Last week the Gazette reported that the ever flamboyant Culture and History Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith fired longtime Archives and History Director Fred Armstrong. He was, however, given his termination letter at a 9 a.m. meeting — which was a little bit nicer than firing him at 5 p.m., at least.
I really don’t know much about Armstrong. But whenever his name came up, people usually groaned. I suspect he was a bit dull. But he’d held his position since 1985, which you’d think would be enough time for them to work something out.
Now I’m sure this post will quickly become a forum to talk about how heroically incompetent Randy Reid-Smith is, and I’m all for that. Opera singers, as a general rule, possess different skill sets than would-be administrators of fucking glacial bureaucracies. He seems like a total idiot to me. But he did fire Richard Ressmeyer, an arrogant, blood-sucking tick on the ass of West Virginia if ever there was one. But don’t tell Bob Schwarz that about his BFF.
Now before I leave, I remind everyone that Randy Smith was brought in by Joe and Gayle. Something to ponder. And I also remind everyone that it’ll be all but impossible to find a competent Director of Culture and History until the legislature decides to pay for one. No one in their right mind would take that job. See above.
UPDATE: When Fred Armstrong called Randall Reid-Smith a “washed-out opera singer,” it should be noted that Armstrong was speaking with some degree of authority. Armstrong’s son is, in fact, a professional opera singer with, among other things, a master’s degree from Juilliard. So this morning when Armstrong telling Hoppy that an opera singer who wasn’t washed out would at least still be trying to perform on the national and global stage rather than cheerfully serving as a political hack, well, he sorta knew what he was talking about.
And I have it on good authority that, like us, Armstrong’s son is a pretty big Ralph Stanley fan.
November 6, 2007 at 12:48 pm
I don’t know what being an opera singer has to do with anything..I still think you could possibly be a good manager - he just isn’t. Randall has been fired from tons of jobs…they knew this. They brought him in there because he simply doesn’t care about the agency and neither does Gayle or Joe.
Arts and Culture in W.Va take the back seat. Gayle and Joe despise that sector of the government and simply treat it with living disrespect in the form of Randall Reid-Smith.
He won’t last long…he’ll say or do (emphasis on “do”) something he shouldn’t do towards someone in the building and then he’ll be gone. That should be the best job in state government…. it’s too bad.
Randall Reid-Smith needs to go. Culture and History deserves better. The energy at the place is dead.
Fire the commissioner.
November 6, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Here’s my beef: the Gazette columnist who is “reporting” on this firing is dropping cutesy language here and there referring to Reid-Smith’s “flamboyancy” (read “flaming queer”), and his “going shopping with Gayle Manchin” (read “girls’ day out”). Could the columnist be — do ya think? — a leetle homo-phobic here? Yeah man! I said YEAH MAN!
November 6, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Here’s my beef: the Gazette columnist who is “reporting” on this firing is dropping cutesy language here and there referring to Reid-Smith’s “flamboyancy” (read “flaming queer”), and his “going shopping with Gayle Manchin” (read “girls’ day out”). Could the columnist be — do ya think? — a leetle homo-phobic here? Yeah, man! I said YEAH MAN!
November 6, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Why is that homophobic? If the guy went bowling with Joe, that would get reported too. Or is my sarcasm detector broken?
November 6, 2007 at 2:14 pm
RRS has had a quite respectable singing career, in light of what it takes to learn and perform even one operatic role. Most professional singers would be happy to have accomplished this much. Armstrong’s reported comment that RRS is a “failed” opera singer appears to be anger talking —
This is taken from the Toledo Opera site where RRS appeared as Fiorello in the Barber of Seville:
Randall Reid Smith has enjoyed a thriving international career in opera and as a concert soloist and recitalist. For more than a decade he has performed leading roles in Europe at the German State theatres in Aachen, Augsburg, Braunschweig, Dessau, Dortmund, and Dresden. He has dazzled audiences in Amsterdam at the Concertgebouw, in Berlin at the Konzerthaus and the Philharmonie. Since his return to the United States, Reid-Smith has sung with the National Choral Society of Washington at the Kennedy Center, The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, The Huntington Symphony Orchestra and The Cathedral Cultural Series of Detroit with the Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra. He has also been heard in Toledo Opera productions of Lucia di Lammermoor, Sweeney Todd and Amahl and the Night Visitors. Returning to Europe, Mr. Reid-Smith recently performed the roles of Narraboth in Salome and Steuermann in Die Fliegende Holländer in Germany, Switzerland and a ten-city tour of Japan.
