Reformers to Radicals (46 page)

30
. Notes on the Appalachian Volunteers, n.d., AV Papers, box 13.

31
. Ibid. See also Whisnant,
Modernizing the Mountaineer
, 190.

32
. Minutes of the Ad-Hoc Executive Board of the Appalachian Volunteers Meeting, July 27, 1966, Barbourville, KY, AV Papers, box 7.

33
. Cases of Group Action, Place: Whitley County, Kentucky, Date: October 1966 (token response), AV Papers, box 21; [Report], Whitley County, [ca. October 1966] (all other quotes), AV Papers, box 8. See also Milton Ogle to Sanford Kravitz, OEO, April 26, 1966, AV Papers, box 27.

34
. Bill Wells, N. E. Area Prospectus, [ca. autumn 1966], AV Papers, box 8.

35
. The Problem of Participation in Community Action Programs: Impressions and Suggestions, Appalachian Community Meeting, August 21–22, 1966, Washington, DC, AV Papers, box 8.

36
. Ibid.

37
. Bill Wells to “Hoot,” November 29, 1966, AV Papers, box 20.

38
. AV Background Information, Section II: Appalachia—the Welfare States, n.d., AV Papers, box 8.

39
. Ibid.

40
. Ibid.

41
. Ibid.

42
. Notes on the Appalachian Volunteers, n.d., AV Papers, box 13.

43
. AV Background Information, Section IV: An Indictment of the Coal Industry, n.d., AV Papers, box 8.

44
. Ibid.

45
. Ibid. See also Montrie,
To Save the Land and People
,

46
. Appalachia Speaks II, Appalachian Volunteers Winter Meeting, Marshall University, Huntington, WV, January 28, 1967, AV Papers, box 7.

47
. AV Background Information, Section IV: An Indictment of the Coal Industry, n.d., AV Papers, box 8.

48
. Ibid.

49
. Thoughts on Being a VISTA Volunteer in Perry County, Kentucky [attached to By Way of Introduction (a booklet by a VISTA volunteer who had recently returned to the Berkeley campus of the University of California)], n.d., AV Papers, box 3.

50
. Jamie Huff to [Jack] Rivel, October 6, 1966 (first quote), and David Harris to [Jack] Rivel, [October 1966] (second quote), AV Papers, box 30. For the letters about the accidents, see Emily Creech to Ann Pollards, October 24, 1966, James Miniard to Ann Pollards, [October 6, 1966], and Mr. and Mrs. David Turner to Ann Pollards, October 24, 1966, AV Papers, box 30. The teacher and the county superintendent had the same surname.

51
. To Whom It May Concern from We—the People of Buffalo, n.d., AV Papers, box 30.

52
. Tom Rhodenbaugh to Julia McKeon, October 25, 1966 (first quote), AV Papers, box 26; Stephen Daugherty to Joseph Nolan, Regional Director, U.S. Postal Service, November 18, 1966 (second quote), AV Papers, box 29; The A.V. Experience Summary Statement, [ca. 1966] (last quote), AV Papers, box 31.

53
. [Draft Letter], Milton Ogle to Robert Kennedy, November 1, 1966, AV Papers, box 25.

54
. Joe's Prospectus, [ca. 1967], AV Papers, box 8. On the Freedom Schools conducted by civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964, see Carson,
In Struggle;
McAdam,
Freedom Summer;
and Sitkoff,
The Struggle for Black Equality
, On Highlander, see Glen,
Highlander
,

55
. Memorandum, Thomas Rhodenbaugh to Jack Ciaccio, October 27, 1966, and Appalachian Volunteers in Wise County, Virginia, by James Sommerville, AV Papers, box 8.

56
. Appalachian Volunteers in Wise County, Virginia, by James Sommerville, AV Papers, box 8.

57
. Memorandum, Thomas Rhodenbaugh to Jack Ciaccio, October 27, 1966, AV Papers, box 8. See also Raleigh County, West Virginia, [1966], AV Papers, box 8. On the events in Mingo County, see Perry,
“They'll Cut off Your Project.”
See also Whisnant,
Modernizing the Mountaineer
, 191–92.

58
. This Is Not a Memorandum to Mike, Gibbs, Steve, et al. from Milton Ogle, October 19, 1966, AV Papers, box 21.

59
. Milton Ogle to Fr. Austin J. Staley, St. Vincent College, Latrobe, PA, March 28, 1967, AV Papers, box 31.

60
. Highlights of Community Action in the Middle Kentucky River Area, January 1966–November 1966 (other quotes), AV Papers, box 8; Tom Rhodenbaugh to Rick Bank, April 3, 1967 (last quote), AV Papers, box 20.

