Monday, July 6, 2009

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 33: On the Stump

Republican State Convention Program, Back Cover, 1960

"Former Governor C. Elmer Anderson headed a group he called 'Andersons for Andersen.' No other serious Republican candidate surfaced in the primary. I had the good fortune to be able to concentrate on the fall campaign against Orville Freeman from June on. I spend much of the summer stumping the state. I was in every one of Minnesota's eighty-seven counties in 1960. I came to know all the Republican county officials and their families too. I stay in touch to this day with the Republican Seventh District chairman in 1960, Arnold Anderson of Montevideo. Anderson, a mortician, took a real interest in my campaign and even traveled with me."

"Don Padilla was our publicist. He was the founder of a large public relations firm in Minneapolis….He said, 'Elmer, the first thing we've got to get is a good picture of you.' He did not think the photos I had were suitable. He brought me to a photographer he trusted, who took a campaign picture of me. Before long, Don took charge of my schedule, making sure I did what was needed to get people's attention and win their votes. As the campaign developed, Don frequently traveled with me to help me get my message out."

Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

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