Sherry Laymon discusses her latest book, CHEROKEE BLUE, on KUAF, Fayetteville

http://kuaf.com/post/after-five-years-teacher-turned-writer-publishes-cherokee-blue

Filed under: CHEROKEE BLUE

CHEROKEE BLUE IS HERE!!!

PURCHASE CHEROKEE BLUE  EBOOK

CHEROKEE BLUE is the biography of Blue Hothouse, one of the diminishing number of full-blood Cherokee Indians whose ancestors walked the Trail of Tears from Cherokee, North Carolina to Oklahoma during the winter of 1838-39. Blue’s story is one of trials, heartache, and multiple betrayals by the United States government. The narrative, told from the Cherokee perspective, depicts Blue’s difficulty throughout his life as he struggled to conform to and abide by “white man’s laws.” From his childhood until his adulthood, he has encountered racism, discrimination, mistreatment, hardship, and extreme poverty; yet, his faith in Christ has guided him to overcome his struggles and focus upon helping other Native Americans who are less fortunate and minister the gospel in the process.

PURCHASE CHEROKEE BLUE PAPERBACK

https://www.createspace.com/4874431

 

Filed under: CHEROKEE BLUE, Blue Hothouse, Cherokee Blue, Medicine Men, Native American, Stomp Dances, The Little People, Trail of Tears

FEARLESS: JOHN L MCCLELLAN, UNITED STATES SENATOR

NOTE: Autographed (Paperback and hardcover) copies of FEARLESS: JOHN L MCCLELLAN, UNITED STATES SENATOR are available on the author’s website – http://www.sherrylaymon.com. Click on the “Store” tab to make a purchase. Books are available at independent bookstores listed on this blog. The author also has books listed on Amazon.com. 

WHAT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT! WHAT A MAN! I feel fortunate in having the chance to cover him for the decade before his death. He was one of a kind.

-Steve Barnes, AETN, December 30, 2011

A compelling biography of a Southern conservative Democrat who overcame multiple tragedies in his personal life to become one of the most powerful Senators during his time. He confronted comparable issues facing the country today, such as deficit spending, labor union corruption, and the mafia, and rendered commonsense solutions by asserting a deep-rooted principle to do the right thing. This well-written book presents a fascinating glimpse into McClellan’s personal life, political contests, and professional career.

FROM THE BACK COVER;

‘This narrative has captured the very essence of my father’s being. His deep-rooted faith, strong convictions, and compassionate heart are underlying themes throughout the book. The author presents the investigative and legislative processes of Congress while disclosing a close association with the Kennedy family and working relationships with others of interest. His productive labors continue to have an impact on our society today.’

-Mary Alice McClellan McDermott, daughter of John McClellan

‘[Laymon’s] work has expanded and made more complete my understanding of the motivations and behavioral patterns that made [McClellan] unique. Readers will obtain a picture of the power to achieve of a determined, dedicated, and principled US Senator.

-Emon A. Mahony, Jr

Legislative assistant to Senator McClellan

Advance copies of FEARLESS: JOHN L. MCCLELLAN, UNITED STATES SENATOR can NOW be ordered from the author’s website. All books ordered from the website will be autographed before shipping. Also, only paperbacks will be distributed by the publisher. A limited number of SPECIAL EDITION HARDBACK books are only available through the author’s website and at author’s book signings. Books will be shipped immediately.

The author’s website is http://www.sherrylaymon.com (link is on this page).

Filed under: FEARLESS: JOHN L MCCLELLAN, UNITED STATES SENATOR

McClellan vs. Pryor: June 1972 by Rex Nelson

In her biography of the late Sen. John L. McClellan, titled Fearless, Sherry Laymon begins a chapter with something Paul Greenberg wrote in the Pine Bluff Commercial following McClellan’s death in late 1977.

“Not even the Angel of Death would have dared creep up on John L. McClellan in broad daylight,” Greenberg wrote.

Norma McClellan was unable to wake the senator for breakfast on Nov. 28, 1977. She ran to get her neighbor at the Riviera Apartments at the foot of Cantrell Hill in Little Rock, U.S. District Judge Elsijane T. Roy.

Judge Roy called the authorities. The senator was pronounced dead at about 6:30 a.m.

Laymon writes: “Norma McClellan then called several of McClellan’s staff members, who came up to their apartment to visit with her. After Emon A. Mahony Jr. and Paul Berry arrived at the McClellan apartment and greeted Norma, she told them, ‘I want you to go look in the top drawer there — his underwear drawer.’ She showed them the Valentine boxers that they had purchased for him during the 1972 campaign. Norma told them that McClellan brought the boxers with him to Little Rock to ‘model for my boys.’

“In the days following McClellan’s death, state and national newspapers, members of Congress, former opponents, state leaders and others who had made McClellan’s acquaintance over the years lauded him for his tireless devotion to Arkansas and for his important accomplishments in the Senate, including a record number of Senate investigations (2,808 hours, 831 days and 2,183 witnesses).

“They referenced how the multitude of personal tragedies he had endured turned him into a man of steel and a man of faith, and they mentioned that he performed his duties as a public servant by consistently voting his convictions and doing what he believed to be right.”

Mahony and Berry will join another former McClellan staff member, Bob Snider, for the June meeting of the Political Animals Club in Little Rock as we mark the 40th anniversary of one of the great political races in Arkansas history — the Democratic primary runoff between McClellan and then U.S. Rep. David Pryor in June 1972.

