[Nfbwv-talk] REMEMBERING BOB HUNT

[Ed McDonald]

For many of us the death of Bob Hunt on Friday, July 20, has meant the loss 
of a dear friend and respected colleague. Bob has been very much in my 
thoughts the last couple of days, and I am sure we will pay tribute to his 
life and memory during our upcoming state convention.

Meanwhile, for those who may be interested, I thought I would share the 
tribute that was prepared in 2008 when we inducted Bob into the NFBWV Hall 
of Honor.

Rest in Peace.

Ed




Bob Hunt was born May 22, 1924, and grew up in a Barbour County, WV, coal 
camp.  He was eleven years old and in the sixth grade when a fellow student 
gave him a dynamite cap of the kind used in coal mining.  While examining 
and playing with the cap, Hunt caused it to explode.  The explosion 
destroyed his right eye and caused the loss of three fingers on his left 
hand.  Two years later, while in the eighth grade, he lost the remaining 
vision in his left eye.



Bob enrolled at the West Virginia School for the Blind in 1940 and graduated 
in 1944.  He earned his undergraduate degree from Alderson Broaddus College 
in Philippi, WV, and a master's degree from Marshall College (now Marshall 
University) in Huntington, WV.  He has also completed extensive graduate 
study at West Virginia University.



As a young man fresh out of college, he earned a living as a merchant and 
cab dispatcher and even dabbled in the trucking business as a coal hauler. 
At the age of 24, he was elected to the first of two two-year terms in the 
West Virginia House of Delegates, representing his home county.  Several 
years later he taught for two terms in the public schools of Lincoln County, 
WV.  Then in 1959 he joined the faculty of West Virginia Wesleyan College in 
Buckhannon, where he served as a professor of history for nearly 35 years.



Bob joined the West Virginia Federation of the Blind (now the National 
Federation of the Blind of West Virginia) during the early 1960s.  He was a 
leader of the newly formed Morgantown chapter while attending West Virginia 
University.  He served as second vice-president and then as first 
vice-president of the state affiliate before succeeding to the presidency 
upon the death of NFBWV pioneer Chris Cerone.  He was then elected to the 
presidency in 1967 and held that position--except for one year--until 1979. 
Since then he has remained active in the organization as a member of the 
board of directors, president of the Members at Large Chapter, member of the 
legislative and agency relations committees, and in various other 
capacities.



Bob and his wife Ruth are the parents of two adult children, Merrilee and 
Rob.



But these are just some of the basic facts of Bob Hunt's biography.  They 
are the ingredients of an impressive resume, but they tell only part of the 
story of why he deserves a place in the Hall of Honor.  His pioneering 
spirit of independence and self-confidence as a blind person; his keen sense 
of universal justice, equality, and human dignity; his strength as a leader; 
and his commitment to lifelong learning are just some of the personal 
qualities that make him worthy of respect and recognition--not just by the 
National Federation of the Blind of West Virginia, but by anyone who has had 
the good fortune to know him as a student, a colleague, or a friend.



Consider, for example, his spirit of independence and self confidence as a 
blind person and how it came to be.  At the time Bob lost his sight, the 
creation of a social action organization of blind Americans (the National 
Federation of the Blind) was still just a dream in the mind of a scholar and 
visionary named Jacobus tenBroek.  Bob's mother and father had no National 
Organization of Parents of Blind Children to turn to for guidance about how 
to help their young son who had suddenly become blind.  The only blind 
person Bob himself had ever seen was a street musician with a tin cup 
attached to the neck of his instrument.  Otherwise, during those pre-war 
depression days, opportunities for a blind person to live an independent and 
productive life--especially in rural West Virginia--were virtually 
non-existent.



Neither of Bob's parents had even a high school diploma.  Nevertheless, they 
recognized the importance of getting a good education and developing a 
strong sense of personal responsibility.  They made sure their children did 
well in school and had chores to do at home.  Even after the explosion had 
destroyed some of Bob's vision, they insisted that he remain in school and 
complete eighth grade.  In addition, Bob's father, who worked as a coal 
miner, set a personal example of courage and determination by becoming 
involved in the labor union movement--an unpopular and sometimes even 
dangerous thing to do at that time in the state's history.  Even after his 
father died prematurely in 1939 at the age of 37, his mother insisted that 
Bob continue his education at the West Virginia School for the Blind in 
Romney, the only viable educational option available to him at that time.



