Nearly 200,000 people lined the streets of downtown Houston as the
day’s third motorcade snaked toward the Rice Hotel. Forty-five minutes
behind schedule, the first couple ate “supper off trays in the room…The Vice President walked in,” recalled Pam Turnure, “and everybody seemed in a
104
MR. AND MRS. AMERICA
very buoyant mood…very relaxed and…going well.” 249 The Secret Service
informed the LULAC gathering that the president and first lady would drop by for a wave but could not attend.
With the presidential limo in waiting, the seven-hundred-plus members
of LULAC clustered around the door in the hope of getting a closer look at the
“king” and “queen.” The first couple came into view, and it was clear that the gathering was about to experience far more than a simple presidential wave.
Once more Jackie was leading the way. Adorned in a black dress and
white gloves, she entered the room. Three strings of white pearls hung from her neck. The president followed as the gathering erupted with applause and cheers. Shouts of “Bravo!” could be heard as Jackie made her way to the
front of the stage. She shook hands with Fernando Herrera, a musician in the band. “I couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t believe it,” recalled Herrera. “How The University of Houston Marching Band and 10,000 people greeted them
in Houston. Another 200,000 awaited them lining the streets
through downtown.
105
JACKIE'S NEWPORT
beautiful they were, they glowed, they glowed.” Jack and Jackie turned
to acknowledge the crowd as the band broke into song. A short reception
line was formed as the president and first lady greeted some of the guests.
Twenty-eight-year-old Tina Adame shook Jackie’s hand and said, “You are
more beautiful in person than you are in any photograph.” The first lady beamed. “She looked very happy to be here,” Adame remembered. 250
To the glee of all, President Kennedy moved to the podium to speak. His
brief address closed with: “In order that my words will be even clearer, I’m going to ask my wife to say a few words to you also.” The room sprang to its collective feet, and a roar went up as they applauded Jackie’s stroll to the podium. Jack backed off, and as Jackie took center stage, she rested her hands Jackie spoke in Spanish to the LULAC Convention the evening of
November 21. “Once Jackie spoke, you forgot all about the president,” said Tina Adame, present that evening. Dave Powers said Jack and Jackie had
exchanged eyes, and Lady Bird Johnson said that the president
looked beguiled.
106
MR. AND MRS. AMERICA
on the side of the rostrum. Before speaking she turned around to look at her husband. Their eyes met, and he smiled.
She began in Spanish, saying, “I am very happy to be in the grand state
of Texas. And I’m especially happy to be with you who form part of the
noble Spanish tradition that has contributed so much to Texas. And this
tradition began 100 years before the colonization of Massachusetts, the
state my husband comes from. But it’s a tradition you have sustained for a long time.” Another round of resounding applause was heard, and a man
called out, “Viva, Mrs. Kennedy, viva Kennedy!” Jackie concluded, “You are working for Texas and the United States. Thank you very much and long
live LULAC.” Jack’s eyes never left her, and the only thing brighter than his smile was hers. Clint Hill remarked, “You could see in the president’s face just how proud he was, how pleased he was.” 251 Dave Powers wrote that they had “exchanged eyes,” 252 and Mrs. Johnson thought that the president looked
“beguiled.” 253
She walked back to her seat in front of the stage, and Jack followed,
applauding and then gently taking her arm as he settled in the chair next to her. “When Jackie spoke, you forgot all about the president,” remembered Adame. “It was all about Jackie, and then her speaking in Spanish
overshadowed anything he said.” 254 And he could not have been happier.
Another ride through Houston’s darkened streets took them to the
Houston Coliseum and the fundraising dinner for Congressman Albert
Thomas. This was the part of politics that Jackie detested—boring politicians bloviating. On the way she asked, “Who organized this testimonial for Albert Thomas anyway?”
“Albert Thomas,” came the president’s sardonic reply. “He made the
plans, wrote speeches praising himself, ran all over the…”
She looked at him. “Jack,” she said, bringing his soliloquy to an end. 255
There were 3,300 patrons in the smoke-filled coliseum, all paying tribute to Thomas. The worst part was that the president and first lady would be 107
JACKIE'S NEWPORT
seated on opposite sides of the rostrum. The best part was that President Kennedy would deliver a ten- to fifteen-minute speech and they would be on their way. He took the rostrum and immediately won over the crowd with
his self-deprecating wit. He poked fun at his own early days in Congress and made light of the names that presidents are sometimes called. He then went full thrust, complimenting Thomas and his leadership role in moving America into space. A slip of the tongue turned out to be the highlight of the evening. Deviating from his prepared address, Kennedy said of Thomas,
“He has helped steer this country to its eminence in space…Next month
when the United States of America…fires the largest payroll, payload, giving us the lead.” Catching his gaffe, the president paused a few seconds and then Jackie listens to Jack’s last speech of the day, November 21 at the Houston Coliseum dinner honoring Texas congressman Albert Thomas. What she
would remember about this speech was Jack’s quoting from the Book of
Acts, “Your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”
108
MR. AND MRS. AMERICA
said, “It will be the largest payroll, too. And who should know that better than Houston?” The coliseum roared with laughter.
