Remembering Gerald Ford

Friday, December 29, 2006

Growing up in Grand Rapids, Mich., in a Democratic family, I had the pleasure of hearing my father complain about Republican Rep. Gerald R. Ford while my mother would nod in agreement and later secretly pull the "Ford lever" in the voting booth.

That is the way it was in the 5th Congressional District. Many Democrats were closeted Ford supporters, and with good reason. Mr. Ford would try to help all of his constituents, not just those who supported him or needed his assistance during a reelection period.

I quit high school in 1972 but continued working toward my diploma through an adult education program. I invited Mr. Ford to speak to a civics class I was taking, and to my amazement he accepted. He arrived without his staff in tow to feed him answers, and he even drove himself. The students grilled him pretty hard, but he was gracious and well informed. A few days later, I received a handwritten note from him thanking me for inviting him.

I am sure hundreds of others in his district could tell similar stories. He will be greatly missed.

EDWARD J. ZIOMKOSKI

Washington

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In the summer of 1973, fresh out of college, I took a job as an elevator operator in the Senate wing of the Capitol under the patronage of Sen. Sam J. Ervin Jr. (D-N.C.), chairman of the Senate Watergate committee. Also working that summer as an elevator operator under the patronage of Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (D-Mont.) -- in a display of bipartisanship unlikely today -- was Steve Ford, son of House Minority Leader Gerald Ford.

On several evenings that summer, Mr. Ford walked from the other side of the Capitol to meet Steve and to give him a ride home. The congressman often swapped small talk with us "elevator boys" -- the name we gave ourselves even though our ranks included a few young women -- while we waited for the evening shift to come on duty.

The next summer President Ford took the oath of office. On the few occasions I saw him thereafter, I knew that he was not only president of the United States but also a dad who made sure his son got a ride home from work.

GORDON M. THOMAS

Arlington

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Gerald Ford's presidency was several years before I was born, but I learned a great deal about his early life while researching a college term paper.

Mr. Ford's accomplishments as a young man were impressive: member of the National Honor Society, Eagle Scout, standout athlete in high school and at the University of Michigan. He received offers to play professional football for the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers. Instead, he chose to serve as an assistant coach at Yale University before he enrolled in Yale Law School.

As America remembers the 38th president, I think it is important to note his early accomplishments. He set an excellent example for young people.

RICKY DAVIS

Silver Spring

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You want to know how I remember Gerald Ford? I remember him as Richard M. Nixon's "Get Out of Jail Free" card.

While the usual political pundits make revisionist excuses for Mr. Ford in an attempt to convince us his decision to pardon Nixon was a "moral" act that led to "national healing," nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that Mr. Ford, a good old Republican Party boy, had cut a prior deal with Nixon. For that he should never be forgiven.

JEF JAISUN

Seattle

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I recall so well sitting in the stands at a football game at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria when Gerald Ford was House minority leader.

As I remember it, he was sitting several rows above me when his son, who was on the football team, was injured. The coaches and medics attended to the young man and took him, finally, on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance. Only then did Mr. Ford walk quickly down the steps, jump the fence and slip into the ambulance with his son.

No fuss. No fanfare. No special treatment. Just a very concerned father, reacting with class and dignity.

CLAIRE O'DWYER RANDALL

Springfield