Laymon also will be a member of that panel, which I will moderate. She will autograph copies of Fearless before and after the event.

What’s always a good lunch will be included for the $20 cost, which you can pay in cash or by check at the door. We’ll begin at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 19, in the Grand Hall of the Governor’s Mansion and conclude by 1 p.m.

You can make reservations by emailing Susan Edwards at sedwards@arkindcolleges.org and giving her the names of those who will be attending.

Advance reservations are required.

Laymon describes the David Pryor of 1972 as “a young and attractive congressman who hungered for higher office.”

On Oct. 19, 1967, Pryor had attended the John L. McClellan Day festivities in Camden as a first-term congressman.

McClellan told Pryor that day: “I want you to know that when I do leave the Senate, you’re the type of young man that I’d like to see succeed me.”

Laymon writes of similarities between the early careers of Pryor and McClellan.

“In 1934, McClellan quietly drove over the district to learn the intentions of possible candidates and to assess his chances of winning the congressional race. … In 1972, Pryor traveled outside his congressional district, talking to people and steadily building support. Many of Pryor’s friends told him they would support him for re-election, but not in a race against Sen. McClellan; however, he toyed with the idea of challenging McClellan and pursuing his longtime dream of becoming a senator.”

Pryor had to think about the political timing.

“A McClellan win in 1972 would handicap Pryor’s chances of challenging J. William Fulbright in 1974 with the rest of the state since McClellan and Pryor both called south Arkansas home,” Laymon writes. “If Pryor stayed in the House until 1978, his seniority in that chamber might not make the change worthwhile. Also, by 1978 he could lose some of the national momentum he had gained in the early 1970s when he crusaded for nursing home reforms.”

McClellan announced in a Little Rock news conference on Feb. 11, 1972, that he would run for re-election even though he had reached age 76. He emphasized the benefits of seniority with the campaign slogan “Strong Voice for Arkansas.”

Two days later, Bryant attorney Ted Boswell announced his intention to run against McClellan in the Democratic primary.

Pryor’s announcement came on Feb. 19 during a speech in his hometown of Camden.

“McClellan felt betrayed, disappointed and astonished when he learned that Pryor opted to challenge him,” Laymon writes. “McClellan thought highly of David Pryor and considered Pryor a protege. Some of McClellan’s staff believed that had Pryor first advised McClellan of his intentions, the senator would have stepped aside and endorsed Pryor for the office because of his friendship with Pryor’s family. Also, by Pryor not first informing McClellan of his plans, McClellan felt that Pryor did not acknowledge McClellan’s prominence and status in Arkansas politics, which offended McClellan.

“Regardless, McClellan never backed down when challenged, so he campaigned just as hard against Pryor in 1972 as he had against D.D. Glover in 1934, Hattie Caraway in 1938, Jack Holt Sr. in 1942 and Sid McMath in 1954.”

It had been 18 years since someone had seriously challenged McClellan. Rison native John Elrod was named the campaign manager. Berry was selected to drive McClellan to campaign stops across the state.

McClellan had two rules for staff members.

The first: “Don’t ever lie to me.”

The second: “Don’t ever be late.”

Given McClellan’s age, his staff would leave time in the campaign schedule for the senator’s afternoon nap followed by time to prepare for evening appearances.

Back to those underwear.

Laymon writes: “Often staff invited local young men to visit McClellan in his motel suite during those periods, which was the case when the McClellan party stopped in Newport in February 1972. While McClellan showered, a group assembled to meet the senator, but McClellan stayed an extra long time in the bathroom.

“Finally, he attracted Paul Berry’s attention and told Berry, ‘I don’t have any fresh underwear.’

“Berry and Mahony walked to a store across the street and purchased the necessary items, which Berry handed to McClellan enclosed in the store sack so as not to reveal the contents to the roomful of guests. Soon afterward, a blushing Sen. McClellan emerged to meet his visitors for the first time wearing loud boxer shorts covered with big hearts, cupids and arrows. McClellan credited his mischievous staff for his predicament as he circled the room, extending his hand and greeting the amused individuals.”

Television ads and a 30-minute paid television program that showed McClellan fishing were intended to convey the message that the senator’s age and health weren’t issues.

“Critics became less vocal about McClellan’s age after he took the stage and performed a quick, lively dance at Mountain View as musicians played their instruments,” Laymon writes.

She says McClellan would hold the attention of audiences across the state by interjecting stories from “his former campaigns or his experiences as a lawyer and prosecutor. … He said the barbs from his 1972 opponents reminded him of advice that he was given as a young lawyer — when the law is on your side, argue the law; when the facts are on your side, argue the facts; when neither is on your side, find fault with the other lawyers.”

Bill Wilson, now a federal judge, recalls being asked to speak on behalf of an opposing candidate during a rally attended by McClellan at Antioch in White County.

Wilson won a coin toss and could have gone last.

McClellan said, “Aw, you go ahead and go first.” Wilson did, and it was a mistake. “That taught me a lesson,” he later said. “I never did that again. After I got through, he wore me out.”

At one joint event, McClellan grabbed Pryor by the arm and said, “Pour it on me, son.”

