Editor’s Note: For now over 75 years, The Baylor Line has been publishing vivid storytelling from across the Baylor Family. I don’t think our archives full of deep, inspirational features should live solely on shelves, so we are bringing them back to life in BL Classics. This November 1976 article takes a look at various alumni working on Capitol Hill.
Over 15,000 people, most of whom are college graduates and many who have advanced degrees, have come from all parts of the United States to work for members of Congress or Congressional committees in the nation’s capital.
Generally speaking, the work is hard, hours are long and staffers rarely receive personal recognition for the result of their work.
So why are we here?
One congressman said, “I look for staff who are highly motivated, with a desire to serve. Flexible people. A deep sense of idealistic responsibility.”
From talking to some of the Baylor people who are working on Capitol Hill, I think they fit that congressman’s description, and then some. In most cases, those interviewed talked, through somewhat shyly, about their commitments to public service and how they felt Baylor had instilled, or reinforced, in them important values which have greatly affected their approach to life and politics.
Who says politics and religion don’t mix?
Ruth Lair, BBA ‘49
Ruth Lair’s ties to Baylor were formed in childhood. She was ten years old when both of her parents graduated from Baylor.
“I’ll never forget sitting in Waco Hall proudly watching Mother and Daddy walk up and accept their diplomas.”
It was shortly thereafter that Ruth’s interest in politics was awakened. She was greatly influenced by Gov. Price Daniel, Jr., and his father, Price Daniel, who went out of his way to help her father and other young men aspiring to be ministers.
Ruth, who has lived in several places in and around Waco, received her BBA in 1949 and began graduate work in the business school while teaching some undergraduate courses. Thanks to some of her students or professors (to this day she’s not sure whom), she was highly recommended to Waco’s congressman, Rep. W.R. “Bob” Page—a distinguished Baylor alumnus who has his BA, LLB, and an honorary LLD—who was serving his seventh term in Congress.
“I had an interview with Congressman Poage at five o’clock one afternoon and left the very next day at noon for Washington,” Ruth recalls.
She left for Washington with plans to stay only “two years—four at the most.” But the years have passed quickly, and Ruth is proud to say that this January “will mark twenty-seven years of service.”
In the early 1950s, Congressional staffs bore little resemblance to the large, fairly specialized staffs of the 1970s: only three or four “clerks” worked in each office, and each staff member had to be able to perform any and all office duties. Ruth’s experience was no exception.
Now, as Congressman Poage’s valued executive assistant, Ruth utilizes her business administration training and familiarity with the district to render advice and manage the office. She is also organizer and custodian of papers and records being preserved for the planned Poage Library at Baylor.
The staff looks forward especially to Friday mornings while Congress is in session. Congressman Poage, who still writes his own newsletters for his constituents, calls in the staff to criticize and comment on each article as he reads it aloud. Ruth believes this is an invaluable practice and feels she is “privileged to work in such an environment.”
Ruth wasted no time in making Washington her “home away from Texas” and quickly became involved in volunteer work for various charitable organizations. Active in the Texas State Society, she has twice served on the board of directors and for ten years was secretary-general of the National Conference of State Societies, which sponsors the annual Cherry Blossom Festival.
To relax, Ruth especially enjoys reading, for which “there is never enough time,” and working with her hands. In addition to cooking and sewing, she has recently taken up gardening at her cooperative apartment in southwest Washington. Travel is another special interest in which Ruth hopes to indulge more frequently next year, if her office responsibilities permit.
Win Skiles, BA ‘63
Win Skiles, whose parents, sister, grandparents and even some aunts and uncles all graduated from Baylor, came to Capitol Hill intending to stay one year and has stayed six.
As administrative assistant (A.A.) to Senator John Tower (R-Tex.), Win is chief of staff for over fifty employees on the senator’s personal staff and coordinates activities with the staff directors of Senator Tower’s numerous committees and sub-committees.
“Ninety percent of my time is spent on the phone,” explains Win, as he answers a buzz on the intercom from his assistant.
When asked to describe a typical day, Win replies that he has no formal schedule because “each day is a new day with its own problems.” The only set patterns are the Monday morning meetings for senior staff and bi weekly general staff meetings.
The 1963 Baylor graduate, who also has an MA in international affairs from George Washington University and a JD from the University of Texas, has to stay in constant touch with Senator Tower’s regional offices in Austin, Dallas and Houston to coordinate their activities with those of the Washington office. Because a senator is often required to be in several places at once, it falls to his A.A. to organize his schedule according to priorities. He must also make decisions and appear at functions on the senator’s behalf.
Thus, much of Win’s social life is necessarily job-related: at night he often dines with constituents or represents the senator at various meetings and receptions. Since he has so little free time, Win, who lives just a few blocks from the Capitol, finds weekends must often be spent doing ordinary chores like housecleaning and grocery shopping. During summers, however, Win often escapes to a rented beach house; in the fall, he likes to drive to the nearby Shenandoah Mountains.
Win Skiles feels his experience on Capitol Hill has been worthwhile. But now he is ready to go home. “I think it’s important to leave the Hill before you ‘burn out’ or become hardened,” says Win, referring to a not infrequent side effect which comes from devoting all of one’s waking hours to a demanding job requiring “all your time and energy.”
