During the presidential campaign of 1936, Northampton was visited by one of our state’s most famous visitors, Gifford Pinchot. His name is barely recognized by most Pennsylvanians today. He was a man of character who had outstanding leadership skills.
Pinchot was born in Simsbury, Connecticut. He was a graduate of Yale University. Pinchot later studied abroad and became the first American to make forestry a career. As chief of the Bureau of Forestry under President Theodore Roosevelt, he helped preserve millions of acres of forests. Both men popularized a new term: conservation. A movement that made Americans more aware of the importance of preserving our precious natural resources. Pinchot, a Republican, served two terms as governor, 1923-1927 and 1931-1935.
During his first term, he accomplished something foreign to many politicians today. The state debt was $20 million dollars, which is pocket change today. He proceeded to eliminate the debt by a program of lowering expenses of government by savings instead of increasing taxes. The state debt was retired in two years. The state was placed on a pay as you go budget. The number of departments in the state were also cut…