---
The trainers we had brought in to help train the Board of Directors of the local poverty program were from the Federal Region VII ACTION office in Seattle. This was the office that oversaw all of the various ACTION programs (including the OEO –poverty programs) in five or six states. They enjoyed my resignation tactic at the training retreat and had my contact information so one morning I got a phone call at my university office from one of them. “Drake, do you think your university would be interested in running an off campus program similar to VISTA but getting students involved in community service agencies while still getting academic credit and training in the field they are working in?”
“Sure,” I said, “Put us down as interested.” I was informed that I would be contacted again when decisions would be made as to which universities would be invited to submit a proposal for consideration in the initial round of grants. I immediately called Ralph Munro, head of the Washington State Office of Voluntary Action, and asked him about this call. “Oh,” he said, “that is the University Year for Action” program. I just came back from Washington, DC, where I helped design it. Drake, you should call Jerry Brady, National Director of the program and convince him that Western Washington University should be in the first group of universities to be funded.”
So I immediately called Washington, DC and got through to Jerry Brady. “How many schools are going to be funded in the first round?” I asked. “Eleven.” “How many are already selected?” “Nixon announced the program at Little Rock, Arkansas so the first program will be there. No other commitments have been made as yet.” I continued, “Put Western Washington University down as the second to be funded.” “Whoa, slow down.” Brady said. “First you have to fill out all the necessary forms.” “OK, send them to me. How long will it take for you to respond once we have the forms filled out?” “We will take no longer than you take to fill them out.”
I got the forms in two days and took three to fill them out. The following week Jerry Brady was out to visit our university and we got funding as the second university in the nation with that program. The Dean for Research and Grants named me as Program Director a post that I held for the next several years. The UYA program initially generated an immense amount of ill-will on campus where traditional academics felt students could not learn anything if they did not attend daily lectures taught by Dr. Ego himself. It also generated hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in grant money, something that makes university administrators drool.
Well, we worked it out and if the proof is in the pudding, we succeeded beyond our dreams. Now, 35 years later the program has morphed into what is called the Human Services Program in the Woodring College of Education. It currently has over 400 majors in that program who are getting their university degrees while working in social service agencies throughout the state and attending classes especially designed for them once or twice a week in the evenings, on week-ends or in special seminars held in their region of the state.
One of the campus academic departments that worked with us early in the program was the Speech Pathology and Audiology Department. We placed their volunteers in public schools to help the speech therapists in their work with students who needed such help. This program was deemed so successful that such an internship is now a required element in getting a degree from WWU in that field. Such is also now required for State Certification as a speech therapist in public schools.
The program almost was killed, though, when a new Regional Director for ACTION was appointed in the Region VII Federal Office in Seattle. The woman appointed to that post was a former Republican Senator in the Washington State Senate. She held our university President and Dean for Research and Grants in very low esteem because of the contumelious manner in which those two clowns addressed the legislature when giving testimony at legislative budget hearings.
A warning call came from a staff person in Washington, DC, telling me that our proposed third-year budget was to be cut by one third by Marge because of her prejudice toward WWU. Two days later the caller informed me that he was wrong, it was to be cut in half. I called Marge in Seattle and asked for an appointment to meet with her and her staff. I took with me two of my staff. Due to my “I Resign” stunt several of her staff knew me and were supportive of our proposed programs. We eventually went over every element of our program, item by item, budget figures and personnel needs. To my delight Marge not only approved our proposed plan as originally submitted but also increased some elements that she felt we were under-budgeting!
The Dean for Research and Grants took the final grant proposal to Washington, DC for submittal but while there he did some ‘adjustments.’ After his return I received a phone call from one of the D.C. staff telling me what Dean xx had done but that his call had to be confidential as the Dean had gotten him to agree not to tell me of the change. A bit later the Dean for Arts and Sciences called me and said “Drake, this is in confidence and you are to tell no one but you should be aware that Dean xx adjusted your UYA program by inserting a young lady as ‘liaison’ between your office and his.” The next day I got a phone call from the person who would be replacing me as Director of the program as I was going back to the classroom after two years of serving as full-time director. He informed me of this change also but, again, stated that I was not to react to the information as I was not supposed to know about it. So I waited for another three days until I answered the phone and a very angry Marge was on the line demanding an explanation of this change in the program after she had agreed to the one we had worked out with her and her staff. I told her that I was waiting for her phone call and now that I officially knew of the changes I would go and confront Dean xx. I asked, “Are you telling me that if this ‘liaison person’ is not removed from the grant proposal it will not be funded?” “Correct!”
When admitted to his office I asked the dean how things had gone in Washington, DC and whether he had any trouble with the grant. “No,” he said with a big smile, “Everything went beautifully.” “Well it may have while you were there,” I responded, “but the shxx has just hit the fan and if you don’t remove your pretty liaison from the grant the university will loose it as it will not be funded in its present form. And,” I added, “the world will know why.” This bully turned beet red and started shouting “Remove it. Remove it! Put it back as it was and get your axx out of here.” Plus a lot more expletives. As I left his office he slammed the door as hard as he could. His staff in the outer office were shaking and looked down at their typewriters as I left the office. Before returning to my office I went to the Academic Vice President to report what had just happened as I was still an un-tenured faculty member and could be subject of dire repercussions. I was assured that nothing would happen to me so I went to my office and called Marge in Seattle and told her of the result of my meeting with the Dean. She commented “That didn’t take long.” I responded, “No. but I’m going home (11 a.m.). I need a drink.”
If any one in their naivete thinks such things do not happen in academia they have to be roused out of their sleep. Dirty politics and underhand dealings are not limited to Washington, DC. Such has a potential of happening where ever there is a resource available for distribution, universities and poverty programs included. I am all for ‘transparency’ and ‘public accountability’ and since I am an activist and not a mere academic I tend to get involved more often than is good for my career.
More of that later.
‘nuf for now.
gfd
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
RX for Foreign Dignitaries
---
For about 30 years I served as host for the United States Information Agency ‘International Visitor Program.’ This was a program that brought foreign dignitaries or influentials to the United States for a 30-day tour of the country to better know the US, its people and culture. If they wanted to visit to the Northwest I would get a call as I did one day “Drake, would you be willing to host a 3-day visit by the Minister of Fisheries of Morocco? “Sure, send me the resume and I will organize his appointments.”
