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EPISTLES FROM PAP
EPISTLES FROM PAP ANDREW E. DURHAM. COMPILED J. FRANK DURHAM Andrew Durham was a Hoosier attorney and state senator during the
twenties Often covered in the papers he was one of Indiana's
leading denmocratic politicians who served as minority leader in
the Indiana Senate in 1927. During 1925 he was instigator of the
famous "Runaway Democrats" episode in the Senate. Later in the
thirties and forties he continued his political career as a
lobbyist for the railroad industry. Most of all he was a
fascinating and sought-after speaker and raconteur--a man both
newspapers and appreciative listeners to his speeches called "The
Will Rogers of Indiana" for his wit and incisive commentaries on
the passing scene. Durham left over five hundred letters which
reflect this interesting wit and commentary. "Pap's" son Frank
compiled them and they are presented here as a tribute to the
man--and an era which encouraged the writing of literate
meaningful letters.
DEDICATION
To "Munny"--Aura May Sawyer--and "Pap"--Andrew Everatt Durham--
small-time lawyer farmer Hoosier politician and father
extraordinaire of son J. Frank and daughters Mary Joanna Sarah
Jane Margaret Ann Drew and Aura May.
INTRODUCTION
The writer of these letters Andrew Everett Durham (1882-1954)
was a well-known figure in his day--an Indiana State Legislator
railroad lobbyist small town lawyer and banker part-time farmer
and livestock-raiser public orator occasional newspaper
correspondent--and prolific writer of letters.
Andrew's son J. Frank still lives in Greencastle Indiana the
place where Andrew made his mark. For years Frank had wanted to
"do something with Pap's letters" in the way of publication but
as a practicing attorney and busy man in his own right felt he
needed some help. He tried to enlist his sister Joanna once an
Associated Press feature writer New York Bureau who now resides
in Milford Pennsylvania. She was one of my columnists when I was
editor of the weekly Pike County Dispatch in Milford. However
Joanna felt she could not take time from her own obligations to
assist on Frank's project and asked me to help.
Frankly I wondered at first whether Andrew E. Durham's letters
would arouse much interest in these days of globalization the
Internet and a pop culture centered around sensational
audio/video special effects but I agreed to at least look at a
few. Soon an Express Mail packet arrived with the first of
hundreds of pages of yellowed onion-skin copies of typewritten
correspondence most of it dating from 1913 through 1954.
It wasn't long before I cracked my first smile over a clever turn
of phrase used to describe a domestic scene. The first good laugh
followed not long after that upon reading how a former governor
colluded with a livestock speculator to run up the price of
breeding bulls. An account of a disastrous summer theater
production was downright hilarious. Then I found myself nodding
soberly in agreement over witty but forceful arguments about the
need to balance the budget and restore fiscal responsibility to
government an argument that could have keen made yesterday
except that the deficits quoted were only in the millions not
the billions. Finally there was a story about an ill-fated love
affair of an old bachelor brother that produced a lump in my
throat.
I quickly discovered that Andrew Durham had a great wit an
irrepressible sense of humor and untiring interest in his
surroundings--the people the politics the commerce of everyday
life--all of it studied thoroughly and recounted energetically
with a homespun irony akin to that of other humorists of his era
such as George Ade Mark Twain and Will Rogers.
In his day Andrew was much in demand as a public speaker. A
brittle newspaper clipping included with the letters revealed
that at a reunion of his college fraternity in 1929 he shared
the podium with legendary baseball manager Branch Rickey and
prominent Chicago attorney Roy O. West.
As demonstrated by his letters Andrew was an irrepressible
storyteller who could not resist a jest even when ordering parts
for a stove. When writing in pursuit of a payment on an overdue
note at the bank he would ease the bite by asking the debtor's
"help" in paying for a daughter's wedding. Andrew wrote
incessantly. I suppose everyone wrote more back then when
telephone connections were often poor and always expensive but
stamps cost only 2 cents. Letters were also a form of
entertainment in those pre-TV days.
Much of his correspondence was business-related and Andrew was
evidently a very busy man. But he could still find time to type
out a five-page single-spaced letter of advice to the son of an
old friend who had landed in jail. He had never even met the
young miscreant. In that and other instances Andrew's prose took
on new energy stressing the therapeutic value of character and
principles as well as a good laugh.
