VSU hosts Harley Langdale, Jr. Room Dedication Ceremony

The Harley Langdale, Jr. College of Business Administration conducted the Harley Langdale, Jr. Room Dedication Ceremony outside Thaxton Hall at 10:30 A.M. on Tuesday, Sept. 28.

The Legacy of Harley Langdale, Jr., an exhibit portraying Langdale's cherished childhood memories and early career, is on display in Thaxton Hall Room 215. The exhibit features items from the Harley Langdale, Jr. Collection at Valdosta State University. The showcase reflects Langdale's role in guiding The Langdale Company from a world leader in naval stores, to one of the southeast's major manufacturers of diversified forest products.

Langdale donated the collection in 2003, following a major gift to the business college and the college's renaming to the Harley Langdale, Jr. College of Business Administration in 2000.

Dr. Kenneth Stanley, Dean of the Harley Langdale, Jr. College of Business Administration and Professor of Finance, holds this event in high regard. ?Mr. Langdale, his family, and The Langdale Company have done so much for Valdosta State University and south Georgia,? Stanley said. ?We are pleased to honor a fine man, paying tribute in this modest way, and equally happy to put together this exhibit showing the history of turpentine, as well as the history of naval stores in south Georgia.?

Langdale grew up working in turpentine camps during the summertime for his family-owned forest products company, which sparked his interest in the forestry business. In 1937, he graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Forestry. After returning to the family business, he became the third registered forester in Georgia and the first in Lowndes County.

The Harley Langdale, Jr. College of Business Administration provides the exhibit's funding. The curator is Dr. Laurie Kay Sommers of the South Georgia Folklife Project at VSU. Fred Sanchez of Great Impressions in Americus, Ga. produced the display's design.