When I got the resume and found out the interests of Minister A, I called one of the members of our Port Commission, Ed Griemsmann, who was a retired Air Force pilot. Ed agreed to escort Minister A on his tour of the local fishing industry, the largest freezer plant in the world, the Alaska Ferry terminal, etc, etc. I had pointed out to Ed that Minister A had listed in his resume “President, Private Pilot’s Association of Morocco.” “That’s interesting,” said Ed, “I’ll take him up for a ride.” Ed owned a bi-plane that he kept at the local airport.
On the afternoon of the last day of Minister A’s visit Ed asked if he would like to go for a ride in a bi-plane. “Oh, that would be nice.” He innocently replied and went with Ed to the airport. What Ed did not tell him was that he was a stunt pilot. I leave it to your imagination what Ed did with this distinguished foreign dignitary! Rolls, loops, dives, drops, flying upside-down, etc. "A" claimed he thoroughly enjoyed the ride but I did not know how much until I got a phone call from someone in the State Dept. several weeks later.
“Drake, you did it again. We had an interview with Minister A before he left for Morocco and found out that after a 30-day tour of the United States all he wanted to talk about was Bellingham. Tell me, Drake, who the hell was that pilot?”
Maybe we should do the same with all visiting Ministers of State! It might help our foreign relations. Thanks, Ed.
(Ed died last week and I am posting this story on his obituary blog.)
George
For about 30 years I served as host for the United States Information Agency ‘International Visitor Program.’ This was a program that brought foreign dignitaries or influentials to the United States for a 30-day tour of the country to better know the US, its people and culture. If they wanted to visit to the Northwest I would get a call as I did one day “Drake, would you be willing to host a 3-day visit by the Minister of Fisheries of Morocco? “Sure, send me the resume and I will organize his appointments.”
When I got the resume and found out the interests of Minister A, I called one of the members of our Port Commission, Ed Griemsmann, who was a retired Air Force pilot. Ed agreed to escort Minister A on his tour of the local fishing industry, the largest freezer plant in the world, the Alaska Ferry terminal, etc, etc. I had pointed out to Ed that Minister A had listed in his resume “President, Private Pilot’s Association of Morocco.” “That’s interesting,” said Ed, “I’ll take him up for a ride.” Ed owned a bi-plane that he kept at the local airport.
On the afternoon of the last day of Minister A’s visit Ed asked if he would like to go for a ride in a bi-plane. “Oh, that would be nice.” He innocently replied and went with Ed to the airport. What Ed did not tell him was that he was a stunt pilot. I leave it to your imagination what Ed did with this distinguished foreign dignitary! Rolls, loops, dives, drops, flying upside-down, etc. "A" claimed he thoroughly enjoyed the ride but I did not know how much until I got a phone call from someone in the State Dept. several weeks later.
“Drake, you did it again. We had an interview with Minister A before he left for Morocco and found out that after a 30-day tour of the United States all he wanted to talk about was Bellingham. Tell me, Drake, who the hell was that pilot?”
Maybe we should do the same with all visiting Ministers of State! It might help our foreign relations. Thanks, Ed.
(Ed died last week and I am posting this story on his obituary blog.)
George
I Resign!
Shortly after arriving in Bellingham almost 40 years ago I was appointed by the university president to serve as the university representative on the Board of Directors of the local poverty program called the Whatcom County Opportunity Council. The Board was composed of 1/3 public service agency bureaucrats, 1/3 elected officials and 1/3 persons representing populations in poverty. I was a bureaucrat. I quickly saw that the organization needed some serious changes and, I felt, one of the first was to get rid of an officious, incompetent and grossly insensitive Executive Director.
Well the chance to do something about this came shortly as there was to be an election of officers for the Board of Directors. Most of the board members representing the poverty populations had become friends of mine and they wanted me to run for President against the person nominated by Rabi XXX, who was a one-person nominating committee. The Rabbi was very upset when I declared that I would stand as a candidate for the office of President and not accept his recommendation that I be listed as candidate for Vice President. I was breaking precedent and this was deemed inappropriate by many of the politicians and agency bureaucrats on the board. To resolve the issue three of the ‘influentials’ that had a lot of impact on how the organization was run called me to meet with them over coffee one morning at a local restaurant.
I was asked what it would take to get me to ‘back off’ and not run against the official candidate. I responded that I would do so if (a) the board agreed to have a consulting firm come in and conduct a training session on how to operate as an effective board of directors and (b) the official nominee would have to walk up the street to the office of the organization and tell the Director that he would be fired regardless which of us were elected. The official nominee for the position of President of the Board of Directors was called and within 30 minutes did just as he was instructed so when he then joined us at the table and told us what he had done I accepted the position of Vice President on the official slate. At the next meeting of the Board of Directors all hell broke loose when the official ballot was distributed and those who supported me for President found out I was not running against the official candidate. My buddies thought that I had sold out. The new slate was voted in and the first order of business was to begin the process for removing the executive director and the second order of business was to plan for a retreat for a week-end of board training.
When the board members gathered for the retreat the new Board President felt that there would be too much conflict in the room as many of the members were angry that he was the President rather than me. He felt he could not handle the conflict that was going to occur so he asked that I chair the gathering, which I did. I began by iterating the order of the day, how we would proceed with the training program but was interrupted by a Native American board member who stood up and asked in a loud voice why I had ‘jumped ship’ and allowed myself to be bought off by the conservative old guard. He wanted to know what kind of dirty back-room shenanigans were going on. So, with the Executive Director who was on his way out of the organization not in the room I explained what happened. “So what?” he responded, “The Executive Committee hasn’t really changed, it is still a bunch of white bureaucrats.”
“Well”, I said, “Let us see if we can change that. With the new board now in place we need a nominating committee to prepare for any Executive Committee vacancies so I name you Tom (Native American), Don Jose (Hispanic) and Mabel (welfare mother) as the new nominating committee. “This is all a sham” was the response. “There are no vacancies to fill!” “Oh yes there is.” I responded. “I herewith resign as Vice President of the Board of Directors” and as I said that I turned around and on a large sheet of newsprint on a pad attached to the wall in front of the room I wrote "I Resign." I gave it to the new member of the official nominating committee and told them that by the end of the day I wanted their official nominee and we would vote on it immediately so the position could be filled before we went home. That is how the organization got a Native American from the Nooksack Tribe as Vice President. He moved on to the Presidency the next year and did a good job. The training session went smoothly after that brief interlude.
