Reunion in Sharon

Barry Goldwater talked about the problem of Executive control over middle-level government management. Strom Thurmond talked about the psychological moment in riot control. Buz Lukens spoke fervidly, John Ashbrook relaxedly, Phil Crane in detail, Clifton White and Jerry Harkins as expert campaign managers, about conservative involvement in political life. There were reminiscences of the early days—conservatism in the Thirties and Forties and Fifties—and of the early days of the organization itself, in the Sixties. Waggoner Carr welcomed the delegates with a ringing plea for faith in the American ideal and action in accordance with that faith—and thereafter, in workshops, conferences and panel discussions, the faith and the possible courses of action were discussed and detailed. Awards were given— among others, to Texas for the best large-state YAF organization, to Washington (State) for the best small-state YAF organization, to Massachusetts for its state publication, to Wisconsin for its Badger Herald, to Indiana for the Alternative—these three reflecting YAF’s struggle for the media. And on Saturday, the first day of the second decade of the Young Americans for Freedom, the whole assembly moved to Great Elm, to enjoy the hospitality of Mrs. William F. Buckley Sr., to join in an additional series of awards and in the planting of a new elm to replace the great tree which succumbed in 1957 to the ravages of time and disease, and to listen to John Ashbrook’s relaxed remarks, to Al Capp’s denunciation of fakery and fascism on the Left, and to a strangely quiet speech by William F. Buckley Jr.

The occasion, of course, was “YAF 10,” the Tenth Anniversary Celebration of the Young Americans for Freedom. It was, unquestionably, a success—testifying both to the ability and hard work of Randy Teague’s National Office and Jim Altham’s Connecticut State YAF, and to the fact that just now, on the Tenth Anniversary, YAF is a healthy organization. It was hard not to be conscious of the difference between Hartford 1970 and St. Louis 1969, not least because of an almost total cessation of arguments on libertarianism versus traditionalism.

CH

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C. S. Horn

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Barry Goldwater

William F. Buckley Jr.

Barry Goldwater talked about the problem of Executive control over middle-level government management. Strom Thurmond talked about the psychological moment in riot control. Buz Lukens spoke fervidly, John Ashbrook relaxedly, Phil Crane in detail, Clifton White and Jerry Harkins as expert campaign managers, about conservative involvement in political life. There were reminiscences of the early days—conservatism in the Thirties and Forties and Fifties—and of the early days of the organization itself, in the Sixties. Waggoner Carr welcomed the delegates with a ringing plea for faith in the American ideal and action in accordance with that faith—and thereafter, in workshops, conferences and panel discussions, the faith and the possible courses of action were discussed and detailed. Awards were given— among others, to Texas for the best large-state YAF organization, to Washington (State) for the best small-state YAF organization, to Massachusetts for its state publication, to Wisconsin for its Badger Herald, to Indiana for the Alternative—these three reflecting YAF’s struggle for the media. And on Saturday, the first day of the second decade of the Young Americans for Freedom, the whole assembly moved to Great Elm, to enjoy the hospitality of Mrs. William F. Buckley Sr., to join in an additional series of awards and in the planting of a new elm to replace the great tree which succumbed in 1957 to the ravages of time and disease, and to listen to John Ashbrook’s relaxed remarks, to Al Capp’s denunciation of fakery and fascism on the Left, and to a strangely quiet speech by William F. Buckley Jr.

The occasion, of course, was “YAF 10,” the Tenth Anniversary Celebration of the Young Americans for Freedom. It was, unquestionably, a success—testifying both to the ability and hard work of Randy Teague’s National Office and Jim Altham’s Connecticut State YAF, and to the fact that just now, on the Tenth Anniversary, YAF is a healthy organization. It was hard not to be conscious of the difference between Hartford 1970 and St. Louis 1969, not least because of an almost total cessation of arguments on libertarianism versus traditionalism.