1978–79: Rogers Pope, President

John Rogers Pope was born into the third generation ofa banking family in Overton in 1937. His grandfatherR. A. Motley married a first cousin of Longview oil manand Rotarian Rogers Lacy and founded the First StateBank of Overton in 1910. His father John L. Pope estab-lished Pope and Turner Furniture Company withJudson Turner in Overton in 1938 and still operates itin addition to the bank. Graduating as valedictorian ofOverton High School in 1955, Rogers earned highesthonors at Baylor and later SMU, where he received anM.B.A degree in 1966. Along the way, he was employedat First National Bank in Dallas and the family bank inOverton. Then as a C.P.A., he worked at Peat MarwickMitchell in Dallas. In 1969, he joined the Rotary Clubas well as Longview Bank and Trust, where he hasbecome Chairman and CEO. Rogers is also a director of

the Overton bank and chairman of Lindale State Bankand First State Bank of Van. He is married to the for-mer Joyce Davis of Overton, and they have three chil-dren: Jan McClelland, Rogers, Jr. (a member of thisclub), and Jennifer Jones. Besides being a deacon atFirst Baptist Church, Rogers has served in about twodozen local, regional, and national organizations, rang-ing from the Longview Chamber of Commerce (past pres-ident) and the Baylor University Board of Regents to theAmerican Bankers Association.

THE YEAR 1978 marked another turning point inthe history of the Rotary Club of Longview. Since

founding the other two Rotary clubs in Longview, thisone had become known informally as the LongviewDowntown club. The nickname was especially fittingbecause the hotel where the club had been meeting for48 years had long since been renamed the Downtowner.

— 59 —

Chapter 5.Goodbye to Downtown Longview,

1978 to 1995

Home of the Rotary Club of Longview, 1979 to 1987The Longview Community Center, looking southeast at the corner of Whaley and Second Streets

Photo by courtesy of Gregg County Historical Museum

Copyright 1995 by Longview Rotary Endowment Fund, Inc.The Adobe Acrobat PDF file of which this notice is a part was created (with minor corrections) from a book entitled The Club and the Town: The Rotary Cluband the City of Longview, Texas, Year by Year from 1920 to 1995, published in 1995 by Longview Rotary Endowment Fund, Inc. Notwithstanding the prohibi-tion of reproduction without permission on the copyright page of the book, the publisher provides this PDF file to the general public without charge, but only forpurposes of reference and research. The publisher strictly prohibits publication, distribution, or dissemination of this file or any part or printed pages thereof, orconversion of the file into any other format, without prior written permission. Longview Rotary Endowment Fund, Inc., PO Box 2244, Longview, TX 75606

But the central business district of the city was follow-ing the path of stagnation which has affected nearly allAmerican cities. Loop 281 had been establishedaround the northern part of the city beginning in 1964,and Longview Mall opened this very year. Now,because the hotel was being closed, the Rotary Club ofLongview had moved its meeting place to PinecrestCountry Club on June 6, 1978. Thus, although thecentral business district still had many years of liferemaining, for this club it was goodbye to downtownLongview in more ways than one.

When outgoing District Governor Bill Campbell ofMount Vernon installed Rogers Pope and his officers,he also installed his own successor: our former presi-dent Charles Tullis. Members of Rogers’s administra-tion were President-Elect Charles Cobb, Secretary-Treasurer Tom Brown, Club Service Director HenryGossett, Community Service Director MiltonCammack, Vocational Service Director Julian Fiegel,and International Service Director Dick Dial. DickAvent continued as chief Rotaview editor, assisted byMike Macey, Porter Brandon, Gene McWhorter, Jr.,and Lloyd Schultz.

Since our man was district governor, it was fittingthat the annual district conference be held in Longview.It took place on March 23 and 24 at the Holiday Inn,under the general chairmanship of Henry Gossett.

On December 26, Past President Bob Carroll spoketo us on community service, urging us to sponsor aRotoract club—similar to an Interact club but for bothmen and women of college age (18 to 28). Nothingcame of it, then or later.

On February 27, Joe Fugitt announced that theclub’s board of directors had approved sponsorship of aHubert Gregg Day and the collection of contributionsto help him pay off his house. Mr. Gregg was the ami-able blind man who had been making a living sellingpeanuts in Longview for decades. Joe’s successfuleffort was crowned by the city’s proclamation of HubertGregg Day in Longview at our meeting on April 3.This was the beginning of what became our annualLongview Rotary Citizen of the Year award.

The death of Tom Putman was noted in theRotaview for March 13, 1979. Though not an activeRotarian for several years due to illness, he was stilllisted as the club’s only honorary member.

The following programs stand out in readingthrough the Rotaview bulletins for the year: August 1,Lionel Barry of Hospital Corporation of America, onhis plans for the new Longview Regional Hospital,scheduled for completion in June, 1980; Both August15 and 22, Longview’s own Nazi Holocaust survivor,Coen Rood; September 5 with all three LongviewRotary clubs, Senator John Tower; March 20, TommyCarlisle and Jack Reeves, candidates for mayor underthe newly adopted city charter (Jack drew ourapplause for opposing federal revenue sharing but lostthe election); April 17, Congressman Ray Roberts.

At the Sweetheart Banquet on February 20, theclub presented its annual Paul Harris fellowship toPast President Bob Carroll. The Tom Putman awardfor the year was presented to outgoing DistrictGovernor Charles Tullis on June 26 after he inductedthe club officers for the coming year.

1979–80: Charles Cobb, President

The son of Frank and Lillie May Ottman Cobb, Charleswas born in Longview in 1944 and graduated fromLongview High School at the top of his class in 1962.(Frank joined this club when Charles was president.)He majored in math and engineering at the University ofTexas, then joined Frank in electrical contracting andbecame a member of the Rotary Club of Longview in1967 when he was barely 23 years old. When MikeHutchison moved to Dallas, Charles was appointed sec-retary-treasurer of the club in February, 1972, andserved more than a year, being succeeded by Tom Brown.He was this club’s youngest secretary-treasurer, thirdyoungest president, and perhaps the youngest personever inducted. He served as Boy Scout committee chair-man, Interact Club sponsor and district chairman, andAttendance Committee chairman; became a Paul Harrisfellow when he was president; and received the TomPutman award for 1982–83. Charles was married to theformer Elizabeth Amick of Longview, and their childrenare Beth, May, and Susie. In September, 1994, he mar-ried Dr. Ann Rhodes of Longview. Charles has served

— 60 —

59. John Rogers PopePresident, 1978–79

on the school board of Longview Independent SchoolDistrict. He has been president of the Longview Museumand Arts Center, treasurer of the Greater LongviewUnited Way, and a director of the Northeast TexasElectrical Contractors Association.

THIS YEAR WAS the diamond anniversary ofRotary International. It was also the year when

the club moved its meeting place from PinecrestCountry Club (after only a year and a half there) to theLongview Community Center. Some of the countryclub members had objected to our taking up so manyparking spaces for the Tuesday noon meetings. OnNovember 13, 1979, Rotaview editor Ted Mooneynoted, “Our club will be tested during the next fewweeks as we resolve the meeting-place problem. Weneed to pull together to meet this challenge by support-ing our directors and officers. If a change takes place Iam sure we can adjust.”

On August 14, 1979, Reese Middleton and KerryCammack announced plans to reactivate our Boy ScoutTroop 202. They had a scoutmaster lined up but need-ed more scouts and a meeting place. Fellow Rotarianand Scout executive Bud Trigleth presented an annualtroop charter to the club on August 21. However, asPresident Charles later explained, it was not a goodtime to reactivate the troop. This is the last mention ofTroop 202 in the weekly bulletin.

On October 30, the Rotaview carried excerpts fromTexas Business, including the following:

Last year, Longview moved back into itsNumber 2 statewide position in number of newindustrial plants built (14) and expanded (28). In1977, it had been nosed into Number 3 by the[Dallas and Fort Worth] Metroplex and Houston.

Some...employees who relocated...in Longviewwill no doubt settle their families among the 18 newsubdivisions currently projected or planned for thecity in 1979. During 1978, a total of 24 residentialsubdivisions were added. These new settlers evi-dently had jobs looking for them instead of the otherway around.

On February 26, it was announced that the club’shonoring of Hubert Gregg last year would be taken asthe first of a series of annual awards. Joe Fugitt head-ed a committee to consider suggested candidates. As aresult, the club presented Millie Harper a Paul Harrisfellowship on June 10 for her tireless work atWoodland Christian Church on behalf of the sick, shut-ins, and elderly. This annual award was later to becalled the Longview Rotary Citizen of the Year.

Also on June 10, Jim Stjernstrom received the TomPutman award. The club’s regular end-of-year PaulHarris fellowship, in turn, was presented on June 24 toDell Messner.

