The Ties That Bind: James H. Richmond and Murray Teachers College During World War II

The Ties That Bind: James H.Richmond and Murray Teachers College During World Way II JENNIFER 11]TMER ThestruggletoattainasecondaryeducationduringtheGreatDepression proved a continuous battle for educational institutions.students, ind the government. Co]leges acre, ss the nation adjusted to the econoniic and social devastation of the 19305 with the aid ot progrtinis under President Franklin D. Roosevelt' s New Deal. Br the 19405.as America prepared to enter World War II.Murray Teachers College, like many institutions across the country,recognized the possibility of even more drastic changes in enrollment and finances. Before the war, the campus established politiC. 11 ties with the federal government through the relationships of campus and political officials and the National Yc, uth Administration. Those tieS only strengthened when the school' s administrators tried to secure federal aid by means of wartime preflight and refresher military traitiing progratiis. Despite enrollment and financial difficulties,the relationship between Murray Teachers College and the federal government allowed the campus to remain productive and successful during Wc, rid War II. This relationship spawned a smooth transition for veterans returtiing to catinpus after the war and introduced several changes in the town of Murray itself. Murray, located in Kentucky' s westernmost " Purchase "region, originated in Calloway County in 1843 on eighty acres o f land divided into 167 residential and business lots. The educational system in Murray c() 11-1Franklin B. ELIL, lirilrit menced in 1 851 with a fourroom school . Its sale in 1870 spurred the creation in the followin year of the Murray Male and Female Institute, located in a twostory building with seven classrooms on a fouracre plot. Where in 1874 the town's population numbered six hundred,it had soared to 3,194 just six years laten Despite suffering a setback in 1905,when the Institute burned,the educational system and the population in Murray and its surrounding county continued to grow. Indeed, in 1916, Murray High School graduated the largWINTER 2004 Franklin D. Roosevelt. Tbe Filscm Historical Society i49 THE TIES THAT BIND est class iii its hist(, ry . ind 1110(, nlight schools devised to reduce illiteracy in the adult population had developed throughout tIle county: Created in 1922 by the Kentucky General Assembly,Murray Teachers College began as Murray State Noriiial School, but several name changes ensued as the college expanded. The Itc, wn supported its construction by raising S100,000 to erect the first buildiiig ind t]le cc)llege admitted its rst students in September 1923. Upon receiving authority tc,confer baccalaureatedegrees iii 1926, the college became Murray State Noniial Schoc, 1 aiid Teachers College . Tlie institution obtained accreditation from the Sorithern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1928. Within two years Murray gained the authority to offer liberal arts and pi eprofessional cozirses and ch. 111 Rally held in Lexington on January 28, 1933. While serving as campaign iii. inager,the state hired Richmond for the position of Superintendent of Public Instruction . The post provided him leverage enough to pass important educational legislition such as guaranteeing the niost convenient high school plicement for children and securing $ 500, 000 for free textbooks for Kentucky's schoc, 1 children, but it also allowed direct access to Roosevelt through conferences with the president and his cabinet. Richmond also served two years as chairman of the National Committee fc, r Federal Emergency Aid to Education. In 1934,he conducted a tenweek congressional hearing on the emergency needs of U.S. schools, resulting in an appropriation of $ 17,000,() 00 fc, r schools in thirty states. Two years later,Richmond received a telephc, ne message from Roosevelt requesting his presence at a cotiterence in Washington on September 29, 1936. As part of a small, select group, Richmond reviewed educational developments of the current administration and hoped to gain the President's support in appropriating funds for future educational needs. Richniond spoke fondly of Roosevelt, claiming that " President Roosevelt in his home or at his office in the White House is so gracious and easy in his nianner that you feel that he is someone other than the President of the United States. Throughout his career,Richmond continued to confer with the president on the need for federal...