HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 48

(By Delegates Pino, Armstead, Beach, Brown, Fleischauer, Frederick, Gall, Guthrie, Hatfield, Higgins, Kessler, Lane, Long, Mahan, Marshall, Moye, Palumbo, Perry, Porter, Shook, Spencer, Staggers, Sumner, Walters, Webster and Wells)




Requesting the Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Highways to designate the West Virginia Turnpike, the "Okey L. Patteson Highway."

Whereas, Okey L. Patteson was born at Dingess, a coal town in Mingo County, on September 14, 1898; and
Whereas, The Patteson family moved to Mount Hope, Fayette County, in 1899, where Okey Patteson's father went into the mercantile and hardware businesses; and
Whereas, Okey L. Patteson followed in the footsteps of his father and established his own business, an automobile dealership in Mount Hope; and
Whereas, He was "disabled" from a hunting accident in 1932, which cost him both legs, but overcoming his disability he went on to give great service in helping and encouraging others who had suffered the loss of limbs; and
Whereas, He entered into politics in Fayette County, where he served on the Mount Hope city council for 12 years and served as Sheriff of the County for four years; and
Whereas, In 1944, Okey L. Patteson, was appointed Executive Assistant to Governor Clarence Meadows and during that service he was highly instrumental in establishing road building programs, including the West Virginia Turnpike; and
Whereas, Okey L. Patteson was elected Governor of the State of West Virginia in 1948, in which office he served from January, 1949, to January, 1953; and
Whereas, As Governor, he distinguished himself by advancing many programs and initiatives, among which was his bold concept that West Virginia could have a first class medical school and from his sound wisdom has arisen a major medical treatment and research center from which thousands of medical care professionals have been produced for service in the state and the Nation, thousands of West Virginians treated by highly competent physicians using the most modern equipment and practicing with the most current procedures, and a place where important medical research is being conducted for the future benefit of the state, the Nation and the World; another was his vision and hard work that produced for the state the West Virginia Turnpike, a modern highway through some of the most mountainous of terrain in the country; and another was his defusing of the Widen mine war in Clay County, which is a testament to his persuasiveness and native intuitiveness in dealing with knotty issues; and
Whereas, He was much honored for his good works, among which honors were his invitation and address to the President's Committee on Employment of the Physically Handicapped in Washington, D.C. in August of 1950, his national citation for outstanding service to the physically handicapped which he received in 1951, and his naming by the Charleston Gazette as "West Virginian of the Year" for the year 1951; and
Whereas, In 1952, Okey L. Patteson, organized the State Turnpike Commission to oversee construction of the West Virginia Turnpike; and
Whereas, Okey L. Patteson was the creator and driving force behind the placement of the beneficial West Virginia University Medical Center in Morgantown, West Virginia; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Highways is hereby requested to designate the West Virginia Turnpike the "Okey L. Patteson Highway"; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Commissioner is requested to have made and be placed, at all appropriate locations, signs identifying the roadway as the "Okey L. Patteson Highway Creator of the West Virginia Turnpike and West Virginia University Medical Center"; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates forward certified copies of this resolution to the Commissioner of the Division of Highways and the Governor of West Virginia.