A History of Presidential Visits to Mitchell

Mitchell Daily Republic:

Preparations are being made for the planned visit by Bill Clinton, whose October visit to Mitchell won’t be the city’s first brush with a president.

Several future presidents have campaigned here over the past century, although Clinton’s visit may be the first time an ex-president has come to Mitchell.

Clinton will be the keynote speaker for the dedication of the George and Eleanor McGovern Library and Center for Leadership and Public Service on Saturday, Oct. 7. Lori Essig, vice president for university relations at DWU, said she now expects much larger crowds and more security since Clinton confirmed he will attend.

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It may be the first time an ex-president has visited Mitchell, but Mitchell still has had several future presidents — and possibly one sitting president — pass through.

Ninety-eight years have passed since William Taft, William Jennings Bryan and Eugene Chafin all came to Mitchell on three consecutive days stumping for the office of president during the 1908 Corn Palace Festival.

They came by train and Taft spoke from outside the Omaha Depot, now the site of CorTrust Bank on Main Street.

A photo of Jennings Bryan, a three-time presidential nominee for the Democratic Party, shows him riding in a buggy outside the Corn Palace surrounded by crowds.

Mitchell Historical Society member Lyle Swenson said he has seen a photo of a visit to Mitchell by President Harry Truman, but cannot determine the date of the photo. The photo shows Truman stepping off his plane at the airport. If the visit was during his 1948 presidential campaign, that would make Truman the only sitting president to have ever visited Mitchell.

In 1960, McGovern’s influence in Congress paid off for Mitchell residents wanting a glimpse of high-profile presidential nominee John F. Kennedy. A story in The Daily Republic said 5,000 people packed the Corn Palace while another 1,500 stood outside just to hear Kennedy speak.

Eight years later, his younger brother would make the same stop on his ill-fated campaign tour and would also speak at the Corn Palace. He was shot and killed before the election.

In 1988, George Bush Sr., then vice president and Republican Party nominee for president, visited Mitchell.