by Patricia Sides at Willard Library
On October 16, 1956, two famous personalities arrived at the Evansville airport within hours of each other. The first was Vice-President Richard Nixon, who was campaigning for re-election. The second celebrity, film and television cowboy star Hopalong Cassidy, arrived later in the day to participate in the West Side Nut Club’s Fall Festival. (A newspaper noted that the crowd at the airport welcoming “Hoppy†was “considerably larger†than Nixon’s.) An estimated 75,000 fans of all ages watched the beloved cowboy parade down Franklin Street on his horse Topper. In this image, he poses for a photographer after crowning the Fall Festival queen.
On October 16, 1956, two famous personalities arrived at the Evansville airport within hours of each other. The first was Vice-President Richard Nixon, who was campaigning for re-election. The second celebrity, film and television cowboy star Hopalong Cassidy, arrived later in the day to participate in the West Side Nut Club’s Fall Festival. (A newspaper noted that the crowd at the airport welcoming “Hoppy†was “considerably larger†than Nixon’s.) An estimated 75,000 fans of all ages watched the beloved cowboy parade down Franklin Street on his horse Topper. In this image, he poses for a photographer after crowning the Fall Festival queen.
