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William Randolph Carpenter to speak at statue unveiling

By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

William Randolph Carpenter Jr., better known as "Billy" to Marionites, will speak Oct. 2 at the dedication of the state CCC worker statue at Marion County Lake. He is a retired judge living in Topeka.

The junior Carpenter will talk about his father's connection to the lake.

Representative William Randolph Carpenter Sr. served in the Congress from 1933-1937 after four years in the state legislature.

He was instrumental in obtaining for the county the CCC project which created Marion County Park and Lake and made sure the project was brought to completion.

In a summary of the project, reported in the March 30, 1939, issue of Marion County Record, editor Wallis Hoch said Randolph handled all negotiations with the federal government in obtaining the services of the Soil Conservation Service and Civilian Conservation Corps.

"Through his efforts, the full cooperation of the government was given to the construction of the project," Hoch wrote.

The Congressman accompanied Franklin Roosevelt on his campaign swing through Kansas in October 1936. It included a stop at Florence. The entire CCC camp of African-American veterans loaded onto trucks to meet them.

According to a report of the event in the Marion County Record, the men dismounted several blocks away and marched to the station to the music of the company's bugle corps and formed lines on either side of the tracks.

President Roosevelt reportedly was surprised to see them and was interested to learn about their work in creating a lake.

The Carpenter family has a long history of association with Marion. Billy's grandfather, William Herbert, came to Marion in the 1880s with nothing but a couple of law books. He farmed and rode the range in Indian territory until the spring of 1887.

He subsequently established a law office in Marion and eventually formed a partnership with his son under the name of Carpenter & Carpenter. His law desk now serves as the reception table at Marion Historical Museum.

William H. was county attorney for two years and a leader among Kansas Democrats.

His son and Billy's father, William Randolph Carpenter, was born in Marion and graduated from Marion High School in 1912. He went on to obtain a law degree.

At the start of World War I in 1917, he was authorized to form a regiment of men from Marion County for the Kansas National Guard. The home company which he organized and recruited became Company M of the Third Kansas Infantry. He later became a first lieutenant and led his troops in battle in France.

After his discharge in May 1919, he married Helen Frances Williams of Marion and they had two children.

Son Randolph Jr. was born in Marion but graduated from Topeka High School. He attended Marion schools until 1945, when his father was appointed a U.S. attorney and the family moved to Topeka. Nancy Kassebaum (Baker) of rural Burdick was a classmate.

The senior Randolph ran for governor in 1948 and lost to incumbent Governor Frank Carlson.

Billy's sister, Jeanne Morris of Topeka, graduated from Marion High School and plans to attend the unveiling.

The program

Don Jolley, a resident of Marion County Lake and past president of the National Recreation and Park Association, will be master of ceremonies.

CCC alumni will be recognized as special guests.

The keynote address will be given by Walter Atwood, president of the national CCC alumni association. Keith Sexson, assistant secretary for operations for Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, also will speak.

A reception at Kingfisher's Inn will follow the ceremony.

The public is invited to attend this celebration to honor the CCC workers for their historical contribution. Visitors are expected from across the state.

The statue is a memorial to the 38,163 young men from Kansas who worked throughout the country constructing conservation projects, reforesting, and building state and national parks during the years of the Great Depression. There are 30 identical statues in 26 other states.

The federally-funded CCC had 32 companies in Kansas working on 52 projects from 1933-1942.

"We are still enjoying their hard work, diligence, and outstanding accomplishments," said Dwight and Helen Beckham, who live at the lake and led fund-raising efforts to obtain the statue for Kansas.

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