Hinton Durwood Edgar was born August 16, 1941, to Ida and Arthur Casey Edgar in Poley, Alabama. Edgar married the former Martha Petty Edgar in 2000 and is father to Melanie Edgar, Emily Edgar, Mindell Edgar Glisson, Macie Edgar Taylor, Angus Edgar, and Garrett Smith. He is the proud grandfather of Ali Taylor Goins, Maggie Taylor, Sara Rebekah Glisson Moulton, Thomas Glisson, Sarah Beth Smith, Sadie Claire Smith, and Daxton Edgar, and great-grandfather to Sailor Goins.
“Self-made man” is a classic phrase to describe individuals whose success lay within the individuals themselves, not with outside conditions. H. D. Edgar (Durwood) lives up to this phrase. Born at a time when the American economy was still struggling with unemployment and a lack of demand for goods, the United States was just beginning to escape the effects of the Great Depression, and it was on this scene the Edgar family found themselves. Durwood’s father, Casey Edgar was in the Air Force, and his service and absence necessitated that the family’s “growing up years” were spent living with his grandparents on their farm in Poley, and later at the country store in Green Bay, Alabama. Durwood (or Buck as he was nicknamed) spent many hours at his grandfather’s feet, both in the Poley home and later at the farm, absorbing the lessons of life that would serve him well in later life. He was the youngest of Casey and Ida’s three children, the oldest Dudley and younger sister Vivian Edgar Stewart. Dudley died in an accident at the age of nine. Durwood often speaks of “selling trips” into the mill village with his grandfather with produce and counts it as some of the happiest days of his life. “We were poor, but everyone else was too, so we didn’t know the difference.” H. D. credits his paternal grandparents, James Lewis and Francis Dolly Edgar, for providing many happy memories of growing up in Covington County. His maternal grandparents were Dudley and Lela Mae Knight.
After his graduation from Opp High School in 1959, Durwood began a search-for-work odyssey that required leaving his beloved Alabama and joining his parents at Kincheloe Air Force Base in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He found employment at a local power company and also worked at the Air Force base service station. After two years of Michigan winters, this south-Alabama boy decided it was time to go home to the land he loved. After his return, he tried his hand at various jobs before settling in on what was to be his job for life. “When my father got out of the Air Force, he went into the trucking business, and I decided that I would try it too,” he said. “I bought my first truck and trailer in 1965, and we began to grow into the company we are today.” That single truck was the beginning of one of the largest employers in Opp. Hauling fresh flowers from California was the beginning “seed” which now includes short- and long-haul delivering of goods from and back to Opp from across the country.
While the trucking company was growing, so was Durwood’s contribution to the city he loves. He always felt it was his responsibility and privilege to give back to the people and city that had given him so much, which he did in both the private and public sectors. Believing that education is the answer to the problems facing our city and country today, he began to focus his time and energy on the education of our youth, both as a member of the Opp City School Board of Education for 12 years and as a two-term mayor of Opp. As chairman of the Board of Education and then as Opp mayor, H. D. forged a closer relationship between the school system and the city of Opp. “Two entities working together can accomplish much more than one alone,” he said, and he put that thought into action by coupling his personal resources, the Opp Board of Education resources, and the City of Opp resources into what he considers as one of his most rewarding endeavors the replacement of antiquated South Highland Elementary School with a new and state-of-the art Opp Elementary School. His administration was also able to save the last (and newest) South Highland addition from demolition. It was transformed into a safe place for mothers and fathers to take their young preschool children and subsequently turned over to the Opp Head Start program.
While serving his eight years as mayor, Edgar was instrumental in finding funding for the transit system which transports most of the children to school each day. He was also instrumental in finding funding for the old National Guard Armory and revamping it for a school bus garage, and as mayor, partnered with the Opp Board of Education to renovate Channell-Lee Stadium, making it a modern facility with complete handicap accessibility, a press box, and updated restrooms and concession stands. Always keeping the children in mind, Edgar worked to improve and rejuvenate the City of Opp Recreation Center by adding a t-ball field and adding modern restrooms and a concession stand. He again worked in partnership with the Opp Board of Education by aiding in the reclamation of the girls’ softball field behind Opp Middle School.
The Opp Rattlesnake Rodeo had languished for a couple years before it was moved to Andalusia, and as a hallmark of his first year in office, Edgar returned the rodeo to its original home, the City of Opp. Edgar vowed to make the rodeo successful, to bring big-name headline entertainers in, make money for the city of Opp, and to keep it affordable for the average citizens. He and the council achieved these goals in the first year and in eight years added $200,000 back into the city’s general fund, after paying expenses. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021.
