Hemphill Gay Whiteside (1906-1986)

  From the November 7, 1957 edition of the Anniston, Alabama Star.

   The name would be Hemphill Gay Whiteside. In all probability one of the oddest named Alabama political figures you'll get a chance to read about here on the site, Whiteside was long a distinguished figure in the city of Oxford, and in addition to serving sixteen years as its mayor had earlier served as a Democratic National Convention delegate.

  A lifelong resident of the Cotton State, Hemphill G. Whiteside was born on November 4, 1906, in Birmingham to Hemphill Prothro (1874-1913) and Nannie Gay Smith Whiteside. He inherited his odd first name courtesy of his father, and in the year of his father's death moved from Birmingham to Oxford, and received his education at the Calhoun County High School. He went on to graduate from the North Georgia Agricultural College and was a member of that college's Sigma Nu fraternity. 

  For a good majority of his life, Hemphill Whiteside was connected with the sale of insurance in Alabama, being a special agent with the Equitable Life Insurance Agency, headquartered in New York. His time with this company took him through the counties of Calhoun, Talladega, Clay, Clayburne, and Cherokee and he was honored on two occasions by this agency with a trip to a company conference in Biloxi, Mississippi for fulfilling his quota months ahead of schedule. During this same period, Whiteside engaged in farming and served as the head of the Alumni Association of the Calhoun County High School for four terms. The February 28, 1936 edition of the Anniston Star notes that during his time as head of this association, Whiteside was "one of the prime movers in the movement that gave the school its athletic stadium."

  In February 1936 Whiteside made his first attempt at public office, announcing his candidacy for a seat on the Calhoun County School Board in that year's Democratic primary. Although unsuccessful in his candidacy, Whiteside continued to be active in Calhoun County civic affairs and married in October 1938 to Burtie McLain (1909-1995) and later had two children. 

  Two years following his marriage Hemphill G. Whiteside was named as part of the Alabama delegation to the Democratic National Convention of 1940, serving as an alternate delegate from Alabama's fourth district. In September 1944 Whiteside won election as Mayor of Oxford over the Republican nominee Dr. R.T. McGraw, and during his sixteen-year tenure in this office led the fight for many civic improvements, including the announcement of a "super-modern 100 unit tourist hotel" to be erected near the interstate in early 1961. Four years after his election as mayor Whiteside was chosen to head the Calhoun County March of Dimes drive to raise money for the awareness of infantile paralysis, and a write-up on his work with this campaign was featured in the December 12, 1948 edition of the Anniston Star, shown below.

   Early in his lengthy tenure as mayor Whiteside was appointed to the Executive Committee of the League of Municipalities and in 1956 won re-election to another term, defeating Republican nominee C.B. Hosey by a vote of 556 to 194. Whiteside's long mayoralty saw him become a beloved figure in Oxford, and is recorded by his obituary as having walked "house to house to collect water payments from residents so the city could pay its bill". Additionally, Whiteside was the primary figure in the $20,000 purchase of the land where the new Oxford city hall was erected.

  Hemphill G. Whiteside continued to be active in Oxford city affairs following his mayoralty and in 1978 served as chairman of the RMC Memorial Foundation Fund in 1978. Whiteside died at the Oxford Regional Medical Center on February 12, 1986, at age 79. His wife Burtie survived him by several years and following her death in 1995 was interred alongside her husband at the Oxford Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Oxford, Alabama.

Mayor Whiteside in his office at the new Oxford, Alabama city hall, from the Anniston Star, June 1952.