Not too surprising, there has been quite a bit of outrage over Fred’s firing as Director of archives and history at WV’s capitol.

In one article by Dawn Miller, Charleston Gazette’s editorial page editor, says:

He installed the ceiling in the archive reading room himself because ceiling tiles were falling on the heads of patrons, the state’s General Services division couldn’t get to the repair soon enough, and it would have cost more than $40,000 to contract it out. He painted the rooms as well.

This reminds me well of Fred back when I was a boy and he helped my father with various construction projects around our house. I don’t remember him wanting to be paid, he just seemed to love helping out and rather choose a good meal from my highly skilled cooking dad. My dad was going through a bad time, because he had just been through a suit against a contractor. The contractor saved money by hiring prisoners to build an attachment to our house. This was a disaster, the new part of the house leaked like a sieve. To solve the leaking problem on the porch that was supposed to wrap around the attachment (But the contractor had forgotten this, too, so only one side of the porch was built.), the contractor recommended that my father paint on sticky black tar like what is put on roofs, give that it was a rainy Summer, my father didn’t have much recourse. This ofcourse defeated the point of having a porch. The judge at the trial wasn’t too sympathetic which only inflamed my father more. However, I think Fred was a calming factor, we all worked on the porch and many other parts of the home attachment making it into a happier situation.

Fred even chaperoned us once when my parents were gone. He made one mean fried apple dish, I think everything he made involved apples. This was not surprising because he grew up in apple country in WV. I think people who don’t know him well may find him cold when they first meet him, but trust me, he has a warm interior. Fred showed this when he consoled the guard assigned to remove him from the workplace as mentioned by Dawn.

The article that really puts it into perspective is by staff writer Phil Kabler of the Charleston Gazette. He is the author of the breaking news article Armstrong Axed! Unlike Dawn Miller who presents a positive image about the new Cafe/Gift Shop in relation to the archives when she says:

Because it is a personnel matter, Secretary for Education and the Arts Kay Goodwin, like others in the Manchin administration, says she cannot say why Fred was treated so shabbily. I understand that Armstrong was a will-and-pleasure employee. But is this how nearly 30 years of stellar service is rewarded?

Goodwin has assured me that the collection will not be harmed, that it will not even be moved. Nor will the staff offices be moved. Researchers will enjoy service that is just as good or better, she said. Only the reading rooms will be combined. A gift shop will be restored to the Cultural Center and a café will be added, but there won’t be any cooking in the building.

I have a lot of respect for Goodwin, too. I’d like to trust her judgment.

Phil continues with his conclusion that the plans are really nefarious:

Clearly, this was a bald-faced pre-emptive strike to remove someone who might emerge as a voice of opposition as the Manchin administration moves forward with plans to convert the Cultural Center archives library into a café/catering service/mini-Tamarack gift shop.

Again, we observe Fred’s philanthropic spirit as Phil says:

In fact, the last time Armstrong was in the news was about a month ago, when he confirmed that he had found a company that has the technology to grind down and re-etch the names on the Veterans Memorial, saving the state $1 million over what it would have cost if the black granite panels had to be replaced.

Fred has been an asset to the archives, saving the State of WV millions of dollars, sometimes digging the ditches himself, so why is he a threat to the management of WV? Let’s look at his adversary according to Phil’s article:

It raises a red flag whenever I see someone with what I call a résumé-in-reverse, as Reid-Smith has — going from being an opera singer in Europe, to assistant professor of music at the University of Michigan, to being an administrative gofer for the Toledo Opera and then to Culture and History.

While Reid-Smith may exhibit an almost total lack of managerial skills, his tenure appears safe as long as he has the ear of first lady Gayle Manchin, and I understand they frequently go on shopping excursions together.

I just feel too certain why that red flag exists, it’s what some of my friends refer to as the “Good ol’ Boy” system. A system that is alive and well in WV. Not that it is unknown for people in government to hire their friends, it happens all the time, but in WV that system is heavily established on the old fashion way of doing things. It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out what that implies in WV. Unfortunately, the will to change the business as usual mentality in this State is stale and moldy, and anyone who challenges this mentality gets to experience just what Fred did. But, I’m an optimist, and I believe strongly that this State can change; it has already to some degree. Fred has proven that money can be handled wisely by passionate people, and that it’s not necessary to replace State archives with a for-profit unnecessary solution.

As Phil observes:

Back about a month ago, I wrote a little column blurb about how the architects and design consultants working on the Capitol cafeteria had done a walk-through of the archives library.

Within days, I received probably 80 e-mails from genealogists around the country voicing their strong objections to the prospect of losing the archives library — and virtually all were copies of e-mails addressed to the governor.

On Friday, an entourage from the Mining Your History Foundation, led by Virginia Gillespie, stopped by to deliver copies of about 200 pages of petitions signed by people from around the state who oppose moving the archives library.

Among the signees: U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.

The hunger for the documentation of accurate history is a strong force to be reckoned with.

But, Fred, the next time Blair Mountain Activists come to you for help and support, please don’t suck up to the Coal Industry. You have proven that the archives of WV don’t need to rely on the resources and sponsorship of the Coal Industry. You need not fear them anymore, especially the Governor and his cronies.

I originally posted this article November 04, 2007 @ 20:55 not completely sure of all the facts and adding my own kind of flair based on what I mentioned in a previous blog, but now (Tue Nov 6 23:38:32) the facts are in from Fred. He says “That his position on the proposed Blair Mountain project is erroneous and misleading, that in his role as secretary to the commission, he only took notes or minutes of the meeting.” The person at the Sierra Club meeting after reading all the commentaries that have been posted since Fred’s Axing transpired said “Apparently he was one hell of a worker. I hate to see his talent lost. Lots of people have benefited from the genealogical records. Let me know what you hear on this. I think we need to chastise the Governor for the shabby treatment of state employees.”  In fact she has told me to post a letter she is sending to the Governor on this blog, see it here. I just want to point out that while I am typing this, Fred is on a job painting, whether or not he is doing this for the love of working with his hands (I don’t have all the details), his salary as Director was mediocre.