Summary: William Avery would have never become a politician if not for a series of disastrous floods in Kansas in the mid 20th century. He was the third generation of Averys farming near Wakefield, in Clay County, when President Truman appropriated funds to build two dams in the Blue Valley that would inundate his farm. Avery became an opposition leader and was elected to serve in the Kansas Legislature from 1951-1955, and went on to serve in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1955-1965, though he was unable to stop the dam project. In 1965, Avery became Kansas 37th governor. Video and a complete transcript of the interview is available on Kansas Memory.
