Gerald Ford plays odd man out in president's role

Ford's decision to pardon Nixon was very controversial

By Rob Carrigan, robcarrigan1@gmail.com

A number of things make Gerald Ford an interesting president of the United States to me. Most prominently is how much time he spent in Colorado. And though he was a member of the House of Representatives for 25 years, holding Michigan's 5th congressional district seat from 1949 to 1973, and important party positions, Ford is the only person to serve as president without winning an election for president or vice president.

He previously served as the leader of the Republican Party in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1965 to 1973, and as the 40th vice president under President Richard Nixon from 1973 to 1974. Ford succeeded to the presidency when Nixon resigned in 1974, but was defeated for election to a full term in 1976.

Ford had a sort of lifetime role as an "odd man out."

Ford was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. on July 14, 1913, at 3202 Woolworth Avenue in Omaha, Nebraska, where his parents lived with his paternal grandparents. He was the only child of Dorothy Ayer Gardner and Leslie Lynch King Sr., a wool trader. His paternal grandfather was banker and businessman Charles Henry King, and his maternal grandfather was Illinois politician and businessman Levi Addison Gardner. Ford's parents separated just sixteen days after his birth and his mother took the infant Ford with her to Oak Park, Illinois, where her sister Tannisse and brother-in-law, Clarence Haskins James lived. From there, she moved to the home of her parents in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Gardner and King divorced in December 1913, and she gained full custody of her son. Ford's paternal grandfather paid child support until shortly before his death in 1930.

Ford was the target of two assassination attempts during his presidency. In Sacramento, California, on September 5, 1975,  Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, pointed a Colt .45-caliber handgun at Ford and pulled the trigger at point-blank range. As she did, Larry Buendorf, a Secret Service agent, grabbed the gun, and Fromme was taken into custody. She was later convicted of attempted assassination of the President and was sentenced to life in prison; she was paroled on August 14, 2009, after serving 34 years .

In reaction to this attempt, the Secret Service began keeping Ford at a more secure distance from anonymous crowds, a strategy that may have saved his life seventeen days later. As he left the St. Francis Hotel in downtown San Francisco, Sara Jane Moore, standing in a crowd of onlookers across the street, fired a .38-caliber revolver at him. The shot missed Ford by a few feet.Before she fired a second round, retired Marine Oliver Sipple grabbed at the gun and deflected her shot; the bullet struck a wall about six inches above and to the right of Ford's head, then ricocheted and hit a taxi driver, who was slightly wounded. Moore was later sentenced to life in prison. She was paroled on December 31, 2007, after serving 32 years.

According to the National Archives, "In 1967, the Ford Family started going annually to the newly incorporated town of Vail, Colorado, for ski trips.  By 1970, the family had purchased a condominium, making them part-time residents of the municipality – a status they held until President and Mrs. Ford’s deaths in 2006 and 2011."

In “An Ordinary Man,” Richard Norton Smith wrote: 

Wooden sidewalks hedged unpaved streets when, late in 1967, Gerald Ford paid his first visit to the faux-Bavarian village, with its half-timbered houses and white plaster clock tower; where snow bunnies and downhill racers routinely crossed paths with part-time residents Henry Fonda, Lowell Thomas and Leonard Bernstein.  …[Upon becoming President in 1974] Ford’s presence raised Vail’s profile as a year-round destination and future home of the Jerry Ford Invitational Golf Tournament, the Ford Cup skiing competition, and the Ford-hosted World Forum of global leaders sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute.

In 1988, the Vail Alpine Gardens were renamed in honor of Betty Ford, and in 1989, Vail opened the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, with Willie Nelson as its first major performer!  We think it’s safe to say that the Fords and the Vail community had a mutual love and respect for each other.  Here are some fun photos of the Fords enjoying their time in Vail with outdoor activities and friends.

"Midwesterners Gerald and Betty Ford spent most of their time in Washington DC after Gerald became a Michigan congressman, later Vice President, then President. But they were drawn to Colorado’s blue skies, golf in the summers, fresh powder in winter, with secret service agents in tow," says Colorado Public Radio Staff.

 "But the Fords’ interest in Vail extended beyond the slopes. They took an active interest in the community. President Ford was a founding member of the Vail Valley Foundation, and in the 80s, personally called friends to raise money for a new entertainment venue. The Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater was christened with a Willie Nelson concert in 1987. The following year saw the inaugural season of the Bravo! Vail Music Festival, which made the valley a favorite destination for top musicians. Gerald Ford – America’s only unelected president – and the only one to bring the New York Philharmonic to Colorado in the summer."

In June of 2022, Fords house in Vail was on the market.

"While he was President, Gerald Ford was often mocked for alleged physical ineptitude," Forbes Contributoer Regina Cole, at the time. "He acquired a reputation as a clumsy, likable and simple-minded everyman; an incident in 1975, when he tripped while exiting Air Force One in Austria, was famously and repeatedly parodied by Chevy Chase on Saturday Night Live, cementing Ford's image as a klutz."

"In fact, he was a lifelong athlete, a skilled football player who won two national championships while at the University of Michigan. Following his senior year, he turned down offers from the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers, instead taking a position as the boxing coach and assistant varsity football coach at Yale, while applying to Yale Law School," says Cole.

"He loved to ski, so a vacation home in Vail, Colorado made sense. Built in 1967, this mountain chateau served as a favorite holiday retreat for President Gerald and First Lady Betty Ford. Now their winter holiday ski house has come onto the market, offered for $13 million."

Perhaps in another instance of serving as the odd man out, On September 8, 1974, Ford issued Proclamation 4311, which gave Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes he might have committed against the United States while president. In a televised broadcast to the nation, Ford explained that he felt the pardon was in the best interests of the country, and that the Nixon family's situation "is a tragedy in which we all have played a part. It could go on and on and on, or someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only I can do that, and if I can, I must."

"Winter sports fanatics have been drawn to the mountains of Vail Valley since the resort opened in 1962. One of these eager visitors included the 38th President of the United States, Gerald R. Ford. The circa-1967 home that he and former First Lady, Betty Ford, owned in the late 70s/early 80s just listed for $13 million. Nicknamed the “Winter White House,” this was a favorite holiday retreat of theirs before building a home nearby in Beaver Creek," writes Cottage and Gardens' Annika Holmberg

Former First Lady Betty Ford sits in the garden created in honor of her strong support of and contributions to the Vail Valley community in August 1989.  Courtesy Betty Ford Alpine Gardens

"Ford and his wife were active members in the community, attending HOA meetings, dining at restaurants, and even switching on the lights for the Vail Christmas tree. “I don’t know where we’d be without them,” said the President of the Vail Valley Association in a 2006 article by The Denver Post, “The Vail Valley is unbelievably lucky to have someone of his stature who is so committed to the community.”

"Nestled on about half an acre, the property supplies beautiful vistas of the valley and is just minutes from Vail Mountain’s Golden Peak Village, Vail Golf Course, and the appropriately named Ford Amphitheater and Betty Ford Gardens. The two-level home is a quintessential display of midcentury Colorado architecture, featuring vaulted ceilings, wood beams, a wraparound porch, and deep-toned wood accents throughout," notes Holmberg in 2022.

"Spanning 5,860 square feet and offering seven bedrooms, it could easily accommodate the Fords’ four kids and more. The main floor held Ford’s presidential primary suite and is also the spot for entertaining with an updated kitchen and dining room, as well as access to outdoor spaces."

"While President Ford was a public figure of high interest worldwide, Vail was a place where locals just saw him as a neighbor and friend. Except when Secret Service came down the slopes behind him, which was quite a sight." Holmberg wrote in 2022.