LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - FEBRUARY 27, 2022 by Lynne Belluscio If anyone understood perseverance, it was B. Franklin Bundy. He was in the LeRoy High School Class of 1912. He was born in 1894 in Caledonia and was the son of Charles and Delilah Sellers Bundy. He was the manager of the football team, captain of the baseball team, played on the basketball team, competed on the track team with shot put and broad jump, and played the violin in the orchestra. He was elected Vice President of the Class of 1912, and as Vice President of the Senior Class, he gave the Valedictorian speech. Reading through his speech, which was published in the LeRoy Gazette, it is hard not to transpose his thoughts to the students of today. It foretold the aspirations of the future generations. I can’t help but wonder what he would have thought about the election of the first Black President, in 2008. (Franklin Bundy died in 1963, and is buried in Machpelah Cemetery.) Here are some of Franklin Bundy’s words from his speech: "Of the various elements that make for a good man there are none of more importance than Perseverance. Webster defines Perseverance as the act of persevering, persistence as anything undertaken, continued pursuit or prosecution of any business or enterprise begun.. The practical meaning of Perseverance is that quality which aids in producing a man who does not know defeat. The foundation of Perseverance is optimism. No man is persevering unless he is an optimist. Did you ever see a pessimist, a man seeing nothing in the world worth living for, who possessed the smallest particle of Perseverance? The man who lives his life in the passive voice, intent on what he can get rather than what he can do, will never accomplish anything. To the persevering man the great problems of life have no terrors. He is undaunted by the difficult tasks that arise in his path because the future, veiled to the procrastinator, is opened to his eyes and he can see success waiting to crown his efforts..." "What factor has brought the class of Nineteen-twelve before you tonight? Perseverance. Through the long struggle - - every discouragement and obstacle has been overcome. Now we stand before you …about to launch upon the stormy sea of life. But no matter what our calling in Life may be, we are fortified with that great gift – Perseverance – and we are bound to succeed, for: What is worth Success’ name but carrying out a noble project to a noble end." Franklin Bundy’s perseverance was a legacy he left to his children. He and his wife, Genevieve, raised two children. His daughter, Betty, was elected vice president of her class and won the highest award for girls in the Larkin Speaking Contest. (Kermit Arrington shared with me, before he died, that when it came time to select the Valedictorian of the the class, Betty was “overlooked” even though she had a four point higher average higher than the person selected.) Betty’s mother went to Mr. Spry, the Superintendent and pointed out the “oversight” and she was given the honor. Betty was awarded a State Scholarship to Cornell University and graduated in 1941. She was a laboratory technician at Strong Hospital, but tragically died in 1944. She was survived by her husband, James Young and her 16 month-old son James. Betty’s brother, Benjamin Franklin Bundy Jr., also graduated from LeRoy in 1935. He attended Cornell University from 1937 to 1938 and then transferred to Ithaca College. In 1943, he earned his commission from the Communication Aviation Cadet Corps of Yale University and was assigned to the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee, Alabama. After graduating from LHS in 1912, Franklin Bundy worked on staff of a newspaper in Rochester. He owned a garage out by the Grove Motel on West Main Street and worked at a garage on Lake Street. But here is more of the story of Franklin Bundy, who talked of perseverance. It was Franklin Bundy who became the first president of the LeRoy Chapter of the NAACP – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He stood in the parlor of LeRoy House, on October 25, 1945, and accepted the Charter from Victor Einach of Buffalo, field representative for the State Commission Against Discrimination who was also the guest speaker. Einach explained the necessity of the Ives-Quinn Bill, which became law on July 1, in New York State. The law gave power to the Commission “to eliminate and prevent discrimination because of race, creed, color, or national origin either by employers, labor organizations, employment agencies or other persons. This law is an inevitable outgrowth of precursory legislation. Man has consistently been seeking, through government and law, freedom, equality, and security. In our country, from the Declaration of Independence through the Constitution of the United States and constitutions of several states, has run the thread of man’s search for the affirmation of these principals. He has continually projected into the field of social relationships the sanctions of legislation. This is evidenced by the study of New York laws proscribing discrimination in various situations. Seventy seven years later, we are still dealing with these issues, and have not been able to solve the problems of race and discrimination. I can hear Franklin Bundy - - We must persevere. Perseverance
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