The club co-sponsored the Lobo Relays, held onMarch 29—the fourth year of our involvement withthis annual event as a Rotary service project. JohnHarrison and Bob Carroll were in charge.

On June 17, 1980, we inducted Ray Jackson twomonths after he became city manager. Former CityManager Larry Martin continued as a Rotarian in theclassification of Banking, Public Relations.

Here are some programs that stand out in the list:November 18, Texas Railroad Commissioner JimNugent; March 18, the Four-Way Test speech contestamong Longview High School students; March 4,Carroll Callahan introduced congressional candidateRalph Hall of Rockwall; and after Ralph won theDemocratic primary, Andy Guinn brought us hisRepublican opponent John Wright on May 20.

That maiden speech of Ralph’s to us has becomeimmortalized in the legends of the club. Our youngpresident was about to turn 36 on March 9. He likedto emphasize that Rotary exemplified serious businessand community leadership in Longview. Just as hecalled the meeting to order, a pretty girl in a 1950sdrum majorette costume rushed in from the west doorof the Community Center and commenced an ener-getic tap-dance routine in front of the head table,singing a lively birthday song to Charles that began,“You’re aging, aging, aging.” It was a Kilgore collegecoed who operated a thriving business deliveringtasteful greetings of this sort. The president unhesi-tatingly made a dive under the table, but consideratefriends on either side dragged him back to face the

— 61 —

60. Charles Franklin Cobb, Jr.President, 1979–80

music. Just before Shuffling Off to Buffalo out thedoor, the performer planted a heavy lipsticky kiss onCharles’s forehead.

Candidate Ralph watched all these goings-on withrapt appreciation. He opened his speech thus: “Onprimary election day, May 4, you would probablyexpect me to be anxiously awaiting the results at mycampaign headquarter in Rockwall. But no, I will bein Longview instead, because that happens to be mybirthday, and I want a greeting just like the one yourpresident just got.” Charles, meantime, was still try-ing to wipe off the lipstick.

It was obvious even at the time that this entertain-ment had been arranged by Terry Woods, then a mem-ber of the Longview-Greggton club. If his aim was tosurprise and embarrass the earnest young president,he certainly succeeded, to the delight of the entirehouse. Charles took it in characteristic good humor.However, some said that for the rest of the year, heanxiously eyed the door every time he sounded theopening gavel.

1980–81: Henry Gossett, President

Henry Oscar Gossett, Junior, was born in Fort Worth in1913. His father, after many years as a judge, camelooking for opportunities in Longview right after DadJoiner’s Daisy Bradford oil well made news toward theend of 1930. As soon as Henry graduated from Central(now Pascal) High School in 1931, he and his mothercame along too. Henry attended Rice Institute (nowUniversity) and Cumberland University Law School inTennessee. In 1935, he married Margaret Cash inRichmond, Virginia. The same year, he entered lawpractice with his father in Longview. specializing in oiland gas, continuing after the senior Henry died in 1959.On the side, Henry was also involved in other business-es, including retail jewelry, outdoor and indoor movietheaters, a motel and restaurant, wire-line well service,and oil pipelining. In 1970, he gave up law practice andentered full-time into oil and gas well drilling and pro-duction, an oilfield supply store, a well servicing compa-ny, and an N.A.S.D. brokerage business.

Since 1932, Henry has been a member of FirstBaptist Church, serving as Sunday school teacher andsuperintendent, training union director, chairman of thefinance committee for erecting the Christian educationbuilding, and chairman of the Board of Deacons.Having joined the Longview Rotary club on February 16,1965 (the same day as Delbert Bright), he has nevermissed a meeting. As president of the Gregg CountyHistorical Foundation from 1979 to 1989, he was theprincipal founder of the Gregg County HistoricalMuseum. In addition he has been vice-president of theIndependent Petroleum Association of America; presi-dent of the Texas State Chamber of Commerce, EastTexas Chamber of Commerce, Gregg County BarAssociation, and Longview Civitan Club; founding pres-ident of the LeTourneau University Associates; and atrustee of East Texas Baptist University.

Besides all that, Henry is a fisherman, woodworker,artist (portrait, landscape, watercolor, and oil), comput-

er hacker, and electronic tinkerer. He and Margaret areavid musicians and composers. They have two daugh-ters, Sally and Henrietta (Yetta).

TWO DISTINGUISHING characteristics ofPresident Henry’s administration were excellent

programs under Program Chairman Mark Abernathyand historical awareness regarding Rotary Inter-national and this club. The sixtieth anniversary ofthe club had occurred the previous May, and the 75thanniversary of Rotary International came onFebruary 24, 1981 (observed by this club with a spe-cial program). Throughout the year, Henry often pre-sented a tidbit of historical information, which hecalled the D.Y.K. of the week (standing for “Did youknow?”) For example, on August 26, Henry said, “Didyou know that W. D. Northcutt was a founding mem-ber of the club in 1920?” He then explained he wasspeaking not of our own latter-day Dr. W. D., but hisgrandfather.

Longview Regional Hospital had opened for busi-ness in June, 1980. We got a report on this long-awaited facility by administrator Jon Trezona in thefirst program of the Rotary year on July 1. As chair-man of the Longview Hospital Authority, our BillMcReynolds had assisted in establishing LRH.

On July 22, our honorary member Bill NorthcuttTaylor was recognized as the oldest living president,

— 62 —

61. Henry Oscar Gossett, Jr.President, 1980–81

and Mayor Tommie Carlisle presented a proclamationof Bill Northcutt Taylor Day in Longview. Bill diedless than a year later, on May 14, 1981.

On October 28, after John O’Brien of the NationalWeather Service described his efforts to bring aweather warning system to Longview, Leo Wall pre-sented 14 weather alert radios to the LongviewIndependent School System as a gift of the club foruse in schools.

The same day, Rotaview editor Wells Burtonnoted a Longview Morning Journal article on thebusiness and construction boom in downtownLongview, contrary to trends in other East Texascities. Three buildings were recently built or remod-eled, five were under construction, and five more wereplanned.

On December 16, President Henry announcedthat a committee headed by Curtis Morris wouldbegin working on a club history to supplement theone published in 1963. After laying some importantgroundwork, the committee suspended work. In thefall of 1993, the project was picked up where they leftoff, resulting in this book.

John Harrison recruited Blackshear Jameson,Julian Fiegel, Bob Carroll, and Ronnie Pliler to helpwith staging the annual Lobo Spring Relays, held onMarch 28. The Rotarians wore white sunshades as auniform.

According to the Rotaview of June 2, 1981, thisclub took over sponsorship of Boy Scout Troop 262, ofwhich our member Arthur Brown was scoutmaster.That troop had been sponsored since the late 1940s byTrinity Episcopal Church. Our own Troop 202 hadbeen defunct for at least two years.

The Longview Rotary Citizen of the Year wasGene Boyd, recognized in a program on April 28 forservice to alcoholics at Boyd House, which he and hiswife established in the Greggton Area in 1970. TheTom Putman award for the year was presented toRotaview editor Wells Burton on June 23; Tom’sRotary Ann, Nancy, was a guest. The club’s PaulHarris fellowship for the year was presented to PastPresident John C. Murphy on July 7, 1981.

Here are some outstanding programs during theyear: August 5, James E. Chenault, Jr, new presi-dent and CEO of Lone Star Steel Company, a sub-sidiary of Northwest Industries with a 100-million-dollar payroll and booming oilfield business; October14, Lieutenant Governor William P. Hobby;November 11, Paul Thayer, Chairman and CEO ofLTV Corporation; February 12, Texas RailroadCommissioner Mack Wallace; and May 19, Texasattorney general and future governor Mark White.

A new lectern was built for the club, designed byAndy Guinn, featuring brass letters and medallion.And as a parting gift to the club, President Henry andhis Rotary Ann, Margaret, gave us American andTexas flags, complete with bases and staffs featuringgold flying eagles on top.

1981–82: Milton Cammack,President

Born in Paxton, Texas, in 1925, James MiltonCammack settled with his family in Longview in 1939.His father Edwin operated a grocery store on MobberlyAvenue across from South Ward School. Milton gradu-ated from Longview High School in 1943, then servedtwo and a half years in the army air corps as a flightofficer, including several months as a B-29 bombardierbased on Saipan Island. After the war, he attendedKilgore College and Baylor University. In 1947, Miltonmarried Betye Sapp (daughter of Marshall and MyrtleSapp of Sapp’s Nursery in Longview), and they rearedsix sons: Jim, Calvin, Tony, Casey, Bob, and Jason.Tony is a past president of the Longview South RotaryClub, Casey is a past president of this club, and Bob ispresident-elect of the Longview-Greggton Rotary Club.Out of Milton and Betye’s ten grandchildren, seven areboys. Betye died in 1989. Milton represented TheEquitable Life Assurance Society of the United Statesfrom 1951 until retirement in 1992, when he turned thebusiness over to Tony, Casey, and Bob. Among otherservice at First Methodist Church, Milton has been aSunday school teacher. His community service hasincluded one term on the Longview City Council, twoterms on the Longview Independent School Districtboard, and board membership for Greater LongviewUnited Way, Hospice Longview, and Pinecrest CountryClub.