'nuf for now. gfd
Well the chance to do something about this came shortly as there was to be an election of officers for the Board of Directors. Most of the board members representing the poverty populations had become friends of mine and they wanted me to run for President against the person nominated by Rabi XXX, who was a one-person nominating committee. The Rabbi was very upset when I declared that I would stand as a candidate for the office of President and not accept his recommendation that I be listed as candidate for Vice President. I was breaking precedent and this was deemed inappropriate by many of the politicians and agency bureaucrats on the board. To resolve the issue three of the ‘influentials’ that had a lot of impact on how the organization was run called me to meet with them over coffee one morning at a local restaurant.
I was asked what it would take to get me to ‘back off’ and not run against the official candidate. I responded that I would do so if (a) the board agreed to have a consulting firm come in and conduct a training session on how to operate as an effective board of directors and (b) the official nominee would have to walk up the street to the office of the organization and tell the Director that he would be fired regardless which of us were elected. The official nominee for the position of President of the Board of Directors was called and within 30 minutes did just as he was instructed so when he then joined us at the table and told us what he had done I accepted the position of Vice President on the official slate. At the next meeting of the Board of Directors all hell broke loose when the official ballot was distributed and those who supported me for President found out I was not running against the official candidate. My buddies thought that I had sold out. The new slate was voted in and the first order of business was to begin the process for removing the executive director and the second order of business was to plan for a retreat for a week-end of board training.
When the board members gathered for the retreat the new Board President felt that there would be too much conflict in the room as many of the members were angry that he was the President rather than me. He felt he could not handle the conflict that was going to occur so he asked that I chair the gathering, which I did. I began by iterating the order of the day, how we would proceed with the training program but was interrupted by a Native American board member who stood up and asked in a loud voice why I had ‘jumped ship’ and allowed myself to be bought off by the conservative old guard. He wanted to know what kind of dirty back-room shenanigans were going on. So, with the Executive Director who was on his way out of the organization not in the room I explained what happened. “So what?” he responded, “The Executive Committee hasn’t really changed, it is still a bunch of white bureaucrats.”
“Well”, I said, “Let us see if we can change that. With the new board now in place we need a nominating committee to prepare for any Executive Committee vacancies so I name you Tom (Native American), Don Jose (Hispanic) and Mabel (welfare mother) as the new nominating committee. “This is all a sham” was the response. “There are no vacancies to fill!” “Oh yes there is.” I responded. “I herewith resign as Vice President of the Board of Directors” and as I said that I turned around and on a large sheet of newsprint on a pad attached to the wall in front of the room I wrote "I Resign." I gave it to the new member of the official nominating committee and told them that by the end of the day I wanted their official nominee and we would vote on it immediately so the position could be filled before we went home. That is how the organization got a Native American from the Nooksack Tribe as Vice President. He moved on to the Presidency the next year and did a good job. The training session went smoothly after that brief interlude.
'nuf for now. gfd
Monday, August 25, 2008
Singing a Song of Democracy
Hello my fellow patriots:
Back at the time of he U.S. Bicentennial Celebration I was a member of the Bellingham City Council. Late one night just before the City Council meeting adjourned I raised my hand and when recognized by the Council President said that I was disturbed by local Bicentennial celebrations. We had a carnival come to town. We had fireworks, We had a parade. We had all kinds of recreational activities but we had nothing that celebrated the fact that the Revolutionary War was about local governance. I proposed that the City Council hold a celebration honoring local government. "Good idea," said the Council President. "I appoint you a committee of one to organize such a ceremony. Any more business?" Before he banged the gavel closing the meeting I said "I need a budget." "$300", he responded and, banging the gavel said "Meeting adjourned."
What I did was to plan a ceremony to be held in the old City Council chamber in what had become the 'rotunda room' of the city museum. We invited every living former elected official in city government. As I recall we had seven former city Mayors and over 35 former City Councilmen attend the meeting. They came from southern California, Hawaii and Florida and places between. A fancy certificate was printed honoring them for service to the City of Bellingham. I wrote to the President of the United States and to the Governor of the State of Washington asking for a message to be read at the ceremony. President Ford and Governor Dan Evans both responded with statements to be read on their behalf. We had a local brass band play some Revolutionary War music and had members of the local Theater Guild read statements from patriotic documents of the time of the Revolutionary War. I invited a 94 year-old poet to read the message from the U.S. President - but first she read one of her own poems on community service.
As Master of Ceremonies I took the opportunity to give a speech for the occasion. It is as follows:
SINGING A SONG OF DEMOCRACY
by George F. Drake, City Councilman, 4th Ward
Given on 5 December 1976 in the old Bellingham City Hall Chambers
Walt Whitman, one of America's great writers, begins his famous poem about America with the line "One's self I sing, a simple separate person, yet utter the word Democratic, the word En-Mass."
Were Walt Whitman alive tonight he would surely appreciate this evening's ceremony. He might write again, as he once did, "I hear America singing" because tonight we sing a song of ourselves, a song of citizens in a small town in America celebrating the occasion of their country's 200 birthday. With our prayers, unabashedly and with pride, we give thanks for all the riches we share as a community, the spiritual riches as well as the material. We sing with the words of our president and our governor as they address our meeting tonight. We sing with the voice of the oldest among us as she reads her poetry that touches the heart strings in all of us who share this evening together in this chamber.
We sing a song of ourselves as our pulse beats to the music of the revolution and as the words of our founding fathers are read to commemorate the great ideals on which this nation was founded. We sing a song of ourselves as we recognize that democracy has survived through two centuries by virtue of acts of citizens like those in this room who accepted the civic challenge and dedicated a portion of their lives to the well-being of their community.
We can sing with pride because the system of governance we have in America has worked so well. At the same time we must recognize that we have not fully achieved the ideals of a democratic society. The reality of democracy in America is that it is a process that continually needs to be attended to or we regress. The process we speak of is that of defining our common problems and allocating public resources to address those problems. Problems change, as do answers to those problems, and the dynamics of the ever changing nature of our collective concerns places a continual pressure on those who serve in government to be sensitive to those changes.
