Living a Legacy, U.S. Senator Christopher ‘Kit’ Bond

Profile | September 29, 2009

It was a sunny but cold January day in Missouri. The excitement of the day’s events was high. The stately rotunda was filled with the chirping sounds of children’s voices bouncing off the marble halls. VIPs were dressed in the standard yet distinguished long wool trench coats, scarves and gloves. The clicking of heals and the softer sounds of men’s leather loafers reflected the massive numbers traipsing through the marble hallways. As the historic ceremony began, both laughter and nervous anticipation were reflected in the voices of those gathered at the Missouri State Capital.

This would be a day to remember; the inauguration of the youngest-elected governor. This would be a day for the State of Missouri history books.

A handsome, young Christopher ‘Kit’ Bond, then 33, was center stage. He recalled his emotions of being overwhelmed.

“This was a time when I remember having butterflies, the moment walking into the Governor’s Mansion after the inauguration ceremony,” now-U.S. Senator Bond reminisced. “And I thought, what have I gotten myself into?”

Little did he know this was an early highpoint in 40 dedicated years serving the State of Missouri and its citizens during the greatest years of political history.

Also at this time, the newly elected Governor Bond learned that politics and community service were in his heritage.

“It wasn’t until my inauguration day as governor that my mother explained to me the depth of our family history as public servants,” Bond recalled. From his great-great-grandfather Joseph Bogy, who helped author the first Missouri Constitution in 1816, to his great-grandfather George Bond, who ran on the same ticket with Abe Lincoln in the late 1800s, Christopher Bond was a part of political history.

Elements of the Bond family history are displayed as true testaments of family political involvement. A picture of grandpa A.P. Green with Winston Churchill and President Truman taken shortly after the famous ‘Iron Curtain’ speech sits in the library of the Bond family home as one of many momentous photos and family heirlooms.

A lot has transpired since that cold January inauguration day in 1973 in Jefferson City. A once-young and energetic ‘Kit’ has transformed into a seasoned, young-at-heart and still-energetic U.S. Senator. Much of his life’s path for his years in public service, however, goes back to his youthful days in his family home. Since the 1930s, it has provided the environment in which his growth as a public servant and as a caring man began.

Bond grew up in the quaint and comfortably friendly town of Mexico, Mo. One can sense the history and royalty the Bond family has inspired through the years.

His family home exists today and is where the Senator spends his fleeting free time with his wife Linda. The beautiful country estate rests on endless green acreage with a picturesque long drive. Chestnut trees, dogwoods and a paving-brick entry complete the picture book image.

The family estate served as a foundation of heritage that made Christopher Bond the successful man he is today. Each paving brick symbolizes an important piece of his life, legislation and accomplishments for his constituents. The long, narrow drive to the home is a reminder of the long road his family, the country and Bond’s political life have traveled to reach goals of security, economic stability while keeping family values and community a top priority.

As a very young man, Senator Bond was curious. He envied his mother’s quick wit and his father’s extreme business sense and intelligence. He recalls many evenings at the dinner table soaking up his parents conversations on international business, community and world affairs.

“What I remember most about growing up in this house is my older brother Art and I playing in the hallway outside the library door. My parents would shut the door as the 6 o’clock radio news began, shielding us from the updated news from the war front.”

The Senator boasts his dad as a hero and role model.

“As Art Bond’s son, I was not going to compete,” Bond said.

There are a few things Bond holds dear to his heart: one is the plaque presented to his father after having won the University of Missouri bowl game in 1924 as captain of the Tiger football team; another is a clipping of his son, Sam, who was named honorable mention All-American linebacker by USA Today when he attended St. Albans High School in Washington, D.C.; and when Sam became a 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Marines Corps assigned to a sniper platoon in Iraq.

As a young adult, Christopher Bond had interests in agro-forestry and worked his first paying job in the family’s A.P. Green Refractories casting clay molds and hauling brick loads. Bond later earned his undergraduate degree from Princeton and finished first in his class at the University of Virginia Law School.

His experience from there is incredible and worthy of a novel. His career path has been impressive, from clerking for Chief Justice Elbert Tuttle who was helping to bring civil rights protection to the southern U.S. in 1963, to becoming Missouri assistant attorney general, to Missouri state auditor, to governor and currently to U.S. Senator.

Many are not successful in the long-term political field. One of the many reasons Bond has been winning on the ballot is his amazing ability to capture genuine friendships among his fellow politicians and constituents, whether a liberal or conservative, a trait envied by all that seek the political environment. But his greatest accomplishment, he acknowledges, is having really good people and helping them to grow.

“My greatest accomplishment before and during political life is, number one, staying alive; number two, listening to constituents; number three, hard work, 70 hours per week; number four, the opportunity to represent the state of Missouri and serve it’s needs,” he said proudly.

However, Kit’s days as a U.S. Senator are numbered as he recently announced his retirement in 2010 after he completes his current term.

“What I’ll miss most is the camaraderie with the people of Missouri, the interaction I have with them, my good friends on the ‘Hill,’ and working with people,” the senator said as if to be reminiscing. “I’m sure you won’t find me to disappear. I’ll always have Missouri’s best interest on my list.”

The Senator’s retirement days will give him more time for his family, time to work in the private sector and on the development of Asian/American Chestnuts as a viable producing crop for the state of Missouri and the country. Studies show profit yields are incredible and the state has the right environment to grow chestnut orchards.

Also, due for release in the year ahead, the Senator will be publishing a book he has written called The Next Front: Southeast Asia and the Road to Global Peae with Islam. The book lays out a way for the US to develop stronger relationships with countries like Indonesia (the largest Muslim nation in the world) to ensure these countries become better partners with America and do not assist organizations who use terror to threaten America and its allies.

U.S. Sen. Christopher ‘Kit’ Bond won’t be far from the long echoes of the capital’s marble tunnel hallways though. Those familiar noises from the past 40 years will be replaced with soft whisks of the wind through the acreage on the Mexico estate; a more comforting sound for a man who has given comfort in his caring smile to millions of Missourians.

And, as he tilted his head and gave his infamous ‘are we having fun yet’ genuine grin, the distinguished U.S. Senator Christopher ‘Kit’ Bond proved as vibrant as ever in his 70th year. The proof is in his greatest accomplishments; hard work, being a great listener, and just staying alive while continuing to serve with an open ear.

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