61
. Tom Rhodenbaugh to Rick Bank, April 3, 1967, AV Papers, box 20.; Memorandum, Thomas Rhodenbaugh to Jack Ciaccio, October 27, 1966, AV Papers, box 8; Appendix II: Details of the Kentucky AV Program as Excerpted from the Quarterly Report to the Board of Directors (Draft), [1967], AV Papers,
box 7; Whisnant,
Modernizing the Mountaineer
, 200, 210. See also Caudill,
My Land Is Dying
,

62
. Appendix II: Details of the Kentucky AV Program as Excerpted from the Quarterly Report to the Board of Directors (Draft), [1967] (on the Evarts outpost), AV Papers, box 7; A.V.s in Harlan County, [1967] (on HELL), AV Papers, box 8.

63
. A.V.s in Harlan County, [1967], AV Papers, box 8.

64
. On the AV activities in Floyd County, see Appendix II: Details of the Kentucky AV Program as Excerpted from the Quarterly Report to the Board of Directors (Draft), [1967], AV Papers, box 7; Floyd County, [1967], AV Papers, box 8; Washington White Paper: Floyd County Report, [1966], AV Papers, box 8; Future Appalachian Volunteer Operations in Floyd County, Kentucky, 1966, AV Papers, box 8; Report on Community Action Efforts of Appalachian Volunteers from Prestonsburg Office by Flem Messer, [1966], AV Papers, box 8; Meeting at Frankfort, [1967], AV Papers, box 30; and The People of Little Mud Creek, [1967], AV Papers, box 30.

65
. Appendix II: Details of the Kentucky AV Program as Excerpted from the Quarterly Report to the Board of Directors (Draft), [1967] (quote), AV Papers, box 7; Appalachian Volunteers in Letcher County, Ky., Summer 1967, AV Papers, box 8.

66
. Appendix II: Details of the Kentucky AV Program as Excerpted from the Quarterly Report to the Board of Directors (Draft), [1967], AV Papers, box 7; White Paper Report: Wise, Scott, Letcher and Pike Counties, [1966] (quotes), AV Papers, box 8.

67
. The October 7th Meeting at Frankfort, October 18, 1966, AV Papers, box 30.

68
. Minutes of the Appalachian [Volunteer] Board Meeting, June 10, 1967, Beckley, WV, AV Papers, box 7.

69
. Appalachia Speaks II, Appalachian Volunteers—Winter Meeting, Marshall University, Huntington, WV, January 28, 1967 (first quote), and Minutes of the Appalachian [Volunteer] Board Meeting, June 10, 1967, Beckley, WV (other quotes), AV Papers, box 7.

70
. Minutes of the Appalachian [Volunteer] Board Meeting, June 10, 1967, Beckley, WV, AV Papers, box 7 (other quotes); Minutes of May 6, 1967, Appalachian Volunteers Board Meeting (last quote), AV Papers, box 7.

1
. Harrison and Klotter,
A New History of Kentucky
, 413 (
Hazard Herald
quote); Sexton, ed.,
The Public Papers of Governor Louis B. Nunn
, 186 (Nunn quote re “decent, law-abiding, constructive citizens”). On Nunn's conservative ideology and silent majority, see esp. Ernst and Baldwin, “The Not So Silent
Minority”; and Oral History Interview with Louie Nunn, July 6, 1993 (other Nunn quotes), Horse Cave, KY, WOP Oral History Project.

2
. Oral History Interview with Louie Nunn, July 6, 1993, Horse Cave, KY, WOP Oral History Project.

3
. Ibid.

4
. Minutes of the Appalachian [Volunteer] Board Meeting, June 10, 1967, Beckley, WV, and Minutes of [Appalachian Volunteer Board Meeting], July 22, [1967], AV Papers, box 7.

5
. Dennis Forbes to Tom Rhodenbaugh, April 17, 1967, AV Papers, box 23; Minutes of the Appalachian [Volunteer] Board Meeting, June 10, 1967, Beckley, WV (comments about 1966 Summer Project), AV Papers, box 7.

6
. Minutes of May 6, 1967, Appalachian Volunteers Board Meeting, AV Papers, box 7.

7
. Chapter 2: The AV Stand or Which Side Are You On, n.d., AV Papers, box 8.

8
. Ibid.

9
. Ibid.

10
. On the meeting, see Milton Ogle to AV Board Member[s], April 20, 1967, AV Papers, box 7. Jack Rivel to Mrs. Pinson, Pinson Hotel, Pikeville, May 1, 1967, AV Papers, box 27; Pikeville and a Central AV Office, [1967] (quote), AV Papers, box 8; Minutes of the AV Staff Meeting, March 6–8, 1967, AV Papers, box 7.

11
. Joel Hasslen to Milton Ogle, April 26, 1967, AV Papers, box 24.

12
. Oral History Interview with Flem Messer, October 26, 1990, Danville, KY, WOP Oral History Project (quotes); Flem Messer to John M. Yost, Vice President, Citizens Bank of Pikeville, October 26, 1965, AV Papers, box 26.

13
. Flem Messer to John Yort, Vice President, Citizens Bank of Pikeville, October 26, 1965, and Flem Messer to Perley Ayer, November 1, 1965 (quotes), AV Papers, box 26.

