Wilford Arnold, who served as mayor of Adairville, chairman of the Logan Todd Water Commission, and head of the Logan Telephone Cooperative, died Jan. 30, 2010, at age 88.
The LoJo asked people who have known Mr. Arnold well in various capacities to share their memories of him. Logan Telephone Manager Greg Hale submitted a resolution recently passed in his honor by the public service agency's board of directors. Among those responding were two of his pallbearers, Danny Finch and John Mason Barnes. Also contributing thoughts were Sandra Walton, Judge Sue Carol Browning, Lisa Browning, John Ferris, Willis Shores, Emily Hayes. Their comments follow.
Danny Finch (Adairville councilman): George Wilford Arnold was an inspirational leader to the City of Adairville. He showed great leadership to many in the community. He served the City of Adairville as Mayor for eight years plus. He worked at Howlett Chevrolet for 25-30 years. He was on the Logan Telephone Board of Directors from 1974-1980. From 1980-1991 he served as manager of Logan Telephone Coop. He worked with government officials to get new housing in the City of Adairville. He was a member of the Adairville South Logan Chamber of Commerce. He was responsible for getting the Adairville Community park. He served as chairman of Logan Todd Water Commission from 1997-2003. He was responsible for obtaining the funding and construction of the Logan Todd water system. He also served as Executive Director of Logan Todd Rural Water from 2003-2005.
George Wilford Arnold enjoyed the respect and admiration of public officials at local, state and federal levels. He possessed unique leadership skills and enabled numerous parties to function in unison and harmony.
In 1973 he worked with government officials in helping the City of Adairville obtain one of the first ambulance services in the state.
He served in the Army Air Force for 3 years.
He worked with many government officials from Frankfort to Washington to Atlanta in helping the city and county obtain valuable information to aid in the operation of the city and county government.
He was a dedicated member of the Adairville Baptist Church.
He was loved by many friends in Adairville and throughout the county.

John Mason Barnes (Adairville civic leader): Mr. Arnold had more vision concerning community affairs than any other person I have ever known. started working with Mr. Arnold in 1993 when I started working for South Logan Water and he was Mayor of Adairville. I was a year out of Western and he was such a positive influence on me with his forward thinking and with his leadership abilities. This forward thinking would continue when the Logan County Water Advisory Board was formed in the mid-90's. This board later became the Logan/Todd Regional Water Commission.
When the Commission first started their was a Kentucky statute which prohibited anyone with any position involved with water issues and experience from serving on the board. Once this statute was changed with the help of Rep. Sheldon Baugh, Mr. Arnold and I were allowed to serve on this fledgling board. Once Mr. Arnold was on the board it didn't take long for the rest of the commissioners to realize that a strong leader was needed to head up this group of 11 (Oak Grove was not a part of the Commission yet). Mr. Arnold was the obvious choice and I firmly believe that if not for his leadership and "holding the group together" the commission may have never succeeded.
I know a lot of people in our community are still skeptical about the water commission, but the fact is we did not have enough water for future long term needs in either county. Here is where his forward thinking combined with his leadership paid off. I believe that in the future those individuals that are still skeptical will thank Mr. Arnold for all that he did while serving the citizens of Logan County.
If Mr. Arnold had knowledge of some issue you could bet that he knew what he was talking about. I used to always tell Daddy that if Mr. Arnold told you something you did not have to question it, you could "Take it to the Bank".I valued his friendship tremendously and will miss him greatly.

Emily Hayes (retired Human Resources Manager, Logan Telephone Co-op): To me, George Wilford Arnold was the ultimate business professional. He conducted the business of Logan Telephone as he would have conducted his personal business. He was faithful in his responsibilities to the telephone subscribers, board of directors, and employees. Logan Telephone grew during his leadership years and continued in the tradition of providing its subscribers with number one service and up-to-date equipment and the latest technology.
To me personally, Mr. Arnold was a friend who cared about me and my family and was someone I could look up to and admire.

John Ferris (civic leader): Wilford Arnold was a wonderful visionary and friend of Logan County. He will be greatly missed for his leadership in numerous areas. When we began exploring the water situation in Logan County (long before the "worms in the water era"), Wilford was the first to step up and "get involved.” As we progressed through the process, many skeptics stated we could never unit all the various interest into a unified group. Wilford took the lead in the effort and prevailed and led us into the multi-county Logan Todd Water Association we now enjoy.

