Agricultural Hall of Fame - ALONZO CLAY EDWARDS

ALONZO CLAY EDWARDS
September 29, 1904 - March 1, 1968

Alonzo Clay Edwards, known to his friends as Lon, was a dirt farmer. He found beauty in simple things, the path of a plow in rich, grey soil - the tobacco. He loved the soil and watched the young crops spring forth from fertile ground. He loved the warm rain that made peach buds start. He was in close communion with God and the land, truly a Christian gentleman, devoted to his church and family.

Lon Edwards was one of the most beloved people in North Carolina. His devotion to agriculture will long live through the many programs that he helped to formulate and steer to successful operation - the Farm Bureau, Tobacco Associates, the Stabilization Corporation, the FCX, the Methodist Children's Home, the Soil Conservation Service, the Regional Export Council, the Agricultural Foundation, the 4-H Development Fund, the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, the State Board of Education, the Advisory Budget Commission, the REA and many others. He represented his people well as a member of the House of Representatives where he served as Chairman of the Agricultural Committee.

Few people have worked harder and traveled more extensively for the things in which they believed. Lon was not satisfied unless he had done the very best he possibly could. He was a fighter for principals and consistency. He was adamant in his belief of the farmers' right to operate their own programs and make their own decisions. He wove an integral pattern of loyalty and compassion among his people. Lon Edwards truly left his mark on the industry of agriculture in North Carolina and the nation.

Elected to the North Carolina
AGRICULTURAL HALL OF FAME
1971