Over the weekend, former Wisconsin Governor Patrick Lucey died at the age of 96. He served as governor from 1971-77, Ambassador to Mexico and later ran as John Anderson’s Vice President in the 1980 Presidential Election.

It caused us to remember a photo we ran across a couple months ago in the Mineral Point Archives.  It’s a curious photo, and can be found in many different files.

Courtesy of the Mineral Point Archives

It seems to show Governor Lucey (in the center) during a visit to Mineral Point. He appears to be in Library Park.

Notes on the backside of the photo identify many of the people, including Slick Clark, John Walsh, Henry Huxtable, Tom Pilling and if you look closely you can see Bob Neal sitting in a doorway stoop across the street. The notes further suggest that this dealt with a 4th of July proclamation about Governor Dodge’s 1836 swearing in at that location.  Perhaps this was the day they installed the historical marker that was recently refurbished.  (Where Wisconsin Began)

Courtesy of the Mineral Point Archives

Does anyone have any recollection of this day? Let us know by commenting to this post.

And, while we’re at it, does anyone have a photo of presidential candidate John F. Kennedy’s visit to Mineral Point? The Democrat Tribune of March 24, 1960 states that he would be coming to town on Friday April 1, 1960 and would speak at the Municipal Theater (aka the Opera House). The issue of the Democrat following the April 1st visit is filled with election results from the contested mayoral race, and the presidential primary, but does not include a photo of Kennedy or a report of the visit. Many people recall shaking his hand and seeing him on that day, but we could not find a photo in the archives or the newspaper. Does anyone out there have one? If so, please let us know.

– Contributed by the Hays