Mason Alum Builds Two Careers on Gift of Gab

By Emily Yaghmour
You might not think that the gift of gab would be considered an attribute in an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), but it served Linda McCarthy well. After retiring from the CIA two years ago, it now serves her just as well in her new career as author and public speaker.

McCarthy, B.S. '73, was an analyst in the Latin American intelligence section of the CIA for many years. As the result of a passion for old things, she slowly accumulated a number of espionage artifacts over the years in the drawers of her desk. After a while, "CIA managers were asking me to bring these things to CIA get-togethers--whether it was family day or meetings of VIPs--and tell some of the stories behind them," she says.

McCarthy developed a reputation--not only for her collection but for her talent in telling the stories behind them. "When they built the new building at Langley," she says, "they gave me space to set up an exhibit." Thus, she became the founder and first curator of the CIA Exhibit Center. Today, the center consists of 1,400 square feet.

"The museum was meant primarily for CIA employees," explains McCarthy. It helps them understand where they are in the "larger realm of intelligence history." But the exhibit center quickly began to play a broader role.

In the early 1990s, CIA leaders decided to try to increase the general public's knowledge of the CIA and its mission, she says. Outreach programs were created that enabled special groups to receive limited tours of the compound, including a stop at the Exhibit Center where McCarthy and her staff gave guided tours.

McCarthy realizes that many people have a distaste for espionage, but she believes you have to be practical: "These are dangerous times in which we live." The fact is that espionage has played an important role in preserving state security throughout our history, she says.

George Washington, for example, relied heavily on intelligence activities. This was part of the reason for his success during the Revolutionary War when he was fighting a larger, better trained force than his own, McCarthy says. She often told her visitors the story of the tailor Hercules Mulligan and the slave Cato, who provided Washington with valuable information about the British.

After several drinks at a local pub, British soldiers would come to the tailor's shop to have their redcoats mended, McCarthy explains. As Mulligan would work, he would overhear the soldiers talking; Cato would then carry the information to Washington. "As the old World War II saying goes, 'Loose lips sink ships,'" says McCarthy with a laugh.

Using her gift of gab and the collection that began in her desk drawers, McCarthy carved a rewarding career for herself in the CIA. Not only did she receive an Emmy for the research she conducted for a TV news feature on the late Moe Berg, the famous baseball-player-turned-spy, she even appeared on the "Today" show.

When she retired last year, she once again made a career of her gift of gab. She and a close friend created a company called History Is a Hoot, Inc., through which McCarthy published her book Spies, Pop Flies, and French Fries: Stories I Told My Favorite Visitors to the CIA Exhibit Center. McCarthy now tells her stories in professional speaking engagements to a variety of audiences, including professional organizations, school groups, and historical societies.

"I am convinced that history is not boring, and these true and even inspiring stories really underscore that in a large way," says McCarthy. "I just feel privileged to share them with people, whether through the talks or by way of the book."