It looks strongly like Armstrong was facilitating a grass-roots campaign to oppose changes that his boss wanted. That is ordinarily a firing offense.
November 6, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Actually, I don’t think I have seen much if anything in the press or the works of the columnist in question about any other people in the administration doing something friendly and social with gayle manchin, although we know it happens.
So, then, why is this guy’s shopping with her so notable? And, other than some boat stuff a long time ago, there’s a similar lack of stories about such people socializing with joe manchin. Hmmm.
Come on — this is — rather obviously — a not-so-subtle faux-macho dig at RRS’s choice of pastimes — shopping with women, of all things! Like, I’d rather eat s**t!
Point taken?
November 6, 2007 at 4:42 pm
His sexual orientation, like his singing, has nothing to do with his managerial skills and it appears all three suck.
It’s possible that Kabler is a non-bigoted asshole (see his column on Mark Coyles death) and that he used those implications to dig at someone he doesn’t like.
A dull historian?!?! Surely Not!! How in the hell did someone without the proper charisma maintain such lengthy employment administrating historical documents?!?! Now there’s the scandal!
November 6, 2007 at 5:34 pm
Anonymous, the context of the shopping remark is obvious. Phil says the Armstrong firing is a big misstep for Manchin, but RRS doesn’t have to worry because he’s close with Gayle, evidenced by their reportedly frequent shopping trips. That’s what he does, so it was mentioned. If RSS spent his free time boning cocktail waitresses with Joe, that would have been mentioned. Nice try to dig up controversy, but no sale.
At any rate, this talk of culture in W.Va. sparks a chuckle within me because (1) there is a noticeable lack of it in W.Va. and (2) this blog frequently dedicates posts to that fact. HK, do you recall your chides of the Clay Center better serving the people by presenting NASCAR on Ice? These W.Va. cultural institutions ultimately fail because there’s just not much to hilltop bumpkins.
November 6, 2007 at 5:36 pm
I agree with HK (a bit of a surprise for me), it doesn’t look like Randy Reid hyphen Smith has any business running such a large department. Having a gifted vocal talent does not a manager make. I also agree with Kabler (a MUCH bigger surprise for me). His comment about a resume in reverse does make a point.
The whole firing was handled badly. Once he’s fired, he’s a member of the public and you can’t stop him from staying in a public area. It appears from the news accounts the the State Capitol Police officer that was called did the smart thing & didn’t press the issue and when Armstrong dug in his heels. That move probably saved the state from paying out on a huge civil rights lawsuit.
November 6, 2007 at 6:02 pm
His resume is in reverse. RRS is also a very good singer…not a great singer..but, passable. Phil Kabler is out of line with the gay references - they are not relevant. A real newspaper would not allow that to happen.
All that said, I stand by my original point: RRS is bad for the division which he manages. He has no concerns outside of keeping Joe and Gayle happy; and he doesn’t care about the arts community or history.
He should be fired.
November 6, 2007 at 6:11 pm
These W.Va. cultural institutions ultimately fail because there’s just not much to hilltop bumpkins.
It’s not a lack of culture, it’s a lack of respect by turd-sniffers (people who walk around with their nose in the air and an expression on their face as if someone has put a turd under their nose) of the culture that is native. If you prefer La Boheme to Vandalia then WV may not be the best place to live. Either way, leave the history alone.
