[Nfbwv-talk] REMEMBERING BOB HUNT

Tue Jul 24 18:45:57 UTC 2012

Well done, Ed.  Even though I never met the man personally, I feel as though 
I now know him intimately.  I mourn his passing but celebrate his 
accomplishments.  Thank you!

Jack

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ed McDonald" <ed at eioproductions.com>
To: "NFB of West Virginia Discussion List" <nfbwv-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "David Andrews NFB" <David.Andrews at NFBnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2012 6:57 PM
Subject: [Nfbwv-talk] REMEMBERING BOB HUNT

> 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.
>
>
>
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