Barbara Bush visited Spokane two times in 1988

Weeks before her then-vice president husband won the 1988 presidential election, Barbara Bush visited Spokane’s East Central Community Center.

Hours later on Oct. 4, 1988, she was in a northwest Spokane neighborhood shaking hands and eating ice cream with children.

Bush visited the community center to speak about the Job Training Partnership Act, a federal program legislated by U.S. Sen. Dan Quayle, R-Ind., who would become George H.W. Bush’s running mate.

Shortly after visiting the center, Barbara Bush was seen greeting residents on Audubon Street, the neighborhood of state Rep. Jean Silver.

Barbara Bush was also in Spokane on Aug. 22, 1988, during her husband’s campaign stop at Riverfront Park.

Bush visited Spokane two more times during his presidency, Sept. 19, 1989, and Sept. 14, 1992, when he went on to speak in Colville.