Sept. / Oct. 2006

New Reuther statue in Wheeling honors “man of ideals”

Oct. 16, 2006

It was a crisp fall day, with a wind blowing sharply off the Ohio River onto a waterfront plaza in downtown Wheeling, W.Va.

But an appreciative crowd that included hundreds of schoolchildren as well as UAW members and retirees braved the elements on Oct. 12 for the dedication of a statue honoring Walter Reuther, the former UAW president, who was raised in Wheeling by his parents, Valentine and Anna Reuther.

Thirty-eight members of the extended Reuther family were on hand, including Christine Reuther Richey, sister of Walter, Victor, Roy and Theodore Reuther.

All of the Reuther children, Christine recalled, were encouraged by their parents to be actively engaged in social and political issues.

“My father and mother taught us to work hard for justice, peace and the brotherhood of man,” Richey told the audience. “That meant living the golden rule every day, as much as we could.”

The new memorial to Reuther – the only resident of Wheeling to make the cover of Time magazine – is a joint project of UAW Region 8, the city of Wheeling, and the Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation.

The larger-than-life statue, commissioned by the UAW, was sculpted by Zanesville, Ohio, artist Alan Cottrill. It features Reuther in shirtsleeves, gesturing as if speaking to a crowd.

“I tried to capture the spirit of the man, more than just the physical likeness,” said Cottrill, who reviewed hundreds of photographs while preparing the statue. “It’s a little confrontational – that’s intentional. To create change, one must confront.”

Valentine Reuther, Walter’s father, was no stranger to confrontation. As head of the Ohio Valley Labor and Trades Assembly, he lobbied to prevent the city of Wheeling from accepting a donation for a public library from Andrew Carnegie in 1903. Carnegie had set armed guards loose on strikers during the Homestead Steel strike in 1892; Val Reuther believed that a businessman who used violence against striking workers didn’t deserve a civic building named in his honor.

Val Reuther won his point. The city of Wheeling raised its own funds and built its own library.

The story of the senior Reuther’s fight against Carnegie is depicted on panels surrounding the new statue of Walter Reuther, which tell the story of his family in Wheeling and also his career as a trade unionist, civil rights leader and political activist.

The new monument, however, is intended to be not just a guide to the past, but also an inspiration for the future.

“He was a man of ideals, ideas and action and he loved what he was doing,” Christine Reuther Richey said of her brother. “I hope you young people here today will work and speak on the many important issues of the day. There are so many issues and your voices need to be heard.”

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger reminded the audience that UAW members were successful in their fight to “turn bad jobs into good jobs and good jobs into better ones… in no small part because of Reuther’s ability to inspire men and women to make sacrifices for the common good.”

“You will have your own issues and ideals you’ll want to fight for as you grow to become citizens in your own right,” said Gettelfinger, also addressing the students in the audience. “If you want to win, learn a lesson from Walter Reuther: Don’t fight alone. Find a way to inspire others and stand together. That’s how you win.”

Roger Kerson