A LEGACY OF SOCIAL CONCERN HEAD START SUCCEEDS WHERE OTHER PROGRAMS FAILED.(Local)

Byline: Cailin Brown Staff writer

Ruby Hughes reached in and out of her desktop paperwork and found what she was looking for - the 1974 Head Start yearbook and a Potsdam graduation photo.

A proud grandmother? Sure. But there's more to it than that. There's cause and effect, and she helped effect the cause.

There on the same yearbook page, her youngest daughter, Michelle, and her grandson, Eric Gardner, beamed for the photographer.

The two, now working in Albany, are beneficiaries of a program begun when former President Lyndon B. Johnson declared his War on Poverty and dedicated money to create job, housing, education and welfare programs.

When the Bush administration attributed the riots in Los Angeles on the failure of the social programs of the '60s and '70s, some leaders of those programs took offense, others defended their missions, and still others blamed the Republicans for cutting off their money.

Locally and nationally, Head Start has blossomed since its inception, while other programs such as public housing and Legal Aid have battled federal budget cuts for years.

"There have been countless individuals who have been helped by these programs. Head Start in particular," said Paul Stewart, associate director for Albany County Opportunity …