In this edition of #ElonTBT, we travel back to 1962 when then-Vice President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson made a visit to Elon.
In the #ElonTBT series, the Elon University News Bureau, along with Archives & Special Collections, will flash back to the past to take a look at Elon over the years. You will find videos, newspaper clippings, photos and more to celebrate Elon’s past, while looking ahead to the future. Follow along on E-Net and the university’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages every Thursday to see what we dig up.
As Elon prepares for a visit from Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, we’re taking a look back at another key political figure to visit Elon’s campus more than 50 years ago.
On March 8, 1962, then-Vice President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson came to Elon to give the 1962 Founders Day Convocation address. According to the Maroon and Gold newspaper, Johnson praised Elon and North Carolina and discussed the U.S. space program, as well as “a prophecy of United States victory in the Cold War.”
Johnson spoke to a record crowd of more than 5,000 people inside Alumni Memorial Gymnasium on what the Maroon and Gold described as a perfect day.
“Even the Weather Man smiled on Elon College that day, sandwiching in perfect and balmy spring sunshine between a pair of early March snows that struck the area on Tuesday and Friday, and the planned program moved with an exact precision that proved pleasing to all concerned,” the author wrote.
Johnson was also conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by Elon’s sixth president, James Earl Danieley. The degree was presented by Thad Eure, who served as North Carolina Secretary of State and chair of the Elon Board of Trustees.
The list of honored guests also included Gov. Terry Sanford, U.S. Sen. B. Everett Jordan, U.S. Sen. Sam J. Ervin and Congressman Horace Kornegay. The group arrived on campus via three U.S. Army Air Force helicopters, which landed next to McEwen Dining Hall.
Also accompanying Johnson was Bessie Staley Cheatham, a member of Elon’s Class of 1898 and the daughter of Elon’s second president, William Wesley Staley, who according to the Maroon and Gold, “almost stole the show from more eminent guests as she applauded the speakers from a seat on the aisle.” Cheatham was also the mother of an assistant sergeant-at-arms for the U.S. Senate and was well known in Washington, D.C. According to accounts from the newspaper, Johnson paid special tribute to Cheatham during the Convocation ceremony.
The Maroon and Gold published notes from President Danieley in which he spoke positively of Johnson’s visit.
“The human kindness of Mr. Johnson was exemplified in his pauses to converse with students, his autographing of hundreds of programs – one young lady was so excited by his autograph that she reached up and planted a kiss on his cheek,” Danieley wrote.
Do you have any special pieces of Elon history? Share your photos and videos with us via email at news@elon.edu or using the hashtag #ElonTBT on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
And, as we remember the 1962 Founders Day Convocation, don’t forget to get your tickets to this year’s Fall Convocation. In the first of the 2019-20 Elon University Speaker Series, the community will hear from Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina who served nearly two years as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Tickets are still available to the Sept. 27 Fall Convocation at Schar Center. Admission is $15 for members of the public, but tickets are available for free with an Elon ID.