Leland J. Kennedy Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield

play cards or just talk. Women like to go and meet you know like that. And as a rule
as many Democratic county office holders that can attend, attend. And some of the
Democrats around the town that are in, they always go and have dinner with them. They
don't stay. They just have dinner with them and they have the little kitty they put in to,
you know, to help defray - the men don't bring any potluck or any dish or anything like
that. They'd always put a - I guess a five dollar bill, most everybody did - in the
kitty. Maybe they're putting a ten in now, I don't know.
And you went around and met the women, and they like to be recognized you know. It's
just a part of - my part as far as I'm concerned - of keeping your fences mended I guess,
and making yourself visible.
Q: Did you do that during your first campaign?
A: Oh I'd done that - Mr. Waggoner, I done it all my life I guess. There wasn't a day,
except maybe on Sundays, when I sat in the General Assembly, unless I was - I was out
at Shell for a number of years - that I didn't go out in my district, I just done that, that's
all. I just enjoyed it and it was something to do. I didn't fish, I didn't play golf.
Now like on the graveyard shift, I didn't go out in the daytime and I didn't go out much
at night. I went out though but when I was on the change there, on the four to twelve,
I always went out in my district. Of course I left Shell - oh hell, I've been gone from
Shell for over fifteen years I guess, and I left - I've only been out of the assembly eight,
so I done that a lot of times as part of the routine and it was good to do.
I always visited professional people too. I guess the more mature you become as a member
of the General Assembly, or as I became, the more mature T became, why, I'd visit different
people. I'd drop in, oh, at savings and loan offices and banks. I'd go in city halls during
the daytime and I'd go in different retail establishments and in churches' officcs. I got to
know people that way.
Oh, I met a fellow that - I can't think of his name because I haven't laid eyes on him
for years - at the Illinois Power and Light down at Granite City. And his first name was
Carl but I can't think of his last name, but I'll think of it sometime and get it to you. But
I'd always stop in and see him. He was a very cordial man. It seemed like he liked me
to come in. He was an executive with the Power and Light and his receptionist, or his secretary,
they were always very cordial. And I'd go in different chamber of commerce offices
and they were always glad to see you you know. And no complaints, they just were glad
you dropped in, that's all. Just drop in and say hi and . . .
SESSION 3, TAPE 5, SIDE 1 (EXTRACT)
With reference to Shell and the labor organizations, I always used my affiliation with the
union. And I said I belonged to the Knights of Columbus and the Elks and the VFW [Veterans
of Foreign Wars], and the International Union of Operating Engineers, and I watched
my labor vote.
This deals with Shell too. There was a management man by the name of Ford, he had worked
in the laboratory with me but he had followed his education, he was a pretty bright man,
and I think he's still alive out west. He later went west with the company. But he was
an alderman like I was. He was a Republican, a Republican precinct committeeman, and
an alderman, nonpartisan, out of Wood River and a good speaker and a bright man. And
he had filed for the General Assembly on the Republican ticket, I believe the primary before
I filed. And he filed again in 1946 in the Republican party, and I'm sure that's correct. And