“His grueling weekly schedule that began early Monday morning and extended until late Saturday night exhausted him physically, emotionally and mentally,” Laymon writes. “He rested on Sundays before repeating the cycle.”

McClellan received 44.7 percent of the vote in the primary. Pryor was second with 41.4 percent, and Boswell was third with 12.6 percent. Foster Johnson received the remainder of the primary votes.

The two-week runoff was on. Those were the “tantamount to” days of Arkansas politics when winning the Democratic primary was tantamount to election. Whoever won the Democratic runoff would have little problem dispatching Republican Wayne Babbitt in the fall.

Conventional wisdom was that an incumbent was finished if forced into a runoff.

“While the Pryor camp exploded with enthusiasm, the people in McClellan’s headquarters became disheartened and dejected as though all the air had been let out of the campaign tires,” Laymon writes. “Patrick Hays, who worked in McClellan’s campaign, compared the senator’s headquarters to a ship without a rudder. After a couple of days, the old steam engine began to sputter and then get a little traction, and as that traction increased, the wheels started rolling a little faster.”

McClellan informed his staff that he could not continue at the current pace for another two weeks. More than 150 key supporters from across the state arrived for a meeting in Little Rock. They committed an additional $280,000 and promised to all hit the trail on the senator’s behalf, covering far more ground than he could alone.

Every favor imaginable was called in as McClellan worked the phones from early in the morning until late at night. Boswell, meanwhile, endorsed Pryor, and Pryor challenged McClellan to a debate.

KATV-TV, Channel 7, in Little Rock agreed to air the debate in prime time the Sunday night before the Tuesday election. McClellan accepted the debate challenge on June 6 under the condition that McClellan would speak last.

“McClellan approached the debate as he did everything he attempted — by working hard, doing his homework and relying upon his years of experience and political savvy,” Laymon writes. “As an effective debater, McClellan habitually opted to speak last when he argued his position on the Senate floor, which allowed him to respond to points raised by his opponents.”

Mahony prepared McClellan a chart of Pryor’s numerous contributions from organized labor. McClellan hit hard in what would be remembered as the cookie jar debate.

“We talk about 50-cent donations out of overall pockets and out of cookie jars — I believe he said cookie jars,” McClellan said, looking at Pryor. “Listen, this is no overall pocket money. This is no cookie jar nickels and dimes. Take a look at this. Big, out-of-state contributions to Pryor. They total $79,877.16. … Yes, that’s a cookie jar — quite a cookie jar indeed.”

Pryor later said, “They wanted to see blood, and it was my blood that they saw, not his.”

McClellan won the runoff with 52 percent of the vote, carrying 52 of the state’s 75 counties.

Filed under: FEARLESS: JOHN L MCCLELLAN, UNITED STATES SENATOR

Book Review: FEARLESS by Gregg Reep

Book Review: Fearless

by Gregg Reep

As a student of history and political science, I enjoy reading books about political figures in the history of Arkansas and especially those that tell the story about individuals that I actually met at some point in time.  There are many fascinating things to learn and it is especially interesting to realize you actually spoke to the person if even just a few words for a short period of time.

That was the case when I read Fearless, a book written by Sherry Layman about the late United States Senator John L. McClellan.  Born in 1896 in Grant County, he grew up in rural South Arkansas, became an attorney and went on to be a successful lawyer, prosecuting attorney, and finally a United States Senator which was the job he always wanted.  The book covers his life with the bulk of the writing covering the Senate years ending with his death in 1977 not long after he had announced plans to retire.

The book covers many years of exciting American History and some of the monumental historical occurrences in the history of our nation.  John L. McClellan lived this history and was a major player in the decisions made.  There are many references to his strong faith and the way the Senator shouldered through numerous personal tragedies.  Senator McClellan was old school in many ways yet extremely progressive in others, at times, he appears to be a contradiction.  Without question, he had a tremendous impact on Arkansas due to billions of dollars he directed Arkansas’s way and the policy decision he saw enforced.

Senator McClellan defeated an incumbent to go to Congress, lost his first race for the U.S. Senate and rose to a position of authority equaled only by a handful of men in the history of American government.

Senator McClellan was divorced early in life which in the 1930’s and 40’s was not a path to political success.  He lost his second wife to illness and had several children including three sons.  All three sons died prematurely in life and broke his heart.  Throughout it all he kept going and continued to produce for Arkansas and for America.

John L. McClellan, a southern conservative was close to the Kennedys and especially experienced a very close personal relationship with Robert Kennedy.  He took on Joseph McCarthy due to his belief in fairness and justice and also took on corrupt union bosses in defense of working peopl and then did battle with organized crime.  He spent hours in hearings interviewing witnesses to determine the type legislation needed to address serious problems.

Robert Kennedy said that John McClellan was the best lawyer and most intimidating guestioner he ever witnessed.  The Senator was always fair but could be very tough and relentless in going after the truth.

The book covers one of the greatest political races in Arkansas history.  That was the 1972 campaign between Senator McClellan and then Congressman David Pryor.  I remember the campaigns well as a senior in High School.  The Senator lead by a small margin but was forced into a runoff with David Pryor.  Traditionally in Arkansas an incumbent forced into runoff lost.  Not this time.  The old warrior won against the young turk Pryor.  He was a fighter and showed it.

John McClellan finished his career as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.  He ruled the United States purse strings and used the position to directly help communities like Warren.

