Mississippi U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Brookhaven is lending her time to an event on July 2 in Starkville that’s a fundraiser for the Scouting program in northeast Mississippi. At that event, she will receive an award noting her service to the youth in the program.
For the first time, that award will bear the name of someone for whom
such an award should have been named years ago – the late John Robert
Arnold, who died August 23, 2017, at the age of 94. Until suffering a
fall that produced complications that ended his
life, Arnold remained active, vital and engaged in service to his
family, friends, and his fellow man.
To look at John Robert Arnold as he passed his 90th birthday, one would
not suspect that during his lifetime, he had been one of Mississippi’s
wealthiest, most popular and most influential individuals.
John Robert drove a nondescript, aging station wagon that had seen its
share of dings, scrapes and dirt roads. His glasses were tied on his
head with dingy white string. And long before Air Jordans or other such
footwear came along, he had taken to wearing
shoes that had actual springs built into the heels to correct a
physical ailment that affected his feet.
We attended church together where we both sang in the choir, shared
weekly fellowship in the Starkville Rotary Club and worked together as
adult Scouters in the former Pushmataha Area Council of the Scouting
program, now part of the Natchez Trace Council, which
serves youth in 22 northeast Mississippi counties from Macon to the
Tennessee state line.
He taught the Seventh Grade Sunday School class at his church for more
years than the over-60 pastor who preached his funeral could recall. He
trained as many kids as would attempt it to sing all 12 verses of
“Children, Go Where I Send Thee” at Christmas.
A native of Wattensaw, Arkansas, Arnold moved to Oktibbeha County at the
age of three. He lived in the Sessums community. From childhood, a
strong part of his life revolved around the Sessums Community Club. He
assumed leadership of the group in 1950 and led
it until his death.
John Robert sang with great enthusiasm, whether in Sunday worship, on
holidays, or during civic events. Truth is, he sang as he drove or as he
walked or as he worked. And work, he did. Throughout his long life,
John Robert launched manufacturing operations
that produced furniture, Herschede clocks of all sizes, and Motor Guide
trolling motors. Those businesses were known as Arnold Industries.
Additionally, under the flag of Dodge City Enterprises, Arnold owned a
Chrysler dealership, several Coleman’s Barbeque restaurants, and a
retail appliance business. He formed a tour bus business that offered
bus tours of all continental U.S. states, Canada
and Mexico.
Beyond the First United Methodist Church in Starkville, Arnold was a
pillar of the broader Methodist Church, serving as a trustee of Camp
Lake Stephens, Wood Junior College and Rust College.
A devoted Rotarian, at age 91, John Robert still worked his concession
stand shift at the Rotary Rodeo fundraiser, folding and assembling
hundreds of popcorn boxes.
In 2017, during his final illness, John Robert was a patient at North
Miss. Medical Center in Tupelo. At the same time, two floors above, I
was a patient in the Oncology ward being treated for cancer. I went down
the elevator and found his hospital room.
As I tried to tell him we were all praying for him, John Robert steered
the conversation to the future of the Scouting program. It was on his
mind until the end.
This week, we will honor Sen. Hyde-Smith for lending her time and effort
to help our Scouts with the presentation of the very first John Robert
Arnold Champion for Scouting Award.
Upon Arnold’s death, writer Shannon Bardwell published a column in the
Commercial Dispatch newspaper that used a quote from the abolitionist
George William Curtis that perfectly fit Arnold:
“I think that to have known one good, old man - one man, who, through
the chances and mischances of a long life, has carried his heart in his
hand, like a palm-branch, waving all discords into peace - helps our
faith in God, in ourselves, and in each other
more than many sermons.”
Sid Salter is a syndicated columnist. Contact him at
sidsalter@sidsalter.com.
2 comments:
Not approving your comment. Man writes a nice column about a Scout leader and all you can do is trash his religion. Now go scream censorship, crotch.
If Miss Hyde-Smith is honest, she'll announce that she was not in favor of co-ed scouting.
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