Stanley K. Hathaway
Encyclopedia
Stanley Knapp Hathaway served as 27th Governor of Wyoming from 1967–1975, and as United States Secretary of the Interior
under President Gerald R. Ford
.
. Young Hathaway received his early education near there in one-room country schools at Table Mountain and at New Fairview, and then attended Huntley High School, where he graduated as class valedictorian in 1941.
After enrolling briefly at the University of Wyoming
, Hathaway left school in early 1942 to enlist in the Army Air Corps
following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941, and was trained as a radio operator and gunner. He was assigned to the Eighth Air Force’s 401st Bomb Group, flying B-17 Bombers from England, and took part in 35 combat missions over France and Germany, with his unit often suffering heavy casualties.
On one mission under General Jimmy Doolittle
over Leipzig, Hathaway's plane and crew took heavy enemy fire while making a series of three runs at their target, an oil refinery. After managing to return to base, the crew counted 115 holes in their B-17 from Nazi fighter-plane rounds and anti-aircraft flak. During their entire Leipzig mission under Gen. Doolittle, a total of 56 American planes and more than 500 American troops were lost, and, overall, Hathaway's unit suffered a 50% casualty rate during World War II
.
In the fall of 1944, his crew was on a mission to Frankfurt, Germany, when their plane was shot down by anti-aircraft fire. They lost three engines before crash-landing in a field in France, where they were eventually rescued by the French Resistance.
For his service during the War, Hathaway was the recipient of the French Croix de Guerre, U.S. Presidential Unit Citations, and five Air Medals.
After his discharge from the Air Corps, Hathaway enrolled at the University of Nebraska
, where he earned a bachelors degree and graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Law in 1950. While there, he met Roberta “Bobby” Harley, and they were married on November 25, 1948.
Following graduation from law school, the Hathaways moved to Torrington
, Wyoming, where Mrs. Hathaway taught mainly English at Torrington Junior High School while Hathaway established a law practice. They had two daughters, Susan and Sandra.
In 1954, Hathaway was elected Goshen County Attorney.
as prosecuting attorney for Goshen County in southeastern Wyoming. In 1962, he was elected Chairman of the Goshen County Republican Party and Secretary of the Republican State Central Committee. In 1963, he was elected Chairman of the Republican State Central Committee and served for two years on the Republican National Committee.
In 1966 Hathaway was elected Governor of Wyoming, and was re-elected to a second term by a large margin in 1970. He declined to run for a third term. Hathaway always described himself as a “citizen politician”, likening himself to those who respond to a call to public service and then return to private life.
His tenure as Governor was marked by many accomplishments, including significant reorganization of State government and the passage of forward-looking new environmental laws – the enactment of air and water quality standards, surface mining regulations, and the creation of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. Other new departments created during the Hathaway administration included a Department of Recreation to oversee and improve care of state parks and to provide support for Wyoming's growing tourism industry, and a Department of Economic Planning and Development to promote economic growth in the state. Wyoming’s economy had been in the doldrums when Hathaway was elected Governor, but he set in motion a number of initiatives which turned the economy around and saw it booming by the time he left office.
Another major accomplishment during his administration was the enactment of Wyoming's first mineral severance tax
in 1969, and of an amendment to the Wyoming State Constitution in 1974 creating a Permanent Mineral Trust Fund, that imposes a 1½% tax on the extraction of minerals in the State, the proceeds of which are deposited in the Trust Fund. The principal of the Trust Fund (more than $2.25 billion by 2005) can never be spent, but the income from it goes into the State’s general fund.
Mrs. Hathaway was also very active during her tenure as Wyoming's First Lady in the promotion of many new initiatives. These included the creation of an Arts Council supported entirely by donated funds to promote arts in the state; the establishment of an Indian Council to improve the welfare of Native Americans living on reservations in the State and to build markets for Native American crafts and other products, such as woven rugs and jewelry; and the extensive updating and expansion of government mental health programs and facilities statewide.
During his tenure as Governor, Hathaway also served as Chairman of the Western Governor’s Conference (whose membership at the time included California Governor and future President Ronald Reagan
) and as Chairman of the Interstate Oil Compact Commission, the National Governor’s Conference Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Management, and the Federation of Rocky Mountain States.
Among Hathaway's last appointments in office was that of Richard V. Thomas
to the Wyoming Supreme Court
, a position that Thomas held from December 1974 until February 2001.
After retiring from the Governor’s office in 1975, Hathaway was nominated by and, following lengthy and at times very contentious confirmation hearings, served under President Gerald Ford
as Secretary of the Interior. During his brief tenure at the Interior Department he was responsible for moving the federal coal leasing program forward. Health issues, however, resulted in his resignation as Interior Secretary later that year, and he and Mrs. Hathaway returned to Wyoming.