I personally experienced the Senator’s ability to utilize his power.  In 1975 Warren was devastated by a tornado.  Many people were hurt and several killed.  There was great property damage.  Then Mayor John B. Frazer sought help from the federal government.  There was a lot of red tape to overcome and the needs were immediate.  Senator McClellan took a personal interest and Warren received over a million dollars in grant funds to help clean up, repair houses, pave general streets and install sewer lines where none had existed.  His personal involvement moved federal agencies to assist.  He could get results from Congress, from various agencies, and from The White House.

The book concludes with Senator McClellan’s funeral conducted at Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock.  I was privileged to attend with Mayor Frazer.  Many dignitaries attended including Vice President Mondale, First Lady Roselyn Carter and many others.  It was a fitting tribute to John McClellan’s impact on Arkansas.

Read the book.  It will be worth your time.

Posted by salineriverchronicle at 4:51 PM

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Filed under: FEARLESS: JOHN L MCCLELLAN

Foreword: FEARLESS, JOHN L MCCLELLAN, UNITED STATES SENATOR by Emon A. Mahony, Jr.

Thirty years ago, I was among a group of young people carrying John McClellan’s coffin down steep steps on a windy, rainy November day. Inside the church, among others were Vice President Mondale and Senator Jacob Javits (who visibly wept that day).

Those honored to be pall bearers were mostly campaign workers from the 1972 campaign, who formed bonds which have endured to this day. Our hair was still a little long and our politics a little to the left of John McClellan, but to a man we were impressed with the Senator’s flexibility. He was reputed to have told his more conservative supporters more than once that so long as an employee worked hard, produced good work and was loyal; he was not too concerned with hair length. He died shortly after the end of the most wrenching political changes seen in America in many years. He surfed through those years by being flexible and bending slightly to the wind and going with it where he thought it correct.

I held five different jobs under the Senator, and remember as clearly today as then the details of significant interactions with him. He was always the ultimate pragmatist, and willing to listen. Since it was my job to advise him on issues, his willingness to listen was crucial to my sense of worth. Yet it was a rare event for me to know how he was going to vote in advance, as he did not tell me. Indeed he regularly kept his powder dry till the vote was imminent. Early on it occurred to me that I was paid to provide him information and advice. I would be well advised not to focus on whether he took the advice. To illustrate, when I became his Legislative Assistant (my third position) he asked me for a memo commenting on a Judiciary Subcommittee report dealing with the communist threat to our country. My memo advised that the rhetoric in the report would not sell, as it was of the Joe McCarthy era and dealt with a threat that was unfamiliar to the present generation. I advised that if the goal was to combat Communist Russia, it would be better to use the then current literature being written by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. The liberals in the United States were very high on him, and his indictment of Communist Russia was based on his personal experiences in the country. Interestingly the Senator never commented on my memo and we never discussed communism. I always assumed I passed what had been a test.

On another occasion, there was a very significant vote on overriding a Nixon veto. I had uncharacteristically urged him more than once to vote to uphold the veto. He never gave any indication how he would vote. Both the president and Senator Jennings Randolph, who managed the legislation, were encouraging him to support them. On the day of the vote, in an unique incident for him, he approached Senator Herman Talmadge and had a brief conversation. The two of them then split up and began to “work the floor” in an effort to persuade other Senators to vote with them. The veto was easily sustained, which was a significant movement toward fiscal responsibility. I was delighted. Did my efforts make a difference? I never knew or cared. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to have the input.

Our relationship was based on work. John McClellan was truly a working man with a backbreaking load. His personal experiences were such that he sought and found solace in work. Except for campaign years, his focus was never on the media and his treatment therein. He believed that his work product would speak for itself, and it does. But even monumental work is aided by one who analyzes the work and lays it out for others to view. Sherry Laymon has done that admirably for McClellan’s work. Well as I knew him, my understanding of him has been greatly extended by reading the text.

When I determined to leave Washington and return to the Arkansas we both loved, many told me not to give him too much notice, as he would react unfavorably and not give me meaningful assignments. I thought that was bad advice as I knew he would pragmatically follow the course that would be the most productive for both of us. I gave him a year’s notice of leaving, and worked hard on meaningful assignments through my last day. The work ethic, dedication to duty and methods of formulating judgments and acting accordingly I learned from him have greatly enhanced both my productivity and my satisfaction with life. I could ask no more, and indeed never have.

Emon A. Mahony, Jr.

El Dorado, Arkansas

2009

Filed under: FEARLESS: JOHN L MCCLELLAN, UNITED STATES SENATOR

Introduction: FEARLESS, JOHN L MCCLELLAN, UNITED STATES SENATOR

John McClellan’s thundering voice, imposing stage presence, and commanding personality projected a confident and powerful figure that could not be ignored in Washington D.C.; yet, his humble beginnings in Grant County, Arkansas presented obstacles that he had to conquer if he achieved his life’s ambition of becoming a United States senator. Lacking the familial support, finances, and stability that launch one on a path to fame and fortune, young John McClellan developed a rare personal strength that enabled him to overcome tragedy and hardship in his personal life and attain the lofty goals he desired professionally. By the force of his will, he pulled himself up by his bootstraps and acquired the personality and determination one must possess to succeed in a world filled with able competitors who usually had the advantage of a formal education.

