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45-567: May was born on Beaver Creek, near Prestonsburg in Floyd County, Kentucky , on June 24, 1875. On June 25, 1898, he and his twin brother William H. May graduated from Southern Normal University Law School in Huntingdon, Tennessee (later named Union University , Jackson, Tennessee ), and was admitted to the bar the same year, commencing his law practice in Prestonsburg. May and his brother formed

90-631: A public library , a branch of the Floyd County Public Library. James M. Mead James Michael Mead (December 27, 1885 – March 15, 1964) was an American politician from New York . A Democrat , among the offices in which he served was member of the Erie County Board of Supervisors (1914–1915), New York State Assembly (1915–1918), United States House of Representatives (1919–1938), and United States Senate (1938–1947). A native of Mount Morris, New York , Mead

135-635: A full pardon in 1952. Unable to revive his political career, he returned home to practice law until his death. May died in Prestonsburg, Kentucky on September 6, 1959, and is buried in Mayo Cemetery. In 1962 Governor of Kentucky Bert T. Combs opened the May lodge at Jenny Wiley State Resort Park in Prestonsburg, Kentucky in honor of the congressman. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of

180-530: A heavily Republican district and lost. Two years later he ran again and won in the 1930 election defeating Langley. May was elected as a New Deal Democrat to the Seventy-second Congress and to seven succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1931 – January 3, 1947). He was Chairman of the powerful Committee on Military Affairs during the Seventy-sixth through Seventy-ninth Congresses, and a consistent supporter of

225-467: A high survival rate because Japanese depth charges were exploding at too shallow a depth. Various press associations sent this leaked news story over their wires and many newspapers published it, including one in Honolulu, Hawaii . After the news became public, Japanese naval antisubmarine forces began adjusting their depth charges to explode at a greater depth. Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood , commander of

270-428: A household in the city was $ 20,810, and the median income for a family was $ 27,852. Males had a median income of $ 30,809 versus $ 22,439 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 18,013. About 26.3% of families and 27.5% of the population were below the poverty line , including 44.2% of those under the age of 18 and 10.3% of those 65 and older. Schools are managed by Floyd County Schools . Prestonsburg has

315-402: A law requiring workers to be paid every two weeks instead of every month, and an act mandating improved safety measures in train engine cabs . Among his successes were laws to improve the conditions of women and children in factories and enhancements to the state's worker's compensation laws. Mead's affability and power of persuasion marked him as an effective legislator despite the fact that he

360-626: A seat on the Erie County, New York Board of Supervisors and he served in 1914. In 1914 he ran for the New York State Assembly . He won the Erie County 4th District seat and won reelection in 1916. Mead served in the sessions of 1915 , 1916 , 1917 , and 1918 . In the Assembly, Mead won a reputation as a champion of worker's rights, including passage of a "full crew" law for freight trains,

405-824: A water boy, lamp lighter, section hand, spike mauler, shop mechanic and switchman. Mead later worked for the Pullman Company as a mechanic on sleep car dynamos . He was subsequently employed as a switchman on the Erie Railroad , and was eventually elected president of the Switchmen's Union's Buffalo local . From 1911 to 1914 he was employed as an officer with the United States Capitol Police . Mead also continued his education during his railroad and police careers; he attended Buffalo's Caton School of Engineering and completed an engineering course of instruction at

450-656: Is also the home of the East Kentucky Science Center . Opened in 2004, the Science Center contains one of the nation's most technologically advanced planetariums. Prestonsburg is in northern Floyd County in the eastern part of the state, along the banks of the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River . It is 13 miles (21 km) south of Paintsville and 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Pikeville . According to

495-815: Is home to the Kentucky Opry. Middle Creek National Battlefield is the site of the largest and most significant Civil War battle in Eastern Kentucky . Prestonsburg is home to the Samuel May House , the Big Sandy Valley's oldest known brick home. Built by Samuel May in 1817, the house was used by the Confederate forces as a recruiting station during the American Civil War . The 5th Kentucky Infantry CSA and 10th Kentucky Cavalry were organized there. The house

