JG-TC.com > News > A president remembered

TODAY'S HEADLINES

SPECIAL SECTION

ONLINE POLL

ONLINE EXTRAS

SITE TOOLS

OTHER LINKS

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Wednesday, December 27, 2006 11:52 PM CST
A president remembered
1974 Ford visit put Coles County in national spotlight

By KATE HENDERSON, Staff Writer
khenderson@jg-tc.com

CHARLESTON -- “For one hour, Charleston, Ill., became the news center of the nation,” according to a 1974 United Press International news article by Tom Laue.

The article was referring to then-Vice President Gerald Ford’s speech at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston when he launched his strongest criticism of President Richard Nixon’s Watergate role.

Ford’s comments appeared in newspaper and broadcast headlines all over the country.

He spoke to about 6,000 people at Eastern Illinois University’s Lantz Gym at 9:30 a.m. on May 9.

“Ford, Nixon’s hand-picked vice president, drew cheers from 6,000 Eastern Illinois University students Thursday by saying Nixon’s tape transcripts ‘do not confer sainthood on anybody,’” the article said.

Although Ford’s stay in Charleston was brief, it made a lasting impression on one former Mattoon city official.

Roger Dettro, then-mayor of Mattoon, sat on the speakers’ platform with Ford and then-Charleston Mayor Bob Hickman. Dettro said it was one of the highlights of his career.

“I was seated next to him as he was speaking,” Dettro said. “He was just an enjoyable person to talk to. He talked like he’s one of the boys.”

Dettro said what stood out the most about Ford was that he was very real.

“He was just a nice guy to talk to,” Dettro said. “It was just a most enjoyable day.”

Dettro said Ford was a powerful and engaging speaker and made a lasting impression on the audience as well.

“He sort of reached out and touched all of the audience,” he said. “He just spoke to the people… it’s almost as if he were speaking one-on-one to the people.”

Dettro said the two even chatted about Michigan’s football team. Ford was a former All-American lineman at Michigan.

“The nation has certainly lost one of its great leaders,” Dettro said.

According to Times-Courier/Journal Gazette archive articles, Ford found EIU “refreshing and stimulating.” He said it was nice to get out of the “super-heated atmosphere of Washington to the cooler climate of a university campus.”

When Ford landed at Coles County Memorial Airport, he was greeted by several hundred onlookers, including national media and about 80 radio, newspaper and television journalists.

Ford was invited to speak at EIU by then-EIU President Gilbert Fite as part of the university’s 75th anniversary Diamond Jubilee celebration.

Exactly three months after his speech at EIU, Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States, following Nixon’s resignation.

Ford, who will be remembered for picking up the pieces of Nixon’s scandal-shattered White House, died Tuesday. He was 93 and the only president never elected to nationwide office.

Contact Kate Henderson at khenderson@jg-tc.com or 238-6858

Add your comments

*Member ID:
*Password:
Remember login? (requires cookies)
	Forgot Your Password?

Not already registered?
Then click Here.

Comment policy:

JG-TC.com encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their neighbors. Comments that are submitted are not posted to the site immediately. They go into a queue to be moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed. Comments posted on Saturday may not be reviewed until Sunday afternoon.

In order to keep the page a set width, long lines (mostly long links) will be chopped. Try putting spaces in your links or consider using tinyurl.com to make a smaller link that you can include.

We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct.

No comment may contain:

* Potentially libelous statements; such as accusing somebody of a crime, defamation of character, or statements that can harm somebody's reputation.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults, threats, harassment or inciting violence.
* Commercial product promotions.

If you have any questions, please contact our moderator.

Stephen wrote on Jul 17, 2006 8:22 AM:

" I can't believe the police use Facebook to look for parties. "

Defaulticus Rex wrote on Jul 17, 2006 2:17 PM:

" The police in Charleston use Facebook to look for "a heads-up" on parties and "similar tips"? I advise anyone who would use Facebook as a law enforcement tool to please read the privacy and terms of use pages on Facebook. Every second spent sitting around trollinng through students' Facebook profiles could be used on more important things... like trying to stop the terrible Methamphetamine crisis in our county. "

Doug wrote on Jul 17, 2006 3:42 PM:

" It's unbelievable the personal information people post on Myspace and similar sites. heck, the Columbine killers practically announced their attentions ahead of time in a similar way, but no one paid attention. I think occasionally reviewing these sites is just fine, and will in fact help fight the Meth problem. "

Flood wrote on Jul 17, 2006 4:23 PM:

" True, but I think if a person is dumb enough to broadcast illegal activity in a public forum like that, they almost deserve to get caught. It's not like facebook is meant to be an anonmous alter-ego like many online situations. "

Madison Fisher wrote on May 29, 2007 3:54 PM:

" Well, I agree with what Corrine and ZOe said even though i didn't use to like to learn about abe what we did there was realy cool. I go to Jefferson and MR. Taylor has all was been very interested it Abe Lincoln and now i am to. It's realy great to understan what he learnd. "

shelly wrote on Jun 7, 2007 7:29 AM:

" I think SBLHC has to much controll over this community, they seem to only care about the bottom line even when you call there the first option to select is the billing department even befor the emergency room. that says alot "

Sara Martin wrote on Jun 13, 2007 2:35 PM:

" Well, this has been my second year going to Jefferson school,at my old school they never realy engaged in that sort of learning.so iwas realy excited when they brought that in to our school "

lbabycakes44 wrote on Jul 31, 2008 6:41 PM:

" Bagelfest... I think in my opinion it was so much better when it was up on Broadway between 14- 17th Streets...more room to go and do things..instead of being confined in a park... I used to like going to it when I was younger..now I really dont get that much into it..since then..they have added a beer tent...which means more people inebriated around children...which to some people that I have spoken with, they really arent all up on that idea..but they deal with it..

To me its the same thing every year...put some minds together and add a few more activities..the Bagel Bow-wow and the pageant are getting to be "old news" ..as in bagel -boring...zzzzzz "

CLICK TO ENLARGE

(Associated Press)

In a file photo, President Gerald Ford reads a proclamation in the White House on Sept. 9, 1974, granting former president Richard Nixon ‘a full, free and absolute pardon’ for all ‘offenses against the United States’ during the period of his presidency.