But NASCAR On Ice is as funny as Preservation Hall Jazz Band in Hamlin is sad.
November 6, 2007 at 7:17 pm
RRS: Best candidate for the job????
Who were the next best??
When was the job posted?
Who was the search committee?
Is RRS the very best available candidate?
These are the reasons WV State Government is full of…. employees. I don’t care if they are gay or straight, they are sub-par, and NOT the best candidates available. First things first Big Daddy Joe, Put the very best people into positions to excel and foster a State Government where the best and brightest find a home and a occupation for the best of the State.
Enough of this kind of CRAP appointments. This has got to stop.
November 6, 2007 at 10:17 pm
Or the best people for your flagship university, not Mr. Not Qualified.
November 6, 2007 at 10:36 pm
mountain daddy, i think you are reading kabler’s silly comments correctly, Of course RRS may well have a tin ear when it comes to administration. he is, i’d guerss, probably not nearly as bad as some are suggesting, though. people love to find fault.
anyhow, to another point raised by the comments:
opera was a great popular art form, that evolved over centuries, based on the unamplified human voice and instruments, conveying (back then) the same kind of great emotional power that movies et al can do today with their electrons and speakers and animation, etc.
as a person who started out on appalachian banjo and fiddle stuff, i have come to love opera (also) becase it is still based on the same technological limitations that produced deeply disciplined people like jimmie rogers, buell kazee, the carter family, and for that matter hank williams sr. — not facile “turn it up to 11 crap” that spawns adolescent stuff like hank williams III.
Of course art is always a matter of taste, and none is “better” than anyone else’s — but give the very human and amazingly collaborative art form of opera some credit, people. (check out the video “sing faster, a stage hand’s guide to wagner’s ring. a real hoot).
i suspect that RRS, as a good opera singer can put just as much human soul into an aria from la boheme, a great gritty love story, as one will find in a pickup group at vandalia singing “frankie and johnny.” buddy, if it’s folks singing their hearts out to other folks, especially without having to cozy up to some microphone to validate them as artists, it’s what I like!
November 6, 2007 at 10:59 pm
mountain daddy, i think you are reading kabler’s comments correctly. They actually detract from his point.
anyhow, to another point raised by the comments:
jay, opera is a great popular art form that evolved over centuries, based on the unamplified human voice and instruments, which conveys the same kind of pageantry and great emotional power that movies can do with electrons, screens, and speakers and animation, etc.
as a person who started out in music appreciation on appalachian banjo and guitar stuff, i have come to love opera (also) today because it is still based on the same technological limitations that produced deeply disciplined and focused people like jimmie rogers, buell kazee, the carter family, and, for that matter, hank williams sr. I remeber going to a cRalph Stanley concert in Hampshire County where the sound system failed — but Ralph’s tenor and banjo cut right through the crowd, and did the trick!
Of course art is always a matter of taste, and none is “better” than anyone else’s — but one ought to give the very human and amazingly collaborative art form of opera credit, people. (check out the video “sing faster, a stage hand’s guide to wagner’s ring” a hoot).
Having been to Vandalia a number of times, and having seen La Boheme many times, I find living here just fine. Surely it is not a secret that there are many very fine bluegrass bands within a few miles of Lincoln Center. What is with this exclusivity?
RRS, as a good opera singer, can put just as much human soul and feeling into an aria from la boheme, a great gritty love story and my favorite opera, as one will find in a pickup group at vandalia singing “frankie and johnny.” and buddy, if it’s folks singing their hearts out to other folks without having to cozy up to a microphone to validate them as artists, it’s what I like!
As to West Virginia’s “native culture,” perhaps a visit to the Thomas opera house in Tucker County, where Italian coal miners enjoyed Verdi in the early 1900s, would be instructive!
I know you don’t really mean to suggest that if I like opera I might be “happier elsewhere” — that would be WAY wrong, dude!
