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George Norris alive, well, living in England
George Norris is alive and well and living in England.
No, not the legendary Sen. George Norris, (1861-1944) who represented Nebraska in Congress from for more than 40 years and was instrumental in bringing electricity to rural citizens, among other accomplishments.
But George Norris of Darlington County, Durham, England, who has begun correspondence with staff at the Sen. Norris Home in McCook to find out more about his moniker.
In polite, elegantly-written letters, Norris recounts that he was born in Liverpool shortly before World War II and was adopted by neighbors as an infant, following the death of his mother a few months after his birth.
Because his name was different than his biological siblings, he didn't meet his brother Joe or his sister until after the war -- in fact, he was unaware of their existence.
It seems destined that his name be interwoven with the history of the Nebraska senator, as even his brother's name -- Joe Cannon -- is the same as "Boss" Joe Cannon, the iron-fisted Republican Speaker of the House in 1910 who controlled all the bills heard in Washington and whose dominance was broken by a house revolt led by Sen. Norris. The act earned Norris the reputation of a man of integrity who voted his conscious rather than his party affiliation.
Despite the pride in his name, George Norris of England hasn't had much reaction to it from others. "I have waited patiently for one of our American friends to comment on the coincidence -- but sadly, no ever has," he writes.
But that hasn't kept him from a lively correspondence with American friends at the Norris Home. Duane Tappe, former site coordinator, said that hand-written letters between the two continue to be exchanged the old fashioned way, as Norris doesn't have a computer and therefore no e-mail address.
"There are some things I am happy to have missed out on," Norris writes.
Somehow, that seems fitting for a man with the same name as a Nebraska senator who was known not to bow to pressure.