https://www.fortdodgehistory.com/iconic-events
On Thursday, September 22, 1960, democratic presidential candidate Senator John F. Kennedy visited Fort Dodge. He arrived at the Fort Dodge Municipal Airport to a crowd of thousands on hand to welcome him. Senator Kennedy was accompanied by Mrs. Eunice Shriver (Mrs. Sargent Shriver, sister of Senator Kennedy) of Chicago and 6th District Iowa Congressman Merwin Coad. Fort Dodge Democratic national committeeman Donald Mitchell was also with Senator Kennedy. Senator Kennedy was greeted in Fort Dodge by Mayor Albert Habhab. Iowa Governor Herschel Loveless was forced to circle the Fort Dodge Airport due to poor landing conditions, which prevented him from being on hand to greet Senator Kennedy. More than 80 news, radio and television reporters and photographers had landed earlier and were able to provide national coverage of this visit.
Senator Kennedy’s plane had been delayed due to a low ceiling; however, he was able to visit Fort Dodge for ninety minutes, using the occasion to outline a 6-Point Farm Program of “Work and Sacrifice and Discipline”, a program he said aimed at “Bringing good incomes and a decent standard of living to all our farmers”. Following a lively parade on Central Avenue, which featured twenty one bands, dignitaries, local businesses, floats, beauty queens, covered wagons and mules, Senator Kennedy gave a speech on the City Square to an estimated crowd of 15,000. He addressed mainly agricultural issues.
The basic points of his speech were:
Full parity of income for farmers
Achievement of parity of income primarily through supply management of crops. This would include government purchases and loans in order to manage the crop supplies
Use of farmer’s excessive productive capacity to feed the hungry and undernourished both here and abroad
Use of a sound system of soil conservation which does not destroy entire farms and which is administered at the local level by farmers
Modernization of the governments specialized farm agencies to meet the farm revolution – by revitalizing agricultural credit agencies so farmers could get the credit they need at interest rates they can afford so they could modernize and expand
Initiation of a special program for low production farmers, those who must work with inadequate resources, and who live in rural poverty
Senator Kennedy stated that “America’s ability to grow quantities of food with a small percentage of her people is an asset “greater than the Sputnik” and one which the Soviet Union envies.
(It was anticipated that Republican presidential nominee Richard Nixon would also address farm issues on his visit to Iowa the following day).
During a five minute speech at the airport prior to his departure, Senator Kennedy spoke on the theme that “we can and should do more; conditions are not as they should be”. Kennedy contended that a Democratic president would be better able to improve the nation’s position in the world, especially in regards to the threats posed by Khrushchev and Russia, and Castro in Cuba.
It was estimated that between 15,000 and 20,000 people gathered to see Senator Kennedy during his visit to Fort Dodge. School children were given a holiday from school in order to see the presidential nominee.