November 6, 2007 at 11:07 pm
apologies for the annoying double posts. the editing process at work .. and messed up good!
November 6, 2007 at 11:45 pm
I have nothing against opera, I was just making the point that there are different cultures and we have one of our very own. If it’s not enough then maybe a weekend out of town or a moving truck would be in order. It’s not about exclusivity, it’s about having enough like-minded people in the area to support ones taste. The sad part of the Preservation Hall concert is that there were so few people there.
A family member of mine earns his living playing Arthur Fiedler’s father’s violin. He lost a conducting position to a governor’s token wife and got a taste of what it takes to succeed in the arts here.
November 7, 2007 at 12:51 am
What are our options…were the previous commissioners any better? I am not being snide…I am asking because I do not know.
November 7, 2007 at 11:35 am
One of our options is to let the Manchins know that we want the Cultural Center to be Open For History and that political appointees are temporary while our history is permanent and should not be fucked with.
I was able to trace my family back to early 18th century Maryland (and from there back to England) including a governor of MD, a Revolutionary War veteran, Civil War veterans (Union and Confederate), etc… Pretty cool to be able to show my kids where they come from. Now that doesn’t mean a lot to some people, but it does mean something to at least as many people and there are thousands of ex-pat WVians for whom it gives connection and comfort. To have all that trampled for a hack like RSS and a snack bar is bullshit.
E-maill the governors office and tell ‘em to re-instate Mr. Armstrong.
November 7, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Good point, Jay. We really do need a campaign to get Mr. Armstrong re-instated. Make the commissioner eat crow on this one. Make him publicly reverse his decision….like his resume is in reverse.
November 7, 2007 at 12:35 pm
I’m not sure it’s about anyone eating crow. For me it’s about keeping some things somewhat sacred and out of reach of this sort of pettiness. Arch had his statue anchored with cables embedded into the concrete floor to keep future governors from removing and that is a good indication of how silly this gets.
November 7, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Whatever happens, I hope no one tries to bring this
into the debate.
November 7, 2007 at 3:01 pm
This is off topic, but what are the chances that Don Surber will use the school shooting in Finland to say something profoundly stupid and adulatory about the U.S? Of course, he does this with every topic and subject, but I foresee another post a la “Norway is the East Baltimore of Scandinavia…except worse.”
November 7, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Stay focused, guys. How can we expect the administration to take this topic seriously, if we won’t?
November 7, 2007 at 4:51 pm
If you haven’t, please read the update in this post.
November 7, 2007 at 5:34 pm
gracias to hippie killer (whoever u r) 4 commentary about the sad state of art affairs in wva. i don’t think a cultural center has 2 b like this, does it? i’m glad someone’s keeping an eye on things. our art community feels like one of those markdown novels you’ll find on the books a million table for $1.
November 7, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Glad to hear Armstrong’s son doesn’t think “there’s just not much to hilltop bumpkins”.
He was good on Hoppy’s show.
November 8, 2007 at 10:18 am
Before more comments such as “how can we expect the administration to take this topic seriously, if we won’t,” and “Thanks for the watchful eye, HK,” crop up, let’s pause and ponder how many of the empowered read or care about the comments here. My point is that for all your well-meaning concern and dialog (which are admirable), the politics of W.Va. will keep steaming along as always. RRS isn’t going anywhere and Armstrong will most likely never get his job back, no matter how riled up Jay and Mountain Daddy get.
By the way, I hardly see Armstrong’s son as an authority on RRS’ intentions or career. I have no allegiance to RRS, but for the sake of reason and argument, RRS could have abandoned opera for any number of reasons NOT related to being washed up. Maybe he had throat cancer, who knows? Actually, RRS knows, but Armstrong’s son DOESN’T. Thus, it matters little if he’s openly compared to Placido Domingo, Armstrong is no authority on RRS’ personal decisions. He sounded like an angry loudmouth. I wonder where he got that?
