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August 15, 2004'75 Ford stop: Fainting woman, pesky cowsPresident's trip had town buzzingByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - The "cow story" always comes to mind when people reminisce about President Gerald Ford's 1975 trip to Traverse City. And word of President George W. Bush's scheduled campaign stop here Monday - the first appearance in town for a sitting president since Ford's three-day stay - gives new legs to a nearly 30-year-old tale. Ford was in town that July for the National Cherry Festival parade. It was the first presidential visit anyone seems to remember, and Traverse City was abuzz. The Ford motorcade, returning from a lakeside reception at the home of then-U.S. Sen. Robert Griffin, wound back to town on North Long Lake Road. The Secret Service had cased the route, and security flanked the president's car. "The Secret Service had everything timed down to the minute, but of course, they didn't count on the cows," said Marjorie Griffin, Griffin's wife. The cows belonged to the Gallagher dairy farm, and they gained an unexpected audience with the 38th president of the United States when they ambled across the road at milking time. "The cows stopped the presidential motorcade," said Larry Fleis, then a sergeant with the Traverse City Police. Anxious over the unexpected delay, "The Secret Service jumped out," Robert Griffin said. But the president and first lady Betty Ford just laughed, and spent the time greeting some children who stood near the road with signs that read, "Hi, Mr. President" and "Hi, Betty." "Jerry Ford enjoyed it tremendously," Marjorie Griffin said. It was that picture - of Ford's motorcade corralled by cows - that made the next day's newspapers, and it remains the chief bit of presidential folklore around these parts. Bush can only hope to make such a long-lasting impression, but it seems unlikely, with today's tightly contained, whirlwind campaign tours. Ford's visit began when his plane touched down at Cherry Capital Airport. Among convoy participants were the first lady, 20 White House staffers, including current defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and a jaunty Ford, sporting a red plaid blazer and red pants. "I remember being at the airport, awaiting his arrival ...," said Jim Beckett, of Traverse City. "It was very interesting and fascinating, and obvious that security people were around there. It was quite an experience." The motorcade later made its way down the parade route, flanked at one end by the Traverse City Senior High marching band. Fleis patrolled the south side of Front Street near Cass Street, and was at that corner - his spot for 15 years of parade duty - when Ford rolled by. Of course, it didn't go exactly as planned. "Just as Ford enters that block, just as he gets about to where the crosswalk is, a lady passed out ...," Fleis said. "So they had to stop the presidential motorcade and haul an ambulance down there." The fainting woman wasn't hurt and after a short delay, Ford rode on. The parade was "probably the biggest crowd the Cherry Festival ever had," said local historian Larry Wakefield. "It was considered a big event." As such, the security, even by 1975 standards, was tight. Secret Service agents rode up and down the parade route in golf carts and a helicopter hovered overhead. Fleis said local police had about three-to-four weeks to prepare for the visit. The president's security detail went so far as to ask the state hospital to cancel "ground leaves" for psychiatric patients that day, Fleis said. Back at the Griffin's Long Lake home, where the senator and his wife hosted Ford and local dignitaries following the parade, Secret Service agents swarmed the beach in boats and climbed trees to use for makeshift lookout posts. Marjorie Griffin said her driveway was closed off and guests had to park down the road and ride buses to the house. The Griffins, still friendly with the Fords, wanted the party to be a "casual affair," Marjorie Griffin said. "But he was the president of the United States ... and you aren't casual," she said. The reception was nonetheless a "very, very lovely occasion," said Beckett, also a guest of the Griffins that day. The president later flew to Chicago for a meeting and returned to Traverse City to play nine holes at the Traverse City Golf and Country Club the next day. "I remember him being here. I was at the club," said Ray Kellogg, of Traverse City. "There were a couple of policemen riding horses around the perimeter of the club." Kellogg's friend and fellow club member Gordon Turnquist also has memories of Ford in Traverse City. "He lived in Grand Rapids, so he was in-state, and a pretty popular guy," Turnquist said. "He played football at University of Michigan, he was captain of the team at U of M, so there was quite a lot of interest." Later that night, after dining at the country club, Ford boarded a helicopter for Interlochen. After a concert, the audience serenaded the president with a chorus of "Happy Birthday." Ford would turn 62 a few days later.
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