Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-03-07
Mrs. Charles Willis
Is T oIented Musician
Firestone Heress, Bride Of Presidential
Assistant, Was Active in Campaign
By lsobeIIe Shelton

lie Shelton
My friend was studying music
too voice. Fortunately she
didn't practice at home"
Her years Of study spanned
the war years, and she spent
many Of her free hours as Red
Cross nurses aide at Roosevelt
and Bellevue hospitals in New
York. She also did a war bene-
fit program on Florida radio
station one year. while she was
down there at her grandfather's
winter home.
After the war she made yearly
spring trips to Europe with her
family. leisurely jaunts lasting
from March or April until June.
She Liked Ike
When she came home from the
1852 trip she decided to go to
Chicago to see the Republican
National Convention. She had
met Gen. Eisenhower in 1948 at
a weekend party at. the New
Canaan, Conn. home of Thomas
j. Watson. and thought him "a
fine man-simple and charm
ing, with genuine sincerity"
When the campaign opened
she volunteered her services at
the Citizens for Eisenhower
headquarters in New York, and
to her considerable surprise soon
! found herself hopping around
the country at breakneck speed
as an advance man" for the
Eisenhower campaign train.
Il was never interested in poll
tics before" she says. II was
just interested in Eisenhower"
She was one of five-man adj
vance team. which arrived
early each morning in the city or
town where Gen. Eisenhower was
to speak that evening.
I'VE were the whoop- de-do
division of the campaign" she
recalled with a smile. Our job
was to arrange a big MONDAY
parade. contact newspaper and
television people about coverage
that night. and do anything else
we could to call attention to the
meeting.
MY particular job was sup
posed to be to line up as many
bands as possible for the parade.
{ contacted the Chamber of Com
merce. American Legion. Musi-
clans Union, and groups like
that. But actually. everybody did
a little Of everything. There were
always emergencies.
I'VE never quite had to stage
a parade without q band. but
we came awfully close to it a few
times. We tried to get several
marching bands each time. Once
all we could get was q few men
playing instruments on the back
end Of a truck. In Kansas City
the parade was held up two hours
because we couldn't get q permit.
Finally we did.
Borroge Balloons
"One Of our jobs was to initiate
the barrage balloons we few
in each city. They were huge
things. with Ike painted on each
side in big letters. We floated one
from the middle Of town, and the
other hung over the place where
the speech was to be given that
evening.
I'VE had to scurry around and
get helium tanks at each new
stop, to fill the bags. It's hard to
put in. because it's icy cold. After
the speech each night we let the
air out, rolled up the balloons
and put them in the Ike band
wagon" truck that drove from
city to city, to be in the parades.
Then we few on to the next
city. We always started the day
with a breakfast meeting with
the local Citizens for Eisenhower
people, so we had to get. there
early"
ut was all wonderful fun,
while it lasted. but Charlie can
handle all the politics for the
family from now on"
Mr.. Willis and Stanley M.
Rumbaugh, jr.. now q special as
sistant to the Secretary of Com
merce, were co-founders of the
Citizens for Eisenhower. and it
was here that the young couple
first came to know each other,