Ken Hechler Statement on Passing of Margaret Truman
Ken Hechler with President Truman
Ken Hechler worked for FDR, Truman and Adlai Stevenson, three of America’s greatest political leaders. He was a speech-writer for Truman and was recently photographed by Vanity Fair magazine for a story on presidential staffs. He is also author of one of the best books about Truman, “Working with Truman - A Personal Memoir of the White House Years.” He was recently made an honorary trustee of the Truman Library, often lecturing about Truman at university campuses, libraries, and other sites around the country. He was sad to hear that Margaret Truman Daniel, Truman’s only child died, recently in Chicago. The statement below is posted on the memorial website for Margaret Truman and has been used by the media around WV and the country. Read NY Times obiturary….
Statement from Ken Hechler on the passing of Margaret Truman
January 29, 2008 Ever since starting to work in 1949 at the Truman White House, I have had a warm and friendly relationship with Margaret Truman. She used to brag to her father that “the Truman campaign train is the only one which carries its own heckler right aboard.” Like her father, Margaret always spoke her own mind, regardless of conventional wisdom or “political correctness.” She voiced her sharp opinions of many political officials in and out of the Truman administration. Her favorite criticism was of those whom she felt were afflicted with “Potomac fever” or “too big for their britches.” Margaret and I carried on an active correspondence. When I sent her a copy of my reading list for a Marshall University seminar on the “life and times of Harry Truman,” she wrote back, “I don’t understand why you included the book “Plain Speaking” by that good for nothing Merle Miller.” Once when I sent her a list of people who underestimated her father, including Dewey, MacArthur, and President Truman’s mother in law, she shot back: “Please take my grandmother off your list. She just did not like politicians.” She also debunked the widely circulated story that the ladies of the Independence Bridge Club were shocked by Truman’s use of the word “manure ” to explain why the roses in the White House rose garden looked so well and how her mother had protested: “You don’t know how many years I’ve persuaded him to call it “manure.” Margaret contended that “this was a joke circulated by Truman’s military aide, Gen. Vaughn. It never really happened.” I will really miss my long friendship with Margaret Truman. My deepest sympathy is extended to her sons. To contact Ken Hechler call him at 304-395-4323.
Ken in front of the Truman Home in Independence, Missouri
