February 2015

February 16, 2015August 17, 2023

Nixon for Presidents’ Day

First off, I have no idea what the real name for the holiday is. When I Googled it, it came up as Presidents’ Day, Presidents Day and President’s Day. I’ll go with Presidents’ Day.

Richard Nixon was probably one of my least-favorite presidents, but he’s also the POTUS I photographed more than all the rest.

Here he was in Columbus, Ohio, on October 18, 1970. President Richard’s Nixon’s Daily Diary said he was in town to stump for Robert Taft, Congressman, and Roger Cloud, Gubernatorial candidate. You can find his whole diary for October 16 – 31 here, if you are a real political junkie.

Uncharacteristically rumpled

I was surprised to see a rumpled Nixon arrive at the rally. It must have been a rough flight.

Great access

When I looked through the pictures, I was amazed at the level of access I had that day. I was all over the place and didn’t appear to have any problems with security. Considering that this was after all the assassinations in 1968 and only five months after four students were gunned down at Kent State, I would have thought security would be tighter.

I learned early on (holy cow, I was only 23 when I shot these) that the best way to get into situations is to act like you belong there. If you hesitate, somebody is going to challenge you.

Then, I’m going to guess that I read when the scrum was going to head to the ropeline and I got there early enough that the SS guys could get a good read on me. The fact that my hands were always visible clutching a camera probably gave them a level of comfort. Once the party started moving, I stayed as fluid as possible, staying as close to the president as possible, but never stopping. In some frames, I have a secret service guy on my left and my right, but they never made an attempt to block me.

Look for the lapel pins

It’s pretty easy to spot the protective detail: they are the guys with the triangular lapel pins and the roving eyes or eyes hidden by sunglasses.

I wonder, too, if, once they figured I wasn’t a threat, they calculated that the skinny guy with the camera was just another bullet barrier that was expendable.

While covering Nixon at a golf tournament during the height of the Watergate scandal, we were kept well back from him. Suddenly, though, the detail motioned that would could approach his golf cart. He wouldn’t answer any questions, but that was as close as we got to him that day.

Later, an agent said they had an unconfirmed report of a gun in the crowd and we were called in as a screen. I never found out if he was pulling my leg or not.

President Nixon photo gallery

Here’s a whole stack of Richard Nixon photos. If they aren’t enough, I also photographed him in Charlotte, N.C. a year later, when he appeared with Billy Graham on Billy Graham Day.

Click on any photo to maker it larger, then use your arrow keys to move through the gallery.

February 15, 2015January 18, 2022

Cairo Custom House

The Missourian has been full of stories of late about proposed courthouse shuffling and new facilities here and there. One consequence may be that the Common Pleas Courthouse may cease to be a courthouse. That raises the question of what will happen to one of the most iconic structures in Cape Girardeau.

Here’s a suggestion: turn it into a museum like the Cairo Custom House Museum in Cairo.

For all the time I’ve spent in Cairo, the last time I was in the old Custon House was when it was being used as a police station at the time of the riots in the late 1960s. I’ll have more about that on a later date.

A serious “Wow!” factor

Mother, Curator Jessica and I really weren’t expecting much when we walked into the museum right before closing time. We weren’t two steps into the building when my friend, the curator for the Athens County Historical Society and Museum, broke the Coveting Commandment into a whole bunch of pieces.

First off, the building itself is a magnificent piece of architecture with features like arched brick ceilings that I’ve never seen before.

Because there are so many rooms, it was possible to create amazing grouping of exhibits. It would be easy to spend days in the place and still not see everything.

By the way, this website points out that the fireplaces like this one weren’t used for heating, but were used for ventilation.

Cairo Custom House Museum gallery

Here’s a taste of what you’ll see in the facility. I’ll talk about the darker history of the building in another post. I’ll also follow up with more photos on my next visit when I have more time. Click on any photo to make it larger, then use your arrow keys to move through the gallery.

February 13, 2015

Love on the Main Green

I was working on another topic when it dawned on me that Valentine’s Day was blowing its horn. I made a mad dash to Publix for some flowers and found them pretty picked-over. The roses were nice, but my finances dictated that I could afford either a single rose or a basket of thorns. I opted for the single rose.

Home for hormonally hypercharged

The “Main Green” is, as the name implies, in the center of the Ohio University campus in Athens, Ohio. Anchoring the corner of the beautiful green is the War Memorial, a tall statue that has been the lightning rod for protests, a convenient place to study or, on one of the first warm spring days in 1968, a place to play music and try to hook up.

On a day like this, it is home for the hormonally hypercharged.

Were we ever that young?

Here’s a photo gallery from that April afternoon. It’s hard to believe the people in these photos, like the photographer, are now old enough to be grandparents and maybe even great-grandparents. Click on any photo to make it larger, then use your arrow keys to move through the gallery.

February 13, 2015

Ouch, That Hurts

I’ve been putting off organizing the mountain of receipts I accumulated from all my road trips this year. I was less afraid of the IRS deadline than Wife Lila who had been “encouraging” me to get with it for weeks.

After spending two days adding up negative numbers, I don’t have much energy to post tonight.

Thanks to you who pushed the Big Red Button to place your Amazon orders. That brought in $1,646.98 in 2014. Thanks, too, to the Athens County Historical Society and Museum and the Ohio Humanities Council for a grant. The Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum and Annie Laurie’s Antique Shop have been great about selling books and prints.

Redder than that button

The bottom line is that I’m operating deep in the red. The only solace I can take is that my shortfall is probably less than I would be in the hole if I was a golfer, owned a boat or took a family of four to Disney World.

I’m starting to work on a souvenir memory book for sale at this year’s ’60s’ decade reunion that I’m hoping will generate some income, and I have some other things up my sleeve to keep me afloat.

In the meantime, keep pressing the Big Red Button when you shop at Amazon. I get a small percentage of your purchase, and it doesn’t add anything to your bill.

I’m not griping about taxes

I’m not complaining about PAYING taxes, mind you. Nothing would make me prouder than moving into a higher tax bracket.