This Page Is Dedicated To First Lt. John W. Grutsch Jr. April 21st 1945-May 9th, 1968
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Lyndon Baines Johnson 1908-1973
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| Lyndon B. Johnson 1963-1969 |
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Lyndon Baines Johnson signed letter to John D. Patton Jr. thanking him and "The General" , Dated April 22, 1957. Johnson was first elected to the Senate in 1948 by defeating Governor Coke Stevenson by 87 votes out of nearly a million cast in the democratic primary, thus earning him the nickname "Landslide Lyndon"
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| Johnson Showing Off His Beagle! |
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President Lyndon B. Johnson signed White House Reception Photo to Rubin Levin
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Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson 1912-2007
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| Lady Bird Johnson 1968 |
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Lady Bird Johnson's typed and hand-written letter to a family friend thanking him for his low salt, low cholesteral cookbook to help aid in the President's coronary recovery, dated July 3rd, 1972. The cookbook apparently didn't work: President Johnson died of a massive heart attack six months later on January 12th, 1973
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Hubert Horatio Humphrey 1911-1978
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| An Angry Mayor Daily During the 1968 Convention |
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Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey signed Photograph to Jeff Vigneau. Humphrey won a pyrrhic victory in 1968, wresting the democratic nomination for President away from Anti-war Senator Eugene McCarthy. The "Police Riot" that accompanied the convention left the Democratic Party in total disarray, and insured the election of Richard Nixon that November.
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Robert Francis Kennedy 1925-1968
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| Robert F. "Bobby" Kennedy |
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Robert F. Kennedy signed letter to Emory Thurston of Los Angeles, California concerning a smoking prohibition bill that Senator Kennedy introduced. The letter is dated December 7th, 1967...Six months later Senator Kennedy would become the victim of an assassin's bullet in Los Angeles after winning the California primary on June 5th 1968. Considering the tenor of the time, there is very little doubt that Robert Kennedy would have been the next President of the United States.
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| FBI Director J.Edgar Hoover |
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Above is a signed letter that J.Edgar Hoover wrote to a Hollywood Columnist on May 22cd, 1958, concerning the movie "G-Men". Although this letter was written in 1958, long before Bobby Kennedy became Attorney General, our Curator believes it shows the tenor and attitude of Mr. Hoover toward Hollywood...And Liberals in particular. And since Bobby Kennedy's father had once owned a Hollywood studio...and Bobby's brother, Jack, had been an "intimate" friend of Marilyn Monroe's it came as no surprise to anyone in the FBI that Hoover took the news of Bobby's assassination with a smile on his face.
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 1929-1968
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| Moments after Dr. King's Asassination |
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| Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. |
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| James Ear Ray while in Brushy Mountain |
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Above, James Earl Ray's signed response to a "Fan", mailed from Brushy Mountain Penitentiary on February 11th, 1985
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| Missouri Mug Shot Before Escape |
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Above is one of the first wanted posters published by the FBI after the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Although the photo is of James Earl Ray, it incorrectly identifies him as Eric Stavos Galt, an alias Ray appropriated while on the run in Montreal after his escape from the Missouri Penitentiary. This rare poster was sent to the FBI office in Denver Colorado on April
17th, 1968
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Richard Milhous Nixon 1913-1994
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| Richard M. Nixon 1969-1974 |
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Vice President Richard M. Nixon signed letter to Lawrence Spivak, the long-time host of " Meet The Press" declining an invitation to appear on the televison show. Dated February 15th, 1957
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| Nixon in China 1973 |
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President Richard Nixon & French President Georges Pompidou signed State Dinner Program, March 2cd, 1970. The Dinner was held at the French Embassy in Washington D.C., and Nixon was so impressed with the Pomp and Circumstance of the evening that he changed the White House Secret Service attire to mirror that of the French. Later he came to his senses and changed it back!
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| Nixon & Elvis, December 1970 |
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President Richard M. Nixon signed letter to Robert Raaf (Curator) thanking him for a letter regarding his memoirs. Dated May 11th, 1979 from La Casa Pacifica, his home in "Exile"
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Archibald Cox 1912 - 2004
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| Watergate Special Prosecutor, Archibald Cox |
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Harvard Law professor Archibald Cox signed letter to the Clerk of the Supreme Court, dated March 7th, 1973. Two months after this letter was written, on May 19th 1973, Cox was appointed by Richard Nixon to be the Special Prosecutor in the "Watergate Scandal" Within weeks, Cox discovered that Nixon had been secretly tape recording conversations in the Oval Office concerning the Watergate break-in. Cox immediately requested transcripts of these conversations. But Nixon refused and "stonewalled" the investigation for nearly four months before eventually firing Cox in what has become known as the "Saturday Night Massacre". The night began with Nixon ordering the attorney General, Elliot Richardson, to fire Cox: Richardson refused and turned in his resignation. Next, Nixon ordered Deputy Attorney General, William Ruckleshaus to fire Cox: He also refused...and resigned. Finally, Nixon ordered The Solicitor General, Robert Bork, to do the dastardly deed: Bork agreed, and fired Cox. Fourteen years later Bork would be nominated to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan. But political memories are long and spiteful, and Bork's confirmation was denied after months of contentious wrangling by the Senate. His name is now in the dictionary: To "Bork" someone is to impugn their character!
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| Richard Nixon & Henry Kissinger 1972 |
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Henry Kissinger signed thank you letter to Mr. & Mrs. William Zimmerman of Michigan, dated October 30th, 1973. Kissinger had been Nixon's National Security Advisor from 1969 to 1973. During those years he arranged for both Nixon's trip to China and the cease fire in Vietnam. For the latter achievement he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and Nixon named him to the Post of Secretary of State. He served in that capacity for four years, staying on through President Ford's Administration, and in 1974, through the use of "Shuttle Diplomacy" was able to set the stage for Jimmy Carter's "Camp David Agreement" .
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| Spivak & Linus Pauling on the set of "Meet the Press", May, 1958 |
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| Below is Henry Kissinger's response to Lawrence Spivak's request to appear on "Meet the Press". Kissinger at the time was Richard Nixon's National Security Advisor.
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Spiro T. Agnew, the late but unlamented "Nolo Contendere" former Vice President under Richard Nixon, signed photograph. Mr. Agnew, the former Governor of Maryland was implicated in a bribery scandal and resigned the Vice Presidency after pleading Nolo Contendere (No Contest) to the charges. Mr. Agnew was best known for his illiteration, calling the Press: "Nattering Nabobs of Negativism"
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Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. 1913-2006
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| Gerald R. Ford 1974-1977 |
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Michigan Congressman Gerald R. Ford signed letter to the head of the National Republican Committee, dated January 5th, 1972. Two short years latter, Gerald Ford would become the President of the United States. He would first be appointed Vice President upon the resignation of Spiro Agnew....And then President upon the resignation of Richard Nixon. Having never won a national election, he would be defeated after two years in office by Jimmy Carter, a little-known Governor from Georgia. Trivia: Gerald R. Ford Jr. was born Leslie King Jr., one of only three U.S.Presidents to take office not using his birth name. Can you name the other two?
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| Jerry Ford signed hard hat, Hoover Dam 1979 |
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President Gerald Ford's autobiography, "A Time to Heal" signed and dated to Steve and Sue Brumfield of Nashville, Tennessee, September 28th, 1979
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