Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson has talked about William Allen White in his speeches for 20 years, but it wasn’t until he read White’s autobiography that he understood the completeness of White as a person.
Parkinson said White is an example of how the world will find people with good ideas.
“Who would have expected that a person who bought The Emporia Gazette for $3,000, would become one of the most influential journalists in the world,” Parkinson said. “It wasn’t because he was from Emporia, It wasn’t because he owned The Gazette. It was the power of his ideas.”
Parkinson was an impressive pinch-hitter at a Friday evening fundraiser for the William Allen White State Historic Site at Stephen and Ann Knecht’s barn.
Former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum Baker was supposed to be the guest speaker for the event, which was sponsored by the William Allen White Community Partnership, but she was unable to attend because her husband underwent surgery.
“He is doing fine,” Parkinson said.
Parkinson said he has a genuine admiration for White.
“William Allen White is the quintessential Kansan,” he said. “A progressive who spoke his mind, he was extremely proud of the state and made the state very proud.”
The governor said that when he read White’s autobiography last year, it influenced his State of the State speech.
“It reminded me of this really historic commitment that we made in Kansas to public education,” Parkinson said.
In an interview with media before the fundraiser, Parkinson said he was pleased the state fully funded education this year. He said he was optimistic that whoever is elected governor will fulfill generational commitments to public education.
Parkinson said for the third month in a row, state revenue has met or exceeded projections. He said a year ago, the state was $50 million short in revenue for September. This year the state was $3 million above estimates, he said.
“The revenue numbers are fantastic,” he said. “We now have a balanced budget and a surplus in Kansas. We are one of the few states that can say that.”
In his speech, Parkinson said growing up he would read books as part of the William Allen White reading program.
Today when he thinks about White, Parkinson said several things come to mind.
“He was a person who was smart, reasonable, very centered and very honest,” Parkinson said. “A lot of the editorials he would write would be directed at his friends, trying to get his friends to think about doing the right thing.”
Parkinson said the second thing he thinks about is ideas. After he became governor, people asked Parkinson how could he get anything accomplished because he was a lame duck. When he moved into the governorship after former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius joined President Barack Obama’s administration, Parkinson said he would not run for the seat when the term ended.
“I brought our staff into the office and told them ‘I know everyone doesn’t think we’ll get anything done,’” he said. “But the most powerful force in human history is not brute force, military supremacy or the power of incumbency. In the short time, those things are powerful. But in the long term, the most powerful force is ideas.”
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
I agree with the governor that the most powerful force is ideas and the progressive ideas that are the ruination of this Republic will be turned back in the November elections.
October 5, 2010 at 12:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
William Allen White became famous with his friendship with Teddy Roosevelt and this spokesman for grassroots America was a Charter member of the Rockefeller Foundation along with Veron Lyman Kellogg another Emporian who was into Eugentics and he had a student by the Name of Herbert Hoover. When Herbert Hoover became President he commissioned Mr. Kellogg to Germany to study Egentics with the intellectuals and the high command of the Germany Army. In the early 1900's before1920, he wrote a book warning America that Germany was taking Eugentics to the extreame and Teddy Roosevelt wrote the introduction.
October 5, 2010 at 12:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
Teddy Roosevelt visted Emporia 32 times and this testifys his friendship to William Allen White and the power of the press.
October 5, 2010 at 12:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
I only wish that Willian Allen White would have wrote more about the time he spent as a member and trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation. This seems to be a hidden secret but, if he has a story that was not to be made public for 150 years, it would be a best sellor.
October 5, 2010 at 1:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
One thing he must have learned from the Rockefeller's was to buy land as the White Foundation owens a lot of ground in the Flint Hills
October 5, 2010 at 1:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
REWBA (anonymous) says...
I noticed a homemade cardboard WAW sign nailed to a post on the shoulder of hwy 50 last Friday. That sign is just trash on the side of the road now. You would think that people would clean up their mess after the party. jmo
October 5, 2010 at 2:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
historian1982 (Nick Gronseth) says...
Rewba,
That's all you have to say about a great event? Wow, pretty sad
October 7, 2010 at 2:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
REWBA (anonymous) says...
historian1982,
Your right. I could have said more. Directing the guests to turn off hwy 50 at the end of the only passing lane between Emporia and Elmdale is hazardous. Guests should have been directed to turn at Kahola Lake Road where there is a dedicated right turn lane available and then brought back east to the event. It would have been a safer route for everyone. Litterbugs are pathetic.
October 7, 2010 at 3:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )