OHIO COUNTY, W.Va. (WTRF) – An Ohio Valley author has written books on everything from the 1936 flood to the California gold rush.
Roger Pickenpaugh’s latest book, titled “Primary Importance,” focuses on John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign in West Virginia.
The author says there were nighttime payoffs and shady dealings, but also funny stories. He says one day in Charleston, when Kennedy had lost his voice, another man, Matt Reese, was told to read his speech for him.
Kennedy was sipping honey from a paper cup to soothe his throat, but Reese was worried it looked like bourbon.
“So he started glancing over at the senator with kind of a quizzical look on his face and finally Kennedy realized what he must be thinking so he took the legal pad and in big block letters he wrote HONEY on it and held it up to Reese. Reese looked at it and then he said to Kennedy, ‘Aw Senator, I like you too!”
Ro,ger Pickenpaugh, Author of “Primary Importance”
West Virginia was a critical state in Kennedy’s bid to cinch the Democratic nomination for president against Hubert Humphrey. Kennedy won that primary, 61 percent to 39.
The book “Primary Importance” will be available at Art On The Square in Caldwell, Ohio, June 14 and 15.
It can also be ordered at any bookstore or on Amazon.