What Jackie would remember from that night was not the laughter but
the bible verse Jack quoted in conclusion: “Your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions, the bible tells us, and where there is no vision, the people perish. Albert Thomas is old enough to dream dreams and young enough to see visions.” 256
The day’s fifth motorcade was to Houston International, where Air
Force I was prepared for the forty-five-minute hop to Fort Worth’s Carswell Air Force Base. A light rain had begun to fall as Air Force I touched down at 11:07 p.m., yet several thousand residents had gathered to welcome the first couple to “Cowtown.” Children waved placards while their parents
cheered as Jack and Jackie deplaned for the final time of the day. Weary and fatigued, they made their way to the barriers to greet the throng. Bob Machos, an eight-year-old third grader, was in the crowd with a friend.
They were both wearing their school sweaters. The president had walked
by and passed them over, but Jackie noticed their sweaters. She called, “Jack, there’s some Catholic schoolboys here.” She looked down at them, “Do you all go to Catholic school?” Looking up, star struck, the boys answered,
“Yes,” and the first lady bent down and kissed them both on the head. 257
The president came back and followed up his lady’s kiss with a pat before moving on down the line.
They entered a black Cadillac limousine for their final ride of the day.
Riding with them was Houston Chronicle publisher John Jones and his wife Freddie. Jack and Jones talked politics while Freddie told Jackie about the city. She liked Fort Worth, “a small poor town…proud of being known as
<
br /> Cowtown.” She did not speak highly, however, of Dallas. “It’s a merchant’s town…really a terrible town.” As the last ride of the day came to an end, Jackie wondered what Dallas would be like. 258
109
JACKIE'S NEWPORT
A light show normally reserved for holidays welcomed them downtown.
Clint Hill recalled, “The city wanted to put on a show for President and Mrs.
Kennedy and they did.” 259 The buildings in downtown Fort Worth were
artistically illuminated, creating the look of a fantasyland.
It was near midnight when they entered the Texas Hotel under the
blazing marquee that read, “WELCOME MR. PRESIDENT.” Their
long day’s journey into night finally had come to an end. Seventeen hours had passed since the dawning of their day in the nation’s capital, a day that consisted of six motorcades, three plane rides, speeches, thousands of handshakes, and one continuous smile. “From the moment she stepped out
of the blue nosed presidential jet in San Antonio…Mrs. Kennedy lit up the state like a gusher on fire. The eyes of Texas are for her, overwhelmingly.”
When it was over Jackie remarked, it was “a happy day,” and “she looked as if she had enjoyed every minute.” 260
They were sitting in his room together. “You were great today,” he said
to her. “How do you feel?”
“Oh gosh,” came her reply, “I’m exhausted.” He was half asleep, and he
called to her as she was leaving, “Don’t get up with me. I’ve got to speak in that square before breakfast, but stay in bed. Just be downstairs for breakfast at 9:15.” 261
Jackie had never felt closer to him, and the passion of the day moved into the night. Secretary Mary Gallagher had gone, lost in the shuffle of planes and automobiles, so Jackie had to lay out her clothes for the next day: “navy blue blouse, navy handbag, low-heeled shoes, pink suit and pill box hat.” 262
Then she returned to Jack’s room and “slipped into her husband’s bed…
aroused him from his exhaustion and they made love for the last time.” 263
Friday’s Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce breakfast was scheduled
for 8:45 a.m., and they would leave the hotel at 10:30 a.m. for the motorcade to Carswell Air Force Base. The twenty-minute flight to Dallas’s Love Field was to take off at 11:15 a.m.
110
MR. AND MRS. AMERICA
A light but steady rain fell throughout most of the night, but it did not stop five coeds from Amon Carter High School. The first to assemble, it was 5:00
a.m. when they took up their positions. The Secret Service was already in place, their rifled observers perched on rooftops. It was not long before agents came down and spoke to them. “We’ll make sure when he comes down…we
will…guide him over to you,” they told them, “and you’ll get to have an up close look at him and shake his hand and meet him.” 264
Upstairs the president was dressing when he moved through Jackie’s
room to take a peek at the street eight stories below. “Look at the crowd,” he exclaimed. “Just look,” he repeated. “Isn’t it terrific?” Immediately energized, he scooted back to his room to finish dressing. Scarfing down a breakfast of coffee and half a roll, he was knotting his tie when Dave Powers entered.
“Have you seen the square?” he enthusiastically inquired. “And weren’t
the crowds great in San Antonio and Houston?” Powers nodded as Jack
added, “And you were right…They loved Jackie.” 265 The adulation of Jackie by Thursday’s throngs in San Antonio, Houston, and Fort Worth was not
lost on the White House Press Corps. On the political front, the focus of coverage was on the rift in the Democratic party of Texas. However, on the campaigning front, the story was Jackie, Jackie, and more Jackie.
