Emory A. Hebard

{{Infobox officeholder

|name= Emory A. Hebard

|image= Emory A. Hebard.JPG

|order1= Vermont State Treasurer

|term_start1= January, 1977

|term_end1= January 1989

|governor1= Richard A. Snelling
Madeleine Kunin

|predecessor1= Stella Hackel

|successor1= Paul W. Ruse Jr.

|order2=

|term_start2=

|term_end2=

|predecessor2=

|successor2=

|office3 =

|state3 =

|district3 =

|term_start3 =

|term_end3 =

|preceded3 =

|succeeded3 =

|birth_date= {{Birth date|1917|09|28|mf=y}}

|birth_place= Carmel, Maine, U.S.

|death_date= {{Death date and age|1993|11|01|1917|09|28|mf=y}}

|death_place= Lebanon, New Hampshire, U.S.

|nickname= "Em"

|spouse= Irma Mills (1914-1992) (m. 1941)
Edith Cameron St. Onge (m. 1993)

|children = 1

|profession= Store owner
Real estate broker

|alma_mater= Middlebury College

|party = Republican

|allegiance = United States

|branch = United States Coast Guard Reserve

|serviceyears = 1943-1972

|rank = Lieutenant Commander

|battles = World War II
Korean War

|mawards =

}}

Emory A. Hebard (September 28, 1917 – November 1, 1993) was an American businessman and politician who served as Vermont State Treasurer.

Early life

Emory Amos Hebard was born in Carmel, Maine, on September 28, 1917, and raised in Northampton, Massachusetts.Maine Birth Records, 1621-1922, entry for Emory A. Hebard, retrieved January 17, 2014Middlebury College, [http://www.mocavo.com/Middlebury-College-1937-Middlebury-Vt/924635/84 Yearbook], 1937, page 84Vermont Secretary of State, [https://books.google.com/books?id=UJpDAQAAIAAJ&q=%22emory+a+hebard%22+1917 Legislative Directory], 1979, page 196 He graduated from Northampton High School in 1934 and Middlebury College in 1938, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.Vermont Secretary of State, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Qv7vAAAAMAAJ&q=hebard+%22uscgr%22 Vermont Legislative Directory and State Manual], 1985, page 457Madeleine May Kunin, [https://books.google.com/books?id=6x71eDLIb4MC&dq=%22emory+hebard%22+phi+beta+kappa&pg=PT193 Living a Political Life], 2011Samuel B. Hand, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ONLUwZ2Z0JsC&dq=%22emory+hebard%22+phi+beta+kappa&pg=PA256 The Star That Set: The Vermont Republican Party, 1854-1974], page 256

He lived for a time in New York City, and was employed by the United States Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.Edward Hoagland, [https://books.google.com/books?id=oPvlWjNpKMYC&dq=%22em+hebard%22+%22greenwich+village%22&pg=PA244 Compass Points: How I Lived], 2007, page 244

Military service

During his student years Hebard was an anti-war activist, opposing U.S. intervention in Europe.Middlebury Camous newspaper, [http://middarchive.middlebury.edu/cdm/ref/collection/underpub/id/6904 Memorial Day to be Commemorated] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201224912/http://middarchive.middlebury.edu/cdm/ref/collection/underpub/id/6904 |date=February 1, 2014 }}, May 27, 1936Youth Committee Against War, [https://archive.org/stream/NYAWC#page/n29/mode/2up/search/hebard Proceedings, National Youth Anti-War Congress], 1940, page 31

When the U.S. became involved in World War II, Hebard joined the United States Coast Guard. He remained in the Coast Guard Reserve following the war. Hebard was recalled to active duty for the Korean War and served from 1950 to 1952. Following this active duty tour, he continued with the Coast Guard Reserve, and attained the rank of lieutenant commander.U.S. Government Printing Office, [https://books.google.com/books?id=gbRIAQAAIAAJ&q=%22hebard+emory%22+coast+guard of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Coast Guard Reserve in the Order of Precedence], 1959, page 72Paul Anthony Theis, Edmund Lee Henshaw, Who's Who in American Politics, Volume 2, 1991, page 1665

Move to Vermont

Hebard moved to Vermont in 1947. He owned and operated Emory's Country Store in East Charleston from 1947 to 1950, and also served as East Charleston's Postmaster.United States Postal Service, Appointments of U. S. Postmasters, 1832-1971, entry for Emory A. Hebard, retrieved January 17, 2014 From 1952 to 1963 he owned and operated Emory's Country Store in Glover.Samuel B. Hand, Anthony Marro, Stephen C. Terry, [https://books.google.com/books?id=UHlErSOTRyEC&dq=%22emory+hebard%22+store+glover&pg=PT84 Philip Hoff: How Red Turned Blue in the Green Mountain State], 2011 Hebard later operated a gift shop and an ice bar in Barton, worked as a real estate broker, and was Industrial Development Director for the Vermont Development Commission.North Adams (Massachusetts) Transcript, Hebard is Quitting Commission, June 6, 1958Vermont Supreme Court, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ywFOAQAAIAAJ&q=%22emory+hebard%22+real+estate+broker Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Vermont], 1970, page 280

