Remembering John F. Kennedy; for two years, a frequent visitor to Oregon

By Grant Schott from Portland, Oregon. Grant is a political activist and union organizer. Previously, he contributed "Remembering George McGovern".

During his one-thousand-day presidency, John F. Kennedy visited Oregon only once, on September 27, 1963 as part of his Western States conservation tour, when he gave a brief speech at the decommissioned naval facility at Tongue Point in Clatsop Co. However, from 1958 to May 1960, candidate Kennedy was a frequent Oregon visitor. As we remember President Kennedy 50 years later, most Oregonians might be surprised at the importance that Oregon played in his road to the white House.

Then one of only about 15 primary states - some non-binding- that had only recently gained popularity, Oregon’s 1959 legislature passed a then-unique law requiring nationally recognized candidates be placed on the ballot. Thus, active candidates JFK and Senator Hubert Humphrey were joined on the ballot by Sens. Stuart Symington and Lyndon Johnson, while Adlai Stevenson signed a non-candidate affidavit. A surprise entry was Oregon's Sen. Wayne Morse, his favorite-son status secured by supporters’ petitioning. Morse then decided to announce his candidacy officially in Dec. 1959, and also filed in Maryland.

State Senator Monroe Sweetland was an Oregon JFK organizer starting in May 1959 who once told me traveled the state and recruited county campaign chairs. Sweetland wrote, in 1964, an account of the Oregon campaign that was published in a 2000 Oregon Historical Society Quarterly.

JFK’s early effort was coordinated first by Sylvia Nemer (later Davidson, who still lives in Portland) through late 1959, when Congresswoman Edith Green was named Oregon chair. Stan Weber was the Executive Secretary at JFK’s Portland headquarters, 723 S.W. Third Ave.

JFK entered seven primaries, starting with New Hampshire on March 8th and ending with Oregon on May 20th, although he was unopposed in NH, Nebraska, and Indiana. JFK’s key victories over Humphrey in Wisconsin and West Virginia have been well documented. Humphrey dropped out after W.V. on May 10th, but JFK still faced Morse in MD on May 17th- he won 70% - 13% - and three days later in in OR.

Although Morse’s challenge to JFK didn’t receive the same billing as Humphrey’s, JFK went all out to win Oregon. I once heard Morse’s manager, the late Orde Pinckney of Bend, claim that the JFK campaign spent more on a newspaper tabloid than Morse did in total. The money and momentum paid off, with JFK winning 51% to Morse’s 40%.

On the jump, a fairly complete itinerary of JFK’s visits to Oregon:

1958

• Apr 27: Eugene- Lane CO. Democrats FDR Memorial Dinner, U.O. Erb Memorial Union, speech on President Roosevelt, 500 attended

• Apr 28: Portland- Portland State College

• May 18: Eugene- Jefferson Jackson Day Dinner speech on liberalism, Portland- reception at home of Oregon D.N.C. Committeeman C. Girard “Jebby” Davidson and Joan Davidson

• May 19: Salem- Democratic luncheon

1959

• Mar 6: Medford- Roosevelt Day Dinner

• May 19: Portland,- Dinner

• Aug 1: Portland- Press Conference, Broiler Restaurant Meeting, Oregon Journal and Oregonian interviews, Dave Epps (late chair of Democratic Party of OR) Memorial Dinner

• Aug 2: Portland- Mass, Young Dems Coffee Hour, interviews with former Governor Bob Holmes on KOIN and with future Governor Tom McCall on Viewpoint- KGW, Edith Green Reception

• Aug 3: Seaside- OR AFL-CIO Speech, TV interview, dinner, Portland- TV/Fennel Program

• Oct 20: Salem- Committee at Berg Home, Willamette University, Portland- Municipalities Lunch, Coffee, YMCA, Clackamas County Democrats Dinner

• Oct 21: Portland- Democratic Roundtable, Portland Realty Board, Portland State College

• Nov 6: (Accompanied by wife, Jackie) Klamath Falls- Democratic breakfast, Coos Bay- Lions Club lunch, meeting with Longshoremen, Barge Trip of Harbor, Coos Co. Democratic Dinner

• Nov 7: North Bend- speech at N.B. High School, Bend- Jr. Chamber Luncheon, Powell Butte- Lord’s Acre auction visit (JFK and Jackie bought a quilt.) Pendleton- Press Conference, Umatilla Co. Democratic Party dinner

• Nov 8: Milton-Freewater- Reception, Baker- Baker Co. Democratic dinner, KBKR Radio

• Nov 9: La Grande- lunch, Eastern Oregon College speech, Portland- labor meeting

1960

• Feb. 9: (Accompanied by sister, Pat Lawford) Roseburg- Roseburg Lumber Co. and downtown tour, lunch/housing speech with Douglas Co. Democrats at Umpqua Hotel, Corvallis- reception at Benton Hotel (Mike Burton wrote this article for American Heritage), Albany- Chamber of Commerce speech

• Feb. 10: Portland- Breakfast Q/A with labor leaders at Multnomah Hotel, Corvallis- Eastern Europe speech at O.S.U. and informal meeting with students, Newport- tour of Yaquina harbor, Georgia Pacific mill at Toledo, Portland- evening organizing meeting with supporters at airport

• April 22: Milwaukie- education speech at high school, Chamber of Commerce luncheon, tour of Pendleton Woolen Mills, Beaverton/ W. Portland- coffee, Eugene- rally, South Eugene High School

• April 23: Medford- Grand Marshall, Pear Blossom Parade, Ashland- coffee, Portland- social security speech, “Saturday Snack and Social Hour” at Cleveland High School

• May 15: Portland- Young People for Kennedy rally and speech on defense, throwing first pitch at Little League Game The Dalles- Hotel Dalles, OR primary election history speech

• May 16: Portland- Lewis and Clark College, defense speech, Astoria- Democratic luncheon

• May 17: Hillsboro High School, foreign affairs speech, Springfield- labor speech to Weyerhaeuser workers, Eugene- speech at City Hall, interview with Eugene Register Guard

• May 18: St Helens- breakfast speech, Portland- Benson High School rally

• Sept. 7: General Election visit, Eugene- (Accompanied by Pat Lawford) Lane Co. Courthouse, education speech, Salem- Soviet relations speech, Portland- Multnomah Hotel dinner, labor speech

My thanks to the archivists at the JFK Library for pointing me in the right direction to their Oregon files.

Please share your direct memories of Senator Kennedy’s visits or stories from your parents or others.

Nov. 20, 2013 Posted in guest column.