Who is Plessner?

Shortly after Gerald Plessner began writing a column for the conservative pro-Republican Pasadena Star-News, the letters of outrage from hard-wired Republicans, Libertarians and ultra-conservatives started coming in.
One letter began simply “Who is Plessner?” Gerald used that as an introductory line each time he told someone about his writing and that’s why it seems appropriate to use it once again.

Gerald Plessner was a fourth generation Republican who even voted for Barry Goldwater, but he was much younger then. He left the party in 1991, on the day after five Republican white men (Senators Charles Grassley of Iowa, Orrin Hatch of Utah, Alan Simpson of Wyoming, Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania humiliated Anita Hill on television in front of her parents and the world.

It was during that hearing on the appointment of Clarence Thomas to the United States Supreme Court, that Gerald decided to cease voting Republican. Since that time Gerald has registered and voted as an independent.

GERALD’S FAMILY POLITICAL HISTORY

Gerald Plessner was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri.

His great-grandmother Flora was active in Republican politics in the 1800s, decades before she was entitled to vote. She campaigned for Teddy Roosevelt for president and Gerald has her campaign medallion to prove it.

Flora and great-grandfather Hermann Plessner were German-Jewish immigrants who arrived in the United States in the 1850s. They are buried in the Lutheran cemetery in Farmington, Missouri, where they settled. Jews were integrated into German society in those days and they probably felt more at home in a German-speaking town than in a bigger city where most Jewish immigrants spoke Yiddish, which they did not.

Gerald is very proud of his great-grandfather Hermann who served in Captain James P. Caldwell’s 9th Regiment of Ohio Cavalry Volunteers. Hermann enrolled in the Union Army on January 9, 1864, serving one year, five months and twenty-six days on active duty. He was honorably discharged as a private at Lexington, North Carolina on July 17, 1865 when Sherman’s Army was disbanded. He died of pneumonia in 1889 and Flora Plessner passed away in 1945, living 56 years a widow.

Gerald’s grandfather Edward was a St. Louis Republican patronage employee who served as a guard at the City Workhouse, a jail for men convicted of public drunkenness and other petty crimes. He and Grandma Aurelia most certainly voted a straight Republican ticket.

Gerald’s mother Rose and father Herman were not active in politics but they were Republicans --- at least until the Great Depression.

Gerald knew his great-grandmother Flora, who took care of him in his early childhood, when his mother was hospitalized. “She was a tall, stately woman, loving and warm, but I was too young to ask questions about how she had lived and about my great-grandfather’s Civil War experiences. I really regret that. I have wondered if she ever saw Abraham Lincoln.”

Gerald’s family on his mother’s side were Russian Jews who came to America at the beginning of the 20th century. His mother had five uncles and an aunt and they were a warm and supportive family. His grandmother Sarah was a strong woman who made her own success in business. She was married four times and was very independent. Most of Gerald’s great-uncles did well in various businesses but Gerald has no recollection of the politics on his mother’s side.

BOY SCOUT CAREER

As a youngster, Gerald was very active in the Boy Scouts of America, eventually going to college to become a professional Boy Scout executive. (Yes, he got paid for being a Boy Scout!) He served in Scouting in St. Joseph and St. Louis, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Miami, Chicago and finally in Pasadena, California.

MILITARY INTELLIGENCE TRAINING

Gerald’s Boy Scout career was interrupted when he joined the U.S. Army to avoid the draft.

“I had always wanted to be a spy, go to Paris, wear a trench coat and smoke Turkish cigarettes, so I enlisted for three years instead of being drafted for two,” says Gerald.

His training in intelligence had a tremendous influence on his world view, ultimately causing him to have a deep interest in politics, world affairs and intelligence issues.

Gerald’s enlistment was extended three months and eighteen days because of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Upon his return to civilian life he returned to his career in Scouting.

GERALD AND CAROLE’S OWN FAMILY

Gerald met his wife Carole on a blind date arranged by a childhood Boy Scout buddy during the two weeks before he left for basic training. Both will tell you that it was love, if not at first sight, then certainly by the third date.

They have been married forty-seven years, have “three happy and successful children and nine fantastically bright and beautiful grandchildren”.

FUND RAISING CAREER

Gerald eventually became an expert in fund raising and left Scouting to work as a consultant for scores of non–profit organizations of all types. His specialty was conducting fund raising events. He created golf tournaments, dinners and other activities that ultimately raised millions of dollars for charities in the Western United States. He is the author of three books on fund raising and was a national leader in that industry, serving as an officer in its professional society. He organized a twelve hour international television course on fund raising. He was also an adjunct faculty member at the University of California where he organized and conducted a certificate program in fund raising.

“I am a guy who flunked six hours of English in college but I learned how to write by creating fund raising letters”, says Gerald. “I went to a seminar and the speaker said the way to raise money by mail is to sit down and write a letter to your mother. I did that and it worked.”

“Even today, I think my best articles are the ones where I sit at my desk late at night and write a letter to someone like my mother. And sometimes I imagine that Mom reads them too.”

“I am flattered that I have been able to write things that people all over the world find of value. Please know that I appreciate your interest and respect your intelligence. I may get you angry, either at someone else or at myself, but I will never lie to you.”

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This website is dedicated to Carole Plessner, who reads and critiques everything I write and whose judgement is impeccable. She is also the only person in the house who knows when to put the apostrophe in the word “it’s”.