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Another ‘giant’ has passed on
The Rev. John Bunn summarized all the things we’d been hearing from friends and educators in his Tuesday eulogy for retired Superintendent Paul Buchanan.
Calling Buchanan a “spiritual giant” and the “last of a group of Christian statesmen,” Bunn paid homage to a great Jackson County citizen who served the local school system for 20 years and his community and church his entire life.
We will remember him for his quiet demeanor and understated leadership, and we will honor him for the foundation he laid for this county’s excellent school system. Libraries, special education classes, certified art, music and physical education teachers were all added during his 12-year tenure as superintendent. He believed in the potential of every student, and he wanted the tools in place to help each child achieve the highest level of success it was possible for that child to attain.
He believed in both religious and academic freedom, and he always championed the underdog. Perhaps that’s why, under Buchanan’s leadership, Jackson County schools were completely integrated in the fall of 1965, and that process went peacefully and smoothly in contrast to other areas.
“It is the belief of the county superintendent and the Board of Education that by going into a program of complete integration this fall, we will avoid unpleasant incidents and fanfare usually associated with such a move, and that it will be to the benefit of all the people concerned with education in the county.”
We think that sentence was likely penned by Buchanan, who began leading local schools in 1963. By quietly showing the way and formulating a plan, county schools were integrated without controversy before federal law mandated action.
As important as academics were to Buchanan, who majored in history, he understood that school was much more than books. An athlete and coach himself, he championed sports and extra-curricular activities as well. Tucked away amid his many career achievements is the year he spent as president of the N.C. High School Athletic Association.
Born the year the Courthouse was built, Buchanan knew a great deal about Jackson County’s early days, and we wish we’d had the foresight to write it all down.
Reverend Bunn told a story Tuesday that once, after Buchanan had been retired for years, he heard a man using foul language on Main Street near Hooper’s Drug Store and confronted the speaker.
“I’ve known you since you were in school, and you know you should not be talking like that on a public street,” Buchanan told him.
“Not many would have the chutzpah to speak up,” Bunn said.
A local giant has gone on, and he will be missed.
We can take a measure of comfort from the fact that Buchanan lived long enough to see his beloved Tar Heels win another national championship. We know that made him happy.
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