When news spread this weekend that President George H.W. Bush had died at the age of 94, for many in Owensboro it instantly called to mind a time the former president made a visit.
On Sept. 27, 1988, just two months before winning the presidential election, then Vice President Bush made a campaign stop in Owensboro. At the time, he was the first presidential candidate to speak in Owensboro in over three decades.
Vice President Bush boarded the Executive Queen riverboat and took the short ride to Peter B. English Park where a crowd of thousands was waiting.
Students from Western Kentucky University and Daviess County High School were among the thousands of attendees and supporters. According to the WKU “College Heights Herald,” the university sent two buses from Bowling Green to the rally, including 75 young republicans and 20 young democrats.
Misty O’Bryan Miller was a senior and member of the DCHS Pantherette dance team during the vice president’s visit. For as long as she can remember, Miller has had the photo commemorating the day sitting on her home office desk.
“I look at it a lot,” Miller said. “But today when I posted it [on Facebook], it brought back a lot of memories for a lot of people.”
Miller said that there were many local and national news outlets there that day to take pictures, and initially members of the secret service were “very intimidating and specific with directions” about where the students should be standing during the rally.
But, after Bush finished speaking, members of the secret service told the Pantherettes they could go up and gather around the vice president for a picture. In the photo Miller posted on Facebook, she said she was the one tucked “under his right armpit” as he waved to the crowd.
“I don’t know how we got so lucky, but I’m glad we did. It’s a really cool memory,” Miller said. “This was a serious big deal for me and my city and I’m glad I got to be a part of it.”
In discussion threads from 2015 and 2016 in the “History of Owensboro, KY” Facebook group, several local residents recall boarding the Executive Queen with the Vice President that day. Another group member referenced “a kid” who made a threat toward the Vice President.
On Oct. 19, 1988, the Lethbridge Herald reported David Allen Russell, 21, of Owensboro, was arrested for threatening Vice President Bush’s life “by allegedly sending a letter bragging the writer could have shot the Republican presidential candidate at the rally.”
The letter was reported to have been sent from Owensboro, unsigned, to then President Ronald Reagan. It was also said to include three photos of Vice President Bush speaking at the rally.
Russell appeared before U.S. Magistrate Stewart Elliott and was charged on two counts — “threatening to take the life of the Vice President or inflict bodily harm on him,” and “sending a threatening letter through the mail.”
According to court records, in June 2002, Russell entered a guilty plea to a single count, “Threats against the president or successor to the president,” and was later sentenced in September to 42 months in prison and 36 months supervised release.
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On Saturday evening, the official schedule of memorial services was released for the late president. They will begin on Monday with an arrival ceremony at the U.S. Capitol building, where Bush will lie in state in the rotunda until Wednesday morning in order to allow the public time to pay their respects. Both a public and private family memorial service have been planned, before Bush is taken by motorcade procession and laid to rest at George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas.
President Donald Trump has designated Wednesday, Dec. 5 as a national day of mourning, and ordered all American flags at public office buildings to be lowered to half-staff until sunset on Dec. 30.