Despite the school's strong academic program, it was at the School for the 
Blind that Bob first encountered attitudes of low expectations and 
inferiority regarding blind people--even the unspoken but very real notion 
that totally blind people were somehow perceived as being inferior to those 
with so-called "partial vision." But he also learned from his fellow 
students the many things that blind people really were able to do, and he 
discovered new and effective ways to bolster his own self-confidence.



One of those techniques for building self-confidence involved what he 
describes as "breaking the rules of the institution," a technique that he 
occasionally employed in his adult life as well.  Things like venturing off 
campus without the requisite "sighted guide"; finding ways to buy beer at a 
downtown restaurant; and daring to walk across the railroad trestle that 
spanned the South Branch River--these were all activities strictly forbidden 
by school rules.  Nevertheless, engaging in such activities--even at some 
risk to one's safety--was one way for a blind teen-ager to assert his 
independence and strengthen his confidence in his own inherent abilities.



Bob would be quick to remind us that behavior which others may regard as 
simply a display of self assurance on the part of a sighted person may be 
interpreted as arrogance or conceit when displayed by a blind person. 
Nevertheless, this spirit of self confidence--call it conceit if you want 
to--served him well after graduating from the School for the Blind. 
Pursuing a college education was not all that common among young blind 
people in those days, and the matter of starting a business of your own was 
even less common.  But conducting a campaign, getting elected, and serving 
in the state legislature is still a pretty remarkable accomplishment for any 
young man in his early 20's--not to mention a young man in 1948 who happened 
to be blind.



In 1959, when Bob joined the faculty of West Virginia Wesleyan College, 
blind people throughout the nation were still struggling to secure the 
fundamental right to organize.  Dr. tenBroek and a few others had worked 
their way into academia, but teaching at the college level was not, by any 
means, a popular profession for blind persons.  It is therefore a testament 
to his persistence and determination as well as his academic credentials 
that Bob was able to secure such a position and make it his life's work for 
more than three decades.



He continued, however, to hold his employer to the same standards of 
non-discrimination that he would expect from anyone else.  Although he had 
not earned a Ph.D., he became eligible after fifteen years of teaching for 
advancement to the rank of full professor.  Years passed, however, and he 
received no such advancement, while colleagues in similar situations were 
becoming full professors.  He recognized a blatant case of discrimination 
based on blindness and carefully considered how to respond. 
Finally--despite advice from friends and colleagues not to make waves, he 
ultimately decided to file a complaint with the West Virginia Human Rights 
Commission, a right that had been secured several years earlier through the 
efforts of the Federation.  The Commission ruled in his favor, and the 
college complied appropriately.



It was virtually inevitable that Bob should become involved in the work of 
the National Federation of the Blind.  His father's example as a union miner 
taught him the value of collective action as a way to solve social and 
economic problems and bring about needed social change.  His legislative 
experience taught him something about how to bring about change through the 
political system.  What's more, that sense of independence and 
self-confidence assured him that the principles which the Federation fought 
for were indeed right.



He led the Organized Blind Movement well in West Virginia--expanding the 
membership and forming new chapters, raising the necessary funds to support 
the organization, raising public awareness of blindness issues and the 
accomplishments of blind people, and supporting the passage of vital 
legislation in such areas as basic human rights for blind West Virginians. 
One of his crowning moments occurred when he confronted Governor Arch Moore 
in a public forum.  While Moore addressed a statewide gathering of 
individuals leading up to the White House Conference on Disability, Bob 
challenged the governor's alleged acts of political cronyism that had 
seriously weakened the state's Randolph-Sheppard vending program, a major 
source of employment for blind West Virginians.



On a very personal level, Bob and Ruth were successful in navigating through 
the process of adopting two children.  Back in the 1960's and even today, 
this is an area in which blind persons often face unwarranted challenges and 
discrimination.



These are but a few snapshots from the life of Robert L.  Hunt--a life that 
stands as both a positive example and an inspiration for blind people 
everywhere.  It seems almost prophetic that the letter L, the middle initial 
in his name, stands for Loyal.  Throughout his life he has remained "loyal" 
to those fundamental principles of equality and justice that have sustained 
him and given him the strength and determination to achieve so much.



There is far more to the story of Robert Loyal Hunt than space here allows, 
but surely this is enough to establish his worthiness of the honor that we 
have bestowed upon him.



Bob, we call you our colleague with respect, we call you our friend with 
love, and we are proud to receive you into the Hall of Honor of the National 
Federation of the Blind of West Virginia.