In 2003, Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal awarded the "Governor's Art Award for Excellence in the Arts" to Stan and Bobby Hathaway.
As a further tribute to Governor Hathaway and in recognition of his significant contributions to higher education in the state, the Wyoming Legislature in 2005 authorized $400 million for a "Hathaway Student Scholarship Endowment Account". Under this program, Wyoming high school graduates who qualify can receive a Hathaway Scholarship for the full cost of tuition and fees at the University of Wyoming
, or for attendance at any community college in Wyoming.
In late 2004 Stan became Roman Catholic through the efforts of Father Carl Beavers. Hathaway died on October 4, 2005, in Cheyenne following a lengthy illness at age 81. He was preceded in death by his wife, Bobby, on April 5, 2004. They are interred at the Valley View Cemetery in Torrington, Wyoming.
At the University of Wyoming's annual Political Science Seminar in 2002, the guest speaker had cited Hathaway as "the most popular political figure in Wyoming's history," which he attributed in part to Hathaway's "rumpled, folksy, plain spoken, down to earth accessibility." A writer commenting on Hathaway's career of public service in the Washington Post said, "The Governor's integrity, honesty and forthrightness remain beyond challenge."
Following his death, both houses the Wyoming State Legislature in 2006 unanimously passed a Joint Resolution memorializing Governor Hathaway as "one of Wyoming's greatest natural resources".
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
under President Gerald R. Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
.
Early life and military service
Stanley K. Hathaway, or "Stan" as he was known to most of his friends and associates, was born on July 19, 1924, in Osceola, Nebraska, the fifth of six children born to Robert and Lily Knapp. Following his mother's death when he was two years old, he was adopted by a cousin, Velma Hathaway, and her husband Earl, who homesteaded and farmed near Huntley, WyomingHuntley, Wyoming
Huntley is a census-designated place in Goshen County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 21 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Huntley is located at ....
. Young Hathaway received his early education near there in one-room country schools at Table Mountain and at New Fairview, and then attended Huntley High School, where he graduated as class valedictorian in 1941.
After enrolling briefly at the University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
, Hathaway left school in early 1942 to enlist in the Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941, and was trained as a radio operator and gunner. He was assigned to the Eighth Air Force’s 401st Bomb Group, flying B-17 Bombers from England, and took part in 35 combat missions over France and Germany, with his unit often suffering heavy casualties.
On one mission under General Jimmy Doolittle
Jimmy Doolittle
General James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle, USAF was an American aviation pioneer. Doolittle served as a brigadier general, major general and lieutenant general in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War...
over Leipzig, Hathaway's plane and crew took heavy enemy fire while making a series of three runs at their target, an oil refinery. After managing to return to base, the crew counted 115 holes in their B-17 from Nazi fighter-plane rounds and anti-aircraft flak. During their entire Leipzig mission under Gen. Doolittle, a total of 56 American planes and more than 500 American troops were lost, and, overall, Hathaway's unit suffered a 50% casualty rate during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
In the fall of 1944, his crew was on a mission to Frankfurt, Germany, when their plane was shot down by anti-aircraft fire. They lost three engines before crash-landing in a field in France, where they were eventually rescued by the French Resistance.
For his service during the War, Hathaway was the recipient of the French Croix de Guerre, U.S. Presidential Unit Citations, and five Air Medals.
After his discharge from the Air Corps, Hathaway enrolled at the University of Nebraska
University of Nebraska system
The University of Nebraska system is the public university system in the state of Nebraska, USA. Founded in 1869 with one campus in Lincoln, the system now has four universities and an agricultural college....
, where he earned a bachelors degree and graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Law in 1950. While there, he met Roberta “Bobby” Harley, and they were married on November 25, 1948.
Following graduation from law school, the Hathaways moved to Torrington
Torrington, Wyoming
Torrington is a city in and the county seat of Goshen County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 5,776 at the 2000 census. Torrington is the home of Eastern Wyoming College....
, Wyoming, where Mrs. Hathaway taught mainly English at Torrington Junior High School while Hathaway established a law practice. They had two daughters, Susan and Sandra.
In 1954, Hathaway was elected Goshen County Attorney.
Political career
From 1954 until 1962, he served in TorringtonTorrington, Wyoming
Torrington is a city in and the county seat of Goshen County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 5,776 at the 2000 census. Torrington is the home of Eastern Wyoming College....
as prosecuting attorney for Goshen County in southeastern Wyoming. In 1962, he was elected Chairman of the Goshen County Republican Party and Secretary of the Republican State Central Committee. In 1963, he was elected Chairman of the Republican State Central Committee and served for two years on the Republican National Committee.
