A Batavia native, writer and editor Bill Kauffman, recently published his latest book, “The Congressional Journal of Barber B. Conable, Jr. 1968-1984.”
The book, edited by Kauffman, is a “compilation of entries from Congressman Barber Conable about the machinations of Congress and the American government at the highest level,” according to Ryan Duffy of the Holland Land Office Museum.
Kauffman developed a strong relationship with Conable after Conable’s retirement from World Bank in 1991. Kauffman interned for Conable in 1979. The pair also served alongside each other for years on the Holland Purchase Historical Society board.
Fond of Conable and his accomplishments, Kauffman was given the opportunity to read Conable’s journals years after their friendship began.
“In 2018, his daughter, Jane Schmieder, asked if I’d like to read the journal he kept from 1968 to 1984. I said, ‘Sure.’ It was perceptive, incisive…a remarkable glimpse into the national politics of the 1970s and early 1980s. This was how Congress worked, as seen from the inside. Mr. Conable draws sharp portraits of many of the giants and pygmies of that era, among them Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Jack Kemp, and Ronald Reagan,” said Kauffman. “The journals ran about a half million words, and I edited them down to about 150,000 words — a publishable length. The University Press of Kansas brought the book out this past summer.”
Kauffman’s fascination with the findings in Conable’s journals led to the compilation of entries.
“Barber Conable was the single most respected member of Congress of his era. He was smart, honest, honorable, and he was very much a product of our area, which he knew intimately. He was born and raised in Warsaw, educated at Cornell, a Marine veteran of the Second World War (he went ashore at Iwo Jima), and he began his career as a lawyer in Batavia. He served Congress from 1965 to 1985 and then served a five-year term (1986 to 1991) as president of the World Bank,” said Kauffman.
Conable lived in Alexander with his wife, Charlotte. He traveled to Washington, D.C., often.
“It always fascinated me how seamlessly and surely he moved between the worlds of rural New York and Washington, D.C. — comfortable and respected in those two very different places. Barber Conable was unusual in many ways, but I’ll mention one: He refused to accept individual campaign contributions of greater than $50. His colleagues thought he was a Puritan or nuts, but he didn’t budge, even when in 1974 he had a very tough race. Conable thought that big money was corrupting American politics. He was right, of course,” said Kauffman.
Since publishing Conable’s entries in “The Congressional Journal of Barber B. Conable, Jr. 1968-1984,” Kauffman spends his time editing books and various projects for publishers and organizations. He is not currently writing a book though the future holds many options. He’s also focusing his time on writing screenplays for his friend, Ron Maxwell, who has directed several movies, one of which was “Copperhead,” which Kauffman wrote the screenplay for.
Kauffman, who lives in Elba with Lucine, his wife of 34 years, has published 11 books. Most notable are, “Dispatches from the Muckdogs Gazette,” “Look Homeward, America,” and “Ain’t My America.”
After graduating from Batavia High School, Kauffman went on to study at the University of Rochester and later worked in Washington, DC as a legislative assistant to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He’s been published in many newspapers and magazines, from the Wall Street Journal to the Los Angeles Times, and he wrote the screenplay for the 2013 feature film, “Copperhead.”
Lucine, originally from southern California, runs the Library Visits program at the Richmond Memorial Library, in Batavia, and has her own radio show on WBTA.
“The Congressional Journal of Barber B. Conable, Jr. 1968-1984,” is available for purchase online and is sold, locally, at the Holland Land Office for $34.95.
