Interview with Lawrence W. Wetherby, July 1, 1980

Interview Summary

Governor Wetherby reminisces on his days after leaving the Governor's mansion, and how his interest in state politics was still present as his ran for Kentucky State Senate in 1965 and soon afterwards became the President Pro Tem of that body. He tells the background of his election as President of the senate, and what was accomplished during that time, including the water pollution control legislation and the Kentucky Open Housing law. Wetherby elaborates on the significance of the Kentucky Open Housing Act, and the controversies surrounding that piece of legislation. He also discusses the topics of air and water pollution control, and the supplement of the federal legislation along the same terms. Wetherby speaks extensively of then-governor Ned Breathitt and his relationship with the General Assembly, and how compared it to his own relationship with the assembly when he was Governor. Governor Wetherby recalls how after his four years in the state legislature he decides to leave politics and give explanation to why, and his support of Hubert Humphrey in the 1968 presidential election. He speaks on the controversy regarding President Eisenhower, A.B. Chandler, and himself in 1954 when President Eisenhower came to Lexington, Kentucky. Wetherby voices his support of John F. Kennedy in 1960, his response when he hears of President Kennedy's assassination, and his relationship with President Lyndon B. Johnson. Wetherby discusses his level of threat he felt as a government official, and of those around him. Looking back on all of his political career, Wetherby gives what he considers to be the greatest assets and liability to being a major political figure. Governor Wetherby recalls his impressions and interactions with individuals in he came in contact with, including: Franklin Roosevelt, Fred Vinson, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, and Gerald Ford; and friends of his: Addie Dean Stokely, Rosalind Neimeyer, and Cattie Lou Miller Ludwina Thompson, George Kerler, Mac Sisk, and Felix Joyner. He speaks of those who were and were not loyal to him during his tenure, and how me managed both of those types of relationships.

Interview LC Subject

Jefferson County (Ky.) Wetherby, Lawrence W. (Lawrence Winchester), 1908-1994 Wetherby, Lawrence W. (Lawrence Winchester), 1908-1994--Interviews

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