14
. For an account of the accomplishments of the AVs in the Persimmon Fork community and in Knott and Perry counties, see Appalachian Volunteers Third Progress Report, May 1964, and [Appalachian Volunteers] Fourth Progress Report, June 1964, on the Contract between Area Redevelopment Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Council of the Southern Mountains, AV Papers, box 3. The defensive posture of the county elite is highlighted in Oral History Interview with Flem Messer, October 26, 1990, Danville, KY, WOP Oral History Project. On the roving pickets, see Whisnant,
Modernizing the Mountaineer
, 188–89; and Tharpe, “Appalachian Committee for Full Employment.” Evidence to the effect that, apart from his association with the bank, Yost was well connected among the county elite is contained in a letter from Messer to Ayer in which Messer relates that the president of Pikeville College cautioned Messer about Yost, telling him “not to underestimate Mr. Yost's
power and influence.” See Flem Messer to Perley Ayer, November 1, 1965, AV Papers, box 26.

15
. Flem Messer to Dr. B. H. Jarman, President, Pikeville College, April 2, 1965, AV Papers, box 26.

16
. Alan McSurely, A New Political Union, January 17, 1967, AV Papers, box 9;
Modernizing the Mountaineer
, 197 (Whisnant quote).

17
. Alan McSurely, A New Political Union, January 17, 1967, AV Papers, box 9.

18
. Milton Ogle to Dr. Robert Coles and Dr. Joseph Brenner, April 29, 1967, AV Papers, box 12.

19
. Whisnant (
Modernizing the Mountaineer
, 198) claimed that some on the Volunteer staff felt that McSurely's “ideas deserved discussion” and that “he should be given a chance to prove himself.” On the broad form deed, see Eller,
Miners, Millhands, and Mountaineers
, 55–56. On the AV anti-strip-mining activities, see esp. Appalachia Speaks II, Appalachian Volunteers Winter Meeting, Marshall University, Huntington, WV, January 28, 1967, and Milton Ogle to Howard Carson, President of the West Virginia Senate, February 3, 1967, AV Papers, box 7; and Thomas Rhodenbaugh to Alan M. Lerner, New York City Law Students' Civil Rights Research Council, January 24, 1967, AV Papers, box 26.

20
. For more on AGSLP, see chapter 6 above. For the Volunteers' anti-strip-mining efforts in West Virginia, again see chapter 6. On Daugherty in Harlan County, see AV Background Information, [Chapter] VII Case Study—Report on Verda, AV Papers, box 8. For Letcher County, see Millstone, “Strip-Mining Feud in Kentucky.” See also Whisnant,
Modernizing the Mountaineer
, 200. On the anti-strip-mining movement and AGSLP, see Montrie,
To Save the Land and People
,

21
. Peterson,
Coaltown Revisited
, 137. For the number of lawyers, see Jackson, “In the Valley of the Shadows.” See also Mason, “The ‘Subversive' Poor.” On Easterling, see Whisnant,
Modernizing the Mountaineer
, 200.

22
. While Mulloy himself denies that he ever met McSurely prior to August 1967, Whisnant (
Modernizing the Mountaineer
, 200) claims that the two were, in fact, in contact beginning in March 1967 and that McSurely indeed affected Mulloy's attitudes and ideas about politics. Mulloy's denial is in Oral History Interview with Joe Mulloy, November 10, 1990, Huntington, WV, WOP Oral History Project.

23
. Joe Mulloy, Report on Intern Activities of Edith Easterling, January 4, 1967, AV Papers, box 25; Whisnant,
Modernizing the Mountaineer
, 200.

24
. Whether by design or just the result of bad timing, the meeting at Highlander could not have been more ill advised. At that time, the Highlander Center still was reeling from an attack in May 1967 by local and Tennessee state officials who sought to expose Highlander's “subversive” activities and wanted “to use all legal means to cut this cancerous growth from our state.” On the
Highlander Center, see Glen,
Highlander
, 214; and Minutes of Highlander Workshop Meeting, June 3–4, [1967], AV Papers, box 9.

25
. Minutes of Highlander Workshop Meeting, June 3–4, [1967] (first quote), AV Papers, box 9; Oral History Interviews with Joe Mulloy, November 11, 1990 (Mulloy quotes), Huntington, WV, Loyal Jones, November 19, 1990, Berea, KY, and George Brosi, November 3, 1990, Berea, KY, WOP Oral History Project; Whisnant,
Modernizing the Mountaineer
, 200–201; Horton, “The Appalachian Volunteers,” 85. See also Carawan and Carawan,
Voices from the Mountains
, 48, 88–94. According to an AV report: “Strip-mining operators saw the decision [to suspend mining on Jink Ray's land] as a potential body blow to the industry. ‘Hell' one of them later told an AV staff member, ‘if it can happen on Island Creek it can happen anywhere.'” A Special Report to Governor Edward T. Breathitt, AV Papers, box 8.