— 63 —

62. James Milton CammackPresident, 1981–82

PRESIDENT MILTON can rightfully claim this as avery, very good Rotary year. Besides enjoying good

programs and increases in membership and atten-dance, we instituted the Longview Rotary Golf Tourna-ment as the club’s major annual fund-raising event.Jim Haralson and Tom Brown were co-chairmen forthe project. Most of the $4,489 raised was assigned toa major international service project to provide equip-ment to a school for retarded children in Puntarenas,Costa Rica. (See Chapter 6 for more on both of theseevents.) We also contributed $1000 to the Longview-Greggton Rotary Club for their new park for the handi-capped in Longview. In addition, $300 was donated tothe Paris Rotary Club as aid for tornado victims.

Milton established four basic goals for the year: (1)familiarize officers and committee chairmen with theRotary International Manual of Procedure, (2) updateour club’s constitution and by-laws, (3) conduct twofund-raising projects, and (4) promote attendance atthe Rotary International convention in Dallas in June.At a club assembly on April 27, we heard progressreports from President Milton and the club directors,then adopted the revised constitution and by-laws.Henry Gossett handed out copies the next August 31,earning special appreciation for his work.

Jim Stjernstrom succeeded Wells Burton asRotaview editor, beginning a long period of service inthat capacity.

On November 3, 1981, two months after takingover as Longview Public Library Director, Jeff Rippeldescribed for us the kind of library Longview ought tohave. Jeff became a member of this club on the follow-ing May 11, and the library became a reality six yearslater. It was an addition to the city office complex forwhich a bond election was held in December, 1981.

Some other programs were as follows: June 30,Congressman Sam Hall, one of 28 “boll weevil” Demo-crats who voted for President Reagan’s budget cuts;July 14, Jack Evans, Mayor of Dallas; August 18,Howard Putnam, president of Southwest Airlines;September 29, State Senator Peyton McKnight;January 17, a report by Ralph Hall on his first year inCongress; and March 6, State Senator Ed Howard.

On June 1, the Longview Rotary Citizen of theYear award was presented to Agnes Scruggs for a vastarray of community patriotic activities. Beginningwith the national bicentennial celebration in 1976 andcontinuing for years afterwards, she was the principalpromoter of Longview as “the city of flags.” On June29, the Tom Putman award went to Tom Brown andthe club’s Paul Harris fellowship to Andy Guinn.Earlier, on December 22, we had honored Julian Fiegelwith another Paul Harris Fellowship.

A new club attendance rule was announced onJune 22. Members and visiting Rotarians will receivecredit for attendance only if they are present fromwhen a meeting is called to order until adjournment or1:00 p.m., whichever comes first, unless they haveprior approval from the secretary.

1982–83: Julian Fiegel, President

Julian’s father Reginald came from New York, marriedStella Meyer of Marshall, lived for a while in Shreveportwhere Julian was born in 1925, and settled in Tylerwith Etex Paper Company. Julian graduated from TylerHigh school in 1942. After a year at Texas A&M, hejoined the Army and was assigned to the 305th HeavyBomb Group of the Eighth Air Force based in England.A staff sergeant, he flew 35 combat missions overGermany as a tail gunner in B-17 Flying Fortresses.Home after the war, Julian majored in business at theUniversity of Texas at Austin, then joined his father atEtex Paper Company in Tyler. Transferred to Longviewin 1966, he rose to the position of Vice President andDivision Manager before retirement in 1988. Havingbeen inducted into our fellowship by Bob Brown on June18, 1968, Julian has never missed a meeting. We hon-ored him with a Paul Harris fellowship in December,1981. A thirty-second-degree Scottish Rite Mason, he isa member of Lodge Number 404 in Longview and ofSharon Shrine Temple, where he served as Potentate in1986. He is on the board of governors of the ShreveportUnit of the Shriners’ Hospitals for Crippled Children.

THE MOST NOTABLE landmark of Julian’s yearwas the establishment of the Longview Rotary

Endowment Fund by vote at a club assembly onAugust 24, 1982. (See Chapter 6.) At Christmas time,we won the competition among service clubs for collect-

63. Julian M. FiegelPresident, 1982–83

— 64 —

ing the most donations for the Salvation Army, turningin $3,366. The second annual Longview Rotary GolfTournament netted $5,227, a healthy increase over theinaugural event of the preceding year.

There had been a movement among some membersto return to Pinecrest Country Club as our meetingplace. But at a business meeting called to discuss theissue on December 7, a motion to that effect wastabled. There was considerable uncertainty as towhether we would be welcome at the country club.

Rather suddenly, Longview seemed to be gettinginterested in local history and preservation of historicbuildings. Besides starting the ball rolling toward publi-cation of this book two years earlier, Henry Gossett (aschairman of the Gregg County Historical Foundation)promoted creation of the Gregg County HistoricalMuseum. Opened in March of 1984, the museum occu-pies the Everett Building in downtown Longview, whichwas dedicated after renovation early in 1983. Also, theJunior League of Longview had engaged architect DavidHarrison (son of our past president John) to begin cata-loging historic sites in the county. He reported that pro-ject to us on November 9, 1982. It was for a book on thissurvey that the Junior League hired our GeneMcWhorter, Jr., to write a county history which insteadbecame a separate book published by the historical foun-dation in 1989, Traditions of the Land. And in a pro-gram for us on November 30, 1982, Architect JohnAdams advocated a redevelopment and revitalizationprogram to restore worthy old buildings in downtownLongview. Among other laudable projects, John wasinstrumental in restoring the Norton & Barbee grocerybuilding (built in the 1920s by Rotarian LawrenceBirdsong for Rotarians Lee Norton and Claude Barbeewith others) for office purposes. Thanks to efforts suchas these, the popular tide of destruction of our architec-tural heritage was held back for a time.

It was partly for her help in acquiring the EverettBuilding for the museum that we presented our annualLongview Rotary Citizen of the Year award to Ann LacyCrain on April 19. She is the wife of renowned archi-tect B. W. Crain, Jr., and daughter of Longview oil manand Rotarian Rogers Lacy. Her late father-in-law B. W.Crain, Senior, and her brother-in-law E. B. Crain werealso members of this club. Ann was praised as a quietphilanthropist. Recently elected City Councilman W.D. Northcutt, III, read Mayor Mitch Henderson’sproclamation of Ann Lacy Crain Day.

At the last meeting of the Rotary year, the clubpresented its annual Paul Harris fellowship to BobBrown. For many years, Bob did the weekly duty ofintroducing guests and visiting Rotarians. In thatcapacity, he originated the weekly badge prize. TheTom Putman award for the year went to former presi-dent Charles Cobb.

Here are some memorable programs of the year:November 2, football coaches Doug Cox of theLongview Lobos and Maurice Cook of the Pine TreePirates, discussing the following Friday’s game

between their two 5-A teams; February 1, MayorMitch Henderson, reporting on his first nine months inoffice; March 29, County Judge Henry Atkinson,reporting on (among other topics) the new 100,000-square-foot addition to the courthouse.

1983–84: Dick Dial, President

Richard A. Dial is a third-generation Rotary president.Both his father David J. Dial (a CPA) and his maternalgrandfather Boone Hombs (a merchant) were presidentsof the Palestine club. Though born in Fort Worth, Dickwas reared in the home town and graduated fromPalestine High School in 1964. A Sig Ep at theUniversity of Texas, he earned a BBA in accounting in1968 and a master’s degree in professional accountingwith highest honors the following year. Dick worked forPeat Marwick Mitchell in Dallas until 1976. In thatyear, he married a fellow accountant, BonniePrendergast of Marshall, moved to Longview, joined ourclub, and opened an accounting partnership withBonnie. Her father George, an attorney retired fromTexas Eastman, was a member of the Marshall RotaryClub. Dick has been president of the East Texas Chapterof the Texas Society of CPAs and of the Northeast TexasEstate Planning Council, treasurer of Good ShepherdMedical Center and of the Gregg County Chapter ofDucks Unlimited, and a director of the Texas

64. Richard Alan DialPresident, 1983–84

— 65 —

Association of Hospitals and the Texas Society of CPAs.He and Bonnie are members of First Christian Church.