A motherless child raised by a tough taskmaster father, John McClellan’s upbringing paralleled the lifestyles of most residents in Arkansas and the American South during the early twentieth century. He was raised on a sharecropper’s farm, attended country schools, became instilled with Christian values, and wedded young. His early caretakers taught him to love, honor, and serve God and country and to base his relationships with others on the Golden Rule. At a young age, he embarked on his lifelong quest for justice by consistently striving to do what he deemed right after ascertaining the facts in each situation he encountered. He demonstrated his manifest integrity and fairness as a young man playing on a baseball field, an attorney arguing a case in a courtroom, a prosecutor enforcing the law, and chairman of a Senate committee conducting an investigation.

As a youngster, John McClellan worked as a cotton-picker, plowboy, and waterjack on the family farm, and performing those labor-intensive and unrewarding tasks motivated the ten-year old lad to pursue a career in the legal profession. He immediately began studying law books and observing accomplished attorneys as they argued cases in the courtroom. When he reached seventeen years of age, the Arkansas legislature passed a special act allowing him to take the bar examination, and he became the youngest licensed attorney in the United States-a record that still stands. He advanced toward his ultimate goal by serving as city attorney of Malvern, prosecuting attorney of Arkansas’s Seventh Judicial District, congressman from Arkansas’s Sixth Congressional District, and finally Arkansas’s senior senator.

McClellan became known as a southern conservative, but he based his policies upon the facts and the truth that he found after carefully examining all aspects of the problems he encountered. He projected a quiet competence and an aura of trustworthiness regarding his actions, which alleviated any need for him to explain them through the media. His constituents included all people-rich and poor, of all races and color-who depended upon him to lead them out of extreme poverty and hardship. He made decisions and performed deeds “with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right . . .” which President Lincoln referred to in his Second Inaugural Address. McClellan’s confidence and assurance came from conscious study and deliberate application of a formidable mind.

Although McClellan became one of the most powerful people in Washington D. C., he never lost his love for his home state or his ability to identify with its people. When he began serving in the United States House in 1934, the foundation of Arkansas’s economy was agriculture, and flooding across the state constantly inundated farmland, destroying livelihoods of many Arkansans within a few hours. As a member of the House Flood Control Committee, McClellan helped draft flood control measures that authorized and appropriated federal dollars for flood relief programs for Arkansas farmers. Levees breaks, bank cave-ins, channel shifts, and bridge deterioration along the Arkansas River had plagued Arkansans living in the southeastern section of McClellan’s congressional district for decades. Previously, the federal government had responded sporadically to their cries for assistance by providing temporary relief. McClellan’s involvement in their concerns eventually led to his fixation on the Arkansas River project. When McClellan entered the Senate in 1943, he strongly advocated the idea that the federal government should create a comprehensive flood control and water development program for all the nation’s waterways, including the Arkansas River, and he assumed a leadership role in converting the uncontrollable river into a power source and a navigable waterway. At its completion in 1971, it was the largest public works project in the history of the United States. McClellan’s ability to bring over $1.2 billion federal dollars to Arkansas for flood control and water resources development kept the Army Corps of Engineers office located in Little Rock.

When McClellan entered Congress in 1934, the state’s highway system consisted of a network of dirt roads, two-lane ruts, and gravel roads with patches of pavement, most of which the Flood of 1927 had damaged or destroyed. McClellan attached the McClellan Amendment to a 1936 flood control bill that resulted in Arkansas receiving $5,000,000 for 450 miles of new hard-surfaced roads and 5000 additional jobs. As a senator occupying seats on the Post Roads Committee and the Public Works Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, McClellan kept federal dollars funneled to the state to finance continued road improvements throughout his tenure in Washington. McClellan became known as the “brick and mortar” senator because he continuously piped federal funds to Arkansas to create construction jobs for local water treatment facilities, hospitals, clinics, parks, recreational areas, convention centers, rehabilitation centers, technical institutes, rural electrification projects, manufacturing plants, schools, libraries, and college structures. McClellan often stated that when the pie of federal funds was cut, he wanted to ensure that Arkansas-one of the nation’s poorest states-got its fair share.

Labeling himself “a working senator-on the job, getting results for Arkansas,” his constituency recognized McClellan as the go-to guy in Washington if anything got accomplished in their favor. McClellan unabashedly acclaimed specific projects he had obtained for his home state, including $350 million for defense plants at Pine Bluff and Camden, the Air Force Base at Jacksonville, and the Veterans’ Hospital in Little Rock. He periodically reminded his constituents of his involvement in agricultural research and extension, the Farmers’ Home Administration, forestry programs, emergency drought relief, rural electrification, vocational education programs, school lunch programs, and federal aid to schools. The Senator related that he wrote legislation that provided for disposal of surplus federal property to states for educational and public health purposes; attracted private industries, such as Reynolds Metals Company, FedEx, and Falcon Jet, to the state; and sponsored numerous income tax bills to increase personal exemption amounts, which saved all taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. In 1954 McClellan asserted that during his twelve-year tenure in the Senate, he had brought more federal money to Arkansas than any other Arkansas senator did in twice that time.

