A young boy's connection to JFK: Former Canton man recalls meeting John F. Kennedy in 1960

"I reached and grabbed his pinkie finger as he and my grandmother were shaking hands."

John F. Kennedy looked down at young Randy Feemster of Canton and smiled.

Feemster, 74, now of New Philadelphia and vice-chair of the Tuscarawas County Democratic Party, was recalling meeting then-Sen. Kennedy on his 11th birthday on Sept. 27, 1960. The interaction took place in a receiving line following a speech presidential candidate Kennedy gave at Canton's Municipal Auditorium.

The northwest-section boy and his grandmother, avid Democrat Genevieve Kennedy, stayed after the speech to greet the speaker. She shared his last name by coincidence as there was no relation.

"He and my grandmother still were saying things to each other, but I thought, 'This man is really important,' and I wanted to shake his hand. I wanted to touch him. I was in awe."

The memory of that moment returned to in his mind three years later when Feemster sat at his desk in a classroom at the old Summit School and mourned a president cut down by an assassin.

School officials had arranged for students to listen on the school's intercom system to radio news of the shooting of President Kennedy in Dallas, Tex., on Nov. 22, 1963. A voice broke in with confirmation of Kennedy's death.

Wednesday marks the 60th anniversary of JFK's death.

"He said -- it still chokes me up -- 'It's official now; the president of the United States is dead.' It's kind of burned in my memory like a dark cloud."

Young Randy Feemster meets JFK

Feemster and his mother, Jean Kennedy Feemster, moved to Canton from Montana. A divorced mother, Feemster's mom became the sole support of a multi-generational family. Young Randy and his younger brother, Rick, often were with their grandmother.

"She was a staunch Democrat," recalled Feemster. "She told us don't ever vote for a Republican because they're not for the people and Democrats are."

The elder Feemster endured the Depression, her grandson said, and the economic crisis sharpened the points of the political arrows she shot at Republicans.

"She inherited a lot of money from her father's estate," Feemster said. "She was well off and had her money in the bank. When the Depression hit, she lost it all. So (Republican President) Herbert Hoover left a bad taste in her mouth."

That's why there was no doubt who was her presidential candidate preference in 1960 when Kennedy ran against Republican Richard M. Nixon.

Feemster and his grandmother watched the first televised debate between the two candidates on Sept. 26, 1960, the night before his birthday and a day before they attended Kennedy's campaign appearance in Canton. The black-and-white screen of their Muntz TV was fuzzy, but his memory of that night remains vivid.

"During the debate she reminisced about how she lost her money," remembered Feemster, "about how she was left almost penniless."

She listened intently to Nixon and Kennedy debate, with a strong liking for the latter, a man Feemster said she considered "handsome" and "well spoken."

JKF's gives 'electric' speech in Canton

The following day, Feemster's grandmother approached his mother about him going with her to Kennedy's speech in Canton.

"My grandmother suffered from agoraphobia," Feemster said. "She asked if I could go with her (to hear Kennedy). She said, 'If Randy can go, I'll go.' So, we went."

The atmosphere of the auditorium as Kennedy spoke was "electric," Feemster said.

"People were jumping up and down. They were out of their seats shouting, 'Yeah!'" he said. "My grandmother was so happy."

After the speech, the two approached Kennedy's reception line. Feemster's grandmother preened, brushing back her hair in anticipation of meeting JFK.

"She would have been 52 at the time. Everybody told her she looked like Mae West."

Feemster's grandmother exchanged her handshake and traded words with the future president. Their hand-holding lingered and her grandson gave Kennedy his hesitant touch. The candidate warmly smiled. Quickly, the moment was over.

Genevieve Kennedy was "over the moon" as she and her grandson walked from the auditorium to their home on High Avenue NW.

"We didn't have a car at the time so we had walked to the auditorium. On the way home she walked faster. She seemed happier than I'd seen her in years."

Randy Feemster's love of politics

Sadness set in three years later, following the assassination of the president. Her political hopes shifted to Robert F. Kennedy, until he also was slain in 1968. Feemster said his grandmother died at the age of 60, a mere 19 days after RFK was killed.

In the years that have followed, Feemster, a steelworker for more than three decades, and his wife, Sharon, also a longtime Timken employee, have met other political figures through his position as vice-chair of the Democratic Party in Tuscarawas County and as former president of the Golden Lodge of employees of Timken Co.

Feemster met Joe Biden "four or five times," as well as Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and former first lady Hillary Clinton. He shared a meeting with President Clinton with his sibling.

"My brother Rick was a look-a-like for Clinton and President Clinton wanted to meet him. They hit it off and they talked on the phone a couple of times after that."

One of Feemster's memorable moments was speaking in a live feed from United Steelworkers of America Local 1123 at Golden Lodge on Harrison Avenue SE, addressing the July 2004 Democratic convention, a gathering of delegates that handed John Kerry the party's presidential hopes.

"Feemster ... told the nation of his respect for John Kerry's war record," reported an article in the Repository. "Feemster ... served in Vietnam and received the Purple Heart. He praised Kerry's leadership and courage in the face of war."

Losing JFK 60 years ago

Feemster offered recollections of JFK's assassination.

"I remember the principal at Summit School came on the intercom and said, 'There are some events going on now in Dallas, Texas, that I feel are of great interest," remembered Feemster.

Pupils listened as the radio newscast reported the details.

"As I was listening they were speculating how bad his injuries were," Feemster said. "I was sad, and I didn't want my classmates to see, so I turned and looked out the windows. I could see the top of the McKinley monument. I remembered hearing that McKinley was the last president to be assassinated."

Then came the fateful news over the radio. President Kennedy was dead.

"As I was looking at the top of the monument the thought occurred to me that McKinley had gone from the last president to the second to last."

Reach Gary at gary.brown.rep@gmail.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Randy Feemster recalls meeting John F. Kennedy in 1960 in Canton