A hundred years ago Whitman was singing about the throbbing pulse of America, about its vitality. America is no less dynamic today but it is surely much more complex. Not only has the population grown in number but also in life span. Even more dramatic, though, has been the growth in technology and new knowledge. Old problems are no longer the same because new knowledge forces a redefinition either of the nature of the problem itself or of the answers he have open to us as alternatives for action. In addition we have thrust upon us a new array of concerns which local communities have not had to consider before. The new language used indicates the changes: CETA, Title XX, CSA, LEAA, AAA, Revenue Sharing, Block Grants.
Many of these federal programs or laws call for an increase in local initiative and autonomy in allocating federal dollars in general areas of concern. The old way was to send dollars for streets, sewers, parks, computers. In other words, the priorities were established in Washington, D.C. But now local communities have to establish their own sense of priorities about those things they wish to spend the federal dollars on.
The new federal laws have laid out strict guidelines for involving citizens in the decision-making process, not only during December when public hearings are held on the budget but at the very beginning of the process when problems are defined and also later when they are prioritized and adjusted to meet the resources available. The New Federalism process is, in effect, forcing local elected officials to invite the ordinary citizen into a broader partnership of collective problem solving efforts. What is happening at the federal level is also happening at the state level. Only yesterday we received copies of three new bills being studied by committees of the state legislature. Each of them called for a process of citizen involvement to establish the particular program goals and objectives at the local level.
In the third century, U.S.A., I predict we shall see a much greater involvement of citizens in governmental decision-making. We know full well we lack the resources to solve our every problem but as we come to recognize that perhaps the greatest resource of a community is the talent and good will of its citizens the elected officials will seek ways to develop that civic partnership wherein together, the elected official and the people, will strive to address those concerns of greatest priority. The elected official will not have less to do but as all citizens join together to face the problems of the future we know we will succeed to a higher degree because of the increasing strength of our democracy.
Tonight, the 25th of August, I read this speech over once more and decided that I would not change a thing that I said on that occasion. So here it is, as I wrote it.
Regards,
gfd
Back at the time of he U.S. Bicentennial Celebration I was a member of the Bellingham City Council. Late one night just before the City Council meeting adjourned I raised my hand and when recognized by the Council President said that I was disturbed by local Bicentennial celebrations. We had a carnival come to town. We had fireworks, We had a parade. We had all kinds of recreational activities but we had nothing that celebrated the fact that the Revolutionary War was about local governance. I proposed that the City Council hold a celebration honoring local government. "Good idea," said the Council President. "I appoint you a committee of one to organize such a ceremony. Any more business?" Before he banged the gavel closing the meeting I said "I need a budget." "$300", he responded and, banging the gavel said "Meeting adjourned."
What I did was to plan a ceremony to be held in the old City Council chamber in what had become the 'rotunda room' of the city museum. We invited every living former elected official in city government. As I recall we had seven former city Mayors and over 35 former City Councilmen attend the meeting. They came from southern California, Hawaii and Florida and places between. A fancy certificate was printed honoring them for service to the City of Bellingham. I wrote to the President of the United States and to the Governor of the State of Washington asking for a message to be read at the ceremony. President Ford and Governor Dan Evans both responded with statements to be read on their behalf. We had a local brass band play some Revolutionary War music and had members of the local Theater Guild read statements from patriotic documents of the time of the Revolutionary War. I invited a 94 year-old poet to read the message from the U.S. President - but first she read one of her own poems on community service.
As Master of Ceremonies I took the opportunity to give a speech for the occasion. It is as follows:
SINGING A SONG OF DEMOCRACY
by George F. Drake, City Councilman, 4th Ward
Given on 5 December 1976 in the old Bellingham City Hall Chambers
Walt Whitman, one of America's great writers, begins his famous poem about America with the line "One's self I sing, a simple separate person, yet utter the word Democratic, the word En-Mass."
Were Walt Whitman alive tonight he would surely appreciate this evening's ceremony. He might write again, as he once did, "I hear America singing" because tonight we sing a song of ourselves, a song of citizens in a small town in America celebrating the occasion of their country's 200 birthday. With our prayers, unabashedly and with pride, we give thanks for all the riches we share as a community, the spiritual riches as well as the material. We sing with the words of our president and our governor as they address our meeting tonight. We sing with the voice of the oldest among us as she reads her poetry that touches the heart strings in all of us who share this evening together in this chamber.
We sing a song of ourselves as our pulse beats to the music of the revolution and as the words of our founding fathers are read to commemorate the great ideals on which this nation was founded. We sing a song of ourselves as we recognize that democracy has survived through two centuries by virtue of acts of citizens like those in this room who accepted the civic challenge and dedicated a portion of their lives to the well-being of their community.
We can sing with pride because the system of governance we have in America has worked so well. At the same time we must recognize that we have not fully achieved the ideals of a democratic society. The reality of democracy in America is that it is a process that continually needs to be attended to or we regress. The process we speak of is that of defining our common problems and allocating public resources to address those problems. Problems change, as do answers to those problems, and the dynamics of the ever changing nature of our collective concerns places a continual pressure on those who serve in government to be sensitive to those changes.
A hundred years ago Whitman was singing about the throbbing pulse of America, about its vitality. America is no less dynamic today but it is surely much more complex. Not only has the population grown in number but also in life span. Even more dramatic, though, has been the growth in technology and new knowledge. Old problems are no longer the same because new knowledge forces a redefinition either of the nature of the problem itself or of the answers he have open to us as alternatives for action. In addition we have thrust upon us a new array of concerns which local communities have not had to consider before. The new language used indicates the changes: CETA, Title XX, CSA, LEAA, AAA, Revenue Sharing, Block Grants.
Many of these federal programs or laws call for an increase in local initiative and autonomy in allocating federal dollars in general areas of concern. The old way was to send dollars for streets, sewers, parks, computers. In other words, the priorities were established in Washington, D.C. But now local communities have to establish their own sense of priorities about those things they wish to spend the federal dollars on.