AMONG OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS of this year,President Dick is particularly proud of the weekly

programs under Program Chairman Gene Coddou.Many of them were covered by television and radio aswell as newspapers, providing excellent publicity forthe club. Speakers included the following: formerTexas Governor Bill Clements; Lieutenant GovernorBill Hobby; State Comptroller Bob Bullock; Speakerof the Texas House of Representatives Gib Lewis; BollWeevil Congressman Kent Hance of Lubbock;Congressman Ralph Hall of Rockwall; CongressmanSam Hall of Marshall; State Senator Ed Howard ofTexarkana; State Representative Jimmy Mankins ofKilgore; future congressman Jim Chapman of Sulphursprings; Roberto Quinonez-Meza, former Salvadoranambassador to the United States; Southwest AthleticConference Commissioner Fred Jacoby; and Bill Gray,President of the Texas Association of Business.

On November 8, 1983, the club revived a formerpractice of honoring an outstanding Longview HighSchool student every month. The first LongviewRotary Student of the Month was Stacy Baucum, pre-sented as a guest at the meeting by Jeff Rippel. Later,the program was expanded to include internationalstudents at LeTourneau University.

Continuing club events included the following:club scholarship, presented to Longview High Schoolvaledictorian Jeff Mach; the Longview High Schoolspeech contest on the Rotary Four-Way Test; manningthe Salvation Army “bell-ringing” stations atChristmas time; awarding savings bonds to outstand-ing Longview High School vocational students on April24; and the third annual Longview Rotary GolfTournament on April 9.

Among other activities, we were the initiating cluband largest contributor to the District 583 world com-munity service project, drilling a water well in SouthAfrica. We assisted the Longview-Greggton RotaryClub with Rotary Park. In August, 1983, we sponsoreda boy and girl to the American Legion Boy’s State andGirl’s State events.

On May 22, C. C. Turner was honored as theLongview Rotary Citizen of the Year for his manyyears of distinguished service in teaching mathematicsat Longview High School. City Manager Ray Jacksonread Mayor Mitch Henderson’s proclamation of thatday as C. C. Turner Day in Longview.

At the end of the Rotary year, we presented theclub’s Paul Harris Fellowship to Syril Parker for beingour chief publicity agent over many decades.

1984–85: Leo Wall, President

Born and raised on a farm in Cass County, Leo graduat-ed from McLeod High School in 1952 and from EastTexas State University in 1960. He received CLU and

ChFC designations after study at American College. For15 years, Leo was an insurance salesman and managerfor Aetna Life & Casualty in Shreveport, Monroe,Longview, and Lubbock. In 1974, he settled permanent-ly in Longview, where he was associated with Gans &Smith for another 15 years before establishing his ownbusiness as Wall Financial Services in 1989.

As a member of the Optimist Club in Monroe, Leowas club president, Lieutenant Governor for Louisiana,and winner of the outstanding club president award forLouisiana as well as the International DistinguishedPresident award. In East Texas, he has served as direc-tor of 15 civic, benevolent, and professional organiza-tions. Besides this club, he has been president or chair-man of the Longview Chamber of Commerce, GreggCounty Crime Stoppers, Oil Belt Life InsuranceAssociation, and Sales and Marketing Executives of EastTexas. Along with other committee chairmanships atthe Chamber of Commerce, Leo was the principal origi-nator of the Leadership Longview program in 1981. Avery active member of Trinity Episcopal Church, he hasserved on the Vestry, conducted Children’s Chapel for 10years, won the “Love of Trinity” award, and chaired theChurch Growth Committee as well as the Brotherhood ofSt. Andrew.

Since 1987, Leo has been married to the former JudyWalker, who was originally from Sioux City, Iowa. Hehas three daughters, all of whom are presently in vari-ous stages of college educations: Julia Ann, Lee Barclay,and Whitney Leane.

65. Leo B. WallPresident, 1984–85

— 66 —

IN DESCRIBING HIS YEAR, Leo wrote that we allhave our own different ideas on how to advance the

worthy Rotary object of service above self:

First, the directors wanted to participate in thefull scope of Rotary at all levels. If we aspired to bethe best club in district affairs, our local successwould take care of itself. Therefore we supportedthe district’s goals fully and provided leadership toassure their attainment.

Our second purpose was based on the belief thatthe true test of Rotary’s ideal of service above self isin community involvement—not merely throughRotary. We encouraged members to engage inworthwhile organizations that were makingLongview a better place to work and live.

In a survey we conducted among our club start-ing August 14, we found that in addition to Rotary,the average member participated in 2.5 benevolentor humanitarian organizations and projects. Thesewere the foremost endeavors of that sort in our com-munity. Also, most members were in major leader-ship roles at that time or in the past.

In the first program of the year, on July 3, WesFerns, manager of the new KLMG-TV station inLongview (Channel 51), said they would be on the airas a CBS affiliate in August. Longview had been thelargest city in the country without a television station.Ferns commended our Jim Singleton and Ray Jeter fortheir work in designing and constructing the building.

On August 21, we recognized four members for par-ticipation in District 583 activities. Roland Henry wasdistrict parliamentarian and chairman of the RotaryFoundation Scholarship Committee. Andy Guinn andBlackshear Jameson served on the InternationalService Committee. Andy also worked with the WorldCommunity Service Committee. Jack Welge was amember of the District Resolutions Committee.

On January 8, Dick Dial arranged for Leo toreceive dignified fiftieth birthday greetings similar toCharles Cobb’s 36th in 1980. The girl was dressed as anight-club hostess instead of a drum majorette, andshe delivered a balloon bouquet instead of tap-dancing,but the overall effect was much the same.

We contributed $1,200 to the City for Rotary Parkon July 17 and sent LeGrande Northcutt’s daughterAurelia to Girl’s State. On February 26, the club com-mitted $2,500 from that year’s golf tournament for aDistrict 583 project: sending teams of dentists the fol-lowing year to help impoverished Indians in TuxtlaGutierrez, Mexico. (They went instead to Belize.)

In addition, the club continued the usual activities:Longview High School student of the month; interna-tional LeTourneau student of the month; bell-ringingfor the Salvation Army at Christmas (we won theprize); LHS speech contest on the Rotary Four-WayTest on February 19; Longview Rotary golf tourna-ment on April 19, netting $4,500; presentation of sav-ings bonds to outstanding LHS vocational students onMay 21; club scholarship award to LHS senior BryanStidham announced on May 28; Longview Rotary

Citizen of the Year award on May 14 to our own E. K.Bennett, who died about three weeks later (CityCouncilman W. D. Northcutt read a proclamation fromnewly elected Mayor Lou Galosy); presentation of theclub’s Paul Harris fellowship to Vic Ferchill and theTom Putman award to Mike Macey on June 25; andclassification talks at nearly every meeting.

1985–86: Barcus DuBose, President

Barcus was born in Waxahachie in 1919 and grew up inSan Antonio, where his father was a cotton mill manag-er. Graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School in1936, he attended North Texas Agricultural College inArlington and got a chemical engineering degree fromTexas A&M in 1941. In the army for the next five years,he served in anti-aircraft artillery, including commandof a 90-millimeter battery in Europe. Meantime, in1943, he married Bertha Keller of Wilmington, NorthCarolina, who was a chemist working in the naval ship-yard. They have two sons—a PhD and an MD—and twograndchildren. In 1946, Big Three Industries sentBarcus to open a branch in Longview. He joined thisclub on March 25, 1955. Since 1964, he has operated hisown equipment supply company. Barcus is an activemember of First Methodist Church. His other leadershipservice has included the Longview Chamber ofCommerce and Jaycees, Boy Scouts of America, andLeTourneau University Associates.

66. John Barcus DuBosePresident, 1985–86

— 67 —

THIS WAS AN ESPECIALLY big year for the clubin terms of money raised and given away. The

most notable event was the Rotary FashionExtravaganza spearheaded by Bob Brown on March 5,1986, raising about $12,000 for the planned newLongview Public Library in addition to individual con-tributions of more than $8,000. (See Chapter 6.) Our$20,000, plus $30,000 from the other two LongviewRotary clubs, resulted in the Rotary Periodical ReadingCenter in the new facility. The Extravaganza alsoserved as our Sweetheart Banquet for the year.

In addition to our regular club scholarship support,the new Longview Rotary Endowment Fund gave itsfirst scholarship award on July 23, 1985, to HershelRamsey, an employee of Mike Holbert. We were spon-soring Leslie Laffitte as a Rotary Exchange Student,and she visited us on August 13 before heading forBelgium. We won the Salvation Army Christmas col-lection competition with $3,250. The Golf Tournamentunder Jim Haralson’s direction on April 25, 1986, net-ted $5,816. The club contributed $2,000 to RotaryInternational’s Polio Plus eradication program. OnFebruary 25 and May 20, Dr. Wayne Legg and Dr. DeeRea reported on the first District 583 Dental TeamExcursion to Belize, which our club helped support.(See Chapter 6.) We gave the usual savings bondstotaling $300 to four vocational education studentsfrom Longview High School on April 29. And at theend of the year, on June 24, the club awarded not justone but three Paul Harris fellowships to Carrie Riff,Dick Dial, and Tom Brown. At that meeting, CityCouncilman W. D. Northcutt read Mayor Lou Galosy’sproclamation of Carrie Riff Day. We had already givenBob Brown a Paul Harris fellowship two years earlier,so we honored his work on the Fashion Extravaganzawith the Tom Putman Award for this year.