After the November elections. Win leaves for Dallas to take a position in the corporate legal division of Texas Instruments. He amidst he will probably miss Washington—especially at first, but he is looking forward to beginning his new job and settling down in Texas again.
“At least,” he says, smiling, “it will be a lot easier to get down to Baylor’s Homecoming then.”
Cynthia Watkins, BA ‘64
All through her years at Baylor, Cyntia Watkins had intended to go to seminary after graduation. But in the spring of 1964, the idea of getting a job sounded like a welcome respite from studying.
Two weeks before graduation—with encouragement from a Baylor professor, Dr. Chloe Armstrong—Cyntia sent off her resume to then Senator Ralph Yarborough (D-Tex.)/ Much to her surprise and delight, two days after graduation she received a call from the senator’s office, asking how soon she could be in Washington to begin work. “I wasn’t politically motivated,” Cynthia recalls. “I just wanted a job.”
Joining five other Baylor women on the staff, Cythina spent her first four years doing casework, handling constituents’ personal problems requiring contact with government agencies. From 1967-70, she served as Senator Yarborough’s personal appointments secretary, a position which allowed her to develop useful administrative and organizational skills. She thoroughly enjoyed what she was doing and found it was “just not like working a regular nine-to-five job.”
By the time Senator Yarborough was defeated for re-election in 1970, Cynthis knew that “working on the Hill was in my blood.” So she was elated when Congressman Jack Brooks (D-Tex.) offered her a job on the newly-created Joint Committee on Congressional Operations. `The new committee was begun in March, 1971, with Cynthia doing all the secretarial work.
As the size and amount of work of the Joint Committee increased, so did Cynthia’s responsibilities. Today she is staff administrator, in charge of all staff support, a trouble-shooting job which keeps Cynthia constantly on her toes.
The enjoyment she has in her job is easily seen as she enthusiastically describes how the committee functions and her part in keeping it running smoothly.
“There’s a lot of satisfaction in this work for the staff. It’s an exhilarating atmosphere and we feel like we’re working on something with lasting value.”
After putting in a nine-hour day on Capitol Hill, Cythina attends law school four nights a week at the Catholic University Law School. Now in her third year of the four-year program, Cythnia tries to spend an hour each night reading cases and studies most weekends.
Her busy schedule gives Cynthia very little time to pursue special interests and hobbies or to participate in many social activities. On Sundays, however, she interprets for the deaf during church services at First Baptist Church in Alexandria (whose pastor is Vernon Davis, also a Baylor alumnus). Whenever possible, she also loves to go sailing on Chesapeake Bay.
“Some of my friends think I’m crazy,” says Cynthia with a smile. “But I know this hectic pace is only temporary and hopefully it will be worth it in the long run.”
Lou Philpot, BA ‘68; Delphine Nemmers, BA ‘68; Sandra Moody, BA ‘68
It has been eight years since Lou Philpot, Delphine Cannon Nemmers and Sandra Farmer Moody graduated from Baylor with degrees in political science and History. Though each traveled her own road after graduation in 1968, a strong interest in the political and legislative process has led them to Washington, and to Capitol Hill.
Since January, 1973, Lou has been a press secretary for Senator John Tower (R-Tex.). Long active in Texas Republican politics, Lou first decided she would like to do press work for the senator when she went to Austin in 1972 to join his re-election campaign.
As Lou notes, a press secretary is ‘really in the very center of what’s happening.” Her point is proven as she takes a phone call to explain the senator’s position on the Arab boycott. A few minutes later, she is on the phone again , this time to answer questions about the complex new tax bill just passed by Congress.
The Waco native, whose parents and brothers are also Baylor alumni, spends much of her spare time singing in the choir and doing public relations work for the Capitol Hill Metropolitan Baptist Church. A sailing enthusiast, Lou also likes to spend warm weather weekends on nearby Chesapeake Bay.
After graduation, Delphine joined the Peace Corps, which took her to Kenya. Returning to the United States, she worked several years as office manager for a D.C. law firm before coming to Capitol Hill. Although she was not particularly interested in politics, Delphine was intrigued with the prospect of gaining expertise in specific legislative issues.
Since last January, the San Francisco native has been working for a freshman congressman, Rep. Mike Blouin (D-Iowa.) She is now doing casework and handling legislative issues involving business, taxes and the economy, all of which she finds “extremely challenging.”
When not at the office working at home on a research project for the congressman, Delphine spends much of her time taking care of four dogs “who demand a lot of my time” and restoring a 1920s townhouse she and her husband recently bought in Washington.
Except for seven months spent in Korea, Sandra, who hails from Missouri, has been working for Senator Stuart Symington (D-MO.) since graduation. Beginning as a volunteer while working on her MA in political science at George Washington University, Sandra moved from front office receptionist to casework and then to legislative work.
Since the beginning of the NinetyFourth Congress, Sandra has been a legislative assistant in charge of health, social security, education, labor, veterans affairs, civil service, and tax legislation. She has full responsibility for following bills in her area from the time they are introduced through their consideration on the Senate floor, and she briefs the senator on the effects those proposals could have on his Missouri constituents.
