Knowing the past

When I was elected to the Board of Directors of the Independent Voters of Illinois (IVI) in 1974, one of my colleagues, Sid Schoenberger, was the top vote-getter in the chapter election.

I wondered why Sid received so many votes. He did not hold leadership positions in political campaigns. He just worked a precinct in the 49th ward (and usually won).

He was a nice guy but he wasn’t charismatic or particularly articulate and he did not promote himself. There didn’t seem to be a reason for his popularity.

But then I found out that, many years earlier (long before I had gotten involved), he had been the leader, and the people who remembered that respected him and ensured that others did, too.