Loyal and the Three Groups: A Tale (1994)

Loyal and the Three Groups: ATaIe Thomas Parrish Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, or whatever current euphemisms you prefer: As we all know, the 1960s were a time of great national turbulence and change, and the Council of the Southern Mountains found itself heavily involved in all this turmoil. We engaged in much political activity, we had endless dealings with Washington—many comings and goings—remember the Great Society? We had a coal miner who carried an Eastern Air Lines schedule in his hip pocket. He knew National Airport better than he knew downtown Evarts. And we had dealings with state capitals and other centers of political power, with foundations and with private groups of all kinds. So we really had to be on our toes at all times, and as associate executive secretary and later executive director of the council, Loyal had to be prepared for almost anything on almost any day. It was literally a time when you could appear at the office in the morning without having any idea of what might turn up—or blow up—during the day. I realized that, early in the game, Loyal had developed ways of dealing with each of the kinds of groups or factors that anybody in any kind of executive position—in any kind of enterprise, really—has to deal with. These three groups—broadly defined—are: The staff of the organization; The supervisory and ultimately responsible group—the board of directors; Thomas Parrish, noted author and authority on the history of World War II, is consulting editorfor Appalachian Heritage. He is at work on a book on the Cold War, which is scheduled to appear in 1995. 38 And the outside world—those whom the organization exists to serve and work with—its own special public and then the general public, the press, politicians, visiting experts, consultants and so forth. It seemed to me that the best way I could give you a picture of Loyal in the days when I worked with him at the Council of the Southern Mountains would be to give you some examples—to show you the resourceful ways he had developed for dealing with persons from each of these three groups. My examples will come from the earlier days of my association with the Council—when, maybe, things were not so serious. For my first instance—to illustrate Loyal's way of dealing with the staff— I shall offer myself as the example. A little background here: I came to the Council after some years of experience in the publishing business. I had long been involved with enterprises that were centered on reading, and I must admit that I had never really given any thought to the fact that in the United States lived millions of people who could not read— couldn't really read anything—till one day I met such a person on a bus. He was a truck driver between Lexington or Cincinnati or somewhere and Florida—and this in the days when it was not interstate all the way, by any means. He could not read road signs or any other kinds of signs. He told me that he memorized turns and corners and the shapes of things all along his thousand-mile or twelve-hundred-mile route. Of course, I thought, if something got moved or torn down or had its color changed, then . . . too bad for this fellow. And this fired me with a great idea: the Council to the rescue! It could get involved in projects that would teach this man and all the millions like him to read. The next day I rushed excitedly into Loyal's austere little office and explained my great plan to him. He took a small breath. Then calmly he looked up, and thoughtfully he said: "Sooner or later, every nut gets interested in literacy." . . . Fortunately, I found many other projects to work on at the Council. Then we have, as the second group, all the outsiders with whom the Council had to deal. One notable group was visiting journalists, experts, scholars and consultants, many of them coming from a part of the United States in which I...