Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories.
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When Dwight Eisenhower was elected President in 1952, he and his wife, Mamie, began taking vacations in Colorado, where the president went trout fishing. The presidential airplane, Columbine, flew them to Denver’s Lowery Air Force Base, where I was stationed at the time. On each visit I stood on the tarmac and watched the formal proceedings.
In the summer of 1954, however, they arrived on a Saturday, when I wasn’t working at the base. So my wife, Janet, and I decided to watch the motorcade on the streets of Denver. I knew the route they would take, so we jumped in the car and headed for a good spot to watch the event. I found a perfect place, about half a mile or so from the base.
We stood along the curb of the westbound lane. A lot of people were also standing directly across from us, on the grassy median strip. It looked like a typical cross section of Americans, including several young parents with their children. It was good to see the excitement on the faces of those boys and girls. They were eager to see the president.
Then some guy showed up who didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the people on that grassy strip. His hair was disheveled and his clothes were tattered and dirty, and it looked like he hadn’t shaved in ages. If I were making a horror movie, this guy would be the perfect villain. But it wasn’t just his appearance that made him stand out. It was also his behavior. He paced up and down the grassy strip. He looked as if he was very nervous about something. I was a bit suspicious of that guy.
He was wearing a lightweight jacket, and he kept his hand in its right pocket. Every now and then, he pulled his hand part way out of the pocket. He was holding something in his hand, but I couldn’t tell what it was. He would glance at it and then quickly put it back into his pocket. I began to wonder if he might be there to do harm to the president.
A few minutes later the motorcade came along. First was a car carrying several Secret Service agents. Maybe 10 yards behind was the presidential car, a convertible with the top down. There was an agent in the front passenger seat and another walking beside the car. Bringing up the rear was one more car with more agents.
When the president’s car was directly in front of us, that suspicious looking guy stepped off the grassy median strip toward the car. He pulled something from his jacket pocket and pointed it toward the president. Then he handed whatever it was to the president, as he said, “Hey Ike, they’re biting on flatfish this week.”
As he said those words he handed the president a box from his pocket. It contained a flatfish fishing lure. Ike accepted the gift and shook the man’s hand. So I guess I really misjudged that guy. I felt a little silly about that … I mean he was just another trout fisherman. There are a lot of them in Colorado.
Those wishing to contact Bill Boyd can e-mail him at williamboyd514@gmail.com