On a snowy March 9, 1960 day, then Senator John F. Kennedy and wife Jacqueline, entered a packed Tomah High School gym to be greeted with applause by 1,300 Tomah High School students and area residents. JFK’s visit to Tomah was part of an important three-day tour of Wisconsin, including stops at the Tomah VAMC and Sparta. John F. Kennedy's vigorous campaigning in Wisconsin secured him a victory in the state's Democratic primary against Minnesota's Hubert Humphrey just a few weeks later on April 5, 1960. JFK had also campaigned in Monroe County in September 1959.
On Thursday, April 24th at 7pm, B.J. Hollars, author of the new book, Wisconsin for Kennedy, will bring to life the stories behind JFK’s history-making 1960 Wisconsin primary campaign, and how Kennedy’s team managed to outmaneuver his politically seasoned opponent, Hubert Humphrey. Prof. Hollars will chronicle JFK’s nail-biting Wisconsin win by drawing on rarely cited oral histories from the eclectic team of people who worked together to make it happen: a cranberry farmer, a union leader, a mayor, an architect, and others. Hollars will make special mention of former Madison mayor (and Sparta native) Ivan Nestingen and his role in Humphrey's campaign and later support of Kennedy. Wisconsin for Kennedy explores how the residents of Wisconsin helped propel JFK all the way to the White House.
B.J. Hollars is a professor of English at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and the founder and director of the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild. This program is sponsored by the Monroe County Local History Room & Museum and the Wisconsin Historical Society’s “History Makers Tour.” Please note that to provide more seating space, this program will not be held at the Local History Room but nearby at the Sparta United Methodist Church, 210 N. Court St. Parking available in Museum/Monroe County Parking Lot off Central Ave. Please use the K Street entrance. Free admission, with a suggested $1 donation to support programming. For more information visit www.facebook.com/mclhr or call 608-269-8680.
