By Myrna Sloam
(Original publication: Nov/Dec 2001 Bryant Library Newsletter)
Few of Roslyn’s native sons have had the opportunities to actively participate in 20th century politics, as did Ken Hechler. Born in 1914, the third son of Charles and Catherine Hechler, Ken grew up in an old colonial farmhouse on the Clarence Mackay estate, where his father was Estate Superintendent. He attended the Roslyn schools and graduated from Roslyn High School in 1931, the same year in which the eastern section of the Roslyn area, including the Mackay estate, became the Incorporated Village of East Hills. His father, Charles, became an East Hills Trustee and his mother, Catherine, served as Village Historian.
After graduation Ken attended Swarthmore College and then pursued a PhD at Columbia University, studying under, and getting to know, some of the great scholars of the time. After briefly teaching at Barnard, Ken became one of the two editors of the published speeches of President Franklin Roosevelt. Skilled in doing oral interviews, he was assigned during WWII to the Combat Historians Corp and conducted personal interviews with accused Nazi war criminals before they were brought to trial. When Harry Truman assumed the presidency, Ken worked on his staff from 1949-1953 as Director of Research. He held the same position for the 1956 presidential campaign of Adlai Stevenson. His 1957 best selling book, The Bridge at Remagen, based on actual WWII events, was later made into a popular motion picture.
Ken Hechler joined the faculty of Marshall College in Huntington West Virginia in 1957. After just one year in residence, he decided to run for office and was elected to Congress. He went on to serve 22 years in the West Virginia House of Representatives. As a public servant devoted to improving the lives of his constituents and in protecting the environment, his most noted pieces of legislation were the saving of the New River and the hard fought for 1969 Coal Mine & Safety Act.
After losing an election bid for governor in 1976, Ken returned to teaching. But in 1985 he ran for office again and was elected to serve as Secretary of State of West Virginia, a post he retired from in 2000. Not yet content to sit back, he then ran and lost a 2001 primary bid for Congress. A strong advocate for the need for campaign finance reform, Ken supported and joined in the efforts of Doris Haddock (GrannyD) who was walking 3,000 miles across America to call attention to this vital issue.
On September 8, 2001, I was invited to represent the Bryant Library and the Roslyn community at a gathering in West Virginia to celebrate Ken Hechler’s career and his achievements. Ken’s lifelong dedication to aid those in need and his relentless struggle to keep government accountable to the people, should serve as an example for all concerned citizens and especially for all those seeking to hold public office.
Note: In keeping with his respect for history, in 1995 Ken Hechler donated his family papers to the Bryant Library Local History Collection. His professional papers are housed at Marshall University Library, Huntington West Virginia, with additional materials held by the Adlai Stevenson Collection at Princeton and the Truman Library in Missouri.
