Kennedy 1960 campaign by rail

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CN_Okemos
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Kennedy 1960 campaign by rail

Unread post by CN_Okemos »

Interesting article about the 1960 campaign. Photos of Kennedy on a train in Michigan.
http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/201 ... rt_gallery

I'm curious how this worked logistically. After flying to Ann Arbor he campaigned in Kalamazoo, Lansing, Owosso, Marshall. Guessing he used what is now the Amtrak line to K Zoo and maybe a car to Lansing, Owosso.
Greg

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GP30M4216
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Re: Kennedy 1960 campaign by rail

Unread post by GP30M4216 »

Lance Ferraro, a portrait photographer and photographer for the Kalamazoo Gazette, recorded JFK's 10-14-1960 visit to Kalamazoo on film and later published a small book titled "An Hour in Our History" chronicling the JFK campaign stop. I have a copy somewhere. It includes a few photos of railroad facilities and JFK on the train he rode, a good snapshot of 1960 Kalamazoo.

Some of the photos, and a brief oral history interview with Lance, are recorded in this 4 minute interview which is worth checking out: https://vimeo.com/72432093

kenN
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Re: Kennedy 1960 campaign by rail

Unread post by kenN »

Don't know the rest of the train's itinerary, but I remember his train blocking the C&O tracks eastbound at Kalamazoo Ave (Seymour) in Grand Rapids. The office car he used as a platform was NYC. It was a fall Friday as I recall, and I was southbound to a new job that afternoon. Needless to say, I was late. The new boss understood--he must have been a Democrat...or a railfan.

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