At Your Service

The name J. William Middendorf may not necessarily be a household one on the East Bay, despite the fact this Little Compton resident has lived here for the past 60 years. A man with an incredibly wide range of interests and skills, he also is one of those rare individuals who legitimately has earned the often haphazardly applied (and usually undeserved) title of Renaissance Man.

Charming with a witty sense of dry humor, the 88-year-old Middendorf shared his thoughts with a local book club at the home of a friend of his in Barrington as he discussed his second, recently published book Potomac Fever: A Memoir of Politics and Public Service. It reads like made for TV movie. So why he’d write the book? “I wanted to suggest to young people that just maybe a life of public service can be a little more exciting than one of just making a lot of money,” he says.

After Harvard and a few years in the Navy during World War II, Middendorf made a success of himself on Wall Street before deciding to try his hand at politics. Along the way, he even made some deals with another up and coming money man... someone named Buffett.

But soon what he calls “Potomac Fever” took hold and he began to dabble in presidential politics. He became one of the original organizers of the “Draft Barry Goldwater for President” movement in 1964 where he served as treasurer of the ill-fated campaign, describing their misfortunes with disarming candor. His first book, A Glorious Disaster: Barry Goldwater’s Presidential Campaign and the Origins of the Conservative Movement detailed the shellacking the Republicans took at the hand of Lyndon Johnson. He went on to argue, though, that the lessons they learned also laid the basis for a Conservative comeback that produced Republican victories in five of the next six presidential elections.

After a brief stint working on the Rockefeller campaign four years later, Middendorf decided to officially abandon both politics and his successful business career for a life of public service. He was appointed Ambassador to the Netherlands by President Nixon in 1969 before being named Secretary of the Navy by Gerald Ford in 1976. He later went on to become the permanent US ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1981. He also headed innumerable missions all over the world and remains an active member even to this day in Washington as part of policy think tanks and the like. Any final thoughts he’d like to share about his years of foreign service? “Sure. All diplomats lie,” he laughs.

What makes the Mitterndorf story particularly compelling though is that the man has an equally well-developed artistic side as well. He has written no less that 100 military marches and three symphonies, including one to celebrate the 25th year of the reign of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands that was performed on national television in her honor.

Middendorf’s creative abilities aren’t just limited to music either. He also has over 600 sketchbooks of drawings he has made over the years, many of them of the famous political leaders with whom he has interacted. A natural story teller, Middendorf relates a conversation during which British Prime Minister Margaret Thacher effusively praised Middendorf to then President Ronald Reagan, about how of all the American ambassadors, he was the only one who always brought a pad to take down notes whenever she was speaking. Well, not exactly. It turns out what Middendorf was really doing was engaging in another one of his many artistic interests: sketching. “We met again last year at a conference in Washington and I finally confessed as to what I had been doing. She laughed and then graciously signed all the drawings I’d made of her.”

The East Bay was able to see some of Middendorf’s artwork this past summer when the Donovan Gallery in Tiverton showcased some of his special circus drawings and as well as those of his daughter Frances, herself an artist who lives in Italy. Also included in the show were his paintings of Little Compton, including some of pastures visible from his home on West Main Road. Gallery owner Kris Donovan has known Middendorf ever since she opened her studio over 30 years ago. As reported in the Sakonnet Times, Donovan noted that “it had been years since Bill has had a show here. They’re always successful and always fun. This summer was no exception.”

There will be a second showing later this month in New York City at the National Arts Club Art Club at Gramercy Park. The Club incidentally has a reciprocal arrangement with the Providence Art Club so members from here can eat there with prior notification.

Still going strong, Bill Middendorf still has some things he wants to do. Calling himself a proud member of the “Over the Hill Gang,” he goes to Washington on a regular basis and lobbies hard for things that remain important to him. Chairman of the Defense Foundation, a non-profit organization that advocates for strong national defense, freedom, democracy and international human rights, he notes that “I may be slowing down, but I like to think I’ve still got a lot to share.” Real renaissance men are like that. Potomac Fever is available at www.amazon.com