On Friday, he spent a couple of hours with Democrats, along with a sprinkling of courageous Republican friends.
The Moore County Democrat-ic Party staged the luncheon at Country Club of North Carolina to honor Gilmore — a world traveler, political and civic leader, environmentalist and dedicated Democrat.
“He believes that the best way to destroy your enemies is to make them your friends,” said Felton Capel, one of seven speakers who shared experiences with Gilmore.
Capel was Gilmore’s partner more than 30 years ago when they quietly went about the business of knocking down racial barriers in the community.
Former Congressman Tim Valentine called Gilmore “an honest man, a smart man,” who “does things everyone ought to do.”
Legendary Energy
Former Gov. Jim Holshouser, a Republican, talked about the legendary Gilmore energy. Holshouser served in the state House before he was elected governor, and Gilmore served in the Senate.
“He was always a blur,” Holshouser said. “He was always moving fast, always trying to move faster than anyone else. Madeline Albright and Colin Powell would collapse if they tried to catch up with him.”
Holshouser called his old friend a man who continues to expand his horizons. Gilmore was almost 70 when he went back to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to earn a doctorate in geography. He later established a professorship in geography at his alma mater.
“Voit has always grabbed life by the throat and tried to make a difference,” Holshouser said. “Voit has made a difference in Moore County, in North Carolina, across the United States and around the world. He has done exactly what you should do with your life.”
Holshouser teased both the honoree and his largely Democratic audience.
“I would never have dreamed that so many good Democrats would turn out to hear a Republican speak,” Holshouser said.
Valentine, whose congressional district once included Moore County, joked about Gilmore’s affection for the Democratic Party.
“Now I don’t want to offend any Republicans, but if you read your Bible, you know that our Savior did not come into Jerusalem riding on an elephant’s back,” Valentine said.
Walker Morris, the master of ceremonies, pointed to the program featuring on its front page a photograph of Gilmore with a donkey-drawn cart and a man from Malta.
“It goes to show that Voit will go anywhere in the world to find another Democrat,” Morris said. Morris is a former chairman of the Moore County Democratic Party.
Dr. David Bruton, a Southern Pines pediatrician and former state secretary of health and human resources, told the “wonderful story” of Gilmore’s “courageous involvement with the Moore County Schools.”
Bruton said he and his wife came to Southern Pines in 1966 to open a pediatric practice. They had three small children and “negative net worth” at the time.
Despite their lack of financial resources, Bruton decided to run for a seat on the school board. At a concert in Pinehurst, Gilmore slipped “a roll of $20 bills” into Bruton’s hands, probably his first and certainly his largest campaign contribution.
Leads Intergration Movement
Later, Gilmore took a leadership role in the campaign to bring about consolidation and integration of county and municipal schools.
“It is hard, 40 years later, to recapture the intense passions involved,” Bruton recalled. “Many of Voit’s friends attacked him personally for having the North Carolina General Assembly create a local bill to consolidate Southern Pines, Pinehurst and Aberdeen into the Moore County Schools.”
Bruton remembered friends who asked him how he “could mongrelize the Southern Pines schools by reducing them” to a lower level.
“In those days there was ugly talk concerning the evils of miscegenation. Mixing the races was an evil not to be allowed,” Bruton said.
The bill passed, but opponents did not give up. Bruton told of “bitter public meetings, a court fight and time had to pass for the community to regain its balance.”
Bruton said Gilmore donated land as the site for Pinecrest High School, then gave more land for athletic field.
Gilmore made an unsuccessful run for Congress in 1968, losing by less than 1 percent of the vote, Bruton said. He described the campaign of smears against Gilmore and other liberals, including President Kennedy, Hodges, and Dr. Frank Graham, president of UNC and later a U.S. senator.
Opening Doors For Others
Capel credited his old friend with opening doors to his own business successes as well as opening the doors of public places to all races. When Capel moved to Southern Pines from Richmond County, the country was struggling out of economic depression.
“The conditions were the same for everyone,” Capel said. “No one had any money, but we had a president in a wheelchair who told us we had nothing to fear but fear itself.”
Norris Hodgkins, another Democratic friend, called Gilmore a man who “was everywhere you turned” in the early days when Southern Pines was just emerging from its position as a sleepy small Southern town.
Recalling Gilmore’s appointment as director of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, Hodgkins said Gilmore has been traveling ever since.
“Giving to others seems to be part of Voit’s character,” Hodgkins said. “He continues to be a man in a hurry, and we have to run to keep up with him.”
Jerry Meek, first vice chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party, presented a certificate to Gilmore on behalf of the party and thanked him for promoting the qualities that reflect the Democratic Party.
‘Limitless Energy’
Gilmore’s son, Peter, was the final speaker.
“He is a man of limitless energy,” he said. “Dad’s loyalty to the Democratic Party has been with us through thick and thin. He takes the middle road.”
Peter Gilmore said his father has the qualities that make the United States “such a rarity” and “the greatest nation in the world.”
One of Gilmore’s five children, Peter traveled to Moore County from Costa Rica for the luncheon. A representative of the Dole Corp., he brought fresh bananas and pineapples from Costa Rica as gifts. He joked about his father’s love of travel.
“He cares about everything and everybody,” he said. “It has taken him far. At first, we thought it was because he slept best on airlines.”
The Democrats gave Gilmore a chance to respond.
“Isn’t it sweet?” Gilmore asked. “This is an equal opportunity offender luncheon.”
Gilmore called on the Democratic Party to adopt a centrist position that will stand the test of time. He said Democrats need to develop think tanks of their own and design bumper stickers that reflect the true nature of the party’s concern for fiscal responsibility, compassion and concern for the environment.
“I believe in the greatness of America and the goodness of our world,” he said.
Among the Republicans attending the luncheon was Gilmore’s wife, Jody.
“Jody is a Californian who grew up under the Reagan influence,” he explained.
Recalling his “darkest time” during a World War II military campaign, Gilmore said he came to realize that his survival held meaning.
“I realized that night that the Lord loved me,” Gilmore said. “It was a signal to me that the Lord had many other things left for me to do.”
Gilmore also recognized the accomplishments of all five of his children. The other four were with the family last weekend for their father’s 85th birthday.
Dr. Bill Newton, county Democratic chairman, closed the program by presenting a gift to Gilmore on behalf of the party.
The program opened with the presentation of colors by the Pinecrest High School color guard, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the National Anthem.
The Rev. W.W. “Buddy” Olney gave the invocation, and pianist Paul Murphy provided dinner music.