The new federal laws have laid out strict guidelines for involving citizens in the decision-making process, not only during December when public hearings are held on the budget but at the very beginning of the process when problems are defined and also later when they are prioritized and adjusted to meet the resources available. The New Federalism process is, in effect, forcing local elected officials to invite the ordinary citizen into a broader partnership of collective problem solving efforts. What is happening at the federal level is also happening at the state level. Only yesterday we received copies of three new bills being studied by committees of the state legislature. Each of them called for a process of citizen involvement to establish the particular program goals and objectives at the local level.
In the third century, U.S.A., I predict we shall see a much greater involvement of citizens in governmental decision-making. We know full well we lack the resources to solve our every problem but as we come to recognize that perhaps the greatest resource of a community is the talent and good will of its citizens the elected officials will seek ways to develop that civic partnership wherein together, the elected official and the people, will strive to address those concerns of greatest priority. The elected official will not have less to do but as all citizens join together to face the problems of the future we know we will succeed to a higher degree because of the increasing strength of our democracy.
Tonight, the 25th of August, I read this speech over once more and decided that I would not change a thing that I said on that occasion. So here it is, as I wrote it.
Regards,
gfd
Sunday, August 24, 2008
I was accused of being a Boy Scout!
Hello my Scouting friends:
The phone rang this morning (Saturday, 23 August) and when I answered a voice said "George, your Boy Scout Good Deed is known by everyone in this retirement facility." The fellow on the other end of the line had no knowledge that I had anything to do with scouting but felt that my behavior epitomized the public image of a Boy Scout doing his 'good deed.'
What happened was that when I parked my car near my office on Friday I spotted an elderly man leaning on a post office box looking at a map. I asked if I could help and he said he was looking for the Ace Lock Company. He needed a key made. He didn't look too steady on his feet so I said "You can't get there from here on foot. It is too confusing. Let me take you and I opened the car door. He gingerly got in and we took off. The shop was only four blocks away but I was not too sure he would have been able to make it. I waited while he had his key made and then took him back to the bus terminal, a block from my office. He told me that he was 94 years old and had terminal prostate cancer and was encumbered with a large pad but that he was determined to do everything he could for himself as long as he could. Nonetheless, he appreciated my offer of a ride and thanked me profusely. He asked my name and I told him.
My caller said at the dinner table that evening he asked the group if any one knew George Drake and found that several did. He told the story of our encounter. The story passed around the dining room and the consensus was that if I ever ran for City Council again I would have every vote in the place. What pleases me about this little anecdote is that if you do a good deed you are accused of being a Boy Scout. I hope Scouting can hold onto that reputation but on the other hand I hope doing good deeds is not limited to Boy Scouts.
Even before I joined the ranks of 'old folks' (78 qualifies me, doesn't it?) I used to engage older riders on the city bus in conversation. One day I asked a little old grey-haired woman sitting next to me how she had earned 'pin money' when she was a child. A smile crept across her face and she responded "I used to buy ponies from the Indians and break them to the saddle and then sell them. That was fun!" and it was obvious from her big smile that the memory of that enterprise really pleased her. Whenever I saw Floyd Chandler, well into his 90s, on the bus, usually sitting by himself, in a loud voice I would ask, "Floyd, is it true that there used to be a bear pit at the end of the road here?" and that was all he needed totell anyone who would listen about the bear pit and the amusement park thatused to be in the neighborhood. Folks riding the bus would stop their chatter and listen to him tell his stories. There's stories all around us if we would stop to listen. Maybe you have to prime the pump to get them going but everyone has stories. One time I asked a man obviously in his 80s or older what was the funniest thing that ever happened to him. He began to laugh and said that he was on the city police force when they got their first cars and within a day he crashed his at a street intersection into the other car purchased by the police department at the same time. So both new cars were now laid up for repairs and he and the other officer were back on foot patrol.
One time I was trying to be nice and was rudely brushed away. It was at Tikal, the incredible Mayan ruins in the Peten jungle of Guatemala. A group of visitors from the American Museum of Natural History was touring the grounds listening to an anthropologist who was responsible for some of he excavations. This was obviously a group of museum docents, donors, etc. as they all seemed to be elderly and well dressed. Some of the stone steps were over 8 inches high and very narrow. I was next to a woman probably into her 80s who seemed to be a bit unsure of herself going down that steep stairway. I offered her my arm to help steady her as she descended. She
literally snarled at me "If I want your help I will ask for it!" Others in her group looked aghast at her crude response to my offer but said nothing. I responded, "Lady, I think your mother just rolled over in her grave. She probably taught you manners when you were a little girl. What happened as you grew old?" Shocked silence. This woman was obviously a wealthy dowager, supporter of the museum, etc. and used to being kow-towed to. She glowered at me for a few moments and then, reaching out her hand for my arm said "You are right. I apologize. Thank you for your offer." The group applauded.
You don't gotta be afraid of old folks. Just talk to them.
More stories later.
gfd
The phone rang this morning (Saturday, 23 August) and when I answered a voice said "George, your Boy Scout Good Deed is known by everyone in this retirement facility." The fellow on the other end of the line had no knowledge that I had anything to do with scouting but felt that my behavior epitomized the public image of a Boy Scout doing his 'good deed.'
What happened was that when I parked my car near my office on Friday I spotted an elderly man leaning on a post office box looking at a map. I asked if I could help and he said he was looking for the Ace Lock Company. He needed a key made. He didn't look too steady on his feet so I said "You can't get there from here on foot. It is too confusing. Let me take you and I opened the car door. He gingerly got in and we took off. The shop was only four blocks away but I was not too sure he would have been able to make it. I waited while he had his key made and then took him back to the bus terminal, a block from my office. He told me that he was 94 years old and had terminal prostate cancer and was encumbered with a large pad but that he was determined to do everything he could for himself as long as he could. Nonetheless, he appreciated my offer of a ride and thanked me profusely. He asked my name and I told him.
My caller said at the dinner table that evening he asked the group if any one knew George Drake and found that several did. He told the story of our encounter. The story passed around the dining room and the consensus was that if I ever ran for City Council again I would have every vote in the place. What pleases me about this little anecdote is that if you do a good deed you are accused of being a Boy Scout. I hope Scouting can hold onto that reputation but on the other hand I hope doing good deeds is not limited to Boy Scouts.
