Okay, it’s not a presidential year, but election season has been in full swing and it brings up some memories and thoughts. The first campaign I remember was that of Dwight D. Eisenhower. I was still in short pants – literally – when I was hauled off to Washington D.C. for a “photo shoot” for a non-partisan get-out-the-vote campaign. My father, who was a photo-hobbyist and writer shot a picture of me and my older brother there and it was on the cover of a small trade publication. From there it made it to some billboards around Pittsburgh. That was the extent of my modeling career.
While the modeling ended, that experience may have been what started my interest in politics. And I did have my “I Like Ike” campaign button – in fact I still have it and a few others. I don’t qualify as a collector of political memorabilia, but I am drawn to the campaign buttons that were tin, freely given away and made a simple statement of support. These days a good bit of campaign material is offered for sale by campaigns; free buttons are typically stickers.
Now I don’t know why I liked Ike in my kindergarten days. I suppose my parents liked Ike. It’s a little like whether you grow up to be a “Chevy” or a “Ford” guy. It just follows those early days imprint until you start thinking for yourself or rebel for the sake of change. Ike was a war hero and my other big interest in those days was playing Army. In fact I have a few of the Army toys from my grade school era but, again, I never became a collector of militaria.
In retrospect we know Ike wasn’t perfect. For a kid in the 1950s, when the media was a little more gentle when it came to the President, he was “the man.” And for many, he was a hero.
November is also the month we take a day to acknowledge the service of our veterans. Originally Armistice Day, it marked anniversary of the end of World War I; major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. In 1954 Armistice Day was renamed by Congress as Veterans Day and it was signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Grant Hamilton, Publisher
