Not only do we as Americans celebrate Thanksgiving this week, but on Nov. 22, we will observe the 60th anniversary of the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
I’ve always been fascinated by the young president, silenced in his prime. While I didn't grow up in the Kennedy era, my parents did, and they were devoted fans. I first heard about JFK from mom and dad, and my first political button (now part of a collection that numbers a thousand) was obtained by the local Kennedy for President headquarters by one of my grandfathers in 1960.
As the nation remembers Kennedy this week, I wanted to take a look at the times he visited Arkansas both as a candidate and president.
The first recorded visit by Kennedy to the Natural State was on Sept. 13, 1960, when, as the Democratic presidential nominee, he participated in the annual Four States Fair parade in Texarkana.
The young senator from Massachusetts rode in a Pontiac Bonneville convertible through the streets of Texarkana before making a brief campaign speech at the federal courthouse and post office on State Line Avenue. Kennedy would speak later that day at the fair. On stage with Kennedy were U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright and U.S. Rep. Wilbur Mills, both of Arkansas; Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn; and U.S. Rep. Wright Patman of Texas.
Kennedy won both Arkansas and Texas, which primarily voted Democrat at the time, and went on to narrowly defeat Republican Richard Nixon to become our nation’s 35th commander-in-chief.
There's a marker in front of the federal courthouse and post office in Texarkana where Kennedy spoke in 1960. Inscribed on the granite monument is the iconic quote from Kennedy’s inaugural address: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.” The marker can be found not far behind “Photographers’ Island,” where millions have taken their picture standing in the two states at once.
As president, Kennedy returned to Arkansas nearly three years after his first visit to dedicate Greers’ Ferry Dam near Heber Springs on Oct. 3, 1963. Again, he was accompanied by Fulbright and Mills, but also U.S. Sen. John McClellan of Arkansas and Arkansas’ controversial governor, Orval E. Faubus.
Kennedy spoke about how the dam and lake would affect the local area and the states. He also predicted the project would bring positive financial change to the area, especially for the tourism industry.
The dedication of the dam and lake mark the only time a sitting president has ever visited Cleburne County. A bust of Kennedy stands near the site where he delivered his remarks overlooking Greers Ferry Dam. John F. Kennedy Park, located on the Little Red River just below the dam, is named in his honor.
Kennedy, again accompanied by Faubus, Mills, Fulbright and McClellan, spoke later that afternoon at the Arkansas State Fair and Livestock Show in Little Rock.
Kennedy’s speech hinted at the racial problems of the region and focused on the promises of an economically prosperous new South.
"The old South has its problems, and they are not yet over," Kennedy said, "nor are they over in the rest of the country, but there is rising every day, I believe, a new South.
"This rising tide in this state and in the South and in the nation must continue," Kennedy said. "We must build those dams. We must use our resources. We must educate our children. We must provide jobs for our people. These are the great assignments, which this generation of Americans in the '60s has before it."
On Nov. 22, just seven weeks after Kennedy’s visit to Arkansas, he was murdered while riding in a motorcade through the streets of downtown Dallas.
Kennedy didn’t make many visits to Arkansas during his short life. But by all accounts, they were impactful and fondly remembered.
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