The Austin Statesman splashed the headlines, “Jackie Shines” amidst four Jackie photos. “Radiant First Lady Charms Houston,” read the Baytown Sun, and in Amarillo, the Globe Times announced, “Jackie Draws Texas Cheers.” The Corpus Christi Caller proclaimed, “Jackie Big Hit,” and even the Dallas Morning News acknowledged that Jackie “Brings Down the House in Houston.” The Chicago Sun-Times summed up Jackie’s political impact, noting, “Some Texans, in taking account of the tangled Texas political
situation, have begun to think that Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy may turn the balance and win her husband this state’s electoral votes.” 266
Larry O’Brien entered. The president was looking out the window,
watching as workers put some finishing touches on the podium from where
111
JACKIE'S NEWPORT
he would soon speak. O’Brien joined him at the window. Always fatalistic about his vulnerability, the president said, “You know when they talk about security and protecting you…look at this, if somebody wants to get you, they can always do it.” 267
At 8:45 a.m., President Kennedy walked out of the front entrance of
the hotel and, to their delight, walked directly to the coed girls. He began to work the crowd in the inimitable JFK fashion, and the first thing he heard was: “Where’s Jackie?” Smiling he responded, “You know how ladies are,
they have to have their beauty rest.”
Jackie Kennedy’s day dawned with a new hope, a hope filled with
life. For the first time since the birth and death of Patrick, the flow of life moved through her. She and Jack wanted more children, but Jackie was
Jack arose early to give a speech in the parking lot on November 22 in Fort Worth. He was greeted with shouts, “Where’s Jackie?” Jack turned and pointed up to the eighth floor saying,
“Mrs. Kennedy is organizing herself, it takes longer but of course she looks better than we do.”
112
MR. AND MRS. AMERICA
apprehensive and worried it would never happen. She now knew it could
and knowing that the possibility again existed filled her with joy. It was a joy that could only spring from hope. 268
The president worked his way across the front of the line and then took
the podium. “There are no faint hearts in Fort Worth,” he began when a
voice came from the crowd, “Where’s Jackie?” He paused. “Mrs. Kennedy
is organizing herself, it takes longer but of course she looks better than we do when she does it.” Sitting above the crowd, on his father’s shoulders, was eight-year-old Bill Paxton. “Seeing him so alive, and not in black and white but in person, his red hair, bigger than life, there was this joyous excitement in the air, this wasn’t just a president, this was President Kennedy.” 269
He spoke but a minute and a half, concluding with: “Here in this rain, in Fort Worth, in Texas we’re moving forward.” And he returned to the crowd, which was sprinkled with about one thousand young ladies sporting newly
coiffed “Jackie Dos.” Calls of “Mr. President, Mr. President” were heard pleading for a handshake. “Thank you, thank you,” he repeated, making his way along the line, and he came upon seventeen-year-old Kay Fredericks,
one of the five Amon Carter coeds he had initially greeted. “I’ve already shaken your hand haven’t I,” he said to her. “Yes, Mr. President,” she said with a smile, “and with that he turned around and walked inside.” His final speech awaited. 270
First it was back upstairs to change his suit, now spotted by the rain,
causing a twenty-minute delay while the more than two thousand members of Fort Worth’s Chamber of Commerce waited with great anticipation. Ironically, the vast majority of the folks were Republicans, and according to Cornelia Friedman, the wife of Fort Worth’s mayor, “not many of them had even voted for Kennedy.” 271 However, it was a palpable, exciting energy moving through that room awaiting not only the president, but the first lady as well.
Vice-President Lyndon Johnson burst through the kitchen door, leading
the
Texas contingent to the head table. With all eyes glued on the kitchen 113
JACKIE'S NEWPORT
door, the Eastern Hills High School band struck up “Hail to the Chief,”
and the president appeared to a roar that drowned out the band. KTVT
cameraman Phil Crow remembered, “It was like a Hollywood Star entered
the room.” However, his initial reaction was surprise that “he was alone.” 272
Crow, on the other hand, was not alone. The first words out of news director Ed Herbert’s mouth were: “Mrs. Kennedy did not enter with the president
and we have no indication of where she may be…And quite a few ladies
appear quite disappointed.” The disappointment was not reserved to just the
“ladies,” as Jackie’s absence became the focal point of the coverage.
The president was seated, perusing his speech and making notes.
Chamber of Commerce president Raymond Buck introduced the Texas Boys
Choir, who serenaded the president with the “Eyes of Texas Are Upon You . ”
However, all eyes were upon the empty seat between the president and vice-president. The empty seat was now the story. “We have been watching the
head table closely,” said Herbert, “and so far there’s been no coffee placed at Mrs. Kennedy’s spot at the table, and no breakfast has been set down. This indicates she will not appear.” He began a virtual play-by-play of the maître d’s movements. “Again he’s pouring coffee as he’s moving down the line and again he did not stop in Mrs. Kennedy’s place.” 273
Upstairs in suite 850, Clint Hill was with the first lady. In his pocket was a copy of Mrs. Kennedy’s schedule in which she had made a notation next
to the morning breakfast that read, “JBK will not attend.” The phone rang.
“Clint…the president wants you to bring Mrs. Kennedy down right now.” 274
“But Mrs. Kennedy isn’t intending on going to the breakfast,” came
Hill’s reply. Hill learned that was no longer an option and that, in fact, “the president wants her down here now.”
Jackie's Newport Page 11