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540-630: The Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. During World War II, May became involved with Murray and Henry Garsson, New York businessmen who sought lucrative munitions contracts then being awarded by the U.S. Government. During May's career he helped push through the Social Security Act, and the GI Bill of Rights, both programs central to the New Deal. In 1940, May was credited with being the chief architect of

585-590: The United States Census Bureau , Prestonsburg has an area of 12.9 square miles (33.4 km ), of which 12.7 square miles (32.9 km ) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km ), or 1.52%, is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 3,612 people, 1,563 households, and 956 families residing in the city. The population density was 332.2 inhabitants per square mile (128.3/km ). There were 1,683 housing units at an average density of 154.8 units per square mile (59.8 units/km ). The racial makeup of

630-620: The Big Sandy Valley. Prestonsburg is mentioned in Dwight Yoakam's "Readin', Rightin', Rt. 23" (from his album Hillbilly Deluxe ), a song about the yearning of local coal miners to escape their plight by traveling up U.S. Route 23 to find employment in the factories in the North, not knowing that they were only trading one miserable life for another. Prestonsburg is the location of the Mountain Arts Center , which hosts music concerts and

675-659: The Buffalo Institute of Technology. He also took courses at Canisius College and Catholic University . While working nights for the Capitol Police, Mead attended the Georgetown University Law Center during the day. As a well-known semiprofessional football and baseball player in the Buffalo area, Mead developed a following that aided his entry into politics. In 1913, Mead was a successful candidate for

720-571: The Eightieth Congress. The bribery scandal was intensified by testimony of excessive profit-taking in the Garsson munition business, and that the Garsson factory produced 4.2-inch mortar shells with defective fuzes , resulting in premature detonation and the deaths of 38 American soldiers. After less than two hours of deliberation, May was convicted by a federal jury on July 3, 1947, on charges of accepting bribes to use his position as Chairman of

765-530: The Garssons. "The Garssons weren't sympathetic characters to the public because they made a lot of money on the war, and they were Jewish, so Representative May got tied with them in the public image and they all sort of got tarred with the same brush as people who somehow made out while people were dying, and illegally so." May had started a business called the Cumberland Lumber Company to build crates for

810-532: The May Incident. U.S. submarines had been conducting a successful undersea war against Japanese shipping during World War II, frequently escaping their anti-submarine depth charge attacks. May revealed the deficiencies of Japanese depth-charge tactics in a press conference held in June 1943 on his return from a war zone junket. At this press conference, he revealed the highly sensitive fact that American submarines had

855-605: The Military Affairs Committee to secure munitions contracts during the Second World War . Murray and Henry Garsson also received prison terms. May appealed his verdict all the way up to Supreme Court, which refused to hear his case. May was sent to prison at the age of 74, and served nine months in prison. However, he continued to retain influence in Democratic party politics, and President Truman decided to grant May

900-626: The Peacetime Selective Service Act which provided manpower for the nation's armed forces. The act played a critical role in America's preparedness when Japanese forces bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941. In a letter to May from Representative John W. McCormack , McCormack wrote: May was considered neither an isolationist or a warmonger. He did speak out frequently about the war in Europe. May

945-524: The U.S. Government. May was known to frequently telephone army ordnance and other government officials on the Garssons' behalf to award war contracts, obtain draft deferments, and secure other favors for the Garssons and their friends. So numerous were these interventions that one ordnance official referred to them as "blitz calls." After the war, a Senate investigating committee reviewing the Garssons' munitions business discovered evidence that May had received substantial cash payments and other inducements from

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990-654: The U.S. submarine fleet in the Pacific, estimated that May's security breach cost the United States Navy as many as 10 submarines and 800 crewmen killed in action. He said, "I hear Congressman May said the Jap depth charges are not set deep enough. He would be pleased to know that the Japs set them deeper now." A report from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Submarine Fleet determined that Japanese anti-submarine warfare (ASW) forces failed to uncover

1035-506: The United States Congress Prestonsburg, Kentucky Prestonsburg is a small home rule-class city in and the county seat of Floyd County , Kentucky , United States. It is in the eastern part of the state in the valley of the Big Sandy River . The population was 3,255 at the time of the 2010 census , down from 3,612 at the 2000 census. The area was part of the 100,000-acre (400 km ) grant in

