October 1, 1942 Franklin Roosevelt's tour of wartime training and production facilites was made public after the two week tour was completed.
Update the box score.
Republicans 6, Democrats 1.
The category?
Men who were would be or had been President who have visited the fair San Luis Obispo County as documented in Photos From the Vault.
Who is the one Democrat?
That other Roosevelt, Franklin Delano.
This also makes the county 2 for 2 for Roosevelts by rail.
Don’t get too worked up, there are no photos; it was the middle of the night in San Luis Obispo.
The two-week 8,754-mile trip was a wartime secret, revealed after it was completed, so there were no crowds or speeches here. The president may have even slept through the county, six days into his trip, when it briefly stopped shortly after midnight Sept 22, 1942.
It was a tour of war plants and training bases intended to boost moral and highlight the importance of the job at hand. America needed to catch up to Axis nations that had over a half-decade head start in ships, tanks, airplanes and armies.
The West coast swing began in southern California and squeezed in a visit with son John and family one evening in San Diego. The lieutenant was expected to be assigned to sea duty soon.
Then it was of to tours of factories and a hospital with wounded Navy battle veterans.
The story noted that 33 per cent of the Donald Douglas bomber factory workforce was female. One riveter tipped her steel helmet back in surprise and said, “God bless him, it’s the President himself.”
SLO County Presidential Box Score
William McKinley
Teddy Roosevelt
Calvin Coolidge
Richard Nixon
Ronald Reagan
George W. Bush
In other news on the page Arnold Spreafico, 43, was killed when he was swept off the breakwater in Morro Bay. He and three companions were workers at the Morro Bay Naval Base project. Though rescuers rushed to the scene only three men were saved.
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