Author Archives: Philip E Jenks

DIck Nixon was attorney for Pepsi Cola when I wrote to him to request an autographed picture. His generous response was probably accompanied by a cover letter from his secretary, Rose Mary Woods. If so, I discarded her letter because … Continue reading →

In 1962 I read an article about Herbert Hoover in Parade magazine. The article described his austere life in the Waldorf-Astoria towers, and noted the ex-president still received a half dozen letters each day. He would write his responses on … Continue reading →

Adlai Stevenson would have been 114 this month. I once took a girl I admired on a “date” to see him speak at Colgate University, circa February 1963. The effort did not sweep her off her feet, and I began … Continue reading →

With one exception, I haven’t solicited a celebrity’s or politician’s autograph since 1964. That exception was Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier. In retirement, Joe represented a furniture company that happened to have a display room beneath my apartment on Charlotte Street … Continue reading →

I can’t remember where I got this pin because Democratic campaign items were not plentiful in Morrisville, N.Y., in 1960. I remember that I wore it throughout the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon campaign, wore it throughout the Kennedy years, and was wearing … Continue reading →

52 years ago Oct. 9, a former Secretary of State dictated a letter to a 15 year-old kid who yearned to enter the noble life of politics. Acheson was a leading architect of Harry Truman’s Cold War foreign policy, and … Continue reading →

Thomas E. Dewey was unexpectedly defeated by President Truman 65 years ago this week, and 51 years ago this Thursday he was still grousing about Democratic presidents. In my bipartisan pursuit of politicians’ autographs, I wrote to him and received … Continue reading →

LBJ also responded generously with personally autographed pictures. I’ve lost track of where they might be filed, and suspect they were misplaced in one of several moves. LBJ was my commander-in-chief during the four years I was in the Air … Continue reading →

In Robert Caro’s multi-volume biography of LBJ, the rising senator, vice president, and president is frequently described as taking time to deal with his correspondence. I have no idea how many staff persons were assigned to helping him respond to … Continue reading →

Lyndon Johnson died 41 years ago this January 22. He was certainly one of the most extraordinary politicians of our era, and we might remember him as the greatest leader of the second half of the 20th century if he’d … Continue reading →