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TO REQUEST THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO NAME A PORTION OF RUSSELL STREET IN ORANGEBURG FOR JAMES E. SULTON, SR., AND INSTALL APPROPRIATE MARKERS OR SIGNS INDICATING THIS DESIGNATION IN HONOR AND RECOGNITION OF MR. SULTON'S SERVICE AND COMMITMENT TO WORKING WITHIN HIS COMMUNITY.
Whereas, born in 1923 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, James E. Sulton, Sr., grew up with his five brothers and sisters in the home his parents kept on the city's main artery, Russell Street; and
Whereas, leaving Orangeburg briefly to attend college in Atlanta and to serve our nation in the theater during World War II, Mr. Sulton has always returned to Orangeburg, bringing with him his bride, the former Ruby Clowers, to settle down and raise a family; and
Whereas, a descendant of the oldest sawmill in the South, J. J. Sulton & Sons, Mr. Sulton has long had roots in Orangeburg, and he worked at the mill alongside his brothers and cousins learning the value and meaning of a hard day's work; and
Whereas, establishing Sulton's Esso on the corner of Russell and Buckley Streets, Mr. Sulton and his brother, Leroy, delivered exceptional quality gasoline for Exxon Oil Company for more than twenty-five years; and
Whereas, in addition to establishing the gas station, Mr. Sulton and his brother also established the Sulton Fuel Oil Company which provided a basic energy source for many citizens needing heat in the winter; and
Whereas, in addition to his business ventures, Mr. Sulton also worked with the local branch of the NAACP in the equal rights movement, housed the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., when he came to speak to Trinity Methodist Church in Orangeburg, and traveled to the 1963 March on Washington to fight for integration; and
Whereas, an original board member of the local Habitat for Humanity, Mr. Sulton also helped establish the headquarters for the Association of Retarded Citizens in Orangeburg, a facility that is still in existence today; and
Whereas, instrumental in the restoration of Orangeburg Cemetery under the leadership of Mrs. Geraldine Zimmerman, Mr. James E. Sulton, Sr., has been an enormous presence in Orangeburg throughout his entire life and it is appropriate to recognize him in this manner; and
Whereas, it is a fitting tribute to name that portion of Russell Street (South Carolina Highway 33) where it intersects with I-26 to where it intersects with John C. Calhoun Drive, the "James E. Sulton, Jr., Highway". Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
That the members of the General Assembly request the Department of Transportation to name a portion of Russell Street in Orangeburg for James E. Sulton, Sr., and install appropriate markers or signs indicating this designation in honor and recognition of Mr. Sulton's service and commitment to working within his community.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the South Carolina Department of Transportation.
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