Noting that she has learned more about the legislative process “than my political science courses could have taught me, “Sandra says she has “enjoyed immensely” her work for Senator Symington, who is retiring this year.
“I’ve also learned more here in five years about Missouri than I did in eighteen years of growing up in my home state,” says Sandra, who is looking forward to spending more time with her new son and enjoying the Capitol Hill townhouse she and her husband have just remodeled
Wilson Abney BA ‘69; JD ‘72
Wilson Abney was bitten by the political bug at Baylor and has been infected with a desire to be involved in politics ever since. He entered Baylor in 1965 as a religion major and credits his alma mater with helping him develop the concept of Christian humanism which is central to his political philosophy and which pushed him into politics.
“I see politics—the way people determine how to govern themselves and thus, how they will relate to each other—as an extension of my religion.”
Wilson first came to Capitol Hill in 1968 as a summer intern for his congressman, Rep. Jack B. Brooks (D-Tex). A year later, he returned to Washington and worked twenty to twenty-five hours a week for Congressman Brooks while a freshman law student at George Washington University.
For the next three years, during which time he received his JD from Baylor Law School and passed the Texas State Bar, the Beaumont native worked in several political campaigns, from state legislature and gubernatorial races to a presidential campaign.
“Campaign work is exciting. It really gets the adrenaline flowing.
“But more importantly,” Wilson declares, “I feel strongly about the values and ideals on which I believe this country was founded. That’s why I have worked to put in public office people who share those values, and that’s especially why I have enjoyed working for Congressman Brooks.”
Just as Wilson was finishing campaign work during the 1972 presidential campaign and trying to decide whether or not he would practice law, he got an unexpected call from Congressman Brooks. Would he be interested in a fulltime job as a legislative assistant? The answer was an immediate yes.
The next two years were exciting times to be in Washington—-especially during the impeachment proceedings, especially when your boss is a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, which conducted the impeachment inquiry.
In 1975, at the beginning of the Ninety-Fourth Congress, Congressman Brooks became chairman of the Joint Committee on Congressional Operations and appointed Wilson to the committee as staff counsel.
Combining his legal training with his interest in “seeing that Congress maintains itself as a strong, viable branch of government, “ Wilson helps research and write the committee’s quarterly reports of court decisions of special interest to Congress. This year he had a major role in writing a document published by the committee entitled Leading Cases on Congressional Investigatory Power.
In view of his love of politics and government, Washington is the place for Wilson to be. But he confesses he would be even happier if “they would just move the Capitol to Colorado!” Seeing that as an unlikely possibility, however, Wilson amidst the mountains will have to wait for him for a while. As long as he feels he’s making a contribution to the government and the people it serves, he’ll be here.
Mary Wheat, BA ‘74
When Mary Wheat landed a job with the junior senator from her home state of Kansas last January, she never dreamed she would be working for the Republican vice presidential candidate. As a member of Dole’s legislative staff, Mary concentrates on projects and issues related to nutrition and aid to the handicapped.
The staff of Senator Robert Dole was “surprised, but not shocked” when their boss was chosen as President Ford’s running mate.
“Two weeks before the convention,” explains Mary, “we knew he was one of the dozen or so people asked by the White House to furnish a complete history.”
Jokingly, Senator Dole had told his staff the Postal Service had probably delivered the letter to him by mistake.
Attending the Republican National Convention in Kansas City last August was an exciting experience for Mary Wheat, whose interest in politics goes back to junior high days.
“It was an uncanny feeling,” says Mary, “to walk into the crowded hotel lobby, see hundreds of people waiting for someone to appear, and find out it’s your boss they’re waiting to see.”
At the convention, the third generation Baylor graduate worked closely with an interpreter for the deaf, an extension of her growing concern for the special problems of the handicapped. In addition to working forty-five to fifty-five hours a week, Mary manages to take sign language classes during her lunch hour every Friday.
On a typical day which begins around 8:30 a.m. ends well after 6 p.m., attends a Senate hearing on nutrition, prepares a briefing memo for the senator, meets with a delegation of handicapped veterans from Kansas eats a quick lunch (cottage cheese and apple) at her desk, answers several letters from constituents, and finishes the day by working on a statement for Dole to be delivered in the Senate.
Mary was recently involved in a particularly interesting project: working with state officials to arrange special schooling in Colorado for deaf and blind students who have no school to attend in Kansas.
Although Mary’s job demands on her time are heavy, she still tries to find time to jog or walk the mile and a half to work in the mornings and to meet often for lunch with other recent Baylor grads. When weekends are free, she likes to take short-day-trips to interesting spots such as the Pennsylvania Dutch country and Williamsburg. In-town interests include taking in plays and concerts at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and attending Sunday services, conducted in French, at St. John’s Church, across from the White House.
A year ago, Mary wanted to be a governess for a family in Europe. Is the history and French major glad she saved her money, packed her bags and came to Washington in hopes of finding a job on Capitol Hill?
“I sure am!” she responds enthusiastically.
“I love every minute of it and it means a lot to me to feel like I’m helping people who need help.”
