     build it.
       Due to Mr. Ritchie's efforts and his growing, positive 
     influence in Fauquier County, he was recognized as the 
     Fauquier Times-Democrat's Citizen of the Year for 1994.
       His influence continued throughout his final years, and he 
     often spoke out on issues that were important to him. A 
     frequent contributor to the Democrat's opinion pages, Mr. 
     Ritchie's last letter was published here on Jan. 25, 2006.
       In it, he urged the Board of Supervisors to consider giving 
     tax money to parents who wished to opt-out of the public 
     schools and send their children to private or Christian 
     schools.
       ``The movement would be so great that I doubt that we would 
     have to build any more new public schools,'' he said. ``The 
     good news is that everyone wins.''
       Mr. Ritchie was a longtime, active member of Mount Carmel 
     Baptist Church near Morrisville, where he served on the 
     Building and Grounds Committee, as well as videographer for 
     worship services.
       According to his family, one of the highlights of Boots' 
     life was being chosen to carry the Olympic Torch.
       Mr. Ritchie is survived by his wife, Gail R. Ritchie; his 
     sons, and Glenn C. Ritchie, all of Bealeton; and his 
     daughters, Jennifer R. Krick of Bealeton and Helen R. Ritchie 
     of Strasburg.
       Also surviving are his step-sons, Edward C. Lynskey of 
     Annandale and William E. Lynskey of Midland; and his 
     stepdaughters, Linda L. Ashby and Karen L. Hughes, both of 
     Bealeton; and his sisters, Hazel R. Bell of Drayden, Md., 
     Jennalee R. McNally, Marie R. Lee and Peggy R. Dahany, all of 
     Fredericksburg; 11 grandchildren and four great-
     grandchildren.

[[Page 2869]]

       He was preceded in death by his parents, Wilbur Early 
     Ritchie and Ethel Barker Ritchie; a son, Jeff A. Ritchie; and 
     his brothers, C. Hunter Ritchie, Claude Ritchie, and Charles 
     Dwight Ritchie.
       Funeral services and internment will be private. A public 
     memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 4 at 2 p.m. 
     at the Liberty High School auditorium.
       Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer 
     Society, Relay for Life, P.O. Box 1095, Warrenton, VA 20188; 
     People Helping People, P.O. Box 3108, Warrenton, VA 20188; or 
     to Mount Carmel Baptist Church, 12714 Elk Run Road, Midland, 
     VA 22728.
       Online condolences may be made at http://
www.moserfuneralhome.com.

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