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From 1928 to 1977, Whetsone was employed by the former South Central Bell Telephone Company in, first, Shreveport, then [[New Orleans]], [[Birmingham, Alabama|Birmingham]], [[Alabama]], and Monroe. He was a company district manager forfourteen years From 1975 to 1978, he was a member of the Monroe Utilities Commission.<ref name=bio/>

From 1928 to 1977, Whetsone was employed by the former South Central Bell Telephone Company in, first, Shreveport, then [[New Orleans]], [[Birmingham, Alabama|Birmingham]], [[Alabama]], and Monroe. He was a company district manager forfourteen years From 1975 to 1978, he was a member of the Monroe Utilities Commission.<ref name=bio/>

A [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], Whetstone was chosen by his colleagues as vice president and, then, president of the 11-member State Board of Education, which had one member for each of the eight congressional districts (now six) and three Louisiana Public Service Commission districts (now five). His colleagues included the later state Education Superintendent Louis Joseph Michot, Jr. (1922-2012) of  [[Lafayette]]. During part of Whetstone's tenure on the board, [[Bill Dodd|William J. "Bill" Dodd]], a former lieutenant governor from Sabine Parish and later [[Baton Rouge]], was the state superintendent until Michot unseated Dodd in the 1971 [[primary]]. Other board of education members who served during Whetstone's tenure included Enoch Talton Nix (1920-2001) of [[Bossier City]], J. Marshall Brown of New Orleans, Harvey Peltier, Sr., of Thibodaux, Robert H. "Bob" Curry of Shreveport (son of a 19th-century state representative, Robert Houston Curry), and Fred L. Tannehill, a [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]] businessman.<ref>''The Lagniappe'', [[Louisiana Tech University]] yearbook, 1970, p. 33</ref>

A [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], Whetstone was chosen by his colleagues as vice president and, then, president of the 11-member State Board of Education, which had one member for each of the eight congressional districts (now six) and three Louisiana Public Service Commission districts (now five). His colleagues included the later state Education Superintendent [[Louis J. Michot]] of  [[Lafayette]]. During part of Whetstone's tenure on the board, [[Bill Dodd|William J. "Bill" Dodd]], a former lieutenant governor from Sabine Parish and later [[Baton Rouge]], was the state superintendent until Michot unseated Dodd in the 1971 [[primary]]. Other board of education members who served during Whetstone's tenure included Enoch Talton Nix (1920-2001) of [[Bossier City]], J. Marshall Brown of New Orleans, Harvey Peltier, Sr., of Thibodaux, Robert H. "Bob" Curry of Shreveport (son of a 19th-century state representative, Robert Houston Curry), and Fred L. Tannehill, a [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]] businessman.<ref>''The Lagniappe'', [[Louisiana Tech University]] yearbook, 1970, p. 33</ref>

Whetstone was elected to the state board in the Fifth District in 1962. He defeated the [[Republican Party|Republican]] George Snellings, of Monroe, 17,988 (55.6 percent) to 14,352 (44.4 percent). Whetstone lost two parishes in the district, his own Ouachita and Tensas Parish, where Snellings polled 51.5 and 58.2 percent, respectively. Snellings' showing was the best tabulation for a Republican candidate in Louisiana in 1962.<ref>Billy Hathorn, ''The Republican Party in Louisiana, 1920-1980'', ([[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches]]: [[Northwestern State University]], 1980), p. 118.</ref> Snellings would later become the father-in-law of Democratic former [[U.S. Senator]] [[Mary Landrieu]].

Whetstone was elected to the state board in the Fifth District in 1962. He defeated the [[Republican Party|Republican]] George Snellings, of Monroe, 17,988 (55.6 percent) to 14,352 (44.4 percent). Whetstone lost two parishes in the district, his own Ouachita and Tensas Parish, where Snellings polled 51.5 and 58.2 percent, respectively. Snellings' showing was the best tabulation for a Republican candidate in Louisiana in 1962.<ref>Billy Hathorn, ''The Republican Party in Louisiana, 1920-1980'', ([[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches]]: [[Northwestern State University]], 1980), p. 118.</ref> Snellings would later become the father-in-law of Democratic former [[U.S. Senator]] [[Mary Landrieu]].