Even before I joined the ranks of 'old folks' (78 qualifies me, doesn't it?) I used to engage older riders on the city bus in conversation. One day I asked a little old grey-haired woman sitting next to me how she had earned 'pin money' when she was a child. A smile crept across her face and she responded "I used to buy ponies from the Indians and break them to the saddle and then sell them. That was fun!" and it was obvious from her big smile that the memory of that enterprise really pleased her. Whenever I saw Floyd Chandler, well into his 90s, on the bus, usually sitting by himself, in a loud voice I would ask, "Floyd, is it true that there used to be a bear pit at the end of the road here?" and that was all he needed totell anyone who would listen about the bear pit and the amusement park thatused to be in the neighborhood. Folks riding the bus would stop their chatter and listen to him tell his stories. There's stories all around us if we would stop to listen. Maybe you have to prime the pump to get them going but everyone has stories. One time I asked a man obviously in his 80s or older what was the funniest thing that ever happened to him. He began to laugh and said that he was on the city police force when they got their first cars and within a day he crashed his at a street intersection into the other car purchased by the police department at the same time. So both new cars were now laid up for repairs and he and the other officer were back on foot patrol.
One time I was trying to be nice and was rudely brushed away. It was at Tikal, the incredible Mayan ruins in the Peten jungle of Guatemala. A group of visitors from the American Museum of Natural History was touring the grounds listening to an anthropologist who was responsible for some of he excavations. This was obviously a group of museum docents, donors, etc. as they all seemed to be elderly and well dressed. Some of the stone steps were over 8 inches high and very narrow. I was next to a woman probably into her 80s who seemed to be a bit unsure of herself going down that steep stairway. I offered her my arm to help steady her as she descended. She
literally snarled at me "If I want your help I will ask for it!" Others in her group looked aghast at her crude response to my offer but said nothing. I responded, "Lady, I think your mother just rolled over in her grave. She probably taught you manners when you were a little girl. What happened as you grew old?" Shocked silence. This woman was obviously a wealthy dowager, supporter of the museum, etc. and used to being kow-towed to. She glowered at me for a few moments and then, reaching out her hand for my arm said "You are right. I apologize. Thank you for your offer." The group applauded.
You don't gotta be afraid of old folks. Just talk to them.
More stories later.
gfd
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Las Vegas Photo Exhibit
Hello my long suffering friends:
Here is another long post. When I decided to tell the story of the relationship of our servicemen and women to the children of Korea during the Korean War I felt one way to do so was to create a photo exhibit with pictures taken from the thousands that I had collected. In a recent post I told of the opening of that photo exhibit in Gwangju, Korea. Herein is the story of the first showing of that photo exhibit in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on 30 June, 2005. We decided to have the grand opening of the exhibit in Las Vegas because that was where Chaplain Russell L. Blaisdell, Col. USAF (Retired) then lived. He was in his 90s and in poor health so we took the exhibit to him.
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Russ was the hero of the Kiddy Car Airlift that rescued over 950 children on 20 December of 1950. I will tell his incredible story in another posting. His family raised the money to pay for the first printing of the photo exhibit.
I e-mailed a friend of mine in Virginia, Link White, a Korean War orphan who is now a successful realtor, and asked him for ideas for a program for the opening event. He suggested that we invite the well known Hollywood actress Ms. Terry Moore, to be one of the hostesses for the evening event. Terry was touring Korea with the USO during the war and wanted to adopt Link. At that time she was married to Howard Hughes. Many were the guys in Korea who had a pin-up photo of Terry Moore in her white ermine bikini. Link opted to be adopted by an Air Force Sgt. but he and Terry kept in contact all through the years. Terry agreed to come and help out with the program and she offered to bring her good friend Jane Russell. Now you younger guys may not have heard of Jane Russell but we of the '50s sure as hell did. In person she, as well as Terry, were treasures, just wonderful folks to work with. We made Terry Moore the MC for the reception and she and Jane served as joint MCs for the evening program.
Buzz Aldrin, astronaut and Korean War Veteran was the lead off speaker for the program. He came as a 'freebie" as did Jane and Terry. We just had to pay their hotel costs.
The main part of the program consisted of presenting certificates of appreciation to Korean War Veterans who had helped rescue the children of Korea during the war. I had located an article in the Readers' Digest telling of a 'Sgt. Who Wouldn't Go Home.' It was about Sgt. Werner Krenzer who had been assigned to work with a civilian relief project and was specifically assigned to rescue the children living like rats in the rail road yard and rail road station in Seoul. He teamed up with a little Korean kid and together they got scores of children out of the RR ghetto and into orphanages where they could get food and medical attention. When it was his time to rotate back to the US Werner offered to remain for another tour of duty in the army if he could continue doing what he was doing with the children. It is estimated that he saved the lives of over 150 children. His story can be found on my web site http://koreanchildren.org/docs/MIS-003.htm . I was able to track down Werner Krenzer and he agreed to come to Las Vegas to be recognized for his work on behalf of the orphans of the Korean War. To present to him his Certificate of Appreciation I telephoned a friend in Indiana, Thomas Park Clement who is currently the CEO and owner of a major medical instrument manufacturing company. He is a former Korean War Orphan who lived in that same pack of urchins in the rail road yards of Seoul from age 4 years old to age 6 years old! So, one of the kids from the rail road yards of Seoul presented to Sgt. Werner Krenzer his certificate of appreciation for saving the lives of Korean War orphans.
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I received a telephone call from a Dr. William Latham who said he would be coming to Las Vegas for the ceremony. He told me of how he volunteered time at the Star of the Sea Orphanage in Inchon. One time, he said, a little day or two old infant had been found and taken to the orphanage when Dr. Latham was volunteering. He and the other doctors saved that infant's life. The little infant was later adopted by the commanding officer of a naval air craft carrier and taken back to the US on that ship. When little "baby George Ascom" was placed in his bassenette on the deck the announcement went over the PA system telling the guys on the ship that they could visit the baby. He became know as "the Navy's Baby" and many years later a 'made for TV' movie was made of that infant and his trip to America. Dr. Latham suggested that I should find that movie and show it at the exhibit ceremony in Las Vegas. Well, I did better than that. I found the baby. I called him, now named Dan Keenan, and asked him if he would like to present to one of the doctors who saved his life and other children in the Korean War a certificate of appreciation? Would he? You bet! So, on stage I called Dr. Latham forward to be recognized for his loving care for the orphans at the Star of the Sea Orphanage and specifically for helping save the life of little "baby George Ascom." After telling his story I said, "And now to present the Certificate of Appreciation to Dr. Latham is that very baby. Dan Keenan will you please come forward." There wasn't a dry eye in the place.
