Bush carries on tradition of presidential visits

Following in his father’s footsteps, George W. Bush will visit the Spokane area, the 16th president to do so during his term in office.

The first president to visit the Inland Northwest was Theodore Roosevelt. He gave a speech May 26, 1903, praising veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic, telling the crowd that “no man is above the law.”

William H. Taft made two trips to Spokane, the first on Sept. 28, 1909, when he was entertained with a banquet at the Davenport Hotel. He returned Oct. 7, 1911, attending the Spokane Interstate Fair.

Woodrow Wilson came to Spokane on Sept. 12, 1919. He spoke about the League of Nations at the Spokane Armory. He collapsed from a stroke 13 days later, but lived until 1924. His presidency ended in 1921.

Warren G. Harding stopped in Spokane on July 2, 1923 to praise the Columbia Basin project. He toured and viewed a Hangman Creek irrigation project from High Drive.

Franklin D. Roosevelt made two stops in Spokane during trips to the Grand Coulee Dam project on Aug. 4, 1934, and again on Oct. 2, 1937. Roosevelt’s train also stopped in Spokane for 20 minutes on Aug. 13, 1944, on his way to the White House from the Aleutians. The trip was a secret; the president slept through the visit and never made an appearance.

Harry S. Truman made three appearances in Spokane. On June 9, 1948, he came to Spokane as part of a campaign swing, and called The Spokesman-Review the second-worst newspaper in the United States because of its editorial-page politics. He lashed out at the paper again on a visit on Oct. 1, 1952. He also visited on May 11, 1950, after dedicating the Grand Coulee Dam. He stopped at Gonzaga University for a speech about civil rights.

It would be more than 20 years before another president would visit Spokane.

On May 4, 1974, Richard Nixon opened Spokane’s Expo ‘74. Before the World’s Fair was over, Nixon resigned.

Jimmy Carter made two visits to Spokane. On May 5, 1978 he helped dedicate Riverfront Park, addressing a crowd of about 45,000. He reminisced about his visit during Expo ‘74 while he was governor of Georgia. He visited again on May 22, 1980, to tour Spokane in the aftermath of the eruption of Mount St. Helens. Carter warned residents that the federal government couldn’t “foot the whole bill” for cleanup of the volcanic ash.

Ronald Reagan made a rare two-day visit to Spokane, on Oct. 30-31, 1986, while campaigning for the re-election of Sen. Slade Gorton. A rally was held in the Spokane Coliseum. He was given a sweatshirt, one side honoring WSU Cougars, and the other the UW Huskies.

George H.W. Bush made several stops in Spokane, including as vice president and during campaigning efforts for the presidency.

He came to Spokane on July 17, 1979, for a fund-raising luncheon while running for the 1980 presidential nomination. He came back for a rally at Riverfront Park on Oct. 2, 1980 when he was the vice presidential candidate. As vice president, he campaigned at a rally at the Davenport Hotel on Oct. 19, 1984. On Aug. 22, 1988, he was the vice president seeking the presidency when he attended a campaign rally in the park. As president, he visited Spokane on Sept. 18-19, 1989, to celebrate the Washington State Centennial. He ate at Patsy Clark’s, unveiled a plaque for the Centennial Trail and helped Tom Foley plant a tree in Riverfront Park.