30 Sep 1948 ~ The Henderson Morning Gleaner related that Henderson would play host to its first formal presidential visit.  Harry S. TRUMAN would arrive by train that afternoon.

 

TRUMAN, seeking re-election as the Democratic presidential nominee with Kentuckian Alben BARKLEY as the vice-presidential candidate, faced political difficulties.  The Democratic Party had become badly split.  TRUMAN faced a fight not only from Republican nominee Thomas DEWEY, but from the liberal Progressive and conservative Dixiecrat tickets that had sprung from his own party.  TRUMAN had become a decided underdog.  So, in an effort to win over his countrymen, TRUMAN embarked on a whistle-stop train tour of the country, speaking in down-to-earth terms to folks who gather at railroad stations.

People from around the state planned to attend.  Gov. Earle CLEMENTS left Frankfort for his home in Morganfield, where he would join a car caravan to Henderson.  Caravans also were expected to arrive from Corydon, Madisonville, Dawson Springs, Sturgis, Dixon and Providence.  On Wednesday, the day before the visit, Secret Service agents arrived.

Mayor Robert B. POSEY requested merchants to close at 1 p.m.  City school superintendent H. L. SMITH ordered schools dismissed at noon so students could see the president.  The Barret High School band readied itself to play.  On the day of the arrival, Paul B. MOSS decorated Union Station with flags, bunting and flowers.  Among the key participants was Stanley HOFFMAN, the state senator from Henderson who had been selected by the Kentucky Legislature to introduce TRUMAN.  HOFFMAN, a senator from 1946-1954 and now a realtor here, recalled the day:

"I never saw such a crowd in Henderson in all my life," he said.   (The Morning Gleaner reported the crowd reached 10,000 persons.)  "The entire roof of the depot was covered with people.  They were scattered everywhere:  on telephone poles, anywhere up high where they could see the President."

But those thousands had to wait until mid-afternoon to see TRUMAN because his train "had been held up in Illinois by extra large crowds who 'refused' to let the train depart."

HOFFMAN was pushed onto the rear platform by the Secret Service men who surrounded him, he recalled.  "I went inside the train, past a curtain over the rear door, and there was President TRUMAN and Mrs. TRUMAN and (daughter) Margaret.  TRUMAN said to me, "Sit down here real quick and tell me about Henderson, I'm not up on it."

"So in about three or four minutes, as fast as I could talk, I told him about Henderson.  He didn't take a note, and it was amazing to me, but when he walked out on the platform (following HOFFMAN'S brief introduction), he commenced to say everything I just told him." 

TRUMAN'S speech also included a campaign pep talk, naturally, and the Gleaner reported that he told the crowd that "a Democratic victory in November will continue prosperity in the United States and continue work for peace and international harmony."  He was a very down-to-earth, factual person.  He spoke with no fancy language and no exaggeration.

 

The stop was brief, perhaps 20 minutes by Paul MOSS' estimate.  Then six Hendersonians joined the train:  County Judge Fred G. VOGEL;  County Treasurer Miss Lucille FARLEY;  Democratic leader O. B. SPRINGER;  Francele ARMSTRONG of the Morning Gleaner;  Hecht LACKEY, owner and manager of WSON;  and Mrs. W. C. COOPER, a democratic leader.

In November, to the shock of most political observers, TRUMAN defeated DEWEY.  "The scrappy, underrated Harry S. TRUMAN captured the presidential election in one of the biggest upsets in America's political history.  In Henderson County, TRUMAN received 5,499 votes, DEWEY captured 2,364.

 

Source:  The Gleaner, Monday, 21 Jul 1980, Chuck Stinnett, Staff Writer