Shirlee Yassney (former Russellville mayor): Wilford Arnold to me was a role model. He and I exchanged many phone calls in regard to ordinances and other concerns of the city. He served his community proudly and when he talked about Adairville, he beamed! He never had a negative word for anyone, always friendly and desiring to help.
He spent countless hours spearheading the Logan-Todd Regional Water Commission. He made many, many trips to Frankfort and many hours spent in offices to get the deal worked out for the three counties to insure this and future generations had safe potable water that would never be limited. Wilford Arnold was truly a gentleman and a scholar.

Willis Shores (Auburn leader): My association with Wilford Arnold began in 1957 when I was employed as bookkeeper at Howlett Chevrolet in Auburn. Wilford was shop service manager and continued in that position for the years I worked there. He was tenacious-- he worked hard and expected everyone under his command to do the same.
Some years later I became a director on Logan Telephone Cooperative's board of directors. Wilford was the gneeral manager of the co-op. His desire and drive to get things done was evident in this place.
I feel privledged to have worked with him and experience watching him lead.

Sue Carol Browning (district judge): My dad, Carroll Browning, has always thought the world of Wilford. He recalls fondly the early 1950's in Auburn when Wilford worked as the shop manager for the Chevrolet dealership here in Auburn. According to Daddy's recollection, Wilford worked for Gordon McGregor, who bought the dealership from the Coke family, at the time William "Bill" and Mable Howlett bought it from Mr. McGregor, in 1953 or 1954. There were only a few electric welders in this part of the country at that time, and Wilford helped Daddy weld his bicycle together. Even then, my dad was trying to fix up old things to keep them working.
Wilford told Daddy that he learned basic mechanical skills while serving at the military base in Sebring, Fl .and apparently anything boys in Auburn needed to know about fixing cars, bicycles or the like could be learned from Wilford or Macon Givens.
In 1957, the year my dad graduated from Auburn High School, Wilford helped him fix his 1951 Ford two-door sedan. He never charged anything for all this advice, but ran a tight ship at the shop. Dad said he was one of the best there was at any job he undertook.
My dad and Wilford attended a BRADD conference on regionalization of water services almost 25 years ago, and this planted the seed which Wilford carefully nurtured to help form the Logan-Todd Regional Water District.
Apparently Wilford ran the garage like a little like a military base, and was very professional. One of the mechanics sometimes showed up a bit under the influence and Wilford would fire him, only to have Mr. Howlett feel sorry for him and his family once he sobered up and hire him back for Wilford to try to rehabilitate, much to Wilford's good-natured frustration, and this became somewhat of an Auburn joke. I will not name any names
Lisa Browning (executive director, Logan County Chamber of Commerce): I believe it's true that the one thing people remember about you when you're gone, is how you made them feel. Back in 1991, when I first started working at the Chamber, I was blessed to have many wonderful people around me. One of my favorites was a sweet and kind gentlemen by the name of Wilford Arnold. I can't think of one single time that Mayor Arnold was in our office that he wasn't polite, friendly, and gracious. He was simply one of those people you enjoyed seeing walk through your door - big smile on his face and a warm hello. Mayor Arnold will always hold an honored place in my memories."
Sandra Adams Walton (administrative assistant, LTRWC): As a student at Adairville High School very interested in making top grades, I heard of one Patty Arnold coming along behind me. I did not meet her or her family while in school, but heard later that she too was one the school staff encouraged to be all she could be. Years passed and I had probably been teaching algebra in Room 9 of Russellville High School for about twenty years when I found myself slightly stranded in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The door of my husband’s truck (I have no idea why I was driving it that day) refused to close. A nice man in the car beside me asked if I needed help. Little did I know that the former head of the Service Department at Howlett Chevrolet could do with a pocket knife what lots of places charge money for. The lady in the neighboring car looked familiar, and when she said to me, “That’s Wilford Arnold,” I found a new friend and visited with an old one. (Geraldine Kirtley, also formerly from Schochoh as I am, is the mother of Lyndle, my boyfriend in sixth grade, an important tidbit.)

After 24 years in that classroom, I retired in 2000, planning to work somewhere with carpet on the floor and hour-long lunches. In August 2000 I began working as Administrative Assistant for Logan/Todd Regional Water Commission or mainly for George W. Arnold. I didn’t see Mr. Arnold until the first meeting he attended following a heart attack and surgery. There was too much going to grasp the import of meeting him because that was the night papers were signed at the Chamber of Commerce offices for thirty-three million dollars in interim financing for what was to become a regional water system. I learned later that he sat in his truck a very long time trying to gain the strength to drive back home to Adairville. How I would wish I could have come to his rescue in the parking lot.