November 8, 2007 at 10:39 am
I would be more worried if the empowered *were* reading this blog. Shouldn’t they have better things to do? I’ve got news for everybody: the revolution will not be blogged.
But I think it’s a fair to ask someone why they left their so-called successful opera career to become the most hated administrator in state government. I also think it’s prudent to wonder if that sort of thing happens very often. And who better to ask than another successful opera singer?
November 8, 2007 at 11:39 am
Or maybe RSS’ talent did not bear his hubris. But I’m not real concerned how and why he arrived here, just what he’s done since.
The surest way for WV politics to keep steaming along as always is to be resigned to that line of thought. The political tactic of eroding an opponent’s will is longstanding here and almost always leaves the person with the least desirable morals the winner.
The revolution may not be blogged but the ideas behind it most certainly will. I was able to answer Final Jeopardy (not revolution-worthy) when the three contestants could not because I knew that arktos was Greek for ‘bear’. I knew that because of my reading during Surber’s Canadian Crime Rate - Polar Bear Fiasco. Had to chew on that one for awhile.
Point is that anybody who is open to it will learn and have their critical thinking skills sharpened and well reasoned knowledge is the basis of any good revolution.
Of course there is also the chance that RSS and Gayle are laughing at the futile indignation of the polloi as they shop the Bridge Road boutiques.
November 8, 2007 at 12:08 pm
The revolution will not be blogged. A good revolution. Heh… funny. There is no revolution and no real, lasting change until somebody shoots someone. How terribly old school.
November 8, 2007 at 12:24 pm
You putting that in your book there, Emo McSourpuss?
November 9, 2007 at 10:22 am
yep.
November 11, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Anyone who believes that nothing has changed in the political realm better wake the fuck up. How can you not have noticed that an unprecedented concentration of power has been talking place in the executive branch at both the state and national level? And to anyone who believes that politics can only go “steaming along as always” - just don’t stand in the doorway, don’t block up the hall………
Fred was (is) a pretty interesting cat and sometimes good guy, but he was slow as mollasses and had been an anachronism at the Cultural Center (oh the irony in that) for over two decades. He who gets hurt will be he who has stalled - and Fred stalled. Fred made it easy to be taken out by the inept and eccentric RSS, and thats too bad. Takes one to know one I guess. RSS can, likewise, be taken out. In fact, its his destiny - he was hired to be the fall guy.
November 11, 2007 at 11:50 pm
I agree with one thing you said: It is RRS’s destiny to get fired. He will do something so outrageous that Joe will have no choice but to fire him.
November 19, 2007 at 8:46 pm
Those of you who are making up gossip and those who are repenting it, without validation, need to hear Randall Reid-Smith sing our West Virginia Songs. He truly loves WVa.and I have no doubt that he will do a honorable for West Virginia. Take the time to check his record.
November 19, 2007 at 9:30 pm
O.K., where could we find said record, Anna?
November 20, 2007 at 2:49 am
Except that he wasn’t hired to be a goddamn singer.
November 24, 2007 at 12:32 pm
The new edition of WV ART on KCSLC has the little Show Choir Göring himself. Even his gut-stretched, jowl-lopped turtle-neck sweater seems insincere and petty. And he has the fucking nerve to invoke Camp Carver and the String Band Festival as if he’s had something other than a negative effect on both! This putz’ entire tenure is Open For Business Redux. I’m looking forward to the story in Metro West about him as the Pageant Consultant for the 4th runner-up to Miss Big Chimney.
November 28, 2007 at 12:39 am
HK is f-ing right; RRS was not hired to be a singer..he was hired as an administrator. What is it with this state for making backward arguments in defense of bad people. RRS sucks Anna…good grief.
This was in the Daily Mail today:
“Charleston attorney Jim Lees said Monday he notified Culture and History Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith and the state Public Employees Grievance Board that he would represent Fred Armstrong in a legal challenge of his Nov. 1 termination.
Armstrong was fired by Reid-Smith after nearly 30 years of apparently exemplary service to the state, including the past 22 years as state archivist.
