Friends of Cordell Hull Received Historic Letters and Funding

The Cordell Hull Birthplace and Museum State Park and the Friends of Cordell Hull got the check for $2,062.00 from the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. This is the first of the annual distribution from the Elias Skovron Fund to the Friends of Cordell Hull. The fund founded by Mr. Elias Skovron benefits the Cordell Hull Museum and the Friends of Cordell Hull. Mr. Skovron, aged 97, donated the money to the non-profit organization to show his gratitude to Cordell Hull. In 1938, he while living in Poland was denied a visa to the U.S. by the consular service. For him, a Jewish boy, the no-go was equivalent to a death sentence in the Nazi concentration camps. Elias Skovron's family, including parents, two brothers and other relatives were tortured in those camps.

Elias Skovron had an aunt who lived in Nashville at the time. She got Judge John J. Gore to contact Cordell Hull requesting assistance. Cordell Hull helped Elias Skovron get the immigration visa. After receiving a letter from Cordell Hull a poor boy from Poland was sent to the United States to his aunt in Nashville. Elias Skovron's life was saved and he was still grateful to Judge Gore and Cordell Hull for the opportunity to escape the Nazi concentration camps and the fate of his family. Now Elias Skovron wants to give back and help other people in need. The letters are now display at the Cordell Hull Birthplace and Museum State Park. Mr. Skovron asked that his donation should be spent on educational programs for the children of Pickett County.