November 18 named Robert C. Byrd Day
State officials and others sang "Happy Birthday" to U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, who turns 92 on Friday, at a ceremony marking his tenure as the longest-serving member of Congress. They included (left to right) Gov. Joe Manchin; Secretary of State Natalie Tennant; first lady Gayle Manchin; House of Delegates Speaker Rick Thompson; Ray Smock, director of the Robert C. Byrd Center at Shepherd University; and federal Judge M. Blane Michael.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd has hundreds of things named after him in West Virginia. Now, you can add a day to the list.
At a ceremony marking Byrd becoming the longest-serving member of Congress in United States history, Gov. Joe Manchin announced that "every November 18 hereafter will be Robert C. Byrd Day" in West Virginia.
About 250 people gathered under the state Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday afternoon to celebrate. A bald eagle named Thunder was perched near the podium throughout the event, sometimes flapping her wings during speeches.
It was 20,774 days ago when Byrd began serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, in 1952. After six years in the House, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he has served ever since.
Byrd surpassed the previous record set by Sen. Carl Hayden, D-Ariz., who served in Congress from 1912 to 1969.
Ned Rose, a Charleston lawyer who ran Byrd's Senate re-election campaigns in 2000 and 2006, called Byrd "a serious student of history, an accomplished historian and a significant maker of history himself.
"And when he opposed the war in Iraq, he did so with few political friends in a [hostile] climate. ... Robert Byrd is without peer in the life of this republic," Rose said Wednesday.
M. Blane Michael, a judge with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, said Byrd's record "may never be broken."
Michael, who managed Byrd's Senate campaigns in 1982 and 1988, recalled Byrd's joking reaction after he won 54 of the state's 55 counties -- all except Grant County -- in 1982.
"Byrd said, 'I would have carried all of them if I had a better campaign manager,'" Michael said.
"During the next six years, Byrd traveled to Grant County whenever he could. In 1988, he won Grant County."
Michael also praised Byrd for supporting grants awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, when some in Congress tried to restrict them.
Byrd developed an appreciation for creative arts as a young child. Michael remembered Byrd talking about his father, a coal miner who struggled to make money, buying him a fiddle and giving him a water-coloring set and drawing tablet one Christmas.
Michael said Byrd realized the "importance of dreams to the fabric of our civilization."
Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, D-Logan, and House of Delegates Speaker Richard Thompson, D-Wayne, read resolutions honoring Byrd.
Ray Smock, director of the Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies at Shepherd University, said, "There have been 1,899 senators since 1799 and more than 11,000 House members.
"Sen. Byrd has held more leadership posts than any other senator. He was married for almost 69 years [to Erma Byrd, who died in 2005], which is the longest marriage in the history of Congress....
"Byrd always defends the Senate from the encroachment of the executive branch," Smock said. "When he wrote his history of ancient Rome, he showed that Rome fell when the Roman Senate gave up the power of the purse."
Anne Barth, Byrd's state director, recalled visiting his early childhood home in Wolf Creek Hollow near Princeton.
"He came out of those humble beginnings. He knew about hunger and poverty. But he also knew about love and hope," he said. "He is still a child of the coalfields, He is a devout Christian. And he loves history, poetry and learning."
Barth said one of Byrd's first campaign signs when he ran for the state Legislature said: "Byrd By Name. Byrd By Nature. Let's Put Byrd in the Legislature."
Some of Byrd's most memorable moments, Barth said, came during his successful efforts "to fight the [presidential] line item veto" in the 1990s and "his courageous vote" against the Iraq war in 2003, when she said many of his fellow senators were "sleepwalking through history."
United Mine Workers of America President Cecil E. Roberts praised Byrd's "immense skills as a legislator, orator and leader."
"He has been, and remains, the best friend coal miners and their families have ever had in Congress," Roberts said in a written statement on Tuesday, "continually fighting for better health and safety in America's mines to ensuring that our nation kept its promise of health care to retired miners and their widows."
Byrd's Senate office in Washington, D.C. also released "Robert Byrd: The Dean of the Senate," a video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgwHe8rPaKo
Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd has hundreds of things named after him in West Virginia. Now, you can add a day to the list.
At a ceremony marking Byrd becoming the longest-serving member of Congress in United States history, Gov. Joe Manchin announced that "every November 18 hereafter will be Robert C. Byrd Day" in West Virginia.
About 250 people gathered under the state Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday afternoon to celebrate. A bald eagle named Thunder was perched near the podium throughout the event, sometimes flapping her wings during speeches.
It was 20,774 days ago when Byrd began serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, in 1952. After six years in the House, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he has served ever since.
Byrd surpassed the previous record set by Sen. Carl Hayden, D-Ariz., who served in Congress from 1912 to 1969.
Ned Rose, a Charleston lawyer who ran Byrd's Senate re-election campaigns in 2000 and 2006, called Byrd "a serious student of history, an accomplished historian and a significant maker of history himself.