He also held local offices, including Town Meeting Moderator, School District Meeting Moderator, and Town Lister.Crystal Lake Falls Historical Association, [https://books.google.com/books?id=6UcjAQAAMAAJ&q=%22emory+hebard%22+moderator+lister A History of Barton, Vermont], 1998, page 164

Vermont House of Representatives

In 1960 Hebard was a successful Republican candidate for the Vermont House of Representatives. Elected when the House consisted of 246 members elected based on "one town, one representative," Hebard was named Chairman of the Reapportionment Committee by Speaker Franklin S. Billings, Jr. in 1965 when federal court decisions mandating proportional representation meant the creation of state legislative districts and the reduction of the House to 150 members.Vermont Folklife Center Radio, Under The Golden Dome: The Stories Behind Vermont's Citizen Legislature, [http://www.vermontfolklifecenter.org/multimedia/radio/golden-dome/programs/prog03.htm Program 3: Philip Hoff and Reapportionment] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030001000/http://www.vermontfolklifecenter.org/multimedia/radio/golden-dome/programs/prog03.htm |date=October 30, 2013 }}, 2005

Vermont was dominated by Republicans, and the House was controlled by Republicans from small towns, who overwhelmingly opposed reapportionment and the creation of districts because those changes threatened continued Republican and rural control. As the member from Glover, one of Vermont's smallest town at only 683 residents, and as a conservative Republican, Hebard could have been expected to oppose proportional representation. Instead, Billings and Hebard persuaded House members to support it with the argument that if Vermont didn't solve the problem, the federal government and the courts would do it instead.Christopher Graff Associated Press, Rutland Herald [http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050517/NEWS/505170330/1003/NEWS02?template=printart Historic House Debate Recalled] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126180211/http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20050517%2FNEWS%2F505170330%2F1003%2FNEWS02%3Ftemplate%3Dprintart |date=November 26, 2015 }}, May 17, 2005

The reapportionment effort was successful and Hebard ran successfully for a seat in the reapportioned House in the 1965 special election, now a candidate from Glover and four other towns that were combined into a two-member district. He served in the House until 1969.Samuel B. Hand, Anthony Marro, Stephen C. Terry, [https://books.google.com/books?id=UHlErSOTRyEC&dq=%22emory+hebard%22+1965&pg=PT89 Philip Hoff: How Red Turned Blue in the Green Mountain State], 2011

Hebard's district included Irasburg. The conservatism he displayed in the 1950s and 1960s included approval of the actions of local residents during the 1968 "Irasburg Affair," in which an African American minister was targeted by a campaign to force him out of Vermont. This effort included police harassment as well as an anonymous individual firing gunshots into the minister's home.Roderick Stackelberg, [https://books.google.com/books?id=SfknN3d-f10C&dq=hebard+%22irasburg+affair%22&pg=PA21 Memory and History: Recollections of a Historian of Nazism, 1967-1982], 2011, page 21Tom Slayton, Vermont Public Radio, [http://www.vpr.net/episode/51062/slayton-irasburg-affair-remembered/ Irasburg Affair Remembered], May 2, 2011Mark Bushnell, Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus, [http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080928/FEATURES07/809280339/1016/FEATURES07?template=printart Complacency Shattered Like Glass] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052342/http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20080928%2FFEATURES07%2F809280339%2F1016%2FFEATURES07%3Ftemplate%3Dprintart |date=March 4, 2016 }}, September 28, 2008United Press International, Bennington Banner, Extra Security Set for Hoff, July 31, 1968

Hebard also disapproved of the Vermont-New York Project, an effort by Governor Philip H. Hoff and New York City Mayor John Lindsay to provide African American children from the city with a "country" experience by having them spend summers in Vermont. As Hebard indicated at the time, his motivations in the Irasburg Affair and Vermont-New York Project controversies was not racism, but a desire to blunt Hoff's popularity. Hoff, the first Democrat elected Governor of Vermont since the founding of the Republican Party in the 1850s, advocated progressive policies and was a likely United States Senate candidate, and Hebard hoped to return the governorship to Republican hands and keep both of Vermont's Senate seats Republican.Samuel B. Hand, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ONLUwZ2Z0JsC&dq=hebard+hoff+irasburg+minister&pg=PA265 The Star That Set: The Vermont Republican Party, 1854-1974], 2003, page 265Charles Kershner, United Press International, Watertown (N.Y.) Daily Times, [http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%20Disk3/Watertown%20Times/Watertown%20NY%20Daily%20Times%201968%20Aug%20Grayscale.pdf/Watertown%20NY%20Daily%20Times%201968%20Aug%20Grayscale%20-%200354.pdf Vermont, Negro Population Nil, Has Budding Racial Problem], August 16, 1968

