LITTLE ROCK — In September 1957, Fred Caesar Storm stood with his fellow National Guard troops outside Little Rock Central High School, obeying orders to block nine black students from entering the school, despite his own belief in integration. Soon after, Storm was ordered to protect the black students as they entered the school, his daughter said.
“My parents didn’t have a prejudiced bone in their bodies,” Cecily Storm said. “He said it was just mayhem, with everyone screaming and yelling and carrying on, and the kids were scared. His main goal was to protect the kids. It made such an impact on his life.”
Storm, who created a plan that led to the integration of North Little Rock schools, died Monday at his North Little Rock home from a series of health complications, including renal failure, his daughter said. He was 95.
On Jan. 20, 1917, Storm became the first baby on record to be born by Caesarean section in Arkansas, his daughter said.
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“He was 2/2 pounds,” Cecily Storm said. “I’m sure it was pretty scary in 1917. ... That’s why his name is ‘Caesar.’”
During World War II, Storm served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in the Philippines. At the end of the war, he and another man were sent to inform a group of enemy forces that the war had ended.
“They went to this cave, and they were flipping a half-dollar” to see who would go in, Cecily Storm said. “He flipped it up in the air and leaned over [to pick it up], and they came out shooting. They didn’t know the war was over.”
His daughter said he kept the coin, adding that if he hadn’t leaned over to pick it up, he would have been shot.
Storm loved to share a good story, including a tale about his pet spider monkey in the Philippines.
“He came back to his tent one day ... and every single cigarette was out of every single package, [the monkey] shredded them,” his daughter said.
Storm studied business in college and went on to serve as president of the Arkansas Better Business Bureau from 1974-91.
“He wasn’t afraid of hard decisions,” Cecily Storm said. “He was so balanced, even if it was unpopular, he did the right thing.”
A “teacher at heart,” Storm served 16 years as a member of the North Little Rock School Board, implementing what was called the “Storm Plan,” Cecily Storm said. According to a 1971 court document, the basis of the plan was the “transfer of large numbers of black students from the black schools in the respective groups to the white schools in those groups, and replacing them with white students,” to gain substantial racial balance.
“The thing my dad always used to say is learn from your mistakes and go forward,” his daughter said. “He was a big believer in integration. He wanted everyone to have the same education.”
In his retirement, Storm medaled in golf at the Arkansas Senior Olympics and rarely missed a church service.
“Fred and his wife were there every Sunday,” said Earl Carter, retired pastor of First United Methodist Church of North Little Rock. “Fred was kind of like the Rock of Gibraltar in our church. Very steady, very dependable.”
Though he didn’t back down from tough issues, Storm was a gentleman in every way, whether he was at the bridge table or on the dance floor with his wife.
“They loved to dance everything — the salsa, the tango,” his daughter said. “I saw his little white dinner jacket and started crying yesterday. He just loved to dance.”
Arkansas, Pages 12 on 09/20/2012