During his senatorial career, John McClellan became involved in many diverse subjects, but his legacy is largely characterized by his success in the law and order field. He considered law to be a noble profession, and he did or said nothing to undermine the American judicial system. When he critiqued individual decisions, as he often did, his comments went to the merits of the decision on the law and his deeply held view that judges should adjudicate the law and leave legislating to Congress. As a procedurally oriented individual, he always followed protocol in formal matters. McClellan believed that the Constitution assigned the legislative, executive, and judicial branches specific roles, and he thought each branch should operate within its own sphere. When he believed that one branch overstepped its jurisdiction, he vigorously challenged the action.

As the Senate’s leading investigator, McClellan exposed how the rampant and unchecked criminality of organized labor and the mafia preyed upon society. Defying threats to his own person, he sought justice for the vulnerable American public by introducing and passing legislation that protected the rights of rank-and-file union members and enacting more criminal procedures legislation, including RICO, than any other person in this country’s history. This legislation facilitated convictions of Watergate criminals; occasioned the downfall of two presidents; and instigated the disintegration of the American mafia. McClellan’s ability to secure passage of such sweeping conservative legislation demonstrated the persuasive power he wielded and the clout he carried in Washington at a period when prominent opposing liberals occupied the White House and Department of Justice, held majorities in both houses of Congress, and sat on the Warren Supreme Court.

McClellan’s desire for justice to prevail extended to those on both sides of the law. Even though he assiduously pursued legislation that safeguarded the American public, he also respected the rights of the accused. As a youth observing his father and other competent lawyers arguing cases in the courtrooms, he developed a profound understanding of the Constitution and the rights it provided for victims as well as defendants. Thus, when ruffians appearing before his Senate committee persistently concealed their culpability behind the Fifth Amendment, he abided by and defended their right to do so even though he found their behavior appalling. He opposed his colleagues who wanted to accelerate the judicial process lest those accused of wrongdoing would be denied their rights to face all their accusers. McClellan, applying the Golden Rule, explained that he treated malefactors in such manner that he desired if their situations were reversed.

McClellan constantly strived to do what he determined to be the right thing based upon the facts at hand, but he initially took positions that placed him on the wrong side of the civil rights and school desegregation issues. As a product of the time and place he occupied and the society that he represented, McClellan fervently opposed most social legislation. Nonetheless, he mellowed over time and adapted political stances that embraced social changes without alienating his constituents. He rose above the Southern Manifesto mindset and became the first member of the Arkansas delegation to integrate his campaign headquarters and to nominate African Americans to federal service positions, including the first black judge to the Canal Zone District Court. Furthermore, when the federal government focused intently on desegregating southern schools while blinking at similar situations not in the South, McClellan singlehandedly forced the Department of Justice to equitably apply civil rights laws across the country. Because of McClellan, African American children in cities such as Boston, Detroit, and Berkeley were allowed access to the same educational facilities and programs that white children received.

Across the spectrum of McClellan’s professional career, he consistently based his decisions on truth, facts, and a deep understanding of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the rule of law. A cunning and clever politician, he transcended time and place and made an enormous impact upon his state and nation. When Senator McClellan encountered situations that required rectification, he boldly challenged presidents; matched wits with congressmen educated at prestigious universities; and questioned rulings of the Supreme Court. Presidents sometimes called upon him to sponsor legislation they espoused because they knew if John McClellan supported their programs, those initiatives had a much better chance of survival in Congress. Even when the odds for success appeared slim, McClellan patiently and persistently pursued his objective or obstinately refused to budge from his position until a favorable outcome materialized. At one time he sat on twenty-four Senate committees. Frequently opponents who successfully challenged McClellan on an issue in one committee had to face him again on that same issue in another committee, and the odds of them leaving the room with the entire package with which they entered were slim. Whether it was fighting communism and McCarthyism, investigating labor racketeering and organized crime, or drafting legislation to protect rank and file union members, McClellan prudently explored all avenues in his diligent search for the truth, and then he acted according to what he deemed right based upon the evidence. He became the champion for the American people when he found situations where they were being exploited.

McClellan served many years with some of his colleagues in the Senate. Even though he maintained cordial relations with them, few knew him intimately. The public’s perception of him came primarily from journalists who, along with the mobsters and crooks appearing as witnesses, observed him in Senate hearings. Before those hardened tough guys, McClellan transmitted a disarming stage presence, but those closest to him stated that his resolute facade was simply an act that he turned on and off as the circumstances dictated. McClellan described himself as having a “gruff exterior, but a tender heart.” Pat Holsten, his granddaughter, recalled memories of “Ole Mac” rollicking in the snow, watching her ride her horse, and riding with her on the back of her motorcycle. He attended football games of his young grandson, Harry McDermott III, and took granddaughters, Holly and Lisa McDermott, to Arkansas Razorback games and some of his public events. He patiently accommodated children’s requests for autographs and mesmerized them by wriggling his ears. McClellan attended office parties and picnics, breakfasted with his staff, and invited them into his office to watch World Series games. Although fate persistently dispensed traumatic and agonizing circumstances into McClellan’s family that made him cynical, he never became bitter. He endured each situation by relying upon his deep-rooted faith to sustain him and seeking words of wisdom in the Bible. He never used his circumstances to seek sympathy or make excuses for himself, but accepted them as God’s edict for his life. He found his work to be a welcome alleviation from the trials that tormented him. His story is of a life tormented by soul-wrenching tragedy; and of personal triumph over all obstacles through his faith that comforted him, hard work that sustained him, and wisdom that guided him.