Long before I stopped reading that first day I was hooked. This
stuff is priceless. Some of it might appear exotic or dated
particularly to nonagrarian folks who do not know what it is like
to live off the land or reside in small towns where everybody
knows everybody else--but even satisfied urbanites may be
interested in reading about a different way of life. And they
surely will see similarities to their own situations in the many
stories about eccentric relatives surly waitresses guileful
politicians child-rearing and money woes. Far from being
outdated I decided much of Andrew's material has a timeless
quality--it addresses standards and values family and community
foibles human dignity and folly--universal themes that still
exist even in our electronic age.
Editing the letters was the easy part. Frank and I never did
decide how to organize them for publication. His "Pap" had
corresponded with hundreds of people about a multitude of
personal and professional topics; several diverse activities and
interests would often be recounted in the same letter sometimes
as they occurred but often in retrospect several years later. We
finally decided to present the correspondence in chronological
order so as to best reflect the flow of Pap's life including
his memories as well as his latest observations. I found it great
reading and hope you do also.
Douglas N. Hay
Mill Rift PA
April 22 1997
SOME BACKGROUND ON 'PAP'
"Pap"--Andrew Everett Durham--was born May 3 1882 the youngest
son of James V. Durham and Sarah A. (Black) Durham of
Russellville Indiana. His paternal grandfather Jacob had
emigrated from Kentucky to become one of the early settlers of
Russell Township--a farmer store-keeper state legislator and
mover and shaker in his own right as described in one of Pap's
papers.
Pap's father was also active in local affairs and supplemented
his farm income by starting a private bank in Russellville along
with Pap's older brother Ernest. The Russellville Bank stayed in
family hands for about 70 years. Pap was fond of recounting how
as a youth he got his start in business there--as janitor for
$2 a week. He eventually worked his way up to chairman of the
board. The bank survived the Depression in fine order and
declined to join the FDIC which Pap publicly denounced as a sham
designed to subsidize poorly-run banks at the expense of well-run
ones with the public footing the bill.
While maintaining their Russellville interests Pap's parents
moved to nearby Greencastle in his youth. After graduating from
high school he was sent to Western Military Academy Alton
Illinois to "straighten out" after his strict Kentucky-bred
mother discovered that he had been hanging around the local pool
parlor. He graduated from the academy in 1899 with high honors
and continued his education graduating from Indiana University in
1903 and from Indiana School of Law in 1906.
On Thanksgiving Day 1910 he married Aura May Sawyer of
Muscatine Iowa. The wedding took place at the retirement home of
the bride's parents in Milford Pennsylvania. The union
eventually produced five daughters and one son.
Pap began his political career with election to the Indiana House
of Representatives in 1913 following in the footsteps of his
grandfather. His politics emphasized conservatism low taxes and
self-reliance. He was re-elected to the House in 1915 and then
elected to the State Senate in 1917 and 1923. It is noteworthy
that all of his victories came as a Democrat although most of
his constituents were registered Republican.
Pap was not only good at wooing Republican voters. He was also
generally effective in gaining bipartisan support for his
legislative undertakings. But he was not loath to take resolute
action if required. When it appeared that a Republican
gerrymandering bill would succeed Pap as Minority Leader had
his Democratic delegation go into "hiding" across the state line
preventing action on the reapportionment bill by removing a
quorum. It also froze all other legislative activities. The
Republicans finally agreed to withdraw the objectionable bill
and the "runaway" Democrats returned.
His growing family necessitated a larger income and after a
gubernatorial run failed to materialize Pap retired from the
Senate in 1929. He devoted more time to his law practice and
became a lobbyist for the Indiana Railroad Lobby Assn. In such
capacity he continued to monitor his former peers and had the
reputation of having attended every Legislative Session from 1913
to 1951.
Throughout his life Russellville was a continuing source of
gratification to Pap and also provided a wealth of material for
anecdotes of small-town life which were incorporated into his
public-speaking and his voluminous correspondence.
The family farm just outside the village was also a valued source
of income as well as sustenance and Pap took a personal hand in
its operation spending more and more time there as he grew
older.
Andrew E. Durham passed away at home in Greencastle July 23
1954.
GLOSSARY
Pap was an inveterate inventor of nicknames applied mostly to
his family. Some of the letters in the collection contain the
following references:
"Annabelle Lee" (Mrs. Ralph Weinrichter of Menlo Park
California) has a daughter Kathryn and a son Ralph Weinrichter
II also of Menlo Park.
Deceased daughter Sarah Jane (Mrs. Robert Anderson) had five
children: Heather (deceased) Scott Roderick Jennifer (now Mrs.
William Amon of Fairfax Virginia) and Cathy (Mrs. Richard
Sandler also of Fairfax.)
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