"And when he opposed the war in Iraq, he did so with few political friends in a [hostile] climate. ... Robert Byrd is without peer in the life of this republic," Rose said Wednesday.
M. Blane Michael, a judge with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, said Byrd's record "may never be broken."
Michael, who managed Byrd's Senate campaigns in 1982 and 1988, recalled Byrd's joking reaction after he won 54 of the state's 55 counties -- all except Grant County -- in 1982.
"Byrd said, 'I would have carried all of them if I had a better campaign manager,'" Michael said.
"During the next six years, Byrd traveled to Grant County whenever he could. In 1988, he won Grant County."
Michael also praised Byrd for supporting grants awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, when some in Congress tried to restrict them.
Byrd developed an appreciation for creative arts as a young child. Michael remembered Byrd talking about his father, a coal miner who struggled to make money, buying him a fiddle and giving him a water-coloring set and drawing tablet one Christmas.
Michael said Byrd realized the "importance of dreams to the fabric of our civilization."
Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, D-Logan, and House of Delegates Speaker Richard Thompson, D-Wayne, read resolutions honoring Byrd.
Ray Smock, director of the Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies at Shepherd University, said, "There have been 1,899 senators since 1799 and more than 11,000 House members.
"Sen. Byrd has held more leadership posts than any other senator. He was married for almost 69 years [to Erma Byrd, who died in 2005], which is the longest marriage in the history of Congress....
"Byrd always defends the Senate from the encroachment of the executive branch," Smock said. "When he wrote his history of ancient Rome, he showed that Rome fell when the Roman Senate gave up the power of the purse."
Anne Barth, Byrd's state director, recalled visiting his early childhood home in Wolf Creek Hollow near Princeton.
"He came out of those humble beginnings. He knew about hunger and poverty. But he also knew about love and hope," he said. "He is still a child of the coalfields, He is a devout Christian. And he loves history, poetry and learning."
Barth said one of Byrd's first campaign signs when he ran for the state Legislature said: "Byrd By Name. Byrd By Nature. Let's Put Byrd in the Legislature."
Some of Byrd's most memorable moments, Barth said, came during his successful efforts "to fight the [presidential] line item veto" in the 1990s and "his courageous vote" against the Iraq war in 2003, when she said many of his fellow senators were "sleepwalking through history."
United Mine Workers of America President Cecil E. Roberts praised Byrd's "immense skills as a legislator, orator and leader."
"He has been, and remains, the best friend coal miners and their families have ever had in Congress," Roberts said in a written statement on Tuesday, "continually fighting for better health and safety in America's mines to ensuring that our nation kept its promise of health care to retired miners and their widows."
Byrd's Senate office in Washington, D.C. also released "Robert Byrd: The Dean of the Senate," a video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgwHe8rPaKo
Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.
Leaders pay tribute to Sen. RObert C. Byrd:
President Barack Obama:
"Sen. Byrd has always represented the people of West Virginia with pride and passion, fighting to put working families first and make life better for the people of his beloved state.
"His knowledge and experience in the Senate are unparalleled, and he commands the respect of all those who have had the honor of serving with him. Countless colleagues - myself included - have looked to him for advice, guidance and leadership over the years.
"He is one of the most steadfast defenders of the United States Constitution, and he never lets us forget the guiding values and principles that make our nation great.
"Michelle and I extend our most heartfelt congratulations to Senator Byrd and his family today, and our entire nation thanks him for his continued service and leadership."
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.:
"No senator in history has cast more votes or been elected by his colleagues to more leadership positions than Robert Byrd....
"The people of my state love and respect Sen. Byrd, in part because so many share his powerful story. So many have battled against the odds and continue to fight every day to make a better life for themselves and their community.
"Even in his hardest, youngest days, Sen. Byrd never grew discouraged. Growing up, he faced great challenges, but he had something called iron will and a sense of purpose....
"When you pick up a local newspaper always some institution, some college, some volunteer fire department, some research institute at one of our universities or colleges has been helped by Sen. Byrd."
Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-W.Va.:
"Sen. Byrd's record-setting achievement is not gauged best by the number of years, days, and hours he has spent in office....
"It is, instead, more correctly measured by the wealth of hope his work has generated, the vast number of lives his efforts have touched and improved, and the multiple generations of citizens his struggles from virtual orphan to the heights of political power have inspired.
"His efforts have provided for public services and fundamental structures -- modern highways, safer bridges, veterans centers, clean water systems. But these fall far short of the greatest and most lasting monument that he has given the people of West Virginia, his devotion and tireless work to make their lives richer."
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.:
"Sen. Byrd's lengthy record of service in Congress is something for which every West Virginian can be proud. For nearly 57 years, West Virginians have elected Senator Byrd as their representative in Washington, DC -- and that's a responsibility he has never taken lightly.
"I wish him all the best on this historic occasion and look forward to his continued service on behalf of the people of our great state."
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