Lees said he would pursue several options, beginning with filing a grievance with the state personnel board.
“We’re exploring other venues as well, including a possible circuit court case,” said Lees, a former gubernatorial candidate.
Reid-Smith’s letter of termination stated that, as a will and pleasure employee, Armstrong could be terminated at any time without cause.
However, Lees said he may challenge Armstrong’s firing on the grounds that it was a retaliatory discharge. Under state law, he said, it is illegal to fire a state employee for attempting to faithfully enforce the law.”
RRS was not hired to spend the division’s budget protecting him from his many lawsuits Anna. Oh, also, Anna, just in case you didn’t know, the Division has to pay to the attorney general out of funds not budgeted to defend him..its not free.
November 28, 2007 at 12:40 am
Also, Anna, no one on here has made up a damn thing about RRS. Who could make this shit up?
December 4, 2007 at 11:14 am
[...] heck IS the plan? Why is it all such a secret? Dear Readers (Phil Kabler? Bob Schwarz? Anna Sale? Hippie Killer? Anybody?!) blog in with some evidence, so we can uncover the most guilty party. Or parties… [...]
December 4, 2007 at 4:51 pm
I agree we need some evidence. The only thing I know is that If you heard RRS sing about his beloved WVa. You would know that he would never ever do or say anything to hurt this state or its people.
December 4, 2007 at 7:26 pm
Actions sing louder than arias.
December 5, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Anna, you’re nuts. (sorry) RRS sings because he likes to hear the sound of his own voice, and he will take every opportunity to sing for anyone that remotely suggests it. At the Juried Exhibition opening in Parkersburg, someone suggested he sing, and he did a solid five minutes, into a small PA which was very near exploding.
To us mere mortals, he DOES have a good voice, but “good” doesn’t cut it in the high art world. Also, his job at Toledo was not singing, it was office work of some kind.
He doesn’t have to do anything on purpose to hurt West Virginia, bad management is very easy to accomplish.
December 9, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Do you think Mr. Armstrong really got fired for refusing to destroy archives that pertained to the historic museum mess? Like maybe he was acting as a noble “librarian” trying to protect National and State records for posterity and the congealed esxecutive branch (I agree with that) was threatened by it so they decided to act on the obvious (Mr. Armstrong’s abrasive personality) to take him out?
December 9, 2007 at 3:41 pm
The job of the commissioner is not to sing everywhere you get a chance…..or for a captive audience. The job is to raise funds for the various constituency groups, protect the archives, promote culture and heritage of the state and to continue to preserve. I don’t give a damn if RRS loves W.Va or not….his job is to do the things mentioned about - and he is not doing it.
Sorry Anna….I don’t mean to sound mean, Randall Reid-Smith is about sucking up to the governor and his wife and about promoting himself. He really doesn’t care about that agency …. and that is very sad because it is/was a great agency.
December 9, 2007 at 8:31 pm
If personal comments like this continue to show up in the press, they’re either gonna give Fred his job back or erect a statue of him.
Fred Armstrong went that extra mile
December 10, 2007 at 12:54 am
You’re right, Big Red, that was a very powerful personal comment. Fred deserves his job back.
January 25, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Quote from Anna Castle: “The only thing I know is that If you heard RRS sing about his beloved WVa. You would know that he would never ever do or say anything to hurt this state or its people.”
Are you kidding me??? Are you being facetious or are you just a friggin’ numb skull??? I’m sorry but as my granny use to say “What’s that got to do with the price of rice in China?”
And for everyone else….RRS was appointed….he is just doing his job. I’m not saying I like how he does his job but I think for the most part he’s doing what he’s told. If you want something done about this… stop pickin’ on the little guy and go for the person(s) who are really at fault. If you think RRS fired Armstrong on a whim….you’re crazy…he got approval.(I’m sure) as w/everything else he does.
I’ll be interested to see how the current SB does…..