June 6, 2018, marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Senator Robert Francis Kennedy. Kennedy was shot shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, at Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel. Moments earlier, he had stood at a podium after winning the California presidential primary.
Robert Kennedy's death shocked and saddened many Americans, and it caused some to question the direction of the country during a particularly tumultuous year, which included the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the escalation of the Vietnam War. Wrote Pete Chronis in a June 7, 1963, Rocky Mountain News op-ed piece:
Wednesday, after hearing of the assassination attempt...there came a familiar dread and disbelief that I had felt during the four days in November 1963....unlike in 1963, I found myself wondering if I really were living in the United States or in some anarchic republic.
Kennedy's last visit to the Rocky Mountain region was in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on April 26, 1968, while on a presidential campaign tour, where he said "My goal is not to govern America but to liberate America...."
A month before, Kennedy had stopped in Denver to speak at the Auditorium Arena. More than 35,000 people lined the Denver streets to see him.
Rocky Mountain News writer Don Lyle perhaps best summed up Robert Kennedy's relationship to Colorado in a June 8, 1968, article:
Robert F. Kennedy didn't spend much time in Colorado and Wyoming—usually a short week around Christmas enjoying the skiing at Aspen or a short speaking tour through the larger cities. His visits here were memorable ones for all who met him and came under the spell of his enthusiasm, whether it was on the ski slopes, seated in an audience or experiencing the firm, quick handshake.
Images of Robert F. Kennedy's time in Colorado appear below. All images come from the Rocky Mountain News Photo Collection at the Denver Public Library's Western History and Genealogy Department.
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Comments
i distinctly remember Robert
i distinctly remember Robert Kennedy paying a private visit to Beulah Colorado, SW of Pueblo. there was congressman, Frank Evans, who I think had a fairly modest summer house there , on South Pine Drive, I believe. Everyone in Beulah knew he was there visiting, but i don't think any of us saw him or bothered him. maybe 1966 or 67
Very cool, Stephani! Thanks
Very cool, Stephani! Thanks for sharing that bit of history!
I never heard that, thank you
I never heard that, thank you and it makes sense, we have "mystry photos" of where they werevtaken but i always felt they were in Beulah.
My parents never bragged, not even to their kids... Peter, Francis, Susan, or Charles (Chaz)
I remember seeing RFK during
I remember seeing RFK during a campaign stop in Colorado Springs during March, 1968. He rode in an open convertible down Platte Ave and I watched from the General Palmer statue at the intersection of Nevada Ave. I had watched his brother from the same spot 5 years earlier. I remember being struck by his image and shock of reddish hair.
I was at the airport in
I was at the airport in Cheyenne when they touched down. We scrambled to the Frontier Park to hear him speak to the crowd, before boarding the plane to other campaign stops.
As a 15-year old 9th grader
As a 15-year old 9th grader in March 1968, I skipped school from Morey Jr. Hi. And walked down to Denver to see Bobby Kennedy. Amidst the pressing throngs of people there to see him, I was lucky enough to be within arm’s reach to shake his hand, as he made his way to the podium. Definitely a highlight at that time in my life.
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