Another unusual event this year was the RotaryInternational Letters for Peace competition, a one-timeevent spearheaded for the club by Gene McWhorter,Jr., jointly with the other two Rotary clubs inLongview. A city-wide publicity effort conducted main-ly through the public schools resulted in 58 lettersbeing submitted by young people from 14 to 18 yearsold, offering suggestions to public officials for promot-ing world peace. The winner was awarded $500 for col-lege tuition. He and two runners-up were sent to fur-ther competition at the Rotary district level, leading tonational and international award possibilities.

The Longview Rotary Citizen of the Year, honoredon June 17, was Miss Doris McQueen, business manag-er of Longview Independent School District for manyyears.

Program chairmen Glenn Evans and Wayne Leggprovided several prominent speakers, including the fol-lowing: August 13, Governor Mark White; September17, Texas Railroad Commissioner Jim Nugent;November 25, chicken merchant Bo Pilgrim; and April1, State Treasurer Ann Richards, introduced by futuremayor and state treasurer Martha Whitehead.

1986–87: Dr. Jim Stjernstrom,President

Born in St. Paul in 1936, James Edward Stjernstromgraduated from high school there at MinnehahaAcademy in 1953. His subsequent career at BethelCollege in St. Paul was interrupted by two years as acook in an army hospital in Berlin, where he won thelast medal issued for World War II occupation duty. In1958, Jim married Kathryn Ann Youngberg ofMinneapolis. Working as a taxi driver and postal clerk,he got a BA at Bethel College and then a bachelor ofdivinity at Bethel Seminary in 1964. After two years aspastor in a Baptist church in Milaca, Minnesota, Jimsold real estate in Minneapolis while earning an MA inhistory and philosophy of education at the University ofMinnesota, awarded in 1973. At that time, R. G.LeTourneau’s sons Roy and Ben brought him into theirindustrial tractor dealership in Orlando as a chaplain.(Jim’s father Nels had been assistant to R. G. inLongview and then Vice President for Public Relationsfor the company, joining this club on October 6, 1970.)

From 1975 to 1992, Jim was Vice President in chargeof fund-raising for LeTourneau University. Meantime,he earned a Doctor of Ministry degree at Bethel in 1980.He and Kathryn raised three children as Texans andmembers of First Baptist Church: Jill, Scott, and John.Jim was inducted into our fellowship on November 7,1978, later winning both the Tom Putman award andthe club’s Paul Harris Fellowship for many years of ser-

67. James Edward Stjernstrom, D. Min.President, 1986–87

— 68 —

vice, including editing the Rotaview. Jim’s affiliationsand service have included the National Society of Fund-Raising Executives, the Council for the Advancementand Support of Education, the Christian StewardshipAssociation, the Longview Volunteer Center, the Salva-tion Army Advisory Board, Greater Longview UnitedWay, Longview Chamber of Commerce, Longview Sym-phony League, and Longview Downtown DevelopmentCorporation. A certified fund-raising executive (CFRE),Jim is now Director of Development at GreenvilleCollege in Illinois. Nels and Bernice lived in retirementin Tyler, where Nels died in January, 1995. We look for-ward to Jim and Kathryn’s eventual return to theirhome among us in Longview.

AFTER FIVE YEARS as Rotaview editor, JimStjernstrom turned that job over to new member

Kenny Hawthorne and moved up to the presidency. Themost memorable event of Jim’s term was decided onApril 28, 1987, by a ballot of 77 to 18. After meeting atthe Longview Community Center for seven and a halfyears, we moved back to the Country Club on May 12.

The greatest change in the history of Rotaryoccurred during this year: As a result of a U.S. SupremeCourt decision which Rotary International had opposed,the organization dropped its restriction of membershipto men in the U.S. Applying the goodwill part of theFour-Way Test, this club quietly accepted the inevitable.

On April 28, LeGrande Northcutt and othersreported on “Longview Day in Austin.” A bus load ofcivic leaders descended on the capitol to lobby on educa-tion, the proposed Little Cypress reservoir, downtowndevelopment, tort reform, and oil and gas employment.

The Four-Way Test speech contest for LongviewHigh School students was conducted on March 3, intro-duced by Superintendent Buddy Davis. The sixthannual Rotary golf tournament was held on Friday,April 24, chaired by Bill Dodson. On June 2, we recog-nized four outstanding vocational students atLongview High School. The Rotary Citizen of the year,honored on June 23, was Jim Elam, pastor of FirstChristian Church (previously acclaimed by our BillO’Neal, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church, asEmperor of the Preachers). The Tom Putman awardwent to Dr. Wayne Legg on June 30, and Leo Wall wonthe club’s Paul Harris fellowship on July 21, 1987.

Our honorary member Ray Newnham turned 100years old on May 19. He died within a month.

Here are some weekly programs that deserve men-tion: July 15, 1986, Bud Austin, new president ofLeTourneau University; July 29, Bill Hilliard, newgeneral manager of the Little Cypress Utility District;November 25, Congressman Ralph Hall; April 7, 1987,Gladewater oil man Jack Phillips, father-in-law of ouronce and future member Mark Abernathy, showingmovies of his 1969 shooting trip in Kenya with Mark’sfuture wife Nancy, then 16 years old, who was seenblowing an elephant away with the same cheerfulaplomb that she now displays in chairing civic commis-sions and private school boards and such; and June 9,County Judge Henry Atkinson.

1987–88: Jack Welge, President

Jack Herman Welge, Jr., was born in Austin in 1951and graduated from McCallum High School in 1969.While a student at the University of Texas (graduatingin 1974), he was elected to the board of UniversityUnited Methodist Church. On finishing St. Mary’sUniversity Law School in San Antonio in 1977, he mar-ried fellow Longhorn Band member Ava Avent ofLongview, daughter of our member Dick Avent. Jackserved as assistant district attorney in Longview, thenjoined the law office of Jerry Irwin. There, he successful-ly helped defend Billy Sol Estes in one of his last legalscrapes and also was appointed by the city commissionas first judge of the new municipal court of record.Since 1983, he has conducted a solo practice, specializ-ing in family and matrimonial matters, general civil liti-gation, and probate affairs. Jack and his father-in-laware among the few Longview lawyers admitted for prac-tice before the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Having joined our club in 1978 and become a PaulHarris Fellow, Jack brought Ava in as our first womanmember in 1990. He has served on the boards of theLongview Museum and Arts Center, East Texas Councilon Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Longview CommunityTheater, and East Texas Association for AbusedFamilies. He has been president of the Gregg CountyBar Association and the Knife and Fork Club. Jack andAva and their two daughters are members of TrinityEpiscopal Church, where he has served on the vestry.

68. Jack Herman Welge, Jr.President, 1987–88

— 69 —

THE LANDMARK EVENT of Jack Welge’s year aspresident came on February 16, 1988. We voted

unanimously to accept the challenge of RotaryInternational to raise $22,893 for the 120-million-dol-lar Polio Plus campaign as our share of the District 583quota over a five-year period. The object was to eradi-cate polio and four other childhood diseases worldwide:DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus), and tubercu-losis. We hoped to accomplish this goal through PaulHarris fellowships and fund-raising projects.

However, another event of the year got more atten-tion than Polio Plus: the frightening plunge of theUnited States stock market on October 19 and 20,1987. Stock brokers hit heavily on that topic in pro-grams on November 24 and March 29.

At the beginning of this year, John C. Murphy, Jr.,started presenting the weekly sunshine reports, whichhe has done ever since.

Four outstanding vocational students at LongviewHigh School were honored with savings bonds on April5. The annual Four-Way Test speech contest was heldon March 8.

The Rotary District 583 annual conference washeld at the Maude Cobb Activity Center on April 29and 30. Senator Phil Gramm was the speaker onSaturday night.

Our annual golf tournament was held on May 13 atOak Forest Country Club under the chairmanship ofLarry Martin. About $5,100 was earned for the PolioPlus fund.

The Longview Rotary Citizen of the Year, honoredon June 7, was Marcus Shuttlesworth. On June 28,the Tom Putman award was presented to Sergeant-at-Arms John Walker, and Henry Pitts won the club’sannual Paul Harris fellowship.

