The Ford Museum opened its doors to the public 40 years ago in 1981. Grand Rapids held a week-long &
The Ford Museum opened its doors to the public 40 years ago in 1981. Grand Rapids held a week-long “Celebration on the Grand” leading up to the dedication ceremony on September 18, 1981. The festivities included music, hot air balloon races, a fishing contest, parades, fireworks, and the taping of a Bob Hope television special.The dedication ceremony brought many national and international leaders to Grand Rapids. Both President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush gave remarks at the ceremony, as well as Valery Giscard d'Estaing, former President of France; Sunao Sonoda, Minister for Foreign Affairs for Japan; Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada; and Jose Lopez Portillo, President of Mexico. Lady Bird Johnson also attended the ceremony.“It is my hope, and Betty’s, that all our good friends who have helped to complete this magnificent structure, and fill it with a portion of America’s past, will not regard this day as an end but rather as a beginning,” President Ford said in his remarks. ”I am profoundly grateful for the kind words that have been said about me, but the finest tribute of all will be to see the Gerald R. Ford Museum living and growing in constructive and useful ways.”Read President Ford’s full speech here: https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/speeches/810918.aspImages include photographs of the dedication ceremony and a variety of keepsakes from the event. -- source link
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