Filed under: FEARLESS: JOHN L MCCLELLAN, UNITED STATES SENATOR

PFEIFFER COUNTRY REVIEW

I was given a copy of Pfeiffer Country as a Christmas gift by my longtime office manager, Brenda Brown. Brenda, as you know, has a connection to a later generation of the Pfeiffer family.

I recently retired from the highway construction business after 44+ years. During that time we worked in Arkansas a lot. Much of our work was in Clay County and I know the area very well.

Places that you mentioned in your book had a special meaning for me because we’ve built roads and bridges there. To name a few there is Piggott, Pollard, McDougal, Boydsville (upper and lower), Rector, Leonard, Crockett, Knob, Hickoria, Corning, Trinnon, and Nimmons. In addition there was your special reference to Big Slough Ditch and Mr. Pfeiffer’s involvement. By my count we have built 6 new bridges on Big Slough all the way from Piggott to the Leonard Road.

Piggott is a little town I’ve always liked and I’ve been by the Pfeiffer House, but I’ve not toured it. Because of your wonderful book I have it on my list of things to do.

Best wishes,

Jay Githens

J. W. Githens Company

Poplar Bluff, MO

Filed under: PFEIFFER COUNTRY: THE TENANT FARMS AND BUSINESS ACTIVITIES OF PAUL PFEIFFER IN CLAY COUNTY, ARKANSAS 1902-1954

Review of PFEIFFER COUNTRY in the “Journal of Southern History” by Linda English, University of Texas-Pan American

Pfeiffer Country: The Tenant Farms and Business Activities of Paul Pfeiffer in Clay County, Arkansas: 1902-1954. By Sherry Laymon. (Little Rock, Ark.: Butler Center Books, 2009. Pp. 239. Paper, $19.95, ISBN 978-0-98008977-6; cloth, $37.95, ISBN 978-0-9800897-6-9.)

As the title suggests, Sherry Laymon’s book focuses on the farm enterprises of Paul Pfeiffer, a wealthy midwesterner who began purchasing land primarily for cotton production in the swampy bottomlands of Arkansas’s northeastern Clay County in 1902. Pfeiffer ultimately amassed enormous wealth and acreage before selling off–under favorable terms–a majority of his landholdings to his tenant farmers in the early 1940s. This last act, combined with his benevolent management style, bolsters Laymon’s argument that Pfeiffer offered his farmers a kinder, gentler model for landlord-tenant relations, in contrast to the conditions experienced by sharecroppers and tenants in the Arkansas Delta specifically and the South generally. By extension, Laymon’s study challenges the conventional depiction of sharecroppers’ being subject to virtual bondage by ruthless landowners through crop liens and debt peonage.

In creating an agricultural utopia composed of “good farmers who seldom moved from their farms,” Paul Pfeiffer not only “avoided conflicts with tenants that other large planters encountered” but also managed to withstand the turbulent economic cycles of the early twentieth century (p. 13). Laymon provides ample evidence of Pfeiffer’s generous approach to farm management. For example, the landowner opted not to operate a commissary wherein his tenants would be forced to purchase staple items from him and be subject to exorbitant interest rates. He supplied a substantial two-story farmhouse to each of his tenants, supplemented by a series of outbuildings, including assorted barns and a chicken house. Pfeiffer provided general upkeep of his tenants’ properties, including drainage, an expensive but necessary task. Further, Pfeiffer allowed his tenants to allot a portion of their acreage to their own material needs, wooded areas for firewood, and an acre for home gardens.

All told, conditions in “Pfeiffer Country” seemed better than elsewhere for the average tenant farmer; still, there are some glaring issues that go largely unexplored in this analysis. The author posits Pfeiffer’s Clay County against the conditions of other sharecropping counties in the Arkansas Delta, mentioning only in brief that Clay was an all-white county and that the landowner advertised for “good white people … who believe in education, morality, and the better things of life” (p. 72). Pfeiffer preferred to recruit his tenants from the Midwest, after which these industrious folk needed to prove their mettle to him during their probationary first year. Obvious questions of class dynamics emerge between the ultra-rich Pfeiffers–who traveled in elite circles and whose eldest daughter married Ernest Hemingway–and their tenants (hinted at by Laymon’s assertion that the Pfeiffer women saw the local people as quite different from themselves).

The author does, however, provide a thorough examination of Pfeiffer’s business records and family correspondence. The firsthand accounts of Clay County tenants provide invaluable insights into early-twentieth-century rural life. While informative, the detailed descriptions of farm dwellings seem cumbersome and poorly integrated into the narrative. Paul Pfeiffer is a compelling figure who made a calculated business decision to not treat his tenants as serfs. However, to avoid hagiography, Laymon needs to rely less on her good-evil dichotomy and place Pfeiffer in the complicated, nuanced world in which he lived.