Some other important programs under ProgramChairman Mike Holbert were as follows: July 7, 1987,State Treasurer Ann Richards; September 8 and againon May 31, Congressman Ralph Hall; September 22,State Representative Jerry Yost; October 6, our ownmember, 31-year-old Rabbi Joshua Taub; October 13,State Land Commissioner Gary Mauro; November 10,Federal District Judge William Wayne Justice of Tyler;November 17, State Comptroller Bob Bullock.

1988–89: Casey Cammack, President

A son of Milton Cammack, Casey is the most recent ofthree presidents whose fathers were also presidents of theclub. (The others were George Kelly, II, and JohnHarrison, Jr.) He was born in Longview in 1955 andgraduated from Longview High School in 1973, thenattended Kilgore College and graduated from UT Tylerin 1977. He immediately joined the family business as asales representative for the Equitable Life AssuranceSociety and has been at it ever since. Along the way, hereceived CLU and ChFC designations from AmericanCollege in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. In 1985, he mar-ried Esther Barnes, who had moved to Longview fromJohnstown, Ohio. They have three sons and one daugh-

ter. Casey has been president of the Oil Belt Associationof Life Underwriters and the East Texas Chapter ofCLUs as well as serving on the board of GreaterLongview United Way. He and his family are active atLongview Christian Fellowship, where Casey serves asdeacon and member of the school board.

AFTER A VACATION of two years, Jim Stjernstromrelieved Kenny Hawthorne as editor of the

Rotaview. Kenny had been hired the previous July asdirector of the newly formed Longview DowntownDevelopment Corporation. It was intended to stave offthe commercial decay of downtown Longview, which wasbecoming ever more obvious as prime retail businessesclosed or relocated. (That trend illustrates the reasonfor calling this chapter “Goodbye to DowntownLongview.”) On September 20, Kenny told us about aconcept promoted by the National Trust for HistoricPreservation and adopted by LDDC, called theMainstreet Program. It involved encouraging activitiesand amenities which would attract people to the down-town area and draw downtown workers onto the streets.

On October 18, the founding of what became thefourth Rotary club in Longview was announced in theRotaview. Known as the Hallsville Rotary Club, itstarted meeting at the Harrison County sub-court-house at 6:45 Wednesday mornings. However, mem-bership drew heavily on Longview, and the meeting

— 70 —

69. Casey Womack CammackPresident, 1988–89

was changed to Bentley’s on Thursday evenings, thenin late 1990 to Johnny Cace’s on Monday evenings.

Starting on June 5, 1989, the Longview SouthRotary Club moved its meeting place from the HolidayInn in South Longview to Wyatt’s Cafeteria in theEarlee Shopping Center, which could be considereddowntown Longview.

The Four-Way Test speech contest for LongviewHigh School students was conducted on March 7.Three outstanding vocational students of LHS werehonored at our meeting in temporary quarters at theHoliday Inn in South Longview on May 30.

The club’s annual golf tournament was held atPinecrest Country Club on April 28, chaired by LarryMartin and Bill Dodson, netting about $5,800.

On June 6, Dr. Sam Mack was named LongviewRotary Citizen of the Year. On June 27, the TomPutman award was presented to to Larry Martin, andthe club’s annual Paul Harris fellowship went to JimStjernstrom, followed by seven others two months later:Travis Beavers, Milton Cammack, Royl Carby, ClaireFoster, Gordon Hargett, Art Mercer, and Al Wisenbaker.

Some noteworthy programs were: August 30, for-mer congressman Ron Paul of Houston, LibertarianParty candidate in 47 states for President of the UnitedStates, presented by Barcus Dubose; October 11, RonMcMichael, new superintendent of LongviewIndependent School District; April 11, Jack Rains,Secretary of State of Texas, presented by Rex Boyland;May 9, our own Bud Austin, president of LeTourneauUniversity, a name recently changed from LeTourneauCollege; and June 13, State Representative Jerry Yost.

1989–90: Ronnie Pliler, President

The son of Wardell and Katherine Pliler, Ronnie wasborn in Longview in 1947. He was a member of the lastclass graduating from Judson High School before themerger with Longview Independent School Districtresulted in conversion of the facility to a middle schoolin 1965. From then until 1977, he served in the U.S.Army Reserve. Ronnie went to Kilgore College, but hisreal education was gained in his father’s office machinestore at 426 East Cotton Street. Having started the busi-ness in 1948 and been one of our members for manyyears, Wardell sold out to Ronnie in 1978. He andKatherine now live at Hideaway Lake. Ronnie, in turn,joined this club in 1982. He sold the store in 1988 andbecame a partner in a travel agency for several years.Since 1991, he has busied himself with oil and gas andother investments. Ronnie served on the county court in1982 as appointed commissioner of Precinct 2. He is amember of Longview Masonic Lodge Number 404 and alife member of Waco Scottish Rite and Sharon TempleShrine. Among other community services, he has beeninvolved in the March of Dimes and Greater LongviewUnited Way. Raised in Mobberly Baptist Church,Ronnie is now a member of New Beginnings BaptistChurch. He has two daughters, ages 15 and 17. Anavid hunter and fisherman, he also enjoys reading andgardening.

THE LONGVIEW ROTARY Golf Tournament washeld on April 20, pulling in about $5,300. On May

22, we recognized outstanding vocational students atLongview High School. Our Citizen of the Year awardwas presented to Jo Lloyd on June 5. The club’s annu-al Paul Harris fellowship went to Tom Landers onJune 26 and the Tom Putman award to Sergeant-at-Arms Jack McIlhenny on July 10.

Here are a few of this year’s excellent programs:July 25, 1989, City Secretary and Interim City Man-ager Jo Ann Metcalf; August 22, Kenny Hawthorne,promoting “100 acres of heritage” downtown, the AlleyArt Show, the Street Jam, the Rigadoon to kick offLoblolly Jubilee, and Christmas in the Alley;September 19, Retta Kelley, new publisher of theLongview News Journal; September 26, Judge Ben Z.Grant of the Sixth Court of Appeals in Texarkana;October 17, Clayton Williams of Midland, Republicancandidate for governor; November 14, CityCouncilwoman Martha Whitehead, opposing a tax cut;November 28, Jack Goodwyn of Texas Eastman, tellingabout the GLOBE effort to help local public highschools produce employable workers; December 12,Congressman Ralph Hall, promising theSuperconducting Supercollider; December 19, FederalJudge Robert Parker; and January 23, 1990, severalmembers of the Texas Rangers baseball team.

— 71 —

70. Ronald Wardell PlilerPresident, 1989–90

1990–91: Dan Fiscus, President

Dan was born to a farming family in Wynne, Arkansas,in 1954. Graduating from Wynne High School in 1972,he received a B.S. in business administration at theUniversity of Arkansas in 1976 and an MBA fromSouthern Methodist University in 1977. That year, Danstarted work at Lakewood Bank & Trust in Dallas. Hewas president of the East Dallas Kiwanis Club. In 1982,he came to First National Bank in Longview (now BankOne), moving in 1984 to Texas American Bank, where heserved as senior lender and became president. Since thefall of 1994, Dan has been an investment executive withPaineWebber. In 1986, he married Becky Ottmers,daughter of Wanda and Roy Ottmers of Longview. Danhas served in leadership positions in numerous benevo-lent and professional organizations. He enjoys golf, bik-ing, country and western music, and dancing. Dan andBecky have one son, Jason Daniel, born on the fourth ofJuly, 1990, the day after Dan took office as our presi-dent. They are members of First Methodist Church.

THE MAJOR TURNING POINT in the history ofRotary International trickled down to our club this

year. Not quite three years after women were allowedin Rotary, we inducted our first one on November 13,1990: Ava Welge, daughter of our member Dick Aventand wife of our member Jack Welge, who proposed herfor membership. On March 5, 1991, Ava brought inPat Florence, widow of Longview-Greggton RotarianBuck Florence. Now, four years later, we have asmany as half a dozen women in the club.

Among the major achievements of this year, wepaid off the small amount remaining on our 1986pledge of $20,000 for construction of the LongviewPublic Library. Similarly, we completed our 1988pledge of $22,893 for Rotary International’s Polio Plusprogram. We provided $2,000 in scholarships to fourstudents. In addition, we donated $400 to JuniorAchievement Project Business and approved a $1,000contribution to the city’s Heartland Celebration ofindependence day (originally promoted by Vic Ferchillwith Joe LaBarbera). Under Jack McIlhenny’s chair-manship, our annual golf tournament raised $5,100.

Among other activities, we sponsored two RotaryExchange students: Michael Hvass from Denmark,and Casey Hawthorne of Longview to Spain. On April9, we conducted the annual Four-Way Test speech con-test for Longview High School Students. Various clubmembers participated in the Santa Calling program,the Salvation Army kettle collection at Christmas, andOperation Clean Sweep to renovate houses of theneedy.

