Graham, Chester A. (Chester Arthur), 1892-

Cooperative leader and liberal activist.

From the description of Chester A. Graham papers, 1921-1980. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 34418387

Chester Arthur Graham was born on March 31, 1892 to parents of Scotch-Irish descent, who lived on a farm near Mercer, Pennsylvania. He received his initial education in the public schools of Mercer, graduating from Mercer High School in 1911. While Graham wanted to go to college, the family's limited financial means required him to work for a time to raise money for tuition.

Initially Graham took to the road as a migrant laborer, following the harvest on the Great Plains. Eventually he found steadier work in Akron, Ohio where between 1912 and 1913, he served as a tire finisher. In the fall of 1913 Graham entered Oberlin College. During his freshman year he developed a deep and lasting interest in religion as a result of a compulsory Bible class. While Graham's father had been a devout reader of the Bible, neither he nor his children attended formal church services. Chester, however, was strongly moved by the words of the Old Testament prophets and began to attend church services weekly. While Graham never developed strong sectarian ties, he eventually became a member of the Society of Friends in 1944, and retained a strong religious element in his thought throughout the rest of his career.

Upon graduation from Oberlin in 1917, Graham volunteered for service in World War I. He, along with other members of his class, served in the Oberlin ambulance unit assigned to the Italian front. Graham served valiantly and was decorated by the Italian government for his heroism, but the experience of war left Graham disillusioned. Returning from Europe he decided that his life should be dedicated to the establishment of harmony among men.

After being released from the military, Graham returned to Akron where he began to work among the city's immigrants. First employed by the YMCA and then, beginning in December 1920, by the public school system, Graham was responsible for Americanization programs. This work led Graham to experience more deeply his commitment towards universal harmony.

Graham's personal growth, however, was not reflected either in the country as a whole or in the Akron area. The nativist sentiment that swept America during the 1920s led to the election of Ku Klux Klan majorities on both the Akron city council and school board. Feeling his work stymied, Graham left Akron and entered the University of Illinois, from which he received an MA in education in 1926 and where he began studies toward a doctorate in international law.

While at Illinois Graham was introduced by an old Oberlin friend to the Danish folk school movement. These schools were dedicated to the broadest possible education for people of all ages and background, unhindered by the conventions of traditional educational systems. In many ways they reflected the philosophy of the free school movement of the 1960s. Graham was fascinated by the school's potential ability to bring together individuals of all kinds. As a result, he spent 1926 and 1927 as assistant director of Pocono's Peoples College in Henryville, Pennsylvania, and in 1928 came to Ashland College in Grant, Michigan.

Ashland had been founded in 1882 by the region's Danish settlers. The school had closed during World War I as a result of anti-foreign sentiment. In 1928, Graham was named both president and resident director of the newly reopened institution. Under Graham the school became a focal point around which persons dissatisfied by America's reaction to the great depression gathered together and attempted to lay the groundwork for a new society. Socialism, unionization of industrial and agricultural workers, and the cooperative movement were all fostered at Ashland.

Graham was least involved in the organization of industrial workers. Many key persons in the unionization of the automotive industry, including Walter and May Reuther, however found their way to Ashland. More importantly, Graham played a role in the creation of cooperatives throughout the state. The Lower Michigan Federation of Consumer Cooperatives was organized at Ashland. Graham's greatest interest, however, was in the unionization of farmers. In February 1933 Graham heard John H. Simpson, president of the Rational Farmers Union (NYU), speak in Lansing. Graham became a devoted supporter of the NFU and in July, 1933 the Michigan chapter of the organization was founded at Ashland. Graham was elected the group's secretary treasurer. Graham remained extremely active in the NFU for the next several years, but eventually he was drawn into an internal power struggle at the national level, resulting in his losing the secretary-treasurer's office in 1936 and his becoming less active in the organization.

While at Ashland Graham was also involved with the local community, most notably by serving as minister of the Grant Community Church, a non-denominational congregation. Throughout his years at Ashland, Graham faced continuing financial difficulties as the school's chief administrator. In 1938 the college faced its final financial crisis when the facility's decaying buildings were condemned. Unable to replace them, the college closed.

Graham left Grant and moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where for two years he served as state superintendent of Workers Education, a WPA funded project. In Madison, Graham also continued with the social activities he had become involved in at Ashland. Most notably, he helped organize a cooperative, and was involved with the Fellowship of Reconciliation, a pacifist organization.

In 1942, Graham reentered the National Farmers Union. He spent 1943 organizing farmers in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. In 1944 he returned to Michigan where he headed the Food for Victory Committee, a joint venture of the NFU, the American Federation of Labor, the Congress of Industrial Organizations and the Michigan Consumer's League. Graham continued to work on projects sponsored by the NFU until 1947.

In 1948 he moved to Jamestown, North Dakota, at the request of Glenn Talbott, president of the North Dakota Farmers Union, the state affiliate of the NFU. Graham became the radio voice of the NDFU. He broadcast an hour program daily over a statewide radio network between 1948 and 1955. The broadcasts content was left entirely to Graham's discretion.

In 1955 Graham left North Dakota and returned to Madison to become a field representative for the American Labor Education Services. Graham was responsible for convincing local labor unions to integrate material about world affairs into their educational programs.

In 1960 Graham retired from ALES but continued to be active. He quickly found himself executive director of the Madison World Affairs Center. The institution was interested in world affairs, particularly the work of the United Nations, but it also was deeply involved in the civil rights struggle of the 1960s. The Center collected and shipped three tons of food to help feed those in the Selma to Montgomery freedom march. Center members, including Graham himself, personally participated in various demonstrations throughout the South.

In 1966, Graham left Madison and moved to Muskegon, Michigan where he had built a retirement home. While he now increasingly avoided day-to-day administrative responsibilities, Graham remained an activist in liberal causes. He was deeply involved in the opposition to the war in Vietnam. He helped to organize the Muskegon Priorities Council. He also assumed the role of government watchdog, carefully studying a large number of documents discussing governmental activities, including the Congressional Record, and writing summaries of his findings for publication in small journals.

From the guide to the Chester A. Graham Papers, 1921-1980, (Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan)