DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about James Winford Hunt, right here in Taylor County. Now settle in, because this one's about a man who had a habit of convincing people to do big things. James Winford Hunt was born in what is now Oklahoma, grew up out on the Texas High Plains, and somewhere along the way decided he had something to say — which, as it turned out, was an understatement.
He spent several years as a newspaper publisher, so the man already knew how to put words together and make them land. Then in 1903, he became a Methodist minister, and the pulpit suited him just fine. Hunt ended up pastoring in Abilene, and that's where things got interesting.
See, he looked around that town and decided what it really needed was a college — a Methodist college — and he was not shy about saying so. He went before the Northwest Texas Conference of the Methodist Church and made his case, and friends, he must have been persuasive, because they agreed to build it. That school was McMurry College, and it opened in 1923, with Dr.
Hunt himself serving as its first president. He was known widely for his writings and his sermons, and he built a reputation as a successful Christian educator. A man born in what's now Oklahoma, raised on the High Plains, who turned newspaper ink into scripture and then turned a town's ambition into a college.
That is not a small life. That is a Texas-sized one.
What the marker says
Born in present Oklahoma, James Winford Hunt grew up on the Texas High Plains. A newspaper publisher for several years, he became a Methodist minister in 1903. While a pastor in Abilene, he convinced the Northwest Texas Conference of the Methodist Church to build a college in the town. The school, McMurry College, opened in 1923 with Dr. Hunt as president. Known widely for his writings and sermons, he became a successful Christian educator. Texas Sesquincentennial 1836-1986.