And so it went all evening. Lots of tears. Lots of hugs. Lots of emotion from the Koreans present as well as the veterans and their families. Even my wife got an award. Link White called her up to the stage and presented her with a large red paper heart on a ribbon with the letters P U G printed large on the heart. That was her "Putting Up with George" award.
We had gathered there Korean War Veterans who had saved the lives of well over a thousand children and not a single newspaper in America carried the story. Except for my home town of Bellingham, Washington where the Bellingham Herald generally covers activities relating to this project held in Bellingham (they did not cover the Las Vegas or Gwangju, Korea events) not a single newspaper in America has carried the story of the Korean War Children's Memorial project. On the other hand when a US military vehicle accidently runs over two girls in Korea newspapers around the world carry the headline of how American soldiers killed two Korean girls. Yet tell the same newspapers we saved the lives of 10,000 children and they yawn. "What's the story line?" they seem to be saying.
Worse yet, we had sent an invitation to the Korean Ambassador in Washington, DC to come and honor those who had saved the lives of children orphaned by the Korean War, or, if he could not come to send a representative or even a letter to be read to the audience. We got no response from the Korean Embassy. We sent a letter to the Consul General of Korea in Los Angeles, asking the same but not only did no one come from the Korean Consulate General's office but he, too, did not even deign to send a letter or to respond to our request.
The photo exhibit honored the American GIs who had saved the lives of over 10,000 children in the Korean War and not a single representative of the government of Korea found it appropriate to attend. If this were any "civilized nation" of the world the Prime Minister or someone of high status would most certainly be present. Not Koreans. Why? I think I know why but that will be the subject of another entry. This is enough for now.
gfd
Here is another long post. When I decided to tell the story of the relationship of our servicemen and women to the children of Korea during the Korean War I felt one way to do so was to create a photo exhibit with pictures taken from the thousands that I had collected. In a recent post I told of the opening of that photo exhibit in Gwangju, Korea. Herein is the story of the first showing of that photo exhibit in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on 30 June, 2005. We decided to have the grand opening of the exhibit in Las Vegas because that was where Chaplain Russell L. Blaisdell, Col. USAF (Retired) then lived. He was in his 90s and in poor health so we took the exhibit to him.
---
The photo here is of him at the dedication of the Korean War Children's Memorial Pavilion in Bellingham, Washington on July 27 of 2003.
Russ was the hero of the Kiddy Car Airlift that rescued over 950 children on 20 December of 1950. I will tell his incredible story in another posting. His family raised the money to pay for the first printing of the photo exhibit.
I e-mailed a friend of mine in Virginia, Link White, a Korean War orphan who is now a successful realtor, and asked him for ideas for a program for the opening event. He suggested that we invite the well known Hollywood actress Ms. Terry Moore, to be one of the hostesses for the evening event. Terry was touring Korea with the USO during the war and wanted to adopt Link. At that time she was married to Howard Hughes. Many were the guys in Korea who had a pin-up photo of Terry Moore in her white ermine bikini. Link opted to be adopted by an Air Force Sgt. but he and Terry kept in contact all through the years. Terry agreed to come and help out with the program and she offered to bring her good friend Jane Russell. Now you younger guys may not have heard of Jane Russell but we of the '50s sure as hell did. In person she, as well as Terry, were treasures, just wonderful folks to work with. We made Terry Moore the MC for the reception and she and Jane served as joint MCs for the evening program.
Link White, Terry Moore, George Drake and Mary Ann Drake
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Jane Russell in her dressing room reading over the script for the evening program
Buzz Aldrin, astronaut and Korean War Veteran was the lead off speaker for the program. He came as a 'freebie" as did Jane and Terry. We just had to pay their hotel costs.
---
Buzz Aldrin
Buzz AldrinThe main part of the program consisted of presenting certificates of appreciation to Korean War Veterans who had helped rescue the children of Korea during the war. I had located an article in the Readers' Digest telling of a 'Sgt. Who Wouldn't Go Home.' It was about Sgt. Werner Krenzer who had been assigned to work with a civilian relief project and was specifically assigned to rescue the children living like rats in the rail road yard and rail road station in Seoul. He teamed up with a little Korean kid and together they got scores of children out of the RR ghetto and into orphanages where they could get food and medical attention. When it was his time to rotate back to the US Werner offered to remain for another tour of duty in the army if he could continue doing what he was doing with the children. It is estimated that he saved the lives of over 150 children. His story can be found on my web site http://koreanchildren.org/docs/MIS-003.htm . I was able to track down Werner Krenzer and he agreed to come to Las Vegas to be recognized for his work on behalf of the orphans of the Korean War. To present to him his Certificate of Appreciation I telephoned a friend in Indiana, Thomas Park Clement who is currently the CEO and owner of a major medical instrument manufacturing company. He is a former Korean War Orphan who lived in that same pack of urchins in the rail road yards of Seoul from age 4 years old to age 6 years old! So, one of the kids from the rail road yards of Seoul presented to Sgt. Werner Krenzer his certificate of appreciation for saving the lives of Korean War orphans.
---
Werner Krenzer and Thomas Park Clement
I received a telephone call from a Dr. William Latham who said he would be coming to Las Vegas for the ceremony. He told me of how he volunteered time at the Star of the Sea Orphanage in Inchon. One time, he said, a little day or two old infant had been found and taken to the orphanage when Dr. Latham was volunteering. He and the other doctors saved that infant's life. The little infant was later adopted by the commanding officer of a naval air craft carrier and taken back to the US on that ship. When little "baby George Ascom" was placed in his bassenette on the deck the announcement went over the PA system telling the guys on the ship that they could visit the baby. He became know as "the Navy's Baby" and many years later a 'made for TV' movie was made of that infant and his trip to America. Dr. Latham suggested that I should find that movie and show it at the exhibit ceremony in Las Vegas. Well, I did better than that. I found the baby. I called him, now named Dan Keenan, and asked him if he would like to present to one of the doctors who saved his life and other children in the Korean War a certificate of appreciation? Would he? You bet! So, on stage I called Dr. Latham forward to be recognized for his loving care for the orphans at the Star of the Sea Orphanage and specifically for helping save the life of little "baby George Ascom." After telling his story I said, "And now to present the Certificate of Appreciation to Dr. Latham is that very baby. Dan Keenan will you please come forward." There wasn't a dry eye in the place.