Hebard was Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee from 1967 to 1969. In 1968 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Vermont State Senate.United Press International, Bennington Banner, State Officials Tour Northeast Kingdom Today, June 4, 1968Betsy Samuelson, United Press International, Bennington Banner, Second Davis Message Fails to Change Legislative Minds, January 24, 1969 He returned to the House after the 1970 elections,United Press International, Bennington Banner, Plan Proposed for State

to Take Over High Schools, December 18, 1970 and was chairman of the Appropriations Committee from 1973 to 1977. Former governor Madeleine Kunin later wrote that when she served on the Appropriations Committee during his chairmanship, Hebard was a mentor, giving her significant responsibilities despite her status as a member of the minority Democrats, and lobbying House colleagues to name Kunin as chairwoman of the committee after he left the House.Madeleine Kunin, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Y8LPgkZm6rsC&dq=hebard+kunin+mentor&pg=PA177 The New Feminist Agenda], 2012, pages 176-177

In 1975 Hebard ran unsuccessfully for Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives, losing to Timothy J. O'Connor, Jr. O'Connor's victory was remarkable in that it marked the first time a Democrat had won the Speakership since the founding of the Republican Party in the 1850s, and came while Republicans were still the majority party in the House.Dean W. Schott, Associated Press, Hashua (Hew Hampshire) Telegraph, [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19741121&id=OqQrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tvwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5594,4421565 Rep. Hebard Visits Solons in House Leadership Bid], November 21, 1974United Press International, Bridgeport (Connecticut) Telegram, [https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/32521129/ Democrats Elect Speaker in Vermont], January 9, 1975

Vermont State Treasurer

Hebard moved to Barton in the mid-1970s. When incumbent State Treasurer Stella Hackel decided to run for governor, Hebard ran successfully to succeed her in 1976, using the campaign slogan "Thrift is Still a Virtue," a line which took advantage of his carefully crafted image as a traditional New England, small town fiscal conservative.Rod Clarke, United Press International, Bennington Banner, Snelling, Stafford, Jeffords, Diamond and Guest Victorious, November 3, 1976Crystal Lake Falls Historical Association, [https://books.google.com/books?id=6UcjAQAAMAAJ&q=hebard+barton+moderator+lister A History of Barton, Vermont], 1998, page 164

During his term in office, Hebard was known for his attention to detail. According to longtime House colleague Melvin Mandigo, Hebard was known to drive to Boston to make state payments to the Bond Bank, rather than trust them to the mail.Barton Chronicle, Former State Treasurer Em Hebard Dies at 76, November 3, 1993

He served as Treasurer until retiring in 1989. Contemplating retirement in 1987, Hebard contacted Paul W. Ruse Jr., the Town Manager and Director of Finance for the town of Springfield, Vermont, to offer him the position of Deputy State Treasurer. Ruse accepted, even though Hebard and he were from different political parties. In 1988 Hebard announced his retirement and endorsed Ruse as his successor, appearing in television ads to say Ruse was a worthy successor -- "for a Democrat."Patrick M. Fitzgibbons, The Bond Buyer, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140611021934/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-13624356.html Treasurer helps Vermont's economy dig out from the recession], March 29, 1993{{cite news |last=Hebard |first=Emory |date=October 18, 1988 |title=Ruse good man 'for a Democrat' |url=http://www.genealogybank.com/ |newspaper=St. Albans Messenger |location=St. Albans, VT |page=4 |department=Letters to the Editor |url-access=subscription }}

Death and burial

Hebard died in Lebanon, New Hampshire, on November 1, 1993, following complications from a heart attack.U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935-Current, entry for Emory A. Hebard, retrieved January 17, 2014U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010, entry for Emory Hebard, retrieved January 17, 2014 He is buried at Westlook Cemetery in Glover.Barton Chronicle, Former State Treasurer Em Hebard Dies at 76, November 3, 1993

Family

In 1941 Hebard married Irma Mills (1914-1992). They had one daughter, Sammy Maginnis Hebard.University of Vermont, [http://www.uvm.edu/crs/resources/profiles/Barton/human.htm Barton Human Capital: Emory A. Hebard] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202101127/http://www.uvm.edu/crs/resources/profiles/Barton/human.htm |date=February 2, 2014 }}, retrieved January 17, 2014Vermont, Marriage Records, 1909-2008, 1956 entry for Sammy Maginnis Hebard and Robert Alexander hedger, retrieved January 17, 2014

In September, 1993 he married Edith Cameron St. Onge, who survived him.Vermont Marriage Index, 1981-1984 and 1989-2001, entry for Emory A. Hebard and Edith Cameron St. Onge, retrieved January 17, 2014

Legacy

The Vermont State Office Building in Newport is named for him.The Vermont Statutes Online, [http://www.leg.state.vt.us/statutes/fullsection.cfm?Title=29&Chapter=017&Section=00821 Title 29: Public Property and Supplies, Chapter 17: Names of State Facilities], 2013