1080-507: The athletic build of his youth, and was known as the House's best baseball and softball player. After 28 of his colleagues died during one session, Mead recognized the need for a Congressional gym and took the lead in organizing it and bringing it into operation. According to John W. McCormack , who served as Speaker of the House from 1961 to 1971, the House's Democratic leaders were grooming Mead to become Speaker. McCormack went on to say that

1125-852: The chairmanship of the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program (the Truman Committee) after Harry S. Truman was elected vice president in 1944. Under his leadership the committee continued Truman's effort to weed out wartime waste, corruption and inefficiency. The committee's investigations under Mead's leadership resulted in Representative Andrew J. May 's imprisonment for bribery and an extended debate on whether Senator Theodore G. Bilbo would be permitted to take his seat after winning reelection in 1946. The committee uncovered evidence that

1170-544: The city was 97.51% White , 0.33% African American , 0.50% Native American , 0.53% Asian , 0.44% from other races , and 0.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.02% of the population. There were 1,563 households, out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.0% had someone living alone who

1215-1094: The director of the Washington office of the New York Department of Commerce. Mead was also a New York delegate to the Democratic National Convention every four years from 1936 to 1952. In 1937, the Works Progress Administration built a Buffalo public library that was later named the James Mead Branch Library. Buffalo-area mail carriers recognized Mead's accomplishments on behalf of postal workers by naming their union local in his honor. After retiring from New York's Department of Commerce, Mead moved to Florida . He settled in Clermont , where he owned and operated an orange grove. Mead died in Lakeland, Florida on March 15, 1964. He

1260-475: The early 1700s to the family of John Preston's wife, born Elizabeth Patton, which he administered on her behalf. The grant was intended to permit British colonization beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains , but subsequent French and Indian resistance and a reversal of British policy limited its impact. The land was not settled until John Spurlock of Montgomery County, Virginia , arrived in 1791. He laid out

1305-555: The law firm of May & May which was not dissolved until the death of his brother on February 20, 1921. May was county attorney of Floyd County, Kentucky , 1901–1909; special judge of the circuit court of Johnson and Martin Counties in 1925 and 1926. During this time, May also engaged in Democratic Party politics, agricultural pursuits, coal mining and banking. In 1928, May ran for Congress against Katherine Langley in

1350-476: The maximum test depth ability of U.S. fleet submarines during the war. However, the report made no finding as to whether or not Japanese ASW forces altered their depth charge attacks to deeper settings as a consequence of May's revelation to the press. The incident would not overshadow May's considerable contributions to the war effort as Chairman of Military Affairs. In a 1945 letter to Congressman May, Admiral Richard E. Byrd , wrote: "Everyone in general appreciates

1395-474: The only reason he (McCormack) was placed on the path that enabled him to become majority leader and then Speaker was that Mead left the House when he was elected to the U.S. Senate. In 1938 , Mead defeated Republican Edward F. Corsi to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant after Royal S. Copeland died. He was re-elected in 1940 , defeating Republican Congressman Bruce Barton . In the Senate, Mead succeeded to

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1440-591: The passage of several labor measures, including the Railway Labor Act , Railroad Retirement Act , and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act . Mead was the author of a law mandating a reduction in work hours for post office department employees to 44 hours per week, and later to 40 hours. While supplementing his education by taking college courses during his Congressional service, Mead was well known for staying in good physical condition by trotting from campus to campus. At 6 feet 2 inches and 200 pounds, he maintained

1485-504: The racist Bilbo had sanctioned violence against African American veterans who attempted to vote in Mississippi's 1946 elections. In addition, there was evidence that Bilbo had accepted bribes from defense contractors in exchange for actions on their behalf during the war. The issue was resolved when Bilbo's credentials were tabled so he could return to Mississippi and seek treatment for oral cancer, an illness which proved fatal. Mead

1530-423: The shipment of the Garssons' munitions. The government's case was based on precept that the money that came to May as a result of the Cumberland Lumber Company was not really that. It was really compensation for making the phone calls to the war department. Ultimately the jury agreed. Following news reports of irregularities concerning his conduct in office, May was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1946 to

