Letter: Excellent letter about Mr. Eugene T. Speller

Dear Editor:

We read Mr. Harry Sharp’s letter in your Friday, July 19, 2024, Standard Democrat with great interest. Seldom have we read a more moving and compelling piece of correspondence. Thank you, Mrs. Editor, for printing it on behalf of Mr. Speller and Harry.

My father was a minister in that same geographical area for a number of years. I remember hearing “bits and pieces” about Mr. Speller. Harry’s letter spells out in clear detail the difficulties Mr. Speller had in obtaining an education.

We are sorry to say that we never had the pleasure of meeting he and his wife, Thelma. We wish we had.

As your letter states, Mr. Speller’s drive to succeed and his rise from a child working in the cotton fields, walking to school, working three jobs and studying hard eventually made him president of Olive-Harvey College in Chicago and later to be hired at John Deere as the first black engineer.

Further you write, “And, getting there wasn’t easy either.” We think the old adage applies here, “Truer words were never spoken.”

But we must say that the sentence that should pull at every heartstring in reading your letter is, “Daddy said I am.” Mr. Speller consistently credits his father for the encouragement to continue to work hard and get an education even when “the men in the field challenged him.” Some people reading this letter (black and white) know the truth about that last statement especially the “challenging” part.

Finally, Harry, it has taken courage for you to write such a moving account. We salute your extraordinary writing skills and depth of your caring to write a first-hand account of Mr. Speller for historical purposes.

Today, your letter has given hope and encouragement to many people struggling to succeed.

Tomorrow, your letter will still “ring-true” while writing kindness upon every reader’s heart.

May God bless you,

Buck and Sandi Smith

Sikeston, Missouri