Political display focuses on the historic, quirky

ADA — "Click with Dick!" That was one of the slogans Republican Vice President Richard Nixon touted when he faced Democratic U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election. The Nixon campaign came up with the idea for a clicker — a metal device often seen as a child's toy — that made a clicking sound when pressed. But the gimmick wasn't quite clever enough, as Kennedy won the closely contested race to become the 35th president of the United States. Visitors will have the chance to view some of the quirkier political memorabilia through the years — like a set of Nixon clickers, "I Like Ike" cigarettes, and JFK and Jacquelyn salt and pepper shakers — when they visit a new exhibit at the Ada Public Library. "Political Paraphernalia" was prepared by students in David Strittmatter's Public History class at Ohio Northern University. "We hoped an assortment of old political campaign items might generate some interest," said Strittmatter, an assistant professor of history who is now in his second year at the university. The display was a project for six students in his public history class: Savannah Hummel, Colin Smith, Seth Gossard, Madeline Gawthrop, Rachel Apple and Brianna Brown. Public history, said Strittmatter, is a vast and diverse field. "It's the study of how the public engages with historical projects, nonacademic. Think museums, archives, libraries, historic sites, national parks, battlefields, that sort of thing," he explained. "It's history on the public's behalf." The concept has carried through in this final project, he said. "What I tell them at the beginning of the semester is that in most history classes, you'll write a paper that a professor will grade but nobody else will see. And in a public history class, you do projects that the public will see," he said. About 40 pieces were selected for this exhibit from a much larger collection. "They belong to my aunt, and a lot of stuff came from my grandmother who had just kind of collected this over the years as a lover of history and a lover of politics," Strittmatter said. Some are museum-quality, he said. Others are more recent comical collectibles. "Some of the stuff is sort of out of date. That makes it all the more fun," he said. For example, there are bubble gum cigars that solicited votes for Ronald Reagan and his opponent, Walter Mondale, in 1984, and packs of cigarettes favoring both Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower and Democrat Adlai Stevenson in the 1956 election. "I don't think they would make that today, because I don't think they would want to encourage kids to take up a habit," Strittmatter said. Other pieces are from more recent elections, like a 2012 Mitt Romney bobble head doll and a Barack Obama 2009 inauguration puzzle. Strittmatter said the oldest item is a William McKinley campaign pin that dates back over 100 years. There are also several pins that support Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th president, and a Woodrow Wilson postcard. Wilson served as president from 1913-1921. "If you think about the evolution of campaign ephemera that's produced in the course of it, the 1960s saw both the rise of political bumper stickers and lawn signs," Strittmatter said. He said John Quincy Adams reportedly had signs in his yard in the early 1800s. "And there were bumper stickers before, but usually bumper stickers were actually to tell everybody where you had gone on vacation," he said. "But in the '60s I think it just had to do with the rise of suburbia and commuting in cars. I mean, there's not a whole lot of text on lawn signs today because you're just driving by. We have to be practical about it. And bumper stickers, boy, everyone's in a car all the time." A special piece on display is a William Howard Taft pin. Strittmatter said it resembles a bookshelf on a wall. And above the shelf is a panoramic photograph of the day in 1910 when the 27th president delivered the commencement address at Ohio Northern. "It's wild to think, Taft as a sitting president, spoke at ONU," he said. Strittmatter appreciates the collection but chooses instead to concentrate his efforts on searching for newspaper front pages, sports memorabilia, postcards and souvenirs while traveling. "So rather than just keeping these pieces in the house somewhere, we thought it would be fun to share them, especially at election time," he said. The display will remain up at the Ada library, 320 N. Main St., through the month of November. Wolf: 419-427-8419 jeanniewolf@thecourier.com