'He changed the presidency'

Kalispell man recalls Ford

The Daily Inter Lake

A Kalispell man with long-standing ties to Gerald R. Ford and his family remembered the former president Wednesday as a compassionate leader, a good listener and a man of solid values.

"He didn't drift with the political winds. He had a set of values he didn't vary from," said Bill Brockett, who got to know the Ford family in 1974 when he was assigned to the White House Communications Agency.

Brockett lived at the White House for about a month during the Ford administration to care for the family's golden retriever, Liberty, as she delivered a litter of puppies. He also spent time training the dog.

Last year, as a gift to the Ford family, Brockett took the lead in creating a new Web site for the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum.

"It's a week to look back and reflect on a man who loved God, his family and his country," Brockett said. "He did not seek the presidency, and because of that he had a unique view of himself. He was his own person, and he changed the presidency for the better."

Brockett witnessed Ford's swearing-in ceremony on Aug. 9, 1974, and well remembers the president's famous response: "I have not sought this enormous responsibility, but I will not shirk it…"

HE RECONNECTED with the Fords a few years ago and has kept in touch with their daughter, Susan Ford Bales. Bales contacted Brockett about two months ago to let him know about the former president's fragile health.

Brockett's time at the White House intersected with several stressful events in the Ford family's lives. Betty Ford was diagnosed with breast cancer just a few weeks after he began work at the White House. And he was there during both assassination attempts on the president.

On two separate trips to California in September 1975, Ford was the target of assassination attempts. Both of the assailants were women - Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme and Sara Jane Moore.

"Susan was 17, and all of a sudden her dad is a target," Brockett said. "She lived on the third floor and my ex-wife and I had a room on the third floor. We'd talk, and that's when our friendship began to develop. All of the attention of being the first daughter loses its shine when someone tries to kill your dad two times within 17 days."

THERE WERE light-hearted times during his time at the White House, too, though. Brockett remembers Susan posting a no-smoking sign on the third floor after the puppies were born. President Ford smoked a pipe at the time, and the sign featured a drawing of Ford with his pipe and a personal note: "That means you, too, Dad."

President Ford's ability to give a person - no matter who it was - his focused attention was a trait Brockett admired.

"When I'd talk to him about his dog, I'd have his undivided attention. He was a great listener," he recalled.

Ford's presidency "was no cake walk," Brockett said. The economy was faltering, the office of the president had been damaged by the Watergate scandal that prompted President Nixon to resign and the Cold War lingered.

"He walked into probably the most difficult situation since the Civil War," he said.

Brockett also admired Ford's ability to do what he believed in, regardless of public criticism. He recalled that when Ford announced his amnesty proposal to a room full of veterans, he got a "standing boo."

"His thought was to announce it to the people who would hate it the most" and start building consensus from there.

"He was not afraid to make an unpopular decision when he knew it was the right thing to do," Brockett said, pointing to Ford's decision to pardon Nixon as another controversial decision that many historians now say helped unite the country following the political fallout from the Nixon administration.

BROCKETT, a custom Web-site designer, got involved with the Web site project as a way of giving back to the Fords. He helped create an updated look for the site (www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov) and finished the project last January. About two months ago, when news of Ford's failing health became known, Brockett helped develop media kits on the Web site to provide background information for journalists.

The Ford family and their attorney chose the photographs used on the Web site, and Brockett said one of his favorites is a shot of the president, first lady and their daughter Susan walking arm-in-arm down a path at Camp David, with their faithful golden retriever at their side.

"They're extra-special people," he said.

Brockett likes to tell the story of a personal tour his mother and grandmother got when they visited the White House in November 1975 while he was still doing communications work there. He had asked for a VIP tour, and before the afternoon was over his relatives were allowed to tour the third floor, where they visited with Susan, then were invited into the president and first lady's private residence.

"She [Betty Ford] took an hour of her time explaining the history of the various rooms," Brockett recalled.

After the tour, his mother got a note from Betty Ford, thanking her for taking the time to visit the White House.

"I've never known anyone as kind to me and my family as they were," he said.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com