Former Publisher Recalls When Ted Kennedy Used His Shower, Phone

By: A former newspaper publisher in Park River remembers the day Ted Kennedy came to visit.

It was in 1960, when Kennedy?s brother, John, was running against Richard Nixon for the White House.

Henry Kelly, the former publisher of the Walsh County Press in Park River, was a Democratic activist at the time. He said Ted Kennedy came to town in October that year, to speak at a rally for his older brother.

He came to Kelly?s house to shower, shave and change clothes.

There were no cell phones back then, so Kennedy used Kelly?s house phone to call home to Massachusetts. Kelly said it was a wall phone in the hallway and after Kennedy used it, Kelly never replaced it. He said he and his family treated it ?like the Holy Grail.?

Kelly is now 84, living in Sarasota, Fla. He remembers Kennedy, who died this week from brain cancer, as dynamic and handsome, with a good sense of humor.