JIMMY CARTER’S MHCC VISIT REMEMBERED

Since former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, 98, entered hospice care last month, many are looking back at his legacy, and The Advocate joins them, through a special, local lens: The president and his entourage visited Mt. Hood Community College on Nov. 3, 1978, one of the most high-profile events ever to take place on the campus.

Flying into Portland on Air Force One from Illinois that Friday morning, Carter was whisked to MHCC to support the re-election campaign of Oregon Gov. Bob Straub, a fellow Democrat.
Starting a bit past 10 a.m., Carter’s speech mostly focused on the economy – still not great, but improving – and human rights issues.

Bob Watkins, a reporter for the Gresham Outlook (he would later teach journalism and serve as faculty adviser to The Advocate for nearly three decades) covered the story that day.

He described the atmosphere as “electric” – the Main Mall of the college was filled with students, staff, and community members, cheering and shouting upon Carter’s arrival at the campus. Among them were thousands of Gresham school district students. While media accounts varied, some estimated as many as 10,000 people in attendance, the biggest crowd ever at Mt. Hood up to that time.

Besides admirers, there were also some protesters. Dan Donahue, then a member of the MHCC Jazz Band, recalls that there were hundreds of Iranians gathered nearby, protesting Carter’s visit. They were wearing white hoods, so as to not be identified, a real and serious threat. Many of them visiting college students, they opposed Carter’s support of the shah – controversial Iran leader Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who would be ousted a year later by the Iranian Revolution and replaced by the Ayatolleh Ruhollah Khomeini. The event in part featured the college’s Jazz Band. Mt. Hood alum Steve Watkins (no relation), a bandmate of Donahue’s, recalled the band playing the Democatic Party hype tune of the era, Happy Days are Here Again, before and after Carter’s speech. He sarcastically noted the band must have played the tune a hundred times.

Due to the band learning that Carter would visit only a week in advance, Donahue said their band director had a trumpet player, Sheldon Brooks, throw together an easy arrangement of the song for the band to play. In true Oregon fashion it was drizzling that day, and looking back, Watkins said that a lot of the band members just wanted to get the rally over with. However, for Watkins this wouldn’t be the only time he played for an American president. Long after graduating from Mount Hood, the musician joined the U.S. Air Force military band and played for an additional four presidents during his time there.

“It just goes to show, you never know where music is going to take you,” Watkins said, reflecting on his experience playing at MHCC. To be sure, many preparations took place before the president’s visit. Per usual, the Secret Service came out a few days in advance to scout out the College and make sure the location was safe. Watkins’s Outlook story notes dozens of extra telephone lines were wired into the college. But a huge difference from today was the amount of crowd scrutiny: No one remembered any bag checks, metal detectors, or any of those security measures.

One funny anecdote did come up, shared by Donahue. A Mt. Hood math instructor was watching the Secret Service set up the secure area – and the teacher was wearing the same trench coat as they were, so the agents had taken him aside to confirm he wasn’t trying to sneak in.

Another quirk the Outlook story noted was a White House secretary needing to type something quickly on an MHCC typewriter. When finished, the aide ripped the ribbon out of the machine. College staff thought at first they had just stolen the ribbon, but Watkins learned it was a security measure to make sure no one could possibly see what was written.

After roughly an hour, Carter returned to his motorcade and soon flew on to Sacramento, California. It turns out Straub lost his election, four days later.

Why Mt. Hood? Carter had already visited Portland in May of that year. But it seemed he preferred locations where he had once campaigned, aides told reporters – and in 1976, the former Georgia governor was on the campus to campaign for election. He told MHCC students and others how he would pardon Vietnam-era draft evaders if he won, that he would support any Democratic nominee that fall, and discussed foreign policy.

Two years later, Carter lost his own re-election try, to Ronald Reagan. The Iranian Revolution and taking of American hostages played a large role. But those at Mt. Hood who saw the president’s visit won’t easily forget it.

Kane Finders