3/13/2017 By George!

Politics! During my childhood, my folks prepared and shared Sunday dinners with friends at our home. I remember how discussions often led to raised voices and discussions. I didn't know anything about politics throughout my teen and college years. Politics became part of my life after marriage, after two marriages.

I was introduced to what is considered now to be "far right" groups and participated willingly. Those were the days of Goldwater, Nixon, Kennedy and Ford. I was in my late twenties and a new mother during the Goldwater campaign. That campaign was the beginning of my life as a political person.

Skipping ahead, it was my marriage to my second husband, William Cody Kelly who was a "political person" through and through. He had served on Cincinnati City Council and run for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio. I have many file boxes filled with his political history, plus carefully organized (by him) giant scrapbooks of political memorabilia.

Because Bill (Cody) was a classmate and friend of George Bush's brother in law, we were committed to George Bush's political ambitions. I helped organize the very first campaign events for him in Cincinnati. I set up a card table under a movie marquee and ordered banners for the marquee "George Bush for President". Reagan became the presidential candidate and through some surprise maneuvers, Bush became Reagan's running mate.

President George Bush ('41)

There were many campaign events in Cincinnati. My political files are filled with evidence of those visits where I set up our temporary headquarters in various hotels. I organized my team of dedicated women and learned how to work with advance teams, secret service agents and many other opportunistic GOP politicos.

Bush with Boston Herald

I met many political people. It was an exciting and busy time in my life. My work led me eventually to a job as a political appointee in DC with President George Bush (41). I worked at the Department of Education as a Confidential Assistant in OPRE (Office of Private Education). I learned a lot!

Now, it's time to share!

Onward!