Chavez made a mark in Eugene.

Byline: Guest Viewpoint By Eaton Conant For The Register-Guard

Because the Eugene School Board has decided to name a school after Cesar Chavez, it may be timely to recall something in Eugene's heritage that adults and school children of today will not know.

Thirty years ago - on May 12, 1974 - Chavez was in our midst pleading the cause of farmworkers - his life work. He was truly among us, including in my home.

In a handbill announcing his visit, the University of Oregon Institute of Industrial Labor Relations invited the public to "meet and talk with" Cesar Chavez, president of the United Farmworkers Union. The event was described as "an informal gathering for members of the institute and faculty offering an opportunity to meet Mr. Chavez and discuss the current labor-management dispute in California."

Chavez's schedule that day included interviews with local media, talks with students and faculty and a speech at McArthur Court.

The event had its genesis on a day in late April 1974, when a student who had experience with Chavez and the UFW told me that Chavez wanted to come to Eugene seeking support for the union in its dispute with California grape growers. The strike had taken a toll. The union was not flush with cash. Would it be possible that I, as director of the Institute of Industrial Labor Relations, could offer funds to support a UO visit that would include seminars, radio broadcasts and student and faculty discussions with Chavez?

I had the authority and honorarium funds to cover Chavez's expenses. The result was that all the events described on the handbill then were planned and took place. These included a radio broadcast from the living room of my house, and his speech before thousands of students at Mac Court.

When Chavez came to our front door on that Sunday, there was genuine excitement. The house was chock full of students and faculty. There were about 15 people in Chavez's retinue. I greeted him at the door, feeling privileged to welcome him: "Mi casa es su casa." There was an overwhelming impression of a gentle, self-effacing but strong man. He could communicate a great deal without having to say a lot.

A portable radio transmitter was set up on a card table in the living room. A local radio station broadcast his talk outlining the UFW position and goals for the grape strike.

While Chavez spoke, my 13-year-old daughter tiptoed over and whispered in my ear: "Daddy, there is a great big man upstairs in my bedroom looking in my closet!" This proved to be not alarming and only hilarious. It seemed that the big man was one of Chavez's two bodyguards. He was ensuring that no hidden assassin would operate that day from Kate's boudoir. Labor relations can be a risky pursuit for a person who leads the movement against powerful interests.

During the course of that day, I talked with Chavez several times. I became convinced that I was in the presence of a truly exceptional human being. Those days, I rated myself as too tough-minded to put much stock in spirit-linked interpretations of personality. But this man was a genuine charismatic. He had an aura that seemed to flow from a well of deep feeling and insight. I thought of Martin Luther King Jr., some of the saints and of Mohandas Gandhi.

Few people now in Eugene know of the events of that day in 1974. But now that a school is to be named for him, school children and others will have that institution to remind them that he has a national legacy - and a legacy in our own community. He was not a remote or distant celebrity. He was here among us at the level of the home, the school and the community arena, Mac Court.

The school board and the community do well to honor him.

Eaton Conant of Eugene was director of the University of Oregon Institute of Industrial and Labor Relations from 1970 to 1989.