Bert T. Combs gave politics a good name.
State Historian addresses 1st Bert T. Combs Symposium
By David J. Griffin
Clay City Times
It is apparent
that the legacy of Governor Bert T. Combs is alive and well in Eastern
Kentucky. A gathering of well over 100 participated in the first annual
Bert T. Combs Symposium held on Friday, September 1, 2006 at the Clay
County Justice Center in Manchester. The galley of the courtroom was
filled with young and old alike alongside county and state officials,
friends, and relatives of the late Governor, including his widow, Court
of Appeals Judge Sara Combs of Stanton.
Georgetown
College professor and state historian, Dr. James Klotter
The symposium
was the result of the efforts of local leaders in Clay County,
particularly Rev. Ken Bolin of Manchester Baptist Church. It included
remarks by Secretary of State Trey Grayson, music provided by the Clay
County high school choir, an address by State Historian Dr. James
Klotter, and a panel discussion led by Terry Gray which was open to the
audience. Photo exhibits were available for perusal and a luncheon
was hosted by the Manchester Baptist Church.
Secretary of
State Grayson was the first recipient of the Bert T. Combs memorial
scholarship established by the University of Kentucky School of Law. He
gave his perspective on Combs’ life in Kentucky politics and explained
how accepting that scholarship had changed the course of his own life.
The main
address was an amusing and fact-filled lecture by Dr. James Klotter, a
professor of history at Georgetown College, on the life and
administration of Governor Combs. He noted first the roots from which he
sprang, emphasizing that knowledge of such is essential to understanding
any chief executive.
A review of
Combs’ life included his service in World War II and his climb from
Commonwealth’s Attorney to Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court in
1951. Klotter noted that when Combs was offered that position, he had
accepted largely because Eastern Kentuckians feel overlooked and not
considered as part of the Commonwealth, thus I decided to take it, to
give them a voice.
By 1959, Combs
had defeated “Happy” Chandler for Governor, and Eastern Kentucky had
its first Governor in over three decades. It would become an
administration that Klotter said “virtually all historians rank as one
of the best of the 20th century.” As Klotter put it quite succinctly,
“Bert Combs gave politics a good name.”
As Klotter
reviewed the accomplishments of the Combs administration, one was
reminded of how ambitious and successful that single 4-year
administration actually had been. Combs increased support for education
by 50% the first year and by 84% during his full term. He combined
efforts to fully develop the state park system with the need for highway
improvement and, through a system of bonding, established parkways that
resulted in the western and eastern parts of the state finally becoming
acquainted with central Kentucky.
Klotter
recounted how Combs had not only established the community college
system and KET, but that he had sought to correct problems that
curtailed governmental progress. For example, Combs passed a law
which put voting machines in every precinct in an effort to prevent
stuffing ballot boxes. And, of course, he was the creator of the
modern-day merit system.
Combs was also
responsible for creating a Child Welfare Department, expanding services
for the mentally ill, and establishing a Commission on Human Rights.
Klotter explained that in spite of the success of the Combs
administration in such needed areas of service, his administration had
met with considerable criticism upon his “courageous issuance” of an
Executive Order forbidding racial discrimination in public places.
Klotter noted that such was a “path breaking action” occurring at
the same time that George Wallace was publicly fighting integration by
blocking the schoolhouse door.
Klotter also
shared quotes from newspaper editorials concerning the Combs
administration. From the Courier Journal: “never before in the history
of Kentucky have more beneficial and far-reaching laws been passed.
Never in one brief session has the quality of Kentucky government and
public service so greatly improved.” From the Lexington Leader: Combs
“achieved every one of his major goals in the 1962 General
Assembly.”
In concluding,
Dr. Klotter stated that “All would agree that he set high standards
for honesty, for honor, for integrity, for accomplishments. We all miss
him.” He challenged the participants of the symposium saying,
“our task is to make certain that his spirit lives on, and that we
continue to stand for his causes, and still fight the good fight.”
Judge
Sara Combs and Fontaine Banks, former Chief of Staff in the Bert T.
Combs administration
A panel
discussion followed Klotter’s remarks. Members of the panel were:
Judge Sara Combs, Fontaine Banks, former Chief of Staff in the Combs
administration, Dr. Klotter, and Judge R. Cletus Maricle of Clay County.
The panel fielded questions from the audience and also gave them a
chance to speak about their own perspectives. Banks called Combs a
“humble hero” and spoke of how in their 35 years of friendship, they
had never had a cross word with one another. The discussion included
personal remembrances and remarks about how Combs’ accomplishments had
affected peoples’ lives, such as the Mountain Parkway.
It was noted
that Clay, Floyd, and Powell Counties are all counties which share the
legacy and influence of Bert Combs. One participant observed that these
are the same counties which are today leading the fight against drugs in
the state. He wondered aloud if the memory of Combs’ influence was
somehow related to the efforts to make these places a better place to
live.
Pastor Ken
Bolin reminded the audience that although this is the first symposium of
its kind, it will become an annual event. "It was proof that
his bright spirit has never been needed more than now and that he has
not been forgotten," said Judge Combs.
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