1575-510: The state Assembly from 1915 to 1918. In 1918 he won election to the U.S. House, where he served from 1919 to 1938. In 1938 he was elected to the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of Royal S. Copeland . He served in the Senate until 1947. In 1946, he was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for governor of New York . He was then appointed to the Federal Trade Commission , on which he served from 1949 to 1955. In retirement, Mead

1620-562: The superb job you have done for your country in connection with Army legislation, and Naval officers appreciate in particular the cooperation you have given the Navy." In 1946, US Senator James Mead began conducting investigations into war profiteering. Sometime shortly before or during the U.S. entry into World War II, May became involved with Murray Garsson and Henry Garsson, New York businessmen with no prior arms manufacturing experience who sought lucrative munitions contracts then being awarded by

1665-494: The town of "Preston's Station" in 1797. It became the seat of Floyd County upon its formation in 1799 and was formally established in 1818. The post office was known as "Floyd Court House" from its establishment in 1816 until the late 1820s, when it was renamed "Prestonsburg". On January 10, 1862, nearby Middle Creek National Battlefield was the scene of the largest battle of the Civil War to occur in Eastern Kentucky . The town

1710-449: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.72. In the city, the population was spread out, with 20.2% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.8 males. The median income for

1755-509: Was a Democrat in a body controlled by Republicans . In 1918, Mead defeated incumbent Republican congressman William Frederick Waldow for New York's 42nd District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was reelected nine times, and served from 1919 to 1938. From 1931 to 1938, Mead served as chairman of the Committee on Post Office and Post Roads . In Congress, Mead was a strong advocate for worker's rights, and received credit for aiding

1800-572: Was a resident of Florida. He died in Lakeland on March 15, 1964. Mead was buried at Oakhill Cemetery in Clermont, Florida . James M. Mead was born in Mount Morris, New York on December 27, 1885, a son of Thomas and Jane (Kelly) Mead. Mead moved to Buffalo with his family at the age of five. He attended Buffalo's grammar schools and began working at age 12. He was employed by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad ; his career included jobs as

1845-615: Was also the site of one of the worst school bus disasters in American history on February 28, 1958. The town had a pack horse library in the late 1930s to bring library materials to rural mountain residents. U.S. Route 23 , also called "The Country Music Highway " to celebrate the region's rich heritage of music, runs through Prestonsburg. Country music stars including Loretta Lynn , Crystal Gayle , Wynonna Judd , Naomi Judd , Billy Ray Cyrus , Tom T. Hall , Ricky Skaggs , Keith Whitley , Dwight Yoakam , and Patty Loveless are all from

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1890-453: Was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1942 . He was the Democratic candidate for Governor of New York in 1946 , losing to Republican incumbent Thomas Dewey . After Mead's defeat, he served on the Federal Trade Commission . Appointed in 1949, he became chairman six months later. He remained on the commission until 1955. From 1955 to 1956, he was

1935-558: Was quoted as saying, "it will not be left up to the President or the Congress or the people of the United States, whether or not we go to war." May continued, "It will be decided by the impersonation of hatred Adolph Hitler, who decided it also for Poland, France, Belgium, and Holland." May was responsible for the release of highly confidential military information during World War II known as

1980-551: Was raised in Buffalo . He attended the public schools of Buffalo and began working for railroads at age 12. He rose through the Switchmen's Union's ranks to become president of the Buffalo local . From 1911 to 1914 he was employed as an officer with the United States Capitol Police . While working in Washington, Mead attended courses at the Georgetown University Law Center . Mead began a political career in 1914 with election to Erie County's Board of Supervisors. He subsequently served in

2025-720: Was used as a residence until 1981 and was donated to the City of Prestonsburg in 1992. It has since been restored and maintained as a living history museum. The Jenny Wiley Theatre was in Prestonsburg and offered theatrical productions all year long at both the outdoor Jenny Wiley Amphitheater, in Jenny Wiley State Resort Park , and the nearby Mountain Arts Center. The Theatre's presentations of classic Broadway musicals, comedies, historical dramas and holiday productions kept theatre-goers entertained for over 40 years. Prestonsburg

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