LINDA ENGLISH

University of Texas-Pan American

Filed under: PFEIFFER COUNTRY: THE TENANT FARMS AND BUSINESS ACTIVITIES OF PAUL PFEIFFER IN CLAY COUNTY, ARKANSAS 1902-1954

Gregory Hansen’s Review published in “Journal of Folklore Research”

Studies of tenant farming within the Arkansas Delta have 
focused mainly on the labor activism associated with the 
Southern Tenant Farmers' Union and the sharecropping 
systems of the southeastern region of the state. Social 
histories of the state reveal how the system supported 
inequitable and oppressive labor relations that continue 
to contribute to the region's legacy of poverty. Labor union 
activities of the 1930s and 40s, in particular, provide an 
inspiring story that Studies of tenant farming within the 
Arkansas Delta have focused mainly on the labor activism 
associated with the Southern Tenant Farmers’ Union and 
the sharecropping systems of the southeastern region of the 
state. Social histories of the state reveal how the system 
supported inequitable and oppressive labor relations that 
continue to contribute to the region’s legacy of poverty. Labor 
union activities of the 1930s and 40s, in particular, provide 
an inspiring story that is preserved in scholarship and in a 
museum located in Tyronza, Arkansas, where the union was 
originally based. The preservation and interpretation of this 
history contributes to our understanding of America’s regional 
history, especially in relation to agriculture, labor, and race 
relations. Sherry Laymon’s book adds to our understanding of 
tenant farming by looking at agricultural history in a region of 
northeastern Arkansas. Her study of Paul Pfeiffer’s farming 
operations opens up a more richly-nuanced understanding of 
Arkansas’s social history. Integrating oral history and studies 
of vernacular architecture into her study, Laymon shows that 
the sharecropper/tenant farming system was not necessarily an 
exploitive 
system. 

Laymon’s study centers on the life of Iowa businessman, Paul Pfeiffer, and his contributions to developing the area around Piggott, Arkansas. Pfeiffer moved from Iowa to St. Louis, eventually settling in this small town near the Missouri border in 1913. Pfeiffer came from a family of economic means. While he was opening up the area for cotton cultivation, his brothers were laying the foundation for a drug company that eventually became Pfeiffer Pharmaceuticals. Paul and Mary Pfeiffer lived in Piggot for the remainder of their lives, and they remained important entrepreneurs and civic leaders within the mid-south region. One of their daughters, Pauline Pfeiffer, went on to become a journalist, and she is remembered, today, as the second wife of Ernest Hemingway. The famous American writer, himself, spent much of his time in Piggott in the 1930s, and the Pfeiffer home is preserved today as a museum and interpretive center, complete with a redecorated presentation of Hemingway’s study. The Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center graciously allowed Laymon to use oral histories, museum holdings, and archival information for her research.

Laymon’s book provides a fine overview of the Pfeiffer family’s activities in this northeastern Arkansas community. She uses a variety of sources to give the context for the Pfeiffers’ move to Piggott, and makes fine use of oral histories of current residents who rented land or worked for the family. Laymon then gives us an overview of the vernacular architecture associated with what have become known as “Pfeiffer Farms” within the Piggott community, and she analyzes the buildings in relation to regional styles of architecture and the agricultural system used by Pfeiffer. Laymon’s study convincingly shows that Pfeiffer blended together two economic systems to create an innovative, even benevolent, model for farming in the Arkansas Delta. Pfeiffer blended practices from real estate development with the tenant farming system to establish profitable farmsteads that contributed to his family’s fortune while also allowing his tenants opportunities for economic advancement. Unlike other planters, Pfeiffer eschewed highly exploitive practices, such as creating an economic hegemony through operation of commissaries and patrols, and instead displayed a benevolence to his tenants by renegotiating—and sometimes even forgiving—loans. Laymon backs her conclusions about these socially responsible practices through thorough written documentation, and she also presents numerous stories of the Pfeiffers’ largesse throughout her narrative. She also shows that Paul Pfeiffer’s unique blending of tenant farming with real estate development did, in fact, allow many renters to eventually purchase their own farms.

What emerges in Pfeiffer’s system is a blending of the ideal of the midwestern family farm with southern sharecropping. This hybrid system is clearly evident in Laymon’s intriguing presentation of vernacular architecture. Although few Pfeiffer farms stand intact today, Laymon was able to create her own renderings based on recollections and sketches of older sites from local residents. Her illustrations show how the influence of predominantly midwestern styles of vernacular architecture often blended with southern building styles to create a unique impact on the region’s cultural landscape. One especially intriguing example of this process is her rich discussion of a regional adaptation of the shotgun house. Whereas most shotgun homes feature an asymmetrical façade with only one window on the gabled end, the Pfeiffer shotgun featured a central doorway flanked by two windows. This style does show up throughout the area, and it appealed to the aesthetic values of Pfeiffer when he hired builders to construct these homes. Through her analysis of the shotgun houses and other styles of homes, barns, and outbuildings, Laymon demonstrates how individual influences and regional adaptations are essential components of a localized vernacular style of architecture.

Pfeiffer Country is an important contribution to regional history, and Laymon’s blending of oral history with analysis of vernacular architecture will provide excellent methods for future studies. The book could benefit from a more thorough application of ideas from scholarship within these areas, and there also is an implicit dichotomy between “savage” and “civilized” that reveals itself in inopportune times throughout the book. This tension, however, feels more anachronistic than offensive, and Laymon gives us an excellent contribution for understanding Pfeiffer’s farms in relation to wider patterns of history and culture within the Arkansas Delta in particular, and southern social history in general.

Gregory Hansen
Professor of Folklore and English
Arkansas State University

Filed under: PFEIFFER COUNTRY: THE TENANT FARMS AND BUSINESS ACTIVITIES OF PAUL PFEIFFER IN CLAY COUNTY, ARKANSAS 1902-1954