In 1966 Hathaway was elected Governor of Wyoming, and was re-elected to a second term by a large margin in 1970. He declined to run for a third term. Hathaway always described himself as a “citizen politician”, likening himself to those who respond to a call to public service and then return to private life.
His tenure as Governor was marked by many accomplishments, including significant reorganization of State government and the passage of forward-looking new environmental laws – the enactment of air and water quality standards, surface mining regulations, and the creation of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. Other new departments created during the Hathaway administration included a Department of Recreation to oversee and improve care of state parks and to provide support for Wyoming's growing tourism industry, and a Department of Economic Planning and Development to promote economic growth in the state. Wyoming’s economy had been in the doldrums when Hathaway was elected Governor, but he set in motion a number of initiatives which turned the economy around and saw it booming by the time he left office.
Another major accomplishment during his administration was the enactment of Wyoming's first mineral severance tax
Severance tax
Severance taxes are incurred when non-renewable natural resources are separated from a taxing jurisdiction. Industries that typically incur such taxes are oil and gas, coal, mining, and timber industries....
in 1969, and of an amendment to the Wyoming State Constitution in 1974 creating a Permanent Mineral Trust Fund, that imposes a 1½% tax on the extraction of minerals in the State, the proceeds of which are deposited in the Trust Fund. The principal of the Trust Fund (more than $2.25 billion by 2005) can never be spent, but the income from it goes into the State’s general fund.
Mrs. Hathaway was also very active during her tenure as Wyoming's First Lady in the promotion of many new initiatives. These included the creation of an Arts Council supported entirely by donated funds to promote arts in the state; the establishment of an Indian Council to improve the welfare of Native Americans living on reservations in the State and to build markets for Native American crafts and other products, such as woven rugs and jewelry; and the extensive updating and expansion of government mental health programs and facilities statewide.
During his tenure as Governor, Hathaway also served as Chairman of the Western Governor’s Conference (whose membership at the time included California Governor and future President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
) and as Chairman of the Interstate Oil Compact Commission, the National Governor’s Conference Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Management, and the Federation of Rocky Mountain States.
Among Hathaway's last appointments in office was that of Richard V. Thomas
Richard V. Thomas
Richard Van Thomas was a member of the Wyoming Supreme Court, having served from December 1974 until his retirement in February 2001. From 1985–1986, he was chief justice of the Wyoming high court.-Background:...
to the Wyoming Supreme Court
Wyoming Supreme Court
The Wyoming Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming for an eight-year term. The five Justices select the Chief Justice from amongst themselves. The person...
, a position that Thomas held from December 1974 until February 2001.
After retiring from the Governor’s office in 1975, Hathaway was nominated by and, following lengthy and at times very contentious confirmation hearings, served under President Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
as Secretary of the Interior. During his brief tenure at the Interior Department he was responsible for moving the federal coal leasing program forward. Health issues, however, resulted in his resignation as Interior Secretary later that year, and he and Mrs. Hathaway returned to Wyoming.
Later years
After returning to Wyoming in 1975, Hathaway co-founded the law firm of Hathaway, Speight and Kunz in Cheyenne. Later he also served on the Board of Directors of PacifiCorp, of Nerco, Inc., of the First Wyoming Bank, and of the Apache Corporation. He was also an Emeritus Member of the Ruckelshaus Institute Board.In 2003, Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal awarded the "Governor's Art Award for Excellence in the Arts" to Stan and Bobby Hathaway.
As a further tribute to Governor Hathaway and in recognition of his significant contributions to higher education in the state, the Wyoming Legislature in 2005 authorized $400 million for a "Hathaway Student Scholarship Endowment Account". Under this program, Wyoming high school graduates who qualify can receive a Hathaway Scholarship for the full cost of tuition and fees at the University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
, or for attendance at any community college in Wyoming.
In late 2004 Stan became Roman Catholic through the efforts of Father Carl Beavers. Hathaway died on October 4, 2005, in Cheyenne following a lengthy illness at age 81. He was preceded in death by his wife, Bobby, on April 5, 2004. They are interred at the Valley View Cemetery in Torrington, Wyoming.
At the University of Wyoming's annual Political Science Seminar in 2002, the guest speaker had cited Hathaway as "the most popular political figure in Wyoming's history," which he attributed in part to Hathaway's "rumpled, folksy, plain spoken, down to earth accessibility." A writer commenting on Hathaway's career of public service in the Washington Post said, "The Governor's integrity, honesty and forthrightness remain beyond challenge."
Following his death, both houses the Wyoming State Legislature in 2006 unanimously passed a Joint Resolution memorializing Governor Hathaway as "one of Wyoming's greatest natural resources".