Old Ridge Runner Fund
TYPE OF FUND: Designated DATE ESTABLISHED: 2006
PURPOSE: To provide funds for administrative purposes of TCF.
DISTRIBUTION: Upon the recommendation of the Grants Committee and approval by the Board of Directors of TCF.
VARIANCE POWER: If, in the judgment of the TCF Board of Directors, the restrictions and conditions of the fund become unnecessary, incapable of fulfillment or inconsistent with the charitable needs of the community, the TCF Board of Directors maintains the right to modify the terms of this fund.
FUNDING: Initial donation of $1,000.00 from Herman R. Hebb – Feb. 1995, sales from his book, The Old Ridge Runner, and $10,000 from his estate upon his death in 2005. As president of McClain Printing Company in 1995 George A. Smith agreed to print the book at cost, with payment from the first books to repay the printing company. Once MCP had been paid, all profits thereafter were to go to TCF for the fund. MPC agreed to distribute the books at the standard 40% dealers discount. MPC was paid in full for the printing by the end of November 2002.
BACKGROUND: Herman R. Hebb was born May 28, 1910 at William, Tucker County, WV a son of the late Harvey Dow Hebb and Margaret Mason Hebb. His siblings were Harold C. Hebb (deceased) Herbert B. Hebb (deceased), Arlene I. Arnold, John Walter Hebb, Malcolm Ray Hebb, Glenda L. Marshall, and Donald G. Hebb. Herman attended Mt. Olivet and Sugarlands country school, Parsons Graded School and in May 1931 graduated from Black Fork District High School which was later to be known as Parsons High School. He left Parsons in Aug. 3, 1931 to enlist in the US Navy. He served continuous duty until Oct 1, 1956 earning the rank of Lieutenant Commander USN. Mr. Hebb returned to Tucker County for only 3 years but always considered it as home. In 1933 he married the former Marvel Groshart in San Diego, California. They became the parents of two children, Herma Rae Hebb and Wayne Mason Hebb. Herman and Marvel divorced in 1945. By 1955, he had six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Herman and Clara Louise Stroter were married in Houston, Texas in 1945. After his retirement from the military in 1956, Herman and Clara sailed their 30 ft. ketch from California to Florida via the Panama Canal, Jamaica and Galveston, Texas. They left the sea in l959 and moved back to WV for 3 years. In 1961 they moved to Florida and engaged in different occupations until 1975 when they retired.
The Old Ridge Runner columns first appeared in the Parsons Advocate in l985 and continued through mid-1990. They were well received by readers, many of whom had known Herman as a child.
Herman was 92 years old when the printing company was paid in full. At that time he was still living in his how home in Punta Gorda, FL although his wife Clara had passed away. He remained committed to Tucker County and made trips to the Parsons area every May for the annual Parsons High School Alumni Banquet. Mr. Hebb passed away December 12, 2005 near his home in Port Charlotte, FL at the age of 95.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Upon his death, and the $10,000.00 funding of The Old Ridge Runner Fund, Mr. Hebb’s estate left an additional $40,000.00 to TCF to be used as pass through donations. $10,000.00 each was distributed to Parsons City Cemetery and Five Rivers Public Library, $5,000 each to Rose Hill Cemetery, Leadmine Cemetery, Fairview Cemetery on Location Road, and the William Hebb cemetery on the Stemple Farm in Preston County.