Dr. William Latham and Dan Keenan
And so it went all evening. Lots of tears. Lots of hugs. Lots of emotion from the Koreans present as well as the veterans and their families. Even my wife got an award. Link White called her up to the stage and presented her with a large red paper heart on a ribbon with the letters P U G printed large on the heart. That was her "Putting Up with George" award.
We had gathered there Korean War Veterans who had saved the lives of well over a thousand children and not a single newspaper in America carried the story. Except for my home town of Bellingham, Washington where the Bellingham Herald generally covers activities relating to this project held in Bellingham (they did not cover the Las Vegas or Gwangju, Korea events) not a single newspaper in America has carried the story of the Korean War Children's Memorial project. On the other hand when a US military vehicle accidently runs over two girls in Korea newspapers around the world carry the headline of how American soldiers killed two Korean girls. Yet tell the same newspapers we saved the lives of 10,000 children and they yawn. "What's the story line?" they seem to be saying.
Worse yet, we had sent an invitation to the Korean Ambassador in Washington, DC to come and honor those who had saved the lives of children orphaned by the Korean War, or, if he could not come to send a representative or even a letter to be read to the audience. We got no response from the Korean Embassy. We sent a letter to the Consul General of Korea in Los Angeles, asking the same but not only did no one come from the Korean Consulate General's office but he, too, did not even deign to send a letter or to respond to our request.
The photo exhibit honored the American GIs who had saved the lives of over 10,000 children in the Korean War and not a single representative of the government of Korea found it appropriate to attend. If this were any "civilized nation" of the world the Prime Minister or someone of high status would most certainly be present. Not Koreans. Why? I think I know why but that will be the subject of another entry. This is enough for now.
gfd
Friday, August 22, 2008
Scouting in Korea 1952
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Boy Scouts of Korea in Seoul, Korea 1952
One day in November (?) of 1952 while serving in an army unit located to the north of Seoul I got a one-day pass to go to Seoul to do some shopping and exploring. As I wandered around that devastated city I came upon a Boy Scout leader with a group of ten Boy Scouts in front of a small building that had a sign across the front that read “The Smallest YMCA in the World” and another vertical sign “YMCA.”
Since I had already visited Boy Scout organizations in over 20 countries of Latin America and Europe I was delighted to have this encounter with Boy Scouts in Korea. The leader spoke some English so we exchanged remarks and I took the photographs shown herewith. This particular branch of scouting began under the aegis of the YMCA and that is where they had their offices. You will note in the photos that the YMCA was demolished by bombs during the war and the little structure labeled "Smallest YMCA in the World" was built of bricks taken from the rubble.
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The scoutmaster told me that they had lost everything in the war and had nothing left in their Boy Scout library. When I was discharged from the service in late December of 1953 I went to the Monmouth Council Boy Scout office in New Jersey and purchased a copy of every publication that they had and sent two boxes of books to this “Smallest YMCA in the World.” This was the beginning of the new library of the Korean Scouts Association in the Seoul YMCA. The letter I received acknowledging the gift pointed out that future letters would be sent by surface mail due to the cost of air mail postage, a clear indication of the financial state of the organization in early 1954.
In August of 2006 I spent two days at the Korea Scouts Association National Patrol Jamboree in Cheonan, Korea. I showed the photographs to scout leaders there and they recognized that the scoutmaster in the photographs was Chung Seong Che, one of the founders of scouting in Korea. I was told the photographs were valuable for the history of Korean scouting as Chung Seong Che was kidnapped by North Koreans shortly after I took the pictures and never seen again.
Since all of their files of the Korean Scout Association had been destroyed in the war these photographs were unique and had saved a bit of the history of Scouting in Korea. The photographs are now published in a book on the history of scouting in Korea.
gfd
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Boy Scouts of Korea in Seoul, Korea 1952
One day in November (?) of 1952 while serving in an army unit located to the north of Seoul I got a one-day pass to go to Seoul to do some shopping and exploring. As I wandered around that devastated city I came upon a Boy Scout leader with a group of ten Boy Scouts in front of a small building that had a sign across the front that read “The Smallest YMCA in the World” and another vertical sign “YMCA.”
Since I had already visited Boy Scout organizations in over 20 countries of Latin America and Europe I was delighted to have this encounter with Boy Scouts in Korea. The leader spoke some English so we exchanged remarks and I took the photographs shown herewith. This particular branch of scouting began under the aegis of the YMCA and that is where they had their offices. You will note in the photos that the YMCA was demolished by bombs during the war and the little structure labeled "Smallest YMCA in the World" was built of bricks taken from the rubble.
---
The scoutmaster told me that they had lost everything in the war and had nothing left in their Boy Scout library. When I was discharged from the service in late December of 1953 I went to the Monmouth Council Boy Scout office in New Jersey and purchased a copy of every publication that they had and sent two boxes of books to this “Smallest YMCA in the World.” This was the beginning of the new library of the Korean Scouts Association in the Seoul YMCA. The letter I received acknowledging the gift pointed out that future letters would be sent by surface mail due to the cost of air mail postage, a clear indication of the financial state of the organization in early 1954.
In August of 2006 I spent two days at the Korea Scouts Association National Patrol Jamboree in Cheonan, Korea. I showed the photographs to scout leaders there and they recognized that the scoutmaster in the photographs was Chung Seong Che, one of the founders of scouting in Korea. I was told the photographs were valuable for the history of Korean scouting as Chung Seong Che was kidnapped by North Koreans shortly after I took the pictures and never seen again.
Since all of their files of the Korean Scout Association had been destroyed in the war these photographs were unique and had saved a bit of the history of Scouting in Korea. The photographs are now published in a book on the history of scouting in Korea.
gfd
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