A JOINT RESOLUTION honoring the memory of robert ruark, noted north carolina hall of fame author and journalist.

Whereas, Robert Chester Ruark was born on December 29, 1915, and died on July 1, 1965, was a native of Wilmington, but spent much of his youth under the care of his grandparents in Southport, North Carolina, later turning his fondest childhood experiences into a successful literary account about coming-of-age lessons of integrity, compassion, and a love for the outdoors; and
Whereas, Robert Ruark entered The University of North Carolina at age 15, thereafter, graduating at age 19 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism before beginning a stellar literary career as a novelist, reporter, columnist, navy officer, and author; and
Whereas Robert Ruark made literary contributions to the genre of fiction with his widely popular historical romance, Grenadine Etching, in 1947; and
Whereas, Robert Ruark began his journalist career with a series of small town North Carolina newspapers, including the Sanford Herald, and later became employed in Washington, D.C., as a sports writer for the Daily News where he met and married a prominent interior designer, Virginia Webb; and
Whereas, Robert Ruark advanced rapidly as a talented journalist from war correspondent to columnist syndicated in hundreds of national and international newspapers with a readership in the millions; and
Whereas, Robert Ruark's stories were also featured in prominent national magazines, including Field and Stream, and Esquire, where his boyhood experiences of hunting and fishing with his grandfathers in Southport led to the publication of his most popular work, The Old Man and the Boy, that to this day remains a sportsman's classic and in continuous print; and
Whereas, Robert Ruark later became a recognized authority on the politics of Kenya and East African struggles for freedom with the release of the documentary Africa Adventure, which became the basis for the publication of his best selling novel, Something of Value, based on the Mau Mau uprisings against British colonialism, in 1955 that later was produced as a major Hollywood film, and followed in 1967 by the sequel Uhuru; and
Whereas, Robert Ruark authored seven other books, among them, Poor No More, Horn of the Hunter, The Honeybadger, and The Old Man's Boy Grows Older; and
Whereas, Robert Ruark was affectionately known as "The Poor Man's Hemingway" for his candid recollections of the things he truly knew from experience and is widely recognized as one of North Carolina's most accomplished authors; Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:

SECTION 1.  The General Assembly honors the memory of Robert Ruark for his contributions to literature.
SECTION 2.  The Secretary of State shall transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the Robert Ruark Society of Chapel Hill and the Robert Ruark Foundation of Southport, North Carolina.
SECTION 3.  This resolution is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 1st day of August, 2007.

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		 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

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		 Joe Hackney
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives