Meriden and Beyond...

[Dean Romig]

Bill, I should have qualified that by saying I have no evidence of Ike ever owning a Parker but I was e-mailed a photo of him and an elderly NH gent and a pair of setters with Ike holding the 16 ga DHE with straight stock owned by the older gent. Also included was a letter from Ike to the fellow stating that he had every intention of returning the Parker someday and that he planned to get one of his own. I had a chance to buy that Parker about six or seven years ago (maybe more) for $3K but missed it by mere minutes. I've told this sad story before...

[Big D]

Wonder where Ike's M42 .410 is?

Mae and I are history buffs, John. This past summer (2009) we took a three week trip from MI- first to Gettysburg- and we visited the Eisenhower farm. I also asked about his guns, being a Winchester man, I knew he loved his M42 for quail, possibly skeet. The curator happened to be a fellow gunner, he told me they were all out in the Eisenhower Museum in Abeline. All but one, on display behind glass was a fishing rod and reel given to "Ike" by his Chief of Staff in WW11- Gen. Walter Bedell Smith- and a Beretta 20 semi-auto skeet gun given to "Ike" by another staff member later on.

I am going to guess that when Mr. Murphy and his father hunted phesants near the Eisenhower Farm adjacent to Gettysburg, it was prior to Nov. 23 1963. We saw the Secret Service annex and the older armory room (no weapons) set up to protect the Eisenhowers after the tragic death of President Kennedy. I can still recall where I was (USMC- LeJeune) when a Major came in and told us that our Commander-In-Chief had been shot by a sniper in Dallas--

The best story about "Ike" I have yet heard was his way of explaining leadership. He took out a piece of string and placed it on his desk, and said that "Leadership is like moving a piece of string from A to B-- if you get behind it and shove, it just balls up and goes nowhere- BUT if you get out in front of it, it will follow you where ever you go"!!

[Bill Murphy]

Francis, I don't remember any prohibition on hunting in the area of the Eisenhower Farm because of the Kennedy assassination. My Dad had a friend, a retired PA game warden named Bushman, who ran a game bird operation for many years in the south Gettysburg-Fairfield area. We hunted there often and I continued to shoot there with a friend who handled dogs for Mr. Bushman's hunters. I still have pictures of my Irish Setter working that property. For your information, not all of Ike's guns are in Kansas. His famous 20 gauge Model 21 is in the National Firearms Museum. The curator has an entertaining story about the gun that was told in a recent issue of the American Rifleman. Locals like myself and Mr. McCormack check in with the Invincibles on a fairly regular basis, and I check on the Model 21 when I'm over there. Some of our friends have guns in storage in the Rudy Etchen display also. It is an interesting addition to the historical displays. On another point, Ike's Model 42 connection is a pair, a cased pair as pictured in Ned Schwing's book. They apparently didn't belong to Ike, but to a quail hunting buddy. They were in the late Mike D'Angelo's collection some years ago, went to Randy Shuman's, now apparently buried in a collection, possibly Shuman's. Ike probably owned another Model 42, as you suggest. I don't know where it is or what it looks like. In Ike's correspondence with John Olin, I don't believe it was mentioned.