March 16, 1976
• • • While
From page 6
Then the Big Day arrived.
Secret Service agents met for
a final briefing. The presiden
tial platform, wooden not
political, was finished, the
required blue curtain back
drop was rushed in from the
walls of Gov. Holshouser's
office, and the suggestion to
hang a Guilford College
banner behind the President
rejected.
At 11 a.m. those invited by
Guilford College gathered for
coffee and donuts. Entering
Founders that morning was an
experience in itself. Karen
Rheeling greeted guests at the
door and checked off names on
her list under the careful
scrutiny of several burly
agents. The inside of the
building was "redecorated".
Most noticable among the
redecorations was the bulletin
board next to the reception
desk. Notices advertising
"Roommate Wanted, Male or
Female", and "Ride Needed
to Fla. will share gasoline and
dope expenses" were banish
ed in favor of signs
announcing poetry contests
and off-campus seminars.
Press members laden with
tons of electronic gadgetry
filed into Sternberger Audito
rium followed by an interest
ing assortment of approxi
mately 70 members of the
College community. No secu
rity checks were run on the
guests but close visual
inspections were done by the
omnipresent Secret Service
agents.
With the tactical units in
position and the Presidential
S.W.A.T. squad headquarter
ed in the gym, helicopters
brought the President of the
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Ford welcome# supporters at afternoon political gatberini
United States to Guilford
College.
The President entered
Sternberger and advanced to
his podium. Mr. Ford is a
stocky, rock-jawed man with a
quick, friendly smile and
pleasant, deep set blue eyes.
But for the expensive suit he
wore and the hefty agents
nearby, he could have been
anyone's ex-football player
grandpa.
He opened with a mediocre
joke about hoping to be as
successful as UNC's Phil
Ford, the kind of joke
everyone laughs at only when
told by a President. In a
forceful yet not overbearing
manner he answered ques
tions, evaded questions, made
points, rambled, and shifted
his weight smoothly from leg
to leg. He appeared to be well
The Guilfordian
Chopper landing on football field
Tactical squad posts lookout on dorm roof
informed on topics ranging
from the Russian Army to (he
New River. The man gave a
solid performance and left
smiling.
Departing Guilford, he was
driven out New Garden Road
to the Guilford Courthouse
Battleground where a crowd of
about 7,000 waited patiently.
The President walked to the
speaker's platform between
rows of men dressed in the
uniforms of the Colonial Ist
Maryland Regiment. The
muskets these men held had
previously been checked out
by security agents.
Mr. Ford delivered a speech
lauding North Carolina and
Photos by Bernstein
singing the praises of the Tar
Heels who, he said, stuck to
their positions in the face of
the British infantry. In reality,
the Tar Heel militia fired once
and fled in-1781. The British
got a good look only at their
backs and flying heels. The
day was saved by the heroism
of the Ist Maryland, but that
would not win many votes in
Greensboro, North Carolina.
The President returned to
Guilford College for a political
meeting and a snack prepared
by his personal Philippino
chef, then continued on by
helicopter to Winston-Salem.
A good time was had by all.
Page 7