Guy V. Fulbright

by Robert Fulbright

"I personally asked Robert Fulbright to write this article about his father, Guy V. Fulbright. He was somewhat reluctant Robert is a busy man! I appreciate very much his efforts. The fascinating thing in this story for me is the character of the man that emerges from the many stories I have heard about him. There is enormous stability, patience and a fundamental honesty and integrity in Guy Fulbright. It has always stood out in what I have heard. In fact, it stands out as much as his rare and delightful building and construction gifts.

I will ask you about something in a moment. How many builders have you known who would do what Guy did when he felt that he had made too much money on a home? I think your answer to that question will prove my point. --David Fulbright

At the last Fulbright family reunion that was held at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, the worship service on Sunday morning was held in the Memorial Chapel at the Lake Junaluska Methodist Assembly. This beautiful Gothic rock structure was built by Guy V. Fulbright. Guy was the son of George, who was the son of Andrew Jackson Fulbright, who was the son of Barnett Fulbright, who was the son of Barnett Sr., who was the son of Jacob, the son of Johann Wilhelm Volbrecht. Following the reunion, David Fulbright of Independence, Missouri and the editor of the Fulbright News asked that I write an article about my father, Guy V. Fulbright.

Guy was the third child born to George Fulbright and Mattie Tate Fulbright on May 1, 1907 at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. He enjoyed working with his hands and helped out on the family farm during his early. years. He later took up stone masonry and as a very young man traveled to Colorado where he did masonry work at the Mesa Verde National Park. Later after returning to North Carolina, he met a teacher, Evalee Snelson, who was attending Duke University Summer School that was held on Lake Junaluska Assembly grounds. After a short courtship, they became engaged and were married a year later during the depression. His interest in building continued as he served as a carpenter for one of the local lumber yards. The building came to a halt with the outbreak of World War II, and he ran the family farm during the war time years.

Immediately following the war, building was booming and he came into his own as a builder in the area. Soon, he was recognized for his skill and the quality of the homes he built. Living adjacent to the Methodist Assembly, he was sought after to build homes for Methodist ministers on the Assembly Grounds (During his lifetime, he built 76 homes on the Methodist assembly, plus the Children's Building and the Memorial Chapel.). On of the first homes he built was for Bishop Paul B. Kern, Bishop from the Tennessee Conference. A few years later, another Methodist minister contracted Bishop Kern and asked the Bishop if Guy Fulbright were an honest builder to which the Bishop replied, "He's a lot more honest than you will ever be!"

Years later, Guy was building a house for a minister. It was a small house and the minister was having to count every penny. He had contracted to have the house finished on the exterior but would have to wait before he could finish the house inside because of money. When the job was finished and Guy was figuring out his profit, he said to his wife, "I've made too much money on this house so I'm going to finish the inside for the minister at no cost to him." The minister and his wife could not believe this gift and the following year gave to the Long's Chapel Methodist Church a gift of $1,0000 in honor of Guy and Evalee Fulbright.

During his life time, he built 107 homes in the Lake Junaluska-Waynesville area and a church in the Ratcliff Cove. During retirement, he helped raise money for the West Gate of the Assembly and supervised the rock construction of the gate. Later that year, an area near the gate was designated as Fulbright Park, with a permanent granite marker. This was done to honor Guy Fulbright.

Some ten years after his death, his son was visiting at Lake Junaluska and was reading the real estate ads in the local paper. An ad on a house that was for sale gave the description of the house, the selling price and then the statement, 'A Fulbright Built Home'.

Guy Fulbright is buried in the Fulbright cemetery, along with his parents, George and Mattie, and his grandparents, Andrew Jackson and Julie. The cemetery overlooks the old home place built in 1830 and restored by Guy and Evalee Fulbright in 1966.

The Fulbright home was originally built by Robert Rogers, father-in-law of Andrew Jackson Fulbright. Rogers secured 200 acres of land through a state grant. The land is located just north of what later became Lake Junaluska Assembly. A large two story house was built from lumber sawed on the place and three chimneys with fireplaces were erected from hand made bricks on the site by slaves. In 1966, Guy took down the old chimneys in remodeling the house. He used bricks for two large chimneys and fireplaces in a large log house he built for his son, Dr. Robert Guy Fulbright on a hill facing the Fulbright home. The original Rogers/Fulbright home now called "Fulbright Manor" is now owned by Guy and Evalee's other child, Sylvia Fulbright Echols. Mrs. Guy (Evalee) Fulbright resides at the Givens Estates in Asheville, a Methodist Retirement Village.