Nixon and me and Bay City

In 1960, Richard Nixon visited Bay City, Michigan on a campaign stop.  He was vice president at the time, of course, with Eisenhower and gave a speech at the stadium at Central High. Afterward his motorcade went west down Columbus Avenue and before he disappeared into the sunset, a friend, Fred Braman, rushed his limo and shook his hand. Today he would have been shot on the spot.

I had written Nixon (in eighth grade) after the famed Kitchen Debate with Khruschev and he wrote me back, a personal letter with all kinds of stuff in the envelope and sent it via Washington middle school. The principal, Earl Lavoy, opened it with the local TV there in his office and I was a celeb of sorts for a day. When tricky Dick came to town I was ushered in to meet him and someplace in the Bay City Times there was a photo.  In a pique of spite, I tossed it out when he was going to be impeached.

A few days ago and some 44 years back, Dick went on TV and announced he was resigning the office of President.  

I was conducting a performance of Annie Get Your Gun in one of those old Ohio River Theaters; all the towns along the Ohio (or most of them) had theaters that touring acts would play from the old Lyceum circuit to big time vaudeville.  Anyway it was a grand place.

Maysville Theatre

In the middle of Act I or thereabouts with Annie singing "ya' can't get a fella with a gun", the stage manager walked out and stopped the show. He brought out a long extension cord and a transistor radio, told everyone to be quiet, tuned in WLW radio out of Cincinnati and we heard Nixon's speech announcing he would resign "effective at noon tomorrow".  

With no ceremony, when the broadcast ended, the manager walked out, retrieved the radio and the cord, and we went back to the show. I thought about Nixon and Bay City for the rest of the song.