Legislative legacies: Part 1
By Daniel J. Fitzgibbons
As might be expected at a state university, legislators have long played a role in the shaping of the Amherst campus as an institution of higher learning. The contributions of a number of those lawmakers have been recognized over the years by having buildings named after them.
But the names on the buildings and the plaques in the lobbies don’t tell the whole story of these political movers and shakers and their legislative legacies. Like Bay State politics, there’s always more beneath the surface:
Perhaps the best known legislative namesake is the Mullins Center, dedicated in memory of the late state Rep. William D. Mullins, Democrat of Ludlow.
A Worcester native, Mullins was a talented athlete who pitched for two years in the Washington Senators’ farm system after graduating from Providence College. His pro dreams ended when he was drafted into the Army. After returning to civilian life in 1956, Mullins began a 20-year career as a history and government teacher at Ludlow High School. Mullins was a selectman in Ludlow for eight years before being elected to the House in 1976.
As vice chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Mullins led the effort to build a multi-purpose sports and convocation center on the UMass Amherst campus. Although Mullins died in 1986 at age 54, House Speaker George Keverian continued his friend’s campaign, eventually winning the backing of the Senate leadership for funding construction of the arena in 1988. The Mullins Center was opened in 1993.
Not far to the east of the Mullins Center is Thompson Hall, named for John F. Thompson, another Democrat from Ludlow, who served in the House from 1948 to 1964.
Elected as a representative at the age of 28, Thompson became majority leader in 1955 and speaker two years later. Thompson’s leadership style was reflected in his nickname: The Iron Duke.
Thompson’s tenure was speaker was undone, however, when he was indicted in 1964 on 58 counts of requesting and accepting bribes. Although he was re-elected to the House, he resigned as speaker and assumed the vice chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee.
Thompson, who severely wounded in the legs during the Normandy invasion, died of acute alcoholism on Aug. 12, 1965 at the age of 45.
President John Lederle, who credited Thompson with helping pass key legislation on faculty salaries, fiscal autonomy and the establishment of the Boston campus and the Medical School, said, “Massachusetts education has lost a powerful voice with the passing of John Thompson. His strength and dedication will be sorely missed in the building of public higher education in this Commonwealth.”
Former Gov. Endicott Peabody paid tribute more succinctly, calling Thompson a “legislative genius.”
Just down the way, Herter Hall stands as a memorial to another past House speaker, Christian A. Herter, Republican of Millis.
Herter was a quintessential Yankee patrician who devoted much of his life to public service. Born in France of American parents, Herter was educated in Paris and New York before attending Harvard. After graduating in 1915, he joined the Foreign Service and was assigned to the American embassy in Berlin. In 1918-19, Herter was secretary of the American Peace Commission at the Versailles peace conference. He also held posts in Brussels and at the State Department prior to becoming executive secretary of the European Relief Council in 1920. After a three-year stint as personal assistant to Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover, Herter returned to Boston to publish and edit a newspaper, The Independent. In addition, he was a visiting lecturer on government at Harvard.
Herter’s entry into politics came in 1930, when he was elected to the state House of Representatives at the age of 35. In 1939, he was elected speaker, a post he held until 1943, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. After a decade in Congress, he gave up his seat and ran for governor, defeating Democratic incumbent Paul A. Dever by just 14,500 votes. Herter’s campaign focused on Dever’s outgoing public works commissioner, William Callahan, whose highway building program was attacked by the GOP as the costliest in the nation.
Within a year of taking office, Herter was able to push through his legislative program and a tax cut, landing him on the cover of Time magazine. While governor, Herter also signed the "Freedom Bill," the legislation that gave the University complete authority over appointments to the faculty and professional staff.
Herter chose not to seek reelection in 1956 and not long after leaving office, President Eisenhower appointed him to be under secretary of state. In 1959, he was named secretary of state and was again featured on the cover of Time. Herter later served as a trade negotiator during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, post he still held when he died in 1966.
Herter Hall was completed in 1969.
Just next to Herter Hall is the Whitmore Administration Building, named for Philip F. Whitmore, of Sunderland, a member of Massachusetts Agricultural College’s Class of 1915 who served in the House, representing the 1st Franklin District.
Whitmore, who operated a market gardening company and a lumber business, was long involved in Sunderland town government. He served as town moderator for 38 years and as a selectman for 15 years.
A proud MAC graduate, Whitmore was president of the Associate Alumni from 1927-29.
He was appointed to the MAC Board of Trustees in 1929 and served on the board for 33 years. A key player in the school’s expansion, Whitmore saw Mass. Aggie transformed into Massachusetts State College and its successor, the modern University of Massachusetts.
Whitmore’s role on the board was unique as he was also a sitting legislator for many years. A Republican, he was elected to the House in 1950, where he served until 1969, when he was killed crossing the Turnpike in Framingham after his car was disabled.
“His passing is a tremendous loss to the state and the university,” said Frank L. Boyden, chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Mahar Auditorium is named for state Senator Ralph C. Mahar of Orange, sometimes called the “father of regional schools” for his work to aid education statewide.
After graduating from Orange High School, he went on to earn a B.S. from Tufts College and a law degree from Northeastern.
A Republican, Mahar was elected to the House in 1937 at the age of 25. In 1944, he won a seat in the state Senate. Under Governor Herter, Mahar chaired the Senate Ways and Means Committee and also served on the State Taxation Commission.
In 1947, Mahar introduced the legislation to change the name of Massachusetts State College to the University of Massachusetts. It is said that he often considered the University to be a “pet project.”
In 1955, the Erving-Orange Regional School Committee voted to name the towns’ new regional school for Mahar. Today, the school serves the towns of Orange, New Salem, Petersham and Wendell. The sports teams are known as the Senators.
Sen. Mahar died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1962. He was 50.
The plaque in the lobby of Mahar Auditorium remembers the senator as a “friend of education.”
End of Part 1
More Information
Sen. Ralph Mahar (l) and Massachusetts State College President Hugh P. Baker watch as Gov. Robert Bradford signs the bill creating the University of Massachusetts in 1947
March 17, 2005.
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