Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Pieces of political history on display at U. New Hampshire
By Dan Lorenz & Sean Cronin
The New Hampshire (U. New Hampshire)
12/07/2007

(U-WIRE) DURHAM, N.H. — A Mike Huckabee guitar pick. A John Edwards evergreen sapling. An anti-Nixon monopoly board. A Barry Goldwater bobblehead doll. A JFK card deck, complete with family members as King, Queen and Jack.

These and much more presidential primary memorabilia are currently on display at the University Museum in the Dimond Library.

Spanning the decades from Eisenhower to Obama, the collection offers a diverse look at a wide array of candidates through their shared medium: campaigning for the American vote with trinkets, t-shirts and buttons.

The exhibit covers a 55-year span, but the items are surprisingly similar. Buttons remained popular throughout the years, as well as posters.

Even the issues are remarkably similar. In Florida, senior citizens remain most concerned with social security. California residents worry about the environment. Farmers in the Midwest continue to worry about agricultural issues.

"[The display] is a good way to see what issues concerned people in different states," said Susan Roman, class of '74, who donated the vast amount of items found in the collection.

Roman and her husband, Chris Regan, are both Durham attorneys who share a love of campaign memorabilia. Roman's interest began with her parents, who owned a bookstore in New Hampshire which was visited by several major candidates. Roman never forgot the experience.

In high school, Roman's political interests were sparked further by the war in Vietnam, which she opposed.

It was not until she attended college, however, that she began to amass a collection that would develop into a life-long hobby.

Roman's collection began with George McGovern, a 1972 Democratic candidate who she became impressed with after learning of his opposition to the Vietnam War.

Working in his campaign office and with the UNH organization Students for McGovern, she organized door-to-door efforts, surveyed people over the phone, and drove to Nashua and Manchester to campaign for her candidate.

"McGovern had so much less money than [the 1972 Democratic frontrunner] Muskie," Roman said. "It was a real grassroots effort."

Roman also began gathering together memorabilia from the campaign, which included pins of all shapes and sizes, an official George McGovern membership card and a colorful array of campaign posters.

Although McGovern eventually lost in a landslide defeat to Richard Nixon, Roman's interest in collecting campaign items remained.

Today, Roman belongs to the American Political Items Collectors (APIC), a national organization of collectors that strives to obtain the rarest and most interesting items.

"Some of the people in the APIC will go over the posters with a magnifying glass to get every last detail," Roman said. "If they find an item that is even slightly different, they have to get it. I'm not that crazy. For me it's just a fun and harmless obsession."

Due to the general nature of the primary elections, many of the names in Roman's collection belong to lesser-known candidates. Although not as widely known, the candidates' issues were no less important. "Fringe candidates are often the most interesting," said Roman.

Consider Caroline Kileen, also known as the "hemp lady." Kileen ran on a platform of legalizing marijuana and lowering the drinking age. Roman's collection includes a marijuana pin emblazoned with her name.

Kileen also appeared to have been at the center of considerable debate on the UNH campus. A 1996 issue of The New Hampshire shows an "On The Spot" article in which several students proclaim Kileen as the candidate "most likely to be at the center of the next controversy."

Roman feels that New Hampshire residents are lucky in the fact that they have access to candidates before any other state. Other states, she says, are missing out on the unique political experience that New Hampshire is home to.

"After I worked on the McGovern campaign, I went to law school in Florida," Roman said. "I didn't even really get a chance to see the candidates. It's not the same kind of meet and greet you get in New Hampshire."

Since 1952, New Hampshire has been home to the first-in-the-nation primary. The primary involves voting for candidates in a particular party, narrowing them down until only two remain. Because of this, candidates heavily campaign in the state prior to the primary election.

Museum curator Dale Valena, who organized the display, says that the collection represents only a portion of Roman's collection. Valena carefully selected items that were of the most importance and interest to the campus community.

"It's really a very unique collection, and there's a lot of history behind it," Valena said. "I think it's important to realize that the New Hampshire primary puts us in a very important position."

Throughout the exhibit, Valena has posted information explaining what was going on politically at the time of the primary, helping to give the items an historical context.

One notable item, a scan of the March 10, 1960 edition of The New Hampshire covering John F. Kennedy's visit to UNH the day before the primary, changed the way the nation viewed the primaries. No longer were they "quiet" but a "wild political circus."

Valena is also proud of the genuine voting booth she was able to obtain for the exhibit. The town of Durham donated the booth, allowing visitors to cast their votes for the primary. On Jan. 8, Valena will collect the votes from an antique Boston ballot box and compare the results with those of the actual primary.

"It will definitely be interesting," said Valena. "But what we really want is for people to come and look at all the memorabilia. Each piece has such personality and history. They really show how important the primaries are and what opportunities are offered here in New Hampshire because of them."

"Up Close and Personal: A Look at Presidential Politics in New Hampshire" will run until Jan. 22. The museum, located on the first floor of the Dimond Library in the Milne Special Collection and Archives room, is open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday, and from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.

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