AIR FORCE ONE, 1963:
Although it is named the same, this vintage version of the Presidential plane used in 1963 is far different in design to the one that recently brought President George W. Bush to Redding.

When President George W. Bush made his recent trip to Redding, memories came flooding back of another presidential visitation here in Shasta County on Air Force One. The day was a very hot September in 1963 when President John F. “Jack” Kennedy arrived to dedicate Whiskeytown Dam. He arrived by helicopter on the dam itself.

He gave a very inspirational talk about the future benefits of the need for the dams for the future of California. Wiping sweat from his brow, he mingled with a crowd of approximately 10,000 people who assembled to hear and see him. Children from various schools in the area provided music for the occasion as they sweltered in the heat below the dam.

The purpose of Whiskeytown Dam was to impound water from the Trinity River Project, then to divert the water later in the summer to the Sacramento River. President Kennedy mentioned what a wonderful recreational lake it would become. The water diverted was also used to produce electric power as it descend from tunnels bored through the mountains from the Trinity River to the Clear Creek drainage area and then again from Whiskeytown Dam.

I was very interested in the project’s completion. My father, Ed Rupert, was a surveyor in the 1930s who worked for the U.S. Department of Interior Geological Service and had helped survey all the watersheds of the McCloud, Sacramento, Pitt and Trinity Rivers all the way to Folsom.

I still have the very interesting maps of all the surveys they did. My father’s boss, Bill Bryant sent the notes to him from Washington D.C.

As children we spent many weeks in the summer months staying in old miners’ cabins with the families of other crew members and experiencing many exciting times exploring the old mining areas, crossing rivers on swinging bridges, swimming and fishing and enjoying the beauty of the rivers.

To our family, one of the highlights of President Kennedy’ s visit was the occasion to be at the airport the day of his departure. Our older boys wanted to see Air Force One so I took them out to the airport. Luckily we arrived as he was returning from his visit to Lassen National Park to board Air Force One to continue on his way. As he did so many times, the President made time to come greet people in the crowd.

I had our youngest son, Chris, on my shoulders. We were standing near a fence as President Kennedy came up to greet people and he took ahold of the hands of my youngest son. What a thrill. My other boys were busy taking pictures of Air Force One so they missed a great opportunity to see the President up close and personal.

Sadly to say, President Kennedy’s life was taken a few weeks later by an individual in Texas. I wonder today if his life had not been taken so early in his term as President whether our nation would be in the situation it is in today.