Kennedy stayed a night in Middletown on Oct. 17, 1960, as part of a campaign swing through Ohio that included West Carrollton and Dayton.
Middletown Superintendent Sam Ison’s office in the city building is adorned with Kennedy memorabilia. The centerpiece of his office collection is a rare photo of America’s youngest presidential candidate’s caravan rolling through downtown Middletown amid adoring supporters.
Ison found the photo at a local shop and had it enlarged and framed.
It fit in nicely with the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library replica of the rocking chair the president had in the White House’s Oval Office and other artifacts from the Kennedy era.
America’s 35th president is more than history to Ison, who was a young boy during Kennedy’s term, which was cut short by an assassin’s bullet on Nov. 22, 1963 in Dallas.
Even as a boy, Ison found Kennedy to be both mesmerizing and inspirational.
“He was an encouragement to me. I came from a lower, middle-income family — neither of my parents went to college — so he was an aspiration to me,” recalls Ison.
“He was a young guy, enthusiastic and all I saw was something positive and it captured my attention at the young age of five. So by the time he was killed I was devastated, being in elementary school and remembering hearing the principal make that announcement,” said Ison.
Through his school years Kennedy remained his hero.
“It caused me to constantly think about my own life in terms of education and pursuit of my dreams … he was an encouragement and an aspiration. And that is why you see my office filled (with Kennedy-related items) that’s the way I’ve always had it,” said the veteran school administrator who became Middletown’s top school leader in 2013.
Ison later became a fan of Kennedy’s younger brother Robert, who too was assassinated during his 1968 presidential run.
Heather Hidy lived a bit of the JFK history that Ison cherishes.
The 72-year-old Middletown High School graduate was a 17-year-old teenager when she joined the adoring crowds lining downtown’s streets that sunny Oct. 17 in 1960 to wave and shout as Kennedy rode by in a convertible as part of his campaign motorcade.
“It was high excitement,” said Hidy, who now resides in California.
“I don’t remember if they let us out of school or if we just left to see him (Kennedy). But it was so exciting. He had just made a speech at the old Manchester Inn and we were next to the street when he was driven by.”
She added, “there was an electricity about that man.”
About the Author