When we began to work together on a regular basis, he taught me so much. Mr. Arnold said that a paper without a date on it is worthless. See above. There were many papers to connect the two of us thereafter, correspondence with state and federal officials who respected him and his ideas, legal documents as a whole new business created by statute took form, agreements with engineers and contractors, co-signing checks for everything from one dollar for an easement to a million dollars or so for this or that. Mr. Arnold was a careful steward of the public’s borrowed money and frequently asked me, “How are we going to get ahead if you keep writing checks?” The twinkle in his eye gave me acceptance and encouragement to do something I had never thought about in those days at AHS.

Mr. Arnold and I spoke on the phone most days as I relayed any messages I might have had for him. His mind astonished me for his ability to remember details, his understanding of what had come before and what should come next. Most people I know who have retired at least once are not as open to change as he was in his seventies and eighties. He saw beyond what was current and wondered how things could be in ten, twenty or more years. Perhaps it was his varied experiences in Lewisburg, Detroit, the war, Auburn, Adairville, or any other place that helped him develop his broad range of interests.

As Chairman of Logan/Todd Regional Water Commission, Mr. Arnold was actively involved in the preparations for each meeting. We conferred about agendas, committee reports and financial reports before I mailed the packets to the members. He came early and left late on meeting days and must have found them very fatiguing. Yet he loved what he did so much; no one could say he did not give sacrificially of himself and his time.

After the George W. Arnold Water Treatment Plant was officially open (he was very surprised that it was named for him, I believe), he would drive up and walk in with such pleasant greetings. He made a point of spending time with the plant operators and the laboratory supervisor as well as the two of us in the office. He valued everyone’s contribution to this dream.

In his personal life, Mr. Arnold grieved the loss of his family members with grace. I learned about his sadness only indirectly, for he was never one to dwell on bitterness. This holds true when he was surely hurt by the betrayals that some committed against him for his part in promoting LTRWC. Instead, he focused on building up, people and things. To me, it seemed he always needed a good project. When he told me what a man with a heart attack in his past was doing in his garage, I was aghast. Then there was the meticulous way he planned that special bathtub for the possible infirmity of old age, whenever that might come.

George W. Arnold may have worn an Army uniform, a service coat at Howlett Chevrolet, or a full dress suit when appropriate, but my memories show him in a spotlessly clean and pressed blue oxford shirt, gray slacks, and as the years went by, more supportive shoes as he battled some immobility. I was the beneficiary when the first empty chair at LTRWC was near my desk, and he rested here while we caught up. He always called my husband Frank “Mr. Walton” when asking about his health. The Old South was ingrained in that gentleman who led so many to think of others first.

In his office at LTRWC, furnished with a borrowed desk, a chair I had slipcovered with an animal print fabric, and an artificial plant, Mr. Arnold asked, “Where is the bird?” It seems he thought any greenery could be enhanced by a bird. So it was I had the florist place the state bird of Kentucky, the mascot of AHS., and a little remembrance from me in the floral tribute sent to his funeral by the board of LTRWC. To me, a mighty one has fallen.

Greg Hale (current manager, Logan Telephone Co-op): Mr. Arnold served on the board of directors of Logan Telephone Cooperative from 1974-1980 and then served as General Manager of the Cooperative from 1980 to 1991. On Feb. 22, 2010 the Logan Telephone Cooperative Board of Directors unanimously passed the following resolution.
WHEREAS, George Wilford Arnold dedicated his life to advancing many worthy causes throughout our community including that of rural telecommunications,
WHEREAS, George Wilford Arnold did diligently and with profound integrity serve as a Director of Logan Telephone Cooperative; imparting thoughtful leadership and exemplary vision; and
WHEREAS, George Wilford Arnold, with great competence and ability, did perform his duties as General Manager of Logan Telephone Cooperative; providing many years of sound management and prudent guidance; and
WHEREAS, George Wilford Arnold did with abundant skill and careful consideration carry out his fiduciary responsibilities as a member of the original Partner Committee of Bluegrass Cellular.
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of Logan Telephone Cooperative honors the selfless efforts and the life of service of George Wilford Arnold.