Published: November 11, 2008 06:02 pm            

Wright focuses on county’s past, as well as its future

The roots that plant him firmly in Fayette County’s soil are what animate, fascinate and excite Danny Wright.

Whether looking at southern West Virginia’s past or contemplating its future, Fayette County’s circuit clerk and long-time history teacher cannot help but spread his contagious passion for all things historical and educational.

“I think my real interest in it (history) can be traced to my maternal grandmother, Cleo Cody Rhodes,” said Wright, 57, his grandmother’s name rolling off his tongue as easily as his own.

“She was born in 1896, died in 1973. She was a great story-teller. A lot of her stories were wrapped up in history. Her grandfather fought on the Confederate side of the Civil War. He didn’t die until 1914, so she got to talk to him a great deal. She related to us so much Civil War history by way of her granddad. It just intrigued me as a young kid.”

While his love for the topic was always there, Wright believes his grandmother “stirred” it for him with the shared lore of her grandfather, a sergeant in the Confederate army and a plantation overseer for a time before the war.



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Wright has made it his life’s work to try to spread that love of the past and demonstrate its beneficial nature in understanding the present and the future. Brought into the world in a home at Summerlee near Oak Hill by the same doctor who delivered his mother, Wright went on to graduate from Collins High School in 1969.

From there, he acquired his degree in social studies from West Virginia Institute of Technology in December 1972. Wright obtained his first teaching job at Nuttall High School the next year, which would begin a 35-year legacy — and counting — of teaching at both the high school and college levels.

In the years between 1973 and 2008, Wright has educated — and been educated, as he would put it — at Nuttall High School, Midland Trail High School, Oak Hill High School, Glenville State College, Bluefield State College and New River Community and Technical College. In 1980, Wright achieved a master’s degree in history from Marshall University.



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Wright declares that teaching and learning go hand in hand — almost a symbiotic enterprise with a Taoist decor. “I was always glad to hear students say that I was tough and hard but fair. I think you can be tough just to be tough and hard on a student, but then no one gains anything,” he observed.

“You hold students accountable but, at the same time, it holds you accountable in terms of delivery. I felt I had to learn each day. I felt I hadn’t done much either if I hadn’t learned anything too. I tried to make history and government relevant.”

According to studies he has seen, social studies and history are deemed to be “fuzzy” subjects. Wright tries his utmost to make them tangible and real for students by connecting them to the local level, finding local Civil War sites — and merely demonstrating enthusiasm. “If teachers go in and they’re just low-key, students come out the same,” he noted.

“If you go in enthused and excited and expect a lot from your students, you’ll get a lot. You don’t expect much, you don’t get much. I expected a lot from my students. When teaching, I tried to be friendly with my students but never become their friend. Respect is on the line then.”

Wright recalled a student he had at Nuttall High School who didn’t seem to demonstrate much interest or motivation in learning about history and government.

About a year after graduation, Wright encountered a very different young man at a local gas station. “He came up to me and said, ‘Mr. Wright, I just want to tell you that I now have a great interest in government. I watch the news and subscribe to a newspaper and even a news magazine,’” Wright recollected.

“I asked what changed his mind, and he said, ‘I got my first job, got my first paycheck, and saw what interest the government had in me (in taxes). If they had that much interest in me, I’d better pay attention to what they do.’”



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Wright’s connection to history cannot be divorced from his avid interest in politics. A dedicated Democrat, he has served at different times on the state Democratic Executive Committee, the Democratic Congressional Executive Committee, Young Democratic State Executive Committee and Fayette County Young Democrats.

A visitor to his office in the Fayette County courthouse will leave with no doubts as to Wright’s political persuasion. His desk and the walls are festooned with past and present Democratic Party leaders, along with various representations of the party’s iconic donkey.

Wright put his political passion into practice when he successfully ran for the Fayette County Board of Education in 1992, 1996 and 2000. “I led the ticket each time,” he added. In 2004, a nudge from a local political friend prompted him to run for — and win — the race for Fayette County Circuit Clerk.

“I’ve found the job to be quite interesting. It’s never the same each day. It gives you a good insight into the judicial system. You get to see the lawyers and judges in action and how the system works. I enjoy meeting different people from time to time. Many times, I see former students. I like the aspect of researching in the old records,” he said.

“They date back to 1831, which was the year of the formation of the county. It’s bothersome to see so many divorces. Sometimes they’re necessary. It’s also bothersome sometimes to hear some of the sad stories of what people have dealt with in their lives.”



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Wright also has fond memories of his days on the county school board. As far as he can tell, he was the first board member to ever systematically visit every classroom in every Fayette County school every year that he was on the board.

“I didn’t just go and visit the principal. I visited every secretary, every custodian, every teacher. I talked to the cooks. To me, education is a collaborative effort. It’s the bus drivers, cooks, custodians, aides, teachers, secretaries — everyone plays a distinct part in the delivery of education,” Wright emphasized.

“I often thought, ‘How can I make intelligent and wise decisions, dealing with all of these stakeholders in our system, if I have no idea what goes on in those schools and how they feel about these issues?’ I picked up a lot of good information that helped me make decisions. Many people said they appreciated that I came out.”

Wright was convinced that he had to take a hands-on approach to be effective as a school board member. He added that some of those he met said they had never seen a board member before. “I felt it was a positive experience,” he opined.



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The history buff and circuit clerk now teaches classes at a couple of colleges, serves on the Fayette County Historic Landmark Commission, and conducts genealogical research.

His work on the commission helped erect the statue of French Gen. Marquis de Lafayette — Fayette County’s namesake — on the courthouse lawn in 2004.

“My roots run deep in southern West Virginia. My mother’s family has been here since 1770, and my dad’s family has been here a little over a hundred years,” explained Wright, the official historian to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office when Gov. Joe Manchin held that post.

Wright’s love of history rubbed off on his nephew if not on his son. Steven Wright is a junior at Marshall University majoring in civil engineering. Wright’s nephew, whose father is an engineer, is majoring in history, he noted humorously. His wife Christina, who found the elusive ‘Mr. (W)right,’ is a counselor at Oak Hill High School.

His passion for his own roots and those of his state would be less than genuine if he yearned to leave, and Wright shows no indication of turning his back on his Mountain State heritage.

A combination of coal’s seemingly bright future — especially in light of global energy markets — with tourism, whitewater rafting, and a strong system of state parks has Wright more than optimistic about his state’s ability to thrive, prosper and continue on for yet another 145 years — and beyond.

“I’m hopeful. This is where I was born, where I’ve lived and where I’m going to stay,” he stated.

“I like to be hopeful for the future of Fayette County and West Virginia. I think any true West Virginian would like to see those things happen. There are two types of West Virginians — those who were born here and those who wish they were.”

        

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