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George M. Leader, 1918-2013 Michael J Gettysburg College Faculty Books 2014 George M. Leader, 1918-2013 Michael J. Birkner Gettysburg College Charles H. Glatfelter Gettysburg College Follow this and additional works at: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/books Part of the Cultural History Commons, Oral History Commons, Public History Commons, Social History Commons, and the United States History Commons Share feedback about the accessibility of this item. Birkner, Michael J. and Charles H. Glatfelter. George M. Leader, 1918-2013. Musselman Library, 2014. Second Edition. This is the publisher's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution. Cupola permanent link: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/books/78 This open access book is brought to you by The uC pola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College. It has been accepted for inclusion by an authorized administrator of The uC pola. For more information, please contact [email protected]. George M. Leader, 1918-2013 Description George M. Leader (1918-2013), a native of York, Pennsylvania, rose from the anonymous status of chicken farmer's son and Gettysburg College undergraduate to become, first a State Senator, and then the 36th governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A steadfast liberal in a traditionally conservative state, Leader spent his brief time in the governor's office (1955-1959) fighting uphill battles and blazing courageous trails. He overhauled the state's corrupt patronage system; streamlined and humanized its mental health apparatus; and, when a black family moved into the white enclave of Levittown, took a brave stand in favor of integration. After politics, Leader became a pioneer in the area of assisted living, with a chain of Lutheran nursing homes in central Pennsylvania. He multiplied his philanthropies, endowing a nursing center, funding education and reintegration programs for prisoners, and providing supplies and expertise to impoverished Ghana. By the time of his death, George M. Leader had lived as vigorous, productive, and - to use a word he might have appreciated - useful a life as any Pennsylvanian of his time. On three occasions in 2006 and 2007, Gettysburg College history professors Michael J. Birkner and Charles H. Glatfelter engaged the former governor in interviews about his life and times. Leader talked expansively and candidly about his wins and losses, his prides and regrets; the excitement and bitterness of politics, the satisfactions of philanthropy, and the sustenance of family. These interviews, ranging over nearly a century of political and state history, tell the story of one of Pennsylvania's most remarkable sons. Keywords George M. Leader, Pennsylvania, Gettysburg College, governor, Gettysburg, York County, integration, assisted living, philanthropy, patronage, political corruption, mental health Disciplines Cultural History | History | Oral History | Public History | Social History | United States History Publisher Musselman Library This book is available at The uC pola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/books/78 GEORGE M. LEADER (1918-2013) __________ Interviewed by Michael J. Birkner & Charles H. Glatfelter 000 173 George M. Leader (1918-2013) © 2014 by Musselman Library Gettysburg College Gettysburg, Pennsylvania All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, without the written permission of the copy- right holder. Second edition Printed in USA by 48HrBooks (www.48HrBooks.com) 2 In memory of George M. Leader and Charles H. Glatfelter Pennsylvania Dutchmen who left their mark 3 4 Table of Contents Introduction by Michael J. Birkner ............................................... 7 Acknowledgments ..................................................................... 11 A Note on Sources .................................................................... 12 The First Interview: March 15, 2006 ...................................... 15 The Second Interview: October 6, 2006 ................................ 67 The Third Interview: September 28, 2007 ........................... 129 Index .......................................................................................... 173 Photo credits ............................................................................ 178 5 6 Introduction Gettysburg College takes pride in the achievements of its alumni in various fields of endeavor. Among those who have made special contributions to a better world, one of the most distinctive char- acters would surely be the college’s sole alumnus to have served as governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: George Michael Leader, ‘39. During his single term as governor (1955-59), Leader was a virtual whirlwind of activity, rethinking the way government did business, expanding support for the aged and the mentally ill, im- proving infrastructure, and financing education programs at higher levels. Not least of Leader’s achievements as chief executive of Penn- sylvania was his work reorganizing the state government for the sake of both efficiency and accountability. Despite lacking reliable major- ities in the legislature during his first two years in office, and facing Republican majorities in the second, he enacted some 80 percent of his programs. Journalists and scholars consistently rank his governor- ship as one of the most creative and fruitful in modern Pennsylvania history. A lifelong political animal, Leader’s career in elective office was relatively brief. Active in Democratic Party organizational work in his native York County in the 1940s, he served one term in the State Senate, succeeding his father, and ran unsuccessfully for state treasur- er in 1952, caught in the undertow of Dwight Eisenhower’s landslide presidential victory that year. Two years later, running against a well- known and well-financed Republican “regular,” Lloyd Wood, Leader pulled off an upset, earning a coveted place on the cover of Time magazine. At the time Leader was elected, governors were allowed but a single consecutive term. In 1958, as a lame duck, and ambiva- lent about moving to Washington to join a Democratic Senate caucus dominated by Lyndon B. Johnson, Leader decided that the US Senate was his best option. In an otherwise strong year for Democrats nationwide, Leader was defeated in an upset by Congressman Hugh Scott, owing in part to the machinations of Pittsburgh’s Democratic leader and gubernatorial candidate, David Lawrence, who had per- sonal and political reasons to “cut” Leader in Allegheny County. It was a bitter defeat for Leader. 7 Needing to make a living, Leader turned down Governor-elect Lawrence’s offer to serve as his welfare secretary, choosing instead a career in private enterprise, first in the mortgage business and ulti- mately as a health-care entrepreneur. In this endeavor, he worked in tandem with members of his family, and continued to play a role in managing Providence Place—his final senior-care enterprise—until his death at age 95. His goal from the outset was to provide quality care for seniors, with the motto that doing good would also mean do- ing well. A proud Pennsylvania Dutchman, George Leader’s interests and activities ranged widely. His life, in retrospect, was protean, because he operated on so many tracks. He was deeply committed to advanc- ing public welfare in Pennsylvania and beyond. In his career after politics, Leader’s philanthropic initiatives included support for pris- oner education; improved nurse training; enhanced access to comput- ers for schoolchildren; and access to clean water for villagers in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa. Throughout his life, Governor Leader retained a deep interest in history, politics, and public affairs. He had strong opinions about notable political leaders, and did not hesitate to express them. He hated the growing influence of money on the political system, which he believed both advantaged special interests over the average citizen and turned political campaigns increasingly negative. Always, he was concerned with more responsive and effective governance. Just a month before he passed away in May 2013, Leader joined former Pennsylvania governors Ed Rendell, Tom Ridge, and Dick Thorn- burgh in writing a letter to the state legislature, urging the abandon- ment of elected judgeships and proposing a system of merit selection. Taking the influence of money out of the system of choosing jurists was, to Leader, only common sense. Leader and his compeers fol- lowed up with a letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal (April 8, 2013), responding to a Journal editorial criticizing their proposal. The former governors reminded the Journal’s editors that the public re- mains involved in the selection of judges at one step removed, and that Pennsylvanians deserved the opportunity to vote in referendum on the merit selection proposal. A future biographer will benefit from consulting Leader’s numerous interviews with journalists and scholars about one or another aspect of his career. In 2006 and 2007, Leader sat for three 8 extended interviews at Providence Place in Hummelstown, Pennsyl- vania, with two Gettysburg College historians—Charles H. Glatfelter and myself. The interviews ran roughly chronologically, from Lead- er’s earliest memories of life on the family chicken farm in York County in the 1920s, up through his current activities. On one visit, we discovered that he had just returned from planting shrubs
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