The Longview Rotary Citizen of the Year was ourown Cecil Richardson. On June 25, the Tom Putmanaward went to Ramey Carroll, and we presented ourannual Paul Harris fellowship to Casey Cammack.President Dan was awarded the District 583 ServiceAward by District Governor Carroll Fletcher.

Notable programs included the following: July 3,State Representative Jerry Yost; July 31, new City

Manager Jim Baugh; August 14, Congressman JimChapman; October 9, Tom Ramey, judge of theTwelfth Court of Civil Appeals in Tyler; October 16,State Senator Bill Ratliff, quoted as advocating a stateincome tax, which he later denied; December 4, ourown Mayor Lou Galosy, on the upcoming city bondelection; March 5, Jim Hurst, President of the GreaterLongview Development Foundation, advocating a half-cent sales tax for industrial development; April 2,Ronnie Morrison, Director of the same organization,which grew out of the former Longview IndustrialDistrict three years before; April 30, new CountyJudge Ken Walker; and May 28, a tour of the TexasEastman plant.

1991–92: Bill Rice, II, President

Born to Lucille and John H. Rice in Tyler in 1930 andnamed for his grandfather, Bill grew up in Longview,where John was a gasoline and oil distributor.Graduating from Longview High School in 1947, Billgot a BBA at Baylor in 1951. The next year, he marriedRachel Gallenkamp of Kingsville, whom he met atBaylor when he was a senior and she was a freshman.They have three sons who also graduated from Baylor,including Bill the Third of this club. After seven yearsat Texas Eastman, Bill went into business with hisfather. Through the years, he has been active in various

— 72 —

71. Jack Daniel Fiscus, Jr.President, 1990–91

kinds of investments, especially real estate. He also wasan organizer and director of two banks and one S&L.Most recently, he has been associated with Smith Barneyas a financial consultant. A member of First BaptistChurch since childhood, Bill has served in many capaci-ties, including chairman of the board of deacons forthree terms. In 11 years on the Longview CityCommission and Council, he served as mayor in 1970,1971, 1976, and 1977 and won the Carl Estes MemorialAward as Citizen of the Year in 1971. And in almost 14years on the Sabine River Authority board, he was presi-dent for two terms. Charles Tullis brought Bill into ourfellowship on October 1, 1974. Earlier, as a Kiwanian,he was club president and Lieutenant Governor of theTexas-Oklahoma district. For two years in the 1970s, hewas project advisor for a public television series called“Watch Your Mouth.” Bill has been an officer or directorof the Longview and East Texas chambers of commerce,LeTourneau University board of trustees, SBA AreaAdvisory Council, East Texas Area Council of BoyScouts, Greater Longview United Way, East TexasCouncil of Governments, Longfellows, LongviewCommunity Development Team, Longview SymphonyLeague, and Paisano Baptist Encampment. His otherinterests include skiing, travel, and reading.

AS BILL LAID DOWN the gavel on June 30, 1992,his administration was described thus in the

Rotaview: “We’ve been telling President Bill Rice we’regoing to miss him when he’s gone, because someone isbound to shoot him before his year is out. This presi-dent has brought to our podium an artful blend of gen-tlemanly decorum and deadpan hilarity which will be atough act to follow, although there are signs his succes-sor will be up to the job. Bill deserves everything he isgoing to get, which we hope will be as good as he gave.”What he got was a “This is Your Life” roast conductedby John C. Murphy, Ron Hudgens, and RonMcCutcheon.

The distinctive Bill Rice tone was established earlyin the year. On August 20, 1991, with President-ElectJerry Adair officiating in Bill’s absence, Larry Martinproudly presented famous movie and television actorGeorge Peppard as our speaker. He said George was inthe area studying local speech and mannerisms for anew role, and he had been offered to Bill Rice as aspeaker. George said a few genial words of introduc-tion, threw the floor open for questions about hiscareer, and gazed around grandly. Larry had said verylittle about George, assuming we all knew who he was,but a lot of us didn’t. Most of the rest, considering thepresident’s reputation for skillful spoofery, assumedthis was a put-on. (Some still do; consider the faceabove.) In a full minute of dead silence, George’s gazedarkened considerably. He concluded brusquely,“Well, in that case, thanks for lunch,” and sat down.We haven’t heard from him since and don’t expect to.

In earlier decades of its history, the club had con-ducted major programs each year to recognize andhonor teachers in Longview Independent SchoolDistrict. Every year until 1961–62, we invited all theteachers to an annual banquet. (See Chapter 6.) This

year, under Vocational Service Director John Troy, webegan inviting one outstanding teacher each month toour meeting for special recognition. The LISD admin-istration picks one school each month, and the teachersof that school vote to select one for the honor. The firstLongview Rotary Teacher of the Month, presented onOctober 8, was Joyce Upshaw of Valley View School.

The Four-Way Test speech contest for LongviewHigh School students was conducted on February 18.The school’s three outstanding vocational studentswere honored on May 12. The annual golf tournamentwas held at Pinecrest Country Club on April 24, net-ting about $5,000.

The Longview Rotary Citizen of the Year, honoredon June 9, was our own member and former mayor LouGalosy; Mayor Martha Whitehead joined in praisingLou. The club’s annual Paul Harris fellowship wasawarded to Ronnie Pliler on the last day of the year,June 30. Three weeks later, Bill presented the TomPutman Award to Gene McWhorter. (This was theyounger Gene; his father died in August, 1991.)

Among the especially interesting programs werethe following: September 3, a tour of the Stemco plant;September 24, State Representative Jerry Yost;October 1, State Senator Bill Ratliff; October 15,Congressman Jim Chapman, presented by JimHugman; and May 26, a tour of the Stroh brewery.

— 73 —

72. William Yngve Rice, IIPresident, 1991–92

1992–93: Jerry Adair, President

Jerry was born in Hugo, Oklahoma, in 1946 and gradu-ated from Stillwater High School in 1964. He got a B.S.from Oklahoma State University in 1968 and a Master’sdegree in hospital administration at Duke University in1970. He married Nancy DeKinder of Chickasha in1965, and they have a son and a daughter; the threegave Jerry a Paul Harris Fellowship for Christmas dur-ing his presidency. At Gaston Memorial Hospital inGastonia, North Carolina, from 1970 to 1981, Jerrybecame a senior vice president. Then, moving back hometo Oklahoma, he took over as head of Jackson CountyMemorial Hospital in Altus. There, he was inductedinto the Rotary Club. Then two months after becomingpresident and CEO of Good Shepherd Medical Center inLongview in December, 1986, he came into this club.Besides being elected to the boards of the LongviewChamber of Commerce and the Greater Longview UnitedWay, Jerry has served in leadership positions in ninemajor professional organizations at the local, state, andnational levels. He and Nancy are members of FirstUnited Methodist Church. Don’t stand between Jerryand the TV when it’s showing Duke basketball, theDallas Cowboys, or Texas Aggie football, or between himand his bass boat.

PRESIDENT JERRY started with a member opin-ion survey which formed the basis for the club’s

activities for the year. The most unpopular traditionturned out to be classification talks, so they wereeliminated. Another negative was club assemblies, soonly one was held. Overall, the response was quitefavorable; all respondents indicated they were proudto be members of the club.

When Jim Stjernstrom moved away during thepreceding Rotary year, Lester Kilpatrick was left asthe only Rotaview editor. During this year, GeneMcWhorter and Sam Smead alternated every twomonths.

In his capacity as Permanent SunshineCommittee Announcer, John Murphy revved upMurphy’s Rotary Fellowship Drill: he occasionallycalled on a member to recite the names and occupa-tions of all the members at that table.

Pat Young recruited a men’s chorus last year, foroccasional harmonious serenades in lieu of our cus-tomary song or prayer. Known as the Young Singers,the group continued this year. Besides Pat, the mem-bers were Ellie Hopkins, L. J. Fite, Warren Tharp,Thomas Welch, Bill McReynolds, Gene McWhorter,and Wells Burton on piano. Wells was the usual clubpianist for the weekly song for many years.

The annual conference for Rotary District 5830was held in Longview on April 23 through 25, hostedby all four clubs. We continued our LISD teacher ofthe month recognitions as well as Salvation Armybell-ringing, Santa Calling duty, and Operation CleanSweep service. The golf tournament was held onApril 30, chaired by Terry Woods. Under its presi-dent Casey Cammack, Longview Rotary Endow-

ment Fund conducted a raffle for a set of golf irons onJune 15. We named Vic Ferchill our Citizen of theYear on June 22. Gordon Hargett received the TomPutman award on June 29. The club’s Paul Harrisfellowship was presented to Wells Burton on July 27,1993.

Program chairman Leo Wall started off the yearwith a series of programs on local economic develop-ment: July 14, County Judge Ken Walker, mainlydiscussing the Gregg County Airport; July 21, Dr.Jack Foreman, Dean of the new TSTC vocational col-lege branch in Marshall; August 4, Howard Rosser onthe East Texas Tourism Association; August 11, Dr.Norman Black, on the county’s first planned economicdevelopment, the new town of Fredonia in the 1840s;and November 10, investment banker Ed Moore onmunicipal bond issues.

Among other memorable programs were the fol-lowing: October 6, retired Rear Admiral Sam Mooreof Marshall, on the Navy’s role in the Persian Gulf“war” last year; October 13, Congressman RalphHall; December 1, Judge Sam Hall of Marshall;December 22, Southwest Conference CommissionerFred Jacoby; January 5, State Senator Bill Ratliff, onthe school funding fiasco; and January 19, SheriffBobby Weaver on turning a downtown grocery storeinto an annex to the county jail in the courthouse.

— 74 —

73. Jerry D. AdairPresident, 1992–93

1993–94: John Troy, President

Born in 1952 to Boston Irish Catholic parents in PaloAlto, California, John was raised in Stratham, NewHampshire and graduated from public high school innearby Exeter in 1970. He got a bachelor’s degree insociology in 1974 at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine,and a law degree at Boston University in 1977. Seekingto get warm, he moved to Houston. Before settling down,he lived the Bohemian life, traveling a lot and workingas a waiter when he had to. In May of 1982, he marriedSandra Kay Balloun of Westbury, a Houston suburb,and in August was invited by a friend to visit Longview.The following October, he hung up his shingle here as alawyer in solo general practice and has been at it eversince. Franklin Martin brought him into this club onOctober 16, 1984. John’s community service activitieshave included Junior Achievement, WindridgeTherapeutic Riding Center, and Greater LongviewUnited Way. He and Sandy have two children, Williamand Amy. If you play golf with John, don’t bet money.

THE CLUB EXPERIENCED a major change in per-sonnel this year. For the first time in 20 years,

Tom Brown was not selected to continue as secretary-treasurer by the nominating committee. The slate ofofficers they presented on December 14 included CaseyCammack for that position instead. Tom Landersnominated Tom Brown from the floor on that day, andwe had a contested election for the first time anyonecould remember. Both candidates conducted them-selves as gentlemen, and Casey was elected in a secretballot on December 21. Tom resigned from the club atthe end of the Rotary year. (See Chapter 6.)

John instituted a method to encourage participa-tion in the club’s service activities such as the golftournament, Operation Clean Sweep, and so forth.Everyone who works in at least three such efforts willtake part in a drawing for a prize at the end of theyear.

A new idea for the annual golf tournament wassubmitted for a vote on March 1: that every member berequired to play in the tournament, or get a hundred-dollar sponsor, or be an eighty-dollar sponsor himself.The proposal was defeated, and tournament supportremained strictly voluntary. Charlie Reeves was incharge this year, and more money was raised than hadbeen in several years.

On October 14, the board of directors accepted VicFerchill’s suggestion that the 1963 history of the clubbe updated. That idea, nurtured by Vic, led to the pub-lication of this book in 1995, which turned out to be thediamond anniversary year of the club.

This year, a committee of Rotaview editors startedalternating the duty: Mark Boon, Ron Heezen, AvaWelge, and our third Rotarienne, Cindy Russell.

We continued the LISD Rotary Teacher of theMonth program under Ron Heezen. The annual Four-Way Test speech contest for LISD students was heldon February 22. On June 21, as the Longview RotaryCitizen of the Year, we honored our own Hank Foster,

who was absent due to an extended illness. Hank diedfour weeks later. Some members recalled that onMarch 1, 1966, the club similarly honored Hank’sfather, Past President Henry Foster, who also diedshortly thereafter. The Tom Putman award was pre-sented to David Houston. Gene McWhorter won theclub’s Paul Harris fellowship for his work on this book.

Notable programs were as follows: July 13, StateSenator Bill Ratliff, saying he was sick of talking aboutpublic school financing; September 7, NancyAbernathy, wife of our wayward member Mark, chairof the advisory board for the proposed city activitiescomplex; October 26, I. J. Patterson, who was electedMayor after Governor Ann Richards appointed MarthaWhitehead as state treasurer; February 1, George W.Bush, owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team andsuccessful candidate for Governor of Texas; and March8, our own Don Scoggins of Texas Eastman, discussingthe spinoff of Eastman Chemical Company fromEastman Kodak on January 1, 1994.

1994–95: Kim Callahan, President

A fourth-generation citizen of Longview, Kim was bornhere in 1956 to J. Carroll and Elaine Shaw Callahan.(Carroll has been a member of this club since 1956.)Kim grew up working in the family business, Carolane

— 75 —

74. John Grannan Troy, Jr.President, 1993–94

Jewelers, which was founded in 1953. Having attendedTrinity Day School (now Trinity School of Texas)through the third grade, he graduated from LongviewHigh School in 1974 with an academic rank in the toptwo percent of his class. Following two years at KilgoreJunior College, he graduated summa cum laude fromthe University of Texas at Austin in 1978 with a BAdegree in government and history. Three years later, hewon a JD degree from the University of Texas LawSchool. Upon passing the bar exam, Kim returned toLongview and served as staff legal counsel to FirstNational Bank and then Texas American Bank.

Meantime, in 1982, Kim married his long-time sweet-heart Joyce Jackson of Longview. In 1990, he joinedCarroll, Elaine, and Joyce in operating the family jewel-ry business and also joined Carroll’s law firm.Sponsored by Bob Carroll as a member of this club in1983, Kim has maintained perfect attendance along withhis father.

Kim and Joyce are members of First ChristianChurch. He enjoys playing basketball and collectingand driving classic automobiles. He also plays acousticguitar and collects antique watches.

THE DUAL THEMES of change and growth charac-terized the Callahan administration from the

beginning. Incoming Secretary-Treasurer CaseyCammack declined to accept the salary traditionallypaid by the club. On Casey’s recommendation, wevoted that, beginning with this year’s elections, the

positions of secretary and treasurer be separated.Next year, for the first time in the club’s history, wewill not have a single secretary-treasurer. The Boardof Directors adopted a formal budget for the first timein recent memory. They resolved to use golf tourna-ment proceeds entirely for charitable purposes, notspending any on club operations.

Membership growth soon emerged as a highlight.Having begun the year with 129 members, the smallestenrollment in 35 years, we grew to nearly 150 byMarch. On October 4, W. D. Northcutt’s son Walterbecame the club’s first fourth-generation member.

We stepped up to a co-leadership role in the annualThanksgiving Food Drive along with long-time sponsorLongview Cable TV. Thanks to Robert Durham and 37other Rotarians, along with many community volun-teers, this event provided Thanksgiving meals for agreat number of needy families. Community ServiceDirector Ron Heezen headed up the club’s Decemberbell ringing, which collected over $2,000 for theSalvation Army.

District Youth Exchange Committee liaison GeorgeKelly, III, announced approval of the application ofDavid Northcutt Brown, a Trinity School of Texasjunior, to visit Japan’s Rotary District 2520. David isthe son of Janet Brown and the late Arthur NorthcuttBrown of this club. His grandfather Ted Brown andgreat-grandfather W. D. Northcutt, I, were also mem-bers, and his grandmother Jessie Northcutt Brown wasour pianist in the 1930s.

President Kim instituted a quarterly club newslet-ter which proved popular. Past President John Troycontinued the Teacher of the Month award. New mem-ber Ross Jutsum succeeded Wells Burton in accompa-nying our song at each meeting. Following a club-widesurvey concerning the annual Rotary Ann banquet, Co-Chairmen W. D. Northcutt and Craig Abernathyturned it into a dinner dance instead. It was held inthe Michelob Room of R&K Distributors on February22, with catering by our own David Choy’s CantonRestaurant and big-band music by Ross Jutsum’sAmbassador University Stage Band.

The completion of this book was a major event forthe club, expected to coincide with celebration of ourdiamond anniversary in May. At the same time, ironi-cally, the downtown hotel where we met from 1930 to1978 was being demolished.

At the cut-off date for this text on February 28,notable speakers this year have included TexasAgriculture Commissioner Rick Perry, State SenatorBill Ratliff, Congressman Jim Chapman, DistrictJudge Robin Sage, new Longview City Manager TedWillis, Texas Comptroller John Sharp, and “Drug DogMax” of the Longview Police Department.

Plans for the remainder of the year include a tourof the Capacity, Inc., plant, organized by Lara Leverand Ramey Carroll. The annual golf tournament,headed by David Houston, is scheduled for May 5—including, for the first time, a party the night before.

— 76 —

75. James Kim CallahanPresident, 1994–95